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    Kaius watched a rage of outrage and despair roll through the back ranks of the bogglings, the loss of the shaman hitting those who had seen its smoking body fall like a hammer blow.

    A blow to their morale—a small victory, but one he was unsure on how effective it would be at turning the tide in their favour. Afterall, it was still what felt like an unending tide. The rough cavern floor was a veritable mire of blood and viscera, yet still there seemed to be no end to them.

    Fortunately—though he had to admit it was strange to think of that way—the noxious gas the shaman unleashed continued to persist through its death. It stung, aggravating the lungs and eyes as it constantly tried to reinfect him with its miasma.

    Yet Rapid Adaptation fought it off handedly—a steady stream of skill levels dinging in the back of his mind every few minutes. Resisting the toxin had granted him a significant advantage, the bogglings that constantly assaulted his position were weakened and brittle—all the easier to cut his way through their formation.

    Porkchop was less lucky, moving sluggish and slow. Thankfully, his impressive Vitality still meant he was far less impacted than their opponents. Still, listening to his brother splutter and sneeze as he crushed another bugbear’s skull made him sympathetic to Porkchop’s plight.

    Three bugbears converged on him, trying to skewer him with their spears in a coordinated assault. It was a good move—hemmed as he was, the only way he could dodge would be by giving ground. Something he would not do.

    His Glass Mind pushed him towards a solution, digesting the chaotic flow of battle in moments.

    Inner fire streamed through the crystalline power of his sword, Kaius’s Stamina dropping as he tapped into a rare use of his Bladerite. Empowered by the energy of his body, the enchantments on his sword honed its edge to an impossibly fine point.

    **Ding! Initiate’s Bladerite has reached level 32!**

    The simple wooden hafts of the bugbear’s spears stood no chance, his blade cleaving clean through and leaving the trio holding little more than sticks.

    A step brought him in close, sword blurring as he cut the bugbears down where they stood.

    Three more dings sounded in his mind, more tallies for the counter.

    He didn’t get off scot free—focused as he was, a boggart had managed to slip under his guard, planting a knife in his side. Kaius winced, tensing around the rough blade as he dispatched its wielder.

    **Ding! level 53 Boggart – Primitive Fighter slain – Experience Gained! Experience Reduced due to Level Disparity.**

    It was one gash amongst many—a collection of cut flesh and cracked bone that wore away at his health with grinding regularity. He was pushing through—avoiding anything that would truly impair him, but he would fail eventually.

    It was just a question of how many they could put in the ground first.

    ….

    The bright well of satisfaction at slaying the shaman didn’t stay lit for long, the constant gnawing anxiety of their impending flight overshadowing it.

    He’d burnt too many spells against that single adversary. No matter how necessary it had been, they had no way of knowing how many more shamans were bearing down on them—nor had they seen any sign of the warchief.

    Preventing himself from unleashing fully on the bogglings was an exercise in frustration. He could have killed far more if he’d simply been willing to take a few more wounds. The rabble arrayed in front of him had plenty of openings, and it would only cost him a few scratches to take more lives. Unfortunately, even scratches would lead to death in great enough quantities

    For what felt like the thousandth time, he checked his resources—monitoring it so that he knew when it was time to leave.

    Resources:

    Health – 2489/3360 (18.4/min)

    Stamina – 1520/3230 (24.8/min)

    Mana – 4300/4300 (28.3/min)

    Free Mana – 2230/4300

    Reserved Mana – 2080

    Kaius grimaced. It wasn’t great. His mana—thanks to their protracted battle and his inability to use it without his glyph—was full. It didn’t mean much when he only had two more casts of Slip Step and sixteen of Stormlash. Stamina was low enough he’d have to be wary of using his Bladerite too—though his health was doing fine thanks to Ianmus’s efforts.

    “Sound off your resources!” he called—knowing how his team was faring was the only way they’d get through this.

