101: Blood in the Water, Part Sixteen

Blood in the Water, Part Sixteen

Survival. 

That was the name of the game... Quite literally. 

As such, as the flying eels made their way to her position, Neve wasn't even considering staying and fighting. She'd cast Field of Brilliance for one reason, and that was to strengthen this next string of spells. 

Neve fired off a few rounds of {Iceball} at them, just before they reached her. 

Only one of her spells landed, empowered by Field of Brilliance, catching the eel on the left while Neve walked back, dodging the other eel's attack at the same time. It attempted to latch onto her like the first one she'd seen had done, but Neve was prepared for that move this time. 

MP: 985/1100

With that one successful hit, Neve turned and ran. 

2:45

2:44

2:43

In the darkness, it was mainly thanks to that red aura that the slug had placed around the enemies that Neve was able to see them when they were outside the range of her {Candlelight}. 

[What is that effect anyway? I'm guessing it's a damage buff of some kind... Annoying, but could be worse. With how slow I am right now if it was a speed buff, I might actually have died already.] 

"AAAERGH" 

The eels made a beeline for her and Neve jumped out of the way. they ended up bouncing their mouths off the floor before resuming their chase. 

A quick glance at Erin let Neve know that she was likely not going to get any help soon. 

That slug was a mage, firing projectiles at the lamia while she tried to hold off the two fish warriors attacking her. 

Right. She was *only* holding them off. At some point, she'd given up on killing the enemies. 

[That doesn't mean I can't kill these things, though. But... I'll need my sword to make that happen.] 

10 Priestess-class spells. Upon meeting that requirement, Neve would have a weapon throughout the rest of this time trial. 

Thus, Neve got started, casting {Great Healing Dart} over her own head as she continued running away. 

MP: 975/1100

MP: 965/1100

MP: 955/1100

One of the eels went in front of her, trying to cut Neve off. The healer slid to a halt and backed up, continuing to cast the spell over her own head as both eels tried to collapse on her position. 

MP: 945/1100

MP: 935/1100

MP: 925/1100

One of them had been slowed a little thanks to that earlier {Iceball}, but the other was still blindingly quick. 

It went to bite Neve's head, but she rolled to the side, got up, and kept running. 

MP: 915/1100

MP: 905/1100

MP: 895/1100

She couldn't outrun them forever, of course. Knowing this, with just one more spell to go before her sword was awakened, Neve cast {Sacred Ground} under herself and tanked a hit, as one of the eels rammed into her lower back. 

MP: 845/1100

"AGH!" 

Just as her blade was covered in a holy, white aura, Neve hit the ground. The eel hadn't paralyzed her this time, as it had simply used its own head like a cannonball instead of latching onto her, but Neve's instincts told her she wouldn't be so lucky if it hit her again. 

She fell on her chest but quickly turned and swung her blade. 

"Eeaaaghk!" Her sword caught one of the eels just as it had been about to attack her, nearly cutting it in half. The other eel, the one that had been slowed by {Iceball}, saw this and backed off, seemingly showing some concern over Neve's newfound strength. 

[... Yeah,] Neve thought, getting to her feet. [Like I'd said before, my Blade skill only really matters when I'm fighting something that is also carrying a weapon. For monsters like these, though, 40 Blade is more than enough.] 

Accepting that brief pause in the action, Neve looked up at the timer. 

2:12

2:11

2:10

[This has already been one of the longest minutes of my fucking life, holy shit.] 

As the first third of this time trial was about to reach its conclusion, Neve glanced over at Erin, knowing she'd have to re-summon her in a moment. 

The lamia knew that as well, apparently. Her eyes met Neve's, showing a bit of concern and perhaps wondering what they were going to do. 

As the seconds ticked down, the eel Neve had cut still hadn't gotten back up in the air. The other one, however, launched itself at the healer. 

2:04

2:03

2:02

2:01

[NOW!] 

Just as the timer was about to reach 2 minutes and Erin's own timer was about to run out, Neve summoned the lamia right in front of her. 

MP: 545/1100

Having expected this, and having surveyed Neve's battle just before appearing, Erin quickly slashed forward as soon as she manifested. 

Her swing cut the incoming eel in half, its body falling into two pieces by Neve's sides. 

EXP Gained: 60

EXP: 530/500

Level Up!

WST Gained: 120

WST: 81426

Neve was breathing heavily. 

The portal gave an ominous sound to her left and Neve found Erin's original enemies running toward them, along with some backup that had just come in as well. Two more fish warriors and one more eel. The total number of enemies was now four of those fish, two eels once again, and that one slug mage. 

All of which, of course, were level 55. 

[More monsters. Of course.] 

"Hm. If their numbers are to increase over time like this, we are almost certain to get overwhelmed if we don't kill anything," Erin said. 

