Noah waited as the sun beat against his skin, but with the extra constitution, it was manageable–if barely. Sweat formed and fell, it splashed against the fallen palm leaves, yet he didn’t move. Heartbeat thumping against his chest, his eyes were locked onto the bush in front him where he had heard the sound of something snap.
Krall stood next to Noah. He had the club in his hands from the previous kobold, and had copied Noah with the knife tucked into his loincloth.
There was a muted step to the side of him as his eyes widened, without thinking, he whipped his shield to the side of where he heard the noise. With a metallic clang, Noah stumbled backward. He dug his spear into the ground as he retained his balance, yet the attacker cared little for his surprise. It took full advantage of the off-balanced Noah as it dashed toward him once more.
It was a kobold, but Noah had little time to admire its beautiful coloured scales as its speed was greater than any of the others he had faced before it.
The monster swung its heaving axe right at him. Noah raised his shield and felt an increased strength wrap around the muscles in his arms, core, back, and legs. He instinctively knew that his skill had activated, it was like a brand within his mind. The axe collided against the metallic bark shield as Noah was sent back a few steps until his feet stabilised. A strange fatigue built up within his body at the hit, something had drained from him as he grit his teeth.
He lunged his spear forward, the extra stats from the Pathstone, level, and title strengthened his muscle fibres as the tip of the spears blade sunk into the kobolds thick scales. Blood gushed as Noah quickly pulled it back, scared that the monster would let go of its axe and grab hold of his weapon.
The kobold screeched and clicked its long, spiky tongue. It was larger than the other kobolds, and it proudly displayed its strength as it brandished its two-handed axe. Noah blocked the hit with his shield and braced himself as the intense force sapped away the energy in his arms.
Noah screamed as he willed his arm to hold and lunged his spear at the creature's throat. The kobold had already dodged to the side and rushed into close quarters.
Noah leapt back while thrusting his spear forward, the kobold grunted as Noah felt the spears tip taste flesh once more. Noah knew the importance of keeping his range, the spear was the king of the battlefield for a reason.
The kobold snarled, its tongue clicked as it stood out of the range of Noah’s spear. They both paced in circles.
“Krall, pick up stones and throw them at it!” Noah ordered. The last thing he wanted was for his tamed monster to receive one swift strike to the head, ending his momentum in one fell swoop.
Krall followed Noah’s orders and began lobbing sharp stones at the mighty kobold. It knew the other kobold was a lot stronger than it, so it had to trust in Noah’s skill.
With his range advantage, it was Noah’s turn to take control of the fight. Noah walked forward, his spear piercing at the creature's vital areas repeatedly. He didn’t give the kobold a chance to use its superior strength as the razor sharp spears edge bathed in the monster’s blood. Cut after cut, slice after slice, the kobold grew weaker.
The stones caused a distraction and allowed Noah to attack how he wanted. One even struck the beast's eye, dazing it for a second, allowing Noah to obtain a vicious strike–but it still wasn’t enough to fell the monster.
Noah watched as its intelligent eyes were trying to think of a solution. The kobold was stronger than him, that much was certain, but with the block skill negating some of the impact, and his spear controlling the range, he was managing.
The monster’s legs were trembling, but so were his. It seemed like the Block skill used the stamina within his body. His arms were quickly becoming weak at a rate he could no longer risk continuing. Despite the low weight of the spear, it bore down on his dreary arms. Just as he was about to make a desperate attack, a hiss from behind sent a shiver down his spine.
Gritting his teeth, he had to make a move.
“Krall, attack!”
Without even hearing the order, Krall already pounced toward the newcomer as if their lives were on the line. They were.
Noah dashed forward and the kobold jolted in shock. Whether or not it was surprised by his mad attack, or wary of the newcomer, he didn’t have the time to care.
Approaching the kobold, Noah took his left hand away from the shield’s grip and grabbed hold of his spear with two hands. Thanks to the straps on the shield, it remained on his arm.
He thrusted the spear to the kobolds body. It held out its axe in an attempt to block Noah’s spear but at the last second, Noah flicked it up to the kobolds face. The kobold couldn’t react in time as the spear tip sunk into its eye. It screamed a hiss in pain, but it wasn’t a sound he wanted to hear. Using what was left of the strength in his arms, he continued to push his spear forward.
The kobold desperately swung the axe with a wide arc. Seeing the swing beginning, Noah dipped his head to the side. A pain, followed by trickling heat streamed down the side of his head. However, he didn’t have time to worry about the wound.
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Stumbling, the beast fell onto its back. Noah made sure that his spear followed the creature down. With a thud, the spear finally travelled deeper into the lizard's skull. The hissing screeching stopped.
Noah turned and watched Krall fight. They were of similar size, although the other kobold was a little taller.
Krall dashed forward and just as he got into range, he moved back a single step. The other kobold took the bait and flinched. Snarling, Krall quickly took a step forward and his club met with hard bone.
