Combat Healer Ch. 18 (Patreon)

August 14, 2022

BOOK RELEASES:

Combat Healer Book 1 is available for $0.99 on Amazon.

Please leave a rating (just say you read it on Patreon, if you also leave a review).

The initial ratings are HUGE, especially for a book 1, so please leave one!

It covers Chapters 1-14, and is 101,000 words.

ALSO: Innocent Devil’s Harem Book 6 is also now available, for anyone who prefers the kindle version. I do plan on getting free versions available soon on Gumroad for you guys.

ARTWORK: Both Miriam and Avery are available.

Mel is now available for the Demigod tier.

OLD NOTE (Aug 14, 2022): I’m posting another bonus chapter of Combat Healer today (Aug 14) to make up for the few months when I didn’t release any of that story (and that will likely be the last bonus chapter for a while, for real this time).

That of course means I just posted the next chapter of Innocent Devil's Harem too.

OLD ALSO: Next week (Aug 21) will be the next chapter of Combat Healer (no IDH). However, after that, I will likely resume posting mostly Innocent Devil’s Harem, with only the occasional Combat Healer chapter, roughly 1 per every 3 chapters of IDH, like I was doing before.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

<< Chapter 17 | Ch 1 (Book 1) | Ch 15 (Book 2)

- CHAPTER 18: Stalkers -

Present Day

A creature with black hair, midnight skin, and a gray face, having a body resembling a thin but mature elf girl, listened intently in the distance from her high perch, her slitted crimson eyes wide through the strands of her black hair, realizing that ‘others’ had entered her domain.

More ‘others.’

A part of her was thrilled, while another part of her was reserved.

For, she had things to do, more places to explore, yummy things to eat, and creatures to play with…

And yet she suspected it might be time to finally leave her home and go out into the world. Something that made her a little nervous. Too nervous.

Her home was already very big, there still being areas to be discovered, but she knew the world outside was even bigger. And it made her nervous, quelling her potential excitement, even though she had been looking forward to such a day as this for a long time.

Holding a black bony leg of a ‘Bite-painful-and-burns’ in a clawed midnight hand, she focused down at the ‘Fall-from-here-no-feel-good,’ while slurping up the filling ‘Gooey-yellow-slime-taste-good-enough,’ feeling pensive as she considered the noises far off in the distance.

Noisy.

So noisy.

But there was one noise she really liked.

She’d always longed to hear this particular sound, having dreamt about it even, and was surprised to discover that she liked it a lot.

The real thing was so much better.

Finally, after so long, she could hear a special sound.

The most special.

However, there were dangers here that would threaten her enjoyment of this sound.

Which was a problem.

A really big ‘Rock-too-heavy-to-lift’ kind of problem.

Parting her full gray lips more, baring her top and bottom rows of sharp pointy teeth, she crunched down on the end of the ‘Crunchy-outside-taste-better-but-hard-to-chew,’ swallowing silently as she considered what she might do.

So many things she could do.

And so many things to be concerned about.

But then she realized the obvious!

There was great fun and excitement to be found here in this moment…

And so, she would go find it!

“Time to hunt!” she cheered warmly, only for her tone to become more sinister as she tossed away the bony black limb of a ‘Bite-painful-and-burns,’ knowing it would be a long time before it hit the bottom of the ‘Fall-from-here-no-feel-good.’

“I’m coming to get you,” she promised in no uncertain terms, only to giggle with a huge pointy-toothed grin. “Tee-hee!”

* * *

After following along the Arakna’cabra webbed fortress through the enormous northern woodland, and entering into a large webbed tunnel, we unexpectedly realized we were in a Dungeon, the opening behind us having just vanished as if it was never there.

Almost at the same time, after I felt like I hallucinated a giggle, the brief silence of the massive cavernous stone tunnels was filled with the chirp of a small bird, with a brown wren unexpectedly landing on Astaer’s shoulder, nearly freaking her the fuck out, almost to the point of screaming, before she realized it was a ‘friend.’

