Chapter 14: Gathering a Team
“I can’t express what an honor it is to meet you, Princess Jamie,” the overly excited Tank said as Jamie walked into the open courtyard on the west end of the manor grounds.
The young Naiad looked to be around Jamie’s age, maybe eighteen, if she was forced to guess, and nothing about her made Jamie think Tank. She was a little taller than Jamie, with long sea-green hair pulled back into a ponytail, bright blue eyes, and delicate features that would have looked perfectly at home on a beauty queen. Her slender, feminine build didn’t exactly scream I stand in front of monsters and let them hit me, either.
She wore pants instead of a skirt, along with sturdy boots and practical armor that looked designed for fighting rather than showing off her figure. A sword hung from one hip, while a large shield was strapped across her back.
Ember sent a scoff after the female Naiad used the word honor.
Jamie cast Analyze on her.
STATUS SCREENName: Adelaide AvelaineRace: NaiadSex: FemaleLv.: 12Class: VanguardAffinity Types: Physical (Primary), Reinforcement (Secondary)Weapon Specialty: Sword and Shield
TITLES:
Lesser Noble (+5 Charisma)
Protector (+5 Constitution)
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 20• Agility: 10• Constitution: 30 (+5 Protector)• Stamina: 19• Intelligence: 10• Willpower: 15• Charisma: 25 (+5 Lesser Noble)• Spirit: 15
Title bonuses are already included in the Attribute values shown above. Parenthetical bonuses identify the source of those points and are not added a second time. If a Title is lost, any Attribute points granted by that Title are also lost.
ABILITIES (Slots Used: 9 / 10)
Sword Proficiency (Weapon Proficiency) — Lv. 2 — Provides increased proficiency, control, and effectiveness when wielding swords.
Shield Proficiency (Weapon Proficiency) — Lv. 1 — Provides foundational training and improved effectiveness when wielding shields.
Damage Transfer (Vanguard Passive – Protection) — Designates up to two allies as protected targets. While a designated target remains within 100 feet of Adelaide, she automatically absorbs a portion of the damage they would receive. For every 5 Constitution, Adelaide absorbs 10% of the incoming damage. At her current 30 Constitution, Adelaide absorbs 60% of the damage that would otherwise be received by a protected target. Each activation costs 8% of her maximum Health. The effect operates within a 100-foot, 360-degree protective range. Designated targets may only be changed once per hour. The connection cannot be blocked, dispelled, intercepted, or severed by hostile actions while the protected target remains within range.
Regeneration (Vanguard Passive – Recovery) — Restores 2% of maximum Health every 5 seconds.
Taunt (Vanguard Skill – Control) — Lv. 1 — Attempts to compel an enemy to focus its attacks on Adelaide. Effectiveness scales with Charisma. Enemies substantially stronger than Adelaide or possessing exceptional resistance are more difficult to influence.
Shield Block (Vanguard Skill – Defense) — Lv. 1 — Uses Adelaide’s shield to reduce or negate incoming damage.
Shield Rush (Vanguard Skill – Attack / Mobility) — Lv. 1 — Adelaide charges forward behind her shield, using her momentum to strike and disrupt an enemy.
Right Place, Right Time (Vanguard Skill – Guardian) — Lv. 1 — Designates one party member for protection. Adelaide can instantly reposition herself to that person from up to 50 feet away, allowing her to intercept threats and defend them. Only one party member may be designated at a time.
Crashing Breaker (Vanguard Skill – Heavy Attack) — Lv. 1 — A powerful sword-and-shield combination attack designed to break an enemy’s defense before delivering a heavy sword strike. Requires a large amount of Stamina, preventing repeated use.
Ember still wasn’t talking with Jamie. Worse, Ember hadn’t once tried to jump up onto Jamie’s shoulder. Not even when they had walked down the short flight of stairs to get to the courtyard. Ember disliked stairs, but apparently, she disliked Jamie more right now.
It was a nice warm early summer mid-morning, but for Jamie it felt like winter.
“May I shake your hand, Princess?”
Okay, despite how badly Jamie had messed this morning up already, that put a smile on her face.
“I’d be upset if you didn’t,” Jamie replied warmly after sticking her hand out for the Naiad to shake.
