The shadow didn't react, but Leo nodded firmly, satisfied with himself.
"Okay, Mongmor. First job, let's pull that spear out."
Together, with some effort, they pried the bloodstained spear free from the corpse. The dull squelch made Leo grimace, but he pushed through it. Then he pointed at the armor.
"Strip it off. I'm not wasting good gear."
Piece by piece, Mongmor removed the kobold's equipment. A brown leather chest piece, light guards for the shoulders, arms, and legs, it was nothing fancy, but it was more than Leo ever had.
He slipped them on one by one, the armor feeling snug against his thin frame. "Fits perfectly. Guess being as skinny as a monster finally paid off," he joked, chuckling to himself.
Finally, he gripped the spear, twirling it once in his hand. The weight was rough but manageable.
"Perfect," he whispered, a spark of excitement flashing in his tired eyes.
Then, his gaze shifted back to the weapon in his hand.
"Mongmor," Leo said, gripping the spear tight. "Teach me how to use this."
The shadow kobold didn't answer, but he raised his own spear. With sharp, deliberate movements, he shifted into a stance and thrust forward. Slow at first, then again with more speed.
Leo watched closely, eyes narrowed. "Okay… like this?" He mimicked the stance and jabbed forward.
Mongmor tilted his head, then shook it, his grey eyes giving off what almost looked like disappointment.
"What? Now I'm getting that look from you too?" Leo groaned.
Still, he kept going. Thrust after thrust, step after step, he followed Mongmor's example. Time blurred. His arms grew heavy, his legs shaky, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through.
After nearly two hours, sweat dripped down his face as he finally dropped to the ground, gasping. "Haa… haa… damn it. You… don't get tired, do you?"
Mongmor simply stood there, still as a statue.
"Must be nice," Leo muttered, flopping onto his back. For a moment, he stared at the sky through the canopy, chest still heaving. Then he sat up, forcing a grin. "Alright, enough for today. We'll keep training back home."
He dusted himself off and gripped his spear tighter. "Now, time to hunt."
He turned to Mongmor. "Lead me to where you used to live. Your old nest, or whatever it is."
The shadow gave a silent nod and stepped forward, spear in hand.
Leo followed close behind, eyes darting at every rustle of the leaves. "If we see a group, we run. One or two, though… that's ours."
…..
After following Mongmor for about fifteen minutes, Leo froze when he heard rustling from the bushes ahead.
"Mongmor, hide," he whispered quickly, ducking behind a thick tree trunk. The shadow sank silently into the ground, disappearing into his shadow.
A moment later, a kobold stepped out from the brush. It wore the same kind of leather armor as Mongmor once did, a crude spear clutched in its hands. Its dog-like face twitched as it sniffed the air, yellow eyes scanning the woods.
Leo held his breath. His fingers clenched tighter around his spear.
The kobold began to move closer, following his scent. Step by step, it came nearer to where he crouched.
'When it's close, we strike together,' Leo ordered in his mind, sweat dripping down his brow.
Five meters. Three. Two.
'Now!'
Mongmor burst from Leo's shadow, spear flashing upward. At the same time, Leo charged out from behind the tree, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Wahhhhh!"
But his thrust was clumsy. The kobold easily sidestepped, and swung its spear in a wide arc. Mongmor blocked, but the clash pushed him back a step.
The shadow's strike had landed, but only barely, the spear tip stuck in the kobold's leather armor without piercing through.
"Damnit!" Leo cursed, teeth clenched.
Without thinking, he rushed again. This time, he didn't scream. His feet pounded the dirt, spear braced in both hands. With a grunt, he drove it forward, and the blade punched through the kobold's back.
The monster let out a strangled howl as Leo shoved harder, forcing it down to the ground.
"Mongmor, now!"
The shadow snatched the kobold's own spear and rammed it into its neck with brutal force.
Blood sprayed across the dirt. The kobold twitched once, then went still.
Leo staggered back, chest heaving, his hands trembling on the spear.
A faint ring echoed in his head.
(Experience +1)
"All of that for just one exp?" Leo muttered, almost groaning. "Seriously? How many kobolds do I need to kill to reach level two… a hundred?" He clicked his tongue in annoyance, shoulders slumping for a moment.
His eyes drifted down to the kobold's corpse, the blood still fresh on its leather armor. A thought crossed his mind. "Now… how do I make you my shadow?"
As he stared, his chest tightened. For a second, he swore he heard something, like a whisper calling from the corpse itself. The hairs on his neck stood up.
"Shadow… Awaken," Leo blurted out without thinking.
The air around the corpse rippled.
From the kobold's body, a thick darkness began to seep out, like black smoke rising from the cracks of the earth. It twitched, struggled, and then, ripped itself free of its own flesh.
With a shiver, the shadow pulled upright, standing before Leo with the same spear and armor as its former body.
Leo's eyes widened, his mouth breaking into a grin. "This… this is incredible no matter how I look at it." The thrill in his chest pushed away the fear. He wasn't alone anymore.
Then, something caught his attention, a faint glowing circle hovered above the shadow kobold. "What's this?" he muttered, reaching out with his hand.
The moment his finger brushed the circle, a window popped open before his eyes:
...
Shadow Kobold
Name: None
Level: 1 (0/100 exp)
Rank: Exclusive (Demon Lord's Shadow)
Skill: None
Health: 11/11
Mana: 3/3
Strength: 9
Intelligence: 3
Speed: 9
Agility: 8
Perception: 10
Stamina: 9
Vitality: 5
Stat points: 0
…..