However, the arrival of this creature finally caused my brain to start working again, my slingshot in hand, quickly getting over my shock and realizing we were right in the middle of the enemy’s territory.

An enemy that could move silently along the walls.

“Everyone back to positions,” I ordered without further hesitation. “Sylvia right, Val left, Celestine back, Astaer forward. Eliza make sure there’s nothing above us.”

Instantly, they all obeyed, my love urgently looking up, only to gasp.

“It’s like before,” she said in disbelief. “I can’t even see the top.”

“Fuck,” I hissed, realizing the implications, unsurprised when both Sylvia and Astaer looked up too to verify what she was saying.

Most Dungeons had high rocky ceilings, quite a few lit up with the soft glow of cave fungi, but never so high that it was impossible for an elf to see the top, even when completely dark. I found that out in the last few years working with my team, specifically Jackel, discovering that when Eliza and I were in that original Dungeon with Lost Souls, her not being able to see a visible top to the massive tunnels in some sections, even despite the lack of light, wasn’t normal.

However, while that hadn’t really been a bad thing when the Lost Souls mostly stalked the hallways on the ground, it would be a very bad thing when fighting a demon like this.

For, an Arakna’cabra could drop on us at almost any time.

Shit.

Astaer unexpectedly spoke up then, facing away from us as she scanned the darkness. “Everyone, this wren is the same one from before,” she said urgently. “He was still looking for more of his friends to help us, but couldn’t seem to find them. He had just been coming back to inform me.” She paused then, her tone sounding even more urgent. “He says he can leave.”

“How?” Eliza asked seriously.

The bird chirped once.

Astaer continued. “According to him, the opening to the tunnel is just behind us.” She then spoke to the bird directly. “Can you truly see it?”

The bird cocked its head, chirping again.

Grabbing my Light Crystal, my slingshot in the other hand, I activated it and turned toward Celestine who was urgently looking in every direction behind us, trying to see what just wasn’t there.

My tone was firm. “Everyone stay put. Astaer, ask him to fly out of the opening. I’m going to check the wall.”

“Allie,” Eliza said in concern.

“I’ll be fine,” I said firmly, already slipping past Celestine and walking away from the group, the wall not being more than a couple dozen paces behind us. “Please keep watch on the ceilings,” I added. “Or at least as high on the walls as you can.”

She didn’t respond, but I trusted she was doing as I asked, the wren abruptly flying over my head toward the stone wall, aiming for it as if there really wasn’t anything there.

And then…

It vanished.

It hit the wall as if it was going to smash into it, but instead just disappeared into the stone.

Fuck!

Rushing over now, I reached my hand out for the webbing-covered wall, instantly dismayed when my palm rested against the hard cold surface, instead of going through.

Maybe I just had to reach higher?

Continuing to feel along the wall, even stepping on my tiptoes, I confirmed that everywhere I touched was solid, no matter what, until finally the wren was suddenly back in the massive tunnel above my head, circling once briefly before returning to Astaer’s shoulder at the front of the group.

“My love,” Eliza then urged, requesting I return to the rest of them with that simple statement.

I did so, but stopped by Celestine this time and rested my hand on her shoulder, seeing the sincere fear in her blue eyes, my Light Crystal causing her irises to be their normal color instead of silver. The touch prompted her to glance down slightly at me, only to focus away to continue her duty to keep a watch, but I could feel the tension release some in her body.

Astaer spoke up. “He’s again confirmed that he can come and go freely.”

Eliza grimaced. “So then, what we thought was an Arakna’cabra nest must truly be a Dungeon. Perhaps this is different than the Dungeon Engulfing, and instead something else entirely. Clearly, there is some kind of barrier preventing us from leaving.”

I shook my head, knowing we both felt it.

I’d been in so many Dungeons in the last few years, and yet never did it feel like this.

Like how it felt the first time.

There was almost a weight to this Dungeon that I could sense, like the Dungeon itself had a presence.

