NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Ambush
[Ore of Kothar (Fragment): An item blessed by a divine being from another dimension.]
[Effect: Gives the weapon an additional trait when used in crafting. A low chance of acquiring an additional “Unbreakable” attribute.]
Despite being a low chance, the second option was what mattered the most. It didn’t mean that the weapon wouldn’t be destroyed, but as long as the user was alive, the weapon could resurrect itself by using resources.
‘Seems like I can create a weapon spirit early on…’
You’ll have to use the same weapon for a very long time in order to birth a spirit. In most cases, the weapon's durability would reach 0 before that or you’ll simply find a better weapon.
That was the main reason why only those above 5th ring of the sanctuary could afford such weapons.
‘The last thing those old bastards lack is time and money.’
“What’s the next plan?” Lauren inquired while flopping around with her green boots. With her hazel eyes and brown hair, she looked like an elf dancing in the forest.
Unlike Zyrus who had average appearance with black hair and black eyes, both Kyle and Lauren looked like idols with their shiny equipment.
“We have three days left, more or less. In this time we’ll target the enemy camp.” Zyrus explained as he beckoned them over.
He had told them about his goal before they parted ways. They had to accomplish two things in the tutorial week, to reach level 10 and get better equipments.
After two days, Zyrus was close to level 7 while the duo had reached level 5. They didn't find any equipments on their own but Zyrus had covered it up from the event.
“You may think that we are stronger than most players after our last encounter, but let me remind you again, they’ll get better equipment and Exp boost on the last three days."
Lauren and Kyle nodded in seriousness at his remark. They had realized that it was crucial to be strong after experiencing the boss raid.
“Keep in mind that since you’re following me, everyone in the first ring is your opponent, be it the humans or the monsters,” Zyrus spoke while drawing a diagram on the ground.
“Of course, there are advantages of that as well. You’ll have a much higher chance of surviving in the future.”
“We understand.” Kyle replied with a firm look in his eyes.
“Back to the topic at hand, you remember what I’ve told you about the ‘Goblet of Fire’ right?”
“Mhm, there are two of them in our area, one for humans and one for monsters.”
“Exactly. Now, our goal is to target the monster’s goblet of fire, or to be more precise, take over it.”
Kyle understood what he meant by that, but Lauren didn’t. Looking at her bewildered expression, Zyrus gave a questioning glance at Kyle.
“I didn’t tell her. You should be the one to explain it yourself.”
“I see. Well, long story short, I want to become a monster for personal reasons.”
“Wha- why?”
Zyrus looked at the flabbergasted Lauren with a calm gaze. She didn’t give up on asking though, not this time.
“What about your appearance then? Can you become a human again? What about your family?”
“I’ll become a monster, permanently. I don’t have a family, and I don’t want to make one either.”
Zyrus spoke in a helpless tone, burying the image of a smiling silhouette deep in his heart.
‘I want to meet her, to be with her, but what’s the point if I’m not strong enough to protect her?’
Lauren wanted to convince him otherwise, but looking at his pained expression she didn’t have the heart to continue.
“Ahm. Shouldn’t we discuss our plan of action first?” Kyle asked, noticing the tense atmosphere.
“Right, we’ll target their smaller groups first and level up in the next two days.”
Zyrus pointed at the figure on the ground and continued,
“On the last day, the monsters will launch an all-out attack on the human camp, that’s when we strike their camp.”
“That’s a good plan, but wouldn’t others interrupt us?” Lauren asked after looking at the drawing.
“Nope. People will only go out on the last two days, so they’ll neither have the time nor the reason to travel this far."
“Makes sense.”
The team discussed about different types of enemies and ambush grounds till the sky darkened. Two days and three nights remained before the end of the tutorial.
…
“Attack!” Zyrus commanded as he charged forth with his Bloodspine spear. After resting for the night, it was their seventh ambush in the last 24 hours.
Kyle’s reddish-black mail glittered in the sunlight as he moved around like a grim reaper. Emerald knives flew by one after another, scattering the enemy formation.
Lauren moved like an elf and attacked the monster team from the side. With her new boots, she didn't have to hide behind the allies to attack.
