Introduction Arc: Chapter 10.
The group entered the cave, but descended slowly due to the cragged surface. The air was moist and cold, and droplets echoed around the cave. The miasma grew thicker as they descended to the point that they had to cover their noses.
The only source of light was the right hand of Alluna; her hand illuminated a bright white light. However, neither Fae nor Feledil had an issue with the darkness. The former's eyes and ears were sharp, similar to a preying cat, whereas the latter was reliant on instinct rather than sight.
Winter was the exception; he could see well in the dark, and his senses were already heightened before entering. He walked with the minimum amount of wariness. A fact that was noticed by his new teammates.
The growls of the manifested undead bellowed up ahead; they've made their moves. Not only that, there were growls behind them as well; the manifested undead had surrounded them.
The manifested undead slowly marched towards their positions; the clanking of their swords and the dragging of their feet provided an uneasy ambience to the wary group. Feledil clicked his tongue, realizing what the undead were up to.
"So that's why they weren't attacking. They knew we were heading for the source and were waiting for us to enter the cave and surround us. A classic pincer maneuver." Feledil lowered his stance, widened his eyes, and prepared for an opportunity to strike.
"These things are clever, but they're still easy pickings," Fae said, facing the undead behind them, nocking an arrow and then drawing it.
"Powershot." She muttered, releasing the string and shooting an arrow. The arrow pierced through eleven manifested undead, destroying their torsos.
Winter exhaled in disbelief, impressed by Fae's drawing strength. (Even without that powershot technique, that arrow would've pierced through at least five targets. That's really stunning.)
Alluna closed her eyes; the ring on her pinky finger glowed in reddish brilliance. She pointed at the general direction of the manifested undead, slowly creeping up in front.
"Instant Magic: Sextupled: Air-gun." As soon as she said those words, six of the manifested undead heads were instantly blown up. Their figures dropped to the ground before cleanly disappearing.
(That looks so damn cool, too bad, I didn't pick any dedicated magic casting class.) Winter said, lightly shaking his head. He turned around, facing the manifested undead along with Fae, extremely eager to prove his worth.
"Let my enemies be weak, and my allies be strong, provide us guidance, oh lord, amen," Feledil muttered a quick prayer from behind, causing everyone to lightly glow in golden radiance.
Winter felt his strength increase, his body fortify, and his speed double. The same goes for the two women who were now grinning with excitement. (That's a priest exclusive prayer...)
Feledil swung his sword in the air, sending an invisible gust forward and slicing through two dozen manifested undead. The manifested undead hesitated for a moment before charging again, this time, with more suicidal speed.
Winter tightly gripped his scorch dagger and charged forward. "Watch my back, please."
Fae acknowledged the request and began drawing her bow again. Winter recalled the time when Feledil activated several techniques, all of which were accessible to his class, but considering his current progress, he could only activate the weaker variants.
(He activated no more than eight techniques. In the game, most techniques were toggled to auto-cast when entering combat, around twenty to thirty would be activated.)
Winter thought, stabbing a dagger straight into a manifested undead before kicking him backwards. He dodged an attack and quickly delivered a counterattack.
"Minor Speed. Minor Strength. Minor Agility. Fleet-foot." Winter muttered as he quickly disposed of four manifested undead. Fae raised a brow, surprised by the sudden increase in power.
(Feledil said that Winter has a heroic bloodline, but I thought that at his current extent, he could only activate two techniques at most. Was he hiding his power?) Fae said, shooting a manifested undead straight in the head.
Winter returned a simple thankful nod before returning to his attacks.
(When we found him, Alluna said that there was a significant amount of dissipated mana in the air. A usual result of killing hundreds of manifestations or summons.)
Fae thought, shooting another undead that was about to grab Winter. (Yet here he is, fighting with no strain whatsoever.)
Fae snickered. "Well, Feledil is stronger anyway. I can't wait for him to pound my pus-" *ROAR!*
A roar boomed, emanating from the deeper parts of the cave. The group was surprised by the roar, unnerved. It was the roar of something ominously strong.
A higher tier of a manifested undead.
The manifested undead roared in response, attacking with more energy. However, the group still held them back. Winter sliced and dashed; he was too fast for the manifested undead to properly grab, and even if they could, Fae was watching his back.
Winter huffed, continuing his frontal assault. He felt another surge of power, causing his body to reinvigorate with stamina and energy.
(I knew it, that feeling, that must be the feeling of leveling up.) He thought while subconsciously dodging an arrow by tilting his torso. The arrow pierced through three manifested undead. He confusingly turned towards Fae, who was breathing heavily.
"My mistake, the miasma is getting stronger," Fae said, vomiting. The same goes for Alluna, whereas Feledil managed to hold his own.
"Not much longer now, we can do this. Their numbers are thinning." Feledil said, charging and slicing through several manifested undead.
Winter huffed. He needed to provide support. The earlier surge of power unlocked something familiar; the sensation was similar to finally speaking the word that was at the tip of a tongue. Winter widely grinned; this time, it really was his moment to shine.
"Enrage," Winter muttered, causing his figure to lightly swell and steam. It was hard to not notice it, the three of them were surprised by the activation. They've all recognized the technique.
Alluna's eyes widened, instinctively casting a minor buffing spell. "Minor Relaxant."
"Wait, why did I do that? That wasn't Master Feledil..." Alluna was surprised by her action, she did this numerous times to the point that it was instinct to cast a buff to mitigate the technique's withdrawals.
(Feledil can activate that technique, but only as a trump card due to the monumental side effects. That must be his trump card too, but it's too risky and early!) Fae thought, glancing at Feledil whose bloodshot eyes were remained on Winter.