“It’s an Engulfing,” I disagreed. “I know you can feel it too.”

She sighed heavily, her voice growing quieter. “Then perhaps this is what happened for us the first time,” she whispered. “We found an entrance that was no longer an entrance once we’d passed through.”

I nodded, agreeing that made the most sense.

Mel finally spoke up, clutching her staff-like mace tightly, her gold eyes scanning the darkness ahead of us even as she listened. “So now what?” she asked seriously.

Eliza’s tone was firm. “This changes nothing. Clearly this is still where the Flesh Collectors have been coming from, and so our overall task remains as it was. We must find their eggs and destroy them.”

Astaer chimed back in. “And how do we get out?”

“This should be like a normal Dungeon,” I replied. “Which means we just need to defeat all the Scourge Beasts and get to the final room. Although, if our enemies are mostly Arakna’cabra, then we might need to figure out a solid strategy to avoid getting overwhelmed, since they will undoubtedly seek us out, just like normal Scourge Beasts.”

Sylvia spoke up. “I can use my ice to create barriers if necessary, but making something impenetrable enough to stop an Arakna’cabra will require a lot of essence. I might only be able to create up to two or three barriers every half day.”

Eliza chimed in. “Then perhaps we will reserve that ability for when we are required to make camp.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Considering our enemy is completely silent, relying on a lookout alone won’t be good enough.”

“Wait,” Mel unexpectedly exclaimed, focusing back at me. “If this is a Dungeon Engulfing, then does that mean a lot of time will have passed when we leave?”

Eliza and I exchanged a glance, before she shook her head. “No, I believe that so much time passed for my love because he was still in the Dungeon when the exit closed. Most believe this horrible Dungeon phenomenon is the result of portals that lead to another world of some kind, but never has anyone considered the possibility that time flows differently in that world than it does here.”

“I don’t understand,” Astaer admitted. “If time flows different here, then why can Scourge Suppressors spend weeks in a Dungeon, while the same amount of time passes for everyone else?”

Eliza nodded in acknowledgement. “Because when the Dungeon is open, it is connected to our world,” she said patiently. “And so, time is the same. But when the Dungeon is conquered, and it eventually closes, time returns to what it once was. The same as the world from which it came.” She paused. “As is my current theory, at least, based on what has happened to my love. Otherwise, I do not see how he could be alive after a century, and the same age no less. Perhaps time even ceases to exist entirely.”

“Maybe,” I offered. “But we don’t have the luxury of discussing it right now. This is an S Rank Dungeon, possibly full of thousands of Flesh Collectors, and we need to figure out a solid plan to fight against more than one at a time.”

Eliza nodded. “I can restrain up to two at a time with my Lightning Chain.”

Mel tilted her staff upward slightly. “I can conserve essence if I instead fight with my scythe,” she commented, ignoring everyone’s shocked reactions, none of them having known the true nature of her artifact. “Normally, I would think it too dangerous, but if I can rely on you, Allie, to use your Stun spell with that slingshot of yours, then I’m willing to take that risk to fight up close.”

I nodded. “It lasts for two seconds, and I can use it once every ten seconds, per enemy. However, I am limited in how fast I can shoot rocks. And I also have to Imbued the spell every time, if I’m doing this from more than half a dozen paces away. Otherwise, if the enemy is close enough, then I can cast the spell without my slingshot.”

She gripped her staff firmly. “Good enough. I can cut through almost anything with my blade.”

I continued. “And since I’m not hiding it from all of you, I’ll call out when I’ve stunned the monster you’re fighting, just so you know for sure.”

Mel nodded.

Eliza chimed in. “I would like to see this ‘scythe’ you speak of, before taking this course of action, especially since you’re our only fire mage. However, assuming it is, as you say, then aim for the eyes. For, I have heard rumors that an Arakna’cabra can survive and recover even if half its body is destroyed. Cutting off legs, or even cutting into its body, will do little to defeat it.”

