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"Yeah, I'm on the second quest," I confidently stated.

"Right, let's go then," replied the dwarf with a quick nod.

What… that was it?

Well, that was easy… if only every group invite went as smoothly.

An invite to the group and a quick step through the portal a second later brought me back to that dimly lit cave that stunk of urine and puke. That sudden change was unnerving yet again, and I wasn't sure if I would ever get used to it. Going from the refreshing cool air of the forest to the cold, empty yet muddy-feeling of the portal, with it all culminating in that overly humid and rancid environment that was called a dungeon; it simply was an odd transition.

There was definitely a separation between worlds.

With the rest of the party appearing directly behind, we were finally ready to get things started. I could only hope that these guys were decent. The confidence of the dwarf next to me was at least reassuring. It was actually strangely a bit too reassuring, and with a quick check of the options, I found out why.

It appeared that the dwarf had an aura that bolstered morale.

Well, he was still a confident fellow and that did help in addition to his aura.

Quickly checking all my items and statuses, I was ready to go. But before we could begin, the dwarf had glanced at me and seemed startled. Confusion displayed clearly across his face as he asked, "how the hell do ye 'ave so much health!? I'm level thirty-seven and ye've got as much health as I do…."

Oh, so he does have emotions.

I laughed a bit to myself before deciding on how to reply. "Bonus attributes man. The UR-Exam gave me a wee bit of a boost." Following that up with a wink, I let a grin slip out as well. Yeah, I had two-hundred more health than him and was only level thirty-one. An axe-wielding mage with the health of a tank, nothing too out of the ordinary here!

Shaking his head, the dwarf let a grin of his own shine through before replying in kind. "No shit. I didn't think it was worth, but if a mage has more health than a tank I should get my freakin' stubby ass down there." As he finished talking, he continued to walk forward until he reached the middle of the room. Suddenly stopping and without turning around, he raised his voice for all to hear.

"Right, who's pullin'? I'll AoE taunt them off ye," he said loudly.

With a quick glance at the archer who didn't seem to care, I figured now would be a good time to shine. Like a kid raising his hand to answer the teacher's call, I eagerly replied. "I can pull. I've got a good AoE to start it."

"Ye do that then," the dwarf stated calmly.

Without a moment to lose, I quickly walked around the corner and down the dark narrow passageway. I had yet to actually use [Chain Lightning] but they didn't need to know that. They were on a need to know basis, and they didn't need to know. I mean, what was the worst that could happen anyhow?

Staring at the goblin camp, five of those disgustingly filthy creatures were settled by the fireside munching on what appeared to be roasted rat. With their height ranging from four feet tall to four foot six, oversized heads with odd spade-like ears and hourglass eyes… they were just as repulsive as the first time I encountered them.

It was of no matter though, as they would die all the same.

Gathering myself and getting into position, I began a chanted verse while focusing my attention on casting a [Chain Lightning]. The cast time itself was quite short, comparable to a [Lightning Bolt] at two seconds but it cost over twice the mana. There was also a cooldown period of eight seconds as well, so it couldn't be used repeatedly in quick succession. Fortunately none of that really mattered; I had enough mana to cast quite a few of them and it looked to be a very powerful spell.

As four distinct miniature lightning bolts started to take shape between my hands, they had started to entwine into a single yet separate mass. The cool off-white light radiating from my hands was a sight to behold, and I couldn't wait for what was to come. Building up the charge to its maximum three verses, I focused my attention on the [Outcast Goblin] far out in front.

Extending my arms outwards with palms open, I quickly yelled out, "Chain Lightning!" In a flash I saw the four intertwined bolts of lightning surge forth and nearly instantaneously explode in a shower of sparks. The four miniature bolts had hit the goblin in the center of his chest and as he was paralyzed from the sudden electricity coursing through his veins, each individual bolt arced off and bounced to a nearby goblin.

The four goblins behind him were each hit with one of the four bolts and started to convulse as well while taking a quarter of the damage compared to the initial target. As all five goblins stood temporarily paralyzed I high-tailed it out of the room without a moment to lose, hastily retreating to the safety zone behind my little dwarf tank. It was only a few seconds of running, with a stop on a dime to turn around to prepare for the oncoming wave.

Starting another full chanted verse for a [Lightning Bolt], I needed to time it with the goblins currently rushing through that narrow passageway that connected the rooms. Since [Lightning Bolt] was a straight-line skill shot, I only needed to aim properly and didn't require a target in line of sight to cast beforehand. Five seconds was more than adequate for those goblins to catch up, anyways.

As the first [Outcast Minor Goblin] turned the corner, I had just finished my cast and let it fly. The lightning bolt flashed out of my open palm and connected straight with the goblin as it fell to the floor, twitching slightly with its face in the dirt.

It died before it even hit the ground.

That, was the power of lightning magic.

High cost yet high reward, perfect for small skirmishes and one on one battles.

Of course I had already dropped twenty-two percent of my mana in two casts, but that was the last thing on my mind. Starting up another [Lightning Bolt] with the intent to capitalize on the chaining bonus which ramped up damage by ten percent per, up to fifty percent in total, I looked on with eager eyes.

No longer did I have to be the one getting stabbed and sliced at, receiving excessive pain in order to tank a bunch of mobs.

This was something I could get used to.

Yeah, this may just be my calling.

Not more than three seconds had passed before the remaining four goblins appeared in front of us, with the dwarf using his [Call to Challenge], an Area of Effect taunt to pick up the loose mobs. The goblins couldn't resist the direct challenge and blindly swarmed the poor man, energetic and enraged from the taunt.

As the goblins wildly attacked the dwarf, he was steadfast with his defense, keeping his shield high and in front, easily deflecting the oncoming blows of the lower level goblins. The tank had no issue controlling the four of them and made me rethink my stance on tanking without a shield.

It all looked too easy for him.

I certainly took the harder path.

Looking over to my left was the Frost mage, who had nearly completed his full chanted verse [Frost Bolt], while to my right the Holy priest was starting a chanted [Holy Light] to heal the dwarf. The three of us stood in a line and it was kind of a neat sight. Three people chanting away with glowing hands.

It was something you wouldn't see in real life.

Witnessing it in a party setting made for an interesting experience, too.

There was also an archer somewhere about, but no one cared about him.

He shot his bow, like they all do.

Thwack, thwack.

And as I finished my thought, the first [Frost Bolt] left the mage's hands as a cold light-blue ball of ice shot out at an incredible speed, leaving a trail of crystalizing ice fluttering to the ground in its wake. Following the bolt as it impacted into the nearest minor goblin, an explosion of white mist enveloped the target, shrouding it entirely in a thin layer of frost.

It was a spectacular sight to behold, and it was the first time I had seen it in person. But, it wasn't a heavy hitter and the minor goblin although slowed, was still quite alive and well.