Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

Dungeon fourth floor (II)

It was relatively slow to eliminate those Swarms, compared to those beings from the previous floors, but it was also useful for them to practice, mainly the elf's melee skills.

Feint to the Foot was somewhat ridiculous against insects, totally exaggerated, but she had managed to raise it to 4. Sword Thrust was very efficient after the arrow with Void, since it could pierce at the same time several of those which were lying on the ground, while Fleeting Dagger rarely could eliminate more than one, so it was only useful for seeing a little fairy fetching the weapon.

Surprise Dagger was moderately useful, if an insect came within reach of her feet, and she had leveled it up to 7, while Unsheathe was totally overpowered for a single insect. Blazing Dagger wasn't very useful either, but, surprisingly, Serpent's Attack was, as it could eliminate several of them consecutively.

Although, without a doubt, apart from Void, the most efficient were Cyclonic Barrier and Purifying Touch spells. The latter had risen to 7 since they had entered the dungeon, and it hadn't been the only one.

Sun was at 4, because sometimes she used it instead of the lamp, partly also to level it up. Twister at 7, as she had been testing and using it here and there. Void, at 8, had become a very useful spell. And also the Alarm skill had risen to 4.

"There're many, more than ten, but they're far apart," the elf reported.

"So, will we try the wind one?" her sister suggested the tactic they had previously discussed.

"It should work. If not, we'll use Twisters to fall back."

It is true that they weren't very dangerous, since both their defenses and their armor, or Cyclonic Barrier, were very effective against small attacks, but ten groups at once could be too many. The combined attack of so many of them would quickly weaken the barrier, and the small damages would accumulate, in addition to being too fast to escape from them.

However, they were confident in the tactic they had planned, and had already successfully tested against just one of them.

The lynx stepped forward, drawing the attention of the first swarm, then the second, and the third. She reached the crossroad, so she also lured those in the other tunnels, and headed to a side one.

Suddenly, she found that there was no way out, but far from worrying, she smiled, or at least that's what her sister felt. The insects were scattered throughout the tunnel, but they didn't pack together, as if something prohibited them from crowding too much, which was against the sisters' wishes.

The archer appeared at the crossroads and summoned Tramontane. A strong wind flooded the tunnel, strong enough to push the mana bugs away, but not the feline. She ran towards the elf, while overcoming the wind resistance, and while the insects were piling up against the tunnel wall, the perfect target for Light Pillar.

Unable to move and conveniently packed, none of them could escape the reach of the spell, which killed them all.

They had spent three days walking through the tunnels. Tramontane, Sun and Wind Push had risen to 5, the latter as a minor and quicker version of Tramontane. Sword Thrust was now at 8, and Cyclonic Barrier at 9.

In addition, they had leveled up to 25, so she had unlocked Wind Abyss, a trap that is activated when stepped on, and creates a strong and dangerous cutting wind. The area it covers is one meter by one meter, which is increased by half a meter for each level of compatibility. She had it at 3, and it was very efficient against the Swarm, once they managed to lure it in.

And the unlocked skill, Multi Sword Thrust, was also very useful against the multitude of small insects, as it consists of a quick series of thrusts, so it can inflict numerous small wounds, or hit many targets, up to twenty of them at level 10 affinity, which was hers. It was one of her preferred melee skills in the game.

Now, they were going through another tunnel, after having finished off several swarms, when Goldmi frowned after a Life Detection.

"There are many presences, but much stronger than the others. Must be the boss. I don't detect the small ones."

"It's about time! Let's take a look!" the lynx looked glad, as if she hadn't realized her sister's warning tone.

They approached the tunnel entrance, and once again encountered a wide cavern. There, they could see the passage to the next floor, on which was an insect one meter long, and half a meter wide. In itself, it didn't seem very intimidating, but it wasn't alone. Hundreds of insects were flying over it, so their number were the real danger.

They looked at them with a very serious face. Unlike other bosses, that Swarm Boss could chase them through the tunnels, and it wasn't easy to deal with so many of them at once.

The Cyclonic Barrier effect wouldn't be too strong against those larger insects, and they couldn't kill each of them as easily as the smaller ones. Each one represented a not too complicated fight. Together, a dangerous challenge.

They spent a while discussing how to face that enemy, how to face so many of them together. Or how to escape if it got too dangerous. They ended up creating various plans, not sure how effective each of them would be.

Thus, the lynx stayed next to her sister while she shot three arrows using Three better than one. One was normal with a Purifying Touch, the other one made of mana and the last one made of wind. All three were enhanced with Piercing Arrow, and one of them had Void.

Each of them hit against one of the insects. The Void effect was appreciable, but not very spectacular. The closest ones were attracted to the point of impact, although they didn't reach it. This meant that they could use it to distract or annoy, but not as an ultimate weapon, as they had up to then.

All three insects were struck down, so proving that they weren't very powerful individually, but it was evident that they couldn't finish off all of them like that. Especially when they had been alerted by the attack, and most of them were moving in their direction.