Mel nodded firmly. “Of course, and as far as my scythe goes…” She paused as she activated the orange ethereal blade with a quiet swoosh. “This is my true weapon.”

Needless to say, they were all sincerely stunned, with the Queen seeming almost speechless.

“A magical artifact,” she whispered.

“Yes,” Mel agreed. “A Bound weapon, as well. If you can watch my back when there are multiple enemies, and Allie can help Stun the one I’m aiming to defeat, then I feel confident we’ll be able to handle at least three at a time. Perhaps more if Sylvia can use her ice to trap any others.”

The tall blonde elf simply nodded, her icy gaze still focused toward the left after a brief glance at the ethereal blade.

I decided to get us moving. “Okay, let’s proceed then. This is just like any other Dungeon, and we are adequately prepared to conquer it.”

“Just like any other Dungeon,” Mel agreed. “Although…” She deactivated the blade and handed to Astaer the Light Crystal she’d been holding onto. “I don’t actually have night vision, even though I can see fairly well in dim light. My weapon provides some light, but it would be dangerous to fight with it alone.”

Astaer accepted it. “While in battle, I’ll keep it bright.”

“As will I,” Celestine chimed in, not having said much for a long time now. “If someone can give me one too.”

Eliza immediately proceeded to offer the one she’d been holding, the only one that had a leather strap so that it could be worn as a necklace, unwinding the strap from her wrist, as she responded. “Are we ready then?”

“I am,” Mel agreed.

“Yes,” I added, causing everyone else to at least nod.

“Then, let’s go,” Eliza encouraged, prompting Astaer to slowly begin walking to lead the group. Of course, she wouldn’t be much use in a fight against this beast, but being a tracker meant she might pick up on something small that both Eliza and Mel might have otherwise missed. It was also obvious that she was determined to be the lead, as opposed to allowing her younger sister to do it, since it was objectively the more dangerous position, assuming we didn’t miss an opening where a Flesh Collector could jump us from behind.

The bird perched on her shoulder finally flew away once she started walking, silently disappearing into the darkness, causing me to suspect that she’d sent it ahead to report any danger.

As we walked slowly deeper and deeper through the extremely high path, Eliza keeping her silver eyes mostly up as she searched the walls, I noticed quite a few actual spiders under the extremely dim light of my own Light Crystal, almost wondering if the cavern walls were actually covered partially in normal webbing, as opposed to the Arakna’cabra webs.

For this particular Scourge Beast, according to the books I’d read prior to leaving the capital, it was believed that they did use webbing to warn them of threats, but the lack of activity so far felt odd if that were true. Especially since quite a bit of the gray rocky ground was full of webs beneath our feet.

Unexpectedly, Astaer spoke up again in a low voice.

“There’s something ahead,” she whispered.

Everyone was immediately on guard, with Mel’s rosy muscular shoulders tensing as she took a few quicker steps forward to be right at Astaer’s side, ready to activate her weapon and fight at a moment’s notice. However, as we drew closer, with ‘something ahead’ being fairly far down the mostly straight path due to her sharp eyes, she finally spoke again.

“I think it’s a carcass.”

“Of what?” Eliza whispered.

Astaer hesitated briefly, before responding.

“An Arakna’cabra.”

My eye’s widened in alarm, wondering if another group had somehow found their way in this Dungeon, with Eliza giving me a concerned glance, her thin black eyebrows high. Sylvia also looked over, seeming just as surprised.

We were far enough away that it still took us almost another minute to finally be upon the slain beast, but sure enough, it was undeniably the carcass of a Flesh Collector.

Except…

It was more than just dead.

More than just slain.

The massive black body was big enough that Val almost couldn’t look over it, and yet it looked to be eviscerated.

It was lying in a thick puddle of yellow fluid, with the front looking fairly normal while the back end was smashed open like a broken glass bottle, the black rock-hard carapace fractured in spots, all its innards discarded along the Dungeon floor…

No sign of its legs.

