59: The Hall of the Luminous, Part Twenty-Four

The Hall of the Luminous, Part Twenty-Four

Once Neve's mana was fully recharged, she finally put that drake out of its misery. 

... In a while. Before that, though, she had managed the EXP she gained. It was quite a lot.

[... Holy shit.] 

EXP Gained: 900

EXP: 1340/480

Level Up!

She hadn't managed her increased levels in the middle of waves up until now for the simple reason that the EXP she'd been gaining didn't really merit it.

As this wave showcased, however, there was a very real chance that these five waves would result in Neve leveling up quite a bit. In that case, managing her EXP could end up being what lets her survive the latter fights. 

She leveled up 3 times, ending up at level 51. 

[Okay, okay, what the fuck do I assign my points to?] She wondered. [Should I keep going for Strength? Wait, no. I only have 20 Endurance. With enemies being level 51 in the next wave, I'm actually entering one-shot territory again. I should get that to 30 first, then I can focus on my Strength again.] 

Figuring that this was a good idea, she ended up with this status:

Level 51

MP: 600/600 (+300)

EXP: 310/510

AP: 1690

WS Tokens: 8910

---

Endurance: 29

Speed: 40

Precision: 15

Strength: 17

Arcane: 60

Neve had no idea what to think about this. 

[I'd assumed that I'd be under-leveled from this point on, but... These EXP gains are crazy! Will this be easier than I thought?] 

Shaking her head, as the wounded drake groaned to her right, she pushed that thought out of her mind. 

[No, that kind of mentality will get you killed. Those birds from before show that the enemy might be getting smarter from here. The Forces That Be have probably accounted for the fact that I'm gaining this much EXP. They'll probably adjust the difficulty accordingly.] 

On that note, she fired off a couple of {Iceballs} at the drake and finally put an end to this wave. 

[So, dragon-type enemies, maybe?] She thought as the drake's body disappeared. 

As the next wave began, signaled by the manifestations of two level 51 enemies, Neve resummoned Erin. 

MP: 580/900

She appeared with her blades out, at the same time as the two creatures they were meant to fight next.

Neve could not say she knew what these things were, though. 

The closest comparison she could think of was crocodiles, but these enemies had thicker tails and shorter, wider snouts. 

Additionally, they both had black wings and they were both holding black blades that didn't seem to be made of metal. 

Although Neve wasn't familiar with them, apparently Erin was. 

"Neve, stay back!" She called out as the creatures roared. "These things are called wyrms. They're much faster than they look, can breathe fire like our previous opponents, and are incredibly strong!" 

A couple of waves ago, Neve had made the mistake of not trusting Erin's judgment and it had resulted in the lamia ending up dying early. Now, Neve wasn't about to make that same mistake. 

[I guess these monsters are from Erin's world. If she wants me to keep my distance, then I'll focus on being as defensive as possible.] 

Taking a few steps back, ending up closer to the altar, Neve cast {Sacred Ground} under Erin as the wyrms attacked. 

The respect Erin had for these things' strength became clear as she didn't even bother blocking their sword swings. Instead, she just slithered back, putting space between herself and both creatures. 

That wasn't enough, though, as one of the wyrms snapped forward, cutting Erin just below her human-like waist. 

"Hssst!" Erin hissed with pain, but  Neve didn't miss a beat. As soon as she saw that, she fired off multiple rounds of the {Great Healing Dart} spell she'd learned. 

Erin gritted her teeth and finally counterattacked, launching herself up into the air and falling on top of one of the enemies. Riding its back, she stabbed it a few times from an angle where the wyrm couldn't count with its stubby arms. 

The other wyrm opened its mouth, looking like it was going to try breathing some fire. Neve shut that down with {Barrier}. 

MP: 490/900

[I'm already getting so much mileage out of this spell!] 

Mana-related concerns quickly slipped into her mind, though, and as Erin finished off one of the wyrms, continuing to plunge her blades into its back over and over again, Neve cast {Rorvan's Spirit} to boost her mana regeneration. 

MP: 430/900 (+25% regen)

[So, 25% is the minimum?]

Knowing that the spell increased its effectiveness when Neve was hurt, though, the healer tried to think of what she could do to get the most out of it. If she was to lower her own "HP" on purpose, she wouldn't be able to do it alone with just her staff, though. No, she'd rather have some help with it. 

That would need to come in a little bit, though. For now, they still had another wyrm to deal with. 

As the first one fell, and the second realized its flames had been entirely ineffective, it lunged at Erin. 

