22: The Ruined Fortress of Roha Vala, Part Seven

The Ruined Fortress of Roha Vala, Part Seven

As the half-pig, half-human enemies ran at her, the healer sprinted back to the hall she'd just come out of.

[Crap, crap, crap.]

As she made it back there, she turned and found that, indeed, both pig-like enemies were right on her tail, with what seemed like fairly negative intentions judging by the bloodstained weapons they were holding up in the air.

Neve had them where she wanted them, though.

[Come on. You don't even know what's coming!]

Hopping over the tripwire, she took a few steps past it, turned, and waited with a smirk.

Human ingenuity was undefeated so far, in this dungeon.

Sure, these appeared to be slightly more intelligent creatures than the mannequins Neve had been taking on, but, given how they squealed and screeched, it appeared that they were still animals. This strategy was all Neve needed.

At least, she thought so.

She was proven wrong, however, when both enemies stopped just in front of the tripwire.

[Huh?]

Then, both of them hopped over the wire daintily, like an elementary school student jumping over a crack in the sidewalk, before running toward Neve once again.

[Shit.]

Immediately, she cast two {Iceballs}.

MP: 360/380

Both projectiles reached their intended enemies. They didn't inflict much damage, but the minor, minimal slow that they applied onto them may have just saved Neve's life.

That remained to be seen.

The pigs reached her just as she went past the hallway and into a slightly more spacious area.

[I leveled up my Endurance by a lot, but I still don't feel like testing it out against level 50 enemies. Especially since these guys also seem pretty slow, even though they're faster than the mannequins were. That probably means a large number of their points are invested in their Strength and, or, Endurance. It would be nice if my 20 Endurance was enough to let me live through a hit or two, but if it's not then... yeah. I should play it just as safe as I have been.]

She cast {Sacred Ground} under herself. Dodging would throw her out of this magical rune, but as long as she stayed near this thing then maybe she would get some use out of it.

One of the pigs lifted up a serrated blade, stained with dried blood. Neve looked up at it and stepped back, just before the blade crashed down on the spot she'd just been standing in.

The other, the one carrying a ball and chain, wound it up and threw the metal ball at Neve's head.

"Ack!"

She ducked under it, but the ball crashed into the wall behind her, forming a web of cracks.

[They're pretty fast, even with the {Iceball} slow.]

Taking shallow breaths, Neve cast a couple more {Iceballs} as she strafed to the right. The pig with the knife followed her, rearing back as though to throw a heavy slash.

Instead, however, its eyes glowed red and it began a combo.

MP: 25/50

[A Technique?] Neve thought, her eyes widening. [Agh, no. Why are you surprised, Neve? This is a high-level dungeon, of course, regular grunts can use Techniques.]

Even though Neve wasn't even that close, the pig started swinging its blade wildly, from side to side, pushing Neve away.

Until her back hit a wall.

[Shit!]

"Aaaargh!" The pig pulled its meaty hand back. The last hit of this insane flurry was bound to hit Neve. She had no space to dodge. Even if she moved to the side, all she would do is change the angle at which she was about to be struck.

So, she hastily cast {Sacred Ground} under herself and hoped for the best.

The serrated knife slashed horizontally, cutting into her waist.

"AAAAAGH!" She screamed, feeling like she'd just been cleaved in half. The pain went through her like a surge of electricity coursing throughout her body.

But, she was still alive. Barely, but still.

Off pure instinct, she cast two spells back-to-back.

First, she cast {Healing Ground}, and second, she threw a {Fireball} at her opponent's head.

MP: 205/380

"Reuuurgh!?" The pig was suddenly engulfed in flames. It backed off, dropping its knife and flailing its arms in an attempt at removing the fire from its body.

Neve dropped to the ground, unintentionally avoiding another strike from the ball and chain.

Struggling to catch her breath, she placed a hand on her slowly-healing wound. Her hand came up covered in red.

[I fucked up,] she thought, breathing heavily, trying not to cry from the pain in her side. [Positioning, positioning, positioning!]

If she lived through this, there would be time to reflect on the fight later, though. She knew she couldn't lose focus now, or else she'd simply perish. Especially since there was another enemy, beginning to wind up a ranged attack.

So, while the pig with the knife saw the flames that surrounded it slowly fade away, Neve tossed the same {Fireball} at its friend, hitting the ranged enemy.

