Syl-Chapter 228: Strange Monsters

I could effectively ignore the hedgehog and hawk, but that centipede was another story entirely. It needed to die immediately, and I wouldn't give it any more chance to attack my shadow.

Seriously... Shadow abilities seem to be damn annoying. First, the elf assassin, and now this bug, I'd almost assume they were related if it wasn't for the fact it's a monster.

I knew the shadow creature would be intangible, meaning that most of my attacks would not work on it. However, it really hated the [Flash] spell I had thrown at it earlier, and so I began quickly modifying some projectile versions of the spell with the aid of my [Sub-Cores].

Under any other circumstance, I'd say these were really stupid spells, but I guess if I ever fight another shadow monster in the future, it will be good to have them in my back pocket.

I still had the [Light Beam] spell as well, which was supposed to be my gateway to offensive light magic, and I began casting it in rapid succession toward the many-legged monstrosity. As soon as the first ray of light was emitted, the creature hissed and dodged around like its life depended on it.

Then, to further my frustration, the other two monsters began defending it as if they knew it was their trump card against me. The hedgehog would body block the beams of light, which seemed to do nothing at all to it in this weakened state.

With my frustration growing, I pretended to withdraw an item and at the same time formed the [Enchanted Horn] from the unicorn profile, hoping that if I made my [Light Magic] "more real," then it would at least do minor damage to the two non-shadow creatures.

I formed the horn in my hand, wielded it like a wand or scepter, and began blasting further [Light Beam] spells in succession toward the centipede. When the other two interceded this time, they didn't escape unscathed, but it was barely a flesh wound against these monsters.

Seriously [Light Magic], you're really letting me down here!

As if that wasn't bad enough, the three monsters began coordinating again, and I witnessed the centipede hitch a ride inside the hawk's shadow, who then burst forward to attack me.

I blocked the hawk's attack and countered with a frigid blast of numerous [Icicle] spells, dealing harsh damage to the creature and beginning to partially freeze the beast thanks to all the interlaced afflictions and debuffs within.

However, even with the hawk suffering considerably for its actions, it had succeeded in the task of depositing the centipede right at my doorstep. It launched from the hawk's shadow into my own and began violently assaulting my shadow. Its legs were like tiny razors gashing as it writhed through my shadow while its giant mandibles snapped rapidly and fiercely.

I was slightly better prepared this time for the painful experience and threw out multiple of my modified [Flash] spells, which were held at the ready precisely for this moment. Bursts of blinding light exploded directly at the centipede, causing black smoke to sizzle from its body and forcing it to writhe uncontrollably on the ground.

With it momentarily disabled again, I wasted no time thrusting the unicorn horn "wand" forward and rapidly firing as many [Light Beam] spells into the creature as possible. Unlike the other two monsters, I could visibly see this one dealing significant damage to the centipede. After the fourth ray of light punctured directly through it, it met its end and abruptly exploded into a shadowy substance laced with quite a lot of Mana.

That's weird... I've never seen a monster die like that before, even if it was a shadow creature.

But I didn't have the time to dwell on the monster for too long as the hedgehog once again attempted a fiery gambit by launching itself toward me in a blazing last stand. Its burning form crashed into multiple [Aegis] spells formed by [Sub-Cores], which partially slowed it down before I gave the order for multiple [Waterjet] spells until it was defeated.

Beams of water were rapidly formed before being fired off in succession, each piercing through the creature and the rocky cavern floor with little resistance.

Seriously... My [Waterjet] spells have more penetration than [Light Beam]. I really need to find that spell the unicorns were using.

The flaming hedgehog wasn't long for the world after taking multiple direct hits, especially from my water-aligned cores boosting the spell power, and soon it also exploded into fiery Mana that drifted through the air, almost identical to the centipede.

The similarity really bugged me, and to satisfy my curiosity, I began throwing out more [Icicle] spells at the thunder hawk to finish the job. It had barely moved since its failed operation, trying to fight off the encroaching frost, and it took little effort to seal the deal.

I watched closely as I landed the killing blow, and my theory proved correct. Almost identically, the monster died by exploding into a burst of lightning Mana. The revelation greatly disturbed me, even though I had expected it.

Okay... What the hell was with these monsters? Once was strange enough, but three times?

Annoyed and determined, I burst a hole through the impromptu hole I made and dashed through, only to witness Vee and Trixie lazing about as if nothing had really happened.

"Wow, took you long enough!" Trixie teased.

"Yeah, I finished my half ages ago. What kept you?" Vee questioned.

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"There was a shadow centipede... Which kind of complicated things a little," I explained. "But that's not important. Did the monsters you fought explode into Mana?"

"Yeah, they did explode when they died; why?" Vee questioned.

"All three of mine did; the only one that didn't was the first hedgehog that was practically eaten by the other," I answered.

"Oh... Well, none of mine ate anything," Vee shrugged. "In fact, they were rather easy to defeat. They virtually ignored me once the wall came up and focused on getting back to you. It didn't take much for me to get in a good backstabbing!"

"Yeah, seems they had no interest in Vee, only you," Trixie added.

"Odd... Do you think it was because they want me out of the picture so they can enslave Vee since she is a monster?" I proposed.

"Perhaps..." Trixie answered, although she sounded doubtful.

"You have another theory?" Vee asked. "Cause I'd like to know if a bunch of enemies are trying to enslave me."

But to our disappointment, the pixie gave a fiendish grin and shrugged, "I'll tell you later if you don't figure it out yourselves."

"Wonderful..." Vee grumbled. "Big help you are."

