Chương 77: Courage

After roughly judging when the Giant Kobold would burst out of the tunnel, Zelier raised his Ashwood Staff once more. Familiar blue light gathered around its tip. A furious roar exploded from the passage. The Giant Kobold charged out, its eyes glowing blood-red as twin streams of scorching breath blasted from its flared nostrils. Damn you humans! You dare invade my home?! Watching its kin fall one after another only drove its rage to even greater heights.

Its massive frame began to swell, muscles bulging as its strength climbed at an alarming rate. But before it could fully enter its berserk state, a brilliant streak of blue light slammed straight into it. Zelier's second Arcane Missile—already charged in advance. The diamond-shaped projectile struck the Giant Kobold square in the head. Boom! Its entire upper body disintegrated under the violent eruption of arcane power, killing it instantly.

"Beautiful!" Zelier clenched his fist in excitement. The two monsters rated [Difficult] had both died by his hand before they ever had a chance to threaten the team. Meanwhile, Marcus and Grey, who were fighting in the cavern's main chamber, found themselves surrounded on all sides. There were over twenty kobolds. Even with Vaelis sniping from the rear, sheer numbers pinned them down. Marcus was just about to shield-charge his way out when he suddenly felt the air turn damp.

A thick blanket of white mist rapidly spread through the cavern, swallowing his vision.

"... Mist?"

"Where the hell did fog come from inside a cave?!" Grey was just as baffled.

"What the hell is this?!"

"What are you doing?" Zelier stared at Lante in disbelief. The sudden wall of mist... It was Lante's Cloud & Mist spell.

"I-I saw the captain and the others getting surrounded... I just wanted to cover them..." Lante stammered, already realizing he'd made a terrible mistake.

"Now they can't even see where they're going. You're only making the battlefield more chaotic." Zelier let out a weary sigh. Sure enough, the moment the kobolds saw the dense fog, they charged straight into it. More and more enemies piled into the mist. Stolen story; please report. Since nobody could see anyone anymore, they simply swung their crude stone axes and knives wildly, hacking at anything within reach. Even Vaelis was forced to stop firing.

He didn't dare loose another arrow into the fog for fear of hitting Marcus or Grey.

"Marcus! Grey! Charge toward my voice!" Zelier shouted at the top of his lungs. Hearing him, Marcus and Grey immediately oriented themselves, smashed several kobolds aside, and burst free of the encirclement. Perfect timing. Zelier's third spell had just finished charging. Flame Breath! BOOOOM!! A roaring torrent of fire erupted from the tip of the Ashwood Staff and poured straight into the still-churning cloud of mist.

"SKREEEEEEEE!!" Piercing screams erupted from within. The superheated flames instantly burned away the fog, revealing the devastation beneath. Massive fireballs, mixed with violent waves of mana, detonated throughout the cloud, utterly annihilating the kobolds trapped inside. More than a dozen kobolds rolled across the ground in agony. Their fur ignited. Their flesh sizzled as it roasted alive. Within moments, every last scream fell silent. A rather... peculiar aroma drifted through the cavern.

The smell of roasted meat. Grey bent over with both hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Next time... if you're trying to pull off a combo... tell your teammates first."

"I understand." Lante lowered his head, guilt written all over his face. As the flames gradually faded, everyone finally saw the full extent of the damage. One Flame Breath... Had burned over a dozen kobolds to death. Although Lante's Cloud & Mist had nearly gotten Marcus and Grey killed, it had accidentally served as the perfect mob-gathering spell. After surviving that inferno, the remaining kobolds had completely lost the will to fight.

Only a scattered handful still resisted in desperation before Vaelis calmly picked them off one by one. One particularly crafty kobold seized the chaos and sprinted toward a narrow side tunnel, hoping to escape. A flash of cold steel arrived before it ever reached the entrance. A chain-blade shot from beneath Cyr's ribs. The hooked blade punched clean through the kobold's abdomen, the vicious barbs biting deep into its flesh.

"Gah?!" The kobold let out a strangled cry as its body froze. With a flick of her wrist, Cyr reeled the chain back. The blade dragged the kobold helplessly across the stone floor. It struggled desperately. To no avail. All it could do was watch as its body was pulled straight toward the reverse-gripped dagger waiting in Cyr's other hand. Shhk... Its head separated cleanly from its shoulders. Only one kobold remained in the entire chamber.

Vaelis drew Luna's Edge and aimed at its head, ready to end the battle with one final arrow. Then a hand rested on his shoulder. Zelier. He gave Vaelis a small shake of the head before turning toward the very back of the party.

"Lante."

"It's your turn."

"Kill that kobold with Ice Lance." Lante froze.

"M-Me?"

"Yes, you."

"This is your first adventure."

"But if you don't even have the courage to strike..."

"... then it will also be your last." Zelier's voice hardened. Every word landed like a hammer.

"Use Ice Lance."

"Kill it." The last kobold also realized the situation it was in. If it ran... That ghost-like woman would kill it before it made three steps. If it attacked anyone else... Those four men were monsters. It stood no chance against any of them. But there was one exception. Just one. It could smell the fear pouring from him. The kobold snatched up its stone axe, let out a savage roar, and launched its final charge at Lante.

"AAAAAH!!" Seeing the kobold rushing straight toward him, Lante screamed and stumbled backward several steps, terror written all over his face.

"Don't give in to fear!"

"Kill it!" Zelier barked. The shout snapped Lante awake. Watching the kobold close the distance, survival instinct finally overwhelmed his panic. He raised his staff with trembling hands and pointed it forward. Kill... Kill it... With what? Right... Ice Lance! Ice Lance... how do I cast it again? Draw mana from the Fountain Seed... then guide it along... along the first circuit... His mind dissolved into chaos.

The spell matrix he had memorized so thoroughly now felt like a tangled knot of threads, impossible to unravel. Calm down... Calm down! Just reconstruct the spell matrix exactly as you've practiced, Lante! Everyone is watching me. Zelier gave me this chance. I can't let him down.