They all started to jog forward, but a few seconds later Ash put up a hand, stopping them. "Wait a minute, guys," she said. "The oasis is a couple of miles further, right?"
Nika nodded.
"Then why don't we take this part at a walk? We don’t want to run straight into a trap. If we’re walking, it should give us a little extra time to see them and prepare, right?" Ash said.
The area map generally showed enemies in the direct vicinity, but out here with the camouflage of the desert sand, it was playing a bit coy. Several of the Gaia creatures had shown up before they were actually aware they were there. None of them wanted that to happen with a group of bandits. If the party were running, they could be in the thick of an enemy attack before they even knew it.
"Good idea," Nika said.
They formed two lines and started walking. They set a brisk pace, but still slow enough to watch their surroundings closely. They'd gone about a half mile when the red dots appeared, and just as they had all feared, they were right on top of them when they did.
Right now, they were at seven regular players, counting Nika's dad, and one hard and fast NPC. The group they faced had no less than fifteen nomad bandits, and at least half of them were armed with bows. Long distance archers, and on horseback too.
Well, Louella would just see about that. She immediately called her Clone and the two of them cast back-to-back Earthquake. She smiled as the bandits on horses went down quickly, losing their places in the saddles. Now things were a bit fairer.
Nika gave a cry that she hadn't heard before, and she felt a rush of power flow through her. Nice. She turned to focus on the long-range archers and hit them with a Cyclone attack which took the fighters back to the ground and with even less life than before. It was starting to look like an easy battle. Far too easy, which made Louella worried.
She had a right to be. As soon as they had the numbers down to around even odds, it triggered the game to release the next wave of bandits, which came riding up hard behind them. And every one of the mounted nomad warriors was one of the giants from before. Four of them, and two with bows.
Dean and Ash turned to face the new threat, and the others kept concentrating on the battle they were already in. By the time the giants neared, already down to about half life each thanks to Dean and Ash, the first batch had been nearly dealt with.
"Go help your mage," Cameron shouted over to Nika. "The pixie and I have this."
Nika hesitated a matter of seconds, then called out for Striker to stay with her dad and ran with the others to help Ash and Dean repel the stronger threat. Striker didn't hesitate, coming to stand between Louella's clones, sword already covered in the cyber glitter of battle.
It was during this battle that Louella realized her error in programming her character class. Every single one of her attacks used magic, although she guessed that was true with most mages. The real problem lay in the fact that the game only allowed you to pop one mana potion every sixty seconds. With that limitation, if the battle ran much longer, she would be completely out of mana. Cyclone and the more powerful Earthquake were super effective, but they used a ton of magic to perform. Then she had a thought.
What if she could use a lesser magic spell to help the physical fighters and then concentrate on just healing them? Running her abilities quickly through her mind, she came up on her SunRay spell. Smiling she yelled out to the others, "Close your eyes in three, two, one." Then she fired it toward the remaining four bandits in front of them. Striker and Cameron took her at her word as the light flash burst from her fingertips, blinding the enemy.
"Now give 'em all you got, guys," she yelled. "They're blinded." She popped her next to last mana potion and tossed a quick health potion to Cameron before turning back to the others. Still debating on the wisdom of leaving her small team to help the others with a SunRay, she saw Ash disappear. A quick glance showed the others still facing two of the much bigger and badder enemies. Louella swallowed and then used every last bit of mana she had to cast Heaven's Blessings on Ash and the girl popped back on the ground behind Nika.
Nika whirled around and took in what happened in a glance, giving Louella a fierce grin and tossing something Ash's way. Most likely a mana potion. As Louella still had plenty of health potions, she tossed one of them to Ash as well and turned back to her part of the battle. Striker was running low on health, but the game wouldn't allow her to heal him, anyway. Cameron seemed to be holding his own, and Louella was beginning to have a lot of respect for both the man and the Priest/Priestess character class.
As a Priest, he was good with both hand-to-hand combat and magic. Although his magic spells could only be used for healing and support, it was a great combination. Especially since it meant he could pretty much keep himself healed. Waiting the extra few seconds to pass to pop her last mana potion, she felt useless. There would definitely be some changes to her character in the future. As long as Cameron was willing to make them for her. She really needed at least one physical attack for times like this.
Then the time was up and she popped her last mana, then immediately cast Shield All. She might not have any great heal all spells, but hopefully, the added defense would help. She heard Nika's new roar behind her and risked a glance back just in time to see another of the big ones fall. Eyes back in front, she realized that Striker was almost out of health points and was still locked in battle. They were down to three enemies and all three of them were at a low life level.
Taking a deep breath, she made the decision and cast one last Cyclone. The attack was especially powerful here in the desert as the wind picked up sand and made the attack give far more damage than from the wind alone. The desert made the Cyclone into a sandstorm and this one happened to be just enough to wipe the three enemies out of existence.
On a whim, instead of running back to help the others, she took a quick turn around the battlefield, pleased when she found four mana potions among the item drops. No legendaries this time, but they would most likely come from the bigger enemies, anyway. She left the other items for the rest of the team and turned to join them, feeling much better now that she could once again help them.
