Vol. 2 – Chapter 36 - Departing the Gravelmark
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Mathias, hearing the old kobold seeming to struggle, walked toward where the voice came from and saw the old man covered in the wooden boxes filled with gold pellets and gemstones. The sight was so shiny that Mathias couldn't believe what he was seeing.
'I saw that this part of the mountain is filled with jewels since I managed to get my hands on two gemstones, but to think I would see so much gold. This quantity makes it feel as if the old kobold hit the jackpot and robbed the bank or something.'
"Give me a hand and help me out." said Elder Morlk again, where Mathias recovered from his initial shock and started lighting the wooden boxes and clear out the gemstones covering the old kobold.
"Elder, don't tell me you intend to give me those gemstones and gold pellets?"
"Ohh this? If you want it you can take it, humans value this type of shiny stones more than us kobolds. However, what I wanted to give you is some crafts I did in my younger days, it should be in one of the wooden boxes."
"There's no need, Elder. I am good with only Dahlia's Tears."
"No, no, take it as me wanting to help my tribe by helping you out. You can help us buy weapons, armors, other things human use, and so improve the lives of the tribe. It would be hard for me to take out so much of the shiny stones and sell them to the humans." commented Elder Morlk after he grabbed into Mathias's hand and slowly raising up with his help.
"Sigh, it is for certain they will take advantage of you since you don't know how much they value for the humans. Still, I want to ask you, are you sure about this choice?"
"Yes, you are a good young man. I've seen it with my old eyes, you aren't greedy and are a humble human. Entrusting the shiny stones my tribe managed to get from the mountain and having you help us buy different things would be the smartest idea I have ever come up with." mentioned the old kobold as he dusted his tunic before moving toward a wooden box that didn't drop to the ground from the storage room.
Using some of the dropped boxes as platforms, the old kobold took hold of the elevated wooden box, and taking it in his arms, he later showed Mathias what he had inside.
"This is some of the works I did using the golden rocks who I melted with my fire magic, and later shaped using some sand soil model, before I polished them using the stream rocks. The other shiny stones are also unique holding mana of the mountain spirit, ahh, the ghost you have been mentioning."
{WHAT? Don't tell me that tree sucked me so dry that it started distributing the mana and red energy inside the mountain?}
'That… This could be a reason so many strong monsters lurk inside the mountain, from rocs to gryphons.'
{Rocs? Those annoying chickens have settled in my territory? Since then I thought I've cleared them out from Gravelmark.}
'Who should I ask, old man?'
{That bastard Zik. It is most likely his doing.}
'I doubt it old man, you know there is a natural instinct of animals or better said beasts to return to their place of origin. Like fish who move to the place they spawned to lay their eggs and so on. That isn't the doing of a person in general. Right, also, who is that Zik you mentioned?'
{Some beggar.}
Mathias who heard Haycien's short and cold comment felt that this subject was slightly delicate, and he didn't pursue to find out. With time he would find everything from the old man. He could even note in his mind that the old man wasn't a danger to himself as he initially thought, being a demon who wanted to possess him, since he had his talks with him while he was strolling inside the Groove area, where Haycien told him who he was once again.
The way someone would understand information when they were calmed down was completely different from a stressed self, and his talks with Haycien returned to a normal state.
'Anyway, old man, a quick question. How many enemies did you leave with unfinished business before you had to pass the fire?'
{Lad, why are you so worried that someone would come to hunt you down? I doubt people from my era are even alive, except for the demons, that beggar bastard, and the boy who managed to strike an almost dead Cadmus, and end his poor life. Hmph, he became a "Dragon Slayer" but he didn't even fight that dragon head-on to claim that title.}
'You sound jealous old man' chuckled Mathias with his inner voice, while on outside he was focusing on looking around the jewels and talking with Elder Morlk
{Buzz off lad. I am the first Mythical figure of the Human race, the First Emperor of the Humans. I, Haycien von Saharan, I could fight head-on against dragonkin, that title of Dragon Slayer should have been handed to me but I heard about Cadmus health state too late and that lucky kid stole the kill.} replied Haycien inside his brain, sounding slightly displeased by those memories of the past.
'Aye! Old man was the strongest, the first Emperor.'
