Drake had to quickly sweep away the notifications ntally as they filled his vision. It was an amazing haul and he hadn’t even looked at his stat gains or the items he picked up yet.
The Gnolls had been a treasure trove of experience and equipnt for him, he thought; the river coming into his vision. Drake checked the surroundings for any signs of monsters and when he found none, he looked over at his now itching shoulder. Surprised that it was slowly but visibly healing and replacing small fibers of muscle that had been blown off earlier. It was welcod that he was healing but seeing the process was objectively grotesque.
After so traveling he finally arrived at the river bed, looking at the pristine flowing water. Drake sighed in relief, touching his shoulder again to see the progress. When he saw that it had stopped bleeding and a scar was forming, he jumped into the river and began scrubbing himself down.
He drank so water to refresh himself, and then moved to the shoreline to dry off in the sun.
Drake sat on a nearby rock and pulled up his status ready to distribute his free stats now that he'd gotten an idea of what he was lacking.
[Drake Wallen]
[Race: Human]
Tutorial Alias [Shot]
[Base Class: Mage x Warrior] [Unique] Level 5
[Vitality] 163
[Strength] 121
[Dexterity] 101
[Intelligence] 266
[Wisdom] 166
[Endurance] 101
[Free Points] 127
[Skills] Basic Mana Bolt [Level NA] Basic Heavy Strike [Level NA]
[Titles] First Blood, Two versus One, One vs Many, Monkey Slayer, Living on the Edge, Close Call, Dead Man Walking, Dual Class, Punching Up, Improbability, Dog Hater, Rounded
Drake scoffed at his pooled Free Points, as it was over the amount of so of his stats.
He looked at the new title that had appeared with a displeased look. "I’m not a dog hater! Those things were just dog-like!" Drake shouted into the air.
[Dog Hater]
[Slay 10 harmless dog-like Gnolls. 5% Damage to Gnolls]
Drake sighed, completely worn out and didn’t want to complain anymore to waste ti.
Looking back over his stats as he distributed his Free Points. He knew what stats he wanted to improve on after the fight. He wasn’t strong enough in magic to pierce the Gnoll’s shields without a staff to amplify his damage. And he was only barely nimble enough to fight his way through those close combat fights. So he decided to increase his Intelligence and Dexterity by a large margin. Then evened out his Strength and Wisdom to keep his lee damage and mana regeneration.
[Drake Wallen]
[Race: Human]
Tutorial Alias [Shot]
[Base Class: Mage x Warrior] [Unique] Level 5
[Vitality] 163
[Strength] 151
[Dexterity] 151
[Intelligence] 301
[Wisdom] 179
[Endurance] 101
[Free Points] 0
[Skills] Basic Mana Bolt [Level NA] Basic Heavy Strike [Level NA]
[Titles] First Blood, Two versus One, One vs Many, Monkey Slayer, Living on the Edge, Close Call, Dead Man Walking, Dual Class, Punching Up, Improbability, Dog Hater, Rounded
"Nice, this is looking pretty good. Now I better look over the stones and equipnt to see if there’s anything I can use before I go back there," he thought aloud, "That was the largest pack yet, and I don’t think that was just a coincidence. I want to go back and try to figure out what was going on there...."
Drake opened up his inventory and checked the various items and stones he managed to pick up this ti.
[Skill Stone: Ranger] [Uncommon]
[Unlocks a random Skill from the Ranger tree.]
[Requirent: Have at least one or more open Skill Slots and a Ranger Main Tree or Sub-tree Branch Unlocked.]
Drake had gotten only two of these, so he suspected they ca from the crossbown. The word Ranger kinda scread Ranger type class, and would explain how they may have been able to gain insight to where he had been from so far away.
He'd also gotten a few more Strength Skill Stones, which also made sense. But his crown jewel for the fight was certainly the last stone he had picked up.
[Skill Stone: Mage] [Uncommon]
[Unlocks a random skill from the Mage tree.]
[Requirent: Open Skill Slot. Have a Mage Based Main Class-tree unlocked]
The rest of the loot wasn’t too notable, he had picked up a few more pairs of leather pants and chests, and a cloak. So shields that he picked up he tried on but quickly put back into his inventory, as they had to be held so he wasn’t able to cast magic while holding both it and his sword.
