chsdbacks Chapter 13: The Enhancement Path of the Flint Claw!
Chapter 13: The Enhancement Path of the Flint Claw!
[Achievement Acquired: First Hunt of a Powerful Enemy!]
[Reward: 1 Crystals]
[Achievement Acquired: First kill against a higher-level opponent!]
[Reward: 1 Crystals]
……
Allen looked at the achievement records in the Lord's Handbook and was in a pretty good mood.
These are the newbie achievements, the same as the first time you recruit followers.
The difficulty is not high; the conditions for achieving it are as follows:
Hunt a ferocious prey that is at least the same level as yourself, and hunt a prey that is at least of the Elite caliber and is above your own level.
However, Allen and his group had been on the move, busy escaping the threat of the black-robed wizard, and had not encountered a suitable target during their escape.
Now, with the guidance of the local scoundrel Flintclaw and the traps it created, I've finally achieved two accomplishments and obtained two new crystals.
In the distance, Flintclaw, badly wounded from the hunt, lay on the ground, and Allen could still see the longing in its eyes.
Now that the conditions had been met, Allen decided not to keep it hanging.
"Flintclaw, come here. You have proven your worth. It is time to grant you power."
Upon hearing this, Flint Claw nimbly flipped over and got up, sliding down to his knees and falling at Allen's feet.
Allen was so impressed by its swift movements that he even suspected it was faking a serious injury to gain his pity.
But never mind, at least it proved its loyalty and value.
Solina and Viola also came over.
They had already learned from Allen that he planned to take kobolds as his servants.
At this moment, Allen should be about to sign a "contract" with this kobold.
So the two of them came closer, watching Allen's movements with curiosity, wondering how his contract was formed.
Of course, they were destined to be disappointed. The Lord's Handbook panel was only visible to Allen and was not the demonic ritual they had imagined.
Allen opened the long-forgotten [Recruitment] interface in his mind and inserted one of the two crystals into it:
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
【Name: Flint Claw】
Race: Kobold
Age: 10
[Character Template: Elite]
[Level: Warlock lv4 / Miner lv8]
[Status: Minor Injury]
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Name: Hare
Race: Rabbit
Age: 1
[Character Template: Standard]
[Level: Rabbit Lv1]
Status: Normal
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
【Name: Grey-necked Petrel】
[Race: Petrel]
Age: 3
[Character Template: Standard]
[Level: Seabird lv1]
Status: Normal
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
On the recruitment screen, three candidate follower templates are displayed, while the other two are ordinary beasts nearby.
"As expected, the injury isn't serious. This guy was just putting on an act."
Allen chose Flintclaw as his new follower, and as a result, Flintclaw's character panel was finally included in the Lord's Handbook panel.
At the same time, a thought suddenly struck the mind of the kneeling man, Suizhao.
Although it had not yet sensed the arrival of power, it found itself seemingly to have established a strange connection with the Dragon Lord.
This thrilled it, and it looked forward even more to the Dragon Lord's blessings.
After Allen selected his followers, he opened the [Training] interface. The character panels of the half-elf twins and Flintclaw popped up at the same time, both of whom were selectable training targets.
After selecting the Flint Claw character panel, Allen did not rush to invest crystals to open the enhancement path, but instead tried to select the material bar.
Yes, Allen has been hunting these days, with three of the most valuable hunts.
The first and third times are required to achieve the goals and obtain the [Recruit] and [Train] Flint Claws.
The second target was a carefully chosen cave-dwelling rock worm as thick as a bucket.
This rock worm didn't possess great strength or intelligence; it acted solely on instinct, yet it proved to be the most difficult hunt yet.
It lives underground for most of the time, only coming up to the surface during heavy rains to give Allen the opportunity to hunt.
Although the wilderness during the rainy season is not short of heavy rain, the rain limits Allen and others' strongest spellcasting methods.
Fortunately, Flintclaw was a master at hunting rock worms and knew their habits and weaknesses very well.
Allen and his two companions worked tirelessly for four days, using large quantities of herbal juices that the rock worm utterly detested to restrict its movement.
That's how they successfully hunted it down.
The purpose of hunting it is to obtain its "material".
—A magical gland that easily gathers earth elements is the foundation for the rock worm's ability to move freely underground.
This was also the enhancement path he had planned for Flintclaw.
