A/N: Hi all. This is my first story so I hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to provide feedback if you can. Favourite and follow if you enjoy too! This story will be updated regularly. It consists of multiple parts. Each part will be a separate stage of the adventure, like how the novels are divided into books.

Part 1, Chapter 1: Morning Star

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees blinding Kalelor as he gazed in the direction of the distant battle sounds. He squinted and listened carefully to the shouts and clangs of metal. Kalelor turned back to look at the other three members of his adventurer team, Morning Star, crouching in the underbrush.

"Sounds like someone's in trouble. Kobolds from the sounds of it."

Alfred Nozzeltoff, a giant of a man wielding a magnificent black beard, nodded solemnly.

"We should save them. If we can. Kobolds pose little threat to us."

Barker, an unremarkable man of average height and lanky build brushed aside his greasy dark hair and glared at Alfred disdainfully before spitting to the side.

A conciliatory smile appeared on Jake Taower's handsome face. He combed a scarred hand through his short blonde hair and stared at his comrades with his youthful blue eyes.

"Now, now gentlemen! If it is only kobolds, I could rush in there by myself and rescue the damsels in distress. I would, of course, expect the support of you lackeys when I do!"

"Cut the shit Jake." sighed Kalelor. "We need to take a closer look and see if they're worth saving first. I'm not about to charge headlong into danger before knowing that the reward will be worthwhile! Barker, you're up."

Barker met Kalelor's eyes, sniffed, shouldered his bow and swiftly disappeared into the trees heading in the direction of the battle.

"We should go immediately. The Gods would not approve of our delay." Alfred spoke insistently to Kalelor urging him to help the people in the battle immediately.

"Enough! Alfred, are we not just ensuring that the other party will be able to pay for our services? Your paladin order demands payment for their services too, right? I'm just ensuring that the risk is worth the reward. And there is no harm in scouting out the situation before we go running in there. I would hate for you to be ambushed by a troll."

Alfred harrumphed but nodded in agreement, looking displeased about the whole situation.

"Relax Alfred. Hasn't Kalelor always looked out for us." Jake piped in. "We've all benefited from his leadership. I know I'm glad I joined this adventurer team. We're probably one of the most profitable adventurer teams of our rank out there.

"Quit your brown nosing Jake!" quipped Kalelor smiling. He looking to Alfred. "Listen up, when Barker gets back we'll need to move quickly. If the opportunity is there for a nice profit, I want you to charge in and get the kobolds' attention. Look for the biggest one there and engage it. If you can't defeat it outright just delay it until we clear out the rest. Jake, I want you to clean up any outliers and protect the damsels. Barker and I will take out the rest. Ok, they are only kobolds so I don't expect you to get hurt! I don't want us to have to waste gold on potions on this one!"

Alfred and Jake nodded. Once they got down to the business of monster hunting, they were seasoned professionals. All of them wore a gold plate around their necks and could each take out E-class monsters such as Kobolds and Ogres. Together they could even handle high C-class monsters.

Kalelor nodded back and broke out into a grin. "Good, prepare yourselves!"

Jake took out his longsword and looked it over before sheathing it again and storing it on his back. He then started testing the edges of his many knives that were stored within easy reach on his body. You can never have too many knives. Jake grinned, remembering the old mercenary's advice. These knives had saved him more than once from a deadly situation. After checking his knives he stowed them back into his plate-reinforced leather armour.

Meanwhile, Alfred took the time to bless his kite shield and mace with holy magic. "[Holy Barrier], [Blessing of Judgement]." The buff on his shield would protect him from the blows of mighty beasts. The blessing on his mace would put the fear of the Gods into those he struck, causing them to become enraged at him. "[Blessing of Protection]." A soft golden glow appeared around Alfred. This final spell increased his armour's durability and his ability to withstand attacks.

Kalelor sat idly watching the others prepare while chewing on some bread. As a powerful magic caster who could cast many deadly tier-2 magic spells, Kalelor was confident of his skills. He noticed Barker returning from his scout. He brushed the crumbs from his light leather armour and picked up his plain wooden staff before standing up. "What's the situation? Those damsels look like they could afford us?"

Barker forced a smile, "Oh yeah! We got about two dozen kobolds, some of them elites, attacking a merchant caravan. The merchant guards have formed a barricade with the wagons, but they won't last much longer. If we're going to save them we better do it soon. Oh.. and there is another problem. Not only is there a tough-looking kobold captain, there's also a kobold magic caster!"

