Chapter Twenty-One: They're Learning...

Drake slowly began to recover after the battle, but at a rapid pace compared to his usual recovery time. He found all of the loot available in the forest where he had fought but left and fixed the dummy mannequins he had set up. Especially the one that held the pickaxe that he had grabbed from that had saved his life just now. Giving it a pat on its leather armor.

"Thanks for the assist buddy, there shall be drinks and women at the celebration tonight in your honor!"

Drake moved to loot the Large Kobold last as he was going through his notifications.

He had killed a total of 14 Kobolds excluding the Large One for a total of 73,000 Experience points and 5,000 TP. He had been able to snag two Kobold Mages, three Kobold Rangers, and nine Kobold Warriors in the exchange; only six of the group of twenty had managed to retreat.

Drake had managed to level up once during the fight but hadn't noticed, he would have to work on paying more attention to his notifications during fights, the Free Point boosts could be monumental in the coming fights, he thought.

He was now Level 6 and he began to feel the impact of the double experience demerit from his dual class. If he was a single class he would have already been close to if not at Level 10 just from the past couple fights. He wasn't exactly mad but definitely had a mixed feeling about it at the moment.

Drake went over the big mentions.

[You have defeated Kobold Squad Leader [Rank F] Level 16] [15,000 Experience Points and 5000 TP awarded]

[New Subjugation Quest! Subjugate 5 Kobold Squad Leaders [Rank F]

[Reward: One Random [F Grade] One Time Use Item]

[Skill Stone: Leader] [Uncommon]

[Unlocks a random skill from the Leader tree.]

[Requirement: Open Skill Slot. Have a Warrior Based Main Class-tree unlocked]

He had also managed to bag two more Mage Skill Stones, luckily both of the Mages had dropped one each. One more Ranger Skill Stone and a handful of Strength and Warrior Skill Stones. He was very interested in what this One Time Use Item was.

There was another stone that he happened to pick up that interested him as well.

[Skill Stone: Insight] [Uncommon]

[Unlocks a random skill from the Insight tree.]

[Requirement: Open Skill Slot. Have a Main Class-tree unlocked]

Insight wasn't much to go on but Drake suspected it had to do with some kind of stronger identification skill. But he wouldn't know for sure until he was able to use it.

When Drake was done going over most of the loot and had recovered most of his status back, he returned to the treeline to see if there were any more Kobolds coming for him. But the gate had remained closed for now, no guards on the outside and more rangers and mages seemed to be perched on the guard towers.

Looks like they're on high alert, that should give me some breathing room for at least a little. He thought. And I want to go over the coup de gras of the fight.

Drake looked at the small bag in his hands.

[Small Dimensional pouch [F Grade]] [Uncommon]

10x2 Dimensional Space Bag

Requires one Inventory slot. Must be placed in Inventory to be equipped

Stores Items in current state indefinitely, does not include living entities

Drops on death

He followed the description and placed it into his inventory, then willed it into one of the boxes at the bottom of the screen. It locked in place with a mental click, and suddenly two more rows of ten were added to his inventory, along with two rows filled with items from the bag.

Drake looked over the items from the new Dimensional Pouch and began to tear up more and more rapidly, going from one item to the next. After he finished his eyes had gone to full blown waterfalls.

"There's water canteens!! There's a tent!! There's even a fucking bed!!!!!!!!" He roared into the air.

There was a list of items Drake had been desperately wanting the entire time he was here. And now he had them. There were water canteens, food rations, uncooked meat, spices, a large wooden tub big enough to fit the Large frame of the Squad Commander Kobold. There were even roasted nuts, and everyone loves nuts. There was also camping equipment, torches, flint and steel. It was a dream come true for Drake.

Soon there will be no more nights sleeping in trees. He cried internally.

After a few more minutes of crying from elation, Drake decided to look at the new equipment he had picked up.

[Steel Chest [F Grade][Common]

102 to 110 Physical Reduction

90 to 105 Magic Reduction

1% Critical Hit Reduction

A finely made Steel Chest Piece that offers a small amount of protection. +10% defense proficiency.

