Red Monster

The Fireball created havoc and chaos, and then he used his speed to ambush the kobolds. That was how he killed the twenty-nine kobolds that followed him into the jungle.

Red took a deep breath, releasing it in one breath as he pulled the sword from the kobold he had just killed. He didn’t even run out of breath. Once the kobolds panicked, it was easy to pluck them one by one.

There were a few kobolds that recovered quickly, but they were helpless once he was up on the tree. They were slow at climbing, and they could not jump as high as the Elite Kobold Fighter. Killing was easier when they didn’t know where he would come from.

As he killed more kobolds, the remaining kobolds started to flee from him. The fight turned into a hunt as he didn’t let them flee. They were his loot, his alone.

He didn’t go back to the battlefield right away. There was a more important thing that returned earlier: getting his loot. Getting a little bit stronger before joining again.

He looked down at the four kobolds who tried to escape earlier. He exchanged them for loot, getting nine cores from them. That was quite disappointing, as he expected eleven or maybe twelve. He absorbed them all right away as he had more loot waiting for him.

Red found a body that was charred beyond recognition. It was hard to recognize it as a kobold because its scales were completely gone. The shape of the head was the only thing that resembled the kobold.

The remaining twenty-five kobolds dropped fifty-six cores. That was without a doubt a juicy drop even though they were all inferior quality cores. With the nine cores earlier, he got sixty-five cores in total. This was one of the biggest harvests: sixty-five cores in one loot.

He was surprised when he could no longer absorb the mighty core. That was when he realized that he had maxed out the Might Attribute already. It was not long ago that he reached level 10, and he had already maxed out his Might Attribute. He was left with six Might Cores in his hand.

Red subconsciously grabbed his right waist, looking for his pouch. He didn’t bring his pouch with him. Initially, the pouch was to keep his metal balls, but he no longer used the Slingshot. He didn’t take it with him. Moreover, he went to war, not hunting. There was no reason to bring the pouch.

"What should I do with these?"

There was only one choice: digging. He dug up the ground, deep enough to reach his upper wrist before burying the cores inside. He didn’t forget his mark, putting an X-mark on the tree. That was the only option right now.

He thought of leaving them on the branch, but he figured out that might not be safe. He remembered the creatures with long hands on the top tree earlier. So yeah, burying them temporarily was the only option for now.

After putting the cores in a safe spot, he pulled out his status sheet. He had maxed out the Might Stats. He wanted to know how much he needed to max out his Magic Stats. It should not be far off, considering he managed to max out the Might Stats.

Name: ???

Level: 10

Health: 1087 Stamina: 847 (+20) Mana: 1282

[Tier 1 Might]

Strength: 130 (+6.8, +20) Endurance: 110 (+6) Vitality: 110 (+4) Dexterity: 250 (+0.4, +145)

[Tier 1 Magic]

Intelligence: 159.4 (+6.4) Wisdom: 159.4 (+4) Arcane Perception: 158.2 (+4.2) Mind: 159 (+4.2)

Skills:

Tier 1 Skill: Mana Sense (Passive) - Level 15, Levelheaded (Passive) - Level 21, Appraisal - Level 18, Bleeding (Passive) - Level 2, Fireball - Level 5, Bow Mastery (Passive) - Level 6

Tier 3: Mana Smelting - Level 6, Mana Refining - Level 4, Mana Sharpening - Level 3, Mana Repair - Level 3

Tier 4: Mana Forging - Level 1, Mana Tempering - Level 3, Mana Authority (Passive) - Level 4

Tier 5 Skill: Infernal Berserk - Level 1

Positive Attribute:

Mystic Chef Blessing: Strength +20, Dexterity +145, Stamina +20

Minor Health Regeneration I

Minor Stamina Regeneration I

Red’s eyes were wide open in delight and surprise. All his Magic Stats were close to the threshold. He just needed seven to nine magic cores, then he should be able to reach level 11.

