Ch: 118.4

“Will you watch over me?” I ask over my shoulder.

“I may not have full use of my left arm yet, but my right is just fine.” Thanks to the light spell hovering over Tabitha’s head, I can clearly see her flexing her one good arm as a show of strength.

"Okay then," I nod and focus on my goal.

Across the room, covered in poison, sat my hammer. Directly above it was the shaft leading to the surface. According to Sense Mana, the pile of bones above the hole had collapsed over it, sealing it, but it would only take the winged serpent a swish of its massive tail to send the blockage flying.

To our understanding, the serpent couldn't reach us down here, but that didn't mean we could afford to be careless. To clean my hammer, I would need to get close to it so as not to waste the precious mana I've spent the last three days recovering. I originally hoped the poison would start dissipating after sitting there for so long, but even now, I could still sense the poison on my hammer just as active as when we were initially hit with it.

The poison contained a particular type of mana attracted to living beings. The same mana tendrils that penetrated my defenses were all over my hammer, ready to spring into action should I accidentally touch it. I leveled multiple skills fighting it off the first time, so in theory, it should be easier to cleanse the poison a second time, but making predictions after only dealing with it once was a great way to get myself killed.

While I focused on cleaning my weapon, Tabitha was to keep an eye on the shaft above me. If the ground so much as rumbled, she would pull me back and rush us outside the room. The winged serpent would only need a few short seconds to remove the blockage and direct its corrosive breath down the shaft, and if we weren’t prepared for it, we could get caught up in it and would surely die.

Chances were that wouldn't happen as the snake could've done so any time over the last few days, but again, it never hurt to be safe.

“I should only need a minute,” I mumble more as a reassurance to myself rather than speaking to Tabitha.

“I have your back,” my knight in shining…. dented armor reassures me.

That was another reason why I needed my hammer. Though it would be cumbersome to attempt with its size, I needed my hammer to try and fix Tabitha’s armor. Her chest plate was caved in, which couldn’t be comfortable to wear, and the armguards on her right arm were worse. Unfortunately, I could do nothing with the scraps of metal that used to be the armor on her left arm, but I could at least try to fix everything else.

“Okay, here goes,” I walk silently over to my hammer, making sure not to make a sound.

Avoiding the rotten scraps of wood that used to make up the lift, I inch closer to my weapon. Looking up, I see a dark shaft stretching upwards, which is a good sign. Ominous to have overhead, but still a good sign.

Everything seems fine as I inch closer to my goal, but I can't help but curse that I didn’t have Silent Casting when I chant my spell. Thankfully, I don’t need to shout like an anime protagonist to cast my magic, only needing to whisper the words in a soft yet even voice.

“Ahyt ls weem appiss!”

Magic envelops me, and I feel the dust accumulated over the last three days fall away. Of course, it wasn't much, thanks to Mana Skin, but my skill couldn't protect me from everything, and it was pretty dirty down here, so it’s still refreshing to feel spotless again.

I only indulge in the feeling for a second before I activate Empower Spell and boost my magic until the zone of cleanliness around me stretches to reach my hammer’s handle. If I wanted to, I could have my spell cover my weapon all at once as I did with Tabitha and myself when we were initially poisoned, but it's easier and less mana intensive to slowly work my way from one end of my hammer to the other.

As soon as my spell makes contact with my poisoned weapon, the toxin tries to infiltrate my mana, but unlike Mana Skin which only defends, my cleaning spell actively fights back against the intrusive substance. Of course, I need to channel more mana to keep it from digging into the mana I’m projecting, but without the urgency of dying forcing me to fight all of it at once, my spell steadily and easily overcomes the poison.

I sense Tabitha stepping behind me and entering my spells range, but as she’s not dragging me out of the room, I focus on the task at hand. It takes a few minutes and some steady mana control, but eventually, my weapon is clean, at least, I think it is.

Before I let my spell fade away, I scan every inch of my hammer, searching for even a hint of remaining poison. The surface was spotless to the naked eye, but that didn’t mean I was ready to reach down and grab my weapon just yet. There was still one more place I had to check.

