From this angle, Levi finally saw it. A second pathway opened in the wall. It pointed away from the initial entrance and from the rest of the room. If a giant kobold, tall enough its head brushed the ceiling and so heavy its fat drooped on the floor, wasn’t standing half out of the entrance, he might have never seen it. As it was, it suddenly seemed incredibly obvious to him.

Levi clapped, once. He stood up, drawing his sword. “I like that! Good. Sneaky back entrance to the room. Leave the loot so we go check it out, then stab us in the back while we’re distracted. Good plan. Honestly? Good plan. You get credit for that one.”

He quietly stepped away from the loot pile. If the persistent aching in his leg was anything to go by, that potion he’d drunk wasn’t an antidote. In fact, he was starting to wonder if it was a healing potion at all. Maybe he’d just drunk someone’s anti-parasitic potion—

STR + 10

“Ohhh. That’s handy. Remember, kids, always drink random potions you find abandoned on the side of the road! It always works out!” he said, giving a thumbs-up to no one.

Colin sighed.

Levi shifted his feet, putting his bad leg under him. “Heal duty.”

“On it.”

The giant kobold roared and stomped at Levi. The loot behind him jumped under the force of its stomps. It hefted a claw, eyes locked onto Levi.

He held his ground. As it closed in, he tightened his grip on his sword. His eyes narrowed.

The claw flew toward his neck. It slashed through thin air. Levi was gone, completely out of its sight. It looked left, then right. Its eyes latched onto Colin, and it lifted its foot again.

“I don’t think so, fatso.” Levi stood up from where he’d crouched under the bulge of its enormous belly, slashing upward through its protruding stomach as he went.

The giant kobold screeched and stumbled back. It kicked, knocking Levi away. He stumbled back, bad leg crumpling under him. Gold light shone around him, but it couldn’t heal his self-inflicted tourniquet.

The kobold keened in delight. It charged forward again. Blood spurted from its sliced belly, but Levi’s sword had only pierced its fat. It hadn’t taken any significant damage from his slash. It sliced at Levi.

Levi’s upper two arms grabbed the kobold’s claw. Latching on tight, they pulled Levi toward the massive beast. Levi sliced its stomach over and over, while his lower two arms pummeled the fresh wounds.

The beast screamed in pain. It slashed at Levi with its remaining claw. Levi’s upper arms shifted to block the second claw. He caught the blow, and a horrible, sharp crack rang out.

Levi jumped back. His right-upper arm sagged, broken at the forearm. He pushed a pulse of mana into it, and it began to heal, but slowly. It ate at his mana, too, drawing more of it than he’d like to use. Scowling, Levi stopped trying to heal the arm. For now, in-battle heals are out of the question, huh? At least for wounds as bad as a bone break.

Stolen novel; please report.

The kobold clawed at him again. This time, Levi jumped back rather than take the blow. Its claw swooshed by his face, close enough to stir his bangs.

Before it could recover from the miss, he grabbed its shoulder with his three remaining arms. The kobold stood, taking Levi with it. It whipped its head around. Beady, vicious, hungry eyes glared at Levi.

Levi grinned. He waggled his real arm’s fingers. “Hello.”

It darted its muzzle at him, going for the throat.

Levi jumped forward. Using his three dead hands, he did a three-handed cartwheel over the kobold’s head and landed on its other shoulder. He shook his head. “Now I’m just being mean. Let’s end this before it gets too embarrassing for you, okay?”

He thrust the sword into the kobold’s eye. It screamed and thrashed, clawing at its shoulder. Levi yanked his blade free in a spurt of blood and jumped away. The giant, fat kobold staggered across the room, clutching at its eye. Blood flew everywhere. It hit the wall and stumbled, then fell on its rear. Kicking its legs, it tried to stand again, but failed. It sunk against the wall, unable to rise any longer.

Level Up!

Levi pulled up his menu.

Levi | 18 | Lv 20

Class: Necromancer [SPECIAL]

Str: 19 (Temp: 29)

Mag: 43

Dex: 20

Spd: 22

Def: 11

Res: 40

[Basic Swordsmanship]

[Shadow Manipulation]

[Shadow Step]

[Raise Dead]

[Drain]

[Shape Dead]

Freely shape undead into new beings. Amalgam undead have less than or equal to the status points of the combined stats of their respective parts.

“I was already doing that,” Levi commented. He pinched his chin. Did I get that skill because I created the Arminator 5000, or did I not notice getting that skill at level 19, and just coincidentally have the ability to create new undead?

“List undead.”

Active Undead

[Colin] [Unique] [Ensouled]

[Garter Snake]

[Arm amalgam]

“Rename that last one. Call it the Arminator—no, wait. Call it the Armalgam,” Levi declared.

[Arm amalgam] > [Armalgam]

“Garter snake… man. Do you have a sense of humor, or did I just get lucky?” he wondered aloud, looking down at the snake wrapped around his leg. He turned. “Yo, Colin. Find an antidote yet?”

Colin stood hunched over the bags, digging through them one by one. He started to shake his head, then nodded and held up a small crystal bottle, barely bigger than his thumb.

“Awesome! Is it topical, or do I drink it?”

“No idea,” Colin said.

Levi looked at the bottle, then shrugged. “Let’s do a little of each.”

He tossed it back, taking a quick swig. Turning to his leg, he sliced the snake bite back open, then poured the antidote into the wound. It burned, but a good burn. The deep, acid pain of the poison faded.

“Awesome! It’s working. Colin, you ready with the heals?” Levi hovered his hands over the Garter Snake, waiting.

“I’m ready.”

Levi flicked his fingers. The garter snake uncoiled. In almost the same second, gold light settled around his calf. The pins and needles vanished. The gold light also wiped away the discoloration that had been accumulating beneath the tourniquet, an ugly, bruised purple that melded back to healthy peach.

“Whew. I wouldn’t have minded an undead leg, but on second thought, I probably shouldn’t. The stink won’t be too popular with the ladies—oh. Sorry,” he said, nodding at Colin.

“Uh huh,” Colin said.

“What the hell? That was my kill!”

Levi and Colin exchanged a glance. Levi rolled his eyes first. “Not again.”