"Thoma, no!" Bernar shouted, trying to grab me by the collar, but I didn't even bother to look back at him. I knew, then and there, that we didn't have time to waste if we wanted to make it to the surface by dawn. "I'll be fine, just keep the others safe!" I shouted over the rumbling to my right, catching the Master's eye.
"Thoma, what are you doing?" he asked after dodging another blow. "I've got an idea, but I'm going to need all of your help for it," I replied, entering my second stage to ensure that whatever I did would work as intended. "Come here, you overgrown pebble!" I shouted with my mana-infused voice.
"He knows they don't have ears, right?" Nenvalur muttered, but Anwill could only shrug. My target turned on me with extremely violent intent, forcing me to barely manage to escape the sweeping blow that came much more quickly than anticipated.
"It turned to him?" Nenvalur asked, surprised at the response I got from the creature. "It probably has to do with the fact that the second stage of mana manipulation still leaks enough mana to be heard in one's voice. Maybe that's what did it," the Master suggested. "That doesn't explain shit! I've never seen a golem move like that before, especially not to someone's voice; mana-infused or not," Nenvalur snarled as he dodged another blow.
Meanwhile, I quickly went beneath the one who attacked me and slid between its legs, casting another Exar at the back of its knees to force it to kneel. The Master was visibly shocked by the outrageous idea, but when he saw me climb up the back of it to ride it like a mount, I think he realized what I was doing.
I gripped the stones at the base of its nape, holding on as tightly as possible while its massive arms tried to reach me. "Now you want to ride the damn thing as if it were a giant horse? Fuck me," Anwill shook his head. "I have a plan! Just trust me!" I shouted. Thankfully, the Master had caught onto my plan and was already behind the one nearest to him.
"Nenvalur, take the third and cast an Exar behind its knees," the Master shouted. "Understood," the elf replied, not entirely sure what was happening but deciding to trust him anyway. Their golems knelt without much effort, as their control over mana was much greater than mine. Still, seeing how quickly they coordinated an absurd attack like this was impressive.
"Now what?" Nenvalur shouted at me as he dodged a swipe of his golem's large fist. "Draw their attention to each other using the same spells as before. They always swing with their right arms first, so we'll have them aim their attacks at the source of the mana, which will be just behind their heads," I returned with a wry grin.
"Forcing them to knock each other's heads off. You know you're a few marbles short of a full bag, right?" he laughed. "Well, I trust him, so get ready. Anwill and Thorsen, you're the bait. Draw them to each other!" the Master shouted before giving me a nod of understanding. "I hate being bait," Anwill shook his head, just before he and Thorsen did as requested.
They sent blasts of mana towards the creatures' chests, prompting them to turn and face them as one.
Good, I'm glad that worked. All we have to do is time this correctly, I thought as I felt my golem turn in their direction and begin to move forward.
"Wait for it," I said, watching as the three giant creatures drew nearer. "Thoma!" Thorsen shouted, noticing two were already preparing to crush him with balled fists. "Now!" I shouted, casting an Exar blast at the one immediately to my right, while Nenvalur and the Master did the same, as each golem reeled from the blasts momentarily, acquiring new targets in the process.
Each one swung with their right fists exactly as I predicted they would, and targeted the sources of the mana, which, unfortunately, was us. The massive fists slammed into the golem's faces as one, crushing the stone into a fine powder as I jumped off my golem's back to avoid getting hit.
Did that work? I know mine's probably dead, but how about the others? I wondered, trying to see the result of the attack through the dust cloud above me.
The sentry I was on began to fall like a large tree towards Anwill and Thorsen, who were observing the coordinated attacks. "Look out!" Anwill shouted, knocking Thorsen out of the way of the falling monsters. The ground trembled and shook violently from the collapsing bodies, nearly making me lose my footing.
I noticed the Master and Nenvalur's golems had also fallen, as they walked out from behind the stone corpses. Meanwhile, Anwill and Thorsen recovered quickly and were back on their feet at a moment's notice. "That was too close for comfort. Thank you," Thorsen said, giving the elf a quick pat on the shoulder. The five of us began to laugh heartily at our accomplishments, but it was a short-lived victory.
More stones began to fall due to the rumbling from the golems' attacks, and I noticed a massive chunk coming right for me. I dodged out of the way and shielded my face from the dirt and mud it kicked up, but the open area seemed otherwise structurally sound.
