I kept my ditation skills active, closing my eyes. A part of it had been about supplying the dungeon with mana, as no matter what was going on, it was clear that the dungeon required such strength.
Also, it kept focused on my 'soul' allowing to see what was going on better than otherwise. As I turned inward, the first thing I felt was a sensation of fire, spreading. However, as I focused, my sensation of the dungeon turned sharper despite staying outside.
Five floors, layered on top of each other in a matter yet connected … but this ti, my first focus was on the fifth floor, the source of my pain.
I couldn't discern much, just the fact that all the mana the dungeon had stored was rushing to the fifth floor in a desperate attempt to reinforce it against whatever danger it was going against. A danger that was giving a desperate burning feeling.
My best guess: it was the dungeon breach Rosie had warned about.
I was very glad that I took her warning seriously and evacuated the dungeon, but that didn't solve the problem at hand. The sensation of pain might be just a phantom pain, but even if that was true, I couldn't just let the dungeon be damaged. The strategic value it provided was simply too high.
I opened my eyes again, and burst out of the cloud I had created, pushing my speed to the limit as I suddenly reversed my direction. Strategically, it was a bad move. I was forcing myself deep into the enemy formation, which not only put in the middle of the lizard army, but also gave the enemy many angles to attack .
I was betting on the cowardice of my enemy.
I ignored my beating heart as I barreled toward the densest part of the enemy formation, with several boss monsters packed together, no doubt preparing for a dangerous strike. What better way to rattle the enemy formation than destroying their next weapon.
Without the constant mana replenishnt from the dungeon, the reckless attack was nowhere as effective as I tried to represent it to be. My crazy gambit was nothing more than a high-stakes ga of chicken, which felt ill-advised at best.
Unfortunately, in a desperate battle, good options were a luxury.
I charged deeper, ignoring the cloud of tainted energy and the stench of charred scales at once. The lizards hissed and raged as they rushed around , their sheer presence enough to cook in my armor if it wasn't for the blocking effect.
I pressed on, leaning into my speed, darting around so that each blow had to injure at least two bosses while killing one.
[Level 67 -> 68]
[ 5 Vitality, 4 Strength, 3 Dexterity, 5 Essence, 3 Wisdom]
The increased level was welco, but the ambush that followed re seconds later was less so. A squad of armored figures ca down from one of the bosses that had drifted too close, every single one of them releasing that bright white light.
I had enough ti to fake my shield, but that didn't prevent that energy from wrapping around what I tentatively called my soul, cutting my connection with the External Skills as I feared.
Luckily, this ti, I was prepared. With my weapons forged to replicate my skills as much as possible, I was able to fake not being affected far more effectively. I closed the distance, not willing to let a full squad retreat safely.
The nearest boss monster attacked , but I had enough mobility to dart between its snapping jaws, using the angle to take it down perfectly, an arc of mana enough to kill it with no chance of regeneration. I kept my gaze fixed on the prize.
But, before I could close in the distance, their leader raised a large orb, filled with a dark red, suffocating energy. I prepared to defend myself, but he slamd it to the ground. In response, a dungeon gate appeared.
It was an unusual gate. Not a gentle circle of stable blue energy, but a pitch-black one with jagged, unstable edges, radiating danger.
Another phantom stab hit my soul as it appeared, giving a good idea of what the others were.
Having an excellent guess about where it connected, I didn't try any suicidal moves like jumping through it. I felt even more glad for my intuition, as the gate collapsed a second later, leaving two of their mbers behind … well, two and a half.
It was not an appealing sight.
In its place, I could feel so kind of gap, similar to the effect that had been left over whenever I closed a gate from outside. But, the sensation of that wound was similar to the shape of the gate. Dark, jagged, and revolting.
I pressed forward, cutting down the last two mbers before they could use their backup plan. Ultimately, the objective was to force Thomas to retreat, giving a chance to return to the dungeon, and watch the invasion in a more direct manner.
Once I killed the two, I smashed a boss monster's claws, absorbing the tainted energy. While it was wasteful to ruin a high-value crafting material, the intense burst of energy it supplied was critical to reinforcing the dungeon, while replenishing my own mana as well.
[ditation of Decay (Mythic) 103 -> 104]
I funneled as much of my own mana as I dared through my ditation. Tainted energy was not a restricted resource, but the ti to stand still without being buried under a horde of monsters was.
I should have spent more ti learning to use ditation while fighting.
I ran forward, directly toward Thomas, whose location was easy to identify thanks to the thick blue shield he maintained since my first attack. However, his flying mount was very useful when it ca to dodging. He both picked up altitude and retreated back.
It was not what I wanted. I needed him to retreat. Trying to maintain a dual focus of constant fighting while also supplying the dungeon with mana was difficult enough, and the constant phantom stabs weren't helping.
Another bluff, I decided. "Co on, little Thomas. This ti, there's no Eleanor to save you from your disrespect. Sooner or later, you'll run out of an army," I said and dashed forward, ending between ten boss monsters.
Which I dealt with by covering my hamr with mana. This ti, I didn't spend it all, but maintained an aura. Each blow shattered a head, destroying their claws in the process.
[Level 68 -> 69]
[ 5 Vitality, 4 Strength, 3 Dexterity, 5 Essence, 3 Wisdom] Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire
As I killed it, the tightness around my soul tried to constrain , only to stretch … but, compared to the previous tis, it was weaker, reinforcing my earlier guess about it being less effective on higher-level targets.
It wasn't enough to shatter it completely, but two more levels, and it would disappear imdiately.
Assuming, of course, they didn't have another ambush waiting for .
I climbed on top of the small hill, created by the remains of ten shredded boss monsters piled together, and absorbed the combined mana and tainted energy they radiated. As I did that, I kept my hamr high in a threatening pose.
It seed to work, as no one had attacked while I finished absorbing the majority of the released energy.
[ditation of Decay (Mythic) 104 -> 110]
The mana I had provided doused the burning sensation I had been dealing with for the mont, which gave the chance to focus on the flying object.
I needed one last step. Maybe a bluff, but for that, I needed tal, and unfortunately, the tal plating hadn't extended to this point. I returned to where I had slain two armored figures. All I needed was a touch to treat their armor like putty, and the area had more than enough claws to create a weapon.
Together, I fashioned a giant spear, one that I pumped with all my available mana. Fragnted javelins. One of my favorite tricks.
Unfortunately, I didn't have a way to simply bypass Thomas' shield. I needed to intimidate him in another way.
So, with the large javelin in one hand, I dug a tunnel, five yards down, then a hundred yards forward. When I burst out, I didn't throw the javelin imdiately, but waited for one of the boss monsters to attack from behind. This deep into the enemy army, I just needed to wait a second. It gave all the excuses I needed to miss.
Instead, the javelin smashed against another flying boss, shredding not only its wing, but a majority of its torso, making it fall.
"You're lucky, Thomas," I shouted, loud enough to be heard even with the cacophony of the battle. At the sa ti, I waved my hand once again, and a glowing mana appeared. I didn't have tal to create another javelin, making it useless, but considering my aim, that didn't matter. "Let's see how many tis you can avoid it," I said, and disappeared underground again.
This ti, I dug down directly, and a hundred yards in, I shattered the ground with an Avalanche strike, making it very difficult to track .
And, I opened a portal directly to the fifth floor.
I just had to hope that my gambit would give enough ti to deal with the incursion.
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