Going to Battle

As soon as the afternoon arrived, Theo prepared himself and equipped his staff, he still carried his rapier on his belt, so as soon as he ran out of MANA he would have a way to defend himself. Following his example, Copper held his spear closer to his body, he was on the back of one of the skeletons using it as a means of transportation. It would be a 1.5 km walk that he would have no problem doing, as he was used to long walks in his previous world. Theo didn't have money to buy a car, and he also worked far from his modest apartment.

He considered saving up to buy a used car, but he didn't have a chance, he was transported to the game early. Now he no longer thought about getting a car, but anything that would serve as transportation. It could be anything from a horse to a motorbike, anything that could move quickly on the uneven terrain of the forest. Even a mountain bike would work, so when he needed to go out for future battles or visit different locations. To trade with other players when the game was more advanced and cities already existed, he wouldn't need to walk.

While Theo was thinking about this, they had already gone almost halfway when he noticed a growl coming towards him. He stopped, warned Amethyst who was next to him and also the skeletons to prepare to fight.

Soon a lone kobold appeared, he held a makeshift spear like the one Theo had made for Copper. He ordered his skeletons to stop him and hold him back, but without hurting him, as that would be his first target. As soon as his skeletons attacked, the kobold let out a warning roar, or a call for help, Theo couldn't say, but he knew he must move quickly and end this enemy's life.

The skeletons approach and using their speed they manage to knock the kobold down and then pin him to the ground, with that done Theo wasted no time and aimed with his staff quickly releasing the spell.

"Stone Bullet"

His shot hit his back just below his head, breaking his spine and luckily piercing his heart. Visualizing the tab of his mission to make sure this method would work, he saw 1/20 marked. Confirming that if he killed with magic the method didn't matter, this calmed him down a little, knowing that he could take fewer risks in this attack if necessary. More roars could be heard in the distance, and this confirmed that the kobold was sending a warning to others who were nearby close.

Theo continued his way towards the village, killing two more kobolds on the way, they were collecting mushrooms for something, Theo didn't want to know what they were for at the moment. But he would research this later, once he had a better protected base and didn't have the threat of an imminent disaster soon. He also intended to learn more spells, perhaps by kidnapping a goblin wizard and forcing him to teach him.

A few minutes later they finally arrived in the village and the first thing Theo saw was the improvised wooden fence. On which many animal heads and even some that looked like human ones were hanging, it was obviously a sign and don't go near it that their skeletons were completely ignoring it. A few seconds after starting the attack, there were already three prisoners in front of him to be killed, in addition to many others already dead scattered across the village floor. Theo quickly killed them with a shot to the head or chest, his count was already at 6/20.

At the back of the village there was a cave where food, items, and also prisoners were kept who were happy to see Theo killing the kobolds. But they were soon horrified when he killed a man he spoke to for a few seconds. This man was a player who had not yet made a permanent shelter, as he did not want to stay in the center of the forest but rather in the outer regions. Unfortunately for him, he was caught by a kobold hunting party and brought here, he tried to bargain with Theo for his life, but he had nothing of value in his inventory.

When the man died, his quest count rose to 7, counting players as enemies as well. This was important information for him, another thing was seeing with his own eyes that a black box appeared at the place where the body was after it turned into dust. Taking the box, he discovered it to be the man's inventory which contained rocks, logs, some plants he collected in the forest, as well as a dagger.

Everything was placed in her inventory except the dagger given to Amethyst, as it matched her profession. After that, he addressed the other people in the next cell, two were clearly humans, a man, and a woman. One appeared to be a beastmen of the bear race, judging by its size and physique. And the final inhabitant of the cell was the one that surprised Theo the most, a girl who looked to be no more than 10 years old. But he knew that wasn't the case because of her race, she was an elf.

Theo asked them if they could understand him, only the elf girl said yes and with that he got a translator, as she could also speak the languages of the other prisoners. With that resolved, he began asking if any of them were a player. When he didn't get any affirmative answer, he sighed in relief. So the next questions were, where did they come from, if they lived on this continent and how long ago, he also asked if any of them could use magic.

The answers were a surprise, but not entirely because he already had his suspicions. They were native to this world and this continent, but they came from different parts of the continent. The human couple came from a village near a port city thousands of kilometers away, while the beastmen came from a tribe that had settled in the northernmost region of the continent. His official translator, the beautiful elf girl, was from right here in this forest, she had been exiled from her city for not wanting to obey the whims of a nobleman.

Theo saw an opportunity here to recruit new residents and workers for his future city, he had already made many plans in the moments when he lay there, unable to sleep. But to carry out most of these plans, he would need more labor who could carry out complex orders for construction, planting, and other things. This was the ideal chance to get people to work or even to be part of his future army. Passing his proposals on to the elf to translate, and he didn't have to wait long to get a positive response from all of them.