My eyes widened in panic, the fist of the creature had broken through my defenses.
A punch that I had blocked with my sword then another that came quickly. Enough that I couldn't stop it.
I felt blood spray on my face. A body hanging off the fist of the creature.
"You…"
The words barely left my mouth. One of the Kobolds, the clumsy one that was happily flailing around with the spear I made, had sacrificed himself to save my life.
He didn't even hesitate. I could even see from the back of his head, the fearlessness that he had so bravely sacrificed his body with.
I couldn't mourn, even with the emotions in my mind right now. I had to compartmentalize. I would die if I did not.
It was with a soothing breath, one taken from the time that the Kobold had bought me.
Memoria had activated, I could feel the memories crystal clear. The tensing of my muscles as my sword slashed down in the exact angle treat I wanted.
The way that the sword felt, the grip, the feeling as it passed through the wind. Everything became clear. I knew what I needed to do, when I needed to do it, and how I was supossed to do it.
It felt as if I had just combined every single lesson of kendo that I had ever had into [Swordsmanship rank 1 (0.01%)]
I swiped away the notification, the sword the only thing in my mind as I sweeped my foot to the side to pivot it.
With a upward swing I cut through the skin of the creature. A roar echoed out into the cavern as I felt the blood wash over me.
I looked up to the cut only to see th e wriggling of skin as the creature regenerated.
Despite the disgust I felt at myself, at both my lack of confidence and my lack of courage, I still needed to finish this.
I could panic and mourn later, right now I needed to finish this off.
It was why I had jumped, insight into the best way to proceed being jammed into my brain. It didn't take long for my body to reach the top of the creature.
Another swing of the sword, one that seemed to embody every swing of the sword I had priorly taken.
A mighty roar sang through the chamber, the head of the creature rolling to the side.
Vomit at the sight of the decapitated being rushed to my mouth. I fell from my perch upon his shoulders down to the ground where the remaining Kobold was.
My head fell to the ground and my mouth vomited the contents of my stomach.
I felt a small pat on my back and I couldn't help but be grateful. Not only that I had survived but that I had been able to save this one.
Don't get me wrong I wasn't a hero but neither was I a villain who could unflinchingly stare at the death of someone I knew.
I opened my eyes and saw more than just vomit. A red taint was upon the ground.
I reached to my body, a numb spot sticking out and felt at it.
When my hand reached back to the forefront of my vision I saw my hand coated in a deep red. One signifying my wound.
I raised my head towards it and couldn't help but cringe at the size of the injury.
I don't remember how I had taken it, the battle after the death of the kobold a blur but I knew it was serious.
My whole stomach was a mess, a broken ribcage and torn skin that spewed blood.
I could feel my consciousness faint but I knew that if I passed out here I would die. The only one that could possibly help me, the kobold that had no medical experience.
I forced my eyes open, my nails digging into my palm hard enough to draw blood.
It hurt enough to shock me back awake. Though I couldn't dally any longer, I could feel the footsteps of more of those creatures approaching. We were lucky that we had only to fight one but by the footsteps it was more than one. It would be at the very least three of them.
Even if I had no injuries and could do whatever I did to the creature, I didn't think I would survive.
It was why I struggled to my feet and started to run towards the exit. It was slow but I was making decent progress.
I didn't forget to grab the weapon of the fallen kobold, the least I could do was use the weapon to kill more of them. Even if spearmanship wasn't my forte.
Eventually I found myself outside of the cave, the suns rays shining on me. However I couldn't bask in the light as even now I could feel the enraged stomping of the other creatures that followed me.
I made sure that they knew where I was, I had a plan to get rid of them.
It was why I had sent the kobold further ahead of me.
The footsteps only grew larger until I was face to face with four of the creatures. Seeing me they charged though they weren't as fast as me they were still a threat.
A slight smirk was on my face as I dashed towards the cave that I had initially come from.
With carefully calculated steps I moved through the cave. The sounds of traps and the roars of pain and anger came from the creatures.
I finally looked back, the creatures were caught in the traps that I had led them to. Some of them were split exactly in two, others were burned to death or even just had their head ripped off by a bear trap.
It was a bit cathartic to see them like that. I had expected disgust and or vomit to appear in me at the sight but it seemed I was getting used to the violence. It didn't bother me as much as I thought that it would.