“Gweh-ehk!!”
At the Kobold Lord’s cry, the kobolds around it all turned toward them and began rushing over at once.
“Everyone, spread out!!”
Rough and the knights scattered in an instant, just as they had been instructed.
Meanwhile, the Kobold Lord had already closed in on Jaar.
“Gwee-ehhhk!!”
The Kobold Lord swung a long bone that appeared to be some creature’s spine down at Jaar.
Jaar calmly raised his shield and blocked the blow.
Crackkk!!
The ground beneath Jaar’s feet split apart and sank inward.
“So this is all? It is more manageable than I expected.”
Jaar seemed to think it was worth trying.
Rough, on the other hand, was skeptical.
‘His HP...’
In contrast to Jaar’s composed reaction, a considerable amount of his HP had been shaved away.
Even though he had blocked the attack with his shield.
‘Then again, it would make no sense for someone to take that head-on and be completely fine. Numbers do not lie. I need to clear out the kobolds as quickly as possible and support him.’
Without hesitation, Rough hurled himself toward the kobolds.
Slashhh!!
“Gkeh-ehk!!”
With a single blow, two kobolds were cut cleanly at the waist.
The next kobold, seeing Rough leap toward it, reflexively swung its club.
Whoosh!
Its weapon swung uselessly through empty air.
Rough did not miss the opening. He drove his sword into the creature’s defenseless body.
“Grrk! Grrrk!”
The kobold pierced by the sword writhed in pain.
Rough mercilessly pulled out his blade, then rapidly surveyed the battlefield.
‘Whew. How are the others doing?’
His concern proved unnecessary.
The knights were holding their own remarkably well against the kobolds.
Even while facing three or four at once, their formation did not falter.
As Jaar’s carefully selected elite, every one of them was highly skilled.
That did not mean they could relax.
No matter how many they cut down, the empty spaces would soon be filled by other kobolds.
And human stamina was not limitless.
‘At this rate, they should be fine without me. Time to support Jaar.’
Having made his decision, Rough immediately ran toward the Kobold Lord.
The creature was so focused on Jaar that it failed to notice Rough’s approach.
“Heavy Blow!”
Clanggg!
‘...Huh? Clang? Not slash? Something is strange.’
Rough tilted his head.
It was not only the sound. The sensation in his hand was also distinctly different from when he cut through the other kobolds.
Then he checked the damage number that appeared before him, and his eyes widened.
‘133? I used the One-Shot, One-Kill title effect and a skill, yet it only dealt 133? Seriously?’
He had used a third of his MP to strike what could be considered a weak point: the Lord’s heel.
Yet it had lost only around 9% of its total HP.
‘The calculations here...’
“Watch out! Dodge!!”
Jaar’s urgent shout rang out.
Snapping back to attention, Rough turned his head.
The Lord’s weapon was falling toward him with terrifying force.
Whoooosh!!
Rough barely twisted his body aside and avoided the blow.
Feeling the violent gust of wind that followed, he swallowed hard.
‘A clean hit from that would definitely fail the quest in one shot. I need to stay sharp from now on!’
“Squeek, squeek!”
One change occurred in the Kobold Lord, which groaned with rage.
[Boss Monster, Kobold Lord’s HP has fallen below 60%.]
[Entering Phase 2.]
Its body became enveloped in an even deeper darkness than before.
Its already massive frame grew by roughly one and a half times.
Its appearance was not the only thing that became more grotesque.
Its stats underwent considerable changes as well.
[Kobold Lord’s Attack Power increases by 20%.]
[Kobold Lord’s Speed increases by 20%.]
[Kobold Lord’s Defense decreases by 20%.]
‘Its attack power and speed increased, but its defense fell in return? That is not bad.’
Rough was instead filled with confidence.
The problem was Jaar.
‘It would be troublesome if he lost his fighting spirit.’
But it was needless concern.
Contrary to Rough’s fears, Jaar’s momentum did not falter.
“I will draw its attention. In the meantime, attack it.”
Jaar tapped his shield twice with the pommel of his sword.
“Shield’s Resonance.”
Thoom—
Along with a dull vibration, a warm energy seeped through Rough’s entire body.
[Jaar has activated the skill, Shield’s Resonance.]
[Defense temporarily increases by 15%.]
[The caster, Jaar, draws the Kobold Lord’s attention.]
“Kwaaargh!!”
The Lord suddenly let out a monstrous roar and charged at Jaar.
Just as the system message said, all of its attention was focused on Jaar.
In other words, Jaar had drawn its aggro.
‘As expected of a Named NPC!’
Rough was impressed.
All that remained was to finish the creature before the skill’s duration ended.
But as he had felt before, his attack power was lacking.
That did not mean he had no options.
He had a way to increase it.
Rough immediately drew out a new weapon from his inventory.
It was the weapon Renof had given him when he had first arrived at the forward base.
[Iron Sword Lv. 1]
[Grade: Normal]
[Classification: Equipment Item]
[Durability: 1,500/1,500]
[Attack Power: 35]
[Description: An utterly ordinary iron sword issued to regular knights of Myel.]
Compared to the rusty iron sword he had obtained at the very start of the tutorial, its Attack Power was at least slightly higher.
It was better than nothing.
[Changing weapon.]
[Total Combat Power: 520 ⇒ 660]
And on top of that—
[Would you like to change your stats?]
Rough had his Personal Trait.
[The disparity between you and the Kobold Lord is considerable. The duration of your Personal Trait decreases.]
[Estimated duration: 5 seconds.]
‘Five seconds. I should save it for a more dramatic moment. I have two Heavy Blows left. I will finish it within those two attacks.’
