“The exit is that way,” Sloane said, pointing away from the dead fish. “Let’s set up a half mile out from it and figure the best set-up for the time we have left.”
Orrin considered pointing out the least crowded way to the floor’s gate door but decided against it for now. With [Map], he could watch for monsters that would attack. The monsters of both the dungeons and the world above appeared as red. Everyone in his party was a blue dot on the [Map]. Anyone else would be gray until they attacked. Or maybe it was when they decided to attack. He didn’t have a solid idea.
The only other colors that regularly showed up on his [Map] were white for animals and yellow for traps. Orrin never found much in ability books about [Map] or the various extra functions he’d unlocked. In a world that valued quickly attacking and killing monsters, the utility spells and skills were not heavily researched.
Instead of being obvious and giving directions, Orrin walked slightly to the left of the group and waved them over to ask questions as they walked. They still ran into Skylight Anglers but not nearly as many as they would have if Sloane had been allowed to barrel ahead. Still, each attack after the first one involved three of the flying fish at minimum.
Orrin continued to use [Gust] to push the Anglers around. He tried to keep two or three occupied while Sloane and Hamish hammered them one at a time into fish food. Rhys and Iona used their magic to great effect as well. The four hundred hit points melted away off each target, giving Orrin time to push one fish out of the grouping he’d created for the next assault.
He played with [Gust], figuring out the smallest amount of mana he could use to push an Angler away, change its direction, and even keep it at a standstill. The last move took a bit of learning. He had to use [Inverse] to push and pull with the air, keeping the fish from escaping its new windy prison.
In total, the group took down seventeen Anglers on their trek to the campsite. A stone doorframe stood in a small grove of trees. Iona and Rhys sat down and even Hamish leaned against a tree.
“Rest for ten minutes and then we’ll send someone out to scout and pull back a few of the critters at a time,” Sloane instructed. “I’m going to complain when we get out. Floor six shouldn’t have this many monsters. Somebody is slacking off.” She squatted and stretched her leg in front of her. “If you need to take a mana potion do it now, youngsters. This might be a quick trip for all of us if we get swarmed.”
Iona and Rhys were sweating but not to the point that Orrin thought they were low on mana already. Sloane kept them moving at a brisk pace. He wasn’t quite sure who was the actual party leader, as Rhys still gave directions during fights from time to time.
Instead of worrying, Orrin checked his status.
Experience Gained: 1,700 XP (100 XP x 17)
According to Sloane, spending more than eight to ten hours inside the Mistwater Lanterns would risk their sleep and performance in class the following day. It had taken just over two hours to get to the sixth floor and another two hours to fight their way to this location. Sloane’s earlier estimate didn’t take into account the increased spawn rate of the Anglers. By Orrin’s math, they could spend another five to seven hours farming experience. He was at 4,586 out of 9,000 experience points needed to get to level nineteen. The team would need to kill another forty-five Anglers for him to reach the next level… unless…
Orrin joined Sloane where she was stretching.
“Sloane, I can run pretty fast with my wind magic. I could do some scouting and pull a few giant fish back each time. How many do you think we could take out?”
“We struggled when Hamish caught that group of five. With you playing around in the back and not attacking them, the rest of us have to spend twice as long killing them. I think four is safe but three is better.” Sloane responded without looking up. She was doing some sort of yoga but with only one hand on the ground.
Orrin wanted to argue that his doing more damage to one Angler wouldn’t have helped if he allowed all the fish to converge on the party at once. It was the same argument he’d had with Madi in the beginning. Everyone’s attraction to dealing the most damage was ingrained into their culture. Madi came around after multiple fights but Orrin thought a part of her was still happy it was Orrin that did crowd control, healing, and the other ‘useless’ tasks. Sloane wasn’t worth the time it would take to convince her.
“I can bring in groups of three.” He kept his response curt.
“Ask His Highness if he’s recovered. Hamish and I could keep fighting until we need to leave but once the three of you run out of mana, we’ll have to pull back.” Sloane shifted her foot to the ground and bent over, creating a bridge with her body. “If we can get another three or four groups of three taken down, it’s still a good haul for a day’s work, though.”
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Orrin nodded and walked away before he said something. Sloane’s attitude had been funny when directed at Rhys but her casual disregard for their abilities was more grating when directed at him.
“Rhys, how are you and Iona? I’m going to do a bit of scouting and try to kite a few Anglers this way.”
Rhys let the waterbag he was drinking from down. “We’re ready for another fight or two. Can I ask you a question before you leave?”
Orrin shrugged in response.
“Why do you throw [Fire Swords]? Don’t you have something better to attack with? I thought after seeing you use so much mana in class, you might be holding something back.”
