My flames sent shadows dancing around the cavern like phantoms upon the dirt and the rock of the walls that looked to have been dug out by hand. Cautiously, I walked forwards as my eyes strained to see into the darkness beyond what my fire illuminated. There wasn’t much to speak of from just the entrance to the den alone, as there were no twists nor turns. No, all that I could see was just darkness leading further into the hillside. Unlit torches looked to have been thrust into the walls in an uneven pattern. With a flick of the hand, one torch burst into flames from the fire I had summoned, lighting up my surroundings far better than the small flame I had previously conjured. With a new source of light, I dismissed my flames and pulled the torch from the wall to hold in my left hand while my right was free to cast spells should I encounter any threats.

My ears strained to hear anything other than the crunching of the dirt beneath my feet and the crackling of the flames of the torch. But other than the blowing of wind, my efforts proved fruitless. As I tread further into the darkness, lighting further torches to guide my way back, the tunnel had split into three separate passages. I squinted in an attempt to see anything other than darkness down each passage, yet I could see nothing.

‘Now which one do I take…’ I shifted my eyes between each passage as I thought about the choice before me. No matter what tunnel I chose, the chance of being surrounded was very high. I hadn’t seen any Kobolds thus far into the cavern, but that didn’t mean that they hadn’t seen me. In a normal dungeon, there’d have been at least two or three at the entrance alone, so why was this different?

“Really not liking feeling uneasy like this.” I grumbled as I considered my options. I had to choose a tunnel, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have to cover my ass. “Right then, lets see…” With my mind cranking into gear, I set about thinking up a spell I could use in case my worst case scenario of being attacked from behind came to pass. “Right, no fire spells due to resistance, so something cold…” I mused while rubbing my chin. “Ah! I’ve got it.” A wicked grin crept upon my face as I visualized my spell.

A proximity frost-mine.

The tingle of gathering Mana flowed through my veins as I formed a clear image of what I wanted in my mind. More and more Mana gathered within my hands without any sign of ending. Worry began to take root in my mind, what if the spell I want to cast costs more Mana than I have? Will it fizzle out? Magical backlash? Briefly, I considered halting the gathering of my Mana until a calmness washed over me. My Mana had finally stopped accumulating after draining a whole fifty points!

“Worst case scenario, I can always Revert it.” I grinned, “Lets let this puppy fly!” With a laugh, I unleashed the collected energy at the center of the intersection. A bright flash of light briefly illuminated the darkness further than my torchlight could reach, revealing faint boxes of information that quickly were obscured by the darkness’ swift return. I hadn’t caught what the boxes had said, but they made me gave credit to my assumption that the Kobolds were planning an ambush. Regardless, my spell was a success! Within the very center of the intersection was now a rune of faint white light.

Spell Learned: Frost Rune

Mana Cost: 50+

Conjures the powers of Water and Wind condensed into a highly volatile rune of power that will detonate in the presence of a hostile foe. An often under-looked spell by novice Magi, the Frost Rune provides ample defensive power for any dungeoneering party. The ability to cover a party’s rear from ambushes from rear and side passages will often elevate a Magi’s value in a party beyond their usual spell-work.

“I was more aiming for a land-mine, but that works too I suppose.” I grinned. A shame the spell took up so much of my Mana for just a baseline cast, but that just meant the spell itself would be powerful. “But with that logic in mind…Revert.” In an instant, the Rune disappeared and forty Mana was returned to me. ‘Lets see how they like this.’ I devious grin covered my face as I activated Overload and began to gather the Mana for another Frost Rune at base Mana. When the spell was ready, I added twenty points of my health into the spell.

Once more, the bright flash of light shot through the tunnels, revealing multiple boxes of level five Kobolds hidden in alcoves unevenly burrowed down each passage. I didn’t get an exact head-count from the boxes, but there were a lot. At least twenty down each passageway. In my current, nearly Mana-less state, they could kill me easily. But I had decided that I wasn’t going to go down any of the passages.

