Kobold Mutant(Giant) has been slain. +16 Soul Essences +3 Uncommon Card Shards

The loud noises of the ferocious battle finally stopped echoing through the forest.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Xavier took a step forward, his eyes still on the corpse lying in front of him. Nudging a foot at the corpse, he pushed it, wanting to be sure that it would not spring back up to attack him. After ensuring it was dead, Xavier looked around, surveying the surroundings.

The forest seemed to have gone silent after the monster’s cries and Xavier’s katana slashes ceased. All that remained was the sound of his ragged breathing as he took lungfuls of air. Blood was sprayed on the nearby trees, and he almost slipped because of the crimson puddles of blood around him.

Xavier was panting heavily, leaning against a hulking, unmoving body. The ruby katana glimmered brightly in the chest of the monstrosity he’d faced just now.

The little Ember Sparrow that was always by his side landed on his shoulder chirping loudly.

“You also think that our encounters with monsters are abnormally high these days? I thought so as well,” Xavier responded to Glut.

At some point, Xavier learned to communicate efficiently with Glut. At least, that was what he thought. He was pretty sure that Glut could understand him, and that the Ember Sparrow answered in his own unique way. The others had been staring at him weirdly for talking to Glut but given that he was about to become a tamer, Xavier didn’t think it was too weird. It was totally normal for him to start talking to his companions. That was how he felt, and it didn’t matter what others said or thought about it.

Glut chirped happily, rubbing his head against Xavier’s neck.

“I know, I know,” Xavier mumbled, getting up once again. He glanced at the corpse of the Kobold Mutant and sighed heavily.

“How am I going to carry this one to the camp?” He wondered while scratching his chin, smiling weirdly at the corpse.

Glut chirped once again, causing Xavier to nod.

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“Yeah, I doubt that anyone would want to eat the meat of something that had human-like traits. The skin and claws are very useful though.”

Xavier decided that it was time to use his butcher skills to hack through the Kobold Mutant’s claws and cut them off. He removed bits of the Kobold’s skin and decided that it was better to ask the leather workers in the camp to appraise the Kobold’s skin before he would come back to collect more. He didn’t want to waste any more time so deep inside the forest being injured and drained of Stamina.

Xavier’s stomach grumbled aloud, resulting in Glut chirping a few more times.

“You’re hungry as well? Let’s hurry and return home then. Mom and the others should have finished cooking already.”

Satisfied with himself, Xavier decided to leave the Kobold Mutant’s corpse where it was.

Xavier put the claws and bits of hide into his backpack before flinging it across his shoulder. Then he rushed back to their small camp, where his parents, grandmother, Lelya, and some older hunters were already waiting for him.

That was unusual.

Even more unusual was the grave expression on their faces. Something was wrong.

Xavier noticed a malnourished woman among the familiar group of faces. She was wearing clothes that were reduced to rags and her hair was matted. Her gaze was unsteady, and she kept looking around, fearing something might jump upon her at any moment. She was covered in dirt and her chipped nails told him that she had been scouring for food through bins. The woman must have been trying to survive on her own for a month, if not longer. But that was not the important point. Important was that Xavier didn’t know the woman. She was a newcomer, but how was it possible? They were certain that they’d combed through the entire village several times since the Goblin Shaman had been slaughtered. All the survivors were with them.

“Xavier, you’re back!” Silvia Vador said, sighing in relief.

“Back and starving,” Xavier chuckled lightly, trying to ease the tension. Unfortunately, his attempt failed miserably.

“We got no time for jokes, kiddo,” Walter said, sighing heavily.

“This is Katharina. She is a survivor from Logwood.”

Logwood? Did she come from the neighboring village? There are more survivors! Xavier’s expression lit up, only to see his father shake his head.

“Son, you are too optimistic. She didn’t bring good news. If anything, she is a refugee from Logwood, who was barely able to escape.”

Xavier’s expression turned sour in an instant. He realized something about his father’s tone that worried him extremely.

“Escape from what?”

“Escape from the Hordes of Monsters that ran over the neighboring villages.”

[End of Volume 1]