While everyone had been stunned to silence by Maul’s entrance, it did not last that long. Once more showing that he was more cut out for leading than she was, Calen regains his composure first before speaking.
“Maul, I remember you from when we all woke up here in Fortress. As well as from the Awakening day ceremony. Do you mind saying how exactly you found us all here?”
It was a reasonable question— one that she hadn’t even considered. And while Maul had given Calen a dismissive look, she knew that was pretty much his default expression. The two of them had been training together this past week after the spar, though he was doing more teaching than anything, and she had watched him give that same expression to many of the other Soldiers, both in their group and amongst the older ones.
“Well, it wasn’t too hard honestly. After that incident after the first night, I expected some of the others in the squad to attempt something with Aura here. To try and take advantage of her when she was vulnerable since they probably can’t do anything while she is awake. So, I stayed up as I thought everyone else was going to sleep. To my surprise, someone did sneak out of their bedroll, only it was Aura; with Kaelen joining in eventually as well. I watched them head to the main room, and saw the others arrive as well. From there, I waited and watched as you all left.
I tried to follow shortly after but lost sight of you quickly. If it weren’t for those other three people from your village making noise as they returned to the main road, I probably wouldn’t have thought to check these buildings. But I did, and here I am having stumbled into something quite interesting.”
Warmth spreads through Aura’s chest at hearing how Maul intended to protect her. It had not occurred that someone might try something the night after a monster hunt, but it did make sense as well. And while she knew that he probably had his own reasons for doing so, it was still endearing. Something in her expression gives her away, because she catches Jackie’s expression turn to a scowl before she focuses on Maul.
“Right, I bet that is why you were up. What now though, are you going to report us to Fortress for all of this? He’s your dad so I bet if you did that, he would punish us. Or are you going to hold this over Aura to make her do things for you?”
“Jackie…”
The response is as angry as expected, and Violet speaks up to try and calm the other girl down. Only, to get a slight glare in return for her words. It was clear that Jackie had not taken the news of possibly being charmed well and is something that Aura will have to address eventually.
“No, I have no intention of turning you all in or anything. Like I said before, since you clearly weren’t listening, I want to be stronger. Strength is the only thing that matters here, and if I want my father’s respect then I need to grow stronger. Fighting monsters once every seven days is to slow, but it is the way things are done. But what you are all planning could make the difference, even if most of you are dead weight.”
The way Maul looks around the table gives a clear indication of who he thinks is dead weight. Calen, Violet, and even Jackie gets condescending looks. As he directs his gaze towards Ryse though, he must jerk his head to the side. Without speaking, Ryse fires off a Mana Bolt. As it fires off a second, much smaller one trails in the shadow of the first. Despite the surprise of the situation, Maul did manage to avoid the attack and gives a more evaluating look. All the while a scorch mark appears on the wall from where the Mana Bolt crashes into it.
“So, you can use magic to then? And just how many times can you pull that off?”
“Of course I can, it is why I wanted to be a Soldier. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think I needed to. Showing what you can do is better than saying it.”
As if to demonstrate that point, Ryse raises his hand towards where he had just hit with magic. Unlike last time though, he speaks an incantation.
“Mana, bend to my will! Strike down what I unleash you upon. Mana Bolt!”
Once more mana gathers in his palm and is unleashed upon the wall. Once again, a secondary bolt fires off, and Aura’s expression shifts. Thinking back, he had mentioned during Awakening day that his Innate skill was something called Echo. He had not elaborated on it, but it was clear what it was doing.
I’d have to ask if it is just for spells, but sending out an additional weaker echo of them could make him dangerous. Which is good for what we are planning.
There was probably more to it than that, much like with her own innate skills, and his nonverbal casting may have had something to do with whatever his second one was. Either way, she and all the others watch as another eleven mana bolts are unleashed upon the walls of the building. Being made of solid stone, it can take the onslaught even if it leaves Violet looking nervous. All the attacks seem to be steady as well, telling Aura that Ryse had points in DEX. As soon as the seventh extra cast has been done, he lowers his hand and is giving Maul a defiant look. Maul, for his part, seems contemplative before turning towards her.
