Return to Jorgaldur Volume I: the battle mage

Mole people(II)

"Is ... that ... possible ...?" Asked Vato, the kid's father.

"Yes, of course, he only need a master and a magical blacksmith platform," said Eldi, somewhat confused by the attitude of the mole-man. In the two days of searching for a new tunnel, he had begun to learn to read their expressions.

"A... master...," repeated the father, disappointed.

"Yes, why? Is something wrong?" the high human was surprised.

"I... My people... According to legends..."

But Eldi interrupted him, pulling out the axe and turning to where Bat's Hearing was pointing, which made everyone stand on guard. The other two times they had seen him act like that, something had attacked them.

This time it was another jade tiger, level 34, which didn't expect the failure of its surprise attack. The easiest prey, its main targets, had been defended by a Burning Wall, and had taken refuge behind the human, who was supported by six mole-men of levels between 25 and 26.

The tiger rushed towards them, with the intention of surpassing them with a Great Leap, but the ground didn't support its weight, and its legs sank, interrupting its attack and leaving it in a vulnerable situation.

The six men and women-mole had used their skills to manipulate the terrain at the same time, in a maneuver that wouldn't have been very useful against the enemies they usually faced in the tunnels, but that working amazing on the outside. It had been an idea of the stranger who had saved them, and it had already been extremely effective in their previous fight.

Eldi used Javelin, and his allies did the same, although without a skill to support them. They might not be as effective as him, but enough to increase the damage by using the spears that the man had lent them. After that, they wielded their own and advanced towards the tiger, which had been knocked out by Earthquake, although only for a second.

The battle mage used Propel continuously, occasionally knocking out the feline, but, above all, making sure that it didn't leave the ground, even sinking it a little more. It wasn't the most efficient way to use his energy, in the case of being alone, but with the tiger fighting against him and the ground, his allies could attack safely.

They had approached Eldi one by one to imbue theirs spears with fire, and then attacked mercilessly. And while their strength wasn't enough to damage their enemy with very deep wounds, they were all attacking to the same point, managing to carry out what one alone could not.

And so, while Eldi was in charge of distracting the feline, using Provoke if necessary, the rest were responsible for piercing the flesh of the animal, which was unable to react to that coordinated attack. It was the best method they had been able to think of for team working, something simple and that could work even with their differences, and the little time they had had to learn to coordinate.

While once again the people–mole were watching in amazement as the assistant was taking care of the corpse, Eldi was reviewing the new skills he had gained by leveling up to 31.

The unlocked spell was Burning Blast, capable of causing fire damage two meters around him at level 10. Since it was at 5, it could only reach one meter. It does more damage than Burning Wall, Touch of Fire or Aura of Fire, but only for a moment, and with a high mana consumption.

As for the skills, the one he had acquired had been used very rarely, but it could be extremely useful in certain situations. It was Climbing, a spear skill that involves throwing it with a rope to nail it into the wall, even rock, and climb with the rope. He only had it at 2.

On the other hand, and surprisingly, some of their allies also leveled up. It isn't so easy for the world's natives to do it as it is for the visitors, but they had been fighting enemies with power far above theirs. And even if they only did part of the damage, it had been enough to reach a higher level. However, they didn't gain any skill, since they could only get one every ten levels, or if they could learn it by other means.

"He can't enter with us, you know the laws as well as I do," protested a woman-mole.

"But we can't miss this opportunity," another argued.

"We don't even know if he can help us. Not even if he wants," reneged on the woman.

"We should take him to an upper tunnel and let the elders decide," suggested a third.

"Shouldn't we first know something more? We should ask him...," proposed another of them.

"Anyway, we have to make a quick decision. The surface is dangerous," interrupted the child's father.

Eldi looked at them from afar, wondering what they were discussing, while planning to give them part of what his assistants had collected. After all, they had helped to kill the beasts. And when they finally approached, he thought they seemed to be hesitating about something.

"This... You said a master could teach him. Well, do you know if... somehow... there is the possibility that... someone from the surface could come and teach him?" Cato's father asked.

Eldi was intrigued by the attitude of those beings at the mention of the child's ability, and wondered what exactly was happening. He doubted if he should tell them that he could do it, if it could be dangerous. However, they seemed somewhat desperate, and he couldn't recommend anyone else.

"I could do it, but a magical blacksmith platform is needed to trigger it. If I couldn't do it, I wouldn't have known he has the aptitude," confessed Eldi.

They looked surprised once again and looked at each other, agreeing with their eyes. Everyone nodded and Vato acted as spokesperson.

"I... mmm... If you can help us teach Cato... Maybe... I'm not sure if they'll allow it, but if you came with us... we would appreciate it. And maybe we can help you get to the other side... if they give us permission..."

It was obvious the difficulty for the mole-man to ask for that, his indecision, his doubts. And it was very difficult for Eldi to refuse, so he nodded and went with them into the tunnel. That they closed the passage that had just went through didn't reassure him, but, at least, they let him use the lamp they didn't need.

He waited there, with the child, the mother and three others, somewhat impatient and worried.