All eight of its legs were missing, looking torn right off the body.

Eliza was the first one to finally speak after we all stared at it in disbelief. “A person couldn’t have done this,” she whispered.

“W-What then?” Mel stammered, her gold eyes wide as she scanned the carcass. “Another one? Another Arakna’cabra?”

“Perhaps,” Eliza replied quietly, finally focusing back at me, as if silently asking my opinion.

I simply shook my head, indicating I had no more idea than anyone else, but then voiced my thoughts. “If they’re killing each other, it might mean there are already too many compared to the number of prey to feed on.”

Mel frowned. “But we haven’t come across a live one yet. Not even the one that attacked that boy.”

Eliza nodded. “Yes, but since this is a Dungeon, rather than a massive nest, as we initially thought, perhaps there are fewer than I assumed. Maybe a dozen at most, instead of hundreds or thousands.”

Mel’s eyes widened. “Oh, that makes sense.”

Sylvia finally chimed in, her tone skeptical. “We can only hope. Either way, I think we should press onward.”

Eliza nodded, glancing over at her blonde companion. “Agreed. Let us carefully move around this obstacle, and–”

Unexpectedly, an unnerving giggle came from behind me, prompting me to spin around at record speed, almost hitting Celestine in the back of the head as I raised my Light Crystal and brightened it to its full luminosity – a sharp contrast to how dim it had been before.

‘Hehe.’

Instantly, Mel activated her scythe, Eliza held out both hands with Catalyst Bracelets on each wrist, and Celestine fell back behind me, trembling as she drew her bow despite the fact that it wouldn’t help, notching an arrow anyway, with everyone now facing behind us, except for Astaer who was as tense as a board as she stared ahead.

And then, it was silent.

Completely silent.

For several long minutes, as we all listened.

“Allie,” Eliza finally whispered when nothing happened. “What is it?”

I focused back on her in shock. “What?” I said in surprise. “You didn’t hear that?”

“Hear what?” she asked in concern.

My eyes widened in disbelief, sincerely being unable to believe what she was implying.

Because they were elves!

They had better hearing than me!

“It sounded like someone laughed,” I finally admitted.

Eliza and Sylvia exchanged a glance, with the blonde shaking her head, prompting the Queen to finally lower her hands.

“Wait,” I said seriously, looking at Val standing next to Celestine behind me, her purple eyes appearing concerned. “Did no one else hear that?”

Val shook her head, and Astaer spoke up, still facing ahead.

“I…I didn’t hear anything,” she admitted.

Celestine shook her head as well, her blue eyes still wide.

“Fuck,” I hissed. “It sounded so real. I would have sworn on my life that it was real.”

No one responded, not even Eliza, and I knew exactly why.

None of my companions wanted to openly suggest that I was hallucinating, because even saying something like ‘maybe you’re just stressed,’ would imply they didn’t believe me – kind of a harsh statement, especially when I was the most used to Dungeon diving compared to everyone else in the group.

Which meant, I just needed to get us moving.

“Sorry for the false alarm. Let’s find their nest and light it up.”

“Let’s,” Eliza agreed, all of us beginning to move around the carcass finally and head deeper within.

Placing my now dim Light Crystal in my right hand while also holding on to my slingshot with the same fingers, I got a pebble ready with my left. Under normal circumstances, I would have a firm grip on the slingshot and instead hold a rock between my fingers in the same hand as the Light Crystal, since I rarely had to use my spells in a fight when I had Turg, Dagru, and Shel on my team, and didn’t need to worry about grabbing another pebble quickly.

Always, in the past, I had plenty of time.

But I realized I should prioritize being ready to shoot as many small rocks as fast as possible, especially since we might encounter more than one Arakna’cabra at the same time. Seemed obvious in hindsight, but with Eliza being able to restrain two beasts on her own, and with me having so much experience in fights where I had plenty of time to ready my next shot, trying to be efficient to this extreme hadn’t been something that crossed my mind.