That pumped him up, raising his motivation to kill more kobolds. Then he remembered the four kobolds he killed with his spear. Those four kobolds might give him three to five magic cores. He grabbed the sword next to him and rushed out of the jungle, heading toward the village.

He saw the battlefield; the situation was not good for the goblin’s side. There were two bodies of the Elite Kobold Fighters. He figured out that the Chief killed them. However, four more Elite Kobold Fighters joined to gang up on the Chief. The hobgoblin’s numbers were dwindling as well.

Even with two Elite Kobold Fighters dead, the Chief still had to fight six Elite Kobold Fighters. That showed that the hobgoblins could not hold much longer against them. The remaining four Elite Kobold Fighters, along with more than thirty kobolds, were holding off the remaining twelve hobgoblins and less than twenty goblins.

It was dire for his side, and yet Red didn’t rush out. He calmly exchanged the four bodies for loot first, getting ten cores, six might cores, and four magic cores. He dug a shallow hole with his sword, putting the six might cores into it. He took the kobold’s spear, jabbing it into the ground where he buried his core. That would be his mark.

He absorbed the four magic cores that pushed his Intelligence and Wisdom to the threshold. As he thought, he still needed three to four more magic cores.

Red wished to reach level 11 with those four bodies. If he leveled up, all his magic stats would increase by five. That would allow him to have more control over his magic. Unfortunately, that was not enough.

"The kobold is not the issue; the elite is. I have to kill them before they kill the Chief..."

The battle was at its highest tension. No one really noticed that a red-skinned creature approached them from behind. The kobold managed to push deeper into the village.

Red hopped into his favorite spot, getting as close as he could, but not that close where he would be in the range of the Elite Kobold Fighter.

Once he found an appropriate distance, he directed his right palm toward the back of the Elite Kobold Fighter that fought the hobgoblins. He didn’t hesitate to use five times mana even if it meant killing the hobgoblins and goblins with it.

"BACK OFF!!!" Red roared the moment his fireball was ready.

His roar caught both sides’ attention. The hobgoblins were the first ones to react, turning their backs and running. That was when he released his fireball.

Whoosh!

The big fireball shot through the air. The distance was close, and it was a surprise attack that the kobold didn’t expect. No one could really react as the fireball hit the Elite Kobold Fighter that stood in the middle of the kobolds.

KABOOM!

The fireball detonated with an ear-splitting boom; the raging fire spread outward right after, swallowing the kobolds and the other three Elite Kobold Fighters with it. Even the goblins that were late to react were swallowed by the raging fire.

Red didn’t stay to watch what happened as he had already turned his back, running out of the village. He wanted to be at a safe distance before checking what happened.

He thought of using six times mana since he had some control with the fireball with five times mana. The fireball would be unstable with six times mana, but that would be powerful enough to kill four Elite Kobold Fighters.

Red didn’t do it because it might kill the surviving hobgoblins and goblins with it. He disliked those hobgoblins, but he was calm enough to think he still needed them for the upcoming war.

[Mana Sense (Passive) has reached level 16!]

[Fireball has reached level 6!]

[Mana Authority (Passive) has reached level 5!]

He received a skill notification as he made his way to the entrance. If it were in a normal circumstance, he would be happy, but not now. He looked pensive as he finally turned around to look at the aftermath of his fireball.

To his surprise, the Elite Kobold Fighter that got a direct hit by the fireball was dead. Its body was still on fire, blazing fiercely. One Elite Kobold Fighter was also on fire, thrashing around to the ground to the house that was still standing. It tried to put out the fire.

That was not the end of it; the majority of the kobolds were also killed in the fire. The surviving one wasn’t faring that well. They were thrown by the fire and also by the shock wave. The shock wave saved them from the fire.

That one fireball changed the state of the battlefield. The goblins’ side was on the upper hand now. One Elite Kobold Fighter was killed, and another one was not in a state to fight. Less than ten kobolds survived the blast.