NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39: Dungeon Destruction (4)
Chapter 39: Dungeon Destruction (4)
The hero raised his sword and charged ahead.
"Alice, try not to get hurt."
"You got it."
Leaving a simple task to his teammate, Relafan charged toward the thug Kobold.
"GRAA!"
The Kobold screamed and slashed its weapon down at Relafan.
A clash resounded as he blocked the brunt of the attack with his sword and pushed the club back. The towering Kobold's hand was more than half of Relafan's entire body.
With a grunt, the kobold balanced itself and slammed its hand down in a punch at Relafan.
Cold and sharp, his eyes tracked the movements down to the minutest twitch as Relafan avoided the attack and stabbed his sword ahead.
Blood gushed from the shoulder of the Kobold, as it tried to clasp its wound.
But it was against the worst opponent.
In a single sweep, Relafan twisted his body, leveraging his entire weight to slam a kick into the Kobold's stomach.
Next, he swung the sword at the Kobold's neck.
"GRA!"
A clang resounded. The sword was blocked. But Relafan wasn't one to lose his moment from such a minor setback.
He continued his dance of precise movements, cornering the giant kobold with every swing of his blade.
Where the Kobold blocked, where it COULD block, everything was under Relafan's control.
There was no movement happening on this battlefield that did not fall under his calculations.
A gasp of admiration left Alice.
And also the slime.
Even to her untrained eyes, the battle of the Hero from another world was one that was incomparable to any else.
"How… is he doing that?"
She could tell easily who was the one overwhelming the other.
That was when she noticed a strange sight.
Behind the giant Kobold, lying in hiding, was another normal-sized gangster Kobold with a crossbow in its hands.
Her eyes widened.
"Shit!"
The Kobold was already taking aim.
Clicking her tongue, Alice ran her head in overdrive. Magic was tough, it was pretty tough.
But it was not as hard as Dark Souls.
And she was just shy of clearing Dark Souls. What was magic against her?
Alice raised her hands and recalled all the information she had gained from the grimoire. Step one was to summon the magic power whirling deep within her.
She had managed to get a sense of it well through the breathing method.
The next step was to apply the first of the grimoire's formulas…
A large amount of magical energy seeped outside her and floated in the air, forming a small orb that orbited around her.
Satel, as the grimoire called it, was the base of all magic spells. The method through which she could materialize her magic spells into the world and apply them against her enemies.
The more of the Satels she could form, the more spells she could use, their quality and size were a different conversation altogether.
One was all she could do, but one was all she needed.
The next step was to infuse the second formula, and add the chant to bring the effect she desired.
Infuse the Satel with malice.
And then.
A sharp-edged spike formed from the pitch-black satel and stabbed the Kobold in its chest.
A short shriek left the Kobold as Relafan and the giant Kobold turned to their side.
Not a drop of blood spilled nor did the scent of death emerge.
Alice smiled a victorious smile. It had worked.
With madder red eyes, the Kobold turned the crossbow toward itself and pulled the trigger. The arrow shot out of the crossbow and wedged itself into the Kobold's neck, the final nail in the coffin that its suicide had become.
"Woah~" Relafan whistled at the sight. "I was planning to handle that, but you were faster."
"GRAK!!!"
The Giant Kobold screamed in rage at the sight of its dead subordinate.
Unfortunately, emotions had no place in a battle of life and death. With a quick stab of his sword, Relafan made a deep gash into the giant Kobold's head.
It could only whimper in pain as the Kobold keeled over, succumbing to its injuries.
The Hero ignored the Kobold as if its falling was only natural.
He turned over to Alice, shaking the blood off his sword.
"Good job! I didn't think you would be able to pick up magic right away."
"I thought you were a goner there…"
Relafan tilted his head. He had seen the kobold hiding before he had even laid his eyes on the giant. But maybe saying anything would not do good.
"I had noticed it but wasn't sure how to counter it. Thanks for the save."
"I am alright… but… should we have left the Mister alone?"
It had all been a smooth ride so far, but Alice was now worried about the last two members of their group. If even someone like her was useful, then wouldn't it be tough for someone to do this alone?
The reaction was almost cute in Relafan's eyes.
"That guy is finally weak after a long time," he said, staring at the sky. "That means he can enjoy whatever he fights. I pity everything that would come in his way."
"What do you mean…"
Right then, a window popped open in front of them.
[Congratulations. You have cleared a dungeon]
[Challenger Relafan has received the Leadership Mark]
[Leadership board:
1) Vincent
2) Relafan
…
]
"See," Relafan shrugged. "He's already done with his own."
***
Passing by a trail of innards and carcasses from the giant goblin and its fellow goblins, I wiped the blood off my machete.
I didn't even have to use my unique weapon.
"Let's go get the next one, cat."
"M…meow…"
The cat stepped out of the sea of blood and followed behind.