Chương 98: Skating Uphill From a Dungeon Guardian

Sieghart and the others continued running while the unfinished guardian demolished the mine behind them. Every collision against a support beam or stone wall sent another shower of debris across the passage. It was almost miraculous that the entire mine hadn't collapsed upon them. The guardian's shoulders scraped both walls, its claws broke the floor, and its exposed spine repeatedly struck the ceiling. Mellia maintained barriers above the group, but each one shattered after blocking only a few falling stones.

Her remaining mana was fading, and the transparent plates now flickered whenever she summoned them. Kart's surviving guardian had lost an arm, yet it continued protecting Lucia from debris. Hernan used his rings to deflect anything small enough to redirect without exhausting himself completely. Sieghart remained at the rear and launched occasional Fireballs whenever the creature moved too close. The explosions slowed it briefly, but its bones resisted the flames better than ordinary monster flesh.

The path became steeper as they approached the older section of the mine. Abandoned rails emerged beneath the rubble, confirming that miners had once used the passage to transport ore upward. Sieghart noticed a junction in the distance. One tunnel continued toward the mine's exit, while the second turned left before climbing toward an abandoned upper level. An idea formed as he compared both routes. It was dangerous, uncertain, and far from intelligent, but the group had already exhausted every ordinary solution.

"We should split up." Mellia looked back at him while running.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll take the path going upward. The rest of you continue toward the exit."

"That could leave you alone with that thing."

"Only if it follows me. Whoever it chases keeps running, while everyone else turns around and attacks its back with everything they have. In this place, the monster won't have the chance to turn around" The others exchanged uncertain looks. Splitting the group inside a collapsing mine violated every sensible rule, but remaining together allowed the guardian to chase all of them without exposing itself. Hernan looked toward the approaching junction and then glanced behind them.

The beast had already broken through another support, leaving them only a few seconds to decide.

"What if it catches whoever it follows?"

"Then that person should run faster."

"That isn't a plan."

"It's the best one we have." Mellia clearly disliked the idea. However, Lucia could no longer maintain her original speed, and the guardian would catch them before they reached the surface if nothing changed.

"Fine," Mellia said.

"We split at the junction. Nobody tries to fight it alone."

"I wasn't planning to." Sieghart didn't mention that fighting it alone might become unavoidable. The creature had ignored everyone else whenever it sensed his mana, making its choice almost painfully predictable. The group reached the junction moments later. Mellia, Kart, Lucia, and Hernan continued toward the exit while Sieghart planted one foot against the wall and turned sharply left. The upper tunnel climbed at a much steeper angle.

Broken rails extended along its center, while damp stone and loose gravel covered the narrow floor. Sieghart ran several meters before looking over his shoulder. The guardian reached the junction, slowed briefly, and turned its empty eye sockets between both passages. Mellia's group had already created considerable distance toward the surface. They remained easier targets, particularly with Lucia slowing their movement and Kart's guardian leaving a clear trail.

The crimson core pulsed inside the creature's exposed rib cage. Its skull turned toward Sieghart. The beast ignored the four exhausted mages escaping through the other passage and charged into the ascending tunnel without another moment of hesitation. Sieghart released a humorless laugh.

"So you truly can sense my mana pool." His suspicion had been correct. The guardian didn't merely detect active spells or loose magical energy. It recognized the seemingly endless source contained within Sieghart's body. That made him the most effective bait imaginable. It also meant the creature would continue pursuing him until it consumed his mana, discovered that doing so was impossible, or died trying. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Sieghart pointed his right hand toward the ascending floor. The earlier Water Cannon had filled the tunnels with enough moisture for his plan, and cold droplets still covered the stone. He released a concentrated blast of freezing wind. Frost spread rapidly across the ground, forming a smooth layer of ice that climbed the passage ahead of him. The spell reached nearly thirty meters before losing enough strength to stop spreading.

Sieghart turned to face the guardian while planting both boots upon the frozen surface. He bent his knees, strengthened his ankles with Protection, and launched a powerful blast of wind from both hands toward the creature. The opposing force pushed him backward. His boots slid across the ice, carrying him uphill while he remained facing the guardian and watching its movements. Ordinary skating required blades, balance, and some ability to avoid falling upon one's face.

Sieghart replaced all three requirements with magic and a complete disregard for conventional technique. He adjusted the direction of each wind blast whenever the tunnel curved. Short bursts from one hand moved him sideways, while longer blasts from both palms maintained his uphill momentum. The first turn nearly sent him against the wall. Sieghart shifted his weight, touched the ice with one hand, and used a sideways gust to correct himself before impact.

