Red Monster

The potential for another level-up excited him. With his status sheet open, he absorbed the thirty magic cores. The magic core absorption was the same. It was averaging at 0.6, sometimes hit 0.4 or 0.8, and he hit 1.0 absorption once.

The excitement died down because he didn’t hit level 12. It was not even close, because if he were close to the next level, he would take the ten magic cores he had left for Darla. Unfortunately, it was not close. Ten cores were not enough to bring him to the next level.

Name: ???

Level: 11

Health: 1109 Stamina: 1167 (+20) Mana: 1040

[Tier 1 Might]

Strength: 140 (+10, +20) Endurance: 120(+10) Vitality: 120 (+10) Dexterity: 260 (+10, +145)

[Tier 1 Magic]

Intelligence: 172.8 (+13.4) Wisdom: 174.4 (+15) Arcane Perception: 173.8 (+15.6) Mind: 170.8 (+11.2)

Skills:

Tier 1 Skill: Mana Sense (Passive) - Level 16 (+1), Levelheaded (Passive) - Level 21, Appraisal - Level 18, Bleeding (Passive) - Level 2, Fireball - Level 6 (+1), Bow Mastery (Passive) - Level 6, Burst Leap - Level 1 (New)

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 5 (+1)

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

His Wisdom and Arcane Perception were closest to the threshold, but not the case with his Intelligence and Mind. Especially Mind, he needed at least eight to ten cores to max it out. So yeah, absorbing another ten magic cores would not bring him to the next level.

He was not disappointed; there was nothing to be disappointed about. Two levels in one day was a big progress for him, who usually took a few days to level up.

Red got up, stretching out his hands. The soreness on his body was gone. He no longer felt the pain from getting slammed and thrown by the Elite Kobold Fighters. The slight searing pain from the slight burn from his own fire was also gone. He was back to his best condition.

His body was fine, but his mind might be a little bit exhausted. He experienced a near-death once. That was when he was getting cocky, and the Elite Kobold Fighter almost jumped him and killed him. If not for the Chief, he would be dead by now.

The mistake he made was in an early battle where he got himself shot. Remembering that arrow wound, he pulled his leather armor and looked down. The fresh wound was still there, but he didn’t feel the pain. In fact, he had forgotten that he was shot in the shoulder earlier.

When he moved his left hand, only then did he feel a slight twitch of pain. Just a little, and he would not notice it if he was in the middle of the battle.

"It should be fine after a day or two..." He shrugged and returned to the village.

By the time he returned to the village, the village was cleaned out of corpses. Outside and inside were clean of the dead bodies; whether it was the goblins, hobgoblins, or kobolds, all of them were gone.

The smell was still there, though. He was hit with that unpleasant burning flesh smell. He saw the Chief was absorbing the cores given to him by the hobgoblins.

The Chief could not exchange these bodies for cores because he was way too high level for them. But that was not the case for the goblins and hobgoblins. They would exchange the loot and give the loot to the Chief.

The look from the hobgoblins and goblins toward him also changed. They were wary of him, acting with care around him or entirely avoiding him. Not that he wanted them to boot-lick him. It was better this way; he didn’t need a subordinate as long as they didn’t bother him, then he would not bother them. That was his relationship with the goblins and the hobgoblins in the village.

Another thing he noticed was that they got three more hobgoblins. There were fifteen hobgoblins from initially twelve who survived, with only five goblins left. That was what was left from their village.

"Red! Go ahead and clear the path for us to return. Kill everything that will become our obstacles! This place is no longer safe. We are leaving!"

The Chief clearly didn’t remember his name bestowed by the Matron. He himself didn’t remember his own name; why would the Chief remember him? That was a silly thought that crossed his mind when the Chief called him Red.

And that was another mystery as to why the status sheet didn’t acknowledge the name. Something that he could not get the answer to no matter how hard he thought about it.

Red received the command with a nod as he left the village. He had the route in his head, so tracking back was easier for him. He just needed to make sure that the path was safe from the beasts.

The beast that he must be wary of was Harke. Those four-legged creatures were hunting in a pack, so they might provide trouble for the exhausted hobgoblin and goblins. The Chief’s intention was clear: he didn’t want to lose any more of his subordinates.

Another thing that he must avoid was that flaming-red-furred creature with a massive size. It might provide trouble for the current Chief since it was bigger than the Chief. He needed to make sure the path was safe from that creature as well.

After ensuring the path was safe, he then looked for that flaming-red-furred creature. He didn’t want that big creature close to the route he picked. An ambush from that thing might wipe them out. He didn’t think the Chief would survive an ambush from that creature with the Chief’s current condition.

It took longer than he needed, but it was a necessary thing to do. He was relieved that he could not find that creature. If he found out it was close to the route, he needed to pick a new route.

Red returned to the village, and Chief was waiting at the entrance with the hobgoblins and goblins. There was a frown and a displeased look on the Chief’s eyes.

"What takes you so long?" The Chief questioned.

He explained why it took him longer to clear the path. He was not afraid of being questioned by the Chief.

The Chief nodded understandingly when he explained why it took him longer to return. "Good work. It’s better to avoid that thing. That thing is above an Elite. We called it the King of the Jungle. Good job avoiding it."