by R. A. Mejia
“Have either of you ever been to this level before?” Harrison asked flatly. He turned to look back at us, and I shook my head. “No? Well, I’ve been here plenty, and let me tell you: This is the first level where groups of monsters work together. Do what I tell you, and you should live.”
Harrison turned away, and I concernedly looked down at Greebo. I worried that we might have bitten off more than we could handle, but Greebo just shook his head, still clearly annoyed with the mage.
We continued to walk down the tunnels, making left and right turns at regular intervals until the tunnels opened up to a wide space. Unlike the previous levels, this floor seemed to be cloaked in a sort of fog that cast the entire area in a perpetual twilight that prevented us from seeing everything. What little I could see wasn’t welcoming. Stretched out before me was a muddy field with spindly, leafless trees dotting the landscape that was at least half a mile long and a quarter-mile wide.
“It's not a pretty level, but I suppose it's the best a level 4 and 5 can handle right now. We’ll be fighting groups of mudmen here. Who has the best armor between you two?” Harrison asked.
I raised my hand. “With my shield and iron plating, I have an AC of 17.”
“Good. Then you get to attract the mudmen’s attention. I’ll attack them from a distance.” He turned to Greebo and said, “You, goblin. You follow the golem and attack the monsters from behind.”
Harrison didn’t see Greebo roll his eyes, and the mage walked onto the field confidently before pulling out a book from his belt and flipping to a particular page. He muttered some arcane words under his breath and then pointed his palm out in front of him. A great stream of air seemed to come out of his palm and blew the fog back, clearing a twenty-foot radius area in front of him. He turned back and clapped his hands together impatiently. “Come now, golem. Your masters won’t be pleased with you if you dawdle. You and the goblin need to go ahead and attract some mudmen. I’ll be right behind you, ready to kill them.”
I bristled at the orders, but he wasn’t wrong. In fact, Greebo and I had used a similar style before. So, I stepped into the role of tank again. I whispered the command for Light Infusion. Five mana left me, and the phosphorescent moss in my internal inventory disappeared as my left hand started glowing. I cast the infusion on my head and felt the magic transfer there, waiting to be activated with a command word. I was not able to infuse living people like Greebo or Harrison, only non-living things like myself. The spell would activate when I called for it, but until then, it would remain dormant and ready to use for up to half an hour. I equipped my shield on my left arm and realized that I’d never replaced the broken iron rod I’d deconstructed, which meant that I would be using my bare fist as a weapon. I could fabricate a poor wooden club, but it wouldn’t do more damage than my unarmed strikes. Besides, my role was meant to be a punching bag, not a damage dealer.
I over and saw that Greebo was standing next to me, already prepared with his short sword out. It wasn’t necessary for us to speak after so many fights together, so I just nodded at him to signal that I was ready before walking out into the middle of the cleared space. I said the trigger word for the spell, “Light,” and a white glow emanated from my head and illuminated the surroundings. Thankfully, it didn’t affect my vision since I was the source and had a clear view all around.
My feet sank into the muddy ground as I walked forward, making plopping sounds with each step. It only took a few minutes until the bright light attracted our first opponents. Three figures rose from the muddy ground, and I whispered the command for Inspect.
Mudman Brawler
Level 5
HP 30/30
All three were the same medium humanlike shape and were about four feet tall. They didn’t have any distinguishing features, but they were muddy approximations of a short human. I knew the fight wouldn’t be easy since they each had almost as much health as I did. The three mudmen walked quietly toward me, their feet seemingly gliding through the muddy ground with ease.
I didn't want to stand there and wait for them to come to me, so I charged toward the three with my shield held out in front of me and plowed right into the middle one. Unfortunately, the maneuver didn't work as planned. Instead of bowling the creature over, it felt like I’d hit a block of silly putty that completely absorbed my charge, leaving my shield stuck to the creature’s body. The monster was too small for me to attack around the shield, and the two other Mudmen Brawlers converged on me, their wet muddy fists hitting me almost simultaneously. Thankfully, I only lost a few hit points since my armor absorbed most of their damage. I struck back at the mudman to my right and felt my fist go into the creature with a squelch. I didn’t do any damage, and the monster was tugged left and right as I wrenched my fist back and forth trying to free it. The third brawler hit me in the back again and again, inflicting damage with each blow, but I was too distracted by the two monsters stuck to me to turn and deal with it.
I heard a yell, and I turned to see Greebo hacking into the back of the third mudman as his shortsword cut clean through the creature’s body for seven points of damage. The mudman paused its attack, and its body reshaped almost instantly so that it was then facing Greebo and not me. Its still-raised fist came down on the goblin, knocking his health down by 17%. The monster stepped toward Greebo and raised his fist again, and I worried that my goblin friend would not be able to defeat the Mudman Brawler by himself. But I’d forgotten that we were no longer alone. I heard a low chanting come from somewhere off to my left, and then the third Mudman staggered mid-step as its right leg was cut clean off. The monster wobbled on its left leg for a moment before toppling forward. The creature’s health only dropped five points, but Greebo quickly stabbed out with his sword, slicing into the back of the prone monster.
