Ogres

The border between Starfall Forest and the Corrupted Mountain Range.

The Kobold tribe.

The temple of Mosator.

At this moment, a burnt scent from roasted beast bones drifted through the temple. The Grand Shaman knelt devoutly before the altar, his face solemn.

“Grand Shaman! The helpers mentioned by His Grace have arrived!”

Hearing the voice of a kobold guard, the Grand Shaman paused his prayer and frowned.

“Mm, I understand. Come with me to welcome them.”

“Yes, Grand Shaman.”

The Grand Shaman slowly rose to his feet. His hunched form exuded the calm composure of someone long accustomed to a high position, and he turned to step out of the temple.

The bright sunlight made him squint. Soon, several tall figures came into view, their appearance entirely out of place among the surrounding kobolds—

Ogres.

Three in total.

The leading ogre wore heavy bone armor crafted from magical beasts. Dried, dark-red bloodstains clung to the bone plates, and exposed fangs gave him a gruesome, menacing visage.

The two ogres following behind were equally hulking and muscular. Standing there casually, they appeared several times stronger than the average kobold warrior.

Sensing the aura of the lead ogre, the Grand Shaman felt a sudden pang of shock.

Gold Rank peak?

“Old ghost, are you the shaman of this kobold tribe?”

The lead ogre looked down at the diminutive kobold shaman with utmost disdain filling his massive pupils. Arrogant and aggressive, he clearly held no respect for his host.

The Grand Shaman felt deeply displeased. The creature's demeanor was crude and impolite, lacking any grace befitting a powerful figure.

But recalling His Grace’s oracle, he suppressed his discontent and nodded.

“Indeed. I presume you three are the warriors sent by His Grace to assist our tribe in investigating Starfall Forest?”

“Correct. Remember my name: Bonebreaker.”

Bonebreaker grinned widely, his sharp, yellowed fangs clattering together with a bloodthirsty violence.

“So it is Lord Bonebreaker.” The Grand Shaman turned his head and instructed a guard, “Go, fetch our best smoked beast meat and ale to entertain our warrior guests.”

“No need.”

Bonebreaker sneered, waving his hand in annoyance. His eyes locked onto the direction of Starfall Forest, glinting with a greedy, fierce light.

“Keep those tiny scraps for yourselves. Don't waste my time—take your people and follow me!”

He licked his fangs, his tone violent and excited:

“We can't wait to feast on human flesh and blood!”

Although Bonebreaker had been sent on a mission, assisting the kobolds was secondary in his mind. "Eating" was his main priority.

Human merchant caravans occasionally passed near Starfall Forest, and those were his targets.

But even if there weren't any, it didn't matter. Worst case, he could head to the nearest human village.

After all, it wasn't often he got out, so he had to satisfy his cravings.

The Grand Shaman frowned deeply at this, filled with concern.

These ogres were inherently brutal and bloodthirsty, acting without order or restraint. He feared they might ruin the task assigned by His Grace.

He opened his mouth to speak, but sighed and swallowed his words.

“...Please wait a moment, brave warriors.”

With that, the Grand Shaman turned and returned to the interior of the temple, whispering to the kobold guard behind him:

“Go, call Bladefang here immediately.”

The kobold guard took his orders and hurried away.

Moments later, a tall and powerful figure strode into the temple.

This was an elite warrior vastly superior to ordinary kobolds. Sturdy and upright, his body was covered in a layer of fine, black scales that gleamed coldly, with sharp fangs jutting out.

He was the tribe's strongest dragon-blooded kobold warrior—Bladefang.

“Grand Shaman.” Bladefang dropped to one knee, respectful and composed.

Looking at one of the top powerhouses in the tribe, the Grand Shaman's brow finally relaxed slightly.

“Rise.”

Bladefang stood up and lowered his hands, waiting for instructions.

“Bladefang, you are the most elite warrior in our tribe,” the Grand Shaman said gravely. “The oracle handed down by His Grace is vital to our entire tribe.”

