Scott called up his status screen then scrolled to the very bottom. He looked at the option to return home, and noted its locked status. The sorcerer stared at it for a moment then closed his eyes. In truth, he had started to suspect that she was like him. She was someone from another world who came here, but could leave and return to her world of origin. Yet, even if that were the case he was still missing something.
Why did the girl suffer from surprise narcolepsy? His suspicions pointed toward her being something like him, but that bit of her personal trivia kept him from honing in on that possibility. It was possible that she was similar to him, but she definitely had some other deal going on.
He began to drift off to sleep after a few more minutes. He was very tired. His last thought before slumber overtook him was that he wished that she would confide in him. As long as she kept her secret, it would be hard for him to completely trust her. Worse, if his suspicions were close to the mark, her supposed feelings for him might be nothing more than an act, a bit of role playing. How could he trust her feelings, when they arose out of nowhere and seemed to be so complete?
“Rhea, what am I to you?” He sighed softly.
Scott had been in several relationships in his life. None of them had turned out well. Even when he thought that everything was perfect, he had been wrong. The recent break-up with Sarah was a definitive reminder of that fact.
He thought about his past relationships. Most of them had been short, shallow, things that ended after a few days. He was happy to commit to someone if they seemed worthy. Yet, his relationships had always fallen apart. In all honesty, he had begun to wonder if he was the issue.
Sarah getting drunk and cheating with her old boyfriend did not really feel like an issue he had caused, but there were other relationships. When he was in the army, he had been forced to move around and that explained a few more of his failures. Still, there were several more failed attempts at finding that happily ever after that men were not supposed to want, but he did.
His old buddies in the army used to joke that he was the toughest chick that they knew. He spent a lot of time brooding and thinking about things, and had feelings. Manly men were not supposed to have feelings unless those feelings were based around anger, food, or sex. Of course, a lot of his so-called buddies were no older than what he looked like now. A few of them began to reflect more as they grew older, but by then they had all moved on and lived in different places.
Scott thought about his past, and the potential paths that his future might take. He could not know what Rhea truly thought of him. Worse, he could not truly trust her outside of fighting by her side. She would not tell him what her elf-stuff entailed.
Secrets were the last thing that he would be able to tolerate in a potential romantic relationship. That sort of thing had ended his last long-term union and he refused to enter into a romantic liaison with someone if they could not be straight with him. At least, he earnestly hoped that he would not be so foolish in the future.
Chapter 6: Sweet Deal!
It was time; Scott had readied himself as best he could. Though, he was uncertain of how ready he could really be in this situation. He was about to do something extremely stupid. The former soldier took a deep breath then took out several of his remaining torch stones. He would only hunt here one more time before going to town to sell off his loot and resupply. It was time to see what his stupidity could provide.
He activated the stones and the area brightened considerably. After the torches were lit, he ran forward and released his pent up breath in a loud battle cry. His shout echoed through the mine. Nothing happened at first, so he shouted once more.
Scott frowned. It seemed that his tactic did not work. Still, he chose not to give up on it so quickly. The sorcerer continued to run. Every so often, he shouted. After he had entered a deeper portion of the mine, the deepest area that he and Rhea had entered before, something changed. When he shouted the music changed!
<<< * >>>
Your loud and aggressive presence over the last few minutes has become intolerable to the denizens of the mine. The mine dwellers have become agitated and will mass together to attack you.
<<< * >>>
Scott blinked. He had not expected a message window. He had just wanted to see if making a lot of noise would attract more monsters. He had mostly just walked around quietly before, and the number of monsters available to fight had been limited. That was one of the differences between how he had been hunting, and how he had hunted with Rhea. When they hunted together, they chatted and made a lot of noise.
Scott’s eyes widened when he heard the loud chitter of cave rats, the clatter of goblin boots, and the sounds of cave bats shrieking in the darkness ahead. It would not be long before the first monsters arrived. He immediately realized that his tactic had worked beyond his wildest dreams. However, he had gone beyond stupid and headed full-speed into suicidal territory. The sorcerer briefly observed the area then shook his head. This was no good. He needed a place where he could limit their numbers and effective attack range.
He turned and ran back the way he came. While he ran, he considered his options. One place in particular came to mind. If he took the battle to that place, he might have a chance.
One of the larger open sections of the mine had been used as a sort of office area. His party had discovered it during the final hunt that they had gone on together. When he arrived, he heard the background music change into a song that he liked to call ‘The Pursuit.’ It was similar to the percussion based music that had played during the last spider battle, but it had a hungrier and more aggressive tone. The brass horns mixed with the drums gave it an extra deadly flair.
The sorcerer spied the place that he needed to reach, the office. It was erected on top of a rock ledge that was high off of the ground. Only a narrow series of ramps and platforms connected it to the mine floor below.
