abcnovels
Chapter 41: Leave or Stay?
Chapter 41: Leave or Stay?
Chapter 41: Leave or Stay?
The beast pounced forward once more. Instead of relying on its tail to do damage, it relied on its bloodlust to charge forward. Astrid controlled the needles from her waist and fired them forward. The black needles lodged in its face and shoulders. She wasn’t expecting it, but the beast crashed to the ground with its legs twitching.
Leena bolted forward as her lance penetrated the underside of the chimaera’s un-protected throat. Blood pooled as the monster lost all of its strength. With a final breath, its eyes glazed over.
The other Wayfarers were far faster in dealing with their monster, as new creatures replaced them by the dozens. They backed themselves to the wall. Daniel and Brett moved like phantoms on the battle-field. They weren’t trying to kill anything; instead, they used as little energy as possible to injure them, to impede their movements.
Lisa, Astrid, and Rachelle bombarded the slowed beasts. Many failed to make it to their feet. Any of the stronger beasts that approached them were met with an iron wall of Rob, Losef, and Leena.
Wet trickles began sliding down past Astrid’s forehead as they licked her cheek. Using so much mana on [Crash] was taking its toll. Rob slammed his shield on the ground, sending cracks in the sand as they withered their way towards the chimaera. When they reached, it forced the beast to halt.
Astrid corralled the matter towards the beast's eyes and [Crashed] it. Two miniature explosions rang out as the beast roared in pain. It attempted to pry open its eyes, but only two mangled eyeballs were left. An arrow tore through the air. With a wet thud, the monster collapsed to the sand floor.
With the silence that the dead chimaera’s brought, Astrid downed a mana potion as she felt her mana container become invigorated once more. The ground rumbled as the holes in the sandy ground closed shut.
“Aw, was that it?” Brett laughed as he wiped the blood off his daggers.
Then the ground rumbled again. But this time it was violent. Astrid could feel the shaking of the floor as it shot up her feet and rattled against her spine. Slowly, the sand sank in the middle of the floor. An enormous red heart flashed into existence. It looked like a glazing fire had engulfed it entirely as the host slowly emerged from the hole in the middle of the sandpit.
Two-large spiralled horns were the first thing Astrid saw, then its head. It was encased within a form-fitting armoured helmet, and the same for its hulking torso. However, it was the lower half that stunned Astrid. The horned-armoured knight had four legs, the monster’s main body travelled back. It raised its hooves and stomped onto the sand, sending it sputtering around the surrounding area. With a huff, vapour left its mouth like a steam engine back home.
Level ??? - Centaur Sentinel -
Astrid could feel the weight of the monster’s aura. It was strong. It was the same feeling whenever she was in front of the elder guards of the family. She instinctively knew that it wasn’t something she could face alone. But, she gazed at her team. They were ready for a fight. With nowhere to run, it would be a fight to the death.
Astrid’s lips curled up into a grin, her heart began surging.
The centaur, with its huge two-handed axe in hand, raked its hooves across the sand. It squeezed a cracking human roar out of its throat as Astrid clutched at her eardrums. With a resounding thud, it shot towards them like an oversized raging bull.
Rob matched the monster's roar as he securely held his shield to the front. The centaur approached.
“The moment Rob blocks the charge, we go on full offensive. Use everything you’ve got!” Daniel shouted as everyone nodded in acknowledgement.
Astrid instinctively knew that there was no way in hell she could damage the rampaging armoured man-horse. Instead, she focused on applying her Mind Barrier to Rob’s shield. If only to help a little. She peered at the incoming centaur, each thud of its hoof sent a shockwave through her body.
The centaur swept back its war-axe and cleaved it straight at Rob. It didn’t dodge to the side, or flank. It was bred for war on the battlefield, to kill hundreds of enemies with a single swipe of its axe. The oversized weapon clanged against Rob’s tower shield with a resounding clatter. Astrid’s barrier shattered like a sheet of glass shot by a cannonball. She felt her mana drain as it sent Rob hurtling through the air.
“Now!” Daniel shouted as the Wayfarers instantly used their strongest attacks.
Astrid could feel the air pulled out of her lungs as the energy within the room swirled like a typhoon. Lisa’s long hair was tussling around in the chaotic wind. A sharpness swelled around the tip of her arrow as she let it go. Rachelle’s ball of fire was spiralling out of control, threatening to explode within her palm. At the same time, the melee users dashed forwards at blinding speed.
With a cacophony of booms, they struck the wrathful centaur backwards. They gouged holes, red liquid seeping out of its massive body. The evidence of arrows was undetectable, as they seemed to have penetrated far within the monsters' body. Daniel blurred past the cloud-like sand. With his iris flashing with multiple distinct lines, his curved blade sliced through the heavily armoured throat like a knife through softened butter.
The centaur's head crashed down onto the floor, crunching against the blood tainted sand.
The Wayfarers chests violently rose and fell from having used a tremendous amount of energy or mana. Daniel quickly rubbed away a tear of blood that fell from his marked eye.
That powerful skill must use a lot of energy. Astrid thought to herself.
Rachelle rushed over to Rob as she began healing him with haste. Blood crawled out of his mouth as it spilled down onto the front of his breastplate. Despite his enormous frame and high constitution, he groaned in pain. His arm lay at an awkward angle.
Rachelle grabbed hold of it and yanked it, but it failed. She didn’t have the strength. Quickly calling over Losef, she walked him through the procedure. He grabbed hold of Rob’s arm and pulled, then twisted it as it cracked back into position.
“Mmm.” Rob faintly smiled.
System messages flooded Astrid’s mind, but she waited. The last thing she wanted was for something to pop out of the hole in the middle of the floor and attack her when she wasn’t expecting it. She gazed at Daniel and the others. They were doing the same. Their eyes peeled at the hole.
“I take it that’s the way forward?” Losef said.
“Looks like it.” Daniel nodded.
“Daniel, we should consider heading back.” Lisa looked over at Rob, and the cuts and lashes on everyone else's skin.
“We’ll be fine. The moment we come up against something we can’t face–we’ll run.” Daniel said.
“And what if we can’t run away from it? Like the walls from before that closed.” Lisa frowned. “I know you want to discover the secrets of this place. We all do. But there’s nothing we can do if we die here.”
Daniel sunk into his own thoughts as the arena turned silent.
“It’s up to you Daniel, if you really think we can handle something stronger than that monster, we’ll join you.” Rachelle said.
After remaining quiet for a while, he said. “Alright, we’ll travel to the next room. After that, we’ll head back, as they’ll be too strong for us.” Daniel balled his hands into fists.
Astrid nodded in approval. She wanted to face all the monsters and level, but she knew when it was time to stop. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to get hurt. She gazed at her team.
“Enter your Systems, after that we move.” Daniel said.
Astrid sunk her mind into the system. A wall of text barraged her.
You defeated a - Demonic Chimaera - level 76!
You defeated a - Demonic Chimaera - level 77!
You defeated a - Centaur Sentinel - level 126!
Extra experience is awarded for defeating an enemy levels above!
Experience is reduced for fighting within a group!
Experience is reduced for having low participation!
You have levelled up!
…
Psychokinetic level 44 -> Psychokinetic level 48
Illusionist level 43 -> Illusionist level 48
Gained 45 stat points.
Skill level up!
Crash[ Stage 2 ] level 4 -> Crash[ Stage 2 ] level 5
Mind Barrier [ Stage 2 ] level 1 -> Mind Barrier [ Stage 2 ] level 3
Psychic’s Power [ Stage 2] level 3 -> Psychic’s Power [ Stage 2] level 4
Psych Domain [ Stage 2 ] level 3 -> Psych Domain [ Stage 2 ] level 4
Anti-Disabling Field level 7 -> Anti-Disabling Field level 9
Experience gained!
You now have 50 dexterity.
You now have 150 wisdom.
Milestone reached: 50 dexterity!
You have gained a general skill based on your experiences!
General Skill - Nimble mind: You have a 5% better reaction speed. [ Stage 1 ]
Better than nothing. Astrid craned her neck. The constant tension of life and death was draining her. She could feel her mind becoming increasingly weary. Shaking her head, she looked toward the hole.
“Alright, is everyone feeling better?” Daniel asked as Rob sipped on a health potion.
“Never felt better.” Brett said.
They wandered toward the sandpit; the floor tilted down like a ramp as it led into a dark passageway.
“You know, I’m tiring of tunnels.” Astrid peered down into the darkness.
“You and me both, missy.” Daniel chuckled. “Well, here goes nothing.”
He tapped on Rob’s shoulder as he trudged his way down the ramp. They all followed behind. Astrid and the others made sure not to be too close together, just in case a stray explosion or something found its way toward them. Astrid had heard the story of a close team of friends out on a Bubbled Town mission. They stood too close together, then boom. A fiery devil exploded their entire group into smithereens.
She took another step away from Rob, to be safe.
It was another twenty minutes of agonising hiking until they finally reached another room. Astrid wondered if they had travelled into a different world as the passageway opened up into an enormous sprawling room. There was a table that was fit for kings, it stretched from one end of the room or the other. A large assortment of golden cups, plates, and cutlery was organised neatly on the table. A magnificent chandelier hung from the centre of the room. On the other side of the table loomed a set of grand golden doors.
Astrid’s mouth was agape at the sight. “How the hell?”
“Woah.” Brett craned his neck, looking up at the grand ceiling.
“Shiny.” Rachelle gazed longingly at the sparkling plates and cups.
The sound of rocks grating against each other pulled everyone out of their reverie. They quickly snapped up their guards as a passageway slowly opened to their side. And then another ground opened.
Four passageways in total opened up as four different teams entered the grand dining hall. Along with it–familiar faces.