Kobolds (42/62). Kobold Bone Warrior (8/10). Robe Kobold (1/3). Kobold King (0/1)

  Benedict blinked, trying to see if the word was lying to him somehow. They had just been sitting around to rest in what Pax called a ‘team bonding’, he swore the old man was probably just very lonely in their old world.

  But the conversation stopped the moment the kill count kept going up. When lightning zaps the night sky, they thought it was just a normal thing, until they saw that the Robe Kobold was dead. And it was a fast one; it didn't even take an hour since the kill started. A battle happened, and Alquin’s group probably won.

  Benedict should’ve been annoyed if they really won and not wiped out. Rue or Alquin probably got a lot of Kobold kills, enough to threaten his Dragon Bone quest with failure. Well, that Emily girl could’ve done it too.

  It could be, the kill was shared, which will be the best outcome for Benedict. But he did not want that to happen. A bizarre excitement coursed through his veins at the prospect of failing this quest. It might’ve been the fact that he already has his Rogue class and is still a bit hesitant to switch to the Path of Bone Dragon.

  Or, it could be that this suddenly became a race.

  Yeah, let’s not kid myself. It’s the second one. Benedict smiled as he poked the fire in front of him with a stick. The flame complained; they worked hard enough to cook the Kobold meat on top of them. The sizzling meat let out a fat dripping down to the fire. Now it looked quite appetizing.

  The flame also helped ward off the cold of the night that began to seep into Benedict. He welcomed the warmth before he resumed hunting. But, for now, the crackle of the fire against the windy night is so peaceful, it calms Benedict in a way city life never could. For now, he will rest.

  He had planned to rest long and did this ‘Team Bonding’ Pax was so proud of. But now things have changed. He could take a nice, long nap when he got his new class.

  Benedict looked at the flame, hugging his knees together for extra warmth. The comfort almost made him want to close his eyes and stay there for the entire night; there’s just something about nature that humans so… well, natural to be at.

  “They win, right?” Gilbert asked in front of him. The blue-haired man's face was obscured by the fire, and his tone was filled with worry as he stared at the kill count.

  “They took down the Robe Kobold,” Yomi said. The Goblin spun the Kobold skewer, unnecessarily turning it over every two minutes. “That means they at least win the battle. I think. Very impressive. Rita is with them, but she shouldn’t be able to do it alone.”

  Gilbert gave a noncommittal grunt. The man is surprisingly caring. Benedict wondered why. They just barely met each other, every single one of them.

  “I'm sure they're all right, Gil,” Clerence said, dipping her head up to kiss Gilbert. Her scarlet hair pushed against his blue one.

  Gilbert, in turn, mumbled about being embarrassed or something. But it's too late to feel that way. Benedict has identified so many ways to escape the group silently, but he felt stupid to even bother. Whenever Gilbert and Clerence kept watch, they were always busy; he could just casually walk out, and no one would notice.

  Pax acknowledged this; the man even told Benedict that if he wanted to leave, then there was nothing he could do to stop him. Maybe, if they kept proper guard, he would already be gone, and he would feel less guilty about doing so. But, to do it when they were nothing but nice to him, and leaving them would put them in danger too…

  That bothers Benedict.

  “But, still,” Clerence continued. “We should go to where they are, right?”

  Pax, who just ripped apart the meat, shallowed it in a hurry. The old man coughed, and Benedict winced from the unnecessary health hazard. “Yes, now there are not that many of them. We should also collect Eve and Yom. Then strike the Kobolds as one party. They're probably on their way to get those two already,” Paxwell grinned. “After that, we clear the tutorial quest for good.”

  “So everyone is going back then? To the huge tree,” Benedict asked, earning a pointed look from Pax. The man knew he had been wanting to leave to get the most kills. Benedict had told him about the quest after all. Pax, being the honest man he is, says he is not going to stop him; in fact, Pax and Rue also planned to go with just the two of them on this special quest of theirs.

  “You can go if you want, kid, I'm not stopping you.”

