Syl: Chapter 227

Chapter 227: Salamander Squad

With a pop, I canceled my enlarged [Bubble] spell and began casting a normal-sized one in addition to [Zephyr Shroud] on Vee. As the spider had said many times, she was not strictly fireproof, and I didn't want her to take any unnecessary damage. It appeared that when working together, these salamanders could really turn up the heat.

As if instinctually understanding my intent, Vee used [Blink] to leave my shoulder as soon as the final buff completed and began flickering closer, yet out of the direct firing range of the salamanders. When she finished gaining ground, she started casting weaves of [Acid Dart] and firing them at the kobolds.

Immediately, I felt my helper core reaching out to help, and I remembered that I still had yet to rescind its assistance order. I felt Vee's initial confusion at her spells being empowered, but it was soon replaced by what felt like gratitude.

"Oh wow... That's some good teamwork, I'm feeling a bit left out," Trixie stated.

"[Companion Bond] and [Ritual Casting]," I explained. "And don't be; we worked well together when you hid my spells against those pegasi!"

"I see..." Trixie murmured. "I would've scolded you for leaving yourself so open by casting outside your Mana Aura with reckless abandon, but it looks like casting through [Ritual Casting] is mitigating that."

"How so?" I asked while throwing up multiple [Aegis] spells to disrupt some oncoming [Fireballs] directed toward me.

"It looks like it's using Vee as the anchor point, probably because she's the spell's origin, and you're boosting her," Trixie answered.

"Huh... That's good to know, I'm surprised it's not more common," I replied.

"It's pretty niche. Wouldn't it be more effective for you to cast these spells yourself rather than help Vee?" Trixie asked.

"Sure, but nothing is stopping me from doing so," I replied and demonstrated so by casting two [Force Bolt] spells at two salamanders. "Not to mention, I wanted Vee to get more spellcasting experience."

The magical arcane bolts flew forward and struck both salamanders, applying directional force to each and sending them hurtling toward one another. They cried out moments before colliding and looking mightily upset.

"Point made," Trixie nodded as she barely contained her impish grin. "And that was hilarious!"

Vee capitalized on the two tangled salamanders by casting [Poison Cloud], grabbing both into the hazardous green cloud. That caused the kobold pyromancers to refocus their efforts on the deadly spider, which was actively attacking their enslaved pets.

Vee was definitely being more reckless, but my direct aid allowed her to do so, as she knew I'd have her back. She teleported directly behind a kobold pyromancer before simultaneously casting [Pocket Space] while swinging her front legs as she withdrew a deadly amount of [Rift Thread] and tore through the kobold.

Despite being carved asunder, the lizard monster still surged with Fire Mana and threw out one of the largest castings of [Nova] I'd ever seen. Either [Blink] had a cooldown, or Vee was caught off guard as she didn't teleport away. Thankfully, my [Sub-Cores] were still watching over her, and by the time her [Bubble] broke, she was already defended by [Ice Dome], [Rampart], and multiple [Aegis] spells.

"Wow... Overprotective much?" Trixie teased. "What are you, her mom?"

"That was my [Sub-Cores]," I brushed off, feeling a teensy bit embarrassed; they had really gone overboard on the protection front.

Unfortunately, the kobold pyromancer's last fiery sacrifice did little to his allies, as it looked like they were all effectively immune to flame. This probably explained why they ran as a squad together and why other kobolds appeared to be avoiding the immediate area.

However, by the looks of things, they had their hands full dealing with the shock troop of dwarves who were repeatedly battering their frontline.

"Wow, thanks for the save!" Vee said gratefully as she blinked out of the [Ice Dome], looking perfectly unscratched, and continued her assault on the kobold pyromancers.

I didn't want to steal her training, so while she tangled with the fire team, I began indirectly casting some more explosive spells into any large cluster of kobolds I could spot, and with [Eagle Vision], I could spot plenty of juicy targets.

By the time Vee finished mopping up the last of the pyro-salamander squad, the area around us looked overly vacant, and we stood out like sore thumbs. I wanted to immediately retreat and continue our stealthy scouting for valuable targets when, out of nowhere, a squadron of monsters suddenly appeared before us.

