"What's taking her so long?"
Outside the cell the rest of the group was getting somewhat impatient. Earlier, after Cyclone started her fight, they moved on to designate the other targets. After two dice rolls they sent Silent Acacia to fight the demonic deer while Liam took care of the monkey. Despite going in last, Liam returned first, carrying an ugly black monkey head as trophy. The friends returned to the cell which Cyclone entered and waited.
"Guys, let's not take Mirage as the standard. As long Cyclone wins her battle all is well."
"I guess you're right. I'm just getting annoyed by all this water. It's time to get out of here."
"Understandable…"
While the friends talked among themselves, there was suddenly a flash of light and Cyclone appeared in front of them. She looked dishevelled and fatigued but there was an unmistakable pride in her eyes.
"Cy! How was it?", asked Balm happily.
Cyclone perked up. She hastily swiped the hair out of her face and proudly puffed out her chest.
"Easiest fight of my life! You should have seen it! That stupid snake couldn't even move as it was suppressed by my lightning. Oh, right, you don't know what the monster looked like. It was a gigantic snake the size of an entire forest. It had menacing black spikes on its back which it could fire in all directions! However, I am nimble as a ninja. Those spikes couldn't hit me at all. There was only despair in the enemy's eyes…"
"Really? So awesome?", asked Silver Blade with a laugh. "Then I can't wait to watch the recording later."
"The recording? Yeeesss… How about we only watch the first half?"
Cyclone fidgeted awkwardly provoking knowing smiles from her friends. Honestly, Cyclone was quite proud of her achievement. In this battle she really felt that she even went beyond her own limits. But the boss was just too enduring. After a while her skills were on cooldown and Radiant Shield's barrier broke. She might not have won the fight if she didn't came up with a brilliant idea. Running away.
Not willing to tank the damage, Cyclone at one point started escaping into the forest. The snake had already shown before that it couldn't destroy the trees. Thus, Cyclone used them as cover until her skills were back up. She would fire a [Lightning Barrage] and if the snake didn't get paralyzed, she would continue her escape.
Although Cyclone felt a bit embarrassed, she figured that this was clearly endorsed by the game. Or why else would C conveniently create a battlefield which the boss couldn't destroy. It was to give the players a chance.
With those thoughts in mind Cyclone quickly regained her confidence. She didn't mind watching the recording with her friends later. Surely, the others wouldn't do much better than her.
"Well, since I'm done, should we take care of the other cells?", asked Cyclone.
"We already did."
"Ah, that's why Silent Acacia is missing? But what about the third target?"
"Mirage won the dice roll."
"Oh…"
Cyclone smiled wryly. Perhaps not everyone took as long as her.
Well, no need to compare to Mirage. The expert wouldn't be the expert if he wasn't faster than me.
While Cyclone placated herself, the group walked towards the cell in which Silent Acacia was fighting. A minute after they arrived, the young man came out panting heavily. The first person he saw was Quickstep. He showed her a victories grin and his girlfriend swiftly approached for a quick hug.
As the friends talked to Silent Acacia, they realized that he had employed a similar strategy to Cyclone. He even used his ultimate skill. However, it made sense as the skill was made to target single enemies, bringing a huge boost to Silent Acacia's power. Other than Cyclone's ultimate skill which was unpractical with its cast time.
The friends talked for a bit, allowing Silent Acacia to calm down before they approached the teleportation circle shining in even brighter red light. Quickstep's hurricanes had long disappeared and the murky water blurred the light again. However, according to Liam it didn't matter. Cyclone, Silent Acacia, and him each received a trophy from their fight. They only had to place it inside the circle to activate the magic.
"But we shouldn't be hasty now, should we?", asked Silver Blade as the party reached the teleportation circle.
"Because Silent Acacia's ultimate skill is on cooldown?"
"Yeah. It would be better to rest."
