Alex was pleasantly surprised by the loot from the Kobolds.
“These warriors both dropped two coins each. Was that because they were stronger or higher level than the miners?” He wondered aloud.
Quickly digging out the Cores, he deposited them and the coins into his Soul Vault and checked his new totals.
-Soul Vault-
Coins
System Coin (Unranked) - 8
Gems:
Cores:
Monster Core (Unranked) - 6
“I guess the coins will be easier to get than the cores in the long run. If they drop multiple coins per core, I’m curious about the trade value. It would be interesting to see how it’s done in the universe,” he said.
He turned and walked back down the tunnel. Feet shuffled forward, exhausted and bleeding, he kept moving. Once near his backpack, he plopped himself down with a sigh of relief and a groan of pain.
Alex slowly started to pull his t-shirt off, or what remained of it. It was a difficult task; between his injuries and the fact that his shirt was soaked in blood, it clung to him in stubbornness. When he removed his shirt, there was a large cut across the back.
The wound needed to be cleaned, and he wanted to remove as much blood as he could before it dried. Using his shirt as a rag, he tried to rub his back clean with a bit of water. Unable to reach the entirety of the wounded area, he gave up. The twisting and turning was causing him pain anyway.
“Ahh damnit that hurts. Twisting around to clean my own back is a bitch to do. Where’s a nice cool lake when you need one?”
There's not much else I can do. I don't have any bandages or material big enough to make one. I assume the wound will heal if I wait long enough, though. It doesn't feel too deep. The cut on my shoulder is deeper, but I can just use my shirt to tie around it for now.
Now, let's check these notifications. I guarantee I leveled from those kills.
Congratulations, Progenitor, you have unlocked the first of your racial abilities.
Eyes of the Cosmos (Racial Ability)
The eyes of the Progenitors are said to be the greatest among all sentient races. It gives them a strong mana sensitivity, allowing them to not only see mana, but feel it in a way that's far beyond any other. As this is a trait of your body, it costs nothing, and it is always active.
“That explains why I can see and sense the mana around me, even now, just sitting here, I can see it in everything,” he said in awe of it.
“It's amazing.”
Focusing, he moved on to the next notification:
You have slain Kobold Warrior(Level 4)
Experience and SP gained
Congratulations, you’ve reached level 3!
+6 free stats points gained
You have slain Kobold Warrior(Level 4)
Experience and SP gained
“Hell yeah! Glad I leveled up. I got lucky that I didn't die there. The warriors were way tougher than I expected. If I had to fight anymore of them, I definitely wouldn't have walked away alive.”
Alex pulled up his status sheet:
Alex Everett
Race: Progenitor
Level: 3
Profession: Progenitor’s Path
Class: Progenitor’s Path
Stats
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Endurance: 7
Toughness: 9
Perception: 7
Wisdom: 9
Intelligence: 9
Willpower: 11
Free points: 6
Skills: Stealth
Racial Abilities: Eyes of the Cosmos
Glancing over it quickly, he noticed new sections at the bottom.
My skills and Racial abilities now show up there. That’ll help keep track of things when I get more. Hopefully, that means I can get spells and more skills or racial abilities.
Looking back at the stats, he decided to keep the trend going for now. His mana lasted long enough for stealth at the moment, so he focused only on his physical stats. But this time, he only put 2 in Strength, then 2 in Agility, 1 more in Toughness, and put his last point into Endurance.
Stats
Strength: 10->12
Agility: 10->12
Endurance: 7->8
Toughness: 9->10
Perception: 7
Wisdom: 9
Intelligence: 9
Willpower: 11
Free points: 6->0
He felt his body swell with energy as his muscles bulged and contracted again.
“That is never going to get old. I could easily see that leveling and increasing your stats could become addictive.”
He sat and rested for a bit, letting his wounds heal, while focusing on the mana around him. Alex was intent on studying it more. The mana felt similar to before. It was a mixture of earth and fire, mostly. Then there was the mana he assumed to be life; it was always present.
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The next ten minutes went by quickly as he examined the mana.
Putting his water away after enjoying a nice cool drink, he shifted his focus inward. Leaning back on the wall and doing his best not to agitate his wound, he rested his head against it and felt for his mana. Alex knew his mana was important; he could feel it in his bones that it was different, but he didn't know why.
