Chapter 9: Chapter 8: Let’s find some Kobolds!

<Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Holy Resistance Lv. 3] [Fire Resistance Lv. 3] [Earth Resistance Lv. 3] gained>

Hmm, hmph! La lalalalaaaa, over the~ Hmm, hmmm over this smell, this smells so good. A lalala. Rainbow, woooohooo…

It has been two days since the racoon hunt. I’m currently cooking the last piece of racoon meat. Alternating between strawberries and meat had meant my supply dwindled slower, but it also meant there was no reason to go hunt. If you’re full, why exert yourself? I now get why predators do this.

The difference between a starving predator and a full one was like night and day.

Like with how I forced myself to hunt that rabbit when my bush was empty. And now, with my filled food storage, there was no reason to hunt. However, once tomorrow hits, I need to hunt again.

… Damnit, after I spoke so high about showing up some gods. Ggrrrrrk! This can’t keep on going!

Thankfully, my work ethics did mean I wasn’t allowing myself to slack off, even if everything around me was relatively peaceful. After all, seeing that bird swoop on one my first few days still kinda drilled the fear of the unknown into me. Still gives me chills when I think about it.

But, practicing skills and training stats wouldn’t be enough. I needed levels, I needed an evolution boost. The sheer raw power gained when I went from Rank G to F was massive enough for me to become conceited. I gotta aim for that again.

Thank you very much, Mr. Racoon. Three days of a full belly, but you did make me wish for more racoon meat… Imagine wanting to eat a trash panda on Earth, urgh!

While the meat was grilling, I suddenly had a sense of nostalgia when I tried humming some songs. Cooking gets boring while waiting, so I tried my best to remember all the songs, melodies, and soundtracks I heard in my previous life. Fortunately, when it comes to music, I don’t think I would lose that easily outside from my parents and industry veterans. From the lyrics to the musical notes, I could remember how to play them in my mind.

The issue, however, was that I confirmed I did have holes in my memories. It was like a… fog, or, no, I think it’s better to describe it as a pitch-darkness where whatever you did, you just cannot see into it. It was mostly trivial memories, but it was sad that I couldn’t remember them.

Reincarnation isn’t always perfect, huh?

Unfortunately, I had some rather annoying memories. Memories I really wish I would have forgotten forever. With how vividly they appeared to torture me, it just felt annoying to the point I just ignored them.

Haaaaaaaa…

Thankfully, my memories of my parents — my happy memories — were intact. That was all that mattered. Remembering those memories I spent with them was comforting, warming me up even when the nightly sounds became eerie and scary… although when I tried to think of Mama and Papa, I always felt like something was missing. Something important like a— Nah, it was likely just stress.

In any case, speaking of stuff not related to my mental health, it would be my troubles with skill training. I’ve noticed recently that my development rate has slowed down in recent days. Most notably, my magic and resistances. After they reached level three, they suddenly stopped. Showing no signs of going up.

[Stealth], [Identify], [Cooking], and [Holy Magic] went above three just fine, so what’s up with the others? Kinda lame that this system isn’t willing to show a progression bar. Where’s my % symbol to make me all giddy as it’s about to reach 100? Surely, my level three skills will level up soon, right? At least, when I’m in a fight where [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood] will work, probably.

On the topic of fighting, I thought it over and decided it might be a good idea to start looking for kobolds.

Yeah, kobolds — those dog-faced children-looking fur monsters. I intended to fight a few of them.  Not really ‘cause I had a grudge for their species after those two attacked me, after all, they were dead. I just thought their species might be belligerent enough to attack anything they see.

I know, I know, stereotyping after only meeting two of their kind. Kinda ignorant of me, I know.  But what can I do when that was my first impression? Maybe I’ll find smarter or more able kobold fighters in their midst, and that is how it went from a consideration to an objective.

Even if they did disappoint me in the end, I could still use them as punching bags or experience fodder. At the end of the day, they were weapon-wielding, bipedal creatures. It might be a good chance to practice some fighting.

That was why, the moment I was done with this meal, I would go out and find a group or gathering of kobolds. It would be—

<Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 3] evolved into [Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 4]>

Huh?!

