Construction Mage - Chapter 15: Astounding Growth

Google Docs Link

A million things rang through Clay’s mind as he squared up against the armored kobold. Its movements were sluggish due to its injuries, but still a fully armored opponent wielding a sharp sword.

However, he didn’t fare much better. He had an arrow sticking out of his thigh and one in his torso. They weren’t anything serious, but the more he moved about, the higher the chance of his wound worsening. Even now, blood trickled out of them. Despite barely feeling the pain thanks to the adrenaline, his movements were still hindered, along with a sprained wrist on his dominant side. Thankfully, it wasn’t completely useless. It could at least hold on to the torch to provide him with adequate light.

Either way, it was obvious that both Clay and the kobold before him were not in their best condition.

Just as the two were trying to gauge each other, both mindful of their remaining stamina, messages suddenly popped up in Clay’s vision.

[Ding—Level 7 Kobold Archer slain.]

[Ding—Level up requirements met.]

He stole a quick peek at the Kobold Archer lying in a pool of its own blood, confirming that it had stopped struggling.

Great, a level up, but how come I didn’t heal back to full like what happens in games?!

Clay sighed at the difficulties of life, only to be forced back when the armored kobold took advantage of his moment of weakness. He was barely able to place his shovel in the path of the sword swing. As a result, the handle of his only weapon got a new gash on it.

Shit. Another hit like that could snap the handle in half. I need to focus. It’s my only option—If only I could cast spells while fighting.

Glaring at the kobold trying to take his life, Clay soon noticed the monster getting ready to unleash another swing, so he timed the moment it began to pull its sword back to send out a strike of his own. His thrust was fast enough to hit his target dead on, but it simply glanced off the armor. Thankfully, the mismatch in size meant Clay’s strike had more than enough power to stagger his foe, forcing it back, unable to retaliate. 

This exchange happened several more times, where the plate armor showed its worth. It did make Clay feel more confident in the fight, though. He was getting comfortable, learning the quirks and tics of the oversized critter.

It was practically a crash course for him, teaching him how to fight against a heavily armored foe. With each attack, they got more precise, getting closer and closer to striking the gaps.

Clay baited the kobold into a full downward swing and was just about to crush its elbow joint when another figure appeared in the corner of his eye. He quickly aborted his attack and took a step back. As his luck would have it, it appeared one of the Kobold Sentries had finally caught up to the fight.

The two kobolds shared a quick glance before marching forward toward him in unison. Clay knew there was still one more sentry unaccounted for, so time was against him. He had already failed to finish off the one in armor before he got reinforcements. If the third sentry appears, things would get quite dire for him.

Urgency welled up, prompting him to charge toward his foe as if the limiter within him broke. Ignoring all the pain, his frontal charge caused both kobolds to thrust out their weapons at him at the same time. 

They both missed as he darted left, toward the armored kobold. He would’ve preferred to go toward the sentry, but with his left leg injured, he couldn’t risk the chance of it faltering. His body moved without thought, swinging his shovel down at his foe. His telegraphed movements meant the result would inevitably be locking weapons, but as if expecting that, Clay raised his right arm, which was still holding the torch, and swung it into the visor of the kobold.

Several things happened all at once. Sharp pain rang through Clay’s nerves, his body threatening to lean over and curl up. The sound of wood splintering resounded clearly in his ears, while the light was extinguished. At the same time, glowing specks of soot could be seen splashing over the armored kobold, with some of it slipping through the visor.

The monster cried out in pain as its eyes likely took in some of the burning soot. It flailed its arms as it tried to claw at its own face, to no avail. Its helmet acted as the greatest obstacle to its efforts. In its futile efforts to relieve itself, the kobold lost balance and fell flat on its back.

While the tunnel descended into darkness, there was still some burning soot drifting in the air, allowing Clay to spot his other enemy closing in. In an instant, he made the decision to focus on this threat first. He took a posture of charging at his foe, only to take one step forward before twisting to the side.

A spear was thrust toward where he would’ve been. Feeling his left arm starting to grow dull from having to swing the shovel alone for so long, Clay gritted his teeth and forced it to keep going. 

[Ding—Level 6 Kobold Sentry slain.]

He could tell his arm was near failure, a feeling he had felt numerous times while working out in the gym. Drawing on that experience, Clay told himself to push for one more rep, hammering the flat end of the shovel onto the armored kobold struggling on the ground.

Once, then twice, the clear chime of metal hitting metal resonated through the air.

It was only on his third swing that his muscles failed as he brought the shovel down.

The shovel landed against the chest plate once more before it clattered across the floor, bouncing left and right several times before settling down. It now sported multiple dents, deforming it greatly, but it was impressive that it managed to do the same against the plate armor.

[Ding—Level 8 Kobold Knight slain.]

[Ding—Level up requirements met.]

Once he saw the messages, there were no celebrations, no cheers or anything of the like. Instead, Clay plopped himself on the ground, as if his strings were cut.

Even without looking at his status screen, he knew his stamina was drawing on air. His heart rate was higher than ever, and he could taste blood in his mouth.

Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t rest right away. There was still one kobold missing. He watched the tunnel, where it could show up at any time, carefully. The sound of something scraping against the stone floor was faintly audible, so he continued to wait. It slowly grew louder and louder until the figure of the second Kobold Sentry could finally be seen. It was dragging its body across the floor. Its legs were bent in a direction it was definitely never meant to go.

Seeing this scene, Clay didn’t hesitate to point his palm at the kobold to end its misery. While he didn’t have anything left in his tank for stamina, mana was held in a different tank.

[Ding—Level 6 Kobold Sentry slain.]

Letting out a breath of relief, Clay immediately closed his eyes and activated his Meditate skill. He felt his body loosen as something was drawn into his body. Whatever it was, it felt good. Clay stayed in his meditative state while keeping an ear out for anything approaching. As luck would have it, things remained peaceful for a long time, allowing color to be restored to his face.

The only complaint he had was that his wounds weren’t getting any better. At least, that was what he felt. He quickly opened his status to confirm his suspicion and monitor his condition. 

Status:

Name: Clayton Stratton

Age: 30

Class: Earth Mage [Apprentice] - Level 4

Profession: Staffmaker, Alchemist

Resources:

Health - 56% 

Stamina - 91/112 [1.6/min]

Mana - 72/100 [2.4/min]

Stats [Mage]:

Stat Points: 10

Strength: 15

Endurance: 16

Agility: 15

Dexterity: 9

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 12

Skills:

Spell Manipulation(I): 2

Earth Blast(I): 2

Meditate(I): 1

It took me a whole week to level before, and now it has gone up twice in a day already. I guess it really makes a difference when I’m up against monsters much higher level than me.

Still, I won’t be tempted. I never want to be in a similar situation again. In order to ensure that, maybe I should hire a porter? I’ve seen quite a few other parties make use of them. Hmm, now that I’ve gained a few levels, it should be safe to hire someone who is weaker than me.

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter