Return to Jorgaldur Volume I: the battle mage

Army of ants

He had no idea how to escape that situation, and no choice but to fight. So he went near the entrance and put the axe against the wall, and a couple of spears shortly after. Finally, he pulled out the bow and waited.

It was not long before the first ant, of level 5, appeared and was received with arrows and fire. Being level 5, it didn't take long to fall, but casting fire on each arrow was a considerable amount of mana, even with the regeneration potion. So, he left bow and arrows on the wall and wielded the axe, while his assistants collected the remains and the arrows.

This time, two ants came in, so he cast ice on the axe, approached them and used Dancing Axe. The ants didn't retreat, so they received both direct and icy damage, which seemed to be more harmful to ants than the fire. He finished them off with normal hits, receiving some damage in return.

He was going to heal himself, but decided to try Vampiric Touch. Two other ants entered as soon as his assistant made room enough, so he attacked them with normal blows, reserving mana and energy. They were slow and he could dodge most of the attacks, though not all. After all, there were two of them, a narrow place and a novice warrior. However, the spell was enough to counteract the damage. And as soon as the bodies were removed, a one and a half meter ant entered, level 6.

He had spent several hours fighting ants, one or two meter high, maybe more than a whole day. And he had lost count of ants pierced, slashed, bludgeoned, burned and frozen. Maybe a thousand, maybe more.

He had shot arrows when he had more than enough mana, going melee immediately after, to always have enough mana. And Eldi was no longer marking to pick up the carcasses, expecting the ants to drag them out, so he could earn some precious seconds of rest, although fatigue wasn't the only problem.

He had killed hundreds of ants and received many injuries, and although Vampiric Touch was dealing with most of the healing, neither his protections nor his weapons could be repaired there. One spear had been broken and another was below 20%, many arrows were unusable, and both the hammer and the axe were slightly above 40%. About his armor, there were pieces at 20% and others at 95%, and two of them had been completely broken, a glove and a shoulder armor.

But it wasn't all bad news. Although the experience earned from one lesser level beings is half (a fourth for two levels, and so on), after killing hundreds of ants level 5, and some of 6 or 7, his level had risen from 6 to 9. So now, he had an important advantage against those insects. Although they didn't seem to care, since they kept attacking.

Steel Body's compatibility had risen to 8. And even Earthen Wall, at 9, because he had begun to run out of arrows and, when having enough mana, he was taking the opportunity to create several walls and apply ice to them, blocking the entrance. He was only gaining a small amount of time, since ants are good at digging, but being able to rest was critical. And for that reason, he had stopped using his abilities, since there were only two regeneration potions left and he wanted to reserve them.

The first unlocked spell had been Electric Touch, similar to the other Touch, but it disappears after a single hit, as it stuns the enemy for a second. Its compatibility was 10.

The second one was Projectiles against me?, of compatibility 4. It protects from the following projectiles (as many as compatibility) if they are of the same level or less. The protection decreases by 10% for each higher level.

"As the taste in names decreases," he had muttered to himself.

And finally, Magic against me?, compatibility 5 and similar to the previous one, but that protects from magical ranged attacks instead of physical ones.

In terms of skills, the first was Balance, which allows recovering from a fall instantaneously, provoked or not, with compatibility 5 and with a cooldown time of one minute.

Then, he had unlocked Kangaroo Power, of compatibility 6 and that allows to take a jump of little more than 3 meters at compatibility 10, or only one meter at 1. Ideal to reach the branch of a tree if you are chased by a bear.

And finally, Provoke, which brings the aggressiveness (aggro) of the enemies to oneself, freeing your fellows from pressure. He used to be the tank in his group of three, so he had used it a lot and his compatibility was at 10, giving him a range of twenty meters.

In addition, already at level 8, he had begun to use the weapons with which he had no compatibility, raising them all to 4, except for the bow at 5, and the dagger and shield at 3. And they had been greatly damaged in the process. He was clumsier in their use, but more than enough against ants level 5.

A hole in the last one of the walls meant that the break had finished, so he pierced an eye of the head that appeared with a two-handed sword. It was not hard for him to finish the ant, or the ten that followed, because the difference in level was beginning to be important, and he knew exactly what its weaknesses and movements were. Even the soldiers ants were no longer a problem, even though at first they had been harder to deal with, and had inflicted more than one ugly wound.

He was halfway to level 10, but the experience was increasing very slowly due to the difference in level. So, he would have to kill a few hundred more to achieve it, if he didn't succumb to exhaustion. But while he was thinking about it, and trying to forget about the accumulated fatigue and stress, he was surprised that the ants no longer entered or dragged the carcasses.

Eldi ordered his assistant to pick up the remains in order to open a way to the entrance, and, once clean, he looked out carefully, encountering a surreal spectacle. The dim light of dusk illuminated hundreds of carcasses piled in the surroundings, while in the distance, a few still alive took refuge in the anthill and sealed it.

His assistant began the work of dissecting and storing the carcasses immediately, without being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. Eldi approached the carcasses enough to mark them, and took refuge in the cave. He didn't dare to go back, to walk the long path to the green gate during the darkness of the night.

Not daring to sleep for the second consecutive night, he watched from the back of the cave as his assistant came and went continuously, and while the lamp was bringing some light a little beyond.