Delirious
Janus couldn't ignore the warmth emanating from his wounded arm, its intensity growing with each step. Concerned, he halted, inspecting the afflicted limb. The skin around the scabs blazed a fiery red, and the area where the snake had bitten him had swollen noticeably.
His hopes rested on the tunnel marked on the map being illuminated and situated close to the ravine floor, minimizing the need for arduous climbing. Placing trust in the map felt like a gamble; its creator seemed indifferent to precise measurements. Janus could only hope he had been steered in the correct direction.
The ravine intersected with the tunnel he had come from at a 90-degree angle. According to the map, if the ravine was long enough, he should reach the other tunnel at some point. The problem was knowing when.
What if I turned back just before I got there?
The thought was not a comforting one.
-
The passage of time blurred in Janus's mind, overshadowed by the relentless agony pulsating from his arm. Was it the onset of an infection or was the [Rock Constrictor] that had bitten him venomous? He couldn't discern which would pose the graver threat. If it was venom, perhaps he could simply endure it until the effects subsided.
What else can I do?
He almost missed the next group of [Rock Goblins] as he stepped into another small collection of huts. Thankfully, the creatures appeared to be just as surprised as he was.
Janus deployed one of his latest spell, conjuring clusters of reinforced mana and propelling them towards the diminutive creatures. Though less potent than his arrow point arrays, each projectile proved more economical than a mana arrow. To propel the reinforced structures through the air, he improvised with directed blasts of mana. He wasn’t sure if it was the same method the [Rock Goblin Shaman] had used.
The new spell was brutal, and it sometimes took two or three of the projectiles to defeat a single goblin. It was much less refined than the mana point array. It felt like Janus was just bludgeoning the monsters to death. But it worked, and soon the entire camp had been cleared out.
[You have defeated an enemy: Rock Goblin] x5
[Your Mana Reinforcement skill has gained 1 level]
[Your Mana Burn skill has gained 1 level]
He spent a moment checking his recent notifications. The skill gains he had made recently were pretty significant. [Spell Weaving] gained skill levels very slowly, but that made sense to Janus as it was an evolved skill.
He was considering his next move when an arrow shot out from the darkness. Instinctively, he raised his wounded arm in a futile attempt to deflect the projectile. The arrow tore through his swollen flesh, eliciting a gush of blood and pus from the wound.
Moron! Using your arm to stop an arrow!
Janus lit the area with a flash of light and found his target.
[Rock Goblin Shaman - Level 25]
Why is it using a bow?
Janus prepared a pane of reinforced mana. Moments later, another arrow bounced off the barrier. The improvement Janus had learned from the last shaman had strengthened his reinforced mana significantly.
Don’t get cocky. You can die at any moment down here.
He cautiously approached the goblin and realized why it had been using arrows instead of spells.
It must not have the same spells as the last shaman!
The realization instantly shifted Janus' perception of the battle. The shaman had deployed a spell, forming a ring of thorny green light around its body. Janus discerned the mana radiating from the skill, expanding in all directions beyond the visible ring.
He wasn’t entirely sure what the spell did, but it didn’t take long to come up with a guess as he inched closer. Mana sprung out from the spell, almost as if it was a living thing, and formed hardened spikes. It was like a thorny shell, preventing Janus from getting close. The shaman fired another arrow. It passed through the shell harmlessly and narrowly missed Janus’ head. Once more, Janus had been more focused on studying the spell than the fight.
He created a small mana marble and tossed it towards the shaman. It rolled along the ground until it bounced off of the protective shell. He detonated the pearl and with a pop, the explosive mana shattered a portion of the protective shell.
The shell is being maintained by that array near the shaman’s body. It isn’t super durable, but it can easily deflect attacks and reforms itself afterward.
The true advantage of the spell was already apparent—the caster could launch projectiles from within the protective ring. Janus’ own mana barriers blocked his attacks as much as they defended against his enemy’s.
Janus was certain he could disrupt the shaman’s spell array by overwhelming it with blunt force. His first ball of reinforced mana should shatter the protective shell long enough for a followup to strike the shaman. But if he disrupted the array, he would have less time to study it.
He was confident that he could stretch the fight out long enough to learn to replicate the spell array, though, and erected more mana barriers to defend himself.
The goal wasn’t to defeat the goblin, but to survive long enough. And Janus was confident that he could survive. He even took a moment to check his arm. Thankfully, the arrow hadn’t pierced the limb. Instead, it had only sliced through his swollen flesh.
It was nauseating to look at, and he hoped that it wasn’t too serious to wait on healing.
Before long, Janus managed to replicate the array. While it lacked the thorny structure of the shaman’s spell, it replicated the other effects well enough. His mana had just barely dipped into the negatives as he finally decided to finish the monster off.
He launched several reinforced balls of mana, one after the other. The first two shattered the shaman’s defensive shell and the others slammed into the shaman’s body. The shaman was knocked back into the ravine wall and the green ring circling its torso dissipated.
