"What's that thing?" Nox's gaze followed Thorian's, narrowing as he spotted the danger lurking in the shadows. As Nox took a step forward to investigate, Thorian's arm shot out, halting him.

"Stop. That creature is dangerous."

Thorian's eyes remained locked on the Thri-kreen emerging from the dark forest. Bathed in moonlight, the creature's immense, mantis-like body came into focus. Its green exoskeleton was adorned with brown markings, but what caught Thorian's attention was the absence of any purple streaks.

Good, it's not a Psion, Thorian thought with a sigh of relief. We can handle a warrior type without too much trouble.

The Thri-kreen clattered its mandibles, emitting a menacing hiss as it readied itself for battle. Its powerful thighs tensed, reminiscent of a tightly coiled Roman slingshot.

Seeing the creature poised to attack, a brown kobold bravely stepped forward, intent on blocking the oncoming assault. Thorian had no time to react before the Thri-kreen sprang into action.

Swish!

With agility rivaling even Nox's, the colossal mantis charged at the brown kobold. In response, the defender raised his guard and fortified his forearms with his rocky armor skill.

The Thri-kreen leaped into the air, its silhouette framed by the luminous moon. Its razor-sharp claws gleamed silver as it descended upon the kobold. Bracing for impact, the defender ensured his rocky arms covered his vital organs. Alas, the creature's claws proved too sharp.

Shring!

With a resounding crash, the Thri-kreen's gleaming claws tore through the kobold's rocky armor, sinking into flesh beneath. Just as it seemed the kobold would lose his arms, a shadowy figure darted in from the side, delivering a powerful kick that sent the creature reeling.

Thorian, having prepared his waterball spell, seized the opening provided by Nox. He unleashed his attack on the Thri-kreen before it could regain its footing.

A tremendous splash followed as the gargantuan mantis was hurled backward, creating an opening for another strike. Nox pounced on the opportunity, slamming his axe into the falling behemoth and shattering one of its colossal claws.

As Nox noticed Thorian advancing beside him, he activated his shadow skill and enveloped the wounded Thri-kreen in a cloak of darkness. Thorian closed in, his hand ablaze with fiery red energy.

Combustion Touch.

Thorian's inferno enveloped the Thri-kreen, immersing it in a hellish blaze. After a final, feeble struggle, the colossal mantis succumbed to the flames.

As Nox's shadows receded, the Thri-kreen's charred remains collapsed into a heap. All that lingered were Thorian's searing flames and the remnants of steam from the earlier waterball.

"Brother, are you okay?"

Thorian looked over to see the brown kobold attending to his injured sibling. Blood stained the wounded kobold's brown fur a deep crimson, and Thorian caught a glimpse of white bone through the torn flesh.

"I'm okay," the injured kobold gasped through the pain. "That bastard cut through my armor like it was nothing."

"Priests, come out and help!" Thorian called beyond the gate before he and Nox approached the injured kobold.

Visibly concerned, Nox hurried to his wounded friend and asked, "Are you okay? Is it just a flesh wound?"

"Thank you, Nox," the brown kobold managed a pained smile. "If you hadn't helped me, I'd have lost both my arms."

"Still..." Nox gazed down at his friend with sadness as a kobloid priest hurried to the scene.

"Healing," the white kobloid invoked his spell, and golden light emanated from his hand, tenderly enveloping the brown kobold's wound. Gradually, flesh mended, concealing the exposed bone, while veins reconnected, and the skin fully healed.

"Huh, much better," the brown kobold flexed his forearm, rotating it left and right to ensure its proper function. He looked at the kobloid priest with gratitude. "Thank you, you saved me."

"That skill is truly a miracle," the other brown kobold remarked with an impressed whistle. He glanced at his healed brother and teased, "You would have become a cripple without it."

"I would still have had my other arm," the healed kobold retorted playfully. "I'd have no problem beating you up with just one."

The concerned brother shook his head and clicked his tongue. "You're still in the mood to talk smack after almost losing your arm."

As the brown kobolds bantered and laughed with Nox, the once-injured kobold's expression turned thoughtful. "But how did that bastard break through my rocky armor? Are its claws just that sharp?"

"That's its skill," Thorian explained. "That giant mantis is called a Thri-kreen warrior. One of its abilities is armor breaking, which is why it could easily slash through your skill."

The two brown kobolds stared at Thorian, their mouths agape, before casting their gazes downward. "That is a concerning thought. To think that there are skills that can just ignore our armor so easily."

"That depends on the strength of your armor," Thorian countered. "If it were much stronger, the Thri-kreen wouldn't have been able to break through."

The brown kobold looked up at Thorian with a raised eyebrow before bursting into hearty laughter. "So you're saying we just need to become stronger, and we won't have to worry about it. I like that."

"That's the one rule of this world," Thorian shrugged before changing subjects. "Anyway, now that you're healed, we need to move."

He turned to Nox and said, "We'll patrol along the village wall. You'll cover the east side, and I'll take the west." Shifting his focus to the two brown kobolds, Thorian continued outlining his plan. "You two will keep watch from the watchtower at this gate. If you spot monsters approaching, engage them if you think you can defeat them, but stay inside if you can't. It doesn't matter if the wall is breached; your lives are more important."

The two kobolds took a moment to process the orders before nodding, while Nox gazed at Thorian with a hint of sadness. "So we're not going to fight together?"

Caught off guard by the unexpected response, Thorian's mouth hung open for a few seconds before he chuckled. "It's just until the assassins and the brown army return. After that, we'll fight together."Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Nox reluctantly nodded and then turned his attention to the two brown kobolds. "See you in a bit, you two."

"Don't die," the brown kobold replied.

With a light chuckle, Nox and Thorian sprang up onto the wall. They then sprinted along the ledge, each heading in a different direction.

While patrolling the village, Thorian encountered goblins, chaskas, Thumpalopes, and Rabarians. Fortunately, he didn't come across any group too large or powerful for him to handle. Employing his fireball and waterball spells, he bombarded his foes with ranged attacks before closing in and finishing the job with his Combustion Touch.

It took forty minutes for the group that had ventured to the village hall to return to the southern gate. During that time, Thorian successfully leveled up both his magus class and his flame kobold species.

Display Panel

Ding

Status Panel

Race

Flame Kobold

Level

/30 (exp: 13/700)

Class

Magus

Level

/20 (exp: 383/490)

Lifespan

years

Cultivation realm

Qi Gathering Second Stage (5.3%)

Stats

Strength

Agility

Constitution

Mana

Qi

Free Points

Skills

Minor Fire Affinity (Passive)

Flame resistance (Passive)

Fireball (Active)

Combustion Touch (Active)

Waterball (active)