Dante helplessly watched as Waya ran towards the Kobold that was pulling apart the improvised barricade. The wolf leapt into the air, aiming for the back of the Kobold’s neck. The Kobold whipped its tail at Waya as she approached, the tail struck her midair, knocking her off her trajectory. Causing her to crash into the floor, sliding into broken glass.

She immediately got back up and charged again, this time she avoided the Kobolds tail as it tried to strike her away. Waya climbed up its back and bit down the creature’s shoulder.

Her teeth clamped down hard, she vigorously shook her head using the whole weight of her body.

Even from the distance, Dante could hear the sounds of ripping and tearing. Teeth tore through flesh and muscles as Waya bit deeper into the creature's shoulder. Her violent shaking caused the Kobold to screech and hiss, it stopped its attempt at removing the barricade and took out the daggers it carried.

The kobold awkwardly reached behind itself, ineffectually swinging its daggers in an attempt to get rid of the wolf. Waya deftly dodged his attempts to stab at her, letting go of the kobold’s shoulder and scratching her claws down its back. She launched herself away from the kobold, landing deftly before positioning herself ready to attack again.

She had successfully gotten its attention this time. The furious kobold couldn’t continue with its plan until it took care of the wolf.

The Kobold turned around and stared down at Waya, black saliva leaked down its mouth as a disgusting grin spread across the kobold's face. The lizard-like creature clenched its daggers and made its way towards Waya.

The direwolf stood her ground, her hackles rising and vibrating as she released a deep rumbling growl. She was crouched, ready to attack or dodge at a moment's notice.

While this was happening, Dante saw the other enormous kobold run towards him. He had to be decisive, he slashed his Mana claws at his improvised ramp. Dragging them back and forth along the structure until the ramp collapsed to the floor. He then stood up and ran through a passage to the balcony, making his way to the first floor that overlooked the battle taking place below.

The large Kobold wasn’t deterred by the destroyed ramp, it clambered up to the next level of the church and made its way towards Dante.

Dante reached a cache of supplies he had set up earlier, improvised spears that he could throw, a sling with a collection of stones and a series of homemade explosives. He honestly wasn’t sure if the explosives would work, the explosives were compressed butane canisters that had an improvised incendiary trigger that he had jerry-rigged. He had no confidence, but they might work as an absolute last resort.

He saw the lumbering Kobold that had climbed onto the same floor as him, it was attempting to squeeze through a narrow passage that led to the balcony.

It started getting angry because it was too large to fit through. Despite that it pushed forwards, its muscles pressed against the walls. It wriggled and clawed at its surroundings, dragging itself inside the narrow passage. ‘I guess this one isn’t too smart’ Dante thought as he hefted a spear he had crafted a few days prior.

He wasn’t keen on crafting, but when he managed to attach kitchen knives to wooden poles, he was intrigued when he saw the bonus applied by the system. It then prompted him to craft several more, which he had saved up in order to establish a line of defence.

[ Spear (Common) - An improvised weapon using sharpened metal attached to a wooden pole.

Bonus: +25% accuracy when thrown. ]

The Kobold that had found itself stuck was becoming enraged at its predicament, it saw that Dante was arming himself and getting ready to throw the spear. The huge lizardman bellowed and started smashing the surrounding walls, breaking off chunks of stone. It thrashed around to make room, it desperately wanted to continue moving toward its target.

Dante aimed his spear, his hands slightly shaking as adrenaline was pumping through him. Excitement and fear balled up in his stomach.

He heaved the spear with all his might and watched it sail towards the raging Kobold. The spear pierced through the creature's stomach, it screeched in pain then started to thrash around even harder. Larger chunks of stone and masonry started to fall around it. ‘Shit, this thing is tough.’

Grabbing two more spears, he launched one then another before the first one even landed. The first spear struck a falling boulder, a loud clinking sound of metal striking stone. It ricocheted away, falling ineffectually to the ground below. The other spear slid through the large kobolds neck, nicking a carotid artery.

Vile black blood started to pump out from the Kobolds neck, the enraged Kobold didn’t seem to notice and continued smashing its surroundings. Dante baulked as he saw it had successfully escaped its confinement. It took a step out of the demolished passageway, its clawed hands and feet dug into the ground.

In its dying moments, it charged at Dante, who stood dumbfounded at this brute of a kobold that was hurtling toward him. With nowhere else to go, he readied himself for the creature's charge. He pointed his clawed hands out in front of him, ready to accept its last desperate attack head-on.

The Kobold crashed into Dante, knocking the breath out of him. He felt his bones rattle by the impact and coughed up some blood from an internal injury. They fell together in a heap, with the kobold landing on top. Dante could see his hand was now covered in putrid black blood. It was sticking through the kobold's chest and out the other side of its back.