    “Health’s mostly full! Mana is two thirds, Stamina is at a third!” Porkchop replied quickly, barely breaking stride as he lunged forwards to lock his jaws around an unlucky boggart’s head. He bit down with a crunch, blood gushing from his maw.

    “Mana’s down to a third—out of potions. Rest is full!” Ianmus called, voice carrying through the fading remnants of miasma that separated them.

    Wincing, Kaius looked out at the swarm that still pushed forwards in a seemingly unending wave. They were approaching the danger zone—leaving their flight until they were almost empty was a fool’s play. They needed enough stamina to keep up a healthy sprint, and enough of their other Resources to fight.

    The time was coming.

    They’d failed. Ro and the guildmaster had entrusted him with something important, and he’d fumbled it due to a lack of care.

    He’d had plenty of time to think about it during the battle, and it felt like every sweep of his sword brought another thought of what they could have done differently.

    They could have watched the plague—picking off raiding teams as they slowly whittled down the tribe. They could have brought explosives, trapped them inside the cave and starved them out. Hells, they could have poisoned their food supply—weakened them before they engaged.

    None of it had occurred to him—even knowing the numbers they’d face, he’d assumed that simple personal power would be enough to overwhelm all challenges they might face. He’d grown overconfident in his strength—his ability to cut through those weaker than him.

    “Ianmus! Ready yourself to flee!” Kaius cried, spinning to sweep aside a bugbear’s glowing club.

    “I…I can’t!” Ianmus replied, his voice haltering. There was no fear in it, no anxiety over his fate—just a simple gritty determination and conviction.

    Kaius frowned, booting a boggart back as he turned and hacked at another that was harassing Porkchop’s side.

    **Ding! Runeblade Initiate has reached class level 59!**

    **+3 End, Str, & Int, +2 Dex, Wil, +1 Vit, Free – from Class & Racial Traits!**

    Reflexively placing his spare point in Vitality like he had since level fifty-one, Kaius brooded over Ianmus’s refusal.

    What was the man thinking? They’d laid out their plans before they’d engaged—Kaius said the word, and Ianmus would leave while they covered his retreat. Every second they stayed increased the risk of them being too fatigued to escape safely.

    “Why?!” he replied, desperate to understand.

    “Mentis!” Ianmus called back, quick and desperate. “I’m on the cusp of it, I can feel it. Just a final spell, then I’ll go!”

    Kaius groaned—of course it had to happen now. Why wouldn’t it? The system itself had told them that intense battle made the revelations come quicker.

    Porkchop was less distracted by the change in plans, sending another Shardwall smashing into the bogglings front line with a growl. As the battle had progressed, they’d come less and less frequently, the ability too expensive to use consistently.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    “I can’t believe I’m going to be beaten by an elf!” he cried in mock outrage. “The Matriarchs are going to have my tail.

    Regardless of the poor timing, they’d have to make do—an Honour could be on the line, and he and Porkchop could hold out for a few more minutes.

    “Just be quick about it!” he yelled, leaping back to avoid a heavy chop of a boggart’s axe.

    “I will, just be ready! I’ve been working on something—I’ve had far too much time to think, but I might be able to clear the cave! Can you get me to the front line when I’m ready?” Ianmus replied, the mana in the cave already rushing towards him in reaction to the magic he was weaving. Whatever it was, it was dense—complex. Kaius could feel it like a storm on the horizon, pricking against the back of his neck.

    “You want to do what?!” Kaius yelled back, thinking he’d misheard—both that the man thought he could put dozens of bogglings to death with a single blow, and that he had to be right next to them to do it.

    “Come to the front!”

    Now Kaius knew the man was mad.

    “Kind of asking for a lot!”

    “Not for long, I promise—just enough time to cast! One of Porkchop’s Shardwall’s and a few of your Stormlashes would be enough!”

    “Just do it.”

    Kaius shot his brother a scowl.

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