SOWER: My Cultivation Creates Gods

4 | Just a Scratch

They pushed deeper.

The tunnels twisted. Branched. Opened into wider caverns and narrowed into chokepoints that made Rome's claustrophobia itch. More kobold packs. More fights. The rhythm of it settled into his bones. Move. Fight. Loot. Repeat.

Rome collected crystals where he could. Took shots when they presented themselves. Stayed out of the spotlight. Let the big names do big things while he picked off stragglers and watched the flanks.

It was working.

It was going well.

*Too well.*

The thought crossed his mind right as they entered a larger chamber. Stalactites hung from the ceiling like stone teeth. The moss here glowed brighter, casting everything in that eerie green wash.

Something prickled at the back of Rome's neck.

He stopped.

*What is that?*

It wasn't a sound. Wasn't a sight. Just a feeling. A wrongness. Like the moment before lightning struck or the half-second before a car crash when your body knew something your brain hadn't caught up to yet.

*Move.*

Rome threw himself sideways.

A claw raked across his arm.

Pain. Hot. Immediate. A line of fire from his elbow to his wrist.

He rolled. Came up with his knife already swinging. The kobold that had dropped from the ceiling barely dodged. It was bigger than the others. Darker scales. A crude blade in one hand, coated with something that glistened wet in the green light.

*Ambush. From above. Clever little shit.*

"Contact from the ceiling!" He heard someone yell. More kobolds were dropping. A second wave they'd walked right into.

Rome didn't have time to think about the others.

The big kobold came at him again. Fast. Faster than the regular ones. Its blade slashed toward his face.

He leaned back. Felt the air part an inch from his nose.

*Too close.*

His knife came up. The kobold blocked. Metal scraped metal.

*Strong too. Great.*

They separated. Circled. The kobold's yellow eyes tracked him with an intelligence that made his skin crawl. This wasn't some mindless monster. This thing was thinking. Planning.

Rome grinned.

"Alright, ugly. Let's dance."

The kobold hissed.

Rome grabbed a fistful of dirt from the ground and hurled it at the creature's face.

The kobold flinched. Blinked. Just for a second.

Rome closed the gap.

His knife took it in the shoulder. The kobold screamed. Twisted. Its blade came around in a wild swing.

That prickle again. That warning.

*Duck.*

He dropped. The blade passed over his head. He drove his knife up into the kobold's gut and ripped sideways.

The creature's eyes went wide.

Rome stood. Grabbed its head with his free hand. Drove the knife into its throat once, twice, three times until the shrieking stopped and the body turned to ash between his fingers.

Crystals clattered to the ground. Four of them this time.

*Elite. Had to be an elite.*

He was breathing hard. His arm throbbed where the first kobold had caught him. Blood dripped from his fingers and pattered against stone.

*Just a scratch. Walk it off.*

The battle around him wound down. The second wave hadn't been as big as the first. More of a harassment force than a real attack. Designed to pick off stragglers and test defenses.

"Sound off!" Reyes shouted. "Anyone down?"

Names called back. All present. A few injuries, nothing major.

Rome shoved his wounded arm behind his back.

"Rome?"

"Fine."

*Totally fine.*

His arm felt hot. Too hot. And there was a numbness creeping up from the wound that he really didn't like. But Kiona had already burned essence on him once today. He wasn't about to make her do it again.

*We're not even at the boss yet. She needs to save her power.*

They moved on.