The Lone Healer-Chapter 60: The Hall of the Luminous, Part Twenty-Five

The rest of the wave was easy once it turned into a proper 2 versus 2. They dealt with the enemies and, again, Neve ordered Erin to leave the last creature standing alive. This time, it was the bird, that squirmed up ahead, injured and unable to take to the air again.

Once Neve had regained all of her mana, she finally decided to stop herself from bleeding out and cast {Healing Ground} under her own body.

Eventually, with both her body repaired and her mana full, she killed the bird and quickly distributed the Attribute Points she gained from leveling up.

Level 56

MP: 600/600 (+300)

EXP: 230/560

AP: 1690

WS Tokens: 11310

---

Endurance: 30

Speed: 40

Precision: 15

Strength: 31

Arcane: 60

She had no time to celebrate, as wave 19 began while she got up, her blood from the freshly closed wound still dripping onto the old stone from her priestess clothes.

[So far, so good.]

The healer allowed herself no more positivity than that. The two hardest waves were still to come. There was still plenty of time for the Forces That Be to ruin Neve’s day. She wasn’t about to set herself up to become the punchline for some cosmic deity’s joke just yet.

Summoning Erin next to her, she and her summon watched as the next set of enemies appeared.

MP: 600/900

Wave 19 was composed of two enemies.

Neither of which Neve nor Erin had seen before.

[... What the fuck are those things?]

These creatures looked more like eldritch horrors beyond human comprehension than anything draconic, as had been the theme up until this point.

The two level 57 enemies appeared to be giant centipede-like creatures with rows of lizard-like arms running down their bodies, along with quivering, tiny tentacles. Their tails held slim pincers and their heads appeared worm-like, with a mouth that resembled a gaping abyss full of little, sharp teeth.

Their appearance wasn’t the surprising part, though. No, the part that really shocked Neve was that both these things were mages.

Upon arriving they instantly raised their worm-like heads and conjured spheres of flames, launching a pair of them at Erin.

The lamia sidestepped, or side-slithered, both incoming spells and moved to close the distance. Surprisingly, as she tried that, the enemies scurried past her, making their way to the center of the temple where they resumed casting spells.

One of them was aimed at Neve this time, though.

The healer avoided a ball of flames aimed at her, narrowing her eyes at the opponents.

[Neither of them has any intention of fighting up close? This isn’t good.]

The main reason this information concerned Neve was that if indeed their strategy was to keep their distance like this, there was a chance they’d simply outlast Erin’s duration timer.

Neve couldn’t let that happen.

[I can use {Iceball} to make it easier for Erin to reach them, maybe?]

Raising her staff, she put this plan into motion. Running behind the altar to use it for cover, she fired off four spells consecutively. She wouldn’t get the full slowing effect with just four casts but she wasn’t about to waste the mana required to achieve that.

Especially since, if her guess was right, Erin was going to have a hard time leaving these things alive.

It had to do with what was displayed at that last moment. The mana they had, both of which were at 800, and the speed they ran away at.

[All of their points are probably in Arcane and Speed. If Erin lands a single hit on them, they’re probably just dead.]

The lamia chased after both opponents as they attempted to run away again, circling around her and generally heading in the opposite direction from wherever she went.

[I could just have her kill one and keep the other one unharmed, but, with that much Arcane, these spells probably-]

Just as she had that thought, two things happened.

First, Erin reached one of the enemies, cutting half of its body off in one swing and killing it.

And second, the other worm cast a different spell. It cast one that made vines of some sort appear under Erin, trapping her.

[Crap.]

It tried to launch that Fire spell at her again.

Neve cast {Barrier}.

MP: 510/900

And her {Barrier} broke the instant the enemy’s spell made contact with it.

Erin was burned to a crisp before she could even let out a tiny shriek of pain.

[... Yeah,] Neve thought, as the worm looked at her, having finished off its main target. [Its magic is strong.]

Of course, she stood very little chance of killing this thing on her own, given how fast it was. So, she quickly resummoned Erin.

MP: 210/900

The lamia appeared with a confused, frightened expression.

"What ha-"

"The fight is still going!" Neve let her know.

The lamia shook her head and focused up just in time to dodge another of those dangerous projectiles.

"End the fight fast if you can!" Neve instructed.

Hearing that, the lamia changed her strategy.

She allowed the enemy to begin preparing another cast of its main ability and Erin used both her spells simultaneously.

{Freezing Gaze} to paralyze the creature that looked in her direction, and {The Lamia’s Hunt} to close the gap before too much time could pass.

In an instant, she reached it and began hammering away at its body with her blades, cutting it in half before long.

[10 seconds,] Neve thought. [That’s how long it took to get this kill, and that’s how long we have before wave 20 starts. I need to work fast.]

She began doing two things at the same time.

First, she cast {Rorvan’s Spirit} and asked Erin:

"Erin, stab me! N-Non lethally again."

Automatically, the lamia did so.

Neve bit down hard on the insides of her cheeks, trying to push through the pain.

She didn’t have time.

"What are you doing?" Erin asked, baffled. "Why would you order me to do such a thing?"

Neve did not respond. She needed to focus.

EXP Gained: 1200

EXP: 1430/560

Level Up!

WS Tokens Gained: 1400

WS Tokens: 12710

[Uh, uh... Fuck it, Precision! I need more if I’m going to use that new healing spell effectively!]

Level 58

MP: 160/600 (+300) (75% regen)

EXP: 530/580

AP: 1690

WS Tokens: 12710

---

Endurance: 30

Speed: 40

Precision: 21

Strength: 31

Arcane: 60

Her time ran out just as she approved the distribution of all 6 points she gained into her Precision.

And as soon as she did, the temple began to be filled with smoke.

[What?]

Neve put her staff in front of her, and Erin did the same with her blades. They were both cautious, fearful of a potential ambush.

That wasn’t what happened, though. Instead, the smoke grew more and more intense until Neve could barely see her own body.

That effect lasted just a few seconds before, all of a sudden, the smoke dissipated.

As it did, Neve looked around and gasped.

She and her summon weren’t at the temple anymore.

This was someplace else. A vast field of dirt and rocks, under a red sky. The wind was so strong it nearly lifted the healer off her feet, and the temperature was uncomfortably hot.

All of these factors faded into the background as Neve finally saw the enemy she and Erin would be taking on.

She was so stunned she couldn’t even feel the wound Erin had created. Her grip on her staff softened and her lips parted on their own.

[... Oh,] she thought. [Honestly, I should have expected this.]

One of the many facts worth knowing for a player about the Unity Trials and the enemies it brought was that some creatures were dangerous regardless of their level. This could be due to a myriad of different variables at play. Hidden passive effects, natural resistances, inherent physical advantages, etc.

One of the creatures that could be categorized like this, placed neatly in the box labeled "not to be fucked with", was what Neve and Erin were staring at right now.

A dragon.

A level 60 dragon that didn’t seem like it had been summoned here for Neve and Erin to fight, but rather, as though it had been waiting for others to pop up and challenge it.

Which, judging by how it slowly got up and snarled, it correctly interpreted the two of them as doing.

"... Erin," Neve said. Her arms dropped and she exhaled slowly, as though accepting her fate. She was going to give it her best shot, of course, but based on what she knew about these things, their odds of winning did not look good.

"Yes?" The lamia asked. There was a small quiver to her voice and Neve wondered if she knew what this thing was. Or, if she was accurately guessing this thing’s strength on her own.

"Just, uh... Do your best," Neve muttered. "If we lose, we lose. It’s fine," she chuckled weakly. "We don’t stand much of a chance of winning here."