[Steel Helm [F Grade][Uncommon]

52 to 60 Physical Reduction

36 to 41 Magic Reduction

1% Critical Hit Reduction

A finely made Steel Helmet that offers a small amount of protection. +6% defense proficiency.

[Steel Brawler's Gauntlets [F Grade][Uncommon]

94 to 110 Physical Damage

88 to 96 Magic Damage

Attack Speed: Fast

Casting Speed: Normal

Finely made Steel Gauntlets that are perfect for bashing in your enemies faces, and just as perfect for protecting your own.

"Ohh more shiny stuff! Some of these additional stats are really nice. And look at these Gauntlets!" Drake said, perking up like a schoolgirl at a Bieber concert, as he brought the Gauntlets out and put them on.

The Gauntlets themselves were slightly bigger than his hands. It was evident that they were made for the Large Kobold so they're hand sizes were noticeably different. Drake frowned a bit as he wriggled his fingers in the gauntlets, feeling the small spaces when he clasped and unclasped his hands.

"Well it should be fine if I just never open my hand for now. But it's going to be a problem eventually if I don't get something more fitted. Now for some quick tests!" He cheered, raising a metal fist into the air.

Drake had immediately decided to switch to the gauntlets after his fight with the Kobold. The Squad Commander, had been able to push Drake to his limits with his ferocity in their exchanges, and the coverings on the gauntlets made it hard for Drake to deal any sort of damage. The steel gauntlets fully covered his hands, with small spikes on the knuckles. They also had a sheet covering all the way to a little past his elbow, but that was only because the Kobold was larger than him so it made sense his arms had more reach.

Drake pulled off his left gauntlet and picked up his sword, aiming it at a nearby tree.

"Manifest my power. Mana Bolt!" He chanted, the mana feeling hobbled going through the blade and a few seconds later it fired and cracked into the tree, pushing right through it and stopping in the following one.

Next he exchanged his sword for his staff, doing the same thing. He aimed for a fresh tree and fired a Mana Bolt. This time the Bolt flew instantly from the staff, and with ease through two trees almost making it through a third. Drake nodded in assertion of the damage difference from the weapon damage increase.

Drake was ready now for the final test, he raised his gauntlet palm up and aimed for a fresh tree. He began chanting his spell, and on activation he felt a larger pull from his body than before. There was a two second delay in the magic forming in front of his palm, just like when he used his bare hands. But after the small build up of mana, a larger than normal Bolt flew from the gauntlet into the tree, and with a thunderous boom the trees trunk exploded in a symphony of splinters, the Bolt not ceasing continued its rampage through several more trees until it embedded itself into one last tree trunk.

Drake blinked a few times at the increase of strength the gauntlets brought to his spell. The mana flow into them felt as if it required slightly more to activate and by checking his mana bar he confirmed it. And the feeling of pushing his mana into the gauntlets was not as rough as it was with the sword and not as clean and precise as it had been with the staff, but somewhere in the middle.

After coming back to reality, Drake rubbed his palms together in a menacing gesture. "Oh ho… Yeah… I like that. I like that a lot." He laughed evilly.

The gauntlets had around double the magical damage the staff had but he felt like the destruction he just caused was too much for just that, and he chalked it up to the Grade difference between the weapons. But he had no way to confirm it yet.

Now that Drake knew he could use the gauntlets to cast while still wearing them unimpeded. He started trying out variations of using his hands. He began trying out a finger gun like a certain famous spirit detective for more accuracy, but wasn't able to orient the magic circle to the finger. He then tried to shoot the spell like he was holding a web-slinger, and only managed to shoot the bolt upwards in a comical fashion as his palm was facing upwards.

Finally Drake tried to cast it while he made a fist, and to his surprise was able to cast the Mana Bolt in front of his closed hand.

He smiled, "Oh, I more than like this, I think I'm in love. I shall call you 'Destroyer of Worlds: Lapuras' and I will love you, hold you, and bathe you in lots of blood of our enemies. Yes I will. Does that make you happy Lapuras?" Drake said, beginning to ramble on in mumbles as he rubbed the top of the gauntlets.

