Team 0's journey into the depths of Prospect Park was somewhat jarring. The once vibrant and bustling park, usually filled with children's laughter and peacefully strolling visitors, was now a realm of ghostly silence and oppressive fog. The familiar paths and landmarks were obscured, and the usual beauty of the park twisted into an eerie landscape. Trees stood like silent sentinels, their branches heavy with mist, while the usually clear waterways became conduits of the swirling fog, their surfaces rippling with an unnatural energy.
Even during their confrontation with the Radiant Guild team, when it had been abandoned by all civilians, it had not been as eerie.
As they navigated through the transformed park, the team remained vigilant. The fog hung thick in the air, limiting their visibility and casting a pall over their surroundings. Every rustle in the undergrowth, every ripple in the water, became a potential threat.
James' Awareness meant they couldn't get ambushed, but the Lesser Elementals seemed to have the ability to materialize almost out of nowhere. Though it took them a couple of seconds to become ready to attack, it was still a surprise whenever they did so.
It wasn't long before they encountered the next Fog Sprites, creatures made more elusive and ethereal than the average Elementals by their ephemeral nature. These beings were small, their forms ill-defined, like wisps of mist given life. They darted around the team, quick and unpredictable.
The first encounter somehow still caught the team off guard. The Sprite, no larger than a small dog, emerged from the surroundings, its form shimmering and shifting. It moved with a deceptive speed, darting towards Maria, who was barely able to react thanks to James' warning.
Moving swiftly, the redhead unleashed a burst of flame, trying to repeat her earlier success, but the Sprite evaded with an agile grace, its form splitting and then refirming as it moved around the fire.
"Annoying little bastards." Lauren muttered as she maneuvered around, trying to get a clear shot at the monster's mana stone. She jumped in, but the Sprite twisted away, the knife slicing harmlessly through its misty form.
James, observing from the side, deliberately didn't enter the fray. He could end the fight quickly, but that would prevent his teammates from finding ways to actually harm the beasts, and they were not likely to find better moments to experiment than this. "Try to limit its movements!" He still called out, giving directions to Ezekiel, who seemed reticent to join in.
The team's youngest finally took action, his hands glowing softly. He cast a debuff, limiting the Sprite's movements and giving everyone a much easier time evading its attacks. Maria's new gout of fire curled around it, preventing any escape.
Seeing the monster momentarily immobilized, Daniel lunged forward, his shield glowing with his Bash skill and crashing against the monster the moment the flames winked out. The concentration of mana involved in the skill was enough to make it interact with the Sprite, meaning it was very easily squashed under Daniel's considerable weight and the enhanced power he employed.
The Tank picked himself up, cautiously looking around, until the notification of their victory lit up, making them all breathe a sigh of relief.
"Looks like containment and a lot of mana is the way to kill these things." James commented, checking his straps. "I think that it wouldn't be much different even with a lot more of them. Their physical abilities are pitiful compared to us, and our gear is more than enough to withstand their magic. They would just end up being easier to hit."
Taking a moment to catch their breath, the team nodded in agreement with James's assessment. Maria wiped the sweat from her brow, her expression thoughtful. "Yeah, but it's mana-intensive. We can't keep burning through our reserves like this for every Sprite we encounter. We don't know how many there'll be." Ezekiel chimed in, adjusting his own gear.
"We'll need to be strategic about it. Use our mana more efficiently. Maybe set up an ambush or find a way to herd them together."
Lauren added "And we should conserve our energy for any bigger threats that might be lurking deeper in the dungeon. We've only seen the Sprites so far, but who knows what else is in here. The readings we got were only preliminary, with how much they pushed for us to get in and deal with this mess quickly."
James nodded, his eyes scanning the foggy landscape. "Let's keep moving, but stay alert. We can't afford to let our guard down, because Awareness only picks them up once they start to form."
As they restarted their delve, things became increasingly weirder. With the rolling banks of fog covering everything, it wasn't easy to keep track of their position, but James could have sworn they had not been close to the main waterways yet.
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I was sure it was here. How did we walk all the way to this place without seeing the fountain?
The fountain next to which they had fought with the Radiant team was missing entirely, and in its place was a tranquil pond, whose surface was not disturbed by even one ripple.
Daniel frowned, looking around. "Does anyone else feel like the park is... different? It's not just the fog. The layout seems off."
Thakinetic Awareness was a fantastic skill for finding active enemies, and even in battle, it shone, allowing James to understand his opponents' movements just as they decided on them.
But it was not the right skill to scour a desolate landscape in search of anything amiss. James couldn't tell if things had changed with it any more than he could with his eyes. Still, he agreed, his instincts telling him something funky was happening. "You're right. It's like the dungeon is messing with our sense of direction, which is pretty weird for a G-rank. We need to be careful not to get lost in here. This is not the Prospect Park we remember."
