Morning arrived with a cool breeze drifting through Rostam's streets.
Arman met Altair in the inn's diner as agreed.
Altair was already seated.
Back to the wall.
Eyes half-aware of everything.
Arman sat across from him.
"Breakfast first," Arman said.
Altair nodded.
They ate in quiet focus—bread, butter, boiled eggs, and thin porridge. No long discussion. No unnecessary words.
After finishing, they stood.
"Guild," Altair said.
Arman agreed.
The Adventurer Guild was calmer in the morning. Fewer drunk adventurers. More serious ones scanning the board.
Arman stepped toward the quest board and read the newly posted parchments.
One caught his attention immediately.
Kobold Extermination – East River Village
Reward: Up to 50 Silver
Village confirmation required
Rank E Recommended
He glanced at Altair.
"Kobolds."
Altair gave a faint nod.
"Organized. Tunnels. Traps."
Better than goblins.
Harder.
More strategic.
They took the parchment to the counter.
Mei looked up.
"You two again."
"Yes," Arman replied calmly.
She read the parchment.
"Kobold extermination. This usually requires more than two adventurers."
"Why?" Arman asked.
"Kobolds operate in groups. They dig tunnels. They retreat strategically. They don't fight like goblins."
"What's the payout condition?" Altair asked.
"Village head confirms completion. No ear collection. If the den is cleared, you'll receive up to fifty silver."
Arman nodded.
"We'll take it."
Mei studied them.
"You're still Rank F."
"Yes."
She hesitated for a moment.
"Be cautious. Kobolds dig secondary exits."
"We understand."
She marked their acceptance.
East River Village lay several hours away.
The farmland around it looked disturbed. Fences broken. Livestock pens damaged.
The village head met them quickly.
"Kobolds came three nights in a row," he said. "They stole goats. Broke into storage."
"Injuries?" Arman asked.
"One villager. No deaths."
"Where?" Altair asked.
"Old riverbank east of here."
They didn't waste time.
The terrain changed as they moved east.
Soil softer.
Uneven.
Altair crouched near a depression in the ground.
"Trap."
A shallow pit covered with leaves and thin twigs.
Kobolds.
Disciplined.
They moved carefully, avoiding the obvious approach.
Soon, they found it.
A low tunnel entrance carved into the riverbank.
Reinforced with wooden beams.
Smoke faintly drifting from inside.
Active den.
"How many?" Arman asked quietly.
Altair listened.
"More than ten."
Too many for a clean frontal assault inside narrow tunnels.
Arman looked at the wooden supports.
Load-bearing points.
If those collapsed—
The tunnel would cave.
"I'll bring it down," Arman said.
Altair stepped back immediately.
"Make it quick."
Arman knelt and pressed his palm against the earth.
He didn't use fire.
Didn't use force burst.
He sent mana downward.
Spreading it through the soil.
Instead of pushing violently—
He loosened cohesion.
Destabilized structure.
Focused on the base of the wooden beams.
He visualized pressure.
Load.
Weight of soil above.
Then—
He pulled.
The ground beneath the support shifted.
A sharp crack echoed from within the tunnel.
One beam snapped.
Then another.
The riverbank trembled violently.
Altair stepped back further.
The entrance collapsed inward with a heavy roar of dirt and stone.
Muffled screeches erupted from inside.
Then silence.
For a second.
Then—
Panic.
Kobolds began scrambling outward through the partially collapsed opening.
Disoriented.
Dust-covered.
The first one stumbled out.
Altair moved instantly.
[Weapon Form]
The short blade in his hand elongated into a slender shadow spear.
He threw it.
The spear impaled the kobold mid-stride.
Two more burst out.
Altair's weapon dissolved and reshaped—
Thin shadow arrows formed in midair.
He flicked his wrist.
One arrow pierced a throat.
Another struck an eye.
A third kobold lunged wildly.
Altair shifted form again.
The shadow hardened into a curved blade.
One clean horizontal cut.
Down.
More kobolds poured out.
Not organized.
Not tactical.
Desperate.
Arman reinforced the terrain.
He drove mana into the soil in front of the entrance.
The ground hardened unevenly.
Jagged.
Unstable footing.
The next kobold tripped mid-sprint.
Altair reshaped his weapon again—
A heavier spear this time—
Driving it straight through the creature's chest.
Another tried to retreat back inside.
Altair created a short, thick spike—
Launching it directly into its back.
The battlefield stabilized.
One by one, kobolds fell.
No formation.
No coordination.
The collapse had shattered their structure.
Eventually—
Silence.
Dust settled slowly.
Bodies lay scattered in front of the ruined den.
Arman exhaled.
Mana: 41 / 64.
Heavy cost.
But decisive.
Altair stood still for several seconds, listening.
No movement.
No scraping claws.
"They're done," he said quietly.
Arman nodded.
"We still check."
"Kobolds dig."
They circled the riverbank carefully, searching for secondary exits.
They circled the riverbank carefully, searching for secondary exits.
After several minutes—
Nothing.
No fresh tunnels.
No escaping tracks.
The collapse had buried the core chamber.
Den destroyed.
Threat eliminated.
