LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Palmer Mine, at this point in time, was nothing more than an abandoned mine.
Yet, the fact that Killian had intended to bring a weapon to such a place…
「Did you know there would be kobolds here?」
Killian raised an eyebrow, as if the question was absurd.
‘Why are you even asking something so obvious?’
「…Obvious?」
‘It was in the will. It told me to be cautious of kobolds.’
「…」
Jun-hyuk realized he had been too short-sighted.
‘Of course. Someone who hid a keepsake in a place like this would naturally know about the kobolds in the mine.’
His rush to free himself from Killian’s presence had blinded him to this fact.
「If you knew about them, shouldn’t you have gone back to prepare? Maybe grab something useful?」
‘Didn’t you know?’
Jun-hyuk felt a pang of guilt but responded confidently.
「I knew. But I figured you’d have some sort of backup plan. I didn’t expect you to come here with nothing.」
He hadn’t expected Killian to forget a sword, of all things. Did this oddball really think he didn’t need a weapon to handle kobolds?
Almost as if reading Jun-hyuk’s mind, Killian smirked.
‘I just find using my body a hassle. It’s not like I can’t do it.’
「…Seriously.」
‘And besides, kobolds are easy enough to handle without a weapon.’
Well, Killian wasn’t wrong.
Kobolds were small monsters, with the strength of an average human at best. A single adult male could take down one without a weapon if need be.
But was Killian like an ordinary man?
No, this situation was different. The assumption of being able to subdue a kobold was based on both parties being unarmed.
However, that kobold had been wielding a sword, and even an average human with a blade could easily overpower several unarmed opponents.
Weapons weren’t known as great equalizers for no reason.
Moreover, Killian wasn’t even a fully grown adult yet. And yet, he had confidently disarmed the kobold and cut it down with a single blow.
To any ordinary onlooker, this scene would have been shocking enough to faint from.
‘So, maybe he isn’t completely hopeless.’
Jun-hyuk’s assessment, however, remained cold.
The reason for his surprise wasn’t Killian’s talent. He had seen plenty of geniuses in his time.
What had caught him off guard was Killian’s laziness—how such a lethargic person could possess this kind of ability.
More importantly, it was the fact that his plans had been thrown off track that really bothered him.
‘I rarely misjudge, but…’
But now that he had calmed down, Jun-hyuk resolved to refocus. It had been a tremendous effort to lure Killian this far. There was no way he would give up now.
Absolutely not.
There were more than enough kobolds in this mine to finish the job.
‘Especially where the pendant is… there’s even more waiting.’
Jun-hyuk, having regained his composure, resumed his guidance as if nothing had happened.
「Keep going straight from here, and…」
Even though Killian had proven to have some unexpected skill, the real challenge lay ahead.
The rusted sword he had taken from the kobold wouldn’t be enough to handle what was coming.
At least, that’s what Jun-hyuk firmly believed.
—
Killian, meanwhile, couldn’t shake off the feeling that Jun-hyuk was an odd one.
‘What exactly is his deal?’
It was clear the guy was up to no good, but his intentions were still murky.
For now, it didn’t seem like Jun-hyuk wanted to directly harm him. After all, it would be absurd to think that someone as sharp as Jun-hyuk wanted Killian to die at the hands of mere kobolds.
‘He wants me out of the house, so he’s definitely scheming something…’
And from what Killian had seen so far, Jun-hyuk seemed determined to lead him straight to his mother’s pendant.
So, even though Jun-hyuk was clearly untrustworthy, his guidance was at least proving useful.
‘Still, what’s with this narrow path in the mine? There’s no way this was built for people.’
「Who do you think built it? The kobolds, obviously.」
‘Figures… no wonder it’s so cramped.’
The narrow, stinking path seemed to go on forever, but Killian could feel his mother’s presence becoming more distinct the deeper they went.
Kishaaa!!!
More kobolds ambushed them from the narrow path, causing more trouble than Killian would have liked.
“Ugh, this is so annoying.”
Slash!
Still, there was no denying it—without Jun-hyuk’s guidance, Killian would have spent hours wandering the mine aimlessly.
Kyaaak…
Killing a few kobolds was far less troublesome than getting lost in the smelly, winding tunnels.
「Uh… You’re not hurt anywhere, right?」
‘Of course not.’
「I think that last sword almost nicked you.」
‘It just scraped my clothes, nothing more.’
