“You want me… to drink your blood,” Rai stated.

“Obviously. It’s a healing spell that turns my blood into a healing elixir. You’re injured, but it would be wasteful to use one of those powerful potions.”

Rai stared at her. “You’re serious.”

Isa tsked. “Of course I’m serious.”

“Doesn’t your blood burn things?”

“Not when I use this spell. Obviously.”

“…If I drink it and die, I will haunt you forever.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just drink it already.”

Rai sighed, then leaned down and slurped it up. Immediately, his chest returned to normal. He tapped his shirt and the tears mended themselves, and then the blood disappeared.

“Okay, so you were telling the truth. That’s still gross.”

“Aw, is the widdle hatchling afraid of a widdle blood?”

“Humans don’t hatch; we’re mammals.”

“…You’re no fun. Anyway, you said there was one more?”

“That thing,” Rai said, pointing at the chimeric beast. Its container was quite a bit larger than the other tubes, since the quadrupedal creature was roughly as tall as a horse. It had the body of a boar, eagle feet in the front, batlike wings, and a three-headed snake tail with dragonlike heads.

“…I think we need to prepare.”

“I completely agree. Force Armor.”

“Enhance Scales. Armor of Blood.”

Isa and Rai took up position on either side of the tube, weapons readied. Then Isa unleashed her attacks at the tube. This one took an extra two swings, but when it shattered, it shattered into tiny fragments all the way around. The chimeric beast’s eyes opened and it let out a loud, roaring grunt. Its draconic snake heads rose up and hissed.

Isa and Rai attacked simultaneously from either side. Rai’s sword roared with fire and lightning as he added the effects of the Elemental Strike art onto the sword’s innate magic and stabbed into the creature’s neck. Isa’s shout of “Wrath Strike” accompanied her heavy downward swing that tore through hide and flesh, burning with acidic blood. It turned so that its front faced Rai and its tails faced Isa, then slashed at Rai with its talons while its tail-heads all struck at Isa, then followed up by slamming its tusks into Rai. Every single attack hit home, tearing or punching through forcefield or scales.

Rai staggered, bleeding heavily from the gashes in his chest and ragged hole in his side, barely able to focus through the pain; several ribs were cracked as well, adding to his agony. Despite the venom coursing through her and the significant amount of blood that sprayed out to coat her in armor, Isa didn’t hesitate, entering Berserk Mode and spinning her halberd through the necks of the tail-heads before they retreated out of her reach with a shout of “Bloody Counter!” Blood spewed from the tail and the beast whirled around ripping at the kobold with its talons. One ripped off a section of blood armor but failed to get through her scales; the other targeted the same spot and tore through those same scales easily. Then one of its tusks impaled her, and she stumbled back as it shook its head to free the tooth.

Rai stepped back and slashed with Dimensional Strike, a deep laceration appearing down the entire length of the beast and pouring blood despite the flames and lightning burning and dancing. The beast shuddered, then collapsed. So did Isa.

“Dragonfire! That was close! That thing was absurdly sturdy, not to mention strong. Fortunately the venom wasn’t very strong… or maybe I just got lucky in my body resisting it. It’s made me a bit clumsier, but I’m still pretty good there. Now, to drain all my spells on healing… that should be enough to heal us both up completely.”

And eight spells later, it was.

“Still have one spell left… well.”

“I feel like a damn vampire,” Rai said, cleaning himself off and repairing his clothes. “Drinking all your blood like that.”

“What’s a vampire?”

“A kind of undead that drinks the blood of the living.”

“Huh.”

“Anyway, I guess that’s that… May they all rest in peace.”

“May they find their way to the gods’ embrace.”

“I’m going to look around and see if I can find any books or anything. As disturbing as this place is, I want to know what they were doing here. Sad though it may be, evidence that not everything was perfect in the Tower Era will go a long way toward convincing the skeptics that the Tower Era was real.”

It didn’t take long for Rai to find what appeared to be an experimental journal with short, dated entries. He also found another tetrahedron, each side labeled with a different pair of runes: Beast Idea, Person Idea, Hybrid Idea, and Work Thought.

I wonder if this is some sort of information storage device, he thought. Though it must have been expensive, seeing as how they still used regular written journals for the other labs.

“All right, let’s go.”

