Construction Mage - Chapter 14: One versus Five

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“The more we study the dungeon, the more we are fascinated by it. Each layer is unique in its own way, housing a plethora of monsters of a similar type that are inexhaustible in number. No matter how many we kill, they always replenish in numbers given a few hours. This also means they’re endless resources waiting to be collected, but the problem is always in logistics. The deeper Delvers go, the more distance they have to travel on their way back. They can only carry so much after fighting through literal hordes of monsters. We must strive to increase the number of Delvers, so we can send more people to collect these precious resources.”

-Petition from Royal Scholar Rowan before his mysterious disappearance

***

A spear-wielding kobold turned the corner only to catch an Earth Blast right to its knee. It flinched back, knocking into its brethren, delaying them for a few precious seconds. Clay wasn’t able to take advantage of it, though, as he was too afraid to expose himself to their archer.

He backed further into the tunnels and prepared for his next strike when the monsters came around the next bend. The monsters were right on his tail, and Clay cast another spell. A familiar scene replayed itself, nailing another spear-wielding monster in the thigh.

Seeing his plan working, Clay cheered.

“Come and get me, you dumb rats!”

Unfortunately, those who got overconfident during a battle usually ended up paying the price for it.

When Clay fired off a spell when the group of kobolds came around a bend for the third time, he cursed as he watched the hardened earth crash into the metal cuisses. It made a dull thunk as the projectile scattered pieces in every direction, but barely slowed the armored kobold down.

Shit! I should’ve known those injured would become slowpokes that lag behind. Now I got Mister Knight here bringing up their front!

As Clay retreated, his mind raced as he tried to come up with a solution. He couldn’t be selective about his target without exposing himself to their archer. His best protection was the curvature of the tunnels themselves. If he took the risk and delayed his shot, he would have to ensure he hit his greatest threat, the archer, before it could draw its bow. It literally hinged on milliseconds. The danger made Clay shelve the plan as a last resort.

Is there really no way to damage their frontrunner just because it’s wearing armor? Maybe I should’ve put more points into strength after all…

Lamenting his spell’s lack of power, his past choices flashed through his mind. Once doubt seeped in, it would fester. However, those memories weren’t completely useless. Clay sucked in his breath as he was reminded of the description of a certain stat that he had only experimented with during his quest to improve his toilet situation.

That’s right! Dexterity not only increases how far away from my body spells can form, but also gives me greater control of my magic throughput. It’s my weakest stat with only nine points in it, but I should still be capable of some degree of control.

As Clay set up around another corner, he began casting a full two seconds earlier this time. The extra time was to give him some leeway. Another Earth Blast formed in front of his hand as he chanted, but this time, he concentrated on it much more than before.

Come on. Just like what I did when I was creating my toilet seat. Except, this time, let me stuff more mana into it. Increase the throughput as much as I can!

Acting upon his will, he felt the draw on his mana reserve continue, despite the hardened ball of earth reaching its typical size of a baseball. It continued growing, albeit at a slower rate.

He allowed it to grow until the armored kobold came into view. Firing off his spell, the humanoid rat should’ve been able to react to it this time, as it saw it coming. However, due to the previous instance, it didn’t seem to see the spell as much of a threat, allowing itself to get hit once again.

Clay didn’t stick around to view the results as he continued with his plan. He rushed to set up at the next corner. While he ran, he didn’t forget to check his mana reserves. His status page read 68/100, causing him to groan.

I fired off five spells, so it should’ve only cost twenty-five mana. Did empowering my spell really consume so much more mana?

As hesitant as Clay was to use his enhanced spell that had over twice the mana cost, he knew he didn’t really have a choice. He could only hope he would have enough time to rest after this encounter.

Wanting to finish this skirmish decisively, Clay started chanting even earlier this time. He put his all into empowering his spell; the previously baseball-sized projectile had now almost reached that of a small cantaloupe. It was an all-or-nothing gamble. If this spell didn’t manage to take down the armored kobold, Clay could only rely on his shovel to take it down. It wasn’t an option he would like to fall back on, considering he only had one good hang remaining. That’s why he watched the aftermath this time.