Of course, they didn't need it now. When she turned, she saw Nika with her ax raised in victory and the others in similar poses. As she watched, Nika turned to her and gave her a glorious smile. The woman truly was one of the most beautiful people Louella had ever met. She took her breath away.
After a very brief celebration of back slapping and congratulations, Dean made his way to Nika.
"I'm curious. Shouldn't this have been a bit easier now that we're all level twenty?" he asked.
Cameron was the one to answer him. "A lot of gamers are grinders," he said. "We wanted the game to be exciting and fresh all the way through it. So we took into consideration that some players might just max their level out before ever hitting the desert area. We compensated by having the Gaia creatures match the players' levels."
"In other words, Dean," Nika said. "The stronger you are, the stronger the monsters are." She frowned. "I thought you got that."
Dean sighed and nodded. "I do. I guess I was just hoping that stopped once we maxed out is all." He shrugged. "Well, Gaia should definitely be an interesting battle at this rate."
Cameron's brows drew together. "You know the boy has a point," he said slowly. "You might want to turn the team's mode down to novice before we get to her. It isn't like we need the extra experience points right now."
Nika smacked her forehead. Why hadn't she thought of that?
Dean looked a little relieved when he saw the mode go down to the basic beginner level. Technically, that was what he was, a total beginner. But at least he was a whole lot better than when they'd first started out. Louella could actually stand him now.
"So, do we go on to the Oasis for our much needed and awaited nap time?" Dean asked.
Louella hesitated. She didn't want to risk coming across another battle while so low on mana. Just because the m
ini-boss battle was back here didn't mean there wouldn't be a regular battle at the oasis.
Nika saw her pause. "You have a better idea, Louella?" she asked.
"Not really a better idea," Louella said. "It's just that I didn't stock near enough mana potions, and I almost ran totally out of mana in that battle. Without magic, my character is pretty useless."
"Mine too, for that matter," Ash said. "Don't feel bad, because I only have two potions left myself. That battle was rough."
Nika turned to her father. "Okay, Dad, if we all go back to town and stock up on potions then return by way of the portal, will we have to face this battle again?"
He shook his head. "The game isn't that sadistic," he said. "You will most likely have a small band of bandits to face between the portal and the oasis, but once the mini-boss is defeated for a player team, it doesn't repeat."
Louella let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She didn't want to go through that one again.
This time they jogged on the trail back to the save fountain and portal. On the way, Ash came up next to Louella. "I take it you got some kind of revive spell with that level up, huh?" Ash asked.
"Heaven's Blessing, like you got with the staff," Louella said.
Ash nodded. "Thanks for bringing me back." She paused. "That was a really weird sensation for a few seconds. Kind of like floating in limbo. It kind of shocked me when I opened my eyes, and I was back in the battle. I totally expected to be back at the fountain."
Louella lifted a shoulder. "You'd do the same for me. It's what team mates are for, right?"
Ash smiled at her. "Yeah, it is. It's just...." Ash paused for a minute. "I guess I'm still not used to the whole friends take care of each other thing. My life outside the game just isn't like that. It takes some getting used to."
"I think you'll find once you get out of the game, that your life will have improved by quite a lot," Louella said. "I'm pretty sure Nika will see to that."
"Yeah, well I'm not one to accept charity," Ash said. "But I have to admit I'd love a job as a guide here in Gaia." She smiled over at Louella. "Plus, that would mean I'd get to visit with you more often."
"I'd like that a lot," Louella said softly. More than she could put into words, actually.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Gaia's Caverns
When they got to the save fountain, Cameron surprised them all by wanting to stay behind.
"The area around save fountains are as safe as towns, you know," he said. "No creatures spawn here. If you are still worried about me, you can leave your fierce dwarf to guard my back." Cameron smiled over at Striker who puffed his chest out with pride.
"It would be my honor to guard the father of my goddess," Striker said gravely, bowing to the man.
"Then it's settled," Cameron said. "The rest of you can go and load up on supplies and then meet me back here."
Nika still wasn't nearly convinced. She'd only just gotten her father back, and she really didn't trust his care to anyone other than herself, not even Striker. But her father wasn't budging, and they wouldn't be gone long, so she finally caved in.
"Don't stray from the fountain area, okay?" she asked.
He nodded and crossed his heart with his fingertip.
Turning, Nika led the others through the portal and back to the Outpost. They made it there, did their shopping and were back in the heart of the desert in record time. Nika didn't relax for one second of the trip. Not until they crossed back through the portal and saw her father and Striker still sitting safe and sound on the stone wall of the fountain.
Taking a deep breath, she made her way over to him. He still had the terminal in his lap and was keying furiously. "Just a minute, dear," he said without even looking up. "I'm almost done with the last of my projects." Hitting a final keystroke, he cried out, "Voila!"
Before Nika could ask what the voila was for, she heard Ash behind her.
"Louella! Your wings! They're all healed up."