Janus made sure to keep up the onslaught, even forming an arrow point array above the shaman and watching the mana arrows fall. His mana exhaustion mounted, but he clenched his teeth and pushed through until the notification appeared.
[You have defeated an enemy: Rock Goblin Shaman]
[You have gained a level]
[Your Spell Weaving skill has gained 1 level]
[Your Mana Burn skill has gained 2 levels]
[Mana Burn] tended to level faster the closer Janus was to zero mana. He had an intuitive understanding of how much mana he had left, but in order to see the exact amount, he would have to summon his status. At that moment, he knew it was lower than it had been in a long time.
Status Name Janus Alamy Class Enhancer Level 26 Guild None Life 329 Max Life 544 Mana -56 Max Mana 788 Stamina 288 Max Stam 605 Stat Total Base Class Skill Item Strength 49 26 0 23 0 Endurance 46 26 0 20 0 Dexterity 28 26 0 2 0 Intelligence 127 26 52 49 0 Wisdom 107 26 26 50 5 Skill Level Bonus Bravery 4 5 Wis / Lvl Writing 8 1 Wis / 5 Lvl Sprinting 7 1 End / 5 Lvl Spell Weaving 6 20 Int/Wis, 1 Int + 1 Wis / Lvl Pow. Enhancement 3 20 Int/Str, 1 Int + 1 Str / Lvl Mana Reinforcement 19 1 End / Lvl Mana Burn 16 1 Wis / 5 Lvl Staff Fighter 2 1 Dex / Lvl Empty --- --- Empty --- ---
His life had constantly been on the line, but he couldn’t argue with the results. Fighting things solo raised his skill levels very fast. Many delvers he had spoken with didn’t even have an evolved skill. Although, the skill requirements were often more than just raising the skill’s level.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
But he didn’t have time to consider his skill gains. His mana was more than empty. The cost of healing his arm would strain him even further. He washed the blood from his arm and slowly worked to make another makeshift bandage from his blanket.
He tied it tightly around the arrow wound.
This will do until I reach a positive amount of mana.
The amount of health that Janus had lost was the most alarming thing on his status. Confronting death in such a quantifiable way made his head spin. It was strange to think that if that number ever hit zero… well, he would die.
Level 26… I think that’s the level Devon was when I met him.
Janus had considered the scarred swordsman to be untouchable. The man had always seemed so much further ahead, so much more experienced. Janus wasn’t sure what to think now that he was in the same position.
Thankfully, the [Focus] that Dario had given him allowed him to regenerate his mana much more quickly. It seemed to be more effective when he wasn’t fighting, but that might have just been his imagination.
He rested against the ravine wall and pushed down his nausea. The mana exhaustion was overwhelming. It combined with the waves of pain from his arm.
Time passed by in a haze, but Janus made sure to stay awake. It was jarring when his mana ticked over to zero. Suddenly, the mana exhaustion lifted, leaving him only with his physical exhaustion and pain.
A while longer, and he had enough mana to attempt sealing the arrow wound. While the mana seeped into his skin, a notification appeared in his mind.
[New skill obtained: Lesser Healing]
Cost: 50 Mana per second
Cooldown: 10 Minutes
Description: You can heal moderate wounds. Serious injuries take more time to heal. This skill will not heal significant internal injuries.
Bonus Stats: 1 Wis per level
Janus lost concentration on his spell.
The mana cost is ridiculous.
He had to wait a while longer before he had the mana to test the new spell. As he activated it, he groaned in relief. This spell didn’t cause him any additional pain like his replicated version did.
He studied the mana and noticed the same strange energy from the shaman’s healing spell was present.
The pain slowly faded from his arm and the wounds finally closed for good. He dipped back into negative mana, but didn’t even mind. The mana exhaustion would pass quickly. He hadn’t even realized his arm was in so much pain until it had settled.
[Your Mana Burn skill has gained 1 level]
I might actually make it to Bear Station at this rate.
Wondering about the new skill, he remembered when the system had given him [Str. Enhancement]. It was a similar situation to the one he was in now.
It was a mystery why the system hadn’t tried to give him the [Arrow Point] skill, or any of the other skills he had replicated. He supposed that [Lesser Healing] made more sense for an [Enforcer] than an offensive spell.
But he wasn’t sure. If Tsula had made it out of Crow Station alive, he would have to track her down and get her insight.
He wanted to move the moment his mana had returned to a positive value, but controlled himself. If he went into a fight without any mana, it would end badly. He wasn’t even sure if he could fight through the enhanced mana exhaustion caused by [Mana Burn].
He paced back and forth for almost another hour until most of his mana had returned.
With his new healing skill, he was tempted to stay in the dungeon even after he found the exit. He might be able to safely gain levels against the [Rock Goblins]. It was especially tempting to try and find other shamans with new spells to replicate.
With a sigh, he tossed the though away. He only had so much food and water. Besides, he wanted to get out of the tunnels as fast as possible.
Keep a calm head. The skill is just another tool. I can’t become complacent after coming so far.