Kane intended to quietly follow his seniors and simply enjoy the whole experience, so he wondered how had he ended up leading this rabble of seasoned adventurers? He did not know. And by the looks of the faces of said adventurers, neither did they.
When he had mentioned he had spotted tracks likely belonging to the drake while drawing the footprint in the sand, a burly man claiming to have the hunter class insisted on him leading them to those tracks immediately. Apparently his class gave him a skill allowing him to track any trail, even if they were weeks old. Really useful. As long as he could find said trail.
But Kane pondered about that though, couldn’t drakes fly? Apparently however it seemed that those were dragons and not drakes. Drakes were land creatures. But rather than being disappointed, Kane made a fist with childish excitement. Dragons exist! And this drake must be a dinosaur! Maybe even a t-rex! Could this possibly get any better? No, that was simply impossible.
At least he was certain he could find the tracks again by going to the dungeon first. And while it had been a boring and uneventful day traveling to the dungeon, from there it was Kane’s job to lead the adventurers.
Carl had even crawled out from the dungeon to wish him luck before swiftly going back inside.
However one hour turned in two, and then into three.
“Where the heck are these tracks, rookie. You better not be bullshitting us!” Jack, the arrogant tank like man exclaimed.
“Ehehe, sorry, I am certain it was somewhere around here.”
His sense of direction wasn’t that bad, was it? Everything in this forest looked so alike though. It wasn’t like the forests he was used to. You know, the planted and square kind. This forest was utterly confusing.
“We’ve been going in circles, man. This is bullshit. Arnald! Any luck so far?”
“Not yet. I’m picking up tracks, but mostly from other wildlife. There is also a bear trail, so keep your eyes peeled.” The hunter said.
Elle then spoke up. “Hey, mister Arnald. Couldn’t you track Cop instead? He was around here a few days ago.”
“Oh.. Ah, I hadn’t thought of that. That’s a good idea!”
Kane felt like this should probably put a dent in his pride. But at the prospect of finding the Drake quicker, he had to admit this was a great idea and gave a thumbs up towards Elle, who in turn shook her head which a faint smile.
And as quickly as it was said, it was done. Within the hour they had found Kane’s old tracks and before long the hunter had caught on to the Drake’s tracks as well. Though they were fairly old, Drakes were unlikely to leave their area if it still had enough prey in them. Drakes were rather lazy creatures, sometimes sleeping for days or weeks even. Caught on the trail, it was only a matter of time before they’d find its lair.
The group had grown quiet ever since they had been following the Drake’s trail, moving about stealthily with heads held low and eyes peeled. The forest was almost entirely void of unnatural sounds, apart from the occasional…
-snap!-
“Ah, sorry.”
“Shhh!.”
-snap!-
“My bad…”
“Gods…”
Honestly though, Kane couldn’t care less. While his traveling companions were all tense and quiet, his body was brimming with excitement. The feeling on his skin was electrifying and every step he took felt like it happened exactly one step too late., His mind reeled, thoughts like ‘bring it on already’ and ‘I can’t wait much longer’ swirled around inside of his skull.
He didn’t have to wait very long. The hunter raised his hand into the air to signal the group to halt. There was movement far in the distance, it was large. Kane’s feet dug into the ground as he gripped his spear tight. With a steel grin on his face he exclaimed in a low voice.
“A dinosaur, it’s actually a fucking dinosaur..”
-Elle’s pov-
Cop had surprised her at every turn. This young man seemed to brim with boundless energy like the fool he was. Part of her did somewhat regret taking the rookie along, but she had already decided she would keep him safe.
It was more likely that he would be scared shitless anyway once they encounter the drake. Drake’s are dangerous and imposing creatures. Powerful and agile and quite large to boot. She would do anything to see that smug and confident look on his face melt away into terror. Yes, that would be a fun sight to behold.
The group consisted out of a total of 24 adventurers, at least 15 of which were very capable, she knew little about the other 8, but they were at least not as useless as Cop.
The group didn’t lack a strong and sturdy vanguard capable of pinning a drake nor lacked the ranged capability to bring it down. A few might die, but such is the life of an adventurer. The group at least didn’t have any glaring weaknesses. If one fell in any position, there were plenty to take their place.
And while drakes were sturdy. Unlike dragons, drakes were still fairly susceptible to magic. As long as the vanguard gave her enough time, she felt she could probably kill it with her spells alone.
It had required every fibre in her body from not bursting into laughter seeing his reaction when she suggested tracking his own tracks. Seeing his face go from a frown into a smile, and then that thumbs up.