[ Corrupted Kobold level 4 killed (2 of 18)]

[Gained 221 Combat experience]

[ Acquired: Spear mastery ]

[Spear mastery: Tier 1 - 1%]

[Hand to hand combat increased to 12%]

He tried heaving the huge Kobold off of him, but even with his strength, he had some difficulty. He turned his head to look over the edge of the balcony, he wanted to see how Waya was doing while fighting the Kobold.

What he saw worried him. Waya was harrying the creature, successfully keeping it occupied, but it was slowly cornering her. Pressing its advantage, the kobold slashed its crude knives back and forth, causing her to gradually lose more ground. Every time she tried to dash past the Kobold it would hiss and jump towards her, viciously trying to stab at her. ‘Damnit, I have to help her!’

****

Waya was starting to panic, she was being cornered and nothing she did could help her get past this persistent creature. She had managed to distract the Kobold for some time, she wondered where the hideless had run off to. ‘He hasn’t left me to fend for myself already?’

She growled and barked at the kobold, baring her teeth and making small sudden feints, trying her best to throw him off balance so she could gain the upper hand. The creature didn’t fall for any of her tricks, it just kept moving closer to her regardless. The Kobold constantly waved its blades back and forth, giving her no room to manoeuvre around.

Waya felt her tail bump up against the wall, her stomach clenched and she felt a sickening moment of fear. The Kobold had succeeded in cornering her.

With nowhere for Waya to go, the kobolds movements towards her slowed down. It had a satisfied and smug grin smeared across its face, it knew it had the upper hand and was able to take its time to enjoy this experience.

The kobold was not going to make any mistakes. It hissed a taunt at her, its lips peeled back revealing its teeth which were covered with black blood. The stained, razor-sharp teeth chattered together as the Kobold started mocking Waya with its disturbing laughter. The Kobold opened its mouth wide, screeching at her and trying to bait her to attack.

Waya was horrified, thinking these would be her last moments. ‘I shouldn’t have trusted that hideless! Where is Maikoh when I need him?!’

The Kobold launched itself toward Waya in a final attack, pointing its blades forward, its mouth wide open with glee. It swung its daggers, ready to plunge them into Waya.

A fleshy thump could be heard, the kobold suddenly froze its attack mid-stride. Waya flinched as she saw a spearhead shoot out of the Kobolds mouth, black blood dripped from the tip of the spear and landed on Waya’s muzzle.

The improvised spear was partially sticking out of the front of Kobold's face, the remaining length of the shaft was stuck out the back of its head.

The dying creature's hands relaxed, letting the daggers fall to the floor with a clatter. Then it slowly brought its hands towards its head, feeling how the spear had pierced through the back of its skull and out of its mouth. The previously smug kobold choked on its own blood, its eyes twitched before rolling to the back of its skull. The Kobold then fell to the floor in a heap.

Waya’s relief was palpable, she looked towards the hideless, giving a somewhat apologetic look for having doubted his motives. Thankful he was there when she needed him.

She didn’t have much time for respite before a third Kobold launched itself through the other window, creating another explosion of glass that showered the room. Then a fourth kobold launched through the already smashed open window, they both skidded and tumbled in the glass. They steadily started getting back to their feet.

She looked at the two enemies, noticing one of them wasn’t armed with any weapons. Seeing her new target, she growled and sprinted towards the unarmed Kobold.

****

A crude spear brushed past Dante’s face, slicing his left cheek and taking a chunk of his ear. He hissed and looked at the kobold that had just smashed its way through the window.

This kobold came prepared, carrying several throwing spears tucked under its arm. Dante ducked for cover behind the railings of the balcony, he heard the clatter of a spear striking the wall behind him. He grabbed one of his crafted spears that were made from a narrow pointed kitchen knife, that was bound between a split in the wooden shaft.

Mentally picturing where the Kobold was a moment ago, he stood up with his arm raised, ready to launch the spear. Facing the direction of where he expected the Kobold to be, nothing was there. The kobold was already charging towards Waya to help its companion.

Waya was brutally assaulting her target, unaware of the spear-wielding kobold charging towards her.

Dante saw that she was too preoccupied with her chewing on the face of the unfortunate unarmed Kobold, its blood spraying everywhere. She effectively used her weight to her advantage, shaking her head and tugging as her teeth bit deeper, her mouth was blackened with the creature’s corrupted blood.

Dante aimed the spear, his left hand pointing in the direction of the kobold as the right was held back, spear in position ready to be launched. He guessed where the Kobold would be based on its speed and direction of travel. With all his strength, he yelled while whipping his right arm forward, the spear shot forth towards the kobold.

The kobold that was running towards the wolf in an attempt to help its companion seemed to sense danger. The whistling sound of the spear approached the kobold, it tried dodging to the side but it was too late. An intense pain erupted in its back as it was impaled, the side of its ribs burned as the spear had pierced through its back and out of the kobold's chest.

The kobold squealed and blood sprayed out of its mouth. Its clawed hands tightly grabbed a hold of the spear from the front of its chest, it tried to pull the spear through its chest, the clawed hand slipped on its own slick black blood that dripped from the shaft of the spear.

