Mana coiled around his axe; suddenly, the dependable weapon he had named Betty got heavier. Alquin held Betty high above his head with both hands. He cast Heavy Strike, crashing down a Kobold skull and destroying the creature with a bone-deep blow to its neck.

  (You Have Slain Kobold. Lvl 6)

  A spear jab toward him, he dodged, but not by much, as his armor would do most of the job. He brought Betty sideways straight toward the other Kobold arm, cutting it completely, and blood burst like a waterfall. Alquin kicked it and turned to help Rino with that big sword of his.

  (You Have Slain Kobold. Lvl 7)

  He will never understand the intricacies of a sword; he has tried, but it's not for him. Axe is just much simpler. Though still, he wished he still had his shield. He’s still well defended with the skeletal rectangular shield on his shoulder, which Rue had given him. But it’s far from reliable compared to the one he can hold.

  Time like this reminds Alquin of his past, one that he had learned to no longer look at with disdain; instead, he looked at it as god favoured him.

  He cast his other active skill. Taunt. The Kobolds that had been battering Rino glared at him. One thing Alquin had noticed was that these monsters have a very low mind stat. They rushed at him with bizarre anger.

  “Rino! Fire it,” Alquin shouted as he saw another two Kobolds flanking him.

  The kid, Rino, clasped his hands together, dropping his Bone Sword. A jet of pressurized water slashed through a Kobold's back, with such close proximity, and Rino’s recent two-level-up making that spell deadly. Rino rendered his hand sideways, and the Kobold lost a hand.

  Two kobolds lay on the ground with similar wounds, but there's much more coming at him, spilling from the horde that Goblin had held. Five spears lurched at him, and Alquin did not dodge; he did not need to. It’s time for his rare Passive Skill, Shield Call.

  An invisible thread only Alquin could feel lurched inside his body, it flailed around trying to find a shield equipped by him, armor not going to work, it needed to be a shield. The thread moved, connecting to one shield tied around his left shoulder, Alquin smiled. He stepped back, and the Kobolds' spear all followed him straight toward his skeletal shield.

  A slight force reverberated through his shoulder, but it didn't even hurt. He slashed Betty down, breaking two of the kobolds' spears. Rino appeared beside him, clasping his hand forward and firing another water piercing straight at a Kobold's head.

  (Level Up General. 7 - 8)

  A level up from someone else's kill. Well, to be more accurate, he has a hand on the kill, too. This party thing is very convenient.

  The Kobold skittered back, four of them now having second thoughts.

  “Hah! Come on! You thought we were the easier prey earlier, don't ya!” Alquin laughed as he advanced.

  Rino wiped the blood that splattered across his lips; it was a Kobold he had just killed. The young man grinned, his eyes held a look of a fighter now. Very different from how he was a day ago.

  When Alquin was in the military, he had seen recruits take so long to acclimate to the battlefield, some of them would die fast, as there’s only so much you can do against a bullet. But with this status… anyone can become strong, as proven with Rino. All they needed was the guts to kill.

  “Al, Rita lost an arm,” Rino said, suddenly snapping Alquin's attention.

  “What?” Alquin looked toward the Goblin, and indeed, one of her arms lay on the ground as she was still dodging strikes left and right and parrying with one arm. She somehow already tied her stump off with what must be a magical cloth or something.

  ‘Hey Goblin! Are you okay there?’ Alquin asked through his mind as he was still facing the Kobolds in front of him.

  ‘Finally! You actually said something’ Emily exclaimed. Alquin winced from the sudden outburst. ‘Both of you, Rue is coming, he is using that skill.’

  ‘Why?’ Rino guffawed.

  That skill? The black ice? ‘What is that fool thinking? We’re having the upper hand!’ Alquin demanded.

  ‘No, we don’t!’ Emily sent a metaphorical anger. ‘I’ve been observing the battlefield. Rita would lose soon if there’s no help, and there's a third party behind the Robe Kobold.’

