Chapter 89

Kobolds were monsters standing about 1.2 to 1.4 meters tall with the heads of dogs. While they were somewhat less intelligent than goblins, their physical capabilities were far superior. Since they were proficient at moving on both four legs and two, their mobility was quite impressive for low-ranked monsters.

“By the way, this is a bit strange.”

Tipola, who had been snickering at Pruuk’s bluffing just like the rest of us, hopped across the rocks and approached me.

“What’s strange?”

“The kobolds.”

“Hmm?”

“Goblins are famous for charging in blindly once they lose their cool, but kobolds are different. They’re cowards.”

Is that so? Not like I’d know, having never seen a kobold before.

I gave Shia a little poke. Shia, who had been clinging to me like a koala inside my coat, poked her head out.

“It is true. If they think even for a moment that things are going south, they scurry away on all fours… and once that happens, they are quite troublesome to catch. There is a reason the quest objective is ‘repel’ rather than ‘annihilate.’”

“Aha.”

Tipola nodded.

“But those kobolds just now—even though they clearly knew they were no match for us, they didn’t run. They charged in like moths to a flame, didn’t they?”

“…Hmm. You’re right.”

“Well, maybe I’m overthinking it since individuals can vary… but I thought you should know.”

…

And then…

“Here, goblin footprints. I think we can keep going in this direction.”

“A-A-A-Are you sure?”

“The tracks are so clear there’s no room for doubt.”

“G-G-Good! Out of the way! Keep moving!! I-I-I’m taking the lead!!”

Following the guidance of Clio, who was acting as the temporary ranger, it had been about two hours since we entered the depths of Mount Camp.

Pruuk, who had been single-handedly dealing with packs of goblins and kobolds that swarmed us roughly every fifteen minutes, suddenly came to a halt.

“Whew… huff… huff… Y-You guys. Y-You look tired!”

“…Huh?”

The party members tilted their heads in confusion at his words.

And for good reason—everyone except Pruuk had spent the time leisurely hiking up the mountain, doing nothing but clapping and cheering him on with a ‘Go, go, go~’ sort of vibe.

Furthermore, while Mount Camp was vast and the terrain was rugged, it wasn’t particularly high. There was no way people who made a living by the blade would be tired after a mere two-hour hike up such a gentle slope.

Breed answered cautiously.

“Um, we’re not particularly tired.”

“No! Y-You are tired right now. A-As the party leader, I have a d-d-duty to ensure your safety! I-I’m fine, I’m overflowing with energy, but y-y-you guys need to r-r-rest!”

…If you’re exhausted and want to rest, just say so. What a pathetic bastard.

Tipola exchanged a brief look with Breed and then leaned toward me to whisper.

“…What should we do?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“You’re the party leader.”

“Since when?”

“Since last night.”

I scratched my head and nodded.

“If we drive him too hard, he’ll break. Let’s let him rest. Just play along until we encounter the troll.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Immediately after, receiving a signal from Tipola, Breed rubbed his hands together and bowed deeply toward Pruuk.

“Phew… honestly, the path is rugged and the snow is deep, so it’s been really tough. I was forcing myself to endure so I wouldn’t get in the way of your fighting, Pruuk… but to think you’d notice and show us such consideration first. As expected of Lord Pruuk!”

Then, as if they had been waiting for the cue, the praises from Pruuk’s followers poured out.

“As expected of Lord Pruuk!”

“Indeed, Lord Pruuk!”

“As expected, Lord Pruuk!”

“Amazing, Lord Pruuk!”

Hey. You guys are going to kiss his ass raw. Take it down a notch.

Anyway, while Pruuk took a satisfying break, basking in the constant pampering of his followers, Tipola, Clio, and the orc approached me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

They took the dried meat and the nuts called Patit—which I had bought in the village—that I held out to them, munching away as they spoke.

“By the way. Don’t you think this is still a bit strange?”

At Tipola’s words, Shia, who was stuffing Patit I’d peeled for her into her mouth like a squirrel, mumbled back.

“The kobold?”

Tipola looked at Shia as if she were adorable and replied.

“The fact that the kobolds aren’t retreating is one thing… but there are several other strange points besides that.”

Crunch, crunch, munch…

“Wha-t ith it?”

“…First of all, it might sound like I’m stating the obvious now, but goblins and kobolds aren’t the type to be active in this kind of cold. Even if they’ve settled down, they usually don’t move until the weather gets warmer.”

Shia nodded, going ‘Mm-hmm.’

“That’s what Kate mentioned.”

“And even though we’ve come quite deep into the mountain, the number of attacking goblins and kobolds is too small. You remember the raid last night, right?”

“So?”

“For their activity radius to reach that far, this mountain should be swarming with much larger numbers by now.”

“Hmm….”

Then, the orc spoke up.

“There is more. Goblins. Kobolds. Relationship. A bit strange.”

I asked back.

“The relationship is strange?”

“Goblins, kobolds. Can share same territory. Move together sometimes. But… that… um….”

As the orc struggled and stuttered, not knowing how to explain it, Clio raised her hand high.

“Oh! That! I felt it too! Exactly. It’s weird. It’s not rare for goblins and kobolds to move together… but that usually feels like they’re just bunched up in a crowd. It’s not like one side is leading the other around, you know? But this time, no matter how you look at it, it seems like the goblins are commanding the kobolds.”

The orc nodded vigorously.

“That is it. What I want to say. Kobolds. Goblins. Uh, I mean… reading the room. Yes. They are reading the room.”

