Chapter 29

  Deus Ex Kobold

  In the interconnected, hollowed-out tunnels that ran below forests and stone, the goblins and other, more foul creatures, made their homes. One segment of the maze currently looked, and smelled, like it had seen better times. A fight against overwhelming numbers had left the tunnel blocked on one end by the corpses of a matron and her horde of skitterbug warriors, scouts, and guards.

  Every individual in the tunnel saw the notifications that rained down on them all, but for Nik, they poured down. They blocked out the center of his vision, piled one on top of the other.

  One message had overtaken all of the others.

  Nik grimaced as he thought, Is anyone ever going to stop being mysterious and vague? At least AdminHarper left a name. What am I even supposed to do with this? There is life in their tower, the change is linked to me, and they’re waking? Can literally anyone just speak clearly?

  He moved on, swiping the message away for now, before he could get lost in feelings of frustration.

  Even before he went through the notifications, he could feel their effects on his body. Whether it was the growing stats themselves or growing familiarity with his own body, it was getting to the point that he could feel when his stats had been altered.

  A quest completion box had been joined by one containing the optional quest and bonus objective. With that came the list of rewards and the confirmation that all of the adventurers had survived the encounter.

  That reminded him to check on his people. The teams’ HP was varied, but none of them had gone below thirty, thank the tower.

  Nik chuckled softly at the odd sight of a large group of people, having just grasped victory from a near deadly encounter, immediately staring into the distance, eyes glazed over.

  He went through his notifications as the others in the tunnel did the same.

  Congratulations!

  Skills Up:

  Flame Skill Level 3

  Shield Skill Level 4

  Wind Skill Level 5

  You Have Defeated a Skitterbug Matron!

  Experience gained 300!

  Wow, you exterminated one whole bug. Impressive!

  Quest Completed!

  Slay the Matron

  Reward:

  Increased Safety Rating of the Goblin Faction

  Optional Quest completed!

  Defend Your Enemy

  Rewards:

  50 XP Per Surviving Adventurer and 15 copper coins

  250 Total XP Gained

  Bonus Objective Completed!

  Keep the Entire Party of Adventurers Alive

  Bonus Reward:

  Title Received!

  Impartial Defender

  You gain a +5 bonus to your Strength and Fortitude when you are positioned between an enemy and any non-threatening entity.

  Congratulations!

  Level Up!

  XP 140 of 700 to Level 7

  Once again, he'd ended up with a stat at nine, so he increased his Fortitude to ten with his free stat.

  Fortitude Level 10!

  Hardened Scales Passive Ability Unlocked!

  The Hardened Scales ability increases the toughness of your natural defenses.

  Congratulations! Your scales are more scaly now!

  That was a lot to take in. There's something else, though. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it, something that isn't listed here. The thought lingered, even as he made his way back to the others.

  Ducking through mandibles and stepping out from below the large head, Nik took stock of everyone's conditions.

  His group was in surprisingly high spirits after having each gained a level. None of them were even giving dirty looks to the adventurers, which said a lot about their current moods. There's a lot to be said for fighting side by side with someone else.

  He could even acknowledge that he wasn't sure how he felt about Sir BlackDagger, either. One action couldn't balance out previous ones, but when he was in danger, the adventurer had defended him.

  A jolt of panic shot through him when he looked at Beatrice and she shook her head at him.

  Nik was preparing to summon a weapon when he noticed her smile. Still shaking her head, she looked to the left side of the tunnel. He followed her line of sight to the spot where Doggy and Ryan sat side-by-side, chewing on separate parts of one of the matron's legs.

  It would have been more amusing if Nik had no sense of smell, however, because the creature they were chewing on had a truly offensive odor.

  Pearl hovered alongside his shoulder and said, “On the bright side, any coins you have may last a bit longer now.”

  “I did get a handful or two more from the optional quest to defend the adventurers. I wasn't that worried about it, but he does seem to like what he's got now. So, I guess I'll be holding onto them for now, like you said,” Nik replied.

  With a light chuckle, Beatrice added, “Ha, I don't know how much room you have to judge them anyway; you're kind of covered in the same stuff.”

  Awkwardly shuffling side to side on his feet, Nik replied, “Yeah, that's fair… So, you really came underground to try and warn me of the shadow king's threat?”