Is it tied to my new race?
Whatever a Progenitor is. I understand the term, but I don't get what a race called the Progenitors would mean. What are they, the originals or the first of?
Examining his mana again, he looked towards the white speckles, inside the blackness. Focusing on it, he swore he could see stars.
Why would I have star shapes in my mana? I know it has something to do with the vision I had when I used the gem and also my new race, but what is going on? I have so many questions about all this and zero answers. My freaking hair is silver, my race changed without my consent, and I’m lost in a cave fighting toddler-sized lizards.
Awesome day.
During his rest, he examined the weapons from the Kobolds, starting with the axe.
Basic Axe (Unranked)(★)
This is a common axe of low grade and poor quality.
“Well, that gave me a lot of information. Shitty axe, I guess,” he commented sarcastically. Alex looked at the sword next:
Basic Sword (Unranked)(★)
This is a common sword of low grade and poor quality.
Laughing aloud, he said, “I should have seen that coming.”
Alex compared it to his current sword but decided not to change. He preferred the shape and size of his current one.
Allowing 30 minutes to pass for his wounds, he felt they were good enough to start moving again.
The bleeding seems to have stopped on my back and shoulder, and my leg is completely healed again. This regeneration stuff comes in handy. I’m glad no other Kobolds have come to check in on these guards, though. That wouldn’t have been a fun time for me.
He got up, gathered his backpack, and moved back up the tunnel toward the dead warriors. Alex was ready for the next area.
Sword in his hand, shirtless, missing half of one pant leg, and wearing a backpack, he crept slowly into the next tunnel. This one was much more uniform. The walls were smooth and worked.
Ten minutes passed as he walked.
I’m surprised I haven't seen any more guards, he thought.
In the distance, he started to hear a lot of different noises. Grunting, hissing, barking, all the noises he associated with the Kobolds, and he could also hear fighting.
Coming up on the edge of the tunnel, he activated his Stealth. Alex's eyes grew wide at what he saw, threatening to burst from his face.
I’m dead. There's no way in hell I can fight all these. There have to be fifteen to twenty of them in there.
Looking around the large cavern in front of him, he saw a little outpost of Kobolds. They had small structures set up all over the place, made of wood and hides. There was no organization, as far as Alex could see. They were all in random places.
Worst of all, the cavern stank.
It smelled like these Kobolds lived in filth, doing their business wherever, never bathed, and just left animal carcasses anywhere they could after butchering them.
Focusing on many of them, he tried to gauge their levels. They were all between levels three and six. A majority are on the lower end, mostly miners. But there were a fair number of warriors and some new ones Alex hadn’t seen yet.
Kobold Mage (Level 6)
Kobolds are a race of lizard-like monsters that prefer to live underground. They're aggressive and devious, known for traps and ambushing unsuspecting adventurers who stumble into their territory. This Kobold variant is a basic mage. Able to use combat magic against its enemies.
Kobold Scout (Level 5)
Kobolds are a race of lizard-like monsters that prefer to live underground. They're aggressive and devious, known for traps and ambushing unsuspecting adventurers who stumble into their territory. This Kobold variant is a basic scout. Capable of basic stealth and uses small or ranged weapons.
Kobold Support (Level 4)
Kobolds are a race of lizard-like monsters that prefer to live underground. They're aggressive and devious, known for traps and ambushing unsuspecting adventurers who stumble into their territory. This Kobold variant is basic support. They will assist their allies with support spells.
Shit.
They have all the basic classes, too. This is going to be a huge problem. Not only do I have to worry about warriors running at me, but I have to watch out for stealth users or arrows, fireballs, and healers.
Alex thought for a moment, trying to come up with an idea to get himself through this.
It's impossible unless I can take them one or two at a time, but they wouldn't let me casually lure them away.
Still looking around the cavern, Alex saw there were several other exits. At least three, from what he could tell.
Maybe I could try to stealth past and go through one of those exits. Seems to be my best choice, though I’ll need all the extra time in Stealth that I can get, which means full mana.
With his goal in mind, he backed out of the cavern, turning off his stealth, and waited for his mana to regenerate.
A few minutes later, Alex re-entered the cavern under his stealth skill. Choosing the closest exit, he followed the left wall, hugging it tight. He slowly crept forward one step at a time. Feet making no sound under stealth, his breath slow and steady, the distance to the tunnel quickly disappeared.
