Chapter 116 - 115: Suspicious Wound

Chapter 116: Chapter 115: Suspicious Wound

The next day, the sun shone brightly.

Hesia woke from a deep sleep and stretched contentedly.

He made a simple breakfast by mixing hot water with the oats he carried, adding some chopped jerky.

He had slept surprisingly well last night.

Although he had flatly refused Trist’s cooking—which looked like it could poison an Ogre—he hadn’t turned down the offer of hot water and a wooden tub.

A thoroughly enjoyable hot bath washed away the dust from days of travel, and since he didn’t have to take a turn on watch, he was able to sleep soundly until dawn.

Incidentally, Bruce had been stripped of his right to sleep next to Hesia.

Ever since he started wearing the [Sleepy Knight’s Wristband], the dog had begun snoring at night. The sound wasn’t quiet, and his sleep-talking ranged from "milky little biscuits" to "roasted clefthoof ribs," leaving a puddle of drool on the ground.

In the end, he was ordered to move next to Belte, who snored just as thunderously.

That night, the man-and-dog duo performed a duet of the "Thunderous Lullaby" for the camp. Despite their strong protests, which were met with an even stronger, unanimous veto from everyone else, the arrangement was made permanent.

...

Once everyone was dressed and equipped, the party set off toward the Dogman Cave.

As they moved through the dense forest in the faint morning light, Hulk suddenly stopped. With the tip of his sword, he flicked up a taut tripwire from beneath a pile of fallen leaves. The other end was connected to a net woven from vines, filled with stones.

He looked at Trist, his face expressionless.

Seeing everyone’s eyes on him, Trist scratched his head awkwardly. "Er... I set this up to keep those Kobolds from wandering near my house. Sometimes there are also clueless Thorny Wild Boars... Anyway... that’s what it is..."

After speaking, he seemed unaccustomed to the brightening sunlight in the forest. He unconsciously raised a hand to shield his eyes, squinting slightly.

Hesia frowned slightly, but his teammates didn’t say much. It was probably because the traps were so crudely made; they obviously weren’t designed to deal with experienced Adventurers.

He also remained silent, merely making a mental note of Trist’s action.

...

It wasn’t far from Trist’s cabin to the vicinity of the cave. Half an hour later, the team arrived at their destination.

Trist pointed to a thicket in the distance. "The cave is behind that. If we step out from here, the Kobolds outside will spot us."

Hesia parted the branches and peered through the gap.

Just as Trist had said, there were only two Kobolds at the cave entrance.

It was his first time seeing such creatures with his own eyes.

Their appearance was a far cry from the "dog" in their name, looking more like upright-walking Lizardmen.

The two creatures were short, reaching only to Hesia’s chest from a distance. Their skulls were like a clumsy mix of a lizard and a weasel. A layer of rough, dark scales covered their bony spines from the nape of their necks to their tailbones, and the skin between the scales was an unhealthy, grayish-white.

A hairless tail swept restlessly at the dust on the ground behind them.

Their thin arms ended in claws disproportionately large for their bodies. They were currently gripping crude wooden clubs, one of which was studded with a few rusty nails.

While Hesia was observing, Laila and Zoya had already silently taken their positions.

Hulk’s gaze fell on Laila, and he gave a slight nod.

The signal was given!

In almost the same instant, Laila’s arrow flew from her bow, slicing through the air toward the head of the sentry on the right. Simultaneously, Zoya, who had long since moved into position using Stealth, drew the cold glint of her dagger across the neck of the sentry on the left!

"PFFT!"

"SHLICK!"

The two soft sounds were almost one.

The two Kobolds collapsed limply without even having the chance to sound an alarm.

Hulk then looked at Hesia. "You’re up, young Galen."

Hesia immediately moved past the thicket, raised his Black Ebony Staff Material, and focused his mind on the cave entrance as his Magic Power surged—

[Greasy Skill]!

Although each Spellcasting could only create a greasy slick the size of a washbasin, with the enhancement from [Earth Affinity], Hesia was able to cast it continuously.

After ten Spellcastings, a large area at the cave entrance was covered in a thick, yellowish-white grease.

