Noah [Charged] into another incoming party. The moment they appeared from the darkness like a phantom, he had already pierced a kobolds heart with his spear before it could react. It also just happened to be the strongest of them all.
The rest of them were quickly wiped out.
However, just like all the other times prior–they wouldn’t give him any rest. It seemed they intended on swamping him with numbers.
Seeing the flickering orange of torches fast approaching, Noah once again stalked into the shadows. The longer he spent within them, the more comfortable he became.
It was just like back when he skulked the back-streets on Earth. There were no judging eyes–only that of a mumbling noise from the main streets that wrapped him up in a blanket. Somehow, he didn’t feel so lonely hearing the distant chatter.
Much like now. He wasn’t alone. The only difference here was that they were trying to kill him, but even that was better than being judged for a situation he couldn’t help. Homelessness. Abandoned. Poor.
Noah flashed a toothy grin as he passed by a roaming party. They couldn’t even see him. Their ears twitched at his movement–but they just assumed it was one of their own. However, their reactions changed as he got closer. It was too late.
Krall blasted out of the shadows at high speed and slammed into the strongest of the group, while Noah [Thrusted] his spear into the throat of a kobold on the side. Then back into the shadows. Only to reappear in another deadly [Charge.]
You defeated a - Level 30 Kobold Cleavesman.…
| Extra experience is rewarded for fighting an enemy above your level!
You have Levelled up!
| Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 28 -> Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 29
Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.
| Krall level 28 -> Krall level 29
With them all dead, his mind wandered to the fight. Or more accurately, before it. It seemed they were becoming aware of his tactics; their formation indicated that. Spears at the back, instead of the front. It was an attempt to stop his mad charge, but against Krall–it was useless.
They’re becoming aware. Noah thought. He glanced at the flickering torches besides the kobold corpses. He smiled. A plan was formed.
Noah fastened all the torches to make-shift staffs. He then attached them to the front arms, and the back legs of Krall. He also tightened one to his bag, and then held the last in his shield hand. Altogether, hopefully it would look like just another roaming kobold party.
Kobolds were smart, that much was certain, so he had to resort to other means so that they couldn’t catch him out.
Happy about his new idea, Noah moved straight for another hunting party. He neither moved fast nor slow, just enough so that he was just like any of the other kobold groups around him.
He heard a chatter directed towards him, but of course, he couldn't speak in kobold tongue to understand what they were saying. If he had to guess, they were trying to get information out of the ‘group’.
Once he was close enough, he lowered his head so that the torches didn’t impede his dark-sight. Seven in total. It was the highest count so far, but with how the other times went–this time would be no different. But there was an individual that made him consider further.
It was a large Kobold filled with thick muscle that had the face of an orc. Noah thought it was an unusual combination–it looked more human-like than the others.
Level 34 - Kobold Brute: A kobold that has undergone a mutated evolution.
Noah checked his surroundings, but the flickering was too far in the distance. He had plenty of time to attack and reposition when needed. It was a perfect ambush.
Feeling the adrenaline take hold of his body–it was time. Noah [Charged] out from the shadows. [Overpower] filled his arms, causing them to bulge ever so slightly from the added strength.
His spear snapped toward the brute’s head in an instant. However, Noah’s heart dropped when the beast snarled in preparation. But although he may have been prepared, the attack was still too fast for it to dodge completely.
The spear sliced past its throat. Blood gushed. The beast's eyes widened at the attack as it held the wound tightly shut. It was clear the monster was used to such injuries as it swung its spiked-club in a savage arc at Krall’s skull.
Noah pulled back his spear the moment the beast had swung. He was about to attempt to redirect the incoming swing, but he decided to trust in Krall’s new defence.
The spiked club smashed against Krall’s head–Krall roared in pain as red tricked down. Thankfully, it wasn’t a wound he couldn’t recover from.
From Krall’s sacrifice, Noah punished the brute’s bloodthirsty mistake. He [Thrusted] his spear at the beast's skull. It shot through the eye, and passed the skull beyond with the sound of metal against bone.
The strongest among them fell to the ground, instantly shattering the morale of the others.
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Noah was about to stab another kobold when he felt a gush of air at his back. It penetrated through his back, and passed through his stomach. THankfully, his chestplate stopped it from going any further.
Krall thrashed to the side as the ambushing attacker was swept off its feet. Noah grit his bloodied teeth as they repositioned to the side. Blood streamed from his fresh wound.
Only then did Noah gain an image of his ambusher. They had forwent the flickering torches, and instead, they relied on their bulging eyes to see in the pitch dark.
A mutated kobold. Noah snarled.
Noah had lowered his guard for only a moment, yet it was enough for them to deal a powerful blow. The strength in his body was already waning.
The kobold party that he was fighting had grins on their faces as they cheered. It was as if they knew of the plan.
He would have been able to react in time, if it wasn’t for the fact they had waited for the most opportune moment to strike. The moment he killed the leader–they attacked. It was just like Noah had done, but instead of only sacrificing injury, they had given a life for an attack.
