NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7: (1)
“Huh!”
Kaiyan scrambled to dodge the Gnoll as Max Pollan stepped in front of him, swinging his shield at the Gnoll, which was still charging.
Pfft!
“Wake up!” Kaiyan heard Max’s voice calling out to him.
The Gnoll rolled around on the ground a few times as the impact of the shield hit him.
“….Wow, attacking with a shield?” Kaiyan said, amazed by the display.
He had never met anyone who used a shield like that before. Shields were meant to block attacks, not to attack enemies, as far as he knew.
“Stop daydreaming,” Max snapped Kaiyan out of his reverie.
Kaiyan pushed down on the Gnoll still attached to his sword.
Pow!
The blade gently sliced through the Gnoll’s flesh.
When he finished the Gnoll and turned to Max, he saw him engaged in a fierce battle with the one remaining Gnoll. What struck Kaiyan about this scene was that Max was using his shield to attack the Gnoll, not just the first time, but again and again.
He wasn’t using any of the weapons in his hand, only his shield.
“Let me help you!” Kaiyan offered.
The one remaining Gnoll eventually met its demise after a one-sided beating from Kaiyan and Max.
“That shield… You’re quite good with a shield,” Kaiyan commented, not being able to hold back his admiration.
This was not an empty comment. He had only seen the Central Army from a distance, but he had never seen anyone use their shields better, at least in the outlying areas.
“Haha, I used to be a shieldman. I’m better with a shield than a sword,” Max revealed.
As it turns out, the soldier named Max is using a short sword.
Kaiyan remembered hearing that short swords were mostly used by shieldmen because they were lightweight in exchange for a small attack range.
“I’ll draw attention to myself, and you can attack when you see an opening. How does that sound?” Max suggested.
“Sounds good, as long as I don’t have to call you grandfather,” Kaiyan joked.
“No, I’m not at that age yet… I’d rather you call me uncle, or brother.”
“…Hyung?” Kaiyan asked, and Max’s face turned red in embarrassment.
“Hmph!”
Max exclaimed, embarrassed by his own words. The old man’s face turned red.
“Ah, yes,” Kaiyan replied and started hunting for other Gnolls.
While doing so, he realized that hunting monsters was much easier with shieldmen. Unlike when you’re fighting monsters alone, he could just wait for Uncle Max to get their attention and then unleash a powerful attack. The combination of attackers and shieldmen was quite effective.
“Krrr.”
Soon, another Gnoll was on its knees in front of them, much faster than the first.
“No time to rest! Let’s get moving!” Max urged Kaiyan.
“Hehe… okay,”
Working with Uncle Max was a natural fit for Kaiyan, to say the least.
Together, they swept through the Gnolls, goblins, and the occasional kobold on the outer battlefield, mowing down monsters as they came across them. It was a thrill Kaiyan had never experienced before, one they would take in a heartbeat.
Seeing monsters and not having to dodge them was especially satisfying. But Uncle Max knew when it was time to take a break.
“Hey…! Why don’t you take it easy for a bit and then move? Hehe….” Uncle Max chuckled, catching his breath.
“What, already?” Kaiyan asked, surprised.
“Haven’t you caught enough monsters to fill your pockets?” Uncle Max replied.
Kaiyan looked down at their pockets and realized they were getting pretty heavy. Together, they had caught at least 100 monsters.
“Haha… I don’t think I’ve ever been pushed to the limit of my physical strength… Aren’t you tired?” Uncle Max asked.
“I’m fine… Ah!” Kaiyan replied, feeling the rush of adrenaline still coursing through their veins.
.
Name: Kaiyan / Age:15 / Occupation: Player / Title: Unclaimed
Level:5 / Strength:11 / Agility:7 / Stamina:7 / Intelligence:9 / Free Points:4
Kaiyan pulled up his status window just to be safe, and there it was. In his frenzied hunt for monsters, he hadn’t realized he had leveled up twice already to restore his health and stamina. He wasn’t tired.
“Should I distribute my stats now, so I can catch monsters more easily… Or should I test it out and increase my agility or stamina at…?” Kaiyan pondered aloud.