"Shit! It's like that huh?"

Kalelor swore as he considered the situation. Kobold magic casters were devious creatures using spells that snared and confounded their opponents while being able to cast supportive magic that rallied the other kobolds. In a large group like this, they were definitely the biggest threat.

Despite the high number of enemies and the dangerous elite kobolds, the merchant caravan was an incredibly lucrative opportunity for them. Not only would they receive a huge reward for saving the merchants, but the Adventurer's Guild would also pay a bounty for the kobolds they killed. In short, it was too good of an opportunity to let it pass.

"Ok, change of plans!"

Kalelor quickly detailed out a new plan to deal with the kobold magic caster.

"Let's hurry; we don't have much time if we want to rescue the damsels. Remember, follow the plan!"


"[Acid Splash]!" Kalelor clapped his hands together before drawing forth the magical power within him to summon a green ball of acid between his hands. Thrusting both hands outwards the magical acid shot out in a long arc that flew towards the enemy. The kobold magic caster was caught utterly by surprise as the highly corrosive acid splashed over him and the female kobold he was healing.

Debilitating pain immediately laced through the kobolds causing them to stumble to their knees and howl in agony. Mists of acidic fumes rose from them as their scales melted away exposing the muscles beneath. The kobold magic caster would not go down that easily though and quickly cast a heal over himself that neutralised the acid and caused scales to rise from within to cover him once more.

As if the howl was the signal they were waiting for, Alfred shielded Jake as they both charged out of the trees towards the kobolds. To Kalelor's right, Barker fired an arrow taking down one of the kobold archers. "[Fury of the Winds]!" Barker focused intensely as he used a martial art that significantly boosted his firing rate for a period of time and began to methodically take down the remaining ranged kobolds.

"Jake! You take out the magic caster! [Furious Charge]!" Alfred used a martial art to knock a kobold warrior to the ground with a shoulder charge.

*Crunch!*

Drops of blood speckled Alfred's bald head and beard as he withdrew his mace from the downed kobold's head before blocking an overhead chop with his shield.

Jake grinned as he broke away from Alfred. "[Agility Boost], [Evasion]! I got this!" Jake dodged arrows as he charged to the kobold magic caster. The kobold captain yelled something and suddenly two kobold warriors raced to intercept him. Jake frowned and knew that if he couldn't get to the magic caster before it fully recovered he would be rooted. Already he could see that the kobold magic caster had erected barriers against arrows and magic around itself and was trying to heal the female kobold.

"Shit!" Kalelor swore as he saw the kobolds trying to intercept Jake. "Quick Barker, with me! [Magic Arrow]!"

Jake was just about to launch a charging attack with his longsword against the two kobold warriors when he saw something out of the corner of his eye which forced him to roll to the side.

*Throom!*

Charged magic particles and an arrow flew over where Jake had just been and struck the two approaching kobolds in their surprised faces. Jake didn't stop to think about this though as he let the momentum of the roll carry him forward into a sprint towards the magic caster.

The kobold magic caster snarled as he abandoned the healing spell he was casting and begun to cast a snare spell. As soon as Jake passed the protective magic barrier, he flung a knife at the kobold, forcing it to dodge to the side and interrupting its spell.

"Break!"

Arriving before the kobold magic caster, Jake used both hands to thrust his longsword through its chest so forcefully that the kobold rebounded slightly off his crossguard.

Enraged by the death of his magic caster the kobold captain howled, barked orders to his troops and pointed at Kalelor. He then broke away from Alfred and charged towards Jake. Alfred tried to go after the kobold captain but had to duck away and retreat as a spear almost made a hole in the side of his head.

By this stage the kobolds had abandoned their attack on the merchants and were fully engaged with trying to repel the adventurers of Morning Star.

"Pfft" grunted Barker as he saw the two remaining merchant guards cower back behind the wagons. He fired one last arrow that was blocked by a fast approaching kobold warrior's shield before drawing his longsword. Barker was a ranger and was skilled with stealth and the bow, however, recently he had started to learn the longsword. It was useful to have a method of dealing with enemies that reached you as a ranged specialist.

"[Reinforce Armour]." Kalelor cast a spell on Barker making his leather armour more resistant to attacks. "[Stone Trap]!" Suddenly the ground beneath one of the approaching kobolds opened up causing the kobold to half fall in, trapping its leg.