“My name is Adelaide Avelaine. Sorry—got a bit overexcited there for a moment,” she said as Jamie’s hand was shaken rather vigorously.
“What I meant to say is my name is Lady Adelaide Avelaine, from House Avelaine.”
“Oh, and I will consider it a huge favor if my mother never finds out about this. My lack of using proper titles and the fact that I completely forgot to curtsy the moment I saw you coming down those stairs.”
Realizing what she’d just said, Adelaide quickly let go of Jamie’s hand and executed what Jamie thought to be a rather elegant curtsy.
Okay, this woman is a whirlwind, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Maybe she wouldn’t mind you deciding her next skill, Ember sent.
You should ask her.
Jamie took a moment to close her eyes as she prayed for patience. If this was how Ember was going to act, then today was going to be a long one, and in all truthfulness, Jamie was going to deserve every second of it.
A horrible idea crept in just then. Was their bond forever damaged?
“Oh, Princess Jamie. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you,” Lady Adelaide said quickly.
“No, sorry. My mood has nothing to do with you,” Jamie quickly explained before taking a quick glance at Ember, still sitting on the last step of the stairs. “You’re fine,” she added, making sure Adelaide understood.
Jamie shifted her focus to the other team member who would be joining Jamie with her leveling for the next several days.
The Goblin had been in a bowed position ever since Jamie had first exited the manor.
“You don’t need to keep doing that,” Jamie told the Goblin.
“As you wish,” the Goblin said after standing back up to his full height.
And for a Goblin, that height was quite remarkable. He had to be at least five feet tall, maybe even five foot two inches. He had the lean, wiry build Jamie would have expected from someone who spent most of his time moving through the forest, with light-green skin, dark brown hair, and pointed ears that seemed a little less pronounced than those of the other Woodland Goblins she had met.
And holy crap, for a Goblin he was pretty good-looking. Young too. Maybe seventeen or eighteen. This was the scout Mike had recommended for Jamie’s party.
Jamie cast Analyze on him too.
STATUS SCREENName: TovinRace: Half Human / Half Woodland GoblinSex: MaleLv.: 12Class: PathfinderAffinity Types: Lightning (Primary), Poison (Secondary)Weapon Specialty: Crossbow and Daggers
TITLES:
Acolyte of the Goddess, Nia (+5 Spirit)
Underdog (+5 Willpower)
Mixed Blood (+5 Agility from Sire) — Grants one racial Attribute bonus from the Sire.
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 15• Agility: 25 (+5 Woodland Goblin / Mixed Blood)• Constitution: 20• Stamina: 20 (+5 Human)• Intelligence: 10• Willpower: 20 (+5 Human, +5 Underdog)• Charisma: 19• Spirit: 15 (+5 Acolyte of the Goddess, Nia)
Title bonuses are already included in the Attribute values shown above. Parenthetical bonuses identify the source of those points and are not added a second time. If a Title is lost, any Attribute points granted by that Title are also lost.
ABILITIES (Slots Used: 10 / 10)
Crossbow Proficiency (Weapon Proficiency) — Lv. 2 — Improves accuracy, handling, and effectiveness with crossbows. Higher proficiency reduces the time required to aim and acquire moving targets.
Dagger Proficiency (Weapon Proficiency) — Lv. 1 — Improves control, accuracy, and effectiveness with daggers, including their use in close-quarters defense.
Track (Pathfinder Skill – Tracking) — Lv. 2 — Allows the user to identify and follow tracks, disturbed vegetation, scent traces, and other signs of passage. Higher levels improve the ability to follow older or deliberately concealed trails.
Trailblazer (Pathfinder Passive – Exploration) — Improves movement through forests, rough terrain, and natural obstacles. Reduces Stamina expenditure during prolonged overland travel and aids in identifying efficient routes through unfamiliar terrain.
Threat Sense (Pathfinder Passive – Awareness) — Heightens awareness of nearby danger, improving the user's ability to detect ambushes, concealed creatures, traps, and other immediate threats.
Marked Shot (Pathfinder Skill – Precision Attack) — Lv. 1 — Marks a target before firing a crossbow, improving accuracy and the likelihood of striking a vulnerable location. Effectiveness scales with Agility.