Once he found the proper balance, his speed increased rapidly. He bent lower, kept his center of gravity near the ice, and allowed the wind to propel him along the ascending tunnel. The guardian reached the frozen section and planted one enormous paw upon it. The ice shattered instantly beneath its weight, exposing broken stone and loose gravel below. Its remaining claws destroyed every frozen section they touched.

The trail vanished behind the creature, ensuring that Mellia's group wouldn't encounter the dangerous surface if they followed later. Sieghart continued extending Frozen Floor ahead of himself whenever the existing layer approached its end. He alternated hands, creating ice with one while using Wind Magic through the other for propulsion. The method allowed him to maintain a surprising speed despite traveling uphill.

Unfortunately, the guardian possessed enough strength to ignore the slope and continued gaining ground. Mellia's group appeared briefly at the junction behind the creature. Once they confirmed which path it had chosen, all four turned and launched their strongest ranged attacks. Hernan transformed his rings into several long spears and fired them toward the guardian's exposed back. Lucia's remaining scout guided their paths through the narrow passage.

Two spears struck the creature's spine, while another entered the space between its ribs. The attacks cracked ancient bones but failed to reach the core. Mellia launched her barriers like heavy blades. They struck the guardian's hind legs from opposite directions, briefly disrupting its balance while Kart's damaged construct threw a chunk of broken stone. The combined assault forced the monster to stumble. One rear leg collapsed, and its shoulder struck the wall hard enough to tear away another large section.

For a moment, Sieghart believed the plan might work. Then the crimson core released another pulse, restoring the damaged bones while the guardian forced itself upright. The beast roared toward Mellia's group, but it didn't turn around. Hunger proved stronger than anger, and its empty eye sockets returned immediately to Sieghart. Mellia shouted something from the junction, but the distance and collapsing tunnel prevented Sieghart from hearing her. He doubted it was a compliment about his excellent plan.

The guardian accelerated again. Its claws shattered the frozen floor, while its shoulders destroyed enough of the tunnel to allow its body to move with greater freedom. Sieghart maintained propulsion with his left hand and pointed his right toward the creature. Pale electrical sparks crawled across his fingers as he activated Lightning Magic. Spark remained his weakest offensive spell. Years of occasional practice had improved its control, but its power couldn't compare with Fireball, Water Cannon, or Wind Blade.

He fired anyway. A narrow bolt jumped from his fingertips and struck the exposed tissue surrounding the guardian's shoulder. Electricity spread across the wet flesh before entering several incomplete muscles. The creature flinched. Its foreleg briefly stopped responding, causing one side of its body to drop. The movement forced its claws against the floor and slowed its pursuit for several seconds. Sieghart fired Spark again.

The second bolt struck a bundle of exposed tissue along the creature's neck, making its unfinished jaw snap shut involuntarily. The attack hadn't damaged the bones or core, but it interfered with the reconstructed muscles. The guardian's body was incomplete enough that every functioning bundle of tissue remained essential. Sieghart launched several more bolts while skating backward. Electricity traveled through the moisture covering the creature and connected the affected muscles beneath its forming skin.

Its front legs trembled, and one shoulder repeatedly locked during movement. The paralysis wasn't complete, but the guardian's charge became slower and increasingly uncoordinated. Sieghart's fingers began tingling from the repeated casts. Spark placed almost no burden upon his mana, yet channeling electricity through the same arm created an uncomfortable numbness beneath his skin. He ignored the sensation and continued attacking.

His endless mana allowed him to cast Spark indefinitely, but the spell's low output prevented each bolt from affecting more than a small portion of the creature. The crimson core compensated for the paralyzed muscles by forcing mana directly through the bones. Even when the remaining flesh stopped responding, the skeleton continued dragging itself forward. Sieghart aimed for the creature's legs and fired three bolts in rapid succession.

One foreleg collapsed completely, but the guardian used its other limbs to maintain momentum. The beast struck the floor with its exposed skull and immediately pushed itself upright. Red energy surged through the disabled muscles until they began moving again. Lightning Magic could interrupt its reconstructed body, but Spark lacked enough strength to disable everything simultaneously. Paralyzing one section merely encouraged the core to redirect power through another.

Sieghart looked toward the remaining uphill passage while maintaining his wind propulsion. The frozen path continued rising, but the guardian was already recovering from every electrical attack. He needed something stronger than Spark, something capable of overwhelming every muscle, nerve, and mana connection inside the creature before its core could compensate. Another weak bolt wouldn't be enough. Sieghart needed an entirely new lightning spell.