Villain's Second Heart: Trapped in A Fantasy Novel (BL)-Chapter 58: Spriggan Clean-up

After nearly four hours walking through the sweltering heat, Ezra was drenched in sweat. His adventure gear clung to his skin, and everything was slick.

It was his first time alone - truly alone, since coming to this world. Jarring as it was, he embraced the opportunity. This was how he reclaimed his freedom.

Farther ahead on the mountain path, Ezra spied suspicious and tall structures made of black leaves or feathers - they rose from the mountainous terrain, a cluster of pyramids around the bend.

He'd seen 'Spriggans' mentioned in his world many times - sometimes as dark-winged fairies, others as diminutive forest creatures. To his memory, they were always associated with darkness, or the color black. He assumed the tall black huts in the distance were Spriggan dwellings.

He wheezed as he readied his spear for battle. If the Spriggans didn't kill him, the heat might.

He plodded forward, each step more tenuous than the last as he approached the black structures. They seemed so far away only moments ago - and yet he was practically at their doorstep.

His eyes darted around every which way. Searching for any sign of monsters - of violent lifeforms ready to assault.

Nothing.

That is, until he heard a snicker, quiet and low. Almost an echo.

He turned to one of the nearby huts, brushing past the entrance. It was empty on the inside, but there was a hole inside that burrowed deep into the earth.

'Guess they prefer underground,' Ezra thought. He was nervous to climb down - not only was it dark, but he'd be leaving himself exposed and liable to be trapped.

[You have 30 FP, Ezra. Worst case scenario, you can use Manifest creatively and make your way out of here.]

Ezra nodded. Alcor brought up good points - sometimes.

He jumped down the hole and landed with a soft thud on the subterranean floor below. All around him was a large chamber - there were many other such entrances, likely connected to the other huts he saw. Dim lights like magicked candles burned with blue flame, floating in the stale air of the cavern.

At first, he didn't notice - but as his eyes adjusted, he saw he was surrounded by small, fuzzy, somewhat humanoid forms. A small army of Spriggans, watching him with beady black eyes.

"Eesh!" one screamed, throwing a rock at him.

He sidestepped, and the rock tumbled harmlessly on the ground.

Ezra raised his spear in the air and twirled it around, readying himself for battle. "Sorry, little guys. But someone needs your mana a whole lot more than you do."

"Akak!" another shouted from behind him. He tilted his head just in time to see the diminutive humanoid start to gather up magic.

'Explains why they have so much mana. Rav could have mentioned they were spellcasters.'

The first blast of magic shot toward him in a chaotic spiral of green fire. Ezra barely had time to react, rolling sideways as the spell whizzed past, singing the cavern wall behind him. The Spriggans chattered excitedly, their tiny hands weaving more spells in quick succession, glowing symbols appearing in the air.

Ezra lunged. His spear whistled through the underground chamber as he swept it low, slamming the blunt end against the nearest Spriggan's side. The creature let out a shriek before crumpling to the ground.

The others wasted no time retaliating. Crackling orbs of black lightning zipped through the air, forcing Ezra into a full sprint. He ducked, rolled, and then used his spear to vault himself over a cluster of them, landing with a sharp pivot to bring his weapon crashing down. A sharp shink echoed as his violet spear skewered one of the creatures, dispersing it into raw mana on impact.

More Spriggans emerged from the tunnels, screeching in fury.

Ezra had no choice but to go on the offensive. His spear became a blur as he spun through the horde, his spear moving through Spriggan after Spriggan with finesse - exhausted from the heat though he was, the raw adrenaline of battle kept him at his very best. Each strike burst the creatures into pure mana, feeding the air with raw magical essence.

But more kept coming - tiny bodies leaped from the walls, with flashing claws and streams of magic attacks.

A frenzied Spriggan landed on his back, biting down. Ezra cursed as he snatched the creature by its furry head and slammed it into the ground. The force of the impact cracked even the hard stone ground.

Without hesitation, he used the opening to impale another lunging foe, sending it howling into oblivion.

One final enemy. He flicked his spear forward like a javelin, the weapon streaking through the air in a violet arc before impaling the creature mid-step. Its body shimmered, then disintegrated into pure mana.

The whirlwind of Spriggan guts and spells zapping through the air finally came to an end, and Ezra finally stopped fighting. He let his shoulders drop. But it wasn't time to relax - he had to take care of his main objective.

He glanced at a level-up notification but dismissed it. He'd check after.

He held his arms out, standing in the center of the cavern where the mana sifting through the air was at its thickest.

"Absorb!" he shouted.

Nothing happened.

"Eh...Alcor? A little help?"

[Hmph. Focus on the beating of your Apocalypse Engine. Imagine that purple sigil on your chest reaching out and grabbing the mana from the air.]

Ezra narrowed his eyes, focusing on Alcor's advice. Like clockwork, the swirling mana in the cavern began to pour into him.

It flowed into his heart - smoother and lighter than the Torrent was. Almost...comforting. In a minute, he was finished, and he could tell he was brimming with excess mana.

He decided to finally take a look at his level.

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[Level 15 → 16

Strength +0 (17)

Vitality +0 (14)

Agility +1 (17)

Spirit +1 (16)

Charisma +0 (13)

Luck +0 (10)]

Afterward, he navigated to his profile.

[Name: Alcor Star (Ezra)

HP: 444/500

MP: 2650/500

Race: Human (Irregular)

Level: 16

Class: Mana Thief]

He gained about 2,000 mana from the battle. Not a bad haul.

"I'm on my way back, Oby. Hope you didn't miss me too much."