Because it had never been necessary.

As we walked further along the already wide path, the walls began very gradually growing further and further apart, until it started feeling like we were in the middle of an enormous room, even though it was clear this was still technically a tunnel.

However, it was just as I was about to suggest maybe we move closer to one of the walls, that I heard a youthful voice this time.

The tone urgent.

‘Above you!’

“Attack above!” I shouted without thinking.

Without hesitation, both Eliza and Mel cast spells toward the ceiling, illuminating everything around us as they did so.

“Lightning Bolt!”

“Fireball!”

A twin pair of literal strikes of lightning and dozens of balls of flames instantly shot upward, suddenly revealing nine massive Arakna’cabra rapidly descending from the unseen ceiling on their white threads, the magical attacks striking only a third of them out of sheer luck, due to how clustered together they were.

The entire room filled with the earsplitting shriek of three of the Flesh Collectors as they were struck, falling the rest of the way to the ground with a booming crack, followed immediately by the ear shattering echo of the thunder from Eliza’s attack, even as one of the other black spiders began falling directly on top of our group.

Without thought, I dove away and began rolling, stunning it in the process due to the proximity, even as the whole room was suddenly filled with an intense light unlike none other, as if suddenly the sun had broken through the rocky surface up above.

“Barrage!” Val’s voice called out.

I focused up just in time to see six vibrant blue arrows of light, coming from different directions, smashing into the midnight demons with such force that two were shot into the far wall like massive boulders, while four were struck straight down into the ground from arrows descending above, the impacts so violent that I could hear their carapaces crack from the collisions with the stone.

I then shifted my gaze in shock to witness as a tan hand reached up to grip a seventh arrow out of the air, a pair of vibrant purple eyes glowing in the now dimming light, a plume of hot steam escaping from her mouth as she breathed out, only for her to finally give her attention to the unused projectile.

Seeing that the fight was over, just like that, Val opened her mouth and tilted her head back, shoving the crackling blue shaft straight down her throat, her purple eyes increasing in their glow briefly as she stared upward, before they dimmed altogether, the light vanishing entirely.

And then, suddenly it was nearly pitch black, only one Light Crystal dimly illuminated.

And just like that, a fight to the death against nine Arakna’cabra…

Was over.

Val spoke up then, her tone timid and concerned. “Is…Is anyone hurt?”

“Oh my God,” Mel finally exclaimed, having fallen to the ground as well, while trying to get away from the demon that dropped right on top of us, not even having had time to get to her feet yet. “Oh my God, Val.”

Val’s tan face flushed. “Umm…is…everyone okay?”

Eliza finally stood up from one knee. “Valshia,” she said in disbelief. “Why have you hidden this strength from us?”

“What?” Val said in alarm. “No, no, no. I wasn’t trying to hide anything. I just figured you had it under control. And, umm, I used up a third of my essence just now.” She grimaced then. “I have very slow essence regeneration, so I need to be careful. But, umm, kind of seemed like a good time to attack. Oh, but I can recover if I eat an Essence Crystal! But I probably shouldn’t, since we might need them later.”

“Eat an Essence Crystal?” Eliza said in surprise.

Val looked even more embarrassed. “Umm, yes. I don’t have the Essence Extraction skill. Only, umm, Iron Stomach.”

Shocked by that, I focused on her abilities again, realizing I hadn’t even considered that she was missing that very standard skill…

And realizing that Iron Stomach must serve a unique purpose for her…aside from being able to eat almost anything and digest it…

----------------------------------------

Valshia Kumrahg

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ABILITIES

Skills: Determination, Sharp Eye, Perfect Aim, Critical Bullseye, Rapid Fire, Iron Stomach, Ranged Weapon Proficiency

Spells: Essence Bow, Essence Arrow, Barrage, Tempest

----------------------------------------

After creating seven projectiles, Val had an unused arrow, and so she recovered most of the essence used to create it, by eating it.

Still, that didn’t explain what we just witnessed.

