The Great Rift

His follower led the way ahead as Jose ducked into the tunnel at the end of Living Area Number One.

As they walked through the deep, dark tunnel, Ergou explained, "Master, we are now heading to Living Area Number Two. It is still in use."

"The tribe's population is small, and Living Area Number Two is not full. We used the extra space to make an incubation ground from dried grass gathered from the Great Prairie."

That was right. Like dragons, kobolds were oviparous creatures. Female kobolds could lay eggs twice a year, producing four to nine eggs each time.

Generally speaking, almost all eggs could hatch successfully, but the survival rate was less than forty percent. Disease, hunger, and competition from their peers were all obstacles on a kobold hatchling's path to adulthood.

"Who knew how many eggs were ruined by the Petrification Lizards before," Ergou sighed gloomily.

As they emerged from the tunnel, the view opened up before them. This was a huge space roughly the same size as Living Area Number One. Half of it was filled with kobold tents, while the other half was covered in dense piles of dry grass. Each pile had a small hollow nest with a fist-sized kobold egg inside.

Unfortunately, most of the grass piles had been crushed by large creatures, and the eggs inside had vanished without a trace. Some piles still held shattered eggshells, yet there was no sign of the young kobolds that had emerged from them.

Taking advantage of his height, Jose swept his gaze across the area. Judging by the number of intact nests, eighty percent of the Bloodtooth Tribe's kobold eggs had been destroyed. Still, it was not a major problem. As long as they had enough food, they would soon make up for their losses.

Seeing the enormous Red Dragon arrive, a kobold soldier searching between the grass piles walked over. He held a kobold hatchling the size of a kitten in his arms.

The kobold soldier stopped before Jose and lowered his head. "Master, we found some little ones hiding in the grass piles. They were fortunate enough to escape the terrifying enemy, but they could not escape hunger. This hatchling is the only survivor."

Jose glanced at the little kobold. Newly born kobolds were a tender pale pink overall, and their newborn claws and scales were translucent like crystal, making them look rather adorable.

However, its eyes were closed, its breathing was weak, and its heart could stop at any moment.

Beside him, Ergou frowned. "It cannot be saved. This hatchling has already lost consciousness and cannot eat."

Female kobolds had no secondary sexual characteristics, and newborn kobolds did not need milk. Like dragons, they ate eggshells for nourishment before they could begin eating regular food. An unconscious hatchling could not eat.

"Throw it away."

"Wait," Jose stopped the kobold soldier just as he was about to turn around and took the hatchling from his hands.

"Meeting me is your good fortune."

As he spoke, magic power surged from his dragon claw, mixed with wisps of bloody mist. Dust-like Dragon Blood seeped into the kobold hatchling's skin. Its body temperature rose rapidly, turning its skin lobster-red as steam rose from it, yet its heart beat more and more strongly.

Watching this, the kobold soldier at the side was consumed by envy, jealousy, and resentment. He wished he could take the hatchling's place.

Ergou's expression was complicated. "Lucky little fellow."

"Take him away."

The kobold soldier hurriedly accepted the hatchling. Jose and Ergou continued their tour.

However, Living Area Number Two differed somewhat from Living Area Number One. There were four tunnels leading to other areas, located in the east, west, south, and north.

"Heh, so it is a network structure. I thought it was a chain structure."

Although Ergou did not know exactly what "network structure" and "chain structure" meant, he could understand some of it from the words themselves. "It truly is a network structure, wise as you are."

Jose shot his follower a sidelong glance.

Forget it. His use of "wise" was only literal. This world was still very innocent, and chrysanthemums were still just flowers...

Jose saw a kobold soldier carrying several hatchling corpses into a nearby tunnel and grew curious. "Where are they taking the bodies?"

"To throw them away. There is a Great Rift in Living Area Number Three. Useless waste like excrement and slag is thrown into the rift," Ergou said, secretly relieved. Just that sidelong glance had made him feel immense pressure.

Serving a ruler was like serving a tiger.

Jose did not know what his follower was thinking, but he was rather interested in the Great Rift Ergou had mentioned. "Let's go take a look."

"As you wish."

After walking for a while, dragon and servant arrived at Living Area Number Three. Compared with Numbers One and Two, Number Three was far more run-down. It was likely that no one had lived there since the Bloodtooth Tribe split apart.

More than the history of the Bloodtooth Kobold Tribe, Jose was interested in the Great Rift. It was located at the edge of Living Area Number Three, a fissure in the flat ground ranging from half a meter to two meters wide.

Jose went to the widest part of the fissure and looked down.

Deep! Extremely deep!

The visible depth alone exceeded two thousand meters. Below that, his line of sight was blocked by irregular protruding rocks, though he could see a hazy red glow. It was the light cast by magma deep within the earth's crust.

"What is going on with this fissure? Have you explored it?"

"Honored Master, I heard that when this fissure was first dug out, the tribe explored it. They found nothing and lost many people. The chieftain at the time considered the fissure an ominous thing and forbade the tribe from continuing the exploration. I do not know anything more."

"All right." Jose stretched his head into the fissure and felt the movement of air.

"There is wind. It leads somewhere."

After determining the wind's direction, he looked toward its source. Unfortunately, the fissure was not a smooth cut. Its surface was covered in irregular protrusions. The wide sections were large enough for Jose to pass through, while the narrowest were only a finger-width across.

He sniffed, trying to analyze the scent molecules carried by the wind, but the sulfurous smell of underground magma interfered with his sense of smell. He gained little, identifying only one distinctive plant scent.

It was a scent completely unlike surface vegetation—dark, carrying a faint trace of decay...

"Could it be connected to the Black Forest in the Underdark?" Jose murmured.

The possibility was high!

The Underdark was one of the most mysterious and dangerous regions on the Tydanore Continent. It consisted of countless enormous caves connected by tunnels. The largest caves were like miniature versions of the surface, containing hills, forests, lakes, underground rivers, and other terrain.

The vast Underdark was home to a wealth of species no less abundant than those on the surface, most of them evil. Well-known examples included Dark Elves, Gray Dwarves, beholders, Mind Flayers, Kuo-toa, and more.

The Black Forest, meanwhile, was one of the Underdark's native ecosystems. It never saw sunlight, and dark energy had corrupted the forest, twisting its plants into forms completely different from surface vegetation—distorted, dark, and reeking of decay.

Other than perverts and necromancers, almost no one liked the Black Forest, because the plants within it were poison to living beings.

Because of this, the most common method used by underground civilized races was to burn the Black Forest to the ground. If a Black Forest had not been burned down, that meant it had not been discovered by intelligent races—at least, it had not yet been developed.

Jose's eyes flickered.

An undeveloped Underdark held opportunities, but it also held risks.

Legend had it that the Elven Dynasty, which had once stood proudly above the continent, began in the Underdark. Those fortunate elves had unearthed the ruins of a lost ancient civilization.

Some profited, while others suffered. A human kingdom had once discovered an undeveloped Underdark and rashly entered without investigating it first. As a result, it released a plague curse sealed beneath the earth, plunging the entire nation into devastation.

That was the Underdark: dangerous, yet full of temptation.

"Your ancestors were wise to stop exploring."

Jose turned and left. Before reaching adulthood, he would not touch this fissure.

"Let's continue."