“Well Aura, you’ve used your magic on those Giant Spiders before. How many castings do you think it would take to kill one?”
“I think that three shots are what I would need to kill one. Though, that is assuming that I hit them directly as well. They can close distance quickly, which would make chanting difficult.”
While she answers quickly, Aura doesn’t give a definitive answer. Three shots will kill one of the Giant Spiders, based on the most recent hunt. And even if Ryse has not leveled up Mana Bolt, the extra echo would probably make up that difference. But there are still things about this world that she doesn’t know for certain. Namely, whether non-players can see just how much damage they inflict on others. They likely cannot, given how Maul had not stopped the spar with her when she was getting dangerously low, though he could have waited for other reasons.
Either way, the answer seems to satisfy Maul, who then turns his attention towards Violet and Calen. And while she shrinks a little under his gaze, still unnerved from the truth of her second Innate skill getting out, Calen gives a rather firm look.
“Before you ask, no I am not capable of casting magic like that. But that doesn’t change the fact that everyone here wants to get stronger. Like you guessed back on Awakening day when we first met, all of us are from the same settlement. It was destroyed by monsters, and all of us here want to get stronger so we can both defend ourselves and take revenge. So, if you want to grow stronger as well then you will need to deal with that fact.”
There is a little something extra in Calen’s voice as he speaks, a bit more weight to his words then has been there all meeting. He and Maul lock eyes for a good couple of minutes before eventually the two of them nod. An unspoken agreement has been made between them. She had come to plenty while working as a firefighter, so she could tell what had happened. Calen’s lie had been believed, and a respectful understanding was given by Maul. Essentially saying that he would do the same if the situations were reversed.
“Now, with that out of the way then. Kaelen, you said that you knew where these Giant Spiders would be. And according to Maul there would be twenty rather than just ten. That sounds like it could be difficult to handle, but let’s see if we can’t figure something out.”
From there, Calen lead the meeting with confidence that told Aura he may have had some leadership experience before all of this. Whether in the real world or in a video game, he took control of setting up a strategy for how they would approach the proposed night hunt. While Jackie did suggest that they all go out and attack together, he brought up how it would not be the best idea. After all, despite his desires he did not have any combat experience and Violet lacked any offensive magic apparently. Which would make them more of a hindrance than a help.
When they calculate how much experience a Giant Spider being slain would give, a plan begins to form. At 20xp per, twenty of them would be 400xp. And while that would be great for a single person to have, it would also be suicide. Divided among five people though could give everyone 80xp if done properly, as well as be something that could lead to more. After all, four of them are only 60xp from leveling up, which could make future night hunts more efficient. With that in mind, they come up with a decent strategy.
The next evening, five of them will meet outside of the barracks. Aura, Jackie, Kaelen, Maul, and Ryse will head out to partake in the first night hunt. What kind of formation they will take could be decided later, but this grouping makes the most sense. Between Aura and Ryse, they could do some decent damage on at least half of the Giant Spiders, if not kill a couple outright. Which could lead to less pressure being on everyone else as things turn into a melee. Not that she could not handle herself in a melee either, but a good opening salvo could make the difference. Calena and Violet meanwhile, would spend the next couple of days training to be ready. And only when Violet either managed to learn an offensive spell, from either figuring it out herself or having Aura or Ryse teach her, or when Calen got a hang of using a stone club would they replace Ryse in going on the night hunts.
Though, Aura insists that if that ends up happening that they should come along with them rather than replace Ryse. After all, if everything goes well most of them should be level two by the end of the first hunt. And while more experience for each person would cause faster growth, there is safety in numbers as well. This gets some grumbles from Jackie, Maul, and Ryse but is ultimately not argued with.
“Okay, the only thing left is to decide how often this happens. Doing this every night could be dangerous, depending on how injured you all get. So, for now I think it is best to play it by ear. Violet and I will begin training tomorrow, while the rest of you will head out tomorrow evening for our first night hunt.”
