Alex quickly pulled up the notifications waiting for him.
You have slain Kobold Warrior (Level 5)
Experience and SP gained
That must be the first one I killed, when it stuck its head inside the house, he thought.
You have slain Kobold Warrior (Level 6)
Experience and SP gained
You have slain Kobold Support (Level 4)
Experience and SP gained
Congratulations, you’ve reached level 5!
+6 free stats points gained
YES! Level 5! Alex cheered, pumping his fist into the air, but quickly realized what he had done; he brought it down before the boss noticed him.
Congratulations on reaching level 5. You have unlocked a new skill. Please pick an available skill from the list below:
-Power Strike-
Hell yes, I’ve been hoping to get Power Strike. But I am curious why there is only one ability choice? Was it based on my previous actions, or on a list set in stone? He pondered as he reread the description before accepting it.
Power Strike
A basic warrior skill that empowers the user's next attack by 100%, doubling the power of the blow. This skill will work with any melee weapon, including hand-to-hand combat.
Consumes Stamina on use.
30-second cooldown.
That should be useful for surprising my enemies or for finishing them quickly. Alex thought, as he considered the ability. I am a bit worried about the stamina cost, though. I wish I could test it before the boss fight.
Congratulations, you have learned the skill Power Strike.
After selecting the ability, Alex opened his final notification.
Well done, Progenitor, you have successfully reached level 5, and obtained both of your System-given skills. As you are on the Progenitor’s Path, you will not be given any more for free. They must be earned through your Path or from class advancements.
What the hell does that mean? So I won’t get any more skills from leveling? That's some trash. How do I earn them though…? Hmmm... maybe like how I got the Earth Magic skill? Of course, no one answered his thoughts, while he attempted to work out precisely what it all meant.
Notifications finished, Alex pulled up his status sheet.
Alex Everett
Race: Progenitor
Level: 5
Profession: Progenitor’s Path
Class: Progenitor’s Path
Stats
Strength: 14
Agility: 14
Endurance: 9
Toughness: 11
Perception: 7
Wisdom: 9
Intelligence: 9
Willpower: 11
Free points: 6
Skills: Stealth, Earth Magic, Power Strike
Racial Abilities: Eyes of the Cosmos, Celestial Control
This time around, he wanted to assign his points a bit differently now that he had more skills and magic.
Having 6 points to use, Alex put 1 into Strength for melee damage, 1 into Wisdom for regeneration, 1 into Intelligence for mana capacity and damage, 1 into Endurance for stamina to use Power Strikes, and then his final 2 points he went all in on Willpower.
He had a feeling that willpower was important for his racial abilities and knew he would need it for the boss fight.
Stats
Strength: 14->15
Agility: 14
Endurance: 9->10
Toughness: 11
Perception: 7
Wisdom: 9->10
Intelligence: 9->10
Willpower: 11->13
Free points: 0
He glanced over his stats and accepted the changes. With no notifications left, he went back to his training. His life depended on the next few hours.
Alex dove back into his training and preparations for the fight. He had an idea to prepare some ammunition for his earth magic. This would save him time and mana during the fight. If he could simply lift something he had created before, rather than create something new, it would drastically improve his chances.
So he produced several objects of two different varieties. He compressed them as much as he could, making them harder and usually smaller. All his creations were small, so he could fit them into his pants pockets or leave some on the ground outside his cage. The Kobold wouldn’t know what he was doing, hopefully.
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First, he created about fifteen small spikes. After he compressed them as much as he could, they were about the size of his pinky finger, with a sharp tip. Every few spikes, he needed to rest and wait for his mana to recover.
Next, he moved on to small stone balls, about the size of a golf ball, compressed into marbles. He knew these probably wouldn't even penetrate the boss's scales, but he could use them as distractions to hurt the boss, or even try for its eyes.
Shit, if I get really desperate, I can Home Alone it, with some marbles on the floor. Alex chuckled inwardly, with a smile on his face as he thought about the Kobold boss slipping on some marbles.
The marbles took him several hours to complete. He had to take many breaks. Compressing the stone to make it denser and harder took a lot out of him. When he finished, he had around fifty of them.
At this point, he didn’t know what else to do, and he knew he needed some sleep before the fight. So Alex did, just that. He slept. His cage was too small to lie down, so he had to sit, leaning against the corner. But after his day of fighting through a dungeon with a sword, in a place of magic and new creatures, sleep came easily for him.
