Chapter 5: Initiation begins!

What in the world is going on right now? Blake thought, having assumed that he and the others were done for after they got caught stealing the giant rat for the elder of all people. Especially the way that the guards had grabbed and bagged them before dragging them all here.

"Wait up old man, just what the hell is this!" Blake yelled.

"How dare you speak to the elder like that you brat!" One of the guards yelled, lifting his spear to strike him with the butt of it.

"Enough." The elder said, causing the guard to hesitate and lower his weapon.

"Did you think you were in trouble young one?" The elder asked as he walked over to Blake.

"Well yeah, I mean what else would we think after we were kidnapped and brought here like this!"

The elder couldn't help but laugh a little before he grew more serious.

"My dear boy. The only reason you were brought here like this is so that I could meet the ones responsible for pulling a fast one on my guards the way you did. And now that I have, I can see that it was also time for you to be appraised." The elder said.

Blake was still surprised about the way this had all gone down. But now he guessed it had all kind of worked out somehow.

"I expect big things of you, young one." The elder said, giving Blake a strange look before he turned around.

"You may take them now." He finally said, handing them over to the commander of the guards.

"Yes, elder." He said before turning to face Blake and the others.

"Take them away." He said with a grin on his face.

"I'm going to enjoy breaking you." He said watching as Blake and Nev were dragged off.

Blake watched as the others were carried off too, seeing the look on Verka and Eggi's faces. Still, it wouldn't be forever and he knew that he would see them again, so long as he survived the next part of his story that was.

"Put them down here." One of the guards said, watching as the others tossed Blake and Nev onto the dirt of what looked like a small training ground.

Blake had been surprised that these monsters had been so organised, thinking of Kobolds as nothing more than an annoying monster that he would slaughter each time he went adventuring into some unknown tomb or dungeon.

"Looks like we got fresh meat boys." One of the older Kobolds said, surrounding Blake and Nev as the two of them got up to their feet.

"Welcome to warrior training, for those of you fortunate enough to have been appraised as such. This will be your new home for the next three years. Whether or not you make it out the other end is up to you." The commander of the guards said, crossing his arms behind his back while he spoke.

"First off let's get a sample of how strong you are to see if you fit in here." He said with a wicked smirk before he nodded to the others.

Both Blake and Nev only get a second to react before the others around them suddenly swarmed them, punching and kicking at them both, not holding back with their shots.

Nev did his best trying to attack back, taking a good beating and refusing to go down as he let out a mighty roar, only to be overwhelmed by his four attackers, finally being dragged onto the ground and receiving a beating from above.

Blake on the other hand caught the first punch with his face, that being enough to tell him everything he needed to know, quickly covering up and using some basic head movement to protect himself before he threw a counter right hook that knocked one of his attackers down cold.

"Why you little!" One of the others snarled, bearing his teeth before he dived in low in an attempt to grab Blake's waist and tackle him to the ground.

Blake's system had also burst to life, helping him know where his attackers were and what direction their attacks were coming from, something he had been taking advantage of in all of his fights with Nev and the others so far. Not that they knew that of course.

Blake quickly lifted his knee, using all of the force his hips could generate before his knee smashed into the Kobold's face, sending him crashing into the ground with a bust snout.

The other two were shocked but still tried to attack him, coming from the left and the right one at a time due to the other falling in their way, giving Blake enough time to react accordingly and come up with a counterstrategy.

Blake could also see the levels of both those left now that he had time to look. Seeing that one was level 3 and the other only level 4, both being weaker than Blake.

"Take this!" The first yelled, slashing with his claws toward Blake's face.

Blake acted accordingly and blocked his attack before throwing a three-hit combo, landing two blows to the chest and one to the jaw with a powerful uppercut.

Nev was currently on the ground curled up as the others were still kicking him before they realized what had happened to the others fighting with Blake.

"You two go and help them." One of the others said, thinking that Nev had no fight left in him now, leaving only two with him.

Little did they know, Nev's rage had been building and he had finally snapped. Nev opened his eyes and caught a kick from one of the Kobolds, using his forearms to block it before he dug his claws into his flesh.

"ARGH!" Nev roared as he sank his fangs into the bastard's leg, causing the Kobold to scream out in pain.

"Get him off me!" He yelled, trying to use his other leg and arms to strike at Nev.

Nev pulled his leg with him and knocked the Kobold over allowing him to roll on top of him, letting out a huge battle cry before slamming his fists into the Kobold's face, over and over again until his blood started to splat onto Nev's face.

"Why you!" The other shouted, kicking Nev in the side of the neck, trying to get him off.

However, Nev's thick neck took the blow like it was nothing, instead causing Nev to turn his rage-filled eyes over to his new target as he launched at him like a wild animal.

Blake had taken out both of the Kobolds that were left with him, seeing the others running over to him now before he took another fighting stance to get ready.

"That's enough!" The commander yelled, getting the guards that had been watching to rush in and stop the fighting, having to force Nev to the ground due to his uncontrollable rage.

"Seems the elder was right about the two of you. You'll fit right in here." The commander said, impressed with how the two of them had been able to handle themselves, especially Blake. Making a mental note to keep a close eye on him.

All of the Kobolds had gotten back up to their feet now, with some looking worse for wear thanks to Nev and Blake.

"Get them cleaned up and show them their new digs. Training starts tomorrow." He then said, getting a nod from the other guards as they escorted the group off watching them closely before they left his sight.

Both Blake and Nev were escorted to a small mud hut where they and the other young Kobolds would be staying during their time training.

It was dark and damp with basic hay beds laid out in the room for them, nothing that Blake hadn't grown accustomed to during his time in this new world so far.

"Welcome home." One of the guards said with a snicker, pushing them through the door.

"Training starts in the morning, you had better get some rest while you can." The other then said, also laughing before they tossed in some stale bread and bolted the door shut.

Blake could see that he and Nev would be sharing this room with 8 others, the 8 others that they had been fighting with not moments ago.

[Quest complete, survive your Initiation. You have been awarded 300 EXP.] The system said.

Gee, thanks. Blake thought.

Could have given me a quick heads-up.

[Would you like me to notify you of new quests right away from now on?] The system asked.

That would be helpful.

"You two had better sleep with one eye open tonight." One of the Kobolds said, glaring over at the both of them.

Blake could see the looks he and Nev were getting, also seeing that they had done quite a bit of damage to the group, considering they were outnumbered.

"Well, this should be fun." Blake said as he looked over to Nev.

"Don't worry Blake, these bunch of bitches can't do shit!" Nev yelled, not afraid of them whatsoever, causing Blake to slap himself in the face knowing they would be in for a long night indeed.