I was merely going to turn around and walk away as audibly and obviously as possible.

Compared to the previous rune I had conjured, this one had a faint shudder in the light only apparent if you looked closely. It certainly gave off the feeling that it would be far more deadly than before, and thats exactly what I wanted. Though I would have liked to dump more Mana and Health into my spell, I’d rather not put all my eggs in one basket. I hadn’t even seen the results of what the first Frost Rune was capable of.

“Time for science.” I cackled as loud as I could and turned around to walk back towards the entrance. A shrill cry deep in the tunnels was quickly taken up by others. A quick glance back showed hundreds of glowing red eyes rushing towards me from the darkness. Far, far more than I had originally anticipated.

“Oh shit.” I managed to utter as I felt my rear end clench at the amount of boxes filled my vision. More out of reaction than rational thought, I tossed my torch towards them like a throwing-axe. Without any other course of action, I ran, and prayed my Frost Rune did its job. Cold sweat ran down my face as I pumped my legs for all that they were worth. Light from the torches illuminated my path back towards the outside world that seemed to be an eternity away.

A quarter of the way to the entrance, the sound of shattering glass filled my ears in an unholy cacophony. The ground quaked underfoot nearly tossing me from my feet. Bright light filled the cavern from behind me, casting my shadow all the way to the entrance to the den far away. Whatever had happened behind me, it was bright, deafening, and amazing enough to fill my vision with spam notifications.

You have slain a Level 5 Kobold!

Gained 20 Experience! You have slain a Level 5 Kobold!

Gained 20 Experience! You have slain a Level 5 Kobold!

Gained 20 Experience! You have slain a Level 5 Kobold!

Gained 20 Experience! You have slain a Level 5 Kobold!

Gained 20 Experience! You have slain a Level 5 Kobold!

Gained 20 Experience!

The message kept repeating over and over as more and more notifications popped up all over. My vision was completely spammed by kills, experience gains, level ups, and stat assignments. Any attempts at wiping them away only resulted in my vision being filled once more. “Fucking alerts, stop! Argh!” Unable to see where I was going from the unending notifications, I tripped and fell onto the ground as the world began to collapse around me.

———————————

Koo’irli cooed sadly as she stared at the Kobold’s den with regret. Her chance at improving her position within the roost had slipped through her talons. There would be others that came to the mountains, but they were few and far between.

“Roo…Koo’irli have better luck on human side.” She mumbled with a sigh. The boy was surely dead by now. Not even a fully grown male of the green-skinned would enter a Kobold Den alone. It was beyond rational thought! Yet Koo’irli could only blame herself for her inaction. “Stupid! Stupid! Stu-whoa!” she cried out as the ground began to shake under her talons, causing her to fall to her rump. Wincing from the pain of a sharp rock that jabbed into her bare bottom, Koo’irli slowly rose to her feet, only to gape at the sight of the Den where the boy had gone.

A part of the hill had collapsed in on itself from a newly-formed hole located not that far from the entrance. “Did the boy…?” Koo’irli wondered. Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she took flight towards the cavern, hoping desperately that this was the chance she had been waiting for.

——————————

“Ugh.” I groaned as I rubbed at my head, which felt light and clouded. Dirt and stone rolled off from me as I began to shift and groan. A slight sticky feeling spread onto my hand as I rubbed a particularly painful spot. “Ah fuck.” I’m no doctor, but wet head after falling onto the ground could only mean one thing. The light of the few torches that remained lit revealed what I had suspected. Blood. “Oh boy.” I groaned while slowly forcing myself to rise to my feet. Pain stabbed all throughout my body where large rocks and debris had fallen onto me. Already bruises were showing their ugly faces upon my green skin.

