In an instant, Elio found himself completely enveloped in a carbon box.
Would the Locus attack the box?
Or, unable to see Elio anymore, would it ignore it?
The first seconds were of tense silence.
Then, to Elio's consternation, he heard the unmistakable sound of a blow against the carbon.
Elio could feel the vibrations in his body, a reminder of the brute force that the Locus possessed.
The monster was attacking the box.
"Damn it," he muttered, his mind working frantically to process this new information.
Elio knew that with the Locus' attack of 10, each face of the box would only resist 42 points of damage, five hits before giving in.
"No time to waste."
Without hesitating a second longer, Elio signaled to Wide Guard, his faithful elephant, the wall behind him.
He had to create a hole in the back of the box... But his elephant could do it without spending mana.
"Absorb," Elio ordered, and the elephant obeyed, its trunk dematerializing the carbon from the back wall.
With the agility born of desperation, Elio slipped through the newly created hole, entering again the relative safety of his tunnel. He wasted no time closing the hole behind him, the carbon flowing to seal the entrance.
Elio's Mana: 53
The Locus' blows continued, now muffled by the tunnel walls. Elio knew he didn't have much time before the box gave in completely.
Using the small hollows he had left in the tunnel walls, Elio began to climb rapidly. Each movement was calculated, each grip precise. He couldn't afford a single mistake.
Upon reaching the top of the tunnel, Elio acted quickly. He opened the ceiling, allowing Wide Guard to absorb another square meter of carbon. Immediately after, Elio refilled the space with new carbon, ensuring the integrity of the structure.
Elio's Mana: 52
Now, Elio found himself at the top of his tunnel, five meters from where the Locus continued its assault against the empty box.
From this elevated position, he had a panoramic view of the situation.
Elio's heart raced when he saw the Locus finally break the box. For a moment, the creature seemed confused at not finding its prey inside.
Elio held his breath, waiting to see what its next move would be.
The answer came in a way Elio hadn't anticipated and that made his blood run cold. Other Locus, attracted by the commotion, began to approach the upper layer of the tunnel...
And to Elio's horror, following the example of the first, they began to attack the structure.
"No, no, no," Elio muttered, the realization hitting him hard.
The bare tunnel not only didn't serve as a hiding place, but it seemed to provoke a destructive instinct in the Locus.
The target priority for the monsters seemed to be:
Gust's presence immediately changed the dynamics of his movement. Where before his maximum helium pushes would reach 60 centimeters, now he could cover distances of up to 12 meters in a single push.
After the push, he stuck to the wall and jumped 3 meters more to repeat the push. This way he managed to advance 15 meters per mana point.
As he ascended, Elio couldn't help but reflect on what he had discovered. The bare tunnel was not only not an effective hiding place, but it seemed to attract the Locus.
It was valuable information, although disheartening.
It meant that any structure they built in the sea of monsters would have to be constantly protected by a layer of cores.
But for now, all that mattered was getting safely to the top of the wall. With Gust helping him, Elio continued his ascent, each push taking him closer to safety, closer to home.
Almost 300 meters later Elio felt something strange... his vision was blurring.
Elio's Mana: 8
But it was strange, his mana should be a little more than enough to arrive and he hadn't had to jump so much as to feel like this.
There should be less than 100 meters left.
He had to resist.
Elio's Mana: 2
6 more mana points should have been about 90 meters, there should be 10 m or less left, but the top looked a bit far, Elio's vision was very blurred.
Something was wrong.
Elio's Stamina: 0.2
Elio's Mana: 1
The top was in sight, but maybe a bit far... would he reach it in 15 meters?
Elio didn't know that hunger was negatively affecting his total stamina and its efficiency.
He didn't realize that in his small mental spasms he slid a bit on the wall and lost a few meters each jump.
The last jump.
Elio's Stamina: 0.01
Elio's Mana: 0
The top of the wall was in front of him. Elio tried to keep his consciousness awake with pure fury and tenacity...
He stretched his hand as far as he could.
But he fell short by just a few cm.
He began to fall back to his probable death due to carelessness, a small miscalculation.
Until someone grabbed his hand.
"I've got you," said Zara.