I swung my neck around, inspecting my surroundings after that sudden System notification. I suddenly felt something approaching me, but it seemed like it disappeared. No, even after I focused on [Enhanced Enemy Sense], all I could find were bugs and insects. I even checked if I was right.

Maybe I was being too paranoid? I haven’t seen a single beast or creature who could dodge my sensory skill like that. I mean, this whole area seemed like a pretty “beginner-friendly” area, if you ignored how I nearly died twice here.

Maybe I was being bit too fidgety?

In any case, I was surprised to learn that [Enhanced Enemy Sense] just broke into level four. Now I had five skills above level three, however, what exactly triggered it? Does level four require a large amount of proficiency or was there a requirement to unlock it?

… Shit. This won’t do.

No, I couldn't focus on anything but that sudden feeling of being watched. It probably was just my paranoia, but it was better to be safe about it. I snatched my meal from the fireplace, placed it in my storage, and killed the fire. I immediately made a run for it.

Better safe than sorry.

********************

<Experience has reached multiple breaking points. [Young Dragon *] has risen from [Level 4] to [Level 9]>

<Attributes have increased due to level up>

<Acquired 500 skill points>

<Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Holy Magic Lv. 6] [Evasion Lv. 3] [Mana Strike Lv. 3] [Enhanced Claws Lv. 3] [Enhanced Fang Lv. 2] [Cooking Lv. 5] [Dismantle Lv. 4] [Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 2] [Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 2] gained>

<Acquisition requirement fulfilled. [Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 1] acquired>

<Magic gained: [Light] [Holy Protection]>

Urrrgh… Almost dark again. Another day in this forest…

After taking the safe route and running the hell away from where my last camp was a few days ago, I made sure I wasn’t being followed by switching my spot every so often. That did mean I was deprived of enough sleep, but survival was more important than a bit of comfort. Besides, I couldn’t fall asleep if I felt unsafe.

A few days have passed ever since that day, but I honestly had already stopped counting the days at this point. Really, it just was depressing. Every day passes by and the more I longed to get back home, only to be brought back to reality by unsanitary conditions and the fact I felt fatigued every day. It was hard to stay positive.

And, what did I earn from all of this? The fact I couldn’t find a single kobold for my random as hell goal just to push myself forward for now.

Still, no need to fret for my stomach, since along the way I did hunt any rank F or G monsters I found. They served as great targets to train my skills on and made a good meal afterwards, but that was also all I did in these past days.

I hunted, made a meal, stored the meat and herbs, then went back to exploring. It rained a couple times and I also managed to find a medium-sized pond, allowing me to refill my water storage. I learned from a video once that you had to purify wild water by boiling it and catching the steam with some lid, so having access to fire and earth magic was pretty useful for that.

On the topic of fire, I suddenly had an epiphany after a few days of creating campfires. Wouldn’t it attract beasts if I kept grilling my meat? Well, kinda stupid of me to not figure it out sooner, but with everything going on around me, maybe I wasn’t in the right mind? I couldn’t exactly be called a veteran survivalist

Still, better to learn it now than later. Lucky me that nobody took advantage of my naivety yet. Thankfully, with fire and earth magic on hand, managing my campfires was easy enough. Cook the meat quickly, pack it into my storage, and then relocate as soon as possible. Eating meat in the morning was safer than during the night. Sleeping without a flame also reduced being detected, even if it meant being cold.

Learn and adapt. That was my life now.

Regardless, back to my kobold problem. I could not find a single kobold. This forest was huge, so I figured it would take some time, but now I had the feeling those kobolds I met before were the only ones around. No, there has\d to be more of them, right?

I was just thankful that I could train myself up to level nine in the meantime, otherwise this whole search would have been a big waste of time. I couldn’t even find any way to escape this place. Still no progress in escaping.

On another note, with how often I had to chase down my prey these days, I had gotten pretty good at running. I’ve gotten used to my body now, in addition to raising my Health above 100 and Mana over 400. It felt good seeing this progress. I finally was getting comfortable with my new set of limbs.

