Chapter 205: Chapter 204 – Orange, White, and Tortoise Shell

Then Peter turns to Jason. “Don’t think that means you did everything perfectly. Your little burst there was nice and all, but you kept it hidden too long. Going by how the other two reacted, you’ve done nothing like it before. Trump cards are nice and all, but stop being an idiot about it. I don’t know how Energy works, but you don’t seem tired or worn out so you could have been doing that sort of thing more.”

“It is so much harder to help you when you’re covered in the enemy. Don’t let them swarm you like that for significant periods of time. Anyway, you’re hurt like crazy. While the damage is consistent, it does get worse if you let them literally crawl all over you. Now let Courtney heal you up. You appear to have a crazy small health pool. Swarms could honestly be seen as your counter. Then again, they tend to be for any dodge tank which seems to be the role you’re currently filling. Consistent damage instead of large dodgeable bursts of it really mess with agility focused people in general.”

“So you don’t feel left out Rosha, good job? Not perfect of course but meh, nothing to point out that is too important. I can go over the small stuff when I am training you one on one. Just keep sweeping the field and you should be fine.” Peter crosses his arms, and with his eyes closed, nods at them.

Jason narrows his eyes, “I guess that is a fair assessment. The swarm just didn’t feel like much of a threat.”

Peter laughs, “Of course the swarm didn’t feel like a threat. Swarms are the classic example of death by a thousand cuts. They aren’t some leviathan that crushes you in a single blow. In fact, no known swarm has members past the third bottleneck.”

Courtney scoffs, “If that was the case, why are the swarms in this country so powerful? The swarms don’t have all that many members. Last I checked, the oldest swarms capped out at just under a thousand members.”

Peter shrugs, “A matter of terminology. We still call them swarms, but technically they aren’t swarms anymore but rather hiveminds. Apparently whenever one member of a swarm on our planet breaks through the third bottleneck, the System elevates them. The swarm shifts from being a bunch of individuals to being a single being. An odd bit of System nonsense there. As far as our scientists can tell there is no reason for this. In theory, a swarm can continue to grow and level just like any other monsters. I guess it might just be a form of control so a swarm doesn’t go out of control?”

Jason nods, “A swarm going out of control can kill worlds. Sometimes quantity is the only quality you need. Combine that with growing levels? Honestly? Even level 24 seems a bit high. If I was in control, I would probably limit it to level nine. Making a hivemind is the best answer because then there is something in control with more of a survival instinct. Mobs and swarms tend to have a bit of a problem with realizing when to pull back.”

Peter raises an eyebrow, “Well, I wasn’t wrong about you having old eyes. Anyway, look over there! Another swarm is coming.”

The group turns and yep, another swarm is on the way. Only catch is this one is three times the size of the last. Over three hundred cats are now bearing down on the group as Peter laughs. “I guess we are starting to see the results of that other group failing. This is a little bit much, though. Courtney, you cast barkskin on Rosha right now. Rosha, you’re in front to hold them back as long as possible. Jason, whenever they try to flank I want you to dive in and kick them back. Don’t question my orders for now. I’m here to help in the first place. After the battle we can go over this though honestly we shouldn’t have to. All three of you are smart cookies so should realize what my orders are about.”

Courtney just nods and starts to cast her spell while Rosha prepares. The spell will let her hold position, but three hundred cats is just too much to keep them all back. Jason stands to the side and sighs. He has his throwing daggers, but there are only five of them. Not exactly going to help.

The swarm is still a distance away, so Jason looks around, but there isn’t a better place to face them. It might be a large open area, but this part of the road is on top of a slight rise. Everything else close by is flat with maybe some shrugs. Even the trees are more spindly. While you might be able to hide behind them, climbing them would be out of the question. Jason can only shake his head. Apparently Peter had planned this out to an even greater extent than he had expected.

Jason shrugs, to only be expected. Peter must have traveled this route many times before. The man was over four hundred years old, for goodness sakes! He seems to be at least somewhat connected to the country. Maybe not in an official position, but you don’t have someone as powerful as he is slumming around your country without some kind of deal.

The cats are close now, so Jason drops the idle thoughts and focuses on them. As he takes a closer look, though he notices one final random thing. The last couple swarms had been a contiguous color throughout. This one he can tell it was made of a few combined swarms because there are orange, white, and tortoise shell colored cats. It actually feels a bit strange now that he notices it. Why would the swarms be a single color despite the other swarms being a different pattern? There must be a reason, but he can ask about it after the fight is over.