"What's that thing?" Nox's gaze followed Thorian's, narrowing as he spotted the danger lurking in the shadows. As Nox took a step forward to investigate, Thorian's arm shot out, halting him.
"Stop. That creature is dangerous."
Thorian's eyes remained locked on the Thri-kreen emerging from the dark forest. Bathed in moonlight, the creature's immense, mantis-like body came into focus. Its green exoskeleton was adorned with brown markings, but what caught Thorian's attention was the absence of any purple streaks.
Good, it's not a Psion, Thorian thought with a sigh of relief. We can handle a warrior type without too much trouble.
The Thri-kreen clattered its mandibles, emitting a menacing hiss as it readied itself for battle. Its powerful thighs tensed, reminiscent of a tightly coiled Roman slingshot.
Seeing the creature poised to attack, a brown kobold bravely stepped forward, intent on blocking the oncoming assault. Thorian had no time to react before the Thri-kreen sprang into action.
Swish!
With agility rivaling even Nox's, the colossal mantis charged at the brown kobold. In response, the defender raised his guard and fortified his forearms with his rocky armor skill.
The Thri-kreen leaped into the air, its silhouette framed by the luminous moon. Its razor-sharp claws gleamed silver as it descended upon the kobold. Bracing for impact, the defender ensured his rocky arms covered his vital organs. Alas, the creature's claws proved too sharp.
Shring!
With a resounding crash, the Thri-kreen's gleaming claws tore through the kobold's rocky armor, sinking into flesh beneath. Just as it seemed the kobold would lose his arms, a shadowy figure darted in from the side, delivering a powerful kick that sent the creature reeling.
Thorian, having prepared his waterball spell, seized the opening provided by Nox. He unleashed his attack on the Thri-kreen before it could regain its footing.
A tremendous splash followed as the gargantuan mantis was hurled backward, creating an opening for another strike. Nox pounced on the opportunity, slamming his axe into the falling behemoth and shattering one of its colossal claws.
As Nox noticed Thorian advancing beside him, he activated his shadow skill and enveloped the wounded Thri-kreen in a cloak of darkness. Thorian closed in, his hand ablaze with fiery red energy.
Combustion Touch.
Thorian's inferno enveloped the Thri-kreen, immersing it in a hellish blaze. After a final, feeble struggle, the colossal mantis succumbed to the flames.
As Nox's shadows receded, the Thri-kreen's charred remains collapsed into a heap. All that lingered were Thorian's searing flames and the remnants of steam from the earlier waterball.
"Brother, are you okay?"
Thorian looked over to see the brown kobold attending to his injured sibling. Blood stained the wounded kobold's brown fur a deep crimson, and Thorian caught a glimpse of white bone through the torn flesh.
"I'm okay," the injured kobold gasped through the pain. "That bastard cut through my armor like it was nothing."
"Priests, come out and help!" Thorian called beyond the gate before he and Nox approached the injured kobold.
Visibly concerned, Nox hurried to his wounded friend and asked, "Are you okay? Is it just a flesh wound?"
"Thank you, Nox," the brown kobold managed a pained smile. "If you hadn't helped me, I'd have lost both my arms."
"Still..." Nox gazed down at his friend with sadness as a kobloid priest hurried to the scene.
"Healing," the white kobloid invoked his spell, and golden light emanated from his hand, tenderly enveloping the brown kobold's wound. Gradually, flesh mended, concealing the exposed bone, while veins reconnected, and the skin fully healed.
"Huh, much better," the brown kobold flexed his forearm, rotating it left and right to ensure its proper function. He looked at the kobloid priest with gratitude. "Thank you, you saved me."
"That skill is truly a miracle," the other brown kobold remarked with an impressed whistle. He glanced at his healed brother and teased, "You would have become a cripple without it."
"I would still have had my other arm," the healed kobold retorted playfully. "I'd have no problem beating you up with just one."
The concerned brother shook his head and clicked his tongue. "You're still in the mood to talk smack after almost losing your arm."
As the brown kobolds bantered and laughed with Nox, the once-injured kobold's expression turned thoughtful. "But how did that bastard break through my rocky armor? Are its claws just that sharp?"
"That's its skill," Thorian explained. "That giant mantis is called a Thri-kreen warrior. One of its abilities is armor breaking, which is why it could easily slash through your skill."
The two brown kobolds stared at Thorian, their mouths agape, before casting their gazes downward. "That is a concerning thought. To think that there are skills that can just ignore our armor so easily."
"That depends on the strength of your armor," Thorian countered. "If it were much stronger, the Thri-kreen wouldn't have been able to break through."
The brown kobold looked up at Thorian with a raised eyebrow before bursting into hearty laughter. "So you're saying we just need to become stronger, and we won't have to worry about it. I like that."
"That's the one rule of this world," Thorian shrugged before changing subjects. "Anyway, now that you're healed, we need to move."
He turned to Nox and said, "We'll patrol along the village wall. You'll cover the east side, and I'll take the west." Shifting his focus to the two brown kobolds, Thorian continued outlining his plan. "You two will keep watch from the watchtower at this gate. If you spot monsters approaching, engage them if you think you can defeat them, but stay inside if you can't. It doesn't matter if the wall is breached; your lives are more important."
The two kobolds took a moment to process the orders before nodding, while Nox gazed at Thorian with a hint of sadness. "So we're not going to fight together?"
Caught off guard by the unexpected response, Thorian's mouth hung open for a few seconds before he chuckled. "It's just until the assassins and the brown army return. After that, we'll fight together."
