Leron was barreling straight towards Vulcan, ready to bring his greatsword down with all of his force. I don’t know why one of the dungeon managers is trying to kill us, but our only choice is to fight back against him. Pim and Vulcan must have thought the same, as they immediately resolved to fight, Pim darting through the air to catch up, and Vulcan bolstering his defense to take the hit head-on. I was condensing my mana in front of Vulcan, ready to blind Leron once he went in for the strike. If he went for Pim, I wouldn’t have been able to do this, but Vulcan can’t be blinded by my skill. At the same time, I dissipated my mana to conceal myself, but I don’t know how well it’ll work on monsters. Then I connected to both of them to communicate our plan without letting Leron know.

  ?

  “Pim! Stick to hit-and-run tactics. Aim for when he commits to attacks, but keep changing your timing and approach. He’s too strong to take down in one hit, so we have to whittle him down. Vulcan, focus on defense. I’ll blind him to create openings; try not to take direct hits from his sword.”

  ?

  Accepting the plan in their minds, Leron is already on Vulcan, Pim circling above for his chance to strike. Vulcan has his arms crossed, stepping back with each strike to reduce the force. Yet, the stone of arms continues to be gouged into with each strike from Leron’s greatsword, moving at a speed that belies his size. But now I’ve condensed my mana enough to use my skill, and I waste no time in activating it. Simultaneously, Vulcan launches a punch straight at Leron’s core, a strike with enough force to even hurt a Lizardman, but it never comes to fruition. Dodging the strike, Leron cleaves upwards, cutting off Vulcan’s arm in one clean slice. Pim, trying to capitalize on a blinded enemy, was in the middle of his dive when the greatsword’s path would’ve allowed it to intercept Pim. At the last second, Pim banked to the left of the sword, the tip of his wing being cut off in exchange for a grazing blow on Leron’s arm.

  ?

  “Hahaha, you thought the same trick would work on me! I’ve seen how you fight. Why wouldn’t I figure out a way to beat it? What’s even better, I didn’t even have to try to find a way around it! Bright lights won’t work on me; they’ll never work on me. Without your tricks, you’re nothing. You can’t even be called a monster. Slimes are more dangerous than you, but at least you’ll struggle. So fight, give me some entertainment for once, and struggle with everything you have until I kill your minions, then I’ll put you out of your misery.”

  ?

  Examining him more closely, I find out why he said my ‘Glow’ skill won’t work on him. His eyes are covered by a tinted eyelid, just like a reptile on Earth would have. He can still see in low-light conditions, and he’s essentially wearing sunglasses. Apart from something that doesn’t rely on eyes, a lizardman is one of the worst matchups for my skills. I can’t blind him, and his abilities allow him to outclass both Pim and Vulcan. He’s laughing, sneering at all of us as he continually chips away at Vulcan. His health is already at the halfway point, going down in sizable chunks with each impact. Every time Pim tries to fly in, he’s kept at bay by the tip of the greatsword, cuts and blood covering his body. They’re fighting, losing, and I can’t do anything to help them. There’s nothing I can do. There’s only one way this will end. One way-

  ?

  “Willow!!!” Pim yells in my mind, breaking me out of my spiraling thoughts. “Willow! What’s the plan, how are we gonna take him down!?”

  ?

  “Plan?”

  ?

  “Yeah, you always come up with something. So think of something, and we’ll try it.”

  ?

  “There’s nothing to try. I can’t do anything against him. He can’t be blinded by my skill. We can’t win.”

  ?

  “If we can't win, then why are we still alive? If we’re as weak as he says, we would’ve died right off the bat.”

  ?

  “He’s just toying with us. We’re nothing to him. He could end the fight anytime he wants.”

  ?

  “But he hasn’t. He’s looking down on us. He thinks we're just some weak monsters, but so what? Those intruders thought we were weak, and we still won. Those intruders you were fighting when I found you, they were a lot stronger than you, and you still managed to get them all killed. You think they didn’t look down on you either? Well, you’re alive, and they’re not. A wisp has managed to kill multiple intruders and level up from those who didn’t even consider you a threat.”

  ?

  “But, Leron’s so much stronger than-”

  ?