Returning to the room of doorways, they set out to another area that turned out to be heavily damaged and full of bugs and rodents, though nothing monstrous. There was a hole in one of the walls that appeared to lead to a cave system.

“Well, I for one am willing to see if this leads upward,” Rai said.

“Yeah, me too.”

With glowing orbs to light their way, they set out, leaving the ruin behind.

-x-

“Stop,” Isa said suddenly. Rai halted immediately. Isa peered around, sending out her orbs of light to illuminate walls in the distance.

“There are signs that kobolds have been down here,” she said. “I think we may be getting close to the warren of one of the other tribes.”

“About time. It’s been nearly a full day.”

“Keep in mind that they won’t necessarily be friendly, especially since we’re approaching from their back entrance.”

“I know, but it means we’re getting close to the surface, and that’s a relief. We’ve been underground for more than a week at this point.”

“True. And you humans aren’t exactly built for that. Okay, follow behind me.”

They continued on until Isa called for another halt.

“I am Isa Bloodscale of the Blackfang tribe!” she called out into the darkness. “I am accompanied by a human knowledge-seeker! We come peaceably, with no ill intentions!”

Silence was the only reply for nearly a full minute.

Then a voice called back, “How did you get here, Isa Bloodscale?”

“Do you know of the ancient place deep within these caves, with walls made of worked stone?”

“…No.”

“Well, it’s part of an ancient ruin from the time of prosperity, when we kobolds and our kin ruled aboveground. We found the ruin from aboveground in a different place, but got trapped inside. We explored until we found a way out and followed the caves upward until we got here.”

“The time of prosperity? That old legend? Are you telling me it’s real?”

“Of course it is.”

“…Riiight. Well, you somehow found your way to the wrong side of our warren, so somehow find yourself back where you came from.”

“All we want is to get back to the surface, and the only way to do that is by going through your warren.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“Can I ask why not?”

“Because you’re not of our tribe, duh. And you even have a non-kobold with you, making it even worse.”

“I’ll give you silver and gold?” Rai offered.

“…Hm…”

“I’ll give you a weapon I made,” Isa added.

“…All right, fine. But if you make any threatening moves, we’ll kill you.”

Isa gave Rai Silver Halberd, and he swapped it out with her old halberd, which had been inside the dimensional pouch. She led him forward, and eventually they came upon a tunnel where a pair of gray-scaled kobolds waited, spears in hand. One of them held out a hand and Isa gave him her halberd. He looked her up and down.

“You look strong,” he commented, his voice revealing that he was the one they had been talking to.

“I am strong.”

The other kobold held out a hand to Rai, who placed a small pouch of coins in it.

“All right, we’ll lead you through, but you’ll have to follow us exactly. No wandering off, got it?”

“Understood,” Rai said as Isa nodded.

Other kobolds watched curiously as they were led through the warren until someone finally stopped them. He was a relatively tall, muscular kobold with gleaming orange scales who carried a two-handed axe.

“Champion!” the two spear-toting kobolds said, saluting.

“Who are they?” the orange kobold demanded.

“Blackfang Tribe and human knowledge-seeker. Said they came from a prosperity-era ruin they got trapped in, and this was the only way back to the surface. Look, they gave us gold and silver!”

The second gray-scaled kobold handed the pouch to the champion, who opened it and looked inside. He grinned toothily.

“Well, I suppose that’s good enough for passage through. Hm… you’re a warrior, aren’t you?” he said to Isa.

“I am.”

“What rank are you?”

“…Rank?”

“Soldier, Master, Champion.”

“Oh, you mean my realm. Master; the Blackfang Tribe doesn’t have any champions… or even any other masters.”

Realm… that’s an interesting way to describe it, Rai thought. I might have to adopt that. Though it seems kobolds have lower realms on average than humans and the other “civilized” races. If “first realm” would be where a mage would be first circle or a combat artist would be first tier, the typical experienced adult is “second realm,” which matches with a kobold “master.” Elites are “third realm,” Masters are “fourth realm,” Champions are “fifth realm,” and legendary heroes and the like have been recorded at “sixth realm.” So kobolds civilians are probably “zeroth realm,” Soldiers are “first realm,” Masters are “second realm,” and Champions are “third realm.” Whereas for the civilized races, even novices in a field are “first realm,” while only those who haven’t reached adulthood yet are “zeroth realm.”

