"Argh..."
Kaelen winced as he stumbled over the multiple rock and debris that buried tens of Goblins and Kobolds, the smell of their blood and flesh almost inducing his gag reflex.
"Huff... Huff... "
He stopped and loomed over a green-skinned creature that drew dragged breaths, its limbs trembling as though it wanted to move, but its muscles were without strength.
Its body was riddled with both deep and shallow lacerations, most of which exposed its muscles, fat and tissue.
[Damn it that took forever, I thought it would never end!]
He cried inwardly, his entire frame trembling due to extreme fatigue.
He was not without injury either, the fabric that once tightly clung to his being was torn and hung loosely, drenched in blood.
But naturally, his flesh was without any cuts due to his passive regenerative skill.
"Kakakhiki! "
It screamed, and from its tone and hyperventilation, Kaelen knew that it was begging to be spared.
"..."
He slowly raised his spear, the reflection on the Goblin's watery eyes mimicking his every action.
And...
Stab! Squelch!
... Without any hesitation, he stabbed through the Goblin's heart, instantly claiming its life, and a portion of its blood was sprayed on his trembling lips.
[... Why did it have to beg like that?]
He bit his lower lip to cease its quivering.
[If you're monster then just die like one.]
He spat out saliva to rid himself of the bitter taste in his mouth.
"Haaaa..."
"I'm finally done!"
He raised his arms victoriously and almost fell on his back.
"Ah, that's right, Vey —"
"..."
Before he could even call out her name, the crimson-eyed girl appeared at the corner of his eye, with her expression as blank as usual.
And on her right hand, she held onto the Kobolds head by its ear.
"..."
[Of course she's done...]
He smiled bitterly and staggered towards her.
[Status Window!]
MP: 0.2
[!!]
[Woah! What?! Why didn't I get any warning that I was running out like before?!]
[If this battle had dragged on for even a second more, then I would have just gone stiff and died, what the hell?!]
He clenched his jaw, frustrated at his system for not doing its job.
Ding!
> Congratulations on your monumental achievement, you have a defeated a foe that is [×2] your level!
- You have earned 50 Exp!
- You have earned 5 Attribute Points!
- Pocket storage capacity increased by 15kg!
[...]
[Isn't this a bit too late?]
[Usually it does this immediately after I take down an enemy no?]
[Damn... Am I going to have issues with this thing from now on?]
"Urgh..."
[I feel like I'm about to die, I should probably...]
Tap... Tap...
Ding!
> Are you sure you would like to convert [5] attribute points into [MP] ?
-[Y/N]
Tap...
[Yes...]
Ding!
> [5] Attribute Points have been converted to [10] Magic Power.
- Congratulations, MP has recovered by [10] current MP=10.2
[It's a bit of a waste, but I don't have a choice...]
[... Recovering Mana takes time, I don't have that luxury.]
He felt strength return to him, his eyes were not as heavy and he staggered no more.
"Here you go, Captain..."
Veylith's lips contorted as she offered Kaelen the head of the Kobold, its thick blood dripping down on the debris.
[Haha... For some reason, I prefer this smile from her real one.]
"Thanks."
He feigned a smile of his own and turned to the others.
"Let's move these rocks and gather the corpses."
[Where's that guy with the Butcher class?]
He glanced around, and his eyes finally fell on a Homunculus with a nasty scar on his neck, soft green eyes and a frame slightly taller and bulkier than Kaelen's.
"You know what to do."
Kaelen gave the order, and the others began collecting the buried corpses.
"Here are the other heads, Captain."
Spoke the Homonculus who had earlier made a good impression on Kaelen, the one with light-yellow eyes.
[Oh? They've already gathered them?]
[...Urgh this is so gruesome.]
He curled his lips at sight of neatly stacked decapitated heads, and hoped that none of them saw that he wanted to throw up.
"... Thanks."
He spoke through his teeth and gestured to Veylith for help storing the heads.
"Captain."
"...Hm? What is it?"
"I have a report to make."
"..."
...
[Well?! Go on!]
"... You may report."
[... This is way too formal for my liking.]
"Thanks to your impeccable leadership, I was able to grow stronger during this hunt."
"I... I too have awakened a pocket dimension. "
The Homunculi with light-yellow eyes reported with his right arm across his chest and a bright smile illuminating his expression.
[Woah! Really?! That's amazing!]
"Well done, I am glad."
He filtered his true thoughts into what he thought would be the appropriate thing to say as Captain.
"What about Mana, have you awakened?"
"No, my apologies. Not yet."
[That's a bit strange... Why is he lying to me?]
[Well whatever, congratulations, well-spoken tube baby.]
"No need to apologize, help us store these heads then."
Kaelen smiled and the trio began stuffing the heads into their respective pocket dimensions.
//
[Whew... That's that, and we have nearly seventy heads in total.]
Kaelen and the others, surrounded by an array of decapitated corpses, caught their breaths at the base of the mountain.
"Veylith, aren't those wounds painful?"
He wondered, the others had been tending to their wounds but Veylith had been standing next to Kaelen with a blank expression.
"No, it doesn't hurt."
[... Right.]
Kaelen rolled his eyes.
[Maybe she's copying what I do? I have a regenerative skill you know!]
He reached into pocket space and retrieved a clean bandage and some cotton.
[At least that evil bastard was kind enough to give us some supplies...]
[Come to think of it, I'm starting to get hungry.]
He walked closer to her and went for the wound with most blood on her left shoulder.
Dap...
He placed the cotton to absorb her blood.
[This must've been a deep cut, but she's not even flinching?]
He glanced at her expression and then back at her woun —
[!!]
[Eh?! Where's the wound?!]
He couldn't believe his eyes, only her spotless skin was where her wound should have been, and it was without a single scar.
[... I guess she also has a similar skill?]
[Haha... Why did I think I was the only one who had it?]
[Main character syndrome?]
He smiled awkwardly and discarded of the cotton saturated with blood.
"... It's my turn now, Captain."
[Eh? What is she —]
Veylith reached into her pocket space and she too retrieved a cotton and saturated it with Kaelen's blood.
And judging by her expression, she seemed to have already been aware that Kaelen was without any wounds.
But what was even stranger, was that she did not throw away the cotton, but instead placed it inside of her pocket dimension.
[Seriously, can you get any less creepier?]
Kaelen quietly sucked his teeth and turned his gaze to his Decadon, who were waiting for his orders.
"Alright everyone, since it looks like the sun is about to set, we should find a place to rest for now and eat."
"We'll continue the hunt after dusk."
He ordered, and they all got back into formation, ready to follow the lead of their Cap —
"Captain, watch out!"
Thud!
[...Eh?]
It all happened so suddenly, a female Homunculus, Specimen 2902, shoved him out of the way and...
CRACK!!
... A large rock struck the back of her head, and her entire body instantly became limp.
[What just...]
Instinctively, he followed the trajectory of the rock to investigate its orgin — Which was up.
And there he saw...
[!!]
"Everyody, ruuuun!!!!"
... What could only be described as a downpour of stone, rocks and boulders.
Without even thinking twice, he quickly carried Specimen 2902's limp body and ran.