Red Monster

Red kept his distance as the village was located in an open clearing. The trees didn’t reach there; it was quite unsafe for him to go down. Especially knowing the kobold had something like the black-armored kobolds.

First thing off, he checked his stamina, and he was surprised to find his stamina was still full. It was still 944, the same as when he left the village. He quickly connected the dots. It was the Mystic Chef’s blessing, Minor Stamina Regeneration I.

His stamina regeneration was higher than his consumption, which was why his stamina was full. That was good news. Then he checked the duration of the blessing.

[Minor Stamina Regeneration I: Recover 3 Stamina per second! Duration: 1 hour 32 minutes.]

[Minor Health Regeneration I: Recover 2 Health per second! Duration: 1 hour 32 minutes.]

[Mystic Chef’s blessing, Strength +20, Dexterity +20. Duration: 4 hours 31 minutes.]

[Mystic Chef’s blessing, Dexterity +25. Duration: 2 hours 31 minutes.]

Red found out another new measurement, minute. He hadn’t figured out about the thing called an hour; now another new one appeared. If he was not on a mission, he would take his time to figure out this measurement. It was important to know about the duration, crucial for the battle.

He still had the blessing, so it was better for him to investigate further into the village before going back. The Chief should be on the way already; getting more prepared was better than attacking blindly, just like what the kobolds did.

The first thing he did was to circle the village from the tree. While his vision was unclear, he could not see the details inside the village. It still gave him information, like how many kobolds were in the village.

The village was in the middle of the jungle. They didn’t have the massive cliff behind like his village. He circled the village from a distance and found the second entrance on the other side.

Each entrance was guarded by four kobolds; each of them had leather armor and a spear. Unfortunately, Appraisal was out of range. He could not find what their level was.

The village was certainly bigger than his village, but he didn’t see many kobolds inside. Maybe they truly brought the majority of the kobolds in the attack, leaving the village vulnerable.

Red thought of getting a closer look at the village. If the majority of their warriors or hunters were not in the village, he was tempted to attack the village by himself. He was not that arrogant to think he could take down the village by himself. However, getting a few kills and core might be good, getting rid of a few guards before the Chief.

With that in mind, Red came down from his turf. He approached the side of the village with no guards. It was filled with grown bushes and small trees. It was hard not to make noise, but it was fortunate the guard was not posted on this side.

He climbed up the fence, sneaking into the village. He crouched through the village outskirts and hid behind the house. The kobold had better workers than his village for sure. The house didn’t just look sturdier, but it was better in design.

’Maybe we should enslave some of them to work under us. They could be useful builders...’

That was just his thoughts. The decision was still in the Chief’s hands. That was an idea, but he didn’t plan to bring it up either. Knowing the hate between them and the kobolds. He didn’t think it was a good idea to propose it.

He opened the back door, carefully and slowly. It didn’t make noise, just like his back door, and he got to peek inside. The house was empty; then he moved to the second house. He wished to find a resting kobold, getting a free kill for loot.

Lady Luck was not on his side this time. He didn’t find the resting kobolds even after sneaking into four houses. He decided to move on and checked inside.

That was when he found out the village was quite empty despite its size. He also didn’t find that many kobolds when he observed the village from the tree. He just thought most of them were resting inside the house, yet he could not find any kobolds inside as well.

After he could not find any kobolds in the seven consecutive houses, he came to the conclusion that the village was emptied to attack their village. That was the only explanation why he could not find kobolds.

Red made a decision, sneakily walking at the edge of the village, following the fence. If there were not many kobolds inside, then this might be his chance. He didn’t want to take the risk of entering the middle of the village. He planned to kill the kobolds that lived at the edge of the village, getting a good loot before leaving.

Red changed his mind after finding out there were not many kobolds inside. He decided to sneak deeper into the middle of the village, but he needed to secure his escape first.

He snuck toward the entrance where the four kobolds were. Securing the escape path was important if he wanted to go deeper. The kobold guards were on sight, also in range of his arrow and Appraisal.

Red used Appraisal as he squatted down, putting down his sword before pulling his bow from the back. He was being careful, scanning all four kobolds.

[Kobold Guard - Level 15] [Kobold Guard - Level 15] [Kobold Guard - Level 13] [Kobold Guard - Level 12]

All of them were above level 10, just right to be his prey. He could exchange them for loot.

An arrow was already in his bow as he finished investigating the guards with his skill. He took a deep breath and held it down as he aimed at the level 15 Kobold Guard.

Red fired his first arrow, and his hand was already moving, pulling another arrow from his quiver. Before the first arrow hit, a second arrow was already in his bow. As he drew the string, the first arrow hit the target.

Slurgh!

The arrow hit the level 15 Kobold Guard. That caused a panic, and the second arrow was already flying. In the next breath, the third arrow shot through as well. Within four seconds, he took down three Kobold Guards. Before the last Kobold Guard could warn, an arrow pierced his head, and his body fell to the side.

Red’s eyes widened in surprise. The additional Dexterity increased his fire rate. He took down four kobolds within six seconds.

Red quickly sprang into action, rushing forward to exchange the bodies for loot. When focused, he ran much faster. He exchanged the four bodies for loot and got thirteen cores, and he just took the cores, absorbing them right away before going back where he put his sword.

He nodded with a satisfied smile etched on his face. The escape path had been secured, and if he ever got found out, he would not get pinched. He stayed there for a little longer, wondering if the attack alarmed the village. No kobolds showed up.

He made his way back to where the Kobold Guards were, retrieving his arrow before sneaking into the village. He stuck close to the house, keeping his ears sharp. The village was too quiet, eerily quiet.

He would think the village was abandoned if not for the Kobold Guard. Being cautious, he also kept checking the house. That was to ensure he didn’t get stabbed on the back.

Red finally heard something after ten houses into the village. The typical hissing noises from the kobolds came from two houses to his right. He slowly made his way there, confirming the voice first.

His guess was right; he heard the hissing from the house in front of him. He unbundled the sword, slipping the clothes inside his leather armor. He looked at his sword, then he looked at the house.

He quickly realized that the sword might be too long to use inside the house. His sword might have struck the beam or wall instead of the kobold inside. It might be even better to use his bow instead of his sword.

Red bundled his sword back, holding it in his left hand. His right hand was holding the throwing spear. Then he slowly pushed the back door, not fully opening it. Just enough gap for him to enter the house. He poked his head inside to check.

The noise came from the front side, but he might be wrong about it. He was being cautious, checking it first before sneaking in. The back room was empty, only a table with fresh meat on top. A few weapons were on display: a spear, a shield, a sword, and a bow.

Red snuck in, didn’t close the door, afraid of making noise. He slowly crouch-walked toward the front side of the house where the noise came from. He peeked at the door, checking.

Two kobolds that were slightly taller than him seemed to be in conversation. He didn’t really understand what they were saying. It was just hissing noise, but they looked like they were in an argument. He could tell that based on their tones. He used Appraisal on them as a precaution.

[Kobold Hunter - Level 14] [Kobold Archer - Level 13]

Red carefully put the sword on the ground, trying his best not to make a noise. He put the spear as well and pulled the bow. The bow was still the best weapon even inside the house. However, he made sure to put the spear close to him in case things went south.

The two kobolds were in an intense argument that they didn’t notice a red-skinned creature was aiming at them. The first arrow shot through, hitting the level 14 Kobold Hunter in the head, killing it instantly.

Kobold Archer was in shock as he saw his friend, or maybe a mate, fall to the side. Its eyes were wide open; then it turned toward where the arrow came from. It saw Red firing the second shot. Before he could scream to warn that there was an intruder, an arrow embedded into its head.