Chương 12: Chapter 11 – The Old Quarry

Kai inserted a thin slab of metal into his plate carrier. According to Lena, ceramic plates could stop goblin spears just fine, but repeated impacts would rapidly degrade them. So, Daniel had molded some of the steel stacked in the yard, using an alchemical process called 'transmutation' to form and harden the metal. Lena had been fascinated, Kai lost interest during the second step. It would definitely look nice in a time-lapse, but it was dreadfully boring to watch in real time.

Another plate for the back, then two smaller ones for the sides. Done. ~ Heavy Plate Carrier ~~ AV: 6 (Torso) Twice the armor value of his starter robe. Neat. Lena, on account of her pitiful physique, had to skip the side plates and arm and leg protectors Kai wore. She did not seem to mind, though. The nerd was simply happy to be wearing military gear. It was almost adorable. What was less adorable was their father's endless grumbling. After Mrs.

Hoffmann's integration yesterday, he had not stopped complaining about 'bardic soul magic', and half-seriously suggested simply locking the mayor up in the basement for the time being, which was thankfully immediately overruled by his wife. Apparently, Bards were an absolute menace. Their songs and spells hooked into people's souls and were basically undetectable if successful. In the other world, they hadn't been particularly well-liked in adventuring circles.

Still, the way Daniel spoke about Bards seemed much less scathing than his opinions on Sorcerers. Hiding his scowl, Kai put on his new armor. The process was rather uncomfortable, and that discomfort only rose when the weight of the steel plates settled on his body. His range of movement felt comparable to his HEMA setup, but quick dodges and similar acrobatics would be difficult. The armor would have to make up for that.

He loaded his sword and helmet into the van, then carefully stowed his many small jars of 'healing potion'.

"Are you sure these work, Dad?"

"Yes. They will work better and faster than the one I made for your shoulder."

"They look… Uh."

"I know," Daniel sighed.

"Don't mind the… chunkiness. If I only had access to actual ingredients…"

"Don't tell Mom that. She is very proud of her marigold." Kai's father blinked.

"Oh. I may have committed a faux-pas."

"Well, she should be used to it by now," Kai joked. His father chuckled quietly, and the conversation moved onto more pressing matters.

"So, we're fighting rocks now?"

"Stone elementals. I also saw a few water elementals. All of them are around level five."

"Anything to keep in mind?"

"Stone elementals have a layer of rock armor. Good against physical threats, useless against magic. Water elementals have tentacles with surprisingly long range, about four meters. They also have pretty good fighting instincts, so don't be surprised if they parry and punish you."

"... That sounds like a nightmare for a Fighter."

"It will be a challenge for you. Thankfully, their attacks are all kinetic, so your new armor should help. Watch your arms and legs though."

"Meaning I should focus on drawing attention and let Lena deal the damage?"

"That's the Wizard's role in almost every situation. You should try to maximise your offensive capacity as well."

"So, group up, and hit it till it dies?"

"More or less. Low-level elementals aren't particularly smart. This is mostly an exercise in herding them, and managing your resources in extended combat. Now go fetch your sister, we need to get going. It's almost noon, and this is going to take a while."

"Alright." = = = = ="... What the hell are those things doing?" Kai asked, incredulously watching two chest-high stone creatures wrestle on the ground down in the old quarry. They were really going at it, and the screeching stone was audible all the way up where the three Brandts stood on the highest terrace.

Floating on top of a muddy creek next to them, two water elementals – round blobs of water, roughly the size of a golden retriever – had linked their tentacles and were pushing globs of fluid between each other like a game of ping pong. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"They're kind of cute," Lena mumbled.

"They're manifestations of ambient elemental mana," Daniel corrected.

"Not even alive, technically speaking."

"... They're playing, though."

"They follow their nature. Water flows, tectonic plates 'wrestle', for lack of a better term. What we perceive as playing is–""Let's go." Kai cracked his knuckles and took a first step down the ramp.

"You know the plan, Lena."

"I stay on the second level, you go down to the first and block the way up the ramp. Then I blast them while you hold their attention."

"Yup. Focus on the ones I can't hit, unless I get overwhelmed."

"Will do." Daniel clapped his hands once.

"Good. You have your potions? Armor is registered?" Two on his belt, two on his vest.

"Potions, check." ~ ARMOR ~~ Head: 3 ~~ Torso: 6 ~~ Arms: 3 ~~ Legs: 3 Looks good.

