Ben closed his eyes and strained his ears, becoming better at estimating the time it would take for the rodents to reach them. "Two, maybe three minutes."

  "Okay, everyone, try to meditate during that time. We need to recover as much mana as we can," Robin ordered.

  The mention of mana recovery reminded Ben of the bread he had packed. He had prepared about a hundred savory rolls filled with broccoli, beast meat, and cheese, not initially intending to stay in the lair for a month. However, realizing their extended stay, he quickly distributed the rolls, receiving puzzled looks from everyone except Al, who recognized their potential.

  Al asked in amazement, "Is this what I think it is?"

  Ben grinned and nodded, and Al eagerly devoured the roll. Al encouraged the others to do the same, highlighting the rolls' magical enhancement.

  Upon hearing that the rolls were enhanced with magic, the team quickly devoured them. They all smiled as the magic-infused food had an immediate and invigorating effect.

  Ben was surprised when Coach Liv clapped a hand over his shoulder and asked, “Can I get one of those?” He almost sounded worried Ben wouldn't have more.

  Ben quickly retrieved one and handed it to the coach. “I’ve got enough to last us a while. Not the whole thirty days though. We might need to eventually ration it down to just the healers,” he reported.

  Coach Liv accepted the roll and nodded. “We will do a full inventory once we have a chance to rest . . . if we have a chance to rest.” He paused, looking slightly reflective, then stood straight and said, “Listen up, this is going to be dangerous. I can no longer promise all of you will get out of here alive. If you panic, if you don’t listen to the orders given, or if you waste your mana unnecessarily, then you put yourself and your team at risk. At this point, it is obvious that Miss Dubois, Mister Romano, and Mister Belov are your leaders; listen to their orders. Now, back to it. The next group approaches.”

  Seth shot an envious look at Al and Ben, while Liam gave Ben a nervous glance. Ben couldn't afford to worry about them. He nodded and smiled back at Coach Liv as Lulu joined their team, taking up Al’s vacated position.

  The next group that arrived consisted of over twenty-five oversized rodents. Lulu, agile and powerful, wielded twin knives with precision and speed, while Ben fought alongside her, his blades stabbing at the creatures that attempted to pass them. Sam followed closely, smashing his staff against the rodent beasts they couldn’t dispatch with a single blow.

  The monsters had grown stronger and tougher, making the battle challenging. They all sustained some damage, including scratches and small bites. Robin, in particular, bore the brunt of the attacks due to her Taunt ability that forced the rodents to focus on her. At one point, Lulu had to pause to heal Robin after Sam's fire blast had inadvertently burnt Robin along with the rodent beasts.

  Midway through the battle, Ben's knife got stuck in the back of one rat, and another beast bit into the hand he was using to free the blade. He narrowly avoided losing a finger to the creature before lunging forward with a conjured shadow blade to end its life. A notification appeared in front of him:

  Congratulations! You have learned to fight holding a weapon in each hand. The Uncommon Skill Dual Wielding has been added to your skill list.

  While the timing was unfortunate, Ben appreciated the new skill. He typically wielded his knife in his right hand, making his left-hand technique less effective. However, the skill improved his ability to use the left hand so long as he held a knife in each. It wasn't as strong as his right hand but was better than nothing.

  As the group of rodents finally fell, Ben listened to check on the other groups. Everything sounded fine. Al had the other half of their team working smoothly together. Coach Liv didn't sound winded in the slightest, and his heart rate was steady. Ben was relieved to know that everything was going well. Then he heard the next group coming.

  “Two more beasts than last time,” Ben said, positioning himself slightly behind Robin. “Sam, take out the largest group if you can when they get in range, then take them on in melee.”

  Sam scoffed, saying, “I know the pattern now.”

  Ben shared a knowing look with Robin, and they both rolled their eyes. Sam did have an idea of what he was supposed to do, for the most part.

  “Here they come,” Robin said, her gaze fixed on the direction where the next horde of beasts was approaching. And then within seconds, the battle resumed.

