Every soldier looked back at the general, looking as though they were witnessing a psychopath speaking out loud. The only ones not looking were Myra and Piker, who instead were looking at the monster in front of them.
Zeke and Mikella looked over at the lords, who both shared a look of concern. They didn’t speak up at all despite the danger in front of them.
“What?!” Maxie shouted back. “T-There’s no way we can take that down! It’s Journeyman Rank!”
“And is that not why you took up the blade?” The general spoke, looking directly at Maxie. He wilted at his hardened glare as he continued. “We are all willing to raid a dungeon, which could prove to be just as, if not, more dangerous than this monster in front of us. If none of you are ready to face this one, how can any of you expect to be of use in the dungeon?”
The words rang like a bell to everyone, but for some it was hollow. Their faces paled and their eyes looked at the distance. Clearly, they were considering how to handle this.
Without the powerful Journeymen joining in, their death was practically assured, at least in their minds. However, Zeke thought differently.
What if something happens and we need them for the dungeon? Zeke imagined a couple of reasons why they couldn’t join in.
True enough, their intention was so that not only would they back off and let the others gain XP to get stronger, it is also to bolster them to keep training and improving themselves to the point of harsh discipline.
On the other hand, the dungeon could be an unknown territory. If they spent all their hard-earned resources on a creature like this, not only would the soldiers around them will remain weak, but they could end up in a situation where they could die if they hadn’t spent their energies uselessly.
Perhaps there was more to this than just simply preserving energies, and the sense of rot still hung in the air, almost cradling the creature entirely now that he saw it. While he can understand their reasoning, one look at the side reminded them of something very important.
The messy remains of the former axeman. It reminded them that death still stood by the side, waiting to reap.
Like it or not, it was their duty to ensure that everyone else gets stronger, and only get in when the situation is tougher than normal. If they think that the rest of the soldiers could take out a Journeyman rank, then that means the dungeon is far more dangerous than it would normally be.
He was certain that was what the soldiers were being taught. He looked back at Mikella.
“Zeke?” Mikella tilted her head. “You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah…” Zeke nodded, making sure not to let it get to him. He should be glad that she was okay, even if he felt responsible for not saving the axeman’s life. And besides that, there was still that giant in front of them.
It seemed to stand still for some reason. From the looks of it, it was just staring at them, glaring hard. Its red eyes with no pupils whatsoever was disturbing to look at, but Zeke could tell that it was waiting for something.
Then, he realized it. The creature was waiting for its Mana to recover. It somehow knew that they would be preoccupied with their recovery, taking the chance to rest and regain its resources.
“We gotta take care of that thing first,” Zeke said, pointing at the creature. Mikella nodded in agreement, but she frowned.
“But how?” Mikella asked. “If it could launch a spell, wouldn’t that make it a magical monster?”
“A magic monster with muscles for days. That’s just not fair,” Zeke agreed, even shaking his head. “I don’t know whether it specializes in Intelligence or Strength. Considering that… power it showed, I’m leaning more into mage.”
“But it’s strong looking too,” Mikella narrowed her eyes. “And it’s definitely well-built. I could just see by the stance it shows. It’s not a mage–or rather, it’s not a total mage. It has range and physical power to match. It’ll be difficult to fight it in melee.”
He nodded as he looked back at her. She looked nervous. Her eyes were glowing yellow, showing that she was already activating her Hawk Eyes. She frowned at the creature, meaning that its weaknesses weren’t so easily visible.
The other soldiers quickly caught on, either fumbling with their weapons or their legs shaking. As the seconds passed, nobody bothered to even make up a plan.
That’s when Piker and Myra walked over to them. Zeke turned to find Piker staring daggers at him, getting him to inwardly groan thinking it was some complaint.
“How long can your barrier last against that creature, Zeke?”
Zeke hung his head back in shock. Not only did Piker manage to make a formal question, at the end, he actually said his name. His actual name. That honestly surprised him as he thought he didn’t bother using names and instead would just call him ‘mage’ or even ‘whelp’ for good measure, being a military guy and all.
“Hah! Look at him, he’s so shocked,” Myra guffawed, taking the time to enjoy the scene which only made Piker glare back at her.
“Answer the question already,” Piker snapped back at Zeke, surprising him again.
“I…” Zeke grimaced, feeling his resources in his mind. He had to recover the barrier’s integrity after the spell hit, fixing the cracks and remaking it back to its smooth surface. “I’m running low, but the barrier can still hold. I don’t know if I can take another major spell like that without running out entirely and it breaking halfway through.”
