Zoe flooded mana into the ground around them, subtly shifting around the earth below them, more as a performance than anything else. The moles flying through the ground like fish through water were as clear as day to her through her Cosmic Vision, but she needed some excuse to be helpful. Some reason that justified her existence here in the group.
Or at least, that was the purpose of her display at first. But it really worked, not as well as her Cosmic Vision, but she wouldn’t always have that class at her disposal. What if this were a challenge dungeon and she was restricted to just her first class again? Knowing how to notice those minute disruptions as the moles pushed dirt and rock aside, understanding what all those tiny movements meant for how they were moving, how fast they were and where they would be going would be more valuable than almost anything else she would have access to.
Travelling with a more normal party — for whatever definition of normal applied to Brick’s party, continued to prove a useful experience. The reliance on all of their skills, on using every tool at their disposal to its maximum effect. It showed her how little she truly understood of her skills, of the magic that she was capable of.
Brick grinned as they watched Zoe intently, waiting for the next signal of one of the moles. Spark’s laughter resounded through the cavern and Blue watched with an glint in their eye, an intensity that put even Zoe on edge. No joy, no anger. Just mechanical. Zoe would point, and she knew Blue would stab the very next moment, impaling whatever dared breach the dirt.
The moles swam through the dirt below them like sharks in water, waiting for a moment of weakness to leap at their prey. Many swirled around just below Spark, with just as many below Zoe. Brick and Blue only had a handful between the two of them, clawing their way through the dirt.
Dozens? Maybe more. They moved so quick and the magic that clung to their black claws flooded the dirt, sending minor fluctuations through that Zoe tried to interpret with her Earth skill.
After she let one make contact with her back, she stopped following them with her Cosmic Vision. Instead choosing to rely on solely her Earth skill, refining her control and bettering her ability to parse the information it flooded her with for when it truly mattered.
The claws were powerful, ripping thousands of health from her in an instant as they ripped apart her clothes and dug into her skin. The wound was still there, a distant stinging sensation on her back as blood dripped from the long gash in her back, seeping into the hide armour she wore and plopping on the earth ground..
But it wasn’t a death sentence, even for the others she travelled with. Nobody survived down here in the valleys, travelling the forests and taking on dangerous jobs without the ability to take at least somewhat of a beating. They could survive at least a hit from the moles. More, maybe not.
Mana surged through the ground as several moles seemed to be rushing to the surface. Zoe fired off small bolts of water, impacting the ground just before the moles exited as she tried to step aside to dodge the one that was coming up from below her.
Spark and Blue both rammed their spears down into the ground, impaling two of the moles as their sickening heads poked out of the earth. Brick teleported to Zoe and shoved her aside and mana rushed from their form to the ground. The mole clawed its way out of the ground, the earth behind it stitching back together as it exited and space warped around it. Fluctuations in space tore into the mole’s skin, squishing it into itself as they ripped through it.
“More, Mara?” Brick asked.
Zoe nodded. “Yeah. Lots.”
“Can we handle them?” Brick asked.
Zoe shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s a lot.”
Another vibration shook the earth, signalling a mole ascending towards Brick. Zoe shot off another blast of water just before it exited, and Blue impaled it on the end of their spear.
“Why are they not all coming together?" Brick asked.
“I don’t know. Not enough space for them all? They’re pretty big.” Zoe shot off another blast of water next to Spark who rammed their spear down into the ground, impaling another mole. The bodies were beginning to pile up next to them as each mole was tossed aside. Zoe eyed the claws, making a note to take a few before they left.
“Can you dig them out?” Brick asked.
Zoe waved her hands like an imaginary set of scales. “Maybe. They’re very good with earth, I’m not sure I could overwhelm them like that.”
Brick nodded, jumping back as Zoe shot another blast of water at their feet. A mole exited the ground a moment later and space tore into it, ripping it to shreds. What remains were left were tossed aside.
Impressive, Zoe thought. The moles were all over level one fifty, and even with their level advantage Brick’s group was handling them with ease. Each mole taken out in an instant when it revealed itself — barring the one that Brick tried to capture, which managed to overwhelm them.
Was Brick weak, or were the moles strong? Zoe figured it would be a mix of both. The moles glided through the earth with practised ease, their mana laden claws carving away at the dirt like a, well like a mole’s claws through dirt she supposed. They’d need some strength to accomplish that at least, even if the magic was carrying them to some extent they needed to be able to wield those long claws and swing them with ease.
But, they didn’t have to carve away at the dirt itself. The mana that coated their claws seemed to compress the dirt around them, letting it decompress after they passed as though they had never passed at all. Which meant they needed to be more diverse than just strength. Intelligence and Wisdom were necessary, too — if these creatures even used the same stats as Zoe did. Perhaps they had an entirely different system, with different stats and purposes, tailor made for their species.
Zoe shot another blast of water next to spark, who impaled yet another mole on the end of their spear, tossing it to the side like a wet bag of sand.
“Can we clear them out?” Brick asked.
“I’m not sure. Maybe? There’s a lot of them. Maybe if we keep this up, they’ll thin out. But maybe more will just keep coming. There’s really no way for me to know at this point. There’s lots down there now.” Zoe said as she fired a blast of water at her feet and stepped to the side.
Brick teleported next to her and shoved her away as they ripped the mole that popped out of the ground to pieces with their space magic. They hadn’t shoved her the first time one came up at her, were they worried because of the wound on her back? Or were they prioritizing trying to catch one at first, and they’d simply given up on the idea after the failure?
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“Should we continue in?" Blue asked.
Brick shook their head. “We can handle this, we’ll stick here until we know more.”