Tipola lowered her ears flat and tilted her head.

“Really? I didn’t notice.”

“That’s because Tipola is slow~.”

“You. Have no eyes.”

Tipola folded her ears tight, letting their teasing slide, and turned back to me.

“If what those two are saying is true, that might be why the kobolds are being more aggressive than usual. Command, huh… at this rate, I feel like we should retreat once and discuss this.”

“Hmm….”

“What should we do?”

Seriously, why do you keep asking me?

“Do as you wish. It makes no difference to me either way.”

“…Then, let’s observe just a little bit more for now.”

Once the rest was over, the group tried to put Pruuk in the lead again. However, Pruuk, who had worked up a sweat after two hours of exercise, didn’t fall for the followers’ skillful pampering as easily as before.

“F-From now on, y-y-you guys fight too! I-I can k-kill them all myself! I can w-w-wipe them all out!! B-But if I do that, y-y-your skills w-won’t grow! I am y-y-your leader! As your l-l-leader, I c-c-cannot allow that!”

Shia, perched atop my head, leaned down and whispered in my ear.

“He must have sobered up.”

“After running wild like that, he’d sober up even if he’d been chugging industrial alcohol instead of booze. It’s fine. It looks like the ‘hero high’ is still there. He won’t back out.”

Well, as a result, the combat style shifted from Pruuk’s one-man show to party play, but not much changed.

Even if they were somewhat lacking compared to Pruuk, the rest of the party members were veteran adventurers in their own right. A few low-tier small monsters weren’t enough to trouble them.

And as for me…

“There you go. Flame Bomb.”

KABOOM!!

“Kieeeek!”

“Get lost. Electric Bomb.”

CRACKLE!

“Skraaaaagh!”

I was firing off 1st-level spells in rapid succession while under the protection(?) of the other party members.

For reference, these 1st-level spells are often called the “Bomb Series” because their names end in “Bomb.” Along with the “Bullet/Bolt Series,” they are considered the pinnacle of 1st-level combat magic due to their low difficulty, excellent structure, and incredible mana-to-performance efficiency. Because of this, some humans who start magic late in life give up on reaching higher circles and master only these, making a living as adventurers in the upper layers of labyrinths.

Of course, at the end of the day, they are still 1st-level. They hit a wall the moment the monsters get even slightly stronger—but for low-level small-fry like goblins and kobolds, this was more than enough.

“Gaaaah! These bastards! They’re blatantly targeting only the mage!?”

“Ugh! They’re swarming us!! There’s—there’s too many!!”

“Mister Mage! Big Brother Mage!! Help! Help!!”

“…Since when was I your big brother?”

I let out a hollow laugh at the fuss my escorts—the normal, non-powered party members—were making. At this rate, I couldn’t tell who was supposed to be guarding whom.

“Well, I can’t exactly let you die… Force Bomb.”

THOOM!!

“Kieeeeeeek!”

“Gwaaaargh!!”

A shockwave exploded between the rushing monsters and my so-called guards, blowing both sides back simultaneously.

Ah, this wasn’t some petty revenge against the guys who were acting like guards while being utterly useless. It was simply the best option for me, since I couldn’t use barrier-type spells yet. Besides, Force Bomb is a spell designed for knocking things back, not killing them.

And out of the guards and monsters who went flying, the first to come to their senses were the monsters.

Good grief. They’re even worse than the goblins.

“Kek! Kek-kek!!”

One of the goblins scrambled to its feet and pointed at me, shrieking something. Immediately, the rising goblins and kobolds ignored the struggling guards and sprinted toward me.

“M-Mister Mage!!”

Tipola, who was busy tearing goblins apart with her greatsword some distance away, shouted in desperation.

Clio’s arrows followed, taking out three goblins, but it was far from effective support. In the end, I was left completely exposed to over twenty goblins.

The monsters charged at me, foaming at the mouth as if they were on drugs. The crude knives and shortswords in their hands reflected the sunlight, glinting with a chilling light.

But, so what?

“Phew…”

As I sharpened my focus, time began to drift slowly. Within that slowed world, I closed one eye and sent half of my consciousness down into my Imagery.

Sis and Bel greeted me with smiles as I arrived.

After forming the rune structure—the pattern—for the 1st-level spell Force Bullet, I made a request to Sis.

“Sis. Duplicate the magic for me, please.”

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.
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For the record, after I had visited my Imagery by drinking the Lake of Gouphus the other day, Sis had gained a few new tricks. One of them was this “Magic Duplication.”

I wasn’t sure if the talent came from the wand I’d given her, or because she had received a name from me. If not those, then perhaps it was because she had received a portion of my Pure Spiritual Power as we hunted mobs… Regardless, Magic Duplication was an incredibly useful ability.

“Sis, duplicate the spell. Can you do it?”

Sis nodded calmly at my request. Soon, she spread her blue mana and constructed a pattern that was identical to the one I had made, down to the last detail.

“Oh… it’s amazing every time I see it.”

Two patterns floated side-by-side in the air.

Once you can manifest two patterns simultaneously in your Imagery like this, you can realize one of the greatest dreams of low-level mages.

—Dual Casting.

Originally, this was a high-tier technique that only became possible at the 4th Circle. In other words, despite my skill level still being ridiculously lacking, I could pull it off with Sis’s help.

‘I mean, seriously, you can just copy-paste magic? What a total cheat.’

I gave a thumbs-up to the girl, who returned the gesture. Then, opening my closed eye, I pulled both patterns into reality at the same time.