“All of you, tell me your levels.”
The kobloids hesitantly answered Thorian’s question. Other than the large kobold, they were all between the level of 4 and 5. Unsurprisingly, the kobold was level 1.
There shouldn’t be many monsters he can hunt that would give him experience. Maybe a bear? There was also that goblin that the soldiers caught. Those can increase his level a little bit.
“Good, your level is still low enough,” Thorian cleared his throat. “Hunt anything that moves; if you can catch it, kill it. Do you understand me?”
“Understood,” the kobloids nodded.
As such, the hunt truly began. Wherever the small pack moved, a trail of blood followed them. Squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, deers, boars, and foxes all perished to their fangs and claws. This level of mechanical and cold-blooded destruction was unnatural. It wasn’t out of a need for survival or to eat, but simply an indiscriminate annihilation.
After an hour had passed, all of the kobloids were at level 6 where the small animals no longer gave any experience. As such, they swiftly changed their targets to bigger and stronger ones.
Another two hours quickly went by and the time to go back to the cave was drawing near. Thorian looked up at the sun’s position in the sky; they still had another hour or two left before their scheduled meeting.
Level up!
The poor wolf next to Thorian finally drew its last breath, pushing his class to Level 10. Looking at his species' experience progression, he was close to leveling it up too.
“Monster green!” one of the kobloids that was given the task to scout the area came running from the bushes with a panicked face. “Close!”
“Green monsters?” Thorian frowned. “Are they goblins?”
Without wasting a breath, Thorian and the rest of the group followed the kobloid scout. After half a minute of walking through bushes and shrubbery, they could see a clearing from atop a small cliff. Thorian peeked from behind a tree only to see a pack of seven small green monsters led by a hobgoblin. They were finishing off a pair of wild hogs.
Thorian looked at the kobold next to him and grinned, “That’s your prey.”
The kobold also had a grin plastered over his face as he stared at the hobgoblin. Even though he was still injured from his fight with Thorian, his blood was boiling for a fight.
Thorian conjured a fireball and gestured to his group, “Once I throw it, go in.”
3, 2, 1.
Just as the hobgoblin was about to finish off the pig with a thrust to the neck, a small fireball exploded in his face. The impact pushed him back, knocked his primitive spear off his hands, and left him burning in flames. However, before he could recover, another spell followed right after. This time it was a burst of pure white light that exploded with a massive shockwave, sending the poor creature flying in the air.
“Awoo!”
The bestial instincts of the kobloids took over as they charged at the confused and squealing goblins. Even though the green creatures were armed with stone knives and daggers, they were no match for claws and fangs.
The kobold rushed through the small scuffle between the weaker monsters and pounced at the disoriented and wounded hobgoblin. Before the green monster could grasp his surrounding, the kobold shoved his claws through its neck.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Level up!
The notification told Thorian everything he needed to know and he switched his focus to the rest of the battlefield. While the kobloids had the upper hand, the goblins were still putting up a good fight. Their stone weapons might be primitive, but they were still sharp and effective.
Let’s see if they can still give me experience. Display panel. Level 10/20 (exp: 47/150)
Seeing the massive experience increase in his class level, Thorian let out a chuckle. Maybe I should be focusing more on these hobgoblins; they are truly generous.
Thorian conjured his fireball spell once again and waited for an opening. Just as he saw a goblin and a kobloid back away from each other after a clash, he launched it.
Boom!
In less than a second, the poor little goblin was engulfed in an explosion before his flaming body was pushed out of the cloud of smoke and ash. A glance at his Panel told Thorian everything he needed to know, the monster was dead. Level 10/20 (exp: 52/150)
So they give 5 exp? 10 since the other half goes to my species.
Thorian made a quick comparison in his head to the other animals he had hunted. Even the small goblins gave ample experience, similar to that of wolves.
While the rest of the kobloids were finishing up the hunt, Thorian was lost in his thoughts. Goblins usually lived in packs of fifty to a hundred according to his past knowledge. The bigger packs reached the thousands and claimed whole forests as their land. Seeing such a small group of goblins only meant one thing, a bigger pack was close by.
A sudden shuffling in a bush to his right snapped Thorian out of his thought. He turned around only to see an old man covering a small child’s mouth as he looked at the clearing in fear.
For a second, Thorian’s world froze in time. He knew what needed to be done, but it was as if his body was trying to shut itself down. As a myriad of emotions mixed within his heart, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Almost in a flash, Thorian rushed toward the sitting pair of humans and towered over them. He looked at them with cold resolute eyes.
“Close your eyes,” Thorian’s voice was deep and low. Even though he understood that it was useless, he still wanted to give the pair a certain level of dignity and mercy.
The old man looked at Thorian with an open mouth, guttural sounds emitted from his throat as the words struggled to come out.
“Please, god, have mercy,” The old man tightened his hug over the little sobbing child and pushed him to the ground, as a last desperate way to protect him with his body.
Thorian was about to execute the two when pieces of wood fell out of the old man’s backpack. He looked at the cut branches and small trunks rolling on the ground in a daze when an idea suddenly popped into his mind.
“Do you have an axe?!” Just as the words left Thorian’s mind, he realized their futility. He was a kobloid trying to talk to a human.
The old man looked up at Thorian with a face full of shock and terror. The words struggled to come out of his mouth before he could mutter, “Oh god, what in the heavens? A monster that talks? Is it the devil?”
Thorian’s mouth hung open for a second before he understood the meaning behind the old man’s words, “Can you… understand me?”
The man was still stunned in horror but he managed to nod, shocking Thorian even further. He felt as if all the knowledge he thought he knew as truth was now becoming a lie.
How does this even make sense? A kobloid could never talk with a human, only the evolved species can…
While Thorian was stunned in his place, stuck in his turbulent thoughts, the old man looked down at his axe on the ground. With fidgeting hands, he inched closer to it with his hand.
“Don’t,” Thorian’s voice startled the old man to the core. “Don’t make my choice any easier.”
Thorian grabbed the axe from the ground and threw it to the side in an absentminded fashion. His eyes were still blank, and his mind was as chaotic as when he first learned that he had been reborn as a monster.
“Don’t move an inch from your place,” he looked at the old man and child with cold eyes. “You cannot run away from me, so do not even think about it.”
With those words, Thorian walked to a nearby tree and sat down. He needed to think through his next actions thoroughly, as they could very well shape his future trajectory.