Chương 10: Kenny

CH 10 - Kenny Grey and Jim were all out of Wishing Coins. Remaining in the city would only be a waste of time. The intel they could gather was much of what they had already assumed. The heart of the city was the most dangerous place to be. Field bosses have been hunting in the streets, and some have already achieved high levels. Grey and Jim stepped out of the front door of Prometheus' City and found themselves in the basement they hid before they left.

"A wizard told me we'll have another chance to visit the city." Grey said. Jim stared for a while.

"Sorry, it just sounds weird hearing sentences like that." Grey summoned a bone knife from his palm in response.

"I guess we just have to get used to it." Grey scanned the boiler room they had left the city from and could tell something was off. Their belongings were tossed about. Someone had clearly rifled through them, searching for something. Jim noticed something amiss as well, and the two began investigating. Nothing was taken from Grey, except some food he had stashed. Jim poked his head out of the door heading to the ground floor. Suddenly, Jim jumped forward.

"Hey, you!" He rounded a corner into the alleyway. Grey could see the back of a teenage kid flying away quickly. Flying? The kid was levitating a few feet off the ground. Must have been his wish.

"Hey kid! We're not bad guys!" Grey called out. The kid hesitated long enough for Jim to slam into him, knocking him to the floor.

"Hey! Why'd you-" the flying kid's sentence was cut short as he realized Jim pushed him out of the way of a fireball.

"What the fuck are those?" Jim asked. A group of creatures resembling goblins rushed towards them from a side alley. The longer Grey stared, the less he wanted to. They looked disgusting. From the back of the group, a goblin holding a staff fired fireballs at them with terrible aim. [Quest] Defeat goblin ambush Reward: +5exp,???,??? The goblins were short and green, but their green skin was more like a sickly mutation rather than pigment.

Their bodies were riddled with open sores, and pus dripped all over themselves as they hobbled forward. It was as if they had never washed themselves and would consistently bathe in garbage.

"BLAAAARRH!" The goblin in the pack's front suddenly shouted. It focused on Grey and charged. The goblin was fast, but Grey had gotten stronger. The monster raised a wooden club above its head, wobbling to keep its balance as the weight of the weapon tipped it side to side. As it approached, Grey noticed the impressive physique of the thing. Hard, rippling muscles powered their weak frame, more like a monkey than a person. The goblin swung its club, but it was easily countered.

The little thing was only about as tall as Grey's waist. So Grey just kicked out with his leg. He punted the goblin through the air and into the wall. Jim saw it go down and immediately jumped to his feet. His smile was a bit concerning, but he rushed up and punted another goblin. SSSS A sizzling sound followed by the smell of burnt flesh came from Grey's shoulder. While he was distracted, the mage goblin landed a fireball on him. Smoke rose from a small burn wound, and he turned to face the mage.

It held a gnarled wooden stick, which could hardly be considered a staff. The burn wound didn't hurt that badly, and Grey knew he could heal from it pretty easily. The goblin fired another attack. It was a tiny spear of fire that came from the tip of the staff. A gem embedded in the staff glowed brightly for a moment before it launched. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Grey's high INT made dodging the fire spear quite easy.

He summoned his bone knife and stabbed the crippled goblin he kicked, finishing it off. Grey felt a bit overpowered in this scenario, which came as a relief considering their last encounters. Prometheus's City was a huge boon to him. Jim finished off the goblin he was busy pummeling and Grey followed up on the final enemy. When the final goblin saw the power difference between them, it tried to flee, but Grey ran it down with ease.

Goblin Warrior (lvl 3) slain: +2 exp Goblin Warrior (lvl 3) slain: +2 exp Goblin Wizard (lvl 3) slain: +2 exp [Quest] Defeat Goblin Ambush Status: Completed Grade: A Reward: +5 exp, 100 Wishing coins, Lunar Cherry (E) Grey leveled up. INT hadn't led him astray yet, and so he put all of his free points into it. The kid from earlier was on his feet now, brushing dust off his legs before levitating again.

"I'm Kenny," he said.

"This is Jim." Grey pointed to his friend who was busy examining the goblin's disgusting flesh, "and I'm Grey." Grey collected the gem from the wizard goblin's staff and put it into his inventory pouch, along with the mana-rich cherry that appeared from the quest.

"We're leaving the city. It's not safe. You can tag along." Grey decided to give it to the kid straight; sticking together was safe, but he would have to listen to what they have to say while they stayed together.

