A True Rhombic Comes in Time

38

I was the sun while the little stars flew all around me in a dance of blood.

Slice, slice, slice, slice....

The sounds of death made me shudder, but at the same time, they were also the sounds of my salvation. Stray gnomes still managed to reach me, but I used my dagger to fight them off. It was a small dagger I thought was a waste of money because I already had Gomi-sword, but I was now glad Ryder insisted on me getting one.

[00:17:40]

Ding!

Fwoom!

Every 10 seconds, the test replaced all the slain gnomes plus 10 more. Ooju was an amazing weapon, working like a chainsaw on wheels to save me. But just as Gomi warned, it sucked my mana like a hungry child drinking chocolate milk through a straw.

I felt weak, barely managing to defend myself against the odd gnomes that escaped the spinning killing machine. I plunged the dagger into their head as they came at me, glad that they were at least so small. If the test gave me bigger and taller monsters, I wouldn't have lasted this long.

But the little twerps still managed to get at me. My legs, arms, and stomach were bleeding with small but deep bites. Every time they stuck their razor teeth into me, they ripped off a good chunk of my flesh.

This must have been what it's like to be attacked by my baby sharks. The gnomes seemed to get even more excited by the smell of my blood because their eyes glowed in eerie hunger.

Just 15 more minutes. I needed to get through another 15 minutes to pass this gruesome test.

If only I could maintain Ooju until the end... I would have had a decent chance. But I was being drained fast, and already, I saw the stars slowing down and weakening.

-More! I need more mana! I'll kill them all!

It was frightening to hear such chilling words roaring in a baby's voice.

Unfortunately, I had no more mana to give. At least not enough to power it for another 15 minutes. Gosh, why didn't I spend more time training? Only if I had more mana...

[00:12:18]

"Gomi, I can't keep this up...," I groaned as I thrusted my dagger into another gnome's neck. Blood gurgled from its mouth before it quickly turned into a tiny little gem.

It was quite a scene around me. Small UFO-like structures were flying all around me while the blood-soaked ground was littered with countless gems. Never-ending gnomes charged toward me, exhaustion now my middle name.

Slice, splatter, slice, splatter, slice, splatter...

-Almost there! Leah, don't let go!

Gomi's voice was the only thing that kept me awake and moving. I no longer yelped or screamed when I felt the sharp teeth on my skin. My body moved on autopilot now, weakening by the second as I stabbed, pushed, and shook off the critters.

[00:05:02]

My eyes blurred, barely able to see the clock. So tired... So sleepy...

-Leah, just a little bit longer...!

Knowing I was only a moment away from becoming unconscious, I did the only thing I could do.

I poured the last of my energy into Ooju, hoping that it would be enough.

-Leah!

***

"Le..."

"Leah..."

"LEAH!"

The voice screaming my name didn't sound babyish anymore. Instead, it was a man's voice, and he sounded terrified.

"LEAH!"

"What...? Stop yelling...," I mumbled through my dry lips. I tasted something bitter and sour, and it didn't take me long to figure out that it was my own blood.

Or... Was it gnome blood?

"Ew...," I whispered.

Expecting bright light to blind me, I opened my eyes with a cringe. But instead, it was the shadow of someone's face that filled my vision.

Ryder, looking agitated, was kneeling over me and shouting.

"...Hello?" I whispered, not knowing what to say because I was still confused.

The look of concern became suddenly replaced by anger as Ryder yelled, "Hello? That's all you can say?! What the hell, Leah?! What happened? Are you okay? Where does it hurt?"

I shook my head a little, the memories of the test slowly returning to me. I had about five minutes left, and I fainted after using the remaining of my power. My last thought was that Gomi-slash-Ooju would have enough mana to last the rest of the test.

Well, it seemed that it worked. Although I felt like shit, I was clearly alive. Ryder's shrieks rang painfully in my ears, confirming that I had indeed passed the test.

"Stop yelling. You're giving me a headache," I grumbled and sat up. "What happened?"

In my head, I asked the same question to Gomi, 'Gomi? Are you okay?'

Ryder quickly helped me, his hands gentle and cautious.

"What happened? I should be asking you that question! What the hell happened? I was on the fifth-floor waiting for you to walk out of the test when I saw the test exit spit you out."

"Huh," I muttered. So I guess I barely survived.

'Gomi?' I called out to her again, knowing that she would be the best one to explain what happened.

Still feeling dizzy, I looked around slowly. It appeared that I was finally on the fifth floor, but instead of the unfamiliar surrounding, something else caught my eyes.

"Are those... healing potions?"

Dozens of empty bottles were rolling around us. I knew what they were because although I've never used these expensive items, I've seen them in the Rhombic stores.

"Obviously. You were covered in so many puncture wounds and gashes. What the hell happened?" Ryder asked for the third time, his voice slowly returning to normal.

That was exactly what I wanted to know too. What happened at the end?

'Gomi? Answer me,' I said her name again, needing to know the details of what happened.

I replied, "There were gnomes."

"Gnomes? Those tiny things? And... you couldn't just take them out?" There was disbelief and a hint of condescension in his tone.

So I guess he was back to his usual self.

"No, because there were thousands of them." I couldn't help sounding defensive. It was a bit of an exaggeration since it would have been only towards the end when there were over 3000 of them. However, at the time, it felt like I was swarmed by millions of little beasts trying to eat me alive.

As my mind slowly recovered, I stopped paying much attention to Ryder and his interrogation. I was beginning to be worried that Gomi, who was normally so yappy, hadn't answered me yet.

Ryder seemed startled. "Thousands? Wow, but the fifth-floor test is supposed to be the easiest."

I glared at his sheepish face. Easy my ass.

'Gomi? Hello?'

Why wasn't she answering me? I looked around again, and I didn't see the tiny baby anywhere. She wasn't in her sword or Ooju form either because my hands were empty. I could still feel her presence, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Noticing my obvious agitation, Ryder asked in alarm, "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

No. It wasn't the pain that was making me panic.

I couldn't see Gomi anywhere. I couldn't hear her. I had no recollection of what happened at the end of that disastrous test.

'Gomi? Where are you?!'