A large bird monster crackled with lightning, a snake that appeared to be oozing water, a pair of fiery hedgehogs, and even a yeti.

<Thunder Falcon LV 30. Elemental Affinity: Lightning.>

<Aqua Cobra LV 30. Elemental Affinity: Water.>

<Infernal Hedgehog LV 30. Elemental Affinity: Fire.>

<Boreal Yeti LV 30. Elemental Affinity: Ice.>

That's strange... Why are they all level 30?

My question would have to wait as the group suddenly attacked in unison, targeting me specifically.

"Eep!" Vee squeaked as I rapidly activated [Wind Step] multiple times to obscure my location as a barrage of four elements crashed in my prior location.

The monsters looked oddly strange as I observed them, and I felt like [Soul Sight] was trying to tell me something about them. However, the way they coordinated in harmony made me confident they came from the same source.

"Wow, someone has it out for you," Trixie commented, looking slightly flustered.

"More experience for us," I replied with a grin. "Which ones do you want, Vee?"

"I don't really want to deal with ice and lightning..." Vee said, sounding somewhat weary.

"Works for me," I replied before dodging another combined assault.

Vee once again used [Blink], appearing almost directly adjacent to the water snake and firing a quick barrage of [Acid Darts]. To her dismay, the snake seemed to sense her immediate presence and managed to dodge all the spells aimed at it with a perfect fluid-like motion.

"Oh? I might need to get a bit serious!" Vee taunted.

"She does know they can't hear her, right?" Trixie asked.

"Don't spoil her fun," I argued back.

The only issue was that the monsters were in a bit of a cluster, clearly wanting to work as a unit rather than separating. Also, it seemed like the snake was ignoring Vee despite her direct attack against it, with its gaze still laser-focused on me.

Well, since they seem to lack an earth representative, I think I can use [Rampart] to separate them. Then Vee and I can pick them apart. And since I have all eyes on me, I have the perfect plan!

"Shut your eyes!" I shouted over our telepathic link and threw everything I had into the [Flash], my latest acquisition from [Light Magic].

The Light Mana built up into a crescendo before bursting outward like a sunburst from my spot. It must have been utterly blinding in the dark, dank cavern, as even kobolds nowhere near our position wailed in agony from the sudden bright display.

"Oh wow, that was bright!" Trixie whined, perhaps not closing her eyes in time.

My distraction appeared perfect, as the group of strange monsters was momentarily unmoving. So, I rapidly moved on to phase two, using [Rampart] to create an earthen wall dividing the group.

"Awesome!" Vee said excitedly as she teleported out of sight behind the wall to deal with her targets. Thanks to our bond, I could still sense her, which was a somewhat reassuring feeling in the back of my mind.

With just the two hedgehogs and the bird to deal with, I was looking forward to having some fun with them. I had yet to reach [Water Magic LV 6], so this might be the opportunity to push myself over the edge.

Aligning to water, I began to cast [Waterjet] aimed at the fire hedgehogs, I had thought I'd easily score a direct hit, but to my surprise, they flared up and rocketed towards me as if they were living fireballs.

I could have let them slam into me and engulf them with my slimy body, but I still wanted to retain my elven persona for now, and so with the aid of my [Sub-Cores], we threw up a rapid defense. [Aegis] spells delayed the rocketing hedgehogs, and then an impromptu half [Ice Dome] sealed the deal. When they crashed against the solid ice, I countered by immediately casting [Waterjet] again at their impact spot.

Magical, deadly, compressed beams of pressurized water fired out, boring straight through the inner wall of the icy dome and hopefully skewering the hedgehogs.

Since the backside of the dome was open, I used a chain of [Thunder Step] to back out and then reappear on the flank, ready to cast another batch of spells.

Appearing on the scene, one of the monsters had been struck, and its body was flickering like a dying candle. With haste, I threw together another [Waterjet] and fired directly at the monster, slaying it on the spot.

