Pandora Unchained B1C41: Team ‘We Don’t Need a Life Mage’

Having experienced the horrors of the tomb above, Sorin's team and Team Oasis adopted a tight formation, with Lawrence and Warren taking turns scouting up ahead. The rest of them pressed together behind Stephan and Collin in the hopes of buying themselves precious split seconds to react.

There were advantages and disadvantages to this arrangement. Namely, the absence and presence of Lawrence. "Look, Stephan," said Lawrence, nudging up beside him and disturbing their formation. "I know we're in the middle of the dungeon and all, but there's something very important I think we need to address."

"Stop blabbering and focus on our surroundings," said Stephan, who was half-shifted in case of surprise enemy attacks. "You never know what you'll find in old dungeons like these. Best be careful in case your whining provokes the dead or something."

"And I'll take that with the mountain of salt it deserves," said Lawrence, "but some things are more important than surviving an ambush. You know what I'm talking about, don't you, Sorin?"

Sorin shook his head. "I have no idea, Lawrence. But if it's that important, just get it off your chest. For all our sakes." It was something both teams could agree on.

"Then I won't hold back," said Lawrence. "Both our teams are wonderful, but if I'm, to be honest, we're very lacking in one aspect compared to Team Oasis."

"Are you complaining about us lacking a life mage?" asked Stephan.

"Not at all," said Lawrence. "I'm talking about our lack of a certain something: a name."

"You can't be serious," said Gareth, massaging his forehead. "Here I am, tiring my eyes out scouting for danger, and you're wasting brainpower thinking about a team name?"

"Is that so wrong of me?" asked Lawrence. "A name is very critical. It describes. It inspires. It intimidates our enemies every time we yell it out."

"I can't say I speak for the entire team, but I believe most of us see a name as low priority," said Stephan. "Also, we've been holding back on a team name because we weren't sure if the team would remain after our last mission. The paperwork for setting up an official team is horrendous."

"That hurts, Stephan," said Lawrence. "We've been through life and death together! We need a name to celebrate our team's undying loyalty. Nale, how did you guys come up with the name 'Team Oasis'?"

"Uh… I think I just left it to Hellen," said Nale. "We're not very good at naming things. How did you find it, Hellen?"

"I believe I just tossed a dictionary up in the air and then chose a word in it," said Hellen. "Can you please try to be more serious, Lawrence? You might be out of rotation, but you may spot something Warren doesn't."

"I, for one, think a name is very important," said Daphne, interrupting her continuous chanting as she scried the walls and floor for runes and magical traps. "For one, it's good for morale. For another, I'll need it to write my nov… my report, when everything is said and done."

"Maybe instead of focusing on a name, your team should focus on fixing up its deficiencies," said Hellen. "For example, a life mage. Any proper team has one. The other three main captains did, at least." Stephan snorted loudly when she said this. "What? You're the one who said so at the team gathering. Am I wrong?"

"You're not wrong," said Stephan. "For the most part. Most teams do need a life mage. But some teams can do without it. Teams with druids. Teams based on a theme, like an all-archer or all-mage team. Sorin, do you think we need a life mage?"

Sorin frowned at being put on the spot but gave the matter some thought. "In truth, as long as we have healing potions, I can take care of any injuries that come up."

"Are you sure you're not being a little too arrogant?" asked Hellen.

"I'm fully aware of my own capabilities, thank you very much," said Sorin icily. "Poison, disease, and corruption are no issue for me, and potions and surgery can heal most wounds. As for broken bones, once you set them right, a healing potion will work just fine. Am I missing anything, or can you somehow regenerate entire arms without my knowledge?"

Hellen sniffed. "Your treatment takes too much time."

"And yours takes too much mana," countered Stephan. "Moreover, other than healing, you can't do anything else. On the other hand, Sorin can kill things quite quickly, preventing injuries. Lawrence, I see Warren. It's almost your turn."

"I feel strongly about this name thing," said Lawrence. "And I'd feel much more comfortable doing my job if we had one."

Stephan rolled his eyes. "Gareth, do you care about our team name?"

"Nope," said Gareth.

"How about you, Sorin?" asked Stephan.

"Not in the slightest," said Sorin.

"Daphne, do you have specific opinions on what a good name should sound like?" asked Stephan.

"Hm, well, I was thinking that if we incorporate the names of ancient –"

"Excellent," said Stephan, cutting her off. "Then, if there's no opinion to the contrary, we'll go with team 'We Don't Need a Life Mage'. Sound good?"

"I like it!" said Daphne, sticking out her thumb.

"Since that's settled, I think we should adopt battle positions," said Gareth, drawing an arrow. Lise, Team Oasis's archer, was just a step behind him. Warren rounded a corner seconds later. Chasing after him was a group of large beetles.

"The labyrinth!" yelled Warren as he ran. "It's changing!"

"Changing?" asked Stephan. "What do you mean, changing? Prepare to receive their charge! Collin, with me! Archers, shoot on my mark. Ready? Loose!"

Two arrows, one of wind and one of lightning tore through the large group of advancing beetles, blasting off legs and piercing carapaces but not slaying any of them. Stephan, the armored bear, and the shield and sword-wielding Collin, crashed into the three-foot-tall beetles, knocking them back and buying precious time for Daphne to throw a fireball into their rear ranks. Over a dozen beetles fell to the floor, writhing with pain as their innards boiled. Except the stone floor didn't remain stone. The labyrinth began to transform.

The stony labyrinth floor became a dirt path through the woods. The terrain opened up, making it so that the swarming beetles no longer had to climb over themselves. A portion of them dug into the loam and added a third dimension to their attacks.

