David was supposed to be angry at their betrayal. He should curse at them as they escaped to save their hide. It should have shocked him and made him feel like Jack and Flora had swatted him square in the face, knocking him out, making him lose faith in humanity.

But that was not the case. Oddly enough, David barely cared.

It was not that their support didn’t matter. Maybe he would have done the same in their situation. There were too many enemies, each stronger than anything their group had faced before. But it didn’t matter because he was certain he would survive; whether Jack and Flora helped him or not wasn’t important.

He was already on the verge of death, fighting desperately against Kobolds, while more were on their way to best him, but the only important fact was that David’s heart was still beating. He was still alive!

I have always known that Jack was rotten. I shouldn’t have teamed up with him. That was stupid.

David made a mistake. He acknowledged his foolishness and considered the unit of Kobolds his punishment.

He rolled on the ground, escaping the first two attacks coming his way, while his sword thrust upward. The sword in his left cut deep into the Kobold’s tail, doing little damage compared to the terror of his other attack. David had moved instinctively but didn’t expect the sword in his right hand to connect with the other Kobold’s bosom.

The sword blade dug into one of the few soft spots that weren’t protected by scales. The blade dug deep into the Kobold’s butthole. Too deep to be pulled out while still lying on the ground.

David’s eyes narrowed, and he let go of the blade in his right while kicking the Kobold with a blade stuck in his ass firmly. The Kobold screamed and squealed in a foreign language, but David barely heard anything. He jumped up with only one shotsword in his hands while the third Kobold clawed him. He blocked the attack, the blade cutting into the Kobold’s claws. However, David’s enemy didn’t seem to care. It grasped the blade tightly and shoved it aside.

A moment later, the Kobold’s head shot forward. David expected to get bitten, but he experienced the fierce headbutt of a scaled creature with an incredibly hard skull first-hand.

Something in David’s head cracked, and it didn’t take long before blood streamed down his face. His mind turned foggy, and he swayed for a moment. David nearly allowed the Kobold to disarm him, but his body went on autopilot. David’s hair stood up to its end while the newfound power of his up-rank filled him.

His right hand shot to the sword in his left, and he grasped the shortsword tightly in both hands, tilting his body to the side. He burst forth, firmly holding onto the shortsword as his body transformed into a cannonball. The blade cut cleanly through the Kobold’s claws, holding tightly onto the sword blade.

David’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits as he turned around. His vision was covered in blood, his head felt like bursting apart, and the wounds he’d just tended threatened to tear open again. Nonetheless, his movement wasn’t restrained, and his will was not broken.

Something blue glistened in the distance. It was barely noticeable, but David recalled what happened merely a few seconds ago: Sebastian had been impaled, killed on the spot after he discovered the blue flashes.

More spears!

David pushed to the side and hid behind the clawless Kobold. The Kobold was still screaming, but that lasted only for a moment. A loud noise rang out, overshadowing the Kobold’s scream, and it froze in its tracks. Its pained scream died down as it jolted, but only once. A moment later, David discovered the spear tip penetrating a scale on the Kobold’s chest…from the inside.

He acted quickly. His blade twirled through the air, slashing the Kobold’s throat, killing the creature before it could attack him in a desperate last-ditch effort.

[You have defeated Kobold(Iron III).]

[You have defeated Kobold(IV).]

The second message was a welcome surprise. The Kobold he’d gutted earlier was dead.

The Kobold before him collapsed to his knees with one of its brethren’s spears plunged deep into its back. It was a great meatshield, for sure.

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David expected more spears to come his way, but all he saw was a bunch of Kobolds. Some had red, almost crimson, scales, while others had brown scales of varying touches. But none of that mattered right now. David had heard a ringing in his ears when the Kobold headbutted him, but it disappeared suddenly. Just like any other sound.

He could have sworn to have heard Infected snarling and groaning earlier, but there was nothing like that. The world around him turned deadly silent. David couldn’t hear anything. Not even his own thoughts.

Even the vibrations sent through his feet as the Kobolds charged at him were no more.

His senses…disappeared?!

