“Well, looks like fate smiled on you,” Corvin sighed, pulling out every healing potion he had, eight in total, and a handful of apples.
He knelt by the beast’s head and began pouring potion after potion into its mouth, massaging its throat to force it to swallow.
[Deepriver Water Buffalo Lv. 87] [HP: 54 / 7,696] [MP: 0 / 300]
At first, the buffalo resisted, but sensing Corvin’s intent, it gave in. The wounds began to close, slowly, barely, but enough to stop the bleeding. Then he poured one over its open wounds, speeding up the external healing.
With the beast stable, Corvin sliced the apples and fed them piece by piece. The buffalo chewed weakly, vitality creeping back into its broken body.
Corvin sat in the mud, water lapping at his legs, watching over the creature while Nera feasted on lizardman remains behind him.
Half an hour later, the buffalo finally rose, towering above Corvin.
[Deepriver Water Buffalo Lv. 87] [HP: 2904 / 7,696] [MP: 30 / 300]
It bowed low, bellowing as blue light radiated from its body, washing over Corvin before the beast turned and wobbled westward.
*** Emergency Quest Completed: Help the dying beast! ***
[+5 Stat Points]
*** Skill Unlocked: Aqua Barrier Lv. 1 (Active) ***
Creates a barrier of compressed water around the user. The barrier’s strength is proportional to the user’s Magicka stat times ten
Duration: Until deactivated
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Mana Cost: 50 + 3 Mana per second
Requirement: 20 Intelligence
Then he checked a notification from a prior fight.
[The First User title bonus effect activated!]
[Item received: Scaly Boots (Uncommon)]
Effect: +15% movement speed in wet terrain
Set Bonus: (1/4)
“A new pair of boots? Man, I’ve had these old ones for three years, had to patch them myself every other week. Thank you, system! I’ll treasure these babies.”
He pulled out the dark brown boots, grinning widely. I’ll put you on once we’re out of this mud. He stored them and checked his new skill.
“This is amazing. That barrier actually blocked those spikes earlier. Worth every potion and apple. Shame I’ve got nothing left for us.” He sighed. “Looks like I need to invest in Intelligence if I want to use this… Great. I need to invest in everything at this point. Fuck me.”
He dumped four stat points into Intelligence and four into Magicka.
Okay, I’ll need to keep First User active during fights, at least during the day; this bonus is insane.
“Nera! Good job, girl.” He knelt, petting her blood-streaked head. “But let’s wash you off, shall we? You messy girl.”
He splashed water over her, scrubbing away gore as she hissed in protest, but eventually allowed it.
“Alright, done. This went better than expected.”
Then his ears twitched. And he activated Echolocation; a pack of Mossy Alligators was swimming toward their location.
“Well, seems the blood called some company to join us,” Corvin smirked. “Let’s run. Leave the corpses, they’ll cover up the scene.”
He led Nera away, erasing their tracks as the swamp swallowed the gory scene behind them.
***
They returned to the riverbank beneath a towering cliff where they had carved out their temporary shelter.
Corvin had dug a narrow hollow into the cliff face, just large enough for him and Nera to squeeze inside, and camouflaged it with branches, moss, and stones. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close enough to the lizardmen’s territory to keep watch while hidden well enough to feel safe.
He sat down and opened his inventory:
[Steel Tribal Spear x4 (Uncommon)]
Spears used by soldiers of the Riverflow Lizardmen tribe.
Effect: +5 Agility when wielded.
“Eh… at least I’ve got more spears to throw,” he muttered. “Still, the best one I own is that hobgoblin’s spear from the cave ambush.”
His thoughts darkened. Almost every monster I’ve killed… it was through ambushes or traps.
A sigh escaped him as shame crept in, his father’s words echoing in his mind:
‘A warrior’s greatest pride, Corvin, is not just to win, but to win by overwhelming force, even when outnumbered. To show the world the power of righteousness and light.’
