Chương 86: 1-85 Opposition

Josef decisively ducked behind a half-broken rock formation nearby, a defensive measure someone must have erected at some point during this fight. As for whoever had created it? He didn't know, but suspected one of the nearby bodies. There were quite a few of those, and with almost everyone wrapped in shiny silver armor, it was pretty hard to distinguish which side had lost more of its people.

All he had to go on was the position where they dropped, and surprisingly enough, there were quite a few more on Sanctum's side, though the number of those still standing looked just about equal. Tragically, those on the floor outnumbered the ones still standing. Suddenly, he could no longer feel as angry with Marla. It was a bleak fight. Their own arrival had certainly drawn attention, especially with their lack of armor catching more than a few eyes.

That, and the pitch-black streams of mana Josef circulated around them to clear away the white haze. Among everyone in the room, there were only three other exceptions to wearing the protective metal. Both Onyx and the elf by his side were sporting their own armor and suit, respectively. On their own side, a massive black-furred ox-man was wearing mere pieces of silver that only remotely resembled what the knights were using.

Perhaps some kind of custom job, though that begged the question on how that was accomplished in the middle of a dungeon. Also, as the bull crossed his eyes in turn, he couldn't help but notice the glaring similarity to those he had seen in Vasaj's employ. In fact, it could even be one of those he had talked with before.

"You are late!" The bovine shouted, breaking the stalemate. His voice was deep and gruff. Also, he sounded decidedly annoyed. That was definitely one of Vasaj's, Josef concluded.

"The dungeon held us up!" he fired back, caring little for the attitude, as he looked over the battle. With their own position having been all but confirmed after that little talk, the fighting picked back up as suddenly as it had stopped. It only took seconds of the exchange for him to notice that everyone had settled on using ranged attacks while utilizing cover. The amount of unmoving bodies wielding melee weapons was a grim indicator of why close combat was now actively avoided.

Anyone who preferred that method of attack had likely either died or wised up enough to hang back. Magic was a lethal thing, and trying to cross a battlefield where it was flung around was clearly suicide. Which immediately gave him concerns about his own melee enthusiasts. Right now, he could keep whatever was thrown their way at bay, but their group was also the furthest back, so they received the least amount of flak.

Something that would likely change if they pushed forward, especially after he revealed his magic. And reveal it he would, because he had already decided on patching up as many people as he could. Not everyone on the ground was beyond saving, as even from his position he spotted several who still showed some signs of life. Fortunately, nobody had the time to finish those off. And if he could bolster their own numbers with those he fixed up? Even better.

"Guys, I want to stay back and focus on patching people up. Are you good with that?" Josef asked for the sake of courtesy, even if he could imagine the answer in advance. Zippa let out a short, bellow-like laugh.

"Ha, really? You finally want to act like a normal healer?" Then, sweeping his gaze along the battlefield, he continued much more soberly.

"You'll have your hands full, I guess. Do you need me to stick around and cover you?" He shook his head in denial.

"No, I've got Pretzel and Sprout with me. I'll be fine. Go and pound some of those assholes into dust for me. Just mind where I cleared up the white stuff, alright?" Josef was still busy cleaning their surroundings, removing the inhibiting white mana. This close to the supposed source, the task had become quite a hassle. The tide coming from the stairs behind Onyx was thick enough to be seen without manasight, and the density surrounding them actually managed to saturate his mana streams quickly.

He even had to shorten the loops he made to prevent taking in too much at once. And there definitely was a thing as too much, because his heart was burning something fierce from the amount of white mana it digested. Yet it was continuing its feeding frenzy in palpable glee, unwilling to stop after the massive feast of the last ten floors. Almost as concerning as the building heartburn was the lack of any progress in his skills ever since they had set out from the last safe room.

Was eating all that strange mana bad for his progress? He couldn't imagine any other reason why his Mana Stream spell showed absolutely no improvement after using it this heavily. At least, not according to the lack of notifications. He could have sworn the magic became easier to wield even without the system telling him so. Meanwhile, addressing his other companions, he barely even needed to look at Bezzo to receive a nod in turn.

Linda was already distracted by glaring down the opposition, doubtlessly picturing her approach to cutting them apart. Focusing his streams on the task, Josef had already begun to carve a path towards the bull-man. He was about the closest thing to a commander their side of the battle appeared to have, and his position was a lot more central. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Was it cocky for a healer to go further forward on a battlefield?

Probably, but it would make things a lot easier on him if he got closer to the action. And he wasn't exactly normal to begin with. He would have to eat up all the mana that blocked his unarmored friends from advancing, but could then use the resulting overflow of energy to heal up the wounded as quickly as possible. Having a target for his overflowing reserves would definitely be nice, because he had long since saturated not only himself but also his familiars.

Poor Sprout looked about ready to burst, but had maintained her small form to continue riding along on his shoulder. She would not have to hold back much longer. Dashing forward under the cover of his mana streams, they made a beeline for the large beastkin. Josef could barely part the white veil in front of them in time, but after reaching their stop he quickly expanded his own safe area.

