Regeneration was a frightening ability. To heal from the worst of damage within seconds, to undo even the greatest of an opponent’s destructive efforts so casually… it was sure to demotivate even the strongest and most experienced adversary.


    But in Artyom’s years of experience, he’d found a simple yet obvious weakness: it had limits. The mundane healing process made use of the body’s natural resources. How could anyone grow back bone without calcium, or create more blood without water and iron? Not to mention the energy requirements.


    Regeneration wasn’t that much different. It still needed resources to replace what was too far gone, and even of what remained, the precision required to move everything into its original position had its own demands. On top of raw organic materials and physical energy, there was the magic cost too.


    So there were two options for how to deal with a regenerator.


    First was to overwhelm their healing with enough firepower to render it moot. Artyom had seen it done several times, usually with artillery, or in one case for a monster the size of a skyscraper, TOAL’s secret weapon: The Eye of Balor. Can’t exactly heal from an attack that doesn’t leave anything to heal from.


    Second was to keep hitting them until they ran out of those healing resources.


    With a monster the size of the boss, coupled with where Artyom’s magical specialties lay, the first option wouldn’t be possible. But that didn’t mean victory would be impossible.


    “Attack!” shouted the boss, focusing his commanding aura on the kobolds around him and pointing them at Artyom.


    The man from Earth simply took a deep breath and focused on his own magic. He pulled forth a well of emotion and let the two mix. Anger, indignancy, a desire for freedom. These disparate emotions mixed into a single one Artyom knew all too well from his past, when he was first summoned to a fantasy world, and with a single action, let the kobolds know it as well.


    “Aura of Rebellion,” Artyom cast, letting the wave of counter-magic wash over the kobolds. Unlike the aura he showed off to the kobold leader, this ability was infused with a true emotion borne from the deepest parts of Attyom’s soul, and it sang louder than any fear or malice from their so-called boss.


    One by one, they each snapped out of the spell their boss had placed them under, lowering their guards and relaxing the grip on their weapons. But as this new aura took hold, their holds tightened and they began to face the boss.


    Artyom spoke no words now. It wasn’t his place, he was an outsider. Instead, he turned towards the kobolds’ true leader and gave them a nod.


    “Brothers and sisters!” they shouted, raising a pickaxe into the air. “For years we’ve been brought to heel under this tyrant, this invader who has claimed everything of ours for himself; our home, our work, our very lives! But no more. Today, we have been given a chance. Today, we will take it! Today, we will be free!”


    The force of the words echoed throughout the cavern and even made Artyom and the hulking monster pause at the sheer passion that momentarily shook even both of their clashing auras.


    The kobolds, rather than being caught off guard, all cheered and charged at their old boss. Arrows flew from crudely carved bows strung with roots and animal sinew, while sturdy pickaxes struck true on tree trunk legs.


    The first few hits caught the boss by surprise and made him more angry than anything else at the sudden betrayal, but as the wave of attacks truly piled on, he began to wail.


    “Good, he’s not some kind of unfeeling flesh monster,” said Artyom. “He wouldn’t be able to experience pain if he didn’t have limits to his regeneration.”


    “W-what?!” the boss shouted in surprise. He began to spin in place, using his thick, elongated tail to knock away the closest kobolds, sending them flying. “Aura is my thing! I was created to wield it! Which one of you dares?!”


    While the kobolds got off the floor and readied themselves for a second barrage, the boss turned towards the kobold leader with a deathly glare and began to charge right at him.


    “He can’t sense magic, so of course he doesn’t realize I’m the one doing this,” thought Artyom to himself. “Get out of there! He’s coming for you!”


    The lead kobold only realized what was happening after the boss broke into an explosive run towards them. They tried to run to the side but Artyom could see it would be impossible for them to get out of the way in time. The other kobolds realized this too and began to throw themselves in between the two.


    “Speed of the- no, Sonic Waverider!” shouted Artyom as he went into his own dead sprint. He flew like a bullet and made it halfway before his eyes went wide.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The kobolds trying to guard their leader suddenly began to falter. They dropped their weapons or began to sink to their knees, letting the boss rush right past them without harm.


    Artyom swore to himself. The boss’ aura was somehow growing stronger, and with all of his other spells active, he wasn’t able to match it. He could drop his armor spell, but then it would take a single hit from the boss to turn him into a red smear or rip his limbs off. Not to mention the physical strain brought on by his speed spell would damage his body without it.