They returned to the village by late afternoon.
The headman inspected the situation personally.
When he saw the collapsed riverbank and the bodies—
He nodded heavily.
"It's done."
"Yes," Arman replied.
The man extended his hand.
"You have our thanks."
Back at the Guild near sunset, Mei looked up as they approached.
"Confirmation?"
Arman placed the signed parchment on the counter.
She read it carefully.
"Kobold den collapsed. No secondary tunnels detected."
Mei finished counting the coins and pushed the pouches toward them.
"Fifty silver total. Twenty-five each."
Arman secured his share quietly.
Mei studied them for a moment, then spoke again.
"You two work well together."
She leaned back slightly.
"If that's the case, you should take similar quests. Monster den exterminations like this."
Her tone remained professional, but there was a hint of approval.
"They tend to be cleared faster by small, efficient teams like yours than by larger, less coordinated groups."
Altair gave a short nod.
"We'll keep that in mind."
Mei added one more note in the ledger.
"I'll mark you as reliable for structured extermination requests."
Mei finished marking the ledger and looked up at them again.
"It's still early," she said.
Arman paused.
"The sun hasn't set yet. If you want, you can take another quest today."
Altair glanced at Arman briefly.
Mei gestured toward a smaller section of the board.
"There's one inside the city. Sewer investigation."
Arman raised an eyebrow.
"Sewer?"
Mei nodded.
"Rank E. But it's marked as scouting only. No confirmed hostile yet."
She pulled the parchment and handed it over.
Investigate Abnormal Activity – Lower Sewers
Reports of movement and strange sounds
Scouting & assessment only
Reward: 10 Silver
"Only scouting?" Arman asked.
"Yes," Mei replied. "You are to observe, identify potential threat, and report. No requirement to engage unless necessary."
"Why not send city guards?" Altair asked calmly.
Mei's lips curved slightly.
"They tried."
Arman understood.
Guards preferred streets.
Not underground tunnels.
"What kind of movement?" Arman asked.
"Unconfirmed. Could be rats. Could be something else."
Altair looked at Arman.
Short glance.
Silent calculation.
Low reward.
Low risk.
Urban environment.
Potential unknown.
"Ten silver," Arman said.
Altair nodded once.
"Scouting only."
Mei studied them.
"You just cleared a kobold den."
"We're not tired," Arman replied.
Not entirely true.
But manageable.
Mei slid the parchment across the counter.
"Return before nightfall if possible. Sewers become more difficult after dark."
Arman took the parchment.
"We'll go now."
The sewer entrance lay near the eastern district of Rostam.
A stone grate partially lifted.
The smell reached them before the opening did.
Damp.
Rot.
Old water.
Altair crouched near the entrance.
"No fresh city patrol tracks," he said quietly.
Arman exhaled slowly.
Mana: 64 / 64.
Good.
"This is scouting," Arman reminded himself.
No collapse.
No explosion.
Controlled.
They descended carefully into the stone corridor below.
The sewer tunnels were narrow but tall enough to stand.
Water flowed slowly through the center channel.
Torch brackets lined the walls, but none were lit.
Dim light filtered faintly from street grates above.
Altair moved silently.
Arman followed, scanning carefully.
A faint scraping sound echoed somewhere ahead.
Then—
Silence.
Arman slowed.
"That wasn't water," he whispered.
"No."
Altair closed his eyes briefly.
Listening.
"Multiple."
Arman felt his mana steady inside him.
Not goblins.
Not kobolds.
Different.
Another scraping noise.
Closer.
From the darkness ahead—
Two small shapes darted across the corridor.
Fast.
Low to the ground.
"Rats?" Arman asked quietly.
Altair shook his head.
"Too coordinated."
Then—
From deeper within the tunnel—
A faint, unnatural chittering sound echoed.
Not random.
Rhythmic.
Communicative.
Arman felt something shift.
This was not random vermin.
This was structured movement.
Altair's voice lowered.
"This is not normal sewer wildlife."
Arman nodded.
"Scouting only," he reminded.
"Yes."
They advanced slowly toward the next junction.
The sound grew clearer.
More movement.
More bodies.
Not large.
But many.
And somewhere deeper in the darkness—
Something heavier shifted.
Arman felt it before hearing it.
The air changed.
Dense.
Watching.
He stopped walking.
Altair did the same.
They exchanged a brief glance.
Whatever was in the sewers—
It wasn't just rats.
And it wasn't accidental.
The investigation had just become something else.
≡ Status ≡
Arman — Human — Level 2
Occupation: Mage
──────────────
HP: 115 / 115
Mana: 64 / 64
Stamina: 102 / 110
Mana Control: 17%
──────────────
Skills
Mana Perception Lv. 1
Spells
Minor Fire Sphere (Improvised)
Mana Push
Flame Bolt
Mage's Hand
──────────────
≡ Status ≡
Altair Everett — Human — Level 10
Occupation: Assassin
──────────────
HP: 162 / 162
Mana: 84 / 84
Stamina: 139 / 148
Mana Control: 28%
──────────────
Skills
Shadow Cloak
Enhanced Perception
Agility Boost
Weapon Form (Shadow)
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