My plan wasn't going as well as I'd hoped.

Sydui wrestled with a Nemesis behind me as it got another round of the blood blender technique, while I used Hole Puncher to contend with another in front of me.

These assholes just wouldn't sit still long enough to get killed by who I wanted them to be killed by.

I fired Hole Puncher into my Nemesis's center of mass, serving only to stun it despite the massive hole it created.

The other problem is that sometimes they group up, or just move too close to each other, and they're each effing durable!

"Focus this one down!" I commanded.

The Fifskae had already readied their arms, and then fired on my order.

The Nemesis was clearly having little trouble just ignoring the damage dealt by the villagers, much to my frustration.

Sydui barreled toward the Nemesis, her fur standing on-end and crackling with energy. This was the sign that she used her [Berserk]; as she was an inhabitant, her [Skills] didn't require an announcement.

She tackled the Nemesis and began punching it into submission.

I knew better than to try to tell her to stop, as she couldn't hear me right now.

"Hund and Juohen! Do your best to see if you can land the kill!"

"Got it!" They yelled in unison.

The two of them flanked the thrashing Nemesis, looking for an angle of attack.

However, it turned out to be moot as Sydui fired a [Nightfire] at point-blank into the Nemesis.

As the Nemesis disintegrated, Sydui let out a warcry.

I waited patiently for the duration of [Berserk] to end.

I didn't have to wait very long, as her fur came back down and her pupils once again became visible.

"Sydui, listen you're definitely badass, and it makes me very horny, but we have others who need the kills." I chastised.

Sydui, who was already breathing heavily because of the previous exertion, blushed at me. "Andrew!"

I walked over and picked up the small items left behind by each slain Nemesis.

One was another [Skill Orb], the other was a quartz-like crystal the shape of an hourglass.

[Special Skill Orb: Hysterical Strength. This Skill does not use gamemaster resources and instead activates as if the slain Nemesis used it against your enemies. Crush the orb to gain this Skill.]

[Gem Of Relativity]

"Normally I'd give these to the slayers, but it's become apparent that you guys need help getting the kills. So Hund and Juohen, pick one of these."

At the announcement, Sydui deflated a barely perceptible amount.

I looked over at her and whispered: "Don't worry, after this is all over, I'll make sure to make it up to you."

She didn't seem to catch exactly what I was meaning, but it made her excited, so mission accomplished anyway.

Hund and Juohen seemed like their pride was thoroughly trampled, but walked up to me all the same.

Juohen picked up the [Skill Orb] and Hund picked up the gem.

After Juohen crushed the [Skill Orb] and Hund tied the Gem Of Relativity to his preexisting necklace they each tried their respective items out.

Juohen threw a punch. It whistled through the air, clearly full of force.

Unfortunately for Juohen, that force didn't have anywhere to go and caused his shoulder to launch out of its socket.

Hund replied by turning extremely fast and popping it back in place in a matter of moments.

As soon as Juohen cried out in pain, his shoulder was back in working order again.

This whole state of affairs caused a great deal of confusion.

"The [Skill Orb] allows you to go beyond your limits of strength, the gem causes time to change for you so that you have more time to think and do stuff." I explained.

They did pretty much exactly what I expected they'd do. It was either that or the gem caused you to move the speed of light, which I really doubted.

All of us then moved on, looking for another Nemesis to kill.

----------------------------------------

???

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The answer was no, it didn't taste any better cooked.

Nor did boiling, tenderizing, or pulling.

They also wouldn't sit still long enough to marinade, which was a real shame.

I considered my next attempt to make a champion taste any less than dreadful when I spotted my next victim.

[Uluriq The Linguist, plus thirty other titles]

Danger Level: Instant Death

Oh dear, that looks like one hell of a catch.

It was a good opportunity to try some of the new [Skills] I acquired while eating the champions... or I suppose it was more like chewing them, I could never bring myself to swallow the disgusting non-flavor.

I readied myself to pounce him out of the air as he flew.

I launched myself at him.

His head whipped around and his arm raised in a moment. "[Damnation Impact, eighty]." His voice was the embodiment of calm and smooth, but his eyes were pure predatory instinct.

A circle of red energy surged toward me, and as soon as I touched it, I suddenly felt all of the bones in my body shatter at once as I flew backward into a tree.

I wasn't dead, but the pain was intense.

It would be another thirty seconds or so until I could [Regenerate] my injuries.

He had other ideas.

He extended a single finger and pointed at me. "[Damnation Impact, zero, rapid fire]."

Suddenly I was bombarded by a barrage of tiny perforations all over me.

It didn't take me long to be reduced to dust.

Luckily for me, I had recently gotten [Second Chance].

I reformed about a hundred units away from Uluriq, still with a great many phantom pains.

All I had to do was not get killed again for a day or two and I could have my trump card back.

That said, while I was anywhere near him, I had to worry about whether or not I would suddenly cease to exist.

I figured at that moment that survival was the better part of valor.

----------------------------------------

Yuluulth

A pain shot through my head.

I opened my minifridge and pulled out the icepack I had put in there for just such an occasion.

"Every time he uses it rapid fire it gives me a headache." I let out, not realizing I had said it aloud.

"I bet it does Yuluulth, using any [Skill] in quick succession can be a decent drain... I assume your champion is using a particularly powerful one at that." Lviyr replied.

