The team rested for ten minutes. Zack sat apart from the others, his back against the cold stone wall. He closed his eyes, feigning exhaustion, but his mind was sharp. He accessed his System.
[Dimensional Storage]
1x Blue Cube (Stamina) (1.0)
3x Mid-Grade Healing Potions
45 Shop Points
He mentally selected the Stamina cube. 'Absorb.'
The familiar warmth flooded his chest, easing the ache in his lungs and the heaviness in his limbs. His Stamina jumped from 40.7 to 41.7. He felt a renewed surge of energy, a second wind that pushed back the fatigue of the last six hours.
"Alright, team, listen up," Emily said, her voice low and serious. She was wiping monster blood from her blade with a grim expression. "We're close. According to the guild's intel, the Brood Mother's lair is just past the next major cavern. But between us and that gate is the final line of defense."
Ben grunted, adjusting his massive shield. "Gatekeepers. Always nastier than the grunts."
"Exactly," Emily confirmed. "We're expecting D-Rank (Advanced) Kobolds. Probably Elites. They'll be bigger, smarter, and they won't fight fair. Maya, you're our eyes. Find them before they find us."
Maya nodded, her form already blurring at the edges as she activated her stealth skill. She vanished into the gloom of the tunnel ahead.
The team moved out, adopting their tight formation. Ben took point, his shield a comforting wall of steel. Zack stayed close behind him, Emily guarding their rear. The tunnel widened, the air growing hotter and thicker with the sulfurous stench of the Kobolds.
They hadn't gone far when Maya's voice hissed from the darkness. "Contact. Big room ahead. It's a choke point. Four of them."
Ben held up a fist, signaling them to stop. "What kind?"
Maya materialized beside them, her face pale. "One big one. D-Rank (Advanced) Elite. Looks like a 'Kobold Warlord'. It's got real armor and a massive two-handed axe. The other three are 'Kobold Berserkers', D-Rank (Beginner). No armor, just dual axes and crazy eyes. They're guarding the only path to the boss gate."
Emily cursed softly. "A Warlord and three Berserkers. That's a tough pack. Ben, can you hold the Warlord?"
Ben grimaced but nodded. "I can hold him. But if those Berserkers get past me..."
"They won't," Emily said firmly. "Maya, you take the Berserkers. Hit and run. Whittle them down. I'll provide fire support and try to keep the Warlord off Ben's back. Zack... you stay safe. Heal Ben if he needs it, but don't draw aggro. These things will tear you apart."
Zack nodded, his "scared Healer" mask firmly in place. "Got it. Stay safe. Heal Ben."
They crept forward until they reached the edge of the cavern. It was massive, a natural amphitheater with a high, vaulted ceiling. At the far end, a pair of colossal stone doors, carved with crude, snarling faces, stood closed.
In front of those doors stood the Gatekeepers.
The Kobold Warlord was immense, easily eight feet tall. It wore crude but thick plate armor forged from scrap metal and wielded a rusted greataxe that looked heavy enough to cleave a car in two. Its eyes burned with a cunning, hateful intelligence.
Flanking it were the three Berserkers. They were smaller, wiry, and twitching with manic energy, frothing at the mouth.
"Alright," Emily whispered. "On my mark. Ben, initiate."
"Three... two... one... MARK!"
Ben roared and charged into the cavern, his shield held high.
"[Taunting Slam]!"
He smashed his shield into the ground, the red wave of aggro washing over the four monsters.
The Warlord roared, a sound like grinding stones, and pointed its axe at Ben. The three Berserkers shrieked and charged, a whirlwind of flashing axes.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Ben caught all three Berserkers on his shield, his feet sliding back inches in the dirt.
"Emily, now!" he yelled, bracing himself.
"[Fireball]!"
Emily hurled a sphere of white-hot fire at the Warlord. The massive Kobold didn't even try to dodge. It raised its armored gauntlet and swatted the fireball away.
BOOM!
The explosion scorched its armor but did little real damage. The Warlord snarled and charged Ben, the ground shaking with each heavy footfall.
"Maya, peel them!" Emily shouted, casting another fireball to try and slow the Warlord.
Maya appeared behind one of the Berserkers, her daggers flashing. She scored deep cuts on its back, but the creature barely seemed to notice the pain. It just spun around, swinging its axes wildly.
"They're frenzied!" Maya yelled, dodging a lethal swing. "They don't feel pain!"
It was chaos. Ben was holding the Warlord, his shield groaning under the horrific impact of its greataxe. Maya was dancing between the three Berserkers, bleeding them slowly, but they were relentless. Emily was pouring fire into the fray, trying to help everyone at once.
Zack watched from the tunnel entrance, hiding behind a large rock formation. His heart was pounding. He saw the problem clearly. Ben was holding too much. The Warlord's blows were staggering him, and the Berserkers were slipping past his guard, landing shallow cuts on his arms and legs. Ben was going to fall if this kept up.
