Return to Jorgaldur Volume III: blood warrior

In group: second floor

At 35, she had re-gained Sacrifice. It is a dangerous spell that allows to use one's own blood to perform blood spells and skills, instead of the previously consumed blood pool. Although it can increase the strength of these, spending one's own blood causes weakness, so it is usually only used in cases of extreme necessity.

At 36, the unlocked spell was the complement of the previous one. Resupply uses the blood pool to regenerate one's, although it isn't a process that can be used in the middle of battle. It takes time, plus 50% of the blood used is lost.

A passive resistance against mind control spells had been restored at level 35. No doubt, it was a life-saving defense.

Finally, at 36, she had regained Nimble Fingers, a skill she had enjoyed a lot in the game. With it, she could easily rob an unsuspecting victim without their realizing it.

The worm boss was a huge version of the other worms, which could roll on itself to crush its enemies. However, the start of the move was slow, so neither Krongo nor Gjaki had much trouble dodging it. It was more troublesome to avoid the multiple puddles of what could be called the worm's blood, even though it wasn't really blood. Also irritating were the sticky threads that ended up covering almost the entire room.

Luckily for Gjaki, Dark Aura disposed of them if they got too close to her, though Krongo wasn't so lucky. He could cut them, thanks in part to the Dark Touch imbued on both axes, but it was tedious.

Kroquia didn't enjoy it either, for the sticky threads were irritating, and the shield's Dark Touch could barely corrode a small portion. Luckily, the shield blocked most of them, and she was able to cut enough of them so that the ones falling on her weren't connected to the rest. Thus, the fire didn't reach her. She was just sticky.

The two mages and the archer were much more relaxed, barely having to dodge the occasional bouncing thread, or shake it off with resignation. Although Kroco was busier than usual. His Remote Heal wasn't his most efficient healing spell, but it allowed him to heal from range. Krongo knew it, and he fought with recklessness.

"He's always the same," the healer complained under his breath.

It wasn't always easy to reach him, to get him to be in range of the spell, and that he stayed quiet for an instant. At least, his new companion didn't need his help, something he deeply appreciated. Although Krongo was constantly moving, it was nothing compared to her.

The vampiress climbed up the worm, jumped back and forth, rolled to avoid the threads. She looked more like an acrobat than a warrior, though her damage couldn't be underestimated.

The moment when she had been most still had been when a bunch of sticky threads had accidentally collided with a Lightning Bolt, and they had changed direction towards her. At that time, the situation she was in made it difficult for her to avoid them, so she had summoned a Blood Hound and hid behind it.

On the other hand, the vampiress had found quite amusing to run on the huge worm in the opposite direction from which it was Rolling. She had stayed over its body as if it were a comedy film. In fact, Krinia had stopped her attacks for a moment, her mouth open, not quite knowing what to think. Unlike Krongo, who had felt a bit envious, and unfortunately hadn't had a chance to imitate her.

Although not without danger, the victory hadn't been excessively difficult. It was the second time the group had succeeded, and this time it had been much less problematic.

In the previous one, Kroco and Krinia had practically run out of mana, and Kruloz had run out of arrows. Luckily, he had been able to retrieve most of them after the battle.

Back then, Kroquia had been forced to block Roll a few times, which had severely damaged her shield. In the long run, that had been one of the reasons they had had to retire on the next floor.

Krongo, for his part, had suffered many injuries and had been exhausted in the first confrontation. The wounds had been healed, but the damage to his armor had also hampered the group's future progress. With the two warriors' equipment in poor condition, they hadn't been able to take on the next boss with confidence, so they had been forced to give up.

On this occasion, the reptilians were carrying spare equipment, in anticipation of a similar situation. To their surprise, they had barely suffered a few scratches, so they were facing the next floor in high spirits.

"A hot bath in a dungeon... I never would've imagined it" Kruloz came out of the tent-castle, fully recovered from the previous day.

"It's even better than the one at home," Kroco added, refreshed.

"Marry me!" Krinia joked, as she hugged Gjaki by surprise.

"Hey! Get in line!" Kroquia also laughed.

"If I always had this, I wouldn't mind being bitten from time to time," Krongo also joked.

"Mmmh, I could try it," Gjaki threatened, while baring her fangs.

They all laughed at the warrior's face, before he realized that the vampiress was joking too.

After a bath with the girls, and all the experiences shared with the group, she felt relaxed with them. It is true that there were differences in race, customs or social status, but also that a real friendship had flourished between them.

From Kroquia, she had learned that both Kruloz and Krongo were interested in Krinia. She hadn't rejected any of them, but she hadn't thrown herself into their arms either. Kroquia suspected that she intended to marry both of them, something that wasn't excessively common, but not so unusual among their people either. The mage hadn't denied it.

From Krinia, she now knew that Kroquia's relationship with the second prince of the empire was more than close. In fact, they hadn't been engaged because of the tensions between the first and second princes, which could lead the county of Kronardhi to a more than uncomfortable situation. Now that he was dead, Krinia couldn't wait to know how their relationship would evolve.

As for Kroco, he was betrothed to the third daughter of a noble house of similar status. The marriage had been arranged when they were children, and the two had grown up almost together, knowing that they were destined to be a couple. Whether they loved each other or not was something neither of them knew, but at least their relationship seemed good.

For now, however, all of this was unimportant. It was time to face the third floor.