“Take a few Bronze Rank warriors along with a tribe shaman, and go deep into Starfall Forest to investigate the situation. Remember—do not alert the enemy. If you encounter any danger you cannot handle, do not hesitate to retreat immediately!”

“Once the task is complete, you will be richly rewarded.”

“As for those ogres...” The Grand Shaman paused before continuing, “Ignore them. Just do your job.”

“Understood, Grand Shaman.”

Bladefang accepted the order in a deep voice, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes as he turned and hurried away to gather his men.

Soon, eight elite kobolds assembled on the open ground outside the temple. Each possessed a steady aura and well-made gear, all standing at Bronze Rank combat power—the top experts selected by the tribe.

At their lead, Bladefang stood tall and imposing, his intimidating aura making him stand out dramatically among the shorter kobolds.

Seeing this, Bonebreaker narrowed his eyes slightly.

Naturally, his gaze locked onto Bladefang immediately.

Among the ogres he brought, perhaps no one other than himself could suppress this kobold in stature and presence.

“Looks like your kobold tribe isn't entirely made of useless trash after all,” Bonebreaker added lazily.

Bladefang's pupils constricted sharply. He clenched his fists, glaring hostilely at Bonebreaker.

But remembering the Grand Shaman's warning, he tightly held back his temper.

Bonebreaker grinned indifferently, turning to stride toward Starfall Forest.

Standing at the temple doorway, the Grand Shaman watched as the group moved further away until their backs vanished completely, his aged face heavy with worry.

He raised his head toward Starfall Forest, standing still for a long time before letting out a soft, heavy sigh.

...

Meanwhile, in Starfall Forest, roughly twenty kilometers north of the player town.

A beam of white sword light suddenly erupted in a dense forest clearing.

“Sacred Light Slash!”

Accompanied by a loud shout, a meter-long crescent of white sword light separated from the blade, tearing through the air and striking a giant brown bear with precision!

“Roar—!!!”

Pain tore through the giant bear as it let out a roar that shook the forest. Its massive body shuddered violently, and a deep, bone-exposing wound was sliced across its already scar-ridden torso, blood spurting out to stain its brown fur red.

The bear was already covered in wounds, with over a dozen sword cuts of varying depth scattered across its body, bleeding profusely and completely exhausted.

Finally, under another strike, the giant bear crashed to the ground. Its massive body shriveled and cracked rapidly, eventually dissipating into ash and turning into juicy EXP.

Standing before the bear was a yellow-haired youth holding a gleaming silver knight's sword. He currently maintained the pose of his final slash—sword tip pointing obliquely to the ground, looking quite dashing.

“Hmm?” He raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying an exaggerated, pretend surprise. “I thought this mob could hold out a bit longer. Only Level 20... Tsk, way too weak.”

Before his words even faded, a group of rookie players in shabby starter gear leaped out from the surrounding bushes, excitedly swarming around him.

“Holy shit! Big Brother Bruce, that sword skill was freaking cool!”

“My eyes were completely dazzled when that sword flashed! So awesome!”

“I'm so jealous. I wonder when I'll be able to use a skill like that...”

“Ah, what a pity, I didn't get to watch enough!”

“Does your longsword glow? Hiss—how many Merit Points did that cost?”

The rookies were all new players who had just joined, dressed uniformly in simple cloth clothes with basic starting weapons. They had never seen high-level sword skills with light and shadow visual effects before, so their eyes sparkled, their admiration maxed out instantly.

The reason for this veteran-guiding-newbies scene was an exclusive side quest issued by Iluvia.

After the five thousand new players arrived, She issued a [Veteran Assistance Quest] to the two hundred closed-beta veterans.

The quest was simple and straightforward: for every rookie successfully guided through map exploration and field training, the veteran would receive a fixed 1,000 EXP and 100 Merit Points.

One thousand EXP alone didn't seem like much, but the sheer number of rookies made up for it! Not to mention there were Merit Points too!