With the meeting starting to wind down, exhaustion is starting to become more apparent. Aura stifles a yawn as Calen seems to bring the meeting to a close. Everyone seemed to be accepting of this proposal, though the exhaustion is pushed back for Aura as a window appears in front of her.
At the appearance of the quest window, Aura glances around at everyone else. Maul, and strangely enough Calen, both just have the same tired look on their faces as they wait for anyone to say anything more on the matter. Everyone else though, seems to be more awake and staring in front of them. Glancing back to her own window, Aura nods her head and speaks.
“That sounds like a plan to me, let’s do it.”
The meeting wrapped up shortly after everyone confirmed that they were okay with the plan. And while Aura did want to stay around for a little longer to speak with Violet, exhaustion lines her face. The two still exchanged smiles, essentially promising to talk more later, before leaving the building and going their separate ways. The walk back to the barracks was quiet, more from that exhaustion really starting to settle in than anything else.
Neither Darek, Jareth, or Orrin were waiting up and awake on getting back. Jackie doesn’t even look her way as they enter the barracks, simply heading off to her squads’ room. Aura does the same, and while her mind is filled with thoughts for how things will go it is not long after laying down that she falls asleep.
In effort to prepare themselves for the coming evening, everyone set to go on the night hunt takes it easy. They still wake up with everyone else to eat breakfast, and for the first time Violet is not among the runners delivering it. But rather than join most of the other Soldiers out in the training fields, they all go their own way to subtly relax and rest. Maul simply heads back to the squad’s bedroom, and she overhears Kaelen mention something about pretending to need healing.
While she tries to catch Jackie so that the two of them could talk, the other girl had already slipped away. And while Aura knows that the two of them need to talk, especially after Violet’s secret being revealed last night, she decides against looking for her. Not only for the fact that they need to be resting, but also because it could simply be a matter of digesting all the revelations while awake that Jackie needs. So, with that in mind Aura makes her way to the building they had all had the meeting in to rest unseen. And while her mind is filled with various thoughts and some anxiety for what is to happen tonight, she eventually calms down and relax for the day.
By the time night has fallen, she is both calmer and rested. Slipping out of her squad’s room is easy enough, mainly because she is not the only one to do so. Kaelen and Maul join her not long after, and they can all see that Jackie is already waiting in the main room of the barracks. The other girl has a rather stoic expression on her face as the three of them emerge and doesn’t seem to want to meet Aura’s eyes. With the four of them gathered, they head out of the barracks to await Ryse.
It doesn’t take long for him to appear, still wearing the same clothing that they had all woke up in. And while Maul is wearing the standard garb that the Soldiers are given, Aura, Kaelen, and Jackie all have a little extra. Just seeing the fact that the other two have new looking leather boots and gauntlets, confirms that they had received quests as well.
No words are exchanged, as Kaelen begins to lead them all out of Fortress and into the plains. While it is still early in the night, there is no trace of the sun on the horizon. It is still bright though, the light of the moon shining down upon them and casting everything in an almost silvery glow. Kaelen’s route seems to go along the river that runs along the settlement as well, meaning that the reflection of the moon provides even more light.
Thinking about it… hasn’t the moon always been rather full looking? I guess I’ve not really paid attention to it before. But it does light things up nicely when there aren’t buildings everywhere.
Whether or not that was the case, the light did help them all stick together as they traveled. And while nobody was speaking, that did not mean that there were no sounds. Unlike when traveling during the day, their surroundings seemed to be coming to life. Aura could hear fish splashing in the water, the rustling of things wandering among the brush, and even a distant flap of wings. It was a little relaxing for her to hear all these things and helped to remind her that despite everything this world was alive.
“We should probably discuss how we are going to be fighting.”
It is a good way into the walk that Maul’s voice cuts through the silence of their group. It was something that needed to be brought up as well, and something that Aura had been giving some thought to. Sure, she had played video games that showed off some battle formations in the past. But putting them into practice was risky since she did not know if they would work in a real-life scenario.
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“The Giant Spiders are just that, pretty fucking giant. I’ve had some time to watch the rest of my squad fight them, and I think I have an idea.”
