Construction Mage - Chapter 73: Reflect

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With a blazing orb of fire flying his way, Clay didn’t have time to think. He was out of mana, and there was not enough time to summon his elemental. His allies were a few steps away. While he could see their shield-wielder try to go towards him, it was far too late. Clay had kept a wide berth between them, not wanting to disrupt their party’s formation. As a result, all he could manage was to get down and cover the back of his head with his arms and shovel before the fireball hit.

“Sir!” Malik shouted.

He ran toward the fray only to be held back by the scruff of his neck. He glanced back to glare at the culprit, a short, stocky man and also the only one not wearing fancy Delver gear among the other party—likely due to his role as a porter.

“Stay back! Don’t give the combatants any more distractions! They can’t afford it right now.”

“But—”

“No buts!” the more senior porter shouted as he pulled Malik close. “Acting on your emotions is the hallmark of an incompetent Delver. Those who are incompetent are a burden. Now tell me, do you want to be a burden?”

“Um, no, sir,” the young man relented, seeing the fire in the older man’s gaze. 

His words earned him back his freedom as the man shoved him back. The two then turned to the battlefield, which was still obscured by the smoke kicked up from the impact of the fireball spell. Taking advantage of the brief lull as things cleared up, Malik gingerly asked the man a question.

“Shouldn’t you be rejoining them? You were just helping them just now, so why are you here?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” the man answered without hesitation, but kept his eyes forward. “For porters like us, fighting is a last resort. Lend a hand when it makes sense to, but otherwise stay clear of the fight. The job is to keep the supplies safe and not slow the team down.”

“So you’re fine with just watching even if you see them get hurt?”

“That is a matter of understanding and trust. Delvers are sturdy people. There’s no use in crying over every little thing. Only get involved if you’re sure they can’t handle it anymore.” He paused to steal a glance at Malik, who seemed visibly frustrated still, and sighed. “What I’m trying to say is to have a little faith. Trust that your allies can handle it.”

As if waiting for those words, the dust around the tunnel settled immediately after, revealing the aftermath of the fireball hitting Clay. The tall figure with thick limbs was hard to miss even if he was crouched on the ground. 

Seeing this, Malik smiled in relief—at least for the first second or so until he noticed the blood streaming down his hands. He was short of breath, crouching with his chest heaving. Thankfully, the other Delvers around him were fine, and they proceeded to press the remaining two kobolds, preventing them from attacking again.

With the front liners dealt with, it was only a matter of time before the two casters would succumb to the human party’s onslaught.

In the meantime, Clay fumbled around with his shaky hands, reaching for something in his pack. Constant ringing made him oblivious to the world around him, and he didn't have the spare mental capacity to pay attention to anything else when his body was screaming out in pain. He could feel the warmth in his body slowly fading away as blood trickled out. His arms were shaking with pain, and he was sure a good portion of his skin had some degree of burns, too.

It was bad, but at the same time, it was not as bad as it could be. The physique of a Delver was much more resilient to damage, but unfortunately, it didn’t help with the pain. That was why he was trying his best to fetch out the bottle of potion he had prepared for emergencies.

His unsteady hands eventually did the job and managed to open his bag. A bottle of suspicious red liquid was brought out, and he immediately pulled the cork out and brought it to his mouth.

Here goes nothing. Ideally, I would’ve tested this first while not in an active situation, but this stuff is too expensive to waste. An entire fifty silver coins for the cheapest variant. I can’t wait until I can make my own.

Gulping down the concoction that gave off a strange light, Clay didn’t find it that bad at all. It was tasteless—or so he thought. A few seconds after he downed the potion, an intense aroma assaulted his senses all at once as if his senses had condensed everything into a single moment, making tears well up in his eyes. 

It had an intense metallic taste and earthy smell. Thankfully, it went away as abruptly as it came, and when it was over, Clay found that his limbs weren’t shaking anymore. Strength returned to his body as the wounds scabbed up. The low-quality potion didn’t fix everything in the blink of an eye, but it definitely stabilized his condition.

He took a moment to inspect his body only to be interrupted by the sound of whistling.

“Look at you, able to afford to down a potion for a minor scratch. Must be nice,” Alara, the red-haired ranger, jeered.

“Now, now. It’s not our place to judge,” Thomas, the guardian, chimed in. “Clayton, was it? He isn’t delving with a full party at the moment, so I see no reason to criticize his decision to keep himself in tip-top condition.

“Speaking of which, we should hurry out of here, leader. None of us are in any condition for another fight.”

