Chapter 45: Operation Schoolyard Rescue (2)
The advance kicked off. Main Street was cluttered with debris, but it didn’t pose much danger. Even if there were Rift-Sprites around, they were sparse, most just level one, and that was thanks to Malcolm and the other survivors. This was, in fact, the closest area to Three Lakes’s main base, so it was clear that cleaning the area would have priority.
<In a sense, it really is secure...>
Reidar’s Rift-Sprite Squad, at a respectable 46% proficiency, acted as damage dealers, swiftly taking care of the Rift-Sprites for them, only to end up killed by Malcolm’s group.
[Summoned Stone Rift-Sprite strikes Wind Rift-Sprite for 150 Earth Damage.]
[Summoned Aqua Rift-Sprite strikes Stone Rift-Sprite for 178 Water Damage.]
Malcolm’s team went behind the monsters, capitalizing on the opportunities created by Reidar’s creatures. They weren’t skilled enough to make quick work of the sprites on their own, but that was what Reidar’s summons and the plan were made for.
The Bone Militia’s skeletons were keeping the monsters occupied, while the Rift-Sprites were dealing massive amounts of damage. Malcolm and the others only had to deal the killing blow and reap the benefits.
[Malcolm’s iron mace strikes a weakened Wind Rift-Sprite for 12 physical damage.]
[Rift-Sprite Defeated.]
[Skill Proficiency Increased: Basic Combat (+0.3%)]
[You have gained 21 C.L.A.S.P. Points.]
[You have earned 18 survival points.]
[Your Skeleton strikes an Aqua Rift-Sprite, dealing 330 bludgeoning damage.]
<OOOOOH! THAT WAS GOOD!>
[Rift-Sprite Defeated.]
The Bone Militia, surprisingly durable, proved stronger in combat and less expendable than Reidar anticipated.
They were also much stronger than the Rift-Sprites in the melee department, and that was despite the sprites being physically weak. Even the bone militia was better in this department, which was honestly weird.
<The Rift-Sprites must be the worst of the worst then. Only their magic is worth something.>
While they did not have a high level, this didn’t matter, as the wild sprites were low-leveled. Hence, the skeletons destroyed all the wild monsters that came too close for comfort, leaving the others stunned at his fighting prowess. It was better to say they were left stunned by his overwhelming power.
Reidar kept his Guardian Shade up the whole time. It was a shadowy figure that floated behind the group, drawing the surrounding mana, replenishing Reidar’s reserves.
The group made progress along the main street. The number of Rift-Sprites forced into the area was unnerving.
<Something is weird...>
[Summoned Ember Rift-Sprite strikes Wind Rift-Sprite for 78 fire damage.]
[Summoned Ember Rift-Sprite strikes Wind Rift-Sprite for 89 Fire Damage.]
[CRITICAL! Your Fireball strikes a Stone Rift-Sprite for 210 fire damage, consuming 10 mana.]
[Skill Proficiency Increased: Fireball (+0.8%).]
Reidar couldn’t quite place what felt off, but he didn’t dwell on it. His forces sliced through Main Street like a blade. The Bone Militia shattered the porcelain-skinned wild Rift-Sprites one after another.
The creatures screeched and spat elemental bolts, but the undead ignored the attacks that didn’t shatter their bones outright.
Behind them, Reidar’s summoned Rift-Sprites wove spells of their own. Fire and stone projectiles punched holes in the enemy ranks.
Malcolm’s fighters took advantage of every opening. They moved between Reidar’s minions like wolves chasing wounded prey, using iron-tipped spears and blades to finish whatever the summons left behind.
Kate loosed arrows from the rear. She was still not that used to fighting with a bow or to fighting at all, but she was getting the hang of it.
George and Frank fought side by side, their new swords still awkward in their hands but slowly becoming familiar.
"It’s easy!" Frank said.
"It is!" Being in such a large group made the fight quite more manageable than when they were with Reidar alone.
The Guardian Shade hovered at Reidar’s flank. The man felt the steady trickle replenishing his mana reserves, allowing him to keep up the onslaught. Arcane Leech helped too.
Sarah and Linda used Reidar’s Stone Sprites as living shields while they flanked a knot of enemies.
The battlefield constantly moved from place to place, from meter to meter. Every dead Rift-Sprite brought new notifications flashing in the group’s peripherals. The rewards stacked up like coins in a slot machine.
George swung his sword with less hesitation; Frank’s blows landed cleaner.
Points piled up. C.L.A.S.P. points flickered by 15, 28, or sometimes 50 when a tougher sprite went down.
Reidar watched the group’s movements smooth out. This was true not only for George and the others but even for Malcolm’s group.
They were getting better and better at fighting with each battle.
Reidar noticed how even Linda had stopped freezing up every time a sprite screeched. The System’s rewards were doing their job, turning desperate survivors into something resembling soldiers.
The group pushed forward, boots crunching on shattered pavement that soon gave way to jagged concrete chunks and twisted metal bars.
Half-ruined houses towered nearby, their rusty beams clawing up at the sky like bony fingers.
Reidar raised a clenched fist, the Bone Militia clattering to an immediate stop as his fighters fell back behind their skeletal shield wall.
He felt a prickle of unease. He glanced at Malcolm’s group; their faces were as grim as his. Even Malcolm looked uneasy. Something was really weird.
"This isn’t normal." Reidar’s grip tightened on the Rift-Sprite Conductor. Malcolm turned, the iron mace in his hand.
"Didn’t you say they’d be in groups of twelve at most?" Reidar asked, watching as another cluster of sprites emerged from behind a collapsed building.
Malcolm wiped his brow with the back of his forearm. "I don’t know what to tell you. Our scouts never reported concentrations like this. Something’s drawing them here."
"For sure, something is wrong."
"What do we do?" Malcolm was tense.
"We go. It’s not like I can’t handle them, but if there are this many monsters here, which should be the safe area, I don’t want to even think about how many monsters there will be at the nest."
The wind carried the sprites’ chittering cries, a sound that set Reidar’s teeth on edge. Fifty glowing pairs of eyes now stared back at them from the rubble-strewn street, all a mix of levels 5 to 8, standing blocking their path.
"Fifty?!"
Malcolm noticed the newcomers too.
"Get ready to fight!"