[She's right, but... How do we...?] 

The answer was in her hands, of course. Glowing brightly, as though desperately trying to get Neve's attention. 

[Right,] she thought, wrapping her hand tightly around her blade. 

"Alright, change of plans. We're going to try to trim their numbers down a little." 

"How?" 

"Well," Neve said, taking a step forward, "I'm going to fight with you." 

The lamia raised a brow at her but, as the fresh eel that had just come in went to attack them, she discarded any doubts she may have had and nodded back at Neve before dodging out of the way of another aerial lunge. The eel then flew away, circling them, waiting for another opportunity. 

"Fine. Don't get yourself killed though." 

With that being said, the battle began in earnest. 

Neve cast Field of Brilliance in front of the walled-off chest again. She couldn't afford to be too stingy with her mana right now. 

MP: 470/1100

Following that up with {Sacred Ground}, Neve fought back against the nerves telling her to run away and instead, moved a little to the left, trying to gain the attention of at least one of the fish. 

It worked. The battle was split in the following way: 

That one eel Neve had cut was still on the ground. It was an awful wound, clearly. 

Three of the fish warriors and the slug mage all focused on Erin. Needless to say, she did not even bother trying to attack them. 

Finally, the eel that had just come in and one of the fish warriors both honed in on Neve. Understanding that there wasn't much Erin could do, Neve realized it was up to her to get at least one kill here. 

So, once again, she spent some mana. 

Casting {Fireball} twice, she engulfed the fish warrior in flames. 

MP: 450/1100

It dropped its trident and Neve went to finish it off but the eel flew down and intercepted her, defending its ally. 

"Tsk." 

Clicking her tongue, Neve cast {Fireball} a couple more times at the fish warrior, bringing her mana to 430, to keep it down. 

As the eel went to stop her from ending its life again, Neve slashed at the eel instead. 

Her sword didn't catch quite as much of this one's body as she had the first eel earlier, but it still inflicted a heavy wound, creating a deep gash that ran along the length of the eel's body. 

"EEEAAAHH!" It screeched, flying away, and Neve took the opportunity to run in and secure the kill onto the fish. 

Pushing through its weakened state, the warrior picked up its trident and tried to defend itself. 

Its movements were sloppy and panicked but, through sheer determination, it managed to slap Neve's sword away a couple of times before Neve launched one more {Fireball} at it, made the warrior recoil, and thrust her sword through its head. 

EXP Gained: 60

EXP: 590/500

Level Up!

WST Gained: 120

WST: 81546

With this enemy dead and another injured, Neve looked up at the time. 

1:03

1:02

1:01

[Oh, shit.]

Quickly, she summoned Erin next to her. 

MP: 130/1100

The lamia appeared by her side. The enemies that had been chasing her started sprinting in her direction again. 

The portal started making sounds again, and this time, double the number of enemies emerged. 

Four more fish warriors, two eels, and two slug mages. Once again, all of them were level 55. 

Neve wiped some sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. Her chest was rising and falling dramatically with each breath. 

[One more minute... Too many enemies... What do we do?] 

"Neve," Erin said, pulling her summoner's attention to her. She spoke quickly, given that they did not have much time. "This space around us is a lot smaller than it might seem. We do not have the room to outrun this many enemies." 

"So-" 

Erin kept going, though, dodging out of the way of incoming spells from the slugs. 

"I recommend we give them one quick burst of damage," she stated. "Then, we run, and hope that when that timer reaches 0, they all disappear like you'd suggested they might." 

"Uh, yeah, agreed," Neve replied, mostly because they had no time to think of anything better. 

Erin ran at the incoming enemies, then. Presumably, she hoped Neve would do something to make her role in this plan they'd thought of easier, and the healer tried. 

Neve cast {Fireball} a few times at the approaching warriors.

MP: 80/1100

With her Precision as low as it was, she missed most of her spells but landed two of them, on two separate opponents, which she hoped would be enough. 

As the enemies were wrapped in flames and Erin ended up right in front of them, surrounded by monsters she'd successfully distracted by being so brazen, she went into {Rorvan's Flurry}. 

The Technique she used lashed out at every enemy around her. Most of her hits were focused on those two weakened targets, likely to ensure that she would not miss, thus ending the Technique early. 

Her blades ground the two warriors down, sending green blood and pieces of flesh flying around her, disappearing into the darkness. 

Erin's plan had been to do some damage and run. 

Well, one part succeeded. 

The two fish she'd focused on with her Technique, weakened by Neve's flames, died. 

EXP Gained: 120

EXP: 710/1100

Level Up!

WST Gained: 240

WST: 81786

However, as she finally missed a blow now that those two easy targets were gone, the second part of her plan failed, on her end, as both of the eels lunged at her. 

