The stunned Vathiás did not react fast enough to punish L for turning his back to his opponents. They paused in hesitation, unsure of whether to follow or not.

“Keslash?

“Kesaiaia!”

“Terkl tus dia ka.”

“Dus da lus kla!”

“Nous Klu da!”

Only two of them was in shape to give chase, and even the fastest of them wasn’t able to catch up. Even if he did, he voiced his doubts in whether he was able to hold the human off long enough for the others to support him. The Vathiá with the arrow through her shoulders urged her comrade to give chase, otherwise, the human could pick them off one with his arrows. The more cautious Vathiá, however, reminded his paranoid comrade that humans can not see in the dark. And so, in indecision, they decided to stick together, as the human went deeper into the dungeon, and was sure to fall victim to their brothers and sisters within.

By that point, the human was well beyond sight. The wounded Vathiá surveyed the area around her, quickly noticing something off at the farthest point in the crevice. She crouched down, and dizzily, reached out with her hands towards the odd darkness.

The darkness moved. It was a blanket, and under it, was Krull.

It was at that point, that her primal instincts rushed into her. She started sweating, snot running freely and combining with the saliva that dripped from her curved teeth. It was at that very moment that the Vathiá had her first, complex thought.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

How did human get Krull here, in pitch dark?

A sharp whiff pierced the air around her. Her resting comrades looked around in confusion, the familiar sound slowly registering in. They stood in panic, rummaging around, one running towards the source of arrows, and the other away.

Both died, one faster than the other.

Only she was wise enough to comprehend her inevitable doom.

The second arrow did not miss. Neither did the third, fourth, fifth, and the sixth that went into her fallen, dead body.

A seventh went in, mostly for good luck.

L came in soon after, with a frown on his face.

I ran. What happened to brutal close ranged fighting? Was that, too, just a whim? Am I back to what I started with? Dagger, sword, bow, and bolt? He shook his head. It was simply not worth it, to fight so many opponents at the same time. It wasn’t death that worried L, for someone of his experience was bound to beat lower skilled monsters, even if outnumbered, provided the stats did not hold him back, but the risk of injury might prove fatal. Winning was a given, but winning without a single injury? L was not accustomed to that, and he had to keep all his blood within his body. Blood smelled, and even with L covering himself up in a coat to prevent the smell from escaping, a Bugbear sense of smell was sufficient enough to find the odor of blood through it.

L was in a position where a single mistake could doom weeks of potential progress. He was most likely outlawed, back in the village. There was no turning back. Getting caught would slap him with penalties harsh enough to warrant him to start again in a different world, and that was not preferable, if possible at all.

He went through the process of tossing each body into the corner, which will hopefully give him enough time before the alarms would sound.

That is, even if they already were not sounded. It was not a necessity, as his plans could change about, but preferable for the dungeon to stay on low alert mode. Sometimes the easier way was preferable to the fun and deathly one. But still, for the dungeon boss to be this intelligent? He already far surpassed the average human wisdom, to put so many resources into guarding the lair. It would have worked, but seeing in the dark kinda threw you off, didn’t it? Didn’t think humans could see in the dark, and prepare an ambush for your ambusher, who was walking in the light of the river? The Vathiá aren’t entirely bright enough, probably never having met a veteran Diver, if a Diver at all, in this part of the world.

L smiled slightly, more out of reminiscence than joy. It’s never pleasant, to lose because of the incompetence of your allies, is it? He thought, as he folded his legs on the floor and began skinning the Bugbear.