Reality overload Chapter 9: ROUND TWO

Read chapter 9 of Reality overload by Namizou on NovelPedia.

I crouched over the last goblin's corpse, chest rising and falling in sharp, uneven bursts. It felt like I'd just sprinted a mile, lungs burning, adrenaline buzzing under my skin like static. Part of it was the fight. Part of it was the fact that I'd taken down three of them in less than a couple of minutes. My whole body was wired, too worked up, the kind of worked up where even the air felt too loud. Three down. Lots more to go... Somewhere deep in this stench‑filled cave, an overgrown boss waited, a hulking shadow I hadn't even seen yet, but could feel lurking in the dark. The thought alone made my stomach twist. I swallowed hard. If I messed this up and attracted his aggro, I was done for. No second chances. No retries. Local "ice princess" found flattened like a pancake, funeral to be held in the nearest puddle. Perfect. Exactly the kind of obituary I wanted. I pressed my back to the wall, forcing myself to stay small, quiet, invisible. I peeked out. Nothing in sight yet, but the cave carried distant, scattered chattering, bouncing off the stone in a way that made it impossible to tell how close anything was. Every echo felt like it was creeping up behind me. I made my way further down the tunnel, each step a careful test of the ground, doing everything I could not to make a sound. The firelight ahead flickered just enough to carve long, twitching shadows across the stone. I crouched in the darkness just outside the glow, letting my eyes adjust. And then I saw them. "Good, they were spread out," I thought, though the relief barely lasted a heartbeat. Spread out didn't mean safe. Spread out didn't mean easy. It just meant I had a chance to get caught. It was still going to be difficult to pull off. Even spread out, even distracted, even with luck on my side, this was a razor‑thin plan. But if I managed it... the level‑ups should give me enough strength to fight the boss. Barely. Maybe. Level five... I needed level five before I could take it on. No exceptions. No shortcuts. Two little gremlins were hunched near a broken, shattered cart, arguing over some shiny piece of something or other. Two targets, out of view of the rest, too busy bickering to notice me. Their voices were sharp, nasal, bouncing off the stone in a way that made my skin crawl. "Perfect..." I thought. "Distracted enemies were my favorite kind." I let a tiny shard of ice form between my fingers, barely the size of a pebble, cold enough to sting. I shifted into a better position behind them, breath held, heart pounding. The air felt thick, heavy, like the cave itself was holding its breath with me. Then I flicked the ice pebble. PLINK. Both goblins snapped their heads toward the cart. And without waiting, I moved. I grabbed the first one from behind, iced hand clamping over its mouth, using the chipped dagger to take it out before it could react. It dissolved. The second turned just in time to see my ice‑encrusted blade flicker across its neck, cutting off any scream it might have made, ending in a soft gurgle. 'poof.' +240 XP +240 XP Stealth +1 I crouched down behind the cart, forcing myself to stay still, listening so hard my ears hurt, trying to see if any of the others noticed. It seemed like none had. "Thank Hestia," I thought, though the tension didn't leave my shoulders. If anything, it tightened. The cave felt too quiet now. Too still. Like the darkness was waiting for me to slip. Mulling it over for a moment, I realized I had no idea how to get close to the other goblins without causing a mess. One wrong move and the whole cave would erupt. The boss would hear. The boss would come. And that would be the end. "OK, I guess the only thing to do was to put this new class to the test." My brain felt like it had finally kicked into overdrive. My pulse quickened as I stood up. There was frostbite..., I could use that. Slow them down. Control the field. Create openings. If I could slow them, I could take out as many as possible before the boss orc noticed.