Noah coughed from the lingering smoke. He ripped off a piece of his trouser leg and doused it with water from his waterskin, then placed it to his mouth, and nose.
Krall quickly copied his actions as he ripped a loincloth from a dead kobold.
As the kobolds were hesitating outside, Noah glanced around at his surroundings. There were quite a few passages carved into the cave. Bedrooms, he guessed. But they would prove to be useful.
“Thraz, stay here and make your presence known when they enter,” Noah said. “Krall and I will flank from the darkness of the passageways.”
“Using sneaky methods?” Thraz asked with a hint of disapproval.
“Do as I say,” Noah snapped and glared right into the dragonborns eyes. “This isn't the time for it.”
Thraz was about to refute, but he halted himself as he gazed into Noah’s eyes. He nodded.
“Alright,” Noah said, “let’s do this. Remember, we do what we have to do in order to survive.”
“I understand,” Thraz said and readied a spear in both hands.His bloodied axe lay against the nearby cave wall within arms reach. Despite his readiness, Noah could tell he was displeased.
Noah shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to worry about a naive dragonborn. He shimmied his way into position within one of the carved out passageways. It was rather cramped, but thankfully he wasn’t the widest, or tallest person. Once he turned, only then did he mount Krall’s shoulders as there wasn’t enough space.
It was one of the weaknesses of a mounted class–tight spaces. Thankfully Krall was also smaller than average, but he would soon need another tamed monster for scenarios such as this.
A spider or a burrowing rock monster, for example. Well, he had to make do with what he currently had.
Noah tightened his grip around his newly gained weapon and used [Objectify] on it.
Level 5 - Common Mace: A common mace made of common materials granted by the System.
| Str +2, Con +1
Noah nodded. It felt good in his hands, like when he found a table leg that was just right. Although instead of bar fights where he used it without the intent to kill, now he had no qualms with bashing their skulls in. For survival, strength, and freedom.
Noah grinned at the sudden noise of slapping. The kobolds finally plucked up their courage to return home. But, the mountain was also a perfect place for a grave.
They walked in until they spotted Thraz. They screeched and hissed at the dragonborn.
Noah activated [Shrouded Presence]. The shadow emerged from his body like a fog and swept outward. It was even more effective now that he was within a pitch black cave. It was as if Noah had become a part of the darkness.
He wanted to take a step forward and without even mentioning it within his mind, Krall took a step. It was but a mere muffle. If one focused hard, they would be able to make out the muted thud. But with all the other kobolds moving together, such a sound was impossible to hear.
Noah simply strolled out from the passageway and into the main cave. They were right behind the kobolds. He glanced back for a quick check, but it was clear.
They must be desperate to regain control of their home. Noah thought. He couldn’t blame them. A strong fortification was an important resource within a place like this where danger was lurking around every corner.
Part of his training back on Earth was also identifying proper shelter and how to defend them.
Noah put any useless thoughts to the back of his mind. He had to focus. Attack too late and Thraz had the possibility of dying from the relentless attacks. Noah knew his own mind. He wasn’t a saint, far from it in fact. But if he betrayed Thraz’s trust here, he would lose a great wall.
The dragonborn oath wouldn’t amount to shit if he angered him enough to put an axe through his head.
Adrenaline surged within his veins once more as he charged forward. He used [Thrust] on the first kobold. The metal mace had a pointed tip that worked decently well. The tip pierced into the skull, cracking it, then the lump of metal struck the kobold to the floor.
With the added momentum and strength from his Skills, Noah swung the mace to the right. It impacted against the face of another kobold. Another crack caused the kobold to skitter to the floor in pain. Its injuries were unknown, but Noah couldn’t worry about it as the others turned around.
Thankfully, the piercing yell of Thraz caused their shoulders to jump and turn their heads.
Thraz used their confusion to pierce the two spears into the abdomens of two separate kobolds, then quickly reached for his two handed axe–and cleaved it in an overhead attack. It would have split a kobold in two, if not for the axe slamming into the cave’s ceiling.