Corvin spat into the mud. Guess I’m still an embarrassment, Father. I fight like a coward, like a demon with tricks and deceit. But you know what? I’m alive.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“So… who’s the coward now, Father?!” Corvin roared suddenly, his voice cracking. Nera whipped around, alarmed, slithering into the hollow to find him trembling and shouting like a madman.
She hissed softly and coiled around him, resting her head above his.
“Sorry, girl,” he whispered, hugging her tightly. “Your father made you worry. I’ll try to be better than he ever was… okay?”
A single tear slid down his cheek as they stayed like that for a long moment. Finally, he let go, forcing a smile.
“Forgive me. Let’s… check out those boots, shall we?”
He pulled out the new boots. Made of reptilian hide, they looked tacky, but when he slipped them on, they shimmered and molded perfectly to his legs.
Nera stared at the boots, then at her own scales, and hissed angrily, whipping him with her tail.
“Hey, calm down! It’s not like I made them myself!” Corvin laughed nervously, dodging her strikes. “They’re ugly, sure, but they’ll make me stronger!”
He jumped around her swipes, throwing excuses like spears.
“So what if they’re ugly? Do you know how much I’d pay for decent boots outside?”
Finally, he tossed her a lizardman’s arm to distract her. She swallowed it whole, and Corvin chuckled.
“We’re living like savages, daughter, savages!” he declared dramatically, pointing at her as she gulped down the limb, then burst into laughter.
I’m losing my mind… feeding a snake body parts. Holy shit, Corvin. He thought to himself, not sure if he could ever return to his old self.
Looking at it now, he truly liked his old bookwormish self. “He was an honest kid, that Corvin, you know, Nera. I am not sure if he’d approve of this Corvin.” He sighed, taking out an already prepared skewer of venison, and started chewing.
***
Over the next few days, Corvin and Nera returned to their hilltop vantage point, monitoring the tribe. The tension was palpable now; the two hunting parties had yet to return, and the blue-scaled leader was growing restless.
Finally, on the third day, the leader left the tribe himself, following the tracks of the four yellows. He found scattered remains and the deep grooves of alligator tracks. One of the beasts was still there and lunged at him, but the leader dispatched it with brutal efficiency, hauling its carcass back to the tribe.
“Damn… he’s strong,” Corvin muttered, eyes narrowing as he watched the lizardman drag the massive body. “Uses a greatsword, too. I could use a blade like that.”
The weapon gleamed, a steel monstrosity adorned with bone along the hilt.
The blue leader returned, shrieking commands in a guttural tongue before tossing the slain alligator to his tribe for food.
Three more days passed before another hunting party left, this time, the largest yet: four greens and six yellows, leaving only a handful of fighters behind with the leader.
“He’s learning,” Corvin mused. “Almost all the strongest are gone. Greens are in their thirties, yellows around sixty… and he’s still the strongest. Perfect.”
Corvin’s plan crystallized: deal with this group, then strike the blue leader.
He and Nera shadowed the hunting party, moving with even greater caution as the lizardmen ventured deep into one of the largest swamps in the region. Corvin’s stomach tightened.
What are these fools doing? That big alligator lives here… weaker than the croc, but still insane.
To his surprise, the lizardmen began building a trap. They dug pits in the mud, driving sharpened stakes into them. Others filled holes with water and sprinkled green powder.
Poison… clever little lizards, Corvin thought, eyes straining from the distance.
Suddenly, a chime:
*** Skill Unlocked: Enhanced Vision Lv. 1 ***
Improves visual acuity and range.
“Oh, nice,” Corvin whispered, blinking as the scene sharpened. The system adapts to everything… just what are you? Guess you won’t talk until I finish this damn tutorial.
He continued watching, now comfortably zoomed in. The greens climbed trees, bows ready, while all but one yellow melted into the mud, their scales blending perfectly with the swamp.
Twenty minutes later, chaos erupted. A yellow came sprinting back, one arm mangled beyond recognition. Behind him surged six alligators, maws snapping, ripples spreading across the water as they closed in.
They’re using some kind of skill, Corvin realized, heart pounding. Provoking level 100 beasts in their own territory… these lizardmen are insane.
