Chương 25: [BL] 25. Dream of Dragon [3]

Perhaps one thing that Willow was glad she kept up before coming to this world was her love for sports. It gave her much-needed endurance. Time and time again, she ran across the pitch and back as a smaller striker, realising she needed to do more than others. Her mind needed to work faster, and most of all she needed to scan the field repeatedly—a habit that lasted here.

So when the kobold lunged at her, Willow noticed its center of gravity was off, and sure enough, it pivoted to the left and ran toward its weapon rack, where five spears stood propped just beside a mound of earth that emitted a stinky smell. She reacted properly and also made a beeline for the rack. The kobold growled and skidded to a stop, swinging its talons toward Willow. Blood followed every move it made, drenching down its scales; death was approaching for the half-dragon.

She ducked in time and brought her sword up in a thrust that somehow caught the kobold's other talon. Its claw scratched across Willow's Sword of Light, and the orange gleam of the sword burned the Kobold, and it let out a pained yelp, releasing her sword, throwing it upward.

Willow tightened her grip, and her Strong Strike enchantment allowed her to bring her sword down much quicker, taking the Kobold by surprise, forcing it to jump back, but the edge of the Sword of Light split its chest, and a hiss followed her strike as she cleaved down. It escaped with a minor injury, but added to the many cut wounds the Dark Wind had already done, the kobold was on its back knee as it growled and stumbled. Keep going.

She sailed forward, about to finish the riftborn, until it opened its mouth right at the moment she had lunged. Shit. A shockwave blasted through her, sending her staggering back, and Willow raised her hand, trying to cover her ear whilst not letting go of her sword. [Kobold Half-dragon's Predatory Intent activated] [-5% all attributes] [Fear gripped you] Sweat drenched her neck. She fell on one knee, her sword stabbed through the cave ground below, and the orange glow of the fireflies disappeared from it.

Willow pulled her sword to lay it down and hugged her shoulder that shook so much. Suddenly, her sweat was cold—it was like someone had decapitated her head and put it in a freezer—it was cold; she could not think. How? How did she forget about its magic? This was not right; this was unfair. How the hell was she supposed to fight a monster twenty levels higher than her? More than twenty! Who cares if it got hurt? She could not possibly be ready for this.

Sure, she practiced sword a bit and found it enjoyable, but— The two fireflies hung across her vision. Willow needed help; she needed it. She reached for one, and it responded, entering her body. The warm glow spread through her chest, to all her limbs, and she felt she was lounging by a warm fireplace as the cold passed by her. Her breath calmed. She gripped her sword and quickly stood to find the kobold had taken a spear.

She forced everything aside and stepped forward, entering a range where if it threw that spear, then Willow would punish it. [Fire Light blessed your body] [+ 10% all attributes] What the hell was that? Willow kept her sword up. The kobold and she circled each other. When her back was to the exit, her instinct was for her to run… She noticed she had a different instinct compared to when she fought with her Wind Mage class.

With Dark Wind, she always intended to do the maximum damage, like when she chased after the Wyverns and this Kobold Half-dragon despite most fighting being over. Now, she just wanted to run and made sure Josha and Shera were fine. Also, she had resisted the fear back then. It must be her Sense stats, or perhaps Arcanic or maybe both. Now, she only had one Fireflies Rune left. Her body was a glow of crimson light.

The heat still flowed inside her like a warm ember, and her Sword of Light still possessed the trace of firefly, although she wasted most of it. Willow eyed the last Firefly swaying around her vision. Only one more, then she had to switch classes. To her [Hunter] class, where bow was the focus. Should that happen, then she probably would be doomed for good. Let's settle this now. Willow circled again, and the kobold was content to wait. It probably wanted her to run so it could throw its spear at her.

If she wanted to win, then she probably had to play to her class strength. She imagined Josha and Shera, then the death [Guard]s who sacrificed their life for her. Anger flared inside her. That should not have happened, and she could prevent more deaths if she could win against this monster. I have to protect them. [Guard Honor Activated] [+10 All attributes] Then another prompt blared. [Your Hunt is successful] Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

[Eight Kobold Bone Warriors slain] [Reward: Bone Buckler] Intense Blue light suddenly flickered inside the tent. Both the half-dragon and Willow squinted, and she wanted to take a step back, but she knew—she knew doing so would be her death. So she braved the pain and stepped forward. Her hand shot toward the blue light, and a buckler made of pure white appeared. [Bone Buckler (Tier 1)] [Slot (Empty)] She gripped the buckler's central handgrip and rushed forward through the blue light.

The Kobold did not miss a beat and thrust its spear forward. Its strength was definitely superior to Willow's, but with its injured body torn with multiple shreds, and its being on the back foot resulted in a pathetic jab that Willow batted upward with her shield. She was still blinking away the bright light, but she was fully aware of her actions and what was necessary.

Her orange sword tore through the Kobold's chest, but the riftborn was in motion, falling backward, and gravity saved him as Willow failed to follow through with her thrust. She tried to recover her attack by slashing downward, but the kobold's talon flashed, and her sword knocked high. Willow gritted her teeth and brought her shield up. Blocking the sudden lunge by the Kobold. It had dropped its spear, favouring its talons as it scratched Willow's bone buckler.