  Her face lost its amused expression at the question, eyes looking into the past now.

  “I did. His shadow was terrifying to face, and I came on the off-chance that you were the same kobold that he was looking for. I owed you one, remember?” she said as a smile returned to her face.

  Her smile didn't reach her eyes, however, and Nik could feel the fear flowing out from her.

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  “You know their weakness now, though. You said it was light, didn't you?” he asked the druid.

  “I did, but an army that can use your own fallen friends against you, while you can only fight them with light or fire? Even if you can use one or the other, it doesn’t mean your allies can? You can see how much of a problem that could be, can't you?” Beatrice asked pointedly.

  Nik slid a hand over his face and around to rub the back of his neck. “No, you're right. I wasn't thinking about that. My lightning skill is only at level one, but my flame skill just reached level three. I can't teach them lightning until I get it to level three, but I can have them start training with flame now. It's just that flame abilities can be dangerous”

  After she’d noticed her own eyes were opened wide and her jaw had been left hanging open, she half shouted, “You what now? You can't teach them the skill until… what? You can teach your skills to other people?”

  Nik had to hold himself from taking a step away from the strange and excitable elven woman.

  “Yeah, I unlocked the Mentor System a few days back. None of your people have unlocked that?” he asked.

  “No, I'm pretty sure that isn't really a thing for us,” she replied.

  Past her, Nik could see her party stealing glances at him while they spoke amongst themselves, discussing the half of the conversation they could understand from Beatrice’s side of it.

  That's another problem; the longer they have to regain health, the less of an advantage we have over them if they turn violent. The thought turned his stomach as much as the current smell of the tunnel.

  “I'm sorry, but I'm really getting tired of this situation. I like clear enemies and allies. Can I trust your party to stay peaceful?” Nik asked.

  He couldn't tell if the smile she gave him in response was warm or sad, but it was followed by her saying, “I'm going to consider you as a friend. Friends don't turn on each other, and they come to one another's defense, even against other friends. If anything happened, I would put myself between you and my other friends.”

  The robed adventurer called ManaSniperBob stepped forward at her words, and called out his own. With no amount of uncertainty to be found in his voice, he said, “I stand by my sister's side. No matter what and no matter who it’s against. If she is by your side, then so am I.”

  Friend Request Received From xGreenWardenOnex

  Accept

  Yes or No

  Friend Request Received From ManaSniperBob

  Accept

  Yes or No

  This time the dual tolls of the system's notification bell had caught him by surprise. Nik shook his head at being startled by the system once again, as he tried and failed to understand what it was asking him to accept.

  “I don't know what this means, are you asking for my approval to let the system recognize us as allies?” he asked the pair of elves.

  “That would be one way to put it, I guess. It also makes communicating and locating each other over distance a lot easier. So we can always talk over messages, or find each other when we need to. In a way, that makes it a sign of trust, too,” she explained.

  He looked between the siblings, and weighed the options they'd just placed in his hands.

  He thought, She's right, this is a sign of trust. It's a risk letting someone else have the ability to track me, but that risk goes both ways. They're trapped in a world that isn't their own and they are willing to come to my side against threats. If I can’t trust them now, then when can I?

  Nik accepted that risk as he accepted the requests.

  Serious and firm with his tone, he said, “I'm choosing to trust you. I have people who are depending on me, so please don't let me regret this choice.”

  “We'll do our best not to, besides, we're going to need allies here, too. So, what happens now?” said Beatrice.

  Nik considered the following steps and laid them out in his mind before responding.

  “Next, we send for the rest of my clan, then we carve the matron into storable segments and I try to get my favorite spear back. After that, we'll make our way to the surface to face the other challenges as they come. You talk to your people and I'll speak with mine.”

  “I can do that. By the way, Sir BlackDagger has a strong personality sometimes, but I don't think he's actually a bad person. The admin who messaged you might be the one who has the most to answer for. If this is all their fault, then any of the lives we’ve taken are ultimately on their shoulders, even if we’re the ones who have to live with the memories,” she said

  “The only problem with that is you aren't the only ones who have to live with the memories. I've seen that human standing over bodies, and then coming for me. He wanted to kill me before he fell and he came back to finish the job afterward,” Nik said, resisting the urge to raise his voice any louder than he needed for her to hear.