The background music rose steadily in volume as he ran, and soon it became an all-consuming assault on the senses. He reached the ramp just in time. Six cave rats entered the large cavern area. They were not the only ones to join the coming event, however. Goblins, spiders, bats, even a few of the rarely seen slimes in this cave began to pour out of the various entrances to the area.
Scott tried not to crap his pants, but he was not completely successful. There had to be dozens, perhaps over a hundred monsters to deal with! He had hoped for a small swarm, but this was well-beyond what he could have dealt with on open ground.
The horde raced toward him, shrieks and shouts were their battle cries. The ramp was only large enough for a single person to walk up at a time, and it was designed with three connecting platforms. So, really there were three ramps each at a roughly ninety-degree angle. If seen from above the ramp system would look something like a lightning bolt.
Scott moved to stand at the second platform and chose to wait for the army of monsters to come. It did not take long. The cave bats arrived first. The shrieking creatures were black and brown monstrosities about the size of a bowling ball. They were not particularly strong, but they were fast and they could fly.
Two of the creatures swooped in for a quick diving attack but were easily dealt with by swift strikes to their critical areas, their wings. It was a tactic that had served well throughout gaming history. If a fast flying monster attacked you, such as these bats, do not try to land a killing strike. Aim for the wings. If you damage them enough to prevent the monster from being able to fly, they will usually be a lot easier to deal with.
The bats were no different. They were the weakest monster in the mine once you took away their speed. One bat fell to the platform with a shriek, while the other fluttered around erratically. It was not able to fly properly and eventually settled down on the platform rail.
More bats came, but they were only an issue for a brief moment. Of course, the time spent dealing with them had still come at a price. The rats and goblins reached the first platform then began to run up the ramp
toward him.
Scott rolled under a diving bat then came to a stop with his right palm pressed forward and down toward the oncoming horde. “Burn!”
A tiny burning dart of mana erupted shot from his palm and impacted on the lead goblin before unleashing a loud and fiery explosion. It was knocked back by the blast and took the monsters behind it down with it due to the steepness of the ramp.
Another bat attempted to take him for its meal, but he leapt into the air and performed a spinning kick that neatly sliced off one of its wings. The creatures were annoying and took up precious time. However, he managed to fire another explosive dart of magic down the ramp after he handed. This time he was able to catch several of the monsters in the blast zone.
He ran half-way down the ramp and fired off two fiery attacks before returning to his position. The last two impacted directly in the central area of the platform and caught many of the massed monsters in the blast radius. Several of them went up in flames then started to scream and run around. The burning effect was contagious in its own way and whenever one of the burning monsters, especially the rats, was near another monster for more than a second it would catch fire as well.
Scott stomped on the weakly crawling bats that he had cut out of the skies before then turned to see that the fire was starting to die down. Several members of the horde were dead, but more had taken their place. It also seemed like more monsters were entering the area. That was not a good sign. He had already expended one-fourth of his mana.
A hissing sound from his left indicated the thing that he had feared most had come to pass. The sticky string of web material shot toward him. He barely had time to react to it and knew that it would hit. However, his foreknowledge was flawed. Just as the spider began to shoot its webbing a bat swooped in to try and make an attack. The spider ended up webbing the bat instead!
The spider made a strange clicking growl sort of noise then looked between Scott and the bat. The sorcerer’s eyes widened when he realized what it was doing. The spider was trying to decide what it wanted to eat! Scott snatched up the bat by one of its feet then tossed it toward the spider. The hellish monstrosity chittered then jumped toward it. Thankfully, it did not catch it until it had moved beyond the rail. The spider had its meal, but it also plummeted toward the ground.
Scott fired off two more burn spells toward the mass of monsters that were trying to climb the ramp. Then he ran over to the downed bats. He snatched them up and threw them off the platform into the closest pocket of spiders. There were only a handful of the annoying eight-legged freaks, but the bats kept them busy.
He was surprised and excited to see that something else happened as well. The remaining bats heard the cries of their brethren. They turned on the spiders and began to attack them! The spiders were much stronger, but the bats had greater numbers.
Two of his most annoying foes were out of the picture for the moment. He returned to the rats and goblins. His mana was running low, so he opted to drink one of his tonics then focus on physical attacks. While his mana regenerated to a minor degree, he manned the entrance to the second platform.
A badly burned goblin struck out at him with its rusty machete, but he turned it aside and delivered a hard kick that knocked it back. It did not produce the same force as the explosive magical attack, but it did give him a little room. He continued his evade and kick tactic for several minutes before he was forced back by the sudden arrival of a creature that he had nearly forgotten about.
The slime did not do much damage when it wrapped around his leg but it did surprise him. The goblin that he was going to force back, took the chance presented and launched forward in a full-body tackle. Scott was knocked back and to the ground.
He bashed at the ugly bastard with everything he had and killed it quickly, but the real damage was done. Several rats and a goblin had made it to the next plat form. He fought them for a moment, kicking and punching for all he was worth. However, the momentum of the battle had changed. He was the one being forced back with every movement. Soon he was unable to hold position.