The dance of dodging the tunnelling moles and impaling them on spears or ripping them apart with magic continued for well over an hour before the mole population showed any signs of dwindling. The last mole fell almost two and a half hours after they first entered the larger cavern.
“Mara,” Brick said between deep breaths. “Heal us.”
Zoe nodded and went through the group, pushing a pittance of mana through her Restoration skill to mend their wounds. She started with herself, the worst of the bunch. Or at least the worse appearing of the bunch. Her clothes were torn and her body was covered in long, wide scratches where the moles managed to slip through Brick’s attempts at protecting her.
Her clothes and light armour stitch themselves back together, threads weaving across each other as the torn fabrics wound back through time. Her wounds vanished in minutes leaving her skin unblemished and without scars, as though the deep gashes that covered her had never happened.
Brick was next on Zoe’s quick triage list, bearing the brunt of the damage as they threw themselves in front of Zoe. They were missing several fingers that the moles managed to slice off with their powerful claws, and half of their left foot was missing. Eaten by one of the moles as it ripped up through the ground and bit into Brick’s leg. They managed to get it free for the most part, but not without sacrifice.
“This is incredible,” Brick said as they watched their wounds repair in front of them. “I’d seen it before, when we tested it. But it’s incredible.”
Spark stared at Brick’s foot as bone and flesh pulled together again, awe and a hint of fear poking through their excitement. “This is my first time seeing it. That’s impressive.”
Brick nodded. “Don’t get used to it, Mara won’t be here with us forever.”
“But it is nice,” Blue added. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. That’s what I’m here for. Thanks for bringing me along.” Zoe said.
Brick smiled. “Do we want to continue? There seems to be another tunnel over there.” They pointed towards the back of the cavern where a small hole seemed to bend, curving down and out of sight.
“This is fun, lets keep going.” Spark said.
Blue shrugged. “It really has been. I say we continue.”
“Then we continue since that’s my vote too.” Brick said. “Mara, are you alright to continue?"
Zoe nodded.
“Good. Lets go then, Mara, lead the way. Spark and Blue, you two flank her and keep her safe. I’ll pull up the back.” Brick said.
Zoe nodded again and headed towards the small tunnel at the back of the cavern. It was just large enough for one person to squeeze their way through — throwing a wrench in Brick’s impromptu change to their formation. It opened up again after a short walk in another larger cavern Zoe could see through her Cosmic Vision, but until they got there it would be a very tight fit. If there were moles lurking in the walls just out of sight? Avoiding them would be difficult for the group.
Brick walked up to the tunnel and waved their torch in it, casting the flickering orange light down the tunnel, revealing the curved wall as it wound down and to the left a bit. “Damn. We’d be sitting imps in there.”
Spark nodded. “I can check it out?"
Brick shook their head. “No, you two stay back here and keep Mara safe. I’ll go check it out. This might be as far as we can go, if it stays like this for a bit.”
Blue shrugged. “Oh well, better safe than dead. This was a good distraction at least.”
Brick nodded and squeezed into the tunnel, walking down the winding path. The walls came to life with mana as dozens more moles that had been motionless jumped into action. Their claws cut through the dirt with an effortless ease as they charged towards Brick.
“MOLES!" Zoe shouted down the tunnel.
Brick clicked their tongue and continued on. The walls exploded a moment later, moles leaping across from one side to the other, their claws outstretched, piercing through whatever was in their path. Zoe heard a distant groan from Brick who teleported back out to the cavern next to the group. They were missing a large chunk from their gut, as well as most of their right leg as they crumpled to the ground next to Zoe.
As soon as they arrived, they teleported away again, dragging the group with them. First deeper into the cavern, then up into the tunnel, then the entrance to the dungeon and at last back up to the surface.
Zoe knelt down, grabbing Brick’s shoulder and pushing mana into them to mend their wounds. “Are you okay?” She asked.
Brick nodded, grimacing from the pain of their body being repaired.
“Are we safe up here?” Blue asked.
“We should be,” Zoe answered. “I’ve never seen monsters come out of the dungeon. I don’t feel anything below us right now either.”
Blue nodded and scowled at the entrance.
Minutes later, Brick was healed and propped themselves up on a nearby stump. “Do we still want to continue? We’d have to deal with that swarm somehow. Any ideas?"
“Mara can carve out a bigger hole so we can have an easier time dealing with them?” Spark suggested.
“I can try, at least. I don’t know how effective my earth manipulation will be down there, though.”
“We’ll try it. Tomorrow. Hopefully we’ve culled their population enough to not be a concern tomorrow.” Brick said as they got up and started walking towards the small hovel Zoe carved out for the previous night.
“We might have. But the dungeon might also replenish the dead by then, too. Could go either way.” Zoe said.
“Doesn’t hurt to try, then. We know we can handle the first room. Are you all still wanting to try tomorrow? My vote is yes. If we can handle the first room, we can try to figure something out for the tunnel.” Brick said.
“I’m for it.” Spark added.
“I don’t feel strongly either way. It seems dangerous, but it is exciting. If we can find a way to get through that tunnel, then I’m okay with trying it. If we can’t, then I vote we leave.” Blue said.
Brick nodded. “Mara?"
“I say we try it. I can heal you if anything happens. Just keep me alive.” Zoe said.
“We tackle it at first light tomorrow again, then. Hopefully it goes better next time.” Brick said.
The group made their way back to the small hole Zoe dug and relaxed for a while, discussing different plans for getting through the tunnel. The most likely solution had Zoe carving out a larger tunnel so they could react to the moles, but if that didn’t work then Brick thought it might be possible to try and trick the moles by rolling a pile of rocks down the tunnel, then sneak through amidst the chaos.