Red Monster

Chapter 97: War Against the Kobolds (8)

Red looked at his Health and Stamina ticked up, relieved that his Health didn’t stay at 1 because he was in the middle of the jungle. He was aware of how lucky he was to get the potion from the loot. He didn’t even know those potions existed before this.

Then he looked below, checking his stats. He had absorbed more than ten cores or maybe more than twenty, and didn’t get the chance to see his improvement.

But he checked his stat sheet for a different reason. It was about the core in his pouch. This was the first core that was not of inferior quality. He wanted to see how much one core increased his stat. He knew this was not the right time for this, but he didn’t know when he could get another core like this.

Red took out one core, the red core. He used Appraisal on it once more to ensure that he didn’t see it wrong.

[Mediocre quality Might Core!]

It was indeed Mediocre quality Might Core, and he quickly absorbed it with his eyes stuck in his stat sheet. He didn’t want to miss it. That was when he saw his Strength shot up by 1.6.

His eyes widened in surprise as it was a massive increase considering what the inferior quality gave him. He had done some experiments before, and the maximum increase from the inferior quality was 1, and it rarely happened. He got 1 stat increase in one for fifty cores or maybe more.

Red rarely paid attention to the increase anymore since then. He could say that the average increase was 0.4 for the inferior quality. He didn’t know about the mediocre quality as he didn’t have enough data to draw a conclusion.

There were three more Mediocre Quality Might Cores and 2 Mediocre Quality Magic Cores. He absorbed them all.

The second Might Core gave him +1.4 Strength, the third one increased 1.8 Dexterity, and the fourth one increased 2 Endurance. That was a massive gain, as it usually took him more than twenty inferior quality cores to increase that many stats. He didn’t waste his time quickly absorbing the magic core.

[Tier 1 Might]

Strength: 94.2 (+3) Endurance: 93 (+2) Vitality: 91.6 Dexterity: 93 (+1.8)

[Tier 1 Magic]

Intelligence: 139 (+1.8) Wisdom: 137.8 (+1.4) Arcane Perception: 136.4 Mind: 137.4

He had a satisfied smile looking at his stat improvement from just six cores. That was just from six cores. He calmed down from the excitement as greed took over him. There were three more black-armored kobolds. He could get more mediocre-quality cores from them.

His mind was set, even though he didn’t have enough mana to shoot fireballs and could no longer use Infernal Berserk. He wanted to kill or steal that kobold for himself.

Red grabbed the sword as he had regained his strength. Another thing he was curious about was his new sword.

Black Iron Sword

Condition: Excellent

Quality: Rare

Attribute: Sharpness I, 0.5 Attack

There was another new attribute, and it didn’t have a number like the others. He willed it, checking what it did.

[Sharpness I: Increasing weapon piercing capability against armor!]

His eyes gleamed as he found the right weapon to fight against the armored kobold. This might be related to the materials used for the sword. That was when he looked at the excess materials after he reshaped the sword. Then he looked down at the black armor.

He wanted to keep them and make something with them. Armor, he might need new armor after this battle. This was good material for his new armor. He could alter them into his size.

He sprang into action, gathering the armor and the excess material from earlier, keeping them hidden. As he was done with it, he left the jungle. He headed back to the village.

’I need to do something about the sword.’

There was no strap to the sword yet. He had to hold the sword, and it was inconvenient when he moved between trees since the sword was too long. He needed to alter the sword further, making it shorter.

He had to bear with it for now. As he made his way back to the village, he encountered a group of kobolds. He thought they were the group chasing after him earlier. Aside from those two black-armored kobolds, the other kobolds were also chasing after him.

Red quickly noticed something was wrong with the group. They were not searching; they were fleeing. They ran while stumbling into the roots, clearly running from something.

More than ten kobolds were running in panic. He used Appraisal on them, and three of them were level 14, two were level 12, and the rest were level 10 and below.

He didn’t know what they were running from, but it was hunting time. He put the sword aside and took his bow. The target was level 12 and above. He didn’t have the lower-level kobolds.

Whish! Whish! Whish!

Even when they were falling one by one, they didn’t stop. They continued running as if they were terrified of the thing that chased after them. That worked fine for Red as he sniped the five targets he wanted without worrying about continuously changing his position.

He killed five kobolds and let the rest flee. His priority was to obtain the loot and then return to the village. He approached the body from above, but he didn’t immediately grab the loot.

Red waited for the thing that chased after them. He was curious what made them flee like that. He waited for thirty breaths, yet nothing showed up. A frown formed on his forehead, but he didn’t take the loot, still waiting, giving it ten more breaths.

The thing that was chasing the kobold didn’t show up. He jumped down, exchanged each body for loot, getting himself twelve cores, and of course, he didn’t forget his precious arrow. Then he quickly climbed up the tree again, quick with his move.

He used Appraisal on them, for some reason wishing that he would get another mediocre quality core. It was obvious these were of inferior quality, but he became hopeful after getting the mediocre quality.

[Inferior Quality Might Core.]

He let out a chuckle, absorbing the five Might Cores and seven Magic Cores.

The thing that caused the kobold to flee didn’t appear. That made him curious about what made them flee as he continued making his way back to the village.

He didn’t encounter any more kobolds or the thing that scared the kobolds. He soon saw the open clearing in front of his village and found a massive group of goblins and hobgoblins.

If he had to estimate, there were more than a hundred of them. A lot of kobold bodies were scattered as the goblins cheered. Red showed up and quickly attracted their attention.

They quickly drew their weapons and pointed them at him. That was when he realized that these goblins and hobgoblins were not the ones he knew. They might be the reinforcement that the Matron talked about.

That explained why the kobolds ran away from the village in fear. They were getting outnumbered by the reinforcements and fled. If they cheered, it meant they had successfully defended the village.

Deep inside, he was disappointed as it meant the remaining three black-armored kobolds had been taken care of. The Chief would claim them. It meant there was no more mediocre quality core.

"Don’t attack him! He is with us! He is part of the village!"

A short goblin quickly stepped up, and Red was surprised that someone spoke up for him. He quickly recognized the goblin, Tob. His informant in the village.

One of the hobgoblins also approached Red. His eyes were on the sword in Red’s hand all the time. His intention was as clear as the sky.

The first thing he did was to use Appraisal on the hob. He needed to know this hob’s level before taking any action that might jeopardize him. He didn’t know if the village had been taken over by another village, or if it was still under The Chief’s command.

Hobgoblin Warrior

Level: 15

’Can I win against him without the Fireball?’ He questioned himself.

"Why are you coming from the jungle?" The hob questioned him.

’I can! We are close to the jungle!’

"It’s because he lured out two black-armored kobolds with him out of the village!" The one who responded was Tob, not him.

The goblin spoke for him again, which was unusual. He didn’t see Tob as someone with loyalty. In fact, Tob was a coward who would flee in the moment of danger. Yet Tob spoke for him again, even though he might offend this level 15 Hobgoblin.

The hobgoblin turned toward Tob and slapped Tob. It was a hard slap that pushed Tob to the side, falling to the ground with his face first.

"Think twice before you lie to me again, you little sh*t! First, he is not one of us! Second, even if he is one of us, he is a coward who ran away and returned when we defeated the kobold!"