The Strange Amulet

Xia Lin put on a grave expression that said, "Let me carefully weigh the risks and rewards."

In reality, he was focusing with all his might, enduring the needle-prick throbbing in his head as he tried to see through the scar-faced man before him.

A pale blue screen flickered unsteadily in his vision, like a magic lamp with a loose connection.

[Name: Barrett]

[Race: Human]

[Class: ???]

[Status: Alert, Assessing]

[???]

[???]

[Skills: ???, Bulwark lv.?, ???, ???]

[Evaluation: An experienced old swamp crocodile. His bones are harder than the stones at a city wall's corner. Investigating him is harder than prying open a city gate with a toothpick.]

"Hiss..." Xia Lin quietly sucked in a breath, seeing stars as he nearly dropped onto his backside.

The cost of appraising living creatures really was terrifying.

Just obtaining those fragments of information and that piercing evaluation had nearly caused his mind to "crash."

Bulwark? It sounded like a defensive skill.

Was this Barrett some sort of dedicated tank?

"Well, kid? Give me a straight answer." Seeing Xia Lin remain silent for so long, Barrett urged impatiently. The battle axe at his waist swayed lightly with his movement.

Xia Lin "came back to his senses," wearing an expression that blended caution with just the right hint of greed. "Sounds... interesting. Kobolds are numerous, but not much trouble. Fine, count me in."

He couldn't seriously search the entire world for that fat cat called "Mimi," could he? That would be way too pathetic.

"A wise choice." Barrett nodded in satisfaction, and even his scar seemed to soften slightly. "Come on. I'll introduce you to the others."

He led Xia Lin to a relatively quiet corner of the guild hall.

Two people were already waiting there.

One was a petite young woman with neat short red hair and freckles scattered across her face.

She wore an ill-fitting mage's robe, its sleeves and hem slightly too long. A bulging backpack was slung over her shoulders, and her eyes were full of curiosity and nervousness about the outside world.

She was toying with a short wooden wand, its tip set with a dull gray crystal.

The other was a stern middle-aged man dressed with meticulous care, sporting a well-groomed mustache.

He wore fitted leather armor, polished knee-high leather boots, and a rapier that looked exceptionally sharp at his waist. He stood straight as a ruler poised to be drawn from its sheath.

"This is Lila," Barrett said, pointing at the freckled woman. "Our... ah, magical consultant. Don't let her appearance fool you. She can be useful sometimes."

Hearing that, Lila's cheeks reddened. She muttered in displeasure, "Big Brother Barrett! I'm a proper Apprentice Mage!" She looked at Xia Lin and smiled a little shyly. "Hello, I'm Lila · Ash. This time, I mainly want to collect some kobold candles. They're good materials for making low-level Light Spell scrolls."

Xia Lin nodded. "Xia Lin · Tolemo."

"This is Kasimir." Barrett pointed toward the stern middle-aged man again.

"Duelist, Kasimir." The man gave a slight nod. His voice was flat, with a somewhat strange accent. "From the Brevor Free Alliance."

Brevor? Xia Lin remembered it was a trade alliance in the east made up of several city-states. Situated between several great powers, it was famous for producing mercenaries and Duelists.

"Xia Lin," he introduced himself again.

This Mister Duelist looked exactly like the sort who would demand a duel of honor if someone stepped on his shoes.

"Alright, everyone's here." Barrett clapped his hands. "No wasting time. Let's go. The sooner we deal with those little bastards, the sooner we can come back and drink."

The four left the noisy guild hall and headed north through the city.

Along the way, things were not quite so silent among Barrett, Lila, and Kasimir.

Barrett told crude mercenary jokes. Lila sometimes blushed as she argued back and sometimes curiously asked questions about everything. Kasimir, meanwhile, always found the right moments to correct Barrett's wording or add some cold, hard fact in his flat tone. Every now and then, he and Barrett would get into a pointless debate over whether battle axes or rapiers were more elegant and efficient.

Their atmosphere of familiar bickering gave Xia Lin a faint sense of... déjà vu.

Though these three were completely different from Bochi and Aila's group, that feeling of struggling at the bottom, huddling together for warmth while mocking each other, was somewhat similar.

Most of the time, he simply listened quietly. Occasionally, he tossed in a harmless joke or two while silently observing these "temporary teammates."

Following the crooked but reasonably clear map Barrett had drawn, they traveled for over an hour, left the main road, and entered a hilly region.

The air became fresher, but it also carried a touch more desolation.

"It should be up ahead." Barrett compared the map with the surrounding terrain and pointed at a cliff face half-hidden by shrubs. "See those footprints? No mistake. They're kobold tracks."

Sure enough, small, messy three-toed footprints were scattered across the ground, along with several dug-up patches.