Alex felt refreshed when he woke up. He had no idea how long he’d been asleep, but whether it had been 2 hours or 12, he felt great.
The boss was gone; he didn’t see her anywhere in the cavern he was in.
Is it a her? I have no idea, honestly, maybe I should ask next time the boss is around… That should turn out well. “Hey, which pronouns do you prefer?” And then I get blasted with an earth spike. He laughed aloud, about the nonsense he was thinking of right now, while locked inside a cage, that is inside a dungeon, that’s inside a tutorial, inside somewhere that’s probably not on Earth.
This entire day is just ridiculous. Unbelievably so. I’m still waiting to wake up and find out this is all a dream.
I’m basically one of those Russian dolls that have more inside themselves. Or a green swamp ogre? Yeah, that's it. I’m an onion because I have layers.
He examined the room around him again after finishing his childlike moment.
No boss in the room, and no other kobolds. He considered, looking around for more details.
Two doors leading into here. The bigger one near the front, which might be the entrance I came through, and then there is a smaller exit near the back, behind the throne. Either the boss is back there, or that might be the exit from this dungeon.
I’ve also lost my backpack, which really sucks, but not much I can do about it. If there’s a chance I can escape, I need to take it. I can’t risk going back to find my bag.
Having made his decision, Alex got ready.
After all the practice I did yesterday, it should be easy to get out. I’ll break the cage and run for that back exit, hoping the boss isn’t back there.
Focusing on the stone bars using his Eyes of the Cosmos ability, he started to use his Celestial Control ability to manipulate them, combined with his Earth Magic skill. Using both the skill and ability in combination made the earth mana inside the stone, like putty in one's hands.
Slowly, Alex created an opening in the back of the cage, wide enough for him to slip through. He checked his pockets to make sure he had all the marbles and spikes he'd made. With his pockets already full, he left half the marbles behind outside the cage. These would be easy ammunition for him to manipulate or use as projectiles. These were already saturated with his mana and compressed to be stronger and more durable.
Outside the cage, Alex immediately activated his stealth skill and walked towards the throne; he wanted to inspect it before going through the exit at the back. Everyone knew bad guys always hid their loot behind or under their thrones.
Once near the throne, Alex stopped to admire it. The stone on it was incredibly intricate and well-designed. It was beyond what he could create using earth magic. The amount of detail in it was extraordinary.
He didn’t find anything else near or around the throne. Even using his Eyes of the Cosmos, he couldn’t find anything special. No hidden compartments, levers, or anything magical.
Disappointed, he moved towards the back tunnel. A few feet away, he felt a large surge of earth mana.
He ramped up his Eyes, following the mana flow, and found the boss behind him, near the wide tunnel entrance. The mana it used rose to form a thick stone wall, covering the back tunnel behind the throne. The one he was trying to go through.
His exit.
The boss had trapped Alex. His only option was to leave through the large front entrance where the boss stood, or fight and remove the wall in back.
He felt, given enough time, he could remove the wall. But the boss wasn’t going to let him sit here for a few minutes while he did. Directly after the wall rose, Zhiva had channeled another spell and summoned a large earth spike, which now flew at Alex.
Unarmed and outmatched, he did the only thing he could. Puckered up his cheeks and dodge rolled like he was playing a Souls-like game.
“HEY!” He yelled out. “That's not fair!” As he dodged the next two spikes.
“I’m unarmed. The Great Serpent said we had to fight. The Great Serpent would want me to have my sword so it's more equal.” He said to Zhiva, hoping he could convince the boss to give him his weapon.
Zhiva let out a hiss, one clearly made in anger. “Yyouu ddo nottt ssspeak forrr the great ssserpent!” The Kobold yelled out. “Do nottt thhink I donttt kknowww whatt yourr ddoingg. Butt ittt mattersss nott. Takke yourrr itemsss andd letsss be donee wittth thisss farccce.”
Zhiva let out a loud bark or growl and turned back towards the tunnel they had come from.
Seconds passed as another Kobold walked into the cavern carrying his sword and bag.
My sword! They even have my bag. Alex thought, as the kobold handed the things to the boss. As soon as the boss had them in hand, they threw them towards Alex. The items landed at his feet.
“Ccome humann. Let’sss beginn. “ Zhiva said, and quickly started to channel mana that surged into the air and the stone around them. Spikes of stone that were 2 feet long rose into the air, and came at Alex. More spikes followed.
