"DO SOMETHING, RUBEN!!!"
Ruben heard the words loud and clear, but he was way too scared to even twitch a muscle. His eyes were unfocused at the sight of three kobolds heading straight at him. He knew he had but a few moments to make a move before they were upon him, but he couldn't quite bring himself to.
Inwardly, he cursed at Ciara and Pirlo for leaving him with the task of protecting someone who he was barely better than in a fight. Both of them were dead weights in this fight, or at least he was. Diane did her part by buffing up Ciara, and his role was to protect her in turn. A role that had been pretty neat back in the tower as there'd been way fewer monsters and more humans fighting.
Now he could tell from the movements of the dark shapes in the darkness that he was their primary target. They'd run him over with those daggers in their hands if he didn't get his act right.
All right, I can do this. I can do this.
Whoosh!
Sucking in a deep breath, Ruben let out a rushed and clumsy horizontal slash. The strike hadn't made contact with any of the incoming kobolds, but it had made them halt their charge. For a brief moment, Ruben had enjoyed a reprieve from the attack. Tying his nerves into a ball and stuffing it into the back of his mind, Ruben focused on the trio, tuning out his own fears and the prayer he could hear Diane muttering.
[ Kobold
Level 6 ]
[ Kobold
Level 7 ]
[ Kobold
Level 6 ]
Shit.
Ruben wanted to dig himself a hole and hide from the figures that were slowly creeping up towards him. His earlier erratic slash had made them wary of a dash. Fight or flight was the question at the moment, but Ruben knew that he was currently reaching the point whereby he'd soon become a real dead weight to the squad.
Diane had an excuse as to why she couldn't directly participate in fights; he didn't. Plus, if he did decide to run, he'd be leaving her — an even worse fighter — to the kobolds. That was just something that didn't sit right with him.
He might act stupid and playful at times, but he was always thinking, always considering, and always on guard. This was one of the few times where he needed to bin the three; he didn't need to think, consider, or be on guard. If he did any of those three, his mind would probably come up with a dozen reasons why he should flee and hide in a corner till the rest of the squad cleared the dungeon.
No, I'll stand and fight.
Ruben hadn't had to fight a single monster on his own since the crimson apocalypse started. He'd had the rest of the squad to do that for him. All he did was just make the minimum amount of effort not to be kicked off from the unofficial squad, and that had worked for some time. But right now, he needed maximum focus. He'd fight, and he wouldn't be doing it for the approval of his peers. Nope. He'd be doing it for the priestess that had been unfortunate enough to be stuck with him as her bodyguard.
"Zaaaaaa!" Ruben screamed as he rushed at the closest kobolds.
His sleek Archetype gift sword was in his right hand, his mind cleared of any and all thoughts. Ruben wasn't charging with a plan of his own; no, he was going full berserk mode.
Clang!
The sound of his sword clashing with the hastily drawn-up dagger by the kobold was swallowed by the action ongoing in other parts of the dungeon. Ruben didn't give himself time to think or consider; if he let himself get rational for a second, he'd be dead.
As quick as lightning, Ruben pulled back. His footwork was clumsy, so he almost tripped and fell over his own movement, but somehow he managed to stay standing. His breathing had already turned ragged, eyes frantic. The other kobolds had started to close the distance with their kin that he'd just engaged, meaning that Ruben was running out of his window of opportunity if he didn't do something quickly.
Gritting his teeth, he charged at the same kobold, hoping to take it out of the equation as soon as possible. Sword raised for a comical overhead strike, Ruben descended upon the kobold like it was the cause of all his problems, pre- and post-apocalypse.
Clang!
Shriekkkk!
Once again, the dagger intercepted his strike, the kobold using both hands to support the dagger that was preventing Ruben from cleaving it in half. The situation seemed to be a stalemate, the kind that meant you had to think. While Ruben was wary of losing the small courage he'd built up to even confront the kobold, with a brief moment of hesitation, he let his mind go brrr.
Surely not.
It took him less than a fraction of a second to come up with a stupid but yet plausible idea. And while Ruben would've preferred to analyze and dissect the idea, poking and prodding for the holes that he was sure were there, he knew he couldn't. The rest of the kobolds would soon be upon him, and so he put into motion the single most common mode of attack hated and feared by men. He kicked the kobold between the legs, with as much force as he could muster.
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Shriekkkkkkk!
Thud!
It was dark, so Ruben couldn't see the expression on the kobold's face as his shin made impact, but he could tell from the thud and sudden disappearance of the resistance to his sword that his gambit had paid off. The dagger hitting the dungeon floor had probably been what had made that sound.
Without an ounce of hesitation, Ruben pounced at his foe's poor decision-making. His sword flashing up before descending with an audible squelch. The kobold had died before it even finished lamenting. Ruben stood still, in equal parts horror and disgust at the kill he'd just made and the warm blood of the kobold that had splattered on him.
Shivers went down his spine as he gazed at the darkened form still anchored to his sword, which had stuck somewhere around the kobold's mid-section after tearing through its shoulder. It could've so easily been him on the receiving end of that attack. It could've so easily been him who would've been kicked between the legs.