When she attempted to push forward, the Kobold overpowered her as it skidded its legs and pushed back. She pulled the shield close to her chest and whirled to the riftborn side with her sword flowing in a swing, to which the kobold jumped back, avoiding it narrowly. Her orange sword's glow started to disappear with every swing she committed. When she swung too wide, the kobold took a single step and drove its talon like a ram.

She managed to block it, but the force slammed her shield and hand against her chest, and she tumbled backward. In a cross, the talons bore down on her, and Willow, amid her fall, sliced upward again. Her blade tore through one of the kobold's hands—at its wrist—and carried skyward to splay through its palm. Its other hand smashed down on her shield again. Willow coughed out blood as her left hand twisted. Her left-hand bone smashed into the center of her chest, causing her to gasp.

Luckily for her, the kobold staggered backward, and blood spurted from its hand, which now hung splayed like disgusting, sagging skin. The orange ember in her sword had gone. Willow scrambled up, wobbling as she had nothing to support her. Her left hand was limp, and she dropped her shield, pointing her sword toward the kobold. Through its head scale, she could see the pale skin underneath. It was losing consciousness. Added to that, blood still flowed down through its splayed hand and body. Time to press.

After a deep breath, Willow pounced forward, bringing her sword in a swing, not putting much momentum into each attack. The kobold pranced back and easily parried every single Willow attempt. But that was fine. It kept bleeding, and Willow continued, treating the kobold like how Raven had treated her in their bout. Mera also copied Raven's attacks that forced her opponent to move. She had learned how to counter it, not how to do it, but she could replicate it easily enough. Don't commit to a full swing.

The Riftborn's body lost its quickness, slowly dying away, and Willow kept pressing. Her sword clanged against its talon, shedding them in every exchange. It turned its head toward the spear rack, and Willow punished it by charging. The kobold barely turned its head back to catch her blade, which was now embedded in the steel. The Sword of Light shone bright and burned away its palm, and Willow pushed as hard as she could to cut apart the talon, but she did not have enough momentum.

Still, the kobold shrieked as its talon burned away. It then shook off her sword, but Willow flowed into her next strike and landed a deep gash across its chest, searing over its scales and deep into its body. Willow shouldered the Kobold's chest, and it staggered backward again. Perfect. Now, with the space, Willow delivered a barrage of slashes, no longer holding anything back.

Her relentless assault butchered the Kobold with swirling light, and it kept trying to escape her, but she kept flaying it with her spell blade. Over and over again. The Kobold gathered itself for one last chance and took a step back, and Willow pressed forward, not intending to let it go. But suddenly, its last wings flapped, and the kobold whirled, dodging Willow's downward strike that would have killed it.

She saw her life flashing as the kobold's talon descended on her, but it was too weak; all it did was press against her neck, and it no longer had the power to pierce anything. She kicked it, and it collapsed to the ground, blood gushing everywhere, splattering over the stone. Willow gripped her sword handle upward, angling it down as she stepped in between the kobold's bleeding body. Its eyes barely on her, and she thrust down, piercing its throat.

It let out one last croak, and finally the light within its eyes faded away. [Your Hunt is successful] [Kobold half-dragon is slain] [Reward: Warrior Class Stone] [Bonus experience for completed Hunt] [Bonus experience for slaying the Kobold half-dragon] [Bonus Experience for slaying Kobold Bone Warrior] [You grow stronger] [Guard—Level 10] Level ten? Her body trembled, and Willow could barely open her eyes. She hit the ground before she knew it, and fireflies swarmed above her through her blurry vision.

The next thing she knew, an incredible warmth entered her, and life breathed into her again. But it was not enough, so more warmth settled over her, and Willow welcomed them, wanting them to keep swirling inside her body. She drank greedily. The limbs that had been so tired were now full of energy. Her breath, which came chortled thanks to her chest being hit, now swelled inside her. So she kept tapping into this power until her Guard outfit exploded in an explosion of light.

She woke up with the smell of blood hanging around her, and her body suddenly felt easy to move. Willow glanced at the dead Kobold. Near it, a green crystal lay, and she reached for it. [Warrior Class Stone] Strength: A Dexterity: C Vitality: A Constitution: B Sense: E Arcanic: E"Dammit," she mumbled, pushing herself up and grabbing one of the kobold's spears. She gripped her bone shield and chided herself for wasting her [Guard] class like that. Now she only had [Hunter] until the other two recovered.

Could she switch to her Hunter class earlier to finish the kill? She probably should, since the Hunt Party level depends on her [Hunter] class. [Grand Hunt finished] [Hunt Party disbanded] Well, no use thinking about it now. She raised her shield and, with spear ready, she left the tent to find a watching audience. Everyone, and she meant everyone, watched her in a line, with Habel being the only one with his back to her. They stayed silent for a moment, and Habel turned on her.

When Willow met the [Legionary]'s eyes, anger immediately flared in her chest.

"You let me fight alone?"

"It's for your own good, my lady. You levelled up plenty, didn't you not? We will leave this rift once you study your new spells and Enhancer," Habel turned on the guards again and shouted.

"Rest! Recover any monster's body that possessed Class Stones, and see if there are any mana crystals you could get, but don't take too long! We will move before the Rift collapses."