When he saw Zhiva use earth mana, he immediately grabbed his sword and drew it from the sheath, but he didn’t have time to strap it on. Grabbing his bag, he launched it and his sheath towards the back exit, hoping to recover them on the way out.
Assuming he didn’t die here.
With the earth spikes soaring at him, attempting to pierce through him, he performed the timeless technique known as dodge rolling, again.
Mid-roll, Alex wondered, How long can the boss keep this going? Can I outlast their mana?
As soon as the spikes started spawning in the air, Alex began to analyze them with his abilities.
The spikes have too much raw mana and intent. The boss's willpower is formidable. I won’t be able to take control of them mid-flight. The best I could probably do is slightly knock their trajectory off course, but even that will drain me. The boss is just too strong. Alex quickly thought, trying to figure out his next move.
Let’s test one of my pre-made spikes.
After barely dodging the next spike launched at him, Alex took one from his pocket, wrapped it in his Celestial Control and Earth Mana, then launched it at the boss. The spike soared towards the kobold, much quicker than Alex anticipated. Judging by the wail of pain coming from it, it had a fair amount of power behind it, too.
I don’t know if it penetrated the boss’s scales, though. I can’t tell.
“HOWWW DARRRE YOUU! You thinkk yyourr earrthh magicsss arrre grreatter thann minee, humannn?! I will sssshow you tttrue powwerr of the earrth!” Zhiva snarled.
He stood there, taking a breather when the earth spikes stopped. All that dodge rolling was exhausting.
“Nahhhh, it's okay. You don’t have to do that. We can just agree you're better, and we’ll part ways as friends,” Alex replied in hope.
“Diee, youu sscale-lessss fffoolll,” the mage boss said as mana surged, diving into the ground between them.
“I’d rather not,” Alex replied, letting out a sigh because he knew this was going to hurt.
Rapidly, pieces of stone started rising or manifesting in the air, in all shapes and sizes. They floated all around him, waiting for the Kobold’s command.
While the earth rose, Alex sprinted forward, trying to get into range to use his sword. The stones continued to rise.
While running, he focused his abilities on the stone around him. He hoped to knock some of it off course when it flew towards him. Halfway to the boss, hell started to rain down. The earth assault began.
Large pieces, small pieces, rocks of all sizes and shapes came at him. Immediately, a large chunk hit him on the shoulder, causing him to stumble.
That's going to bruise, he thought. I couldn’t knock that away.
When many of the smaller pieces entered his range, he would redirect them slightly, changing the trajectory. It didn’t take a massive effort for him to shift the smaller ones. The Kobold didn’t have full control; there were simply too many stones in the air, and their willpower was spread thin among them. It made them weak, individually, to Alex’s skill.
He didn’t want to move them much, though. Just enough to avoid hitting him. He needed to conserve mana and keep it a secret from the boss. The Kobold still didn’t know he could do this.
Luckily for Alex, most of the stones weren't sharp. Several stones pelted him during his run through the gauntlet of floating rocks. They were bombarding him from all angles. One would hit him in the back, leg, chest, anywhere they could in rapid succession. He focused most of his ability on protecting his head and neck. His body felt battered and beaten, but none pierced his skin, so he kept moving forward.
Don’t stop. Keep going. This was the mantra he repeated inside his mind. He refused to quit moving forward.
A few feet away, he removed four of his compressed marbles from his pocket and threw them at the boss's face. Alex enhanced the throws with [Celestial Control] and [Earth Magic]. When the stone marbles left his hand, he pushed them hard with the skill and ability, speeding up their trajectory.
The marbles rocked the boss's head back, like a punching bag, causing it to lose focus. They didn’t penetrate its head or eyes, but were clearly very jarring. A gasp of pain escaped the Kobold's teeth-filled mouth, almost a groan. Zhiva shook their head in confusion and stumbled back a step.
The heavy impacts disoriented the mage.
Following up, he raised his sword high. He had just come into melee range. While the boss was stunned, he channeled mana into his [Earth Magic] skill, causing a large piece to manifest. He molded the stone, making it more liquid, and had it coat the backside of his sword.
All of this happened in an instant.
The stone hardened, drastically increasing the weight of his sword. He activated [Power Strike] and swung his sword down. The blade was much heavier and empowered by his skill. While the blade fell, he used his [Earth Magic] skill and [Celestial Control] ability to push it down faster and harder. This caused his blade to plummet like a meteor, in both power and speed.