An Essence Arrow should be potent, but not that powerful.

Holy fuck, not that powerful.

As I finally began sitting up, I focused on her Barrage spell, knowing I should be able to see its information now after seeing that insane display of raw power.

----------------------------------------

SPELL: Barrage

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DESCRIPTION

Level: 3/5

Element: Light/Electric (Hybrid)

Cost: 6 Essence per Arrow (Inherited)

Effect: Manifest up to 7 Arrows and strike down nearby enemies. Small chance to inflict Essence Poisoning. Small chance to inflict Paralysis.

Attack: 8,000 (Piercing) per Arrow

Cast Time: Instant

Use Time: 10 seconds

Cooldown: 30 seconds

Limitation: None (Intelligence: 19)

----------------------------------------

“Holy shit,” I exclaimed, as I finally stood to my feet.

“What’s wrong?” Val said in concern, since I was focused in her direction.

“It’s dual element.”

“What?” Val said in surprise.

“Truly?” Eliza immediately added in disbelief.

“Yeah, it’s Light and Electric. And holy shit, is it strong.”

Everyone focused on Val with various levels of awe and shock.

Still just stunned myself, I tried to divine her actual Essence Arrow spell, knowing this Barrage spell would have cost her 42 essence with seven arrows, but wanting to get more information about the arrows themselves.

----------------------------------------

SPELL: Essence Arrow

----------------------------------------

DESCRIPTION

Level: 5/5

Element: Light/Electric (Hybrid)

Cost: 6 Essence

Effect: Manifest an arrow of light and lightning to strike down enemies. Small chance to inflict Essence Poisoning. Small chance to inflict Paralysis.

Attack: 8,000 (Piercing)

Cast Time: Instant

Use Time: 10 seconds

Cooldown: None

Limitation: None (Intelligence: 19)

----------------------------------------

Fuck.

A standard sword was only a 200 Attack bonus.

200 Attack!

This was 8,000 Attack!

Of Piercing damage!

Holy fuck!

Even a normal Essence Arrow might only do 1,000 Attack! Maybe 2,000 Attack at most! And that was already extremely powerful!

But really, what was so ridiculously crazy about this Barrage Spell was the fact that she took out six enemies before any of the rest of us even had time to react!

Val spoke up again hesitantly. “Umm, so, is everyone okay then?”

Bending down to pick up my dropped Light Crystal, my slingshot still firmly in my grasp, I focused on Celestine as she walked over to me, with her simply nodding, as Astaer and Sylvia also voiced verbally that they were fine, the seven of us regrouping closer to where Val had ended up.

Eliza spoke up then, scanning the carcasses for any signs of life with her silver eyes. “Okay, everyone back to positions.”

Pretty much everyone was already, but Val made sure to focus to the right to ensure she was doing her part. Astaer also angled more toward our front to keep an eye toward the direction we’d been heading.

Eliza then turned her attention to me. “Love, how did you know?”

“What?” I said in surprise.

“How did you know we were about to be attacked? I was looking up myself, and didn’t see them prior to you saying something. They were still too high.”

My eyes widened in surprise, only to realize the reason why.

“A voice warned me,” I said in disbelief, struggling to believe my own words.

Mel’s gold eyes widened in alarm, and pretty much everyone else glanced at me briefly.

“The same as the laugh?” Eliza asked seriously, sounding stunned.

“I don’t know,” I admitted honestly. “This voice sounded a little older, but still kind of young. I mean, it’s hard to know, based only on a laugh, how old someone sounds. Or even what their normal voice might sound like, in general.”

She simply nodded, still seeming shocked, only to give me an apologetic look. “My love, please forgive me for being uncertain earlier.”

“No, it’s fine,” I said seriously. “You have better hearing than me, so I was even doubting myself. But then, did you truly not hear that warning?”

She shook her head, Astaer chiming in. “I didn’t hear anything.”

“Me either,” Mel agreed.