Together, they ducked behind a jagged rock formation that looked very unnatural, growing out of the much too thin earthen platform underneath. Interestingly, not only his companions looked relieved to see the mana pushed back to a more comfortable distance. Even the armored adventurers momentarily stopped to take in the change in their surroundings, as if suddenly seeing a whole new world around them. Another point towards not relying on the metallic crutch alone, he thought.

Whatever protection that metal offered, it was certainly not perfect, even without leaning in Marla's report. Taking a big breath through flaring nostrils, the bull smiled fiercely before suddenly bringing a hoof down a mighty stomp. The earthen platform underneath them seemed to shift and flow into an even greater size. Then, some pieces along the edge broke off, hurtling into the fray, where they clipped incoming spells and struck an opposing knight in the shoulder.

"Hah, that feels a lot better. Good work, shrimp," the bull's voice was loud and boisterous.

"It's nothing," Josef waved him off.

"I'll leave the fighting to you and patch up the adventurers." More than one set of eyes stared at him when he said that.

"Ya really are a healer then, lad? Thought the boss was pulling my leg." Then the big man huffed before raising his voice.

"You hear that, meat? You might just make it out alive after all!" Even if he hadn't planned to reveal his skills here, Josef noted, there was no avoiding the attention now. With a sigh, he consigned himself to his fate. Raising his voice, and even daring to show his face above their barrier, he shouted his usual introduction as Adam across the battlefield. Then, with a challenging tone, he added something extra.

"Surrender now, Sanctum, or face the consequences!" he specifically glared at the suited elf in the back during his proclamation, wanting to see his reaction. Boreas Ethelstar: Purveyor of Life - Level 53 There was no need to hide his analysis of the enemy healer. He might as well know who was sizing him up. With both of them being healers, opposing him felt even somewhat personal. Like a clash of their ideals, even if this Boreas likely didn't know or care about their differences.

He knew that this would only end with one of them dead. Josef didn't plan to be on the losing end, not with all of his friend's lives on the line. Boreas, meanwhile, merely sneered back at him, as if forced to inspect a particularly nasty bug. He didn't deign to shout back at him either, though he could see the elf shouting commands at his own men. He was too far to hear what had been said, but the fanatical cheers of Sanctum's knights washed over them unabated.

The fanatics clearly held the morale advantage, that much was clear. Deciding to use actions instead of words, he nudged Sprout through their link.

"Fetch," he told her while pointing a finger, still unable to rely on their connection alone. To her credit, the little green dog was quick on the uptake, jumped down from his shoulder, and anchored herself to the platform. Then, she grew several vines towards several armored figures that had collapsed just outside the barrier's protection, and pulled them into cover. The speed and strength of her vines belied their small size, as they were heavily saturated in mana.

She finally had an outlet for all the extra fuel he had sent her way and was eagerly using it. With three armor-clad figures now within his reach, Josef quickly began his work. Using an initial burst of healing magic, he quickly determined whether their bodies even responded to it. After all, he could not bring back a corpse, no matter how hard he tried. Unfortunately, one of his patients was out immediately.

The hole in the middle of his chest looked hopeless enough from the start, and the lack of reaction from bringing his restorative magic close by only sealed the impression. Already dead. The other two, however, weren't quite so far gone. Something had impacted them hard enough to bend even the metal armor out of shape, but at least it didn't penetrate into the flesh below. With some luck, they were only concussed and unconscious.

Probably some broken bones too, considering the unnatural angles some limbs had rested in. That much he could fix easily, as long as there were no bone shards stuck in vital positions. Setting them up with a generous dose of Regeneration, while handling the fractures more directly, he had soon restored them to a satisfactory degree. Those two would live, at least for now. Their survival still depended on how the rest of this encounter would go.

Surprisingly, one even stirred soon after, clutching a dented helmet before slowly rising.

"Easy there," Josef warned them, getting Sprout to extend a helping vine to steady them. It was one thing to be told there was a healer, but being given evidence was apparently on a whole different level. Seeing one of their own rejuvenated through magic, a visible shift began to occur within the ranks of the armored adventurers. Spirits had clearly been lifted and their attacks gained a renewed vigor. They also stuck out of cover for longer, taking greater risks.

Josef could only shake his head, recognizing the same recklessness that Zippa displayed in his own fights. With their healthcare suddenly covered, a lot of these people got a good bit more reckless. He hoped they wouldn't get themselves killed. Getting Sprout to reel in his next wave of patients, he focused on clearing out larger swathes of the battlefield from the white haze.

The whole hallway was still far from accessible for his scaly companions, but at least he made good progress on uncovering their own half of the fight. Clearing the rest would likely remain a pipedream until he could vacuum up the mana right where it emerged from the stairs. However, this constant influx also brought a near inexhaustible supply of mana for him. If only he could continue to ignore the burning in his chest. Opposite of them, Boreas was shouting at Onyx, who was now moving to join the fight.

Despite the reptile's level now being lower than his own, something told him this wouldn't be easy.