[It's been about 40 seconds. If I want to do what I have in mind before this next wave, we need to take this thing down now.] 

Perhaps the look on Neve's face made her thoughts obvious, as Erin briefly glanced over at her host before engaging the wyrm aggressively. Without another one to help, she and the wyrm were granted a proper duel. 

Two opponents of practically-equal level, but not of equal skill. The wyrm swung its massive weapon with ease, wildly swiping from side to side. Erin dodged every attack, though, sneaking in her own cuts between moves. 

Eventually, the lamia had enough and cast {Freezing Gaze}. 

A part of Neve had been wondering why the lamia hadn't done so from the beginning. That question was answered as the wyrm turned away as soon as the lamia cast the ability, and was left entirely unaffected by it. 

[What?] 

It still made a costly mistake in giving Erin its back, but Neve found out then that, apparently, {Freezing Gaze} could be avoided by merely not looking into Erin's eyes as she cast it. 

The lamia ended the wyrm's life all the same, though, stabbing it through the head as soon as it had turned. 

[That changes things,] Neve thought. [Honestly, that ability felt pretty fucking OP up until now. It can actually be avoided. Damn.]  1

Focusing back on the matter at hand, though, Neve realized she couldn't do what she'd done on the last wave, as the wyrm had been killed before she could tell Erin to leave it alive. So, Neve ran forward. 

"Erin!" 

"Hm?" The lamia turned toward her, confused. There were about 5 seconds left before she would disappear. 

"Stab me!" Neve then yelled out. "N-Non-lethally, I mean!" 

Raw, pure, utterly stunned confusion graced Erin's face for a brief flash before, robotically, she listened to what had been an order on behalf of the healer. 

In the last second before she would disappear, Erin threw one of her blades at Neve, embedding it in her. 

"AGH!" Neve fell back as Erin, along with the enemies' corpses, disappeared. "Fuck, that hurt..." 

The healer ripped the blade out and, as Wave 18 appeared, quickly summoned Erin back. The lamia quickly slithered toward Neve, furious.

"What the hell did you order me to do that for? Have you gone insane?" She scolded the healer. 

"I'll explain later, just focus on the fight." 

"... Fine." 

This time, it was three enemies that appeared. 

Before she even looked at them, Neve took a moment to assign more attribute points, as she'd leveled up again. 

EXP Gained: 1000

EXP: 1310/510

Level Up!

WS Tokens Gained: 1200

WS Tokens: 10110

[Uhh, uh, Strength and Endurance!] 

On that note, she assigned her points bringing her to this status:

Level 54

MP: 520/600 (+300) (75% regen)

EXP: 60/540

AP: 1690

WS Tokens: 10110

---

Endurance: 30

Speed: 40

Precision: 15

Strength: 25

Arcane: 60

Picking herself up off the ground, without healing the wound her summon had so generously given her at her command, Neve looked over at the enemies, finding that Erin was already fighting them. 

One skeletal bird, though this one did not go straight for Neve like the other two had before, one wyrm, and one drake. 

All three were doing their best to kill Erin. Maybe because they realized that, at this stage, without her Neve didn't really stand a chance. 

With blood from the wound dripping down onto the temple floor, Neve watched Erin try her hardest not to be overwhelmed. She wasn't exactly getting a lot of damage in, but she was surviving, which, in this situation, was all Neve could ask for. 

[... Okay, Neve. Let's at least try to be a little useful.] 

Neve then began shooting some {Waterballs} at all three enemies, trying to lower their Precision enough to make their attacks easier for her summon to dodge. 

The bird, seeing that Neve was doing this, finally moved to strike her, soaring to her position. 

Holding her wound, Neve started running, trying not to accidentally enter Erin's side of the temple. 

With the aerial pressure lifted off Erin's shoulders, the lamia did have an easier time. 

She cast {Freezing Gaze}. The wyrm, probably because it was from Erin's world and understood the abilities lamias possessed, turned away. The drake did not. 

Erin then used {Rorvan's Flurry}, striking both of her enemies until the wyrm backed away and she missed one attack. 

The fact that the wyrm had backed off, though, was a costly mistake on the enemies' part, as it allowed Erin to stick both her blades in the drake's head, uninterrupted. 

Neve caught a glimpse of that in between dodging fire-based projectiles from above. 

[... I should reward her after this,] Neve found herself thinking. [I don't know what she wants, what could make her happy, but... She's doing so much for me in these fights. I want to let her know I'm grateful.] 

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