In the middle of the corridor, Kano stands, holding the glowing purple crystal in his hand. The light from it shifts, as if the magic within it is alive, calling… beckoning to him…
The group watches silently, their gazes fixed on the crystal.
Kano slowly turns the crystal in his hand. He's intrigued, but at the same time… unsettled.
— "So, who wants this power?" — he says, holding the crystal out before him.
The first reaction comes from the dwarf, Rudgard.
— "Oh, forget it!" — he says, not even looking at the crystal, sharply turning away and crossing his arms over his chest. — "I'm a real man and a warrior! Power should be earned through hard work, not swallowed like cheap potion."
Kano shrugs and turns his gaze toward Sheyla. She looks thoughtfully at the crystal, her eyes reflecting its purple glow.
— "If I took this crystal..." — she says, her voice distant, — "I'd become the deadliest assassin in the world. Not a king, not a hero could stand against me..."
Kano nods.
— "So, are you taking it?"
Sheyla quickly averts her gaze.
— "No, I don't even have a weapon right now. I rely more on speed than on magical tricks."
Then, Sheyla smiles and walks over to Lianel, placing her hand on her shoulder.
— "Better if the elf takes it! Maybe after this, her chest will grow even bigger, and she'll use it to crush all the enemies."
At this remark, Kano freezes for a second.
Bigger?
In his mind, an image instantly forms—Lianel, with a chest that resembles two magical meteors, simply wiping out crowds of enemies. His thoughts drift so far that he doesn't even notice the drool slipping from his mouth.
Slap!
Sheyla smacks Kano on the back of his head.
— "Get back to reality, dreamer."
Lianel takes the initiative, crossing her arms beneath her chest, and looks at Kano with an ironic smile.
— "You already like my chest," — she says, tilting her head slightly, — "you stared at them the longest in the bath…"
Kano starts to gasp, clears his throat, and pretends he didn't hear that.
Rudgard laughs loudly.
Sheyla leans against the wall, snickering.
— "Poor guy..."
Without hesitation, Lianel takes the crystal in her delicate hands and presses it against her chest.
Suddenly, the crystal begins to glow even brighter. Its light fills the room, making even the ancient runes on the walls glow in response.
The crystal slowly dissolves into her body, absorbed by the elf. Her body rises into the air, and the corridor fills with a powerful purple energy.
Kano, Sheyla, and Rudgard watch in awe.
Lianel descends to the ground, her eyes opening — for a moment, purple light flickers in her pupils. She looks at her hands, clenching her fingers into a fist.
— "This… is unbelievable…" — she whispers.
Her hair barely stirs, as if invisible magical waves are rising around her. She feels a colossal power...
But…
— "Wait." — Lianel suddenly spins around, searching for something behind her.
— "What happened?" — Kano asks.
— "My quiver… it's empty..."
A heavy silence.
Lianel stands frozen, dumbfounded.
Sheyla theatrically raises her hand to her mouth.
— "Well, would you look at that! What a mess! You've got power, you've got weapons... But you can't go into battle!"
The dwarf smacks himself on the forehead.
— "Now that's truly... an epic failure."
Lianel slowly lowers her head. Everything had been perfect... and then this.
Kano thinks for a moment, trying to come up with a solution.
— "What if we make the arrows ourselves? Then you could shoot?"
Lianel lifts her head, but the dwarf interrupts again.
— "Ah, right! We'll carve arrows out of monsters... and leave behind traces of 'experiments' everywhere. Can you imagine? A demon army marching, and elf arrows sticking out of their backsides."
Kano and Sheyla burst out laughing.
Lianel sighs and shoots an irritated glance at the dwarf.
Sheyla calmly adds:
— "They say the elven queen can create arrows from mana and even imbue them with magical properties. Maybe you could do the same?"
Lianel pauses, thinking, but then lowers her head again.
— "She's a queen... I... I don't have even a fraction of her power. I won't be able to..."
And then…
The dwarf's eyes widen, and his eyes nearly bulge out of his skull.
— "And here comes our problem... SKELETONS!!!"
A rustling sound echoes through the corridor. The darkness behind them starts to shift.
Around the corner, dozens of skeletons emerge, their eyes burning with a dead blue flame. They move silently, but each step sounds like a hammer striking bones.