Of course, he continued his internal monologue, it’s quite possible to have some aspects of the self be higher realm than others – otherwise, everyone would be a mage and combat artist, since a “third realm” blacksmith would automatically be third circle and third tier, while in reality said blacksmith probably has a “zeroth” for those, a “second” for his body’s sturdiness, and a “third” for his skills and training. It’s still an interesting way to quantify strength and ability, though.

“The Blackfang tribe must be weak, then.”

“In terms of combat might, yeah.”

“How old are you?”

“Seven years.”

Seven? Based on how long they said kobolds live, that’s… she’s the equivalent of around my age. Which makes sense, but also means she’s pretty impressive, especially compared to other kobolds.

“Hoh? A Master at only seven years? Now I want to see how good you are.”

“Normally, I’d be happy to oblige, but I’m also a mage as well as a warrior, and I wouldn’t want you to see me at less than my best; I’m nearly out of mana for spells.”

“A warrior and a mage? Now I really want to fight you. But as you said, it would be insulting to challenge you at less than your best. So I have a proposal: stay the night here, and fight me tomorrow.”

Isa raised an eye ridge. “How late is it?”

“It’s already dark outside.”

“A tempting offer, but how can I be sure our safety is guaranteed during the night?”

“You have my word as Champion and Vice-Chief of the Dragonbreath Tribe.”

Isa glanced up at Rai, who shrugged.

“Then I suppose we’ll accept.”

“Excellent. Show them to an isolated spot so they can sleep,” the Champion commanded.

Once the two of them were alone in a relatively small chamber maybe half the size of the room Rai had stayed in at the Swallow’s Nest, Isa turned to Rai.

“I have to win.”

“He might be stronger than you.”

“I know. But we’ll probably be fighting with real weapons, which means if I don’t win, I die.”

“Wait, really? You’ll be fighting to the death?”

“Yes. This isn’t a training spar, it’s a duel.”

“How do you know that?”

“It was the way he looked at me. There are only three outcomes: I win, I die, or he renders me unconscious and decides not to kill me. Out of the three, the last one is the worst.”

Rai tilted his head in confusion. “Why?”

“I saw his expression. There’s only one reason he would let me live after I lost.”

“And that is?”

Isa sighed. “You’re gonna make me say it, huh? I don’t know how it is for humans, but kobolds look for three things in a mate: attractive appearance, intelligence, and strength. While he has no way of judging the second with the little interaction we’ve had, I definitely qualify as desirable in the first and third categories. In my tribe, taking a mate is a mutual decision by tribal law, but that doesn’t stop the occasional degenerate from deciding that their desires are more important than those of the person who turned them down. Such degenerates end up dead in short order – in my tribe. This isn’t my tribe, and I doubt anyone would go against the Champion of this tribe.”

Rai gave Isa a horrified look. “You mean he would…”

Isa nodded.

“I wouldn’t let that happen,” Rai said firmly.

“They’d kill you.”

“That’s a risk worth taking. That is an unforgivable act. Not to mention, I see you as a friend, which makes me even more willing to risk myself to help you.”

Isa smiled. “Thanks, Rai. You may be a naïve weirdo, but I see you as a friend too. Now let’s get some sleep.”

-x-

The next morning Rai found himself sitting among the audience in a large oval-shaped chamber along with hundreds of other kobolds who had come to watch the arena match between Isa and the Champion, who were already facing off against one another. Neither were using their own weapons, instead using a halberd and axe that were supplied by the tribe for the fight – this prevented anyone from claiming the other had an unfair advantage from equipment.

“…And do both sides agree that they accept the risk of death?” the kobold officiating the duel said.

“I do!”

“I do!”

“Then the duel between Harrok Stonecleaver and Isa Bloodscale… begins!”

“Armor of Blood,” Isa cast, having already cast Enhance Scales before leaving the sleeping chamber. She slammed her halberd’s butt end against the floor, blood rising to multiply and coat the blade.

Harrok charged toward her, screaming, “Cleaving Rush!” His axe carved through Isa’s chest, sending her stumbling back. Her blood sprayed out and covered her in armor, much to the surprise of the Champion. His eyes widened even further when hers began to glow and the thrashing red aura sprang into existence, smacking him in the face.