Daphne was about to launch another spell when Sorin felt vibrations underground. "Careful!" he said, shoving her toward Gareth. A beetle burst out of the ground and knocked Sorin prone. But he quickly recovered and twisted in a snakelike fashion before stabbing at the beetle, only for his mithril knife to bounce off its shell.

"It's mana-sensitive!" shouted Gareth. "Sorin, keep it away from Daphne!" He shot an arrow at the creature, but it once again used its tough shell to block. Another two beetles poked their heads out of the ground. Sorin, having learned the basics of their anatomy from his last attack, struck a weak point in their exoskeletons with his dagger. Both began to writhe in pain as flesh-melt poison melted the flesh behind their shells.

Sorin was about to handle the third beetle when a firebolt shot through its shell and blasted it apart. "Huh," said Daphne, blowing on her wand. "Weak to fire mana. No wonder they hate me." At the sight of their companion burning alive, the beetles shivered with rage. They pushed past Stephan and Collin, ignoring their lethal attacks.

"If you're done clearing up the rear, would you mind helping out here?" asked Nale, slicing a beetle in half with his obviously enchanted longsword. "They're getting a little overwhelming."

"Handle it yourself," snapped Sorin. "I have better things to do than listen to your orders. Lawrence, cover Daphne!"

"Yes, sir!" said Lawrence.

On the surface, these beetles are endless and durable, thought Sorin. But in practice, they're very weak. It's only their exoskeleton that's a problem. A single dose of poison is enough to melt one alive, as opposed to crushing and slicing them over and over until they stop coming.

Having figured out the crux of the problem, Sorin used Adder Rush to squeeze past Stephan and Collin and into the bulk of the beetles. His dagger struck repeatedly like a snake's fang, and each time it struck, a beetle fell to the ground, not dead but dying shortly after.

In medicine, using poison is about knowing how much to use and when, though Sorin. It's the same in battle as well. Overusing poison on an enemy is a waste. Wasting time is a cardinal sin that can lead to the death of my companions.

He struck one more time, taking a beetle in the neck, but when he tried to remove his dagger, he discovered that it was stuck. He, therefore, decisively abandoned it and shot a poison needle into a beetle's eye. It struck the beetle's brain and killed it all the same. He didn't need a dagger. A dagger was just a convenient tool to accomplish his end goal: slaying his enemies.

Seeing Sorin so effectively kill members of their species, the beetle demons changed their target from Daphne to Sorin. He found himself under attack from all sides. Thanks to Adder Rush, he was able to avoid most nips from their deadly pincers, but it wasn't long before his arms and legs were covered in deep cuts.

Poison needles are useful, but they're difficult to aim in close combat, analyzed Sorin. He slammed a beetle with a poisonous palm, injecting it with a heavy dose of flesh-melt poison. It fell to the ground just like the others, but the cost in mana was much greater than when he'd used his dagger. This poison palm is garbage. I can't spread out my power like Stephan does. I need to focus on a single point.

Stephan and Collin were needed to defend their weaker members, so Sorin could only make the best of the situation. Even Nale charging out to cut down the beetles as he defended only somewhat alleviated the pressure.

He continued to ignore sharp beetle bites in favor of improving his palm arts. Too focused. The dose isn't lethal. Too spread out. The dose is lethal, but penetrating power is insufficient. He repeatedly iterated his attack while dispatching the nearest beetles, using their bodies as shields as he prepared himself for the next in line.

Sorin's palm skill was, in fact, a paw skill based on Stephan's lunisolar paw. What Sorin discovered as he modified the attack was that he didn't need heaviness. He needed sharp piercing power and consistent dose delivery.

These attacks need to be more snakelike, Sorin finally decided. Something clicked in his mind when he thought this. His palm shot out like a viper, summoning a mana projection of two fangs that pierced through a beetle's shell and delivered a fatal dose of flesh melt poison.

He repeated the attack twice more before retreating and pulling his dagger out of a beetle's corroded exoskeleton. A green mana projection appeared around his dagger as he channeled the same attack into a beetle's hard shell. This time, the dagger didn't bounce but directly pierced its defenses.

My understanding of Viper Strike was shallow, thought Sorin, dispatching beetles at a rate that was three times greater than before. If my fangs are sharp enough, I don't need to consider weak points. If my poison is vicious enough, I don't need to strike vitals.

The new and improved Viper Strike consumed twice as much mana, but Sorin didn't need to care about such things. The attack already had low mana consumption, and his mana reserves were several times that of a normal cultivator.

Sorin fought for several minutes straight before the tide of beetles finally receded. He slew one last beetle, intimidating the last few remaining in the group. They tried to scurry off, but Lawrence and Warren took care of them with their daggers.

"Rogues, loot," said Stephan. "Wounds, everyone?"

"I'm fine," said Sorin, applying a dose of flesh-melt poison to his cuts and sealing them off. "You?"

"Flesh wounds," said Stephan, reverting to his human form. "Though I could use some stitches on my shoulder."

"I could take a look at that," volunteered Hellen.

"That's alright," said Stephan, brushing her off. "Team 'We Don't Need a Life Mage' is self-sufficient. These wounds aren't worth wasting valuable mana on."

Hellen gritted her teeth before turning her attention to Nale. He'd slain no small number of beetles. Given the mismatched state of his armor, it was only natural that he suffered a few deep wounds, which she treated.

With the beetles slain, the labyrinth returned to its original state. The dirt path and woods faded into the labyrinth's stone walls, revealing a pile of decayed corpses in a dead end. "How old are these things?" said Lawrence, picking through them. "Hey, wait, this one's fresh. Can't have died for more than a year. Didn't we literally just open this place?"