  Chapter 22 – Mini-Bosses

  Time sped by as Ben fought off group after group of four-legged, leather-skinned, big-toothed rodent beasts, their size growing with each new pack he faced. Still, none of them prepared him for the ground-shaking thud that reverberated through the air. He paused in his fight and strained to identify the source of the sound. Another thud came, then another a few seconds later. Whatever was causing them was big and steadily getting closer to their group of fighters. Ben listened carefully to the other directions and heard more thunderous footsteps. One was targeting Coach Liv, and the other was heading toward the other half of their class.

  “Mini-bosses coming next!” Ben shouted.

  “Bosses?” Coach Liv shouted back, a lilt in his voice making it sound like a question.

  “Three of them,” Ben shouted. “One from each direction. They are probably ten minutes out.”

  Coach Liv cursed. “Okay, each group gets one; if you kill yours, move on to help the other group.”

  “Hurry through the current group! Sam, burn them down,” Robin ordered. “If we finish this group fast enough, we can take a short break to recover.”

  Sam didn’t hold back as he unleashed the spell he called Flamethrower, burning half a dozen rodents with the initial burst, then five more as he swept the flame in an arc in front of him. Thankfully, Lulu and Ben both knew to stand behind the pyromaniac when he used this spell. When he finished, there were four beasts on fire, and two managed to avoid the flames entirely. The burning ones would die on their own soon enough. Lulu and Ben took one each of the remaining rodents.

  “Let’s help the other group clear the field,” Robin said, leading the charge toward Al’s group. With all eight of them working together, the last of their rodent beasts died, and they all got a much-needed reprieve.

  “I ranked up Fire Manipulation, Fireball, and Flamethrower,” Sam bragged to Seth, the latter of which got a sour look on his face.

  “That’s not fair, I only ranked up Ice Needle and Fireball,” Seth complained.

  Ben listened as other people shared their gains with each other. He heard Liam bragging to Robin about his improvements. Robin didn’t respond, choosing instead to seek out Al and Lulu, who seemed to be having a heated discussion until the beargirl requested they bandage the gashes on her legs and arms. Something both healers quickly went to work on.

  Ben took a minute to review his own gains. Other than learning Dual Wielding, something he wasn't even trying to learn, he had several status improvements. He had increased his Dexterity, Constitution, and Stamina all by one rank, bringing them all up to Average. His Toughness had also increased by one rank to Moderate. It was the most physical growth he’d ever had. Part of him assumed that the growth was probably already close to occurring thanks to the Martial Training class, the fighting just pushed him over the edge. He would have liked to see Shadow Blade advance. He'd been using it consistently throughout the fights. Maybe it would advance soon.

  Coach Liv cleared his throat loudly and said, “That’s enough chit chat. Take up your positions and get ready for a tough fight. I can see the mini-bosses coming, and thankfully, they are all the same and familiar to me. Assuming they are the same as what I’ve fought in the past, you will need to watch out for their tail whip. Other than that, they fight fairly straightforwardly. They will try to bite and claw at anything in front of them. No real special attacks to watch out for and no magic.”

  Only one dangerous attack to watch out for was good news.

  Ben smelled the new rodent long before he saw it with his eyes. It smelled like fetid water and rot. He could see the ugly orange of its breath with each labored step it took, while its body radiated with a mustard yellow of the bog. The rodent beast was large and as long as Coach Liv was tall. It seemed to have been lumbering along up until it saw Robin standing on top of the pile of rodent corpses. The beast roared, and its pace picked up. It stomped through the muck and slime of the swamp, each step sinking in deeply. It wasn’t able to move quickly through the mire due to its size and Ben made a note of that as the beast approached.

  He warned their defender, “Robin, dodge or block. The beast is big and powerful but moves slowly in the bog. Any hit, even a blocked hit, is going to do some damage to you.”

  “Got it,” Robin replied, waiting patiently for the beast to come into range. Her armor was scratched, and the metal bits had some dents, but it was holding up. Ben hoped that would continue to be the case.

  As soon as the beast was in range for Sam’s magic, Ben gave the order, “Burn it! Robin be ready with that taunt!”