But there was an honorable ntion because of what the description said.
[Sturdy Pickaxe] [Common]
1 to 12 Physical Damage
1 to 4 Magical Damage
Attack Speed: Slow
Cast Speed: Slow
A sturdy looking pickaxe that is used to mine out various ores, jewels, and material.
Drake pondered for a mont on the subtle hint of confirmation the description gave. If there was a Mine sowhere that would make sense that he had killed a ‘Miner’ Gnoll. And Drake wondered what had happened to all the various minerals that would be there now that mana was involved.
Drake’s eyes turned to dollar signs as he thought of the possibilities of getting to an undiscovered mine.
While he waited for his clothes to dry he practiced casting his Mana Bolts for half an hour firing them into the river. What he was trying to do was shorten his cast like he had seen the Gnoll Mage do but every ti he tried to omit a word from the cast. It wouldn’t activate, but he was able to feel his mana flow towards his hand so he wasn’t sure what the roadblock was.
Finally stopping after several attempts of failure, pulling out the Mage Skill Stone for a mont to roll it around in his hand. Maybe the Skills he would get from this would be the answer. If so he may be stuck just having to wait.
After a few more minutes he was adequately dried and placed the stone back into his inventory running back in the direction he had co from.
When he arrived at the scene of his last fight, he slowed to a crawl, as he saw a lone Miner Gnoll.
Drake waited a mont to see if it was a part of a group. And after a minute, the Gnoll wasn’t joined by any others. It had gone from body to body apparently looking for dropped gear or stones as when it didn’t find anything it turned away and headed back sowhere.
Perfect. Now take to your leader, small dog type thing. Drake thought.
He began to follow the Miner Gnoll from a moderate distance, moving at a brisk pace through the forest. The Gnoll moved with purpose to what Drake hoped would be a mountain of treasure for him to take, in both loot and experience.
After what felt like forever, the blueish gray peaks of a mountain ca into view between the tree leaves. Drake smiled as he kept pace with the monster making sure to be far enough away that it hopefully wouldn't notice him. Eventually the treeline broke and Drake halted to a stop.
The Gnoll ran past the treeline and made a run for what looked like an old wooden outpost. Drake was amazed at what he was looking at, his eyes following the direction of the Gnoll. A small fortress built of wood was covering the side of the mountain base. There were small guard towers filled with Ranger and Mage Gnolls.
The Miner Gnoll ran to a large Gate where there were a pair of Gnoll Warriors. Drake watched as they seed to converse, the Miner Gnoll pointing back into the forest.
Had it noticed him and led him here on purpose? Drake wondered. Better safe than sorry. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve if I know they’re coming.
Drake began taking out the extra pairs of leather, iron armor and weapons he had laying around. And quickly began placing them around him. He then began to rub dirt all over his person, and finally took out the last item.
[Battered Cloak NG] [Common]
[Offers no physical or magical protection, just a normal cloak that may help obscure your face and physical build.]
Drake put on the cloak that he had rubbed dirt on as well, hoping to mask his sll, and quickly got into a tree to scope out the Gate.
The Miner Gnoll and the Warriors were no longer there, and the gate was closed. But soon the gate reopened and revealed a large group of 20 Gnolls streaming out in front of the gate. They began lining up in wait for sothing.
Drake’s body began to shiver as a Gnoll with Black Spots Marking its gray body walked out of the gate. It had been twice the size of the other Gnolls, and was wearing tal armor that was obviously better than the crude iron the Apes had worn. It had a colonial conquistador-esque hat on its head, and hand spiked tal gauntlets covering both its hands.
There was an aura of power being exuded from the monster that Drake could feel from here. He looked on as the Bigger Gnoll began barking and pointing at the others, then suddenly looked into the forest eting Drake’s gaze.
Drake again shuddered. Not sure if the monster had actually looked at him, but held the monster’s gaze. After a few seconds the Gnoll’s mouth creased back and showed its large white canines. It had seen him. It pointed again to the treeline this ti, and the Gnolls ford a straight line with the shield users in front with the rangers, and mages behind them. The Large Gnoll bringing up the rear.
Drake smiled in nervous anticipation, "Co and get then, mutt."
Reviews
All reviews (0)