"Alfred! We need some help over here!"

Alfred heard Kalelor's call for help but couldn't disengage from the 3 elite kobold troops surrounding him. "Damn it!" Alfred stepped back before bringing his hands together to cast a holy spell. One of the kobolds struck out with its sword at that moment, however, it harmlessly rebounded off of Alfred's armour. "[Judgement of the Righteous]!" roared Alfred and suddenly a holy light that contained an apparition of an angel struck down on one the kobolds causing it to drop to one knee in a daze. Alfred's mace lashed out towards the stunned kobold but one of the other kobolds knocked it aside at the last moment with its shield. These weren't average kobolds, they were elites!

Kalelor swore as he glanced over and saw both Alfred and Jake engaged in a fierce melee. The enemy had been tougher than they first thought. Kalelor grimaced and began casting his next spell. Two of the kobolds approaching him were blocked by Barker who had already sustained a glancing blow from an enemy spear. Barker wouldn't be able to hold them off for long, even fighting defensively.

"[Frostbolt]!"

An icy spear of freezing cold magic particles launched from Kalelor's hands and struck the shield of the kobold who had slipped past Barker. Although the kobold used its shield to block the majority of the magic attack, freezing cold magic particles still engulfed the kobold causing frost to rime its face and limbs.

Now die! Kalelor cast [Rock Spike] bringing his staff down to slam the ground. A sharp earthen spike erupted from the ground and pierced the frozen kobold from behind. The impaled kobold looked at Kalelor, eyes wide in shock, as it slowly drooped down, lifeless. With Kalelor now free of immediate threats he quickly dispatched the remaining kobolds that were attacking Barker.


Jake was panting and bleeding from several cuts along his ribs and arms. There were a few new gouges in the plate sections of his armour, but it had deflected the worst of the enemy's attacks. This was no mere kobold he had angered but a kobold captain! It was easily a high D-rank creature in terms of difficulty! Morning Star would normally fight monsters of this difficulty as a group to reduce the risk of injury. However, Jake had to fight it alone!

Both Jake and the kobold captain were low on concentration and both mentally fatigued as they had both used their martial arts throughout the fight. They were evenly matched, and completely focused on each other as they engaged in the deadly duel. The kobold captain was cautiously eyeing Jake from a distance looking for an advantage. Its short spear hung limp in its left hand and its sword was pointed outwards in its right. After several clashes with Jake it had sustained several deep lacerations to its spear arm.

The kobold captain snarled at Jake before suddenly dropping its spear and lunging at Jake with a thrust of its sword. Jake was an expert swordsman and instead of retreating, he leapt forward onto one knee and parried the thrust with his longsword. In the next instant, he tore a knife from his belt and plunged it into the kobold's thigh. As it gasped in agony, Jake used the power of his legs to push himself up and toppled the kobold captain. Jake quickly stepped around his disabled foe, stopping behind it's head. The kobold captain looked up fearfully at him as it tried to ward him off with its sword.

*Thunk!*

Jake watched dispassionately as the beast's head rolled away.

*Clap! Clap! Clap!*

Kalelor stood to the side with Alfred, smugly applauding Jake's performance.

"Well done! No really, I wasn't sure who would win for a second there." quipped Kalelor with a grin on his face.

Jake turned around startled and his expression quickly darkened, "You were just watching! I could have died!"

"Don't get so choked up, Jake-kun. Life and death battles are the best kind of combat experience for us adventurers! It is the quickest way to improve our skills. Besides, I was only watching for a short while. Don't worry; I would have stepped in if things had looked dire."

Alfred nodded, "You fought well Jake, well done! It's reassuring to know you can handle monsters of that difficulty by yourself now. You have certainly improved significantly over the last couple of years."

Jake smiled, "Don't go expecting that sort of thing on a regular basis now. I still prefer to attack an enemy that's not focused on me."

"No.. you've proven yourself capable now. There's no stopping the expectation from now on." Alfred joked. "Alright, come here and I'll heal your wounds. I've already healed Barker."

As Alfred cast his healing magic and Jake's flesh slowly started to knit back together, Kalelor walked over to the merchant wagons. Barker was busy looting the kobolds for any valuables as well as collecting their ears for the guild. Despite the difficulty of the battle, Kalelor was smiling. He was already imagining how much gold he would be able to squeeze out of the merchants.