Vince wheeled around and kicked a pincer aside before it could make contact with his body but before he could stab his dagger into the Ant's head and reap yet another Arcane shard, a dart attached to a rope flew out and pierced its head, instantly ending the Ant's life.
When the dart was pulled out, Vincel followed it with his eyes until it returned to the one who had tossed it over; Yvette.
The rope Vincel had seen wound around her left arm was her weapon; A Rope dart.
As she pulled it over, she spun it around with such ease and grace that Vincel was surprised at the hard sound of impact the dart made when it pierced other Ants' heads.
*Swish*
*Swish*
*Bang*
*Crack!*
Vincel was so wowed with how she was able to wield the Rope-dart that he didn't even care that she had robbed him of an Arcane shard. Also, he would have probably spent a few more seconds staring had it not been for the sounds coming from his sides.
*Clack*
*Clack*
An entire swarm of Ants was scuttling out of the walls on either side of him and he instantly gripped his dagger tighter just as he heard Alessia yell at him.
"Mage, what are you waiting for? Cast a spell!"
'Right. Repel!'
The spell circle appeared and out of it charged, a wall of Arcane Mana that slammed into multiple Ants and sent them crashing into the wall they had come out of.
Yvette was twirling her Rope-dart when she looked to the side at Vincel with a raised brow.
"What element was that?" she asked.
"Who cares? Do more of it!" Alessia yelled as she brought her Axe down and cleaved an Ant into two.
Vincel ignored them both.
Due to the large number of targets, his 'Repel' spell did not have that much of an Impact. The Ants slammed against the wall and each other but none of them were smashed.
It wasn't long before they were all standing and ready to charge at him again.
Vincel took a few steps back and drew them out. Made them come at him more one-at-a-time and less all-at-once.
The first one to get close got a Dagger stab to the head.
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
For the next two, Vincel brandished his hand and cast the 'Bind' spell twice.
Strings of Arcane Mana wrapped around them and he stabbed them both in quick succession so they could fall aside and he could face the many others coming at him.
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
Vincel tensed the muscles in his legs and his eyes quickly darted around to spot where the Ants were coming out of.
'They are not coming out as much as before. The number of new arrivals is reducing. That's a relief.
Now to handle the hundred of them that are already here.'
Vincel dashed but he didn't dash forward into the oncoming horde of Ants. Rather, he dashed towards the wall and used it to launch himself into two Ants who were side by side.
*BAM!*
The move took the Ants by surprise. Especially the one that got pinned against the wall.
Vincel wasted no time swinging and thrusting his dagger to put an end to the two Ants.
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
The Ants that had been charging forward quickly stopped and made to surround Vincel. The first two to get close received swift kicks of the combat boots Vincel had on to smack them aside.
The one that leaped at him next, Vincel sidestepped to avoid its pincers and finished it off with a stab into its exposed underbelly.
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
'REPEL! REPEL! REPEL!"
Yelling it over and over again in his head, Vincel was able to cast the spell three times and was satisfied when three simultaneous walls of Arcane Mana were able to knock the Ants a few feet away from him.
Vincel ignored the fact that there was a horde of Ants coming at him from one side as he dashed forward and hurried to take advantage of his triple Repel spellcasting.
The Ants were down and ripe for the stabbing and Vincel went right through their midst, swinging and stabbing with his dagger to kill as many as he could as fast as he could.
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
...
*Swish*
*Bang*
As she pierced another Ant with her Rope-Dart, Yvette allowed her eyes to roam over to Vincel.
"He's not moving like a Mage"
"No, he's not," Delphyne said.
Her sword was dripping with the yellowish goo that the Ants bled.
"Also, where's the support from the distance he's supposed to be providing," Alessia asked as she cleaved off the Pincer of an Ant and split open its head the very next second.
She no longer had the lamp hanging off her Waist. She had found somewhere in the wall to put it so that it provided light for the entire group to fight.
*Swish*
*Bang*
Yvette stabbed her dart into another Ant but instead of simply pulling it out, she used it to pull her victim closer before slamming it against the floor to be stomped on with the heels of her boot.
She made it look so effortless and even shrugged with a smile as she did it.
"Well, I mean, he IS providing support. And he's doing it from a distance too"
Meanwhile,
Vincel had speedran his Ant-killing and had just stabbed into his Eleventh Ant when the others were up and ready to snap at him with their pincers.
Vincel managed to dodge a pincer attack but was blindsided when another Ant was able to dig its pincers into his side, drawing blood.
Vincel could feel it. He could feel as the shirt he was wearing tried its hardest to shield him from the stab only to eventually fail. That said, he was instantly aware, in his subconscious, that the injury would have been much worse if what he was wearing wasn't enchanted.
'One win for 'Kacey's', I guess.'
Vincel screwed his eyes to the pain.
"Ah,"
Even as he let out a sound of pain, he still made sure to stab the Ant and end its life before putting distance between himself and his many opponents once again.
[One Arcane Shard recovered]
When Vincel moved away from the Ants, he made sure he moved in the direction of the three ladies where the light of the lamp was shining the brightest.
If he moved toward the exit of the path they were in, he would lose the only light source and would be rendered blind to attack which would not bode well for him.
"I have a feeling these Ants will find me even in the dark" he mumbled as he got closer to the trio of Delphyne, Alessia, and Yvette.
The three had managed to clear their side of the path already. Only the horde that Vincel was facing was still around and quickly scurrying over.
Vincel smiled at the ladies with his left hand over his injury.
"Hey,"
"Want some help?" Yvette asked him while returning his smile.
In contrast, Delphyne and Alessia were scowling at him.
"Yeah, sure," Vincel told Yvette.
Yvette nodded and then started spinning her rope dart to begin stabbing and killing as many Ants as she could.
Despite the looks they were giving him, Delphyne and Alessia joined in as well.
Vincel's brows furrowed as he watched Delphyne wield her sword.
'That's so different from how Aidan wielded his sword'
Aidan's wielding had been rigid. It was all about stepping back, assessing the situation, and finding an opening to take advantage of.
However,
Delphine used speed and a head-on charge to wield her sword. Cutting through Ants left and right whether they gave her an opening or not.
Also, their swords were different.
Aidan's had been larger. Close to being a broadsword while Delphyne's was thinner. Not as thin as a rapier but definitely easier to wield with speed.
'Oh, I get it,' Vincel thought in realization, 'Aidan used his sword like a Knight. Delphyne uses hers like a Warrior.'