Fight in the tunnel

Silver Blade inspected their new opponents.

[Ferocious Ant Guard

Rank: Common

Level: 21

HP: 3100/3100]

"Looks similar to those outside. Maybe somewhat tankier."

"Understood!"

The party kept the information in mind while continuing their attacks.

Without having to fear that she would attract attention, Balm happily threw out an attack as well.

[-451!]

The leading ant was hit again. It let out an angry sound while closing in on the party. Just as it was about to tear those intruders to pieces, a heavy shield slammed against its face.

Jerking its head the ant instantly stared at the perpetrator Silver Blade. It lunged forward, trying to bite her armored leg.

Silver Blade moved leisurely, blocking with her shield.

[Stance -17]

Meanwhile the ants further back also came into attack range. Braag didn't hesitate to use his [Triple Boom] skill, followed by a normal attack.

Boom!

The entire tunnel shook. Dust rained from the ceiling. The sound echoed through the small space. Instead of diminishing, it even increased.

The players scrunched their faces. Balm covered her ears with her hands, shouting helplessly:

"Turn it off!"

Fortune, who was just about to use a skill, was delayed.

It took a second for the unbearable noise to subside.

"Sorry, guys! Sorry!"

"It's alright… none of expected this to happen…"

Silver Blade spoke with a strained smile. Only she herself knew if she meant her words.

However, focusing back on the opponents, Silver Blade realized that they were affected as well. The ferocious ants were sensitive to vibrations in the earth. Braag's attack obviously messed up their senses.

When Fortune saw this scene, her eyes lit up. She swung her staff, releasing a large blue sphere.

"Go!"

The sphere moved slowly through the air, passing over the party's heads and deeper into the tunnel. When it passed by an enemy it would suddenly shoot out small magical needles as long as the enemy stayed within range.

This [Arcane Sphere] skill was weak against quickly moving enemies but perfect to be used in a narrow tunnel.

[-136!]x3

Although each single ant was only hit about three times, the combined damage rivaled Braag's earlier bombs.

Fortune smiled happily, feeling increasingly powerful. At the same time, she didn't forget to begin casting her [Arcane Bolts] as soon as the sphere was in the air.

Meanwhile, the other ants reached the party, screaming for revenge.

"Fend, it's your turn!", urged Silver Blade, who already tanked one melee and two ranged enemies.

"No problem! I have been waiting for them!"

Final Fend laughed confidently, staring at the ants not far away. With a jerk of his wrist his chainblade swung in a wide arc. Flames trailed behind it as Final Fend used his [Sweeping Flame] skill.

[-237!]

[-356!]

A mix of physical and flame damage hit all the melee ants as a warm air increased the temperature in the tunnel. With a clang the chainblade slammed into the tunnel's wall, stopped in its advance.

Instantly five pairs of eyes turned towards Final Fend. With biting noises, the ants dashed towards the dark-armored enemy.

However, even with their smaller bodies only three ants fitted into the tunnel side-by-side. Final Fend chuckled mockingly as he brought his arm in the way to stop two attacks.

[Stance -22]x2

He couldn't help but be amused as he watched the three ants in the back pushing against those in the front but not able to reach the enemies.

However, suddenly he felt something to his side. A staff poked out between him and Silver Blade. Watchful Eye felt helpless, wielding his weapon like a spear.

And standing next to him was Bloody Edge with a bitter expression. The thief with his short daggers was unable to attack at all.

Silver Blade also noticed the problem. She glanced at the thief with an apologetic expression:

"Sorry, Bloody Edge, this was my bad. After this fight you should scout ahead."

"Worry not. I am not entirely without means."

Saying so, Bloody Edge waved his hand. Four bright daggers suddenly appeared above one of the ants. A gleam flashed on their surface as they suddenly stabbed into the thick carapace.

[-795!]

Bloody Edge felt strange using this skill like this as it had the additional effect of increasing his own damage against the marked target. But without being able to reach it…

Sadly for him, even without Bloody Edge the fight continued. Silver Blade's body shook as her stance broke after another wave of attacks.

"I'll give you regeneration, Silver!"

