SockySake

  I'd have rather been treated like a fish on a line again... Damian thought while rushing toward the Spire.

  He had tossed Higgins the extra swiftness potion in his pouch and told her to run. The bulwark was much slower than he was and wasn't going to be able to make it to the dungeon before the ape did.

  He didn't have any other solution for her. Trying to speed her up by pushing her back would likely get them both killed.

  Damian could see that his party had exited the Spire and was looking at him. Alex looked exhausted from pulling the four of them across such a great distance and was already chugging a potion provided by Donna.

  The smaller blonde woman then took out one of Alex's javelins and pointed at him. Ok, good idea. We'll grab onto it and get pulled back quickly. Damian's mind was in sync with his party members.

  With a heaving throw, Alex unched the spike into the air toward Damian and Higgins. It nded just a few steps away.

  "Higgins! Grab on and don't let go! Let it pull us!" Damian made sure that she didn't automatically reactivate her immovable skill. For skills that could run passively, it typically became second nature to have them active at all times. You basically had to focus on not using them, simir to breathing.

  Higgins had her arms wrapped around the spike as it started to get pulled back, while Damian grabbed onto her armor. It would have been too difficult to maintain his grip on the weapon with only a single hand.

  They were quickly picking up speed toward the tower, flying by numerous adventurers and guards who didn't hold speed as a strong suit.

  Of course, things could never be simple for Damian. A familiar figure was running toward them. The rge cat-like wraith that tried to pounce on Higgins earlier seemed to have a vendetta against the prey that got away.

  Shit!

  The wraith was charging them from the direction of the Spire. If they got unlucky, it could even sever the tether. Donna and Frey were shooting spells at the beast, but it seemed to hold a skill simir to Damian's own. The elemental mana bolts seemed to phase through the wraith, leaving it completely unharmed.

  Fuck!

  With one arm, Damian pulled himself up onto Higgins's back as they slid on the ground. He dug his knees into her armor wherever they would stick and righted himself.

  "Just keep holding on!"

  "What are you doing?!" Higgins screamed into the javelin while holding on for dear life.

  "Just hold on!" He repeated, not telling the stalwart soldier about the impending danger.

  Damian pulled out his sword and started to charge it with mana, not quite supplying enough mana to fire it off. He aimed at the beast as it closed in.

  '!!!' The hulking cat got within the range of his spatial awareness, and Damian immediately twisted his body to strike at his right side. His bde seemed to pass only open air, but as it crossed the space, the red wind bdes began to dance against an invisible foe.

  The bastard cat didn't hold a phasing skill, but an illusion and invisibility one. As he parried the beast overtop of himself, he continued to fire off a fire spell where it nded. Although he couldn't see it, he could feel it fizzle out of existence.

  Looking ahead at where they were quickly skidding along the ground, Damian didn't see any more wraiths that would get in their way.

  'sigh'

  Damian sheathed his bde. Best not to accidentally stab someone when he comes to a stop.

  Ahead, Frey and Donna were still firing at some of the wraiths that took Ms. Sanderson's ride over the wall. Most of them had been sin by fleeing adventurers and guards.

  But there was still one major problem on the horizon. The Merchant Guild guards were still sprinting in their direction.

  If I shoot fireballs at those mercenaries... would it slow the ape down enough to save the others? Damian was thinking darkly. Before he could morally conclude if doing so was right, wrong, or likely something in between, someone else made the decision.

  Ice bolts fired out, targeting the merchant guards' legs. It was the badass woman from earlier. She was being carried by a big guy with a tower shield strapped to his back.

  I guess it was an easy decision for someone who wasn't going to make it to the Spire in time...

  The mercenaries slowed as one raised a magic shield to block the ice bolts. Some of them got tripped by the sudden attack and crashed right into the shield, and fell over. "Gaah!"

  That one attack was enough for the ape to catch up. Jumping into the air, it came crashing down toward the mercenaries. They scrambled in all directions, trying to avoid it.

  As it smmed down, blots of lightning shot out at the point of impact, striking some of the less fortunate mercenaries.

  The wide area attack didn't seem powerful enough to kill a person outright, but those struck were spasming on the ground. In a sudden movement, the beast arched its arm in the air and smmed down on one of the stunned individuals. Not much was left of the victim, but a charred and squashed corpse.

