Construction Mage - Chapter 71: Plunging In

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Delving through the periphery of the first layer of Greymark’s Bastion was a piece of cake for the current Clay and Malik. The challenges they faced had become a common everyday encounter, so they barely even broke a sweat during their entire way to the large, hollowed-out trees that served as the tunnel entrance to the underground parts of the first layer.

To the veterans of this stratum, where they were would be considered the central part of the level. That meant there were even more difficult challenges waiting ahead on the way to the boss room. As for now, Clay had his hands full, trying to formulate a foolproof method to keep a non-combatant like Malik safe when they would certainly be outnumbered.

“Sir, there’s no need to fret, right? I can just stay back around the bend until you’re down.”

“No, that’s risky as well. We never know if more kobolds will pop up from other parts of the tunnels. I won’t be able to help you if you’re out of sight.”

“I can handle myself if I only need to worry about running away,” Malik replied. “There’s no reason to force that summon of yours to hang back just for me.”

“Nonsense. It has to protect me anyway, so it isn’t a big deal. Besides, we can’t afford to lose any of the supplies you’re carrying. It would not only make things dicey but also null our profits.”

With the new upgrade to meditation, the earth elemental had become an integral part of their repertoire. Clay’s mana regeneration still hadn’t gotten to the point of being able to maintain it at all times, but in short bursts of combat, it was pretty much equivalent to gaining a frontliner to their party. The only issue they faced was that the further into the first stratum they went, the larger the groups of kobolds they would encounter.

In Clay’s previous teleport incident, he had to face off against groups of up to five kobolds of a higher variant compared to what he normally faced.

With the matter of how their party composition should be settled, the two humans slowly crept down the tunnel. Malik stuck close to Clay’s back, illuminating the way with a torch. 

For the first time, Clay was venturing down into these tunnels without a life-threatening emergency going on. He could carefully examine his surroundings this time and had the capacity to process it.

While major sections of the tunnel were just plain boring dirt, colossal roots could be seen peeking out of the walls every minute or so of walking. Their size gradually grew larger as well, mirroring the progressively larger trees on the surface, the closer they got to the colossal one at the center that served as a landmark.

“As withered as the trees seem to be on the surface, these roots seem to be much healthier in terms of appearance,” Clay commented to relieve the tension.

“Are you getting any hits, sir? I heard there are occasionally usable parts to be harvested from the roots down here.”

“Oh, really? I never saw anything in the stores with a texture and hue like this. Are you certain?”

“Yes,” Malik enthusiastically replied with a nod. “Alchemists have some uses for it, and also people looking to craft special types of arrows.”

Hearing this, Clay paid more attention every time more roots came into view. While the profession classes could help him detect materials, he needed to have a clear line of sight first.

Just as he turned the corner, a strange feeling hit him all at once. Before his eyes was a thin tendril of tree roots poking through. What was so special was how bright it was. It might be ash gray, but it practically glowed with how much it stood out compared to all the dreary colors of this stratum.

Naturally, Clay was drawn closer to this new discovery, only to be rudely awakened when something hissed past his ear. Glancing back, his eyes widened when he recognized the shape of an arrow embedded in the dirt walls of the tunnel.

“Get back, Malik!” he shouted as he swiftly retreated around the corner.

“By Lestionora’s name, heed my call,

Let your power take shape for me.

By sacred vow and binding light,

Rise from the void and lend me your might.”

Under the cover of the elemental, Clay gingerly poked back out of the corner and began casting his next spell. Due to the darkness of the tunnels, he didn’t have a clear view of his enemies, but the path was only so wide. That’s why he focused his thoughts on the Earth Blast being channeled, filling it with as many cracks as he could while channeling more mana into it. The resulting projectile flew down the tunnel, and the sound of it shattering came not long after.

Without a moment’s delay, Clay had the elemental start charging down the corridor as soon as he fired. They inched closer at a pace just slightly above a brisk walk—the fastest his summon could go—while keeping in a perfectly straight line. This allowed them to soon spot the squad of kobolds that had ambushed them.

