Chapter 13 - First Fight

The three kids hurried towards the sound. As they got closer, the sound of booming and iron clashing echoed through the forest.

Loki's concern intensified. He could already guess that multiple beings were fighting against each other. What if there were more enemies than they anticipated? However, it was already too late; he couldn't stop Leo from going.

Upon reaching the place, another scream traveled across the wind. They quickly hid behind trees while observing the situation. On the ground, two wolf-like creatures lay—bloodied. Not far from them were two humans. They were both dead, as the injuries they suffered were too severe for them to survive. One had his two arms bitten off by sharp fangs, and another had a massive hole in his chest.

Yet, this wasn't the most eye-catching. What truly garnered their attention was the man who was on the ground, begging a wolf-like creature that stood before him. The skinny wolf stood with its hind legs, had black fur, and reached almost triple Loki's size.

That must be a Kobold.

The Kobold had few injuries but was too shallow to kill it. It stared at the man, salivating. The butchering knife it was holding was huge, and the blood that soaked the entire blade made it more intimidating. One slash, and it would separate anything in half.

But the weirdest part Loki noticed was the number on top of its head. The Kobold had a number 3 on top of it.

Is it its Level?

"Please, spare me!" The man begged for his life.

Of course, the Kobold didn't say anything, or, to be more accurate, couldn't. However, what came out of its bloody maw was more terrifying. The Kobold produced a sound akin to laughing, as if mocking the man for his weakness.

What? Can the Kobold understand him? But that is impossible; I had never heard of something like that before.

Amidst Loki's contemplation, the kobold finally raised its butchering knife, intending to split the man in half.

Loki must react quickly; he had to stop Leo from acting before it was too late. He was sure Leo would jump in to save the Crawler. But when he turned to where Leo was, he saw him holding his mouth, as if he were…

Wait, this might be Leo's first time seeing a dead body, and a very gruesome one at that!

As Loki feared, Leo had vomited all the food he had eaten that morning. Loki's head swiftly swirled towards the Kobold, fearful of being found out. And it came true; the Kobold glared in their direction, growling in anger.

If this is the case, we should at least help the man so he can help us fight this abomination.

Loki leaped out from behind the tree and ran to the wolf. He unsheathed one of the daggers on his waist, readying himself to attack.

"Leo, get your act together! I thought you wanted to help? How can you help if you can't even help yourself?" Loki shouted as he ran. He had no clue how strong the Kobold was. But its large size was enough for him to know that he wouldn't be able to defeat it alone.

Like always, Loki jumped around his opponent, looking for an opportunity to attack. It was harder than usual, as he had no experience fighting in a forest. The terrain was different; he had to be mindful of where he stepped, for the ground had many obstacles that could trip him.

The Kobold howled and chased Loki.

Loki planned to pull the Kobold away from the injured Crawler and let Pandora take care of him. Therefore, he slowly moved into the distance. The situation was nerve-wracking. Even though the wolfman wasn't as fast as Instructor Gerald, the thought that he could die if he was hit subconsciously made his body stiff.

When the Kobold reached Loki, he stopped and evaded the slash that came to him. When the Kobold's blade struck the ground, dust exploded. The attack was strong, but he could dodge it. It seemed that evading made the Kobold mad as it let out a barrage of attacks. His body wasn't acting as usual; it was slower than it used to.

Regardless, Loki didn't forget his training. Every time he saw a window of opportunity, he would always take the chance. Unfortunately, Kobold's hide was tougher than he thought. He had been targeting its vitals, yet all he could do was inflict shallow wounds. He needed help; he wasn't confident enough to dodge every swing of the Kobold. If he got hit even a single time, he would definitely die.

"Leo! What are you waiting for?" Loki screamed in desperation.

"C-coming!" Leo responded.

Loki greeted his teeth and waited for his reinforcement to arrive.

"Shield bash!" Leo shouted and hit the Kobold with his charging shield.

The shield pushed the wolf away for a few steps and seemed stunned as it swayed left and right.

Is that one of his skills? Now that I think about it, I completely forget I have skills! This is Gerald's fault!

Leo stopped beside Loki and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I thought you would never come."

"Sorry about that," Leo scratched the back of his head.

"What about Pandora?"

Loki turned his head to where Pandora was, but he noticed that she was already beside the injured man. Her hands were on top of him, glowing green.

Is she using a skill?

Unfortunately, Loki had no time to observe her as the wolf finally regained its senses and stormed towards them.

"Leo," Loki said.

Leo nodded. "Okay, I got this."

The two kids rushed to face the Kobold. When they were close enough, the wolf raised its butchering knife and swung it downward.

Loki jumped to the side, intending to go behind the Kobold.

Leo, on the other hand, faced the attack. His shield glowed in white light; it seemed he was using another skill.

When the butchering knife landed on Leo's glowing shield, he surprisingly handled it well. He didn't even step back.

Seeing an opportunity, Leo used [Back Stab], and he successfully injured the wolf with it. It was his first time using his skill; thus, he experienced the feeling of drainage of his stamina for the first time.

So that will happen if I use a skill.

Loki moved away from the Kobold as it utilized its knife to slash behind it. He wanted to continuously use his [Back Stab], but other than it would greatly drain his stamina, it appeared it had some kind of cooldown, as it failed to activate a second time.

That was dangerous. We should have trained our skills first before entering a Dungeon. What if I'm using [Evading Blink] instead and don't know about the cooldown? I would have died then. I just didn't understand why that instructor had forbidden us to use our abilities.

Worrying about Leo, Loki screamed to inform him of what he found. "Leo! Be careful; our skills have cooldown, so use them sparingly!"

"Okay!"

The Kobold became enraged that it started to swing its weapon indiscriminately, cutting trees and destroying rocks.

That was fine for Loki. He already inflicted a Bleed on the Kobold. All they had to do was buy time and let the wolf weaken itself.

However, when the Kobold appeared exhausted, it turned its head to where Pandora was.

This is bad!

"Leo, stop the wolf; it is going to Pandora!" Loki shouted.

Leo didn't waste time and charged towards the Kobold. But it was too late. The wolf ran on four legs to Pandora, and its speed was faster than Loki's.

This is bad! I need to do something!

Loki ran with all his might, but it was futile. The wolf was just too fast.

"Pandora, watch out!" Loki and Leo screamed in desperation.

Pandora, who was usually timid, calmly raised her left hand to the storming kobold and used a skill.

The kobold tripped and landed on its face.

What happened?

Loki scanned the wolf, searching for the cause of its accident, and there on its right foot, he saw a root tangling it.

What? Where does that root come from?

Then he glanced at Pandora and realized.

Was that her skill? Then, it means she isn't a Priest!

"Loki, come on!" Leo shouted while running towards the Kobold.

Loki immediately tossed the thought into the back of his head and focused on the wolf.

The Kobold easily cut the root, but fortunately, Leo and Loki were already there.

Leo used his mace and bashed it onto the wolf's head, not letting the wolf regain its stance. But it failed as the kobold used its hand to block it.

Still, Loki was there to deliver a successful stab to the wolf's neck. However, it was too shallow to be fatal.

The kobold forcefully slashed its butchering knife at Leo. Leo wasn't as fast as Loki, so he had no time to dodge. All he could do was lower his stance and receive the blow. When the kobold's sideward attack landed, Leo's body flew away and hit the tree behind him.

Is his skill still in cooldown?

Loki momentarily turned his head to where Leo landed; however, that momentary was enough for the kobold to recover. When he returned his attention to the wolf, it was already standing before him. He wanted to jump away, but the wolf had already kicked him in the stomach, and like what happened to Leo, he also went flying and hit a tree.