15

The Rigal horde entered melee range, a mighty brawl erupted as both humanoids  attacked the other group. On the human's side, 

[Alex: lvl 20]  [Emmanuel: Lvl 19]  [Mel: lvl 19]  [Colem: lvl 16]

The four worked close, and kept each other in check. approaching and disengaging appropriately. Even simple grunts and feints caused the Rigals to hesitate. Asai on the side ardently held his position. He ignored the sweat, he continued to breath and ensure his muscles had enough oxygen to continue this extensive physical. He kept his attacks short and quick, prioritizing stabbing the creature's eyes and rather than blocking he dodged, leaning back, stepping back when required. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, his heart racing as he took claimed another kill. 

Although he tried, as he lacked experience in engaging such numbers, naturally the leather that covered his upper body, his forearms were filled with cuts. Luckily all his wounds were shallow. He watched as the Rigals continued to stumble amongst themselves, coursing others to miss their attacks, to fall. Most of the hits Asai had received so far were random flails that the enemy landed without proper form. He chuckled as he saw one Rigal stab another by taking a swing too wide.

Minutes passed, the adrenaline that coursed his veins began to diminish. He began to slump, to tire. His eyes tired, his body desired rest. In the lull of the battle, he took a quick glance towards the others.

He saw how the four would take turns sending one of their party members to the backline to receive a small red flask. HP potions I'll assume. Good, at least Clam and Co are good for support. I return my glance to the front to find a Rigal diving off the small wall of bodies/Rigal corpses and towards me. In my lack of judgement, I fell back to the floor. A small concussion nearly sent me into slumber. I bit my lips, the pain forcing remnants of adrenaline to keep my body running. I thrust my dagger towards his head only to find the handle slimy with blood. my grip gone, I was unable to impale it. This mother fucker, the Rigal wildly swung its fists against me, I stuck my arms up to block what I could. However blows here and there passed through my guard and struck me. 

And that's when I saw it. Clam charged forward and booted the little shite off me. I snatched the red vial from his hands and downed it like a shot of vodka. It's content burned my throat, heat spreading throughout my body. My clarity returns and I return to the front ready to throw fists. Fuck it, I'm going to go boxing with these little fuckers!

Heavily breathing, I look towards the front, and then to the sides only to find the horde defeated. I glanced towards the party. Everyone was exasperated, flopping onto their asses, heavily gasping for air. Their armour as ruined as much as mine were. Mel noticed my gaze and gave me a quick wink.

[Alex: lvl 21]  [Emmanuel: Lvl 20]  [Mel: lvl 20]  [Colem: lvl 18]  [Clam: Lvl 5] Fucking hell, that was like a hundred kills? Just for a single level for those guys. 

[Asai: Lvl 18] Sweet baby Loha. Five levels for my involvement. I really am levelling at a different rate compared to them.

"Not bad kid. You've definitely earned your share. Let me know if you want to join a guild when your balls drop some more alright?" Alex, seated himself next to me. Our backs against the stone walls.

"Sure, I'll think about it." I returned a grin of my own. Noticing my weapon that no longer resembled a dagger he reached into his rucksack and presented me with a new one.

[Iron Dagger] 

"Here Kid, should serve you better than your toothpick. Take care of her, her name's Amy." I gladly accept his gift, however I won't be keeping the name. Naming a random dagger? No thanks. Maybe if it was something rare or legendary like a mithril blade. Regardless, I appreciate the gift.

"Thank you leader. I'll use Amy well." Satisfied, Alex got up and returned to his group, checking the state of their armour and weapons. 

After a moment of respite, whilst Mel kept watch on the tunnels. The others brought out whetstones to sharpen and realign their blades. I should probably do the same. A freshly sharpened dagger will do me good. Upon approaching the group, Alex began tutoring us.

"Here, make sure your blade is wet, never grind the blade on the whetstone dry. The trick is to angle the blade at a certain degree. It all depends on how sharp you want your weapon to be. However keep in mind that the sharper you make the metal. The quicker it will be to bend and chip." He glanced towards Clam. Who nodded. "You see, I'm not saying sharper is bad but, the sharper you make the metal, the skinnier and thinner it will be at the edges. The professionals like me carry around multiple weapons for this reason. The sharper blade is for quick fights, whilst the thicker blade will last me for longer melees. And even if the sides dent and dull, I can at least continue to stab without worrying about chipping off the tip. Understand?" Nods all around. Even I nodded, good to learn something new. 

I glanced down to inspect my new weapon.

[Iron Dagger] upon examining it's edges, it indeed seems to be designed solely for stabbing and not slicing/cutting. I'll keep that in mind.