It had been a few more hours and Noah was currently hidden in a bush.
The fighting around Noah had long stopped. It was evident he was way ahead of the curve.
Groups, there is always a downside. Noah noted mentally. It was another reason that allowed him to go ahead. If one of the more weakened members were injured, it impacted their speed, and forced them to stop, then recover.
Of course there was always going to be others that left their injured party members in the dust, but at least Noah couldn’t hear them. Meaning he was ahead, or they were too far in the distance to his left, or right.
He had also encountered–and killed–a new enemy not seen before, a baboon. Although of course it wasnt of the Earthen variety. Its tail was that of a scorpion, stinger and all. It also had fingernails the size of kitchen knives, which he narrowly avoided.
Noah had also realised that the enemies were becoming more adventurous. They no longer had a ‘zone’, rather, they walked from location-to-location on the hunt for a new delicious treat. The new treat was obviously Noah and the others.
With the monster no longer having a zone, it became a lot more dangerous. For the first time entering the jungle, he had to use stealth. Not to fight, but to shirk around the other monsters in fear of being swarmed.
It was evident from his arrival here, but Peters and the others' guesses were correct. What they did back on Earth defined what starting general Skills they would receive, and thank god Noah had worked so hard to Level his stealth Skill.
Noah was currently sitting in an underbrush on a squatted Krall. [Shadow Presence] was activated, the shadows blended them even further into the darkness, while a Razor-spine baboon skulked past. Thankfully, they weren’t pack animals. It was prey.
It was time to make full use of his current Skills combinations, and the Stats that powered them. All the conditions were perfect.
The beast was too close for it to dodge, and the trees were too far for it to flee.
Noah activated all his Skill. Power surged through his body and he [Charged] out of the bush he was patiently waiting within.
[Overpower], [Charge], [Thrust], [Kill Command], among all his passives made his sprint a terrifying charge that nothing dared meet head-on. Unless it was a rexodon…
Noah had no time to think about anything else as the next blink of his eye, he was in front of the monster. His arm moved on instinct, it was simply too fast for him to calculate anything.
All that was left was a straight line that he created in his vision. The spear tip followed the line and shot past the monster's thick chesty flesh, before blasting a hole straight through.
You defeated a - Level 18 Razor-spine baboon.
Krall took no chances of the monster already being dead. He was commanded to attack, so attack he would. The extra strength from Noah’s Skill rippled under his flesh as he swung his club in a wide arc. It cracked against the already falling beast’s skull. Red splattered.
The stench of copper wafted through the humid air. It was so thick, Noah thought he could see it materialise within the air, but it was only an illusion from the heat rising off the moist jungle leaves.
Even after killing six of them, he still hadn’t received a Level. Later on, it would only become more and more difficult. It was why a lot of Otherworlders on Ubos struggled immensely, even encountering bottlenecks–unable to continue as the risk was no longer worth it.
However, Noah didn’t intend to become one of those people. Comfortable with progress and stagnating.
No, Noah was having too much damned fun. He wanted to experience all this world had to offer, and if that meant wandering into deep, dark dungeons filled with monsters that wanted to tear him apart, then so be it.
Noah was about to head on further, the light emitting from the pillar glistened within his pupil, when he heard a sudden intense fight from his flank.
Shaking the dull pain from the overuse of Skills from his arm, he mounted Krall and sprinted towards the sound of battle.
In only a few moments, he reached an area of sparsely populated trees. Maera was amongst her knights battling against a group of kobolds.
They weren’t ordinary. Bones protruded from the spine and horns had begun sprouting from their heads. All of them had evolved past their initial child stage and were transitioning into full adults.
Noah felt jealousy within Krall’s mind as his gate quickened.
Is it the horns? Noah glanced down at his bald, armoured head. It was the same from when he was an un-evolved runt.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
The hot air tousled Noah’s hair as he flashed a grin. They were oncoming like an unstoppable train. Before they arrived, Noah used [Shrouded Presence] to mask the sounds of Krall’s stomps.
They emerged from behind a tree and [Charged] straight for the tallest, strongest kobold.
Noah’s spear was like the death’s scythe, one [Thrust] from his spear reaped the life of the kobold, then spun it toward another monster that had barely recovered from the surprise attack. Thwack. The kobold twitched its body, making Noah miss his mark. The shaft of the spear clashed against the kobolds head, bobbing it to the side–only for Krall to brutally swat its head.
With a crack, the kobold flopped down onto the ground. Lifeless. Noah continued his onslaught as he leapt off of Krall’s back.
Each stab was like a storm of wood, and metal, as it met bone, and flesh. Not every hit was a kill, but it was enough to wound it, and for Krall to finish the opponent off with a wide swing.
