Chapter 50

[Your heat is at maximum capacity. Release or explode!]

He conjured a deep-blue 25-RM [Mana Missile] and mixed it with the heat. But as he did that, the beautiful deep-blue colour attracted him, promising him good feelings... eternal silence... a helpful partner who would be never loud. He even released a weak pulse of mana, unintentionally casting the [Mana Expulsion] spell.

[Your spell Mana Expulsion gained a level]

[Due to your race, your refined mana reaction sends you to berserk]

"Damn it! STONE!" Lucifer yelled in Stone's mind as loud as possible to wake him up from the stupor. It was convincing enough. The waves were getting rapidly more significant and more powerful.

Two goblins, who were guarding the camp, caught sight of the pulsating mana and slowly investigated with raised spears.

Lucifer thought of something in desperation; he overflowed Stone's mind with images of his past, feelings of frustration and whatever he could think of. He wanted to overwhelm Stone consciousness with 'loud'.

[Berserk status suppressed]

"LOUD!"

"Fuck! Send it Stone!"

Stone was confused by what just occurred but sent the heated mana missile spiralling amid the camp. It travelled as fast as a bolt released from a crossbow. It pierced and seared the nearing goblin's head during its voyage through the air. The second goblin escaped back to the camp and raised an alarm.

For him, the [Mana Missile] suddenly appeared and decimated his mate's head.

A big, flashy explosion echoed over the cavern, the wave of superheated air exploded from the missile could be felt from the nearby shafts as it hit the alarmed 3rd-tier goblinette, blowing off her arm at the shoulder and searing more than half of her body. She shrieked while she fell on the ground, holding the seared stump.

The second 3rd-tier goblin, the one proficient in magic, was able to react in time and conjure a [Mana Shield]. Even though the explosion destroyed it, the goblin was blinded, he escaped unscathed, bar a few scratches here and there and he suffered from the debuff [Tinnitus].

The camp became chaotic; sleeping goblins hastily awoke and ran around like headless chickens.

The druegars acted according to the simple plan. They sprang up on their feet, overpowered their wardens and proceeded to massacre the 1st-tier goblins.

Stone dispatched another deep-blue missile, weaker this time, without including any heat, on the still grovelling and screeching 3rd-tier goblin.

The second 3rd-tier goblin was not able to gather his bearings in time as he was a mere slave. However, his master was now crawling on the ground in pain. He attempted to help her with an extremely rare, at least for the Abyss, potion prepared precisely for this situation.

He neared to his master's head with the brew, but a second deep-blue [Mana missile] shattered the potion and hit his master in the head. The head broke sending the 3rd-tier goblinette into limbo. Her slave gazes upon her, not knowing what to do.

The 2nd-tier goblins and the rest of their 1st-tier goblins finally gained a little bit of footing and formed a line against the desperate druegars. Jarka and Scout-Durza held their own in an even battle with the four 2nd-tiers while the other druegars battled the 1st-tiers.

[Challenge failed! You won't gain any experience from tagged adversaries! The next failure will cost 10% of your maximum experience]

"Why did you stop?" Lucifer inquired.

"My challenge failed! No experience! No good feeling!" Stone angrily exclaimed.

"Well… I told you it would happen! Help them! We need them alive!"

"I don't want to!"

"For fuck sake! Do it, or I will scream in your mind! Constantly! AAAAAAA!"

"LOUD! Don't do it!"

"AAAaaa!"

"No!"

"AAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Fine! Fine! I will do it!" Stone gave up.

"Tche!"

Stone broodily created one translucent [Mana Missile] after another, shelling the 1st-tier goblins and freeing the druegars, who then ran to Jarka and Scout-Durza to help them. With this, the druegars gained enough momentum to break the line.

Lucifer observed the wailing 3rd-tier goblin, who finally regained his posture, glanced at the battling goblins and followed the line of [Mana Missile]s. He noticed a pebble looking like a low-grade mana crystal, but much bigger. It was entirely white, with a smooth crust and in the shape of a perfect ellipsoid. He was surprised for a bit, but the wrath took over and began conjuring his own spell.

"Stone! Run!"

A little black point appeared between the goblin's big palms and soil around him began gathering around it.

"What?"

"RUN!"

Stone listened when he heard the urgency and ordered the souls to run as fast as possible.

'BANG!'

The ground where he was just a moment before exploded as a dark-brown boulder crushed the location he was laying a moment before, sending shards of the boulder flying. A few sharp rocks chipped Stone's body, damaging him even further.

The 3rd-tier goblin lost sight of the enemy as he was interrupted by Jarka, re-equipped with her beloved axe and bloody mist around her.

The goblin did not have a chance. Even though he could somewhat defend himself with a RM [Mana Shield] and his own skills, a well-pointed bolt from a crossbow broke his rhythm. Jarka used her trump card.

All of her scarlet mist transferred to the axe's edge. She put all of her remaining power into the strike and bisected the goblin even with his mana shield. She killed the fainted 3rd-tier goblinette by a kick into his revealed brain.

"Bleh!" She wiped her boot on the dead goblinette's body and helped to clear out the rest of the goblins.

Meanwhile, Stone's ants' souls disperse in a faint flash.

"Luci?" Stone faintly said. He did not feel good at all.

"Yea?" Lucifer replied, expecting the worst. It occurred to him that he and Stone forgot to put up the [Mana Shield], but it 'that' concern was overshadowed by Stone's next sentence.

"I think… I am going to die."

"It will be fine, Stone. Don't worry, I will be here with you."

Time seemed to slow down. The almost-victorious druegars and screaming goblins appeared as if submerged in amber. Flying rocky shards slowed down to a barely noticeable speed. The axe held by Jarka, though slowed, still carried its path through one of the last goblin's neck.