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Nox reluctantly nodded and then turned his attention to the two brown kobolds. "See you in a bit, you two."
"Don't die," the brown kobold replied.
With a light chuckle, Nox and Thorian sprang up onto the wall. They then sprinted along the ledge, each heading in a different direction.
While patrolling the village, Thorian encountered goblins, chaskas, Thumpalopes, and Rabarians. Fortunately, he didn't come across any group too large or powerful for him to handle. Employing his fireball and waterball spells, he bombarded his foes with ranged attacks before closing in and finishing the job with his Combustion Touch.
It took forty minutes for the group that had ventured to the village hall to return to the southern gate. During that time, Thorian successfully leveled up both his magus class and his flame kobold species.
Display Panel
Ding
Status Panel Race Flame Kobold Level 5/30 (exp: 13/700) Class Magus Level 19/20 (exp: 383/490) Lifespan 40 years Cultivation realm Qi Gathering Second Stage (5.3%) Stats Strength 43 Agility 47 Constitution 24 Mana 54 Qi 14 Free Points 9 Skills Minor Fire Affinity (Passive) Flame resistance (Passive) Fireball (Active) Combustion Touch (Active) Waterball (active)
So I have 9 free points left? I should leave them be for now, they can prove useful in a pinch.
Upon checking his system panel, Thorian quickly refocused on the scene unfolding before him. The small brown kobloid army was making its way toward the southern gates, guided by the three assassins. Now that they possessed enhanced language abilities, the kobloids were more talkative than ever, engaging in ceaseless whispering, laughter, and conversation.
As Thorian observed the brown kobloid group, he spotted an intriguing interloper: a small, green humanoid who fidgeted nervously, glancing left and right.
Brix?
Thorian raised an eyebrow and smiled at the unexpected presence. However, he remained silent and simply watched from a distance.
As the group of brown kobloids neared the gates, the green creature caught sight of Thorian standing atop the wall, and its face lit up with recognition.
"Master, I was looking for you!" Brix called out.
Thorian furrowed his eyebrows. "I thought I had already given you your orders. Did you perhaps already cook the Thumpalopes?"
"About that…" Brix scratched the back of his head. "It's been raining a lot, and the rocks and branches are all wet. It's very hard to start a fire."
Thorian's eyebrows furrowed even further at the goblin's excuse. "So? Are you not going to follow my orders then?"
"No, of course I will!" Brix exclaimed, then continued in a quieter, more timid voice. "I was just wondering if you could help me a little. If you could use your spell to start a fire, it would help me a lot!"
Thorian thought for a bit before concluding, It is not an unreasonable demand.
"Sure, I can help you," he agreed, much to Brix's delight. He then glanced at the watchtower where the brown kobold stood. "Split the group as we discussed earlier and stay here. You can move to the east and west gates after I return."
"Sure, you got it, Thorian," the brown kobold replied.
With the matter settled, Thorian jumped down to join Brix and said, "Lead the way."
The little green creature happily scampered through the forest, with Thorian following closely behind. After passing through a dense patch of trees and reaching the center of the village, Thorian was greeted by an unusual contraption.
Two large and sturdy branches supported an orc chest plate above them, like a makeshift pot. Beneath the chest plate were several branches, arranged to resemble a firepit.
"Are you going to use the chest plate to cook the Thumpalopes?" Thorian asked, turning toward Brix.
The goblin, proud of his resourcefulness, smiled and said, "Yeah, I found them in the village hall and thought they would work well as a pot!"
Thorian sighed heavily at the goblin's shortsightedness before pointing out the significant flaw in his plan. "What about the sweat? Are you going to cook Thumpalopes with Orc sweat flavor on top?"
Realizing his mistake, Brix yelped and stepped back, fearing Thorian's retaliation. However, Thorian could only shake his head at the simplicity of the goblin's thought process.
No matter how shrewd, a goblin is still a goblin.
Silently, Thorian removed the chestplate from the two branches and placed it on the ground. He then conjured his waterball spell and launched it at the inside of the makeshift pot.
With a loud splash, the force of the waterball caused the chestplate to sink into the ground beneath it. But Thorian wasn't finished. He conjured a fireball and launched it inside the chestplate.
Following a small explosion, the water transformed into vapor and steam, which enveloped the area. Unfazed, Thorian walked through the hot steam, retrieved the orc chestplate, and sniffed it.
Still has the smell of sweat.
After repeating the process several times, Thorian launched his spells one after the other until the smell was purged from the makeshift pot. The chestplate was deformed in some spots due to the temperature shock, but Thorian wasn't concerned about that; the smell was a far greater issue.
With that task completed, Thorian glanced back at the goblin, whose eyes sparkled with amazement. "Can you handle the flames without burning the whole place down?"
The dazed goblin took a few seconds before nodding, "Yes! Yes, I can."
"I hope so," Thorian clicked his tongue and turned back to the pitiful-looking firepit Brix had created. He then conjured a fireball and launched it a couple of meters to the side of the firepit.
"Use that fire to light up your pit," Thorian instructed, glancing back.
Eagerly, Brix sprang into action, removing branches from his firepit. He lit them using Thorian's fire before using the smaller branches to ignite the entire pit. Once done, he placed the chestplate on top of the larger branches and fetched the Thumpalope pieces he had cut up and placed them on a leaf bed nearby.
At least he skinned them well. I guess he is not too useless after all.
Seeing things progressing smoothly, Thorian used his waterball spell to extinguish the fire he had started earlier before heading back toward the southern gate. Dusk was approaching, and the day was about to begin; it was sure to be a long day without a moment to catch their breath.