She took advantage of his momentary distraction to slash at him, yelling, “Sickening Strike!” The stench of blood wafted through his nostrils, strong enough to make him gag, when the axe head cut a deep diagonal line through his torso. He swung his axe wildly, and both times it struck her it chipped off pieces of her blood armor but failed to cut through her scales. She chopped at him with a cry of “Wrath Strike!”, but he managed to jump back out of the way, which also helped him evade the attacking aura.

“Power Splitter!” he yelled, jumping forward and bringing down his axe with all his might. Isa blocked with her halberd, which shattered from the impact of his attack. She tossed away the broken weapon and cast, “Corrosive Claw!”, swiping at him with claws trailing green-tinged blood. He dodged, then swung his axe in an X. The first blow sent her stumbling but didn’t draw blood; the second cut a new gash.

Her aura cracked his head to the side, and she recovered before he did. She lunged, plunging her still-spell-enhanced claws into his chest and ripping downward, injecting corrosive blood the entire time. He screamed.

His eyes rolled back and his scream died, and he fell forward with a thud. Blood pooled underneath him.

Isa sagged as Berserk Mode ended.

“Th-the winner is Isa Bloodscale!” the officiator said in shock. “Our Champion… our Champion has been killed!”

Isa began casting Healing Blood and consuming the blood elixirs it generated while the crowd went wild. Four spells later, she was still a bit sore and tender, but her wounds had completely closed up. She grinned, waving at the cheering crowd.

“Uh…” Rai said. “Aren’t you guys mad that your Champion is dead?” he asked the kobold sitting next to him.

“Angry? Are you crazy?” the female kobold replied. “He was a tyrant! Nobody dared challenge him, so he did whatever he wanted, and the Masters under him followed his lead. With him gone, maybe people will start obeying the laws of the tribe again.”

“Does the winner have anything she would like to say?” the officiator asked.

“I am Isa Bloodscale!” Isa shouted. “I am the kobold who will one day evolve, and keep evolving, until I become a dragon! Remember that name!”

“Isa! Bloodscale! Isa! Bloodscale!” the crowd chanted.

The chief of the tribe came forward and invited “Isa and her human companion” to join them for a feast in celebration of her victory, which Isa gladly accepted. During the feast, the chief and elders of the tribe asked about how the two had come to travel together and how they had arrived at the warren.

“So, I and the others arrived and saw the most enormous spider ever seen, curled up dead,” Rai said. “Illusion (Lesser),” he cast, and a life-size visual illusion of the dead spider appeared, eliciting various noises from the audience. “It was then that I met Isa – the one who had slain the creature single-handedly!”

And so the two of them told their story, accompanied by moving illusions generated by Rai to illustrate the story. By early afternoon, they were finally ready to leave.

“Here,” a yellow female kobold wearing a fur cape said, offering up a stone bowl with two marble-sized orange-and-yellow spheres in it. “These are for you, in recognition of your triumph… and in thanks for your deed.”

“…Are these what I think they are?” Rai asked in surprise.

“They look like qi medicine…” Isa said. “Wait. Did you make these from the flesh and blood of Harrok?”

“I did. I am the main alchemist of our tribe.”

“Is it… normal to make qi medicine out of people?” Rai said uneasily.

“Of course,” the alchemist said as though it were obvious. “We don’t eat people, but making qi medicine from your fallen foes when they’re stronger than you is just good sense. It’d be wasteful not to.”

“That may be true in your tribe, but I’ve never heard of my tribe doing that,” Isa said. “That said, I agree with the sentiment. The problem is that qi medicine tends to have bad side effects.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. We have a sacred artifact that we use that increases the purity of medicines, qi medicine or otherwise. It reduces the efficacy of qi medicine, but completely eliminates the side effects.”

“Well, in that case, we gladly accept this gift. One for me, and one for you, Rai.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about this…”

“So squeamish! Just take it!” Isa said, holding up both spheres to him. He sighed and put them in the dimensional pouch.

“Well, we should get going. Do you know where we are in relation to my tribe?”

“Your tribe should be to the west southwest, if our records are accurate.”

“Records?” Rai said in surprise. “You have writing? Isa’s tribe doesn’t.”

“Sure. Want to see our record-wall?”

Rai’s eyes lit up. “Yes, please!”