  Benedict stood; he took two skewers with him. “Well, it's been pleasant,” and he meant it. His eyes go around the camp, Gilbert and Clerence looked at him, skeptically, but their reaction is measured, like… like they’ve been expecting this. “You told them?” He asked Paxwell.

  “Don’t know it’s a secret,” The old man shrugged.

  “You sure we shouldn’t come with you?” Gilbert asked.

  Benedict let out a sigh, and he scratched the nape of his neck. “No, the whole point is for me to get as many kills as possible. Preferably, I wanted to clear the quest by myself.”

  “My, how confident!” Clerence made a mock gasp.

  “You can’t,” Someone said. His gaze drifted to Yomi, who calmly stood with that dark thin sword by his sash, his green skin came alive as fire shone on it. He glowed like an emerald. “The Kobold king, the Golden Kobold, is too strong, I will at least come with you.”

  “No-“

  “I will leave you all the kill!” He insisted.

  Benedict's first instinct is to reject him, but that… will be helpful. Even he will accept such huge help.

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  “Are you sure about this?” Benedict asked.

  “Of course.”

  Rue was dying to check his skill choice, but before that, Alquin insisted that they make their way to Yom and Eve, so by the time Paxwell’s team arrived, they had already gotten the Kobold meat ready to eat.

  He decided the skill could wait. His Magic strain has caused a dull throb through his brain to revibrate, making him want to puke. Eating is the last thing he wants to do, as he’s not sure he could even consume anything.

  “You need to eat!” Rita insisted. “All three of you!” She put both of her hands on her hips and glared at Rino, Emily, and Rue.

  Two of them have the same symptoms as him.

  So, currently, Rue is cooking raw Kobold meat in his right hand with his fireball spell as he walks. He had tried to summon a normal fireball, but what came out was just a kind of flame you saw in a dying gas stove.

  His body can move, but he’s sluggish, all three of them are. They had quickly buried the dead. Alquin did most of the work, still, though Rino had to wet the ground for the dig.

  “I think it’s ready?” Rue said out loud. The red has turned crispy brown somehow; it looked appetizing, but he really didn’t want to eat.

  “Eat it, Rue,” Rita said, turning her head in front of him.

  “Ugh, Emily? Rino?” He offered.

  “I'm Good,” Rino said. He was forced to haul a Kobold body since Rita's spatial storage is full from their loot and the butchered meat, plus he’s on 78% Magic Vein, a very bad number, but Rue and Emily had much worse.

  “I’ll just wait until we can get rest,” Emily huffed.

  “Oh, come on, just eat it,” Rita said, vexed. “The Magic Vein inside of you currently tries to fix itself, so it sends a signal to your whole body to reject any food it does not recognize any mana-enriched food yet. And you need much, much more and plenty of sleep.”

  Lioness Health: 21%

  Rue ate the blob of meat and pushed it down his throat quickly, and it tasted refreshing. Like a minty sensation going down to his very core. The sensation soothes a part of him that always felt like it was beyond his grasp, his Magic Vein.

  “That tastes nice, like a mint candy,” Rue murmured. He looked at the Lioness' health, the food he could eat, but should he risk sleeping now? Maybe a nap? Hopefully, his Magic Vein can recover enough by then.

  They kept walking until they soon made it to the huge tree that served as their meeting point.

  By the thick, hulking root, Eve stared at the moon as she mindlessly drew on a tic-tac-toe table with a stick. Yom, on the other hand, struggled to stay awake as his head kept coming down.

  “They do not even notice us,” Emily grumbled.

  “Hello! We’re back!” Rino shouted, snapping their attention. Both of them jolted, slightly embarrassed. Before Eve got her bearings, and threw herself at Emily in a bear hug.

  “Em! I’m bored out of my mind,” She cried out.

  “How nice,” Emily muttered, patting Eve on her back, hiding a playful twitch of a smile.

  Alquin and Rino threw down their Kobold body. Both of them sat on the ground, letting in and out ragged breath.

  “You okay there, lad?” Alquin laughed, clasping Rino back, and the youth shook his head tiredly.

