The Test (Part 2 of 3)

The Orc moved towards her, stomping with each step. This To Amaya's surprise, there were small crystals along the cave walls, giving light. It was still pretty dim, but it was better than total darkness.

She had been walking through the cave for ten minutes already, but hadn't come across any monsters yet.

"I still can't believe this." Amaya grunted, kicking a pebble across the floor, "I understand that Katsu wants to test me, but isn't this a bit much? Out of all methods, he chose to trap me in here. What the heck is going on in his brain?"

She was honestly starting to think that he was actually evil.

If at any moment she found herself face to face with an enemy, it would be a fight for her life.

'Please. Luck, be on my side.'

Tmp. Tmp. Swoosh!

Amaya quickly turned at the sound of footsteps, but nothing was there.

Nothing at all.

"..I know I just heard something."

Tmp. Tmp. Swoosh.

Again, she heard footsteps pass behind her. When she turned, there was nothing. Lurking somewhere in the shadows, had to be a monster.

After all, its wicked laughter was noticeable, "heheheh."

Just by its voice, it sounded like a gremlin or something similar

Amaya drew her blade, on guard. Looking left to right, she knew an attack could come at any moment. The real problem was that she didn't know where it would come from; or what the enemy was.

"Come on. Stop hiding."

Amaya tore a crystal off the wall, then tossed it into the shadows.

Clink!

As it hit the ground, the light revealed what was lurking. A small creature, covered in red scales. It had a lizard-like tail and wicked yellow eyes.

It was a Kobold.

[Analyze]

[ Kobold- D-rank monster]

[ Kobold HP: 6]

Its health was low compared to other types of monsters. In fact, this Kobold looked like an easy one-shot kill.

"Perfect." Amaya ran forward, thrusting her blade.

By an inch, the Kobold maneuvered around it, then escaped further into the cave.

"Hey! Get back here!" Amaya shouted as she chased right behind.

At turning the corner, she discovered something horrid.

It wasn't just a single Kobold anymore. There were lots of them, all glaring at the white-haired girl in front of them.

In fact, there were so many that Amaya couldn't count them all.

"Analyze."

[Analyze Activated]

[ Number of Kobolds: 35]

By themselves, Kobolds were weak. But even weak monsters could be a problem when there were lots of them.

Slowly, Amaya started to back away, hoping she could just avoid the fight.

However, this was too much to ask for.

Right at that moment, a hail of spears were thrown her way.

One pierced through her thigh, then another stuck her in the shoulder.

Shnk! Shnk!

Amaya nearly dropped to the floor as she caught her balance.

Ignoring the sharp pain in her thigh, she sprinted off with a limp.

"Nope nope nope."

'I knew I couldn't do this! Even Kobolds are too much for me!'

The adrenaline coursed through her veins, but it didn't numb the pain for long. Her movements started to slow as the Kobolds were catching up. At this speed, they'd catch up before she could outrun them.

'....If outrunning them is even possible. There's nowhere to run anyway.'

Amaya gave up on escaping, she stopped and turned her body towards the Kobolds.

There was a chance she'd die either way at this point. Of all things, she'd be dying to Kobolds. Even so, she stood firm, gripping the handle to her broadsword.

'...I don't care anymore. I'm done running.'

First, she yanked the spear out her thigh, then yanked the one from her shoulder, tossing them both on the ground.

"AgH!"

Blood trickled down the back of her leg as she watched the mob of Kobolds charging in an organized formation.

Both hands gripping her broadsword, Amaya held it upright.

'I may not be the main character, but If I'm going to die. I wanna at least feel like one.'

Time and time again, she was near death.

That one time, Jackal tried to behead her.

Then there was that other time where a monster tore a hole in her torso. And there was also that time where an Elder Gnoll used telekinesis, almost squishing her to death. Each and every time, Amaya was helpless.

A deep breath, her lungs filled with air.

Her stance with the sword became firm and her expression was focused.

The Kobolds were nearly in range, ready to jump all over her.

Patiently, Amaya waited for the perfect moment, then leaped forward.

A perfectly timed slash, four of the Kobolds split apart at once.

Slash!

"I'm DONE RUNNING!!" Amaya shouted, thrusting her blade through another enemy.

Over and over, she swung her blade through the enemies in her path, but it wasn't flawless. Slits opened up all over Amaya's body, dripping blood. Her arms, her legs, her back, and even her face, became covered in wounds.