Besides the talk he had with Haycien, Mathias was interested in the earring the Elder presented him in the Beta Phase for Fayrene, it was a pair of earrings that were of an Epic rating which boosted the Mana of the user and also who gave a calming effect when casting spells, which from how he connected the puzzle it was most likely caused by the Red Energy belonging to the old ghost.
"You want that earring? That pair is the best work I've done, along with another bracelet. Here, let me show it to you."
Saying that the old kobold who saw Mathias handle the pair of earrings, he started digging in the box full of jewels for the specific bracelet he had in mind, and soon he fished it out, showing a slim golden bracelet that had small gems around in a circular pattern, giving the impression it was a pristine crafted item, which in itself was for Mathias.
"This is really impressive Elder Morlk. I've heard kobolds have an innate affinity for mining and making tunnels, but to have an affinity for crafting is new for me. I thought dwarfs had that type of gift."
"My methods are lacking because I lack the materials required to build such delicate items. But, we kobolds also have the gift of crafting from the Dragon Creators. Just that, as I said, our techniques are lacking."
"I see, when I return to the village with the goods I will buy using the gemstones, there will be also methods of crafting jewels. Wouldn't it be a shame if you kobolds with this innate gift of searching for gemstones can't materialize completely by crafting something to your liking?"
"Correct, I will leave it to you, young Mathias. You can take all the jewels I have made and return with something that can change the tribe."
Mathias shook his head, only taking the earrings, and bracelet along with the gemstones and gold pellets which he didn't even bother to estimate how much they valued in gold. Afterward, when the old kobold noticed that Mathias didn't take everything, he looked confused, but he got reminded by something critical.
"Elder, you also need to reward the future adventurers who will knock at your door. You need to make a good impression on them so they don't pick on you. Still, I will try to make some plans so they don't target you, even the craziest ones."
"Right, I almost forgot about them. That's how we will do it, young Mathias. Ahem, also I have something else to tell you."
"Hmm?"
"That, little child, Vek, he plans to adventure in the world, and will for certain ask you to allow him to join you in your journey to the human kingdom."
Hearing this, it made Mathias nod his head calmly which made the old kobold feel relieved, especially when hearing the latter mention.
"I think it will be a good idea for him to explore the outside. He can do it first by accompanying me, and if he later wants to go by his own, I will be there to give him support to the best of my abilities. Even introduce him to the Adventurer's Guild, since there might be some divergences from the way he looks."
"Thank you. I will leave that child in your care and teachings. I am sure he will learn a lot from you and from these adventures. My hope for him is that he will exceed the Ancestor and become the greatest Kobold Chieftain, even uniting the scattered brothers from the world." said Elder Morkl, wanting to bow at Mathias, but was stopped short by his hand, raising his head to see him shake his head in a peaceful way.
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"No need for such curtsy between us Elder. It will be my pleasure to look after him, so be at ease."
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Talking for a bit more with the kobold elder, who reminded him of certain things about the dragonblood powers that Vek awakened, and ways for him to control those, but they were vague because Vek awakened fully, while the old kobold had a partial awakening, and certain information he knew couldn't apply in his case.
"It shouldn't be bad if he learns the ancestor memoir and diligently trains himself to control that power."
Once things were said, Mathias bid farewell to the old kobold, and exiting the house walking down the mound, he saw Vek along with Vivian and Paula where the young kobold was talking about something he couldn't pick up. However, when he stepped down, Vivian said something with a small chuckle.
"Here he is, go on, tell him what you want to do."
Vek turned his head, and saw Mathias arrive close by, and looking up, he took some seconds before opening his mouth, while the latter seemed to be interested in what he had to say.
"Mathias, can I join you in your journey to the human city?"
"I don't mind it, you are more than welcome to join me."
Getting his approval made Vek jump in the air, which made the girls giggle, feeling a weird sensation when seeing the ecstatic kobold who was display emotions they could relate to.
"Easy, little Vek or you will start flying around here and hit your face into some cavern."
"Ahh, sorry."
"Don't be, take it easy. The journey will take three days to reach Titan, so you better be prepared."
Vek showed Mathias a small fabric bag that was tied around his waist, strapped on the protective trousers that he was wearing, and without asking him anything else, he started walking toward the exit of the tribe settlement.
"You've bid your farewell to your friends, right?"
"I did."