Divided evenly among two hundred closed-beta players, each person took around twenty-five rookies. Completing the entire quest guaranteed a baseline of twenty-five thousand EXP and two thousand five hundred Merit Points per person—truly the most reliable leveling method!

After recruiting new members for his guild, Bruce immediately grabbed this sweet deal of a quest, intentionally leading his group deep into Starfall Forest to grind mobs and gain experience.

As for the Sacred Light Slash he had just executed, it was a high-tier skill he had purchased with the Merit Points saved up from intense mob grinding over the past few days, serving as his current prized trump card.

Listening to the exclamations rising around him, Bruce's lips curled up uncontrollably. Feeling like he was walking on air, if he had a tail, it would have already wagged straight into the sky.

Intentionally striking a calm, unbothered posture of a humble hero who hides his fame, he casually flicked away the blood remaining on his sword, cleared his throat, and posed nonchalantly:

“Ahem... see that giant bear just now? That mob was a whole Level 20. Back when I first started in closed beta, soloing mobs like that was a daily routine, an absolute breeze.”

“So you guys—” He turned around, dragging out his words as he patted the shoulder of the nearest rookie player, his expression earnest, “—still need to practice. You've got a long way to go.”

“Learn more from me and observe my mechanics. One day, you can be this strong too.”

Nearby, several Dawn Covenant guild members wearing fancy gear exchanged silent glances, their lips twitching in unison.

One of them couldn't hold back any longer and mercilessly called him out:

“I say, Vice Guild Master, that's enough boasting. Back during the main quest, who was it that got beat up by two Level 7 or 8 kobolds?”

Bruce didn't even bat an eye. “That's called feigning weakness to figure out the kobolds' attack patterns! It's called tactics, get it? Otherwise, how could we have cleared them out so easily later?”

The veterans exchanged glances, suppressing their laughter as they shrugged.

Fine, whatever you say, Mr. Stubborn.

Joking aside, a real problem lay before them.

“Speaking of which, we've been walking for two hours already, right? We've only seen this one bear the whole way. Mobs are way too scarce.”

One guild member complained with a frown, “If we keep walking, our legs will break before the rookies even get any EXP.”

“If I'd known, we should have headed east. There are plenty of low-level mobs over there, perfect for practice. Coming out this far was a total waste of time.”

Bruce felt a bit embarrassed as well and rubbed his nose:

“Can you blame me? Who knew the spawn rates here couldn't keep up? The closed-beta veterans are grinding so hard they wiped out all the low-level mobs.”

He originally intended to arrange for the rookies to team up against low-level mobs, practicing teamwork while leveling up—after all, most of these rookies had joined Dawn Covenant, and leveling them was part of the veteran task requirements.

Yet after walking all this way, they barely saw any mobs. When they finally found one, its level was too high. Sending rookies in would be suicide—without Resurrection Coins, dying meant losing all their gear, so he didn't dare let them fight it.

In the end, it turned into his personal show.

“Alright, alright, let's head east,” Bruce waved his hand. “There are plenty of mobs over there for you to practice on. When the time comes, I'll teach you—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed the rookie players in front of him turning pale.

Their eyes widened, mouths agape, faces drained of blood as they stared behind him as if they'd seen a ghost. The more fainthearted ones even began backing away.

Bruce was completely bewildered, not yet realizing what was happening. “What is it? Another mob? What are you panicking for? I'm right here...”

Before his words could settle—

Two giant, calloused hands bulging with blue veins suddenly lunged out from the dark shadows of the dense forest behind him!

The movement was impossibly fast, leaving no time for anyone to react!

The pair of massive hands slammed around Bruce's waist, locking him in place with sheer brute force!

Immediately after, a brutally heavy blow struck the back of his head!

Intense dizziness instantly washed over his whole body, his surroundings spinning as darkness filled his vision.

The knight's longsword in Bruce's hand dropped with a clatter. His head buzzed loudly, his limbs went instantly limp, and losing all power to resist, he was hoisted straight into midair!

From the shadows of the forest, a tall, horrific ogre figure slowly revealed itself.