Groob subtly took a step towards the side as he opened the way for Voro.
Forgoz stayed at the side while Uramant brought up their back.
Under the sibling's expectant gazes, Voro calmly stretched his hands. Dense runes began to from as the advancing beasts grew louder.
It was the first time Lilly and Iain got to see one of the adventurers use a serious spell. If they needed help during their training so far it was always Groob or Forgoz who acted. Lilly also received a simple explanation as she questioned this division:
Exhaustion was easier to recover than mana.
Therefore, Lilly and Iain were slightly surprised that Voro finally made a move.
Trying to learn as much as possible the siblings focused on the formed runes. However, it was hard to make out single runes with the naked eye. After trying for a moment Iain thus used his dismantling eye skill.
Finally, the young man could observe a few of the runes which made up those golden runic lines.
Unfortunately, he had to stop after a few seconds, as a burning pain assaulted his eyes. Iain hissed quietly while wildly pressing his eyes closed.
[Good Job.]
Surprise and elation quickly suppressed the painful feeling upon his father's sudden remark.
[Don't tell anyone. Runes are trade secrets.]
A small headache accompanied these words, but with Iain's increasing strength this became easier and easier to endure. Especially since his father always tried to keep his sentences short.
However, this also created some difficulties for the young man. He needed a second to think about the meaning behind his father's reminder.
Iain soon figured it out though. He guessed that the runes making up a certain spell or effect were secrets. It was only morally acceptable to learn them from a teacher, book, or similar. Using special skills to deconstruct spells would be counted as theft.
Keeping this in mind, Iain decided not to share his findings with Lilly for now. Naturally he trusted her enough, but the adventurers would easily overhear them. It was safer to talk at home.
While Iain was abusing his special skill, Voro was already done with forming runes.
His high familiarity with the slightly advanced spell allowed the lighting mage to complete this step in under a second. Only with such speeds could he confidently use it during combat.
High squeaking noises already reached the team's ears. The advancing rockrats felt the movement in mana. Tension filled the hungry beasts.
Suddenly the incoming beasts appeared in the team's SMT ranges. Knee-high rats with long front teeth quickly advanced towards them.
The beast's high squeaks echoed eerily through the gloomy tunnel. A few of the beasts hiding among the vines hurriedly scurried away.
Lilly's and Iain' knuckles turned white as they strengthen the grips on their weapons. The adventurer's calmness however took away the sibling's nervousness. Although they readied themselves for combat, they didn't overreact either.
Voro kept gathering mana on his hands. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the rockrats before him. He slowly reached the limits of his mana control.
The rockrats weren't discouraged by Voro's threatening posture. In fact, they were also unable to see him.
They only knew that food was in front of them. Thus, they sprinted on the familiar rocky surface. Two rats even made use of their long claws to run along the walls.
Greed and excitement gripped their minds as they closed the distance.
Only 5 meters separated them form their food.
Suddenly a loud shout overwhelmed the rats' noises.
"NOW!"
From one second to the other Voro pushed his hand against the floor. A loud rumble accompanied the characteristic crackling of electricity. Bolts of lighting slithered along the ground.
Spreading from Voro's hands they built a dense lightning net. A literal electrical carpet decorated the tunnel's floor for a few seconds.
Painful squeaks sounded out. Some fur caught fire. The leading rank two rockrat bore the brunt of the damage.
Nevertheless, as a rank two beast it was equivalent to a warrior between level 10-20. Although the spell cooked its sensitive paws, the rockrat braved through the pain.
Anger filled its mind. It squeaked as it advanced after a short stop. Its blood lusted eyes focused on Voro. The mage's spell had just ended. He was completely defenseless. The rockrat longed to rip him apart as it dashed forward.
The sibling's eyes widened but they didn't panic. Although the situation looked dangerous the adventurers were still working as a team.
As soon as the rockrat opened its disgusting mouth certain of victory, a massive silhouette appeared besides it. A low shout sounded out.
Iain could only make out a blur. No sound could be heard as Groob's great sword effortlessly separated the rank-two beast neck. Only a loud ringing followed once the massive sword hit the floor.
The rockrat was already lifelessly lying before Voro, who never lost his calm during the process.
Suddenly Lilly noticed a quick movement from the corner of her eye.
Forgoz' sword stabbed out abruptly. Two quick steps. Two quick stabs.
When he took a step back everyone saw what happened. The electrical carpet didn't manage to stop the rat's scurrying along the wall. Fortunately, they wouldn't fluster Forgoz, who efficiently put a hole in their heads.
Now only a few fried rats were left. Although the electricity didn't kill most of them, the rats were in no shape to fight anymore. Groob and Forgoz effortlessly dispatched of them. Only a single rat tried to run away.
Seeing that Groob prepared to hunt it down, Voro calmly interrupted.
"Let me!"
The bald leader only shrugged his shoulders as he stepped to the side. With some excitement on his face Voro grabbed a pistol hanging from his waist.
Before the rat could leave his SMT range the lighting mage moved. In a smooth motion he drew his weapon, aimed, and fired.
A lighting bolt shot out from the weapon. The already weakened rat didn't have any chance. It got hit accurately in the back and quickly stopped moving.
Showing a slight smile on his face, Voro stylishly rotated his weapon in his hand. He stroked a pose as he pretentiously blew at its muzzle. Despite there not being anything to blow away, Voro fell in love with this pose ever since he learned it from some old movie.
The lightning mage smugly turned his head towards Iain as he asked his new friend:
"Am I cool or not?"
Nodding, the young man just wanted to answer as another cold voice reached them from the side:
"Waste of money."
Voro rolled his eyes.
"I will reload the mana stone myself, Forgoz."
"… waste of time."
"Stubborn."
The quiet swordsman didn't answer Voro.
Uramant smiled wryly as he addressed the siblings.
"Forgoz hates ranged combat. He thinks its dishonorable."
Not knowing how to answer, the young Rottals only let out a short 'oh'.
Ignoring his teammates' banter, Groob approached Lilly and Iain.
"Let's talk about the battle, kids."
The siblings were all ears since it seemed they could learn something.
"Although these rockrats aren't our opponents, this was a good example of targeting your enemy's weakness.
Those beasts are just as blind as us. Thus, they use their sensitive paws to feel anything happening around them."
Groob paused for a second and observed the sibling's reactions. Understanding naturally appear in the two pairs of eyes. The meaning behind Groob's words was rather clear.
"That's why you used the electric carpet."
"Right. That spell especially attacked their paws, effortlessly leaving them unable to fight back. Although Voro missed two rats, we still had a much easier time then fighting them one by one in close combat."
Displeased frowns found their way on Voro's and Forgoz' faces. Their leader's last sentence was a slight at both of them. Groob however either didn't know or he didn't care as he continued talking to the siblings.
After delivering a short lecture about some common beast's weak points the bald man finally signaled everyone to carry on.
Lilly and Iain questioned if they shouldn't take the rat's corpses along. This notion was directly dismissed, however. Rockrats didn't offer anything useful. Bringing them along would only mean unnecessary weight. Putting them in Groob's storage didn't even come to the adventurer's mind. This space was far too valuable.
As soon as the group left, someone else was more than happy to take care of the corpses. No sound could be heard as other tunnel inhabitants returned. The tiny beasts living among the Icevines rapidly descended as they gleefully devoured the rockrats accompanied by horrifying crunching noises.
Fortunately, no one experienced this unnerving scene hidden in darkness. Maybe they wouldn't regard those beasts as innocuous anymore.