"I'm happy I found you guys. Well… I'm sorry you found me looking through your stuff. I didn't see anyone, and I thought you were probably dead…" Kenny continued hovering, awkwardly looking at the floor.

"It's fine. So you can fly?" Grey asked. Kenny did a spin in the air.

"Yep! But I can't go very high…" I was wondering what the (F) grade equivalent of flight would be… Honestly it doesn't seem very useful, but the kid was fast.

"Did you go to Prometheus' City? Do you have any attacks?" Grey asked. Kenny shook his head slowly.

"I went… But I don't have any money. I've mostly been runnin- I mean, flying for my life." Jim reached a hand out and offered a smile, "We're gonna get out of here so just stay out of danger." The two shook hands, and the group continued their journey. As they traveled, they were constantly interrupted by monsters and evolved beasts that thought they might be easy prey.

"I wonder where the monsters came from… I don't think anyone wished to be a goblin." Jim thought aloud as they walked. That's right… Where are they coming from? … And the wolf too…

"Don't know. That's a good question for the next time we visit the city." Grey answered. The group exited their residential area and came upon a small park. The sun was beginning to set, and they wanted to find a safe place to rest soon. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a notification. [(Quest) Defeat Giant Anaconda] Reward: +8 exp,???,??? A giant green serpent coiled itself at the other end of a small forest clearing. The snake towered over Grey.

"It must have wished for a larger size because other than that, it seems normal." He said to Jim. The snake glared at Grey, emanating an aura stronger than the direwolf. Luckily, the aura had little effect on him. I guess aura kind of cancels itself out. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for Kenny. The snake's glare shocked him solid. He fell from his levitating position and onto the ground. The snake wasted no time and sprang its massive form towards them.

Jim acted fast, scooping up Kenny in his arms and leaping away from the suprise attack.

"Go! Get him out of here! I'll fight it!" Jim nodded and took off. He only looked back once to admire the impressive opponent he didn't get a chance to fight. Grey launched to the side to dodge the next attack from the snack. He summoned a bone sword from his palm and twisted his torso to face it. He tried cutting the snake, but his sword just clanged off the firm scales. The snake must have high END, at least on its scales. Its soft underbelly and face must be its weak spot.

While he was distracted, the snake twisted its body and slammed its tail into Grey's side. Grey flew across the clearing and smacked into the trunk of a tall tree. Leaves fell from the vibration of the trunk, and Grey's head spun from the impact. Disoriented, Grey tried standing back up. He had barely gotten to his feet before the serpent was already upon him. It took all of his effort to spring sideways to avoid its bite. One of the snake's massive teeth grazed his arm, ripping it open.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem poisonous. I'm not sure my ability would help with a foreign poison. Maybe I should think about getting more resistance… Grey tried to calm his thinking. He needed to find a way to defeat this snake or escape. Jim likely wasn't coming back for a while, he needed to find a safe place for Kenny. Grey sprinted across the clearing. He utilized his speed to dodge the snake's strikes while healing his shoulder wound. Playground equipment exploded as the snake smashed into it.

Every time Grey dodged, the snake left craters on impact. The snake was fast when lunging, but turning proved difficult for it. It wasn't long before Grey noticed this. Every chance he tried to escape, the snake was right back upon him. He could only buy time by turning in circles. Grey waited for the snake to jump at him again. Instead of dodging to the side this time, he slid underneath the snake and swung his sword out at its stomach.

The belly of the snake was softer than its scales, but his sword wasn't of high enough quality to damage it much, regardless. He grazed a line across a portion of the snake's underside, which drew just a few drops of blood. Grey smiled. If I can repeat that and inflict more damage, I can take this thing down. Suddenly, the snake twisted its lower body to coil up in front of Grey. He tried to leap over it, but wasn't fast enough. The monster closed its body in on Grey and began doing what it was best at…

An intense pressure fell upon Grey. It felt like he was being squeezed in a vice grip. Suddenly, the fight had turned in the serpent's favor, and Grey would only have a few moments to react before being smushed into paste. The snake crushed Grey with all its might, agitated by the scratches Grey put on it. As his organs were compressed, he spat out a huge clump of blood. Every moment, the snake's grip crushed him tighter and tighter. Even worse, when the snake grabbed him, he lost his hold on his sword.

This is bad. I need to think of something… Grey's vision began fading as the beast crushed him tighter and tighter, cutting bloodflow off to his brain. The last thing he remembered before succumbing to the pressure was his family; particularly his brother, Rowan.