Though he talked well, he was definitely simple in the head. At least it was refreshing. He brought an air of excitement with him that she noticed wasn’t lost on any of the other adventurers either. He probably reminded them of the time they all started out as an adventurer.
Being an adventurer brought a fair amount of status with it after all. It was seen as an honorable and glorious profession and sold as much to young men and women alike. The truth was of course quite a bit more grim. Seeing friends perish and good people die to monsters was a regular occurance. It was hard not to become jaded, maybe even impossible.
So seeing this young guy. Wearing nothing but his pants and his spear while grinning from ear to ear. it made them all reminiscent of their own pasts and the glorious dreams they once had shared.
The hunter held up his arms, it seemed like it was time. While checking her gear a final time, her mana potions at the ready and her mind resolved for the fight, she…
“A dinosaur, it’s actually a fucking dinosaur..”
Mmh? Elle wondered what Cop meant, she had never heard of that word before. And what’s up with his face and postu- No way. What is he…
Kane suddenly bursted out into a sprint towards the drake. What was he thinking! Aside from the fact that charging ahead alone was pure suicide, he completely gave away the element of surprise. His run was far from stealthy, every step resounded with the cracks of broken twigs and churned up ground. But by the Gods, he sure was fast.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Cop! Stop!” She frowned and shouted and all the other adventures were also at a loss of what to do. Shit, shit, what a god damned fool, so much for trying to keep him alive.
“Beardman, Scales, Monkey… With me!” She shook her head, but it wasn’t within her to do nothing, even if this was going south faster than an elven arrow. She couldn’t just stay still. As she and her companions advanced, she at least sighed in relief that the other adventures, though grim-faced, also nodded and moved up with her. However, catching up was already impossible. Cop had ran faster than she had ever seen anyone run. Taking into account their formation, they’d need at least three times as long to move up safely. It was already impossible. He would surely die. She shook her head again and steeled her resolve.
“What an idiot.”
-Normal pov-
The Drake was feasting on the corpse of a bear, but was quick to notice Kane’s advance. As it turned to face Kane it roared like a true dinosaur. So very deep and menacing. Yes. That was exactly how a dino should be, Kane thought. It wasn’t as big as a t-rex. But not far off either. Also, unlike an actual dinosaur, it didn’t have tiny forearms but tiny wings instead, clearly unusable for its size. Kane was also glad to see that their legs were looking powerful and quite alike to real dinosaurs and its head was proportionally big, just like a he imagined it would be. Yes, this was it, this was amazing!
“Rrrraaawwwwrrrrr!” Kane roared in response as if to say to bring it on and again he felt torrents of power starting to course through his entire body. He was certain now. This power came from his doctrine and tenets.
Thou shalt not waver in the face of danger, but thrive instead!
The drake charged towards Kane, it’s lizard body powerfully swaying, while its head remained eerily stationary, its forward facing eyes focused on Kane. Another roar bellowed from its throat and was met with a roar from Kane in return.
Their distance shortened quickly and as they were almost upon one another. Kane lifted his spear above his head, a stance unlike any spear stance known to man. The Drake put more power into its legs as it launched itself forwards. Kane also pushed off the ground with the full power of his body and jumped.
Time seemed to slow for him as he flew, higher and higher. Three meters from the ground, then four, and five. The drake’s maw opened wide, but Kane flew even higher, reaching his pinnacle even higher than the Drake itself.
Thou shalt not bow before any one. Neither before beast nor man nor king nor God!
With his spear held in both hands he slammed it down, plunging the spear into the drakes head. The drake had aimed for his center mass but was forced to bite down on his left leg instead due to the sheer amount of downward force applied by the spear strike. The awkward position forced Kane to let go of the spear that was lodged deep into the drakes bones. The drake shook him wildly, it’s maw clamped shut on his left leg with the force of a thousand men, shattering Kane’s bones with a loud crunch.
Thou shalt not falter in the presence of pain, for it is pain that makes life worth living!
Kane roared with a fury and stabilized himself by grabbing hold on one of its teeth with his left hand, with the right he made a fist and slammed it with all his might into the side of the Drakes head with a loud crash, nearly causing the Drake to fall on its side.
-Elle’s pov-
She had seen him leap straight towards the Drake. What kind of tactic had that been. How fast did the fool want to die? There was still way too much ground to cover. Still she was amazed with how far he had jumped. Never before had she seen such a feat of strength. And even though he held his spear in a strange way, she had seen it plunge into the drakes head. A glimmer of hope streaked on her face.
