Chapter 68: Give me a minute

Chapter 68: Give me a minute

Mason and the others cautiously approached the pool. With so many enemies, he was worried that the chaos would be too much and he couldn't protect the others—especially Rebecca.

But he knew he had to learn to trust her. She was tougher than she seemed, and ultimately, he needed her help.

He dropped a combination of deadly and snare traps in front of Blake and Seul-ki, then moved closer to his foe. The cavern expanded beyond the end of the maze, and there was a slight drop leading down towards the ramp that led to the pool they had very little cover. Mason and the others ducked down to watch, Mason waiting until he was sure that Blake could see the creatures.

“Are you in range?” he asked.

“Yeah. I think. Ready whenever.”

Mason glanced at the others. “Everyone ready?”

They all nodded their heads, and Blake’s eyes glazed as he focused. He reached back and took Seul-ki’s hand as a strange energy shimmered in the air above him.

Mason drew back his bow. The air around Blake grew thicker, more oppressive, than faded all at once. A sizzling purple line slashed across the nearest Sisters, searing flesh and bone like a scalpel. Two dropped, sliced almost in half, a third screamed as her arm slopped to the wooden floor.

Mason led with a Power Shot, blasting another Sister from her feet then continued loosing at the others at top speed.

The corrupted creatures shrieked and turned towards the party, red light oozing from enraged eyes as they opened distended jaws and howled. They were mostly humanoid, a bit like Calypsa herself save for their bodies seemed composed entirely of the barkskin armor with no flesh underneath. With the glowing eyes and zombie-like mouths, they were suddenly rather more horrific looking than he’d expected. But he just kept on shooting.

Two of the creatures in the rear had their own bows and drew them, loosing arrows right back at Mason. Both struck a translucent purple shield and dropped to the ground.

“I could do that all day,” Rebecca grinned, “keep taking them down.”

Mason was getting far too used to that shield. But he didn’t waste his chance, loosing a Crippling Strike at the nearest Sister then following with a string of basic arrows.

The creatures were nearly on them now. But not with enough numbers to be a problem. Then Mason heard a growl to his side.

He nearly grabbed Rebecca and leapt aside before he saw Calypsa step ahead with spear raised. A black and red ball of fur and claws flew from what looked like a hole opened in the wall, and Calypsa skewered it on her spear. The ball unraveled and screeched, resembling something like the offspring of a panther and an armadillo—albeit with a spear sticking through its chest.

“I’m fine, druid. Focus on the Sisters.”

Mason nodded, dropped his bow, and moved forward with his sword and Claw. The remaining Sisters had arrived, their fingers extended with claws, their mouths slavering and fanged. Mason activated Predator’s Strike and took the head of the first to reach him.NewW novels updates at novelhall.com

“There’s something coming out of the pool!” Blake hissed, clearly concentrating on some kind of spell.

Mason didn’t have much time to worry about it. He dodged and side stepped two more arrow-peppered Sisters, slashing at their arms and faces as they chased him back down the ramp.

Then it was over, and he looked back to the others to find them safe and watching him, a handful of bloodied panthers prone at their feet.

[You have defeated a dungeon encounter - Sisters of Chiros with Corrupted Panther ambush. You have gained group experience.]

Seul-ki’s power ended, and Mason sagged at the loss of strength and speed. His arm pulsed with waves of pain, and he glanced to find his elbow bone sticking through bloody flesh. The blood loss was making him light headed, and he slumped down to the closest rock.

The others were coming forward with concern in their eyes and Mason decided to cut them off.

“Calypsa, can you cleanse that pool?”

She nodded, balancing her bloody spear on her shoulder as she walked to the edge of the foul waters.

“You’re hurt.” Rebecca wiped a few strands of hair from a sweaty forehead, big brown eyes all concern as she looked at Mason’s blood-dripping arm.

“I’m fine. Seul-ki, that boost was amazing. You think you can give my regenerate a small, single boost? Might speed us up.”

She nodded and wordlessly touched his arm, sending another spike of cold power down his spine before Regenerate went purple.

“God damn I could get used to that,” Mason muttered. Blake smirked.

“Try not to, brother. One day we’ll be charging per use.”

“Uh huh.” Mason closed his eyes as he literally felt the flesh on his arm knitting together. When he opened them he saw Rebecca staring at the wound with wide eyes. “See?” he grinned. “I always heal.”

“The waters are cleansed, druid.” Calypsa returned with eyes shining a little less than before, but otherwise no worse for wear.

“Good work.” Mason gave the room a cursory glance, noticing the blood and corpses scattered everywhere. “That goes for everyone. That was no easy fight. I’d say we make a damn fine team.”

The others all beamed in their own ways. Blake with a dramatic flourish, Rebecca with a brilliant smile, Seul-ki with polite tolerance.

“Now if you’ll just give me a minute to stick my bones back in, we’ll see what’s down that ramp.”

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