Penelope stuck the tip of the staff through the thin wall of blue light and aimed at the closest Demonic Ant.
“Light Bolt!”
The streak of light zigzagged towards the monster but fell short by over a hundred feet.
The Demons were adapting.
“At least I know how far away I can hit something now.” Penelope sighed as she pulled the tip of the staff back in. Her mana had been full before she fired the last spell, which gave her enough for fifteen spells. That was enough to clear the square if she didn’t miss, but there was no chance of that happening. She knew she would miss more than once, which meant walking into the square required her to run around while shooting her spells at the monsters. From her little time playing action RPGs, she knew that was referred to as kiting, but it wasn’t an option that she was looking forward to trying in real life.
1B, the next square to the west, had three Demonic Ants and two Ceiling Creepers. The Demon leading them looked similar to the Shadow Caster that Penelope had just fought, but it didn’t have a weapon in its hands. That alone was cause for concern, since it was an unknown factor.
Penelope tapped on the staff with her finger as she weighed her options. The thought of having to dodge attacks wasn’t a strategy that she was looking forward to trying, but there weren’t a lot of other options. If she couldn’t hit anything from the safe zone, then she was going to have to enter the square. She looked at the timer on her screen.
Less time had passed on this run, and she was staying under the hour limit that she had given herself in order to clear the floor alone. She looked to the east at the group. They were on the last level one square. Since they were alive, she would only need to clear half as many, which gave her the extra time that she was going to need to sleep.
She gripped the staff and stepped into the barrier. A shiver ran through her body, and she shook her shoulders to dispel it. Penelope clenched her jaw and pointed the staff at the closest Demonic Ant as she walked towards them. There were over two hundred fifty feet between them, and her spells couldn’t shoot half that distance.
SKREE!!!
The high-pitched squeal set this Demon apart from the last ones. Penelope didn’t need to understand demon to know what it was saying.
The three Demonic Ants surged forward. They moved in a V as they rushed towards her, pincers snapping as they hurried.
The two Ceiling Creepers weren’t moving; instead, they were staying over the Demon Caster. Penelope didn’t have time to wonder why half the army was hanging back, but she wasn’t going to complain.
“Light Bolt!”
All three of the Demons began to glow a faint red. Glowing stuff was always bad in games, and Penelope didn’t want to find out what bad stuff there could be in real life.
“Light Bolt!”
DING!
Experience +12
The lead one went down. Neither of her spells had missed, which was a first. She focused on the one on her right and fired two more spells.
DING!
Experience +12
There was only one left, and it wasn’t moving fast enough to reach her before she could cast the last two streaks of light.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
DING!
Experience +12
Penelope looked at her mana. There were still thirty left, which gave her more than enough to deal with the remaining monsters. Since the Ceiling Creepers weren’t much of an issue as long as she could move, she focused her attention on the Shadow Caster.
The Demon’s green eyes narrowed into slits as the same red glow that covered the other Demons coated it.
A purple glow covered Penelope’s skin. Her stomach lurched and protested whatever the glow was doing to her.
“Light Bolt! Light Bolt!”
Penelope grabbed her stomach and almost let the staff fall out of her hands. She glared at the Demon that was weaving its hands in her direction. The pain in her gut was worse than the time she’d eaten month-old rice from the back of the fridge, but it was nothing she couldn’t push through.
“Light Bolt!”
Sweat beaded on her cheeks and brow as the heat from the itch just under her skin demanded to be scratched. Penelope had to ignore the feeling to focus on stopping the one causing it.
“Light Bolt!”
She hadn’t missed, but the monster was still standing. The other two Shadows had only needed four blasts of a weaker spell to kill them. Either
Penelope gritted her teeth and raised the end of the staff up. The tip had dropped to the ground while she’d been focusing. She felt like she was hugging it, the way she had to wrap her arms around it to keep it up.
She dropped to a knee, the nausea begging her to lie on the floor where it was cool. Her body craved relief from the burning itch just under her skin. Penelope knew that if she gave in, it would mean a restart. That was not something that she wanted to experience.
“Light Bolt!”
DING!
Experience +36
You are now Level Five
Stats increased: Recovery +1, Magic +1
You have learned: Light Orb
The moment the Shadow Caster died, the aura around her vanished, though the sick feeling in her stomach only lost its edge.
Penelope took a slow and deep breath, then looked up at the two Demons inching towards her. Her slick palms gripped the staff and pointed it at the closest one.
“Light Orb!”
A globe the size of a basketball composed of light squeezed out of the tip of her staff. The large ball moved much slower than her other spells, but it was much wider. She wouldn’t have been able to hit a faster foe, but it moved faster than the Ceiling Creepers, which was all that mattered.
The orb exploded when it hit the lead monster. The wave area damage knocked both Demons off the ceiling. They shrieked as they tried to right themselves, but Penelope wasn’t going to give them the chance.
“Light Orb!”
She aimed in between the two. When the orb hit the ground, it exploded. Bathing the two Demons in light.
DING!
Experience +6
Experience +6
The wall of light went down behind her, letting her know that the fight was over. It had taken her less than ten minutes, which put her up on time by a lot. Penelope cast a sideways glance at the other team to check their progress. She wanted to get done with her side fast enough that the others didn’t come offer to help, though if this Caster was wearing the same thing as the last one, she had a set of clothes that would help one of their Casters.
“Jeru, is there anything here worth taking?”
“Loot is always worth taking.” The blue Elf appeared in front of her. “Even those corpses have value, not that you’ll be able to use them for anything other than a good steak.” He licked his lips. “It’s been too long since I’ve had the taste of anything on my actual lips.” He touched his lips with his fingers. “I’d let an Ogre cook for me just to taste…”
Penelope snapped her fingers. “Jeru. Is anything here worth taking now, or should I leave it for them?”
“There are people still alive?” Jeru looked east. “Huh.” He looked down at the pile and tapped his chin, then he looked at her. “Why are you asking me?”
“Jeru…” Her fingers dug into her scalp as she ran them through her hair. “Look. I’m sorry that I snapped at you.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You’ve been around me how many times?”
The Elf raised an eyebrow as he stared at her.
“Fine, you don’t want to tell me. But I’m sure you’ve been around me enough to know that when I see a puzzle, I have to figure it out.” Her heart beat faster as she looked as close to his eyes as she dared. “I’m not going to tap out of this, so please answer my questions so I can figure this out faster.”
He just stared at her as if he was waiting for her to say something else. After a few moments of silence, Jeru’s shoulders sagged. “You have an identity feature in your menu. Go to your status screen, then focus it over the items. It’ll display information about them.”
Jeru vanished, leaving her alone, though even if he wasn’t where she could see him, he was still with her.
Penelope turned to the pile of loot.
“Let’s see what we have.”
Rating, Review, Follow, Favorite, or Comment does wonders to boost my morale. If you want to help support my writing or check out advanced chapters, head over to my .
Immersive Ink
RR Writer's Guild