No. That couldn’t be it. David could still see. His eyes were narrowed, and blood obstructed his vision, but no matter how narrow his field of vision was, David was certain his sight was still there.

However, it didn’t feel like the sight belonged to him. It was as if his senses weren’t part of him anymore.

David didn’t panic at that realization. He didn’t go crazy. Instead, he embraced the feeling as it surfaced.

So what if he was going to die here? At least, he had given his utmost. David tried hard. He gave everything. But what was he supposed to do if his body stopped listening to him? If it started to alienate from him?

No!

David screamed from the bottom of his heart.

I am not going to die here. I am not ready to die yet. I barely earned freedom. Who the hell said I’m giving up?! Not now! Not after fighting like this. After enduring so much pain.

His senses didn’t clear up, but his body was moving. David moved. He evaded the incoming attacks with surprising precision and counterattacked. He was bleeding badly. His tracksuit was drenched in blood, and his sneakers were soaked. Every inch of his body was either covered in wounds or fresh blood. His blood.

But David didn’t slow down. Quite the opposite. David accelerated.

I am not dead yet, and I certainly don’t plan to die to some reptiles!!!

He couldn’t even see how many Kobolds were left, but David felt their claws and weapons. They pierced his skin easily and cut deep into his flesh. Some attacks reached his bones, while others were wide gashes inflicted to bleed him to death. It should have hurt, but all David felt was some faint touches on his skin and blood pouring out of his body.

David instinctively used [Cure Wounds] when something pierced his leg. He had also picked up a weapon but lost it quickly when someone cut too deep into his right arm, making it impossible to hold onto the weapon.

Nonetheless, the third floor was not only drenched in his blood. David lost a shocking amount of blood. It should have been enough to kill him on the spot, but he was still standing. His blade danced through the enemies, reaping one life after another, all while blood kept gushing out of him.

But David never slowed. He continued using [Cure Wounds] to heal his wounds and replenish his lost blood. His Holy Sea was screaming. It screamed at the top of its lungs, filling every corner of David’s body. At least, that was what it felt like as the Holy Sea cracked.

After all, he was using his Skill Runes even though there was not even a trace of holy power to use. David’s vision split at some moment. He was still fighting the Kobolds, desperately trying to survive, while his condition worsened. However, at the same time, David could see his Holy Sea. It was cracked in multiple spots and looked pitiful compared to its former glory.

But there was also something else. Something red and vibrant glimmered around the Holy Sea, around the Skill Runes. They were crimson motes that looked just like red stars. They twinkled vibrantly and channeled into the [Cure Wounds] Rune when he activated it.

The crimson motes replaced David’s holy power. They acted as its substitute. But the crimson motes were also stronger. More potent. A trace of the crimson motes was enough to activate and overclock [Cure Wounds]. The Skill Rune was unleashed to the fullest, rapidly mending David’s wounds even as he sustained new wounds.

Yet, while his wounds healed quickly, David couldn’t help but feel like something was amiss. His mind was mush and it was hard to gather his thoughts, but one thing was certain; Something of him was used – drained – to replace holy power. He had no idea what these crimson motes were. They seemed dangerous, draining something he couldn’t quite fathom. However, they were also what kept him alive at this moment.

It doesn’t matter what I’m using to stay alive. If I die, I won’t miss it, either way. I can worry about this once I’m done here!

David shuddered inwardly, yet his movements accelerated again. The number of injuries he sustained decreased slightly, and it continued decreasing even though it didn’t feel like he was killing more Kobolds. He surrendered his mind and body to his instinctive movements again until he perceived something in the corner of his eye.

Suddenly, the autopilot was switched off, and his senses returned, but so did the pain.

David’s entire body was sore. It felt like his body had been torn into shreds, which didn’t seem to be far from the truth. A short glance at his body revealed missing chunks of flesh, dozens of cuts both shallow and deep, and even more, injuries that had either healed or were healing.

Now that David was back to his senses, the accumulated pain assaulted him. It crashed down in one go.

A high-pitched scream escaped his lips, tears trickling down his cheeks as he endured the pain.

But no matter how much pain he had to endure, it showed him one thing: He was still alive.