One hit Erin's head, and the other latched onto her abdomen, paralyzing her. 

As one of the eels kept it down, the other took the opportunity to relieve Erin of her head, munching it down at a scary pace. 

The summon died. Neve was left alone. The other monsters all turned toward her, including the two eels who had been suddenly deprived of their snack as Erin disintegrated. 

And, Neve looked up at the time. 

0:20

Instantly, she turned and started running. 

The enemies all ran after her. Two eels, three slugs, two fish warriors. 

What Erin had said just a moment ago was made clear, then. Instead of sprinting into an endless abyss like she thought she would, Neve found herself nearly running into a grey wall. 

She ran along it. The monsters, all much faster than her with the exception of the slugs, closed the gap in no time at all. 

Neve fired off {Iceballs} at the enemies behind her. 

MP: 60/1100

MP: 50/1100

MP: 40/1100

Trying desperately to slow them down, Neve kept this up until, suddenly, one of the slug's spells struck her, instead. 

It was something like a spear made of water. It hit her left leg, just below the back of her knee, and slashed straight through. 

"AAAAGH!" 

Neve fell forward as she lost just a little less than half of her left leg. 

Of course, the monsters all reached her as soon as she stopped. 

The first to get to her was one of the eels. Like it had with Erin, it went for Neve's head. 

Wrapping a ring of sharp teeth around her scalp, Neve felt it begin to devour her from the top down. 

She cut it with her sword, wounding the creature and pulling it off, but the second eel was there to replace its friend instantly. 

Seeing no other options, Neve's instincts told her to cast {Healing Ground} under her and {Great Healing Dart} once up above her head. The one currently being eaten. 

And, just as the other monsters joined the buffet, the timer reached 0:00. 

As she'd predicted, the creatures all disappeared. 

Neve was left with blood flowing down her face and half a leg resting a short distance away. 

With no thoughts going through her mind, she dragged her body over to that leg, grabbed it, and attached it to herself, while {Healing Ground} slowly tried to repair her. 

As she lay there, with a thin layer of blood over her face and her leg mending itself back together, she thought: 

[Is it worth it to heal myself right now? Would the smarter move have been to just let those things finish me off just to get out of this situation?]

She curled up. Some of the blood on her face rolled down her cheeks, briefly taking the form of tears.

[Hm. I don't know.] 

---

Neve Stephens

Level 51

MP: 1100/1100 (+300)

EXP: 210/510

AP: 3690

IP: 20

WST: 81786

---

Endurance: 40

Speed: 20

Precision: 13

Strength: 5

Arcane: 80

"So, what exactly did we get in return for all of that?" Erin asked a while later, once Neve had composed herself. 

"Let me see." 

Hesitantly, Neve pushed the chest open. 

And, what she found was: 

Claws of the Great Beast

{Legendary}0

{Req: Warrior Path}

{Req: Unarmed: 50}

{Long ago, there existed a town sitting at the base of a dark, dangerous mountain. The locals here worshipped a great beast that lived just beside them. An intelligent, proud creature, with a reptilian, black body and giant wings on its back.

{A creature that a mysterious man one day wished to learn more about.} 

{He journeyed up this mountain. Fighting all manner of unknown nightmares. One day at a time, he slowly made his way up to the top, where he finally encountered the creature he so desperately wanted to meet.} 

{Covered in fresh wounds, they sat down and had a talk. The man and the beast entertained each other, speaking of things, places, and concepts that neither of them knew about. Initially, these differences made them hostile to one another, but as they slowly grew more interested in what the other had to say, a bond began to be made.}

{Until the sun went down. Then, saying goodbye, the man left as he had to return back to his home. He'd been away for too long. But, he promised that he'd return so that they could have more of these conversations.} 

{The beast, however, granted him a gift. One that it hoped would make it so that the next time the man made his way to its home, he would not arrive in such a poor shape.}

{The beast opened its mouth and flame came out, covering the man, but not harming him. No, the fire simply cauterized his wounds.} 

{The beast gave him this gift on one condition. That he would travel the world and learn more about it so that their conversations would be that much better. As the man agreed, suddenly, his hands became identical to the beast's own.}

{Effect: While using this weapon, using [Divine Dragon] Techniques will grant 25% extra damage until combat ends.} 

{Grants the user Divine Dragon Techniques}

{VAL: 25000}

Neve blinked. She read all of that a second time.

Remembering something, she looked over at Erin. 

"Hm? So? Is the, ehm, reward any good?" The lamia asked as Neve checked her skills. 

Sure enough, she saw: 

Unarmed: 60

"Uhm..." Neve nodded. "For you, yeah." 

Erin raised a brow and pulled back. 

With a staggering amount of shock in her voice, she asked:

"For me?" 

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