“Awoo, awoo!”
“Fine… you can take the lead again.”
Glacien dashed ahead and then jumped over the traps that the kobolds created and then slammed her body against one of their barricades. Four of them with bows emerged from behind the fallen barricade and then launched arrows at her, but Glacien blocked them all with an ice fortress.
In the next moment, she collided against the fortress and made it collapse against the monsters… Calling a fortress was too much. It was just a wall that looked like the walls of a fortress. In any case, the creatures weren’t smashed by the ice fortress, but they couldn’t move that much below it. When they tried to escape, Glacien was there to slash their throats and easily finish them off.
You received 10 experience points.
You received 10 experience points.
You received 10 experience points.
You received 10 experience points.
While I got this much, Glacien got fifteen points. I could tell while checking her parameters, but I was more busy dealing with the bodies of the kobolds that we already defeated. Even with my knife made to skin creatures, it was taking too long thanks to the massive number of them here.
‘It feels like they have been multiplying by themselves? Those morons outside didn’t let anyone reach this far?’
Now that I think about it, I imagined that I would have to wait for the previous boss to respawn, but the creature was already there. I didn’t find other parties either, so it was clear that no one came to the second section of the labyrinth.
It was a lot of work to be an alchemist, even though I didn’t have the class yet. Regardless, I would get a lot of materials to work with and that would make the skills improve faster. I also would have who knows how many stamina potions to make my skills level up, so that was a good thing despite all the menial work that I had to endure right at the moment.
“Grrrr…”
“What is up, girl? You were looking quite proud a minute ago. Did we miss any kobolds coming from behind?”
The kobolds weren’t that skilled or strong, but they were smarter than most types of monsters. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of them hide in the dead ends we missed along the way and decided to attack us from behind.
Still, if they were indeed the problem, Glacien would have just positioned between us to avoid the ambush… she was growling while showing all of her teeth. She looked really pissed. For some reason…
“... Watch my back and take care of the monsters that might come.”
Glacien didn’t follow my orders immediately. It looked like she didn’t like the idea of letting me fight alone. Her senses were good, so she probably knew that some powerful threat was coming from the entrance of the labyrinth.
‘Betrayed again, huh?’
It looked like I misjudged Renna… I wasn’t expecting to be found so soon, then again, I spent a lot of time in this section since I didn’t want to waste the materials. Before long, I noticed the shift in the atmosphere and Glacien was forced to move back since I didn’t want to get her involved in this fight.
At this point in time, I was already sick and tired of experiencing betrayals… perhaps I should just become an asshole to everyone since everyone keeps disappointing me in the end.
While I was thinking about that, a figure dashed from the other end of the corridor while a certain electric aura was covering his body. He couldn’t help but look at me with a bit of astonishment for a while, but soon he began to smile… It was Rowan.
Stolen story; please report.
I began to connect the dots… the first time I saw him fighting, he could swing down his sword with a speed that I couldn’t even being to understand, but I didn’t hear anything about him using electric attacks, but it looked like he was the guard of the diplomat that was in the Aeloria Dominion. The famous lightning swordsman.
Seeing him like this after three years, I couldn’t help but consider his goal… he probably was no longer working for Rayner, but his actions still had been weird. Working as a guard in a new labyrinth and now this, something was really off about him.
“Hey, it has been a while. You look pretty well. Managing to escape everyone and everything for so long is rather impressive.”
My guess is that he was trying to make connections all over the kingdom. By working near the border with the elves and the Aesira empire, he would be able to join a battle in such an area without many questions being asked.
At the same time, borders are pretty good to hear rumors about everything that has happened nearby. The Garnier house had their border with the kingdom of Talimor as well. By working around, he was also improving his fame and showing that he no longer worked for Rayner… perhaps he received such an order for some reason, like to infiltrate other houses.
“Hey, are you listening? Do you still understand words?”
“Yeah, I do. I am just waiting for your monologue.”
“Monologue?”
