==========

  [Dungeon]

  After the harrowing experience they had had in the swamp level, they took the dungeon a little more seriously. Floor one was frankly way too easy for a group of their stature and the second floor too. They had become unknowingly complacent, and even though they fought against that superiority, carelessness had crept into their movements.

  So much so that when they reached the pool of water in which Jackson had taken the hit from the fish, they hadn’t stopped to evaluate the probability of this pool containing a trap or monster. They had stopped briefly, observing the sense of taking it seriously, but they didn’t really do it.

  They hadn’t thought it would be anything different from the rest of that floor; just another pool of water to cross. So, with a little recklessness they pushed through and got hit.

  The experience served them well and I was glad of it. As they walked and talked, I got the feeling that killing them would be bad. That wasn’t to say that if they got themselves killed, I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I wasn’t going to go all out at them. They seemed important from what I could tell and if I wanted to grow, I needed these people to go back to the towns and let people know about me.

  I wouldn’t go easy on them, I would not be playing favourites, but I wasn’t going to make things harder on them, or direct my mobs in any way, like I had against that goblin.

  As well as the fact that they seemed to be important, they had praised my ingenuity and design, and it made me feel good. I preened at their compliments. If there was any sure way to get in my good books it was to compliment me.

  I liked this group, and so, above perhaps any other consideration, I would be hoping they left alive. Just having them in my dungeon was helping my mana generation so it wasn’t all losses.

  As they cleared the swamp and descended the stairs, I could feel their apprehension, thick and sticky like mud, it clung to them. They were nervous and as they experienced the rainforest their trepidation only increased.

  They checked their rear almost constantly and switched their focus from sound to sound, wary of an attack. They were doing well, although they still had a way to go before they ran into one of the groups though.

  The kobolds were especially good at ambushes and entrapping, and in the rainforest it was a recipe for disaster. For adventurers that was.

  The group that they were closing in on had two warriors, five young and one of the females from the village. When I bought the village, I had only known there were 15 young kobolds, five warriors two berserkers, a shaman and a chieftain. I hadn’t realised that it came with some females and other members of the village and that some of them could help heal. They worked truly like a village, it was very interesting to watch.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  The kobolds took notice of the group as they approached, quickly sending back the female and getting reinforcements. Interestingly, it seemed they had enough intelligence to evaluate their foes and call an appropriate force, I would have to keep an eye on that to ensure it wasn’t unfair. Afterall, if all the kobolds attacked a single adventurer that was a bit over the top.

  Soon the reinforcements arrived and the shaman accompanied them. I was excited now to see what they could do. I had equipped the shaman with a Storm Calling magic spell book that I had found in the shop for cheap and I was interested in seeing how it did.

  Storm calling was a type of magic that supposedly could either be used by just one shaman or magic user but would render them almost unconscious from the effort or by a few magic users that could combine their magic and combine their might to invoke the elements needed.

  It was a very useful magic for the kobolds and I was interested to see how they used it and in seeing how the group dealt with it.

  Kobolds had a natural affinity for the forest and they excelled in camouflage and the ambush.

  Kael was a slippery one and his vigilance might be a problem. I wondered if he would discover the ambush before it could be launched.

  He did not. I wasn’t sure if I was pleased or disappointed in him. I decided on pleased and settled down to watch.

  They had just reached a slightly sparser section of the forest when the trap was sprung. Kael was leading the group with Sebastien off to the left and the rest not far behind. As the storm trap unleashed, Sebastien was excluded, whether on purpose or not I had no idea, but the kobolds targeted him on the outside hard whilst the others were battered around inside the tempest bubble.

  The powerful winds buffeted them and only with the assistance of Sigurd did the mountain of a man manage to stay standing, shielding the mages from the flying debris.

  Kael promptly vanished behind one of the trees, using it for cover and using his skills as a rogue to hide from the Kobolds, whilst Sebastien, stuck on the outside drew all of the warriors to him. They held distance initially using their bows, maintaining distance with great effect while the two warriors engaged directly. Even with the huge sword Sebastien carried, he couldn’t deal enough damage to escape the bows and warriors and was fighting to survive.

  Things were not looking great for them. I was ambivalent to their plight but thought that soon the spell would die out and they would regain control.

  The shaman looked tired and wouldn’t be able to keep the spell going for much longer and the mages were both protected from it anyhow.

  The tide turned as the shaman collapsed, the storm abating and Kael eliminated the shaman immediately afterwards.

  With the storm down, it didn’t take long for the Kobolds to lose. With Kael slowly eliminating the stragglers and archers and Sigurd’s brutal dispatching on the frontlines as he battled over to Sebastien, the fight was over quickly.

  The kobolds had been forced to close in, resorting to melee as the fire from Lorelei cut off any retreat routes. Jackson had protected the mages, Jenna focused healing on Sigurd as he fought, and the kobolds didn’t stand a chance.

  Once Seb was back over to her, Jenna patched him up and it wasn’t long until the kobolds – all 12 - were dead. Sliced and diced, stabbed or burnt, they lay strewn around the place, blood seeping down and returning some of their precious mana to me.

  A shame. But it was valuable experience, nonetheless.

  After beating the kobolds and healing up, the party progressed smoothly once again, running through the rest of the level.

  They found the stairs, having not been turned around in the forest, and descended. It was hard to keep a straight track when you had to move around all the trees and undergrowth that subtly tried to get you lost.

  The stairs took them down a few metres before depositing them in a large chamber. Unlike the previous chambers this one was relatively small, perhaps forty metres across and thirty tall. It was circular and had a sandy dirt floor as the ground.

  They had reached the boss floor, and I was looking forward to seeing how my boss did in its first battle. With any luck it would give a good showing, like the kobolds had. I looked forward to the coming conflict.

  What would their strategy be? I wondered.

  How would they tackle it?

  They paused outside the level to observe it. I couldn’t wait!

  Get on with it! I was excited.