Eli crumpled to the ground after the sword was pulled from his chest.

*ding*

Inflicted with Major Bleeding

-1% HP/s

Inflicted with Cripple

You are Immobilized

Eli had the impulse to check his HP, and found a faint menu appear in his vision.

17/55 HP

He lay on the ground paralyzed as his heart was reconstructed, he could hear the sounds of combat and agonizing screams in his surroundings. After a few seconds, new notifications rang in his ear.

*ding*

Bleeding Removed!

Cripple Removed!

Eli pushed himself up and looked at the battlefield, most of the skeletons were turned to Bone Dust, but 4 Kobolds lay on the ground dead. Boss was engaging the Commander as the other Kobolds were trying to kill the minions.

Now on his feet, Eli rushed to help kill the Minions. He would clearly just be a liability in the fight between the two leaders.

He had realized dual wielding was incredibly awkward in practice, so he dropped the sword and wielded his last Bone Club like a baseball bat. He ran up behind a Skeleton Minion and swung for all he was worth at its skull.

*ding*

You have dealt a Critical Hit!

You have dealt 16 damage!

You Have Slain Skeleton Minion!

Eli was able to get a good look at the Kobold he just assisted. He was panting slightly with fatigue as small amounts of sweat were glistening off his skin. It appeared while his Unwilling Aura could heal wounds, it did nothing for physical exhaustion.

Eli and the Kobold rushed towards the closest Minion when a loud screech filled the cavern. It made him instinctively look at the source. The Commander was still fighting with Boss, and it didn’t look like they had broken their dead lock. A sudden scream made him turn his attention to a Kobold that was impaled by another. Eli froze for a second in confusion, before he realized one of the Kobolds had slight blue flames flickering in its eyes. The Commander had raised the dead Kobolds.

He quickly charged at the nearest enemy and swung down on its skull. The Undead Kobold dodged the blow and slashed at his leg.

*ding*

You Have Taken 2 Damage!

Eli let out a pained grunt as he swung again as the Undead Kobold parried the blow and slashed at his leg again.

*ding*

You Have Taken 1 Damage!

You Have Gained

Unwilling Aura Lv. 5

Anything Affected Regenerates 0.5 HP/s

Range: 14 meters

Eli ignored the notification. The Undead Kobold didn’t do damage fast enough to truly hurt him, but its small size and dexterity were a problem. He decided to wait and see if he could exchange a blow. The Undead Kobold charged at him again and as he did he made a horizontal swipe with one arm. The Undead Kobold simply ducked as it thrust its sword into his stomach.

*ding*

You Have Taken 3 Damage!

He immediately tried to grab the weapon, but the stab wasn't very deep and the Undead Kobold quickly jumped back. Eli was getting frustrated when a sword suddenly came down and crushed the Undead Kobold's skull. One of the Kobolds had come to his rescue. The expression of the Kobold looked pained as it looked at the corpse for a second before looking past him.

Eli looked around and noticed all the Undead were defeated. Only 7 Kobolds remained from the original 11. He followed the Kobold’s gaze and saw Boss still fighting the Commander.

Boss was clearly starting to slow. Eli saw the Kobolds standing their ground and shouted, “What are you all waiting for?” the Kobolds didn’t move nor reply as they just continued to watch the duel.

Eli quickly checked the party window.

Name Level Class HP MP Tainted Kobold (Leader) 2 Soldier 16/17 N/A Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 12/12 N/A Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 12/12 N/A Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 11/11 N/A Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 11/11 N/A Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 11/11 N/A Tainted Kobold 1 Soldier 10/10 N/A Insignificant 1 Revenant 47/55 10/10

He quickly noticed the strongest Kobolds were killed. This caused him to frown as he realized they didn’t move because they weren’t strong enough to help. They would likely just get killed and offer more corpses for the enemy to Raise.

They were all going to die if this continued. Eli realized he was probably the only one who could help in this situation. He doubted he could land any blows, but he could definitely take a few hits giving Boss a chance to recover or get in a few blows.