The dwarf jumps forward.
— "Well, this is great! I declare the undead hunting season open!"
Kano looks at the skeleton army and swallows hard.
— "From one pit straight into another."
A long, fog-filled hall, its stone walls marked with deep scratches — as if someone had been dragged across them with claws. The air is thick with a deathly chill, sending shivers down the spine.
Kano, Lianel, Sheyla, and the dwarf stand in the center of the hall. Before them — an army of skeletons.
One moment…
And then the darkness starts to move.
Rustling.
A dull thud.
The creaking of bones.
In the distance, something shifts.
The first shadow emerges from the darkness — a skeleton in rusty remnants of armor. Its eye sockets burn with blue fire, and in its hands, it grips a chipped sword.
Behind it — another.
The third.
The fourth...
One more moment — and the entire corridor fills with bone warriors.
Rudgard grabs his hammer, a sinister grin spreading across his face.
— "Oh, now I like this!"
He takes a step forward, tossing the hammer in his hand as if its weight means nothing to him.
— "Welcome to your last battle, pile of bones!"
The dwarf charges forward!
His hammer twists the first skeleton into dust with a single blow!
Kano moves too.
His body surges forward with a sharp impulse.
Everyone around them leaps into battle:
The dwarf crushes entire groups of skeletons, his strikes sounding like explosions.
Sheyla twirls through the crowd, dodging blows and shattering opponents with blades she found among the debris.
Lianel... stands there with an empty quiver.
She tightens her grip on her bow. Her hands are trembling.
She wants to help... but without arrows, she is powerless.
"Kano, ARE YOU EVEN DOING ANYTHING?!"
The dwarf strikes the head off another skeleton and turns around.
His face is in pure shock.
— "While you're fighting one, you think the others are just going to wait?!"
A skeleton with an axe lunges at Kano from behind.
The dwarf sees it and wants to shout, but…
The skeleton swings…
BANG!
At the last second, the dwarf shoves Kano to the side!
— "What the hell, idiot?! Wake up! You've got more than one opponent — you need to keep your eyes on all of them at once!"
His body… starts to move!
What am I doing? Why am I so distracted? They're all slow, I can handle many of them.
He grips his sword.
If the dwarf can fight multiple skeletons… then I can too.
Kano raises his sword.
A deep breath.
He takes the first step.
A skeleton with a sword charges at him.
Kano swings… and strikes with all his might!
CRACK!
The skeleton shatters into pieces!
Here it is… They're just like regular enemies…
Another one!
Kano moves forward, dodging the attack, and splits the skeleton in half!
Another one!
The sword enters the chest of a bone warrior, and it crumbles into dust!
Kano presses the attack!
His movements become faster, more precise. His fear of facing many enemies fades — only adrenaline and battle remain.
Sheyla watches him and smiles.
— "Aha, finally warmed up!"
The dwarf deflects a blow, sending the skeleton crashing into the wall, and adds:
— "KEEP IT UP, BUT DON'T FORGET, I'M STILL BETTER THAN YOU!"
Kano knocks the remaining skeletons aside with his sword and challenges the dwarf:
— "OH, YOU THINK SO? THEN LET'S SEE WHO CAN DO MORE!"
The dwarf grins widely.
— "OH, YOU'RE IN FOR IT, KID!"
The battle continues for several more minutes until the last skeletons crumble into dust.
Kano wipes his forehead and looks around.
— "Is that it?"
The dwarf picks up a stone, removes his helmet, and wipes his forehead.
— "Finally!"
Lianel is still gripping her bow, not looking up.
Sheyla approaches her.
— "Don't take it so hard, Lianel... We all lose something."
Lianel clenches her fists.
— "But I don't want to be a burden…"
Kano turns to her.
— "Listen, you're our strongest archer. This... is just a minor setback."
Lianel doesn't respond.
The dwarf wipes his hands on Kano's cloak and adds:
— "Well, don't worry, you'll find a way to shoot. And now…"
He turns… and his eyes widen in shock.
— "DAMN, WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE DOGS?!"
They turn around.
And…
From the darkness emerge enormous otherworldly dogs.
Half-skeleton. Half-beast. Their eyes burn with blue fire.
They open their jaws, revealing long teeth…
Kano raises his sword.
— "Well, here comes round two…"