While her tone is a bit rough, Jackie is the one to speak up. Having everyone but Kaelen’s attention at this point, she takes a deep breath before continuing.
“So… yeah, the spiders are pretty big. Bigger than an actual person with their legs and everything. So, if we stand close enough together, we can keep the amount of them attacking limited, so we don’t get overwhelmed.”
“Hmm, the issue with that would be in us not being able to fight back as well. We’d risk hitting each other with our weapons.”
Maul interjects before things can go to much further, pointing out a possible flaw with Jackie’s idea. Aura watches a flash of irritation go across the other girls’ face, though Ryse speaks up before an argument can begin.
“Not all of us are using weapons though. I have my magic, and while I would prefer not to get in close that is suicide if they chase after me. And even if these spiders are huge, then I might accidentally hit one of you if you are standing too close together.”
That point, at least, seems to stem the rising anger inside of Jackie, as she concedes that point. While Aura is relieved at that, there is still the issue of how they will stand in formation. While the offered opinions do have flaws, they each bring up good points. Her glance flickers towards Kaelen, though he seems too absorbed in his tracking to be paying attention right now. Silence falls once more as everyone contemplates the issue. And while Aura draws a bit of a blank, Maul soon speaks up once more.
“Given everything… we could attempt a formation that Fortress has used in previous monster exterminations. None of his men know magic, but one of them has something called a bow. It to can attack from a distance as well. Our group is smaller than his, but it could work out.”
From there, he explains the formation to them all. Standing at the front of the formation, a couple of arms lengths apart would be himself and Aura. As the two with the highest VIT and STR, they could take the most damage and hold them off the best. Standing somewhat behind and to the sides would be Kaelen and Jackie. Their purpose would be three-fold; to spread the enemies out a little more thinly, watch their backs to prevent flanking, and act as a quick support in case Maul or Aura need it. Ryse meanwhile would be in line with the two of them but at the center behind Maul and Aura. His position would allow him a good line of attack on any of the monsters, as well as keep him safe as the weakest member.
“That’s honestly a really solid plan Maul. Though, you said that your father has used this kind of thing before on a monster extermination. If he’s done that, then why are there still monsters right now?”
While the plan did seem to be accepted by everyone, even if Jackie and Ryse were left grumbling for their own reasons, Aura locked on to something else that was said in context. She knew to little about both this world and their immediate surroundings right now. And with none of the older soldiers willing to talk to her without implying that she would be better use in other ways, she had not been able to gather much information. Though, it seemed that Maul here may have had some context that she was missing.
“Fortress has indeed eliminated the monsters before, many times in fact. I do not know how it was done back in your settlement, but things are done a specific way. Every year, Fortress and his squad select Soldiers that they feel are worthy and march out to exterminate the monsters before they grow too strong. Some die, but the monsters are always eliminated. And while it lessens the risk of Fortress being attacked by monsters, new monsters take their place.”
Maul has some pride in his voice as he explains things, and the information is quite valuable as well. It was a little worrisome that new monsters appeared was worrisome. Before Aura can speak up to offer thanks though, Ryse pipes up.
“If your father is so strong that his men can eliminate all the monsters, then why doesn’t he just always do that? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone in the long run?”
“I don’t know why Fortress doesn’t do such a thing. I asked him when I was younger, and he said it was something that would be revealed to me when I proved myself as a Soldier and join him on a Monster Elimination. It is going to be happening within the next two months, so I need to grow strong enough before then to be chosen.”
Aura can tell that Maul is growing a little annoyed by people casually referring to Fortress as his father, just from the way he is emphasizing his name. Not knowing if it is a sore topic, or just a matter of him thinking they all needed to respect the man she doesn’t continue the conversation. Instead, she focuses more on the new information that was just given.
So, a monster extermination then? I kind of doubt that I would be chosen even if I grow strong in the eyes of Fortress or the other soldiers. But that could be an excellent time to gather everyone up and leave. We should be strong enough by then to handle most weak monsters that are probably in this area. And if a lot of people go on this extermination, then it lessens the odds of them pursuing us.
