Run

Run.

One step after another.

Faster and faster.

I can't stop. If I do, I'll be crushed.

So, I have to keep running.

"Two steps left."

"Right-o!" My body responds before my mind processes. The next moment, a claw appears where I just was. It catches a few tuffs of hair, but better than my head.

So this is the power of precognition.

...yeah, never fighting against that without a pay raise, or pay in general.

"Forward."

"I'm already doing that!" My feet stop for an instant and you're already scolding me?!? Dodging takes a lot of concentration, you know!! Not to mention, it's already been half an hour!!!! "Any bead on the core's location yet?"

"Still hidden. Duck."

"Agh!" Another beam of ice whooshes overhead. This run and run strategy sucks!!! There's no way that monster isn't intelligent. It's probably hiding the core somewhere unusual. A real pain, if you ask me. I only have so much stamina!

"Hmm. Ceiling."

"Wait, what does that mean?!?" You can't just say 'ceiling' without explaining anyth--

"Keep moving."

"Waah!" Why is it running straight at me?!?

BOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!

And how can it shatter the wall like that?!? Now the chamber's dyed in a dark purple. Why? I don't know!! Ask the weird void the monster's heads are stuck in.

"Now ceiling. On it."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?!?" You can use more than five words, you know! Well, it doesn't take that much to kick off the ground, though burying my soles in the ceiling is super painful! And did she forget about gravity??? It keeps trying to pull me down! Not to mention, that monster's starting to come back out!!!

Wait, doesn't it look a bit different now? More heads maybe?

"Found it."

"You found it--"

"Down now. Fast."

"Hup!!" My instincts kick in as I push off the... huh? What happened to the ceiling? It was there not even a nanosecond ago. Now all I see is the sky.

"Disintegration."

"Disintegration?!?" Of course it's using terrifying spells. This is why I hate these amalgamations. Pick a lane!!! "Whatever, just tell me where the core's at!"

"Right in the middle. Lion's mouth." Okay, so there's a lion in the middle of that mass of heads... where? I can see a snake and a goat. There's a monkey too. But where the heck is the lion???

"I can't see it!" Plus, how am I going to get close enough to a single head? There is literally a massive chimera in the way, if you've forgotten!

"Follow. Forward." With those two words, the girl points straight ahead. Right into the monster's grasp. Towards an near-zero victory. And a possible death.

But I guess this is what it takes if I want to make it home before the day's over.

"Yes, ma'am!" One step forward. Then another. Rushing onwards.

One moment passes.

Then two.

Hands, talons hooves -- a whole bunch of arms reach towards me, blotting out every direction.

However, that's nothing compared to her.

"Right. Left. Down left. Up. Left. Up right. Down left." With each word, I can see where I need to land next. The ground. The ceiling. One of the very arms barreling down. Of course, I'm not perfect. A cut here. A small gash there. But none of that is enough to stop me.

I can keep going.

"Jump." And now, I'm right in front of the monster's maws, beams of death pointed right towards me.

...wait a moment.

"What now????" Crap. Crap. Crap. Cr--

"Reach out!"

"Okay!" I thrust out my right arm!

...how is this supposed to help again?

"Keep going." Countless strands of mana wrap themselves around the chimera's heads, parting them from the center. Isn't that spell used to make clothes? She's much more creative than I am. Regardless...

"I can see you, you dang lion."

I shove my hand right into its mouth. It doesn't even try to bite off my hand; it clearly knows the danger it's in. But too bad. I don't have to touch the core to break it.

Ugh, this is gonna hurt.

"[Fireball]-- huh?"

Oh, I'm back in my house. I guess I blacked out there again. Not sure whether we won or not, but I have a feeling it all worked out... probably. And it seems like my bed made it through okay! The floor beneath... not so much.

And the girl? Ah, she's already asleep. She deserves at least that much for making my job easier. Not you though Professor.

Well, whatever. If there's still more things to do, I'll deal with them tomorrow.

For now, I'm just gonna get some sleep.