I turned to regard what had become of where I placed my Frost Rune, only to gape in shock at what I saw. “No fuckin’ way.” I uttered at the massive collapse that filled the entrance to the three tunnels leading deeper into the Kobold den. Even more disturbing was the fact that I had almost been caught in the collapse myself! Of the Kobolds, there was no sign. “Probably buried under that mountain of rocks and dirt.” I mumbled to myself as I tried to focus my thoughts. It was getting harder and harder to think as time passed.

“Right…” I mumbled, “Gotta see the results…Status.”

Name: Kotek Jir’iroc Race: Orc Class: Villager Title: N/A Level: 10 Experience: MAX Health: 15/96 Mana: 28/88 Stamina: 88/88 Unspent Points: 10 Strength: 8 Vitality: 8 Dexterity: 8 Agility: 8 Intelligence: 11 Wisdom: 7 Perception: 7 Luck: 3

“Level…ten? Max experience?” A smile forced it’s way onto my face as I began to laugh. “I can…I can…” What could I do again? I could do…something. I winced as thoughts became harder and harder to form in my mind. Whatever my mind was trying to tell me beyond the clouds filling my thoughts was really important. But I just wanted to sleep.

“I…I think I’ll just…lay dow-” A sharp pain struck me in the back of my head. Once more, the dirt arose from the ground to meet me with a hard embrace as I fell face first into it. Chirps and excited squawking filled my ears as if from far away. With the little strength that remained in my body, I dragged my head on the ground to see what had hit me.

“Birds…aren’t that tall.” Was all I could mumble as darkness overtook me.

——————————

“Koo’irli did it! Koo’irli will be much rewarded!” Koo’irli chirped and fluttered her wings in excitement as she gazed down at the fallen green-skinned child. Though the boy was clearly injured and in no shape to resist her, she still had butted his head with her own in an effort to knock him out. An effort that had paid off tremendously, as now the boy wasn’t moving other than his breathing. Now she could transport him without the usual struggle and fighting that many males do.

“You wait idiot boy, Koo’irli will take you to nice place!” She chirped as she gripped his arm in a talon and began to drag him back towards the entrance. “We fix you. We make you happy. Then you make us many babies! Then we all happy!” she grunted between each statement as she dragged the boy ever closer towards the light of the outside world.

“You cause Koo’irli much grief. You make it up to Koo’irli!” She panted from her efforts of bringing him outside the nearly collapsed cavern. “You give Koo’irli many powerful magic babies. Then Koo’irli forgive you.” She sighed wistfully at the thought of having a clutch of hatchlings of her own. With both of her talons wrapped around the boy, she began to flap her wings with great gusto.

“Come young green-skinned. You will love the roost! All men-things do…eventually!”

——————————

Visions faded in and out as I slipped in and out of consciousness. Dreams and reality meshed together in a strange series of events during my brief moments of lucidity. A lion-like cat leapt from a bush I hadn’t seen, sinking it’s teeth into my neck. My body shivered from the cold fangs that pierced into my flesh. Then I was in the duel ring back home as Hokrag brandished his maul. All I could do was stand still as the massive weapon came hurtling towards my head. Then I was behind some sort of wheel. Strange lights flew past at high speeds as I fumbled in my pocket for some boxy contraption. I read something that made me laugh, and I had to respond. Then there was blackness. Roaring valleys spanned vast distances below me as I flew through the sky. Looking around revealed a pair of massive talons gripping me by the arms. Said talons were connected to a lightly tanned almost-human woman with bird-like arms that flapped furiously as we flew through the air.

She chirped and cooed speaking in some alien tongue without looking at me. ‘Probably having a conversation with herself. I do that a lot.’ I grinned to myself as I stared at her. Though I could not see her face, I could see her body. And damn, it was nice. She had an athletic build that was very appealing, far less muscular than the she-orcs I had been around for most of my new life. But that wasn’t even the best part! She wasn’t wearing any clothes! But I didn’t care. After admiring the view for a good long while, I closed my eyes with a smile. I had finally reached heaven.