Recharged and Ready
Drip.
"Mmm..."
A droplet of cold water fell onto my face, waking me from my slumber. I rubbed my heavy eyelids and shook my head to clear the lingering fog of sleep.
"Mnh..."
I felt a soft movement against my chest. Looking down, I saw Sora curled up in my arms, fast asleep. Annoyed by my movement disrupting her rest, she knit her brow and burrowed deeper into my chest.
Ah... right. Yesterday...
We had had sex—which we called "recharging"—a few more times before falling asleep in each other's arms near the campfire. Perhaps because we had both exhausted ourselves getting here, and then spent so much energy on the recharging process, we had slept like the dead.
Turning my head, I saw that the campfire had already burned down to cold ashes. The damp chill of the cave was starting to seep in. Worried that Sora might catch a cold, I pulled her closer, wrapping my arms tightly around her.
"Mnh..."
Sora let out a soft, contented sigh. Her brow smoothed out, and she nuzzled her head against my chest. Then, her eyes snapped open, locking directly onto mine.
"H-Hieek!"
With a startled shriek, she shoved me away, scrambled to her feet, and backed off to put some distance between us. I chuckled at her reaction and spoke.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Y-Yeah..."
Sora avoided my gaze. I stood up and gave a long, deep stretch.
"Uggghhh!"
My spine popped with a loud crack. Between the heavy blow from the Kobold and sleeping on the hard stone floor, my entire body felt stiff and sore. Well, sleeping on the floor wasn't the only reason my back was aching...
"Man... Sora, how's your body feeling? Sleeping on the bare ground like that."
"H-Huh? Oh, um... I was... holding onto you... so I think I'm okay..."
"What was that?"
She was squirming and mumbling so softly that I couldn't quite catch her words.
"N-Nothing! I said I'm fine!"
"I see. That's a relief."
After checking on her, I walked over to the corner and picked up my shield from the ground. The Kobold's strike had been so powerful that the very center of the shield was deeply dented. Damn it... I paid three hundred Points for this... Well, I guess it did its job, which is why I bought it in the first place. I slung the damaged shield onto my back. Its defensive capabilities were probably severely compromised, but having it was still better than nothing.
"Phew... Sora, you fully awake now?"
I called out to her, bringing her back to reality as she stood there dazed. She flinched at my voice, shook her head a few times to clear her thoughts, and nodded with focused eyes.
"Alright, let's review our plan one more time before we head out."
"Okay."
"First of all, since neither of us has any trouble moving around, our primary goal is to find a way back to the Residential Area." I began to lay out the rough plan we had brainstormed yesterday, organizing our thoughts step by step.
"You said you looked around a bit when you went to gather firewood, right?"
"Yeah. This cave is near the waterfall we fell from. If we go out and follow the path to the right, there's a way to climb up the cliff."
According to Sora, who had scouted the area while I was unconscious to gather firewood, there was a path leading up to the upper side of the waterfall. If we could climb back up and find a way to cross the river, I already had a decent grasp of the geography on the other side. Getting back to the Residential Area wouldn't be too difficult from there.
"Right. The problem is once we get up there..."
"If we run into that Kobold again, right?"
"Exactly..."
If that Giant Kobold was still roaming around the area where we first encountered it, there was a very high chance we would cross paths again on our way back. As bad premonitions usually go, I had a nagging feeling that we were destined to face that monster once more.
"Are we really going through with the plan we decided on yesterday?" Sora asked, her face deadly serious as she sought confirmation. I hardened my expression and nodded.
"It's probably our only option."
"Tch..."
I knew exactly why she was grimacing. The plan was identical to what we had tried before we fell down here: I would act as bait, block the Giant Kobold's heavy attack with my shield to break its stance, and in that opening, Sora would unleash her skill at maximum output. Last time, she had only used 37% of her charge, and even that had dealt a significant blow. If she unleashed her maximum output, killing it was definitely within the realm of possibility.
"Sora, you're fully charged, right?"
"Huh? Y-Yeah..."
Her face flushed red at my question, and she squirmed again as she nodded. I smiled warmly at her and opened her status window.
Sora's skill dealt damage proportional to her Health stat. After discussing it with me, she had invested all ten stat points she gained from our intimate session into Health. While raising her Intelligence would have increased her maximum charge capacity, we desperately needed raw damage right now, making Health the obvious choice.
Hmm... Her charge is at 100%, and her Health is ten points higher, so she should be able to take it down... Looking at her current stats, she definitely had enough firepower to defeat the Giant Kobold. The real issue was whether I could survive its attack again. Although my own stats had increased slightly after absorbing a portion of Sora's stats through my skill, my shield was already heavily damaged. And then, there was the final problem...
Can I get out of the blast radius of Sora's maximum charge skill in time? The more charged energy she unleashed, the greater the power—but the blast radius would expand accordingly. Even if I got blown back after blocking the Kobold's attack, if I didn't regain my senses and put enough distance between us immediately, I would be caught in the explosion. When we were drawing up this plan, our main concern wasn't whether the Kobold would die, but whether I would survive her blast. In fact, Sora was far more worried about it than I was. Having accidentally injured her previous teammates with her skill before, the trauma of that memory clearly weighed heavily on her.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?"
Sora looked at me, her eyes brimming with anxiety. Looking into those eyes, I couldn't afford to show any weakness. Sora was the core of this operation. Her taking down the Kobold in a single strike was our only path to survival. If she held back out of concern for me and failed to kill it instantly, she would be left completely defenseless, and I, already wounded from blocking the initial attack, wouldn't survive either.
"I told you, I'll be fine! My stats have gone up across the board, so I won't be paralyzed like last time!"
I forced a bright, confident smile to ease her heavy worries as much as possible. Yet, the shadow of anxiety refused to leave her face. I stepped closer and wrapped my hands around her waist.