"Ruben, watch out!" Diane cried out.
Huh.
He didn't get more than a second after the warning was called out before he realized why Diane had thought it necessary. Pain exploded from his right thigh where a dagger had pierced his skin. Ruben looked down to see a dark form of a kobold right in front of him. The pain brought tears to his eyes, and Ruben couldn't even think straight. He just did the first thing that came to mind.
Thwack!
His free hand flashed, striking the offending kobold on the cheek. New information flooded his brain as his palm made contact with its cheek. The kobold's skin was leathery and wrinkled — the irritating combination of those two made him recoil involuntarily, but the effect of his attack left him more stunned than the kobold who'd been on the receiving end of the weird attack.
You don't say.
The slap seemed to have more of an effect on the kobold than he'd have ever expected. Where the normal result of such slaps was a sway of the face, the kobold had taken two steps in the direction of the slap and had also let go of its dagger. A dagger by which Ruben had no qualms pulling out with a grimace and chucking away from their area, leaving the kobold unarmed and, in other words, dead. It just hadn't hit the floor yet — a milestone Ruben had no hesitation in helping the kobold achieve.
With a huff of exertion, he kicked the dead kobold's body off his sword. The body hadn't even hit the floor before Ruben was swinging at the kobold he'd slapped moments ago. In its defense, the kobold had tried to scramble away once it was unarmed and potentially up against a foe that could easily end it.
Ruben watched in contempt as the kobold tried to scramble away. It only made it four steps before his sword whistled. The tip of the blade cutting into the retreating figure that was the kobold.
Shriekkkkkkk!
Ruben's look of contempt quickly morphed into one of confusion as a trail of fire erupted at his back. Stifling a scream, he turned back to see the other remaining kobold holding back its dagger as it jumped away from him. The monster had slashed him.
Chicken nuggets.
He was trapped between two kobolds, although now that he thought about it properly, "trapped" wasn't even the right word. One kobold wasn't even armed, and the other was very close to losing its dagger hand if Ruben got a hand to it.
Discarding his earlier plan to finish off the unarmed kobold, he dashed straight at the armed one, sword in tow. His movements weren't crisp or comic book worthy, but they worked, and he hoped they wouldn't fail him now.
Clang!
Dagger met sword in the air, sparks flew by as the two weapons fought for dominance. Seeing that that method was a dead end, Ruben hopped back, already readying himself for another attack. The berserker confidence was growing with each passing second that the battle lasted.
His heart was beating faster than it had ever done in his life. His eyes were frantic, and his adrenaline was on an all-time high. Ruben couldn't believe the rush he was currently experiencing, living at the edge of death. What had seemed so scary before now had a certain thrill to it now that he was going against monsters alone.
Shluck!
"Arrrrrrghhhhh!" Ruben screamed.
He'd just been stabbed in the butt, and it wasn't even the armed kobold that had stabbed him because he currently had his eyes on that one. That meant it was probably the other kobold that had stabbed him. But how? He'd disarmed the kobold and thrown away its weapon, unless...
Fuck me!
The unarmed kobold had simply armed itself with the dagger of its fallen comrade. Ruben didn't even know how he hadn't remembered that there was a literal dagger lying on the floor. The kobold pulled back the dagger and scrambled backward. The pain from the attack made him feel quite uncertain about the whole "living on the edge" thing. Right now, he was paying the price for stupid thoughts like that.
Fury overtook Ruben in an inadvisable amount. He turned and thrust at the scrambling kobold. He overextended to the point that his newest injury protested the attack, but he persevered. His blade running through the kobold with a satisfying squelch. A refreshing wave of euphoria passed through him as the kobold died.
I guess that's a level up.
He, like the rest of their squad, had quickly come to associate the euphoric feeling that enveloped them with level-ups. The euphoric feeling brought with it complete healing and maximization of stamina.
Right now, the only thing that was going to suffer from such a boon was the remaining kobold. Ruben sported a slight smile as he approached the vague figure of the kobold. He knew where it stood, and it knew where he stood, but races stared at each other in the oppressive darkness. Innately knowing that this was going to probably be the last stand if they were being honest with themselves.
I hope you guys said your prayers because it's night-night for y'all.
With his renewed strength, Ruben charged at the kobold, sword going for an overhead strike. As anticipated, the kobold raised its dagger over its head in hopes of deflecting the attack. It would've been the right move if Ruben had any interest in completing the attack, but he didn't. The overhead strike had been nothing more than a feint, and Ruben changed his direction when he got within range. His sword curved around its head and raised arms, cutting into its side.
The attack not quite bisecting it, but the kobold died to the strike regardless. A loud shriekkkkkkk echoed in the dungeon as the kobold let out its last protest. With a kick, Ruben dislodged his sword from the body, watching as the body dropped to the floor with a thud.
"Wooo!"
"Bravo!"
"Look who's manned up!"
Catcalls and cheers echoed around the dungeon as his squad mates applauded him. Apparently, he'd been the last one fighting, and they'd all watched. The various catcalls brought a blush to his face.