  An orange fireball streaked across the sky like a comet, splitting the air with a crack. Ben saw it hit the bog next to the beast, exploding and scattering dirt and debris in all directions. The blast knocked the beast off balance, and it pivoted to face the Firemancer with a deafening roar.

  “Hit it again,” Ben barked before he started moving to flank the beast. Sam gestured wildly, and orange flames once again erupted from his outstretched hands, arcing through the air until they collided with the beast’s hide. It howled in pain but kept coming, undeterred.

  Robin lunged forward, bellowing a defiant cry and smacking her mace against her shield. The beast shuddered and roared in response, rearing up on its hind legs and extending its massive claws. Its beady eyes flashed with anger as it prepared to fall forward and crush their defender in its jaws. Robin quickly moved aside, narrowly avoiding the attack, and shouted, “Attack!” She brought her mace down on the thick leathery hide of the creature, barely leaving a scratch.

  Ben charged in from the side and saw Lulu approaching from the opposite side. It was strange though; she looked almost hesitant. He didn’t have time to worry about her as he moved forward with his attack, slashing at its hide with his weapon and activating his Bleed skill, leaving a gash that streamed red. With lightning speed, the creature spun around and swept its enormous tail toward him. He dropped to the ground and rolled beneath, avoiding the whiplike appendage’s first strike. He stayed down as he waited for the return. He didn’t have to wait long before the sound of a whipping tail soon filled the air.

  He leapt back up and charged, his booted feet pounding the ground and throwing up mud as he chased the beast's long tail, where he found it lying limply in the mud. He saw a chance to end the threat from the appendage and lunged, his blades glinting in the dying light as he plunged them into the thick hide, one steel and the other shadow, the latter digging in deeper and more easily.

  The giant rodent jerked around, its powerful leg crashing into Ben’s body and sending him flying backwards, tumbling over the muddy terrain and coming to a stop with a pained groan. His sides burned, ribs aching with every breath, and skin bruised and battered. Gritting his teeth, he managed to stand on shaky legs, noticing that he was still clutching his knife - but the blade had broken off. Throwing the handle aside with a curse, he quickly examined himself for wounds but could only make out mud caked to his skin. Hopefully, once these mini-bosses were taken care of he could find some healing.

  As he ran, every footfall in the mud sent pain shooting through his injured side. He ignored the pain as best he could and forced himself to run harder. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to dive under the whipping tail, crying out in pain as the impact with the ground also hit the periphery of his injury. It hurt more when he rolled several times to avoid the tail smashing down on him until after the fourth attempt to bury him, the tail didn’t lift again, going limp instead. It was another opportunity, but rolling as he did hurt so much. It took all of his willpower to climb back onto his feet. He tried to run but ended up limping over. The tail was bleeding, but the damage he dealt was minimal. Knives wouldn’t be enough. He needed something bigger and it needed to be a blade he could create with his Shadow Manipulation skill.

  Ben thought back on a lesson from his Handler in the early days of staying at his manor. The wolfman had a rather extensive weapon collection and was proud of knowing how to use each and every one of them. He made sure Ben learned every weapon by name. Ben even remembered the sword that was a meter taller than the Handler and looked more like it was made for a giant than one of the kin. The Handler called it a Zhanmadao. It was meant to cut through riding beasts and ultimately break a cavalry charge. Ben also remembered how heavy it was, much too heavy for him to lift, let alone swing. But he had a way around that.

  He clenched his teeth as he lifted his arms, feeling a sharp pain in his side. His fingers tingled as he gathered mana and shaped it into a massive Zhanmadao sword. The blade thrummed with shadow energy, and the air smelled of ozone. Every muscle in his body strained as the weight of the blade dragged him forward, and then it all seemed to happen in slow motion. The giant sword slashed into the beast's tail, and the force of the impact tore through the appendage and sent bits of flesh flying everywhere.

  The beast shook and bucked in agony, and Ben dropped to the ground with a cry of pain. He scrambled through the mud, the blood from the rat creature coating him as he moved. When he finally looked up again, he saw that the creature was slowing down, and he felt drained of mana—but he knew that his Bleed skill had done its job and that it wouldn't take long before the beast bled out.

