Chapter 19: Lying In Wait

The sheer confidence emanating from Ryan's words instilled a belief in the three men that anything was possible.

Joan, who had initially harbored doubts, now smiled and nodded. Her faith resided in Ryan, and she would lend her strength to help him achieve his goals.

As Ryan and the group ventured further into the forest, Spike and Doran shared their experiences of exploring its depths.

"We've never gone too deep, but when the harvest is scarce, we would hunt deer and other animals here," Doran explained. "It's also where we occasionally saw Kobolds."

"I see. And has anyone attempted to travel deeper into the mountains in the past?" Ryan inquired. "I assume there have been some attempts at expeditions."

"In recent history, the furthest anyone went was ten years ago," Spike responded, pausing briefly. "At that time... well..."

"It was my parents who ventured deeper than anyone else. They climbed the mountain on their own," Tom revealed. "They were adventurers, capable of lots of things. People were afraid to come to the Ironcross Mountains, but if my parents had been able to bring back resources and convince others, many more would have come."

"Your parents were truly courageous. I would have liked to meet them," Ryan remarked.

"Yeah, they were great folks," Tom nodded, trying to suppress his smile and maintain composure, but his posture straightened slightly.

"Stop, there's another trap. But this one is different," Joan said, pointing at a nearly invisible string tied between two trees.

"Nice eye. That's the fifth trap we've come across," Ryan remarked.

"I find this easy, Master Ryan," Joan blushed slightly, pleased with the praise.

As Ryan and the group continued their walk, they encountered several more traps, each with its own unique design.

The first trap they encountered was the spiked pit trap that had nearly caught Tom.

The subsequent traps involved trip wires spread throughout the forest. When their group checked them, it either triggered large logs to fall or released giant stones.

'Kobolds are innovative trap masters. Even with basic materials, they camouflage them so well that it takes the keen eye of an Assassin like Joan or the heightened alertness of Hunters like Doran and Spike to detect them," Ryan thought to himself.

"Look, a couple of rabbits!" Tom pointed excitedly at the brown rabbits in the distance. A sizable number of them were suspended in the air, their feet ensnared by the wire.

"Well, that makes our job easier," Spike said, recalling that Master Ryan wanted them to capture rabbits for breeding. "The Kobolds have done the work for us."

"I'll go retrieve them now, Master Ryan," Doran offered.

"Stop," Ryan raised his hand and signaled for everyone to crouch down. "Let's hide and wait here instead. We haven't seen any Kobolds yet, but since they've set up these traps, we might have the chance to spot some of them."

“Are we going to observe them, Master Ryan?” Spike asked. “I don’t think there’s much we can gather from them. They can’t really speak either.”

“Yeah, they mostly shriek and bite.” Doran added. “They might be intelligent enough to use traps, but when it comes to communicating with us… it's impossible.”

“Don’t worry about those things.” Ryan grinned. “You can leave it to me. I want all of you to ready your weapons, but don’t attack unless I say so. There’s something I want to try.”

‘I’ll be finally able to put my Grimoire Points to use.’ Ryan thought as he glanced at the Grimoire in Tom’s hands. ‘Speaking of which, what are the requirements for me to use my Grimoire Points? Can I use it safely from a distance, Builder?’

“You are required to at least make physical contact with the creature of your choice!” the Grimoire said.

‘Well, things aren’t always going to be convenient.’ Ryan thought. ‘But I would have expected more from a powerful grimoire such as yourself, Builder.’

The Grimoire was flustered.

“I… I am capable of that! But that would require exerting a bit more power on my part, and as for you, that would cost more Grimoire Points. You have accumulated 1060 Grimoire Points now, and while that might seem like a big number, it’s best to conserve where you can, you know? It’ll cost you twice the regular.”

‘Alright, alright. The threat of Kobolds is quite low. I am strong enough to capture one,’ Ryan replied. “And so now we wait…”

It took about half an hour before a small group of five Kobolds arrived.

While Ryan had never seen anything like them up close before, he recognized them from the monster bestiaries he had read in the past. Seeing them, he thought that those books were true to their description and illustration.

Kobolds were smaller compared to humans. In the group of Kobolds in front of them, the tallest one was around three feet tall and the smallest one was only about two feet—if Ryan estimated correctly.

Their skins were scaly, resembling that of a reptilian, and each of them was colored differently. Two were gray, the other two were brown, and the last one was green. They were humanoid in shape too.

‘Hmm, they remind me of goblins. I think the difference is that Kobolds have tails and their skin is reptilian—not to mention those horns.’ Ryan thought.

Each of the Kobold worked eagerly to dismantle the traps and collect the rabbits.

Ryan silently gestured for Joan, Spike, and Doran to hold their positions before he leapt out and tackled the nearest one to the ground.

“Krieee!” The brown Kobold let out a shriek.

With Ryan’s height and size, he easily pinned the creature down. It tried to bite and claw its way through, but Ryan overpowered the poor creature with ease.

The other four Kobolds saw him and noticed the presence of Ryan’s companions. Without second thoughts, they abandoned the captured one and ran towards the mountain.

“Capture them alive!” Ryan called out.

Spike, Doran, and Joan dashed out of the bushes and chased after the fleeing Kobolds.

While his companions were gone, Ryan concentrated on the Kobold in front of him and recalled the Builder’s instructions.

“Instill Loyalty,” Ryan said.