Chương 64: 1-63 This joke slaps

Josef was biting his lip in silent frustration. Despite all reasons not to, they had continued on after that traumatizing encounter. Bezzo declined to rest, saying that he wouldn't slow the group down for an injury that had already been treated. He really wanted to help his friend, who was trudging along with a dejected face and had lost all of his earlier energy. It was an understandable mood for him to be in, admittedly, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

What had happened in that fight was weighing heavily on all three of them, with only the two elves having evaded the gruesome scene that had occurred.. Try as he might, though, he couldn't figure out a way to cheer the lizard up. Either of them, really. Zippa wasn't looking as broken as his younger brother, but his casual and joking attitude had taken leave ever since that fight. Was he also thinking about ways to cheer Bezzo up? Probably, and maybe the lack of an answer was now weighing on him.

He was honestly surprised that they could continue as well as they did, with half the party down in the dumps. Part of that was thanks to his new Mana Flow spell, which was stupidly strong against the parasites making up most of these floors' monster population. He didn't even need to approach the skittering Rachse up close, as the spell absolutely decimated them from a distance. Turns out that beings with that little mana in their own bodies couldn't really resist his newest attack.

Even though running out of mana wasn't as lethal to them as it was to him, it still weakened their physical condition to an extreme degree. Once their reserves were empty, the force of the streaming energy was enough to physically tear at them. With how little body mass they possessed, this quickly shredded the ugly little things. It also meant that he didn't even have to open up the bodies they infested, which would sag and fall down after the abominable little pilots inside met their bitter end.

All that remained were small ruptures or puncture marks where his spell penetrated, out of which the foul mixture from within would leak. Compared to violently bursting them with water, this method was a lot less messy, much to Josef's own delight. At the current range of that spell, he was always at the edge of the splash zone. The spell also provided them with a much less foul solution to the elementals, which were not at all fans of it.

Draining them into nothingness was still a chore, and occasionally one would rather flee than meet that fate, but occasionally things ended much sooner than that. Whenever his magic pierced close enough to an elemental core, parts of the creature would quickly collapse, hastening its downfall. Unsurprisingly, the abundant use had already caused its grade to improve.

☆☆☆☆ Mana Flow (Moderate) -> (Exceptional) Josef couldn't exactly put a finger on it, but something about this spell just resonated with him, making it feel like it was much easier to use and improve than all the others. Whatever the cause, he was happy with the outcome. On top of that, he also leveled up not once, but twice. Level 31 -> 33 4 Free attribute points.

1 Dexterity, 2 Endurance, 2 Intelligence and 2 Wisdom gained He must have been close when entering the fight against that plant, and his unconventional healing and fighting pushed him all the way through the next level. Strength was once again falling behind, as he had currently no need for punching anything up close, as his spells did the bulk of the work. Not that he missed his fisticuff encounters, but at this rate his old dream of a system-assisted six-pack was going to fall flat.

That was when a shudder went down his spine. Could he even have visible abs once he was covered in scales? He threw a panicked glance at Zippa, having never bothered to check for such a detail, and failed to be subtle in the face of the empathetic lizard. Catching a questioning gaze from his friend, he could merely mumble a response.

"Just wondering how badly scales hide… muscle definition." Feeling silly after saying it out loud, he could only hope that their elven companions didn't pick up on this conversation. After a moment of confusion, in which Zippa glanced down at his own body, he looked over at Josef, and a light of understanding lit up in his eyes. Either that, or he had turned on his inner furnace again. The reptile tended to glow whenever he did that.

"The scales do hide a lot, unless we train to extremes." He jabbed a knife into his hope and twisted it in the same motion. Then, the lizard leaned over to whisper, not at all covertly.

"There are some scale dyes that can add some definition. Bezzo was really into those when he was younger. Never worked, though, cause it looked way too fake." That got a barely suppressed laugh out of Josef, as he couldn't help but picture the teenage lizard as some kind of scaly goth, with abs painted on in an attempt to land a date.

"Aww, I'm sure little Bez looked adorable with his makeup."

"It's not makeup!." The offended reptile snarled at them, with some fire back in his voice.

"Besides, that's long in the past. I don't need that stuff anymore." If scales could flush red, he would have looked like a tomato. It was plain to see for everyone how bashful Bezzo turned at that topic. Which was a massive improvement from before, so Josef continued down the road of embarrassment. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Following the cue of whispering loud enough to share with everyone, he leaned in close.

"I'm going to get him a cosmetic kit once we're back. I bet he'd like that." One reptile snorted in laughter, as the other groaned in denial, all while catching disbelieving looks from Linda. She clearly had an opinion on the topic, but ultimately didn't chime in.

"I would not," Bezzo finally growled, though the sound failed to carry any level of intimidation. Then came the returned accusations, "Also, how would you even know what to get? And it's not like my brother could tell you where to get them, either!"

"Never needed to," the smugness practically dripped from Zippa's voice.

"How come?" Josef asked, risking another glance.

"It doesn't really show for you either."

