Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Watery (II)

The time in the ocean floor of the dungeon was quite peaceful. Hardly any enemy assassins or vampires could approach the pirate ship, and they could simply ignore the beasts if they were tired. In fact, other adventurers were avoided, not wanting to give explanations about their boat.

However, a couple of times they almost came to the rescue of drowning groups, but those simply used the pass to get out of the dungeon.

The speed at which they eliminated mana beings was lower than usual, as they had to wait to be attacked. Luckily, the size of those beings was also larger than usual, and so was the experience they got from them.

There was even a kind of mix between a clownfish and a shark half the size of the boat. Against it, all three had to work together if they wanted the fight not to drag on forever. They could also use the cannons, something they didn't do very often. Only when all the cannons were fully loaded, did they allow themselves to shoot them from time to time.

It took them a couple of weeks to reach level 95. Gjaki and Goldmi were feeling homesick, as they had been in the dungeon for a long time. Probably, Eldi would have felt it too, but he didn't really have a home, which depressed him a little. So, he preferred not to think about it.

In part, missing their loved ones so much was because much of the time they were idle on the deck of the ship, waiting for their prey. They had a lot of free time. For them, that floor was very peaceful. No doubt it was due to the possession of a ship that under normal circumstances would have been impossible to find there.

Perhaps, it might seem that it was the lynx who was the most bored. Although she could swim and attack from the water, she hadn't volunteered to do so. Therefore, the feline did nothing but sleep on the deck, bath in the artificial sun of the dungeon, and eat.

While she might want to fight, the feline's mentality was very different from the rest. If she had no choice but to sleep in the sun and eat, why not just enjoy it?

Now, they only had the final boss left. For most adventurers, it was just a challenge, and many preferred to ignore it. However, they needed to defeat it.

At 95, Goldmi had recovered Hurricane, a powerful and devastating wind spell. It is impossible to control once unleashed, and consumes all the mana. She had it at 4, since she hadn't had much opportunity to use it.

There was also the Protection skill, where plants are asked to protect someone. They will envelop them, and attack anyone who approaches.

Eldi had unlocked the deadly Elemental Beam spell. It combines the elements the caster have an affinity for, and launches a powerful beam in which all the mana is invested. In the case of Eldi, there were four elements, which made it quite impressive. He had it at 3, since the occasions in which it was necessary and prudent to invest all the mana in the spell had been rather rare.

The Unstoppable skill was at 10, as it was extremely useful. Makes the caster immune to skills and spells that immobilize or slow, by converting the effect into damage. Given that the damage can be healed, and being immobilized can be lethal, it is a small price to pay.

The final boss was a bit special. It consisted of the gathering of a thousand of the existing beasts in the dungeon, of all species, all of them on the surface, waiting. It was certainly an intimidating sight to behold.

When they wanted to confront them, many groups of adventurers usually gathered together. There were too many enemies for one group. No matter how many spells they had, the five couldn't beat them. Of course, they had reserved a trump card.

"Fire the cannons!" Gjaki exclaimed.

"Look at her, she was looking forward to saying it, she looks like a little girl," Goldmi criticized her.

"If the admirers of the exalted Blood Queen saw her..." Eldi added jokingly.

"You're just jealous..." she stuck her tongue out at them.

The sound of the booming cannons made it impossible to say anything else. Meanwhile, the pirate ship sailed in a circle to turn around and face their enemies with the others rows of cannons.

The beasts reacted to the attacks by all swimming toward them. At least, the survivors did. The pirate ship was a fairly large ship, with three rows of cannons on each side. So, the firepower it possessed had decimated their enemies.

Goldmi started shooting as soon as they moved, and always chose the closest ones. The goshawk Plummeted, Grew at the last moment, and captured one of the mana beings with her powerful claws, which dug deep into her prey. She rose without stopping, and then dropped it on another of their enemies.

"Stop sleeping and do something!" she accused the lynx.

"Yaaaaaawn".

The feline stretched lazily, and she walked calmly to the port side. From there, the cannons had to be fired as soon as they were in position, and that's where the enemies would arrive. Her intention wasn't to fight, but to witness the spectacle.

The second burst came when some of the enemies had approached to within twenty meters. Again, hundreds burst into thousands of mana fragments. After that, of the thousand, less than a hundred remained, and not many were in good condition. Nonetheless, no matter how they were, they advanced towards the ship.

Their target wasn't the ship, but the living beings that were on its deck, or up the mast. The elf wasn't easy to hit though, and she kept shooting incessantly. She used normal arrows against enemies she knew were vulnerable to them, and mana arrows against the others. The cutting power of the Wind ones were quite effective against the flexible and rather soft body of most.

Eldi waited on deck for them to approach, while Gjaki watched not far away. Although they had decimated their enemies, they still had to finish off the rest, and they had no more cannons to fire.