I sat there taking out some of the leftover cooked vegetables I had packed away. Biting off chunks it was a bit bland. Unfortunately, seasonings were not on my packing list.
As I ate and replenished my Mana the Spiders were hard at work making sure the area was defensible enough as the rats surged helplessly against the [Force Field] I had set up.
Using [Geomancy] and [Force Field] together definitely made me feel more powerful than I was and came with a lot less pain than the berserker tendencies I had. Even though it was a substantially weaker fighting style. As most of the skills I had were made for being a Frontliner.
The Rats, though, were infected with something particularly nasty, and I had a distinct feeling that it was worse than a three-day cold. You know what I needed? A staff I'm talkin' about is a really nice straight stick, the sort that will make you honor-bound to slam to the ground and deny someone entry. Deciding to be whimsical, I stood up and stretched out my hand, and using my Mana, carved a long 5'8 staff of rock. Stomping my foot I summoned it from the earth into my outstretched hand.
...
[Rock Slate Staff]
Rank Zero Crude Blunt Weapon
This staff was shaped by an aspiring mage as his first staff. It is not magical and only makes for a barely passable blunt weapon.
...
It seemed like the system had some snark, well fuck you to bud this here staff was beautiful! Twirling around the rock staff it would be insanely impractical and heavy if I wasn't superhumanly strong. Looking, I saw that the Spiders were done setting up their dam and fortifications, perfect timing, as my [Force Field] was cracking under the constant force of the rats' bodies.
Cracking my neck I readied my staff and my magic. The Rats surged forward, their bodies slamming into the [Force Field] like waves lapping on a beach. It shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces, and once again, the fighting ensued. Raising my staff, I slammed it into the ground and, using [Geomancy] at the same time, I created a shock wave of bricks rising like ripples in a pond.
It had the desired effect of unbalancing the horde of rats. The spiders swooped in trapping the rats. I created a series of weak, brittle spears that broke and fractured into the rats, creating shrapnel. Weaving my hands like a conductor I sowed chaos.
While I didn't kill a whole lot of rats my antics made it much easier for the rats to do so. Looking back at my [Daemonic Club] leaning against the channel walls I encased the handle in rock and with a flick it entered the fray.
I had the magic, I had the staff, all I needed was a beard and some robes and I could really pull off this whole wizard thing. Every so often I would pull off a massive use of Mana and kill a group either by spikes, rubble, shrapnel storm, or falling ceiling. Otherwise, I used small tricks like tripping rats, to conserve Mana.
Man having fire magic beyond summoning a few sparks from my jacket like a shitty lighter would be so cool right about now. Although that amount of fire in a cave probably wouldn't end well. As the numbers began to dwindle, for a second I saw through the webs a giant ant just like the Plague Bearer, except really, really bloated like he just ate at Abby's.
...
[Rat Guard Garrison Commander (Plague Spewer)] Level: 14
...
Oh, boy, checking, I saw I had about 10 Mana left. I began to form a really dense and strong stone spear with a sharp tip, but covered in brittle material to make sure that once it stabbed, the brittle stuff would break off and stay in the giant rat. In the meantime, I distracted it with my [Daemonic Club], which floated around taking potshots at the thing while the spiders restricted its movement with a thin, sharp web.
I was thankful that this plague made these guys as dumb as a block of bricks. With a mental push, the spear pushed out of the wall and into the center mass of the plague spewer.
It coughed slightly before, it hacked up and drenched the other side of the channel with throw up, gross. This whole battle was one huge germaphobe nightmare. Using the remains of my Mana, I broke the Spear into Pieces, killing the giant barfing rat. Taking a deep breath I slouched against the wall. The Spiders mopped up the stragglers before cleaning and moving the barricade up further. The circular nature of the channel made it superb for the spider's webbing fortification.
Lying down I stretched out my silk blanket before going off to take a nap. For some reason, probably resting the mind sleep sped up Mana recovery.
...
Eventually, Anastasia woke me up an hour later. After a quick power nap, I ate some more tasteless but nutritious veggies, after all a rat exterminator needed his vegetables to go big and strong!. Chuckling to myself, I polished my gear, including my staff. Hopefully, my skill [Prodigy's Arms Maintenance] would kick in and show its true power!
Moving up to the barricade I saw a horde of rats stacked up like a giant wall. I turned to where Anastasia now sat perched on a spiderweb overlooking the morose wall of corpses.
'Seriously, Vlad the Impaler? Making a wall out of your enemies?' I asked the small spider, and she looked down at me puzzled.
'Well, ya, it's not like we can eat them, so why not stack them up and make them useful? It gave you time to rest and we get rid of the bodies without a whole lot of effort, All we have to do is snipe off any that try to climb over, the rest just chew their way through." She explained, in some sick way it made sense. Trying to haul off the immense amount of dead without infecting me and without making themselves susceptible to a counter-offensive.
'What does their forces look like, any Plague Bearers?' I asked.
