Chapter 11: Back at the Mines

"I will stand out of your way, and I shall not involve myself unless I deem it absolutely necessary." As soon as we've reached the mines, our new partner, Isha, quickly clarifies her involvement.

"Why would you do that, Isha?" I don't even know if she can fight. Actually, truth be told, I bet she can kill all of us in a moment if she wanted to. There must be a reason for her to be one of the trainers.

"For once, you need the experience the battles will provide, both literally speaking and figuratively. If I help you, you will learn less and earn less. And then, there is also the matter of keeping my powers hidden. We don't know what we will find. I can't reveal myself nor my card, should they one day attack."

"Well, I guess you are right… Then we will use the same strategy as yesterday. Dorian explores ahead and takes an assassin role during battles. Rand tanks. Lillia off-tank and damage dealer. Mike DPS. I'll be in charge of keeping you all alive." I individually look at them as I say their names and functions.

We take the exact same route, straight until we find the fork. Stange, the corpses are still here. One thing is the game not removing them; that's actually good. But why would the other kobolds not recover them? Has nobody bothered to check with them? This might play to our advantage; perhaps they don't know we have already been here.

We continue to the left and once again stumble upon the enemies we slew—their corpses, to be exact. We make a short pause so Lillia can examine the mouse. None of us finds the courage to ask her what she's looking for inside that body—an act she carries so nonchalantly, as naturally as breathing, nonother than eviscerating the mouse.

Once she is done profaning that creature's corpse, we keep on exploring the cave. The tranquility is soon perturbed by screeches coming from afar. High pitched noises that seem to penetrate through my ear. So strident that they might induce a headache if listened for long enough. And the closer we get to them, the worst it gets.

There it is, the origin of the turmoil. Not far from where we are, the cave turns sharply to the right. We can't directly see the enemies yet, but their shadows are being projected on the walls.

"I can count 6 shadows; there might be more thought."

"Dorian, can you tell their weapons or something?"

"Not really. Actually, I would say they are dancing around a fire or some shit like that. We could catch them unguarded."

"Can we strike fast and clear them? Mike, that area of effect spell you used, can it take all of them at once?"

"It might if they are close enough, but if they see the magic circle or sense it, it's easy to escape."

"Okay, then we'll do this. Mike, you go in first, and as soon as you have a clear enough view of them, you start casting. Not right below them, a bit in front of them. Try not to overextend yourself. Lillia, as his spell is about to go off, you bait them to come for you. Use the torch, scream, jump, whatever it is, but get their attention. And Rand, be ready in case you have to jump in."

"Understood! Okay! Let's do it! Let's go!" Their voices, whispered to avoid exposing ourselves, overlap.

With all of them signaling they are ready, we proceed to execute the plan. Mike approaches the corner, and as soon as his head pops out of it, he begins the incantation.

Lillia, who had been following close behind, jumps right in the middle of the space and starts swinging the torch crazily.

"Come here, you disgusting rats! Do you want me? Cooome!!" Maybe a bit too early, I'd say.

At first, they don't recognize what's happening, but the allure of having fresh meat waving at them must be strong. Possessed and out of themselves, they grab whatever weapons are next to them and start running towards Lillia. Maybe even a bit too fast…

"Rand! Some of them might get out of the impact zone, be ready!"

As if the time was stopping, the remaining four seconds seem eternal. The carvings start to shine. Confusion reflects in our enemies' faces the moment energy can be felt condensing. And a massive column of fire erupts, enveloping most of the Kobolds.

Criii! One of the lucky fellows that evaded the attack starts screaming or crying, or who knows what. It alternates looking at us and at the massacre. CRIIII! The intensity and the pitch increase by the moment, making the faint sensation that I felt on my head develop into a headache. And the headache into a full-fledged and intense migraine.

[Mental Break: A mental attack that amplifies all magic damage taken by 50% for the next 30 seconds]

Fuck, does this mean they have sorcerers here? "Dorian! Be on the lookout for anything reassembling a wizard, sorcerer, mage, or whatever!" Quickly stepping aside, he disappears to carry out the orders.

There are two survivors at the front, an archer to the right end, and probably some kind of mage hidden in the back. And who knows if a mouse will sneak behind our backs.

"Rand, get the two in the front! Lillia and Mike focus down the archer. The sooner he is gone, the better!"

Notes and tones I have never heard start filling the space. Echoing through the cavern, a melody starts to sound, with words of a language far from human. And accompanying that song, as if every word carried some deep magic, darkness starts descending. As if the melody was luring out the light, the fire and our torch begin to fade.

"Are we done with the archer?"

"Almost!"

"Hurry up and regroup! Everyone, converge on Rand!"

Every second that passes, the light becomes scarcer. I don't know where Dorian is, and I can barely see Lillia. Hurry up, guys! Mike's right next to me, struggling to keep up the pace while casting.

I reach Rand's position, who is still fighting the two Kobolds, and cast a Heal on him. He could probably keep up without it, but if the situation takes a turn for the worse…

"Archer killed! Incoming!" Lillia's voice comes from somewhere I can't see anymore.

"Our health is dropping!" Just now, all of us at the same time lost 1 hp. It might not be much, but if, as I suspect, it worsens as the darkness intensifies… we are doomed. "Hurry up! Follow my voice!"

"Has anyone heard from Dorian?" I can see he is almost full hp from the party roster, but that doesn't set my mind at peace. I interpret the subsequent silence as a negative. Was he too far away to regroup?

Our life continues to drop, faster actually. What used to take three, maybe four seconds to damage us for 1 HP, has quickened to two seconds. I'll have to keep Rand alive; if the monsters go wild, we will die even sooner. What is this spell? Will something happen when we can't see anymore? Attempting to regain my composure, I breathe deeply.

"Let's try to kill these two before we lose track of them!" Without much more to offer, I start swinging my staff at them, trying to hit their head. I'm not sure if, even if I eventually hit them, I'd do any damage at all. It's just that I have to do something; I can't merely stand still.

We are up to the most frantic minutes in the game so far, I inevitably think. Not even my death right at the start can compare with the anguish and anxiety I'm feeling right now.

"Heal!" Rand is already 50% down, and we are losing about 1hp a second, a bit more to be accurate. My swings with the staff are totally useless; in fact, I have yet to hit any. More seconds pass even before I have the chance to damage them.

Fuck! 25%! Heal! We are at 5hp per second. He is being targeted continuously and suffers the most, but it is not like we are much better. Our health is below the halfway mark. I can no longer see further away than my own feet. Does this shit not affect Kobolds too?

"One down! Finally!" I can't believe they are holding so much; the other one should be almost done. We must be missing all the attacks and spells for it to still be alive.

Rand is at wit's end, throwing punches and taking damage like a madman. "Heal! There goes my last one. We might die here, but let's make sure they die too!"

Rand might not be the first to die at the end. Mike's health pool is much lower, and this constant damage is burning through him too fast. Ah fuck… we are going to die, aren't we?

And just like that, with those last thoughts in my mind, light comes to be.

"Huh? Light? We are not losing any more hp?" A corpse and its still alive friend materialize right in front of me. Lillia was here all along too? She must have found the way back at some point during the fight.

"Pheeew! That was close, eh?" Dorian's voice comes from over the far end. He shouted those words, not using any skill, for sure wanting to be heard by all of us.

"Was it you, Dorian?"

"Why don't you check your system messages?"

I skip through all of them, deciding to check them later, and go straight for the last one.

[Your party has slain a Shadow Mage]