Fire-water spilled into the cavern, running in tiny little rivers from the wall-cracks that had formed in the stone. The air shimmered around the red-orange flows, distorting with the heat that they gave off. Freed from its cage of earth, the fire-water poured onto the ground below, tracing its way down the walls in a deadly etching, both lightening the cavern and darkening my own hopes.

Under the effects of [Illusion Spark], I managed to withstand the cloying temperature - every so often releasing a tiny gout of flame away from myself. Yet, even so, it began to fill at an uncomfortable rate.

The Coreless did not have such a means. Sweat dripped down from their skin-flesh, leaving streaks of gray and grime to mark its passage. They had begun to breathe in great, heaving gasps, both from the heat and the exertion.

Because the largest of the bad-things had not given up - and, unlike them, it was not slowed by the heat or the fire-water in the slightest.

The giant bad-thing made another rush, still aimed at Needle as it had been in the beginning. It seemed to be targeting her in particular; the female Coreless’ ore-flesh was marred with many nicks and scratches, claw marks etched into the mana-infused surface. She dodged again, just barely avoiding the multitude of grasping claws that reached out for her as the bad-thing stormed by.

A boom echoed through the cavern. The ground shook again. And, once more, the wall fractured, left with a network of fissures and furrows as the large bad-thing’s heavy-plated skull collided with it. It swayed slightly, disoriented by the blow for a moment. Needle took her chance, puncturing it with yet another needle-fang, the thin needle joining the others that penetrated the bad-thing’s flesh.

Another spurt of fire-water gushed from the newly-cracked wall, showering the bad-thing’s head. I hissed in celebration, waiting for it to suffer under the withering heat of the fire-water. It did not.

It hardly noticed.

The fire-water slipped from the surface of the bad-thing’s flesh, running off of it with no more trouble than mana-water would run off my own scale-flesh. It was uninjured. Unbothered.

It stepped through the fire-water that had begun to pool along the ground below it, causing it to sizzle and pop. Still, it didn’t care.

And yet, the Coreless most certainly did.

With the fire-water that seeped through the wall-cracks, none but Needle were able to consistently attack. They were forced to stay back, finding safe harbor away from the increasingly dangerous walls.

I didn’t blame them, though the scenario once again cemented Needle’s superiority in my mind. The other Coreless were just inferior. Insufficient offerings to appease the Great Core, allowing me to be injured, and now unable to brave the heat of the fire-water.

Still, they could learn.

The two remaining smaller bad-things, crippled by their wounds, harassed the Coreless as well. They dashed in at the flanks - with as much speed as they were able, anyway - each time that the Coreless were distracted by the larger of the bad-things, only to retreat back to the safety of the fire-water when the Coreless responded to the attack.

It did little to actually injure them, but it was effective in distracting them.

The large bad-thing charged again, suddenly switching its target to one of the males.

“Erik!” Needle shouted something out to the others, a hint of panic in her voice. I thought, anyway.

The bad-thing’s charge met the Coreless’ protective ore-flesh with a resounding ring, sending the giant Coreless flying backwards through the air, bowled over and rolling. The hunk of ore-flesh that he carried was thrown in the tumble, landing face down on the fire-water’s surface somewhere behind him.

Fortunately, the Coreless himself stopped short of the deadly fire-water.

The bad-thing trampled over him in its continuing charge, unable to stop. It met the wall behind him with another loud crack.

More fire-water spilled into the cavern.

The downed Coreless stumbled to his feet, staggering and dazed, but alive. One of the remaining smaller bad-things rushed him, but a needle pierced its neck just before it reached him, sending the bad-thing into a skidding halt.

I mourned the lost opportunity to increase my own power as it breathed its last, quickly focusing on the final of the smaller bad-things before that too was taken from me.

It walked across the fire-water, floating atop its heavy mass, hiding underneath the bulk of the largest of the bad-things. Another needle-fang cut across the air, sinking into the giant bad-thing’s joint. It buckled for a moment, the leg bending strangely before the needle snapped in half.

Enraged, the large bad-thing charged again - slower, this time, notably different from before. That, along with only one of the smaller bad-things remaining to harry them, changed the stage. The monster charged past the still-staggering male Coreless, clipping him in the side in passing; he was sent reeling, but managed to brace enough to avoid being thrown into the fire-water entirely.

Fortunately for him, the bad-thing was still focused on Needle - its single-mindedness causing it to suffer even greater injury, as well. The female-who-was-not-Needle sliced out with both of her ore-flesh fangs as the bad-thing lumbered by, leaving lines of deep red trailing down its side, overflowing with the lifeblood that spilled from within. The male-who-was-not-repentant swung outwards with his great claw of ore-flesh, also benefiting from not being the object of the creature’s focus. He roared, the sound echoing off the walls of the cavern. The ore-flesh sunk into flesh, just as the female’s fang’s had.

Yet, unlike the female, he inflicted a crippling injury.

One of the bad-thing’s leading legs was hewn off, sending the beast crashing to the floor. It stumbled and tripped, sliding and scrabbling against the glossy stone. Finally, it skidded to a halt, just before Needle’s frozen figure - her escape cut off by the fire-water that waited behind her. Her eyes were wide with fright and her hands shook slightly, but her needle-spitter was already drawn.

A needle-fang sunk into the creature’s flesh from point blank range. And then another. And another.

The Coreless began to surround the bad-thing, each landing heavy blow after heavy blow, every hit given with enough strength to end my life immediately.

The final small bad-thing rushed in, stumbling from its many wounds; I grabbed onto it with my fangs as it passed by, injecting some of my remaining death-venom. The bad-thing ignored me, charging onwards. I let it drag me as well, still holding on.

When we came closer, I let go, sliding across the smooth stone and reaching the large bad-thing’s weakly twitching tail. The air whistled to my side, and I caught the flash of fast-moving ore-flesh fang. A moment later, I heard the thud as the smaller bad-thing died.

The thought-light flickered.

Experience Gained! Reduced Due To Assistance Received.

Level Up!

1 Trait Point Gained.

I was excited by the confirmation that I didn’t have to be the one to finish off a bad-thing to receive some credit for it; it was impossible to say whether or not the amount of injury I inflicted on it mattered or not, but maybe time would tell.

For now, there was no time to be distracted.

The largest of the strange bad-things was dying; it weakly twitched and stumbled, trying desperately to pull itself to its feet despite its many crippling injuries. The bad-thing’s many extra arms grasped fruitlessly at the air, windmilling in their attempts to do something. To do anything.

The gathered Coreless simply would not let it.

They battered it mercilessly, cutting and slicing, piercing and puncturing, bashing and smashing. Injured and alone as it was, it could do little to respond. Questing claws were avoided with ease, either dodged or crippled. Its heavy-plated head, the most dangerous of its weapons, was useless. Without any momentum to lend it power, it was only able to protect the bad-thing’s skull - not very helpful when every other portion of its body was being damaged in the way that it was.

I slithered towards the bad-thing’s side, eager to do my own part. My fangs sunk into the softer flesh of its underside; the last of my death-venom slipped through my fangs. I wasn’t sure whether the degree of injury that I gave it mattered in regards to the reward that I received, but I was unwilling to spare it. With a bad-thing of its size, I needed to contribute as much as I could.

The reward would be worth it, I was sure.

Soon enough, it stilled. The thought-light flickered.

Experience Gained! Reduced Due To Assistance Received.

Level Up!

1 Trait Point Gained.

Level 10 Reached!

Analyzing Potential Reward Choices...