Skirmisher's Step (Pathfinder Skill – Mobility) — Lv. 1 — Grants a short burst of rapid movement, allowing the user to quickly reposition, disengage from close combat, or reach a better firing position.
Lurk (Pathfinder Skill – Toggle Aura / Evasion) — Lv. 1 — Creates a mana-fed aura around the user that makes his presence difficult to focus on. While active, observers have greater difficulty noticing, locating, tracking, and maintaining their attention on him. Enemies that successfully identify Tovin have increased difficulty accurately targeting or striking him. Lurk continuously consumes Mana while active.
Poison Brewmaster (Poison Affinity Skill – Poisoncraft) — Lv. 1 — Allows Tovin to create poisons from suitable plants, fungi, venoms, and other toxic materials. Poisons can be prepared for use on weapons or brewed into specialized compounds. Effectiveness and potency improve with skill level and the quality of the ingredients used.
Lightning Infusion (Lightning Affinity Skill – Elemental Enhancement) — Lv. 1 — Channels Lightning-affinity mana into Tovin's attacks, adding Lightning damage to strikes made with his weapons. The infusion may be applied to crossbow bolts, daggers, and thrown weapons. Maintaining the infusion consumes Mana, with stronger or repeated attacks increasing overall Mana expenditure.
“Pathfinder?” Jamie asked curiously. The Pathfinder class hadn’t been on her list of scout classes in the book she’d been reading, The Classes of Eldara and Strong Team Combinations, by Emmith Hailstorm. “I’ve never heard of that class before. At least, not in the Emmith Hailstorm book,” Jamie admitted.
“Yes, it’s doubtful Pathfinder would be in that book,” Tovin said sourly.
“Mixed bloods are not generally regarded as relevant in civilized societies, so when a unique class is unlocked for those unlucky few, they tend to be overlooked.”
He paused.
“I suppose excluded would be a better way of saying it.”
That gave Jamie pause. Mixed bloods? What was that, and why was it considered a negative?
Jamie took a more measured look at Tovin, then glanced back at the Pathfinder’s Status Screen.
Yeah, there it was. Tovin was half Human. That explained the height, at least. That had to be one hell of a story. She was going to need to find a way to get it out of him without offending the guy.
Jamie looked at Tovin again.
The rest of him certainly looked the part of a scout. He wore light leather armor over practical forest-colored clothing, with sturdy boots that already looked like they had seen plenty of miles. A compact crossbow rested across his back, while a series of daggers and throwing knives were secured at his hips and across his chest. Several small pouches were fastened around his belt.
“My name is Tovin, Princess. I assume you just cast Analyze on me, so you must already know that, but it is proper to introduce oneself regardless.”
He straightened a little more.
“I pledge my life to keep you safe while we work to gain levels. I’m a scout, and a damn good one. When they started asking for volunteers for this assignment, I jumped at the opportunity.”
Jamie decided she liked this guy. He seemed like good people, and he definitely had a story she wanted to know more about.
“I will not let you down,” Tovin said, sounding like he meant every bit of it.
“Yes, me too. I gave my deepest thanks to the Goddess that I was in Glenhaven by chance to be considered to act as your Tank for the next week,” Adelaide said. “My family’s lands are far off on the western coastline of the kingdom, so it was lucky that I happened to be staying in town before heading east to work on levels.”
“Now I get to head south with you, Princess, and not only earn more levels, but I get to say I helped Princess Jamie earn hers as well.”
Jamie tilted her head slightly as she regarded the Naiad.
Can I keep them?
She liked both of them. Jamie would need to make some inquiries when they got back from grinding levels.
“If you ever get the chance, you should come visit my father’s lands,” Adelaide continued. “We have many lovely beaches where people go to get away from the daily grind of the forest.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
That did it.
Adelaide had just said the magic word.
Beaches.
And Jamie was 100% looking into keeping these two if they all ended up clicking over the next several days.
Jamie had so many questions she wanted to ask right then. At the top of that list was, Are bikinis a thing in this world?