Idiot. Noah spat.
A kobold in the middle pulled back its bow with an arrow nocked. The air around it changed. It was using a Skill.
Noah grit his teeth. Depending on where that arrow hit, could mean the difference between life and death. He couldn’t allow Thraz to die here.
He bolted forward. A kobold lunged its spear at Noah. The tip bounced off his shield and slashed past his cheek. Noah ignored the burning pain and kicked his leg into the chest of the forwardmost kobold.
The kick pushed the monster stumbling back into the archer. With a thud, it loosed the arrow off course. The powered-up arrow slammed into the floor, just by Thraz’s feet.
Thraz finally seemed to realise his predicament as he dropped the axe, and instead relied on a more primitive method. His claws. He charged in and like a storm, smashed his arms around in a flurry.
With Thraz finally keeping them at bay, Noah was able to use more practised movements thanks to his martial-arts training, along with the unpredictability of [False Step], to take out his enemies.
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It didn’t take long for them to wipe out the rest of the kobolds.
Noah took a breath, jumped off Krall’s shoulders, and walked up to a kobold that was whimpering. The monster raised its hand, as if to beg for its life.
This isn’t Earth anymore. Noah thought and swung his mace from the side.
The kobold looked at him with dazed, bloody eyes. Noah struck it again. Finally, it stopped breathing.
You defeated a - Level 6 Kobold.
| You defeated a - Level 5 Kobold.
| …
You have levelled up!
| Noah ( Mounted Tamer ) level 9 -> Noah ( Mounted Tamer ) level 10
You have gained a World First achievement!
| You have gained a World First title - Level 10 Vanguard: You are the first to reach level 10.
| +3 to all stats.
Nice. Noah nodded to himself. Plus three obviously wasn’t a lot, but it was good for his other Stats. There were only two ways to gain them after all. Take Perception, for instance. He could gain a few stat points if he listened out for danger for an extended period of time, or through pathstones. Without the Titles, he wouldn’t gain any other Stat points.
Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.
| Krall level 9 -> Krall level 10
| Krall is ready for an evolution. As the master, you have the power to choose when it is suitable to do so.
Level 10 milestone reached. Unlocked -
| Level 10 missions are now available.
| Profession: You can now learn a profession of your desire. Just like the Skill Essences and Pathstones; perform actions relating to the profession you want to unlock to acquire it.
| Hub Area: A safe area for the tutorial; Trade items/equipment, stamp your mark on the world with moveable housing, collect trophies from adventuring, and display it within your house for all those to see. Anything can be bought–with enough coins.
| Challenge Log: The book of monsters. Take a mission within the hub and hunt monsters based on their challenge rating. Higher the rating, better the rewards.
There it is. Noah took a good look at where the System mentioned the Profession. It would provide an extra boost to Stat points every Level, so it was very important to make the right choice. Would he pick something to round out the rest of his stats, or select something that further boosted his main Stat? It was a difficult choice, and neither was right, or wrong.
He already knew what his profession would be thanks to Miles and Peter, and no, it wasn’t a tamer profession. It would make sense for it to be one, but the System recognised it as a Class, not an occupation.
No, his choice was already cemented. He just had to find time to unlock it.
Noah moved into the System, and took a look at the missions he could receive. If he wasn’t mistaken, completing a Level ten Class mission first granted a World’s First Title. It would be his. He selected the Mounted Tamer Class mission.
Tier 2 taming mission.
| Mounted Class mission.
| Level 10 Mission II - Kill 20 monsters above level 15 with your tamed monster. Acquire 25 riding hours.
| Reward: Uncommon trinket. Common Pet stimulants x5.
Noah selected it right away. The Uncommon trinket would rank up to Rare rarity if he was to obtain the World First reward. It would be an amazing reward considering trinkets were very hard to come by normally.
You have selected the Tier 2 taming mission - Level 10 Mission II.
“Krall, get to the front of the cave. Notify me if anything is there.” Noah said within his mind. Right now definitely wasn’t the most suitable time for his evolution.
