Chapter 33

Struck Gold

Rays of red light cascaded throughout the tunnel as strange jewel covered creatures burst into the tunnel in a spray of debris. They looked almost like dogs covered in razor sharp gemstones. Janus had learned his lesson in the past, wasting no time before identifying them.

[Hearststone Guardian - Level 40]

Janus wasn’t sure how many of them there were, but the level of the monsters alone was enough to focus his attention.

Tara was already moving and a golden barrier appeared around her as she placed herself between the monsters and her companions. Janus followed suit and used [Spell Weaving] to create a mana shell around himself.

The monsters were fast and one had already jumped forward, swiping at Tara’s shield. Janus was preparing to cast [Pow. Enhancement] when he was distracted by a dozen identical Rowans jumping towards the [Heartstone Guardians].

Janus kept up his enhancement skill on Tara, in addition to infusing her weapon with mana. Whenever he got a chance, he would launch a ball of reinforced mana into one of their gemstone encrusted foes. Tara was doing most of the heavy lifting. Her shortsword was covered in golden energy in the shape of a wicked-looking mace. Each strike of the weapon emitted a bright flash.

Rowan was focusing on distracting the monsters. Janus had spotted him tossing his ornamental dagger around. It was like a red streak and slammed into his targets with surprising force. It was almost impossible to keep track of the [Trickster]. Even following the thrown dagger did not reveal Rowan’s true position.

I wonder if he can change position with his illusions?

The fight was going well until Janus felt the ground shake beneath him. He nearly fell to the ground before a golden light swept him up and pushed him into the tunnel wall. Where he had been standing, a [Heartstone Guardian] erupted from the ground like a missile. It was heading straight at him.

Crashing through Janus’ mana shell, the monster continued barreling forward. Janus erected half a dozen panes of reinforced mana between himself and the beast, finally halting its momentum just before the last one.

Janus created a minor explosion of mana which pushed the monster back. He could already see a few of Rowan’s clones circling the newly appeared enemy. Tara was still holding off three of the monsters on her own, but Janus wasn’t sure how long she would last.

In a gamble, Janus decided to spend a sizeable chunk of his mana to create several arrow point arrays surrounding the nearby [Heartstone Guardian]. The resulting mana arrows pelted the enemy and Rowan didn’t let the chance pass to slam the creature repeatedly with his dagger. It was hard to make out the red streaks of Rowan’s attacks through the red light pulsing from the monster’s gemstones, but Janus could see the effects. Each strike took a chunk of gemstone with it, and the creature was slowly being whittled down.

[Your party has defeated a dangerous enemy: Heartstone Guardian]

At the same moment that the notification appeared, Janus heard a shattering sound from Tara’s direction. A bright flash of light nearly blinded him as her shield finally broke.

Janus moved quickly, stepping forward and forming a new mana shell so that she was inside. It barely helped as the monsters crushed through it. Tara attempted to fend them off, but one got through her guard, biting down on her arm. She began bashing the monster in the head with her shield, but it refused to be dislodged.

It confused Janus to suddenly see Rowan standing where the creature had been just a moment ago. Tara barely reacted, simply slamming her sword into one of the other nearby monsters.

Rowan gave Janus a small wink before the man disappeared into a puff of red smoke.

He can swap places with monsters? I should have been more insistent that he share his skills….

Janus began trying to push back as many of the creatures as he could with panes of reinforced mana. If he could give Tara enough time, she would be able to reform her barrier. Unlike Rowan, she had actually shared what her skills could do with Janus.

Red streaks flashed throughout the cavern as Rowan continued to sow chaos amongst their enemies. This combined with Janus’ efforts to keep their foes off of Tara, giving her the time she needed to reform her golden barrier. She immediately shouted and charged back into the fray.

Mana was a constant consideration and Janus made certain to not drop below half of his reserves. There was no telling if more [Heartstone Guardians] would show up after they defeated the first batch. His [Focus] was helping a lot with the constant mana strain, and he would rather not have to consume it for the quick 500 mana. It was best to save that for a genuine emergency.

[Your party has defeated a dangerous enemy: Heartstone Guardian] x2

The fight was winding down, with only one enemy remaining. Working with other people was proving to be difficult. Janus couldn’t really utilize his mana pearls without hurting his companions. He resolved to learn some heavier hitting, less collateral, spells to use.

He was mostly relegated to enhancing Tara and making space, occasionally defending against an attack with a reinforced pane of mana. The final enemy was destroyed by an overhead smash of Tara’s sword, the holy energy at the end shattering red gemstones and crushing the monster.

[Your party has defeated a dangerous enemy: Heartstone Guardian]

[You have gained 2 levels]

[Your Power Enhancement skill has gained 3 levels]

[Your Spell Weaving skill has gained 1 levels]

“Well, that was a bit of a workout,” said a dozen Rowans before they began vanishing In puffs of purple smoke.

Tara had an almost manic look of excitement on her face. “I could take another ten. Another fifty! Let’s get this [Heartstone] thing.”

Janus was about to speak when he heard the foreman's voice.

“I’ll petition the company to get you guys a bonus.” His eyes narrowed with a calculating gleam. “But now that I’ve seen you guys in action, I’m thinking about this quest.”

“You should be thinkin’ about getting the fuck out of here,” Rowan admonished.

“Let the man speak. I like where this is going,” said Tara.

Janus wasn’t sure if he liked where this was going. “I’m kind of with Rowan here.”

“Well, we’ve got the digging crew and a route to follow.” The foreman indicated the spots where [Heartstone Guardians] had burrowed into the tunnel. “The quest notification probably reached all the way to the station. We might be able to get to this thing first.”

Tara gave Janus and Rowan a pleading look.

“I’m not tryin’ to get myself killed,” said Rowan. “I don’t even know what this [Heartstone] thing is. Are you guys willing to risk your lives for a gamble?”

“Fifteen percent” said the Foreman.

“What do you mean?” asked Janus. “Fifteen percent of what?”

“Whatever we can get for finishing the quest, my men and I will only take fifteen percent. The rest goes to you three.”

Rowan looked around at everyone else. “Ah, fuck it. What do you think, Janus? I already know what Tara wants.”

It was a difficult question, and Janus had little time to think.

We can’t do it without the digging crew, but they aren’t asking for much. How much money is up for grabs here?

Janus hadn’t even heard of quests before this. Surely it was an incredibly rare occurence. The [Heartstone] could be worth an incredible amount of money and they had to be the closest. It was their party that triggered the quest.

“I’m not so sure,” said Janus.

“Well, make up your mind quick. We need to get moving in either case. There could be more of those things heading towards us right now.” Rowan shrugged.

If I finish this quest, it will look great in my delving history. But we need to protect the digging crew, too.

It would be a selfish decision to go through with the quest, while so many people were relying on him for their safety. If it were just him and his companions….

“What about the diggers? Do they want to pursue the quest?” asked Janus.

The foreman turned towards his digging team. There were only half a dozen of them. Some were earth manipulators, others were surveyors. There was a pause before one of them spoke.