And, honestly, just in time as I’d just become a month old! Yeah, my profile informed me it had been a month since I reincarnated into this world. Surreal, seriously. It didn’t even feel like a month, but I guess that’s how it went.

It still felt like yesterday that I was singing “Bohemian Rhapsody” so loudly that my Papa bellowed a louder version of it just to make me stop. Imagine hearing “thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me” thundering behind your room door, while your volume was on max. That frightened me!

Haaaaa, going through my memories feels like watching TV… Although, it still feels like I’m forgetting something. Did I hit my head the other day?

Well, anyway, I had to look for food now. Kobolds could be nomadic so I might find them on the way. In the first place, that goal to find some kobold was arbitrary at best, and fueled with revenge at the worst. I was aiming to become an idol one day. I shouldn’t act like a thug.

Maybe it was time to just throw that idea out of the window and just focus on the prey around. There were a ton of monsters to target, and all of them will give me a good amount of experience with [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood] active.

<Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 4] evolved into [Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 5]>

Scheiße!

My body jerked forward, causing me to jump into a bush reflexively. I just thought I felt a presence or something. Even my [Enhanced Enemy Sense] got a level up from that. Maybe I could smell them out? I couldn’t see things clearly with the sky darkening.

<Acquisition requirement fulfilled. [Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 1] acquired>

Took you a while, nose. Hold on… wait, is that fire? The smell of meat?

There was a smokey, woody smell coming from my far right. There were a lot of things in this forest which caught my nose’s attention, but this was the first time I sensed a fire not made by me. Could this be a trap?

… But, if it was a fire, then that meant humans?! Right?! Or, somebody intelligent enough to create a fire in the middle of a forest!

I was still a bit wary of whatever that presence was. I honestly hated getting stalked, but what could I do when I couldn’t even find the perpetrator? It was infuriating, but I had to move away now. Maybe going towards the fire wasn’t the best idea, but curiosity and hope was getting the best of me.

If I didn’t follow this trail, I might regret it one day. The anticipation was telling me to go. A chance to leave this forest? It sounds so…

I gulped down my saliva and dashed through the forest, covering myself in earth and mud on the way. Unhygienic, but it helped cover my scent. I tested that on monsters. Now, all I could do was to wish for this opportunity to be a blessing.

Please.

********************

… I hate this place.

The smell of smoke and cooked meat led me to a small gathering of kobolds. From the looks of it, it seemed they were celebrating the catch of the rank F monster [Spike Horn Doe]. Grilled on a rotating stick over a flame like a lechon, the doe was emitting a powerful, but delicious, aroma.

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And this is why you don’t make a fire this deep in the forest.

Whether the universe or those gods were turning my situation into a joke, I managed to finally find a group of kobolds. Only that it happened once I made up my mind to give up on that goal.

Hmmm, they look like they are having fun.

Cheers and yells full of energy, laughs and crude singing accompanying the unsynchronized dances, and all of that around a campfire. Tough looking kobolds armed with wooden and stone weapons were in the middle of the party, surrounded by less equipped kobolds and a few small, child-like ones. I couldn’t tell the males from the females.

A few kobolds were sticking around the outer perimeter, acting like sentries. They looked focused, despite how much their clan mates were celebrating. Compared to the five hunters in the middle of the party, the sentries only had the strength of the two kobolds I met previously.

There were 15 of them, but only the hunters caught my eye. They had an addition to their profiles — a “Job” section. If I remembered correctly, the two kobolds I killed before also had a “Job” section, but their fields were “None.” On the other hand, these five had “Fighter” in theirs, and, what looked like the leader of the group, was an E rank kobold. He had evolved.

I was heavily outnumbered and while I was fully confident I could duel every single one of them, even the leader, I was reluctant to confront them all at once. Too risky and reckless. However, were I to take down a couple of them beforehand — let’s say through a sneak attack — the rest should be no problem

I rechecked all kobolds with [Identify], even the kids, if they had any mages amongst them, but I was clear on that front. Which meant if things got dicey, I could always escape with my spells. I had distractions and obstructions in my arsenal, not to mention my Agility. They had a few wooden spike traps around the camp, but could search for them before the attack.

