Construction Mage - Chapter 58: Haste Makes Waste

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“They seem to be in a rough shape,” Dorgan commented as the group squinted at the tiny figures in the distance. “Seems like they’re only youngsters, too. With that many monsters on their tail, they must’ve started an open flame and attracted them or something. This is why you need to rest whenever you can. Never know when you’ll get into a chase where your life is on the line.”

The people in the distance grew larger as they approached, verifying Dorgan’s words. There were three people desperately running down the bank. Each of them was a mess, likely having tumbled several times during the chase.

Behind them weren’t just the typical Feral Lizards Clay had encountered so far. There were also some larger variants that resembled crocodiles and even a humanoid-type lizard man armed with a spear. 

It was safe to say that the humans were on a time limit. Once the last of their stamina waned, it would be over for them.

“So what? We’re just going to sit here and watch?” Clay snapped. “Can’t you two do anything to save them?”

“Clay, my friend, we may be many levels higher, but that doesn’t mean we can do anything,” Dorgan solemnly explained. “They’re too far away for us to reach in time. Just finding a way down this cliff will take us an hour unless you want me to leave you behind and exhaust myself in the process. It’s fine to be kind, but don’t ever risk your and your companions’ lives for some strangers in the dungeon. You can’t save anyone if you can barely hold on yourself.”

“The best we can do is set up a bonfire and attract them towards us,” Sylphira chimed in. “If they can make it closer to us, I can take out the monsters, but the question is whether they have enough energy left within them to make that trek. Dorgan, pile up some branches for me and then take watch. I’ll prepare a spell in the meantime.”

The two veterans took action swiftly, and within a second, a small fire was started beside them. A plume of black smoke slowly rose into the sky. Malik even chipped in, fanning the flames to create a thicker column of smoke.

Their efforts paid off as the people near the river quickly noticed it. It would be harder not to after all, as they were running in their direction.

“Spirits of frost, draw near…”

Clay’s attention quickly snapped over to the dark-haired mage. She was about to cast a spell, despite the monsters being so far off that they looked no bigger than a fingernail. He never expected her spells to have such a great range.

“...By Myrilune’s grace, let cold be clear.

From silver skies, your fury unchain,

Pierce with purity—bring down Icicle Rain!”

He watched in anticipation of a more advanced spellcaster in action. Unlike his Earth Blast, there was a short pause after each word. The spell easily took ten times longer than his own—over thirty seconds to complete. However, even when she was done chanting, a few long moments passed with nothing happening. 

Did her spell fail?

Glancing back over to the caster, he found Sylphira still deep in focus, with her staff glowing brightly, which was usually a prelude to the spell firing. For some reason, the spell hadn’t gone off despite finishing her chant.

“No need to look so confused, lads. That’s one of Sylphira’s skills, Delay Activation. Comes in handy when we can anticipate action, like before a boss room. The noble warlords love the skill, too. It allows them to ambush enemy armies, apparently.”

“That’s—amazing. Why don’t you always hold a spell like this in case of ambushes?”

“She can’t answer you. Busy focusing,“ Dorgan replied. “But apparently, it is mentally taxing and drains mana.”

The axe-wielding veteran didn’t get to talk for long as the activity near them started heating up. The rustling of leaves intensified as monsters lurked closer to their location. They were drawn to the smoke, but the humans were prepared. Whenever any Feral Lizards leapt out of the foliage, they would be bisected before they reached the zenith of their jump.

While Clay knew the man had it under control, he couldn’t help but pull Malik behind him and summoned his earth elemental to use as cover. He believed it should at least make it easier for Dorgan when they were grouped behind safety like this.

Time passed by slowly, as all he could do was watch. He had the choice between Dorgan’s afterimage and the tiny figures in the distance slowly approaching them. As nothing but a spectator, either option was excruciating.

Even Malik cried out in alarm when he noticed one of the figures below tripped and came to a complete halt. They had made decent progress, growing to the size of a button now, but it appeared luck had run out for one of their members.

Beginner and veteran Delvers alike could only helplessly watch on as the tide of monsters overran the person. The only positive thing from the situation was that it managed to slow down the lizards a bit, buying valuable time for the remaining two survivors.

However, their condition didn’t look good either. Now that they were closer, it became clear to Clay that they were severely injured. One of them was clutching onto their hand like it had lost all mobility. The other had clothes soaked in blood, which slowly dripped down whenever they took a step.

Clay’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the bleeding Delver come to a halt and keel over. Their companion instantly realized this and turned back, trying to pull them along with their one remaining good hand.

“Ahhhhhhh!” they yelled out in pain as they gritted their teeth and endured.

Just as Clay was about to close his eyes as the tide of monsters was upon them, a flicker of light caught his attention. Beside Sylphira, several icicles materialized, refracting light into his eyes. They hovered behind her for a few moments, adjusting their heading before they abruptly flew off like a missile barrage.

Half a dozen tapered ice spikes the size of a human shot into the sky before gravity began to pull them down. They arced through the air and landed right behind the two immobilized Delvers.

Upon impact, the icicles shattered into hundreds of pieces, flying in every direction and kicking up a fog. When things settled, Clay found all the lizards had been indiscriminately riddled with holes, both small and large. The few surviving monsters were on borrowed time as they slowly bled out.

“That’s quite the powerful spell there,” Clay muttered.