But Jamie managed to keep ahold of herself. Her eyes drifted back toward Ember, still sitting on the last step. Right now, the two of them were most definitely not clicking. And there wasn’t anyone else to blame for that but herself.
The next two hours had been pretty standard stuff that Jamie would consider routine for a new team. Everyone talked about their strengths and, more importantly, their weaknesses. They went over their Skills, what each of them could do in a fight, and what the others should expect from them when things inevitably went wrong.
Even Ember participated in those discussions.
Of course, Jamie had to relay everything Ember was saying to Adelaide and Tovin, and that seemed to be the only reason Ember was even talking to her right now.
When Ember explained the new Skill she had gotten that morning, it was clear from her sending just how miffed she still was about the whole thing.
Thankfully, both Adelaide and Tovin made their opinions about the Skill perfectly clear.
“Wow. I wish I had Blink Step,” Tovin said.
“Yeah, a teleport Skill is highly prized,” Adelaide agreed.
Jamie wanted to smile at that, but she knew this was definitely not the time to gloat because she had gotten lucky and picked a Skill that everyone else thought was amazing.
Besides, that wasn't the point.
What Jamie had realized far too late was that if she had just talked it over with Ember instead of making the decision for her, Ember might have come to the exact same conclusion Adelaide and Tovin had.
And if she hadn't?
Then it should have been Ember's choice anyway.
After packing their rucks—and after Jamie S.A.P.P.’ed the hell out of their preparations—they said their goodbyes to the people they were leaving behind.
For Jamie and Ember, that meant the maids and a few Elders.
Every single one of the maids had wanted to go with the team, but Jamie had put her foot down, and thank the Goddess, they had actually listened.
One week without being pampered sounded oddly fantastic.
For Adelaide, it was her father and the men-at-arms who had accompanied her to Glenhaven. Jamie apparently wasn't the only one getting the mother-hen treatment. She didn't need to be a mind reader to tell Adelaide was looking forward to roughing it for a few days just as much as Jamie was.
Tovin only had one person to say goodbye to.
Mike.
He had been looking after Tovin for the last two years, ever since Tovin's father had died. As far as Jamie understood it, Tovin didn't have any other family left on Eldara.
The trip out of town was nice and quiet, if quiet meant having to say hello to each and every person they passed on the way out of Glenhaven. Jamie had almost stopped at the Coffee Grounds, but Tovin had put a stop to that idea right away.
The Pathfinder was oddly driven, and one Princess wasn’t about to get in the way of his progression toward getting stronger.
When he’d said, “Not a chance,” Jamie had been slightly caught off guard. She’d thought of Tovin as more of the eager-to-please type, but nope. That guy had places to go.
And maybe, if Jamie was reading him a little better now, people to prove wrong.
Once they were south of Glenhaven and past the small farms that surrounded it, the Pathfinder started proving every bit of his worth.
The guy was a scouting monster.
He often detected danger well before Ember’s Danger Sense ever did. That was good, because the fights they didn’t bypass were great warmups for a fledgling team to stretch their skills and start figuring out how everyone fit together.
Jamie was a bit bummed to be filling the healer role for the team, but she was the only one with any dedicated healing magic. Adelaide could do some, but her options were limited at best.
Adelaide... Wow.
That girl was one hell of a Tank.
She took every hit meant for the team and kept right on going like nothing had happened.
Out of necessity, their team had to remain small at this level. Adding one or two more members would only slow their leveling progression due to shared team experience. Jamie couldn’t afford that if she was going to make it to the Magic Academy in time. She had less than a week to gain five levels and get back to town before heading down to the Elven Kingdom.
And to hear Mike tell it, even that might not be enough time. But Tovin had a plan.
A plan he swore would get Jamie to Level 15 with a little time to spare. And when Jamie said a little, she meant hours, not days.
According to Tovin, if they followed his plan and only rested for six hours each day, they could reach their goal with about three hours to spare.
That was cutting it close. Really close. But considering how the first few hours of grinding had gone, Jamie was starting to believe him.
Each fight Tovin brought them to was a little more difficult than the one before it. Never enough that Jamie thought he was being reckless, but enough that she could tell he was deliberately testing what the team could handle and adjusting as they went.
