Caelus Online

70. Even A Mage Can Sneak

[Gnoll Lv 27 defeated. 9.4% xp gained. 40% skill point xp gained]

[+1 skill point]

[Gnoll Lv 25 defeated. 5.2% xp gained. 35% skill point xp gained]

[Gnoll Lv 34 defeated. 41% xp gained. 46% skill point xp gained]

[Gnoll Lv 38 defeated. 47% xp gained. 57% skill point xp gained]

[Lv 25 -> 26]

[All Attributes +2]

[+5 stat points]

[+1 skill point]

[Gnoll Lv 47 defeated. 57.6% xp gained. 71% skill point xp gained]

[+1 skill point]

[Gnoll Lv 52 defeated. 61.2% xp gained. 79% skill point xp gained]  

[Lv 26 -> 27]

[All Attributes +2]

[+5 stat points]

[+1 skill point]

Aurora could not help but feel conflicted seeing the notifications that kept popping up, it was great to see that her level was going up, however, she disliked seeing that despite managing to kill enemies now double her level, she was not getting the same amounts of xp that she did before. But that was thanks to the xp curve that made growing stronger at higher levels that much harder, so she couldn't complain too much otherwise she would be in a world where the local's levels were all in the thousands. 

She was also somewhat disappointed she did not have a couple of assassins with her, while the xp gain may have been slower per kill, they could have easily made faster work of the gnolls than she could alone. Thankfully her class was not that much of a hindrance since she was inside the camp, she didn’t need to worry too much about the sounds of her steps being heard since there were other gnolls walking around. That said, she couldn’t go stomping around and had to be more attentive than a stealth inclined class that would not have as much of a worry, their classes were able to muffle the sounds to allow for faster movement.

And thanks to her new sword, she was able to easily cut through the defences of the higher level sleeping gnolls, and easily eliminate them. Had she been stuck with her old sword, she would not have attempted to kill anything above 40 as she was unsure if she could finish a gnoll off without it waking with enough leeway to defend itself. 

She was also lucky for the disorganised nature of the gnolls, their campsite was as previously compared, like a festival campsite, meaning that there were plenty of paths in the shade created by the randomly scattered campfires. It was thanks to the shadowy paths she had such ease of movement, at least up until now.

Aurora had just exited the tent of the Lv 52 gnoll she had just killed and moved into the cover of the next tent when she saw one of the actively patrolling gnolls around the corner, walking towards her direction. She instantly retreated into cover, feeling her heart rate increase again as she held her breath, hoping the humanoid best would not come past her. 

With the sound of her heart in her ears Aurora knelt on the ground, getting ready to take the gnoll out as fast as she could. While she had participated in a few stealth based hunts, she had never had to sneak into a camp of enemies with strong natural senses, and she was amazed that it had been going so well. 

The seconds passed as she held her breath, using the sound of the gnoll's heavy footsteps and relatively loud breathing to track its position. With a sense of horror, she realised it was about to pass where she was knelt. 

Time seemed to slow for Aurora as she saw the hairy leg with the inversed knee appear a few feet away from her, causing her to completely tense up, ready to spring into action. The beast took a few more steps before pausing, taking a moment to sniff with what Aurora presumed was a look of disgust. She noticed the gnoll check its foot and the ground immediately around it, and she used this moment to strike.

Aurora instantly lept up, closing the short distance as she grabbed the gnoll's muzzle as she swung up onto its back, catching it by surprise as it started to growl. Before the gnoll had a chance to properly react Aurora’s shortsword slit its throat, changing the start of its threatening growl into a guggle as its blood started to flow down its throat. 

Realising that the gnoll still had strength and could still raise the alarm through physical means, she used the protruding part of its leg to push herself further up where she had the leverage to stab at its heart.

Putting all her strength into the strike, she thrust downwards at the centre of the gnoll's chest, feeling her sword pierce deeply into its flesh as it tried to take a step forward. That step ended up being its last as it crumpled to its knees, giving Aurora the chance to finish her kill quietly as she leveraged her weight on its back to make it fall backwards. With her feet landing on the ground, she gently let the gnoll fall to the floor, With a bit more noise than she liked, but there was only so much her limited strength could do against the fall of the heavy beast. 

[Gnoll Lv 34 defeated. 39.7% xp gained. 42% skill point xp gained] 

[+1 skill point]

While her heart wildly beating, Aurora paused for a few seconds and held her breath, straining her ears to see if the sudden short burst of commotion had caused any of the gnolls to wake up. After a few tense seconds, she heard nothing and let her held breath out. 

She felt that was too close a call, and she didn't want to be found yet when she was able to get so much xp with so little effort while culling the gnoll's numbers.  

With her path forward clear, she retrieved her sword that was still in the gnoll's chest and stepped towards the next tent. 

****

[Gnoll Lv 45 defeated. 48% xp gained. 57% skill point xp gained] 

[Lv 27 -> 28]

[All Attributes +2]

[+5 stat points]

[Gnoll Lv 42 defeated. 43% xp gained. 57% skill point xp gained] 

[+1 skill point]

[Gnoll Lv 51 defeated. 55% xp gained. 72% skill point xp gained]

[Gnoll Lv 56 defeated. 64% xp gained. 81% skill point xp gained] 

[Lv 28 -> 29]

[All Attributes +2]

[+5 stat points]

[+1 skill point]

Aurora managed to kill an additional four before she heard the sound of a commotion starting behind her. By this point, she had managed to travel quite far into the centre of the camp and was now crouching inside a tent with two gnolls, one with brown fur and one with pure black.

With the sounds of increased growling and heavy footsteps in the direction she had entered from, it was clear she now had little time before they found the first body, so she needed to hurry and throw caution to the wind. Aurora swiftly slashed the throat of the brown furred gnoll she was standing over and instantly moved to the second, only to have her leg caught by the one she just attacked. 

Aurora’s heart jumped in surprise as she reflexively slashed her sword downwards to where she was being grabbed. The slash managed to injure the gnoll's clawed hand and caused it to retract while leaving a few gashes. The sudden commotion managed to wake up the gnoll who she was now standing over. 

With her swift reflexes, Aurora brought her sword back up and thrust it down into the gnoll's open throat, repeating the action but into its neck as the black-furred gnoll reeled from her lethal attack. 

Aurora’s blade pierced into the gnoll for a second time, causing it to start to thrash clawing at its neck as she backed off, not wanting to get caught up in its wild movements. She took a brief moment to glance at the other gnoll who was slowly bleeding out while crawling towards her. 

Without a hint of mercy, Aurora stabbed at the gnoll's head, missing her first strike at its eye and cutting its cheek as it shifted its head to the side, but hitting the second as her sword pierced straight into its skull. With a bit of effort and bracing her foot against its head, she pulled her sword out and finally received the system notification of her kill. 

[Gnoll Lv 49 defeated. 48% xp gained. 74% skill point xp gained]

[Lv 29 -> 30]

[All Attributes +3]

[+5 stat points]

[+1 skill point]

As she rose to her full height, she could hear the drastic change in her surroundings as the quiet sounds of the slumbering gnolls were replaced with a mixture of howls, guttural roars and the sound of heavy thumps as their massive paws started the hunt for the one who attacked their tribe. 

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