It had the same effect, briefly covering the opponent in flames and causing it to cry out in pain, trying to put the flames out.

With her wound having healed just enough for her to move, Neve went around the closest opponent, so that the wall wasn't to her back anymore.

Two more {Iceballs} were cast in rapid succession, both aimed at the melee fighter.

Her attacks had little effect, however. These were beginner-level spells, after all.

[I can't beat them both through my spells alone,] she thought. [I need to use the trap!]

The healer began running back to the hall, stumbling toward the tripwire as she held her wound.

As the ball-and-chain-wielding pig saw its own flames diminish, it began chasing after her. The melee fighter did the same.

[I don't know what kind of trap this is even going to be, but let's hope it works.]

And so, remembering what happened the last time, Neve broke the tripwire herself.

Immediately, she looked forward and backward to see what would happen, trying to spot any sudden rifles appearing nearby.

There was nothing, though.

[What? Where...?]

Her brows furrowed as she heard a metallic, sliding sound above. Looking up, her eyes widened.

[Oh, God.]

As fast as she could, she ran to the end of the hall.2

[I'm not gonna make it!]

"Agh!"

She leaped, sliding just past where the hall ended, coming out to the part of the building where she'd originally encountered these two.

The pigs followed behind her, unaware of what Neve had seen.

A ceiling full of spikes then slammed down on top of them, crushing both creatures from above.

EXP Gained: 100

EXP: 230/260

EXP Gained: 110

EXP: 440/260

Level Up!

WS Tokens Gained: 100

WS Tokens Gained: 100

WS Tokens: 4250

Immediately, Neve cast {Healing Ground}. That wound on her body was still open, after all.

The trapped ceiling slowly moved up. Neve looked in the hallway and found the pig's bodies stuck on the spikes, being raised with them as they moved up. It was only as the panel hiding the spikes slid into place that the mangled bodies were pushed off, dropping to the ground with a pair of thuds.

The rifles from before had only wounded both Neve and her enemies. This trap outright killed its victims.

[... Different traps do different amounts of damage. Is it because this one is one-time use? Maybe.]

She remained there, resting on the ground as her wound healed.

Until a voice asked:

"Wurza no?"

[Huh?]

Turning her head toward the source of that question, Neve found that the woman in the cage was looking toward her.

A second voice spoke to Neve then, in her mind. Though, this one was familiar.

"Hold on, I'll help," Tamira whispered.

{Detecting Interspecies Communication}

{Initiating Automatic Two-Way Translation}

"There you go!" Tamira said as Neve stood up. "Aren't you glad you didn't choke the life out of me?"

Neve took a few steps toward the half-snake, half-human lady, checking her wound first to make sure she was fully alright.

"Um... You can talk?" Neve asked.

The lady's brows came together, as though she was puzzled.

"Of course, I can," the snake lady suddenly replied in English, though her voice carried a heavy accent. Her voice sounded strained, as though it had been a long time since she last spoke and she simply wasn't used to it anymore. "What do you take me for? Do I look as brutish as the creatures you just disposed of?"

"Sorry," Neve quickly replied. "It's just... Surprising."

"Ah, you are not from these parts, I assume... Admittedly, I share your shock," the girl whispered, as she looked up and down Neve's body. "You carry four limbs like they do, and yet you seem intelligent. Beyond asking stupid questions, anyway. It is clear you are no arken. What are you?" She asked.

"Uh, human. Do you... not have those around here?"

"Not at all," the woman shook her head. "Around here, as you put it, for the longest time, only my kind could be found. Then these horrible beings appeared, and now you. It may be too early for me to make a judgment, but I have to say," she smiled, giggling quietly as she looked over at the broken pig bodies, showing off a pair of fangs, "you've already made a better impression on me than they have."

Up until now, the lady had been hunched over, with a large portion of her flowing red hair falling over her face, nearly concealing it. As she said that, however, she sat up and took a better posture. She raised her hands slowly, almost as though she'd forgotten how to use them, and swept away her hair.

Allowing her piercing red eyes, carrying slitted black pupils, to make contact with Neve's own sapphire irises.

[Holy shit... she's beautiful.]

"My name is Erin Leynall. Princess of this castle, as difficult as that may be to believe, given my current position. It is a pleasure to meet you."

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