Drake was rudely interrupted by the howl of a Kobold, coming from the direction of the outpost. He looked up from his gauntlets with an annoyed frown.

"What filthy mutt is interrupting my precious time with LapuLapu!" He growled.

Drake moved back to the tree line and hopped onto a nearby branch, his eyes focused on the distant outpost. What he saw was another set of 20 Kobolds, moving out of the gate in groups of five. This time each groups make up was four fighters and one mage each.

"They changed their makeup? Aren't these monsters a little too intelligent, it's like they want to try to overwhelm me with brute force this time around instead of using the more balanced approach they had before." He thought aloud.

Drake observed for another minute waiting for a Squad Commander to walk through the gate but none had exited. Drake was slightly disappointed that he wouldn't have the opportunity to gain another large experience kill but was jubilant that they had so quickly sent out another contingent of monsters for him.

"Looks like we will get to have a field trial of these bad boys sooner than expected, I think we should go thank them." Drake mused, smacking together the gauntlets sending small sparks off them.

Drake waited a few minutes for the Kobolds to get into formation. They merged into two groups with a standard set up, melee in front, and mages in the back. Then began their march toward the forest. Once they were close enough Drake was able to take advantage of their make up not having any Rangers, and stood on his branch taking aim at the front of the pack Kobolds with his gauntlets.

"He who strikes first is the victor! Manifest my power! Mana Bolt!" He yelled, an improved Mana Bolt flying from his hand, it screeched through the air and in moments reached one of the groups.

The Bolt connected with a Warrior wearing a shield and tore through the monster, shield and all, bisecting it at the waist. And it continued through to the monster at its side and into the next, finally hitting the ground below them and kicking up dust.

Drake gaped at the still impressive display of his new equipment.

The Kobolds right flank was in a panic from the surprise attack, and ran out of the dust cloud like headless chickens. The other group halted momentarily but with a bark from one of the Warriors, started for the woods again. The other group taking its time to regroup and move on the forest.

Seeing this Drake dropped down from his perch and moved a little farther into the forest where his dummies were. He had decided to not continue firing on the incoming Kobolds because they had died out in the open, so it wouldn't allow him to retrieve the loot, and he also needed to get accustomed to his new weapon.

Drake stopped in between two dummies and crossed his arms while tilting his head back slightly, waiting for the Kobolds to find him. Soon they came marching in formation from behind the trees and quickly spotted him.

"Ho, so your approach-" Drake tried to say only to have to roll to the side behind one of his dummies, as a triage of Mana Bolts flew his way. "You're supposed to wait until I finish the line! That's how it always works!" He screamed from behind the dummy.

But Drake quickly changed gears and snapped to action. Dashing from behind the dummy, he surged forward, one of his gauntlets up to cover his head and body, the other pointed forward as he chanted a Bolt.

He was bombarded with Mana Bolts, but a large number of them missed as he continued to sprint forward. The rest being deflected off his raised gauntlet. From his other hand a Mana Bolt shrieked out with force, bisecting two Kobold Warriors in the front, and slamming into a third's shield, careening it backwards as it folded around its shield.

Drake followed up the charge, making his way into melee range. The Kobolds moved to circle around him but Drake wasn't going to stand still, and rushed forward to the closest Warrior.

The Warrior raised its sword and attempted to bring it down on him, but Drake moved with speed and sidestepped the swing with margin to spare. Drake then wound back his arm and unleashed a basic right hook at the Kobold's chest. It raised its shield to block, but Drake screamed his Heavy Blow Skill with the strike, powering his fist enough to smash right through the shield and send the beast tumbling backwards.

Drake moved out of the encirclement and made a dash for cover within the trees and his dummies. The Kobolds quickly chased after him, Mana Bolts trailing him as they slammed into the trees he was taking cover under.

He traced the direction the Bolts came from and made a break for it, chanting a Mana Bolt as he ran. Right before the Bolt released, a Mage came into sight, a look of surprise and horror on its face at the sudden appearance of Drake, a Mana Bolt in his hand.