“Yes. None of us expected the other party to bring us into this mess. This is perhaps the closest call we’ve ever had. We shouldn’t overstay our welcome.”

Thomas then exchanged glances with his other teammates, conveying his intentions of breaking out of the underground network they were in. Naturally, he made eye contact with their porter, Hob, who kept Malik in the loop.

“It seems like we’re rushing out of here with the last remaining bit of strength we have left. Take care, young one.”

He managed to take only two steps before Malik held onto the hem of his shirt.

“Umm, if your party is so tired, shouldn’t you be recuperating before you head off? Rushing off when you barely have any strength left doesn’t seem like a good idea—er, at least that’s how a veteran Delver explained it to me. No need to rush; set up camp and rest, they said.”

“That does sound like a good idea, but our group never prepared for a prolonged stay for just the first layer. I’m not sure if some of our members can get up again for some time once they relax.”

“I brought more than enough supplies to spare! Umm, with sir’s permission, I’d love to share it with your group!”

“What’s going on over here? Is something the matter?” Thomas joined in, hearing the ruckus. 

“Lad here is offering supplies to let us rest up here instead of rushing for the exit. What do you think?”

“Hmm, we did drop our lunch at the start of all this. Some food would do us all wonders.”

“Well, lad, our side accepts. Go ask your sir for permission.”

As he nodded his head, Malik quickly trekked his way over to Clay’s side, who had remained motionless on the ground, meditating. While he could now move around while doing so with his combat meditation upgrade, he wanted to let his body rest. His health dropped to near fifty percent, worrying him, and he would rather not accidentally reopen any wounds. At the same time, he was mentally reflecting on his mistakes.

It was his first time encountering an opponent that could cast spells, and he failed spectacularly against it. He hadn’t planned how to deal with them, and as a result, he had gotten injured enough to warrant a potion. He couldn’t help but beat himself up over it.

I’ll have to think up a way to deal with any future spellcasters I encounter. I don’t have any defensive spells to rely on except for the elemental if I use it as a shield. I should consult with Sylphira and her group about how to handle magic.

“Sir, are you okay?” Malik asked upon reaching him.

“Yes, seen better days, but the danger has passed. What’s up?”

“Um, I offered to share our supplies with these people. Is that okay?”

“Why in the world would you do that? We’re not running a charity here.”

“You’re right, sir, but I heard they had planned to run off while exhausted, and I couldn’t help but recall how many times Lady Sylphira had warned us not to do that.”

“Hmm, whatever. If you had already made the offer, it would look really petty to rescind the proposal. I don’t want it on our conscience if one of them gets hurt from running around exhausted later, either.”

Like that, the matter was settled. A camp was quickly set up, and the humans gathered around a pot of stew while they rested their weary bodies.

“I don’t think I can say this enough. Thank you for your generosity,” Thomas said with a wide grin as he stared hungrily at the pot. “Many wouldn’t do the same, especially with how rude our Alara has been to you.”

“It’s just some food. It’s not worth much,” Clay offhandedly replied, keeping some distance both physically and socially.

“Perhaps out in the city, this isn’t worth much, but the time and place matter. We’ve been run ragged for the majority of the morning, so every one of us appreciates this a lot.”

What Malik was preparing wasn’t anything special. It was mostly just throwing in a bunch of ingredients like dried herbs and jerky, but for something within the dungeon, anything warm was considered a delicacy. Most Delvers normally just ate hard bread and jerky as it was. The simple act of boiling down those tough foods changed the experience dramatically.

As the aroma began to deepen, the Delvers couldn’t wait any longer and began digging in. Clay ate in silence as he listened in on the conversation Malik was driving.

“So, what got you guys into that mess earlier, anyway? Your group seems to know what they are doing, so I don’t suppose you simply messed up?”

“No, of course not!” Alara vehemently defended. “If it weren’t for those assholes back at the door, we would’ve been celebrating in a tavern by now!”

“Calm down, girl. You’re scaring the young man,” the only other woman in the group retorted. “Excuse her manners. She’s always like that. I’m Ciana, by the way. Nice to meet you.”

Shaking her offered hand, Malik awkwardly bowed toward her, causing her to giggle.

“Anyway, to answer your question,” she continued. “You’re right, something did happen that almost got us killed. We were waiting patiently outside the boss room for this layer when another party arrived after us. We had a little argument, and they ended up drawing those kobolds you saw to us when we weren’t expecting it. It didn’t help that they attacked us from a distance when we were trying to fight off those kobolds, and the rest was as you saw.”

“Wait!” Clay loudly chimed in, drawing everyone’s attention. “You guys were about to challenge the floor boss?”

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