Chapter 61: Bk.2 – 6 – Forward

They had moved only a little distance when they had to stop due to the noise. Fortunately, it wasn't hard to find the Void crystal that Mathius had and activate it. She decided to keep it tucked away on him. Before they moved again, Nova checked his temperature. He was still hot though not as bad as before. She hoped that meant he would be okay.

Then once again they were moving. Pan took the lead while Nova stuck close to Mathius, sliding the crystal against the wall as they went. She pushed her mana touch out, trying to sense the threads around her.

Her practice with the threads before had paid off. It made it easier for her to separate the information she was getting around her. Her range was strange. Sometimes she could feel up to 6-meters away, other times it was a 2-meter circle around her. Using mana touch, made the dungeon a little less like a blind walk, but it wasn't perfect, or at least her use of it.

Currently, she focused on mana that moved. It was a little harder than expected. All mana moved or at least it felt that way to her senses. It was like something fluttering in a breeze. Nova had to focus more on how the mana moved. If there was a steady pattern then more than likely it was an object. If it had bigger movements or sped up or slowed then it was probably some sort of animal or monster. She tried to avoid those.

"How are you holding up back there?" Pan asked.

Nova frowned, keeping her voice down. "We shouldn't be talking, should we?"

Pan shrugged. "You're as good as a beacon with that torch crystal of yours."

Nova looked down at it. "You think I should turn it off?"

"Aye. Right now, you've been lucky but it's not always going to be the case. We're going to come across something nasty and it's going to head straight for that light of yours."

Nova stopped and looked down at the torch crystal. "I won't be able to see."

"You can barely see now," Pan said. "It's a crutch and one that will get you killed."

Nova nodded. She reached down, hesitating, but then quickly tapped the crystal. Darkness rushed in on all sides of her and as it did, she could hear the whispers of something.

"They're coming," Pan hissed out.

Nova stuffed the crystal into her pocket. As soon as she did, Mathius plopped on the ground. "I thought they were drawn by the light."

"They were," Pan said. "And now they're ready to pounce."

Nova pushed out her touch senses as far as she could go. There were three of them moving in. One of them was moving toward Mathius. Nova twisted her staff. A new thought occurred to her. She had time.

She quickly called up her screen and then closed it again. She waited for the three monsters to get in close and then she stepped forward. She poured mana into the staff until a scythe manifested. It wasn't as big as the one from before, probably around a third of the length and width.

She swung it at the three monsters in a sweeping arc. There was a shriek and then she watched the mana threads of the creatures dissolve. A wave of fatigue washed over Nova and she leaned back against the wall. She brought up her screen once more and let out a sigh when she focused on the mana pool, bringing the screen up and looking at the last line.

Mana Pool: 990 (56/990 available)

When she had looked before she attacked the mana pool had been at 306.

It takes 250 mana to use just a baby-sized version of that scythe.

It felt like too much but then again, the scythe was a bit OP. It was also exhausting to use. She wondered how it worked for Oren. He didn't seem fatigued when using his void mana. Either he was good at hiding it or his mana pool was much larger than hers. She really wished she had a way to look at people's stats.

Nova sighed and looked at Pan. The old ghost was watching her curiously.

"What?"

"Just wondering if you finally broke."

Nova blinked. I guess I must have looked like I was having a breakdown, staring into the dark with an unfocused look in my eyes.

Nova shook her head. "I'm fine. Let's keep going."

Pan gave her a skeptical look but turned and began leading the way. Nova pulled the crystal out of her pocket and pressed it against the wall. Mathius immediately thumped against the wall and they began to move again.

They were attacked again, further down. It was another group of flesh sethers. This time, Nova didn't use her mana. Instead, she gripped her staff, using it as a spear and when they got too close, she used her knife. Rivulets of blood climbed down her arms and shoulders but she won.

"Reckless."

Nova's head jerked up at the scolding words. She looked to see that beside Pan was the female soldier, Kamila. Nova narrowed her eyes.

"I didn't ask for a critique," Nova said.

"But you need one. You are gripping your spear wrong." Kamila walked forward and raised her hand. A spear materialized in her hand. She moved her hand to the middle. "You are holding it too far back. Keep it in the middle so you have better control."

Nova wanted to tell the ghost to get lost but did as she stated. Right away she noticed a difference.

Kamila nodded. "Better, but the balance is off."

"How do I fix that?" Nova asked, wondering if she needed to move into a better stance.

"Stop using your staff as a spear," Kamila said. "I understand why you did it. But you are using a staff. Do you not trust yourself with your weapon?"

Nova frowned. "It just knocks the monsters to the side. It doesn't kill them."

"Then you are not using it right," Kamila said simply. She circled Nova. "A staff can strike. It can sweep. It can block. But it can also smash and rupture. It is the one who wields it that decides if it is deadly or not."

