Leveling up is a mandatory part of any game.
What would be the point of a game where you encounter a dragon as soon as you leave the starting village in RPGs, or having to fight a full platoon with tank support in an RTS when you only have a regular rifle and a pistol?
So yes, leveling up is important, but it's not something the real world takes into consideration.
Why mention this?
Obviously, because I'm facing a completely uneven situation right after I managed to defeat a difficult enemy.
Seconds. That's all it took to go from hard mode to impossible mode.
Right after I defeated Captain Kobold and my two animal companions dealt with the minions, the ground started to shake. Nothing too strong, it was like when a large, heavy truck passes in front of your house, but it was strange since: 1.we're on a hill and 2. We're in a country that doesn't have geological faults.
Shortly after, several kobolds began to emerge in a torrent from the holes. Before I could call Lumi and Impeto over to me, the entire street we had come down was covered in kobolds.
Fortunately, none were as big as the captain—oh no, I meant as big as the kobold commander.
Some were a little larger and had weapons and armor made of iron, wore chest protection, but lacked gauntlets or leg guards. And their weapons didn't seem to be as good as his spear either.
The fact is, the entire street, an area of almost a kilometer, was full of kobolds, creatures that were a mix of humanoid lizard and dog.
No, rather, they were practically bipedal chihuahuas covered in mostly reddish-brown scales, with some having a more yellowish, orange, or blackish tone. Bulging eyes almost like iguanas, and many couldn't even close their mouths completely because of their teeth.
I didn't even need to call; Lumi and Impeto immediately appeared near me. Before I could even leave, I noticed that despite being tired, they were staring intently at the swarm of kobolds in front of us.
There were too many kobolds for me to count, but considering their size and the density I could see. I imagine there must have been more than 70, and counting.
'Tsk, of course that last scream was to call for massive reinforcements. Damn kobold commander, couldn't he have just fallen in peace instead of making such a mess!!!'
"Impeto, can you use your fire form?"
I asked without taking my eyes off the kobolds who seemed to be waiting for all those who were still leaving.
"Koo, krrrooo kror koo." (I can, but I can only maintain it for 1 at most.)
"It's better than nothing, do you think your flames in that form will be enough to deal with all the goblins here, or at least most of them?"
"...Krokoo, buukk koo, koo koo" (...maybe, but I don't know if I can handle it, I'm already exhausted)
A maybe in this situation would be a yes for me, and that's all I needed.
"Lumi, do you think you can hold on a little longer?"
*Whhhummm*
Judging by the sound, that must be his way of saying, 'Do I really need to?'
"...Oh well, if you don't want it, that's fine, then Impeto will gets the huge magic stone that the kobold commander had. It's a really big stone that I didn't think he'd be able to eat by himself, buuuut since you don't want it, I guess I'll have to give it to him whole." I tried to be as provocative as I could just say each word.
"Aaaannnnd there's also this bunch of magic stones we'll get after dealing with these kobolds. What a shame, huh~. I guess everything will go to Impeto since he and I are going to do all the work, right~~~~." I said, trying to imitate the way the most annoying anime characters I could remember spoke.
I'm sure I heard the beagles' ears, which are always lowered, perk up completely.
*Warff wsrff warfff grrrre*
His barking returned intensely, and I didn't need to see to know he was looking at the kobolds like a flock of birds ready to be eaten.
'He took that little boob from the Boss.' I thought quickly, remembering the first guard dog we had.
In this brief conversation, the number of kobolds kept increasing, and now the entire group of kobolds was in front of us. None of them came out of their holes anymore.
'No wonder, right?. I know ant nests are big, but managing to keep track of these numbers in the middle of a big city... The world really will have a lot of problems to adapt.'
His barking returned intensely, and I didn't need to see to know he was eyeing the kobolds like a flock of birds ready to be eaten.
'He picked up this bad habit from the Boss,' I thought quickly, remembering the first guard dog we had.
In that brief conversation, the number of kobolds kept increasing, and now the entire group was in front of us. None of them emerged from their burrows.
'No wonder, right? I know ant nests are big, but managing to keep track of that many in the middle of a big city... The world really has a lot of problems.'
I have to admit something about myself: my capacity for silly thoughts regardless of the situation is impressive. Now, before us, what must have been a hundred, plus a few dozen more kobolds, wielding various weapons—daggers, clubs, axes, shields, "swords," or simply their hands (paws?)—had gathered, but strangely without spears or bows.
We expected them to charge at us like a wave, but they just stood there staring at us. I could almost see something like pity in their eyes.
'What are they doin—'
I couldn't finish my thought; the instant the last kobold emerged from the anthill and joined the others, new tremors began, now far worse than before. It felt like the whole hill had turned into a high-intensity jackhammer set to hammer away.
I could literally feel my teeth grinding against each other, my brain shaking along with all my organs, my bones even starting to ache from the vibrations. Lumi and Impeto were even worse off, perhaps because they were "closer to the ground," they were even more affected.
Impeto had fallen backward into a position I'm sure no chicken would ever make in real life. Lumi was trying in vain to cover her ears with her paws, and his eyes were already turning over, showing that he was about to faint because of the vibrations.
The vibrations continued for 10 seconds until, from the center of the park, dangerously close to the rubble where the red rock had been, a small mound of sand began to rise, which quickly turned to earth and slid down the shape as it emerged from the ground.
Moments later, the thing rolled over with a rumble as its enormous body fell forward.
*THUUUUMMMMPPPP*
It was the size of a two-story building, about the same width as a bus, maybe even a little bigger. Brown scales covered most of its body, with some variations in shade, plus some gold and black here and there, covering it from snout to tail.
A golden-yellow crest ran from the top of its head to the tip of its tail, matching its snake-like eyes that were almost the size of my head, a forked tongue occasionally licking the air. A few bits of sand and dirt still stuck to the creature's body fell on it, but it didn't seem to mind.
*Sssssrrrrrrrmmmmnnnnnggggggkkkk*
Only when it fully emerged and let out a loud, hoarse hiss did the kobolds move. They didn't attack but separated into a perfect circle covering the entire park, forming rows with the slightly taller kobolds at the back of the rows, menacing looks coming in our direction.
They didn't leave any side without a kobold; it was a complete siege. And the creature that emerged from the ground finally turned tolerantly towards us, and the thing that kept repeating in my head was:
'IF THIS WERE A GAME, THERE WOULD BE MANY COMPLAINTS FROM THE PLAYERS!!!! WHO PUT A DAMN EARTH DRAGON IN ON THE SECOND DAY OF THE **********!!!!!'