The pixie craned her neck backward and saw it for herself. She had been acting shy around Nika's dad ever since they met, but all that changed the instant her newly healed wings spread out for the first time.
Louella ran over to him and threw her arms around him, crying. "Thank you!"
He barely managed to get the terminal out of her way in time, but then he pulled her into one of his great bear hugs and patted her back. "There, there, child," he said. "It's nothing you couldn't have done yourself if the bitch back home hadn't taken away your program access."
Her tears finally stopped, and the shyness tried to return, but he wasn't any of that. "Oh no, you don't get to go shy with me again. You need to start calling me Cameron, not sir, too. Especially as we are going to be living so close to each other."
She sniffled and dried her eyes. "We are?"
Cameron nodded. "Yes, we are. When I designed the jewelry shop, I kind of made it a bachelor pad with just enough room for one to live. I've started on some adjustments for that. I'm adding an upstairs apartment complete with a private staircase to your very own door. You'll have your own space, but you'll always know that I'm right downstairs if you need anything."
Louella swallowed. "You did that for me?"
"Well, it isn't finished yet, but most of the code is in place. I figured once we were done with Gaia, you could help me design the space so it would be just what you wanted. Since it's just a matter of coding, the sky is really the limit here," he said. "But there is one other change that I made before you all returned so speedily."
"What's that, Dad?" Nika asked.
"I'm afraid I was concentrating mostly on our friendly pixie," he said. "She used up every bit of her mana plus potions in that last battle, and I realized that she hadn't given herself any mana-driven perks, so I took the liberty." He looked Louella in the eye. "Most magic dependent characters get a bonus for their magic use at the max level. So, as of the time you reached level twenty, or well, actually a few hours after you reached it, your use of magic now only uses half the mana it used to."
The pixie's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful!" she said. "Why didn't I think of that?"
He laughed. "I'm kind of surprised you missed adding something like that too, actually. You seem to be a fair hand at programming character classes."
Louella nodded. "I do okay, but I will admit I was kind of rushed on this one. If that's all I forgot, I guess I should count myself lucky."
"Indeed," he said reaching over and closing the terminal before standing. Then he looked to Nika. "So it's on to the oasis and the young man's nap?"
Nika gave a yawn and nodded. "A nap for all of us is in high order right now. Dean's right about one thing, we don't want to face Gaia as tired as we all are. Rest first, then on to face the boss."
She had been a bit afraid that the horde of bandits would have respawned by the time they got to that section of the path, but there was no sign of them. They made it to the oasis with not a single enemy battle.
Once there, they didn't waste any time setting up camp. Both Evan and her dad assured them that the oasis was a fairly safe zone and that they shouldn't be bothered there. Of course, that was the original programmers talking. Who knew what changes might have been made since then. Nika wasn't willing to risk all of them sleeping without at least one standing guard.
Striker volunteered, but she wasn't sure how effective he would be without his rest too. They had decided on a five-hour rest period, which would put them waking up about mid-afternoon. Giving them plenty of time to fully wake up, take the portal to Gaia's caverns and hopefully beat her before sundown. At least, that was the plan.
By tonight, Nika wanted nothing more than to be home. And for Cora to be behind bars where she belonged.
The only monsters or creatures that invaded their peace during the rest break were from the Trials update. Obviously, they didn't care much about the sanctity of the oasis. That was okay because once everyone was awake they took full advantage of them. They might not gain
any levels, but Gaia still rewarded them with extra stat points for experience. Every little bit was going to help them during their final battle with Gaia.
It didn't take them long and Nika surveyed her little horde of critters before they headed out. Munch was still her favorite by far and a full level twenty now, just like them, because of it. The others were a variety of elementals and ranged between level fifteen and seventeen. Not a bad little crew and one she hoped could do the job if there was an arena set up outside Gaia's caverns.
They had to backtrack to reach the portal, but once again no Gaia creatures came out to play. It was almost as if the game was holding its breath. Nika would be too if there wasn't so much time between them and Gaia. As it was, her mind simply wouldn't shut off.
There was still that nagging little thought that had bothered her ever since the first oasis. She still hadn't been able to bring it forward, and it somehow felt important. Like she was missing something. Something big.
It was a silent ride and after they passed through the portal, the landscape changed drastically. The desert was now at their backs and they stood on the very edge of the sandy plain. Before them were hills upon hills of rolling green lushness. And centered in the hill directly in front of them was a large arched opening.
Everyone looked to Nika. Who then looked to her father.
"I'm not seeing a save point, Dad," she said.
He smiled. "Gaia is deep within the caves, dear," he replied. "The save point will be right before we reach her."
"Oh goody," Dean said dryly. "That means more creatures to fight before then, doesn't it?"
"I'm afraid it does at that," her dad said. "But they should be a good warm-up for the fight with Gaia."
Ash looked around. "No arena in sight, either." She sounded a bit disappointed. Even if she no longer technically had a team of critters, some of the ones in Nika's inventory were ones that the girl had recruited and trained. Nika knew she still mourned the loss of her precious FireStorm.
Dean frowned. "I thought you said the portals were all close to the fountains?"
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