Chapter 391 : Kobold Warrior
「Wh-What the hell is that!? It’s freaking huge!」(Luard)
An unknown, terrifying monster came out of the smoky cave.
It had a huge body and two heads that resembled dogs’ heads. However, unlike a dog, it had two muscular arms and legs. It was holding a big axe made of stone in one hand. When I moved my gaze a bit lower, I also noticed it had two long tails.
It was glaring angrily at us while showing its sharp fangs, trying to intimidate us. It must have noticed that we were the ones throwing a smoke bomb into its lair.
「No way… What kind of kobold is that!?」(Weikel)
「Kobold? That’s a kobold?」(Luard)
Now that he mentioned it, it does resemble a kobold. The difference from a normal kobold is that it had two heads and a body three times the size of a normal one’s.
I heard that each kobold nest in this forest had an outstandingly powerful kobold which acted as the leader. It could be more dangerous than normal kobolds. That’s why you should report to the Adventurer Guild if you find a kobold nest.
This one must be the leader of this nest. Before we can defeat the rest of the kobolds in this nest, I think we should defeat it first.
「Weikel, let’s defeat this leader first, and then we’ll clear the nest.」(Luard)
「”Leader”? What are you talking about, Luard-sama!?」(Weikel)
「Huh? That guy is the leader of this nest, right? It looks strong.」(Luard)
「No, a nest leader doesn’t have a huge body and two heads! It looks like a normal kobold, but just a bit stronger! This one is an entirely different being!」(Weikel)
「What? If it’s not a nest leader, then what is it?」(Luard)
「I’ve never seen a monster like that before, but I think that’s a special variant of a kobold!」(Weikel)
「Special variant, you say!?」(Luard)
「Yes. They are extremely rare types of monsters which are much more powerful than the normal ones. Have you noticed no other kobolds are coming out of the nest except for that one?」(Weikel)
「What?」(Luard)
I shifted my gaze toward the nest.
As he said, there were no other kobolds coming out, even though the nest was filled with smoke. It was as if this monster were the only one living in the nest.
But, what does it mean?
「Luard-sama, do you know how special variant monsters are born? Some are born after absorbing a huge amount of natural mana from their surroundings, and some others are born after absorbing mana from monsters of the same species by eating them.」(Weikel)
「Eating? Hold on… So you say that…」(Luard)
「That’s right. This monster must have eaten its own friends and emptied this nest. That’s why it evolved into a special variant type. In other words, this guy is bad news!」(Weikel)
「So, it really is a special variant…」(Luard)
“Special variant”… Those words reminded me of the story I heard from a veteran adventurer when I was younger.
That time, he came to my house to do business with my father. My father told me to have a seat with them, telling me I might learn something from them.
To be frank, I didn’t really care and wasn’t interested at all in their business talk, so I barely remember what they were talking about. However, the adventure’s story about his job piqued my interest.
After he was done with his business, the adventurer stayed a bit longer for a small talk with my father.
My father asked him, “How could you become stronger as an adventurer?”
The adventurer then told my father that he grew stronger by obtaining some kind of power called “Ether”.
It was said that Ether was the power of the soul from the monsters you defeated. Of course, not all monsters have that. To obtain Ether, you have to defeat particularly powerful monsters known as special variants.
When you kill a special variant monster, their soul (the Ether), will flow into your body and merge with your soul, enhancing your physical and magical power greatly.
Apparently, the existence of Ether was known only to some adventurers, especially the high-ranked ones.
*/TL : The explanation about Ether has been told in chapter 125
Anyway, now that I’ve learned the monster we are facing is a special variant monster, I can’t just back out.
The power of Ether will increase my strength. If I can defeat it, I will definitely become even stronger than I am now!
I will show Delica I’m stronger than herー no, than anyone in the dojo, and I will make her fall in love with me!
This is it! This is my only chance!
「Weikel, help me kill it!」(Luard)
「Help you what!? Luard-sama, are you going to fight it!?」(Weikel)
「Yeah, I will kill this guy and absorb its Ether!」(Luard)
「Ether? Wait, Luard-sama, I had no idea you knew about Ether.」(Weikel)
「I heard about it. I will become stronger if I kill this monster, right?」(Luard)
「Yes, but, are you insane!? We can’t defeat it! Even Celine can’t defeat it alone!」(Weikel)
「I don’t know who that is, but think about it. You will be rewarded with a lot of money if you bring its head to the guild. You need money to rebuild your party, right?」(Luard)
「I do, but I’ve learned my lesson in Sadola! I can’t risk our lives! We should return and report it to the guild ASAP!」(Weikel)
「No, reporting won’t be enough. I want its head! I want its Ether! I can’t let anyone else have them! This is my only chance to get the power I need!」(Luard)
「Please don’t be stupid, Luard-sama! There’s no way we can kill it!」(Weikel)
「Shut up!」(Luard)
ーGRAAAAAAAAAAA!!
When I shouted at Weikel without thinking, the monster let out a loud cry. It probably thought I was provoking it.
It raised its axe and ran toward me.
「ー!!」(Luard)
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