The other three, despite Myra’s cheery mood, dampened at the news. The leaders were keeping out of this, knowing full well that adding their input is likely another way to help them, which won’t do at all. The fact that the other soldiers weren’t really helping didn’t really improve the situation.
However, Maxie and Jackie got out of their funk and ran over to them. Jackie shouted at Zeke. “The giant’s doing something!”
Zeke looked over at the giant, finally moving again. Upon closer inspection, the giant’s weapon of choice really did look like a tree trunk, but fashioned to handle more like a staff with its jaded edges and even a black stone affixed to the top of it. That very same black stone is glowing hot red, almost as if readying the same spell again.
But as another second passed, several orbs of burning fire were summoned instead. They felt powerful, more powerful than a standard Fireball, but they weren’t as intense as the last wave attack. The giant launched the fireballs straight at his dome, hitting them and making them explode upon impact.
The dome shook from the blast, causing the soldiers to run back towards the center of the dome and far away from the edges. Thankfully, the barrier held true.
Zeke looked back at his mana, reinforcing the barrier again and taking another chunk of his already depleted pool. He figured now was the time as he dug around in his storage pack, pulling out his Mana potion.
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He had four, given to them by all the mages before leaving. It was expensive, but everyone knew that the guy making the barriers would have the most priority. He did feel bad about it and he hoped that he could pay them back after this. But for now, he chugged one with ease, the taste easily digestible after drinking so many of these before. As the liquid burned through his throat and landed in his stomach, a surge of energy passed through his channels, letting him breathe deep as his Mana refilled.
It wasn’t a lot–it only reached above half of the total amount. But it was doable as he turned to the others.
“It’s definitely not a good idea to get out there,” Zeke said, seeing the giant once again summoning his balls of flames and throwing them at the dome, causing several explosions to ring out again. He closed one eye out of reflex, but then turned back to his comrades. “You guys got any ranged attacks?”
“I got my mana, but…” Myra brushed her long hair awkwardly. “It’s mostly for close combat. And I don’t think I’m able to actually do anything at this range.”
“My attunement has a disadvantage against that monster’s flames. They will melt instantly,” Piker added, causing Zeke to grimace. Piker was the strongest of the lot of them, but seeing that he specialized in Ice magic didn’t help much right now.
“I can probably get a big hit in, but I’m not sure how tough it is. One good hit and I would already be running out of resources.”
The other three turned silent. Looking at the scene now, he considered what to do. Mikella could do that, but at this rate, she might end up getting hit by those flames, or worse, get hit with the wave again. None of those options were good, so that meant the only safe place for now would be inside of his dome, but they can’t attack from their dome since it would get in the way…
Unless…
“I…I have an idea,” Zeke muttered, but that clearly got their attention.
“What is it?” Mikella asked. Her eyes were staring deep into his own. “You got a plan to kill it?”
“Kill might be too strong a word…” Zeke uttered out, but Piker let out a grunt.
“Just hurry up and answer already! We don’t have much time.”
Mikella gave Piker a glare, but he was right in Zeke’s mind. The three listened as he flexed his hands to make his point.
“I can make a rune array that can help us out. But I haven’t been testing it out for situations like this. But if it works, we might be able to attack even from inside my barrier.”
“How so?” Mikella asked, getting closer. She was clearly interested in this endeavor.
“I’ll make the runes here,” Zeke said, pointing at the direction where the fireballs were currently trying to break in. “Do you remember what I told you about? The part where I can transfer kinetic force only and not the damage as a whole?”
“Yeah, but…” Mikella frowned. “That got you to get blown away–twice even!” She pulled up two fingers, getting the other two to stare at her.
“Blown away?” Piker asked.
“Twice?!” Myra finished, being only present for the last one.
Zeke rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know that, but what I’m trying to do is trying it the other way around.”
“The other way around…” Mikella’s frown deepened, but then her eyes widened. “Holy shit, you can do that?!”
“That’s a definite ‘maybe’,” Zeke said, pointing at her with confirmation. “But that might also get the dome destroyed if I get it wrong. That’s kinda why I want everyone here to warn the others about that as I draw the runes…Can you guys do the heavy work while I make it? It takes a while to draw since the runes take a long time even with my skills.”
Zeke definitely had a hard time trying to convey his intent to the runes, finding out that he needed to have several mediums to work. And a shit ton of Mana to boot. With his amount now, he could pull it off, but that will still take a while.
The others clearly didn’t like that the dome could get destroyed, but Mikella and Myra went ahead to do just that, even telling the leaders what they plan on doing. Piker, however, stared at Zeke with an intense glare.
