We managed to tunnel through thirty feet of the rock before the timer hit zero. The miners' skills greatly improved the speed of the process. One of them had a skill that softened the rock, allowing each strike of the pick to break off larger chunks. Another had a skill that allowed the broken rocks to be placed in his inventory and moved out of the tunnel. One could increase the structural strength of the tunnel as long as he participated in making it.
We used the broken rock to create a series of three rough stone walls a few feet high. Intelligent and quick moving beasts would have no trouble with them but the slower moving standard ghouls would have been easily stopped earlier. Arthur was trying to scrape out every advantage he could this time. If only we had this time to plan before the first series of ghouls had attacked.
Camile was wearing a new necklace that increased her intelligence and wisdom by 6, and her charisma by 1. Those were the stats tied to her Inspire skills as well as Defy The Odds, further increasing their effectiveness. We had learned while we worked on the tunnel that one of the Thorks Miners named Min had a class called Loremaster. As she leveled she gained increased knowledge about the world at large and the framework.
It was her who told us the connection between Camile’s skills and her stats. We could allow her to inspect parts of our interface and she would gain additional information to what we already knew. The obvious downside was that she would then know exactly what skills and stats a person had. It was a tricky position to be in, I was just glad we were allies.
Min told me that it was my high wisdom score that had allowed such a strong bond for Beast Companion. As my wisdom increased and I leveled Beast Companion I would be able to bond with more beasts in the future. My bonds would continue to grow in strength and communication would become easier.
Rocks, Arthur and Gerald all had new or upgraded armor. Gerald took a class called Rock Wall which was similar to Rocks class Wall Of Steel. It was a defensive based class that greatly improved his armor score and increased his healing. He had a new skill that was similar to Vans taunt. Everyone’s weapons were coated in the hallowed light mixture with a few more to spare. Health potions were distributed to everyone and a stockpile left in the tunnel.
We were arranged in a semi circle around the tunnel entrance. Arthur, Rocks and Gerald lead teams of three. Marci, Van and myself made the fourth team. The fifth team was Leslie and her two bodyguards. Everyone else was working on the tunnel's back entrance or waiting to use support skills and stationed with Camile and Leslie at the tunnel entrance.
The ghouls began to spawn. Ten overseers sprang to existence across the mine's flat section. They turned as one to face us and charged across the open distance.
“Steady! Steady! Stick to your formations. We stay in our defensive positions until we are forced out of them. We will be much stronger closer to the tunnel. Supports be ready to cast on Mason’s command!” Arthur shouted out and took charge.
“Trust in yourselves and your allies! We defeated every foe we have faced! We will defeat these as well!” Camile used Inspire and I felt it wash over me. My anxiety and fears flowed away replaced by courage and faith in my friends.
Marci and Van radiated trust and friendship back and forth. The bond between the two of them was nearly as close as the bond with me now. Marci sat on Van’s helmet and this time the ape didn’t mind.
The overseers crossed an imaginary threshold and Van took up the charge. The battle started with a deafening roar followed by a crash as Van launched himself like a spear through the first overseer. Marci ripped its head nearly in half with her talons and shrieked a war cry as she circled to take out another. The pair of them could comfortably take two or three overseers by this point.
I positioned myself to receive the charge of two and used my spear. Wanting to save what few arrows we had left for any more surprises. My ever increasing stats and combat experience with my spear allowed me to dance between both overseers while scoring several hits.
I felt a wave of power erupt from the tunnel and lost my balance as my stats soared. An overseer tried to take advantage and smash my arm with its stave but I barely felt it. My spear took it in the throat before it could respond. It would take practice getting used to the rush from the increased stats and the lull when they left. I dispatched the next one with ease and looked around to see my party at full health and everyone still standing.
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“We need to practice with the full boosts before trying to use them on a tougher foe. I lost my balance when this one hit.” I shouted out to the group.
“Agreed! Your fighting style is different from ours so you will feel the increase and decrease more sharply.” Arthur agreed and turned to coordinate with Mason.