As they walked past the pond, its surface was disturbed by a gentle breeze. With its passage, three Sprites were born and gleefully launched themselves at Team 0's back, trying to ambush them from behind. This time, however, they were ready, as the weirdness of the situation had made sure no one lowered their guard.
Maria quickly created a ring of fire, hemming the Sprites in while Ezekiel cast his debuff spells, slowing their movements.
Lauren circled around, ready to interfere if needed. James, waiting for the right moment, stepped forward. As the Sprites were contained and debilitated, he unleashed a concentrated wave of mana. The wave rippled through the air, striking the Sprites with precision. Their forms flickered and wavered under the assault, unable to withstand the raw power of his attack.
The furthest one managed to retain its shape and sped away, trying to get some time to recover from the assault.
Before it could get too far, a small but well-aimed fireball nailed it, exploding into a conflagration strong enough to disperse it immediately.
The team watched as the last wisps of the Sprites vanished, leaving the area clear once more.
Breathing a sigh of relief, they regrouped. Maria looked around, her flames dying down to a gentle glow. "That was easy, but these ambushes could become a real problem if we're not careful."
James nodded, his eyes scanning the landscape. "We need to stay on our toes. This dungeon is playing tricks on our perception. We can't rely on the map we know."
Lauren, sheathing her knives, suggested. "We should mark our path somehow. Leave signs or markers. It might help us keep track of where we've been."
Daniel, his shield back on his arm, agreed. "Good idea. Let's use whatever we can. Scratches on trees, stones... anything that'll help us maintain our bearings if we need to run away in a hurry."
The team thus began implementing the plan, leaving subtle marks as they ventured further into the fog. The park had taken on a surreal quality, the once-familiar paths now leading into unknown territories. The waterways, shrouded in mist, added to the disorienting effect, their once peaceful surfaces now a source of potential danger.
A few short minutes later, they encountered a new foe. Emerging from the mist with much more fanfare than the Sprites, its body was more corporeal and yet just as ephemeral as a creature that could only be a Fog Mephit revealed itself.
Contrary to the Sprites, which barely had a shape, the Mephit was humanoid, its features defined enough that they could tell it was a thinking entity.
To James's Awareness, its presence blazed with the strength of a G-rank Awakener, making him wonder just how different the two Elementals were. It towered over them, floating five feet above the water with its seven-foot body made of a swirling mass of mist and icy vapors.
The Mephit moved with a slow, deliberate grace, its form coalescing into a more solid shape as it prepared to attack.
When it did, it was sudden.
It summoned a powerful gust of icy wind, throwing James and Lauren off their feet with its raw strength.
Daniel immediately stepped forward, his glowing shield raised to protect the team. But the Mephit unleashed another, more concentrated blast of cold mist, frost quickly forming on the shield and numbing Daniel's arm. He grunted in pain, struggling to maintain his grip.
Maria, seeing an opening, stepped up. Her hands blazed with an intense fire, and she unleashed a powerful fireball at the Mephit. It struck true, causing the Elemental’s form to flicker and waver under the fierce heat, but it didn't disperse like its lesser kin had, seemingly able to take some punishment.
Lauren, recovering from the initial assault, ran interference, drawing the Mephit's attention in an attempt to give James a clear shot. She darted around the creature, her agility keeping her just out of reach of its icy attacks.
Ezekiel seized the moment, casting a series of debuffs on the Mephit, further weakening its defenses and slowing its movements. His spells shimmered in the air, illuminating the darkened area, which had been filled with ice-cold mist.
James focused his energy, wanting to end the fight as soon as possible. He moved swiftly, taking advantage of his teammates' efforts to keep the monster's attention away, his fists glowing with potent energy. He struck the Mephit with a single punch, releasing a wave of over fifty mana points.
The incredible density of the attack's energy was enough to make the Mephit momentarily lose cohesion. Its form became less stable, the icy mist and fog that composed its body dissipating under the powerful assault.
Another blast of scorching fire struck it the moment James had retreated enough not to get caught in the splash zone, further weakening it.
Enough so that Daniel's charge through its remnants was not even slightly hindered. He went through it, Bash skill active and catching the mana stone, ending the fight in one hit.
"Holy fuck, I thought that was the Boss for a moment." Lauren commented, jumping up and down, trying to get the blood flowing in her limbs after being struck by the icy winds.
Daniel grunted in agreement, slowly prying his hand away from his shield and letting it drop on the ground, working it open and closed for a while.
Ezekiel quickly approached him, casting a healing spell that made the Tank sigh in relief.
"The fight was pretty quick, but it could have been bad. That thing had much more control over the environment than the Sprites." Maria added, warming the air around them with her Talent, much to everyone's appreciation.
"That was a Mephit, right?" Ezekiel asked, turning to James, whom everyone knew had memorized the Monster Encyclopedia.
"Yes, it's the second lowest form an Elemental can take, and still considered G-rank if it's not been around for long, but as you saw, it's a lot stronger than a Sprite."
Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. I don't mind fighting strong opponents if it always gets me a level.