Drake quickly went to work and followed the next group of 40 Kobolds that were leaving the East, in the direction of the Mountain Outpost. He continued to follow them until around the halfway mark of the road and sprang into action.
Drake casted devastating Mana Bolts from the trees with his new rings. They were a godsend, as they no longer gave the 2 second delay that had come with using anything that wasn't his staff. Allowing him to increase the speed at which he was able to cast. And with the reduction of Mana it was a sealed deal.
Drake's Mana Bolts collided with the large group of unsuspecting Kobolds with unabated brutality, the damage output of his new weapons were a marvel to behold. Taking swaths of their ranks out with each Bolt. The Kobolds may have been many, and above him in level, but his stats and new equipment more than compensated for it.
Drake continued to fire bolts until he hit 50% of his overall Mana, then exploded in a kick up of dust from the forest into the remaining ranks of the Kobolds. He slammed into the nearest confused Warrior with his empowered fists, ripping through it, its shield, and its armor with one swing of his arm.
He moved from Kobold to Kobold with newly gained accuracy and swiftness after his night with the helpful Commander. Now able to better keep a more accurate view of the battlefield, he was able to position himself where he could fight and dodge any attacks from his peripheral.
Drake moved like a wolf in a hen house, throwing, punching, stomping and kicking Mages, Rangers and Warriors, an absolute torrent of carnage.
Finally the fight finished and Drake was once again covered in blood. He looked around at the mess he had created with a slight forlorn look in his eyes, but quickly removed it from his mind. This was the reality in this new world, he would fight to get stronger as the system wouldn't let him stop.
"Well outside the fact I just proved one of my titles correct, I am definitely a whole ass problem." He chuckled.
Drake picked up the spawning loot from the group and moved back to his position in the forest. After the last fight he had finally finished one of his remaining two quests.
[20 of 20 Mage Kobolds [Rank F] Subjugated. Quest Complete. Accept Rewards?]
[30,000 Experience has been awarded]
[Please roll for [F Grade] Rarity Item]
Drake quickly brought out his black die and gently tossed it on the ground with trepidation. He knew it was unlikely but he hoped he could get the last set piece for his set, hoping it would have similar stats making him even stronger.
But reality hurt, as the die landed on 10. And a pair of black pants dropped out of a bead of light.
[Black Silk Pants [F Grade] [Uncommon]
26 to 30 Physical Reduction
22 to 27 Magic Reduction
1% Critical Hit Reduction
Simple pants made from mana infused silk that offer a small amount of protection. +5% defense proficiency.
Drake wasn't too disappointed as he knew it was unlikely, but was still a bit sour. He bit his cheek and placed the pants in his inventory then replaced the leather pants he had been wearing with the Moth Silk ones, feeling much more liberated from their constriction. In more ways than one.
Drake then pulled a canteen from his inventory and began scrubbing himself down from the blood as he waited for the next group.
For the next five days, this was Drake's life. He would pounce on the traveling groups of Kobolds decimating their ranks with Mana Bolts, then finishing them within a melee. Then looting before returning to the forest to clean himself off and check his gains.
During the five days, the Kobolds had tried to catch him in the act. Sending larger parties of Kobolds to traverse the path, or staggering the groups so that they would catch him exhausted. But unfortunately for them, Drake was such a powerhouse at the moment that he didn't even need to spend his saved Free Points or his Magic if he was honest to defeat them.
The highest Kobold's level clocked in at 18 and the lowest being 12, and with levels only that high they stood no chance.
On the fifth day of Drake's onslaught he noticed a significant decrease in numbers. And Decided to check out Outpost B.
When he arrived he saw the usual at the gate, some Kobolds above the wooden wall, lit with torches. But when he moved to get a look at the inside from the tree, what awaited his eyes was a notable change. Less than a fourth of the encampment was still erect. Most of the inside was now left bare, only a few campfires strewn about.
"Wow, have I really killed that many?" Drake said, slightly in disbelief.
He had without a doubt killed hundreds upon hundreds of Kobolds by this point and had grown jaded by the routine of it.
But this is what Drake was aiming for. He had wanted to thin out their enormous numbers so that he could take this Outpost B first, and use it to do the same for the Mountain Outpost. And now that he had he was just surprised that it had happened.
Drake hopped down and looked over his stats a bit thinking of if he needed to use his Free Points or not, but decided against it. After all, he had gotten a new Title that helped a bit already.
[Battle of Attrition]
[Fight against 100 or more enemies at once and survive. +10 to all stats]
It's like a mini level up. Drake thought, smiling.
Before Drake was ready to storm the keep, he made sure he had everything set, he drank some water, ate some more delish venison stew that he had become so fond of, and did his business.
Drake was finally all set to clear out the rest of the camp and jumped the wall. Right into a group of Kobolds, coming down right on their campfire where they were cooking some kind of food.
"Sorry chaps. Kitchen just closed, but I can offer some nice knuckle sandwiches." He laughed, kissing the back of his knuckle.
The group barked and growled, alerting the rest of the camp as they drew their scattered weapons and charged in rage at Drake.
He took no time in dispatching the small group, grabbing one Kobold and slamming it into another. Kicking another through the chest, and sending another flying through the air with an uppercut.
Soon the rest of the camp was on him, and he was back to an extended melee that he was used to. Going from monster to monster, throwing punches and kicks that bisected multiple monsters. Chanting Mana Bolts as he went, killing groups of the Kobolds to calamitous degree.