  “Rue, you make the old man carry bodies?” Yom raised an eyebrow. “And what with these people… and a goblin?” He asked.

  “First of all,” Alquin said before Rue could explain. “Let’s prepare the food. All three of them need to regain their Magic Vein as soon as possible. We can talk about everything when we eat.”

  “And nap,” Rue added, “I want a brief one, after I read over my skill.”

  “Yes to that,” Emily groaned, blowing Eve's hair by her nose.

  Rino, who’s the most tired out of all of them, gives a thumbs up.

  And lastly, the five survivors looked cautiously, mostly their gaze kept going to Rita. They’re weary and rightly so, perhaps. They tiptoed around, like they were hesitant to join the Rue’s group.

  “All of you are cooking,” Alquin barked.

  “Sir?” The middle-aged scout asked, before nodding, “Yes! Thank you. Alright, come on!” He shouted back to his group. Now, they started a flurry of activity, no doubt they did before. The corpses were taken to be butchered by the scout who skillfully slid his knife between the Kobold's scales.”

  “They thanking you?” Rue asked Alquin in a whisper.

  “They wanted to be part of the group, but were too wary to do so. Best way in is to make them think they've done us some sort of favor,” Alquin shrugged.

  “huh”

  “Oh, Me and Yom will help too,” Eve perked up. She grasped Yom's hand and began dragging him just when he was about to chat with Rue and Rino. “Also, some of them need healing,” She muttered.

  Rue, Rino, Emily, Rita, and Alquin found themselves in a circle with each of them leaning against a tree in incredible comfort. It’s probably because of the flame. Rue just had enough flame to light a small campfire, and they will soon begin cooking.

  “I can sleep, right?” Emily asked beside him. “No need for a watch or anything.”

  “Go, sleep. All three of you should”

  “Maybe after I select my skill,” Rue mumbled, he began to open his status.

  “Ah, me too,” Emily said.

  “Oh!” Rino perked up. “I almost forgot.”

  Name: Rue.

  Level: 8 → 12

  Race: Human.

  Class: Frost Apprentice Lvl 9 → 13

  Magic Vein (Wood): 95%

  HP: 441/502 → 415/885

  Mana: 332/352 → 72/720

  Strength: 26 → 42

  Vitality: 24 → 40

  Dexterity: 22 → 35

  Arcana: 52 → 104

  Mind: 57 →111

  Perception: 21 → 36

  -Skill (3/10)-

  - Fireball (Common)

  - Time of Obsidian Ice (Rare)

  - Sword of Frost (Uncommon)

  -Passive Skill (2/10)-

  - Cold Resistance (Uncommon)

  - Cold Healing (Uncommon)

  (Frost Snap – (Common)) The deadliest spell is one that hits you before you know it. Compress Frost energy in your palm and blast it forward in a burst, applying the Frost property to the target.

  (Cold’O Wisp – (Uncommon)) A Mage is useless when they can’t count on their spell, especially if said spell turns on them. Bend the magic of your target, injecting them with Frost property to overwhelm them and explode, applying Frost property on the target. Only work for those with equal or lower in Arcana.

  (Frost Shrapnel – (Uncommon)) Barely anyone could avoid rain, what if you imbued them with a cold anyone would regret even touching? Shoot up a package of Frost Property to the sky, upon reaching an appropriate height, shrapnel of Frost will rain down upon the target below.

  (Meditation (Common)) - Cut your surroundings and focus deeply within. Increase healing and mana regeneration in meditative state.

  No more prompts appeared as Rue waited. It seemed he had to choose this one first. There are three spells he would gladly take. He could see all three to be extremely useful in the future.

  “Now, let's see…” Rue mumbled. He looked around to find Emily, Rino, and even Alquin had their eyes intent on the sky, obviously reading their own skill option.

  “Now I feel lonely,” Rita muttered, giving him a smirk.

  Rue let out a small one of his own. The smell of skewers is appetizing, and his stomach growls. Now he wanted to eat. But, skill choice first.