“Gravity Blender,” said Artyom in a soft whisper.
The monster’s head immediately began to contort, and his neck even spun in a complete circle. The kobolds looked on in horror and awe as Artyom poured all of his magic into the single attack that now pushed through the boss’ skull and into his torso, squeezing his entire upper body into a single point.
And then it imploded.
Blood, viscera, and shards of bone flew in all angles, bathing his half of the cave in a violent crimson.
Artyom himself wasn’t spared from the blast and ended up covered in the vile smelling substance. Thankfully he kept his eyes and mouth closed, but it didn’t help prevent the odor from entering his nostrils.
Yet once he landed and the last of the droplets hit the ground, the cavern went silent. The kobolds looked on in anticipation, waiting for the wounds to heal and for the boss to rise once more. Even Artyom charged up another Gravity Blender, but this one was much weaker than the last and wouldn’t do nearly as much damage as the first. He’d truly put everything into that last attack.
But the seconds passed and turned into a full two minutes, and the corpse remained still. Only after one particularly brave kobold slowly walked up to it and kicked it did everyone in the cave let out a collective held breath.
“We… we did it,” muttered the leader. “We did it!”
The kobolds erupted into cheers. Bows and pickaxes were thrown into the air without a care in the world for where they might land as they all began to dance around one another.
Hops, skips, and leaps for joy did these creatures make, making their joy known to the world, even if it was a world of themselves and their savior.
Artyom couldn’t help but smile along. It took all his strength to keep standing, and only because of his armoring spell reinforcing his near internally mangled legs, but he walked over to the crowd to celebrate with them.
He tried to jump along with them, but began to fall to the floor once he landed, and a pair of kobolds had to catch him.
“Hey hey, don’t push yourself so hard,” said the lead kobold as they rushed over. “You took the most damage out of any one here, save for our old boss.”
The two of them looked at the belly and legs on the ground in the distance, just to make sure it still wasn’t moving. They felt their shoulders lighten after seeing it hadn’t.
“I’ll be fine, I just need a chance to rest up,” said Artyom as he waved away the kobold’s concern. “Maybe head back to headquarters for a healing potion or something.”
“Potion? We have a few of those stored away, I have one with me here,” said the lead kobold as they passed Artyom a vial of red liquid. “It takes about a day to take full effect, so it’s not good for a fight.”
The man from Earth inspected the vial and felt the wisps of magical energy emanating from it. “Yeah, this should be strong enough to heal me up, are you sure you all don’t need it?”
“Yeah, it looks like the boss only went after the two of us, since we were the main threats. He needed everyone else alive to keep working the mines, after all.”
Artyom nodded and drank the contents of the vial. It tasted bitter with a hint of sourness, and not at all like the strawberry soda it looked like. He didn’t complain though, but still wished they’d at least try to make potions taste good, just like the ones from headquarters. Maybe he was a little spoiled.Stolen novel; please report.
The lead kobold did the same, not a single wince or complaint on their face.
“Speaking of threats, what was that thing you did? You shouted something after you woke up and everyone suddenly got stronger; I thought you said you lost all of your old Skills?”
“I got a new one! I heard a weird whisper in my ears while I was out cold, and the next thing I knew, I was up and using it,” said the lead kobold with a shrug.
Artyom let out a sigh with a smile on his face. His greatest disadvantage in this world might not stay one for much longer, but with all the time and trouble the kobold had to go through to get even one Skill, it didn’t bode well for his actual mission.
“Something about the Skill feels special,” they continued. “It’s a lot stronger than I would have expected for my level, and it’s technically my first Skill after the reset. It felt like it came exactly when I needed it? Maybe… nah.” They began to laugh.
“Maybe what?” asked Artyom. The System of the world was a mystery to him; why he didn’t start with access to it, how all of his benefits were lost after getting [Emissary of Dharma], and the kobold’s strange level up. Any insight was better than what he had, even if it was only conjecture.
“Maybe there’s some kind of guiding force behind it?”
“Like the goddess?”
“Eh who knows, you think she would have helped earlier if she cared,” said the lead kobold with a dismissive wave. “But I’m grateful to whoever did help, if there is someone behind it.”
To Artyom the goddess would have made the most sense since he didn’t get connected to the System until her blessing. But he immediately lost it because of that Skill, the one that the lead kobold had who got a new and very useful Skill when they needed it most, also likely because of that Skill, and-
Artyom grabbed his head with both his hands and grunted. “Too many puzzle pieces, I have no idea what’s going on with this stupid System!”
All of the kobolds began to laugh.
The man from Earth began to calm down and chuckle along with them. The potion was already taking effect, and he didn’t feel like falling over after putting much of his energy into his laughter.
As the noise died down however, Artyom reached into his pocket and pulled out the armor piece. He gave it a look over and felt a stronger weight in his hands than the object physically exerted. This was what he came here for; the goal of his mission, his ticket to the Earther’s side.
“Feel free to take that with you,” said the lead kobold. “The boss gave it to us one day and told us to guard it with our lives. It doesn’t mean anything to us, except a reminder of that jerk.” They turned back to his corpse and confirmed it was still dead. “Heh, maybe we should burn the remains to put my mind at ease?”
“That’s not a bad idea,” said Artyom, pocketing the treasure. “Do you need any help? I have a bit of time to spare.”
<hr>
A blaze went up from the entrance of the cave.
The kobolds and Artyom stood around a wooden pyre where the remains of the boss had been placed, and promptly set ablaze.
It was funny, the man from Earth thought. Funerals were partially meant to put the loved ones of the departed at ease and give them closure. Yet here, it was doing the same for the dead monster’s enemies.
The smoke was acrid and caused much of the audience to cry, yet they shed their tears with beaming smiles.
It was over.
“Tonight, we feast!” shouted the lead kobold, projecting their voice above the fire.
Everyone cheered.
They looked at Artyom with a thoughtful smile and said, “You’re more than welcome to join us, it’s been forever since we’ve gotten to eat squirrel meat!”
“I… think I’ll pass,” replied Artyom with a sheepish grin which soon turned serious. “I need to continue my mission and get that armor piece to the hero.”
“Not sure who that is, but good luck,” said the lead kobold.
“Thanks,” said the man from Earth with a bright smile, as he turned around and headed back into the woods.
The kobolds waved him back and shouted their well wishes until he disappeared into the tree line.
“I hope we get to see him one day,” said the lead kobold with a tear in their eye. “But now that I think about it, I don’t think he even learned my name!”
“You have a name?” asked another kobold next to them. “I don’t even know if you’re a man or a woman!”
“How can you say such a thing?!” said the leader in shock that soon turned into more laughter. “Especially when I don’t know that about you either!”
“How have we not asked each other this sooner?!”
“Well,” said the lead kobold looking out to the pyre and the others dancing around it. “We have plenty of time now thanks to him. Let’s make good use of it.”