Chapter 47

Opal stood in the door glaring daggers at the old man, no, she was angry enough that these weren’t daggers being glared, but full on swords.

Rain ducked down behind Opal, having to crouch down a foot or so to fit his head beneath the door frame, filling it entirely with his body.

“What in the blue blazes! M-monsters! Run lass run! Save yourself!”

“Hold on now! Wait!” said Lyra, not liking the way the situation was escalating.

“Never! This leveler killed loads of Gobbos and thinks Gobbos suck! You heard him!”

“That’s- you can’t just kill him!”

Rain took a step forward into the cabin, his head having to duck down as he was too tall for the ceiling, his ears squashed up against it and the planks beneath his feet groaned alarmingly under his weight.

Lyra stepped in between Opal and Rain and the old man and spread her arms.

“You can’t have him!”

“Lass, I appreciate it but you can’t do this, don’t sacrifice yourself for me.”

The old man suddenly cricked his neck. Lyra blinked at the sound and turned her head. Behind her the old man was limbering up, cracking his knuckles and stretching his limbs.

“H-hey, you can’t be thinking of fighting? You’ll die! Please just run away!”

The old man squinted at her. “I don’t know what’s going on here lass but I see dungeon monsters and it gets me blood up.”

“B-but you’re just a frail old man!”

The old man suddenly slid his feet apart and breathed in, centering his core. He curled his arms and tensed them. Muscle exploded up from his hands, pounds and pounds of heavy defined musculature rolling up over him, his body transforming, swelling outward as his back straightened and his chest broadened, his pecs ballooning as his shirt tore open.

Lyra could only watch with rounded eyes and eyebrows raised high enough that they looked like they would detach from her head and float away. The frail old man rapidly transformed into a hulking old man, his bald head perched atop a six-foot body that would be the envy of bodybuilders anywhere.

Rain reached out a paw to grab the startled Lyra and pull her out of danger when the old man snapped a hand forward shoving Lyra aside in the same motion his other bulging arm rocketing forward with his step to meteor up into Rain’s gut.

Rain had only a moment to process what was happening and how hard he had just been hit before he was launched off his feet and thrown through the wall of the building, planks disintegrating around his body as he blew through the wood and was sent tumbling and rolling across the forest floor.

Lyra stared at the old man slack jawed.

“You, you aren’t an old man?”

“Course I am lass, I am old as oak trees, just got a few leveler tricks left in me still. Ya know how it is eh?” he grinned beneath his white beard.

“Rain!” cried out Opal staring at the massive hole in the wall Rain had disappeared through. She turned on the old man, her fists balled.

“What have you done! You ancient fuck!” Opal drew her rapier and cutlass, raised them into the air and charged the old man.

“Ah, this reminds me of the old days, squashing and bursting Goblins, good times. Give me a sec lass just let me deal with this one.”

“DIE!” cried Opal swinging her blades down. The metal struck home, landing on the old man’s outstretched arm. Unfortunately it did next to nothing, only leaving behind a pair of slight scratches before the blades slid off, Opal simply lacked the strength to really harm his Skill reinforced body. A few thin lines of blood ran down the old man’s arm.

“Oh, you’re a feisty one for a Goblin, not even evolved too? Come ‘ere, let me pop you.”

The old man reached out with one large hand toward the Goblin who had suddenly gone pale and was backing away. Before his grasping hand could latch onto her head however the wall exploded and a huge black mass blasted paws first into the cabin setting the structure creaking and rocking like it was going to collapse. The old man was spear tackled and went flying into the hot stove behind him, the kettle crushing beneath his back.

He hissed in pain as hot water splashed up his back. Before he could recover however a massive paw wrapped around his neck and slammed him against the wall causing the entire cabin to shudder.

“Just for threatening her I’m going to make this a screaming death for you leveler.” Rain drew back his lips and snarled, teeth flashing, saliva dripping from his lips.

“Fuck you!” snarled back the old man from beneath Rain’s paw. “Monster scum like you should all be enslaved or exterminated or placed in experience farms to die and die and die.”