I am the Enchantress!

"Hahaha!"

The first one to burst out laughing was Captain Cyrion.

His previously tense facial features suddenly relaxed, making his originally serious and earnest face appear somewhat comical.

Lyle, standing beside him, benefited from his thin elven bloodline, allowing him to control his expression with remarkable skill, only slightly raising the corners of his mouth.

"cut."

Gru scoffed and said in a gruff voice, "Little guy, you're quite humorous!"

This dwarf, who looks to be around thirty years old like Cyrion, might not even be considered an adult in their race's concept of lifespan.

It is said that he was very popular with the girls in the Ironweave Town tavern, all because of his mouth under his thick beard, which loved to tell vulgar jokes.

He was surprised to find that the new rookie mage in the team was actually more skilled than him, which made him feel quite threatened.

He glanced at Wilder instinctively.

Is it just my imagination?

Why does this little guy seem even more handsome than he was before I went to bed last night?

Wilder just smiled kindly, as if to ease the atmosphere in the team, and told a joke after the battle.

call……

He breathed a sigh of relief.

We finally managed to fool them.

What followed was a deep sense of fatigue.

First, unleash the [Greasy Technique], then activate the [Performance] skill, which consumes a great deal of mental energy.

It seems that the attribute values ​​of [Intelligence] and [Charm] are still not enough.

He held his breath and focused intently as the semi-transparent light screen slowly unfolded before his eyes.

Name: Wilder

[Class]: Mage

[Level]: Lv1 (85/100)

You fucking...

I just finished a match, why isn't the progress bar moving?

Are you trying to copy some cloud service and expect me to buy you a membership?

However, upon reflection, he realized that during the battle, he only used the [Greasy] spell to control the kobolds' movements and did not personally hunt any of them.

Next time I'll try making it myself...

and many more.

There won't be a next time.

Once I get back to town, I'll have to go to the Adventurers' Guild to find a job!

Perhaps infected by the excitement and passion of the battle just now, fueled by adrenaline, he actually had the idea of ​​taking the risk again next time.

This kind of thinking is too dangerous and must be nipped in the bud!

Just then, a few low bird calls came from the towering tree canopy.

The night had not completely faded, but the sky had already turned grayish-blue, and the entire forest was immersed in a cool, hazy atmosphere.

It was about to dawn.

"No time for a nap, let's head straight back to town." Cyrion looked up at the sky. "I can sleep as long as I want back there!"

Compared to the border forest teeming with monsters, even the worst dormitory in town was much better, and no one objected.

On the way back, Lyle walked in front, being the most alert and responsible for scouting the way.

Two warriors followed behind, one after the other. Gru talked incessantly about his affairs with girls in the tavern, while Cyrion listened with a frown, clearly getting impatient.

Wilder walked at the back, glancing back every now and then, afraid that some monster might suddenly jump out.

Suddenly, Lyle, who was at the front, stopped.

"What's wrong?"

Cyrion finally seized his chance, strode past the chattering Gru, and came to Lyle's side.

"footprint."

Lyle pointed to the claw marks on the damp ground.

"Five toes on the front paws and four toes on the back paws; it's a dog-headed man's."

Cyrion bent down, his thick eyebrows furrowing. "Their toes are pointing in the opposite direction from our camp. Did we miss a few?"

Lyle narrowed his long eyes and shook his head: "They were all killed after being lured to the open space."

The elven bloodline has been blessed by nature, giving them eyesight far exceeding that of ordinary people, especially in the darkness of the night during the battle just now.

"That's the lookout," Cyrion stood up and looked in the direction of the footprints. "These beasts always act in groups. They probably left a few to guard the area before they acted, and ran away before they could win."

"Should we go after them?" Lyle asked.

Cyrion hesitated, "If we chase after them, we might end up in their lair."

Gru and Wilder caught up as well.

"nest?"

After figuring out the situation, the dwarf stroked his thick beard, appearing quite excited. "Kobolds are masters of digging; perhaps their lair contains treasures they stole from passing caravans!"