My foresight pays off immediately because as soon as I direct my senses into my hammer and scan the mana structure within, I find small traces of the winged serpent’s poison. There isn’t much of the tainted mana, and if I wasn’t looking for it, it was entirely possible I could’ve missed it, but I was, and I did. None of our other gear was tainted this way, but then again, none was covered in the stuff for three days.

Using Mana Manipulation and Inject Mana, I push my cleaning spell directly into my hammer until every bit of the toxic mana is purged. Of course, the spell wasn't designed for this kind of thing, so I need to control it carefully, but with my two new levels in Mana Manipulation, it's relatively easy to do.

Once I’m 110% positive everything is clear, I reach down and collect my weapon. I’m surprised how much lighter it feels after raising my Strength stat by 25, but then again, it was never the weight of my hammer that caused me trouble; it was a centrifugal force when I swung it that threatened to pull me off my feet.

I would still need to anchor myself to the ground to swing my weapon correctly, but maybe now, with higher stats, I’ll be able to use it against the winged serpent, though I still had doubts. Swinging my hammer over my shoulder, a sense of security washes over me as I anchor it to my back with Magic Threads. It might have its flaws, but in the end, I felt safer having it with me.

I cast one last glance upward at the dark shaft above us before walking back to the wall where we had our packs laid out. In my wake, you could see where I cast my magic, as there was now a perfect circle of cleanliness at the bottom of the shaft. Cleaning my hammer took a quarter of my mana pool, but now that my mana recovery had returned to normal, it would only take me a few hours to get that mana back.

“Thanks for the cleaning. Dried blood really starts to ich after the third day," Tabitha smirks at me.

“I was wondering why you got so close to me,” I look Tabitha up and down. The glowing orb of light above her cast weird shadows due to its positioning, but I could see everything necessary. With all the dried blood removed, I could finally see her skin underneath, and it was enough to make me wince.

“It isn’t that bad," Tabitha looked down at her left arm, which was sitting in a makeshift sling I fashioned for her.

Not that bad? Tabitha’s entire left arm was one big scab. “Was your potion not enough?” I wasn’t sure how to quantify Tabitha's healing. Her right arm was completely healed, but it wasn't near as bad as her other arm. Was mending bones in three days normal, or was that only due to the expensive potion?

Tabitha chuckles. “The potion worked just fine, but its effects have long since faded. My Vitality is finishing things.”

“And the scars?” I ask, motioning to the few patches of Tabitha’s left arm that had finished healing and were now clean, thanks to my spell. There wasn’t a single section of unblemished skin, just a never-ending patchwork of scars.

“Even we aren’t immune to scars,” Tabitha doesn’t look bothered by her arm in the slightest. “If anything, I can show it off to people,” she says proudly.

“Why?’ I give her an incredulous look. "I mean, weren't scars a sign you were injured?"

“Maybe, but true warriors will recognize what I went through,” Tabitha grins like a maniac.

“Seriously, is everyone in your country crazy, and if so, how has it lasted this long?” I jokingly shake my head disappointingly, but I can’t help but smile.

“Haven’t you learned by now?” Tabitha eyes me critically. “You have to be crazy to reach the top.” I roll my eyes, but Tabitha wasn’t done. “You like to pretend you’re not, but if you ask anyone in your village to describe you, I'm 100% certain they'll refer to you as the ‘crazy running girl.'"

“They would not,” I start relaxingly refuting her, but the second half of my argument dies out before I can even say it. Oh gods, I think she’s right!

My eyes widen at the realization, and Tabitha laughs in delight. “Take pride in it,” she boastfully tells me. "Besides, wasting your time worrying about how others see you is pointless. Take my arm, for example," Tabitha gestures with her good arm. "Anyone who looks down on me for having battle scars isn't someone I want to give my time to, much less acknowledge.”

“That’s…. quite profound,” I stare at Tabitha in amazement.

Tabitha tries to puff out her chest but whines in pain, bringing her right hand to where her chest plate is dented.

Right, I shouldn’t put that off any longer. “Alright, take it off,” I order Tabitha sternly.

