"Yo, little runt! Wakey-wakey!"
Before I could even process what was happening, the kobold advisor yanked the blanket off me with the force of someone exorcising a demon.
I groaned, curling up like a shrimp in protest. "It's too early for this..." Let me sleep in peace(╥_╥)
"It's never too early to suffer!" she chirped, her grin far too bright for this hour.
For some reason, the kobold adviser had decided to assign me a room in the chief's house. Not surprisingly, it was to keep an eye on me and make sure I didn't do anything suspicious.
Seriously, though, what did Scarface and the others do for these women to constantly suspect me of scheming something?
"I'm not gonna do anything suspicious, so leave me alone!" I mumbled into the pillow, my voice muffled but full of indignation.
"Yeah, yeah, tell it to someone who cares," the kobold advisor replied, casually kicking the edge of the bed to jolt me further awake. "Time to trek forward now!"
Her enthusiasm for tormenting me was truly inspiring.
I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "You know, normal people say good morning before ripping someone's blankets away."
"Normal people don't waltz into our village like they own the place," she shot back with a smirk. "Come on, the boss said you're heading out today. Can't keep her waiting, runt!"
"Stop calling me runt!" I snapped, though I knew it was a losing battle.
She snorted. "I'll stop calling you runt when you stop being so runt-y."
I stared at her, silently wondering if kobolds had any concept of customer service.
---
After a quick (and by "quick," I mean aggressively rushed) breakfast, I found myself outside, fully geared up and staring at the eastern forest, which by the way, was now crawling with more monsters than before ( ´¬`)
The advisor stood beside me, arms crossed and looking far too smug, she's lucky she isn't the one about to face a monster.
"So," she said, slapping my back hard enough to knock the wind out of me, "you ready to face your doom?"
"It's not doom," I grumbled. "Just a... moderately dangerous creature."
"Right, sure, keep telling yourself that," she replied, clearly unconvinced.
As I took a deep breath and stepped forward, I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my head.
"Oh, and runt?" she called out.
"What now?" I asked, turning around with a sigh.
"Don't die," she said, her grin softer this time. "We've got a bet going on how long you'll last."
I rolled my eyes and marched into the forest, muttering under my breath. "I'm starting to hate kobolds..."
---
The eastern forest was just as ominous as I remembered. The trees loomed overhead like silent sentinels, their gnarled branches forming a canopy that barely let any sunlight through.
The air was thick with the scent of the earth and something else—something faintly metallic. I'm currently equipped with the sword and shield the kobold gave me as well as rations of dried beef jerky, only worth a week at most though. And that's considering I'm a child. If it were a full grown ogre, this would have been enough for a day or two at most.
"Great," I muttered to myself. "This is just like back then, all over again. But this time with more danger."
[System Activated!]
[Host's Heart Rate: Elevated]
[Detecting Nervous Energy. Recommendation: Deep Breaths.]
"Oh, shut up," I hissed at the system, glancing around warily.
[System Response:]
[Reminder: Host has a 78% chance of survival if engaged with strategy and caution.]
"Couldn't you just say 'good luck' like a normal support system?"
[System Response:]
[Good Luck. Please remember that failure may result in death.]
"Thanks, that's so comforting." I said rolling my eyes, I mean seriously get a hint(•__•)
As I ventured deeper into the forest, the faint metallic scent grew stronger. My grip tightened on my weapon, every rustle of leaves making me jump.
And then, I heard it—a low, guttural growl that sent chills down my spine.
Peeking through the dense underbrush, I saw it: the same monster from before. Though this wolf was bigger far bigger than those mutts from before, it has silver fur bristling and its glowing red eyes scanning the area.
"Of course, it's this thing," I muttered. "Because my life isn't hard enough already."
[System Activated!]
[Quest Reminder: Slay the Monster "Corrupted Young Fenrir" in the Eastern Forest.]
[Reward: Increased Reputation with the Various Races Village.]
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I whispered. "Let's just get this over with..."
Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself and stepped into the clearing. The monster's eyes locked onto me immediately, its growl turning into a deafening roar.
"Okay, big guy," I said, raising my weapon. "Let's dance."