Part Thirty-One

“The Archmage is ready for you. Please follow me."

It was close to three hours before the soldier came to tell us that. I’d spent most of my time practicing Grudge Magic. While I could use the first two spells easily enough, only [Rot] had any combat potential. [Miasmic Cloud] simply created a burst of Miasma and while it certainly could blind a target temporarily, that was the extent of its usefulness for the time being.

But it wasn’t like learning another spell was simple either. Not only did I not know how to cast the other spells, but I needed a target to verify their effects. Meaning I had to wait for some monsters to show up.

Killing our targets come first, so I doubt I’ll have time to practice on a monster. Maybe I should look around and see if I can find a mouse or something. Though would there really be any inside of a Dungeon?

We were soon led to the room housing the teleportation formation. It appeared the Archmage had already started to cast the spell, as the mana concentration of the room was stifling. A normal person would’ve found it to be rather intimidating.

“Good, you’re here. Hurry up and enter the formation. I’ve already cast this spell twice today and my mana reserves are running low.”

Tch, I figured we were probably last, but to hear it like that is irritating. I wonder what Alicia and Cameron are doing? I hope they’re okay. Hopefully they haven’t got in over their heads.

It appeared that exhaustion was taking its toll on him, as his casting speed was far slower than the last time I’d seen him use this spell. It looked like we could be here for a bit. Still, watching the way his spell came together could give me inspiration for how my own spells should work. Even if they were different types, the underlying fundamentals were the same.

Magic consisted of glyphs, which were symbols that represented different aspects of the universe. Simple spells, like [Firebolt], could be cast with one or two glyphs, but more complex spells would require a formation, which was composed of many glyphs. The stronger and larger the spell, the bigger the formation would be.

Glyphs and formations could be created via mana, but most mages would need to engrave them to cast larger spells. An engraving would act as a template for the spell, reducing the burden on the caster. I hadn’t seen it, but apparently the Archmage could teleport himself around without an engraved formation.

Unlike in most fantasy stories, an incantation wasn’t required for spellcasting. It could help one to focus, but was wholly unnecessary. Most spells could be performed with your intent and focus alone. Though Rituals were a different beast. In order to cast one of those, you needed to perform complex preparations, which differed from spell to spell. [Rotting Seal], for instance, required an engraving large enough to fully contain a person and had an insane level of detail to it. Just using it once would probably take hours of setup.

By the way, I only knew all this because Kalia had lectured me about it earlier. I was starting to suspect that she might be a magic nerd. She’d rambled on for over an hour and had only stopped once someone else called her over.

“Prepare yourselves! The spell is almost complete!”

Good. Let’s get this over with. I’m itching for a fight that doesn’t involve multiple waves of monsters.

***

I would never get used to the sensation of being teleported. It felt like I was being turned inside out and then upside-down. Though thankfully it wasn’t bad enough to make me throw up, but some of the others weren’t so lucky. There were more than a few who were unable to get their helmets off in time.

That’s, that’s gross. I think I’d rather throw the helmet out than try to salvage it. Unless it was really good that is.

Thankfully, the vertigo caused by teleportation didn’t last long, so everyone managed to completely recover in a few moments, lost lunches aside. Once that was taken care of, Braddock and the others began to set up our formation.

Their main strategy seemed to be tususe a crescent-shaped shield wall with spears and swords behind them to whittle away at the monsters. While it was a rather orthodox tactic, it was effective. I hadn’t actually seen them fight, but they’d earned a fair bit of fame for their exploits in the prior battles. And Alicia had said that Jansen led a small group of fairly skilled archers as well.

Which meant they had a well-thought-out set of tactics, something I rarely used. I, I feel ever so slightly inferior. No! Don’t think like that!! I’m sure I’m superior in solo combat. And group work has never been my strong suit. So there no need to worry..

“Alright then! We’re all set. The compass says the target is dead ahead, so let’s get mov-"

“”“Awooooooooooooo….!!!”””

Hey, you should let the man finish. I’m sure he had a rousing speech prepared, but now we’ll never get to hear it. Oh well.