"If you're that worried... should we do another quick recharge?" I teased, giving her waist a playful squeeze.
"Eek! N-No way! I told you, I'm fully charged!"
Sora hastily slapped my hands away, her face turning as red as a ripe tomato as she shrieked. Watching her fluster, a satisfied smile crept onto my face. At least her embarrassment had pushed her anxiety to the back of her mind.
"Aw... What a shame. I was looking forward to it..."
"You! After doing it so much yesterday!... Ugh... you pervert!"
Her face was so flushed it looked ready to burst. If I teased her any further, she might actually explode.
"But I was just trying to help you recharge. It was a necessary task~"
"Eeeek!"
I replied shamelessly, and my nonchalant attitude finally pushed her over the edge. Clenching her fists, she lunged at me. Expecting a cute, harmless tantrum, I casually offered my arm to take the blow.
Thwack!
"Gah!"
That was no tantrum. Her fist struck my arm with a full swing, and it hurt far more than I had anticipated.
"Whoa, whoa! Hold on, that actually hurts! Ow!"
"Die! Just die!"
I had to endure a relentless pummeling from her fists until she finally managed to vent all her frustration.
"Phew... We finally made it to the top..."
I took a deep breath and patted my aching lower back. After leaving the cave, we had followed the path Sora found and climbed up the cliff. Because of the sheer height of the cliff, the ascent had taken us quite a long time.
"Well? Do you recognize where we are?"
"Hmm... let's see..."
I looked around, scanning our surroundings. It was just an ordinary forest as far as the eye could see, making it hard to pinpoint our exact location, but it didn't matter.
Rumble...
"Yep, just as I thought."
The distant roar of the waterfall echoed through the trees. As long as we could hear that sound, we wouldn't get lost. By heading toward the river, I could easily navigate back to familiar territory.
"The waterfall is over that way, so let's head in that direction!"
"Okay."
We began pushing through the dense foliage, moving with utmost caution. Even if we didn't run into the Giant Kobold, we were currently separated from Yun-seo. Facing even ordinary Kobolds without her would be a tough battle. Without Yun-seo to balance our offense and defense, our combat efficiency plummeted. We had no choice but to stay highly alert and advance slowly to avoid any encounters.
"Kobolds ahead... Hold on a second..."
As we walked, I spotted two Kobolds sniffing around through the bushes. I whispered the warning to Sora, who was following closely behind. She didn't say a word, simply nodding to show she understood. We hid and watched them. Once they moved away, I gestured to Sora, and we slipped away in the opposite direction, holding our breath.
After a few more close calls with ordinary Kobolds—each time hiding and taking detours to avoid unnecessary combat—we finally managed to reach the riverbank.
"Phew... We finally made it..."
"Yeah. But strangely, there seem to be way more Kobolds on this side," Sora noted.
She was right. Unlike the other side of the river where we usually hunted, the frequency of our encounters here was much higher. The monster density on this side of the forest was noticeably thicker.
"First, we need to cross this river..."
The high density of Kobolds was a secondary concern; our immediate obstacle was the rushing river before us. Once we crossed, we would be back in familiar territory. I pondered how to get across, but standing here wouldn't give us any answers. I decided we should head further upstream, an area we hadn't explored yet.
"Sora, you holding up okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."
Since we had been hiking up cliffs and navigating a tense forest for hours, I checked on her condition before we continued upstream along the riverbank. Fortunately, there were no Kobolds near the water, allowing us to move with minimal vigilance. After walking for a while, something came into view in the distance.
"Is that... a bridge?"
"I think so...?"
We quickened our pace toward the structure spanning the river. Once we got close enough to get a clear look, we confirmed it was indeed a bridge. It was made of wood, but it looked remarkably sturdy.
"Whew, thank goodness. We can cross over."
We crossed the well-built bridge, safely arriving at the forest where we usually hunted. Following the river back down, the familiar landscape unfolded before us. From there, we were able to pick up our pace toward the Residential Area.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
As we hurried toward our destination, a heavy, dread-inducing footstep echoed from the direction we were heading. We locked eyes, nodded in silent agreement, and immediately crouched low to the ground. Avoiding a confrontation was our best bet, so we hid in the brush and watched the source of the noise.
"Huff... Huff..."
My breath grew ragged with tension. After a tense moment of waiting, the massive silhouette of the Giant Kobold emerged in the distance, parting the trees and bushes with its hands. I gestured to Sora, and we held our breath, praying the monster wouldn't notice us.
Sniff, sniff... Sniff...
The Giant Kobold thrust its snout forward, catching a scent not far from where we hid. Finding nothing in its line of sight, it eventually turned around and lumbered away in another direction. We remained frozen long after it vanished, only letting out our held breath once the heavy thuds of its footsteps faded into the distance. We looked at each other and smiled in relief. The worst-case scenario had been avoided.
"Let's move, fast. It might come back."
"Right!"
"Just a little further and we'll be at the Residential Area. Hang in there!"
Exchanging words of encouragement, we resumed our trek toward safety.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Suddenly, the very sound we dreaded erupted from behind us. It was fast, and it was heading directly toward our position with terrifying precision.
"Damn it! Run!"
"Ah!"
Sora and I bolted toward the Residential Area. We were so close to the safe zone. Rather than executing our risky plan, sprinting to the safety of the barrier was by far the safest option, so we ran with everything we had. But the massive beast was closing the gap with terrifying speed.
"Tch!"
Realizing we would inevitably be overtaken before reaching the safe zone, I gritted my teeth, skidded to a halt, and looked back at Sora. Seeing the look on my face, she squeezed her eyes shut and quickly hid herself as planned. I took a deep breath and glared at the Giant Kobold charging toward me like a runaway train.