As I continued to struggle with the two other mudmen stuck to my arms, both trying to slam their fists into me, I saw Harrison Freud’s grey robes as he stepped into the range of my light spell. His right hand was raised, palm out, as he read again from the book in his left. There was a sharp whoosh of air, and I saw the fog that barely clung to the mage was cut as energy left his palm. A moment later, another cut appeared on the back of the prone mudman.
“It’s a spell,” I muttered, realizing that the Aeromancer must be using some ranged magic to cut into the enemy. I quickly activated Magical Spell Scanning and targeted the Aeromancer.
Spell scan complete. Spell: Extended Air Blade. Components: none. Extended Air Blade schema recorded and added to the database.
I was stunned by the information. Not only did the spell not require any components to cast, but it seemed to have an extended range. I was confused but quite glad that I was able to capture the schema for the spell. My happiness faded as both Mudmen pulled themselves off my shield and arm and then attacked together. I raised my shield and turned my body so that it covered most of my torso in a guarded position and focused on absorbing the monsters’ blows. Thankfully, I only took a little damage due to my shield and armor preventing any major hits. Even with the reduced damage, however, it was only a matter of time till my health hit zero if I did nothing but defend myself. So, I decided to go on the offensive. Rather than trying to hit the monsters with my blunt fist again, I took the shield off my arm and swung it in a horizontal two-handed slash. The edge cut into one of the mudmen and sank halfway into the creature before getting stuck. The monster’s health dropped by eight points, but the creature’s muddy frame prevented me from removing it. Thankfully, it also stopped the Mudman from reaching me with its fists.
I turned to face the second Mudman, ready to duke it out but found the monster charging at me with its arms spread wide. I couldn’t move fast enough to avoid the attack, and the monster seemed to engulf me as it hit. I was pushed back a step, but my iron plating made me too heavy to be knocked off my feet. However, the attack didn’t end there. The creature’s mud-like body oozed down and wrapped around my legs, preventing me from moving. I tried to
grab the brown goop that had surrounded my legs, but I couldn’t seize anything but handfuls of mud. The first mudman ran into me, using the shield stuck in his body as a battering ram. I took 6 damage from the charge as my own shield was used as a weapon against me. I somehow managed to keep my footing and tried to grab at the monster or the shield protruding from it, but the Mudman was too wily for that. With me unable to move or turn, the first mudman maneuvered behind me before charging again. I was knocked forward from the attack, and my health dropped to 6, a mere 20% of my total health.
I fell to my knees, certain that I’d be hit again any second. Instead, I heard a cry from Greebo. “Goblin slice!” There were more sounds of cuts being made to wet mud, and then two notifications appeared in my vision.
You’ve helped kill a level 5 Mudman Brawler.
You receive 6 XP.
You’ve helped kill a level 5 Mudman Brawler.
You receive 6 XP.
The notifications told me that my group members finished off two of the three mudmen while the last still held onto my legs, immobilizing me. I tried again to either pry the monster from me or hit it with my fists, but each punch had no effect as the wet mud like body absorbed the blunt damage. I was eventually rescued as Greebo and Harrison came into view.
“Well, you certainly got their attention, golem,” Harrison said, his lips pressed flat as he chided me with his eyes. “Don’t expect me to waste magic freeing you. That mudman will stick to you like that until you kill it.”
Greebo shook his head at the mage then turned to me. “Don’t worry, Bolts. I’ll free you.” He then proceeded to slice away chunks of the mudman, careful not to strike me. After a few minutes, the mudman had taken enough damage to die, and the rest of his body seemed to lose cohesion and fall to the wet ground with a splash. We each got 6 XP, but I was just glad to be free again.
Fighting with a new group member wasn’t the great experience that I’d hoped it would be. Sure, Harrison was a higher level than us, which meant that he had more spell power, but his attitude was getting to me. I mentally weighed the potential benefit of scanning more of his spells versus just kicking him out of the group and continuing on our own. Keeping him around barely won out, and that was mostly because he had more experience on this level than us and could point out its dangers. As we started moving deeper into the dungeon, I just hoped I had made the right decision.
Chapter 7 - Mage Issues
Our first fight over, we quickly grabbed the stone cores that were left from the monsters as loot. These were different from the more profitable Monster Cores that were used as magical batteries by various spells. Unlike those, the stone cores were practically worthless except as proof to fulfill the quests from the Adventurers Guild. Once I saw them, I remembered that I had picked up the quests earlier and made sure to share the kill quest with Greebo so that he’d eventually be able to finish it too.
Greebo’s new Scavenger class gave us extra stone cores when he looted the monster bodies, but little else. It was a bummer but I shouldn’t have expected more from monsters made out of mud. Still, it would allow us to finish the guild quest sooner than we expected.
As we continued deeper into the dungeon Harrison Freud kept ordering both Greebo and I around. I knew it annoyed me but it infuriated Greebo. Add onto that the condescending attitude of the mage. Like he was doing us a huge favor by grouping with us. Still, I couldn't argue with his knowledge of the level or his skill with air magic. Not only was I able to get the schema for Extended Air Blade but I also picked up the Gust spell that he used to clear the fog away.