Tabitha’s eyes widen, and she takes a step back. “What, no. This is no place to remove my armor.” Tabitha looked worryingly toward the shaft, but we both knew that was just an excuse. She just didn’t like taking off her armor.

“It’s now or never,” I point out to her. “Everything's been quiet the last few days; if there were anything else dangerous down here, we would've seen it by now. And you're still recovering; that can't be comfortable,” I point at her chest where her armor had the biggest dent.

“Wearing this armor is the only thing that saved me,” Tabitha says defensively.

“So let me try to fix it,” I take a step in her direction. “Don’t make me take it off you.”

"You think you can," Tabitha's eyes narrow menacingly.

“In your current condition, yes,” I deadpan.

“Fair point,” Tabitha finally admits in a downcast voice.

Tabitha tries to reach for the strap to unfasten her armor, but she struggles with only one hand. “Wait a minute,” I stop her. “Let’s move a few floors down; put some space between us and the shaft while I work."

Tabitha nods and moves to grab her bag, but I beat her to the punch. Reaching down, I grab both our bags. Tabitha looks at me like she’s about to demand I hand it over, but I stand firmly, and she sighs and relents to letting me carry everything.

“Lead the way then,” Tabitha moves next to me, providing the light while I provide the directions. And for the first time in three days, we left the room we fell into.

Leaving the lift room, we entered the adjoining hallway, and I directed us right as that was the fastest way to the closest intact stairway.

“You know where you’re going?” Tabitha asks me as I lead her down multiple hallways and connecting rooms.

“Yeah, we’re almost to the first flight of stairs,” I point ahead.

“Then you have a specific room in mind?” Tabitha turns her head and gives me a questioning glance.

“Sure do,” I point down at the stone floor. “There is a good-sized room we can make use of four stories down. It has some intact stone benches I can use as a makeshift workstation. Plus, the deeper we go, the more of the structure I can scan.”

“Are there any signs of life?” Tabitha asks, nimbly stepping around a pile of bone dust. "Any more soul horrors we need to be on the lookout for?"

“You wish,” I smirk. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but no more free exp.”

“Pity," Tabitha tries to shrug, but as she is still injured, she can only move her right shoulder, making for quite the comical sight.

Just then, a low growling noise echoes through the silent hallway. Tabitha and I reach for our weapons in alarm, but I quickly turn crimson as I realize what is making the sound. Bringing my left hand up, I massage my armored stomach. “Sorry,” I apologize.

“There’s nothing to apologize for," Tabitha's hand remained on her sword's hilt. "I am hungry too. We should probably eat once we make it to our destination.”

“Is that okay?” Other than a bite of jerky yesterday, we haven’t touched any of our remaining rations. My stomach was growling, but I could hold out for another day or two if need be.

Tabitha nods seriously. “Even if we eat what little we have, it’s best to do so now. My recovery has slowed; what about you?”

“I’m almost there,” I pull up a cheat sheet of my status page.

Health: 2,241.63/2,530

Stamina 1,588.47/1,697

Mana: 782.34/1,030

“I’m still down 300 Health, my Stamina is fine, and I used a quarter of my mana pool to clean you and my hammer,” I rattle off in quick order. “What about you?” I look directly at Tabitha’s sling.

“My bones are healing just fine, thanks to you,” Tabitha smiles happily. “After we eat, I should only need another day before I can move it again and another to regain full movement. As for my Stamina and Mana, both are relatively full, so you don't need to worry about the light; I can keep it going for some time."

“That’s amazing news,” I exclaim. “In here,” I direct us into a room coming up that contains the stairs leading downward. “Do you think I could heal broken bones in a few days with my Vitality?”

"Depends on the break," Tabitha casually continues the conversation as we turn into the room and head directly for the stairs within.

While we walk from one dark corridor to another, we discuss all manner of topics.

We spent a few minutes talking about how the bricks making up the floor differed from the ones used in the walls. They were almost indistinguishable from one another, with the only difference being the bricks making up the floor were a slightly paler grey. Color aside, though, the bricks making up the floor had the same force-absorbing properties as their wall counterparts, only much milder. It was like walking on a beach; you had to put in more effort to move, but nothing as ridiculous as trying to walk on the wall bricks.

