Otherworld Delinquent - Chapter 3 (Patreon)

However, his excitement was crushed when the purple turned out to only be a tiny fragment of a Pathstone. He touched it, then used [Objectify] on it.

Epic Pathstone Fragment: A Pathstone Fragment with a random Pathstone when fully formed.

Just from the size of it, he could only imagine how many he needed to turn it into its real form. Was it six, eight, or twelve? He wasn’t sure.

He had never seen the fragments before, so it was obviously yet another new addition to the System. Although he was a bit disappointed it wasn’t a full pathstone, no doubt an Epic fragment was still rare. Noah sighed. Well, at least he could collect them, but the words “random” left a sour taste in his mouth. It could be anything. Hell, it could be something related to chimney sweeping for all he knew.

Next, he moved onto the blue Skill Essence from the mission reward. It depicted a monstrous shout with a humanoid holding a weapon in front of it.

You have obtained the Rare Willpower Path Skill Essence as a mission reward: Pact of Two. Due to the lack of Pathstone, you are unable to currently learn the Skill Essence.

Noah assented to the information, then peered further at the information.

Rare Willpower Path Skill Essence - Pact of Two: Your tamed monster fills your body with a beastly strength. In a small area around your pet, you duplicate half of its stats and add it to your own.

Shit, a Rare Skill Essence. Noah’s hand trembled as he held it tightly within his grasp. Was his luck going to change in this world? The fact that it gave him half of his monster's stats was incredible. The stronger his tamed beast was, the stronger he would become.

Even though it was just a Rare Skill, the impact it would give him was enormous. It felt more like an Epic Skill than anything, or for him specifically, it was like a Legendary Skill. It was truly a hallmark skill of a tamer that focused on a hybrid assault, one that they would all froth at the mouth to obtain. And he had it.

His head darted around before carefully tucked it into his pocket. He had no use of it yet without the Willpower Pathstone. Noah understood the importance of keeping Pathstones and Skill Essences a secret at all times, unless one wanted it taken from them. Next up was the Common Pathstone.

You have obtained the Common Skill Essence - Spear-Proficiency. Do you wish to accept it? Y/N

“Yes,” Noah said.

As he accepted, there was no pain, nor a force that sent him back, only a heat that seeped into his skin. He seethed in a sharp breath. It was like someone had pierced a needle into him and injected some sort of boiling liquid. It travelled through his bloodstream and into his head where information popped up

You have gained the Skill Spear-Proficiency.

Spear-Proficiency - level 1: Damage you deal with spears has increased. Incremental gain each level up.

Noah brandished the spear and thrusted it forward. Unlike before, it was a little faster and he could tell that it packed more power than before. It was basic, but anything that increased his power was welcome.

The last was a Common Pathstone. It had the image of a pointed hat with a ball of fire in the background. Touching it, information just like the other times flashed in front of his eyes.

You have obtained the Common Magic Pathstone - Fire: Enables the user to unlock magical Skills with the attribute of Fire.
| Stats per Level: Magic +1

Magic. Noah smiled at the Pathstone he had obtained, but he shook the thought of accepting it from his mind. It wasn’t what he needed to survive. He needed the physical Stats in order to battle the monsters in the jungle, and to survive the gruelling environment.

Noah decided to keep it for later. Who knows what survivor he would run into, if they were interested in the magic path–Pyromancer–then they would need this stone.

Next, his vision peered at the new spear from the kobold.

Level 3 - Common Kobold Spear: A makeshift spear crafted from a strip of hard jungle wood, and a tip created from the sharpened hard shells of a Gleskyx.
| Dex +1

With his new mission reward, the newly gained spear was immediately made redundant. He was given a choice of weapon, but he knew what he was going to choose. The king of the battlefield, the spear.

You have chosen the Common weapon, Spear.

With the System message, the weapon dropped down in front of his feet seemingly from nowhere. It was as if it spawned from nothing, but he didn’t care. He took hold of the weapon and used Objectify.

Level 5 - Common Spear: A common spear made of common materials granted by the System.
| Str +2, Dex +1

It was a lot smoother in his hands, and the point was far more accurate than the hastily, hand-crafted Kobold spear–and especially his hand-made one that was pretty much useless.

Noah clambered back up to his feet. He heaved in gulps of air from his short fight with the beast. He wasn’t unfit, quite the opposite as his stats were evidence of that. But the alien-like humidity made everything a strenuous activity.

The corner of his lips turned upward. With his hands, he touched his mouth. I’m–smiling? Shit, this is way more exciting than dumb fights in the streets.

He gazed at the injured kobold and pointed to the red vial on the ground. Drink it. Noah ordered within his mind and listened to the command.

Noah stood still for a second before picking up the spear. His bloodied hands trembled from the adrenaline from the previous fight. Biting his tongue, he looked into the jungle with his spear at the ready and waited for any noise. Once nothing came out, he took a deep breath to calm down then picked up his own potion.