I kicked myself internally for letting that crucial detail out... not that I could really hide it if I was being perfectly honest. "Yeah, he practically breathes his [Skills], it can be hard to keep up sometimes."

"How many kills has he gotten so far?"

I wasn't sure what I should tell him, I was trying to keep my info close to the chest this late in the game. "A good number, how about The Unorthodox? How's he doing?" I asked, implying quid pro quo.

"He's doing strange things as usual."

It makes sense he was trying to hide things from me too. "I'm sure that's exciting."

He expressed agreement. "Oh definitely."

----------------------------------------

Andrew

This next Nemesis looked as terrifyingly hard to kill as all of the others.

All of us were doing our best not to alert it as we planned our attack.

"Alrighty, Hund and Juohen, I'm going to lend you Shreddy and The Great Stabbinsky, make sure to use them to their fullest."

Hund looked at me confusedly. "I thought you were the only one to be able to use them."

"Wait, did I not tell you guys?"

Everyone shook their heads collectively.

Well, that would do it.

I held up my three weapons. "They gained [Full Sapience] during the fight with The Night Taker, I thought I told Sydui..." I smacked my own head gently. "No, I got sidetracked, I remember now." I held out both weapons. "Either way, now they can act one hundred percent on their own accord. As always, the rest of us will back you up, but make sure one of you gets the kill."

Juohen took The Great Stabbinsky and Hund took Shreddy Mercury.

'Hello furry one, I am the Great Stabbinsky!'

'Let's get to the cutting!'

Both Fifskae tried to shush the weapons, but neither one could be heard by anyone except who they wanted to be heard by.

I stifled a laugh as I attempted to regain their attention. "We're going on my mark, alright?"

Everyone snapped to attention.

I turned and whispered to Hole Puncher. "Alright, high damage and accuracy to open us, try to limit the kick if you can."

'Understood, ready to fire.'

I widened my crouch in anticipation of the imminent recoil.

I aimed at the Nemesis who looked like a massive antelope who dripped a horrible dangerous-looking purple and green ichor as it walked through the air.

Without any proper target, I pointed Hole Punch toward center of mass.

I fired, knocking myself on my ass despite my best efforts.

"Mark!"

[The Toxic Airdancer, Nemesis First Stage]

Danger Level: Certain Death

The Nemesis cried in pain as it looked in my direction.

It then charged through the air toward me, shoving everything in its path aside with no effort.

I got up in a hurry and dodged moments before being gouged by its massive antlers.

Hund immediately deployed Shreddy, aiming for the antlers it had nearly struck me with.

The Airdancer made a highly annoyed noise along with the grinding that resounded through the area.

And that's when things went from bad to worse.

[The Impenetrable Watcher, Nemesis First Stage]

The new Nemesis was twice the size of the first one and featured eyes all over its massive frame.

I looked at the situation as best as I could and made a spur-of-the-moment decision. "Hund, you, first squad, and Sydui focus down The Airdancer; second squad, Juohen, and I will take on The Watcher!"

Everyone immediately split up into formation, readying for orders.

Hund and Juohen began to give commands as Sydui and I did our best to surpress our different targets.

I started peppering The Watcher with slightly overcharged bolts at midrange.

It was immensely hard to tell if I was even hurting The Watcher, I suppose it wouldn't be called 'impenetrable' for nothing.

This of course gave Juohen all the time he needed to get in position as use his new [Skill] to take out an eye or two.

The Watcher made no noise at all, instead firing an assload of lasers in basically every direction.

Juohen gave the order to seek cover before I even could.

"How's everything on your end Sydui?!" I called out.

As if to answer my question, Sydui flew through the tree I was using for cover.

"I'm pissed." She said, using [Berserk] as she stood.

I watched for a moment as she charged back to The Airdancer and grappled it by the one remaining antler.

I had to shake myself out of it after a moment, refocusing on The Watcher.

It had started to shoot a far more precise barrage of lasers at certain individuals... mostly Juohen.

I fired another shot, hitting it in an eye.

It looked back at me and started to shoot.

I ran in a big circle around the dumb thing, making sure to speed up and slow down to thwart any attempts of trying to lead its shot.

Trust me, it tried.

Just as I was started to feel winded, I looked around for Juohen. "Juohen! Where are you?!"

Polyu, member of second squad, answered for him. "He went inside to of the Nemesis!"

"Ew!"

"Right?!" She called back.

"How long ago?!"

"A couple minutes?!"

Moments later, the Watcher's eyes all widened at once.

"Get down!" I yelled.

Everyone ran for cover moments before The Watcher started firing lasers in every direction again, this time, with much thicker beams.

Trees fell as they were burned in half one after the other.

And then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped.

[Nemesis Created Nearby]

Juohen landed on his back as The Watcher became dust.

"Great job Juohen!"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." He replied.

I looked over at the other party, watching them land the final blow on a almost-completely-beheaded-antelope-thing.

[Nemesis Created Nearby]

"Great job Hund!"

Hund bowed with great effort. "Yeah, it was mostly Sydui and your serrated blade, but I'll definitely take the compliment."

I chuckled. "Everyone, we're heading back to the village!"

Nobody argued with that order... except for Juohen, who still didn't want to get up.