We didn’t have to wait long for a chance to practice the full synchronized boost. At the 450 mark on the counter, ten overseers spawned beside a new beast.
Rock Elemental - Intelligent Beast - Level 34 - Health 1000/1000 - Armor 800 - Elemental force that developed sentience deep below the surface. Slow moving with high health pools and high armor ratings.
The rock elemental was made of fifteen or twenty boulders connected somehow. It walked on two legs made of three large boulders each with a torso of three. It had four arms of small, cylindrical boulders and a head. It even had eyes and a mouth which seemed bizarre. It stood still for a moment while the overseers charged. It began to walk towards us, each step was slow and I felt the earth beneath me shake from the impact.
I relayed the information to everyone. I quickly sent out a series of thoughts to Van and Marci to take out the overseers as quickly as possible and leave the elemental for us. Van charged with a roar, Marci using Power Dive on the closest foe.
“Syl! See if you can damage it!” Arthur shouted from his side of the tunnel.
I shot the huge elemental with an arrow to see if there was any effect. The combat log showed that my arrow had done 1 damage. I dashed in with my spear and raked it across one of its legs that were taller than me. Again checking the combat log showed only 11 damage. The elemental slammed one of its arms down towards me in a movement that seemed way too fast for something so large and heavy.
“Barely! It’s too tough! Too much armor!” I shouted back and moved halfway between the elemental and the tunnel. “I’m gonna try a bomb! Everyone back to the tunnel! Get down!”
I threw a standard bomb at the elemental and detonated it against its torso. The sound of the explosion echoed in the large room and created a cloud of dust and debris. When the dust cleared the elemental was still standing. Checking the combat log showed just 70 points of damage.
The rest of the group had finished off the overseers. Marci landed back on my shoulder and shrieked at the elemental. Van was behind it and readying for a charge. I asked him to wait for us through the bond. He gave a frustrated grunt and kept his distance.
“I damaged it but not enough! I don’t have enough bombs left to take it all the way down!” I shouted back to everyone. My panic level was starting to rise until I heard a voice shout from the tunnel.
“I can try to soften the rock! It works on the mine walls! I have to get close enough to touch it!” The miner with the skill to soften the rock for tunneling, Jason, was running out towards us.
“Careful! It’s faster than it looks! We’ll try to distract it!” I replied as the four teams spread out and moved towards the elemental. Thankfully it had stopped moving temporarily when I detonated the bomb. We only had fifty feet of space between it and the tunnel.
“Full support! Full support!” Arthur shouted.
Van triggered Frenzy and launched himself at the elemental. Marci was trying to use her Power Dive to get at its eyes but it didn’t care in the same way the ghouls didn’t. The wave of power came again and this time it was three times as strong. I could hear Camile shouting but couldn’t make out the words. I felt more powerful than ever as we charged the elemental.
Van was the first to reach it and started hammering it with his fists before getting slapped away by one of its arms. I was moments slower and tried to get my spear between the boulders in hopes of severing the connections. Jason waited a few feet out and looked for his chance. Arthur was smashing one of its legs with his warhammer and it turned its attention fully on him.
The elemental brought a massive fist down on Arthurs chest before he could move and it pummeled the man against the ground. There was a loud snap and Camile screamed as Arthur hit the ground. Jason dashed in with his buffed speed and slapped the elemental on the leg. The beast groaned in a sound of crushing boulders and whipped out with his arms in every direction.
Van was back in the fight and this time it was working. Every time he hit the rock elemental it chipped pieces off. We redoubled our efforts and scored too many hits against its legs for the beast to ignore and it fell with a crash. Slaying it once it was on the ground was trivial, we just kept our distance and hit it while it flopped its arms angrily.
It finally died as Leslie arrived and bent over Arthur. His health bar was red and looked empty, I triggered Identify and his health was only 17.
“Get him out of here!” I yelled at Leslie and saw Camile running out as well. “Back to the tunnel! Get him to the tunnel!”
It took a precious few seconds for the shock to wear off before they began to carry the big man back to the tunnel. Without the support classes boosting strength they may not have been able. During the distraction, ten more overseers spawned and the battle began anew.