Sami's eyes zoomed in on the purple kobold; it started waving one of its hands around the staff. A reddish orange circle started expanding from the tip; even from here, he could feel the heat rising.
Without a second thought, Sami pulled Lyra close and activated Phantom Veil. A cool sensation brushed across his skin, and the feeling of weightlessness from his skill returned.
"What the hell are you doing, bookworm!" She screamed, positioning her arms to push him away, but paused when she saw a ball of fire come flying at them.
The ball of fire went through both of their bodies, splashing harmlessly in front of them. 'Now I remember why I stopped using this skill, feeling of phantom pain sucks!' Resisting the urge to pat himself down to stop the feeling of being on fire.
For example, when the flames passed through both of their bodies. Sami and Lyra would still take the full heat from the attack, but wouldn't take damage from it.
Though with his new trait lowering the pain, it felt more like an uncomfortable hot bath than a raging inferno. He could feel Lyra shuddering as she stepped out of Sami's grasp.
"Is that skill always so painful? I felt like my entire body was splitting apart when the flames hit." She whined, patting herself down as she tried her best to get rid of the burning sensation.
Sami shrugged in response. "Honestly, you get used to the pain."
"Yeah, fuck that! That is a pain I'm not going to get used to, no matter how many times it happens.
He nodded in understanding. He didn't like using the skill himself despite having a Trait that lowers pain.
Soon, another roar turned their attention back to the kobolds. The blue kobold began charging toward them, waving its axe around.
The purple kobold already starts waving its hand for another spell; the yellow kobold notches an arrow but hasn't fired yet.
"Oh, oh, I call the blue one!" Lyra exclaimed, rushing forward without waiting for Sami's reply. However, her speed was slightly slower than it was before.
"Honestly, fine with me. I'd rather deal with the two in the back." Though he does find it annoying, she rushes off without getting a reply.
CLANG!
Lyra and the blue kobold were already locking blades.
Sami didn't have time to look as he felt like something was about to hit him. Turning around, he saw the yellow kobold's arm muscles flex.
He activated Phantom Veil and disappeared into the ground at the same time the yellow kobold raised its bow, rapidly firing off multiple arrows.
The arrows missed as he appeared before the kobold, its face twisting in panic at his sudden arrival.
The yellow kobold lashed out, swinging its bow wildly, trying to hit him.
Sami easily dodged the first two swings and used a small shield around his arm to block the last one, the bow shattering on impact.
The yellow kobold dropped the pieces of the bow and tried to run. It didn't get far before chains wrapped around its torso, dragging it back.
Sami tightened his grip on the chain, grunting as he hurled the yellow kobold directly into the path of a fireball. The explosion shook the ground with a loud boom.
"ARGAHHHHH!" screamed the yellow kobold with its last breath.
The purple kobold looked on, waiting for the smoke to clear.
Chains sneakily wrapped around its throat, slowly lifting the purple kobold into the air and choking it. "Almost got me there, little mage," Sami stated, his body appearing out of the ground.
The purple kobold tried raising its staff, aiming it at him.
Sami quickly snapped his fingers; the chains tightened, breaking the kobold's neck. The chains disappeared back into the magic circle while the purple kobold's body dropped to the ground, dead.
He did his best to hold back the bile threatening to spill. "Ugh, the smell of burnt lizard is disgusting."
Clang!
He turned to watch the fight between the blue kobold and Lyra.
Unlike the others, the blue kobold towered over them, having a much more muscular frame that stretched out its leather armor.
Strangely, the blue kobold wore leather armor, whereas the others wore no clothing at all.
Lyra blocked an overhead axe swing with both her hands on the hilt, her arms buckling from the strain.
She hurriedly disengaged from the block, allowing the axe to fall to the ground.
She spun around and did a diagonal attack across the blue kobold's back, drawing blood as it stumbled forward. "First blood goes to me," She mocked, swinging her blade to remove the blood from it.
The blue kobold looked at her in anger. With a roar, it charged forward, its axe aimed at Lyra's left side.
Lyra moved to block that direction, but the attack was a feint.
The blue kobold quickly switched his grip, using the handle of the axe, to hit Lyra's face. Blood sprayed through the air as her lip split open.
"Arabah!" the blue kobold smiled, its tone suggesting it was laughing.
Lyra wiped the blood from her face, her eyes narrowing, swinging her sword, aiming for its neck.
The blue kobold blocked the attack with the axe's handle. It tried to counter with a kick, but she jumped back before it could connect. The blue kobold planted its foot and brought its axe down, trying to cleave through her.
Lyra's arms began to struggle; her knees buckled as her blade barely held back the attack.
The blue kobold started to grin, knowing that it could overpower her at any time.
Her eyes narrowed, determined to wipe the smile off its face. She stomped her foot, and a white circle appeared briefly before turning into two swords.
The swords glowed with a silver hue, looking slightly spectral compared to the normal blades she summoned.
The two blades shot forward; the blue kobold was able to leap out of the way, but the second blade cleaved through its skull.
The blue kobold fell backward, hitting the ground with a soft thud.
[Defeated → Kobolds x3]
Sami let out a large cheer. "FUCK YEAH, LET'S GO!" his voice echoed around the room as he rushed forward.
"Lyra rubbed her sore jaw, a grin tugging at the corner of her lips. "So, bookworm," she teased. "You thinking about picking up a sword after seeing my glorious fight?"
"Hmm, I do want to use a weapon, but I'd rather it be something like a wooden sword or staff."
"Blunt weapons then, a pity; being able to slice your enemies as a battle wage is an amazing feeling," she gushed with a starry look in her eyes.
"No wonder her main ability is to summon swords; it suits her personality." Sami thought to himself before speaking up. "I'd rather fight with my hands; I dislike killing things, truthfully."
"These are the first monsters you killed with your own hands, aren't they?"
"Yeah… honestly, the only reason I'm not puking right now is that I have a skill that kind of numbs emotions while in battle. I assume once we leave the tower, I'll experience guilt in full force."
"Huh, didn't know magic could do something like that," She commented.
Sami turned his head slightly to look at Lyra as she stared at the wall. "Hmmm, what do you think about pushing forward?" he asked.
"Meh, if you're ready to go, so am I!"
"No time to waste. Onward to floor 2!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air as Lyra followed behind him.
[Floor 1 Complete.]
[Skill Ranked Up]
[Sparkle D+ → C-]
[System Note → Can now summon two]
Much like on the first floor, the duo floated upwards before being gently set on the next floor.
While the last floor was barren, with only sand, the floor behind the fog gate had water on the ground, with bushes and mud around it.
"Huh, is this supposed to be like some kind of marsh?" wondered Sami, looking around the room.
"Could be, ugh, I could only imagine the monster we are going to end up fighting."
"Hopefully it isn't something gross because I'd rather not deal with any bugs," he shuddered.
Lyra nodded in agreement. "I'd prefer something I can cross blades with."
"When I met you, I thought you were the example of a knight, a person wanting to help and fight for others."
"And now?"
Sami turned and looked her in the face. "Now I realize you're nothing but a sassy, sarcastic battle junkie."
Lyra raised her left eyebrow, staring back into his eyes. "Seriously sassy? You couldn't say something beautiful, kind, or nice?"
Sami rubbed his temples, trying to soothe the headache building in his head.
Ignoring Lyra's attempts to get his attention, Sami stepped through the fog gate.
A swift cold passed over his skin before it went away, a sign that he had now passed the barrier.
Lyra huffed, but followed behind anyway.
They didn't notice a ripple in the water. Deep within the muck, the ground didn't just shift; it opened up.
Watching them was a giant creature using the ground to hide her presence from view.