“I need a break.” Circe plopped against the wall of the room they were in as the lights to 11A came on.
“A Recovery Robe.” Frederica held up the blue robe. “Marlow?”
The graying Healer shook his head. “Give it to Caleb; I already got a Tier One one.” He pulled on the collar of his green robe.
Frederica twirled the robe around her hand, then threw the bundle to the other Healer. She turned to Penelope. “Time?”
Penelope glanced at her menu.
“Almost nine thirty.” She sat down next to Circe.
“Plenty of time to do more before lunch.” Patrick pulled the metal helmet off his belt and passed it to Robert. The older man filled it with water while Riva, Rockwell, and Eldri took the empty potion bottles out of their pockets. Since the Debuffer and the Buffers were staying out of the fights completely, they had been put in charge of the containers for water. While the empty bottles only held a few ounces, the team complained less about the water being poured out of a sterilized metal helmet than drinking after each other. The death curse from the night before had raised concerns about the Poisoners creating bacteria inside people as part of the spell, which had most of them gun shy about drinking after someone else.
“It’s going to take us half an hour just to walk all the way down to G.” Patrick took off his helmet and guzzled one of the vials of water.
“What if we just did the next one over?” Circe jerked her thumb behind her towards the next column.
“It’s taking us forty-five minutes to clear a square…” Penelope let the math sink in. “Even if it takes us an hour, that’s still before one.”
Frederica paused for a moment, then nodded. “Pack it up; we’ll scout the entry points and head in once Patrick tells the clean-up crew where the bodies are.”
Penelope got up and headed for the doorway. This corner held three huge rooms that had been connected on the corners. It didn’t take long for her to make her way to the north side of 11A and find the tunnel entrances that led into 12A. By the time she got back to the middle of the square, the others were waiting on her.
“They know where to clean.” Patrick tightened the leather strap that held his helmet in place. He pointed at the tunnel on his left. “We go high; you go low and wait for the room to blow?”
Frederica nodded. “See you at the crossing!”
Penelope’s team hurried to the barrier. After clearing 11A, she was only five experience away from leveling up, while the others were fourteen experience away from level eight. The higher level had helped with Robert and Circe’s damage, and it had given them some new attacks as well.
“You need to think about what you want for your next level up." Jeru admonished her. “And I would start thinking about spells.
What was the level three spell? Penelope thought for a moment while they waited at the barrier for the air to blow.
“Wait until you hit fourteen and take
Then what should I be wanting now?
“Some type of utility spell wouldn’t be a bad idea. I’d say for you to take
What about a movement-type spell? Does Light have any of those? Penelope tightened her grip on her wand as the zone air blast signaled them to enter 12A. Her
“That could work. With your Speed sub, it would be something the system would let you have.”
What do you mean, ‘Let me have’? Penelope kept her eyes open as they hurried down the tunnel.
“That’s a topic for later. Door on your left.”
“I need a light!” Patrick ran to the door and stuck the shield through the open space. They’d moved away from the other group, but there was only one tunnel, and they had to follow where it went.
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Before Penelope could move the
Patrick turned the shield diagonally to give him the most coverage and hid his body behind it the best he could. “We’ve got a wizard in there!”
The spell lit up the room as Penelope moved behind him. A full group waited for them inside, but Penelope couldn’t tell what they were. A single pair of red eyes swallowed her entire focus. Warning bells screamed for her to look away, but she couldn’t tear her eyes off of those red eyes sitting just behind a beak.
The others shouted their skills, but it was all muffled noise compared to the thundering beat of her heart in her ears. Her lungs tightened as her skin tingled. Panic threatened to give way to terror.
“SHOUT THE BIRD-CURSED THING!” Jeru’s voice hit her like a bucket of cold water.
Penelope blinked, pulling her eyes away, and silently launched the balls floating above her into the room.
The red-eyed bird stood almost five feet tall. Most of its body was bare purple skin, but its neck, legs, and arms were covered in red feathers. It didn’t have wings, just feathered arms with talons, as it stood upright on taloned feet and crowed like a rooster.
Its red and purple tail feathers were almost as long as the Dowl, as the nameplate above it read. Penelope’s heart raced as she centered herself, focusing on the monster that was still standing after taking her attack.
More air blasts hit the shield, sending a gust of cold air over her. Breathing was harder during the attacks, but even though Penelope had torn herself away from those glowing red eyes, she couldn’t focus on anything except the Dowl.
“Tank Demon. Really tough skin. Hit it with everything you’ve got!”
Penelope didn’t need any more urging. She released a volley, then another before she received the alert.
Ding!
Experience +2.5
“Focus on the Healer next!” Jeru pointed at the yellow-robed Shadow Healer.
Penelope scanned the room A pair of deer with silver fur wove fur between their fuzzy antlers, releasing blasts of air at the shield lodged in the door. Beside them, a pair of black rats the size of a labrador belched air blasts as well.
Circe gagged as the air spells sliced past them.
“It smells like rotten meat!” The blonde Shooter pulled out a pair of arrows and ran her finger over them, coating them in shadows. Circe notched them and fired as smoothly as if she’d shot only one.
Ding!
Experience +2.5
You are now Level Thirteen
Stats increased: Speed +1, Magic +1
You have learned: Blink
“They won’t stay still!” Robert complained as a stalagmite shot out of the ground a moment after one of the Wisp Deer, as their nameplate read, jumped out of the way.
A yellow aura covered the Shadow Healer as it moved farther away from the doorway. The very back wall was just over a hundred feet away, keeping it safe from Penelope and Circe’s projectiles.
“We’re going to have to go in there!” Circe urged as another barrage of air tore by them.
“I’m not taking this shield down until you kill all the little ones!” Patrick adjusted his grip on the shield.
“That’s taking too long because if we wound one, it just retreats back where we can’t hit it, and that thing heals it back up!” Circe pointed at the Shadow Healer. “It’s taking a potion!”
“Let me try something.” Penelope put her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder, then cast