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Nova's lips tightened as she took in what the ghost said. "I don't know if I'm strong enough to smash and rupture."

"Why not?" Kamila said. "You can lift it. You can swing it."

Nova stiffened. "I-"

"No more excuses. You are not in a position to doubt yourself," Kamila said sharply. "Many are relying on you. Fight and win."

With that the ghost vanished, returning back to the staff.

Beside her, Pan snorted before turning and walking again. Nova sighed. She looked at her staff with the knife tied to the end of it.

"Whatever," she mumbled.

She turned and followed Pan.

When the next attack happened, Nova found herself yanking off the knife she had tied to the end of her staff. This time there were only two flesh sethers so it was a little easier to handle. She tried to focus on using the techniques Helena had shown her but it was harder translating the techniques over when she was in a life and death situation.

Surprisingly, it did work. She jabbed one of the flesh sethers while she brought the staff down hard on the other remaining one. She then swept it to the side, trying to create some distance as she concentrated on the remaining one. She smacked it hard, smashing it against the wall until it fell limp. She wasn't sure if that killed it but it at least knocked it out.

The other flesh sether leaped at her. And she lifted her staff, blocking the attack. The sight of it, so close, with its teeth gnawing at the staff, made a wave of panic go through her. What if it broke it? She started swinging wildly, trying to get the monster off. It clung tightly to the staff until Nova reached over and yanked it off, tossing it to the side. The flesh sether flipped in the air and then twisted and lunged back at her.

Nova was thrown off and she simply lifted her staff and began bashing it down on the flesh sether over and over again. The flesh sether wouldn't let go at first and then it tried to escape but Nova didn't let up until it was a pulp on the ground. Her breathing was coming out in ragged gasps and she could hear laughter behind her.

She turned to see Pan clutching his stomach as he laughed. When he caught her looking at him, he just laughed harder. "I -snicker- don't think -snicker that's what Kamila meant when she told you to use your staff properly."

Nova flushed. She had used the staff like a bat in the end. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Aye," Pan said with a snort. "That it did."

Nova huffed and went back to the flesh sether that laid limp against the wall. She thought it was dead but she couldn't be sure. She pulled out her knife and stabbed it several times for good measure.

"Time to go," Pan said.

Nova nodded and they began to move once more. Their pace felt agonizingly slow. Nova was constantly stopping to fight and it was beginning to wear her down. Her stomach was clenched up in hunger and thirst was being barely kept at bay. She had ideas of how to handle it but she needed a place to keep them at least partly safe while she worked on it. A place she was starting to doubt existed.

"Pan, when are we going to get there?"

"Soon," Pan shot back. It was the same answer he had given her the last few times she asked.

Nova frowned and then stopped, leaning against the cave wall. "You keep saying that but I don't know how much longer I can keep going."

Pan opened his mouth and then looked at her. A scowl covered his face and a moment later he zipped away. Nova blinked in surprise.

"What the hell?" She straightened up, looking around her and wondering if her guide had just abandoned her. She tightened her grip on her staff and tried peering into the darkness. She didn't step far away from Mathius, knowing that if she did, she was leaving the monsters a buffet.

She wasn't sure how long Pan was gone - 10 minutes, 15? Finally, the old ghost appeared in front of her. "I found a place for us. It's a bit of a walk but if we make it there you can rest up for a few hours."

"Just a few?" Nova asked and she couldn't help the hint of a whine in her voice.

"We're in a dungeon, not an inn."

Nova clamped her lips shut and nodded. Then they were moving again. The way there seemed to take even longer than before but Nova knew it was just in her head. The thought of being able to rest made her impatient. Eventually, Pan led them to several stalagmites. He looked around warily.

"Keep quiet and move slow."

Nova nodded and moved closer to Mathius, making sure she stayed in range of the void crystal. The stalagmites made moving Mathius harder but eventually they reached the spot Pan spoke of. It was a small hole that looked like some animal had made it. It was dark and small, barely big enough for her and Mathius.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"For now, it will be."

Nova nodded. She had a debate on whether to go in first or try to push Mathius in first but in the end, it made more sense for her to go in and then pull him inside. She crawled into the hall which luckily opened up a bit once she got inside. She then used the magnetism crystal to pull Mathius part of the way in and then dragged him the rest.

The space was tight with the both of them inside and she had to twist Mathius around into a half-sitting position before she was done. She turned on the torch crystal to inspect the cave.

"Turn that off!" Pan hissed at her.

Nova quickly cut it off. She sighed. "No light then."

"You don't need it if you're asleep."

Nova got the hint. She leaned back against the cave wall and closed her eyes, letting sleep take her.

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