It was a back and forth between the human and kobold walking side by side, which made Mathias who was taller seem like his father, making the girls gossip, getting their natural instinct of women to talk behind the back of others.
@Paula: Isn't it amusing how well those two have bounded together?
@Vivian: I mean, to me it feels as if Mathias got a pet, but I will obviously not be open about this. Still, that kobold is quite intriguing. You've heard from the old kobold that only the first kobold to settle in this place was a Dragonwhatever.
@Paula: Indeed, his name also turned golden from the silver he had in the fight. Since that fight was so tense, I didn't notice but thanks to the recording I managed to pick it up.
@Vivian: Paula, you've recorded the entire fight?
@Paula: Since the instance began, I've been recording the fights so I could use it as teaching material if I would do something wrong
@Vivian: Share it with me too when we log out.
@Paula: Sure thing, Vivi.
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Meanwhile, Vek was asking Mathias all short of questions, about the outside which was reminiscent to the moment Orpheus was asking him lots of questions, but this time he was patient since his overall achievements for this part of his journey were great.
"Easy, don't ask me so many questions all at once. There are also things I don't know and I will have to adventure outside to experience for myself those unknowns."
"Ahh, was it too much?"
"A bit, but if you place one question at a time, I will try to answer."
The party made their way toward another tunnel which led to where Iljnoks made its den, at the biggest gallery, serving as entrance to the Gravelmark Kobold Tribe. Taking this path was even faster compared to the narrow and extensive tunnels he had taken.
The wall itself seemed to be a stuffed, without an exit creating confusion between the two girls, who gazed at Vek who took them on this new path with slightly questioning in their expression, but Mathias who noticed this brushed it off, telling them calmly.
"Be patient. There is most likely a mechanism which will open the exit to the settlement."
"That's correct, Mathias. My apologies to the human ladies if they got scared." remarked Vek, who apologized at the girls, before rushing toward the cavern wall, later starting to touch the loose rocks as if he was solving a complicated puzzle.
'Wow, I have never seen such a thing, only read about it in fantasy books.' thought Vivian when seeing Vek rapidly move the rocks which formed a puzzle mechanism, such could be said for Paula who was an adept of the fantasy novels.
With a cracking sound, what followed next was a small entrance being revealed in the wall with the outside being in front them.
Exiting the tunnel and entering the monster's den place, Mathias could see the skeletons he remembered from the Beta Phase which made him place his on Vek's head, patting it for some seconds before stepping forward, but the moment he and the party walked toward the center of the den after closing the tunnel, voices began getting stronger.
"Slow down, I heard some movement in that room, it should be the boss room. Start preparing for the raid since those rats and spiders were quite a pain to deal with."
"Understood, guild leader. We are good to start the raid."
More voices were heard whispering around and discussing the "boss-fight" but once they stepped inside Iljnoks lair, they were met by Mathias's, Vek, Vivian and Paula walking forward in a calm manner, getting closer and closer to the party.
The player who seemed to be the leader of the group wanting to raid Iljnoks, was someone called Mando who was a level 28 user, belonging to a guild called [Corrupt Dust], the players next to him were also high level, there being other 4 players whose level ranged from 24 to 26.
"Stop right there for a second." said the guy Mando, a man in his mid-twenties with a trimmed beard, with a tall body, standing at 1,88 meters having olive skin tone, with black hair and brown eyes, making him feel closely related to the Mediterranean Climate-zone people.
He was welding a Glaive in his hands which surprised Mathias a bit, while his body was covered in normal knights plate armor.
"Hmm?"
When Mathias stopped Vek also followed his lead, along with the girls who gazed at the party of 5, seeming to wait for Mando's inquire.
"You guys have cleared the instance right? The destroyed tunnel at the half the instance is also your doings?"
"Something like that. It seems our party was first to arrive at the instance and clear the bosses. There should be a problem right?" asked Mathias using a polite tone while looking at Mando with his crimson eyes, making the latter feel weird since it was his first time encountering a man with crimson hair and eyes that only by using lenses you could achieve.
'This dude kind of looks effeminate, maybe that's why he dyed his hair that color and even grew it out. Hah, should I force them to give me a chunk of the loot from the bosses? Wait, I can't see the nameplate of the effeminate one because of his hat, but those two chicks, are level 29 respectively 30'
Mando opened the level ranking ledger and instantly could see both girls on the top 10, with Vivian being top 2, giving him a shock of his own, returning his gaze at Mathias who was hiding his name with the hat.