When a new type of Mudman appeared, one that fought at a distance throwing balls of mud, Harrison pointed towards the monster and said, “That is a Mudslinger. They can be trouble for two melee fighters like you. The Brawlers will try to hold you back, while the Mudslingers pepper you with mud balls. They don’t have much health, so it’s better to kill them before the Brawlers.”
As if to illustrate, he extended his hand and read from the book at his belt and cast an extended air Blade, which cut the Mudslinger in half before it could even throw its second mudball. The Mudslingers appeared two more times with and without Brawlers, but they were never a real threat as long as Harrison could reach them with his magic.
Several hours had passed since we started the day’s dungeon dive and I’d just finished repairing myself when four Mudman Brawlers rose from the muddy ground, surrounding us. The two closest Brawlers rushed me, punching me in my faceplate and chest with their muddy fists as they got close. I raised my shield and hid behind it, buying myself a moment to look behind me. I saw Harrison and Greebo each take a blow from the other two Mudmen and while I wanted to rush in and help them, my first job was to take care of the two enemies in front of me. I slammed the edge of my shield into the closest Mudman and kicked the other with my iron plated foot, pushing my muddy enemies back. I heard a loud whoosh of air and glanced back to see Harrison’s body glow and rise off the ground and out of the reach of the monsters. I badly wanted to use Magical Spell scanning as he lifted off the ground to grab the spell for my own use, but the monsters in front of me demanded my full attention.
I moved to my left, trying to keep one of the Brawlers between me and the other so that I didn’t have to fight both at the same time. I slashed with my shield again, the edge cutting into the brawler and then retreated back before I could be counterattacked. I repeated the attack pattern, noticing that the Brawlers had a hard time pivoting and defending simultaneously. The stick and move tactic also let me keep an eye on the other members of my party.
Greebo slashed furiously at the other two Mudmen while using his high dexterity to dodge their powerful punches. Harrison sniped at them from above, sending compressed blades of air to lop off their muddy arms and legs. It was a mana intensive tactic, which coupled with his use of the levitation spell, seemed to drain the mage’s resources quickly.
I’d only gotten one of my opponents down to half health when I saw Harrison drop to the ground with an exhausted look on his face. Thankfully, between his spells and Greebo’s shortsword, they’d already cut apart the two Brawlers they faced.
Even as I took another series of punches from my opponents, I felt relieved when I caught sight of Greebo heading my way. I stepped back, trying to give myself enough room to maneuver back towards my friend, when I heard a gurgling sound behind me. I turned and saw a new Mudman rise out of the ground. Unlike the short and stout brawlers, this one was thin and almost as tall as I was, and it held a wooden walking staff with a glowing stone at its top.
“It’s a Mudmage and I’m out of mana!” I heard Harrison yell.
They were not the words I wanted to hear surrounded by three Mudmen, one of whose abilities were completely unknown to me. I felt a punch to the back of my head and stumbled forward. I regained my balance and turned to see the two Brawlers reaching back, readying to punch again. I raised my shield to ward off the blows, but only felt the impact of one of the attacks. When I peeked over the shield, I saw that Greebo had engaged one of the Brawlers, drawing it away from me.
Despite our mage being out of mana, I felt confident that Greebo and I could handle the Brawlers. I struck the Mudman I was facing with the side of my shield, then turned my head as I heard the sound of burbling mud. The Mudmage had its staff extended out and was chanting by forcing bubbles of air from its muddy mouth. The next moment a large hand made out of mud burst from the ground beneath Greebo and engulfed him in its grasp. The giant mud hand squeezed my friend, and I heard him scream. I dove to my right and disengaged from my opponent and ran to the giant muddy hand holding my friend and started to hack at it with my shield. But it just wasn’t cutting it quickly enough. I saw the Mudmage standing still, concentrating on maintaining its spell, but the Brawlers stood between us and were getting closer and I knew I had to do something quickly or Greebo would be in serious trouble.
My shield by itself wasn’t doing enough damage, and I infused the E
xtended Air Blade spell into the shield and felt 15 mana drain away as I activated it. A shimmering blast of air shot ahead of the shield’s edge as I swung it with all the strength I could muster. The spell cut deeply into the mud hand, my shield followed the already-cut channel and pushed even deeper, slicing the appendage open. Greebo’s body dropped onto the muddy ground with a wet plop. I dropped my shield, scooped up my unresponsive friend and ran.
Our hired mage didn’t argue, finally giving the belated order to retreat before running past me. We didn't stop running until we reached the dungeon entrance to the field.
There, Harrison wheezed and coughed, obviously not used to that much physical exertion. But he still found the breath to complain. “Where did you get that spell you used?!? That is something I created personally!”
I was shocked by the question but more concerned with my friend’s health. I laid him down on the stone floor, and used Inspect. Between the damage from the last fights with the Brawlers and the grasping Muddy hand, his health was down to 15%. I infused the spell Minor Regeneration into my hand, and applied it to Greebo.
The mage stomped up to me and yelled, “Don’t ignore me, golem! I have done more than you and that goblin deserve today, and if you don’t answer me, I’ll make you and your masters pay!”