"If I give you all the answers, you'll never grow," Trixie countered.

"Bah! Don't give me some bad fortune cookie life advice here!" Vee berated.

"How about we do this somewhere else?" I suggested. "I think there's a lot of angry kobolds looking our way."

"Tactical retreat?" Trixie suggested.

"I'd hardly call it a retreat... We kicked their asses!" Vee said triumphantly.

I definitely agreed with Vee's assessment as we made our way back to the dwarves for now. That still didn't stop me from throwing out the occasional spell back towards any clusters of kobolds, and Vee joined in with a few [Acid Darts] at any that came too close.

As we backed off, we met one of the dwarven hit squads, who looked positively pleased to see us. Jovial cheers, boasts, and promises of drink were thrown our way as we temporarily joined up with them. We assisted in some skirmishing until they ultimately withdrew back to the fortifications.

When we returned to the fortifications, healers came out and blanketed everyone in rejuvenating magic. I was grateful that my strange injuries were magically healed, as it saved me time and slime.

How would I even repair damage to my shadow? Can I even repair my shadow? I wondered as I felt relief in the invisible wounds vanishing.

"I almost wish these lizard bastards would attack us more often; this could be a bi-annual event or something!" one dwarf triumphantly joked.

"Aye! It's a great way to ensure our defenses aren't rusty!" another dwarf joined in.

"Ha! You make it sound like we should thank them," another said in jest, causing uproarious laughter among the group.

I was taken aback by the dwarves' highly nonchalant attitude regarding the attacks against them. I had expected some more gravitas since their home was being assaulted, but perhaps the great success was growing on them, or maybe they were just that confident.

After recovering a bit, mostly just Vee's Mana and stamina, we decided to head out again. There was plenty of experience to be gained, and the salamander squad and elemental monster trio had given me some good experience if my level-ups were anything to go by.

<Racial Experience threshold reached. Chimeric Cluster Slime (Blue) is now LV 12>

<17 Trait Points are now available.>

<Class Experience threshold reached. Elementalist is now LV 16.>

<19 Skill Points are now available.>

<Racial Experience threshold reached. Chimeric Cluster Slime (Blue) is now LV 13>

<18 Trait Points are now available.>

My next evolution seems so far away. I must say I'm jealous of what Vee can do. That tier-five evolution she got is absolutely crazy! Like, what would I get from it? I can't even imagine. And now that my experience is being split with Vee, it's technically even further away than before. Should I change my distribution once I reach level twenty in my class?

<Yes.>

I blinked in surprise. Gramps?

There were no further notifications. I could only presume it was Gramps, as he had often lamented my slower leveling speed. I made a vague commitment to change my distribution once I reached that level.

Plus, if I slow down my class levels a bit, I can focus more on what I've got. I have to admit I've been feeling a bit stretched thin with everything I've gained so rapidly and quickly. Like I only just got [Earth Magic] and [Air Magic], now [Light Magic] is in the mix. Not to mention, I'll be getting [Dimension Magic] soon...ish? I hope.

We burst back onto the battlefield. This time, the squad heading out was much larger, and there seemed to be a dedicated force with the sole intention of halting the advancing kobolds and setting up another defensive line.

Meanwhile, I headed out to try looking for targets again. Although there was still a distinct lack of Warlocks to be seen, so I just tried to be as disruptive as possible and soak up the experience points.

Was the quest a dud? Did they have the wrong information? I was perplexed by this strange attack and doubly by the strange monsters that tried to ambush us.

I continued tossing out mostly [Water Magic], hoping to level that up to six. It was most likely my closest to the next level if I disregarded [Light Magic].

I still don't know how I feel about that magic. I wanted that spell the magical equines used on me, but it's been quite the bummer so far. Although, at least it blinded that shadow bug.

Vee seemed to be having fun, tossing out as much [Corrosion Magic] as she could muster. With all the aid I gave her, I almost wondered if I'd hit the next level in that before [Water Magic].

Meanwhile, Trixie was mainly just slacking off. Occasionally, she'd point out a weird-looking kobold or tease Vee for not having broken through her Mana aura yet, and at one point, I swore she was taking a nap on my head.

Although even with her nonchalant appearance, it was clear she was doing something to aid us, I could still feel slight tugs of wrongness being pointed out by my [Illusion Resistance]. I was wondering if I'd gain a level up when abruptly, there was an explosion of rocky shrapnel aimed directly at us.

Rather than blocking it, I quickly used [Wind Step] to retreat safely from its area of effect.

Trixie unceremoniously awoke from her nap, almost falling off my head and onto Vee's opposite shoulder. She stared, looked around, and then gasped as she pointed in that direction.

<Rockslide Shell-lizard LV 30. Elemental Affinity: Earth.> x5

<Shadow Centipede LV 30.> x6

<Kobold LV 5; Scout LV 25.>

"Is that... Turtles?" Vee asked curiously.

The turtles, as Vee called them, looked like large lizards with massive rocky shells. They glew in that strangely mystical appearance, like the other monster that had attacked us. To my surprise, there were no hedgehogs or birds this time, and instead, there was a much larger quantity of shadowy centipedes. Not to mention the single kobold, who also had the same magical glow.

"Looks like they've changed their strategy," Trixie pointed out. "Guess someone noticed the shadow bugs had the most effectiveness on you."

"Then what's with the turtles?" Vee asked.

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"Well, someone did put up a giant rock wall the last time. Maybe they wanted to stop that?" Trixie shrugged.

I sighed. What is going on with these strange monsters?