Such a thing would need to be planned more in depth later, for Kaelen stops moving forwards and holds up a hand for silence. Letting the sounds of night take over, something stands out as different about it. The rustling of the grass sounds more frequent up ahead, as if many things are moving through the grass. Thanks to the light of the moon, shapes can be seen as well moving about. Aura has seen groups of the Giant Spiders on the hunts before but seeing so many more of them gives her some pause.
Hesitation and worry show in the others as well. But, after taking a deep breath she waves her hand to get all their attention. With a silent nod, she begins to gesture for them to take the positions that had been discussed. They remain low and slow while doing so, not wanting the sounds of doing so to be caught by the monsters. Looking at the horde, they are spread out enough that at the very least they will not all be attacking at once.
Due to the river not being overly full, they do move away from the bank of it. The slope down to the river could be a blinds spot for their formation, just as much as it could be a wall to block off any approach. Soon enough, they are all positioned as discussed. Perhaps not to surprisingly, Jackie has taken position as Aura’s ‘wing’ rather than Mauls. The lack of weapon in her hands is not too surprising, given that she had told Aura that she preferred to fight with her fists.
With everyone in position, and weapons at the ready, nods are exchanged between them all. Aura then stands tall, Ryse following suit from the center of the formation, and extends her empty hand towards the horde. While she and Ryse are just meant to be getting the attention of the Spiders, injuring or even killing some before they clash would be for the best. And while her aim is not the greatest, probably being even worse due to it being night, there are enough of them that she should hit.
“Mana within me rise. Be unleashed upon those before me as I call your name. Mana Bolt!”
“Mana, bend to my will! Strike down what I unleash you upon. Mana Bolt!”
Both Aura and Ryse incant their spell, mana gathering in the palms of their hands. While it provides a little more light for their immediate surroundings, it should not make too much of a difference. Still, some of the closer spiders stop moving around and turn in the direction of their group. Moments later, the spells are unleashed towards the monsters. As Ryse’s wizzes past Aura, it looks to be just as bright as her own spell. The next couple of seconds seem to drag on as the magic flies, before eventually striking two different spiders.
[34 Damage Dealt]
Loud chittering and shrieks soon fill the air as the two are struck, and all the spiders freeze to turn towards the source of commotion. In doing so, they see Aura and her group now all standing at the ready to fight. And as the monsters let out another shriek, their lack of actual action is taken advantage of. Aura sends off another Mana Bolt towards the spider she had hit before, another streak of magic flying past her telling her that Ryse is doing the same.
[34 Damage Dealt]
As the attack lands, the spiders begin to charge towards their group. It is like something out of a horror movie to see so many large things charging right at them. The spiders’ eyes are silvery as they reflect the moonlight, though that also allows them to be easier to track. With her eyes locked on the one she has nearly killed, Aura raises her hand and unleashes what should be the final attack needed.
[32 Damage Dealt] [Giant Spider Defeated!]
She had picked a closer spider on purpose to not miss, and her magic strikes true. The spider is sent back a little bit as it dies, the sudden stop interrupts some of the other spiders that had been charging alongside it, though she cannot focus on it for too long. Nor can she pay much attention to the small greyed out notification symbol in the upper corner of her vision. As soon after the Giant Spider she was targeting dies, another one jumps through the air towards her.
Gripping the stone club in her other hand tightly, Aura winds her arm back to deliver a swing towards the spider coming at her through the air. Through her training with Maul, she had learned enough of how to properly handle her weapon. Her DEX was still low enough that landing attacks may be difficult, but for something trying to collide with her it would be easy. Her attack clashes against the jumping spider, the force behind both of their attacks roughly equal but her footing allowing her to follow through and send the monster to the ground.
[27 Damage Dealt]
The distance between the two is not too great, and from the sounds of chittering and stone colliding with chitin it is clear that the others have engaged with their foes. Her focus though, is on her own. Closing the small distance between them, she decides to attempt something new. While Maul had mentioned getting a skill from using her weapon a lot, using only it from here on would stall out the battle. If she could mix her magic in with her melee though, then she could deal with the four that she was supposed to and help the others.
