Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Swamp (II)

The first to attack her was a brown alligator-like being. It was barely visible until it lunged at her and opened its jaws. Despite its size and the shallowness, it could move in the water without being seen, thanks to the skill that allowed it to Flatten its body.

It intended to close its powerful jaws on the vampiress, but found a thick branch that prevented it from closing its open mouth. Furthermore, its movements were restricted by invisible restraints.

"I've always wanted to do it," Gjaki murmured.

She was no longer in the water, but on a Rock Wall that Eldi had erected. The beings in the dungeon were drawn to the blood, and were forced to show themselves to attack her. When they did, a network of nearly invisible threads stood in their way.

However, these threads were only a temporary solution. They weren't enough to contain all the beings that were stalking them. It wasn't that they weren't strong enough, but because they lacked consistent grips.

For some incomprehensible reason, the threads ended up crossing the mana trees if she pulled them tight. It was even more incomprehensible that these trees weren't cut in half, but that the cut was closing as the metal threads advanced little by little.

Still, they were useful for buying time. Both the Swamp Alligator and the Swamp Anaconda were trapped by them. The latter was a huge aquatic snake, which is why they had given it that name. Although, unlike the real anaconda, it was poisonous, and there was even a mutant version with two heads.

Goldmi was shooting normal arrows as they became entangled. She also fired some Light Arrow if they opened their mouths, although for the moment, she preferred to invest mana in other matters.

There were also what the players called Swamp Sharks, which was something that Eldi had complained about many times. They were shaped like a fish between one and two meters in length, though not like a shark. They did, however, have a dorsal fin that was sometimes seen sticking out of the water, and was the reason for the name they had been given.

Its color was a fluorescent green when it came out of the water. Said fluorescence couldn't be seen when it was submerged, and was due to the corrosive substance that surrounded it. The most curious trait was its four strange legs, which allowed it to walk awkwardly out of the water. They seemed a bit poorly designed, as if evolution still had a lot of work to do. Maybe, those who had created the dungeon hadn't wanted to put too much effort into that detail.

Hundreds of leeches were approaching along with the rest. Individually, they might not be very dangerous, but the number made them fearsome.

"It can't take anymore," Gjaki warned.

The Wall was cracking from the multiple attacks, and the threads were loosening as the supports passed through the trees. While she could fix it with Live Thread, it was a sure sign that they would eventually give way.

The lynx crouched, ready to Jump. The archer continued to Hold mana arrows. She had been shooting the normal ones, while preparing these. The goshawk watched, ready to Plummet.

Eldi threw the two Lightning Spears in their hands, without applying any skills. He simply dropped them into the water, near his companion. Immediately, he summoned two more and threw them again, and another two.

He may not have used any skills, but his weapon prowess was at its maximum. Therefore, the spears arrived where they had to arrive, surrounding the place where the vampiress was acting as bait.

It was a tactic that hadn't worked in the game. Eldi had mentioned that water wasn't a conductor of electricity, but the salts it contained were. Gjaki had ignored it at first, but it had occurred to Goldmi to use the electric spells on the water.

The idea had been a bit absurd in a game, but they had tried nonetheless. As on most occasions, it had been a resounding failure. Very few times any of those ideas had been successful, although those few had been worth all the failures.

However, shortly after entering the floor, Eldi had wondered aloud if this would actually work in the real world. His companions hadn't stopped until they had found a guinea pig, a snake that ended up being paralyzed by the electricity.

"Looks like we have a new plan," Gjaki had smiled mischievously.

"Only if you act as bait" Goldmi had laughed.

"Don't look at me, I have to throw the spears," Eldi had avoided it.

The lynx had simply looked away.

Therefore, after some more testing, they had come to that situation. Around Gjaki, all the predators had been paralyzed. They were floating in the water, some even with their mouths open.

Tens of Wind Arrows stopped being Held, and were fired towards the predators that had become prey. Since they were still, it was easy to aim for the most vulnerable spots, and pierce them deeply.

Of course, the elf continued to accurately shoot arrows three at a time thanks to Three better than one.

The lynx jumped from the branch after the first burst. While wrapped in fire, she landed on a Swamp Shark and Shredded it. Without pausing for a moment, she Chewed the neck of one alligator and headed towards another.

On her part, while wrapped in wind, the goshawk collided brutally against a snake, whose eyes she gouged out with her claws in just an instant. Without stopping and to avoid getting wet, she bounced and landed on an alligator. She clung tightly to its neck, which she began to tear apart with her beak.

Eldi also jumped in, hammer in hand, to smash the head of a shark with Almost Thor. Then, he let his cyber assistant pick up the hammer and took out a spear. He added Burning Touch to the weapon, and used Colander several times in a row to pierce through the now helpless attackers, as he was walking between them. Some leeches were also pierced,

For her part, Gjaki used Blood Bind to hold back those which were a little further away, before they recovered, and those which were still arriving.

"Time's up!" Eldi suddenly warned. It was time to retreat.