They were brutal, and ruthless.
Glancing his fingers across his wound, the spear had exited from his stomach, and struck the back of his chest-plate. The wound would have most likely ended his life if not for the armour stopping the spear from continuing all the way.
Looking at the barbed spikes that were about to penetrate his back only reaffirmed that thought. He had been lucky. A deep sense of anger billowed within. The weakness of being on his own was showing.
His fears had been brought forward. He was missing a Skill to detect adept stealth users.
How ironic. Noah spat.
Level 32 - Kobold Darksighter.
Level 34 - Kobold Darksighter.
Level 35 - Kobold Darksighter.
Noah quickly drank a potion and took a prepared step backward. The time it took him to drink the potion, he was surrounded.
With no way to go, that only left one thing. Attack. Krall boomed a powerful roar and [Charged] ahead. Activating [Kill Command], his strength soared. The weaker kobolds couldn’t dodge the mighty evolved beast as Krall ripped through their bodies.
However, the same situation occurred. The moment they finished their attack, the darksighter’s used the opportunity to mount a bloody assault. Their spear shot into Krall’s shoulder. It just happened to slit in between his armoured plates, causing him to grunt in pain.
Noah was aware of the situation he was in. This wasn’t a battle of attrition; it was where absolute might was needed.
[Overpower] filled his arm again, and a faint sense of exhaustion followed–but he ignored it. The power it brought along with [Thrust] made it very difficult to dodge. It was too fast. it bore through the darksighter’s head in an instant.
The others glanced at the falling dead body of their comrade in silence, then their lips upturned, displaying their bloody-yellow teeth. Each tooth was serrated and darkened flesh dangled in the gaps throughout.
It was as if one of their kind hadn’t just been killed. No, it only made them more excited as their teeth chattered.
From Krall’s mind, Noah could tell the wounds weren’t severe. Although they were starting to cause him problems. His sight was marred with red from the dripping blood, but it seemed his Constitution was higher than Noah thought. The wound was already scabbing over. It seemed the Mole King had an ace up its fur.
Krall bolted behind a tree; they entered darkness. Noah used the time to take hold of his bow and an arrow, and used [Shrouded Presence]. Black shadows swirled around them and surged into the surroundings like a smoke cloud.
The chasing monsters walked into an abyss. The moment a face made its appearance, Noah loosed the arrow. It shot into its throat, hitting its mark. Noah was becoming more accurate with every arrow fired.
Maybe it was because of [Weapon Specialist], but he had no time to think about it as the darksighter leapt from behind a tree. Noah couldn’t hear it, but thankfully Krall had beast-like qualities that he did not.
Krall, hearing, or smelling the monster, swatted his enormous claws toward the monster. It attempted to dodge in the air, but it was of no use. Realising the incoming attack, it desperately threw its spear as it sliced across Noah’s shield arm. Krall’s attack was too wide with his long arms for the monster to dodge. He swiped it to the ground in a bloodied, mangled mess.
Noah kept on firing his bow. He missed a few because of his untrained aim, but when they hit, they caused enough damage for Krall to follow up on. Wounded–they couldn’t escape.
The last kobold huffed against a tree. It had spent its entire strength attempting to flee, but Krall was too fast.
Noah, on the back of Krall, loomed over the man sized kobold. He aimed his bow and fired. The arrow reaped its life in the next second.
You defeated a - Level 35 - Kobold Darksighter
.…
| Extra experience is rewarded for fighting an enemy above your level!
You have Levelled up!
| Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 29 -> Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 30
Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.
| Krall level 29 -> Krall level 30
Skills have Levelled up!
Noah gazed at all the Skills that had Levelled up. In total, it was the vast majority of them that had advanced. He must have been very close to the threshold so the last fight had powered them over the line.
Much like before, most of them were just very small increases. All but [Monstrous Allegiance], his only Epic Skill.
[Monstrous Allegiance] has reached the peak of Level 1.
| [Monstrous Allegiance] Level 1 -> [Monstrous Allegiance] Level 2.
| [Monstrous Allegiance] Level 2: All Stats of your tamed monster are increased by one.
Awesome. It wasn’t much, but Noah knew the value of Stats improving. One would increase to two. By the time he evolved the Skill to Stage 2, that would be ten free points in all of his Stats. It was a massive upgrade, which only further cemented that fact that it was greater than an ordinary Epic Skill.
With the last kobold dead, Noah glanced all around him, but there wasn’t a flickering orange in sight. it seemed the hunting parties were over, but in its place, was an enemy he couldn’t see.
Noah cautiously approached the battlefield. He spent a few minutes skulking within the shadows, but none appeared.
It was then that a vivid green sizzled in the air. His eyes widened. It was a Pathstone.
Again he waited for any monsters to show up while he was in a safe location, but none appeared. It seemed for now, he was safe.
Approaching it, he touched the warm stone. The description caused his wary mind to spark into excitement. It was a Pathstone he desperately needed.