Chapter 55: Power Leveling (Cont.)
"Here, take this Skill Card and use it. I want you to take Harris and Farris with you. Use the same tactics as before and get to Level 20 before meeting us again.
You guys will start with the weaker rooms. We will go straight for the room with over 500 mobs and work our way down to meet you. Once we're finished clearing the sub rooms, we can go down the large tunnels together.
What we gain here will likely be our last chance to Level up before facing the Boss. Make sure to get as much out of it as you can.
Also, check every nook and cranny for loot crates. I suspect every room has one with contents fitting for the difficulty."
Hulk took the Skill Card from Geth gratefully, "Thank you, sir. We won't let you down."
Geth gave the empty crate back to Farris, who put it in the Inventory Pouch he'd gotten as a reward for the Gourmand fight. Harris had received one as well.
Geth sighed as he thought of all of the weapons being left behind. He was currently storing them in his Inventory Satchel and then dumping the contents into the center of the room.
'Hopefully, there will be an easier way to carry them later.' He couldn't help but think of how much gear Bruce would be able to craft after melting down and purifying all of those materials.
Geth and his party headed towards the most dangerous of the smaller tunnels. As they came to the end, he was a bit surprised to find some Goblins he hadn't seen before.
Peeking around the corner, he could quickly see that there were closer to 600 Goblins in the space. only 200 or so were Swordsmen, not a single one under Level 14. Close to 350 of them were Mages or Assassins between Levels 15-19.
The last 50 or so of the creatures were still Goblin Mages or Assassins, but they looked different. They were all Levels 20-24 and looked rather intelligent.
Luckily, aside from a few, their equipment was no better than their weaker counterparts. Other than the awareness, the Assassins were more muscular and a bit taller. The Mages had all grown thin goatees and Geth could see a much larger Mana pool inside of them.
He turned to look at the others. "Those 50 or so Goblins on the platform across the room may be dangerous. I'll run in and grab the attention.
Zolis you follow once their backs are turned and thin out the herd. Filthy I need you to circle around to the left and take out the Mages with the facial hair on the platform."
"Can do!"
"Got it."
"All right, give me 15 seconds," Geth told them as he prepared to rush in. He checked through his Skills one more time and then rushed headlong into the room.
Geth barreled through the Goblins closest to him, taking them by surprise. The moment he came into contact with the first group, he activated Corruption Aura.
The Goblins on the platform noticed the change quickly and began issuing orders to surround him. It didn't matter, whether there were 200 Goblins or 2000, 1 damage was still 1 damage.
It didn't matter how many times the Swordsmen or the lower leveled Assassins slashed at him, he would take 1 or 2 damage at most. Even with the large numbers, only so many could get to him at once.
Geth quickly forced his way closer to the platform, earning the ire from the creatures upon it. The Mages were about to react. Then, Geth heard a massive boom coming from behind him, followed by a light wave of heat.
Reaching Level 20 had given her the last point she'd needed to upgrade Ring of Fire, so now Zolis' flames were a bit taller and traveled further. With the damage based on Strength and Intelligence, the Skill was quite formidable.
Geth glanced behind him momentarily to see over a hundred Mana Cores falling to the ground, his Level hit 24 and he quickly threw the points into Def and Wis. The Assassins on the platform angrily dived down into the horde, splitting up and heading for both Geth and Zolis.
The higher leveled Mages began casting. Some of them summoned dual Fireballs or multiple Ice Spikes. Others began to chant something unintelligible, as they chanted, Geth could feel his Defenses falling.
"Shit!"
The damage he was taking from the surrounding Goblins jumped to 5-7 per strike. With their numbers, it made a major difference. He cast Restoration, the barrier it gave quickly shattering.
His HP remained full, but the high-leveled Assassins were moving in fast. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, he managed to take the heads of two of the Swordsmen.
With the free space garnered, he quickly cast his new Barrier Skill, forming a semi-transparent wall in front of him. The Assassins were temporarily stuck on the opposing side. It didn't last long, the Fireballs and Ice Spikes from the Mages quickly destroyed it.
He turned around in time to witness another wave of fire scorching through the enemy ranks. The higher-level Assassins heading towards Zolis simply jumped high over the wave.
Geth managed to cast State Change at the spot where a few of them would land. The most he could do at the moment was lessen her burden. That wave of the fire pushed him halfway to 25. Between that and the Goblins dying to his Corruption Aura, his Level was rising swiftly.
'Damn this weakening effect.' He thought. He had just taken another round of slashes over his body. He couldn't do much to help the others or he wouldn't be able to keep up Restoration.
Things were beginning to look bleak.
Just as he was beginning to worry about the situation, he felt the weakening effect lessen. Geth looked up on the platform and saw two of the chanting mages had dropped.