  “I understand that, and I'm so sorry. We didn't know that any of-”

  Nik cut her off. “That any of this is real. I know, and it isn't enough, not to scrub the memories clean. We can talk in circles all day and it won’t change anything. Just explain the plan to your team, and we'll get you back up top. We'll decide where to go from there.”

  He turned around and walked to his lowerguards, who had all apparently moved in closer to ensure his safety during his conversation with the adventurer.

  Stics spoke up before the others had the chance.

  “I'm the strongest here, but if we're bein’ honest as rock, I'm the fastest on my feet, too. Send me back to retrieve the others if you must, but if I can serve you better here, then Pearl's wings would be even faster.”

  Nik smiled at his guard, and replied, “I appreciate your strength and speed. Pearl would be faster and I know you want to stay to guard me, but I need someone that the clan knows and trusts to lead them. Go get our people and bring them to us so we can go build our new home together. And warn Brekk that the shadows are coming.”

  “Yes, my lord. I will do whatever is needed of me. I’ll return with the others as quickly as I can. Stay safe.” The last words were spoken with his eyes flicking between those of the other guards.

  And with a small bow, Stics turned to the crevice they’d entered the tunnel from and started sprinting.

  “Alright, everyone else; let’s get chopping,” Nik said as he strode back toward the mass of skitterbugs… and as he drew near, jumped at the surprise bell of another notification.

  “Are you joking…” his words fell short as he read the words in the unexpected box of text.

  Loot Skitterbug Matron

  Yes or No?

  Nik recovered quickly from his stunned state, and thought, Huh, I didn’t think that would be an option with such a huge enemy. Yes?

  Insufficient Space in Personal Inventory

  Would You Like to Create and Use a Shared Party Inventory?

  Yes or No?

  No more cart required for weapons and gear; tower knows we could use that. Yes, he thought as he selected the option.

  * * *

  They had survived the impossible thanks to what could easily be considered a lucky shot, from a deus ex kobold. This whole series of events was an impossible chain made of unreality, and Eric Richmond wondered if he was having a psychotic break after having watched too much isekai anime.

  What in the world brought me to this point? Wanting to play a game I enjoyed with friends once?

  He stood nearby listening to Beatrice’s side of the conversation she was having with the kobold. She was trying to defend his character to the little guy. He didn’t think it was going to work, but it showed how optimistic she was.

  He liked that about her. Even after everything, she always tried to see the best in others, and he found himself hoping that she never lost that part of herself. It was the only way he’d ever have a chance with her after they made it out of this twisted game.

  The kobold interrupted her and then walked away to speak with the other monster creatures. He’d dismissed her, and Eric fought the urge to clench his hand into a balled up fist.

  “You alright?” he asked the kind yet fierce elf he’d at some point started falling for.

  “Yeah,” she replied. “I just… I know we could all get along with Nik. He’s not a bad kid, but this whole game has had us pitted against each other. It might take a lot for him to forgive you, though,” she added.

  “I don’t need his forgiveness. I just need him to get us answers from the admin. We don’t even know what is happening to our real bodies outside of HERO, and I don’t like that,” he said.

  Over her head, he saw a quick movement in the miniscule light of the few remaining torches. One of the goblins had taken off, bolting out of the tunnel.

  “Where’s that one going?” he wondered aloud.

  Beatrice gave her head a shake, and said, “Right, sorry. The plan is for Nik to summon the rest of his clan, cut up the giant bug to store its parts, and then to help us back to the surface. That one is probably going to collect the others.”

  Before he could say anything else, he watched the kobold, Nik, get startled by something as he’d approached the skitterbug.

  Sir BlackDagger moved quickly, pulled Beatrice behind himself, and drew his sword.

  There was no movement in front of the kobold, so what was the little guy seeing that he wasn’t?

  A small pop sound was followed by a rush of air pulling toward the kobold and a spear falling through the open space that the matron once filled. The metal of the spear clanged against the chitin of dead warrior caste skitterbugs that still littered the floor.

  From one second to the next the huge insect was just gone.

  This little lizard keeps doing things he shouldn't be able to do. Exactly what kind of monster did you make friends with, Bea?