I took an involuntary step back, almost losing my footing again as my heel hit a second slimy patch.

  Two enemies were within my expectations; I’d heard what sounded like a conversation, after all. It would have been rough, but manageable.

  A fight with three of them was nightmare fuel.

  I pulled at the book’s ability again, come on. Again, my internal power flowed to the book as I stood there, silently cursing the delay. With retreat risky, I needed to push hard now while I had them contained in the corridor.

  Already, worries about [Health] were ticking away in my mind. Had I injured the first kobold enough to keep it down? How long did it take for the recovery to kick in?

  The second kobold shuffled sideways to avoid its fallen comrade as doubts stormed through my mind. The moment it was clear, the monster accelerated, leaning forward and powering its clawed feet.

  It managed a decent pace in a straight line, spear gripped in one clawed hand as it devoured the distance between us. This time, my distance calculation was almost effortless with the corridor still lit by fading bolt sparks.

  Fifty feet.

  The first phase of my second [Arcane Bolt] spell flashed to my second hand, as I stared the creature down. Throw, or charge?

  It was an agonizing decision to make in a split second, and I had to force my fear down to choose charge. I had to put it down.

  Forty feet.

  My bolt blazed into full power, and I threw it, triggering a third without hesitation.

  The charging kobold reacted the instant I thrust my hand out. An awkward sideways hop stalled its frontal momentum, while shifting it halfway out of my direct firing line.

  A deep sideways lean completed the dodge, shifting its upper body to the other half of the corridor.

  Straight into the spot I’d actually targeted.

  The strike caught it mid-extension, slamming the creature head over tail in a smoking ruin.

  Two down

  A feral grin split my lips as I looked up to spy the last enemy. It lasted less than a second before I spied the original kobold back on its feet.

  My stomach dropped into an icy pit, all my fears confirmed. They had at least enough [Health] to survive one strike, with the potential for more.

  Worse, it was holding position, spear clutched in one hand as its upper body bent backward.

  Horror dawned, timing slowing as my thoughts accelerated faster than ever. Somehow, in all the frantic struggle of that first fight, I’d forgotten how it all started with a thrown spear.

  A feat which should have been near-impossible for it to achieve with arms incapable of bending back. With dawning horror, I realized I was about to get a first-hand lesson in kobold throwing techniques.

  What could I do?. My grimoire was still channeling an [Arcane Bolt], and felt full to my burgeoning mystical sense. There would be no [Arcane Shields] for me while it was busy.

  Should I try to cancel it? Could I afford to?

  No. Outnumbered like this, I had to maintain as much damage output as possible. It was my only chance to hold all three of them back.

  I’d have to risk a race to the finish.

  From its backward tilt, the slinger twisted its spine in place, winding up to generate power. Its head swung around the other side of its now spring-like body, sighting at me with a sideways glare.

  I thrust my hand forward in the same moment, catching the first-stage [Arcane Bolt] mid-flight as it leaped from my grimoire. The trick shaved a fraction of a second off my launch time, and I let the spell loose with no thought of charging it.

  Instead, I threw my will at the grimoire, demanding that it cast [Arcane Shield].

  Fresh power poured from inside me, eclipsing my bolt usage. The book shuddered at the influx, forming a red glow across its cover. Something was happening, yet there was no sign of the promised defense.

  I stumbled sideways, more afraid of the spear than slipping, as realization dawned; the spell wouldn’t be in time. Deep down, I knew the clumsy dodge wouldn’t be enough either.

  All the creature needed was to make a slight adjustment in aim, perhaps a second of effort.

  Just as I’d given up and braced for pain, the grimore ripped itself from my hand. It cracked open as it levitated toward chest height, revealing a brilliant red diamond painted across two pages.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  At the peak of its flight, art became reality as the drawing flowed off the pages. Each of the shape’s four triangles slid out in an instant, extending two feet from the book’s cover.

  Just in time.

  A second after the beautiful shield formed, an arcing spear struck the lower triangle, the force cracking the entire shield. An anguished cry, followed by hissing, suggested my strike had fared better than its.

  I stilled, shoulders sinking in relief as I took in the sight of the protective spell. Then my tension ratched back up as I realized I couldn’t cast without the damn book.

  Nor could I see much past the floating object, its chest-high position blocking downward line-of-sight to my shorter enemies. I needed it back now.

  The grimoire dropped as I focused my will on it, shield remnants fading as it returned to my hand. My view of the corridor cleared with it gone, revealing the closer kobold back on its feet and hefting its own spear.

  Why did these bastards have to be so damn smart? It was hard to imagine a worse situation than being locked down by ranged attacks.

  Frozen rage filled me at the sheer unfairness of the situation, pushing aside my fear. From what I’d seen, the group had limited supplies—Just the spear already at my feet, the one about to be thrown, and maybe another on the kobold I hadn’t gotten a good look at.

  If I could hold out, they’d have no choice but to go back charging into my spells. With them slowing down to launch these attacks, they might not even make up much ground.