Jamie couldn’t see any kind of progression bar like she would have expected in a video game, but she could feel it.
And it excited her to no end.
Ember, I know you’re mad at me right now, but are you seeing this?
Yes. They are good, she sent back.
Good? These two are all-stars.
If this was back in my old world and these two were draft picks for the NFL, teams would be kicking each other in the nuts to draft these guys, Jamie sent.
NFL?
Sorry. National Football League. It’s a sport where I come from.
Ember didn’t respond, but Jamie could feel her understanding of what she had just said through their bond.
“Okay, team. This next fight is going to be a bit tricky, but I think we can handle it,” Tovin said after returning from his latest scouting foray. “Plus, taking out these three Greater Slimes will be doing a favor for females everywhere.”
Jamie, for one, didn’t like the sound of that.
Her apprehension only grew when she saw Adelaide’s face. She looked as if someone had just violated her sense of common decency.
“What? Yeah, I get that slimes are gross. Trust me on this,” Jamie said. “But what’s with that look, Adelaide?”
“You don’t know, do you?” Adelaide asked, looking at Jamie with pity in her eyes.
“Let’s go with no on this one,” Jamie said carefully.
“Greater Slimes secrete an acid that is highly corrosive. It will start eating through skin within about ten seconds if it isn’t washed off. Living tissue is one thing, but armor and clothing are worse. Your dress has protections, so that should be immune, but if you like your chest armor, I highly recommend taking it off for this fight. Your boots too, come to think of it. Unless you don’t mind walking back barefoot.”
Jamie slowly looked toward Tovin.
“Maybe we could skip this one?”
“No, Tovin is right. We can’t pass up this opportunity,” Adelaide said as she began removing her armor and clothes. “That last farm was only a few miles back, and that farmer has young daughters.”
“Ahhh... what are you doing?”
“Sorry, Princess, but my gear isn’t as good as yours. Only my underwear has the protections needed to keep it from dissolving.”
“Same here,” Tovin agreed as he too began stripping down until he was wearing what Jamie could only describe as boxers.
“Everyone pull out your water bottles and make sure they’re topped off,” Adelaide said. “If you get any acid on your skin, rinse it off immediately.”
Jamie quickly checked her own water bottles.
Thankfully, both were full. They had just refilled them at the last stream they crossed.
“Ember, you need to hang back as support on this one,” Adelaide said in a tone that would brook no argument. “It’s a lot harder to clean fur than skin.”
“We’re really going to do this?” Jamie asked as she too started removing the pieces of equipment that wouldn’t survive being slimed.
“Yes,” Adelaide and Tovin said together.
“If we do this correctly, we shouldn’t sustain any damage,” Tovin said.
“Hit and run, Princess. Just hit and run,” Adelaide added, now down to her underwear.
Jamie couldn’t help noticing the cute embroidery along the edges.
Apparently the Tank was a little more girly than she let on.
“Yes, Princess Jamie. Get in a sword strike and get back out of range,” Tovin continued. “Greater Slimes aren’t overly fast, but they are tanky. We’re going to need a lot of strikes to get down to their cores.”
Jamie noticed Tovin was doing his absolute best not to stare for too long at Adelaide’s exposed skin.
What a gentleman, Jamie thought.
That, however, was no longer a problem Jamie had to deal with, so she stole a few peeks at Adelaide whenever she thought she could get away with it.
The girl’s body was slamming.
Jamie really needed to make sure that beach episode happened, and Adelaide was definitely getting the first invite.
Wait.
Jamie looked down at the sword in her hand.
“What about our weapons?”
“Metal alloys are much more resistant to the acid,” Tovin explained. “After the fight, we return to that stream and give our weapons a thorough wash. They’ll be fine.”
“I would still take your sword to a weaponsmith when we get back, just in case, Princess,” Adelaide added. “But yes, Tovin has the right of it. The weapons will be fine as long as we wash off all the acid.”
Tovin nodded.
“We focus on one at a time. Jamie, use your Poison Ivy walls to isolate them. The corrosive poison won’t hurt Greater Slimes—they’re immune to it—but separating them and stopping them from fighting together is what’s going to make this fight one-sided. They’ll eventually dissolve their way through the walls, so be ready to cast new ones when they do.”
