I Have a Task Log

After flying for a while on the Pegasus, the Potion’s effect wore off.

With a series of CRACKS and POPS from their bones, their bodies rapidly expanded and returned to their original forms.

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[Quest: Clear the Kobold Lair]

[Rating: 6 (Local Hero)]

[Reward: 150 Skill Level points, Specialty "Improved Arcane Identification"]

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Colin took a close look at his new Specialty.

[Improved Arcane Identification: Through countless hours of casting practice, your sensitivity to magic has grown stronger. 1. Intelligence +1. 2. When you appraise Magic Items or inspect magic traps, the enhancement effect provided by your Intelligence Attribute is doubled.]

’It must be from my usual training combined with just appraising that trap. That’s why I ended up getting this Specialty.’

Having experienced it before, Colin knew this Specialty was definitely not as simple as it looked.

His [Street Spy] Specialty was quite useful for learning Spells and could even be used to deceive enemies in combat.

At a glance, Colin felt that besides being used for detecting traps and Magic Items, this Specialty would probably be useful for crafting Magic Items as well.

Speaking of which, ever since his [Magic Craftsman] Skill had leveled up, he hadn’t found the time to study it closely. He’d definitely have to look into it once this was all over.

At this thought, Colin yawned.

Staring at the scenery below for too long could get boring.

Dorn and Kase were sitting nearby, yawning as well. Colin lay down on the triangular net and squinted his eyes, deciding to treat it as a midday nap.

But the injuries on his body kept him from sleeping soundly.

When the cold wind blew, an indescribable pain spread through his entire body.

Orelia had used up all her Divine Arts, and he was reluctant to drink a Healing Potion worth several dozen Gold Coins, so all he could do was endure it quietly.

After a good while, the Pegasus slowly landed on the platform.

"Later, please report the valuables you’ve acquired to Mr. Edwin. As agreed, half of the treasure will be yours," the Wood Elf rider said. "I will now go inform the Druids and have them come to your resting place to heal you."

Seeing that the rider had arranged everything, Colin acknowledged him and led the others back to their wooden cabin.

A short while later, a few Wood Elf Druids arrived at the cabin.

The group’s injuries were quickly healed with Divine Arts.

Of course, taking off his Cotton Armor was still an agonizing experience for Colin; it felt like his skin was being peeled right off his body.

The Wood Elf Druids seemed a bit socially awkward. After healing the injuries, they stammered their goodbyes to the group and hurriedly left the cabin.

As soon as they were gone, Colin eagerly asked, "Dorn, can we open the treasure chest now?"

"Might as well."

After speaking, Dorn had Kase help him drag the treasure chest out of the Dimension Bag.

The Dwarf took out his lockpicking tools from his backpack and got to work on the chest. After fiddling for a bit with two iron wires, one thick and one thin, he quickly popped the lid open.

Seeing this, the others all came over.

"Like a pack of hungry wolves..." Dorn muttered with a chuckle, then threw the lid open.

"Whoa, that’s a lot of money!" Orelia exclaimed.

Colin rubbed his chin and said, "It doesn’t actually look like that much money, though."

The chest was filled to the brim with coins, but most of them were Copper Coins and Silver Coins, with only a few Gold Coins—which was pretty similar to the treasure chests in games.

The group took the coins out handful by handful and placed them on the table.

"Who’s going to count the money?" Kase asked.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ale quietly walked over.

"Hurry up, there should be a false bottom. Let’s see what kind of ’hard currency’ is inside," Dorn said from the side, standing on his tiptoes and peering over the edge of the chest at the bottom.

Colin looked over as well. There was a distinct square protrusion with a small panel and a little handle.

He gripped the handle and pulled it open, revealing a small, velvet-lined inner compartment.

Inside was a string of white pearls of various sizes, a gilded ring set with a green gemstone, and a small pouch. Colin picked up the pouch and saw it contained several smooth pieces of amber.

"We’re rich, everyone," Dorn said with a grin, rubbing his hands together.

"Half of it still has to go to the Elves. After all, this is stuff those Kobolds stole," Colin said. "In any case, we definitely didn’t make as much as we did in the Undercity."

"It’s good enough," Dorn said, clapping Colin on the lower back.

"I think so too. Those Drow were way harder to deal with than these Cultists. I really thought I was going to die back then," Orelia said, still shaken by the memory.

Then, she smiled and looked at the huge pile of coins on the table. "Besides, there’s so much money in this chest! I’ve never seen so much money before."

"About 112 Gold Coins, 589 Silver Coins, and 2,547 Copper Coins," said Ale, who was standing nearby.

Dorn turned his head and said, "Are you serious? You can count that fast?"

"When I was at home, I’d sometimes take out my parents’ money and count it for fun. It’s not that hard," Ale said with a shrug.

Dorn muttered under his breath, "Boring nouveau riche."

Ale ignored the Dwarf.

She turned and walked over to the chest to look at the items inside.

After barely a glance, the Half-Elf said with certainty, "Those few gemstones should be worth about two hundred Gold Coins, the string of pearls should sell for three hundred Gold Coins, and that gilded ring will have no problem selling for seven hundred Gold Coins."

"Ale, you’re amazing," Orelia said, her eyes wide with surprise.

Dorn said sourly, "If she’s right, she could just go be an Appraiser or something."

"There are also these little Kobold sculptures," Kase said as he took the scavenged Kobold trinkets out of his backpack.

Ale went over and began rummaging through the pile of sculptures.

Although her movements were calm and efficient, the expression on her face visibly began to sour.

Colin walked over and asked, "What’s wrong?"

After taking a few heavy breaths, Ale’s face started to flush red.

She said, somewhat angrily, "Look at these little sculptures, carved chisel by chisel... Those damned Evil Dragons! They should have been protecting these little ones, but instead, they mercilessly pushed them toward destruction!"

"It’d be weirder if they actually protected the weak," Dorn said.

"Actually, Kobolds aren’t an irredeemably evil race. They’ll listen to any dragon, and with a little guidance, they can totally be turned into good guys."

Colin followed up on her point, "I’ve heard that too. Because they’re afraid of retaliation, they mostly just commit minor misdeeds, like stealing nails and trash. Most of the time, these guys are just a bunch of little rascals who are a bit naughty."

Ale clutched the sculpture in her hand.

After a moment, she said sullenly, "Only four of these sculptures might be worth something. They could probably sell for a few dozen Gold Coins, but we’d have to find a collector who likes this kind of thing."