Yes, Allen does not intend to continue activating the enhancement path of [Red Dragon Blood Guard].
If his territory wants to grow and expand, it must have as many talents as possible from all walks of life; highly homogenized abilities would be a waste.
Moreover, the red dragon bloodline in his body is very thin, so the potential that can be activated is already limited.
This is like a reservoir. The size of Allen's reservoir has long been fixed. With Solina as the "water supply pipe," that's enough.
Adding another pipe only makes the pool fill up faster; once the pool is full, the excess water will simply be wasted.
Exploring new enhancement paths is like creating new reservoirs and then building new "water pipelines"—this is the foundation of a Lord's power.
Allen took out the rock worm gland he had prepared beforehand with one hand and held it in his palm. With the other hand, he placed it on the top of the flint claw and selected the material section with his mind.
Sure enough, a phantom image appeared in the materials section, and upon closer inspection, it was the shape of a rock worm gland.
Seeing this, Allen no longer hesitated and put the last crystal into it, activating the [Cultivation] interface, where three enhancement paths appeared.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Name: Kobold War Cryer
Type: Racial Specialization
Enhanced effect:
Unique specializations born from social species.
The followers' battle cry grants them a special ability that can greatly guide the kobold race's fanaticism, putting them into a special state of fearlessness and granting them the ability to charge in groups, greatly enhancing the group's combat power.
Advanced paths: Kobold Priest, Kobold Dictator, Kobold Vanguard, etc.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Name: Earth Elementalist
Type: Magic Awakening
Enhanced effect:
Followers' earth elemental affinity is greatly increased, significantly enhancing the power and control precision of earth elemental magic.
Since followers already possess a spellcaster rank that aligns with this enhancement path, choosing this path will inherit their original class rank, rather than treating it as a separate class rank.
Advanced paths: Darkflame Mage, Earth Elemental Mage, Rock Shield Warrior, etc.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Name: Red Dragon Blood Guard
Type: Bloodline Modification
Enhanced effect:
The followers will be transformed by the foreign red dragon bloodline, embrace the magic of the fire element, be able to master the power of fire, and gradually unlock the ability of "half-dragonification".
Advanced path: This path cannot be advanced, but it can be combined with some compatible enhancements.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Of the three advancement paths, besides the [Red Dragon Blood Guard] which Allen was already very familiar with, the [Earth Elementalist] is clearly an enhancement resulting from the addition of materials.
I specifically chose earth-elemental materials because kobolds inherently possess a very high [Miner] level.
Later, during the construction of the territory, Allen believed that this ability route could greatly reduce construction costs, and he could be considered as arranging a civil engineering expert for the territory.
Furthermore, the Earth Elementalist's abilities can enrich the team's current single ability categories, which will always be of some use.
Just as Allen was about to choose this enhancement path, his gaze was suddenly drawn to another seemingly unremarkable enhancement route.
[Kobold War Cryer]!
Kobolds are a cowardly, cruel, and despicable race that prefers to fight from hidden pits and caves, and will scatter like birds and beasts when they encounter a strong enemy.
But unexpectedly, there are racial professions that can help kobolds overcome this innate trait.
In group operations, morale and command have always been equally important.
If a kobold has a warcryer constantly inspiring them, the kobold's danger level in the wilderness will jump a huge leap.
What attracted Allen was not only the abilities of this enhancement path, but also the [Kobold Priest] on the advanced path.
Although it is a race-specific [Priest], Allen remembers seeing a similar class during the demo.
Professions related to deities and beliefs are very rare and special.
Once you gain the favor of a deity, you can unleash divine spells far exceeding your own abilities even at low levels.
If you continue to advance and remove racial restrictions, you will have the opportunity to accumulate the special resource of Faith Points for the Lord!
When Allen was playing the game, he didn't experience the use of this special resource himself. He only saw discussions on the forum that this resource was a necessity for certain very special territory buildings!
Allen hadn't expected that Flintclaw would have such development potential, and he believed that this advanced class wouldn't appear in just any ordinary kobold.
In contrast, Allen's choice of [Earth Elementalist] is only a small branch of the spellcaster system. Although it is practical, it is somewhat of a waste of the potential of Flint Claw.
Although it can be directly inherited into the job level, saving the time and effort of leveling up from scratch.
But Allen has plenty of time, and besides, Flintclaw is only a level 4 sorcerer, so it's not a huge waste.