  It would all come down to timing.

  With a muffled curse, I threw power at the book, willing it to go back out. The process felt a fraction faster the second time; either I was getting better at this, or the book itself was warming up.

  For the second time, the pulsing red diamond formed across the back of my floating book. Once again, it cracked, but held, as a spear struck with horrifying speed.

  Except this time, a second impact shattered it a moment later.

  My heartbeat thundered in my ears as I called the book back at maximum speed. With the visual impediment removed, I could see the two front kobolds picking up speed as they charged toward me.

  Neither explained the second impact, so I searched further back as I triggered a fresh [Arcane Bolt]. There, at the far end of the corridor, was the almost forgotten third kobold.

  It was stationary and loading something into a slip of cloth. After a moment, it flicked its wrist, swinging the device in a circular motion across its body. The angle was so strange, I didn’t realize it was wielding a sling until it continued to speed up the motion.

  Like the spear throwers, this had to be an adaptation around their lack of limb flexibility. Right now, it would only be able to launch to its side, but I knew from the previous attack that would change.

  Fuck!

  The corridor, my perfect killing ground, had turned into a ranged duel—one where I also had two melee combatants to worry about.

  In an instant, the odds had changed, making my position untenable. I needed to shift them back in my favor, fast.

  My eyes fell on the empty doorway where the corridor met my room. That would do.

  With my bolt still forming, I began stealing glances at the floor. Lit by the glowing tome, I could at last see the reason I’d been slipping all over the place.

  Glistening moss sprouted from every crack or gap in the ancient stone tiles. Most tiles looked safe if I avoided the edges, but cracks ran through enough that I couldn’t trust in measured steps alone.

  Thankfully, being forced to rely on the book for spell-casting held one significant advantage: I didn’t have to pay full attention to the process.

  Stealing glances between the charging kobolds—now almost at full speed—, the slinger, and the ground, I continued my earlier shuffle to the right.

  One step, two, then my bolt flashed into my hand where I left it to charge. I’d need it in a second.

  At three steps, the closest charger was ten feet away, just visible around the corner where the corridor merged into the wall. It would be on me in a moment, if not for their awful turning circle.

  Four steps in, I was almost far enough past the corner to be safe. In the distance, the kobold slinger twisted side-on, turning its bizarre movement into a stance eerily similar to what I remembered of ancient human techniques.

  Instead of aiming for a wall, it was now pointed straight at me.

  My eyes widened at the sight, and I hurried my fifth step in a stumbling lunge. The movement finished just as a stone ricocheted off the corridor’s corner.

  Close, almost too close. But I was safe now, that slinger would need to rush down most of the corridor before it sighted me again at this angle.

  My breath came in bellows as I came to a stop, as if I’d been jogging for a mile instead of taking half a dozen steps. Combat was exhausting, and I was far from done yet.

  It was time for my comeback.

  My bolt was at full charge as the first kobold sprinted straight out of the corridor, once again holding a spear in one hand. I almost tossed my spell on a hair trigger, but the direction and speed gave me pause.

  Rather than coming straight for me, it sprinted toward the middle of the room. The angle had it moving past me at a solid pace, and I didn’t have much confidence in my ability to lead my spell enough to hit it without practice.

  Besides, its repositioning might be concerning, but it wasn’t an immediate threat. Given the tactics they’d already shown, a distraction wouldn’t be beyond them.

  A moment later, I was proven correct when a second kobold tried to slip around the corner with a series of awkward shuffles.

  Bingo.

  Mirroring my last feint, I aimed at the left side of its body and let fly. As expected, it leaped away from the wall it was hugging, shifting the strike from a glancing blow to a devastating one.

  I snapped my head around to check the rest of the room, yet another bolt charging. I’d be in serious trouble if the other kobold had already lined up a throw.

  Instead, I found it had circled to face me and began accelerating again. Had it given up on throwing after two failures? That bought me a few seconds at least.

  Seconds I had to spend wisely. I was deep in my rage now, flowing like ice through my veins, and a horrible truth surfaced in my mind.

  Like my first fight, I wasn’t going to win this without a sacrifice.

  I could strike the charger down before it reached me, giving the other time to get up and bracket me. Or, I could take the hit on my so far pristine [Health] while I finally removed an enemy from this fight.

  It was stumbling to its feet now, littered with half-healed burns. There was a chance I hadn’t waited long enough, but [Health] break would track with it being the one I’d struck three times already.

  At least, I thought it was. [Health] tracking was so crucial in this new world, yet it was difficult in dim lighting with enemies that looked almost identical.

  All I could go off was timing, which tracked for it being the one who was further back.

  My latest bolt flashed to my hand as calculations finished whirling through my head, and I tossed it uncharged. Given how poor the creature’s condition looked, even the limited form should be enough.

  The instant I could move without wrecking my aim, I stumbled forward into a rough dodge, charging another bolt as I tried to escape the impending strike.

  All in vain as agony lanced across my back.