Otherworld Delinquent - Chapter 17 (Patreon)

Level 5 Mission I - Kill 15 Kobolds with your tamed monster. Complete!

| Reward: Commom armour piece.
| Grants Uncommon Will Path Skill Essence: Kill Command.

In front of Noah, a pair of hardened metal dropped to the ground. Greaves. Noah thought as he strapped them to his shins. They reminded him of the ones he had seen in certain spartan movies. They began from the ankle and covered all the way past his knee.

The fit was suspiciously perfect. It was as if they had been specifically crafted just for his leg. The knee guard fit like a second skin that almost wrapped around his entire leg like a clip on. Perhaps it was another benefit to System armour.

It was also one of the armour pieces he was wanting the most as a mounted class. It would be a painful day if his enemies started targeting his dangling legs. The common piece of armour only added one to his Strength and Constitution stat, but he wouldn’t complain.

Any piece of protection was a godsend.

Up next was the usual crackling and pop as the air distorted. It was a strange sight, one that Noah would never get used to. The feeling like he was back at a gambling den was almost uncanny. Though, it was power he was gaining, instead of losing money.

Scamming bastards. Noah spat, but the green lines in the Skill Essence made him feel much better.

You have obtained the Uncommon - Will - Skill Essence - Kill Command.

Will based Skill - Kill Command: With a mental order, your tamed monster’s next attack will deal extra damage.

Do you wish to accept it? Y/N
| This will take up a Will Essense slot.

Accepting the Skill, he felt the familiar heat travel within his body. With the Skill in his mind like a brand, he willed [Kill Command] to take effect.

He felt a peculiar connection towards Krall, then his tamed monster’s eyes glowed a vicious light that radiated power.

Krall tightened the grip of his club, then swung it in a mad arc towards a tree. As the wooden club made contacts against the metallic tree, the club smashed into fragments. After the attack, Krall’s eyes returned to normal as he rushed toward the dead kobolds to pick up another. He stroked the club as if it was precious to him.

Noah pinched his chin at the power. Seeing supernatural strength in person, and on a massive screen were two vastly different things. He could just imagine his next charge as they both attacked at the same time. His spear aimed for the face, and Krall's strength filled attack to the body. It would pair for a devastating attack.

Glancing at the new greyed out mission, the next taming mission was at level ten. So instead of waiting until then, he picked a more basic one. He had to kill fifty kobolds. It was a lot, but there was no other mission to pick, and he guessed it would take about that many to reach level ten–maybe even more, it was difficult to accurately gauge.

The mission reward also left a lot to be desired, but it would give him some extra Grace Coins and health potions. Both of which he needed.

The sound of kobold chatter sounded in the distance as Noah frowned. More? It was as he thought, more kobolds were arriving as they were barely discernible through the trees.

With a nod to Thraz, they charged. Thraz was on the left side, Noah, and Krall on the other.

Using [Shrouded Presence], Noah broke out of the shadows and pierced into the right flank with a quick [Thrust] to the head, his targeted kobold was instantly killed.

Krall swiped his club in a wide arc as the order of [Kill Command] filled his body with a primal might. The club contacted the kobold’s chin as the sound of breaking bone filled the humid jungle. It wasn’t long before the newcomers were annihilated in quick succession.

There wasn’t an evolved kobold among them this time–the experience was pitiful, as Noah still hadn’t gained a level. The amount they had to kill was rapidly increasing.

Noah needed new prey–or lots more of them. Thankfully, his faithful companion seemed to want to go somewhere as he pointed in the distance with his clawed finger.

The thought, or maybe it was Krall’s desire entered within Noah’s mind like telepathy. There was a need for fighting, for evolution. Krall–like him, wanted strength.

Thankfully, Krall seemed to know where he was going as they stalked through the jungle.

After the fight against the Dark Feline, Noah was a lot more tense. Well, more tense than usual as his head snapped towards any sound within the jungle.

Sometimes the leaves would rustle from a scuttering insect, or there would be a distant sound that echoed through the trees. It was an environment where he couldn’t let his awareness wane for even a second in fear of having his throat raked open.

Noah was on Krall’s shoulders taking in the sights surrounding them as he acted as the team's scout. It was actually something he was lacking. Thraz was strength based and Krall was most likely headed that route as well.

But Noah hoped he would be able to tame something that was capable of being his eyes and ears. It would save him a Skill Essence slot. His Pathstones were spread out in terms of stats–he needed all the strength he could get to compete with the others.