He had to act. But he couldn't run in there. If he punched a D-Rank Warlord, his cover would be blown instantly. He had to be smarter. He had to be invisible.
He looked down at his feet. The cavern floor was littered with loose stones. He picked up two rocks, each about the size of a baseball. They felt light in his hand.
He looked at the Warlord. It was raising its massive greataxe high above its head for a killing blow on Ben's shield. Its armored wrists were exposed.
Perfect.
Zack didn't just throw them. He channeled his [God-Eater] aura into the stones. They turned a dark, matte black, absorbing all light. They were now heavy with his 41.2 Strength.
He stood up, hidden by the shadows of the tunnel entrance.
He took a breath, aimed, and threw.
WHOOSH-WHOOSH!
The two stones flew through the air, faster than arrows, completely silent and invisible in the dim cavern light.
CRACK! CRACK!
The first stone slammed into the Warlord's right wrist. The sound of bone shattering was distinct even over the roar of battle.
The second stone hit its left wrist a split-second later.
"ROOOOOAAAAAR!"
The Warlord's scream was one of pure agony and shock. Its hands, suddenly useless and broken, couldn't hold the massive axe. The weapon slipped from its grasp and crashed to the ground.
The Warlord stared at its ruined hands, confused and terrified.
Ben, seeing the opening, didn't hesitate. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew an opportunity when he saw one.
"[Shield Bash]!"
He slammed the edge of his tower shield into the Warlord's now-defenseless chest. The massive creature stumbled back, gasping.
"Emily! Finish it!" Ben roared.
Emily saw it too. The Warlord was disarmed and stunned.
She poured everything she had into her next spell.
"[PILLAR OF FLAME]!"
A geyser of white-hot fire erupted from the ground directly under the Warlord.
Without its axe to block, and too stunned to dodge, it took the full force of the D-Rank (Intermediate) spell.
It shrieked as it was consumed by the fire, its armor glowing red-hot before it finally collapsed, a smoking husk.
The three Berserkers, seeing their leader die, paused. That pause was all Maya needed. She was a whirlwind of steel, ending them one by one before they could recover.
Silence fell over the cavern.
Zack quickly sat back down behind his rock, panting, making sure he looked like he had been hiding in terror the whole time.
"What... what just happened?" Ben asked, staring at the dead Warlord. "It just... dropped its axe."
"I don't know," Emily said, walking over to the corpse. She looked at its wrists. They were mangled, shattered by some incredible, unseen force. "Something hit it. Hard."
She looked back at the tunnel entrance. Zack was peeking out from behind his rock, his face pale.
"Zack! Are you okay? Did you see anything?" she called out.
"I... I just saw it scream!" Zack yelled back, his voice shaky. "I was hiding! Is it dead?"
Maya appeared next to Emily, looking at the Warlord's wrists. "Strange. Looks like a blunt impact. Maybe a falling rock from the ceiling?"
"Must have been," Ben said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Lucky break. I was about to buckle."
While they were talking, Zack secretly opened his System.
[Assist Confirm: 'Kobold Warlord' (D-Rank, Advanced Elite).]
[Hidden achievement unlocked: 'The Silent Hand'.]
[Reward for tactical assist: Higher quality loot generated.]
[Blue Cube (Defense) x5 obtained.]
[Blue Cube (Strength) x3.8 obtained.]
[Special Loot: Low-Grade Recovery Potion x5 obtained.]
Zack's eyes widened.
[Low-Grade Recovery Potion: A miraculous elixir capable of regenerating lost limbs, mending shattered bones instantly, and reversing fatal physical trauma. Can save a user from the brink of death.]
He knew about these. They were legendary. Normal "Healing Potions" just accelerated natural healing. "Recovery Potions" were magic in a bottle. They didn't exist in the public market. They were myths.
And he just got five of them.
By helping instead of killing, the System had rewarded his cunning.
He quickly closed the screen, his heart hammering for real this time. He had a secret weapon now. A real one.
"Alright," Emily said, her voice shaky but returning to professional. "That was the last line of defense. The boss room is right there."
She pointed to the massive stone doors.
"We rest here. Full thirty minutes. Eat, drink, check your gear. We're fighting the Brood Mother next."
Zack nodded, sitting down and pulling out a protein bar. He took a bite, trying to calm his racing heart.
He was rich. He was powerful.
And he was ready for the boss.
[Reader's Note: Zack's Stats]
Rank: E (Advanced) / (System Rank: E (Advanced))
Class: Healer / God-Eater (Mythical)
Strength: 41.2
Agility: 43.7
Stamina: 41.7(+1.0 from Chapter 15 cube)
Spirit: 39.0
Defense: 40.1
(Storage: 5x Blue Cube (Defense) (5.0). 3.8x Blue Cube (Strength) (3.8). 3x Mid-Grade Healing Potions. 5x Low-Grade Recovery Potions. 45 Shop Points.)
(Note: Zack has NOT absorbed the new cubes yet.)