The group continued, tackling the identical set of side paths on the other side of the main path. They seemed to be having more trouble this time due to them being exhausted from fighting multiple level 15 groups. Fortunately, there was no mini boss this time. You'd think that two of them being level 15 would make things easier. The problem is all the fighting they had to do to get to this point. Most of which was done while they were still level 14. Though, Darrel did manage to reach level 15 in the last of the side rooms.

  Compared to those side paths, the next few rooms of the main path were almost easy. Considering all the injuries, some of which were close to being fatal, they sustained so far, I'm a little surprised that they're still moving forward. Their next real challenge comes from one of the next two side paths. Specifically, the six level 15 skeletons in the last room.

  Cole instantly uses his taunt ability to get the tank and both fighters to target him. Meanwhile Chandra goes after the enemy rogue. This leaves Darrel to fight both the enemy mage and archer. While he does his best to keep their attention on him, he can only sling ice spears so fast. Especially since he has to stop and cast water wall every now and then due to his two opponents both having ranged attacks. As for Clyde, he's busy helping Cole deal with the three skeletons attacking him.

  First blood, if skeletons had blood that is, goes to Clyde who successfully killed the enemy tank by first faking an attack on one of the enemy fighters. Just before his sword made contact with the fighter's sword, he adjusted it so that it would just barely miss instead. This allowed him to carry his momentum through to attack the enemy tank. A risky move as it left him temporarily open to a counterattack. It happened so fast though that the skeleton tank was dead before the skeleton fighter even realized what had happened. Not a move I would have expected seeing as it would have ended much differently if the skeleton fighter had gone for anything but a simple block.

  With the tank now out of the way Cole and Clyde were both able to focus on one of the enemy fighters each. Chandra on the other hand was just barely managing to hold her own against the skeleton rogue. Instead of fighting the rogue directly Chandra seemed to be just keeping it busy. Not letting it focus on anyone else. The star of the show was Darrel fighting against the enemy mage while also defending against the archer. Though, he was rapidly burning through mana to do it.

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  For over a minute, Although I'm sure it felt like much longer to them, neither side seemed to be able to get the upper hand. The next big break came when Cole instead of blocking the vertical slash outright decided to turn his shield. Not much, but enough so that the skeleton fighter's sword glanced off before continuing forward, instead of bouncing of the shield. The skeleton, clearly expecting the sword to be stopped by the opponent's shield, put more power into the attack than it should have. The result of which being that it was caught off guard and stumbled forward. Only a single step, but it was enough. Before the skeleton had time to recover Cole brought his sword down across the back of its neck.

  That was the turning point as their fight was now two on one in favor of Clyde and Cole. The remaining skeleton fighter, not really being much of a strategic thinker, didn't last much longer after that. Now I would have thought they would go to help Darrel seeing as he has been fighting two on one since the battle started. They instead went to help Chandra deal with the enemy rogue. This turned out to be the right call. With Cole and Clyde effectively limiting its movement Chandra was able to land the killing blow.

  After that the three of them turned their attention to the archer. The archer was quick to notice this and change its target. Without having to worry about stray arrows Darrel was able to concentrate on taking out the enemy mage. Cole used his reflexes to block the arrows with his shield allowing Chandra to use her concealment technic to get behind the skeleton. Before it even realized what was happening Chandra was able to drive a Knife into the back of its skull.

  Then there was one. I wish I could describe the skeleton mage's valiant last stand. How it was holding out against overwhelming odds. The truth though is that the ending of this battle was rather anticlimactic. A few throwing knives by Chandra while it was focusing on Darrel brought it down.

  Just when I was starting to think they were going to do a full clear of the third floor they decided to return to the surface after gathering the loot and resting for a bit. I'm not going to pretend I wasn't disappointed. In the end though I did understand why, and I have no doubt that next time they will do a full clear. I still don't think they'll be ready to face the boss but that's alright considering the amount of mana I got from them making it as far as they did gives me more than enough mana for a large room. Especially when you combine it with the mana I already had. I once again find myself getting excited thinking about how much mana I will get once they start reaching the fifth floor and beyond.

  For now, I have to decide where to put the new room. I already have the entire floor planned out. The problem therefore is do I make the path to the boss room now or save it to last. After pondering for a few minutes, I decide that it would probably be best to save it till last. I should be getting a lot more mana a lot faster by then which will allow me to get a boss that truly fits the theme instead of just what I can afford.