With this he was getting more confident in his ability to storm the Kobold Mine soon?
[You have Equipped "Midnight Fur Hat".]
He didn't think much about that. It was just more points in his attributes.
[Strength: 77 (+40)]
[Agility: 127 (+35)]
[Combat Power: 391 (+65)]
He glanced at the enhancement stone once; its body a smooth, obsidian black. Then put it back in his bag. He would wait till he got two to upgrade one of his Iron grade equipment.
The Stealth skill book was kind of pointless so he'd just sell it in town. But it might be a while till he leaves.
"System, how long till the Beast tide?"
[Time remaining: 10:32:08]
Staying a bit longer to decimate the Kobolds didn't sound bad… and at least two other monsters with higher levels than him for those extra rewards.
Then if time was running short he would start returning to the novice Village, which would take around two hours.
He didn't know how the Beast tide would look but he didn't want to get caught outside. His body ached even though he was fully healed. Not with pain, but rather exhaustion.
Faust pushed himself up and considered going back to the Novice village fours hours before the tide to at least get two hours of sleep.
But the Kobolds first.
Leaping from his tree, he casually swung through the forest with his tether, scanning the forest with his Observe skill. As tired as he was, a smile still lit up his face when he saw another squad of Kobolds.
◇◇◇
The Kobold Chief sat in his mine, surrounded by a couple female Kobolds serving him while the others hunted for Faust.
What they didn't know was how decimated their numbers were. Only ten Small Kobolds remained to guard the Mine. Dog-like creatures the size of an average sized man, patrolled the perimeter around the den with rusted cutlasses.
And these were the only Kobolds still alive in the forest.
Inside the Mine, a single Kobold mage remained to protect the chief. It was a female Kobold wearing a black mage robe with a purple trim.
All of them were highlighted in red by Faust's Observe Skill.
His higher level stealth and greater understanding of the art hunting hid him from their sight. Nested snugly within a bush, still as a leaf, he counted them and tried to come up with a strategy.
There were more Kobolds than he originally thought. Almost ten more. But he wasn't really worried.
He had killed 20 more Kobolds. Two more hours of work. All in all, he had killed more than thirty of the monsters, and he no longer found them too dangerous.
Junior Genocider reporting for duty.
Performing a mock salute, he decided to use their rewards now.
[You have killed 18x "Small Kobold" and gained 90 experience points.]
[You have killed 2x "Kobold Shaman" and gained 10 experience points.]
[Origin coins: 200.]
[Small Kobold Core x18]
[Kolbold Shaman Core x2]
[9x Small Kobold Essence: Consuming will increase Agility by 2.]
[2x Kobold Shaman Essence: Consuming will increase Spirit by 2.]
[5x Kobold heart: Alchemical ingredient used in many potions.]
[9x Kobold Cutlasses: rusty, poorly made weapons]
[2x Skill Stones: can be used to upgrade skills.]
[1x Enhancement Stones: can be used to upgrade equipment.]
[You have gained skill book "Observe (Iron)"]
He studied the rewards then glanced up sharply.
A Small Kobold was approaching him, glancing around nervously.
Faust gripped his dagger harder, but didn't move just yet. The monster went to a completely different bush and started taking a piss.
Faust did a double take in confusion. What the fuck was this? The monsters weren't supposed to have life functions. They killed not to eat, but to kill and they never slept.
Why was this one taking a—
Oh. I think I get it. Is this like a stealth game option? Like assassinating all the guards and getting into the Mine unseen is the way the system wants me to play this?
He let the pissing Kobold leave and focused his Observe skill. A weary smile lit up his face. Some of the Kobolds yawned, some leaned against walls lazily. One Kobold was soliciting a female at the edge of the mine.
The Chief came out, barking angrily and all the Kobolds snapped up and pretended to be alert.
What was interesting was that this was the second time this exact scenario happened.
It even happened when I first found this place!
A pattern was emerging. The patrol routes and sightlines of the Kobolds were automatic and constant. The chief came out every five minutes to rouse his Kobolds.
The system was setting up a fucking hitman run!
Faust covered his mouth and curled up as the laughter racked his body. Who could have imagined such a thing! It was truly a game.
He had to assassinate some guards to open up a gap to the mine, specifically the pissers. After that he would run straight to the mine, but there was a Kobold there flirting with one of the females. The system was basically telling him to cross the distance and kill them both before they alerted the others.
I also need to properly hide all bodies…
After that he would have a way into the mine. But what then? He could follow the shadows of the unlit den till he got to the Kobold chief and slit its throat, but he doubted he could get that close without being seen.
And then there was the Kobold Shaman inside. She was very close to the Chief. As soon as Faust slit the Chief's throat, the Shaman would flood the cave with fire. He wasn't close enough to appraise her, but he could guess she was a level above the other shamans he faced.
He could intercept her attack with Instance Replication, but then he would be in a narrow cave full of fire. Not very ideal.
A plan slowly formed in his mind as he observed the patterns.
Okay. I can do this. First let's use the reward.
He consumed the eleven essences in two gulps, sighing. "I'm so tired of tasteless drugs."
[Agility: 140 > 158 (+25)]
[Spirit: 60 > 64]
He tried to use an Enhancement stone on his Slime Tether but it didn't work.
[Item has reached its Enhancement limit.]
I guess if things could be enhanced endlessly it would be broken. I would turn a stick into a divine weapon if I could. It would be funny watching the looks on people's faces when a stick one-shotted them.
Instead he used the enhancement stone on his White Travelling Cloak.
[Congratulations! Your "White Travelling Cloak" has been enhanced]
[White Traveling Cloak +2 (Bronze): +15 Strength, +15 Constitution, comes with the "Journey Wind" movement skill. Requirement: Level 2]
[Combat Power: 452 (+65)]
His combat power was really jumping quickly. Agility was already higher than Constitution. He was a really fast and hard to kill bastard.
He turned to the Kobold Cutlass in his spatial bag. He had 15 at this point. So why not start combining them.
[Two identical equipment detected in storage space. Do you want to combine them?]
[Note: Item Fusion is not always successful.]
"Yeah, yeah."
[You have fused two identical pieces of equipment… enhancement successful!]
[Kobold Cutlasses +2 (Bronze): rusty, poorly made weapons. (Improved Sharpness.)]