Looking around, it became clear that Thorian was not the only one shocked. Melina and all the kobloids stared at the kobold with confusion and furrowed brows.
"Kobold word many. Kobold talk Thoreen!" Nox, who was standing behind the kobold, appeared visibly surprised.
On the other hand, the kobold looked at the night kobloid with a baffled expression, "Nox? Stop messing around and talk normally."
"That's how he has always talked," Thorian interjected while scratching the fur on his chin.
The kobold was even more surprised as he turned toward Thorian, "Thoreen? Since when can you talk normally?"
"It's not me that changed the way I speak. It's you," Thorian explained before looking at Melina, who was equally shocked, and asking, "Do you have any idea what is happening here?"
"No, I'm sorry, my lord," Melina shook her head. "I have never heard about a village with monsters that become citizens, so I have no clue what could have happened."
"What is happening now? Why did everyone change the way they speak all of a sudden?" The kobold growled and looked around the room in confusion and slight fear.
"It's not everyone that changed their way of speaking, kobold," Thorian clarified. "It's you. You changed the way you speak when you became a citizen."
The kobold's mouth hung open as he stared blankly in front of him, "That makes no sense. Why do I hear everyone differently then?"
"That, we will need to find out," Thorian nodded, gesturing for Nox to proceed.
The night kobloid walked forward and pricked his thumb with the stamp needle before pressing his blood on a new parchment. As with the previous one, the paper scattered into specks of light that Nox's black body absorbed.
"Can I speak like you two now?" Nox turned around with an excited and expectant look on his face, much to the horror of the kobold and the delight of Thorian.
Thorian grinned and replied, "Yes, you can. This is truly fascinating."
"Oh? Thoreen speaks normally!" Nox's eyes widened at Thorian's speech, and the latter could only chuckle and shake his head.
"It's Thorian, not Thoreen. Now that you can speak properly, don't make that mistake ever again."
"Thorian, huh? But I liked Thoreen better…"
Thorian rolled his eyes and ignored Nox, choosing instead to focus on the kobold. The white monster looked like he was experiencing an existential crisis.
Meanwhile, the kobloids followed after Nox and continued with the procedure. As the line gradually shrank, Thorian's focus shifted from them to the bulletin board at his side. There were still many quests that were not daily, but most of them required a level of strength that was miles above his current one.
As Thorian continued scanning the board, he noticed that one of the quests had a time limit of two days.
Interesting, I never heard of a quest like this.
Thorian snatched the quest from the board and read it.
Revenge on the Monsters Description The apocalypse has started, and monsters are roaming the world. Bloodthirsty, heartless, and cruel monsters slay and devour anyone that dares cross their path. Raise your weapon and take revenge for your fallen kin. This quest can be partially completed; the more milestones you cross, the better your reward. Quest Objective Kill as many monsters as you can. Structure Milestones Rewards Slay (0/50 monsters) Level +1 Slay (0/100 monsters) Previous rewards and a starting class skill of your choosing Slay (0/250 monsters) Previous rewards and Level +2 Slay (0/500 monsters) Previous rewards and a purple cloud weapon specific to your chosen class.
Reading the content of the quest, Thorian could not stop himself from laughing out loud, scaring Melina and the kobloids behind him.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Thorian, are you alright?” Nox tapped him on the shoulder and looked at him with concerned eyes, while Thorian had trouble containing his own laughter.
After a few seconds, he finally took a deep breath and turned around, “I’m sorry, it just seems that the heavens like to play the cruelest games.”
He looked back at the quest in his hand and smirked, So you’re giving me a choice, and a clear one at that: Either renounce any lingering feelings or act like some kind of hero of humanity.
Without waiting for another second, Thorian handed the quest to Melina and said, “Add it to my journal.”
The elven woman obliged and put the stamp back how it used to be. She stamped the new quest using the beeswax next to her and the parchment disappeared.
Looking at his journal, Thorian could see that the new quest was added to it at the end.
With his job practically finished inside the Village Hall, Thorian turned around and said, “Follow me outside once everyone has become an official citizen. Our hunt shall begin swiftly.”
Remembering one last detail, he looked at Melina, “Show them how to get their daily quests. They will need to do it on their own from tomorrow onwards.”
“Of course, my lord,” Melina nodded. “That will be my pleasure.”
Walking out the door, the storm was still raging outside with dark clouds blocking the moon and torrents of rain pouring on the ground. Thorian trudged through the mud and rain and headed for the walls beyond the tall trees. Looking around, he heaved out a sigh of relief.
Seems like none of the apocalypse monsters appeared inside a village. Our luck is good.
However, the closer he was to the walls the more his eyebrows frowned. He could hear screaming, shrieking, and increasingly loud strikes and thuds.
Thorian rushed through the dense trees and climbed up the stairs of the watchtower without stopping for a second. From his vantage point, he could see dozens of monsters trying to break the wooden walls with all their might.
The bulk of the monster horde was made of goblins and hobgoblins. However, there was also a pack of five giant cat-looking monsters with a large boulder stuck at the end of their tails. Each time they swiped tails, the boulder would strike the wooden wall with immense speed, cracking it slightly.
Oh chaskas? Those cute little things.
Thorian smiled as he looked at the monsters trying their best to invade his territory. If such a scene occurred only a week before, Thorian wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from bursting out laughing. The thought such weak creatures would try to pick a fight with him was ironic in and of itself.
Oh well, let’s see how good Ether Lines Nexus truly is.
Thorian conjured a fireball within his palm and launched it at one of the chaskas chipping away at his village’s protection. The spell pierced through the rain and illuminated the night sky before striking one of the cat monsters straight in the head.
Just as the creature fell, Thorian didn't give his enemies any chance to breathe and conjured another spell. Like a god of fire, Thorian launched one fireball after the next toward the wave of monsters beneath him. With them being so densely packed, he didn't even need to aim with pinpoint accuracy to hit one or two of them at a time.
With the sky pouring torrents of rain, Thorian didn't need to worry about starting a forest fire at all. By the time his spells claimed the lives of their victims, the rain would have already quenched the fire and stopped it from spreading.
Quickly scanning the battlefield, Thorian immediately noticed the most imminent threat. A hobgoblin was stretching his bowstring while aiming at Thorian's face. The latter could only smirk at the attempt and conjure another fireball.
Without even needing to time his attack or keep track of the arrow, Thorian launched his spell in the direction the arrow would take to reach him. Just as he expected, the fireball flickered midway as it burned the arrow before continuing on its path toward the hobgoblin's face.
Level up!
Level up!