Return to Jorgaldur Volume I: the battle mage

Slime's cavern

How to deal with them? He could probably run by, but he wasn't sure where the right exit was. Bow and arrows didn't seem a great option either, because not only it was difficult to aim between stalactites, but the damage that could be dealt was low. Only the fire that he had to imbue in each arrow would be effective, and he would need many arrows for each slime, which would mean a very high mana cost.

His most effective weapons were Burning Wall and Resin, but he had to get them to come down and gather, and for that he needed a bait. Maybe it could be himself. By watching them and using Feline Response several times he could get it, but it was risky, besides it would waste a lot of stamina. After all, it was one of the few skills that needed a percentage of his stamina instead of a fixed value, so he could use it the same number of times regardless of his level. Otherwise, it would be overpowered.

Looking through his inventory for anything he could use that he had overlooked, his attention was fixed on the surplus of ant remains. He didn't know if it would work, but it was worth trying. After all, He didn't know what to do with that.

Eldi threw several pieces of ant meat and waited, watching the slimes' reaction. At first, he didn't notice anything, but, little by little, those who were above the pieces of meat began to detach, while others were approaching the area very slowly. And, almost at the same time, dozens of those masses of gelatine fell on the flesh and surroundings, as they may have done on the unfortunate adventurers, who were surely taken by surprise.

The meat was dissolving quickly by the joint action of several of those monsters, who continued to fall and join the feast. And then, Eldi began to cast walls of fire on them. In total, he created ten, exhausting more than half of his mana pool, and always moving and carefully watching the ceiling.

Two or three fell near him, and he confronted them from the tunnel, while their companions were burning, most of them unable to escape from the trap quickly enough. In total, he got rid of more than forty, after which he waited for his mana to recover, while finishing with some clueless slimes that had approached him or that had escaped badly wounded.

Thanks to that slaughter, his level had risen to 20 and advanced in this one. He had unlocked the Frozen Wall and Lightning Wall spells, with affinity 5 and 7 respectively. And, contrary to what might seem, neither of the two walls is solid, doing its elemental damage and with the effect of slowing down the first, and stunning the second. Its damage is less than that of fire, but its effects compensate for that lack.

And at level 20 he had unlocked the Dispel spell, which allows him to cancel effects like slow down or blind, as long as its level is not too high compared to his own. His compatibility was 7.

He had also unlocked a passive skill of strength, which increased his attack, and another of defense. And Shred, at compatibility 6. It cut with the axe what is in front, up to five meters away, doing to each enemy the damage that would make a regular blow of the weapon, and being very difficult to dodge.

He repeated the same action several times, until getting a clear path to the remains of the adventurers. Not all the slimes in the area had come down, so he had to be careful, but that didn't stop him from kneeling before the bones of beings who walked on two legs, although not all of them seemed to be exactly human.

The stone floor was difficult to break, but he managed to improvise a tomb accumulating stones over the bones and engraving the names that were on their adventurers' plates, plates that he took with him to deliver them to the guild. At least, his relatives and friends wouldn't have to live in uncertainty forever.

He collected their belongings and kept them, they no longer needed them. In fact, the axe level 23, the bow 21 and the spear 25 would be quite useful, in addition to arrows, a ring of force and some protections.

And although he wasn't very religious, Eldi prayed to the gods he remembered from that world. It was the least he could do for them, besides avenging his death, although much of those monsters would respawn.

He also recalled some of the Oracle's words: "The magic that flows through the earth can be trapped in certain places and create large accumulations of mana, sometimes creating dungeons. And although it is possible to absorb part with the mana stones when killing the physical manifestations, the one that has been lost will accumulate again. In the deepest parts the concentration tends to be greater, and these manifestations are more powerful, while in the passing zones, the mana flow creates accumulations that are more concentrated and become what you call the floor boss."

But the floor boss was something that seemed still far to face. First he wanted to take advantage of that area and end up with as many slimes as he could, both to level up and to avenge the adventurers. So, Eldi repeated the procedure several times, using ant meat to attract the monsters that hung from the ceiling, and the walls of fire to incinerate them. There were just over two hundred which burned, leaving only those who were reluctant to leave the ceiling. And He reached level 23.

With this, he unlocked the passive for magic resistance and Magic Mirror, which returns half of the damage that would be received with a spell if it is at level 10, somewhat less in its current compatibility, 5. And Mole's Power, which dig a hole in the earth of up to one meter per level of affinity, and that he had it in 4.

About skills, he now had the passive for agility and Physical Mirror, similar to the magical one but that reflects physical damage, and that was at 7. Also, Lion's Roar, which can scare nearby enemies, around 50 meters in level 10, only 35 at compatibility 4, his. The chance of taking effect depends on the level difference and the nature of the enemies. For example, it doesn't affect golems and is very effective against most herbivores.

After reviewing his new skills, he went into one of the tunnels, without fear of getting lost. After all, he could see the map of what he had traveled.