  Chapter 23 – Interlude I – Lulu Tidus

  Stretching and moving her arms, Lulu made her way back to the rest of the team.

  “How are you holding up?” Al, the other healer asked, startling her at the same time.

  “Fine,” Lulu squeaked. She’d never been very good at talking to others. Put knives in her hands and tell her to fight them, no problem. Tell her to have a conversation and she could barely complete a sentence. And this was Al talking to her. The super confident dogboy. The one that was constantly at odds with Burion.

  “How's your Mana holding up?” Al continued, not noticing how uncomfortable he was making her.

  “Good,” she stuttered her reply, curing herself mentally for stuttering. She’d been trying so hard to get rid of that.

  “Listen, Lulu, I’ve been watching you fight for a while now,” Al continued, ignoring her discomfort.

  It made her curious that he’d been watching her. Why? Did he maybe have some pointers? In spite of her discomfort she asked, “W-w-w-what about it?”

  “You need to stop,” Al said bluntly.

  Lulu felt such anger welling up inside her. It was enough that she was about to yell at someone for the first time.

  “If you keep fighting the way you do, you’re going to die. You’re a healer, not a front line fighter. It’s good you're confident with your weapons, they’ll keep you safe if anything gets past Robin or Liam, but as a healer you need to stay alive. Everyone is depending on you living to keep the rest of us alive.”

  “What’s your excuse?” Lulu snapped angrily, startling Al.

  “My weapon gives me range. I don’t need to get close to my opponent to kill them. Can you say the same?”

  Lulu had never felt such anger in her life. Did this stupid dogboy have any idea how hard she worked to get here? Did he know how much her family sacrificed? She could have easily taken the path of just being a healer, working in a healing ward. An option that would have given her a stable and safe life. But she wanted . . . needed more than that. She owed it to her family.

  “How dare you,” Lulu hissed. “You know nothing about me. You know nothing of what my family sacrificed for me to be here. Do you know what it’s like to grow up in a huge family where everyone is counting on you to succeed? I am the oldest of fourteen children and the fifteenth was on the way when I left. Do you know what that’s like? Hand me downs from cousins all your life because you can’t afford more. Fear that we wouldn’t eat if the harvest was poor. And to be able to go to an Academy like Mancer, do you have any idea how much it costs to attend for just one year? My family had to scrimp and scrounge just to save enough to send me to Mancer. I need to use this time to grow as much as I can so I can make a better life for everyone that brought me here.”

  “And that means putting your life at risk when it’s unnecessary and puts other’s lives at risk?”

  Lulu gave him a bitter look, “You should know, you never grow as much as when your life's on the line. I will survive this place and I’ll do it my way.”

  He growled, “How will you help your family if you’re dead? But ignore me, see if I care when you die. No one can say I didn’t try to talk to you.”

  Thank goodness Robin chose that moment to ask for some First Aid. That was something she could do, and it didn’t require talking.

  Robin had a few deep gashes on her legs and arms, but only two of them required stitches. She would have preferred to use magic, it was just faster and usually didn’t leave any scars.

  “Boss is coming,” Robin said softly as they worked. “I want you two to be careful. We need you both alive.”

  Al laughed, “We’ll be fine. If she’d listen to reason, we’d have a better chance at surviving all this. And me, well, have you met me? I’m amazing!”

  Robin glared at Al. “No, you’re overconfident.” She shifted her gaze to Lulu, “and you’re reckless.”

  Lulu glowered at her then at Al. Why was everyone ganging up on her? She was a darned good fighter. She would just have to show them. She would prove it. She hissed, “I’ll show you who’s reckless.”

  Coach Liv cleared his throat loudly, “That’s enough chit chat. Take up your positions and get ready for a fight. I can see the mini-bosses coming and thankfully they are all the same and familiar to me. Assuming they are the same as what I’ve fought in the past, you need to watch out for their tail tail whip. Other than that, they fight fairly straightforwardly. They will try to bite and claw at anything in front of them. No real special attacks to watch out for and no magic.”