The question wasn’t considered outright rude, as Rhys didn’t ask for a specific skill or spell but it still walked the border of polite talk. Orrin didn’t care and would have talked about his buff spells if he trusted this group a bit more but with the collar on and what he was currently trying to do, he wasn’t about to share.
“I have a few tricks up my sleeve but I’m fine doing what I’m doing. Do you think the Anglers just waited patiently to attack one at a time? I’ve been keeping them penned up so we can attack them. While I’m not doing as much damage that way, we all stay safer. Slow and steady wins the race.”
“Slow doesn’t win races, Casimir.”
In a world with magic, a story about a tortoise and hare racing probably wouldn’t have the same moral. “It means playing it safe is the smarter choice. I could run in and attack with a sword but that would let the Anglers attack all at once. If each of us takes one on our own, we could probably survive but the experience would be distributed weird and someone could get unlucky.”
“You’ll never get far if you aren’t powerful enough to hold your own against something as weak as a Skylight Angler,” Iona chimed in. The dismissive look in her eyes gave Orrin another pang. He missed his friends.
“I didn’t say I couldn’t take one out,” Orrin said, trying to keep his composure. “I’m not going to waste my time explaining it more. If you want, I can bring back three and we can do it your way.”
Iona shoved a bottle back inside her bag. Orrin noticed the markings of a mana potion. She must have been closer to running out than they’d thought. “We would appreciate that. We can handle these small groups.”
Orrin saluted sarcastically and turned away. He started a light jog and waved to Sloane on the way out.
Survive. Stay together. Get home. Orrin repeated his rules in his mind. He pulled up [Map] and found a group of four Anglers moving about two miles away. His feet began to eat the ground, taking larger steps and moving faster. His increased dexterity training seemed to be paying off, as he left the group behind within minutes.
Once he was out of sight, Orrin pulled his monster book out of [Dimension Hole].
Skylight Anglers use light magic to swim through the air. They use their light appendage to throw attacks of magic but their main attack consists of using long teeth to tear flesh. While relatively simple on a singular basis, Anglers spawn at high rates and attack in pods.
(** alone **** in groups)
Orrin thought of a few different ways he could fight the monsters alone. He could use [Decrease Strength] until they couldn’t carry the weight of their own bodies. He could use [Way of the Water]. He could kite them, attacking from a distance and running. Even a larger group would go down with enough [Lightstrikes]. As he approached the four fish in the distance, he used [Calm Mind] to shed the anxiety and stress he’d been under constantly for the last few weeks.
If he was going to release some tension, Orrin was going to go all out.
The four Anglers floated along without noticing him. Once he was close, Orrin used [Camouflage]. The training with Bellamy to increase his output potential was paying off as well. Orrin closed the fifty yards in a flash. He stabbed a [Fire Sword] directly into the softball-sized eye and twisted before letting the blade go. One quick jab with his increased strength to the hilt the sword pushed the blade through the Angler completely. It fell lifeless to the ground.
Before it bounced, Orrin was on the second Angler. The four monsters stood no chance against the combined speed and strength of a fully juiced-up Orrin. Using [Way of the Water], he dodged the few counterattacks of the remaining three fish. Once there was only one, Orrin experimented.
“Three casts of [Decrease Strength] to bring you down, huh? You must be strong.” Orrin raised his foot over the fish’s eye. The book didn’t say that was the weak spot but from the dozens of punches and kicks he’d just delivered, he would need to remember to add that in as a footnote.
Orrin stomped three times before the head caved in.
Experience Gained: 2,000 XP (500 XP x 4)
“That’s more like it.”
Orrin’s fight lasted two minutes. The party had fought each group of monsters for upwards of five to ten minutes. He knew that he’d grown but this was insane. The maxed-out stats were starting to show their full potential and Orrin knew from his training he was only tapping a small part of his total potential.
He found another group of three fish and hit them all with [Lightstrikes]. Falling back, he dodged their thrown light attacks and kept them moving toward the party. He moved slower than he could, as he wasn’t sure when he would come into their view.
“Take the one on the left, we’ll go right,” Sloane’s voice came from behind him. “Casimir, take out the center one or at least keep it tied up until we can help you.”
Orrin used [Gust] again to separate the fish and make it easier for them to attack. Hamish and Sloane made quick work of the right-most Angler before moving to attack the one Orrin was half-heartedly throwing [Fire Swords] at. They didn’t quite finish it off before Iona and Rhys joined in.
Experience Gained: 432 XP (100 XP x 1; 166 x 2)
“Not bad,” Sloane said, huffing as she leaned on her quarterstaff. “Try and be a little quicker bringing the next set back?”
Orrin smiled and saluted her again. Iona let out a single chuckle, which he ignored. Turning his back on the party, he ran back into the depths of the dungeon.