The second strongest kobold charged out from the dwindling group and attempted to thwart Noah’s killing potential.
Noah lowered his shoulders, and jolted his foot forward. The monster flinched. Noah’s spear flicked not to any vital area, as the monster's flesh was tougher than bone, but to its knee.
With the added power from [Thrust], the spear tip latched into its knee-cap. It took a step, but stumbled.
[Kill Command]. Krall roared at the beast for having horns, and swung his club in a mighty arc. It descended upon the creature's head, cracking the horns, and skull along with it.
The beast gazed at them with crazed eyes. Red seeped down from its skull, into its eyes, hazing them over in a scarlet fury.
It took a stumbled step forward, only for a spear to disappear behind Krall’s back, and reappeared around his arm to penetrate the kobolds eye.
Holding the seeping fresh wound, it stumbled back.
Noah grit his teeth. Still not enough. Krall grabbed hold of Noah’s arm and threw him forward. He used [Thrust] once more and aimed his spear true. Noah felt the resistance from the high Constitution of the beast, before it gave in to the added momentum of his attack.
Red sprinkled onto Noah’s face. He finished by twisting the spear’s blade, with another couple seconds of struggle, the monster finally fell to the floor.
Having the strongest dead, Noah and Krall were able to efficiently support the other knights to reap their lives.
Then, the rewards came. All in total, eleven kobolds were slain, and from that, the air crackled to life. Unfortunately, not one of them was from Noah’s actions, or the ones he killed. But once he witnessed the colours of them, he wasn’t that interested anyway.
Most were white, apart from the lone green that almost blended into the jungle's verdant background.
Taking a glance at the image, it was an archer's skill. It reminded him of having to absorb his own, it had saved his life sure, but it was going to result in a hell of a lot of pain later on when he removed it.
A ranged ability was fine for now, in fact, it would prove quite useful. But in the end, Peter had optimised his Skill usage to every detail. His lack of range would eventually be covered by his tamed monster. Of which, he still wasn’t certain. A bird with magic, a crab that spouted water missiles, or maybe a kobold specialising in archery, or something.
Krall glanced at the elf’s bow, before tilting his head to Noah.
No, I don’t want you firing a bow. God knows what you would hit. I don’t trust your judgement. Noah thought within his mind.
Krall lowered his head and fidgeted his foot against the fallen jungle leaves, and soil.
There was no need to discuss the loot from the Skill Essences. If it was green or above he would take a look at it and decide if he needed it, if not, he wasn’t interested. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t adding up everything mentally.
He would receive his payment in the future.
Although the rewards from the Skill Essences left a lot to be desired, he did obtain something else.
You defeated a - Level 17 Kobold Fighter.
| You defeated a - Level 18 Kobold Vanguard.
| …
| Experience is reduced for fighting within a group.
You have Levelled up!
| Noah ( Mounted Tamer ) level 17 -> Noah ( Mounted Tamer ) level 18
Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.
| Krall level 17 -> Krall level 18
[False Step] has reached the peak of Level 1.
| [False Step] Level 1 -> [False Step] Level 2
| [False Step] Level 2: A miniscule speed boost for successful faint has been added.
[Charge] has reached the peak of Level 1.
| [Charge] Level 1 -> [Charge] Level 2
| [Charge] Level 2: A miniscule Strength boost while charging has been added.
[Tamer’s Bond] has reached the peak of Level 1.
| [Tamer’s Bond] Level 1 -> [Tamer’s Bond] Level 2
| [Tamer’s Bond] Level 2: The range of which you can detect your pet has increased minimally.
[Kill Command] has reached the peak of Level 1.
| [Kill Command] Level 1 -> [Kill Command] Level 2
| [Kill Command] Level 2: Damage has increased minimally.
[Mounted Combat] has reached the peak of Level 1.
| [Mounted Combat] Level 1 -> [Mounted Combat] Level 2
| [Mounted Combat] Level 2: Damage has increased minimally.
Noah gazed at the System messages and nodded. [Monstrous Allegiance] and [Shrouded Presence] were still Level one, but that was because of their rarity.
He was curious to see how much progress they had made.
[Monstrous Allegiance]
| Current Progress to Level 2: 36.91%
[Shrouded Presence]
| Current Progress to Level 2: 78.46%
[Monstrous Allegiance] still had a lot of progress to be gained, but it would slowly go up, and faster if he could find stronger enemies to fight.
As if right on queue–a mighty roar pierced the numerous trees and foliage. It boomed in his ears, and although it seemed to be far away, Noah could tell it belonged to something strong.
Something to hunt.