Zeke looked back at him. “I’m gonna work on it. Do you have any questions?”
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Piker asked, his voice sounding as though he was trying to interrogate him. “How can you be so certain?”
“I’m not,” Zeke answered, shrugging. Piker definitely looked surprised at that. “But what else is there? Do you have a better plan? If so, lay it on me. I’m about to risk all of our safety to take that bastard out. If you got something to kill it without getting out of the barrier and risking everyone here, some of us still in Apprentice, I’m all ears.”
Piker stayed silent at that as Zeke went ahead to the edge of the dome, closing up on the giant red-skinned creature. Throughout all that, Piker followed him for some reason.
“If you’re focused on drawing runes, then it would be better for someone to look out for you so you won’t get distracted.”
Zeke pressed his lips tightly at that. He nodded, leaving it be as he closed up and summoned a hand-sized square barrier.
He placed the barrier right in front of him, making it stick right to the dome perfectly. Then, he closed his eyes, ignoring the explosions happening around him. The fireballs weren’t being directed at him, but just around the barrier where most of the masses were. It was still distracting, but better than being aimed at himself.
The other soldiers got quiet as he started working on drawing up his Mana. It sounds like the girls warned everyone, their panic slowly ceasing. The leaders stayed at the back, the lords looking directly at Zeke and Piker while the general stared intensely at the creature, his arms crossed.
All the while, Zeke focused. He first drew the runes on the small barrier acting as the first medium. Then, he summoned another barrier, this time making it solely kinetic focused, able to transfer physical force.
His Gloves of Sancutary flared, somehow remaking the entire rune array and making it… smoother, more stable. That surprised him before realizing that the Support Aid and Support Proficiency was helping.
The Support Aid enchantment was helping him create anything that would result in helping things easier. That apparently included in creating runes for himself. Support Proficiency just makes the Aid part better.
With his Inscription Proficiency working in tandem, he was drawing the more complex runework faster than easier than before.
The kinetic barrier, as it’s called, also had its own medium barrier, the second medium, as he drew runes on it. The runes then connected to the first medium, the one he poured the intent of connecting the dome to the medium to help it relay the energy to the second medium.
He had to create two different mediums, as an array needed several to make itself work. Now he needed to make another medium, the third, to draw the runes needed to reverse the effects. The runes needed for this were complicated even with his Class Skills and Gloves working in unison.
The third medium he’s trying to create was draining on his mental focus, even as his pen was drawing it out as fast as he could.
As he worked on the design, the magic circles glowing with a crystalline turquoise energy, the girls returned, watching the entire thing at work. Piker was even watching intently, his eyes glued at the fast process.
All the while, the damn creature finally noticed him and began to shoot the fireballs right at him. Zeke grimaced as he felt his mana drain from the impact. The fireballs were concentrated to where he was, causing him to try and reinforce the dome over and over and spending more mana.
“Damn it, it’s hitting too hard…!” Zeke grimaced, his fingers flexing over and over with the pen as he tried to re-focus on the design.
“Then we’ll go out and distract it!” Myra shouted, pulling up her sword. Zeke couldn’t even pay attention to respond, so Mikella did it instead. It wasn’t what he wanted her to say, though.
“I’ll go with you,” Mikella answered.
“No!” Zeke finally responded, his face already sweating profusely from the effort. “It’s too dangerous!”
“It’s either that or get screwed over anyways,” Myra answered instead, but Piker spoke up.
“Then one of us will stay here with Zeke. Myra, you and I will go out,” Piker added.
“Uhh, no?” Myra replied. “Didn’t you just say your Ice magic doesn’t work?”
“It won’t work on it,” Piker mentioned, his glare intensifying. “But we can work around it. Just come with me, it’ll be better to show you.”
Piker grabbed Myra by the shoulder, but only for a moment as Myra got the picture and followed him. Zeke wanted to say something, but something about Piker told him that it was better off for him to go off.
Mikella looked like she wanted to go, but she refrained as she turned to Zeke, waiting for him to open the barrier.
Thankfully, it wasn’t such a drain on his Mana or mental capability to open and close barriers, even while his pen were working overtime to draw the design. He opened a small opening near them as Piker and Myra went out. Then he quickly closed it before another fireball came and blasted on it.
“What do you think he’s gonna do?” Zeke asked, figuring that she knew how he fights better than he does.
“He sounded like he had a plan, but…” Mikella shrugged after. “I just hope that Myra doesn’t get hurt.”
“What about Piker?” Zeke asked.
“What about Piker?” Mikella asked.
Zeke left it at that. Last night’s debacle was still hanging in their heads.