Chapter 56: Shooting the Kobold's Head Off

(PS: These are 2nd Edition version kobolds.)

Kobolds are short, hunched, and slender creatures roughly the size of goblins.

Their bodies are covered in fine scales ranging from deep red to ochre-black, the exact coloration depending on which chromatic dragon's blood flows more strongly through their veins.

Their heads generally resemble a hybrid between a small lizard and a canine, with individuals possessing a strong draconic heritage sporting a snout that looks more like that of a true dragon—typically manifested as an elongated muzzle.

Atop their heads grow one to three pairs of short, bony horns; the stronger their draconic bloodline, the longer these horns can grow.

As for their upper limbs, a kobold's hands have only four fingers, with short, thick claws somewhat resembling those of a mole, making them exceptionally well-suited for digging.

Their lower limbs exhibit a bird-like reverse-articulation structure, which tends to throw their bodies off balance during movement. To compensate, they possess a short, thick, rat-like tail less than a meter in length, used to maintain bodily stability.

The Adventurers' Guild's monster compendium specifically notes that kobolds possess a special thermal-sensing vision, capable of detecting any heat-emitting biological and non-biological entities within a range of up to 18 meters directly in front of their eyes. This sensory ability is the key to their survival in complete darkness.

Although Lirui’s [Minor Darkvision] allowed him to see farther than a kobold’s thermal vision, and the lake water alongside the outer gelatinous layer provided a dual dampening effect against this heat detection, he still cautiously lingered deep underwater until the kobold boat glided over his head. Only then did he control the "gelatinous ray" to slowly surface behind them.

Inside the "gelatinous ray," within the air chamber specifically left empty for the two of them to breathe, Lirui lowered his voice to ask his companion, "Millie, is your bow still usable?"

Millie nodded. "Usable."

Ever since they had been trapped deep underground, she had carefully unstrung her longbow, wrapping and preserving it meticulously in oiled paper.

Just moments ago, she had skillfully restrung the bow, and it was now ready for combat at a moment's notice.

"Good," Lirui responded briefly, then guided the "gelatinous ray" upward.

When the top of the gelatinous layer touched the water's surface, he reached his arm through the viscous gel and the shallow lake water, beginning to chant the incantation for [Burning Hands] clearly and rapidly.

Muffled by the dual soundproofing of the lake water and the gel, the kobolds remained completely unaware that less than ten meters behind them, a spellcaster was chanting an incantation.

Just a few seconds later, the exact moment the final syllable of the spell left his lips, Lirui caused the "gelatinous ray" to break the surface entirely.

The gel at the top of the air chamber parted outward around his extended wrist, exposing his and Millie's upper bodies to the dark surface of the lake.

"Whoosh!"

A ball of searing flame materialized out of thin air in the palm of Lirui’s raised right hand.

With a fierce sweep of his arm, the fireball whirled through the air with a whistling sound, striking the center of the small boat with pinpoint accuracy before the kobolds could react in any way.

The sudden burst of fire instantly illuminated the crude wooden boat and the five terrified kobolds aboard.

"Aroo!"

The sudden fireball struck the centermost kobold directly. Flames immediately engulfed its body, wringing a scream of instinctual terror from its throat.

The other kobolds were violently assaulted by the sudden glare—while their thermal vision excelled at tracking targets in the dark, it made them exceptionally sensitive to sudden, bright light sources.

Piercing pain immediately overwhelmed their eyes under the harsh glare, and tears streamed uncontrollably from them.

This was merely a fireball comparable in brightness to a torch; under direct sunlight, such trauma would be far worse. Had they not tightly shut their eyes, the sunlight alone would have caused them to grow dizzy and lose their balance.

The abrupt flames and agonizing pain triggered instant panic. Amidst a cacophony of shrieks, the kobolds on the boat scrambled to leap overboard and flee.

However, with five creatures moving simultaneously, the already flimsy boat rocked violently. Panicked and unstable, they failed to jump cleanly into the water, losing their balance instead and tumbling off awkwardly with a massive splash.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

The moment the kobolds hit the water, Millie made her move.

Lacking darkvision, she briefly squinted to adjust the moment the fire flared.

Without a moment's hesitation, she drew her bowstring, her fingers flying as the cord vibrated at high frequency.

In a mere ten seconds, a dense volley of arrows rained down like a lethal downpour, carrying thirty piercing whistles as they continuously struck the struggling silhouettes on the water's surface.

When Millie ceased firing, only the faint reverberation of the bowstring and the agonizing, fading death rattles of the kobolds echoed across the water.

Confirming that the kobolds no longer posed any threat, Lirui cautiously maneuvered the "gelatinous ray" toward the now-empty wooden boat.

After climbing aboard to secure the vessel, he used the gelatinous layer beneath the hull to propel the small boat slowly toward the sluggish, no longer struggling kobolds.

Extending his polearm, he hooked the dying creatures one by one toward the side of the boat, delivering a coup de grâce to each of their necks.

Under the effect of the [Soul Devourer] trait, Lirui could distinctly perceive the wisps of soul essence drifting away from them.

It felt like stepping into an ice-cellar packed with blocks of ice during the sweltering heat of summer; the chilly, pure soul energy poured in instantly, causing every pore in his body to relax involuntarily.

While relishing this refreshing coolness, Lirui and Millie had no intention of idling.

In the brief ten seconds just past, Millie had loosed six arrows into each kobold.

Yet, as exhilarating as it had been to shoot and kill so swiftly, extracting those arrows from the carcasses now was a thoroughly wretched chore.

While one's power remained at a low tier, ranged weapons were often far more practical than blades; the true glory days for melee classes would have to wait until the mid-tier.

Once the arrow retrieval was complete, a single thought summoned Lirui's golden finger.

Five roulette wheels lined up neatly before him.

On the kobold wheel, red accounted for roughly 80%, gray for about 15%, and blue took up a mere 5%.

Spin!

The first wheel spun rapidly before slowing to a halt.

Red!

As the pointer transformed into a hand and plunged into the fleshy-pink red zone, Lirui began to grope around with glee.

In his view, although creatures like kobolds were only slightly stronger than goblins and similarly belonged to the bottom tier of monsters, they possessed draconic bloodlines!

The traits obtainable from this red zone had to be more numerous than those of goblins, right?

Then, the pointer-hand fished about in the red zone, and his expression stiffened.

Wait a minute.

How come your physical traits only number two?!