Of course, the spider is not going to just let her do such a thing. As she draws closer, it lashes out with its legs at her. While it may be a little foolish, taking the attack is doable. The leg collides with her side and causes a slight wince, but she uses the opening to point her empty hand at it and chanting, while swinging her club down upon the spider’s head.
[-6 HP]
[27 Damage Dealt] [17 Damage Dealt]
While her attack with the club lands successfully, a combination of stretching her arm awkwardly and the spider recoiling from her attack has her spell skid off the top of its chitinous back. Her plan did work, though not as well as she would have liked it to. As she lifts her club to finish it off, Jackie’s voice calls out over the sounds of battle.
“Aura look out!”
As she turns to look, Aura can see that the formation is somewhat broken. Much as she had moved forwards to deal with her foe, the others had as well. Jackie had drifted a bit further from the rest of the group, while Maul and Kaelen seem to have grouped up closer to Ryse. As a result, this leaves her side open to attack, and she watches as another spider is leaping through the air and collides with her.
[-8 HP]
Not having enough time to brace herself, she is sent crashing into the ground with the spider atop of her. She overhears someone calling her name out, though doesn’t focus on it. This is not the first time she has been in this kind of situation, but it is oh so different. She is not critically injured this time, nor is she panicking from being in her first real fight. Seeing the spider’s face so closer to her own, and the sight of its fangs causes her to shudder a little. As it plunges its head down to try and sink those fangs into her though, she jerks her head to the side and places a hand against its underside. As the fangs sink into the ground right next to her head, she finishes her chant and there is a brief eruption of light before it is thrown off her.
[34 Damage Dealt]
While she has repulsed that one, the spider Aura had been fighting earlier is still nearby. Getting onto one knee, she takes aim at it as it begins to charge towards her. Dealing with two at once is not a good idea here, and she feels confident in knowing how much HP these things have. With her still low on the ground, it doesn’t jump at her but rather just charges. Which makes it an easy target for her mana bolt as it flies from her hand and collides head on with it.
[29 Damage Dealt] [Giant Spider Defeated!]
Fully rising to her feet at this point, she turns her attention towards the spider she had blasted away. Its front legs are raised as if trying to look intimidating, and something begins to ooze out from where she hit it with her spell. Inhaling sharply, she begins to do as she did against Maul and skip towards the monster. The two are not separated by too much distance, so she reaches it quickly and lashes out with another swing of her club. The spider though, clearly more dexterous than her, lashes out with one of the raised legs. Her attack meets the side of the monster’s head at the same time as the leg meets her face.
[27 Damage Dealt]
[Critical Hit!] [-12 HP]
A sensation that Aura can only compare to back when she was still in training. She had been working with others for dry runs of putting the equipment back on a firetruck after use, and the person handling the hose had let it slip and she had been hit in the face. Back then, the sensation had been a brief one before she had been knocked out. But here, in this world, she was both tougher and stronger and thus was only dazed by the blow. It still hurt, but adrenaline was pushing back the pain.
I guess I should be glad it knocked me out back then. I wonder if I should track that guy down and thank him if I ever get back home.
Thoughts somewhat scrambled, her inattention allows the spider she is facing to lash out at her again. It goes for her unarmed side, striking downwards as if to try and knock her down to sink its fangs into her.
[-6 HP]
While the blow causes her to stumble, she doesn’t fall. It also helps her to snap out of her stupor and lock back into the fight in front of her. And to the side of her given the quick approach of another giant spider. She doesn’t know if the formation is still holding, or even if the original plan to deal with four a piece is still what they will be doing. Right now, all she is focused on is survival.
While she is pincered by the two spiders, the way that they are chittering and hissing at each other rather than charging in is good. Thanks to their size they cannot really attack her at the same time without getting in the others way. And still a little dazed, she decides to use that to take the riskier option. So, rather than attack the one she has nearly defeated she quickly pivots and charges the new one. Distracted as it is, it still lashes out and swings a leg at her. Something she chooses to ignore as she slams her club against the side of the monster’s head.