"Armor, check." Lena, less likely to be in the thick of things, had taken two healing and two mana potions instead. She flicked her finger against the glass jars in confirmation. Their father nodded, then levitated onto a large tree branch just far enough away from the action to not count as involved. As they walked down the ramps from terrace to terrace, Lena began fidgeting.

"We should have brought Mom."

"She's busy with the militia stuff," Kai replied, not particularly worried. The potions would do fine.

"And there are no plants down there anyway. She wouldn't be nearly as effective as in the forest. Now, let's get Dad his elemental cores, and ourselves some EXP." The siblings continued their way down, keeping an eye on the playing elementals. They did not seem to notice their approach. ~ Lesser Water Elemental, Level 5 ~ Lesser Water Elemental, Level 4 ~ Lesser Stone Elemental, Level 6 ~ Lesser Stone Elemental, Level 5 A quick scan revealed that none of their targets were above level six.

Kai and Lena took position on the second-level terrace and prepared their magical ambush.

"[Lightning Bolt]!"

"[Fire Bolt]!" Lena's spell, stuffed with as much mana as its matrix could hold, crashed into the highest-level elemental. Its left arm and leg were annihilated, then Kai's more restrained fire bolt connected with its head. The elemental crumbled into rubble that rained down on its wrestling partner. A small, brownish marble fell out of its chest onto the ground. That's the core.

"Nice!" Kai shouted as he made his way to the ramp leading down. Lena was already meditating, recovering some of the MP she spent on her spell. ~ EN: 10/10 ~ MP: 3/5 A glance at the now thoroughly disturbed elementals told him that they were approaching, but still far enough away for Kai to also employ his Battle Meditation perk. It was odd to use, making him feel like he just stepped away from the controls of the flesh mecha that was his body.

~ MP: 4/5 He had time to regain a single MP before he had to focus again. One of the water elementals had somehow dodged a Lightning Bolt from Lena, but her second attack tore a hole into its drop-like body. It reformed almost instantly, but Kai could tell that it was less… stable than before. Still, it moved – or rather, flowed – towards him, much faster than the others. He took a defensive stance and waited. Six meters. Five meters.

Four– A tentacle of muddy water whipped through the air, much faster than Kai had expected. Fueled by panic and adrenaline, he moved to intercept it with his blade, guided by his experience. It worked, to a degree. The sharp metal actually stopped the tentacle, but unfortunately for Kai, it acted more like a whip than a sword or spear. The tentacle curled around the blade and struck Kai's inner arm right between his glove and arm guard, causing a deep, painful cut above his wrist. Fuck!

"Lena, support!" Already, bright blood was flowing out of the wound, soaking through his clothes. To the backdrop of Lena's spell impacts and his own racing heart, he ripped the lid off a potion with his teeth and poured half over his arm, as instructed by his father. He downed the other half in a single gulp. The effect was immediate, much faster than Regrowth. It looked less grotesque, too – there were no fleshy tendrils, just skin melding together like a liquid.

Seeing that the offending elemental was still distracted by lightning bolts, he moved in to strike back. One step forward, then– His Proficiency screamed at him. The attack would be too shallow, a graze at best. He had to be more aggressive. Another step, then a diagonal cut. A watery appendage tried to move in the way, but it was too late. The blade connected, carving a deep gash into the elemental's body. Like a popped soap bubble, it lost its tension and dissolved into a puddle.

A small blue core reflected the light of the sun.

"Half mana!" Lena shouted, her usually wispy voice loud and steady.

"Taking potion now!" Kai took a deep breath, refocusing just in time to see the second water elemental attack with its tentacle. Again, his instinctive response led him astray, and the attack struck his arm guard. It still managed to draw blood though, and Kai decided he would rather be safe than sorry. He downed another potion and felt the pain recede.

"[Lightning Bolt]!" The spell struck the slow stone elemental that was still trying to catch up, causing a crack across its torso. The water elemental attacked again, and this time Kai managed to redirect the tentacle into the steel plate on his chest. The force behind the blow briefly took his breath, but he quickly recovered. Better. He settled into his stance, but suddenly felt something like a breeze pass through the quarry. It wasn't, though – there was no wind here.

Instead, his magical senses identified the feeling as ambient mana converging down in the center. A section of the rocky wall broke, then reassembled on the ground into a humanoid form. At the same time, a muddy blob formed on the creek. They're respawning already?!