Until he heard a thunderous howl that sounded above the clash. And the Kobolds stopped their assault on Drake, making an opening for a much larger Squad Commander Kobold to come through.
The Commander wore similar attire to the first Commander Kobold Drake had faced but had Green Gemmed accessories donning its ears and hands, one in each. It was also holding glistening scimitars in each of its hands.
The Commander roared and surged forward at Drake, wasting no time in getting close.
Drake was surprised at the speed of the monster, even with what he remembered of the first Commander Kobold, this one was faster.
Drake put more mana into his rings, and braced for the Monster's swing with a cross guard. But when the monster reached him, it disappeared.
Another one with a movement skill?! Drake shouted internally.
The monster reappeared behind him with a snicker, as it tried to bring its scimitars down on Drake's head. But he had already turned and raised a black clad arm up to meet the strike, sparks of blue mana igniting from the collision. The Commander's eyes widened for a moment in surprise but quickly began to strike with speed and ferocity, bringing down a flood of blows on Drake.
The speed at which the Commander Kobold was attacking Drake, he was barely able to keep up. He blocked, and dodged as best he could. Thankfully his new armor kept him from taking too much damage. But he couldn't understand how the monster was just as fast as he was, until he again spotted the shine of green attached to the Kobolds dog-like ears.
Drake needed to turn the tide, and quickly. He began chanting while blocking the blows from the Commander. And when he finished he threw his fist into the Kobolds abdomen, but hit nothing. Again the Kobold disappeared from view and reappeared behind Drake, resulting in his Mana Bolt blowing a hole through several other monsters standing behind the Kobold.
"Stand still!" Drake yelled, swinging his arm in an arc behind him only to be met by two scimitars.
Again the two were held in a lock momentarily each pushing back on the other. The Commander barked a snicker again, but Drake began to win out in the contest of strength. A moment later, the Commander Kobold disappeared before Drake could overtake it.
But this time Drake was ready for it, and immediately twisted into a roundhouse kick roaring as he did. The next moment the Kobold reappeared behind Drake and was greeted by a steel boot to the chest. The monster flew through the camp and slammed into the wooden wall meters away.
Drake looked at the wall where a small cloud of dust had kicked up from the Kobold's impact, and waited a moment for the dust to settle. But when it did the Kobold was not there.
Drake turned and was met with the gleam of two scimitars once again, but was too slow to block the strikes this time as the blades crossed the right side of his face.
Drake recoiled in pain, his hand gripping the right side of his head, as blood leaked out from between his fingers.
He could feel the blood on his hand through the tattoos and glared at the Commander with a death stare, fury welling up in his eyes.
The Kobold Commander was not left undamaged from the kick before and had a noticeable trail of blood leaking from its mouth as it grinned and barked a snicker. The Kobold brought one of its blades to its mouth as its large dog-like tongue wrapped around it, licking off the blood.
"Ugh.. bro. That's so cliché..." Drake cringed, still holding his face. "Just for that," he said, bringing his right hand in front of him, seeing the fresh red liquid on it from his wound. "I'm going to turn that ugly excuse for a face you have, into one that even a mother wouldn't love!"
Drake burst forward like a bullet shot from a gun, closing the distance between him and the monster in an instant, bringing his fist down with his skill like a bomb was being dropped from above. "Power through force! Heavy Blow!" He chanted as he slammed his fist down.
But the Kobold had disappeared again, leaving Drake's blow to leave a crater in the ground.
But Drake knew exactly where it was going to be. And quickly brought down his other fist in an overhead backhanded slam, right into the head of the reappearing Squad Commander. The monster was brought head first to the floor like a dead weight, its head denting the ground and smashing with a crunch.
Drake followed up with a kick to its exposed head, breaking its jaw, forcing it to fly back a meter, as small bits of teeth flew out of its maw as it grunted in pain. The Kobold hit the ground and tumbled for a moment, but before it could stop. Drake was already on it, bringing down an empowered Heavy Blow fist right on its muzzle. Slamming the Commander into the ground and through it. Finally confirming the kill.
[You have defeated Squad Commander Kobold [Rank F] Level 18] [25,000 Experience Points and 9,000 TP awarded]
[Congratulations! You have increased to Mage x Warrior [Unique] Level 9] [28 Free Points have been awarded]
[3 of 5 Squad Commander Kobolds [Rank F] Subjugated]
Drake was elated to finally get a level up again after so long, but the fight wasn't over, as there were still well over 50 Kobolds surrounding him, and although his health was still topped off at 70% his mana was getting dangerously low, at 10% from having to empower his tattoos so much during the fight.
I guess infusing the gauntlets really took a toll on my mana. I'll have to find a way to regulate it better or compensate. But this leaves me with… 10 minutes left of use with my gauntlets on the lowest cost? Drake thought, as the Kobolds were hesitant to attack him, but soon many of them lunged and charged forward at him, arrows and Mana Bolts not far behind.
"10 Minutes until the end. Looks like it's the final countdown." Drake chuckled to himself.
Drake dashed forward, slamming and throwing the charging Warriors every which way. Grabbing them and using them as shields as he began to wreak unrelenting havoc on their back line. And played like a dog seeing snow for the first time, in their melee.
He jumped and hopped from Kobold to Kobold, every kick, punch, and throw resulting in a new notification of his devastation.
Soon the Kobolds were approaching the single digits and attempted to flee through the gates. And Drake didn't give chase. Allowing less than five of them to open and run through them. He needed them to go back to the mountain outpost after all, and hopefully bring back the rest of the monsters.