My eyes automatically turned to the Mage standing behind me. Both of the cultists were standing more than ten meters away from me, and the Fighter had no way to harm me without closing the distance.
With a nervous smile, I said, “Hey, guys, do you want too…”
My attempt to defuse the situation somewhat was interrupted when the female cultist’s wand lit up in a bright silver light. Recognizing the spell a moment before the cultist was finished casting, I used my bracelet to summon a shimmering shield of force, and three projectiles launched out of the ground and slammed into the force shield.
The projectiles scattered into thousands of earthen shards as they crashed against my unyielding shield. My eyes widened as I witnessed the ungodly force behind the rock bullets. If I hadn’t predicted the attack before it happened, there was no way I could have dodged or deflected the projectiles. Three sharp cracks filled the air as the rock bullets started their flight, informing me that they were supersonic.
Based on their speed, I could tell that a single rock bullet could easily kill a normal person. Granted, at my level, I was no longer a “normal” person, but even I would have been seriously wounded or killed if all three of those rock bullets had struck me.
Fight, damn you!
Half a second had passed as I looked in awe and terror at the devastating force of the rock bullets. Outside of my mind, the two cultists were still moving. To one side, the female cultist was getting ready to throw a metal disc in my direction. To the other, the male cultist was drawing a warhammer from his belt and charging in my direction.
The Mage must have expended all of the mana in her upper core, so she wouldn’t be able to cast any spells for several seconds. I decided to turn my attention to the male cultist with the warhammer.
“Glacio vivificare!” I shouted, pointing my staff at the charging cultist. Two max-power Ice Spears appeared at my flanks for a moment before flying forward at breakneck speeds. The cultist dodged the first spear, but this evasive maneuver put him right in the path of the second spear.
DAMAGE DEALT: 53
The Ice Spear struck the man square in the stomach, instantaneously punching through his armor. Though the armor, weakened my attack, it still hurt him significantly. Blood spilled down the man’s stomach, staining his thighs, and a red mark appearing on his chin made it clear that blood was streaming out of his mouth.
The man did not stop, however, despite the critical injury he had just sustained. My eyes went wide with shock as the charging man’s pace did not slow at all. Fear filled my body as I realized that my upper core was mostly depleted. [Shield] used 5 mana, and each casting of [Ice Spear] cost 10 mana. I barely had enough mana in my upper core to cast [Ice Spear] again.
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USEABLE MANA: 14/37
I drew my wand and frantically cast the [Fly] spell before pushing off the ground hard and launching myself several meters into the air. The charging cultist passed harmlessly beneath me, swinging impotently as I flew past. With a smile on my face, I started to move my wand in preparation to cast the [Gust] spell. Suddenly, a lurching feeling gripped my stomach as I entered a free fall. Then, an explosive pain filled my back as I slammed into the cobblestones.
DAMAGE RECEIVED: 12
My body protested as I got to my feet, but I couldn’t afford to stay prone with enemies so close. Considering that I was about three stories up when my [Fly] spell failed, I got pretty lucky. Other than a few bruises, I was going to escape the fall relatively unscathed. Silently, I thanked the System for protecting my frail body.
The two cultists were moving toward me quickly, but I paused for a half-second to figure out why my [Fly] spell had failed. Either the Mage had dispelled my spell directly, or she had used a ward. [Dispel] would have required mana to use, so I didn’t think the Mage had done that. My question was answered when I saw a glowing metal disc laying on the ground. I did not fully understand the arcane rune inscribed on the disc, but I knew it had something to do with Source magic.
I experimentally sent some mana through my shield bracelet, and I felt no feedback. The ward must have done something to interfere with Source magic. That was not good, to say the least. My ability to retreat and defend myself depended almost entirely on Source magic.
The female cultist stepped in front of her wounded compatriat, and I realized with fear that enough time had passed for her to regenerate the mana in her upper core. I knew exactly what she was about to do, but I could not stop it with my shield bracelet. Three supersonic rock bullets shot out of the ground and rocketed at my head. As they flew toward me, I did not try to dodge. In fact, I stayed completely still.
The rock bullets came to a complete stop a meter before they hit their targets. A second later, I stopped circulating my mana through the Ring of Etron, and the rock bullets dropped to the ground harmlessly. I gasped for breath the moment the stasis effect ended. When the Ring of Etron was used to store momentum, I could not move my lungs to breathe.
USEABLE MANA: 37/37
Realizing that my upper core was completely full, I turned my staff toward the two cultists and prepared my attack. The male cultist moved in front of the Mage in an attempt to take the damage, not knowing the level of power that I could draw upon.
“Mulciber ignis tormentum!” I shouted, putting the maximum amount of 30 mana into the spell. With the power boost from my class and my staff, I summoned a 60-mana Volcano Cannon.
Molten rock appeared at the tip of my staff and condensed to a point about the size of my fist over the course of a second. I could feel the latent momentum churning within the spell, and I could fell that it wanted to be released. It wanted to kill the two cultists standing before it, but I did not let it.
At the last possible moment, I aimed the spell a few degrees downward. The Volcano Cannon struck the ground a few meters in front of the cultists and exploded with the power of a heavy artillery shell.
DAMAGE DEALT: 31
DAMAGE DEALT: 15
The force of the blast pushed me back a few feet, and the heat would have damaged me if not for my fire resistance. A heavy cloud of ash filled the alleyway, and one of the buildings had collapsed partially, blocking the two cultists from advancing toward me.
I didn’t stay for long enough to check on the two cultists. I turned away from the devastation wrought by my spell and immediately started sprinting toward the Golden Stag.