I narrowed my eyes seeing the monsters with various shapes run towards us. No, run wasn’t the right word. Their movement was something else. Their body looked like it was made out of petrol, black and slimy. Despite having two arms and standing on their two legs with a hunched stance, their movement resembled more of a liquid dripping. I could discern a reptilian head and they had something akin to a tail on their back. I felt a sense of unease rise deep inside me. Their petrol-like bodies not only looked out of place in an area under Mother Tree’s protection but it also reminded me of fossil fuels and the pollution they brought upon my world.
The creatures closed the distance, their reptilian heads turning in a synchronized fashion as if sharing a collective consciousness. The air around them seemed to ripple with an unnatural energy, and the oppressive atmosphere of the desolate floor heightened the tension. An arrow passed beside my ear, whistling. I watched as Elandris’s arrow pierced through one of the creature’s heads and stuck on the ground, obliterating its head in the process. However, my excitement about their durability being on the lower side died out as the creature’s head reformed itself in several seconds. It wasn’t exactly regeneration, more like a liquid filling a bowl.
“Shit.”
Elandris didn’t react except to pull out another arrow from his quiver and nock it to his bow. Another precise shot tore off one of the creature’s arms which reformed without any delay.
“They must have a core or something.”
I whispered. They looked like slimes and slimes had cores, right? The other choice was exposing them to extreme temperatures though we only use cold. I summoned my hammer as they closed on the close combat range. They tried to move past my shield but I infused mana into it to gigantify it. Already heavy and big shield expanded more and dug the rocks below. One of the oily creatures peeked its ugly head behind the shield and I smashed its head into a thousand parts. Despite taking damage enough to kill every living being, it just stumbled several steps back and reformed its head. I clicked my tongue swung my hammer overhead and smashed its entire body. Its parts rained upon everywhere including me. Disgusting.
“These motherfuckers.”
Seeing those drops crawl and gather together slowly made me curse loudly.
However, I had bigger problems as I felt my mana being drained. I looked at my body and saw that the drops that rained on me weren’t moving to join others.
(Your partner is sharing Greater Ice Resistance.)
(Your partner is sharing Ice Wolf’s Breath.)
I had to think quickly if I didn’t want all of my mana gone. I froze the drops on my body. It took immense amounts of mana to do so for some reason, easily more than freezing large amounts of water. Maybe they had some kind of resistance. I broke their frozen forms to separate them and the feeling stopped. I stepped back several meters, abandoning my shield.
“Don’t let them get onto you! They can absorb your mana!”
I informed Elandris, who quickly joined me in retreating.
“I can freeze them but it costs too much mana! I can only freeze 2- 3 at most before I am fully exhausted! Do you have any fire-based attacks?”
Elandris responded by swiftly firing arrows with precision, targeting vital points on the creatures' bodies. Despite his accurate shots, the creatures displayed their disconcerting resilience again, regenerating and reforming almost instantly though it slowed them a little.
“Only wind and water. I can summon parts of Mother but against these creatures, it would only cause harm.”
Damn. I at least wanted to try if they were weak to high temperatures but we had no way of trying.
“Gökbörü, I need mana.”
I felt Gökbörü’s mana fill up inside, replenishing the mana I had lost. I took a deep breath as I lifted my hammer high in the air. I filled it with most of the mana I had. I brought it down to the ground and activated Gaia Burst. The ground beneath us trembled as the activation of Gaia Burst sent a shockwave through the desolate landscape. The ground between us and the creatures split open as the dust filled my vision. I was able to create a mess big enough to stop the creature’s march towards us, even burying some of them.
I fell down on one knee as the effects of Arcane Overload showed itself. I was able to pull myself together rather quickly thanks to being used to it. I grabbed Elandris.
“Fuck the shield. We can retrieve it later. We need to retreat and come up with a plan.”
Our retreat was mostly silent except for my rapid breathing. Moving fast through harsh terrain was a part of the reason but the main reason was most of my mana being exhausted. Even with Gökbörü’s help, the mana they absorbed from me was big. They were only on me for 15 to 30 seconds at most but I guess spending mana to freeze them also didn’t help. We stopped and took cover behind a large rock after making sure that they weren’t chasing us. I leaned to the rock and collapsed to the ground slowly.
“Are you alright?”
Elandris asked while still tracing around us for danger.
“Give me a minute. No physical damage just need to replenish my mana.”
I cracked my joints and took my breathing under control.
“I don’t think they are hunting based on sight. Their eyes were long gone.”
I pulled documents Morrigan gave to me and scanned them for information related to the fourth floor.
“According to this information, this floor housed mainly lizardmen. Considering their shapes, I say that the creatures we faced either used to be lizardmen or something mimicking their shape. Considering we haven’t seen not even one lizardman I say that it is the former.”
I explained with my eyes closed. That way I could think more clearly and mitigate the effect of Arcane Overload.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Gökbörü, were you able to see a core when I smashed them?”
“Woof…”
Gökbörü growled sadly.
“I also couldn’t detect any kind of core.”
