Chapter 123 122: Spectacle

Unsheathing my dagger, I stared towards the group of Lava Goblins, counting them out.

After all, it'd be bad if one snuck up on me when I thought I was done...

Counting just over a dozen and a half Lava Goblins, I nodded to myself as I rushed forwards, deciding not to utilize any enhancements yet.

Reaching the first one, it barely let out a surprised yelp as my dagger bit deep into its neck, severing its head from its body in one clean swipe.

Feeling the rush of joy that flooded my system as blood sprayed from its stump, I moved to the next one, an itch developing in my heart.

This one had a moment to react, screeching out in terror as I first sliced my dagger across its midriff, gutting it, before stabbing the dagger into its beady red eye.

Twisting the dagger, I swayed to the left to avoid a rock that was hurtling my way, swiping my hand towards that Goblin.

A blade of pure wind shot towards the goblin, sinking deep into its chest, slicing into its heart.

Removing the blade, I jumped back and held up my left hand, tracing a few runes before pointing my finger at a small cluster of Goblins charging towards me.

Pushing more mana into the sequence of runes, I grinned at how cold the mana felt, enjoying the pale blue flare as the sequence activated.

A ball of ice flew towards the Goblins, landing in the middle of them.

They stopped for a moment, confused, and stared at the ice, only to shrug and resume their charge towards me.

However, a moment later the ball erupted, sending small shards of ice hurtling towards the Goblins backs, eviscerating them.

Their red skin frosted over, quickly freezing their entire backs due to the myriad wounds expelling frost.

They dropped to the ground, screeching in agony as the ice became lodged deep into their flesh, severing important arteries and shattering bone.

Grinning down at them, I sidestepped another Goblin's crude stone axe, swiftly driving my dagger deep into its skull.

Dragging the blade out, I looked around at the remaining Goblins, wandering just what I could do to them...

Flicking the blood off my blade, I sheathed it and summoned a short dagger made of ice, wondering what it would do the weak red monsters.

They all chittered to one another, staring at me wearily as they readied their makeshift weapons, waiting for me to make the move.

Tossing my dagger to my left hand, I summoned a long spear of ice, flinging it towards the largest gathering of Goblins.

It impaled two Goblins, who instantly died as the spear pierced the first ones head and the others chest, caving it in.

After it reached its destination it shattered, much like the ball from earlier, but on a larger scale, each sliver of shattered ice being almost as long as my forearm.

I giggled as the Goblins simply... fell apart, the ice easily slicing through their flesh and severing their limbs.

Observing the crimson haz surrounding the remains of the Goblins, I dragged in a shaky breath, euphoria pulsing through my body.

That was it...

It was so... pretty~

Hearing an afraid chitter in front of me, I turned to see one of the Goblins raising its hands in defeat, however its beady red eyes glowed with hatred.

Stepping forwards, I knelt in front of the shorter monster, holding back a chuckle at how it tried to hide its urges.

Placing a hand on its head, I gave it a warm smile, the monster relaxing as I patted its bumpy head.

Before it could try anything, I tightened my grip, laughing at how it struggled under my hand.

Applying more and more pressure, I felt cracks appearing on its skull, making the monster scream in pain.

It tried to swipe its claws at my hands, but I ignored the scratches that formed, focusing instead on its eyes.

They were alight with fear and agony, and I enjoyed watching as it struggled under my grasp.

Eventually the Goblin's skull cracked completely, blood spurting from its orifices and staining my leather chest piece.

Clenching my fist hard, the monsters skull shattered entirely, bringing its head to little more than a pulp.