Jamie nodded.
“Any questions?”
“Ember wants to know what she should do,” Jamie said, relaying Ember’s question.
Tovin looked at the Kitsune. “Siphon Spell the hell out of them.”
I can do that, Ember sent.
There was enough enthusiasm in those four words that Jamie almost laughed.
Almost, Jamie still knew she was in the doghouse, and that sucked.
“Okay,” Tovin said, crouching after picking up his crossbow. “They’re about a hundred feet ahead. There’s a small clearing surrounded by trees on three sides. The slimes are close together right now, so we need to separate them before Adelaide gets their attention.”
Jamie drew her sword, then she placed the leather scabbard with the rest of the stuff she was leaving behind in the nope I want to keep that in one piece pile. She did the same with her wand, and with wand in one hand, and sword in the other she moved along with the team. The only thing she took with her that might get damaged was her ruck after emptying it out on her clock. Jamie was still mostly going to function as the team’s healer, and for this fight that included carrying everyone’s water bottles for quick rinse offs.
“Poison Ivy first?” she asked, as they made their way to the clearing.
“Poison Ivy first,” Tovin confirmed.
Once they were on the edge of the clearing Tovin pointed out where he thought the best places were to lay down the Ivy walls.
“Get the walls between them, there and there.” He pointed to each location.
“Once they’re separated, Adelaide pulls the closest one toward us right there.” Jamie’s eyes followed were Tovin was now indicating.
Jamie looked down at herself.
Dress. Sword, wand. Underwear, bare feet. This should be fun.
This might have been the stupidest she had ever looked going into a fight. Then she glanced at Adelaide. The tank didn’t look the least bit stupid. She just looked hella sexy.
Okay. Note to self. We fight every Greater Slime we find for the rest of this week.
Who needs a beach episode.
Jamie, Ember sent.
Right. Sorry.
At least Ember was talking to her.
Sort of. Admonishment did count as talking technically.
The slimes were bigger than Jamie expected. What was that ghost’s name from Ghostbusters? Jamie, for the life of her, couldn’t remember, but they were around that thing’s size from the movies.
Wet, sucking noises came from them as they slowly slid across the grassy field. They were moving quite slowly right now, but Jamie suspected that was out of necessity, giving the acid enough time to do its work. Slimes were highly destructive, and they ate everything. The trail they left in their wake left nothing behind.
Well, not nothing. Just nothing alive.
“So, gross.”
Confirmed... still hate them.
Jamie turned to sneak yet another peek at Adelaide. Still, maybe they have their place in this world.
The first wall of Poison Ivy went up exactly where Tovin wanted it.
Jamie felt the spell answer her as thick green vines tore through the forest floor, twisting around one another and climbing higher until a dense barrier separated the nearest Greater Slime from the other two. She immediately cast again, forcing a second wall up between the remaining creatures before either of them could react.
To be certain, Jamie doubled up on each of the first two walls. Now the slimes would have an even harder time fighting as a group.
For a few seconds, all three simply continued moving as if nothing had changed. Then one of the slimes reached the wall.
The creature pressed its gelatinous body into the mass of vines, and Jamie watched the leaves nearest it curl inward almost immediately. The green darkened to brown, then black, while a faint hiss drifted across the clearing.
The ivy wasn't hurting the slime at all. The slime, on the other hand, was eating through her spell.
Jamie had known that was going to happen. Tovin had explained exactly what they were doing before they came anywhere near the clearing, but knowing something and watching one of her spells begin to dissolve were two very different things.
Still, the wall was doing its job. The Greater Slime couldn't simply pass through it.
“That's our window,” Tovin said. “Adelaide.”
The Naiad was already moving.
She advanced toward the isolated slime with her shield held in front of her, sword ready at her side. There was something inherently ridiculous about watching a nearly naked girl charge into battle carrying a sword and shield, but the amusement vanished when Jamie saw the Greater Slime change direction.
Adelaide had its attention after casting Taunt.
The creature rolled toward her in a surprisingly quick surge, its translucent body spreading across the ground before gathering itself again. Adelaide didn't wait for it to reach her. She struck first, stepping in long enough to bury several inches of her sword in its outer mass before wrenching the blade free and retreating behind her shield.
