Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

Swarm boss (I)

Goldmi used Arrows Rain a few times. It is true that it can only target an area, but there were enough of those insects for most arrows to hit a target.

They were normal arrows, and none of them could kill one of those insects on their own. Despite this, some succumbed by being hit by three arrows, while many were wounded and were flying with one or two nailed arrows. Although most remained unscathed.

They retreated into the tunnel, partly to check if they would follow them inside, partly to fight in a narrower place.

The large insects didn't hesitate to follow them, and left only a few behind to guard the entrance, so they were much farther from each other than the small swarms could separate. And, as soon as they entered the tunnel a few meters, they found the first surprise.

A Wind Abyss triggered as they passed over, thus severely damaging a few of them, and those which would pass after them. And another one was activated soon after. And another.

Meanwhile, Goldmi was shooting arrows over and over, three by three, saving mana but not energy. Dozens of insects had fallen from the wounds caused by arrows and traps, but they didn't even reach a tenth of the total. However, many more were injured.

Suddenly, a strong wind was summoned by the elf, so the giant insects had to face the power of the Tramuntane. It wasn't enough to push them back, but it was enough to slow them down, and make them more vulnerable.

That they took longer to arrive gave the elf time to attack with her arrows, at the cost of a large mana consumption. And that they had to use their strength to face the wind gave the feline the opportunity to attack them more easily.

She knew that they didn't have much time, that soon her sister would have to stop the wind to avoid running out of mana, so she attacked fiercely, by plunging her claws over and over again into the insects, by jumping from one to the other non-stop.

Both sisters were gradually reducing the enemies numbers, when Goldmi called her. The lynx finished off the insect next to her and withdrew. A few moments later, the wind stopped.

The feline was continually sending mana to her sister through Mana Link, for she could make little use of it. And though her reserves were much smaller, it was more than nothing. Both stopped in front of another trap, while the arrows continued flying and the insects were approaching. When they arrived, the trap was triggered.

They faced them hand-to-hand in front of the trap, so it was damaging them non-stop. Goldmi had put away the bow and wielded sword and dagger, while her sister used her claws and Shred.

With the Unsheathe, the one approaching the elf fell. And Blazing Dagger helped to face the next. The lynx was more efficient in this confrontation, but neither of them could prevent them from crowding more and more.

Two possibilities had been considered. One was that they kept away from each other, in which case they hoped to keep them in the tunnel and gradually damage them. The other was that they would do what they were doing right now, unlike their little siblings. On the one hand, it was convenient. On the other, dangerous.

The feline huddled next to the elf when she cast Light Pillar, which wiped out many of the crowded insects. It was a very effective method, but she had little mana left, maybe enough for another one. And there were still more than half of their enemies.

They retreated a few meters, behind a new trap, since the effect of the current one was about to end. Meanwhile, the archer wielded the bow again and fired arrows one after another, this time without adding any skills, because not only the mana was running off.

They repeated the operation, by activating Light Pillar and killing many insects. But now Goldmi was almost out of mana, so they decided to use Plan B. Or maybe it was C. Or D.

"Jump in!" the lynx urged her.

"I'm coming!"

She rode on her sister's back, who sped up to get away from their enemies, but not too much, and stopped for Goldmi to shoot reliably. A moment later, she turned away again. It was what was called kiting in the game.

They continued to do so for a long time, while waiting to regain mana to attack harder, but, suddenly, they stopped following them.

"Have they stopped?" The archer was surprised.

"Looks like it."

They took advantage of the circumstances, to kill those in range. Then, they retraced their steps, while making sure that their enemies had turned around.

"Perhaps, it's the limit to which they can move away," the elf conjectured.

"We could take advantage of that," suggested her sister.

"Let's hope they don't regenerate."

In the game, when moving away from an enemy, it recovered quickly. Admittedly, it made no sense for it to happen in the real world, but magic itself didn't make much sense in the elf's mind either.

They reached the cavern, while taking care to ensure that there were no surprises along the way, and found with relief that it hadn't regenerated. At least, not significantly.

As soon as she regained all of her mana, Goldmi used again Arrows Rain. She had cast the fourth wave when the first arrow hadn't yet hit, so, soon, the cavern floor was covered with them. And she kept shooting until the insects got close enough to repeat the previous operation.

This time, there were fewer of them, so it looked like it was going to be a lot easier, and it was, until one used Catapult on another, by using its own body to launch its fellow insect at high speed.

Goldmi put away the bow to defend herself with Block and Recoil, so she moved a few steps away from the attack, and the insect was eliminated by her sister. But they soon realized that this hadn't been an isolated action. Perhaps a quarter were left, but they were launching each other against their enemies.