Elandris added his observation. Damn. If his elf eyes couldn’t see then the core theory was gone.
“Perhaps they are like a colony made out of countless individuals. The reason why they could “heal” is because they just replace the individuals they lost with new ones from the collective. This would explain the lack of a central core or vital organ. Which is also why the parts we blow off gather together again to reform."
I tilted my head to the right, and then to the left before straightening it.
“Another question is how their mana absorption works. Our weapons were clad with mana yet they were effective. Maybe they aren’t fast enough to absorb mana before our strikes or they can’t absorb mana we infuse into our weapons.”
I opened as my thoughts came to an end. I felt better now that my mana had replenished. Elandris nodded in contemplation, his keen elven eyes narrowing in thought.
"It's a plausible theory. Their ability to reform and regenerate seems tied to this collective nature. As for the mana absorption, it's possible that the rapid strikes overwhelm their absorption capacity. We may need a more precise and controlled approach. However, fighting against them may not even be necessary. They are relatively slow. If we could somehow avoid them and create obstacles to block them we could reach to boss while saving our mana and stamina."
I pulled several pieces of jerky and offered them to Elandris who refused.
“Hmm. Vegetarian?”
I asked.
“Haha, no. I know humans think since we protect the forest we don’t eat animals but we do eat meat from time to time. It is just that our taste buds are drastically different than humans and beastkin. If I were to eat what you offered me my tongue would burn because of the spices. Thanks for the offer, however.”
Hmm. Since beastkin was very similar to humans in many ways I thought elves were the same but guess I was wrong.
“I also think that not engaging them is the best course of action. However, the boss is most likely similar to them. It may be a better course of action to fight several of them and figure out what their weakness is.”
Elandris considered my words, his gaze still scanning the desolate landscape for any signs of the oily creatures.
“I agree. It may be a good idea to isolate one and try what works and what doesn’t. We also shouldn’t stay in one place too long if we don’t want to draw their attention.”
I nodded in agreement, getting up from my resting spot. With a cautious glance around, I began to move, keeping a safe distance from the creatures. Elandris led the way, his elven senses helping to navigate the treacherous terrain silently. As we moved through the desolate fourth floor, the eerie silence was occasionally interrupted by the distant, slimy movements of the creatures.
After a careful journey, Elandris identified a concealed vantage point from which we could observe the creatures without being immediately noticed. We both hunkered down, keeping a keen eye on the oily entities as they moved through the fractured landscape.
“Do you think they use their hearing to locate others?”
I whispered.
“Possible but it is more likely that they are drawn to mana.”
I raised an eyebrow at his statement. If that was true then we hiding behind a rock did nothing. Perhaps it could somehow hide our mana presence or something.
“Unless we use mana and keep hiding our presence just like now I don’t think they can detect us.”
He added. Oh, we were hiding our presence? Guess since we moved through shadows Shadow Melt must kept me hidden. Anyway, I poked my head out and observed the creatures. The oily entities moved with an eerie coordination, their reptilian heads turning in unison as if guided by a shared consciousness.
“Gökbörü. Do you think you can avoid them?”
He wagged his tail.
“I want to see if burying them under debris fill work. Do you think you can draw them under that rock formation? When I give you the signal Shadow Walk back.”
Elandris silently nodded. Gökbörü, sensing my intention, wagged his tail with a certain eagerness. The Ice Wolf understood the plan and gracefully maneuvered through the fractured landscape before slowly approaching the creatures.
“Their detection range is quite big.”
I noted when they detected Gökbörü. The creatures, as if drawn by a magnetic force, sluggishly changed their course and moved toward the location where Gökbörü stood moments ago. Gökbörü kept pace with them making sure that they didn’t lose him. As he waited for the creatures to catch up to him while wagging his tail, I slowly loaded mana into my hammer. Elandris also pulled his bowstring back. The moment they were about to reach Gökbörü, I threw my hammer to the rocks. The hammer sailed through the air, a glint of mana-infused power emanating from it. As it collided with the rocks, a resounding crash echoed through the desolate landscape. However, it was far from over. Elandris’s arrow also hit the rocks.
With a silent command, Gökbörü executed a perfect Shadow Walk, vanishing from their view. His timing couldn’t be better as rocks and dust rained upon the creatures, burying them beneath the rubble. After all that ruckus, for a moment, silence descended upon the fourth-floor landscape. Gökbörü popped out of my shadow and I gave him the headpats he deserved.
“Let’s take a closer look to see if it worked.”
I said while exiting out of our hiding spot.
Carefully, we approached the debris-covered area where the creatures had been buried. The eerie silence persisted, broken only by the distant sound of the desolate winds sweeping through the fractured landscape. As we reached the site, a mixture of dust and the remnants of the rocky avalanche greeted us.
It appeared that the creatures were successfully buried beneath the debris, their slimy forms obscured from view. I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at the effectiveness of the plan.
"Well done, Gökbörü," I praised the silly furball, who wagged his tail in response, clearly pleased with the successful execution of the maneuver.