Chapter 121: No fixing what isn’t broken

Chapter 121: No fixing what isn’t broken

Sofia could still sometimes hear the echoes of the group talking, but they werent as loud as the first time. The winding path she had taken through the tunnels only muted the sound more and more after each turn.

Every way forward has a Thrombber, bad luck What now? Can I kill one silently, if they scream like the other two itll probably attract not only the headhunters but also the other monsters nearby.

Right then, the bird that she had left near the entry point of that tunnel unsummoned itself, which they were ordered to do if there was a chance they would be spotted. They already tracked me down to this tunnel?! Alright, calm down. Two things. An escape route and a way to slow them down

As a test, she had one of the far-off birds in the tunnels near the entrance attack one of the Thrombbers. The skeleton bird died. Then she did the same with another one, this one survived after a quick fly-by and fled. Stop if youre not being chased.

The bird kept flying through the tunnels, soon reaching the main mine. Great! All birds, attack! Lure as many of these things as possible in the tunnel Im in, and no more unsummon on sight, attack the people if you can.

Tiny birds or not, they were still level 142, that had to count for something, she thought. Surely they could give them a scratch or two, or at least make them waste some mana. According to her tracking, about fifteen Thrombbers and bird duos were currently en route toward her enemies.

Looking at the eight birds that were still with her and Pareth, she had one of them do the same to a Thrombber in one of the paths ahead while she hid in another. That left her barely out of yet another of the monsters vision. She was using the winding shapes of the tunnels to her advantage to avoid detection. As soon as the path was clear, she left the occupied tunnel and entered the now free one, and my new friends will even get to be slightly encircled. Id lead more to them from this side but I dont have many birds left.

The first undead birds reached the group and died, soon followed by the intense sounds of battle. Sofia ran, her seven remaining birds were splitting ahead to scout the different paths and coming back to her in waves. Fear me, slimes of the world, for I am now a master of echolocation too! Or birdlocation. Doesnt sound as good. Ah, heres another one theres no real place to hide for it to get past me. Take care of it, Pareth.

You have defeated [Male Thrombber - lv. 129]

Sofia didnt even have to stop running, Pareth ran ahead and disposed of the monster before she could reach it, piercing it thrice with a light lance. It made a lot of noise as the creature screamed, but the people chasing Sofia could already follow her anyway.

I need to buy anti-divination items next. So many safeguards to have just to be left alone

Sofia kept following the birds, turning left and right until she found a gallery that was a long single line, of maybe around sixty meters.

Thatll have to do, I cant risk getting trapped in a dead end. If you all want a piece of me, youll get it.

She left a bird at the entrance and as she ran, shoved a potion vial into her mouth. I should find another kind of potion container if I can How long do I have? Bird, position.

A bird flew back from where Sofia came and eventually died, giving her the exact position of her pursuers.

I have like twenty seconds, more than enough. She thought as she reached the other side of the straight tunnel, she backed herself against the wall. Ok, concentrate. Pareth, grounds, I need the defense buff, and stand ready next to me with the greatshield.

There was a silent one

Of course the level 250 survived. Well, four out of five isnt too bad. Also with these names and classes Im being hunted by dwarves?

Pareth kept running but the collapse slowed down and stopped. If Im lucky the diviner might get stuck in the collapse and die suffocated, but I guess shes a dwarf as well so that wont happen I think the monsters are all running toward the main hive. It could be dangerous to follow them but thats also my best shot at finding an exit without the birds.

There were still a few birds left that had been already scouting ahead and not caught in the explosion, but faced with the hundreds of junctions in the tunnels, there wasnt much they could do. So she kept following the fleeing Thrombbers until, as predicted, she entered the main Hive.

The descriptions hadnt lied, the humongous cavernous chamber was home to countless white fungus covered pillars the spider legged worms were busy taking care of. The tunnel led to exactly nothing but a precipitous drop, as the Thrombbers could latch onto the pillars. There had to be at least a hundred meter drop, she could not see the bottom, and there were about fifty or so meters between her and the caverns ceiling. Theres pillars everywhere. I cant fly here, my wings are too large

Sofia immediately noticed the outliers in the monsters, twice as big, with many more legs and a long chitinous stinger, the female Thrombbers. They had also noticed her.

How ca- Sofias thoughts were interrupted by the sudden surge of mana behind her, and Pareth tackling her out of the tunnel. Sofia felt the heat move above her before she saw the fireball keep going straight and exploding against a mushroom covered pillar.

[Way of the Fool] reached level 7

Hanging by the tip of my feet again Been a while.

Pareth did not have the same capabilities, falling down to the depths of the hives main chamber.

This even if Pareth was to catch me. I think if I fall Im done for without my wings

Is it time to finally use Sorrows skill?

Sofia saw the swarm of Thrombbers, both male and female, all rushing toward her, enraged by the explosion. She also heard the footsteps of the diviner, origin of said explosion, only slightly slowing down as they neared the exit of the tunnel. She had a lot of mana moving around her, Sofia could clearly feel it, moving in a sphere around her, likely a long lasting defense skill. The person stopped only two meters away.

Sofia did nothing. She had a few options for what to do next.

You deserve death! Zerilda spat in rage, raising her scepter to stab Sofias feet that were barely holding her in place, upside down against the cliff.

No magic? Thisll be even easier than I expected.