"It's all in how you use it," came the reply, laden with meaning.

"Don't ask him-""So what's the secret technique?" He couldn't help his curiosity. If there was any way to escape a life of scaly flatness, he had to go for it. Regret came mere moments later, when Zippa explained in full seriousness.

"Just tell them to feel you up. It's still there, after all." He boasted, gesturing leadingly at himself. Josef complied with a heavy backhand to the oaf's stomach. Unfortunately, the real idiot was him, as he could practically feel his bones cracking on impact. A quick cast of Regeneration later, all he had to show was not one, but two cackling reptiles.

"Well damn, at least I got you laughing again," he grumbled, having accidentally succeeded in cheering them both up by accident. 2 Strength and 2 Endurance gained Did he just reflexively spend his points to hit harder on his second attempt, trying to take the laughing reptile off guard? Possibly. Was it worth it? Well, at least his healing magic was still ongoing. Having somewhat restored group morale, it was time for Josef to finish looking over his current notifications.

☆☆☆☆ Crushing Water Prison (Moderate) -> (Pinnacle) He was on the cusp of reaching a whole new level with his first water spell, as it had finally overtaken its two siblings once again. Using it as part of his spell combination sure pushed it along, though it wasn't quite enough in the end. If he had taken the chance to merge his spells, he would have probably gotten to that elusive fifth star, but he didn't regret his choice.

Even if it took longer this way, he didn't want to get stuck with a spell he didn't like just because it ranked higher in a system that he didn't even understand. No, he was going to get there in his own way, and he already had an image towards which he wanted to develop this spell. Last but not least, he even got a little something for his cooperation with Dusty. ☆☆☆ Summon Familiar (Exceptional) -> (Pinnacle) Current limit: 3 Only a little more, and he could call upon his fourth ally.

His options as far as affinities were concerned had diminished quite a bit at this point. Unless it turned out that he could create a familiar with the summoning affinity, he had only two options left. Earth and Space. One that would likely be centered on a defensive approach, another that sounded like utility. Maybe for once he could figure out what he would create in advance. Just as the thought came to him, it immediately fell by the wayside as they encountered another group of monsters.

That by itself wasn't really out of the ordinary, considering where they were. If anything, finding something that wasn't a monster was an exceptional thing, like the remains of other groups that they occasionally came across. Of those, they had found a depressing amount, though none with any armor of the Sanctum knights. No, what they encountered was one specific type of enemy that rekindled a barely suppressed horror. It was another one of those damned screaming plants.

It was just growing there, menacingly, in the middle of their path. At a distance, it could still be mistaken for an oddly shaped pile of leaves, though that camouflage helped little considering their surroundings.

"What do we do now?" Josef was the first to break their silence.

"We could try to avoid it?" He tried to put the offer out there.

"Maybe dive by through the canal? It probably wouldn't notice us in there." He could immediately tell how that offer would go when he saw Linda make a face at the notion of swimming through that filth.

"Absolutely not," the decision was unanimous. Not even Bezzo wanted to evade the plant that badly. Aifreed also brought up how they would be exceptionally vulnerable should they still get dragged into fighting it in that situation. No, in the end, what they decided on was frontal, all-out aggression. The sooner the creature fell silent, the fewer parasites it would lure in, or so they hoped.

At least it would offer Josef a chance to go for that upgrade to his Water Prison, as the spell would help him with keeping the plant from screaming. He would try to trap as many of its bulbous heads as possible to prevent them from screaming. Coordinating with Pretzel, who was more than happy to get back at the creature that had put her summoner in a foul mood, he crept up to the plant, alongside his other companions.

Finally, as the vines under the greenery stirred in response to their presence, they all lunged as one. Linda and Aifreed swung their swords, cutting off vines with wild abandon. Though the knight outpaced his lady by a significant margin, she could make up for that by severing more at once with each of her swings. Zippa abandoned his fiery approach from last time, as it had done little more than making the creature harder to approach once it was coated in flames.

Instead, he ripped and tore at it wildly, using not only his claws but also his teeth. As his younger brother, Bezzo tried his best to keep pace, though he wasn't quite as savage in his approach, solely using his claws for attacks. Whether his poison had any effect on this opponent, they would likely not find out, as they hoped to finish this quickly. Finally, Josef plunged several streams of his Mana Flow straight through where he suspected the creature's central body to be, all while conjuring water to his side.

Unlike Pretzel, who was satisfied with trapping only a single bulbous head in fluid, Josef wanted to aim much higher. Borrowing images from his ongoing draining spell, he thought about adding currents of water within the sphere. Not only would they increase the force generated within the orb, but he also wanted them to distort the very shape of his magic. It should no longer be confined to that simplistic round shape. Instead, it should fluidly change itself, like water would usually do.

As the surface of his spell bubbled and convulsed, he thought about underwater currents, carrying everything into the deepest depths of the ocean. A network around one central point, where everything was dragged down to drown. Then, he could feel the magic react as his spell adapted to this new interpretation.