“You don’t have one ready? The type that would make you say how much you hated me from the beginning and waited for the chance to kill me and blah, blah, blah?”
“Well, I do have it, but… I wasn’t expecting you to be looking forward to it.”
I wasn’t, but it was the kind of things morons like him always say before coming to attack their so-called mortal enemy. I didn’t do anything against this retard to deserve his hate, but I was used to people in this world being unreasonable towards me.
“It seems that being able to move around without being noticed for five years gives you a lot of confidence. Do you really think that you can escape me now that I found you?”
“Here comes the monologue and the usual overconfidence… I should have put an arrow in your head when you were working as a guard in that labyrinth.”
Rowan opened his eyes widely when he heard that. It didn’t seem that he realized that I had been once pretty close to him. Back then, I didn’t have enough reason to kill him and trying that would have put me in some trouble as well. Even now I didn’t have that many reasons to kill him… aside from the fact that he hated my existence and the fact that he came this far to get me.
I didn’t know what his plans were, but it didn’t matter either way. Anyone trying to get in the way of my freedom had to be put down. I decided to stop thinking and just grabbed my short swords.
“Are you still using that kind of style? Even until now, you didn’t realize how bad it is? You are more stupid than I had imagined.”
I already knew the limitations after fighting with it for so long. Maybe that was the reason why I didn’t use it as much. My fighting style is inherently limited by its reduced reach and offensive power. Holding the blades backward shortens my effective striking range, making it difficult to engage opponents who are further away. This grip also gets in the way of the biomechanics of slashes and thrusts, resulting in attacks with less force compared to a forward grip. Additionally, the style is more suited for close-quarters combat and specific attack angles, such as upward or sideways strikes, making it less versatile and predictable.
Against opponents using longer weapons or employing a defensive strategy, I would find myself at a disadvantage when trying to close the distance or overcome their opponent’s guard. I used the bow most of the time to avoid that kind of nuisance.
Defensively, the reverse grip can offer some advantages, like using the blades to block or deflect attacks close to the body, but it comes with its own challenges. The style requires exceptional coordination and wrist strength, as blocking powerful strikes is harder due to limited leverage. It also leaves me vulnerable to grappling or disarming techniques in close quarters, as the positioning of the arms and blades can be exploited by skilled opponents.
“Nothing to say, huh? You are truly stupid.”
“You are the stupid one for coming here alone. Now I can defeat you without having to worry about causing problems for myself. Come, it is time to die a dog’s death, little pawn.”
The smile on his expression froze. It looked like my taunt worked. People with so much pride are really pretty stupid… the smile on his face disappeared and then he grabbed his sword that began to crack with energy. Before long, the energy began to make small lightning bolts emerge around.
When he showed his sword, he showed his hands and forearms covered in tattoos. It was the same tattoo when one uses Mystic Link… I could now tell why he was famous now for something that he wasn’t before.
“I was planning to let these effects disappear, but I guess I will kill you, anyway. I will leave my pride aside to kill you.”
“You already threw your pride away when you put those on, even if it was only to find me, little pawn.”
Rowan charged with murderous intent and raised his sword… his body moved so fast that made me think that he could move even faster than me with my Shadow Step. No, he definitely could. Still, my eyes could follow him.
Before he could reach me, Glacien used Ice Fortress to block his path, but the wall exploded with his charge with ease. He swung down his sword, but he only cut the air… or a mist that suddenly appeared in my place. The mist disappeared and then he felt the danger of his life and then jumped away with all his might.
I clicked my tongue when my short swords almost pierced his ribs… Still, a bit of blood began to drip from his clothes. The idiot only came here with simple clothes and his sword… Thanks to that, he could feel the burning pain on the wounds he received. They were only scratches, but he could feel them sapping his stamina a bit.
“You…”
“Surprised? I wonder what else I have in store for your sorry ass. Let me fix my stance here, just to be sure that you won’t try to escape with your tail between your legs.”
Rowan bit his lips in annoyance… I knew that he wouldn’t run away, but taunting fools was quite fun.