“Shield-bearers, get in position! Those with longer-reaching weapons should get in behind them! Kalia, make sure you’re ready to heal at a moments notice.”

It took mere moments before the wolves were visible. While it wasn’t a flood of them, there were at least a few dozen monsters heading towards us. Yeesh, this Dungeon certainly like to show off, doesn’t it?

“Braddock, I think I see the target!”

Hm? Oh, that’s pretty convenient.

Wolf Alpha

Rank: D

Description: A stronger, larger wolf-type monster. While it possesses no special abilities, it commands its pack with greater cohesion than other equally ranked monsters. Underestimate them at your peril.

I was wondering when I’d finally see this. Most monsters I’d seen so far had one of two hierarchies. They either had a designated line for their leaders, like Goblins did, or they simply followed the strongest monster among the group. But some, like wolves, would do both.

*Clang! Clang! Clang clang!*

“Awwwwo!”

The wolves had thrown themselves at the shields, only to get pushed back and stabbed by those hiding behind them. Most of the wolves were merely wounded, but a few blows were lucky enough to score lethal hits.

But the overall strength of our group was higher than the monsters'. Unless they surrounded us, they would be able to break through and they didn’t have the numbers for that.

“Awoooooooooo!!!”

Shit.

Howls erupted from behind us, indicating that another pack was closing in. While there weren’t as many wolves in this pack, getting caught from two directions was never a good thing. Someone had to stop it, but the others were all preoccupied with those already attacking us.

Thankfully, Braddock hadn’t put me into the formation. He’d said that since I was unused to it, I would just get in the way. So I was behind them with those who used bows or other weapons that didn’t work well in a shield wall, thus allowing me to slip away without disturbing anyone else.

I sprinted towards the wolves while activating Beast of the Nightmare. As always, the massive boost to my abilities made it so that weaker monsters were of little concern to me. My swords could cut through them like they were made of paper. Each swing of a blade meant the death of another wolf.

I fought my way through the smaller pack, using the occasional tree to guard my blind spots. My goal was to deal with the alpha I’d spotted earlier. It was in command of all the wolves present. Also, it was the only D-Rank monster, meaning it was both the strongest threat and would have the best loot.

Ugh, now they’re focusing on me. I know this is what I wanted, but it’s still annoying. Most monsters were incredibly simplistic. They would focus on the closest prey, regardless of the danger. Which had been my plan all along.

*Twang twang twang*

The archers had finally switched targets. I’d been the first to react to the second pack, but they hadn’t been far behind. While there were only eight of them, each was skilled at rapid firing, so it felt like an entire squad of archers was backing me up. Multiple wolves died within seconds, giving me all the space I needed to attack my true target.

“Snaaarll!”

Using the last few moments of Beast of the Nightmare, I was able to close in on the alpha. A tactic this reckless only worked due to the wolves' lackluster strength and the other mercenaries’ formation. Braddock had already rerouted several mercenaries to hold off the remnants of the second pack, though the archers would soon pick them off anyway.

As for me, I pursued the alpha as it ran away. Several wolves got in the way, forcing me back. I could’ve ripped through them by using Beast of the Nightmare again, but I wanted to preserve my mana for later. We had more than one fight lined up for today, so I needed to rotation my mana use this early on. Besides, there were others who could do it as well.

“Everyone, shift to offense! We’re going to push through and break them down!”

I hadn’t been able to watch everything, but what I saw of Braddock’s commanding impressed me. He’d kept up-to-date with all the battlefield changes even as he fought on the front lines. Granted, he had assistance from those on the back line, but it was still impressive.

Everything put together had reduced a pack of over a hundred wolves to a few remnants and those would soon be mopped up. The alpha had even tried to flee as things fell apart, only to be sniped by one of the archers. It had actually been a bit of a letdown. I’d thought it would pull something out of its metaphorical hat to turn the tables, but I was sorely disappointed. Oh well.

Well, guess we’re done here. There’s still two more targets, but I’m sure those won’t be any harder than this one was. All in all, this was a lot simpler than I thought it would be. I didn’t even have to do anything particularly life-threatening to get through it….