"Thanks, Balm!"

Silver Blade looked at her HP which were almost back to full after a single tick of the spell.

Suddenly the ground before her trembled as another explosion went off. Fortunately, this was only a normal attack, causing way less of a commotion.

But it was enough to claim its first victim. One ant died, leaving behind five heavily damaged melees.

Instantly a small struggle broke out among the enemies. All the ants pressed into the vacant spot. Eventually one of them succeeded, slamming into Silver Blade.

[-313!]

Silver Blade didn't feel much pressure. She could defend against such an attack for quite a while. However, there was no need to as right at this moment a staff stabbed right past her waist, ending another life.

At the same time, Fortune's casting was finished. Blueish bolts of dense magic shot through the tunnel.

Silver Blade flinched. Her sense sounded alarm. But with such a short distance it was difficult to evade. Everyone looked in horror as an arcane bolt was about to slam into Silver Blade' head.

"Fortune, what are you doing?!"

Braag turned towards the mage, anger written on his face. But Fortune gave him a side-eye.

"Don't worry, most skills don't have friendly fire. You should know best."

Braag's face turned awkward. Indeed, all his explosion never hurt his friends. Only some skills explicitly stated otherwise like his massive bomb [Big Berta].

Thus, everyone watched in surprise as Fortune's arcane bolt vanished right before hitting Silver Blade and appeared again in front of her.

However, Fortune's expression turned embarrassed as the bolt everyone paid attention to missed its target and collided with the walls somewhere deep into the tunnel.

The female mage gritted her teeth, putting all her concentration into the next attack. This time, the bolt looked much better. Passing past multiple players, it aimed at the ground in front of the party.

One unsuspecting ant was hit right on the head, dropping dead on the spot.

"Nice one!", praised Final Fend while taking a step to the side, dodging another attack.

But suddenly his body felt incredibly sluggish.

"Damn, my stance ran out!"

Final Fend realized it too late as a sharp leg stabbed into his shin.

[-362!]

Taking a sharp breath, Final Fend complained loudly:

"Ah, that hurt!"

At this moment a magical bolt appeared in front of him, slamming into the ant. Its body stiffened as life escaped its eyes.

"Thanks for taking revenge!"

At this point only a single melee ant remained. It couldn't bring any trouble to the group, dying a moment later.

The party closed in on the ranged ants. Silver Blade endured two more attacks while Fortune dueled the opponents. When her [Arcana Bolt] skill ended, she brought one more enemy to the grave.

The last ant continued fighting bravely but quickly fell under the party's combined attacks.

Final Fend looked at the bodies on the floor, letting out a deep breath.

"I don't know if this fight was more annoying or the fight against the flying ants."

"This one, without doubt!", said Bloody Edge immediately.

"Oh, you were here?"

Bloody Edge's face fell from Braag's joke, but the others couldn't help but laugh.

Silver Blade patted the thief's shoulder.

"Don't be discouraged. We all know the damage you can deal."

"Thanks…"

"However, it looks like this terrain is the playground of our AEO pros.", added Silver Blade with a glance at Fortune and Braag.

"Sure, but only if they spare their teammates."

The friends continued to joke around while Braag looted the ants. He didn't receive anything noteworthy except for a big bag of coins, which appeared because of the stacks applied through his passive.

A short while later they continued deeper into the tunnel.

Silver Blade still oriented herself with the help of those drag marks. They looked somewhat unusual against the dark stone surface. But the game placed them to guide the players.

Soon, the party understood why, as a fork with three possible paths opened up before them.

They found Bloody Edge, who had already gone ahead, waiting there for them. Silver Blade was surprised, addressing the thief:

"Don't worry about us. You can go ahead. We all follow the marks."

"I took the liberty to scout the other paths, discovering a treasure chest."

"Oh, well done. Did you already loot it?"

"No. An elite serves as its guard."

Silver Blade nodded in understanding, waving at the party to follow Bloody Edge. Soon, they found a large black ant blocking a small cove at the side of the tunnel.

But a single elite didn't pose much threat to the party. They disposed of it quickly. No obstacle remained between them and the treasure chest.