He was thinking of taming a bird for his second monster. Although he wouldn’t be able to mount it until it evolved into something bigger, he needed it for the utility it brought. That brought him to his current tamed monster.

Noah glanced at Krall as he wondered what he would evolve into at level ten. Would he grow taller? Wings perhaps? Or maybe his body would go down a different route, like a salamander, or something? He could only make guesses as it entirely revolved around Krall’s bloodline. Was it pure? Or did he have the blood of different monsters mixed within?

It could be anything.

Krall crouched down and placed his hand to the floor. Noah followed his hand and it looked like he was inspecting a footprint. Noah was no expert, but it looked like a replica of Krall’s own print.

Then he shook his head and turned to the right and continued on. Then, the flat land soon turned into a mountainous climb. At some point, Thraz had to take the lead as he chopped through the thick foliage that swamped them from the front.

Noah was beginning to turn sceptical. Just where the hell was Krall taking them?

After a few more hours of constant hill hiking, Noah glanced down at Krall who was severely panting from the high intensity trek. Especially with a human on his shoulders. Although, he couldn’t be blamed. He needed to spend every single moment mounted on his shoulders for them to become accustomed fully.

Noah patted his scaly head. Well done, my noble steed.

Krall seemed to perk up at the praise. Then, rested his hands upon his knees and took in some extra gulps of humid air.

Krall had brought them to a cliff edge. Carefully approaching it, he gazed down. It was a wide valley and not far down a bunch of kobolds were located. Within the valley, some of them left a wide cave entrance, while the others arriving from the mouth of the valley entered.

It was a large tribe and judging by Krall's anger stricken face, it was the one he must have been ousted from.

Krall had brought them to a location worthy of applause. A high concentration of monsters was just what he needed to pull ahead even further. But there were far too many of them. No amount of strategy on Noah’s part could stop them from being overwhelmed–and killed.

Maybe Thraz had an idea? A plan.

Noah turned to the large dragonborn. “Thraz, any plan?”

“We go in and smash the corrupted.” Thraz whacked the shaft of his axe against his palm.

Guess not.

He had a few plans of attack, but he had no idea how many parties were outside the cave. If he attacked, he would be inviting the newcomers to sink their weapons into his back.

No, he needed something that would avoid the fighting from the scouting parties, while he could assault the cave with other methods. Where are they all going, what do the parties need? Noah thought.

Food and water.

Noah grinned. Every living creature needed water. He just had to remove it, or force them to head to another source altogether.

***

It had already been two hours since Noah dragged the corpse of the Fark Feline to the water source. His plan was that the kobolds would believe there was a stronger monster in the area, so they would be forced to head to another water hole.

He waited and waited, the time in between kobold parties had increased drastically.

It was finally time to make their move. Thraz had an enormous stack of logs and green leaves attached to his back–along with numerous man-made spears.

When the other leaving party was out of range, Noah and Thraz charged forward. With a few [Thrusts] and with the help of Thraz’s war-like axe, they annihilated the guards.

“Place the logs down,” Noah said with urgence.

Thraz immediately got to setting a fire, his axe chopped against stone to produce a spark–yet it was taking longer than Noah thought.

“Keep at it.” Noah rushed to the mouth of the cave as the sound of hissing echoed against the rocky walls.

Six kobolds emerged from the darkness as the sun’s light reflected against their slitted eyes. They screeched at the sight of a human on top of a kobold as they readied their weapons.

One of the archers shot an arrow. Luckily the strength wasn’t high and he was able to see it–and block it with his shield.

Noah, with the passive strength running through his muscles, used [Thrust]. The spear shot forward and sunk into the nearing kobolds throat with minimal resistance.

They didn’t stop. They were about to smash into them when Noah activated [Kill Command].

Krall’s arm was filled with a bestial might as he grit his teeth, then swung his club in a wide arc.

Left-to-right, the first kobold was practically dragged off its feet as it smashed into the one right next to it. It continued until three of the kobolds fell to the ground. Only one was capable of making noise.

Noah used the time Krall had created to [Thrust] his spear in rapid succession to quickly kill the others. He felt his energy sap away from his body.

There was a sound of a bowstring.

Noah ducked behind his shield, but it didn’t hit it. Instead it slashed past his newly gained armour with a metallic ting and ricocheted into the dirt ground.

Finally, Noah felt a sudden heat tickle  the back of his legs.

“It’s done!” Thraz shouted in victory as the fire kindled to life.