Chapter Thirteen - Success!

I succeeded!

I was on the ground, breathing hard and staring at the ceiling. There were two dead kobolds next to me, and a painful cut in my upper thigh where one of the little bastards had outright stabbed me.

All three were dead... wait, no, one of them was standing up, little paw pressed into a cut near its collarbone. I'd kicked that one pretty hard in the ribs near the start of the fight and it had stayed down.

So, what had I learned?

Well, charging in was stupid. It was a good way to learn, sure, but it was fundamentally kind of stupid.

I sighed, spun onto my front, then stood up.

Another thing. Fighting was tiring. The time in the ring with Natalie had been good, but also... short? I'd Reload after the bouts. This was more violent, even if Natalie was way stronger than these little monsters.

I hissed as I pulled at the cut in my leg.

Third lesson, being stabbed sucked.

I limped past the injured kobold, ignoring it even as it stood up and growled at me. "Shut up," I snapped before scanning the room. What could I do better in this place?

For one, I could try sneaking in. There weren't too many loose stones on the way up that ramp. I could make it without making a clamour. Two of them had been busy drinking. I could have taken out the one with the knife first if I was faster, then maybe another. Then it would be a one-on-one.

I nodded to myself, then spun and kicked out at the kobold rushing me. The kick almost missed, and the sting of pain in my leg almost sent me to the ground, but the heel of my foot still struck the monster in the face and sent it reeling back.

Fourth, I was heavy and faster than these guys, and had better reach... most of the time.

None of my training had been against people this much shorter than me. It was off-putting.

I walked over to the kobold, kicked it in the side, then hesitated. I had to finish it off, before it got up again and...

And the bastard picked up a pawful of sand and little rocks and flung them into my face. "Damnit," I cursed a moment before swearing even louder as teeth clamped around my calf.

I didn't hesitate to stab him this time.

Fifth lesson! No mercy.

Mercy was well and good on Earth, but in here, it didn't matter or count. The little shits were hellbent on eating me, or at least killing me first.

"Ah, shit, shit," I muttered as I pulled its teeth out of my bleeding leg. That was rabies, or something, I was sure. Had I ever gotten a shot for that? I didn't think so.

I didn't bring a first-aid kit or anything like it, because I was stupid and thought myself invulnerable. I might get through here without a scratch eventually, but that didn't mean I'd do it on the first damned try.

Hissing with every step, I walked over to the next corridor, then continued along it. I could smell fire ahead, and see the vague shapes of something moving. Interesting. I'd poke around, then Reload, and the--

The ground gave way under me, and I saw a large spike rushing towards my falling face and-- RELOAD!

I gasped, suddenly in the alley behind the laundromat, heart beating a million beats a second as a sudden bout of adrenaline surged through me. That had been close. I didn't know if my power worked automatically. I didn't want to find out.

"Okay, calm," I muttered.

I was back in a painless body, feeling... more or less great. A lot stressed, but not hurt. I'd take it.

I took a moment to calm down, then looked at the time. It wasn't so late that every store would be closed, and the portal wouldn't open for a while. Not setting a Save point to just before entering had been clever, even if it meant waiting.

I turned, and headed out. There were stores nearby. I pulled my hat down low, removed the mask to seem less suspicious, and kept my eyes downcast. The first thing I bought was a green scarf that clashed with everything I wore. It would, I hope, pull attention away from the way I was dressed.

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Then I bought shades even though it was dark, to cover my eyes, before moving on to a less shady, heh, store.

There I bought glowsticks--the cheap, civilian kind, but they'd maybe work--a headlamp, and one of those little clip-on lamps, as well as a decent flashlight.

It was a chunk of my sign-on bonus gone, but I'd live with it. There was plenty more left.

I returned to the portal with plenty of time to spare. I didn't set a new Save point. Not when this last one had been good for me. Prep time was valuable.

Since I knew that this wouldn't be the perfect run or anything comparable to it, I spent the next half hour shadow-fighting, specifically trying low-lunges. I had reach on the kobolds, and speed, and a bit of force. They had their small stature, the environment, and familiarity on their side. And apparently traps.

Couldn't forget those.

The portal opened, and I jumped through as soon as it stabilized, a trio of cracked glow sticks in hand already.

I flicked them across the room, not caring so much about stealth, then I moved to the widest, most open space and waited.

One kobold showed up before me, barking and yipping slightly, but waiting. I noticed his eyes glancing to the side a few times, and heard rocks shift that way. Clever.

The second kobold charged me.

I fought him. It wasn't as pretty or glorious as I would have wanted, and I was clumsy all the way through, especially when the first joined in, but I got them both without injuring myself.

The next group... not so much. I made a noise while trying to sneak my way up, and this time they charged me. With the slight ramp upwards, they gained a lot of speed, and one of them rammed me in the stomach hard enough that I lost my lunch.

Another started stabbing me in the leg, and I Reloaded.

Third time's the charm?

It wasn't.

Fourth time worked out better, however. This time I got through the first room without a scratch. Dust to the face of the sneaky kobold sent it into a coughing fit, and I stabbed the charging one through the neck with an almost-perfect lunge.

Got sneaky a moment later, cutting his neck open from behind.

Turning my lights off (I was so stupid) I snuck up and managed to kill the one with the knife before killing the other two. I couldn't stab them in the back easily. But I could run up and kick them into the pond, which would stall one of them more than long enough to kill their friend one-on-one.

I wouldn't say that I was getting good at it, but I was certainly starting to suck a bit less.

How many repeats was this going to take?

I wasn't sure, but I could keep going. I wasn't tired yet. Though... next time, I'd buy some snacks while I was out buying lights and such. Fighting made me kind of hungry.

Sighing, I took my second attempt at the passage with the trap. Now with light, I could see it. There was a set of wooden planks, all rotten and poorly cut, laid out over a pit. Some sort of weaved net was laid over it, and over that was a layer of rocky dust.

In the poor light, it had been nearly invisible, especially as I'd been focused on the firelight ahead. With a flashlight in hand, I mostly felt ashamed that I'd fallen for it at all.

I skipped over the trap, then kept scanning for more, heedless of the noise I was making or the light splashing around.

Obviously, that alerted the next room's kobolds.

Five of them. Four seemed normal, but one was a fair bit larger. Not... not the portal boss. It was just bigger, and more muscular. With three bandoleers covered in fangs across its chest and a wooden club in one paw.

There went my reach advantage.

The kobold shouted, and then they charged.

The moment two of them managed to pin me down to the ground with my arms in their slavering jaws the bigger one rushed over with its club overhead. I saw the crude weapon swinging down and decided that I didn't want to learn what having my pelvis smashed felt like.

I Reloaded.

I'd gotten one of them...

Next attempt! I'd figure it out on the next attempt.

***