Chapter 171: Ceaseless Battle (3)

Swish!

The arrow pierced another kobold’s head, killing it in one shot. Red took a deep breath after killing his sixteenth Kobold Scout. He quickly moved down and exchanged it for loot.

It was fortunate that all Kobold Scouts were level 20 and above. He got cores from all his loot, and he got thirty-eight cores in total: twenty Might Cores and eighteen Magic Cores. With no space in his Storage Pouch, he absorbed all the cores right away.

The reason he exchanged the body for loot right away was that he didn’t want the kobold army to find him. He didn’t want them to know that there was someone who countered their Kobold Scouts. They would be suspicious of losing their Kobold Scouts, but they wouldn’t know it was him, or that they were hunted from the top.

Red retreated after killing the sixteenth Kobold Scout. It was time to set up an ambush in a new spot. His plan was to kill all the Kobold Scouts for now. He would consider later whether he should attack the kobold army or not, after killing all the Kobold Scouts.

He retreated further back, going fifty trees back and setting up his ambush. It was the same plan; he would wait for them to come at him.

He guessed it; right there were more Kobold Scouts. They seemed to notice their missing comrades as they moved in a group instead of moving separately. Three groups of four, and one group of five, seventeen Kobold Scouts.

These might be all the Kobold Scouts that followed the kobold army. He could be wrong, as that was just his hunch, but their number didn’t deter him.

Since they were in a bigger group, he would play it safe and shoot them with his bow. He would go back to his roots: hit, run, and hide. This way of fighting was quite slow compared to the ambush with his throwing spear. Limited sight because of the canopy made it slow, but it became his advantage as well since he relied on the canopy to hide and run.

He easily picked two out of four from each group with his current shoot rate. Then he would run and hide afterward. Despite getting killed one by one by such a tactic, the Kobold Scouts didn’t retreat. The Kobold Scouts seemed determined to avenge their friends.

That worked in his favor as he wiped out the four groups of Kobold Scouts, seventeen Kobold Scouts. He got forty-one cores, twenty-one Might Cores, and twenty Magic Cores.

To his delight, he managed to reach level 20 from those cores.

[You have reached Level 20!]

His smile widened because he still had two Might Cores and four Magic Cores left. This was also why he volunteered to fight the Kobold Scouts.

That was when he came to a realization: the possibility of evolution. He didn’t undergo an evolution when he reached level 10, and he might undergo an evolution when he reached level 20. That reminded him that the goblins underwent evolution in battle. That frightened him if he suddenly went through the same process. He would be dead before he finished the evolution.

To his relief, he didn’t undergo evolution as he feared. He put the bow on his back, carrying the remaining six cores in hand as he got away, getting as far as possible from here. He still feared the possibility of evolution.

It was fortunate that nothing happened to him. He was carelessly absorbing the cores without checking his level, but it was a relief there was no evolution for him. He absorbed the remaining six cores and decided to retreat closer to the village.

He set up a new spot for another ambush if the kobold still had more Kobold Scouts they would send ahead of the kobold army. As he waited for them, he checked his Status.

Name: ???

Level: 20

Health: 2250 Stamina: 2074 (+100) Mana: 2962

[Tier 1 Might]

Strength: 265.6 (+4.2, +65) Endurance: 220.8 (+7.2, +20) Vitality: 225(+6.8,+25) Dexterity: 370 (+6.4,+170)

[Tier 1 Magic]

Intelligence: 295.8 (+8.8) Wisdom: 296.2 (+11.8) Arcane Perception: 295 (+10.8) Mind: 295.4 (+10.2)

Skills:

Tier 1 Skills: Mana Sense - Level 18, Levelheaded - Level 22, Appraisal - Level 19, Bleeding - Level 3 (+1), Fireball - Level 7, Bow Mastery - Level 8 (+1), Burst Leap - Level 1, Sword Mastery - Level 2 (+1)

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 - Level 7, Rune Weaving - Level 1, Rune Engraving - Level 1, Rune Restoration - Level 1

Tier 5 Skill: Infernal Berserk - Level 1

Positive Attribute:

Mystic Chef Blessing: +65 Strength, +20 Endurance, +25 Vitality, +170 Dexterity +170, +100 Stamina

Minor Health Regeneration I

Minor Stamina Regeneration I

Most of his Magic Stats had surpassed the Might Stat even with the bonus from the blessing food. Only Dexterity remained his highest stat. Looking at his blessing, it reminded him of Darla. The variety of dishes she made, and especially the night they spent together.

Had he left the village around six nights ago? Maybe seven nights? Raising his level was nice and well, but he missed Darla dearly. He wished the campaign would end soon, but that might be his wishful hope. The Chief would not return unless their number went down to less than fifty. As long as their number was still above one hundred, the campaign would continue.

Red kept waiting, but the Kobold Scouts never came. It was either there were no more Kobold Scouts, or the one in charge of the kobold army pulled their Kobold Scouts. Especially after losing more than thirty of them.

Two hours passed, and he wasted half of his blessing already, yet the Kobold Scouts didn’t come. The sun was hanging low on the horizon as the jungle was getting darker.

Red made a slow retreat, getting closer to the village. He still didn’t find the Kobold Scouts or the army. Losing their Kobold Scouts seemed to slow them down. When the sun was about completely to set, the kobold army was closing in to the village. He saw them marching closer. That was when he decided to go back, keeping his fireball secret still.