Uncommon health potion: Restores basic wounds.

He uncorked it and swallowed the contents within. The bitter taste almost made him vomit, but he fought back the bile. A warmth bubbled within his stomach, then he felt it move towards his hands. He watched in amazement as the wounds were restored. Flexing his hands, the pain had mostly gone.

Guard the treeline. Noah ordered.

The kobold nodded. It picked up its own spear and with a hop in its step, shifted itself into the treeline.

Noah looked in amazement as the monster listened to his commands. Why couldn’t Hank listen like that?
With Krall tamed, his survival chances had increased dramatically.

Next up was taking another mission. He skimmed past all the others, until his vision landed on the next stage of the Monster Taming mission line. It seemed he wasn’t high enough level for it yet as it was currently greyed out.

[ Locked - Level 5 ]
I - Kill 15 Kobolds with your tamed monster.

| Reward: Common armour piece.
| Grants Common Willpower path Skill Essence: Kill Command.

I need to quickly reach level five before anyone else and achieve the world first reward. An itch appeared in his palms.

The sun was becoming more intense from every second that passed. He clicked his parched tongue.

I need to find water. With that thought in mind he gazed at his pet kobold.

“Water, find it,” Noah commanded.

The kobold nodded with a toothy grin and walked forward into the tree line. It was strange interacting with it, it felt like trying to train Hank all over again, but it was far easier than with his dog. Did Krall have a susceptible mind from his Taming Skill, or was he just that good?

Shaking his head. Noah carefully continued deeper into the jungle with his pet kobold.

***

They passed a palm tree. He wasn’t sure if he was dehydrated, but his vision had turned hazy. Maybe it’s a mirage.

Just as he took another step, the kobold clicked its tongue and hissed.

Noah heard a click and a thick, elongated log tore past the front of his body. Narrowly missing him by a single step. He felt the humid air swirl past his head, followed by the sound of leaves and twigs being crunched.

It was a trap.

Holy shit, that was close. He nodded to Krall.

The sound of sudden thumping forced him to find cover behind a tree and peeked behind its sturdy bark.

Three reptiles scampered into view. Their heads rotated, their nostrils twitched, they looked right at Noah.

Fuck, they can smell me. Noah’s heart rate jumped, he could feel it beating against his chest. Calm down, they have no ranged weapons; two have daggers while the other holds a shield and some sort of wooden club. Two versus three, I can do this.

Noah took a deep breath, then stood out from the tree. He couldn’t allow them to flank him.

“Krall, flank on the left,” Noah said.

Krall listened and scampered to the left, behind a group of trees.

Noah stretched out his spear at the ready as the kobolds screeched, and dashed toward him. The fallen leaves were kicked underfoot.

“C’mon you fucks!” Noah screamed out a crazed laugh as adrenaline took over his body.

Noah hoped that they would all charge at once, like mindless beasts. But he was wrong. One moved from the middle, the other two stalked his left and right flank.

I can’t let them hold the initiative. Noah dashed toward the reptile on the right. The three kobolds' shoulders recoiled at the sudden loud noise. They looked at Krall with suspicion, but with the human charging at them they put all their attention onto him.

Noah, with both hands tightly gripping his spear, stabbed it into the creature's throat, his aim was true. Blood spurted, but the other kobolds didn’t give him a chance to celebrate.

One of them held a jagged dagger, the other had a make-shift shield and a wooden club. They both attacked at the same time.

“Now, Krall!” Noah shouted.

Krall sprinted from the trees and leapt onto the kobold on the left with ferocity.

Noah held the pointed tip of his spear at the front, he aimed it at the only enemy left to face. The kobold with the shield.

Noah dashed to the right, the kobold screeched and lunged towards him in confusion and anger. Noah’s spear stabbed forward, but the creature raised its shield and blocked the hit. Noah frowned and instead, snapped a kick to the shield, sending the creature stumbling back.

He was standing right next to Krall as he desperately wrestled against the bigger kobold with the knife.

The monster had gained the advantage, it pushed down against Krall as the knife inched towards his chest.

Noah stabbed his spear into the monster's neck and the strength within its arms vanished as Krall was showered in a viscous dark red.

“Get up, grab its shield, Krall.” Noah helped his pet up.

Krall bared its sharp fangs at the shielded kobold and grabbed the dagger within his scaly, clawed hands.

Noah and Krall rushed forward.

The kobold swung its club in a wide arc, but Krall leapt forward and clutched the shield within its grasp, narrowly avoiding the hard hit.

Noah bolted to the side and thrusted his spear at its throat. The spear's sharp, shelled edge sliced against the scales on its neck, but it wasn’t enough to cut through.