They lightened their steps and approached the cliff face. Soon, they found a small, pitch-black cave entrance. Gnawed bones and tattered strips of cloth lay scattered around it, and a faint stench of damp earth mixed with reptilian musk drifted out.

"Looks like we found their nest." Kasimir lowered his voice, one hand already resting on his sword hilt.

Just then, three short, hunched figures crawled out of the cave.

They had lizard-like heads covered in dark brown scales, long thin tails, and crude Stone Spears or wooden clubs in their hands. Their little yellow eyes scanned the surroundings vigilantly.

Kobold patrols.

"Get ready."

With a low growl, Barrett charged out first like a brutish wild boar.

His massive body carried an oppressive force. His battle axe swung in a heavy arc—not with its blade, but with its flat, which slammed violently into the leading kobold's side!

Bang!

A scalp-numbing dull impact rang out, mixed with the crisp crack of shattering bones.

Like a rag sack struck by tremendous force, the kobold's entire body twisted as it flew sideways. It crashed into the nearby rock wall, slid limply down, and became an irregular lump of mangled flesh. Blood and chunks of organs smeared across the stone.

Almost at the same moment Barrett attacked, Kasimir moved.

The second kobold screeched as it swung its wooden club toward him, its movement clumsy yet filled with futile savagery.

Kasimir's body glided half a step sideways like a weightless shadow, precisely evading the disorderly strike. At the same time, his wrist flicked, and the rapier at his waist had already left its sheath, becoming a silver line almost too fast to see.

Pfft!

A sound so soft it was nearly inaudible rang out.

The silver line silently slipped into the base of the kobold's exposed throat as it opened its mouth to shriek, piercing almost halfway through.

The kobold's cry came to an abrupt stop. Its yellow eyes widened in terror as it futilely clutched at its throat, bloody foam spilling through the gaps between its fingers.

Kasimir did not even pause. He withdrew his sword, drawing a spray of blood, then stepped back lightly and wiped the blade clean. The whole movement flowed as smoothly as a ritual refined through countless repetitions.

Lila was not slow either.

She rapidly uttered several awkward syllables. The crystal atop her wand burst with bright pale-blue light, and a highly compressed Arcane Energy Bullet formed in an instant. With a sharp whistle, it tore through the air and struck the final kobold—still stunned by its companions' grisly deaths and just turning to flee—squarely in the back.

Pfft!

A muffled pop, like a punctured balloon.

The energy bullet punched straight through its weak scale armor and blew a bowl-sized hole through its chest, the edges blackened and scorched.

As though struck by an invisible sledgehammer, the kobold toppled forward. It twitched twice before falling completely silent, dark red blood quickly spreading beneath it.

The three kobolds were instantly wiped out by the trio in an almost crushing display, their coordination seamless and their methods practiced.

Hiding behind a rock, Xia Lin witnessed everything and could not help praising them inwardly. Veterans really are reliable!

Barrett walked over and kicked the smashed corpse with his boot, clicking his tongue in disdain.

Kasimir searched the other two bodies expressionlessly.

Lila, meanwhile, ran over excitedly and began collecting her "candles."

"Poor bastards. Nothing but a few lousy copper coins." Barrett straightened up and spat.

Just then, another furtive lizard head poked out from the shadows at the cave entrance.

A fourth kobold! It had clearly been alerted by the commotion outside.

Seeing that his teammates were all "busy," Xia Lin's heart stirred. This was a good opportunity!

He needed to prove he was not dead weight.

Don't screw this up, Xia Lin! he encouraged himself inwardly, forcibly suppressing the slight nervousness brought on by facing an enemy head-on for the first time. Sweat in his palm made the grip of his new sword a little slippery.

"I've got it!" he shouted, suddenly driving off with his feet.

His body shot forward like a taut spring. His newly bought longsword carved a straight silver line through the air, aimed directly at the stunned kobold's chest!

Pierce!

He remembered the essentials from practice: footwork, shoulder thrust, sword strike—all in one fluid motion!

Squelch!

There was no suspense at all.

The sword tip easily pierced through scales and flesh. A resistance carrying a warm sensation traveled back to him, then vanished.

He could even feel the faint vibration as the sword tip struck the creature's spine.

The kobold's terrified yellow eyes widened. A leaking "huh-huh" sound escaped its throat as it limply fell backward.

Xia Lin released a slightly trembling breath. Looking at the fallen corpse, his heart was still pounding wildly, but the satisfaction of successfully carrying out a practiced move welled up within him.

He shook the beads of blood from his sword tip, trying to make his posture look dashing in order to conceal his inner nervousness.

But when his gaze inadvertently swept over the fallen kobold's corpse, it was as if something had stung him. He froze abruptly.

This kobold... was not quite right.

A rough leather cord was embedded in the scales around its filthy neck. Beneath the cord hung an amulet polished from the Fang of some beast.