'From how those babes are positioned behind him, he should be the leader of the party, could it be, this guy is Kraugel? Now I understand why his level would get higher so quickly he is raiding bosses with his team. Phew, good to know, otherwise I would have messed up and get myself killed. My character is still not prepared for PvP, I need to complete all the steps of getting my class skills from the Guard Captain.'
Mando after quickly sorting out his thoughts, and even turning his attention for a brief moment on Vek who was a Level 40 NPC who wasn't marked as a monster even though it had the appearance of one.
'Maybe this is how he levels up, using that high-level NPC. Anyway, let's get out from here and climb the mountain if there's nothing more to do in this instance.'
"Thanks for the response, you've helped me a lot with not wasting my time on an already cleared instance. Let's go guys, we still have lots of monsters around this mountain to clean." said Mando to his party, who noticed that his look was serious, implying to not create a mess with this team.
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In the end Mando and his guild were first to leave, hurrying to the instance exit, leaving Mathias and his party alone, to continue their walk slowly but surely out of the instance.
@Vivian: It looked to me that those guys were about to challenge us for the spoils.
@Paula: That's also what I thought, but is good that Mathias managed to short things without fighting out.
@Mathias: It's not because of me, his expression changed the moment he looked at you two girls. It wasn't your looks that dissuaded him, but instead your levels. Have you noticed at what rank you two are?
Talking it privately so their "extravagant" talk wouldn't be picked by Vek and later create all sort of confusions for the little kobold, the girls opened the ranking ledger out of curiosity, and were dismayed.
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[RANKING LEDGER]
Kraugel - Lv. 31
Vivian - Lv. 30
Red - Lv. 29
Paula - Lv. 29
Hurent - Lv. 28
Fang - Lv. 28
Mando - Lv. 28
Chris - Lv. 27
Mihara - Lv. 27
Yura - Lv. 27
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@Paula: Wow, we are in the top 10. This is crazy. I never imagined I could see this day, I am spot on with those crazy people. Heh, I am about to overtake that Red guy from your guild Mathias.
@Mathias: Good luck with that, but you will have to work hard to beat that maniac who only sleeps 4 hours a day. Otherwise, how do you think he is constantly in the top 10?
Hearings, his question in the chat, it made Paula take smaller steps outside the instance, and not long after she asked Mathias.
@Paula: What class does Red have?
@Mathias: No idea, let me ask him.
Turning to his friend list, he whispered to Red the basic question Paula wanted to know, to which the latter responded in style.
@Red: Boss, don't tell me I've gotten myself a fan? Tell me it is a young lady?
@Mathias: Yes, you are in luck, now tell me what class do you got.
@Red: Have the young lady message me. Let me bask in that feeling of being approached by a girl.
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Ending for a moment his talk with Red, he later shifted chats, and told Paula using the party chat.
@Mathias: He told me that if you are curious about him, why not ask him directly.
It took quite a while for Paula to gesticulate something, but Vivian could tell from her reactions that she was thinking hard on what she should do.
'What a simple girl. Still, let me pull this mysterious guy's tongue a bit more, maybe I fish more information from him.'
@Vivian: Mathias, why aren't you disclosing your level for the ledger?
@Mathias: You should open the option of receiving whispers from users you don't have at the friend list.
Getting his response, it got Vivian curious and without thinking too much on her action, she opened the setting, and instantly her chat box was filled with messages, from the most creepy ones to the sexual harassment ones, so and forth, but there were also genuine congratulations. Evidently, they were little because the disgusting messages were predominant.
@Vivian: Why did you tell me to do that?
@Mathias: This is just a part of being a known person. With fame comes also the jealousy of individuals who want to achieve more from themselves or those who don't know where to channel their hatred and anger to, so instead, they go after public figures. Technically, anyone who allowed the system to register their levels on that system has turned into a public figure.
@Vivian: I understand, so this is the main reason you decline the world announcements for the boss fights. But there should also be benefits for the ones who disclosed their levels.
@Mathias: Who knows. I am not in the position to want more than I have. Comparing me now to the one from the Beta, there's differences from the ground to the sky.