I shook my head. “Fuck, this doesn’t make any sense.”

“Perhaps not,” Eliza agreed. “However, this voice just saved our lives. Or at least prevented some severe injuries. I do not think it wise to blindly trust an unknown informant, but if you are warned again, please be sure to take heed, and warn the rest of us too.”

“I will,” I said reassuringly. “Honestly, the warning felt so urgent that I didn’t even question it. Didn’t even consider hesitating…” My voice trailed off as I heard that giggle again, this time coming from in front of us, sounding as if it was far in the distance.

‘Tee-hee.’

I frowned as I focused in that direction.

“Allie?” Eliza said in concern.

I sighed. “The laugh again. And you didn’t hear it, did you?”

Eliza and Mel both focused ahead of us, before they shook their heads.

Dammit.

I grimaced. “Okay, well let’s move closer to the wall, and be ready to attack ‘up,’ more so than any other direction.”

“I can’t see up very far,” Mel admitted. “It’s too dark.”

“That’s fine,” Eliza replied. “You were quick to attack before. I’ll be sure to let you know if I see something. Honestly, we probably would have been fine, even without the warning, if not for there being so many Flesh Collectors at once.”

Mel simply nodded, and we all began moving as a group more toward the wall, continuing on down the massive path. Normally, the biggest reason to stroll down the middle of a Dungeon tunnel would be to ensure an alternative path wasn’t missed, but in this case, the tunnel had become so wide that it was practically like being in an enormous never-ending room.

I knew we were getting close to something though, because even I could see a dim green light off in the distance, making it clear that the tunnel narrowed quite a bit, the glow likely coming from bioluminescent fungi. And sure enough, as we continued to tread quietly for another handful of minutes, everyone seeming fully determined again after the surprise attack, we entered a space that visibly widened like a room, the whole area full of glowing mushrooms and algae, revealing what was objectively a breathtaking sight.

And also revealing that there didn’t appear to be any enemies here either, since even the top of the ceiling was visible in this makeshift room.

Astaer pointed to our left then. “I see some more webs over there,” she whispered.

Beginning to head in that direction, I could see what she was talking about, there being a patch of wall that was white, almost looking like…

Like there might be something beyond the webs.

As if it was covering an exit.

Eliza spoke up then. “Melantha, would you please do the honors?”

“Yep,” she agreed, taking the lead and pointing her black metal staff. “Fireball.”

Over a dozen shots of flames hit the webbing, immediately beginning to eat it away from the contact, slicing through the thick threads like a hot knife through butter, though of course the webs themselves didn’t actually catch fire.

“Fireball,” Mel repeated, shooting out another dozen, eating even deeper into the hidden tunnel, until another cavernous space was revealed beyond.

Carefully stepping through the much more narrow passageway, we all cautiously readied ourselves for an impending attack, only…

For none to come.

Nevertheless, Mel and Astaer still stopped at the entrance to the next room, their eyes wide in disbelief.

For, in the next cavernous space, was exactly what we’d been seeking out.

Thousands-upon-thousands of Arakna’cabra eggs, each one semi-translucent and as large as my head, the growing spider-demons visible in the thick fluid.

Or rather, the thick flammable fluid.

Eliza barely even hesitated once she laid eyes on the sight. “Time to use your new spell, my dear Melantha.” Her tone became even more hard. “Burn them all.”

Mel sounded almost sinister. “With pleasure,” she replied, pointing her staff toward the largest clusters of eggs nearby. “Flame Eruption.”

Unfortunately, the moment she did so, everything immediately went to shit, and what should have been a simple task almost instantly turned into a living nightmare.

FEEDBACK: What did you think of this chapter? Also:

1) Why do you think of the creature being described? 

2) Were you surprised by how powerful Val is? Or rather, did you feel the surprise of the other characters?

3) Any other thoughts?

Also, please rate this chapter.

1) It's okay,

2) Really like it a lot,

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4) I am so obsessed with this story, and can't get enough.

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