ALL NOVEL Corruption
We gathered around the door with growing questions in our minds. The patrols were rampant outside. Why was the inside seemingly unguarded? I started to chant a spell to change the world as Viccy got ready to open the door to storm inside. Once I reached the point needed, she opened the door.
The door opened, creaking the entire way.
There was nothing on the other side. Much to our surprise, it was just the cave even more afterwords. Was this a checkpoint or something for the Retainers of darkness? Did they move inside? There were tracks and footprints on the cave floor leading back the way we came and further inside.
Everyone looked down for being tense as we stepped through the door. Nothing happened, and there was a turn in the cave ahead. As I looked around the cave neutrally chanting, I noticed dying tree roots sticking out of the cave walls. We started to move cautiously forward. It was deeper into the darkness with none of the torches in the previous part of the cave. Soon the Darkness became total, and Viccy took some supplies out and lit the torch.
The cave stayed the same without torches and dying tree roots that stuck out of the walls. We moved deeper without talking, knowing that we could come upon someone any second. Then we reached a second doorway with brick layering the wall. This entire time there was nothing between the two entrances. That felt odd to me. Maybe there was a trap, and everyone paused. We had gone an entire area without anyone in the cave. Maybe that was where all the patrols came from? I thought incredulously.
We looked at each other before I broke down and talked, "That is weird, right? There was nothing in the entire cave system. Like the gap is to throw people off or something. We didn't encounter anything along the length of it." I received a couple of nods before Gloom interjected.
"Maybe the top guards need a distance for keeping a good watch. They are Identified as Retainers of Darkness. It would be hard not to be noticed if there were residual energy coming out the cave entrance. Some Magics have this terminating from them, and a couple of Darkness magics are like this. They will pollute and corrupt. Necromancy is like this. It is branched as Darkness magic. It has more to do with Life, though. The main problem around Necromancy and why it is considered Taboo is that it corrupts nearby. The energy can permeate into the air and living beings turning them into their own."
I thought about it, realizing that could make sense. I turn to the Ladies, "Well, let us work on that theory. Gloom, is there anything to stop this type of corruption from entering us? Or worse to dispel it once it enters inside our bodies?" I asked.
"Yes, and no. It depends. I will cast the one that covers the most if I tell you guys to back away from something, though listen. I will not be able to save you if you walk into that type of mana pollution." She finished. Her hands glowed green and covered each of us. I noticed in my buff bar that it was there. I decided since I didn't know what I was going into that I needed to allocate my points.
--
"Status"
Name: Ellisphasia
Level: 11
Titles: Grand illusionist Disciple, Pack Leader
Affiliation: Demons
Reputation: 25
Health: 350/350
Stamina: 142/250
Mana: 725/725
Experience: 109500/204800
Strength: 20
Agility: 23
Vitality: 30
Charisma: 72
Intelligence: 42
Wisdom: 41
Points to spend: 0
--
I was happy looking at the experience, and I did a stat drop into Charisma. I looked over my spells, and I realized Everything I did relied on Charisma. My illusions tricked the enemy based on my Charisma. That means any checks to see if the enemy falls into my illusions is entirely not reliant on my intelligence and wisdom. It all has to be done with my charisma. Without it, I would be useless. That brings me to why I would drop all my stat points into Charisma. If we encounter a boss, I would be useless if my spells do not work. I did not want to be ineffective, so I decided to increase my intelligence and wisdom another way when I can. The Feasts Mistress gave me showed that there are other ways of permanently increasing stat points. Otherwise, the game balance would be broken.
Finally, with Gloom casting the buff on us, we decided to open the next door. We all were on guard as I started to chant a neutral spell again. I heard Fidel join me with a spell of her own. She seemed to think that something would be on the other side of the door.
My mind instantly turned towards the door as I heard a voice. "Huh?!" A male voice came out with the sound of armor clanking together. "Intruders!" The man called out as a lightning bolt erupted from Fidel's hand. It traveled out, hitting the person on the other side and, with a flash, went out to another. Cries rang out as the chain of lightning hit four more people. The original man came in through the door with the clank of his armor. He had a spear and stabbed it toward Iona as he entered into our side of the cave wall.
He was followed by more as Iona engaged with the man receiving a couple of stabs. Gloom healed her as Iona played tank. Soon my Illusion would be ready as seven men filed out through the door to engage us. We all were alarmed at the numbers that we had to engage but didn't think of retreat. Viccy was shooting arrows at the enemy Guards as they tried to get into a formation. Gloom erupted in green light as she kept up with Iona's fight with a growing number of enemies. Fidel finished chanting, sending out another Chain lightning. This significantly decreased the pressure on Iona as one of the guards that were attacking her died from the lightning.