[27 Damage Dealt]
[-6 HP]
Another hit to her side, pain that she easily ignores as the numbers appear for her. While the spider tries to back away from her, she knows she cannot let it. With them so close together, it is unable to swing any of those long legs at her effectively. So, she does her best to keep pace with the retreating monster. And as she brings her club down and strikes it further along the back, it jerks forward and headbutts her in the stomach.
[27 Damage Dealt]
[-6 HP]
Blood which had been gathering in her mouth since she had been struck in the head flies from her mouth from the blow. It is not so much the pain from taking the hit, but the force and surprise of it. Stumbling back slightly, she levels a glare at the monster. The sound of skittering from behind her takes her attention though, as it seems the other one has grown tired of waiting and is charging in once more. Its head is raised enough that it is coming fangs first, so it is not something she should try to take.
Tensing her legs, she raises her free hand towards it and incants once more. The light of the mana that gathers in her palm seems brighter than before. And as she lets it loose, it seems larger as well. Not waiting for impact, she quickly hops to the side to be out of the way of the charging monster.
[36 Damage Dealt]
The shriek of pain as her attack lands solidly on the underside of the spider’s head is louder than the sounds of combat going on around her. Taking a brief glance around, the battle looks to be going well. There are more spiders dissolving than there are fighting. Jackie looks to be engaged with two as well and seems to be trying to move closer to Aura. And while she cannot see Maul or Kaelen from her position, more sounds of fighting erupt from that direction.
After that glance, she focuses back in on the two in front of her. By her estimates, the one she just blasted with magic should be about dead. It is swaying slightly as it scuttles about, while her other opponent seems to be tensing up. Spitting out more of the blood that has gathered in her mouth, she decides to take a page out of their book. Tensing her legs, gripping the club with both hands, and letting out a cry she does a proper leap through the air.
Her jump is matched by the more tense spider, and the two of them are heading for a midair collision. While she had guessed this may happen, there is not much to do about it now. Instead, timing it as best she can, she swings her club down as hard as possible. She ends up colliding with the spider midair first and feels something sharp pierce through her abdomen at the same time as she hears a crack from her attack landing.
[27 Damage Dealt]
[-11 HP]
Hissing in pain from feeling something sharp penetrate her abdomen, Aura is a little surprised that there is no burning sensation that follows. She doesn’t have enough time to worry about that though, for just as quickly as they pierced her the fangs leave her body. The force from each of their jumps sends both herself and the spider bounding backwards. Landing on her back with a thump, a small groan of pain escapes her.
No damage from falling; I can’t rely on that though.
Leaning up, the spider is practically twitching on the ground. Some of its legs are bent awkwardly, meaning that just like her it did not land gracefully. The two of them are only feet apart though, and the other spider she had been fighting is doing its best to flee. Raising a hand towards her fleeing foe, the chant for her spell leaves her lips as another Mana Bolt lands and causes it to crumple.
[3 Damage Dealt] [Giant Spider Killed!]
As the spider dies, Aura feels a shift inside of her. Her wounds do not feel as bad anymore, yet paradoxically her exhaustion seems to worsen. Getting to her feet with a groan, she staggers towards the still twitching spider. Club gripped in both hands; she stands above it and brings her weapon down upon its head. The impact makes an unpleasant crunching sound, but the monster soon goes limp.
[19 Damage Dealt] [Giant Spider Killed!]
Letting out a sigh of relief, Aura turns away from the slowly disappearing monster to properly take in the battlefield. She has drifted far from the formation they had set up, and everyone else is visible. Jackie is no longer in a 2v1 and is in fact standing on top of a dead spider. She is throwing punches towards her remaining foe and seems to be doing well. Maul and Kaelen have separated from each other at this point as well. Each are engaged in battle with a spider still, though looking around it seems like the three spiders still fighting are all that is left.
Taking a shuddering breath of relief, she looks to Ryse. With most of the monsters defeated, he is no longer taking cover behind others and seems to be looking at one of the spiders that had been killed early on. While it is going to be a pain to gather all the essence crystals the monsters drop, it will be worth it. For now, Aura leans her head back to take in the cool air of the night as it seems the battle is won.