He had known Sylphira was at a much higher level than he was, but the scene still shocked him. The power of one of her spells was beyond his expectations. Just because his Earth Blast and her Icicle Rain were both categorized as spells, he had mistakenly believed they were in the same ballpark. He couldn’t be further off the mark. The difference in destructive power between the two spells was like that between primitive small arms and modern artillery—there was no comparison to be made.

“You’ve seen nothing!” Dorgan cheerfully cried out as he returned with a handful of shimmering green scales. “It may appear to you that I am plenty strong, slicing these little lizards in one swing, but in the deeper layers, I can barely inflict minor wounds on some of the monsters down there. I often just hold the line with the others, buying time for Sylphira to cast much more devastating spells, but I guess those bear a greater risk of injuring the Delvers down there.”

“I’m nothing impressive. Many of the trueborn noble mages have much more powerful attacks. I specialize a little more in speed with smaller-scale spells. I’d rather have to cast a few more times in a fight than force my teammates to protect me for so long. Those nobles can truly decimate an entire army by themselves with how much they specialize in strength.”

“Anyway, let’s go. We’ve done all we can for those two down there. There’s no need to stand around as more monsters converge on our position.”

“But they’re injured. Wouldn’t they need help?” Malik asked, ‌to which Clay proudly nodded in support.

“What did we say before coming here?” the dark-haired mage snapped back. “Minimize contact with other Delvers. We already did them a favor. They should be fine as long as they have the foresight to buy some potions to tide themselves over.”

“Come on, lads. This is something you’ll have to get used to. No matter how powerful you become, we’re only human in the end. We have a limited pool of resources and energy to work with. Rushing down to their aid would only put us in needless danger.”

Glancing down at the two injured Delvers, Malik and Clay could only nod and listen to the veteran’s recommendations. They knew they didn’t have what it took to even keep themselves safe in the current stratum. They could only pray for their safety as they headed back to their camp.

When they returned, Sylphira quickly took the pot of soup back out and resumed heating it up as if nothing had happened. The three men simply made themselves comfortable around the pot, silently watching her stir.

“After a fight, it’s important to take it easy when you can afford to. Food is an essential part of that,” Dorgan commented. “Haste is the silent killer of sound judgment. With no landmarks in this layer, you shouldn’t be afraid to take things slow, even if you have to spend the night here. Otherwise, you may end up in a situation similar to those people just now.”

Clay and Malik shifted in their seats and said nothing. They had heard this spiel already, but they were too polite to interrupt. Clay had encountered plenty of customers who liked to talk. If running wasn’t an option, the next best thing was to just let them talk.

Thankfully, reheating the soup didn’t take that long. The lecture ceased the moment the food was ready. The four of them enjoyed the luxury of some warm sustenance while in the dungeon.

Once they got comfortable, the conversation restarted.

“Almost forgot, you can take these scales. I have no need for them,” Dorgan said as he handed over the green scales he had found from the earlier encounter. “Dropped from the lizards, so you should have some use for them.”

It was only then that Clay paid any attention to the scales. It hadn’t really interested him, as his objective this trip consisted of herbs and lumber. Now that he laid eyes on the scales, however, they called out to him for some reason. He reached out and picked one up, holding it against the light from the dungeon’s skies. His brows furrowed as he brought the scale to his nose.

“This—this has the same scent as the Emerald Scale Tea I had at the prince’s place! These were dropped by the Feral Lizards?” he turned to Dorgan with hungry eyes.

“Um, yes. They’re relatively rare, but when it drops, it drops a lot.”

“Oh, interesting. Thank you for this. I was looking forward to it the moment I heard you were bringing us here.”

His three companions stared at him strangely as he excitedly examined every inch of the green shimmering scales, but they quickly turned to smiles as they saw how happy he was. The two veterans exchanged a quick nod of acknowledgment before Dorgan awkwardly cleared his throat.

“So, Clay. Want to talk about what happened with the prince? Talking about it might ease your burden, and maybe we can help, too,” Dorgan gingerly broached the topic.

It brought Clay back to reality as he found two gentle but urging gazes directed at him, plus a confused one.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it,” Sylphira added. “After all, we haven’t met for that long, but we consider you a friend. If you need help, we’re here.”

The man in question sighed before looking each of the veteran Delvers straight in the eye. He found sincerity in both of their gazes.

So they were worried about me, huh?

“I—didn’t do a good job of hiding it, did I?” Clay muttered as he thought back to their surprise visit upon his return from meeting the prince.

“No, can’t say you did!” Dorgan blurted out heartily.

A plethora of feelings raced through Clay’s mind for a moment as some things clicked into place. In his mind, he had inadvertently been categorising Sylphira and Dorgan as nothing more than veteran Delvers who were useful pieces for his goals. He saw them as more than business acquaintances, while he subconsciously knew better. That disconnect was now corrected.

They’ve been nothing but friendly to me so far. They are a trustworthy bunch with a good heart. I subconsciously knew that, or otherwise I wouldn’t have entered the dungeon with them. They deserve some of my trust. I’ve been vague with them about the guild idea until now, but if I want their help, there’s no point in keeping the details to myself anymore.

“Actually—the reason I was so down after meeting with the prince was because he rejected my proposal. I guess in a way, I could use your guidance on the matter, seeing you two have so much experience as Delvers.”

“What proposal did you bring to the prince that would also be related to our Delver experience?” Dorgan bluntly asked.

Taking a deep breath, Clay decided to come clean with his friends about his goals. In this moment, he had no idea that this would be the critical decision that would kickstart it all.

“The same idea we briefly talked about before.The formation of a Delvers’ Guild, or as I would like to call it—an Adventurers’ Guild.”

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