  Speaking of Robe Kobold, it shot another lightning toward Emily, then another Mana arrow flew through. Completely missing.

  ‘Anyway, keep in mind the third party, all right?’

  Alquin looked toward Rita as the Kobolds in front of him hesitated. He took a couple of seconds to truly look at the battlefield. Three Bone Warriors with their fearsome Long Bone working together, and Kobolds jabbing repeatedly at her. She did not manage to kill any of them, which is to be expected. Indeed, if all of them were to spill over more to him and Rino… And this third party? What did they want?

  ‘What to do now?’ Rino asked.

  What else is there?

  Alquin couldn't help but feel relieved as he saw a creature wearing a blue robe of mages and a body encased in black astral polished armour running over to where the Goblin was. Boy, how terrifying… Alquin could even make out the dark, cold mist seeping up from that void sword he held. This is one of the wonders of their new world.

  Rue probably didn’t realize that he also had steam formed by his dark ice armor, making a dark vapor as he ran.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “That is Rue?” Rino asked out loud.

  “We’re joining, kid,” Alquin said. He lifted Betty high up.

  We’re not going to lose, eh? Maybe one day you can have those fancy effects too. He said to his axe, then again, Alquin had named the axe his ex’s name. That probably will be a bit terrifying. Shaking his head, he dashed forward and shoulder-charged straight ahead with his skeletal shield first at the four spear-wielding Kobolds.

  You deserve a better name than Betty.

  —

  Although his HP is rising, his Mana is still trickling down, but at a much slower rate than he expected. Since he had been conservative with his Mana, he didn't need to worry about his mind deteriorating. The main issue remains his Magic Vein; it is climbing even though it's already above seventy percent. He could feel the strain as a dull ache across his head, but luckily it's nothing he couldn’t handle, as the ice treatment must have helped a lot.

  The Mana Arrow Emily fired had gotten weaker and weaker, before it would zip like a shooting star, which Rue’s eyes could barely follow. Now, Rue could track it easily as it also kept missing. Emily must’ve switched to just keeping the Kobold mage busy instead of trying to kill it, as the strain on her Magic Vein must’ve been worse than Rue’s own currently.

  ‘Rue! They’re char-‘

  He stormed forward toward the bulk of the Kobolds. None of the Bone Warriors is dead; each of them tried to hit Rita, up to the point their frustration is painfully obvious. All three of the Bone Warriors left the spear-wielding Kobolds guarding the Mage; they chased the HuGoblin who side-stepped every one of their attempts.

  But Rita now has only one hand, her face is covered in sweat, and her movements are becoming slower and more sluggish. A Bone Sword swung in an upside-down arc toward her. She tried to parry it but was too weak, so instead she kept evading, focusing purely on weak deflections with her sword.

  Eventually, she missed a step caused by a stone beneath her feet. As a Kobold is about to bring her demise, Rue is there, barreling into the Kobold's side with a sword thrust deep straight between its ribs.

  The Kobold's skin gave way, and his dark ice sword plunged deep. Rue withdrew his sword, and as it left the Kobold's skin, frost spread like a ravenous virus consuming each scale. Soon, a blue icy frost cloaked its entire body.

  It died standing.

  (You Have Slain Kobold Bone Warrior. Lvl 10)

  (Level Up. General 9 → 10)

  (Level Up. Frost Apprentice 10 → 11)

  (Skill Option Gained)

  (Skill Option Gained)

  Two times? Rue brushes off the message; he will focus on the battle first. That will make the reward so much sweeter.

  Rue was about to call on Rita, until he forgot he couldn’t speak. He was about to send his thought over, but a two LongBone swung toward him. Knowing he could take this damage, Rue did not dodge. Instead, he raised his sword high up and brought it down on one of the Kobolds.

  Two strikes connected to him. One across his shoulder and one on his chest. Pain blossomed from both sides. Rue transferred the pain to his strike, decapitating one Bone Warrior. Blood did not flow as ice seared a cold vapour over its headless neck.