Heavy wounds, her clothes were nearly blood-soaked.

One of the Kobolds jumped on her back, then stabbed its dagger down into her shoulder blade.

ShanK!

Amaya shrieked in pain, but her knees kept strong, holding her up.

Not even for a second, did she think about falling. If she ended up on the floor at any given moment, her chances of survival would become zero.

This was a predicament where any weakling such as herself would've reached their limit.

Amaya's face didn't convey any dread at all. Not stress, for that matter.

Rather, her expression became engulfed in a dark shadow, her eyes lit up with a purple haze.

[ Rage Has Activated]

Her body, rid of all emotion other emotion, acted purely on instincts and her strength became nearly doubled.

After shaking the Kobold off, she lifted it by the throat, glaring into its eyes.

As her hand clenched to form a fist, its throat bursted into blood.

Grip! Splatter!

A dark red substance covered the hand that reaped the creature's life.

Its lifeless body was violently hurled against the cave walls.

Bump!

Jagged knives and daggers slashed through Amaya back repeatedly, but she didn't even flinch. Her pain receptors were non-existent at that moment.

Swoosh! Swip!

Amaya spun in a complete circle, swinging her blade, beheading the closest enemies first. Directly after, she leaped around, faster than the Kobolds could keep up with. One after another, they were sliced into shreds.

A scene of a complete slaughter.

[Leveled Up]

Huff… Huff…Huff…

Amaya panted, hunched over on the ground.

The floor was covered in blood and fleshy monster bits.

She didn't even understand what happened, her consciousness had gone black half-way through the fight.

All she knew was that by some miracle she was still breathing.

As the health bar showed, her body was barely holding onto life.

Amaya slowly rose back up, legs slightly trembling due to her adrenaline.

It was a close encounter to say the least. Above all, she was absolutely pissed. Directly at Katsu.

"Does he really think I can do this??!! I almost DIED TO KOBOLDS!"

For there to have been so many, it was just another unfortunate event.

The fact that she survived was the only fortunate thing.

"...Maybe my luck isn't that bad after all. I mean, I am still alive."

Because of this, she was also stronger now.

[Level: 6]

When compared to her earlier, she could feel the change in her body. The difference was significant. In terms of power, she felt as if she might've been -rank now.

Though it was a great improvement, she couldn't spend the whole day admiring it; the rest of the monsters still had to be dealt with.

She reached a pair of gigantic red doors. The boss room.

Aside from a few slimes and goblins, there weren't any real challenges along the way.

One question filled Amaya's mind as she looked up at the doors to the boss room.

"When he said all Monsters had to be killed…did he mean the boss too?"

She really hoped this wasn't the case. Kobolds and weaker monsters were one thing.

But a boss?

She was not ready for this in any shape or form.

A Boss was usually equal to 10 adventurers of its rank.

Example: A C-rank boss would be capable of taking on a whole party of your average C-rank adventures, sometimes even more.

Unless Amaya, herself, could pull off such a feat, she'd have no chance.

Not to mention the multiple abilities a boss could have.

Some had one or two, while more powerful bosses could have over a hundred.

Just the thought that such monsters were real; this was enough to make Amaya's hands quiver.

"I….I'm not opening this door for anything. I don't care. Nope. No way."

She'd probably have a better chance at convincing Katsu to drop the barrier.

It was time to beg.

'I'm sure I can put on a crying act. Then he'll have no choice but to let me out.'

As Amay turned around, the side of her face bumped into a hard surface.

Bump!

"Owww! What the hec–"

She figured it was probably a wall, but she horribly was wrong. This is not just a surface, it was a bare chest, belonging to a monster.

Towering over her, a large creature with green skin stood with a menacing aura. Its breath came out like steam, and there were a pair of tusks sticking out of its mouth.

A vicious Orc.

Both of its hands were clutching onto a sturdy battle axe.

From just a twitch of a muscle, Amaya knew what was coming.

Fwsh!

She dived out of the way, avoiding the full force of the axe. But dodging did come at a cost. A bloody cost.

Wide-eyed, Amaya stood with her back against a wall, holding the fleshy wound on her shoulder. She no longer had a left arm.

It was now laying in a pool of blood on the cold dungeon floor.

Too stunned to speak, the reality hadn't fully set in yet.

Her voice trembled "....My…my arm…."

monster was fueled by pure bloodlust. Killing was its sole desire.