The slime countered with what Jamie could only describe as a slime appendage. The first one struck Adelaide's shield, and Jamie heard a sizzle immediately after the impact. Then a second arm-appendage-thingy followed the first and slammed into the shield.
Tovin's crossbow snapped a moment later.
His bolt punched into the slime, and a flash of white-blue lightning illuminated the creature from the inside. For the briefest instant, Jamie could see everything suspended within its body—leaves, pieces of wood, small bones, and something darker buried much deeper inside.
Its core.
Then the light vanished and the slime surged toward Adelaide again.
One of its arm thingies—and she prayed they were arm thingies and not something else—was no longer moving thanks to Tovin’s strike, but that didn’t seem to slow the slime down. It simply made a new arm to replace the useless one, then added two more.
Four slime arms began beating against Adelaide’s shield.
Jamie and Tovin rushed forward to get in their own melee attacks. Tovin's bolt was still stuck in what Jamie guessed was the slime's side, but it was already being dissolved.
Jamie understood at that moment why staying at range wasn't an option for Tovin.
He only had so many bolts to go around.
Right before Jamie got her strike in, Ember's spell hit the slime. The power it added to Jamie's attack only made the blow that much more effective.
She took a sizable chunk out of the creature.
As Jamie moved back out of range, Tovin moved in with one of his longer daggers, striking the same spot Jamie just had.
His attack looked less like a fight and more like a Japanese chef delicately cutting a slice off a piece of high-end tuna.
Then Jamie caught a whiff of burnt flesh.
After confirming it wasn’t her flesh being eaten away, she looked at her teammates. Tovin was fine too, but when Jamie looked at Adelaide, she could see a blob of acid clinging to her right leg.
The slime had gotten an attack past her defenses.
Adelaide was holding fast even though it was clear she was in pain. Jamie quickly cast Regenerative Flow on the Tank before dropping her ruck and pulling out one of the water bottles.
Adelaide wasn’t losing nearly as much Health anymore, but until Jamie rinsed off the acid, she would keep taking damage.
“Thanks,” Adelaide said after Jamie washed the last of the slime away. Adelaide blocked three more attacks right after that.
“Thanks for taking those hits,” Jamie replied.
That was when Jamie heard it.
A loud popping sound was followed almost immediately by something that sounded like a gurgling drain. Jamie looked over at the slime they were currently focusing on.
Tovin’s latest attack had broken its core. The Greater Slime was dead. And just in time.
Both of the other slimes had broken through the ivy and were now on the attack. Even though neither of them had a face, Jamie somehow knew they were super pissed.
Even more so after Ember’s Siphon Spells hit them one after another.
Jamie cast her next set of Ivy Walls.
The rest of the fight wasn’t easy, but after killing the first Greater Slime, they knew exactly what they were doing. Jamie separated the remaining two again while Adelaide pulled one away from the other. Tovin and Jamie moved in whenever she created an opening, and Ember continued hammering both creatures with Siphon Spell from a safe distance.
There were a few more close calls. Acid splashed across Tovin’s boxers at one point, and not in a good spot. Jamie had flinched when she saw that, but as advertised, the undies held up. Tovin was still capable of letting the good times roll with the ladies.
Jamie followed up with water on that spot just in case. After that, they were down to two of their six water bottles.
Adelaide took another hit across her stomach, but Jamie, now knowing what to expect, had been Johnny-on-the-spot with the water, using their second-to-last bottle.
When the last Greater Slime finally collapsed into a gurgling puddle, Jamie lowered her sword and looked across what remained of the clearing.
Three dead slimes. Four people still standing. Tovin still had his manhood.
Sorry, ladies. Jamie paused.
Or maybe you’re welcome?
When she’d splashed water on Tovin to get rid of the acid, it had been hard not to notice that his crossbow wasn’t the only weapon he was packing.
Was Tovin this world's Goblin version of the sexiest man alive? Well, sexiest Goblin alive, at least.
Just another thing Jamie would need to talk to Tovin about as they sat around the campfire tonight.
Jamie already had her approach to that question worked out.