His eyes twitched. "How?" He looked down and saw my knife-sword protruding from his chest like an unwelcome party guest. He staggered, knees buckling, collapsing to the ground. His hands gripped the blade, trembling as he tried to push it back. "You mother cockroach!" he wheezed, gurgling through rainbow vapor sizzling from the wound. "Oh, shhh~" Pixelated blood gushed from his mouth, and finally, he face-planted with a wet thud.
I didn't expect my plan to actually work. That Force Pull attempt was a last-minute Hail Mary that miraculously connected. Thinking about it now, I hadn't used Force Pull in front of SmileyX, which made sense. Good thinking, Kiko, I thought, relief flooding me like a post-boss victory screen.
Whoa, I almost died just now. Again. Note to self: 1) Be careful who you help. 2) Use your skills tactically; don't throw everything in one go for all to see. 3) Learn from SmileyX: observe and formulate a plan. Alright, I acknowledged, mentally filing the lessons away.
I oddly felt bad for taking out the duo. It was totally different from games because here I saw them face-to-face, bloody, messy, and disturbingly human. Am I a murderer now? I asked myself. Would I get tagged as a hero killer?
Then I noticed shadows began to hover above me. A cold sweat slid down my chin. Oh quack, I almost forgot—the boss battle, the Beholder. I staggered, pushing myself up, nearly slipping in my own blood.
"Uwaaaa!" the Beholder growled, its voice echoing through the lab. It blasted thick laser beams at the lab walls in rage. Explosions roared, collapsing segments of the wall as debris showered, shaking the ground.
"Sorry to disappoint, big fella," I muttered through the pain, under my breath. "I do not intend to die just yet." I was on one knee now—progress—squeezing every ounce of my energy.
I looked up, a cold, sharp sensation bloomed in my chest. The Beholder was just meters away. I knew it was large, but looking at it from this distance, it was humongous—as big as a van, but floating. Its tentacles squiggled below it like waves. Its minions circled above me, their eyes already glowing gold. But something was off; the Beholder's eyes emanated an aura of annoyance or disappointment.
"Uuuwww," its three pupils turned glowing, vibrant red, and stared intently at me. I felt the warmth of energy brewing from its three eyes, like staring into microwave ovens.
Oh man, I couldn't even do a heroic pose before croaking, like those anime shows I've watched. I pushed my other foot to stand, but my body felt very heavy, and I couldn't even feel my left hand; it looked pale. "Heh, would you look at that, this is it, huh," I said. Alas, I'm out of juice. What could I possibly do to fight this monstrosity in this state? If I could go back in time to choose an elemental skill, I could shoot fireballs or electric magic at it, but no, I'm bottlenecked with no such skill. Well, at least I'll have an honorable death, I pondered.
Then, out of nowhere, the little floating eye hovered in front of me. It wiggled a tentacle at the Beholder as if saying, "No, not him!" Pointed to itself, nodded, and pointed back to the Beholder.
The Beholder rolled its gigantic eyes. "Wuuuuh," it spouted, then its pupils turned back to glistening black.
The little floating eye clapped and turned to me, examining me with curiosity. Then it turned around and went to the Beholder, pointing at its mouth. Oddly, the Beholder was just there, its monstrous and murderous intent gone. It just gave a deep breath and opened its mouth unwillingly. The little floating eye went in, using its little tentacles to widen the Beholder's mouth. Breaking, creaking, door-opening-and-closing sounds echoed inside as if looking for something, and pulled out a potion with violet fluid with bubbles inside. My General Awareness pinged it: Rejuvenation Potion. It stared at it, wiped it, and headed straight to me. The little floating eye was no bigger than a basketball; it was smaller than the other floating eyes, who were four times its size. It then reached out the Rejuvenation Potion with its tentacles, staring at me intently.
"Uh, do you want me to have it?" I asked.
It nodded.
"Uh, okay." I reached out my trembling hand. I held it, but my strength failed me; it slipped from my hand, dropping it. The floating eye immediately swatted it before hitting the ground. It opened the Rejuvenation Potion and slowly drew it closer to my mouth. I knew better than to accept drinks from a stranger, but I sensed pity and sincerity in its stare. I wouldn't want to hurt this little guy's feelings, which had cheered for me against its bigger siblings.
I took it and chugged the purple stuff. It oddly tasted like prune juice with a hint of mint. I felt it hit my stomach, and I felt warmth spreading from it throughout my whole body. The throbbing pain on my wounds dissipated, my exhaustion subsided, and my strength returned.
"Uh, thanks," I said.
It clapped again.
Then a prompt popped up:
Would you accept the Young Ancient Beholder as your familiar? Yes/No
Its General Awareness name twitched and changed to Young Ancient Beholder.
What? It was an ancient Beholder? I was shocked; it was not just a floating eye, but it was an ancient Beholder, imagining the power displayed by the adult just earlier.
The bigger Beholder moved closer, its eyes locked at me, landing near the young Beholder.
It had been cheering on me while I was in the duel to the death and gave me a rejuvenation potion and on top of that, an ancient Beholder as my familiar—it's like winning a lottery. "Yes, I'd be honored to," I said sincerely. The prompt highlighted yes and faded. Another prompt popped at my lower left vision saying familiar unlocked. Acquired Young Ancient Beholder familiar. Telepathic link commencing. 0% began to load 1, 2, 3%.
The little Beholder raised its tentacles and immediately hugged or wrapped its tentacles around me, squeezing my neck. I didn't have time to react, and I felt strangled, but it realized this, unwrapped me, patted my back twice, and backed away.
"Uuuuuhhhhh," a sad bellow released by the big Beholder as tears brewed from its eyes. Weird, because where would its tear ducts be? Isekai, that's what it is, I reasoned with myself.
The young Beholder then hugged it. "Uwahuu," the Beholder cried as big teardrops splashed the ground, as big as baseballs. The adult wrapped its bigger tentacles at the little Beholder. The floating eyes one after another went in to become a big ball of huggery, squishing me in the process.
"Uh, guys, I can't breathe!" I gasped.
The ball unfurled, and the floating eyes hovered around us, creating a cone of spinning eyes, their eyes glowing in fiery rainbow colors. The little Beholder moved aside, and the adult's iris widened, revealing a portal, sucking my thoughts within it without permission.