Zoya chose the perfect moment to throw the Blazing Fire Glue. The bottle shattered upon hitting the oil, and with a WHOOSH, flames erupted. Thick, acrid black smoke billowed up and began to rapidly spread into the cave.

Hesia didn’t stop, continuing to cast [Greasy Skill] into the cave to push the flames deeper.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the Kobolds to be smoked out.

According to their previous discussion, the Dogman Mage used Flame Magic and might have some resistance to high temperatures and thick smoke.

If it was cunning enough, it would most likely let the other Kobolds rush out first to scout the way.

But Hesia wasn’t concerned with that. Whether it was an ordinary Kobold or the Mage, he was prepared to kill it on sight and extract its trait.

However, the expected scene of a horde of Kobolds coughing and rushing out did not happen.

Instead, with a shrill scream, a crimson figure burst out of the cave entrance, leaping directly through the smoke and flames!

Was it the Dogman Mage?

It seemed to be severely injured, its body covered in blood.

Burning grease clung to its feet, but it paid it no mind.

Its vertical, crimson pupils were filled with terror as it fled frantically toward the thicket, heedless of everything else.

The moment it saw Hesia and the others, the terror on its face was instantly replaced by a furious rage.

With a WHOOSH, an unstable flame ignited in its claw. It let out a series of furious screeches at Hesia’s group. "Despicable Scaleless! Kneel before the great Gazi—"

Although Hesia couldn’t understand its sharp-tongued language, he could feel the provocation in its words.

’You’re about to die, and you’re still this arrogant?’

Though he was curious why this Kobold was so frenzied, his Spellcasting movements didn’t hesitate.

An Earth Spike suddenly erupted from the ground, accurately piercing the Dogman Mage’s chest and cutting off its final roar.

[You have extracted the following traits by killing the Dogman Mage—]

[Weak Red Dragon Bloodline]: The fire of the Red Dragon has been implanted in your bloodline. Your body temperature has risen as a result, and sparks will fly from your fingertips when you are agitated. You have begun to understand this unfamiliar heat, allowing you to use low-tier Bloodline Techniques. At the same time, the innate arrogance of your bloodline will cause you to unconsciously taunt enemies in battle. After successfully enraging an opponent, a strong sense of superiority will greatly inspire your Spellcasting instincts.

[Greed Nature]: You have inherited the Kobold’s desire for Shiny things. You will unconsciously want to claim any treasure you see for yourself. Your Will wavers in the face of treasure, but this may also help you discover hidden riches.

There was nothing to hesitate about.

[You have selected the trait—Weak Red Dragon Bloodline]

[Physique +2]

[Power +2]

[Wisdom +1]

Hesia almost didn’t have time to react.

Upgrading [Earth Spike Technique] to Level 3 had only given him 2 points of Wisdom, yet this [Weak Red Dragon Bloodline] provided a total of 5 Attribute Points!

He suppressed his surging joy. Now was not the time for a closer look.

After all, the trait’s description mentioned that sparks would fly from his fingertips when he was agitated, and his current mood was anything but calm.

His teammates had already gathered around the Dogman Mage’s corpse.

Hulk lifted the still-twitching body off the Earth Spike and turned it over for a closer inspection.

His brow furrowed deeper. "Strange... The wounds on its body are fresh, some are even still seeping blood. Looking at the shape of the wounds, they look like... marks from an axe?"

As he spoke, he used the tip of his sword to push aside the scales on the corpse’s back. Only then did everyone see that beneath the crimson scales, a wound deep enough to show bone stretched from its right shoulder down to its waist.

Hesia said, "It seems it wasn’t smoked out by us, but was chased out by something inside the cave."

Trist, meanwhile, was wringing his hands at the side. "So much blood!! What a waste! Think of how much deliciousness has been lost."

No one paid any mind to the gourmet’s lament.

The squad members were now filled with questions, but they had to enter the cave anyway to search for any treasure the Kobolds might have collected.

For now, they just had to wait patiently for the flames at the entrance to die down and the smoke to clear before they could go inside to investigate.