BOOM!
With an almost audible impact, the crushing force of gravity falls on the soldiers like a hammer from heaven, pressing them to the ground. A few blasts of sword light are released just in time, slamming into my Diamond Carapace and buffeting me about, but my defences hold firm and only minor damage is inflicted.
In a wide circle with a radius of ten metres, the trapped soldiers are pressed down by an invisible, irresistible force. Their movements are slowed and some are unable to keep their feet, driven to their knees.
You should never skip leg day!
Shattering Bite!
I unleash my fearsome mandibles upon these foes as they labour under the effects of my domain magic. So long as I maintain the spell, the fight is one sided. As if their arms and legs were impeded with massive weights, as if their weapons and shields were ten times as heavy, the soldier’s movements become slow and painful. Mustering the stamina to activate their skills seems incredibly difficult.
Several soldiers are able to raise their weapon or shield, but never both. I run amok amongst them, snapping and biting at every opening I see, dodging away with ease whenever a soldier manages to muster a strike.
[You have defeated a Level 39 Human Swordsman.]
[You have defeated a Level 36 Human Scout.]
[You have defeated a Level 37 Human Soldier.]
[You have gained XP.]
[You have reached Level 15. One Skill Point awarded.]
[Piercing Chomp has reached Level 8.]
Muahaha!
It would have continued in this vein if the townsfolk hadn’t for some reason become madly brave and decided to charge directly into my Domain.
Who can say what madness possessed them? I personally suspect the priest urged them to charge and assist me in battle since I had so successfully suppressed the foes.
Naturally, the moment these brave and determined townsfolk step foot in my Domain, they immediately fall flat on their faces, completely unable to stand up under the pressure of my spell. Idiots!
What’s more, they’re now a target to those soldiers who can still swing their weapons. Rather than watch the townspeople be massacred, I sigh internally and release the spell.
These people really are a pain in the business district.
44. Battle to the Doorstep
Forced to withdraw my Domain, the magic flickers out of existence and the drain on my Deep Gravity Magic Gland trickles to a stop. The true benefits of the bottomless gland upgrade are showing now after this extended fight. Despite casting bolts, javelins, infusing my mandibles, the bomb and the domain, my Gravitational Gland is kicking along at well over half full. Not to mention my own core is still topped off and ready to go.
Freed from the immense pressure of my spell, the soldiers and townspeople scramble to their feet, brandishing their weapons. The townspeople comfortably outnumber their foes, but they are individually significantly weaker. If it weren’t for me having bitten the heck out of these soldiers while they grovelled beneath my Domain, they wouldn’t have any chance at all.
The priest is the first to leap back to his feet, brandishing a heavy looking mace in his one hand like a madman, roaring at the top of his lungs. At times like these, I’m glad I can’t understand the words coming out of his mouth. This priest has achieved a level of obsession that cannot be considered healthy in any way. If I were to poop in a field, I feel like this guy would raise a shrine and worship it for one thousand years.
This guy can only thank his lucky stars that the only things I can dispense from my back zone are acid and justice.
The battle breaks down into a brawling melee, several townsfolk surrounding each enemy soldier and relentlessly stabbing them with incredible fervour and selfless courage. In the grip of their religious zealotry, the poorly trained and armed farmers ignore their own wounds and exhaustion, pressing forward relentlessly.
Almost like ants! These people are doing the colony they worship proud.
Much like I had for the workforce in the past, I Dash throughout the field of battle, running interference wherever I can, biting legs and arms, tearing weapons from hands or charging into soldiers to bowl them over, preventing them from grouping up.
Every now and again I fire off a Gravity Bolt, sending a soldier sky high before they come crashing back to the earth. Shockingly, some of them don’t die immediately on impact, utilising some sort of skill to absorb the tremendous force or increase their survivability. Even so, most die straight away and the survivors are greatly wounded.
Of course, I try to ensure my targets are on the outside of the battle so they don’t fall directly back on top of us.
And to exclusively use my Piercing Chomp skill for grinding purposes, and ensure no allies are caught up in my attack. The melee is too tight for me to deploy AOE skills and expect to not incur some friendly fire.
After twenty long minutes, the battle is done and the townsfolk have been triumphant. Covered in sweat and wounds, the people raise their weapons and cheer! Some have given up their lives for the cause here, but the survivors are not disheartened. In fact, the sacrifice of the martyrs has inspired them even more.
These people need help…
I myself managed to harvest another Level from raining my enemies down on the hard stone, as well as increasing my Piercing Chomp skill by one Level. One more and Piercing Chomp will reach Level ten! Then both of my primary jaw attacks will become advanced skills.
According to the queen’s information on skills, once a skill is able to project the user’s stamina outside their own body, it can be considered an advanced skill. Surface races, with their class-based system, have the ability to gradually raise skills associated with their own class type through training, without having to risk themselves in battle. Usually, a trainee soldier or mercenary will be confined to the training yard to raise their skills to at least this Level before being allowed in the field.
After all, what use is someone who can wave a sword or spear around against someone who can send out a wave of light to strike their enemies from ten metres away!
Whilst some of my skills are raised through constant, passive use, such as Tunnel Map, I don’t think it’s possible for a monster to raise their attack skills through biting trees or rocks, for example.
Yet another example of system prejudice against monsters.
It does help explain why monsters can experience more rapid growth than the surface races. Training is quite slow, whereas a monster will only get stronger by constant combat, raising skills, gaining Levels and consuming Biomass all at once. A young but strong monster can grow powerful and evolve in a matter of days, whereas a human would be on the training field for months, if not years, to raise a single skill.
This also makes it clear how human mages are able to learn faster than I can. By studying, reading and conducting mental exercises, the humans can raise magic related skills passively and then raise them again when they actually practice. Whereas I can only repetitively practice over and over again. Monsters are compensated by the possibility of magic specific glands, basically shortcutting the process of learning proper magic.
It was only in this way that I was able to confirm with the queen that the route I chose to learn magic is essentially the surface way, which all the advanced and sentient races use. Building the fundamental skills up from the ground. Monsters who cast spells as humans can aren’t unheard of. But they are exceedingly rare and only found deep in the Dungeon.