Chrysalis

The fireball streaks out of my sight like a meteor, but I don't have to wonder what happened. Immediately a tremendous shake rocks the ground accompanied by a massive explosion, lighting up the area with a brilliant flash of light.

The roars and screams of monsters below immediately fills the air. That blast must have wounded quite a number and aggravated a heck of a lot more. I can see the other four humans are chuckling to each other as they brandish their weapons and begin to advance down the hill towards the lake, out of my sight.

The spell caster remains on the hill. I think its female? I'm finding it hard to tell, perhaps my eyes are still too poor to discern those details. She begins to prepare more spells, not quite of the same size as before, conjuring flaming lances out of thin air and sending them streaking into the monsters below.

It feels strange to see the peace of the lake broken in this way.

I mean, I shouldn't be surprised right?

Imaging that humans had come across a valuable resource, would they share it? If they had the strength to take and monopolise it, would they leave it be and allow others to use it? I don't think they would. They would lie in ambush and kill those who came. They would build fences and walls to keep others out. They would keep everything they could to themselves and grow their strength so that they could take and keep even more.

The monsters here in this place are very stupid. If we look at the stats in the system, I can imagine most monsters I've seen have a cunning less than ten. They can be tricked, baited and trapped easily.

For some reason they don't even think of taking and controlling the resource that is the mana lake. They don't even fight there, ensuring that they themselves and others can benefit. From a human standpoint, it's stupid.

Not to mention, what are monsters to humans anyway? Just resources, just experience. If I'd been born a human I'd be doing just what they are doing, right? I'd be attacking monsters and gaining XP, taking their cores to sell and celebrating.

But I wasn't born a human in this world.

I was born something else.

A monster.

And for some reason, seeing these humans here, breaking the peace of the lake.

It just really pisses me off.

I don't think too much, I just turn, take aim, and fire.

POW.

air directly towards the female mage. I've aimed

Splash!

impacts a barrier of some kind, spreading over the surface to reveal a spherical, invisible barrier covering the

the mage turns around, trying to locate this source of this surprise attack, but I've buried myself back into the vegetation,

she'll be able to detect me using a spell of crystal like the guards in the upper cavern, but after staring hard at the terrain she returns her focus to the

POW.

through the air, splattering over the barrier. I can hear the acid sizzling as it tries to chew through that layer

scorching the area behind her, sweeping the flame around like a flamethrower to burn away

I'm not that close.

my still healing antennae. Good lord Gandalf but that

sure what it is

wanted her to

Anthony, what the heck

observing the flaming wreckage of the forest immediately behind her, trying to identify the pesky source of

am not about to show

visibly irritated and not finding what she is looking for but her attention is dragged back

they fight the monsters and she cannot afford to have her

my cover to move slightly further away. I dive in amongst the roots of a nearby tree and turn to

The lances begin as a hovering ball of dense fire

to cast once again I take aim and

has reached level

Nice!

of the acid still impacts against that invisible barrier, eating away

expect is what

had been covering the surface immediately drops through, a small

robes and stops casting her spells instantly, trying to brush away the offending acid and