His Earth Blast sailed through the air at a slower rate than before. He had fired early this time, but the kobold still had enough time to react because of how much slower it became. Nevertheless, the narrow passageway, combined with the weight of the armor and its arrogance, the kobold couldn’t get out of the way in time.

[Ding—Skill: Spell Manipulation(I) has leveled up!]

The larger Earth Blast crashed into the kobold’s armored knees. A loud crunching sound could be heard as the metal plates of the armor were visibly dented. As a result, the kobold collapsed face-first.

Let’s go!

Clay stayed long enough to see the rogue archetype kobold and half of the archer coming around the corner before he once again retreated.

Now that the armored kobold seemed to be out of commission, he somewhat relaxed, but his mana had dropped to a concerning level as well. He now had just over thirty mana points left, which equated to just six normal Earth Blasts.

Resuming his normal operation, he waited until the next kobold got close enough before firing off another spell. As expected, the kobold with daggers appeared at the forefront. Clay grinned as he saw his attack strike his target, but his smirk was wiped from his face in the next second.

A silver glint flew rapidly toward him. Clay couldn’t even process what it was before it reached his chest. The sensation of a punch hitting his chest made him look down. A dagger was embedded in his leather chest piece. It took him a split second to realize what that meant, and it only put him into a daze.

He only snapped out of it when he heard the crisp snap of a bowstring releasing. He glanced up in time to see an arrow curving down toward him. Instinctively, he turned to his side to minimize his profile, but it was too late.

The arrow sank into his thigh. It penetrated his leather armor just enough to draw blood, sending a jolt of pain up to his brain. It instantly cleared his mind as adrenaline kicked in. He turned and ran, desperate to put distance between himself and the danger.

It could be said that Clay had never sustained such injuries before. The worst he had suffered was a small cut from kitchen knives. It was miles apart from an arrow wound—a remnant left behind by a malicious party truly out to get his life. It caused some part of his mind to panic, but the calmer part was still in control.

He didn’t scream and yell, and only silently endured. He ignored the pain and the taste of blood in his mouth. He knew the quick way out of this situation was to finish what he started. That’s why he stuck with his plan and waited. It was finally time to take out the greatest threat that had bothered him ever since he laid eyes on its weapon.

Not taking any chances, he decided to empower his spell once more, though to a lesser degree. He waited until he laid eyes on his target before firing. It allowed the bow-wielding kobold enough time to bring its weapon to bear before a grapefruit-sized Earth Blast crashed into its bow.

The weapon splintered in half in a satisfying snap. It emboldened Clay enough for him to dash at the disarmed foe. With only one good hand to wield his shovel, he backhanded it into the monster, along with every last bit of momentum from his charge.

Blood spurted out from the kobold’s neck as it weakly took a few steps back. It clutched at its wounds, but the blood just kept flowing.

Clay barely paid attention to the gruesome scene as a sharp pain coursed through him for overburdening his injured body. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to rest as two figures turned the corner at the same time.

The armored kobold had caught up along with the rogue-like one. The tunnel was just wide enough for them to stand side by side and still had enough room to spare to swing their weapons.

Clay’s body moved before his mind could catch up. He instinctively knew to go for the easiest target. He jumped to the left, away from the armored menace, while swinging his weapon at the other target along the way.

[Ding—Level 7 Kobold Cutthroat slain.]

By the time he came to a stop, the loud noise of metal striking the ground rang in his ear. It was only then that he realized he had managed to dodge away from a sword strike. Thankfully, the weight of the armor and the injury slowed down the kobold knight. Clay took a quick peek to check in on the archer’s condition, only to find it now slumped on the ground, bleeding out.

He refocused on the only remaining threat, who was readying its sword to continue its attack. Its movements were dull thanks to a crushed knee, but it still fought on as if it couldn’t feel pain.

Clay was inching toward a retreat as he pondered how to fight a fully armored opponent, but he knew he was too close to just run. His opponent may be injured, but the arrow in his leg caused a deep burning pain that told him he couldn’t move that well, either. Running would only expose his back to the monster.

Surely, this armored kobold is near the end of its rope, right?

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