Killian paused for a moment, surprised by the concern. Maybe Jun-hyuk wasn’t entirely bad after all. Without dwelling on it too much, he quickened his pace slightly.
However, the sheer number of kobolds growing around them forced Killian to speak up.
‘Let me ask you again… Are we still going the right way?’
「Why?」
‘There are more and more kobolds.’
「Well, obviously. We’re headed toward the kobold den.」
At Jun-hyuk’s nonchalant response, Killian furrowed his brow.
‘Kobold den? Why are we going there?’
「Because that’s where the necklace is.」
‘What?’
「To be more specific, it’s on the altar in the center of the kobold settlement.」
Killian stopped in his tracks, staring off into space.
Fighting one kobold at a time was already annoying enough. But an entire den?
‘This is the last place I want to go.’
Though he didn’t say it out loud, his expression made it clear how reluctant he was.
‘Why would my mother’s keepsake be in a place like that?’
「Good question. It’s not the kind of place an ordinary person would hide a keepsake, that’s for sure.」
‘Hmm…’
It had already been strange that the necklace was hidden in a mine to begin with. But now, more and more questions kept piling up.
「What did your mother do for a living?」
‘Mother…’
Killian’s mind wandered back to memories of his mother. She had once worked as a maid, always accompanied by a frail cough.
– Cough, cough… Killian, can you get me the medicine from the table?
A woman with such a weak constitution… how could she have come to such a dangerous place like this?
Before Killian knew it, his thoughts spilled out aloud.
‘I want to go home…’
「Whoa, whoa. You’ve come this far. That’s not happening.」
‘But I really want to go home.’
「We’re almost there, I swear!」
‘Ugh… This is so exhausting. I don’t even know how many more kobolds we have to kill.’
「Alright, alright. How about this: just 22 more. Once you take down 22, that’s it.」
The specific number made Killian feel slightly more at ease.
Hmm. Maybe this guy isn’t so bad after all? He knows exactly what I need.
Satisfied with that, Killian gripped his sword more firmly and pushed forward.
‘Twenty!’
‘Twenty-one!’
‘Twenty-two!’
「We’re here. This is the place.」
The voice fell silent as Killian found himself in a vast chamber.
Kyaaak, Kyakak. Kyahaang.
The chamber was filled with dozens of kobolds bowing before a crude altar.
One kobold, holding a strange wooden staff, stood upright, scanning the surroundings cautiously.
And beside that kobold…
Glint
…was the pendant.
「Do you see that necklace on the altar? That’s Leah’s pendant.」
‘You said I only had to kill 22!’
「I said you’d arrive after killing 22, not that there wouldn’t be more kobolds.」
Sigh.
「So, you turning back now?」
Killian let out a heavy sigh, but Jun-hyuk wasn’t wrong. Still, any goodwill he’d earned had vanished.
Killian made a mental note to destroy the cursed ring after this was all over. But for now, he tightened his grip on the sword.
There was no going back. Despite the distance, he could clearly see the wolf engraving on the pendant.
[The pendant is engraved with the image of a wolf. Use that as your guide.]
If the will was to be believed, that pendant was indeed his mother’s keepsake.
‘At least I’m almost done.’
A renewed determination filled Killian’s eyes. Once he retrieved the pendant, he could finally go home and collapse into bed.
And just the thought of lying down made him feel sleepy, like a Pavlovian response.
“Yaaaawn—”
—
Jun-hyuk couldn’t believe it.
He had expected Killian to panic when seeing the mass of kobolds gathered. But instead of fear, the guy was yawning.
「You’re yawning? Do these kobolds look that easy to you?」
‘It’s not that, I’m just sleepy. Besides, how am I supposed to kill all of them?’
Watching Killian yawn while holding his sword made Jun-hyuk feel that something was seriously wrong.
‘This isn’t good. This has to end here.’
Jun-hyuk’s mind is filled with anxiety. If these kobolds didn’t take care of Killian, he had no idea when another opportunity might arise.
Desperate, Jun-hyuk wracked his brain, grasping at straws.
「If you’re that tired of this, I know a way that’s a little less annoying and a lot faster.」
Please take the bait. Please!
‘Oh? What is it?’
Honestly, he hadn’t expected Killian to fall for it. The plan Jun-hyuk was about to suggest was obviously dangerous to anyone with half a brain.
「You see that shaman over there?」
‘So that’s a shaman?’
Jun-hyuk was just hoping to increase his slim chance of success, so he laid out his plan.
