Iris nodded and walked out of the tower, not looking back. They wanted to stop her but didn't dare leave the tower grounds. Only Sleagh continued to follow her.

“Iris?” Sleagh called out. Yet, Iris vanished from where she was standing. 

*Khheee* 

*Auuuu*

An inhuman screech resonated from the forest before he could understand how Iris had vanished into thin air.

“Hey! Come back. Monsters are coming.” The big man screamed from the roof of the tower. It happened so fast that he thought Sleagh wasn’t aware of the monsters. 

While the big man was urging Sleagh to come back, the twins were already standing beside their stele, waiting to close the tower gate.

“Don't engage in combat with the monster. It isn't skeletons.” The big man had a clear view of the approaching monsters from the tower’s top. 

“They have dog heads. They look strong. Come quick, hide inside the tower.” The big man warned.

Sleagh wasn't oblivious to the monsters' existence or frozen with terror. But the outward appearance took him by surprise.

He stared at the forest while holding his "Stone" spears. He didn't believe it when he saw those monsters hiding behind the trees. He needed to decide whether to follow Iris or hide in the tower.

At the same time that the big man was telling Sleagh to come back, the twins were telling the big man to come down from the tower and close the door.

The big man, like Sleagh, was hesitant. However, the growling became louder with each passing second.

No matter how worried he was about Sleagh, he couldn't risk his and the twins' lives on him. After all, he assumed Sleagh was too afraid to move.

The big man ran down the stairs and ran out of the door.

*Kheeeeee*

*Awooooo*

The monsters also emerged from the forest. Their head was covered with fur, a snout replaced the mouth, and they had dog ears and eyes. It was like a dog was imitating the action of a human.

‘What the hell is that?’ The big man, who was thinking of dragging Sleagh inside the tower, decided against it.

“Hey, come back,” he shouted. 

Seeing them before his eyes, Sleigh felt it would be wise to return to the tower. However, before he could turn back…

*Grrrrrr*

And the big door closed behind him.

‘At least I don’t need to decide.’ He sighed in his heart. 

He used to live at the orphanage. He had his fair share of trouble growing up. Although he had changed a lot, he had never expected anything from these unknown people.

Most of all, after spending years practising spear, he was not too worried about his ability. 

He wasn’t afraid of fighting something unknown. He feared it would be something he would have to kill.

*Auuuuuu*

He mumbled, "Kobold," as he looked at the monsters. They were at most five feet.

*Kheeee*

Like he was checking on his enemies, they were doing the same. Ten pairs of big, bead-like eyes were staring at him. 

All of a sudden, one of the brave ones howled and ran towards him with a bone dagger aimed at him.

They were small. Sleagh wasn't sure if it was bloodlust, but he felt intense pressure. He had a fleeting thought that it would have been better if he had run.

He wouldn't dare to question this reality anymore. His sweaty palm tightened on the spear shaft. His eyes tracked every movement of the fantasy creature.

As soon as the kobold entered the ten meters area around him, he felt all his pores open up. His senses sizzled. 

The feeling differed from the sensation of the other human. The intensity of the sensation caused him to twitch in agony.

Yet, he didn’t dare let go of his spear. Sleagh bit his lips and concentrated. He could even track the movement of Kobold's fur in the air, let alone that of the monster's muscles.

*Kreeee*

The spit came out of the monster’s mouth with a roar. Sleagh could detect it all. Because of the passive skill <Resonance>, his heightened sense made him feel that the monster's movement had slowed.  

He pulled back his spear and thrust it with all his might. The stone spearhead pierced his chest, almost spraying drops of blood on his face.

The bead-like eyes bulged up, staring at him with disbelief before the head fell off its weight.

 

[The first kill registered.]

[1 exp earned.]

[<Leach> activated.]

[Dexterity increased.]

 

A flurry of messages appeared in his mind, but he had no time to enjoy the fruit of his efforts.

The heavy, lifeless body was hanging from the shaft of the spear. The weight made it difficult to recover the spear with one hand.

*Awooooo*

The monsters sprinted toward him, unaware of his situation, as their howls echoed with others. They aimed the white bone daggers and the sharp wooden shafts at Sleagh and rushed in.

They soon entered the ten-meter zone surrounding him. His heightened senses could feel nine kobolds rushing towards him, yet he couldn’t do anything.

Even if it was a ‘Stone’ grade spear, the spearhead was made of Agate. It lacked lugs or wings at the spearhead's root to prevent it from going too deep into an enemy.

He held the dead kobold down with his feet and wrestled to pull the spear out of the body. However, it was all in vain.

<Resonance> reminded him that the nearest kobold was lunging at him with a wooden spear. Desperate, he let go of his spear and grabbed the bone dagger the dead kobold had dropped.

It was hard to stay calm with the sharp tip of the spear an inch away from his chest. Sleagh was no exception.

However, years of training and his instinct didn’t let him make any mistakes. And with the help of his passive skill, he escaped the attack with a single tear of his cloth. 

He didn’t stop. He moved in closer and slit the throat of the kobold, which was moving rather slowly. 

The sensation of the dagger slicing through flesh or grazing the neck bone wasn't enjoyable. Although Sleagh wasn’t faint-hearted, it still made him feel sick in his stomach.

Yet, he didn't have the luxury of feeling sorry for himself.

The kobold died without expressing its shock. As soon as it did, Sleagh snatched the sharpened stick from the monster's grasp.

He jumped back just to make enough distance between them before thrusting the sharpened stick through the eye of the one behind it. 

This time he controlled his thrust just enough to pull it out with one swift action. The dead body slumped in a pool of blood and grey matter.

A strong smell of blood surrounded the three lifeless bodies. But they have no intention of paying attention to them. With the bone dagger in one hand and the wooden spear in another, he jumped back just enough that only two to three kobolds were inside his skill range.

The nearest kobold threw a wooden spear at him, missing his cheek by an inch. Before it could draw the spear back, he hit its neck with his spear. It was unclear whether Sleagh used excessive force or whether the neck's fragility caused it to break at an odd angle.

Despite the monsters ' numerical advantage, Sleigh was firmly in charge of the battle.

Sleagh kept his distance, only closing in to strike before moving out of their strike zone.

Only when the bone dagger pierced the last kobold's belly and spilt its nasty gut did the entire surrounding area fall silent.

 

[<Leach> activated.]

[Constitution increased.] 

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