Maintaining a far enough distance from the Kobolds in the center, he was able to get to the tunnel easily enough.
This new area looked similar to the one he had come from. The tunnels were almost identical. As he descended the tunnel, the stench got worse with each step. It came to a point where Alex had to consciously stop himself from holding his breath. Instead, he forced himself to do slow, deep breaths, into his mouth and then out of his nose.
This tunnel smells so much worse than the cavern back there, and that was really bad. I’m struggling not to puke from it.
What the hell are they doing down here?
Continuing along the path, Alex heard noises approaching. He quickly stopped moving and backed up into the wall, standing in a slight dip to hide himself better.
Kobold Warrior (Level 5)
Kobold Mage (Level 4)
Kobold Support (Level 5)
Is that a patrol? Definitely looks like it. They're walking closely in a group, and the classes are balanced. A warrior, mage, and support. I’m going to need to be extra careful and move quickly if the Kobolds have patrols walking around down here. It's only a matter of time before they find the dead guards I left behind.
Taking the opportunity, Alex viewed the mage and support, focusing with his Eyes of the Cosmos. He noticed the ability didn’t overpower his vision unless he actively wanted it to; otherwise, it mainly stayed in the background. It allowed him to see normally, with only small bits of mana.
I’ll need to practice with this ability more when I’m not trying to escape a dungeon. I’d like to strike a good balance between keeping it more active and not interfering with my normal vision. He thought to himself.
The mana inside the mage and support is definitely denser than the warrior's. That makes sense; their magic stats are probably higher, giving them a higher mana pool.
Inspecting the mana more inside the mage and recognizing the typing, he was able to guess that the mana was earth. But the support’s mana confused Alex. It was blinding white, tinged throughout with gold.
Is that a type of holy or divine magic? I know from stories that healers use that kind of mana by praying and stuff. Is that how it works in the Universal System, too?
As the group moved farther away, toward the central cavern Alex had come from, he moved farther down the tunnel. But soon he felt the drain on his mana and knew his time in Stealth was running out.
I’m going to need to find a spot to rest and recover. I’ve already used up half my mana.
Speeding up as much as he could, while trying not to break stealth, he reached the end of the tunnel without running into any more patrols. Arriving at the bottom, he found the source of the pungent odor in the air.
Is this a cooking area or a butchery, or maybe just a dumping ground for corpses? There are carcasses all over down here, but I only see two Kobolds.
Kobold Cook (Level 2)
Kobolds are a race of lizard-like monsters that prefer to live underground. They're aggressive and devious, known for traps and ambushing unsuspecting adventurers who stumble into their territory. This specific variant of Kobold is one of the lowest variants, focusing solely on cooking, if you can really call it that.
Kobold Cook (Level 3)
This is the first time I’ve been higher level than a Kobold. It's a nice change for once. The issue, though, I don’t see anywhere I can rest to recover my mana, unless I want to hide inside a corpse, which I’m not doing.
Hell no.
He silently moved around the cavern, looking for any options. He didn’t find much. But when he saw a large pool of lava down in the rear of the tunnel, it gave him an idea.
Alex smiled.
That’ll work. I’m going to kill these two and throw their bodies in the lava. That should stop patrols from finding it.
While he was still under the effects of his stealth skill, Alex made his way towards the two cooks. They were standing near each other, butchering a large animal. The animal was some kind of wolf, a massive one, much larger than Alex had seen before.
Creeping behind the Kobolds, still unnoticed, he made his move. Alex skewered the highest-level cook with his sword, straight through the back. He must have aimed it perfectly, because the Kobold went limp before making a sound.
One down.
Removing the blade, he moved towards the other one before it could react, but too slowly…it had noticed him. The cook had already turned and started running away up the tunnel, barking and shouting out any sounds it could create.
“Little bastard, quit running!”
Alex picked up the cleaver from the first cook and threw it at the other one. It didn't cause any damage, but it did cause the Kobold to stumble when it hit his leg.
His footsteps quickly ate up the distance between him and the cook. It had just scrambled to its feet when Alex arrived. The creature clumsily swung its cleaver at him before trying to run away again.
Alex brought his sword down from high. The blade cut deep into the cook's neck. He withdrew it and stabbed forward into its chest, silencing the small creature.
