All of a sudden, all of Lynn's doubts were explained.
Why the winged kobolds and Kobold Sorcerers had such coordination...
It was because they all served the same dragon!
However, whether they were truly “serving” it was still up for debate.
As everyone knew, dragons had a habit of eating their eggshells after hatching.
Yet this dragon's eggshell had only partially vanished, with the remaining portion left behind in the kobold nest... This clearly didn't align with the habits of dragonkind.
Thus, it couldn't be ruled out that the kobolds were controlling the dragon.
Still, although the relationship between the dragon and the kobolds was uncertain, the presence of a dragon—or some kind of dragon-kin—in the vicinity was an absolute certainty.
The direction in which that group of Kobold Sorcerers had fled was likely where the dragon was located.
Lynn looked again at the tunnel they had blocked with rocks.
“Ah? A... a dragon!?”
Henry was so shocked by Lynn's words that he began to stammer.
For a greenhorn adventurer on his very first quest, encountering something like this was simply too thrilling.
So this was what adventuring was like?
So Lynn lived this kind of life every day?
This was... this was way too exciting!
Henry immediately grew excited.
But Lynn's next words poured cold water over him.
“We have to leave here immediately.”
Lynn packed up the loot they had gathered and turned to leave.
A dragon, even a white dragon—often called the shame of chromatic dragons—would possess a strength equivalent to Tier 2 upon birth.
After activating the Psionic Corpse bloodline, it shouldn't be too difficult for Lynn to kill another Tier 2 monster now.
But he didn't dare gamble on whether this dragon-kin was actually a newborn dragon hatchling and only Tier 2.
The mucus on the eggshell in front of him had completely dried up. Lynn couldn't determine the dragon's age, but it was highly unlikely to be a newborn.
If they encountered a young or juvenile dragon at this point, they probably wouldn't even have a chance to escape.
Lynn's words dragged Henry back to reality, making him realize that a magical beast at the very top of the food chain like a dragon had nothing to do with low-level adventurers like them.
Right now, he was still just a novice adventurer who struggled to kill even a few kobolds.
Lynn used a cantrip to set the kobold hatchery on fire. Perhaps because the kobolds hadn't hatched yet, it didn't grant any Bloodline Points.
Having done all this, the three of them immediately retreated from the passage back to the abandoned mine shaft, not even bothering to thoroughly search for any remaining loot.
Then again, there wasn't much worth collecting anyway.
After all, with a dragon-kin around, even if these kobolds did have good things, they had likely been plundered by the greedy beast.
Once back in the mine shaft, Lynn used a Magic Missile to collapse part of the passage, preventing any more kobolds from emerging anytime soon.
“Regarding the dragon, I think we should keep it a secret for now,” Lynn said to his two teammates.
Hilda was somewhat puzzled. “Shouldn't we report it to the guild?”
According to protocol, upon discovering an unbeatable magical beast, one should indeed report it to the guild immediately, and the guild would naturally offer a certain intelligence reward.
It was just that...
Lynn was somewhat covetous of this dragon-kin, which presumably hadn't fully grown yet.
If he could obtain its bloodline...
So, Lynn planned to keep this news hidden for the time being.
He didn't even plan to inform Mentor Gray for now.
It wasn't that he was afraid Mentor Gray would covet the young dragon, but rather because the monster encyclopedia had an “assist penalty” mechanism. If Mentor Gray were to step in, Lynn felt it would highly likely trigger this penalty.
Seeing Lynn fall silent, Hilda had already guessed his thoughts.
A dragon, even a lesser dragon-kin, represented far too much.
After a moment of silence, Hilda sighed.
“I will keep this secret.”
As for whether concealing this news would bring danger to Wingen Town, Hilda wasn't too worried.
With Wingen Town's defensive strength, unless an adult dragon launched a surprise attack on the town, it was impossible for any major trouble to occur.
And an adult dragon with a brain wouldn't rashly attack human settlements.
After all, on this continent, even an adult dragon couldn't act completely without restraint.
Lynn looked at Henry next.
Unlike Hilda, Henry agreed immediately, even winking at Lynn.
“Then you'd better do your best, our ‘Dragon Slayer.’”
As a man, Henry completely understood Lynn's thinking.
After all, what adventurer didn't want to personally defeat a dragon?
Lynn exhaled a long breath as the excitement of learning about the dragon gradually receded.
He decided to alter his plans.
To avoid any unexpected complications, he would put all his effort into condensing his class once they returned.
Lynn had originally planned to collect more Tier 1 monster bloodlines before condensing his class, but no matter how many Tier 1 monster bloodlines he gathered, they couldn't compare to a dragon's bloodline!
“Let's head back first.”
Thus, the temporary party headed back the way they came, walking toward the exit of the mine shaft.
But as they neared the entrance, Lynn suddenly stopped.
In the image transmitted back by his sonic detection, two humans wearing complete gear were crouching at the cave entrance.
Seeing Lynn's reaction, his two teammates likely guessed something was wrong and immediately quieted their footsteps.
Hilda lowered her voice and asked, “Is there trouble ahead?”
Lynn nodded, though he was also somewhat puzzled.
Who would block the entrance to a cave?
With such complete gear, they couldn't be passing miners.
Although they didn't know the newcomers' purpose, the three of them cautiously prepared for combat.
The dangers of adventuring didn't always lie within the quest itself; they could also appear on the journey back.
Meanwhile, outside the abandoned mine shaft, the dual-dagger man noticed that the footsteps echoing from within had suddenly vanished. “Boss, why is there no sound from them?” he asked, feeling a bit strange.
“Oh no, he probably noticed us.”
The plate-armored man's face darkened. He recalled how, the first time they spied on Lynn, they had been noticed from dozens of meters away.
This kid's perception was somewhat uncanny.
The two of them hurriedly rushed into the cave and indeed saw Lynn and his companions, who had already retreated dozens of meters.
The plate-armored man grinned savagely. “Kid, don't run. This abandoned mine shaft has no other exit. If you don't want to suffer, hand over the treasure you got from defeating the Dungeon Slime! Otherwise, you're in for a beating!”
Dungeon Slime?
Wasn't that from a week ago?
Lynn also recalled now that when he returned to the Adventurers' Guild back then, he had sensed someone secretly observing him.
It was just that the foot traffic in the guild was too heavy at the time, so he couldn't pinpoint their location.
To think it was these two guys.
Looking at the two figures before him with linen wrapped around their heads, dressed like bandits, Lynn was somewhat speechless.
No wonder he felt like he was being watched every time he arrived at the Adventurers' Guild.
So there really were two shady characters who persistently hid in the guild to spy on him, and they had been doing it for an entire week!
Every time he went to the guild, those two were there.
Dammit, don't these two adventurers ever take on quests?
Although he didn't know what “treasure” these guys were talking about, Lynn could guess that the information gap resulting from his Mage identity had caused a misunderstanding.
But since they came with ill intent, Lynn raised his staff anyway.
Even if he explained, they wouldn't believe him.
He had to beat them black and blue first before they would sit down and properly discuss how to compensate him for his psychological distress during this period.
Rate on N.U.
