I use my spear to distract the Talpavore while Josh slashes at it from behind. One swipe is enough to remove its tail. The monster isn't able to put up much of a fight after that, and we quickly dispatch it. The tail whips around wildly for several minutes, and we avoid the spot where it landed. I don't know if the tails are worth anything, so we just leave them on the ground. Before we can regroup, three more Talpavores pop up out of the ground.
[Shit.]
"Pull back and hit them with magic!" I pull out my fireball rod and launch a spell at the first one. The fire acts like napalm and sticks to the beast while it burns. The three Talpavores are riddled with spells until they're nothing more than smoldering lumps of meat. A horrific smell fills the room.
"Let's get the cores and get out of here." Josh and I move to cut out the cores. While removing the second one, the Talpavore's tail whips around and cuts my face. Josh is the first to react. He cuts off the tail, but it's already too late. I don't even have time to say anything before the venom takes effect. I collapse to the ground with my eyes open. I can't move. I can't speak. I'm fully at the mercy of the world around me.
"Nick!" Shinobu shouts and runs over to me.
"Is he alive?" Sakura asks cautiously.
"I'll check." Josh walks over and puts two fingers on my corroded artery. He waits for a moment to get a feel for my pulse before leaning over to listen to my breath. "He's alive."
I hear a few sighs of relief.
"It must be the venom from the tail. We should get out of here as soon as possible." Lala steps up and takes the lead. Shinobu grabs the magic bag while Josh and Sakura carry my limp body. Fortunately, we're not too far from the exit. I see the light coming from the mouth of the cave when four Acriporcoses charge at us from ahead. The kids toss me to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
[Ow.]
My body is crumpled up in a weird position. I can just barely make out what's happening at the front. Josh is holding back two of the monsters on his own while Sakura and Shinobu do their best to avoid the others. The fairies are hovering above the scene while hurling one spell after another. The battle looks to be going well, but I see some movement out of the corner of my eye—a nearby rock trembles slightly before sliding towards me. A Polyporta reaches out one of its long tentacles and grabs my shoulder. The teeth around the rim of the sucker dig into my skin.
'Ironflesh!' I activate my skill by yelling it out in my head.
'Bzzzzt!'
Shock waves of pain course through my body as the octopus monster blasts me with electricity. My limbs shake violently from the attack. I can feel my health draining rapidly, but there's nothing I can do. I glance toward my party to see them cleaning up the last of the Acriporcos. Tears well up in my eyes as my vision begins to dim. More than the fear of death, I'm overwhelmed by the all-consuming hopelessness of the situation. I just have to lie there and wait to die. I struggle with what little energy I have left when suddenly, my hand responds. I quickly grab the tentacle that's attached to me and yank it. The Polyporta ups the strength of its attack, which almost causes me to pass out. I whip it around once in the air and send it flying. The monster makes a squishing noise as it impacts the wall. The room goes dark, and my hearing cuts out. I frantically grope around with the only limb I can control until I lose consciousness.
"I swear he's just doing this for attention." Sakura's skeptical voice is the first thing I hear when I wake up.
[I guess I'm not dead, which is nice. I've heard passing out is really bad for you, so I need to stop blacking out like that.]
I don't remember ever losing consciousness in my last life, but it seems to be a daily occurrence here. I send a probe down into my body to assess the damage. It's not good. My whole body aches from a combination of electricity and being dropped on the ground. On top of that, my limbs aren't moving very well. I groan and try to sit up.
"He's awake!" Lala cries out. I hear her wings flapping next to my head.
"Did the healing potions not work?" I don't understand why I'm hurting so bad, even when we have healing potions available. I can't think of a reason they wouldn't work, but I ask anyway.
"We didn't use any," Sakura replies coldly.
"Why not?!"
"We didn't want to waste them."
"How compassionate of you," I reply sarcastically. My belt is still attached to my waist, so I pull out one of my own healing potions and down it.
[Gross.]
The taste isn't any better than last time, but the pain quickly begins to subside. I'm by no means healed, but I'm at least not at death's door for the moment. I look around and see the wooden equipment in the den.
"So, what do we think?" Everyone looks around at each other uncomfortably.
"I think you almost died, Nick," Lala responds.
"Good, I was thinking the same thing. Anything else?"
"We need potions to get rid of the paralyzing venom," Josh adds.
"Right, we should get potions to prevent other status effects as well. Since we're holding Shinobu in the back anyway, why don't we get her a belt and some potions to resolve status ailments to go with it?"
"Yes!" Shinobu agrees enthusiastically. I think she's just happy to feel useful.
"Then it's settled. Sakura? Josh? Why don't you take some money from my bag and go purchase the belt and potions? I'm just gonna lay here for a while."
"Pfft." Sakura laughs and pulls Josh outside. My body is still stiff from the abuse it endured earlier. I lie down and look up at the ceiling, my mindset wandering.
"So, what do you want us to do?" Lala and the three other fairies float over me with concerned expressions.
"Oh, I don't know. What do you want to do?" This question catches me off guard, so I throw it back at them.
"Leader told us to stay with you all today."
[That doesn't answer my question.]
"Well, I'm pretty much out of commission for the day. Why don't you take Shinobu around to hunt some Punctastars? You don't need to worry about the hides; just bring back the cores. That being said, if you do manage to find a clean hide, feel free to bring it back if you want."
"Sure, sounds good!" Lala says with a salute. While thinking over the plan to spot any problems, a question occurs.
"By the way, do fairies have levels or get experience from killing monsters?"
"No," she responds flatly.
"Then why does Inari want you all to fight so much?"
"She says we need to learn how to use spells proficiently while in combat. She also said to watch how you fight and think of countermeasures," Lala explains Inari's reasoning to me.
"Interesting. I'm assuming you don't have seals, yes?" She nods. "Can fairies not have seals?"
"Leader says we can, but it comes at too high of a cost. She says the true path to magic is better."
[I'll have to talk with Inari about this later.]
"Okay, I'll see you all later. Oh, can one of you stay here to help if any monsters show up?" Rom volunteers and sits on my pack near the wall.
"Thanks, good luck!" We say our goodbyes, and silence soon fills the air. I close my eyes and relax. The cool ground beneath me helps soothe my aching muscles. I parse through the information from the last few days.
[I don't know what will happen if the humans lose the war, but Inari doesn't seem too concerned about it, so it should be fine. If I keep my head down, I should survive even if they win.]
Something seems off.