Then, to my horror, I watched as the hedgehog not only faded away into dying embers, but the remaining one seemed to feed on its fiery energy and get reinvigorated. It had only been grazed by the initial [Waterjet] and looked arguably better than ever.

"Oh gods, don't tell me this is more ghost bullshit or something!?" I cried out, feeling extremely upset at the lack of a body to eat.

"Or something..." Trixie replied, sounding annoyingly vague.

I glared at her in annoyance and noted she looked rather frazzled herself.

Oh... She did ask me not to use [Thunder Step].

I felt a tiny pair of accusatory eyes attempting to bore holes through me as she fluttered off from her usual sitting spot and kept a safe distance.

Her departure was right in time as the falcon came crashing next to me in a thunderous burst of energy. Rocky shrapnel went scattering as crackling energy burst outward from it, scoring the earth and the nearby vicinity.

I felt my [Voltaic Slime] being charged straight to its maximum capacity, which meant the overload began striking against my cores. This was where I discovered that despite a good coating of adamantine [Metal Slime], it was still conductive, and the energy overload began to burn my internals.

I really need that full lightning immunity as soon as possible...

Needing to offload the energy, I quickly fired out my own electrical burst straight back at it. When I heard a cry from Trixie.

"No!" the pixie screamed, but it was too late as the bolt of surging energy crashed into the bird monster and empowered it.

"Oh... shit," I complained.

With a mighty cry, the falcon extended its wings outwards to their full length in almost a pose of triumph. Then, it seemed to practically disappear with newfound speed as it was at my side and attempted to gash me with its beak and talons. To its dismay, it struck against my newly reforged armor and, despite its best effort, barely scratched it with its claws. However, its beak did manage to partially pierce through before meeting my reinforced, slimy exterior.

Then, with another flash, it retreated and appeared to be gathering energy. Meanwhile, the flaming hedgehog hurled itself at me again, looking more like a comet than a fireball now.

I grumbled in annoyance at how these weird monsters were trying to make a fool of me, and so rather than blocking or defending, I went on the offensive and fired multiple [Force Bolts] at the hedgehog, fully reinforced with the power of all my [Sub-Cores] and the directional vector set to the maximum and aimed directly at the hawk—hopefully.

The quickness of my casting and the hedgehog's relatively runaway-propelled direction meant it couldn't avoid the magical bolts crashing into it. It halted midair in an almost comical fashion before soaring towards the hawk.

"Kwek!?" the thunder hawk squawked in surprise before it took a faceful of burning hedgehog.

"Okay, this spell is hilariously useful," I giggled with glee.

The hedgehog looked outraged while the hawk was recovering poorly. I began forming more spells to hopefully finish it when an abrupt pain began erupting through my entire body. It felt like something had taken a bite out of me while hundreds of tiny blades raked across my skin.

I cried out in pain, feeling relatively unfamiliar with such a horrible feeling, and dropped my spells as I desperately clutched myself. My form slightly wavered as I tried to defend or cover myself from the unknown assailant.

"Light spell, now!" Trixie's voice ordered me.

Clenching through the horrible pain, I fumbled through and cast a quick [Flash] spell. The pain immediately ceased, and I heard a chittering hissing noise. Looking down at the source, wrapped around my shadow, was a strange elongated creature with hundreds of legs.

<Shadow Centipede LV 30.>

"Oh, gods! And I thought I was a monster!" I cried out at the horrible abomination and began rapidly casting more and more [Flash] spells at it.

The creature released my shadow and began to slink away in retreat, much to my relief. It hissed defiantly at me and chomped its mandibles threateningly.

"I guess they had more cards hidden," Trixie commented.

"Go check on Vee!" I quickly shouted to Trixie.

Our bond told me she was in good health, but I was terrified that there might be more hidden assailants that could strike at her.

Trixie gave a mock salute before vanishing, hopefully going to check on our spidery companion. I shot a dirty glare at the centipede and sighed as I noticed the other two had recovered from their friendly fire.

"Round two, I guess..." I sighed and considered pulling out a plethora of spell orbs to blow this area to smithereens.