Distributing stats was something that required a lot of thought. Right now, it was obviously better to increase Strength, but there was a catch.
“The problem is, raising other stats might be just as effective as Strength. If only I’d known that, I should have asked Rieka,” Kaiyan thought.
Stamina made sense to Kaiyan, but Agility and Intelligence didn’t. They didn’t know if Agility meant becoming more agile, or if Intelligence meant becoming more intelligent. It was frustrating that there was no further explanation of the abilities, so they had to post themself to find out.
“Just to be safe, let’s distribute 2 Strength, 1 agility, and 1 Stamina,” Kaiyan decided.
In the end, he allocated points to all stats except Intelligence. Kaiyan was a little disappointed that he didn’t invest all of his points in Strength, but it was important to know exactly what the stats did for future use. If other states were as effective as Strength, he would have to think about investing in them more evenly.
“I feel a little lighter,” Kaiyan said, stretching their arms and legs.
“Hey, let’s get moving. You’ve been resting too long,” Uncle Max said, patting Kaiyan on the back.
After a few moments of sitting and resting, Kaiyan’s Uncle Max is up and about. He knows better than to take a long break from the battlefield. As he scans the area for monsters, he spits.
“This time… well, I’m afraid there are four of them over there.”
“Hmm… I see.”
Kaiyan follows Uncle Max’s gaze to see four Gnolls hanging around. Three is still the number the two of them could safely handle, but four is still a challenge.
“Four Gnolls… can we do it?”
“Uncle, do you want to try?” Kaiyan speaks with unfounded confidence, perhaps because he had raised his stats. Uncle Max looks at him strangely, as if he were talking nonsense.
“What, you think we’re going to catch them?”
“Yes, sir, if you’ll just draw their attention. I’ll organize them as quickly as I can.”
“What kind of confidence is this? You’re going to take on two dogs at the same time by yourself? Are you crazy?”
“No…….”
“Come on, Kaiyan. Calm down and take a look at yourself. Going with the flow doesn’t suddenly increase your swordsmanship or make you stronger!”
“….Is that so?”
Kaiyan was confident thanks to his increased stats just a moment ago, but now that he has heard Max’s words, he realizes he went a little overboard. Maybe he can take out one of them right away with a surprise, but otherwise, objectively speaking, two is still too much.
“You’re right. Let me take a moment to…….”
Bing! [Quest arrives]
[Hunt 4 Gnolls in 3 minutes 0/4]
Just as Kaiyan is about to tell Uncle Max, the quest he has been waiting for arrives, but it says.
‘4 Gnolls… Rieka told me that quests are random, so complete them when they appear.
The problem is, Kaiyan has only three minutes to catch four Gnolls. He narrows his eyes and grabs Mr. Max’s arm next to him.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Uncle, I must be crazy. Please help me just once. I’ll call you Hyung from now on.”
Of course, those aren’t the only four Gnolls Kaiyan needs to capture for the quest. He can catch other Gnolls to make up the four. The problem is, thanks to the monster sweep with Uncle Max, those four Gnolls are the only ones that are close to them. If they give up on them now, they won’t be able to catch four Gnolls in three minutes.
“Come on, let’s go!”
Kaiyan has only three minutes. Time flies by as he lingers there. He is not sure if Uncle Max will follow him, but he doesn’t want to miss the chance to get stronger.
“Uh…? Hee, are we really going?”
Kaiyan runs toward the Gnolls, and a confused Uncle Max starts to run after him. Honestly, Kaiyan is worried about what he would do if Uncle Max didn’t follow him.
“Kwaang!”
“Crunch!”
“With my increased strength, I can pierce his head in one fell swoop. I can do it.”
He looks at the Gnolls running toward him and makes a rough plan. Relying on his increased strength, he would quickly finish off the first one with a stab, while Uncle Max, who was right next to him, would block the other two. With his current strength, he should be able to finish off the Gnoll with a single stab.
“Huh… Ha!”
With a short roar, Kaiyan thrusts his sword toward the Gnoll.
The sword shot out at a very high speed.
“Pow!
“That’s it!
[Deal with the Gnoll 1/4 2:14].