  “So what! He could be the strongest in the dungeon, but it only takes a moment to win a fight. As long as we’re still standing, we still have a chance to win. He’s looking down on all of us, so let’s prove that bastard wrong, eh, Willow.”

  ?

  He’s right, every person I’ve fought, every life I’ve helped take, they were each stronger than me, standing atop peaks I want to reach. I didn’t even register in their minds, yet I’m the one still alive, fighting to live, fighting for my right, my desire for a better life. Dammit, I let Leron’s words get to me, but he’s just another obstacle to the heights I want to reach. Even if this kills me, it’s my choice to keep fighting. So I’ll fight until the very end.

  ?

  “Sorry, Pim, I was doubting myself a bit, but I’m thinking clearly now.”

  ?

  “There, we go. So, are you cooking up a plan? Vulcan aint gonna’ last much longer like this. I can barely keep him distracted enough to overpower Vulcan.”

  ?

  “Yeah, I think I’ve got a plan. Stay directly above him and strike from above. If you’re behind him, you’ll get blinded. Vulcan, after I do it, perform a jab as fast as you can. Got it?”

  ?

  “...Yes”

  ?

  “Alright, Willow, ready whenever you are.”

  ?

  As fast as I can move, I reappear behind Vulcan, keeping him directly between Leron and me. I have to be the source; projected mana won’t be bright enough. Condensing as much mana as I can at my core, I prepare to use my core skill as bright as it can go, then I fully unleash it, bathing the room in bright blue light. No matter how bright I could get, it wouldn’t be enough to blind him. Instead of blinding him, I’ll take the role of the sun in a plane’s dogfight, blurring Vulcan’s silhouette. Leron squints against the light, trying to better make out the details of Vulcan’s movements, slowing him down. But that hesitation is enough. Keeping his arm within his silhouette, Vulcan launches a jab straight at Leron’s jaw, connecting with a solid thump. At the same time, Pim dives once again, straight down to the floor. Even after taking a jab to his face, Leron is still able to jump back, but not without receiving a deep gash down his thigh. The plan worked; he’s not so far above us that he can’t bleed. We can fight, we can win.

  ?

  Leron looked down at his wound, tracing the edges of the cut with his fingers, blood gushing over his fingers. Then, bringing his hand to his face, he placed a bloody handprint over his eye, all amusement gone from his demeanor.”

  ?

  “You’ve actually made me bleed. Maybe you are worth killing. It has been a while since I’ve gotten to fight, so I’ll show you what true strength is. You can thank the goddess for giving this blessing to monsters as unworthy as you lot. ‘Blood Rage’. Now, die!”

  ?

  His blood began to glow a bright red, an almost fiery aura encompassing his whole body. His eyes glowed gold, and he roared with the activation of his skill. Running forward, he swung down his greatsword once again, but this time, Vulcan’s arm was completely shattered. Then, with a swift kick, Vulcan was launched towards the edge of the room, crashing against the wall and suffering cracks all over his body. Pim dived down for another strike, dodging a sword swing fueled solely by strength and rage, but was still stopped in his tracks. From behind Leron, his tail extended out, grabbing Pim by the leg. Leron then slammed down his tail, cracks echoing around the room. Pim had already gone limp, so I formed in front of him, trying to blind Leron with my brightest possible ‘Glow’. I wanted to buy as much time as possible for Pim to get up, but that wasn’t to be. With a wave of his clawed hand engulfed in red aura, he slashed through my mana, deactivating my skill and taking out a chunk of my health.

  ?

  “I expected more.” With that solemn remark, he raised his sword, engulfed entirely in his aura, ready to stab straight through Pim and me. But before he could follow through, the tip of the sword clanged against the solid metal of an axe appearing between us.

  ?

  “That’s enough, the master told you not to go too far, but you let your temper get the better of you.”

  ?

  The owner of the axe spoke, finally alerting me to his presence. Identifying him, I was only able to glean his name and race. Generon, the hobgoblin brute, was able to stop Leneron’s strike, even in his elevated state. This monster was as strong, if not stronger, than him, and if he’s referring to the dungeon master, then his rank must be the same as Leron. Generon is another dungeon manager, and right now, he’s the only line between life and death.