While I could talk about magic materials all day, Tabitha wanted to discuss more pressing matters. She asked me if I could sense the lesser dragon above us, and I had to shamefully tell her I couldn’t. Of course, Tabitha wasn't surprised by this and explained to me why I was having such trouble sensing it.

According to her, the winged serpent had deployed a mana zone. I had heard Tabitha use the terminology earlier when we first ran into the lesser dragon, but it was only now that she explained what it frankly was.

Apparently, strong magic beasts can diffuse part of their essence around themselves and affect the mana of a given area, creating zones that can hinder the skills of others and slowly morph their surroundings to suit them better. That was why the forest above the Colosseum was dead; the winged serpent’s mana zone corrupted the surrounding mana, killing all the plant life. It was also why I couldn’t sense it, no matter how hard I tried. The winged serpent perfectly blended into the background it created, so unless I’m incredibly close to it, I won't be able to pinpoint its exact location.

The mana zone was also responsible for tricking Tabitha’s danger sense which meant we didn't sense it until it was already upon us. Plus, according to Tabitha, there was a genuine possibility that the winged serpent could track our movement inside its mana zone, meaning as soon as we surfaced, it would know.

I know I shouldn’t be casting stones, but I couldn’t help but curse at such an overpowered ability. How on earth where we supposed to fight something like that?

Tabitha reassured me it was possible, though it would be tricky. I asked her if she’d ever fought against a magic beast with a mana zone, but she denied ever doing so. Apparently, only powerful magic beasts ever form a mana zone, and encountering one was extremely rare. And it was just our luck we ran into one.

Tabitha did add one piece of what she considered good news to her explanation. When she first realized we were in a mana zone, Tabitha feared the magic beast we ran into was above 150, as that was around the level magic beasts started forming mana zones.

I had snapped at her, questioning how that could be considered good news, but she assured me it was coming.

Tabitha told me that she couldn't sense the winged serpents’ level, but after fighting it, she was positive it wasn’t near level 150. So why the mana zone? Well, as Tabitha put it, it had to do with the winged serpent being a lesser dragon.

Tabitha explained that lesser dragon was a title given to beasts with some ancestry connected to dragons, no matter how removed it was. Dragons were apex creatures known for their strong bodies and even more robust magic capabilities. Because the winged serpent was a descendant of them, it was able to manifest a mana zone prematurely.

Tabitha was confident the winged serpent was around level 130, it could be lower or higher, but it definitely wasn't 150.

It was exciting learning about mana zones. Of course, Tabitha reminded me multiple times everything she knew came from her master, but that got me thinking; Pacore was over 150; could he produce a mana zone? Tabitha said no, but was a mana zone something you advertised? Pacore said he had zero magical talent, but did you need talent to affect the world around you?

No, you didn’t.

I pondered the potential of such a skill down three more separate flights of stairs and all the way to the room I was guiding us to.

The two of us were now sufficiently far enough away from the snake that it wouldn’t be able to hear me working on Tabitha’s armor. And now that we were here, it was time to get to work….

Right after a quick meal of hard biscuits and overly salted jerky as my stomach refused to stop growling at me.

First, food, then we'll start our preparations. I need to fix Tabitha’s armor, improve Mana Skin now that I’ve gained so many magic skill levels, and lastly…. I looked down, focusing on a large underground chamber I could now sense deep beneath us. Before we leave, we'll need to check out that room, seeing how most of the remaining death energy is gathering there.

I couldn’t sense any soul horrors, but if there were any more left, that’s where they would be hanging out. But, sadly, exploring would have to wait until later.

But we’ll get there, eventually.

*********

3,400 words.

Okay, be honest; what do you think of this chapter? Unlike the last few, this one felt iffy writing. Part of me wants to skip to the end and finally end this ark, but I know that will ruin the story. But what do you guys think?

I’ll try to get another chapter out tomorrow to catch up, but depending on what you all have to say, I might need to rewrite this one.

Thanks for reading, and as always, stay safe.