He took in a deep breath, steeling his mind for the inevitable pain he was about to put himself in as he charged the Commander. The Commander saw his approach and faintly cackled, the noise faintly resembling Khopuo’s. Eli could feel a rage build inside him, as he yelled. “Boss, I’ll keep him busy!” The Kobold jumped back as he could hear him approach. The Commander simply stood still watch him.

Eli brought his arms up in a cross towards his chin as he held the bone club in a reverse grip, trying to protect himself for any attacks to his neck and head as he tried to barrel into the undead with his full weight. As he got within arm's reach the Commander simply raised his sword and Eli immediately impaled himself on the sword, his momentum bringing him near the hilt.

*ding*

You Have Taken 13 damage!

Inflicted with Major Bleeding

-1% HP/s

Inflicted with Cripple

You are Immobilized

Eli found himself face to face with the Commander, it’s flaming blue eyes dancing as a faint cackling could be heard in his ears. Eli reflexively coughed blood into its face as he saw the Commander suddenly dodge to the side, letting go of its hold on the sword. The next moment he was thrown backwards.

*ding*

You Have Taken 16 Damage!

Eli could see Boss in front of him as he flew through the air. He internally smirked as he realized what Boss had done, before he felt himself crash into the ground. The blade was pushed slightly out of his body by the impact.

*ding*

You Have Taken 3 Damage!

One of the Kobolds rushed towards him and checked to make sure he was alive before it started to drag him backwards on his side. Eli couldn't move or talk, but he needed the Kobold to remove the sword or he’d die. His heart was continually healing, but each time it attempted to beat it ruptured itself again. The pain was starting to overwhelm him as his consciousness started to fade. He tried to keep himself awake, trying to get the Kobold’s attention, but he was losing this fight.

*ding*

You Have Gained

+1 Will

Crippled Removed

Eli could feel his vision clear a bit as he tried to voice a word which resulted in him vomiting blood on the ground. He tried to bring his hands to the blade and push the blade out, the Kobold seeing the movement stopped dragging him and pulled the sword out before he ran away with it. He could feel the pain quickly subside.

*ding*

Bleeding Removed

The cavern swirled around him as his body was drenched in sweat. He continued to lay on the ground as his body started to repair itself from the oxygen deprivation. He continued to cough up residual blood in his system before he could feel strength return to his body.

Eli sat up and saw Boss sitting down next to a pile of Bone Dust, clearly exhausted. The Kobolds had started to surround him, all with serious expressions on their face.

Eli slowly stood up and moved towards the group. Boss looked up at him and smiled, but his eyes betrayed any sense of happiness. “Didn’t know if you’d survive that last hit.” His voiced cracked slightly.

Still dizzy Eli slightly shrugged. “I’ve had worse.” His statement betrayed no emotion.

The Kobold frowned at the statement, “I bet you have...” His voice trailed off before he started to stand up. He looked around briefly as his voice took on a grave tone. “We have to get out of here and warn the Chief.”

“What’s happening?” Eli interjected, trying to understand why the situation was so serious.

The Kobold sighed for a moment before he replied. “This is a new Nest. It’s not possible to be able to raise a level 5 Undead unless something Descended.” The Kobold noticed the blank look on Eli’s face before he clarified. “In extremely rare situations, an individual from a higher Realm can Descend to a Nest, usually in an act of desperation. The System sees this as an exploit, so among other obstructions, when they arrive it relocates higher level Insignificants that have natural advantages against them to try and kill them off.”

“You think whatever raised that Commander is a Descended?” Eli asked, trying to fish for more information.

The Kobold shook his head as he replied. “The System wouldn’t put creatures that could be turned into Undead up against a Necromancer. Also, with how Weakened that Commander was, the Necromancer is clearly only a Novice.” The Kobold paused. “No, the real problem is if the Descended is allowed to grow. They don’t need alliances; they’ll slaughter the entire Nest just for the Achievement!”