Having completed his preparations, Rough bent his knees slightly before kicking off the ground with all his strength.
His body slid swiftly across the battlefield.
“Heavy Blow!”
Slashhh!!
Rough cut across the Kobold Lord’s back.
“Kwaaaagh!!”
The monster shook its head and screamed in pain.
Yet perhaps because of the skill’s effect, it ignored Rough and continued to stare only at Jaar.
‘That works for me.’
Just as Rough was about to attack the Kobold Lord again—
[Part of Shield’s Resonance’s effect has been released.]
[The Kobold Lord has noticed your presence.]
“...Huh?”
The Kobold Lord, having come to its senses, swung its weapon upward from below.
Clanggggggg!!
Sparks flew as the sound of metal rang out.
Rough was sent flying high into the air as though he were a spring.
[You have suffered critical damage.]
[HP has fallen below 30%.]
“Ugh, urgh...!”
Despite the red flashing alert, the pain reverberating through his entire body made it difficult for him to regain his senses.
‘Damn it, this is dangerous.’
Noticing Rough’s crisis, Jaar moved to support him.
But the Lord was one step faster.
Drawing back its weapon, the Lord brought it down on Jaar with all its might.
Perhaps because its Attack Power had increased by as much as 20% in Phase 2—
“Urgh...!”
Unlike when he had first blocked the creature’s attack, Jaar no longer looked at ease.
‘Now! This is the dramatic moment!’
Rough activated his Personal Trait, changing the stats of himself, the Kobold Lord, and Jaar all at once.
[Kobold Lord]
[Total Combat Power: 2,350 ⇒ 1,964]
[Jaar]
[Total Combat Power: 1,650 ⇒ 1,815]
[Rough]
[Total Combat Power: 660 ⇒ 812]
The combined Combat Power of Rough and Jaar had surpassed that of the Kobold Lord.
‘Huh? The force pushing down has weakened?’
Noticing the change, Jaar knocked away the Lord’s weapon as it tried to crush him.
“Kwa?”
The pushed-back Lord looked as though it could not understand what had happened.
At the moment it lost its balance and its posture collapsed—
Hummmmmm!
Blue energy gathered at the tip of Jaar’s sword.
“One Stroke, Two Halves .”
His sword swung from the upper right to the lower left.
It carved deeply through the Lord.
Rough answered in kind.
The weapon he had switched to.
The stats changed by his Personal Trait.
And finally, the acceleration from gravity as he fell through the air.
His final Heavy Blow, enhanced by all of it, struck the creature.
[Critical Hit!]
“Kwaaaaargh!!”
After allowing two powerful blows to land, the Kobold Lord scattered into gray ash with a groan.
‘That damn thing. It is finally down!’
At the same time—
[You have defeated the Boss Monster, Kobold Lord!]
[You have defeated a boss monster more than ten levels above you!]
[A remarkable achievement!]
[You have acquired the title, ‘David and Goliath’!]
[David and Goliath]
[A title awarded to users who hunt a boss monster with a level difference of ten or more.]
[Effect: Reduces penalties caused by level differences.]
[Jaar’s Affinity has greatly increased!]
[Clayp’s Affinity has greatly increased!]
[Renof’s Affinity has greatly increased!]
[Upon succeeding in the tutorial quest, the probability of obtaining an outstanding reward greatly increases!]
A flood of notifications filled Rough’s vision.
“Are you all right?”
Once he had checked them, Rough turned toward Jaar, who was breathing heavily.
After dusting himself off, Jaar gazed into empty space and murmured quietly.
“Father. I survived again this time.”
Meanwhile—
“Ki, kieee!!”
Having lost their leader, the remaining kobolds threw down even their weapons and fled for their lives.
At their retreat, Clayp, who had been commanding the knights from not far away, ran over with an elated expression.
“To think the two of you defeated the Kobold Lord! Amazing, truly amazing! The two of you ended this war. You have achieved a great feat that no one else could. You are the heroes of this battle!”
The other knights appeared to feel the same way.
After all, they had personally witnessed Rough and Jaar’s achievements.
They could not deny it even if they wanted to.
“Now that the kobolds are gone, there is no reason to remain here any longer.”
Clayp cleared his throat and issued his command in a dignified voice.
“Escort the heroes safely back to the forward base!”
“Yes, sir!!”
The fact that they had won the war against the kobolds made the soldiers’ steps far lighter.
***
The next morning.
The instant Jaar opened his eyes, he equipped the gear neatly arranged beside his pillow.
His movements were extremely disciplined, as though he had not experienced a bloody battle the day before.
Rough, who was sharing a tent with Jaar, clicked his tongue as he watched.
‘I am a player, so that is one thing—but he is practically a human NPC. Is he not tired? As expected of a Named NPC.’
Noticing Rough’s gaze, Jaar expressed his gratitude.
“Ah, I sincerely thank you for lending your strength in defeating the Kobold Lord. How is your body?”
“I do not think there is any major problem. What about you?”
“The same goes for me.”
“That is good to hear.”
Though they had met only the day before, perhaps because they had overcome hardship together, a strong bond had already formed between them.
“It seems everything here is finished now. What do you plan to do next?”
“My plans...”
Having finished arming himself with his greatsword, Jaar sat down on the bed.
“As a wandering mercenary, I will likely travel from place to place in search of work that pays.”
‘Oh-ho.’
A faint smile formed on Rough’s lips at Jaar’s answer.
After seeing Jaar’s performance the day before, Rough had made one decision.
He would make Jaar his companion, no matter what.
“Then I have a proposal.”
“A proposal? What sort of proposal?”
“How about joining me?”
Rough held out his hand toward Jaar.