The three bodies were laid in the center of the wards. We didn't stick around to watch them rot. I looted them along the way, looking at the Notifications as we tried to stay as silent as possible, looking for more.
--
Coin purse x3
Rusty Saber
Steel dagger
--
--
You have killed a Retainer of Darkness Tracker 3000 XP;
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You have killed a Retainer of Darkness Patrol Guard 3000 XP;
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You have killed a Retainer of Darkness Patrol Guard 3000 XP;
--
The loot seemed weird with a rusty and steel weapon, but things were going well. I wondered what the difference between the guards was. The Tracker was the first one we killed. He had been in the back of the group instead of the front while the other two watched for him. They were supposedly supposed to protect him with the help of my illusions messing with their perception. They had never known what hit them as Iona Cut the trackers throat. She then casually did the same to the other one before Viccy killed the last idiot with a precise arrow into his throat. It was an excellent way to take care of the enemy.
I looked to my status to see and contemplate as Viccy looked for tracks of the next patrol.
--
"Status"
Name: Ellisphasia
Level: 11
Titles: Grand illusionist Disciple, Pack Leader
Affiliation: Demons
Reputation: 25
Health: 350/350
Stamina: 173/250
Mana: 452/725
Experience: 71500/204800
Strength: 20 +
Agility: 23 +
Vitality: 30 +
Charisma: 62 +
Intelligence: 42 +
Wisdom: 41 +
Points to spend: 10
--
I looked at the points to spend, thinking I should spend them as Viccy put in the work. My stamina just from moving around was lowered significantly. I would never win in a straight-up run. I didn't want to be an all-rounder. That felt like a waste of my time. My entire build is based around Charisma. I noticed the better treatment I received over Viccy in the game. I didn't know why but I wanted to put all ten into the Charisma. This would increase how believable my illusions are. This isn't the only thing either. It helped build new relationships and how people react to seeing me. I eventually wanted my Charisma to allow me to make allies out of enemies. Nothing stated against that.
I remembered back to the Demon. Or the Incubus? He acted with hostility before he saw me. He then changed his tune and played with me instead of killing us. This was a significant change. Spells might be my combat and what makes me useful in the party during battle. But was that all I brought to the table? I didn't think so. I believe My charisma might be what keeps the NPC's here. Mistress talked about my charisma, making it sound like my most important stat.
This was troubling, and I thought more about it when I was tapped on the shoulder and came back to the game world. I had been guided to a bush with four guards ahead of us. I had the mana to bring them all into an illusion before using a mana potion. They were in a troubled position, though with one person always seeing the others.
We didn't have much time to plan. Viccy pointed at me then at them. I nodded, knowing I could create an illusion for them all. I started to chant, creating a world for them; One that was the same. I watched as Viccy pointed at herself then the farthest Guard. Iona pointed at herself and the guard closest to us. Gloom pointed at herself than at the third most distant guard. Fidel nearly lightly huffed and started to chant quietly.
I chanted and poured mana into the world surrounding us five. The world warped only to stay the same. All the Guards were looking around. Even as an arrow landed in one of their eyes, the others saw nothing. Even as Iona's sword cut another throat, they saw nothing as Gloom transformed into a jaguar and mauled one. They saw nothing nor heard it. Lightning sparked silently, hitting the last. Each had their world of pain, and each never saw the other die as their worlds shattered.
Each fell in turn as we took them out. I felt the world float for a second as I looked at my mana.
--
Mana: 32/725
--
I was too low to cast anything else. I quickly took out a Mana regeneration potion and chugged it down. With the patrol dispatched, I walked up to loot the bodies before we moved them.
"That Illusion what was it?" Viccy asked, curious.
"I made the world exactly as it was before the battle started. Their friends were looking around to find traces of us. Each fell thinking the other watched them die." I started as I started to loot the bodies.
In the corner of my eye, I saw her shudder as she looked at a body. "What a way to go," She stated and picked up the body. Iona and Gloom did the same as we started to leave towards the ward.
The time we took clearing out patrols was much less than we thought. With the Mana regeneration potion, we were keeping up with the Patrols that need large Illusions. Any group in groups of two didn't need me to interfere. Groups of Three, we did it for safety. The Groups of four were where we had to use it every time. We thanked our luck; we found no patrols in a group of five. The regeneration potion wore off twice in the two hours. Luckily, we stocked up for this trip.
After all fifteen patrols, we had created a pile of bodies at the Ward. There were another three hours left on the ward before it expired. We spent another hour looking for more patrols, only to find nothing. I stopped us after that.
"Time to head inside. We cannot keep looking for more patrols blindly. If we missed one, it is our bad luck. Let us go back inside and hope our luck is good," This received nods from everyone but Fidel. She just looked coldly at me before following us inside when we moved.
We started down the tunnel with the torches still lining the cave with much more time as we found no one guarding the wall this time. I was curious why they were not guarding the door. Viccy gave me a look before Iona spoke up.
"Curious, Why is the door unguarded?" She questioned.
"It doesn't matter, prepare for battle and open the door," I said. I started to chant a neutral illusion getting ready for what was beyond the door. Everyone tensed up. Chants were heard. Iona had her sword drawn as Viccy loaded an arrow. Gloom rolled her eyes and opened the door.