BOOM!!
The brilliant blue magic missile smashed straight through the first kobold's chest the instant it fired—clean, brutal. Its momentum carried forward, slamming into the second, thinner kobold standing behind it.
BAM!!
The poor thing was sent flying several meters, screaming as it went. Blood and gore sprayed across the stone floor.
[Kobold Slain ×2]
[Total Monster Kills: 52]
[New Title Earned: 'Kobold Hunter.' This title will upgrade as kills increase..]
[Current Title Effect: False Draconic Presence – When mimicking a dragon's roar, you deal minor mental damage to kobolds, decreasing their strength and combat morale. Current effect: -10%.]
As the bodies hit the ground, Gauss's system lit up again. His adventurer's bestiary ticked off a new entry—kobolds, officially logged.
[Monster Types Collected: 3/5 (Goblin, Slime, Skeleton, Water Ghoul, Kobold)]
[Triggering Racial Trait Extraction...]
[Extracted: Random Goblin Trait — "Fast-Dissolve Stomach". Trait adapted for human physiology.]
[New Trait Acquired: "Quick Digestion" (Tier I)]
Quick Digestion: Slightly increases stamina and mana recovery after eating.]
[Note: This trait scales with the number of goblins slain. Killing more will upgrade its effects.]
[Next trait extraction unlocks at 20 monster types.]
Gauss read through the new prompt and felt... surprisingly pleased. A goblin trait? At first he was skeptical.
But after thinking it through, his heart started to race.
Fast recovery? For both stamina and mana? Yes, please.
His training with weapons and spells consumed both heavily—and waiting for them to recover was a huge bottleneck for progress. If he could speed that up, even slightly, it would make a real difference. And since the trait could evolve with more goblin kills, this was just the beginning.
Better still, he realized something important: this trait had synergy with his newly acquired Mage Armor, a core spell he was betting big on.
What if he created a loop?
Cast Mage Armor → eat a restorative item → digest fast → restore mana → recast Mage Armor if broken → repeat.
Like a walking magic turret with self-sustaining defenses.
Of course, that was just theory. It would take more power, better traits, and stronger spells. But the potential?
Massive.
He pulled himself back to the present. All that thinking had only taken seconds.
The two kobold corpses still twitched on the floor.
From deeper inside the cavern, kobold cries echoed through the hall.
"Rah!! Rahhh!!"
Small reptilian figures burst into view, clutching crude weapons and screeching in panic. Their scaly, lizard-like bodies shook as they faced the intruders.
They were cowards by nature—but they weren't stupid. Their friends were dead. That meant one thing: fight or die.
"Leave none alive!" someone from Gauss's party yelled.
Still riding high off the tense crawl through the narrow tunnels, the whole team charged like a wave breaking over the kobold camp.
Compared to the puny kobolds, they were giants—armor-clad, steel-wielding monsters. It was a slaughter.
Kobold blades shattered against shields. Swords cleaved through scale. Blood pooled fast across the dirt floor.
Gauss joined the fight, his rapier flashing as he finished off another kobold.
Then he noticed something—movement up on a rocky ledge.
In a dark corner above the main cavern, a hunched, elderly kobold stood out. Shorter than the rest, holding a crooked staff—and something was glowing red inside its throat.
"LEFT FLANK—WATCH OUT!!" Gauss shouted.
Just in time.
The old kobold opened its mouth—and whoomph—a ball of fire shot out like a flamethrower.
FWOOOSH!!
The fireball flew toward the party.
But Gauss's warning saved them. Everyone dove out of the blast zone just in time.
BOOM!!
Sparks and smoke exploded like fireworks.
That had been close.
The old kobold slumped back, visibly drained. Its already wrinkled skin grayed further with exhaustion.
"Caster?" Gauss muttered—but then shook his head. No magic signature. Not a spellcaster. Just... a mutation?
Its throat swelled again. More heat built inside.
Gauss wasn't going to wait for a round two.
He summoned Mage Hand instantly and sent the invisible force hurtling forward—
—straight into the kobold's face.
"Gkk—!"
The pressure on its snout interrupted the charge-up.
But the fire building inside couldn't be stopped.
Its eyes went wide with horror.
KA-BOOM!!
The kobold's throat detonated inward—flames erupting from its own body like a backfired bomb.
The headless corpse dropped from the ledge with a sickening thud.
Its lifeless eyes still wide, as if asking: How did I die to my own attack?