kobold's den part 2

As I practiced, I concentrated on the precision of my movements, making sure that each thrust was controlled and aimed precisely. My muscles started remembering the routine.

I knew that mastering this fundamental technique was necessary before progressing to more difficult movements.

'There is a long way to go,'

I paused before repeating the same fundamental movement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'That was tiring,' I thought as I sat in the hall room corner, waiting for my meal.

The hall was bustling with people. The majority of the folks are in groups, talking about their experiences and what has occurred to them in their lives.

Because it was my first day wielding a spear in this world, the morning training took a long time. I also had to take my time remembering how it felt to use a spear after such a long period.

As I looked around, I noticed different faces serving the food to the customers. They are the servers who work the morning and night shifts in the inn, as the afternoon shifts do not require them because people do not normally come in at that time.

I was waiting for my dinner when I noticed Sylvia herself bringing it, which made me a little suspicious. Did I do something wrong? Did she find out something?

"Here is your food, Neil."

As she placed my meal on the table, she smiled as usual.

"I appreciate it."

I replied to her as I looked at what was in the breakfast: a whole egg, a whole loaf of bread, and a soup with chunks of meat in it. Not the best, but good enough.

"Excellent work in the morning."

She remarked that as she returned to her work, and I wasn't shocked that she knew I was training in the morning; as I previously stated, she was a strong woman, and I couldn't be out of her reach.

I moved my mask slightly so that I could eat before I started eating my breakfast.

After having my breakfast, I exited the inn and proceeded to my next destination, the adventurer's guild.

The morning street was bustling with people, some opening shops while others were opening their stalls. The city of Marinthalis is a city of commerce, so people here are always busy with work. One of the reasons I like this city is because it has a very low crime rate, but there is always a dark side, and this city also has its own.

As I entered the guild, I noticed the same lady who had registered me as an adventurer working at a desk. Seeing her, I headed in her direction as she, too, recognized me and smiled professionally at me.

"Good morning, Neil."

She greeted me as she began to search under her desk for something.

"Good morning."

I responded to her as I waited for her to finish what she was doing.

"Here are the reptile-related quests that you can take at your current rank."

She responded while handing me a list of quests.

I checked into it and discovered that there were a total of ten quests. Six of them were to take care of reptile-type monsters that different shop owners have assigned, but I just rejected all of them; I want to kill them, not take care of them.

What remained were four quests, three of which were for killing bandits from the Lizard Man race and the fourth one for killing kobolds.

"I'll take the one about killing kobolds."

I said as I handed back the list to her, which she accepted with a grimace.

"Are you certain about that? Despite Kobold's frailty, they are always in a group; if they team up, they can easily take on an origin level 2 being; you're in big trouble if that happens; take the easy ones for now; you can slowly take the hard ones."

She said, appearing a little concerned about my safety, which I understand, but I want to kill some as soon as possible so I can gain experience points.

"I appreciate your consideration, but I will take this quest."

I responded to her while looking at her face.

"Sigh... fine, I'll handle the paperwork; just don't get yourself killed on the first day."

She said this as she pushed back into her seat with a wry smile, bringing out a stack of documents the size of a small mountain. It was the administrative side of adventure, a work as important as confronting the animals of the wild. Her pen skittered across the page as she diligently logged my information and laid down the parameters of the quest.

"Ten coppers for every kobold you kill, and their left ear as proof; standard procedure around here."

She stated that her tone was casual. It was a tempting reward for some adventurers, but I was in the fortunate position of not needing the extra income as I have brought enough coins from home to live comfortably for a while.

I shrugged as I recognized the paperwork and the promise of a reward.

"There isn't a deadline for finishing the quest, so take your time," she advised me, and I nodded in agreement.

'Edda, show me my stats.'

As I turned to leave the guild, I asked Edda for my stats, as it had been quite some time since I had seen my stats.

[Okay]

She replied as a bright screen flicked in front of me.

=====================

Name: Eden Morton

Experience Points (XP): 3,850

Gold Coins: 195

Health Points (HP): 100/100

[Status]

Mage path: origin level 1

Mana Points (MP): 90/100

Knight path: origin level 1

Strength: 85

Agility: 80

Defense: 83

Endurance: 88]

[Hidden Status:

Luck: 9

Charm: 19

Charisma: 6 (locked)

Bloodline: partially locked

[Affinities: fire, water, wind, earth, space-time].

======================

A sense of accomplishment came over me as I looked at my now-better status. When I first arrived in this world, I was burdened with a body that had never seen a day of training. Eden, the poor kid whose body I'd taken over, had never bothered to develop his strength or skills. His drug habit had merely made his body weaker than a house of cards in a storm.

Nonetheless, I was standing here after a month of intense training and discipline. It seemed as if I'd gone through my own transformation sequence. The sweat, the aches, and the unending pursuit of being better had been unrelenting.

But how well had it paid off.

My stats, which had previously been terrible, were now a tribute to my tenacity. I had created a level playing field. I was no longer a sitting duck in this strange environment. I have the strength to protect myself and the ability to stand my ground against anyone on the same level.

My knight path was awakened the day before the awakening ceremony; however, I can't use Aura just yet because my body needs to reach at least origin level 2 before it can handle Aura strengthening.

Finally, my charm has improved by four points; I am becoming more and more attractive, though no one can see it because I am always wearing a mask.

[ Narrcastic].

'Shut up'.