With one final push, we go rocketing down the hill at an alarming rate making my shirt billow and hair whip around me. Thankfully, Drifa manages to shut her trap and give my ears a break about halfway down allowing me to spare my attention on lining up so we don’t nick the other sled again. The weird thing was that the jousting spear the rabbits had this time only had two notches on it.

Hopefully, that’s good for us.

Before I can dwell on that further we reach the centre of the battlefield. As planned, we’re able to race beside monsters without a hitch allowing me to skewer them and restart our trap timer, whatever we had left on it.

“Drifa, count to one hundred and twenty!”

Hoping that she heard me I watch as we slowly lose momentum going back up the other hill.

I can probably make the climb quicker…

We were heading backwards now and were almost out of momentum.

“Bail when I say so! We’ll save time.”

Upon reaching the zenith of our slide backwards tell her, “Now!”

Both of us successfully got off on a roll. I kept my hand on the string while Drifa tumbled out and started sliding herself.

“Grab my hand!”

Reaching up she grabbed my hand and stomped her feet into the snow for stability and started leading the way up. The monsters weren’t that bad below so we were mostly fine, just the occasional monster here and there including one I handed to Drifa for safekeeping. I was, as much as I hated to admit it, getting tired. My legs were burning my reactions weren’t quite as quick as they used to be my chest burned from the open wound there and was irritated by the broken stitches moving around. But I was able to keep moving forward in the dungeon and that’s all I could ask for.

This time I didn’t kill anything at all, but considering the notches on the weapon it might be the last fight this next joust. I don’t think that I’d joust four times, three, as a number, makes more sense and is more common. The System needs energy, so I may as well farm for a bit.

Reaching the top I look over to Drifa, “Last one.”

Giving me a weak smile she nods. We once again change the toboggan position and then head down the slope. We started moving again but instead of Drifa sitting down like usual, I looked behind me and saw that she was a bit too slow and didn’t have her hands on the handles. They were flapping on the sides and tumbling in the snow, not easy to grab in any sense of the word. Reaching out, she grabs hold of my shirt collar tugging and gripping with all her might.

“Gah, Let go!”

My voice must’ve been lost to the wind because she didn’t let go or loosen her grip at all. I was in a predicament because I couldn’t exactly lean forward and position myself to stab steer anything.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

I hope we don’t have a head-on collision.

Fortunately, we don’t collide, unfortunately, my sword only nicks the rabbit's cloak and their single-notched spear skewers our toboggan and snaps in half.

I hope that was the last jousting match.

With the sudden release of Drifa’s hand, I roll to the side and promptly kill all the monsters that were in the shared coat. This welcomed me to the Creak of the massive wooden doors opening ahead of us.

I knew it.

Glad that my plan was going to run smoothly I forestall Drifa’s run up either hill.

“The System needs energy. I’m going to kill these for as long as I can. Stay out of the way and use the toboggan as a shield or something. Don’t forget you have a knife.”

I’ll stick around her just in case.

Going into battle I kept my left arm slack and gave my right arm one a smaller half of my blade with the other in storage. My tiredness was getting to me but thankfully some more adrenaline and painkillers kicked in keeping me going with some admittedly robotic moments as I punched, kicked, and slashed the monsters apart.

Are these infinite?

After doing this for several minutes I can tell that the swarm was starting to die down. Each rabbit that remained seemed to spawn another rabbit every minute to a minute and a half.

Okay, so my plan still works. Just need to make it so there’s only one left.

Looking over to Drifa I tell her, “You can take a break, I’ll have first watch.”

Letting out a relieved sigh she slumps against the hill using the toboggan as a sort of blanket. She had almost been asleep before that, my work just let her fall asleep all the way.

It’s good she’s getting a break for now, I’ll get one in a bit…

Walking away from the light snoring I kill another monster a few steps away while holding another in my hand for safekeeping.

If I let it slip for two minutes, I think we’ll have to redo this entire room… I just won’t slip, that’s all.

After going on for what I think is half an hour I have a few yawns leak out of me and I take it as a sign I need to stop. Walking over to Drifa I tap her head to try to wake her up.

Nothing.

Next, I resort to jostling her shoulder.

Nothing.

Right before I resort to some more drastic measures she jolts awake.

About time.

Looking up at me she croaks out, “What is it?”

“I’m taking a break. Just kill whatever monsters spawn while I’m out. They come out before the two-minute timer.”

Summoning my cloak I wrap it around myself and lean against the hill like she had been doing earlier.

* * *

DRIFA

Standing up I look over to where Ismund is and before I can protest he’s sound asleep.

Or at least I think so, he’s not making any sounds…

Stepping in his direction I stop myself.

Better not.

Looking around I find another rabbit appear out of nowhere, making me jump in surprise.

Look at its cute little face and big eyes! Wait, stop. I need to kill it. I don’t want to make the process worse.

Grabbing my knife with my free hand I reluctantly step towards it. Before I can do anything it leaps at me with its stomach wide open. Squinting my eyes I jab uncertainly at its approaching stomach. I succeed in stabbing it but, it’s still not dead. The thing's head was roving around and biting in my direction and its hind legs were twitching. Its neck was straining in what I assumed was a scream.

The thing freaked me out and I didn’t want it to suffer but I didn’t know what to do.

Blunt trauma?

Lifting my foot I stomped on its head over and over and over, until its eyes glassed over and it started emanating a rotting smell. Bending down to retrieve my bloodied knife I kick it away.

I hope I do better next time. That was unfortunate. At least I’m alive, right?

Laughing nervously to myself I think back on earlier today.

That sucked… hopefully, the next room’s better? At least Ismund kept me from dying. That’s good. It was good to have a rest, but I don’t think it was all that long.

A few seconds later another rabbit arrives instead of another thought.

Approaching it carefully, wait for it to launch itself at me, which it does.

This time I try to go for a slashing motion instead of a jabbing one. I manage to slice it about halfway through its midsection but the rest of it goes flying to the side before I can do any further harm.

At least it’s not twitching as much and I have my knife this time.

Pinning its stomach with my foot, I quickly decapitate it. After doing this for a while I was able to refine my method and not be as flinchy and sad, which wasn’t saying much.

While waiting for another rabbit monster thing to come I decide to take a look at my status.

System?… Oh right. That. Well, I guess that’s fine.

While I’m distracted with my musings I hear a sharp grunt, the swish of a blade cutting the air.

What was that?

Whipping my head over I can see that there was a corpse next to Ismund who had his blade drawn with blood dripping off of it. Looking up at me with a scowl I mutter something and then put myself to sleep again.

Gulping in surprise look around guiltily.

I’m glad it didn’t get him, but sheesh how light of a sleeper is he, and what kind of reaction timing is that?