'Huh, no, not yet. Anyway, the reason I woke you was so you could make a low bearing stone wall so that the rats have more obstacles. Don't worry, at their current pace, we have plenty of time,' she explained. It was good news that there weren't any elite forces. The wall was easy enough, raising a six-foot wall along the length of the tunnel, and with some quick reinforcement, it was nice and sturdy.
Looking at my staff, I had an idea, I slowly began to [Geomancy] to reinforce the staff, making it super dense. Finally, I used [Sanctify Item] it cost me a measly 1 Divinity.
...
[Blessed Slate Staff]
Rank One Common Blunt Weapon
This ordinary shaft of slate rock has been made super dense by an aspiring mage and blessed with a smidgen of divine power.
Effects: [High Density] and -1% cost for using earth-based magic
-[High Density]
This item is substantially heavier than it appears requiring at least 2 strength to pick it up and requiring 3 strength to wield without a penalty to Agility. It deals concussive damage to all that are hit with it.
...
Smiling at the staff, which was still essentially a really heavy cylinder of stone with minor magical properties. Though the cost reduction was definitely appreciated.
I stood on the wall, having fashioned a tower protruding from the center, standing at eight feet tall and roughly twelve feet from the wall of rat corpses. Taking potshots at the rats that tried to climb up the wall of rats instead of through it.
The system was being extremely stingy with the level-ups. I hadn't gained a single one even after all of the rats I had killed. I heard a ripping sound and saw a small hole appear in the rat wall.
Slamming my staff into the floor of my 'wizard tower', I summoned a spike of earth that speared through the rats that began to appear.
However, despite my efforts, they continued to pile through the hole single-mindedly. I sent out a string of Mana, looping it through my staff and sending it out to the channel ceiling, and slowly, bricks and stones began to fall, both on those inside and outside the rat wall.
"SKKKRRRRRGGG!!!!" They screamed in unison as they were being killed and swooped up by the spiders.
'More are coming from further up the tunnel!' Anastasia said. I raised a small temporary [Force Field] as a rat tried to jump at me. Batting them away, I turned my focus on the Rats closest to the wall, pushing them back.
While using [Geomancy] on my club didn't allow for the same amount of force as I could bring before, it was still massively cost-efficient Mana-wise, at least.
"Begone, foul miscreants!" I yelled while sending another wave of rocks bashing them back. I loved being a drama queen.
'What the hell are you doing?' Anastasia asked as she watched me.
'Aura Farming!' I responded to her as I smirked at her confusion.
'Aura what?' she asked, confused, no doubt thinking I was a bit deranged. Which was funny considering she was a talking spider with a love for killing.
'Don't worry about it' I responded in a terrible Italian American accent while decking a rat that tried to creep up.
'You're weird,' she responded before she crawled off to go help her siblings.
'You're weird,' I responded, but she didn't reply as I held the line. Despite my best efforts, we were getting pushed back by sheer numbers.
Unfortunately, we had to momentarily retreat until my mana recovers. I spent my last dregs of Mana to summon a shield. Before promptly falling asleep in my little wizard's tower.
I got up again refreshed and ready sitting up I nearly shat myself as a vaugely humanoid sketal figure clad in green fog hovered above the shield trying to break it down.
...
[Plague Elemental] Lvl: 8
Rank One Semi-Elemental Undead
...
I was relieved for a moment that it was only one until I saw it had a gang of friends. Ugh, why couldn't it be easy? Standing up, stretching, and holding my staff I began manipulating the rock on the other side of the [Force Field]. They seemed not to take much damage from my stone spears, however, they couldn't even touch me as they helplessly battered against the [Force Field].
The Spiders tried to help but for some reason their webs couldn't hold the damn things down.
...
[Achievement Earned]
[Minor Elemental Slayer]
+1% Damage towards Elementals
...
Well that was bloody useless, I continued my crusade swatting down the [Plague Elementals] until eventually I heard more skittering and another hoard of rats came piling out of the waterway. They slammed full force into the [Force Field] sending cracks at the edges of it. 'Sigh' they spiders reclaimed their positions an together we stemmed the flow of the latest wave of Rats.
When there was a lull in the rat waves I had an idea. Using my [Geomancy] I slowly formed a rough block of stone. From their I slowly condensed it into shape. First I started with the head slowly making vague impressions like a face and then slowly forming the shoulders and arms. The hands were hard to get to look right, and the lengths didn't really match but hey I wasn't jo Michelangelo or something. Next I began with the legs forming them nice and strong even reinforcing it more. Next I began making a nice and large area in its chest. Making enough space for me sit in, finally I made very thin air holes, enough to let air through and nothing else. When I was finished I smiled at my master piece.
...
[Golem Statue]
Rank One Common Construct
This item designed to somewhat comfortably house a slightly larger than average humanoid and be manipulated with [Geomancy] it does not posses and innate magical properties.
Effect: [High Density]
...
Stepping in to the Golem I stretched my magical senses to the whole construct. Securly closing the hatch I held the [Blessed Slate Staff] and guided the golem to grab unto the [Daemonic Club] oh, yeah baby this was going to be Fun!