"Well, that was fun! A bit risky, but fun nevertheless!" Nenvalur exclaimed with a hearty laugh, while the Master and the others were also visibly pleased that my plan had worked. "I-I just did what I thought would work. After my fight with that pair of ochelons back home, I realized that massive creatures don't see well from behind, even if they are sensitive to mana; an observation I wanted to capitalize on," I replied shyly.
"Pair of ochelons? I'm surprised you could even take one on for someone your size. What is your name, young one?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Thoma Fayren, sir," I replied with a quick bow. However, the look he gave me when I rose was one of unbridled curiosity.
He stared at me blankly for a moment, then looked to the Master and Anwill, exchanging something unspoken. "Fayren, right? It's a good name for a Synner of your caliber, and an honor to meet you. That was an amazing plan, one I'll surely pass on. After that little demonstration, I'm sure you'd fit right in where I live. We could use more Synners like you," Nenvalur gave me a light bow as he grinned.
D-Did that just happen? Wait, where is he even from? I wondered, knowing this elf was far stronger than I was.
I did the only logical thing I could think of, and put my hand across my chest and bowed deeply. "Thank you for the compliment, sir," I said. "So formal," he spat, then chuckled lightly as he turned to speak with the others.
"You're one ballsy, little shit-head, you know that? You almost up and fucking died on me… us!" Bernar said, gesturing to Meliss. "I agree, you almost gave me a heart attack," she said, clutching her chest. "Well, I'm sorry I scared you, but I didn't die. Those sentries took my place," I chuckled, raising my hands placatingly.
Just as I said that, the ground began to shake and the ceiling began to crumble, knocking large chunks of earth loose. "We need to get out of here! Everyone, follow us!" Anwill shouted as the Master tore the large door from the archway they had seen earlier with mana and cast it against the wall. "Move!" he shouted. Everyone rushed into the doorway as the stones fell from above, crushing a handful before even I made it out.
Leona, who was just ahead of me, was nearly crushed flat by a large boulder, but Bernar managed to pull her out of the way just in time as Meliss and I dodged a few of our own on our way to the door. The beams that supported the walls caved in behind us, cutting us off from the other passages they had come from.
"Is everyone alright?" the Master asked, shielding his face from the cloud of dust the cave-in caused. A few limbs could be seen crushed beneath the rubble, but we all knew there was nothing to be done, forcing us to realize just how nearly we'd escaped death quickly.
"This is all your fault! Don't you know to stay in your fucking lane?" one of the Synners said, approaching me. I glanced over at the one who had said it, while Roburn stepped between us and put his hand on a woman's shoulders, stopping her in her tracks as he shook his head. "Not worth it, Rosie. There's no way he could have predicted that would happen. If it weren't for him, we still might have gotten crushed by the boulders had that fight dragged on any longer," he said calmly.
Rosie? She's the embodiment of irony with a name like that, I thought as I noticed her glaring at me.
"Even so, does that mean we can all just run off and do whatever we want? What the fuck happened to the chain of command, huh? His little stunt put us all at risk, regardless of whether it was successful," she spat toward me while Roburn could only shake his head. "She's got a point, you know," he sighed.
"I know she does, but nothing they were doing seemed to be working, and to be entirely honest, I don't think killing the sentries had anything to do with the cave-in. Their bodies were embedded into the walls long before we even arrived, so it's much more likely that our presence here in general is what caused it; not just the fight," I explained, but deep down I still couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt for those buried beneath the boulders as I turned away.
"Tsk. What the fuck would you know?" she muttered with pure rage laced in her tone. Just as she did, a large boulder crumbled from the ceiling and dropped toward her. As soon as I noticed it, I instinctively entered my second stage and cast my Whip of Doom to shatter the falling stone, causing bits of gravel and a cloud of dust to rain down on the two in front of me.
"Holy shit. Thanks, Thoma," he said through a light cough as he waved his hand in front of his face, but Rosie stood there silently with a frustrated look. "You don't have to thank me. If I could have done that to all the other boulders that crushed our friends, I would have," I replied, carefully watching Rosie's expression shift from frustration to sadness.
"There wasn't much any of us could do except hope to make it out alive," he acknowledged, though I could tell he was wondering why the Master or even Nenvalur hadn't been able to do anything about it with the strange look he had in his eyes.
Wait, why didn't they do anything about it? I wondered, realizing the same thing Roburn had.