  Damian wasn't able to continue watching the fight because he was now rolling on the floor of the Spire along with Higgins. Taking a dazed look around, he spotted his team running toward him.

  "I'm good! Let's move farther away from the entrance. The tier 6 wraith will be here imminently!"

  We're going to have to teleport up... Those damn Merchant Guild mercenaries just had to flee in our bloody direction!!!

  Damian could feel a hand on his shoulder. It was Frey looking concerned at the brooding Damian.

  "We can hold out as long as possible, then go." She said, reading his mind.

  "Ok, yeah, let's do that."

  "Alright, just to make sure everyone is on the same page, if you ever feel yourself in any danger, teleport to the 10th floor! I'd imagine that it'd be clear of undead by now, but who knows!" Damian told his party. "Be prepared to fight as soon as you teleport. Far too many crazy things have already happened."

  Fortunately, the entire floor was dotted with teleporters every couple of steps. Even if Damian pyed distraction, he could safely teleport at a moment's notice.

  They weren't in too severe a danger now, but a teleport away could nd them out of the frying pan and into the fire.

  'sigh'

  Maybe we should leave and use our strength against whatever could be waiting on the other side of a teleport. If everyone goes to the same floor, the threat couldn't be as bad as what we're preparing to face.

  But then Robby and all of those other craftsmen will likely die in the side tunnels. And what about those wraiths leaving for more poputed areas of the city? Shit, Shit, SHIT!

  Just got to hold out as long as possible, then I can tell myself that I did everything in my power.

  "Everyone, I want you guys to be as far away as possible from the entrance. I saw the bastard moving. He's fast and can leap huge distances, ending in paralyzing lightning."

  "Teleport before he nds anywhere near you. Also, keep an eye out for those hallway entrances. With our luck so far today, we'll see an undead or wraith sneak in from behind."

  "Higgins?" Higgins was gone.

  Looking toward the entrance, she was already there to provide support to everyone running inside. The bsted woman better not die after all the effort they went through to save her.

  Looking further along the wall of the Spire, he could see Ms. Sanderson with her hand to her head. She was nursing a mana potion with a very concerned adventurer hovering over her.

  We'll need to buy her some time to recover. Complete mana exhaustion can take a while to recover from.

  It was as if you took a kick to the core of your being. Like your body was no longer your own, and that you had to fight the pain and dizziness to regain control. It wasn't dangerous to Damian's knowledge, just very, very painful.

  The couple of people he's spoken to who've experienced it always say that it was the single worst experience of their lives.

  It could only happen under extreme circumstances. If you keep using a powerful skill, you'll feel dizzy and end up not being able to cast any more.

  Mana exhaustion was when you tried to use more mana than you had. Whatever produced the mana in the body would go into overdrive to make it happen. Then you'd have to deal with the backsh.

  Looking out beyond the entrance and past the fleeing army, Damian could see that the wraiths were starting to climb over the wall. They were likely circling the sides as well.

  *Tap* *Tap*

  Damian looked over to see Donna holding out a selection of potions. "Thank you, do you have plenty for yourself?" Damian said while slotting them into his pouch.

  Smiling wryly, she said, "More than enough, we could probably start a small store with the stock I managed to grab."

  "Psh Hahaha, good thinking, Donna." Frey ughed, trying to make light of their dark situation. "We'll have to do that alongside your limb restoration business. We could probably start up a store in the city after all this winds down. Property prices will be at an all-time low. Hmm, Fergus should run a restaurant as well~."

  "Bahaha, that's what I like to hear!" Alex roared.

  "Wawawaa, would that mean I'd have to go up against the Healers Association?!"

  Wish a big smile, Alex decred, "Of course we will and can! We'll be legendary heroes after this~ Look! Some potential customers are coming in right now~."

  Making light of such a dark situation, Alex pointed toward the flood of adventurers and guards rushing in. Some of them were missing limbs or had sizeable chunks taken out of them. The woman who slowed the ape was among them.

  Huh, looks like everyone made it. Guess she saved them all.

  As he was thinking this, he saw a rge hand wrap around the entrance of the Earthen Spire.

  SockySake