The injured kobold persevered, it almost finished pulling the spear through. Each time it tugged at the spear, a wretched screeching sound left it. Dante was rapidly spinning a sling with a stone the size of an egg inside. He released the sling, it made a cracking whip sound as the stone shot forward and smashed into the pre-occupied Kobolds head. Its skull sank inwards and made a wet cracking sound.

The kobold had freed the spear from itself, dropping it to the floor, too stunned by Dante's last attack. It was too little too late for this creature. The kobold dropped to its knees, slowly bending forward until its head smacked the ground. Its body rolled to the side, as it released a long slow hiss.

[ Corrupted Kobold level 3 killed (3 of 18)]

[Gained 183 Combat experience]

[ Corrupted Kobold level 3 killed (4 of 18)]

[Gained 184 Combat experience]

Dante looked towards Waya, checking on her well being. She was wrapping up her fight with the Kobold, releasing her clamped jaws that were moments before biting into the Kobold’s jugular. She raised her head in his direction, he could see the fetid black blood dribbling from her mouth as she victoriously posed over the defeated opponent, one paw on its chest.

‘Show off!’ he thought, a small smile crept on his face. He had to admit he gained some measure of satisfaction working with the wolf. She acted as the vanguard while he picked off the other enemies from a distance.

He was satisfied that things were progressing fairly well, he had acquired sufficient additional combat experience to feel comfortable purchasing extra ascension points. Acting quickly and decisively he figured he would desperately be needing strength and speed to make it through the rest of this trial. Dante closed his eyes and envisioned increasing his attributes, he increased his Strength by 2 points and Agility by 1.

While there was a lull in the battle, he wanted to double-check his attributes, just in case he needed to make any last-minute adjustments with his remaining points.

‘Status...’

[ Name: Dante]

[Species: Human]

[ System Level: 2]

[Title’s: Reject of Earth, First Kill, Natural Born Killer, Tree Dweller]

[Mana: 5 / 5 (max)]

[Mana Mastery: 3] 1→ 3

[Strength: 4] 2 → 4

[Agility: 4] 3 → 4

[Intelligence: 4]

[Perception: 3]

[Vitality: 4 ]

[Constitution: 4]

[Total System Attributes: 26]

[Combat experience: 515]

[Ascension points: 4]

[Abilities: Mana claws - T1]

[Skills: Hand to hand combat - T1 - 12%, Spear Mastery - T1 - 1%]

[Production Skills: Crafting - T1 - 5%]

[100% bonus barehanded melee modifier]

His strength, the equivalent of someone who could lift/push/pull at least 400kg of dead weight. His speed increased, he could continuously run at a speed of greater than 40Km/h the equivalent of an Olympic sprinter at their peak. The vitality of someone who could recover 4 times faster and a body that can tolerate 20 times Earth’s gravity.

When he fought barehanded he was at least twice as effective. His combat effectiveness was nearing the absolute peak of what humans could achieve, his survivability was exceeding well beyond what the average human could tolerate.

He was starting to feel more confident in himself, the stimulation of his body growing stronger. His muscles expanding, his body started to develop into a toned muscular physique, that wasn’t grossly out of proportion.

The muscles were finely tuned, the fibres in them increased in toughness, the cells were more tightly packed. He didn’t need bulging muscles to achieve the same feats of strength a normal human would. It allowed him to maintain his flexibility, speed and quick reactions.

Feeling a sense of camaraderie, he looked towards Waya, giving her a thumbs up. He shouted down to her “We’ve got this Waya!”

Waya just tilted her head in confusion and then barked back, seemingly acknowledging his statement.

A cracking explosion detonated, a bright ball of flame launched into the church. Dante’s eyes shut tight, his face rippled as the explosion ripped through the church.

The doors had flown off their hinges, the barricade had been turned into projectiles of sharp wood that scattered in all directions, everything within the vicinity had pieces of wood protruding from it. The remaining stained glass windows were blown outwards, showering the exterior of the church with coloured glass.

Dante was knocked off his feet, several shards of wood piercing through different parts of his body. He had pieces of wood in his thigh, bicep and stomach. The largest pieces were several inch long stakes of wood. He was covered in small cuts and gashes.

He struggled for breath, making winded wheezing sounds as he crawled to the edge of the balcony, trying to check on his companion.

He could see that Waya was not much better off. She had been knocked back several feet, and she looked worse than he felt. Waya had also been impaled in numerous different places by the debris.

A group of kobolds began to run inside the church, they were screeching and hissing as they set up a perimeter, pointing spears outwards and scanning their surroundings.

The dust and smoke settled. The sound of small steps which were punctuated by a clanging staff striking the ground rang out in the church. The small Kobold leader stopped its stride, a malicious grin spread on its face as it looked towards Waya.

Dante’s trial notification was updated.

[Trial objective added: Kill The Kobold Leader]