Chapter 15: Caution
With a shield in his left hand and a stun baton in his right, Ethan's combat effectiveness increased dramatically. Although he still couldn't instantly wipe out large groups of evil creatures like Zul and Isendra, he could now at least hold his own and not be a burden.
Freed from worrying about Ethan's safety, the two mages unleashed their full power, bringing an end to the dark creatures in the Den of Evil.
Frost, fire, and the necromantic magic of the Rathma cult, emanating a pale white light, mingled with the various screams of the Fallen. Ethan felt as if he were in a top-tier fantasy blockbuster.
3D graphics were completely inferior compared to this. The lighting! The special effects! The immersive feeling of being right there!
He swung his baton, killing a charging Fallen, then turned and kicked over a zombie that got too close. He rushed forward and followed up with a 'War Stomp', crushing the already rotten and fragile skull.
Looking around, most of the monsters had been eliminated by the two mages working together. The remaining few were finished off by him, leaving the area around him momentarily empty.
"Good thing I came along."
At this moment, he was extremely grateful for his earlier decision. After all, opportunities to level up while following two powerful individuals were hard to come by.
With these two as escorts, Ethan's combat ability improved at a noticeable pace. While the fighting style of Fallen and Zombies might be simple and brutal, all sorts of strange unforeseen situations could arise. The complex terrain of the den also created many surprise encounters and ambushes. So, in just one day, Ethan had already become like an experienced adventurer.
"Also, the mental power cultivation method taught by the Ancient One is too important."
All of his current combat strength was based on the significant increase in his mental power. Being able to think in 'more' time and react to various unexpected situations was the main reason he hadn't even sustained a single injury up to this point in the fighting.
As the sounds of explosions—Isendra's fireballs—and screams—the Fallen would shriek and scatter when attacked—gradually faded, the two mages' battle entered its final stage. Only a few Fallen who had run too far and a small number of slow-moving Zombies remained to be eliminated.
Previously, the two mages would deliberately leave these monsters for Ethan to handle alone as a form of training.
However, they no longer did this. In Zul's words, "You've passed that stage. Next, you need to improve yourself in even more complex combat environments."
It was only now that Ethan truly felt like their companion, a comrade fighting against the dark creatures alongside them!
Ethan cautiously observed the piles of dark creature corpses on the ground, wary of any monsters playing dead and suddenly attacking him. This was a real world, not a game where monsters falling meant they were truly dead. Given the cunning nature of these Fallen, no one could guarantee they wouldn't feign death when they couldn't escape.
As the saying goes, caution prevents major mistakes, especially when it concerns one's own life. And the current situation seemed to confirm how correct Ethan's actions were.
Just as he was carefully examining the corpses with the iron baton in his hand, a Fallen lying in the pile of bodies suddenly sprang up, shouting in demonic language that no one understood, and swung the long knife in its hand towards Ethan.
Ethan, who had been vigilantly anticipating this moment, immediately raised the iron baton in his hand, firmly blocking the Fallen's strike. He then raised his left foot and kicked the short red demon.
Bang!
His thick-soled leather boot landed squarely on the Fallen's ugly face. The impact seemed to momentarily disorient the demon. Ethan seized the opportunity and followed up with another strike with the baton.
This time, he deliberately activated the lightning magic contained within the baton. The flickering electric arcs illuminated the dark den, and then, amidst a scream, the Fallen was killed by the powerful electrical burst.
"Whew~ Good thing I was careful."
After checking again to make sure there were no more monsters feigning death, Ethan quickly walked a few steps and caught up with the two mages who were doing similar things ahead.
"Well done, Ethan."
Everything that had just happened was seen by the two of them. Ethan's responses were becoming more seasoned, gradually losing the awkwardness of a novice. In fact, Ethan's growth rate surprised them.
"I'm starting to regret it a little. Perhaps I should have insisted on inviting you to join our Rathma cult."
Zul said this with a smile, and it was unclear how much sincerity was behind it. However, such words of praise always made people happy. After spending some time together, Ethan no longer feigned modesty and accepted it with a smile.
"Alright, let's continue exploring. We've been in this den for most of the day. We don't know how many dark creatures are still lurking in the shadows. We need to be more cautious from now on."
Isendra was getting a bit annoyed by this dark, damp den with its many Fork in the road (forked paths). She felt like she had been walking in circles for half the day, but her amazing memory clearly told her she hadn't passed through the same areas.
