Chapter 18: Brawling in the Dark

The foul stench of the goblin cave hit her like a wall as she ran, holding her side; the sticky sensation of her blood made her grimace. She couldn’t feel the pain right now, likely due to the adrenaline, or whatever equivalent her new body used, pumping through her veins, and though the cut was shallow, she’d never had the like in her life.

"You coward bunny woman! You no hide in Mish’nig’s cave!" he roared, making Rachel’s gut twist at the thought that she was actually running away.

"Idiot!" she screamed back, turning as they came to a far narrower cavern to face the monster, wearing a smile. "Didn’t I say I wanted a change of scenery? Listen to people when they talk," she chuckled, holding up her illuminated hair and seeing a nearby dead goblin, slain by Anthony.

"You only make it easier for Mish’nig," the hobgoblin grunted, entering the tighter space and holding his sword in front of him to skewer her, but Rachel didn’t flinch, holding her ponytail up as her defense.

All of her Stats might have taken a hit from being out of sight of the two celestial objects, but her full [Lunar Pool] also gave her a base multiplier to her Stats due to [Divine Lunar Surge], which was gaining Tier EXP by the second as she kept the energy in her reservoir.

"You know, I was told using a sword in cramped places isn’t a good idea—well, jabbing works with it, I guess," she chuckled, muscles snapping into action as he thrust forward; she parried at the last second, [Mental Acceleration] giving her the breathing room to act. "Haha!"

He grunted as she pushed up, keeping the blade away from her while barreling into him, taking them both into a more open area. Managing to get on top of him, she used her grappling experience to wrestle the sword out of his hands and throw it away.

Rachel winced as he grabbed her hair, but she managed to slip it out of his gloved fingers, slick with mud—at least, she hoped it was mud from the cave floor; it probably wasn’t, though. Finding a hold with leverage, a pop made her grin as she dislocated his shoulder, yet something heavy struck her in the face, snapping her head back.

Seeing stars, she stumbled away, trying to gain distance and blinking; ridding herself of a few coughs, her focus cleared to find the hobgoblin stumbling to his own feet, casting his eyes around for his weapon, but it was nowhere to be seen, and Rachel didn’t even know where it had landed during the scuffle.

She sniffed, reaching up to wipe away some blood leaking out of her nose; there was a dull pressure against the area she knew well from taking a blow to the face, but she smiled as the creature straightened with a low growl.

"Bunny woman fights better than Mish’nig thought, for so skinny and small."

"Heh. Well, it would be really embarrassing if I were a bunny woman," she shot back as the fiend forced his shoulder back into place. "Ooh! Impressive. Impressive. We going to keep this up, or are you going to run away like a coward? Can you even fight without your fancy magical sword, or are all those muscles just for show?"

The hobgoblin’s nose twisted with a sneer. "Hehe. Mish’nig take back label as a coward. You wish for a brawl? Mish’nig show you the strength of a hobgoblin!"

Working around her neck and preparing for the slug-fest, Rachel took several sharp breaths, flooding her system with oxygen. He was in her ring now, and she could draw him back outside for a quick victory, but that also gave him the wiggle room to find his sword. No, she had to keep his focus on her.

Her eyes narrowed, chin tucked in, and hands up to defend as the large, over two-meter-tall goblin rushed her, heavy blows seeking to make contact with her face; this wasn’t her first time dealing with someone much larger trying to use their strength and size against her.

Just moving back could cause her to trip, and it wasn’t the optimal way to handle the overconfident opponent, so she only backed up two steps at an angle. Giving her some breathing room and expecting the three-punch combo, she used her smaller and more nimble frame to deflect the first and second blow, timed the third, and jumped in from the side to slide forward and push under his guard: her knuckles came up, striking right under his chin.

Head snapping back, he stumbled, flailing to knock her away, but she easily evaded the swing, gritting her teeth as she struck where his kidney should have been for her fist to meet steel.

"Tch!"

Knuckles stinging, she refused to back away while having the advantage, flipping around back to grab him by the waist, throwing him into an improvised suplex—not her area of expertise, but it worked in her position; he grunted as he struck the stone, rolling to the side and shaking his head to recover as Rachel did the same.

Puffing out a long stream of air, having hissed out and sucked in air with each action to keep oxygen pumping to her brain, Rachel forced a laugh, shaking out her throbbing fist. "That armor is pretty tough stuff...scared to fight without it against a beast woman?"

"Ugh... You crafty animal," he snarled, rubbing his chin and giving her some space. "Mish’nig no fall for your tricks. Humph. You stronger than you look."

"Is that the second time you’ve said that?" Rachel mocked. "Third time’s the charm?"

He didn’t respond, edging closer, and Rachel stepped forward to meet his cautious approach this time; he swung in a wide sweep, making her laugh inside while easily ducking to land a throat shot, preparing for a combo, yet a flash of yellow made her curse—it was a feint.

She tried to twist around the feint, but with his speed enhanced by the enchanted earrings, Rachel knew she wouldn’t make it in time; a heavyweight pounded against her side, forcing the air from her lungs. She guarded her face, yet the strike that followed sent her arms into her face, throwing her back.

Doing her best to recover, Rachel’s back struck the wall, and she dove to the left as the hobgoblin charged her, crashing against the stone. Coughing and trying to get air back into her lungs, she fought past the pain, sweeping out the creature’s legs on his next advance and mounting him.

Vision tightening, she pounded his face as he tried to guard, but she wouldn’t let up; she saw another blow coming but ate it to deliver an elbow from her mounted position, splitting the goblin’s nose and sending blood into his eyes, blinding him.

"Aragh!"

"Hah-hah!"

Rachel delivered a clean strike to the temple, causing the creature’s eyes to roll back, and she coughed, shifting to slide off of him; he’d managed to get a few solid hits to her side, and her face was a little numb, but she’d won—no, she hadn’t won yet.

Forcing herself up with a groan, she looked up to see Anthony standing at a distance with a dozen wide-eyed children, all dressed in rags that were probably taken from the goblins.

Rachel caught the dagger he tossed to her, seeing the smirk on his face. "How...long have you been there?"

"Long enough," he chuckled. "Didn’t think you wanted me to get involved, but...you guys were kind of blocking the way out; I told the kids the bunny lady didn’t like help."

"She’s not a bunny, though," one of the eight-year-olds whispered, pointing at her ears. "Bunnies don’t have big ears like that! It’s not nice to call a beast woman the wrong name."

"Yeah," another boy mumbled, glaring at the hobgoblin. "Hare warriors are really sensitive about being called bunnies."

Rachel pointed at the kids before driving the knife into the unconscious hobgoblin’s throat and leaving it to bleed out. "See?! Even kids can understand I’m not a bunny! The education system here is...ugh-ack, heh, top-notch."

Her nose twisted as another spur of pain came to her side, and Anthony moved closer to help her up; she wanted to resist, but then she felt his muscles...

Why, why had she lost her muscle!? At least she could enjoy it from others.

"You okay? Scratch that—you’re bleeding all over the place, and I think we should grab some ice when we get back."

"I told you...I bleed white, not—"

"And you’re bleeding white," Anthony interjected.