  (You Have Slain Kobold Bone Warrior. Lvl 10)

  Rue fell to one knee from the pain, as it proved too much. He can stand in a couple of seconds as long as he has a moment – A Long Bone rend down at him, Rue managed to get his black sword up and catch the strike. The Bone Warrior pushed, gaining strength over him as it stood, and was able to put the weight of its entire body toward the swordlock.

  He gritted his teeth, but this position is not bad for him. He had stopped the sword's momentum now as long as it did not hit his shoulder, where he had been injured earlier… He would be able to tank the damage and counterattack immediately. Rue tried to bring the sword lock down to his chest, but the Kobold, noticing this, kept pressing down on his shoulder. As his own sword clashed against his cracked shoulder, the pain blazed down at him.

  In a burst of strength, Rue managed to push back and blew its sword back.

  Just when he was about to strike it down. A normal arrow flew, hitting the Kobold's head. Then an axe spun and embedded itself in the neck. The Bone Warrior fell backward, still alive.

  Rue cleaved down on it, claiming its life.

  (You Have Slain Kobold Bone Warrior. Lvl 12)

  (Level Up. General 10 → 11)

  (Level Up. Frost Apprentice 11 → 12)

  “Rue!” Voices called out. But from two different directions. He turned to see Alquin and Rino running toward him, both of them alive; he feared Rino would’ve died already. And from behind him is Emily, her face stricken purple, she heaved and fell on both of her knees as she reached him.

  Seeing her like this reminded him of the first time he had met her. Rue caught her, then she flinched, falling backward straight to the ground.

  “You’re cold!” She complained, through tired breath.

  ‘Ah, I forgot’

  “Oh, you can speak through the mind,” Rino said. He sounded… Joyful? Rue looked at him, and indeed, the youth had a grin plastered over his lips and blood on his cheek. What happened in these past hours?

  ‘You’re close to mind-down?’ Rue asked Emily.

  “Only thirty mana left,” She answered.

  “You should take a rest, don’t fire any more Mana Arrow,” Rino said, helping her stand.

  “Goblin. Are you alright there?” Alquin asked Rita, who stumbled over to where they were. Her dress is a mess of cuts showing blood spreading into its brown colour.

  “I’m fine, just please buy me time to drink the Health potion.” Rita dropped into a sitting position, letting her sword drop. She tapped her sash, and two vials appeared. One is red, which she chugged down instantly, and she handed the blue vial to Emily, who drank it as she recognized it.

  “Thank you,” Emily wiped her mouth. Her face instantly looked much brighter. “My Magic Vein is at ninety percent, though.”

  “What?” Rino guffawed.

  “What do you expect me to do?” She scowled.

  “Magic Vein overload is easy to deal with,” Rita said.

  Rue and Emily turned to her, examining her like she was some strange creature. To which she actually is.

  ‘It is?”

  “Really?”

  They asked in unison.

  “Yes, just eat mana-rich food and get some sleep.”

  “Mana-rich food?”

  “Basically anything with mana. For example, these monsters” Rita poke the dead Kobold on their snout. “But, their mana will disappear if an entire day goes by without being consumed. So, keep that in mind.” Then, the Hu Goblin stood again.

  That is why Paxwell got his Magic Vein healed so quickly when Rue asked him about it. He had been eating the boar.

  That made sense, yet still surprising. Also… Rita's arm slowly grew back.

  Health potion able to do that?

  “They’re fighting,” Alquin muttered, looking at where the Robe kobolds are.

  A shrieking cacophony of voices screams out. Rue whipped his head, and saw a group of humans met with lightning from the Mage Kobold's fingertips.

  “They began charging, so I decided to come here,” Emily said. She picked up her bow and quiver, drawing the string and letting an arrow fly toward the wall of Kobolds forming a spear wall guarding the mage. “Unlike us, they do not have the wall of kobolds separating them from that lightning spell.”

  They somehow had to break that spear wall quickly. Or everyone on the other side is dead.