    “It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to rescue him without getting myself killed, and if I go down, this whole rebellion goes with it,” thought Artyom as he grimaced. “Sorry about this.”


    Artyom canceled his speed spell and redoubled his aura, building back up the mental defenses and confidence of the rest of the kobolds.


    The diminutive creatures stood tall as one and began to slash at the boss’ legs as he passed them by.


    A series of blows strained his regeneration enough that after one lucky hit, he lost balance and began to slow. Not enough to stop him completely however, as he still barreled into the lead kobold, sending the both of them flying.


    The lead kobold fell to the ground, body intact and still breathing, but he didn’t get up.


    The boss however rose to his feet after a second, seemingly no less worse for wear.


    “To think you’ve been lying to me about not having your Skills anymore when you’ve had this the whole time,” said the boss with a sneer. “But I can’t have anyone giving me trouble when I have a job to do.”


    The monster began to walk over to the lead kobold but stopped when an arrow flew into the back of his head. He turned around, and another half a dozen arrows flew into his body.


    The monster pulled them out and snarled, turning to the crowd and trying to make out who was-


    “The peasant!” he exclaimed. “I should’ve known, how else would you be able to escape, even with these idiots guarding you?”


    “Fuck.”


    The boss began to charge at Artyom, and with all the kobolds shocked at the sudden defeat of their leader, left his attack uncontested.


    Artyom didn’t see any other choice. He canceled his aura and cast Sonic Waverider as he ran in the opposite direction of the boss. Even with the advanced magical boost, they were almost neck in neck. When Artyom made it to the cave wall, he ran up the slope and jumped over the monster as he barreled straight into the barrier he erected between them and the outside world.


    When the dust settled, he saw that it wasn’t even a dent on the rock.


    “Was that your plan to get away?” said the boss with a mocking laugh. “Well I’m not that dumb to make my barrier so weak.”


    “That’s what I was hoping for,” replied Artyom. “But running into that must have hurt, right?”


    The monster frowned and adjusted his nose which hadn’t regenerated in the right shape, before charging again.


    Artyom tried to dodge in closer range this time, only staying a few feet away from his arms. It took most of his concentration to not get hit, and combined with the speed and armor spells, left him little brainpower left over. He tried to charge up a Gravity Lance, but was only able to build it up for an instant before it began to affect his other spells.


    With a desperate flick, Artyom managed to throw it right into the boss’ eye. However, it didn’t even slow down the hulking monster’s assault and the damage healed before Artyom could even get the next one charged up.


    And that was nothing to say about the high energy cost of such a dirty cast.


    “He’ll wear me down fast like this, and I don’t think he’s anywhere close to running out regeneration yet.”


    Artyom’s gaze darted to the background, where he saw the kobolds still on the floor gripped with fear, but some of them were starting to stand up.


    “Yes! That’s just what I need!”


    The few who’d gotten up were archers, who nocked their bows and half heartedly shot their arrows.


    Rather than hitting the boss, they all came close to Artyom instead, one even bouncing off his armored skin.


    Artyom’s eyes filled with fear, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to take on both groups like this. Rather than continue the current losing strategy, he turned around and began running around the cavern. Even with the boss right on his tail, it freed up enough of his concentration to think.


    “He’s too fast and strong for me to not have my speed spell up, and that makes having armor also a necessity. I can’t keep all of those and aura active at the same time, at least for all of them to be strong enough to actually do something.”


    Artyom let out a sigh, it didn’t look like he had any other choice. The armor he wore under his peasant clothes was meant to deal with all sorts of physical trauma, yet this monster was able to bypass it because he loved grappling and crushing. If he could keep on the move, the boss would have to settle for regular blows.


    “And besides, I lead armies. What kind of a general would I be if I kept all of the magic for myself?” said Artyom as he turned off his armor spell and channeled that magic back into his aura. “It’s not over, kobolds! This is the only chance you’ve all got, fight for your life, fight for freedom!”


    The diminutive creatures all got up as if lightning arced through their backs, not looking so tiny anymore as they stood tall in the face of their ex-boss. The first of them nocked an arrow and shot it, nailing their true enemy in the shin and making the monster trip.


    Artyom jumped to the side but winced as his magic no longer protected him from the force of the redirection on his knees. He easily fought through the pain however and kept moving until he was in the middle of the throng of kobolds.


    “I know your real leader is proud of you,” said Artyom, addressing the crowd around him. “Now don’t let his sacrifice be in vain, charge!”