It also showed the aftermath of the Earth Blast, which had broken into many pieces upon contact, scattering debris at the kobolds. It managed to disorient them and prevent the archer from firing off another arrow. It didn’t buy that much time, though, as the two sentinels up front and the rogue in the back locked onto their party immediately.

The pressure of three monsters coming at you with killing intent wasn’t something Clay could ignore—at least, in the past. Now, under the protection of the earth elemental, Clay didn’t pay them any mind as he focused on firing off another spell at the archer in the back.

This time, the Earth Blast that was formed was solid and in the shape of a spire. It flew across the air with just as much force as the arrow the Kobold Archer had shot. While that wasn’t impressive, considering how poor the quality of the bow used was, the mass of the Earth Blast was several times more.

With the Kobold Archer busy trying to nock a new arrow, it was practically a sitting duck. The spire of hardened earth nailed the kobold dead center, piercing through halfway into its chest. The monster coughed up a mouthful of blood as it stared down in confusion at its wound before collapsing backwards.

[Ding—Level 6 Kobold Archer slain.]

[Ding—Skill: Spell Manipulation(I) has leveled up!]

By the time the system message had registered, Clay was halfway through his next spell. He stared down at the three remaining kobolds about to reach the earth elemental, aimed, and fired.

The difference of having a frontliner was night and day. He could relax, knowing nothing would get through in a short time or at all. In fact, if he wanted to, he could order the elemental to crush the encroaching monsters, but for the sake of leveling up his skill, he specially ordered it to keep on the defensive.

By the time the fattest kobold, the rogue, had reached Clay, another Earth Blast had already nailed in its thigh. It tried its best, ignoring the injury to get close, but it was sent flying back from a casual backhand from the earth elemental. Half a second after it landed on the ground, another spire of hardened earth hit its shoulder. It instantly dropped to its knees as more liquid leaked out of the monster.

The same strategy was employed for the remaining two sentinels. Their slower speed made it impossible for them to do anything, and soon, all the kobolds were vanquished.

[Ding—Level 7 Kobold Cutthroat slain.]

[Ding—Level 5 Kobold Sentry slain.]

[Ding—Level 6 Kobold Sentry slain.]

Leaving Malik and his summon to take care of the mess, Clay immediately turned to the strange roots as soon as the fight was over.

Running a hand over it, no screen with information popped up. Materials were finicky like that, forcing the craftsmen to figure out the properties themselves. Nevertheless, Clay was happy about his discovery and didn’t hesitate to let his instincts guide his movements, harvesting the root from the wall. Within a few minutes, it was all extracted.

I don’t have any alchemy recipes yet, but it won’t hurt to start stocking up on materials, right? It may be slightly wasteful, though, if I don’t have any recipes. Hmm, maybe I should start looking around the marketplace more often.

“I’m done, sir! Did you want me to stow that away?” Malik asked, having suddenly appeared beside Clay, who had been staring intently at his harvest. “It looks like it can fetch a decent price. Umm, that is, if you don’t plan on using it yourself, of course.”

“We can decide what to do with it when we’re out,” Clay declared. “We’re not even halfway through the day yet. There’s a lot more to go, especially when compared to our usual routine.”

“Then should I start setting up a camp, sir?”

Clay took a moment to glance around the cold tunnel they were in. There wasn’t anything there, and it was simply a plain hallway.

“Not here, but we can start looking for a place to camp. Hopefully, somewhere more defensible.”

Once everything was properly packed away, the duo then resumed their trek into the first layer. Perhaps because the closer they got to the center, the less area there was left, it didn’t even take five minutes of walking before they began picking up the sound of fighting.

“People up ahead. Do you think we should turn back?” Clay muttered. “We were taught to stay away, but being done here doesn’t help. We can only go forward or backward for now.”

“Umm, sir, the sound is growing louder and quickly, too. Whoever they are, they’re heading for us quickly!”

Within a split second, Clay recalled the entire path they had taken until now. The continuous, long tunnel they had taken didn’t have any good places to hide or any split paths to take. That meant running wouldn’t do much. Instead, he gestured for Malik to put down his pack as he directed the earth elemental into place. 

He didn’t exactly have a lot of mana left, so it was now or never.

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