Return to Jorgaldur Volume I: the battle mage

River source

A Cobalt Jaguar, whose name comes from the bluish color of its skin, was the first animal to attack the two-legged being that didn't belong to that forest. It was relying on the surprise attack, from the bluish-leaved tree in which it was camouflaging itself, to hunt its prey, which was three levels lower.

However, that prey had more tricks than expected, including a Bat's Hearing that warned him of the danger, so he quickly wielded his axe. He then used Block against the animal, which he slightly damaged with a Burning Aura, and immediately summoned a Sandstorm.

Like the jaguar, Eldi was blinded by his own spell, but had an advantage. The big cat had suffered damage to its eyes and was confused, while the man knew perfectly what the situation was, and Sharpening Senses allowed him to locate his opponent.

He invoked a Frozen Blast to damage it and slow it down, at the same time as he hit it with Shred. Without knowing where the attacks came from, after failing the ambush and being blinded, the hunter decided to flee, although it didn't know very well to where. So, it simply jumped in the opposite direction of the last attack, not knowing that a Rock Wall was waiting for it there.

Eldi had placed the Wall there, and around it some Earth ones, with others of Ice ahead. Surrounding it completely with Rock Walls would have meant an excessive mana expense, so he relied on an alternative method in case it escaped in another direction.

It was an almost comical scene to see the robust feline stamping itself against the Wall, and falling into the trap created with Mole's Power. Although he hadn't had time to create Icicles, the prey that had become a hunter didn't let escape the hunter which had become a prey. He used the hammer to kill it, being enough with normal blows from the weapon to not let it out.

He preferred not to use the spear or axe now that they were no longer essential, in order to damage as little as possible the valuable skin, which was soon claimed by his skillfull assistant, as well as the meat or fangs. He had spent a lot of mana in that fight, but he had thus achieved a victory without too much risk, using one of the strategies he had been maturing while in the car. In addition, he still had almost half left, and was recovering quickly. However, if he had another fight right away, he would have to be more restrained.

He found footprints and glimpsed some shadows, but he wasn't attacked again before reaching the river. It was about five meters wide, although it was difficult to appreciate its depth. He hoped it was the clue he was looking for, and not a river without any relevance.

He approached the water, but immediately took a few steps back. Bat's Hearing had warned him again, and soon he discovered a silhouette, but it was lost again in the depths once its prey moved from the shore.

For a moment, the idea of ​​trying to hunt that creature, perhaps using some kind of bait, crossed his mind, but he dismissed it. It made no sense to take the risk without necessity, or kill one of the predators that maintained the balance of the place without a reason. As a biologist friend of him had repeated in the past, predators are an essential part of the ecosystem, and quite difficult to recover when they disappear.

He moved a little further from the riverbed, following its path in the opposite direction. He had to circumvent small tributaries, get around the sloping terrain, withstand repeated scratches by spiny plants, and suffer some insect bites, until he began using a Frozen Aura to scare them away

He also had to face a huge snake over five meters in length. Luckily for it, it was able to escape to the water after realizing that he wasn't a prey who it could submit, although the reptile would need some time to heal from burns.

The river was getting smaller as he got closer to its source, as well as the dangers it hid were decreasing and the terrain became steeper.

He spent a long time examining a waterfall. After that, he needed to rely on Climbing to go up. The scene of the waters falling on the rock was as beautiful as the fall was fearsome. And when he finally overcame the gap, he found an even more beautiful scene, which seemed taken from a fairy tale.

A huge lake filled the place, overflowing over the cliff and creating the waterfall next to which he had climbed. Several groups of beautiful plants were floating on the surface, only disturbed by the strong impact of water at the other end, water that came from another waterfall, somewhat wider and shorter.

The light passing through the splashing of the water was forming a beautiful rainbow, which disappeared in the lush vegetation that surrounded the huge reservoir of water. In the distance, bluish herbivores, similar to small deer, could be seen approaching nervously to the shore, and walking away quickly after a few sips, fearing to stay there too long.

Eldi followed suit and moved away from the edge of the water, fearing that dangerous creatures could inhabit there, but also watching out for shadows in the vegetation. Maybe, what those animals feared was an ambush near the water.

He felt a slight warning by Bat's Hearing a couple of times, but whatever was there decided that it wasn't a good idea to attack him, so he continued on his way along the lake, to the foot of the waterfall.

It was as he remembered from the game, although the rock was much more slippery. After all, there were many details that weren't so clear then.

He used Climbing several times to have a place to hold on, while walking on a precarious ledge of rock hidden behind the fall of water. His feet lost support on a couple of occasions, but the rope tied to the spear allowed him to keep his balance, and not fall under the waterfall, which would have left him defenseless against the dangerous force of the water.

Finally, completely soaked, he reached a depression in the rock that was like a waiting room to a cave. Apparently, the forgotten dungeon was real. Now, he just had to check how it was inside.