Chapter 24- A Team Attack?

In three days we made it to the edge of the swamp. I couldn't fathom what I was seeing, it was too grand, the epitome of what mother nature could create. If hundreds of waterfalls spanned this great expanse, where would all the rivers run off to?

"It's beautiful," I said as I watched in awe, this entire time we were on the top of a mountain, or more accurately we were on a giant waterfall that fell over the mountain's edge as far as I could see. The wall of mist was just a byproduct of this. I wouldn't doubt that as we walked the edge we would not see a single point where a waterfall split.

But the fact we made it here meant we hadn't got lucky on our initial search. Thirteen waterfalls of about the same size as the first. Three iron chests totaled out to thirteen gold coins and a few odd tools. Consisting of a whetstone, a carving knife and a small anvil we had to abandon. It weighed roughly fifty pounds and it just wasn't worth the hassle.

In total, we've slain roughly four hundred bullywugs in our journey to reach the edge of the ninety-eighth floor. Seemingly insane progress, but for two people that didn't need to stop for sleep or hunger? I felt it was average progress when those factors were put in play.

"Yeah, there was nothing this grand in my world. But it's been twenty minutes Ace, we've got to get moving" Ivar advised as he was a few feet away from me sitting in front of a campfire, the whetstone sat perched at an angle as the Norsemen paid special care to sharpen the fire sword in his possession

"You're right, just let me use my essence and we can start searching the edge," I replied as I sat next to him and looked into the flames, after a few seconds of contemplation I leveled up. My mana pool was already more than I needed so I left it alone this time in favor of focusing on my physical stats.

-

{Essence: 43,000}

Lvl:81-91

Name: Ace Lothbrook

Mana: 500/500

Class: N/A

Rank: Human

Strength:8-10

Agility:22

Endurance:30-34

Dexterity:26-30

Intelligence:50

Faith:9

[Statistical Upgrade Cost: 79,000]

-

Ten levels in three days, courtesy of mob enemies that for some reason didn't follow the same rules as Orgnar, in terms of essence that is. No matter the adventurer's level it seemed that bullywugs would drop exactly three thousand five hundred essence. Whereas Orgnar's essence 'drop' seemed to have a level scaling attached to it, the first time I killed him I received around hundred and forty thousand essence but it would slowly trickle down the more I leveled up.

By the time I hit level eighty, the essence I received from beating Orgnar was twenty thousand.

This was a good discovery. 'I wish I had a damn notebook so I could write everything I've noticed and learned.' I lamented.

"Ready Ivar?" I asked as I got up.

He nodded once before putting away his sharpening kit, a beautiful metallic sheen made the 'burned scimitar' glow in this floor of seemingly infinite night.

Around forty minutes later we came upon the biggest waterfall to date. A forty-foot tall one that fed straight into the edge of this mountain. There were about a hundred feet of knee-deep water from the mountain tops edge.

Horrid conditions for a battlefield, fighting the current and the frogs at the same time would be hard. Not even to mention the fact that eighty bullywugs were patrolling it. I was sure that there was a cave behind this one, surely packed with reinforcements as well. Not even to mention if we got carried off by the current we would fall off this entire 'floor', which was a scenario that held to many unknowns.

Twice as many as we are used to, so our original strategy should still work. Take as many out from a distance as we can, then charge in for melee. Not the best strategy in the world but we were two guys with limited resources. Still, I turned to Ivar and asked his opinion on their numerical advantage and if a slight change to the strategy was wise.

"No, we should still be able to handle it." Ivar said as I voiced my opinion on the matter.

"Or we could be stealthy about it. Climb up to the top of the waterfall, rain fireballs and lightning arrows from above." I said as after all I was sure I could decimate most if not all of them with how much mana I had now.

Ivar turned around from the bush he was observing them from with a thoughtful expression.

"It could be prudent…..Yes, that is a strategy we should at least test. Eventually, we'll be put in a position where a full aerial attack will be our only option." Ivar said and I nodded at his thoughtfulness. There were waterfalls hundreds of feet high towards the heart of this mountainous swamp, infested with surely hundreds of bullywugs.

My gauntlet, Ivar's modified crossbow, and my swift bow could mow down enemies in mass if the situation called for it. Provided we had the high ground and a defensible point to where enemies couldn't attack us from behind.

I wasn't like Ivar I wasn't a leader of men, hell I didn't even see combat until a month ago. But even I knew that the two of us had our limits, how many bullywugs would that limit be? I didn't know, maybe a hundred and fifty at once. But the fact remained there was a number and that meant we had to start getting creative with our tactics.

It did make me sweat though, a startling realization that I hadn't considered. Comparing this floor's monsters and scale to the ninety-ninth floor was startling. A difficulty curve that seemed extreme, what would the next floor hold? Ten thousand enemies? Bigger monsters that could dwarf Orgnar? It was worrying but I found my heart started to beat faster at the thought.

'Do I just like to fight, or is the thrill of trying to survive that strong?' It was a weird realization. It was like waking up one day and noticing you have eleven toes. A new part of yourself that somehow you hadn't noticed. It was jarring at times but it did happen.