Dropping it, I stared at the remaining few, wondering what I should do to them...

~~~

Jahi PoV

I nodded to myself as I watched Kat utilize her ice magic for the first time.

"That shattering is... quite deadly. Messy, too..."

"Mmm... She really does go for more... brutal ways of killing then us, doesn't she?"

I nodded again, glancing down at Anput, who stood by my side.

"But isn't she so gorgeous when she smiles like that?!"

We turned towards Leone, who was watching Kat with a sloppy smile, her face flushed.

Chuckling at the heated Vampire, I nodded.

This truly was one of the few times Kat was just... Kat.

Not a maid, not some expressionless, indifferent woman, but...

Herself.

It was utterly beautiful, this version of her.

That sadistic grin as she crushed a Goblin's skull...

The way their crimson blood accentuated her fair skin...

Her pale blue eyes that shone with joy as she jumped from Goblin to Goblin, that ice dagger slicing through their flesh so easily...

Smiling slightly as I watched her, I turned my attention towards the wounds her dagger created; it was a nasty little thing, that.

Frost would seep into and around the wound, turning the Goblin's skin a light purple underneath the thin layer of ice crystals.

When she targeted those areas again with the blade, the frost only grew more pronounced, until...

My eyes went wide as the arm of a Goblin simply shattered off its body, the dozens of pieces falling to the ground.

So if she targets a specific area enough times...

"Thats..."

Anput was also staring at the remnants of the Goblin's arm, her obsidian eyes narrowed.

"Seems like she got one insane increase in strength when she unlocked her ice mana..."

Even Leone was serious, biting her lip as she muttered "If she uses that..."

We all exchanged glances, realizing that, once again, Kat had managed to surprise us.

~~~

Kat PoV

I panted, staring down at the three Goblin corpses that were in pieces below me.

Crushing my ice dagger, I continued to stare at the pile of frozen pieces, wondering if this is what all Ice Mages can do, at least to some extent.

I know I have [Frost of Despoina], but still...

That has to be only a slight increase, right?

Right?

After all, it's ice magic!

It should freeze things!

Pursing my lips, I stared down at the corpses for a few more moments, my bloodlust sated.

For the time being.

Turning around, I was greeted by the sight of Jahi's golden eyes, Anput's silvery-steel ones, and Leone's crimson.

Shivering, I stepped towards them, wondering what could have gotten them so worked up.

"Are... you all okay?"

They all blinked a few times, their eyes reverting back to their normal colors as they nodded.

"Yup. Just thinking about how cute my murder puppy was~!"

"You did seem prettier than normal..."

"Mhm..."

Furrowing my brow, I looked between them before shrugging.

"So are we making our way towards these... Lizardmer now?"

Leone nodded, pointing towards a small crevasse in the far wall.

"That should be where their at... Hopefully."

Jahi just shrugged, gesturing for us to follow her.

"If it's not, it's fine. We'll just let Kat get another helping of the Goblins before we leave~!"

I glared at her again, only to sigh as she ignored me.

Keeping my guard up as we moved, I observed our surroundings.

We were still in the primary cavern; or what I was calling the primary cavern.

The long obsidian riverbed was way off to our left, and to our right was a bright orange glow that fluctuated slightly, a boiling heat radiating from the large archway it spewed out from.

In between was this crevasse that Leone pointed out, and only a few adventurers were near it.

Most were walking down the riverbed or entering that archway, signifying that those were the 'main' routes of Zhu'Rong Caverns.

Since the Ghouls and Serpents were down towards the dim obsidian riverbed and Plains of Yama, I guess the Salamanders and Drakes were off to the right, inside that heated orange glow.

So what else would be with these Lizardmer?

Would their be more Goblins, or was this the only place the Goblins could live?

I sighed, deciding that I really needed to study up on Zhu'Rong Caverns soon.

After all, it seems like this is where we'll be going for the next year, since the Academy Hunting Grounds are hard to get into as first years.

Reaching the crevasse, we peered inside, surprised to see another cavern.

Inside it though was the real surprise...

An ancient city made from the black rock was laid out before us, the buildings crumbling and decrepit.

Slinking around the area were Lizardmer, their dark crimson scales standing out amongst the black stones.

A few adventurers were inside, fighting, but otherwise...

It looked like a ghost city...

---

Since this is going out on Thanksgiving, hope everyone enjoys today (or enjoyed it, if you see this later~)

---