"But how long would it take? The cooldown is surely more than 30 minutes. Should we sit around for that long? And where can we even rest? Everything here is full of water."
Everyone frowned faintly. Balm's objections were reasonable. If it were anywhere else, resting for 30 minutes might be a bit of a time waste but it would surely allow everyone to adjust their condition to its peak.
However, in this place? Should they stand around all the time? This surely wasn't conductive to recovery. They might actually be worse off afterwards. Thus, after some back and forth the party decided to forgo waiting for Silent Acacia's ultimate skill and instead advanced directly.
The decision caused Silent Acacia to feel a pinch of guilt for using his ultimate skill during the fight. Perhaps he could have avoided doing so if he dragged the battle out.
"My friend, no need to carry a heavy heart. Someone had to fell the demon. If it wasn't you, someone else would have been sent. And who knows, they might not have survived the battle. So, don't overthink it. Adjust your mind and focus on the next enemy."
"Thanks."
Silent Acacia nodded his head at Radiant Shield. He drove away all distracting thoughts and followed the advice, adjusting his mindset. The others inwardly praised Radiant Shield as they got ready to move on.
Cyclone, Liam, and Silent Acacia retrieved the three trophies and placed them within the red light. Instantly it erupted with dazzling power, illuminating the entire cave. An invisible force pushed back the water. The three trophies melted into the ground and the magic circle began to revolve, inviting the players to step in.
Liam and his friends looked at each other before stepping forward simultaneously. The familiar feeling of teleportation overcame them. The world changed. When they opened their eyes, they were in a large hall, resembling the familiar temple. There was some basic furniture as well as crates with food at the sides. Towards the front a tall gate could be seen. But a green layer of magic engulfed the gate, blocking it tightly.
Bang!
Suddenly something crashed against the gate from the outside. It quivered and bulged but there was no sign of damage. Multiple chaotic screams could be heard. Two heavy voices came from right behind the friends.
"Who are you?! How did you get in here?!"
"Why ask questions? Protect the kids! Get rid of the intruders!"
A chill ran down the friends' backs. They turned around and spotted two cultists, both standing on the back of winged snakes. Their appearances were extremely similar, like siblings, with the elegant figures of elves but a hint of human features. And behind them on the ground were a bunch of children huddled together, fearfully staring at the adventurers.
Silver Blade immediately understood what was going on. They had entered a safe room!
"Stop! No need to attack! We are friends!"
"Friends?! Why would you intrude into this room instead of fighting demons outside?! For all I know you are demons in disguise!"
"Right! Brother, don't be fooled! Hold them back! I will secure the children before helping you!"
"Yes!"
[Bleary Mirage: Summon your mounts!]
Liam's warning instantly got everyone going. They summoned their flying mounts and jumped on their backs. Simultaneously one of the cultists brought the children to the back of the room where he activated another measure of the safe room, protecting the young ones behind a magical barrier.
The other sibling was pressured to buy time for his brother. He floated high above on his blue-coloured winged snake and drew his weapons, two seemingly way too short daggers in comparison to the snake below his feet. However, as he waved the daggers in front of his body, they created a wall of sharp daggers blocking the entire width of the hall.
A wall consisting of gleaming blades moved towards the party, slowly limiting their space.
"What's that? How do we get out?"
"Attack! Focus on one point! Create a hole!"
Liam set an example. He rose to the air on Drasky and swung his swords, hitting a point relatively at the centre of the wall. There were some slight ripples but other than that there weren't any signs of damage. Nevertheless, everyone immediately followed him, throwing attacks at same spots. The ripples increased. But the wall continued moving. It didn't take long for Balm to literally fly with her back agains the wall.
"Hurry up! More damage!"
"We have to use some skills! We can't save them!"
"GOO!"
Finally, there was a cracking noise. One of the sharp blades disintegrated. It was as if the connection was broken. Multiple blades surrounding the first one broke apart and a hole large enough for two people to pass through formed.