No spell books or weapons, but he wasn't done with the Kobolds anyway. He would hunt as many Shamans and Kobold as he needed to get the Fireball spell and enter their den in the abandoned Mine.
Based on his estimates there were only thirty Kobolds in there. And only one in five Kobolds were shamans, meaning the loot table for the Fireball skill should be lower.
The rarer the monsters the better the loot after all.
I might only need to kill five shamans to get the spell. And I only had to kill ten Kobolds to get the Observe skill book.
He started his routine. Consuming the essences first, before pulling out the skill book and learning it.
[Agility: 105 > 115 (+15)]
[Spirit: 30 > 40]
[You have learned skill "Observe Lv1."]
[Observe Lv1 (Iron): Check your environment for traps or hidden enemies. Requirements: 30 Spirit, Level 3. Cooldown: five seconds]
He decided against using the skill stone immediately to save it up for Dark Maw.
Faust wanted to close his eyes and just rest a little. He had worked hard. No one else had made it this far. He stretched over the uncomfortable tree branch, but with his fatigue it felt like the perfect bed.
But he pushed against fatigue, fantasising about the greater rewards that lie ahead. He was having so much fun. It had been years since he could remember being this happy. He sat up, opening his eyes.
That was lucky.
Because the moment he briefly closed and opened his eyes something pounced on him from another tree.
Faust reacted quickly, putting his legs and hands out to catch the huge dark shape.
The branch groaned under him as the weight slammed against it. The world turned into a blur of claws and snapping teeth as Faust wrestled the beast.
Eventually the branch had enough.
SNAP!
And then he was careening mid-air as the world spun. Thanks to Agility, he stayed in the fight as the world slowed down around him and his attacker.
He slammed an elbow into its head and it cried out loudly. While it was briefly stunned, he kicked the beast away and twisted his body mid air to land smoothly.
The creature crashed through the forest floor hard, gouging out the earth in a row, but it took no injuries. Even Faust's heavy elbow that could crack Kobold skulls like wooden planks didn't damage his enemy.
Finally he got a fair look at the attacker and grimaced.
[Midnight Lynx]
[Level: 5]
[Combat Power: 500]
[Details: A skilled hunter and stalker. They can bring down almost any enemy in the Mind's Forest alone.]
He had been avoiding these guys till he got to level 4. His own combat power was just a few points short of 400, but he was too cautious to think that was enough to hunt the beast.
However, choosing your battles was a myth.
But Faust was very fine with life throwing great challenges at him.
"Let's have some fun," Faust grinned, ignoring the deep scratches all over his body.
The Lynx flowed like a stream of shadows, so quick even Faust felt his heart skip a beat. He dodged a claw aimed at his thigh, jumping into the air.
Then he extended his tether and swung through the air. The lynx growled and gave chase. It was faster than him and jumped from tree to tree till it pounced at him mid air.
Faust detached his tether and dodged mid air, allowing the lynx to fly over him. But not without a goodbye present.
Acid shot!
He released a cloud of acid at it, making the huge cat yelp and snarl.
Faust landed smoothly while the creature crashed into the earth. He willed his naginata to come. It had fallen somewhere, but equipped weapons were bonded to their user.
The spear whistled through the air and back into his open hand just as the lynx rose.
Its silver eyes studied his weapon cautiously, hissing at him as they circled each other. He hissed back, refusing to be intimidated. Faust stayed low and kept his spear trained on the beast.
Move first, big boy.
But the creature suddenly stopped and walked back into the shadow of a tree. Faust raised an eyebrow. What tactic was this?
He glared into the darkness for a second then hisneyes widened as he realised he couldn't sense the lynx's presence anymore. Even his Stealth skill didn't show the red arrows that revealed eyes on him didn't appear.
It has the stealth skill!
He used Observe quickly, but he couldn't break the lynx's stealth with his level 1 skill. It must have had a level 2 stealth skill.
He was turning to searching the forest until he finally got a ping on the monster in the corner of his vision, highlighted red for him. Just as it was pouncing.
He rolled out of the way then launched himself after the creature using Dash. His body flickered as he performed a complex chain of attacks.
But the lynx kept up and dodged all his slashes and jabs.
Then it jumped back into the shadows unceremoniously. Damnit. He had been trying to keep it from disappearing.
If he couldn't stop it from hiding then he would have to hide himself.
His slime tether shot out and carried him off into the distance. He performed some evasive manoeuvres before finally stopping to hide and watch.
They were pretty equally matched in stealth. He was completely silent and avoided sight perfectly. He couldn't sense the Lynx's eyes on him, likely due to stealth, but he had Observe to search for it.
There. He found it creeping through the underbrushes.
He slipped off his hiding place silently and circled the beast, aiming to strike from behind. His stealth was perfect, surgical.
But he was still sensed.
The Midnight lynx turned and snarled at him.
How?!
The lynx dodged his spear swing and pounced in to strike. Its acceleration skyrocketed! Faust used Dash sideways and unleashed his Acid Shot.
They both skidded to a stop, flinching in pain after their attacks. The lynx's eyes were red from the acid, but Faust's arm had been nearly torn off!
"Shit!" He unleashed his Slime Tether upward and escaped before the lynx could attack again.
His left hand, which had the tether, was almost completely torn off as it bled profusely. Faust had to drop his naginata to hold the arm together while he went up.
The Lynx was better off than him, if he stayed there it would push the offensive. But with the acid in its eyes he could retreat and heal up.