Lux and Eiko were abruptly woken up by a series of loud knocks on the door.
The Tavern Owner personally went to his room to wake him up because there was something going on at the entrance of the village, and the village guards had sent someone to his Tavern to have Lux woken up.
The disgruntled Half-Elf, and Baby Slime, looked outside of the window, and realized that it was still dark outside. After doing a few stretches, he walked towards the door to see what the commotion was about.
"The Guard Captain wants to see you at the East Gate of the Village," the Tavern Owner reported. "According to the guard on duty, a Kobold Wyrmling named Cadmus demands your presence."
"Cadmus?" Lux frowned. It took him a few seconds to register the name inside his sleepy brain, but when he did, the drowsiness he felt disappeared completely. "Did the Draconic Kobold say why he is looking for me?"
"No. The guard that came here only told me that you need to go there as soon as possible. He is waiting to escort you outside."
"Give me a few minutes. I'll just wash my face and change my clothes."
The Tavern Owner nodded and left Lux alone. He was also quite annoyed that he was woken up from his sleep, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Five minutes later, Lux left the inn alongside the guard that was ordered to escort him to the East Gate of the village.
As they neared their location, they noticed several armed guards, as well as members of the Riders of Norria gathered near the gate.
Even from a distance, he could see the arrogant Draconic Kobold with his arms crossed over his chest, when he noticed Lux's presence.
"What do you want?" Lux asked in a grumpy tone. "Last time I checked, I didn't do anything bad to the Kobolds for you to personally come here to find me."
The Kobolds and the Dwarves now had a non-aggression pact, which meant that both sides would do their best to avoid stirring up conflicts on both sides. Even now, Lux couldn't think of any reason why Cadmus came to find him.
"What are you talking about?" Cadmus replied. "Are you not one of those that had cleared the Hidden Quest in the Stronghold of Norria?"
"I was one of them, but what does that have to do with you?"
"In regards to the Hidden Mission, it has nothing to do with me. But, since you are one of the people that completed it, you're coming with me."
"Huh?" Lux blinked in confusion. "Excuse me? Why do I need to come with you?"
Cadmus glared at the Half-Elf as he placed both of his hands to the side, as if itching to grab him and take him away by force.
The guards, as well as the Riders of Norria saw this, and immediately stood between the Draconic Kobold and Lux. None of them were afraid of the Rank 5 Alpha Monster because if Cadmus really went to attack them, the Kingdom of Gweliven would send its Rankers to hunt it down, as well as exterminate the Kobold's entire clan.
"Just come with me! I will explain it to you later!"
"Hah? Are you stupid? Why would I come with you if you don't explain anything to me?"
Cadmus growled as his Draconic Eyes locked into Lux's body. He was clenching and unclenching his clawed hands, as if he was fighting an internal battle inside of himself. After a few minutes of tension, the Draconic Kobold sighed as it tossed a leather pouch to Lux.
The Half-Elf subconsciously caught it, but was surprised because the pouch was quite heavy. After checking its contents, he realized that it was filled with gold coins.
After a rough estimate, the red-headed teenager guessed that there were at least five hundred gold coins in the pouch, which made him even more confused.
"I am hiring you for a quest," Cadmus stated. "Isn't this what the Dwarves do in that… Adventure Guild or something."
"Adventurer's Guild," Lux corrected.
"Yes. Now, come! I already paid you!"
"... Dafuk?"
The guards look at the exchange with frowns on their faces, but all of them understood the general gist of what the Draconic Kobold was trying to say. He planned to hire Lux for a quest, so he came to Leaf Village in order to look for him.
"But, why me?" Lux asked. "You're already this strong, and you still need my help?"
"Yes," Cadmus answered. "Because what I am about to face is stronger than me. This is why I need your help!"
Lux was very tempted to spit on the Draconic Kobold for trying to drag him to something troublesome. If a Rank 5 Alpha Monster like Cadmus couldn't do it on his own, adding him would not make much of a difference. At least, that was what Lux thought at the moment.
"Tell me the specifics of the mission," Lux replied. "I need to know the details before I accept this quest of yours."
Cadmus glanced at Lux and the Dwarves that were guarding him.
"Let's talk, just the two of us."
"... Fine."
Looking at how serious Cadmus' expression was, the Half-Elf had a feeling that if he rejected his request, the chances of the Draconic Kobold tearing him to pieces was high.
'At the very least, I should hear him out first,' Lux thought as he followed Cadmus to a spot within a hundred meters away from the gate's entrance. He didn't trust the Draconic Kobold enough to follow him without the guards, as well as the Riders of Norria, looking at him for support.
"Three days ago, we encountered the ruins of what seemed to be an ancient city, buried underground," Cadmus said as he glanced at the Dwarves that were in the distance as if he was afraid that they would hear him. "After doing some investigation, we came to the conclusion that it was built by gnomes, but they weren't the only ones living in the city."
After hearing Cadmus' explanation, he now understood why the Draconic Kobold didn't want to discuss this in front of the Dwarves. There was a high possibility that their discovery would brute force their way into the ruins, and claim that it was something that belonged to the Gweliven Kingdom.
By doing so, they would not be breaking the oath they made with the Kobolds, as they seized the opportunity to study, and perhaps unearth some treasures within the Ancient Ruins buried deep underground.
'I understand why you don't want to involve the Dwarves in this quest of yours, but why do I need to go with you?" Lux asked. "Can't you Kobolds do this on your own?"
"Excavating the ancient city as we look for treasures is fine," Cadmus snorted. "However, we found a Dungeon at the back of the city, and we were unable to access it because there is some kind of restriction."
Lux arched an eyebrow. "What restriction?"
"Only ten individuals may enter it, and among those ten people, there must be an elf."
"But, I'm only a Half-Elf."
Cadmus nodded. "Yes. But, we have no other choice. You are the only Elf-like creature that we know, and I'm hoping that the Elven blood inside you, no matter how diluted, will be enough to open the dungeon's entrance."
Lux rubbed his chin. "What is the grade of this Dungeon?"
The Draconic Kobold looked at Lux long and hard before giving him an answer.
"According to our Shaman, it is a C-Ranked Dungeon, and there is only one difficulty setting."
"Let me guess, it's Hell Mode?"
Cadmus nodded, which made Lux feel his liver ache.
Right after Cadmus finished his explanation, Lux heard a ringing sound in his head, followed by several rows of text appearing in front of him, which made the Half-Elf pinch the bridge of his nose, and close his eyes. He wanted to confirm if he was just hallucinating things or not because the mission that appeared in front of him made him want to go back to the inn to continue sleeping.
—-
Ding!
– You have received the Hidden Quest "A Touch of Dragons".
– Would you like to accept this quest?
< Yes / No >
—----
Lux had a feeling that if he accepted this quest, he would find himself in a situation that was similar to Barca's Quest, when he entered the Dungeon of the Orc Dominion.
