Power Overuse

Everyone immediately realized the implication, as they rushed forward with renewed vigor. Marie watched while she leaned on a nearby wall, her vision darkening as she gritted her teeth, trying to keep herself awake against the thrashing wyvern.

She struggled through the pain, her pale lips muttering the name of the one she had been worrying about.

"Mathias…"

Although the old man was strict at times, she had always believed in him. By all intents and purposes, he should have wanted nothing to do with her except for business, yet he stayed with her until—

"Marie, pull yourself together!" Nora shouted at her. She then raised her staff, conjuring ice spears to pin down the creature's limbs.

ROAR!

The creature's numerous red eyes within hollow sockets were trained at Nora. Even though they were little more than bones hastily cobbled together into one, they still looked terrifying on its own, not helped by the putrid green acid smoke rising from its forcibly closed jaw.

CLANG!

Meanwhile, Charles, Dylan, and Henrietta kept on fighting, with Dylan parrying the attacks and the other two on the offensive. Henrietta kept attempting to tear the head off the king, pulling its attention away from Dylan. Meanwhile, Charles, with his boosted speed and strength from his [Beast Integration] aura, chose to play evasively and attacked in short bursts, using his speed to run whenever the axe swung.

Whish!

The kobold king made a sideward swing with its axe, making Henrietta slide back a few meters. Though she parried the attack, she ended up close to the bone wyvern's maw, making it thrash even worse in its attempt to incinerate its nearest target.

Marie's hands started to shake, and Nora supported her body, whispering some comforting words under her breath.

"You really are worth the title of king, huh?" Henrietta smirked as she looked at the thrashing creature. The king seemed to take offense at the comment, attempting to lunge at her again while she raised her hand to block the strike.

Boom!

Yet, Charles was ready. Using the king's own force against itself, he simply kicked the creature on the ribs as it closed the distance. A prickle on his cheek, and the blood trickling down became a testament of his attempt.

However, his efforts were not all wasted. A sickening crack sound could be heard as his attempted attack connect, and the king roared in pain.

"But really, you are challenging me, and one thing you should know is…" Henrietta channeled more of her power, her claws bulging and twisting as it turned into something less human and more eldritch. The black and white motif she had on her body became more prominent, as even her human parts started to be stained in the same monochromatic scene.

"… You only can truly challenge me after you reach at least this floor realm's power,"

Miasma started to pour out of her body. At the same time, Nora, Charles, Dylan, and Marie felt weak, the latter collapsing while the others had to lean on something to remain standing.

It was as if the very air itself was yanked out and their lungs stuffed full with concrete. Even lifting their limbs became difficult.

SLAM!

An explosion shook the place as Henrietta slammed her fist down the creature's head, pulverizing it into powder. At the same time, crimson liquid and miasma spilled out from the destroyed remains, before the creature stopped moving. Without anything to support it, the bones melted, becoming dust that joined the messy ground.

In that instant, Dylan and Nora regained their strength, while Charles supported himself with one knee on the ground. Before he could hit his head, Henrietta jumped to his side, supporting him against her soft body. He could feel her skin and the warmth of her breath through the proximity.

As she spoke, concern laced her voice and expression.

"My apologies. For a moment, I seem to have neglected that we are in the game world, and as such, the class system also applied to us in some way," she explained, as she lowered Charles to the ground.

His breathing was a bit ragged from the strain of both using his [Beast Integration] and the sudden pressure from her.

"I was able to absorb the ambient magical energy to maintain my other body, yet too much will result in taking the magical energy supporting your growth and system," she explained. After lowering him to the ground, she attacked together with Dylan, throwing him to the air while she swung her claw from below.

[Earthshatter Slash!]

Aided by the gravity and the height of which he was flung, Dylan swung his blade downward, right at the top of the kobold king's skull.

BLAM!

A sound similar to the ground splitting apart could be heard the moment his attack connected. Blood spurted everywhere as the sound echoed, while the floor below the kobold's feet cracked into a hole around one meter deep.

As the blood started to seep away from the floor, a notification appeared in front of them. While rubbing his head, Charles almost read the notification out loud,

[Congratulations! You have defeated The Everlasting King of the Kobolds!]

[You have completed the side quest 'Kobold Castle'!]

[412 points obtained!]

[Required points for quest: 763/1000]

[Current points: 633]

[You have obtained the White Bone Shard!]

[You have obtained the White Talon Greatsword!]

[You have obtained the Kobold King's Will!]