Their role was to stop enemies from organizing their troops and block their retreat. Zyrus, on the other hand, had only one job.
He fought on the frontline and drew their aggro, playing the role of a tank and a main attacker. His every move resulted in the death of an enemy. After leveling up once again on the past day, destroying this mob was a child’s play for him.
*Thrust*
-100
Exp + 180
The runes on the Bloodspine spear gleamed as they absorbed the fallen kobold's blood. After fighting against different monsters like goblins, trolls, orcs, and so on, he had improved his skill by quite a margin.
Zyrus dodged the arrow shot by a goblin archer and closed in on an orc. This team of monsters had a combination of kobolds, goblin archers, and orcs.
Although Zyrus wasn’t able to earn Exp by killing normal goblins, it was a different matter for goblin riders and archers.
Unlike humans, monsters like goblins can select their primary classes after level 5. It made sense in a way since their upper limit was lv 50.
*Slash*
-150,-100
Exp +300
After two consecutive slashes on its neck, the orc had its blood absorbed as well.
‘What a nuisance,’ Zyrus frowned in annoyance after dodging another arrow. If not for Lauren, he would’ve killed them a dozen times by now.
As the goblins had low HP and high numbers, they made a perfect prey for her to level up.
“Finish it up before lunchtime.” Zyrus ordered after stabbing another kobold to death. The two footed dog like creature could do nothing but stare at its gaping chest.
He was very satisfied with his new weapon. It had a high attack power with an amazing blood drain ability.
He was even more excited about the synergy between the blood fusion talent and his spear.
‘It’s my last day as a human huh,’ Zyrus wasn’t sure how to feel about the cube’s mission. He would gain a very strong power upon success, but the drawbacks were just as great.
“Want me to help?” Lauren asked after killing the last goblin archer.
“Support Kyle and finish the kobolds. I’ll deal with the orcs.” spoke Zyrus as he moved towards the center of the enemy group.
Kyle was more efficient at dealing with humanoid monsters while Zyrus had an upper hand against the big ones.
After all, a spear couldn’t compete against dual swords when it came to close combat.
*Thrust*
“Kurgh-”
-150
Zyrus pulled out his spear to defend against the upcoming blow, leaving behind an orc with a gaping hole in its neck.
Exp +300
There were only three orcs left to fill his exp.
‘One more ambush and I’ll level up.’
However, Zyrus knew that it was nothing but his wishful thinking.
The monsters weren’t dumb enough to not notice so many sneak attacks. He was certain that after killing the lv 9 troll, they would have to say goodbye to this perfect farming strategy.
If not for this group of monsters who were returning to camp from who knows where, the trio would have to spend the rest of their day sleeping.
*Sweep*
-50,-140
*Thrust*
-100
Exp +300
Exp +300
“Phew.. that was tiring.” Zyrus wiped his sweat after killing the last orc.
He had gone all out in dealing with them. Just with the three of them, they had killed a group of 50 in a short while. The more strength they had before attacking their camp tonight, the better.
“You’re really fast at dealing with them.”
“It’s because they don’t have any special trait,” Zyrus replied in a matter-of-fact voice.
The orcs had balanced stats between strength, agility, and vitality. For those who had a lower level compared to them, they were like a nightmare. They could neither kill them swiftly nor escape without injury, so their only option was to engage in a dogfight.
“More like your weapon's just overpowered.”
“What, you jealous?” Zyrus looked at Lauren with a smug smile.
“Kinda.”
“Tch.. look at him, his swords are practically trash grade.” Zyrus pointed at Kyle who had reduced more than a dozen kobolds to minced meat.
“That doesn’t count, he has a ridiculous skill as well.” Lauren argued in an unconvinced tone.
“You don't need high attack right now, focus on piercing and agility.”
“If you say so.”
“Believe me, you’ll realize how strong you are when you fight against monsters like trolls and ogres.”
“Yes, so just focus on killing goblins for now.” Kyle chimed in after looking at the pouting Lauren.
‘One, two, three, aaand start.’
Zyrus chuckled as the duo started bickering as usual. After a brief rest, he looked at his status window which had changed a lot in the last two days.