TL: Hayath
Chapter 06
Looking below, Johan saw a kobold with brown skin, typical of the plains, staring up at him with gleaming eyes, waiting for him to fall.
“Too bad, I’m not planning on falling.”
Distracted by his skills, Coffin and Attendant, Johan hadn’t properly grasped the Poison Extraction skill.
He had dismissed it as unimportant, but now realized it could be quite useful.
[Poison Extraction]
Grade: B
•Allows extraction of poison from corpses. The extracted poison can be applied to weapons or parts of the body. Additionally, resistance to poison is increased.
It was thanks to Poison Extraction that he had not been hit by the poisoned needle. While he wasn’t sure how high his resistance had been raised, it was enough to ensure he wouldn’t die from the poison.
With a pluck, he pulled out the poisoned needle. Seeing its 20-centimeter length made him shudder involuntarily.
“My butt’s got a hole in it now.”
At this size, it was more like an arrow than a needle. If he got hit by a few more of these, he might die from the pain rather than the poison.
The kobold, certain Johan would fall, tilted its head in confusion when he didn’t.
Although its poison wouldn’t be fatal, its natural paralyzing venom was quite potent. This poison had made it the ruler of the plains. Yet, here was someone unaffected by it.
Pew, pew!
Unbelieving, it fired more needles furiously until the quiver at its waist was empty. But the needles bounced off Johan’s coffin shield and fell harmlessly to the ground.
Startled, the creature hesitated and retreated, its trump card rendered useless, it seemed to panic. Meanwhile, Johan gently descended from the rock, his mouth watering.
“I was short on corpses to use as attendants. You’ve come just in time.”
As if understanding Johan’s thoughts, the kobold slid down from the rock, taking a stance to defend him.
“Not that. Use this, Koba.”
Johan handed it an iron axe from his bag. It was lighter and more durable than the stone axe the kobold had been using.
“I can’t have my subordinate using a stone axe.”
The kobold’s blue eyes flickered with what seemed like gratitude, shimmering as if they might overflow with emotion.
“If you’re thankful, offer that kobold to me. Go wild.”
Nodding, the kobold launched itself at the enemy, its iron axe gleaming with resolve.
The other kobold, identical in form, appeared bewildered as it approached, making gestures as if to communicate. But Koba remained resolute, striking down with the axe.
The enemy kobold roared furiously, engaging in a fierce battle. Stone clashed with iron, and the stone axe’s edge shattered with a dull sound, unable to withstand the force of the iron axe wielded by the now stronger Koba.
‘Start with the legs.’
The iron axe bit into the enemy kobold’s thigh, precisely where Johan had mentally targeted.
‘Can it read my thoughts?’
He had been uncertain. Lower-level monsters like kobolds typically didn’t exhibit complex battle strategies.
However, if they could share thoughts with Johan and act accordingly, it would be a tremendous advantage, akin to having avatars.
The idea of mummies inheriting Johan’s combat instincts was tantalizing. Among their kind, no kobold would be able to defeat Koba.
Thwack!
Koba targeted the other leg next, ignoring a stone axe aimed at its head. With a swift slice, it severed the tendon of the opposite leg. Although its head was slightly damaged, it remained unhurt.
The enemy kobold, now crippled, fell with a scream.
Koba did not hesitate, splitting the enemy’s skull with a final blow. Dragging the corpse to Johan, it looked up expectantly, like a dog awaiting praise.
“Good job.”
Koba’s glowing eyes curved in a crescent, unmistakably a smile. Perhaps it would eventually express all emotions through its eyes.
“Attendant.”
[BROWN kobold]
Rank: E
Karma: 50
A monster that naturally enjoys tormenting enemies. It has killed and violated three people and killed numerous herbivores for sport rather than survival.
The brown kobold’s rank was higher than that of a regular kobold, likely due to its troublesome poisoned needles.
The corpse began to glow, indicating it was ready for the Attendant skill.
“Attendant.”
Johan activated the skill without hesitation. As he spoke, the coffin opened on its own, releasing tentacle-like bandages from its abyssal darkness.
The bandages quickly enveloped the corpse, pulling it inside. It was a grotesque sight, as if the guilty were being dragged into hell.
[One attendant stored. Spirit stat increases by 1.]
A sense of otherworldly energy began to permeate Johan’s body. It was still weak, but the unfamiliar sensation was stronger than anything he had felt before.
The coffin opened, and a mummy identical to Koba stepped out, sniffing the air before kneeling in front of Johan in a pose of submission.
“It seems slightly larger.”
With just two attendants, Johan felt a sense of fulfillment. Seeing his growing number of attendants filled him with satisfaction.
“With two of them, I could probably handle at least ten more.”
These creatures moved according to his thoughts. If they feared no death, they could likely hunt not just ten, but even twenty.
At that moment, Koba turned its head. It was looking at something at the edge of Johan’s vision.
“Do you see something?”
Nod.
Koba’s gaze sharpened. Johan sensed something approaching.
“Take this. Do you think a stone axe will suffice?”
Johan handed the new mummy an iron axe. The stone axe it had been using was broken, leaving no choice.
“From now on, you are Kowon, and you, the new one, are Kotwo.”
The named mummies ignited with fighting spirit. As Johan armed them, he began to see the approaching figures more clearly.
“One, two, three, four… ten in total. There wasn’t information about this many.”