The surprise only lasted long enough for it to attempt to cast a Bolt itself in vain as Drake's tore its head clean off. Drake didn't relent as he continued running, finding another Mage. He quickly casted another bolt bisecting it.

Drake continued to take cover in between finding the other Mages, using their fired Bolts trajectory to get a general sense of where they were. But after a few more kills, the Kobolds had changed tactics. They had formed a phalanx with the remaining mages in the center. A total of ten remaining warriors and three mages formed the defensive ball.

Drake peeked out from behind a tree a few meters away, and looked up at his mana bar, it was at a surprisingly low amount, hovering 10%. He took a few moments to wait and see if his mana would tick up, as he eyed the furry ball of Kobolds. After a minute it hadn't moved.

So I'm stuck in combat even after waiting huh. That fucking sucks but makes sense. I think I have enough for two more Bolts and the rest I'll have to muddle through in a brawl. Drake rapidly concluded.

Drake chanted a Mana Bolt behind the tree, and just before it fired, swung and aimed at a Warrior. The Bolt cut through the air, blasting right through the Warrior and its shield, slamming into the Mage behind it.

After the Bolt had fired, Drake instantly dashed forward, chanting another and firing it through another Warrior and into a Mage.

The last Kobold Mage barked and fired a Bolt back at Drake. He dodged to the right, stopping him long enough for the Warriors to close the openings in their circle he had just made.

Drake leapt into the air and over the phalanx at the remaining Mage, coming down like a meteor he stretched his fist out at the monster, "Power through force! Heavy Blow!" Drake screamed as he slammed his fist right into the Mage's maw, bringing its head down to the ground with such force it left a small crater in the ground, decimating the Mage's skull with an audible crunch.

The encirclement of Warriors all tried to bring down their blades on top of Drake's head, but he raised his gauntlets in a cross-guard, blocking the iron blades. Drake was being pushed down by the force of the eight Kobolds, and he struggled to maintain upright. But he was able to stay off his knees long enough - his metal gauntlets screeching in protest to the weight - for him to place his free points from his earlier level into Strength giving him a surge of power.

Drake's muscles bulged and he pushed back against the lump of iron blades above his head, pushing the Warriors off balance. Drake followed up with throwing a straight into the Kobold in front of him, sending it flying a meter backwards. He then rushed another Kobold deflecting its overhead swing with his arm, slamming a Heavy Blow endowed fist into its chest with the other. Drake's hand went right through its leather armor and embedded itself in there.

Drake grunted in pain as two blades slashed at his back in retaliation. He pulled his fist from the Kobold's chest and swatted in a large arc as he jumped backwards. Drake fell to a knee now, breathing hard, the feeling of warm liquid slowly running down his back.

The Kobolds didn't wait for Drake to recover, as they charged him. Drake knew he wouldn't be able to dodge them all in his condition and flew forward to meet them, singling out the Kobold in the middle, grappling his arms around the monster as he pushed it past the others and down into the ground. His gauntlet quickly finding its head.

The Kobolds spun around, rushing again for Drake. When they were close enough they swung down with their weapons. Two of them were met with Drake's right gauntlet, another found its way to embed itself into Drake's side.

Drake mumbled a curse in pain as he threw an uppercut at the last Kobold smashing his fist through the still swinging sword and crushing it's jaw as it flew backwards.

The two Kobolds he had deflected pulled their weapons back in a motion to swing again, but before they could reach him, Drake held the sword in his side in place with his arm, and pulled the struggling Warrior in front of the swings. The Kobolds' swords lodging themselves into its back.

Drake then threw the corpse at the last two, toppling one and pining it to the ground. The other fell as well, disoriented. Quickly, Drake brought his fist down on the disoriented Kobold's chest, his fist impaling the creature.

Before the last Kobold could recover, Drake lifted the impaled monster with his fist, and used his foot to pin the last to the ground under its deceased comrade.

"And now. I'm going to beat a mother fucker with a mother fucker!" Drake cackled, bringing down the dead Kobold on top of the last surviving monster, like a repeating hammer.