Hard Fought -Chapter 11

"<Wind Blade>." A dozen blades of hardened air slashed at the creature's tentacle-vines. 

Elmerin had noticed that the vines could extend their length by stretching. What would happen if they were cut when that happened? But ice made it hard to tell.

"<Ice Dart>." As the darts penetrated, some into existing wounds, the creature screamed and thrashed.

Damn it, the creature had a beginning nervous system already. Definitely at least Sapphire rank. 

But as it stretched its vines, Elmerin could also see tearing along the cuts open by wind and now-melting ice. Its elasticity had limits.

He tossed back a mana potion. "<Wind Blade>! <Ice Dart>!"

*******

A hand reached out and grabbed the back of Kres' collar, hauling back away from the monster and to safety. Alexavier's jaw would have dropped if they were back in town.

Drysia!?! But there was no doubt. She had Kres solidly by the collar and was pulling him away from the vines.

"Get under cover, brat! Now!" She pushed Kres in the direction of the boulders Kaada was just leaving, heading toward the unidentified Sapphire. "You can't fight something like this yet!" 

The ice darts hit and the monster begin screaming and thrashing. Alexavier jumped back. Great. A plant monster that could feel pain could be repelled, but their movements also tended to be more unpredictable. 

Finally the wounded had all been dragged or guided back behind the boulders. Kres and Nera were off the field as well. Kaada, Sky, and Reefka were out, hitting it with long range attacks from arrows or dodging in and out with knives.

Falchan was next to Seef, both fending off vines. Behind them, Riyo and Reefka fired off their attacks. Sky and Kaada dashed in and out, distracting the monster from the main damage dealers. Drysia sliced off two vines down near the root ball; Elmerin was near her, providing covering fire and shielding.

Alexavier's eyes narrowed as he saw Elmerin make the quick hand-to-mouth motion that indicated consumption of a potion. Or more: Alexavier was sure that he saw the ends of three vials between Elmerin's fingers. If Elmerin had started spamming positions, even with his mana capacity, then Riyo was probably low herself. They had to finish this. He gave the command.

"Adventurers! Full on attack!"

*******

Drysia slashed at a couple of vines as more were driven back by Elmerin's ice blades. 

"Elm, put a shield up." Drysia was panting, slightly out of breath. "We're near the root ball."

So if we let the others attract its attention- "<Wind Shield>!"

The monster sent a couple vines to hammer at the hardened air, but its attention was quickly diverted by the attacks coming from the other side of its body.

"Not water?"

"Plant monsters can absorb water under some surprising conditions. This isn't the time to find out that includes shields. And don't call me Elm."

Drysia snorted. "Hit it."

Elmerin envisioned the interior of the root ball, the makeup of plant matter and toxic magic that made up most of these creatures. He imagined the possibility of a stone inside and centered his spell near where it should be. The plant part of a mobile plant often started to dry out when they were moving, and if it had been a while…

"<Fireball >."

Flames exploded out of a half-meter area on the root ball the fireball had manifested in. The monster shrieked; while the injury was not that large compared to its overall size, it had hit vital areas of the plant.

A low hissing growl escaped from its center. Elmerin recognized the sound.

"<Earth Spikes>!"

Lances of stone sprang from the earth, impaling the monster. Growling again, it bunched its tentacle-vines, pushing itself upward and yanking itself free. 

Drysia dashed forward, slashing at the root ball, severing several vines from the root ball before it could free itself. Elmerin hit it again, alternating fire and ice to damage the root ball and destroy the roots. From the sound of it, Alexavier and the others were hitting it hard from the other side.

The monster roared, tearing itself free. With another hiss, it bunched up its vines and launched itself, trying to jump away from the strong tormentors behind it and toward the ones it sensed were weaker.

"Tanks, grab its aggro! Drys, El, keep attacking the roots! Rogues and scouts, keep distracting it! Riyo, don't push it -take shelter and recharge your mana!" Alexavier slashed at the vines near him, noting they'd managed to sever over half of them.

What does he think we're doing? "<Wind Shield>!" Elmerin winced as a tentacle hit the shield, even as he and Drysia freed their blades and struck again. 

The monster tried to leap again, but with most of its tentacles now damaged or severed, it no longer had the strength. Drysia cut into the root ball again, reaching the structures that served as a rudimentary "brain" and "heart", pulsing next to the creature's monster crystal. A spear slash from Elmerin combined with Ice Lance opened the wound wider, revealing the magical structures within in their entirety.

"This is-" Drysia said.

"Diamond class." Elmerin gritted his teeth. It was amazing the Emerald class adventurers had managed to hold it off as long as they had, never mind the Rubies. But they had, enough for Drysia and him to deal enough damage -the benefits of experience regardless of class. "Hit it."

Drysia raised her sword and struck, slashing through the magical structures next to the crystal. "That should do it." She glared at Elmerin. "This is why everyone knows you're underranked. Emeralds can't hurt a Diamond this much."

"Still don't -look out!" The monster was lashing out in one last dying spasm, swinging its vines wildly and striking out blindly. Elmerin and Drysia jumped out of the way, but as Elmerin landed, he slipped, needing a moment to regain his balance. He looked up to see a vine headed right for him.

Drysia grabbed his belt from behind, yanking him out of the way and into the archway of one of the tunnels. In front of them, the tentacle vine slammed down as the monster went through its final death throes.

"Shit. Thanks-" Elmerin felt something off in the mana around him and looked up. His eyes widened. He slammed Drysia farther into the tunnel, knocking her down and putting himself between her and the arch. "<Mana Shield>!"

The explosion took out most of the arch.

*******

Characters in this chapter:

Elmerin: Mana Shield: Level 5. Wind Shield, Level 4.

Kres

Drysia

Nera Faunford

Sky

Falchan Cothmore

Death Eagles:

Alexavier Asheburne

Seef

Reefka

Kaada

Riyo

Unknown Party:

Sapphire, male

Ruby, female

Ruby, female

Ruby, male

Ruby, male

Spells in this chapter:

Mana Shield: A shield made of pure magical energy. It requires much more strength and mana then shields that use mana combined with existing matter. The shield needs to be at least Level 3 to be effective.

Wind Shield: Uses mana to harden and move air to deflect incoming attacks.