Ten brown kobolds were heading toward them.
Although he had deliberately come to a dangerous area with monsters, he hadn’t expected this many.
“Something’s definitely off. Even if some monsters remained, there usually aren’t more than three.”
It had to be one of two things. Either the hunters who cleared this area were incompetent, or these kobolds were smarter than usual.
Ki-rik, ki-rik-
They were close enough now to see their faces. Small but sturdy, they looked capable of breaking through anything.
Surprisingly, they didn’t charge immediately but spread out in a tactical formation.
“Looks like it’s the latter. I’ve never seen kobolds this smart before.”
Of course, Johan didn’t wait for them to complete their formation.
Kowon and Kotwo exploited the gaps in the spreading formation. Caught off guard, the kobolds became disoriented.
Shuk-
Kotwo’s iron axe sliced through a kobold’s arm.
The incapacitated kobolds lunged with their fangs, but their bites could not harm the bandages.
Thunk, thunk, thunk-
Poisoned needles struck from all directions, but they had no effect on the undead.
‘As expected, ordinary kobolds can’t defeat my attendants.’
Kowon particularly stood out. It moved with sharp precision, striking at weak points without needing Johan’s orders.
It cut jaws, severed tendons, and struck temples.
In an instant, three kobolds were neutralized. Kowon’s agile movements were those of a true warrior.
[Attendant ‘Kowon’ has leveled up. Lv.2 -> Lv.3]
[Attendant ‘Kowon’ stats have slightly increased.]
Leveling up again, Kowon became even faster, disrupting the enemy formation.
Thunk-
Kotwo took an axe to the leg. Seizing the opportunity, a kobold struck from behind, pinning it down.
Thinking it was over, the kobolds grinned wickedly.
Crack-
Kotwo’s head turned 180 degrees. A maneuver impossible for the living, wiping the smirks off their faces.
Grinning eerily, Kotwo’s mouth split wide open, revealing sharp teeth.
Chomp-
It bit into a kobold’s shoulder, tearing off a chunk of flesh.
Kik, kik!
The terrified kobold struggled, but Kotwo didn’t let go. Instead, it bit deeper, slowly chewing the flesh like a praying mantis devouring its prey.
“Wow.”
Johan felt he needed to reassess his attendants. The grotesquely stretching mouth wasn’t a typical kobold trait.
“Undeath and a huge mouth. They might even cast spells someday.”
The enemy’s morale plummeted. Overwhelmed by Kowon’s skill and Kotwo’s terror, the kobolds lost their will to fight, trembling and even wetting themselves.
The rest was easy. The remaining kobolds were slaughtered without resistance.
K-kiek-
The last kobold stumbled backward. It had been the one directing the others, a relatively intelligent one.
As Kowon approached, it turned and fled, unable to muster any defiance.
Johan casually collected the mana stones from the fallen kobolds and followed at a leisurely pace. There was no rush on the open plains; the kobold couldn’t escape.
“Heading to its habitat, huh? That could be dangerous.”
kobolds usually lived in groups of 30 to 50. With the ten just killed, there could still be 20 to 40 left.
Even if he had easily defeated ten, facing four times that number was daunting. He might be overwhelmed.
“But it’s too big of a temptation.”
Yohan hadn’t even participated in the fight yet. He had exterminated the horde of kobolds solely using his minions’ abilities.
“If I fight with the coffin, at least I won’t die. If it comes to it, I can just retreat into the coffin.”
If he entered the indestructible coffin, those creatures wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.
He was willing to take on some risk for the sake of money.
In fact, he was even willing to face life-threatening danger.
“Let’s go! You only live once!”
The fleeing kobold was climbing the hill.
Each time the dungeon resets, the habitat changes, and this time it seemed to be located on top of the hill.
Kirek-kirrek!
The crawling creature cried mournfully while frantically surveying its surroundings. Apart from it, no other presence could be felt.
“Is this its last act of desperation?”
With a blank expression, Cowon swiftly severed the last kobold’s head.
Cowon shook the severed head as if showing off to Yohan.
“No, you didn’t need to go that far.”
Yohan felt nauseous from the excessive loyalty. The shriveled kobold’s head was not a pleasant sight
“Put it down. Don’t do things I didn’t ask for.”
kowon, chastised by Yohan, lowered his head in dejection.
How could he find this creature cute just because it was wrapped in bandages?
Clearly, he was seeing it through rose-colored glasses. Just as even a porcupine finds its offspring adorable.
Thud—
At that moment, a massive presence began to approach them.
It was a presence they hadn’t sensed at all until just now.
Roar!
A deep, growling roar echoed. The source was somewhere atop the hill.
“Get down here!”
Yohan urgently called kowon. The pressure from this presence was beyond what they should be feeling here.
Swish—
Kowon’s gaze rapidly turned. His eyes slowly moved upward.
Slice—
Kowon’s head was cut off.
The head, flung into the air, rolled and came to a stop at Yohan’s feet. Kowon, whose eyes met Yohan’s, blinked vacantly.
“Why are you here?”
Yohan fixed his gaze on the newly arrived entity.
A monster taller than Yohan, its entire body covered in muscle.
Huff—
Its breath, filled with anger, was as hot as steam.
Despite having nothing else in common, its shriveled skin gave away its identity.
“King kobold.”
The king of the kobolds, which had never appeared in this dungeon before, growled lightly, asserting its presence.