Using the opportunity, the kobold dug its clawed feet into the ground and dropped the shield. It lunged at Noah, bearing its glistening fangs..

Noah slid back, he shifted his hand on the spear until the tip was nearly at his shoulder, and struck it to the monster’s close range throat once more. The kobold grit its teeth and lowered its head. The spear's tip smashed into its solid skull.

It swung its club down at Noah.

Noah brandished the spears shaft and the club struck the hard wood of the spear.

His eyes widened at the sudden strength, the spear’s shaft warped, until Noah could no longer fight against the weight of the attack. It continued and smashed against his shoulder.

Noah grimaced and snapped his leg toward the kobolds knee-cap. Using the relief of the creature being off balanced, he aimed the spear to the monster’s throat, but it quickly rolled to the side and stood at attention.

Krall attempted to dash in, but the other kobold’s strength was far superior to the runt. The club smashed against Krall as he was sent tumbling to the floor.

Noah paced to the side, and the kobold followed his movements as they stalked round in a circle. Waiting for each other to make the first move. After killing the first monster, Noah understood the importance of being the initiator, it was exactly like a street fight. He had experienced it countless times before.

One needed momentum. So he moved. His spear struck forward, but the kobold blocked it with its shield. With a loud ting, Noah quickly guessed that it was bark from the hardened palm trees.

With the range advantage with his spear, he realised that he had total control in a one versus one. Everytime the shielded creature would charge forward, a spear tip was patiently waiting for it. Ready to take its life at any moment.

Although it held a shield, it didn’t seem comfortable with it. The Kobold didn’t know whether to keep the shield up, or block its legs.

Noah had marred its skin with many cuts, blood seeped down the cracks of its scales. It heaved in breaths of air, but Noah was no better. The strength in his arms had long begun to wane. The spear felt like a sledgehammer in his hands, nausea welled up within, and he felt something creep up within his stomach. Dehydration had long taken effect.

Then, the kobold moved, it recklessly charged at him with its shield raised up and covering its small body. Noah dashed to the side while the kobold wasn’t looking, and pierced the spear's tip scarcely within its throat. The hardness of its scales were a cut above the rest. Blood seeped from the new wound, but Noah felt within his touch that it wasn’t deep enough. He had experienced it before, back on Earth.

The kobold thrashed its club in a wide swing. Noah’s arms screamed in fatigue as he quickly lowered the spear, then shot it upwards, straight into the creature’s throat. It pierced through the already wounded scales, revealing the pink flesh that oozed red underneath. Gargling on its own blood, it stumbled forward and clasped its hands around Noah’s throat.

Noah grit his teeth, the muscles in his neck strained. He dropped his spear and plunged his thumbs into the monster’s moist, gelatinous eyes. Noah seethed, the last moisture within his mouth spat out and the tip of his thumbs disappeared into the kobolds skull. After a couple of agonising more minutes, the monster fell to the ground.

Noah gasped for air and snatched his spear from the floor. He poked its body with his spear to check if it was dead. Once he was certain, his body threatened to crash to the floor, but he stubbornly resisted the weakness that wracked all of his limbs. He slowed his strained breathing as he focused on his hearing.

Is this what cavemen were like hunting their prey? Or soldiers forced to clash metal against metal. Noah took a final deep breath and then, like a damn breaking, a maniacal laugh left his mouth.

Maybe that’s why he enjoyed watching the broadcast so much? The battle of life and death was something he could never tire of.

He wiped his face with his sleeve and gazed at his hands. I’m alive. Noah believed him to be cursed, all throughout his life he had tried countless adrenaline filled activities to relieve his boredom, and only now he felt the intense beating of his own heart. It was far different compared to petty fights over territory. It was filled with an exuberant life that cried out to him. Noah rested his hand onto his chest and felt the intense beating.

“You okay Krall?” Noah glanced at his brave soldier.

Krall groaned and eventually got back to his feet. Although stumbling, it seemed he could still walk.

After a few minutes of calming down, he quickly got to action. His hands scoured the kobolds body. Only one of them had a singular potion which he threw over to Krall.

He couldn’t have one of his people injured like that. Noah needed Krall to do his job after all.

Then he plucked one of the shanks from the kobolds hands and placed it between his belt and his trousers.

As Noah approached the stronger kobold, the air sizzled and crackled. Will it be a new skill or even a Pathstone?

With the stone forming, it was small and could easily fit within the palm of his hand. So it’s a Skill Essence then. He grabbed it and the familiar hot sensation coursed through his veins. It travelled through his bloodstream and into his brain. Information was branded and information about the skill was transmitted into him alongside the level up notification.

You have obtained the Basic Skill Essence - Shield-Proficiency. Do you wish to accept it? Y/N

You have gained Shield-Proficiency.

Shield-Proficiency - level 1: Raise your shield and reduce the impact of incoming attacks.