Scott fired off four consecutive freeze spells in order to slow the progress of the monsters, draining a large chunk of his remaining mana in the process. After the final freezing burst, he raced for the next ramp. Unfortunately, the strength of his freeze spell was such that it could do over one hundred points of damage if it hit for the maximum amount. His rapid-fire attacks had not slowed the monsters; they had outright killed over twenty of them.
Killing twenty monsters so quickly should have brought about an amazing feeling of pride and completion. However, monsters dissipated into the ether when they died. Scott had done nothing more than free up space for the hungry bastards behind the unfortunate creatures who had faced his power.
The tonic had only restored a small portion of his health and magical energy. He had recovered his mana to about the halfway point, but the Fairy’s Cure had run its course. He had two more doses, but he had to use them sparingly. He had no time to drink another at the moment, anyway.
Three goblins attacked at once. Scott managed to maneuver around the strikes but not cleanly. He took a hard hit to his left thigh that caused his knee to buckle. The temporary imbalance in his stance left him open for a flying tackle from an oncoming rat.
He was knocked to the ground, hard, and immediately received several powerful strikes to the legs and face that whittled away his health. Scott’s defense was a bit high for his level, but with so many attacks coming at once his hit points were being lost at a rapid pace.
He struggled with the oversized rodent, but he was unable to find any leverage. Out of physical options he used one of his little used spells. “Flash!”
The rat screeched in pain as lightning arced through its body. It was stunned long enough for Scott to wrestle his way free. There was no chance to catch his breath, however. His new found freedom from combat did not last long.
A hard leather-clad fist raced toward his face. He was rocked by the surprising power of the blow, and it took a second to properly right himself. It was a second too long. Skinny arms embraced him in a bear hug and held him tight. The goblin’s ugly brethren now had the chance to strike without impediment.
Scott was hit over a dozen times before he managed to twist and struggle his way free of the hold. His health was close to the critical stage now and there was no end to this battle in sight. For the first time, he had come upon a situation in his life that made him feel as though death was the only possible outcome. Even Gnarl Tooth, the Black Grass Rat Overlord, had not given him this sort of impression. He had made a serious miscalculation when he had run through the mine screaming.
There was no choice. He needed breathing room if he planned to stay alive. Scott called out, “Freeze!”
He only used the spell once this time, but several of the goblins and one rat still died from the power of his spell. Thankfully, the ones that had not died did slow down quite a bit.
His body felt sluggish, but he struggled past the pain and growing exhaustion. He hopped backward and moved toward the ramp as fast as he could go. He took a hard strike to his unprotected back in the process, but he reached the position that he desired.
Another freeze spell was unleashed in order to clog up the narrow entrance way with half-frozen bodies. While the horde attempted to crawl over their frozen compatriots Scott climbed the ramp and headed for the third platform, the one that contained the actual mine office.
The burn spell was employed to knock back a rat that came leaping after him. Luckily it caught fire and spread its burning love to the rest of the nearby rats. Soon rat and goblin alike were burning while running around screaming in agony. Scott took the chance to take out another Fairy’s Cure tonic and gulp it down. They did not heal much, but they cured many ailments and restored by a little health and mana over a short period of time.
He returned to his previous tactics of evade and attack to keep the monsters pressed back along the ramp. He was thankf
ul that they were quite stupid. If they had a reasonable capacity to plan, he would already be dead.
Over time his health rose back to around the halfway point while his mana returned to about one-third full. He did not have much time to survey the battleground between attacks, but it looked like monsters were still trickling in to the area a few at the time. He did notice that the newcomers seemed to arrive in fewer numbers per incoming wave than they had before. It was possible that he was emptying out the entire mine right now.
The only time that he used a spell now was whenever a random slime popped up on his ramp. There seemed to be no more bats or spiders to deal with. Either they had grown bored of the battle or they had destroyed each other. Either way, good riddance!
Time passed. He was forced to use his freeze spell five times due to the influx of slimes. He had opted for using it due to his low mana, and the overall range of its status afflicting power. Scott knew that he would not be able to hold here much longer. Yet, where would he go? He was backed into a corner now.
He kicked, punched, and shoulder blocked his enemies away due to the narrow confines of the ramp and his greater combat skill. Yet, his death was inevitable if he was forced to continue in this manner. What he needed was more breathing room. He had done incredibly well up until this point if you considered the sheer number of opponents that he had faced. He had taken the high ground and forced his opponents to fight in a location of his choosing. It was a location choice that eliminated the greatest strength of the monster horde, their numbers. Still, he was but one man, one exhausted man. His body ached in places that he had not known to exist. He believed that even his hair hurt at this point. His limbs shook and his mind had lost some of its sharpness. He was losing his coherence of thought, and his strength was dwindling away.
Origin ARS (Origin A.R.S. Book 2) Page 8