Krall shook his head, then nodded, and scampered to the front.
He must feel strange from the impending evolution. Noah thought.
Challenge Log? Noah pinched his chin. It was something he hadn’t seen before. A new addition to the System. And what the hell was a hub area? It was the first time he had heard of something like it. He was very aware that there was no safe area in the previous world.
What else has changed? Noah thought.
The sizzling and crackling of the air awakened him from his thoughts.
Not once, twice, thrice, but four times. They were only grey, but he still had a lot of Skill slots to fill out. He just hoped they were useful ones.
Two of them spawned from the bodies of the kobolds, indicating that they were Skills relating to the monsters. The third one appeared in front of Thraz, and the last one in front of Noah.
He first touched the Skill essence stone closest to him as the information entered his mind.
You have obtained the Common Will Skill Essence - Tamer’s Bond: You have created a bond with your tamed beast. You can understand their emotions, and see where they are located within a certain area.
Without a second thought, he absorbed it into his body as it took up a slot within his Will Pathway.
You have gained the Common Will Skill Essence - Tamer’s Bond.
Noah nodded in satisfaction. It was one of the hallmark Tamer Skills–one that would evolve at a steady pace unlike fighting Skills. Without a second thought, he absorbed it into his body as it took up a slot within his Will Pathway.
He gazed over at Krall and with the Skill [Tamer’s Bond] in mind, a faint outline appeared of his kobold body. Even covering his face, the outline remained. He felt content within Krall. The kobold gazed back and Noah swore he could see a smile on his face.
Smirking, he couldn’t help but think that his Skills were coming along nicely. No doubt some lucky ass hole already had multiple Rare Skills, or Pathstones, maybe even Epic versions of them. If only he had received an uncommon, or better Pathway, he would be much better equipped for the future with the extra stat points. Well, he had received two Rare Skills, so he couldn’t really complain. Plus, he was already prepared for such a scenario.
Glancing at Thraz, he was flexing his muscles as they had undergone a small change. They had become dull, but Noah could tell that it wasn’t something negative, rather it looked like a layer of rock had emerged from his scales.
An armour Skill. Noah shook his head at the luck. Instead of beating himself up, he touched the other two Skill Essences.
You have obtained the Common Strength Skill Essence - Smash: Swing your desired weapon with increased strength.
With all the other Skills, he didn’t need to think about them before accepting. But this was one of them. It wasn’t that it was a bad Skill, but this was where other people tended to stagnant their growth.
He checked his progress with Thrust.
Thrust - level 1: Thrust your spear forward with increased momentum.| Current Progress to Level 2: 27.92%
If he started using another Skill, then his progress would be slowed. The faster he could gain the increased power from the evolved Thrust, the more guaranteed his survival was. It would also allow him to level up faster. With all that in mind, he placed the Smash Skill Essense in his pocket.
Noah hoped he would be able to trade it for something else later. Next up was the other Skill.
You have obtained the Uncommon Dexterity Skill Essence - Power Shot: Pull back an arrow and charge it for increased power.
Noah decided to keep it for later. If there was an opportunity that he needed to use it, then he would learn it. If not, then it was better to keep a slot open for more desirable Skills.
He had watched the Otherworlders forcefully write over their Skill Essences–their screams–he was hesitant in attempting it himself unless it was absolutely necessary.
Noah was about to recall Krall to begin his evolution, but his tamed monster had a sudden reaction. He could feel the raw emotion within his mind.
Krall had put up his guard. He was ready for a fight. Then, shouts of humans were projected down and into the cave.
Noah sprinted toward the cave’s entrance as a group of humans were approaching a sizzling blue Skill Essence from the body of the armoured kobold.
Noah snarled and Krall joined him. They were wanting to steal his prize. But he wouldn’t let someone else steal his power away. Not here. This was his new life. A chance for more than scrap pieces of meat, and cold wet street floors for a bed.
Gripping hold of his mace, he mounted Krall. Noah was going to charge.