“Oh, wait, it’s my fault!” Corvin chuckled, realization dawning. “They came for revenge. Ahaha… fools!” He snickered as Nera shook her head in disapproval.
“Oh, you judge me, huh? And yet you enjoyed their bodies.” He squinted at her, grinning.
Back in the swamp, chaos erupted. The wounded yellow lizardman stumbled beyond the first trap, sinking slowly into the mud. The alligators surged after him, then woosh, woosh, woosh! Three beasts crashed into spiked pits, shrieking as poison-coated stakes pierced their hides.
Their scales deflected most of the damage, but the venom was another story.
Unfortunately for the yellow, the remaining three bypassed the traps and tore him apart in seconds.
“Ouch…” Corvin winced, shivering at the brutality.
The other five yellows erupted from the mud in rage, summoning earthen spikes beneath the alligators. But the beasts were fast, unnaturally fast, sliding across the water like it was ice, dodging attacks and retaliating with jets of compressed water.
One jet sliced a lizardman clean in half. Another alligator tumbled into a pit of poisonous water.
The remaining two beasts went berserk, eyes glowing crimson as their bodies swelled to twice their size.
Then came the rain of arrows, the greens unleashed volleys from the treetops. The shafts clattered harmlessly against armored scales.
Seeing this, the greens switched tactics, hurling bombs that burst into clouds of green smoke. The alligators thrashed wildly, spinning and bellowing in agony.
Poison gas… clever, Corvin thought, impressed.
The yellows tied bandanas over their snouts and charged into the haze, stabbing with deadly precision. The beasts fought to their last breath, tails whipping like scythes. One lizardman was impaled, but in the end, the remaining three finished them off.
“Bravo! What a show.” Corvin grinned wickedly. “Now… time to steal your rewards. Time for the mole man and his partner Snakey to advance!” He laughed at his own bad joke, pulling out a bow and nocking an arrow.
“Let’s see how this works. Nera, get to your position, strike the ones on the ground, please.” He winked as the serpent slid off the hill, gliding into the swamp water like a shadow, heading straight for the battlefield.
Corvin used his improved vision to target one of the greens on the trees and fired an arrow.
Phew!
The arrow hit a tree.
He loosed another arrow. It missed the tree completely.
Fuck me. Okay… one more.
He fired again, focusing with everything he had. The arrow flew true this time, striking a green lizardman in the back. The creature screamed, tumbling from its perch and snapping its arm on impact.
The other three turned, scanning for the attacker, but saw nothing. Then three more arrows thudded into the mud near the yellow's feet. Another shot, another miss.
“Come on! One more!” Corvin growled through clenched teeth. His next arrow hit, burying itself in a lizardman’s thigh and sending him crashing from the tree.
*** Skill Unlocked: Novice Archery Lv. 1 ***
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Corvin muttered, stowing the bow and drawing a spear.
“Spear Throw!” he roared, hurling it with all his strength. The weapon tore through a lizardman and pinned him to the tree, venom coursing through his veins as he shrieked in agony.
The last green leapt from the tree, only to be snatched mid-air by Nera, who had been waiting like a shadow in the water. Her coils crushed him in seconds.
And then there were three.
Corvin readied another spear when the ground trembled. Ripples spread across the swamp as something massive emerged from the depths.
[Snappmaw Alligator Lv. 200] [HP: 40,400 / 40,400] [MP: 1,000 / 1,500]
“Nera, back! NOW!” Corvin shouted.
The serpent released her victim and darted for safety, only to freeze as a strange force gripped her.
The alligator moved slowly, yet every step sent ripples through the water, pulling everything toward it like a living vortex. The remaining yellow lizardmen screamed as the current dragged them closer to death.
“No! Nera!” Corvin’s heart slammed against his ribs. “Goddammit, I’m coming!”
He activated Dash, exploding forward like an arrow as the swamp erupted into chaos.
Open the Spoiler for stats!
Skills Unlocked: Aqua Barrier Lv. 1, Enhanced Vision Lv. 1, Novice Archery Lv. 1
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