I had an idea on how to take down all these kobolds… but the problem was I felt conscious of that decision.

I would rather join them…

I’ll be honest. I felt lonely. Freaking lonely like never before. I wanted to just charge into their camp and party with them. Have fun. Talk. Eat together. Just something that is not doing things by myself. This solitude sucked.

In some fantasy settings, kobolds worshiped dragons, right? Then again, in those stories, the kobolds were bipedal lizards while these were furry dog-headed children. This could be my only chance to get any friends in this world, so I had to consider my options. Test my luck or flee? There was also the option of killing them to get the levels for my next evolution, but seeing them celebrate this much, it kinda ruined my killing instincts.

Hmm, well, I think my dragon instinct wants me to atta—

<Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 5] evolved into [Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 6]>

Shit! Why?!

Cold sweat, once again! I thought I had gotten away from whatever was following me but, of course, it managed to keep up! I couldn’t see it. The sky was black and everything before me was so dark. I couldn’t see anything. I turned around and around, even focusing on my hearing to detect them, but nothing.

I could feel my heart racing. The night was full of terrors and the horror of the unknown was slowly clouding up my mind. Were they in the bushes? In the trees? Or were they hiding inside the ground?! I just wanted them to appear already. All this stalking around was making me frantic and I’d prefer it if that damn thing finally appeared already!

Come out! I’m not scared of you! Come ou— Woah?!

[Prediction] activated, causing me to reflexively jerk out of the way of a thrown stone in the last seconds. My head snapped towards the direction of the projectile, only for my eyes to widen at the kobolds gathering around the bush I was hiding in.

They had their weapons drawn and they looked not a bit pleased with my presence.

“Kruuuraaaaaahhhh!” The E rank kobold let out a warcry, energizing the sentries and hunters.

Shit… Shit! Shit! Shiiiiiit!

Name: *    Level: 9    Race: Young Dragon

Age: 1 Month

Status:    Health: 145/145(+25)   Mana: 465/465(+95)

Strength: 90 (+28)   Intelligence: 87 (+32)

Vitality: 54 (+16)   Wisdom: 63   (+21)

Agility: 120 (+34)   Stamina: 84/84  (+31)

Effects: None

Skill Points: 900 (+500)

Skill:  Magic skills and related:

[Mana Control Lv. 3] [Holy Magic Lv. 6] (+2) [Fire Magic Lv. 3]

[Earth Magic Lv. 3] [Space-Time Magic Lv. 2]

[Primal Magics]

Physical skills and related:

[Mana Strike Lv. 3] (+1) [Enhanced Claws Lv. 3] (+2)

[Enhanced Fangs Lv. 2] (+1)

Senses and movement skills:

[Stealth Lv. 5]

[Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 6] (+3) [Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 1] (New)

[Evasion Lv. 3] (+1)

Resistances:

[Physical Resistance Lv. 3] [Pain Resistance Lv. 3]

[Holy Resistance Lv. 3] (+2) [Fire Resistance Lv. 3] (+2)

[Earth Resistance Lv. 3] (+2) [Wind Resistance Lv. 1]

Stat growths and related:

[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 1]

[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 2] (+1)

[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 1] (New)

[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 2] (+1)

Others:

[Identify Lv. 4] [Cooking Lv. 5] (+1) [Dismantle Lv. 4] (+1)

Spell List: Holy spells:

[Minor Heal] [Cure] [Modest Heal] [Smite]

[Light] [Holy Protection]

Fire spells:

[Fire] [Firebolt] [Imbue Fire]

Earth spells:

[Earth Wall] [Rock Blast] [Earth Strike]

Space-Time Spells:

[Haste] [Storage Magic]

Other spells:

[Shine]

Titles:  [The Light] [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood] [Otherworldly Reincarnator]

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Author's Notes: Oh yeah, if one of you guys came from RR and used to read the story there. First, thank you, thank you so very much for all the support. If you had noticed, this chapter is a big departure from the previous one, yeah? Yeah, this chapter probably is the first major rewrite of the old Dragon Idol. Scribble Hub gets it first though, since Scribs are the new guys on the block, heheh.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading it!

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