"I've roughly simulated it in my mind, combining the information we got from Akara and Kashya earlier. We've cleared most of this Den of Evil."
The Den of Evil was actually a name given recently. Originally, it was just a very ordinary cave in the Blood Moor, with no mineral deposits or scenic views worth visiting. If it weren't for the recent surge in dark energy causing many dark creatures to hide here, it would just be a very ordinary underground cave.
However, due to their mastery of everything in the surrounding area, the Rogues and the sisters of the Blind Eye monastery had explored the Den of Evil and drawn detailed maps.
Although this map was also left behind in the monastery occupied by demons during the previous chaos, Kashya, being a high-ranking priestess and the Rogues' commander, had a detailed understanding of the den's situation. And before the few of them agreed to come and clear it out, she had thoroughly described the terrain of the Den of Evil.
"Next, we'll enter the deepest area of the entire den. Judging by our progress so far, a very powerful dark creature should be hidden here."
As they had traveled, the strength of the dark creatures had been gradually increasing. It seemed the darker areas of the Den of Evil were more appealing to these evil creatures, and the most powerful ones naturally occupied the darkest regions.
Ethan thought of the first quest's mini-boss in the first act when he played the game, an elite zombie monster called Corpsefire.
But could he say these things? How would he know? Wouldn't he be treated as a spy for the dark forces infiltrating the human army and be killed?
Maybe he could warn them, to try not to get too close to that elite zombie monster? Kill him with ranged attacks?
It seemed completely unnecessary. These two were experienced mages. When facing completely unfamiliar monsters, they wouldn't rashly charge forward. Moreover, melee combat wasn't their first choice anyway.
"These two are max-level characters. Is my worry a bit excessive?"
His worries were indeed unnecessary. Upon reaching the deepest part of the den and noticing Corpsefire's distinctly different appearance from the surrounding group of zombies from a distance, as well as the almost visible dark energy fluctuations, the two mages decisively shielded Ethan behind them.
"Step back, Ethan! This is not an opponent you can handle right now. Leave the rest to me and Isendra."
Zul didn't summon his usual scythe. Instead, he took out a strange dagger he hadn't used throughout the den clearing. At the same time, he casually summoned a bone shield in his left hand for defense.
Isendra's movements were just as quick. She first cast a magical shield to protect herself, then cast a frost shield on Ethan, and immediately unleashed a massive fireball at the group of zombies.
By this time, Zul's spell was also complete. He held a pale bone spear in his right hand. Powerful primal magic was attached to the bone spear, emitting a dazzling white light that illuminated the entire dark den as if it were daytime.
Coupled with the large fireball released by Isendra, everything in this dark space was revealed to the few of them. Even the monsters hidden in the deepest corners were clearly seen by Ethan—dense clusters of zombies, almost too many to count, and in the deeper corners, many skeleton archers were hidden. They had already drawn their bows, nocked arrows, and were aiming at them.
The sound of arrows cutting through the air rang out one after another. Almost simultaneously, Zul had rushed to the front, raising the shield in his left hand. The clinking sound was like continuous raindrops. These skeleton archers were much more threatening than they appeared.
"Take out these archers first!"
Isendra didn't need Zul's reminder. She had already adjusted her attack direction. The massive fireball arced beautifully through the den, flying over the dense zombies and plunging into the group of skeleton archers.
Boom!
A massive explosion accompanied by dazzling firelight. The archers swallowed by the flames were silent. The biggest threat was cleared, and the rest was much simpler.
They first used area-of-effect magic for a barrage of attacks. Once the monsters were no longer densely packed but scattered sparsely, Isendra and Zul simultaneously stopped casting large-area-of-effect spells and chose spells that consumed less energy and were also more precise for their attacks.
By this point, Ethan could join the battle. He moved along the edge of the den, avoiding going too deep and getting surrounded by multiple monsters.
While using the terrain to ensure he only had to face enemies head-on, he also tried to stay away from Corpsefire, the elite monster. Perhaps this guy was just a matter of a spell for Zul and Isendra, and similarly, that thing could probably take him out with a single hit.
"Don't take on a task you're not equipped for! There's a lot of truth in that."
Ethan, understanding his limitations, stopped his actions when he saw that only Corpsefire and a few scattered zombies remained in the den, waiting for the two mages to display their power.
Unfortunately, this level of dark creature was simply not enough to make the two of them use their true strength.
With one large fireball, Corpsefire went down, seemingly no different from the ordinary zombies around it.