Staring at the [Kobold War Cryer] option, Allen paused for a long time.
Ultimately, Allen withdrew his focus from the [Earth Elementalist] path and chose the [Kobold War Cryer].
As soon as Allen chose the enhancement path, Flint Claw felt the changes happening within his body almost immediately.
It wasn't an invasion from an external force as it had anticipated; rather, it seemed as if something within its body had undergone a transformation!
"Click-clack..."
A very faint clicking sound rang out, and Allen then realized that his hand, which was stroking the head of the flintlock, was being lifted up, and the flintlock was actually starting to grow!
But Flint Claw was unaware of its own physical changes; it was absorbed in the various sensations within its body.
It itches, it itches so much.
The hind paw with its toe bitten off is itchy, and the tail that was smashed off is itchy.
Most importantly, my throat is so itchy!
"Whoosh..."
Flint Claw couldn't help but start barking softly, initially with the standard short bark of a kobold.
"Woof! Woof—Woof!"
Soon, the sound became louder, and the intervals became longer.
"Waaah...waaah..."
Flint claws frantically scratched at its throat, trying to stop the increasingly intense itching, its vocal cords vibrating incessantly, producing incoherent sounds.
Finally, it found a way to stop the itching in its throat: its vocal cords began to vibrate rapidly in a special way.
Flint Claw raised its head high, facing the shining silver moon in the night sky, and a loud and long howl rolled out from its throat!
"Awooo!"
Allen and his two companions, who were closest to each other, instinctively covered their ears.
That wasn't just a roar; it was a long howl emanating from Flint Claw's throat, carrying a very peculiar vibration.
Under the influence of this fluctuation, Allen and the other two were surprised to find that the flow of magic within their bodies seemed to be affected!
It's as if you can't help but vibrate along with the sound waves!
The half-elf twins were unaware of what had happened, but Allen knew in his heart that this was the result of the [Kobold War Cryer]'s enhancement, so he quickly opened the Flintclaw character panel.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
【Name: Flint Claw】
Race: Kobold
Age: 10
[Character Template: Elite]
[Level: Kobold Warcryer lv2 / Warlock lv4 / Miner lv8]
Status: Normal
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Sure enough, not only did Flintclaw become a Kobold War Cryer, but he also started at level 2!
This indicates that the Flintclaws themselves possess an extremely strong ability to command their own kind, which is reflected in the racially specialized enhancements.
Allen felt a surge of joy.
The mere sound of Flint Claw's battle cry was enough to shake the magic within him, making his spellcasting slightly sluggish.
It's important to know that the primary target of this war cry is actually limited to the "Kobold" race.
In other words, this ability, which was originally meant to affect bloodline, is now actually influencing magic!
If it were against a fellow kobold, Allen couldn't even imagine how effective it would be!
The Flint Claw roared for a full half minute before stopping, groping its body with its claws, feeling the enormous changes that had occurred within it, somewhat bewildered.
He seems to have grown much taller and stronger.
Then it was astonished to discover that the ugly scars on its severed toes and tail, which had long since healed, had spontaneously reopened, and some budding flesh was sprouting outwards.
Its damaged body is being restored to its original state!
Flint Claw was overjoyed, but it immediately realized that it had not yet pledged its loyalty to the Dragon Lord after receiving the power.
So he quickly pounced on Allen again with a "thump".
"Great Dragon Lord! The life of Flint Claw belongs to you!"
Upon hearing Flint's words, Viola was the first to react:
"Huh? Its speech has become more fluent!"
Those lowly servants and pets! How dare they criticize me, whom I just received as a gift, in front of the Dragon Lord!
Flint Claw was immediately very dissatisfied.
"Indeed, my speech has become more fluent, which must be due to the strengthening of my voice. I didn't expect it to have this effect."
Ah, it's the Dragon Lord's affirmation; he must be praising himself.
A human-like joy appeared on Suizhao's face.
Of course, Allen had no idea what Flintclaw was thinking. He put away the unused rock worm glands, looked Flintclaw up and down, who had grown much stronger, and nodded.
He was quite satisfied with this enhancement and was even more looking forward to advancing Flint Claw to the [Kobold Priest] rank in the future.
"Flint Claw, I command you, with the power I have bestowed upon you, to reclaim your people."
"After your people return to your cause, I have an even more important mission to entrust to you."
"Yes, Dragon Lord!"