"You're overthinking it," Cyrion poured cold water on the idea. "Kobolds worship dragons. If they really had any treasure, they would have moved it into the dragon's lair long ago. What good stuff could a stray dog ​​in the forest possibly have?"

"but……"

He paused, then revealed the real reason for his hesitation: "The mission is to clear out the kobolds. We may have only dealt with the main force; there might still be remnants or pups in the cave."

Apart from the rookie Wilder, the other teammates immediately understood what their captain meant.

For tasks of this "simple" level, the Adventurers' Guild won't send anyone to investigate whether they were actually completed. As long as you hand over the kobold's left ear, you can get the reward.

However, if there is any further information about kobold activity at the mission location in the near future, the association will definitely pursue the matter back to the authorities.

The reward already paid is naturally hard to get back, but the adventurer's badge held by the team leader may very well be downgraded.

Therefore, Cyrion definitely wants to pursue him.

The other three teammates actually had no obligation to help.

"They're just a few little brats, one slap each!" Gru was the first to speak.

"It's already dawn. The kobolds are nocturnal, so now is the perfect time to launch a surprise attack," Lyle responded rationally.

Immediately, the three of them looked at Wilder, who had not yet expressed his opinion.

This……

Come here.

Since I've decided that I won't be an adventurer after this one, I might as well take a few more adventures now.

Moreover, he had already seen the kobolds with his own eyes, and as Cyrion said, they were just mongrel dogs that could stand up, and their danger level was not high.

"Go for it." He nodded.

Upon receiving replies from everyone, Cyrion's spirits lifted.

"Alright! After the mission, I'll treat everyone to drinks at the Wild Wolf Tavern!"

So the adventure team changed their route, turning from the road heading south back to town into the dense forest to the east where the footprints led.

About an hour later, Lyle, who was walking in the lead, stopped in front of a huge tree trunk at the foot of a hillside.

Half-buried among pine needles and vines, a dark, crooked opening peeks out.

It is only half a person's height, and ordinary people, except for Gru, need to bend over to enter.

The area around the cave entrance was covered with claw marks and soot, studded with bone fragments and rusted nails, and painted with crooked dragon totems.

"This should be it."

Cyrion took off his backpack, buried himself in the nearby bushes, and marked the spot.

"Gru and I will walk in front, Vildor will follow behind us, and Lyle will bring up the rear with his bow drawn."

Wilder was taken aback.

Doesn't this put me in the middle?

Could it be that they dug a hole in advance, planning to sabotage us?

However, after walking in the cave for less than five minutes, such doubts were naturally dispelled.

At the end of the short tunnel was a relatively spacious area.

Pine resin torches were stuck into the rock walls on both sides, and a flat stone in the middle served as a table, on which were placed a few broken pottery bowls and a few moldy wild fruits.

A cave of this size could not possibly have been dug by Cyrion and his crew specifically to trap a novice mage.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of blood.

The group held their breath and took a few steps forward, going around the stone table, where they were shocked to see a pool of dark red blood.

Five dog-headed men lay sprawled in a pool of blood, each with a broken head and bleeding profusely, their chests still rising and falling weakly, barely clinging to life.

"What's going on?" Gru scoffed. "Knowing we were coming, did he take his own life beforehand?"

Cyrion's face darkened, and he shook his head: "Something's not right..."

The kobolds are of extremely low intelligence, have no dignity whatsoever, and are utterly incapable of ending their own lives.

This is……

Sudden.

A stone suddenly flew down from above, heading straight for Cyrion's head!

"alert!!!"

Cyrion reacted quickly, raising his shield to deflect the rocks.

Wilder instinctively crossed his hands to protect his forehead and looked up at the cave ceiling.

A dog-headed creature was baring its teeth and pressed against the cave ceiling, its eerie green eyes staring intently at them.

With slender limbs, a body covered in dark brown scales, and a mouth full of small, sharp teeth, it was no different from the kobolds we had fought before.

only……

A pair of flesh-colored membranous wings grew from its ribs, the wing bones as thin as tree branches, supporting a thin membrane.

damn it……

A winged kobold?

Wasn't it supposed to be a mongrel that could stand up?!