Only to immediately disappear. It would have been a miracle had that strike been an instant kill after all. Kane was hanging from the beast's maw and was slung about like a piece of meat. Her heart trembled. Though it was certainly a story they would retell for the rest of their lives. The young man that had challenged a drake by himself and even struck it true. But it was still a sad story. A story that she could have, should have, prevented.
“Damn it all. Avenge the rookie!” She had shouted. The other adventurers had also seen what she had seen and nodded in unison, steeled resolve plastered on their faces.
-Drake’s pov-
The drake was confused, the piece of meat it held on to just wouldn’t rip apart, it was tough unlike any meat it had ever bit into before. And this creature was still lashing out. Like it was still in control of the fight, like it still had the upper hand. A second time the creature had slammed into its head, pain reeled through its body. It had never experienced this, it didn’t understand. The creature was so small, it didn’t understand. It took its entire focus just to keep standing up.
Again it shook the creature and bit down even harder. Tear off, it thought, tear off! A tooth had broken clean off, another shot of pain coursed through its body. It slammed it’s head into a tree, but the creature would not budge. A third time it struck its skull, this time it felt its left eye burst in its socket. It gurgled a terrified roar. Should it let go. No! it would never let go. It didn’t understand!
It ran and twisted and turned, doing everything in its power to shake this creature dead. It wasn’t working. It didn’t understand. It roared and gurgled. Then the creature struck a fourth time. Its bones cracked under the pressure and its mind reeled. The power in its legs was the first to go. What was happening. It didn’t understand. Was it falling. Was it time to sleep.
It didn’t understand. It felt right to sleep. It felt comforting to sleep. Yes, it was okay to sleep. It would be over then.
It would go to sleep, it was over now.
It was alright now.
-Normal pov-
Kane unclamped the jaws from his leg, a large hole resided within it leaking blood like a tap. It looked mangled and not at all straight as a leg should look. He noted this was definitely the biggest hole yet, as he stood up on his good leg he looked towards the others who had finally arrived at the scene. It looked like they were seeing a ghost or something.
“Haha! Did you guys see that! This is a good day! The best!”
“Is it… dead?”, Jack asked.
“Hmm. Probably?” Kane hopped around the drakes head towards his spear and twisted it out from the drakes skull with a gory sound, the drake wasn't showing any signs of life. Planting the spear on his left side for support, he curiously checked his status while juggling a large broken tooth.
Name: Kane
Age: 26
Race: Human (High Noble)
Class: Herald of Principle (level 1)
Health: 74% (bleeding)
Experience: 374
Base attributes:
Strength: Extremely high (138)
Endurance: Extremely high (192)
Constitution: Extremely high (171)
Dexterity: Extremely high (114)
Intelligence: Transcendental (243)
Willpower: Transcendental (258)
Perception: Extremely high (156)
Charisma: Extremely high (105)
Beauty: Extremely high (126)
Luck: Average (49)
Class Bonuses: 1 attribute point per level. All attributes * 3.
Skills: Doctrine, Invoke Principle
Karma: Neutral (0) (locked)
Please select an attribute. (1)
Interestingly, his class had leveled up, but there were no obvious extra bonuses. What a sham he thought. There was still also no obvious way to spend his experience points. At least he got an attribute point. He pondered where to spend his attribute point?
Luck seemed logical, but no, he didn’t want to rely on luck. Average sounds just about right. Beauty? No. Charisma? He already felt like he had an unwanted effect on people as it was, so definitely no. Perception? He couldn’t find his away around the forest as it was, clearly perception did fuck all. Willpower maybe, it was already his highest stat, but it didn't feel necessary. Intelligence also made little sense. Although he did have a sense of increased mental capacity, clearly it was more abstract than that. He had the feeling he would not be able to fully utilize the attribute.
Looking over all the stats he supposed strength would make the most sense. If he had been stronger, he might have been able to pierce through the drakes entire skull after all, or at least killed it with one less punch perhaps.
Kane selected strength and watched his strength points go up by 3.
“Hmm? What’s with all the grim faces guys? Isn’t this what adventuring is all about?” Kane grinned pleasantly. Elle finally let go of her tension and burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, yes… Yes, this is exactly what it is all about… Kane.” She grinned.
Beardman, Scales and Monkey gave each other a telling nod. Then the rest quickly followed up, bursting into laughter and cheers.
“To Kane! The drake slayer!”
“To Kane!”
“Long live Kane!”