Defiance of the Fall

Zac was starting to wonder if a stench could physically hurt someone , as his eyes were tearing up from the stink . If he was forced to sleep in a camp like this he’d rather sleep on the edge of the cave at risk of getting eaten by a salamander , compared to sleeping next to this putrid flame .

The smell was so bad that he couldn’t properly focus and he accidentally hit the sleeping imp with his foot as he approached . He quickly bent down and finished it off , but not before it managed to release a high pitched screech .

Zac knew he wouldn’t be able to sneak around anymore , and immediately swapped out the dagger for his axe . He activated Chop] and with three quick swings another five imps were dead before they managed to properly wake up .

By now the surviving imps were up , and all of them charged up a purplish-black fireball without hesitation . Zac managed to kill another two before they were done charging , but afterwards four fireballs slammed into him . The cave was simply too small , and he had no time to dodge them . Normally he would have used his chest piece here , but he wanted to save it unless it was a true life-and-death scenario . He might meet a Herald soon , so he needed all the tools at the ready .

Zac could only grit his teeth as the nefarious flames hit him , sticking to him like glue . He knew that the fires would die out when their owners did , so he wasted no time and charged at the remaining four imps . They screeched and started to flee towards a tunnel opposite where Zac came from , but Zac wouldn’t give up .

Ignoring the impractically large consumption of energy , he elongated the Chop] edge and managed to hit two of the fleeing imps , bisecting them in an instant . Their two compatriots didn’t care and only started flapping their wings more fervently in order to escape .

Zac fished out a throwing dagger out of his pouch , and as he followed he threw it into the back of one of the two imps . He took out another dagger , intending to quickly end the fight . But as he prepared the throw a huge white maw suddenly emerged out of a side-tunnel , snapping shut over the imp in a lightning-quick manner .

It was another salamander that emerged from the tunnel , contentedly chewing on the small demon . It lumbered forward toward the other imp that Zac had downed and gobbled up it as well , knife and all .

Zac wasn’t in a mood to fight against the salamander unless needed , as he liked the idea of these huge lizards walking around in the tunnels and helping him out by whittling down his enemies . Therefore he quickly receded into a side-tunnel in order to avoid its approach . The huge monster soon came to the entrance looking toward Zac’s direction , and seemed to be hesitating for a few seconds . Zac didn’t understand how they kept sensing him , as this time he had fled even further back , but he could only get ready to kill this white giant as well .

Finally it turned around and ambled away , toward the now deathly silent imp camp .

Chapter 52 - Odor

Zac let out a breath of relief as he saw the beast lumber off . Not that he was afraid of fighting it , but the enemy of his enemy was his friend , even if the monster itself didn’t know it .

Zac moved some distance away and applied some more Aloe cream on his burns . His skin looked grey and sickly , but not like a desiccated corpse’s like it had the first time he fought an imp . His endurance was quite a bit higher by now , and while the fireballs still hurt like hell it took them longer to drain his body .

Zac felt he was at the cusp of leveling up , and continued onward through the tunnels . It didn’t take long until he found another cave with sleeping imps . This time it was a bit smaller , with only 15 imps . This group also seemed to be a bit more vigilant with one imp standing guard . It seemed to barely understand the concept of being a lookout though , as it was leaning against a wall half-asleep . Occasionally it would rouse itself , but only to scratch its butt then go back to dozing off .

Zac saw no way to get next to it without being spotted , even if it wasn’t too vigilant . He really wished he could get the skill the crafty swordsman used , and turn invisible for the approach . Even the lackadaisical imp would notice his approach and warn the others if he tried to sneak up on it .

Seeing no alternative he took out another throwing knife and threw it at the guard . It hit straight in the middle of its torso , almost instantly killing it . It slumped down into the ground with a small whimper and then stopped moving . Zac froze , waiting for any reaction from the rest of the group .

However , they snored away contently , oblivious to their impending doom . Satisfied Zac ventured in and repeated his grisly assassinations . This time he managed to keep going unnoticed until only 3 were left before they were alerted , but Zac finished off the last stragglers with a few quick chops .