The other kobold was dazed, its legs stumbled as the creature waved its arms about with its dagger. His tamed monster was patient, he waited for the opportune time and swung his club in a wide arc. It smashed against the kobolds wrist and it let go of the dagger from the thudding impact.
Krall didn't rush in, instead he remained calm and continued to batter the other kobold with its weapon advantage.
The other kobold tried to take a step back, but it was met with a crushing impact to the side of its head. Krall pressed his advantage and repeatedly struck the monster's head until dark red seeped onto the ground. Krall only stopped once the enemy's arm lay limp.
"That's my boy," Noah said in a hushed tone, only for Krall to look back with a silly smile on his face.
You defeated a - Level 7 Kobold.
| You defeated a - Level 3 Kobold.
| Grace coins earned.
You have levelled up!
| Noah level 2 -> Noah level 3
Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.
| Krall level 3 -> Krall level 4
Gamsher Corp has sponsored you!
| You have gained one Health Potion!
| You have gained Grace Coins!
| Ekralo, the beast tamer has sponsored you!
| You have gained Grace Coins!
Shit, no Pathstones, or Skills this time. At least I gained a new sponsor, although I have no idea what company it is. Despite the disappointment at not gaining a new Skill, the sponsor from Ekralo made up for it. To sponsor him again so soon meant he was paying close attention to him. It also meant another thing. He was rich. Immeasurably so. Although he only gave him fifty grace coins, as he progressed, that amount would climb if he was a powerful force within the Multiverse.
Noah then placed his vision onto the monster corpses as he scowled. Damn misers. Then glanced up at the eyeball that followed his every move from high above.
His eyes remained alert as they dashed around the surroundings while quickly looting the kobolds. The biggest kobold had one health potion, and the two-handed axe. The other, smaller creature only had the dagger. He took hold of the great-axe, it wasn’t heavy, but it felt strange within his hand. He had already grown attached to the combat style of spear and shield. Besides, he didn’t want any heavy axe Skills.
However, the spear had a drawback. It was difficult when they managed to get close, so he would use the dagger as a side-arm. Noah decided to take the axe with him, just in case his spear somehow broke.
Drinking the health potion, he felt the wound on his head scab over. Resisting the urge to scratch it, he looked at the axe.
Level 5 - Common Two-handed Axe: An axe provided by the System for those new to the Tutorial Zone.
| + 2 added Strength.
| + 2 added constitution.
It’s a System weapon? Noah perked up at the new information.
It meant someone had bought it from the System. It meant people were close. Instead of hope, the thought of having people close only agitated his nerves. There was no way of telling what a group of people would do, especially if they found he had a Rare Skill Essence in his pockets. He would just have to be extra careful.
Shaking his head, he moved his attention to the dagger. Just like his other dagger, the blade of the dagger was exactly the same, which killed all anticipation in hopes of a better reward.
Level 2 - Jagged Gleskyx dagger: Made from the hard shell of a Gleskyx.
Useful for basic stuff like making shelter and cooking, I suppose. Noah wiped the sweat that kept on streaming from his forehead in exasperation. He wasn’t sure if the decisions he was making were correct, but he could only struggle forward with the limited knowledge he had. If he had known he would be thrown into a Jungle he would have researched more of the Jungle broadcast years ago.
Kicking his legs and swinging his arms, he felt better now that the health potion had taken effect.
Thinking back to the fight, he trailed his fingers across the new bald spot that had cut into the side of his head. Thankfully it was only a graze from the axe, but the strength that the kobold displayed was terrifying. If he hadn’t had the block skill, the fight would have been a lot more difficult, or even worse–death.
The thought caused him to take a deep breath. This is what you prepared for. Noah reminded himself. However, watching the broadcast, and preparing for another world was one thing. Experiencing it for real was another.
He gazed out into the jungle and wondered if there were monsters or kobolds watching him even now. Noah’s grip tightened around the spear’s shaft. There was no way in hell that he would become prey.
I need to become stronger. A crazy desperation crept up within his mind. He needed to become the hunter.
Noah gathered everything and moved to the pool of water where he drank until barely satisfied. Krall joined him.
Noah took a closer look at his little friend. Before the two levels, he was pretty much tiny, just managing to reach his midsection. Now, he was a little taller and he could visibly see the muscles protruding from his scales. Unlike humans where the extra stats were barely noticeable, monsters were different.
It looked like his scaly pal was evolving towards the strength route.
Now that he knew where water was, he now needed somewhere that he could easily defend. The beach wasn’t safe as it was impossible to defend. Anything could mount an attack from the jungle and he had no idea what kind of monsters lurked within the ocean. Based on the broadcasts he had watched and the creepy shit he had seen on Earth’s own ocean, he had no desire to find out.
He had no choice but to continue further into the jungle.