Still, Iona was being overwhelmed, trying to dodge as she screamed out her taunt, seeing one of the guards start to head towards Fidel. Fidel coldly continued to chant as she watched emotionlessly. I wasn't Idle as I finally finished my chant and brought myself into the guards' new world. Inside this world, they were Fighting Iona. That remained true only for a second as everyone else other than Iona stepped into the door. A guard amongst their ranks told two of them to chase us down. Two turned to three as they didn't know who that guard had commanded. They left our room swiftly chasing after the illusions. I wasn't done as I had Gloom start to engage them in the room just within my sights. They didn't go far, but we're now dealing with a Jaguar that refused to engage them.
In the Meantime, Fidel Hit the remaining guards with another Chian lightning as Viccy landed a lucky hit. Her arrow was moving towards the Guard's arms when his spear hit the arrow. Unfortunately for that, Guard the arrow ricochet into his eye, causing him to scream out in pain before Iona got the opening to slice his neck open. Iona was huffing and got stabbed around the kidney area in return from the other two. Another Chain of lightning struck, killing one more.
With only one Left before I dropped the Illusion, Iona punched the Steel armored guard sending him off-balance. The man was about to recover when an arrow hit his foot that was about to catch his balance. The man dropped to the ground with a loud huff before a sword met his throat. The man laid out bleeding to his death as we left him entering into the next room to kill the three mindlessly running around guards. Iona dispatched one Gloom the other, and Viccy hit one through the visor. The end of this battle put smiles temporarily on our faces. It showed me how powerful my illusions were to me. The large group staying together would have overwhelmed Iona very soon without my relief. Gloom was stacking as many regeneration spells as she could on Iona. I pulled out mana and health regeneration potions that we all drank if needed. This was a lifesaver for everyone.
My mana was low after that fight, and I recognized how much my illusions matter for my team. I needed to think of more creative ways to break up groups of guards. It was hard copying us and making a world with our Illusions changing and running around. I never noticed either how hard it was for me to create an Illusion without me being in direct line of sight. This was felt with an increase in mana expenditure.
We all looked to each other as we got bearings on ourselves. I Looked at Iona, "You okay? That was a lot of enemies at once," I said.
"It was tough, but thankfully I dodged most damage that they inflicted. However, getting hit in the Kidney Hurts," She said with a frown. I nodded.
"Gloom, how was your mana expenditure?" Gloom looked at me seriously after I asked that question.
"I was close to my limit. With all Seven hitting Iona, I almost ran out of healing ability. I center more upon over time healing spells and regeneration after the fact. With Seven enemies, they were overwhelming Iona's ability to dodge and my ability to heal." She stated, "Without you luring three away, Iona would have been critically injured or killed."
This announcement received frowns all around. The large group of guards was something we both expected and didn't expect. With the first entrance totally unguarded subconsciously, I think we didn't expect guards at this one. I nodded, though.
"Your right. I was slow on getting my spell out. I will make sure my Neutral spell is ready before the door opens in these situations. I underestimated how much my Illusions were going to be needed." I admitted my mistake. I turned to Fidel, who was first to notice something. "Fidel?" I started to ask, "How did you know they were going to be there and started to cast at perfect timing?"
She turned to me with that frozen face, "Your theory that you and Gloom came to before the fight. By your own logic, this should be one of the main areas they wish to protect. If someone finds pollution, they will not stay here. They will go back to the Adventurers Guild and the Mage towers, and the Druids will be dispatched to clean the area up post haste. This is the Elven Forest. Elves take cleaning up mana Pollution very seriously and wouldn't put this out to just an Adventurer group. The military might even be dispatched to help clean up. The Elves take mana Pollution very seriously." She said. "That brings it to the theory. You say they created a buffer. That must mean we should encounter mage resistance as well. The fact there were only Guards at the front shows that this isn't the main strong point."
I paused and realized that we didn't follow our own theories to their logical conclusion. I felt like an idiot just lectured by the teacher. I decided that wasn't a good thing, and I thought of something else. "Girls. Let us take a minute and go back to the cave entrance. I want to set up a ward there." I said, not knowing I cut into Viccy saying something.
"Sorry?" She asked.
"Sorry I cut you off; I was saying, though, that I think while we wait for our mana to regenerate, we should go back to the cave entrance. I will put down a permanent ward so that wolves will not come in, and any potential Supplies this place might receive will not come in. That will cut off reinforcements too." I said, putting out information.
This received nods of agreement, and we left towards the entrance of the cave. We only stopped to loot the bodies receiving a gift.
--
Coin purse x7
Steel Katana.
Bar of Steel x3
Corrupted Bar of Steel
Rusty Dagger x2
Corrupted Steel Katana
--
I opened Katana's description.
--
Corrupted Steel Katana:
A Katana Made only with Steel that was Corrupted from the Pollution of Dark mana.
--
I handed it to Iona, and she looked at it before passing it back to me and said, "This Katana is not for me. The length is too short, and I would need practice. Besides, this sword reeks of Corrupted Mana. It would leave traces of mana upon me. The demons would be interested, But I am not." She said as we traveled. I nodded under the torchlight.
Up we went waiting for our mana to recover. Thoughts and possibilities for what was deeper felt heavy on our minds.
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