Chapter 14: Chapter 14: A Lethal Combo

"I'm going to try to lure more than one over here," Yusha whispered to me. I felt butterflies in my stomach. The idea of taking on a horde of these things was both exciting and terrifying at the same time. In mind I was picturing one of those scenes from a zombie movie where the protagonists are surrounded by a sea of the undead, but they hack through them like a lawnmower through some thick weeds on their way to freedom. But then I thought about how the last time I thought about trying to reenact something that I saw on TV and that's when my stomach started to churn.

But Yusha had proven herself to be more than knowledgeable of this world, so my confidence was bolstered a bit. I looked back at the swarm again. Seemed the same as before. Still a mindless mass of Entities just taking up space in the middle of the forest.

"Stay here," Yusha whispered. I nodded my head in silence and watched as she advanced towards the monsters. She took a long way behind the perimeter of trees that encompassed the less-dense section that the Entities occupied. It wasn't long before she disappeared from my view altogether. Aside from the ominous hum of the purple energy that spewed from the Entities and the occasional zombie-like grunt, there was nothing but pure quiet.

My eyes scanned the horizon of where Yusha could have gone. I noticed something shining to my left, so I left my covered just a bit to look at what it could have been. After some hefty squinting, I could see that it was water.

Must have been Yusha. A small stream emerged from the thicket and traveled slowly down the hill and towards the mass of mindless beasts. The water soon touched the feet of a few of the Entities. As soon as it did, they turned around stared at it like they had never seen water before.

A few of them broke away from their horde and followed the trail of water up the slight incline. As they did, I heard footsteps coming from the side. Wasn't long before Yusha emerged into view, waving at me with both hands. I jumped from my cover and made it to her side in no time. Taking cover behind another big oak tree, we got closer for another huddle.

"You see that?" she whispered with excitement. She pointed towards the small group of entities that were dragging their feet through the now-damp soil. "I managed to only grab the attention of a few of them this time!"

"This time?" I asked with worry.

"Last time I tried this, I ended up dousing a lot more than I could handle. But I think we can take on..." Yusha stood up just high enough for her to count the Entities that broke away from their group. "Six! That sounds reasonable to you, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. The two of us together could take them on."

Yusha clapped her hands. "Excellent! Now, I have a plan. It involves our Elements."

Duh. Why didn't I think of that sooner? Water plus electricity? Lethal combo right there. "Oh! I get it now! Think we could take them all out that way?" I pointed at the mindless mass. "All of that XP with only two spells!"

Yusha shrugged her shoulders. "Is it possible? Maybe. But I don't want to risk it."

I looked over back at the swarm. My heart was racing at the thought of killing all of them in one glorious attack. Sparks flying everywhere. Then they all fall down at the same time and dissipate into one massive purple mist. The idea of leveling up like ten times with one attack was borderline tantalizing. "Okay. Makes sense. You want to see how our team attack works on a smaller group first?"

"Of course."

"Right. Sounds like a plan to me."

The six entities continued along the trail of mud. After a bit of waiting, they finally made it to past the trees and were in viewing distance. Yusha cupped her hand next to my ear and started to whisper. "I have a spell," she said softly. I didn't take my eyes of the Entities. "It's called [Dynamic Dousing]. Doesn't do much by itself, but it helps amplify the effects of other spells that come in contact with the water. And it works both ways; damaging spells will become more painful while healing spells and buffs and debuffs become more potent. I've never worked with someone that has an Electric Element, but I assume that your [Volt Channel] will be even deadlier!"

"Got it."

"For your own safety, I'd suggest you try not to touch the water from [Dynamic Dousing]."

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I made a mental note. "I hear you."

"Good. Now, I'm going in. Watch my back." Yusha stood up and darted to the pack of Entities. The moment she left the cover of the trees, the monsters all stared at her and picked up their sluggish paced. With their arms stretched out in front, they zeroed in on Yusha instantly. Despite having their attention, she remained calm. Almost elegant, in fact. She raised her arms high and spread her fingers apart. She reminded me of a dancer or a gymnast ready to perform a cartwheel. But instead doing a front handspring, she summoned bubbles of water that encompassed both of her hands.

With a single wave, she hurled the two masses of water at the monsters. They staggered back as the water covered them, but they didn't look hurt. Instead, they glimmered where the water hit their bodies, along with the area on the ground that her attack splashed onto. Seeing that her spell was successful, I darted from my hiding spot and stood next to Yusha.

"Now?" I asked.

"Now!" Yusha pointed at the ground. The area that had been doused had a faint sparkle to it, making it easy for me to figure out where to punch. I kept my eyes focused on where I wanted to channel my [Mana], a small puddle that formed in a deep ditch in the ground. Then I lifted my eyes to face the face the wandering Entities creeping towards us.

I punched the ground. Same way as before. There was a tingle in my knuckles as the electricity jumped from my skin and into the water. I remained frozen, almost paralyzed by my own electricity. I could manage to barely move my eyes. In awe, I watched as [Volt Channel] lit up the entirety of the drenched ground before arcing up the Entities' bodies.

Their limbs stuck out and started spasming as they became living conduits for my spell. With my hand still stuck in the puddle, I turned my gaze form my convulsing foes to Yusha. She looked just as surprised as me. Even though this was her idea. I guess she didn't think it would have been as effective as it turned out to be.

Didn't take long for me to regain control of my body. I jerked my hand back and shook out my fingers. A strong tingling sensation coursed through my flesh. Didn't quite hurt, but I wouldn't have called it relaxing either. I squinted my eyes and I noticed a bit of smoke emanating from the back of my hand. It disappeared with a short huff of breath, but I made a mental note the next time I plan on acting as a power cord.

"Good job Aiden!" Yusha was grinning as she sprinted to my side. The Entities were still shaking as a steady trail of purple smoke rose from their bodies. "They're dead, that's for sure."

I took a glance at my stats. She was right. Got enough points to level up. Despite the foes still moving. Yusha was grinning from ear to ear. She gave my shoulder a hefty slap, only to receive a small jolt as a miniature bolt of lightning jumped from my skin to hers.

"Sorry about that!" I turned around and reached to hold Yusha's bare arm, only to freeze a few inches away once I realized that it was contact with my skin that caused the small shock in the first place. The girl's eyes were wide open, still startled. But with a shake of her head, she managed to regain her composure.

"It's fine, it's fine!" she said with a few deep breaths. "I forgot that you're still new at this. Looks like you haven't quite managed to fully control your element yet."

"Control my element?" I gave Yusha a puzzled look. "What about what I just did right there?" I turned and pointed to the slain foes. They stopped shaking and laid in crumpled heaps on the muddy ground. I couldn't even count all their bodies with the way they clumped together.

Yusha took a few steps and leaned forward towards the heap of dead Entities. "You did a good job. Don't take what I said the wrong way. But like anything else in life, controlling your element is a matter of time and patience."

I scratched the back of my head, sending a spark from my fingertips to my hair. The jolt made me flinch, but I managed to keep my train of thought. "I see what you're saying."

Another gentle smile appeared across Yusha's face. She crossed her arms behind her back and looked past me and towards the meandering swarm of enemies further on in the forest. "I'm glad you understand. So many people just want to get straight the advanced maneuvers and powerful spells. But the good news is that looks like we have plenty of time to practice."

I glanced over my shoulders. Another Entity was taking its sweet time wandering over towards us. "And we've got plenty to work with."

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