「They can cast a specific spell that…」
But, as if by some miracle…
‘Oh, I like that idea.’
「Wait, what? Really?」
‘Yeah, if it works, it’ll speed things up.’
「Y-Yes, of course! I knew you’d understand the plan.」
Killian… really was insane.
—
Time passed—10, maybe 15 minutes?
Jun-hyuk wasn’t sure, but one thing was certain: he was not in his right mind.
「…」
Looking around the cavern, he was left in stunned silence.
He had been in this chamber countless times, but the sight before him was utterly foreign.
Kyaa… haaah.
Dozens of kobolds lay burned, or cleanly sliced in half, leaving behind a grisly scene.
And the one responsible for this massacre?
“Man… I’m exhausted. This is why I hate using my body,” Killian muttered.
Standing at the center of the eerie scene, Killian let out a casual yawn.
Jun-hyuk watched the surreal sight unfold and sank deeper into thought.
‘I really thought he was going to die this time.’
Anyone would have thought so. The chamber had been packed with dozens of kobolds.
‘And it wasn’t just ordinary kobolds he fought.’
Among the kobolds, there had been a shaman, capable of casting simple but dangerous spells, like fireballs. It was a troublesome foe that Jun-hyuk had believed would finally bring Killian down.
But Killian had defeated the shaman with ease.
‘And all by following such a reckless plan.’
Jun-hyuk’s strategy had been simple on paper: bait the shaman into misfiring its spells and using them to wipe out the other kobolds. It was a tactic Jun-hyuk had used during his gaming days.
But in reality, it was anything but simple. Even the slightest miscalculation could lead to a deadly explosion, and fear or hesitation would make it nearly impossible to execute properly.
Jun-hyuk had succeeded back when he was an experienced player, using a well-leveled character. But Killian? He was practically a rookie by comparison.
‘Now what?’
Yet, Killian had perfectly pulled off the plan. The result was a scene completely different from what Jun-hyuk had expected.
Staring at the aftermath, Jun-hyuk felt only one thing.
‘…I’m screwed.’
Sure, one could think this was remarkable. A lazy bum with no mana had managed to take down dozens of kobolds single-handedly. He had flawlessly executed a high-risk strategy after hearing it just once.
Given all that, it would make sense to think, Maybe there’s hope after all?
‘Maybe I would have thought that around my third attempt.’
But after going through countless cycles, such thoughts were ludicrous to Jun-hyuk.
Yes, Killian had more talent than expected, Jun-hyuk could admit that. But talent alone wasn’t enough.
Killian had no mana. At his age, nearly an adult, to have no mana meant he had no potential for growth. Expecting him to clear any major challenge was absurd in Jun-hyuk’s eyes.
“Finally! I’m going home!”
As Jun-hyuk resigned himself to this reality, one nagging question surfaced in his mind.
‘Something doesn’t add up.’
At first, Jun-hyuk had thought it was likely that he’d never found the pendant because he didn’t know its exact location.
But now that he thought about it, he’d always known the pendant was somewhere in the Palmer Mine.
‘This guy took down a horde of kobolds by himself with my help.’
With that kind of skill, Killian should have been able to find the pendant on his own, without any help from Jun-hyuk.
‘So how… How did the pendant always end up in the Demon Sea? Did this lazy idiot actually go all the way there?’
Jun-hyuk felt a wave of confusion.
The more he thought about it, the more curious he became.
‘And if this guy was capable of all this… how did he never once cross my path in all the times I’ve reset?’
Killian didn’t seem like someone with the potential to clear any major quest.
But still, with his talent, he should have at least made a noticeable impact in one of Jun-hyuk’s many cycles.
Yet, it was as if someone had intentionally kept him hidden.
‘This… this is actually pretty interesting.’
It had been a long time since Jun-hyuk had felt so many questions bubbling up.
After countless failed attempts at clearing the game, this was the first time in ages that something piqued his curiosity.
For the first time, he considered the possibility that following Killian around might be worth something.
Sure, he might have resigned himself to his current situation, but maybe this would lead to some answers.
Step… step…
As Jun-hyuk pondered, Killian made his way to the altar, tilting his head slightly.
“Finally found it.”
Clink!
Grabbing the pendant, Killian turned and started walking out of the chamber without a second glance.
Watching him leave, Jun-hyuk spoke up.
「Where are you going?」
“Where else? Home, obviously.”
Clink.
As Killian casually put the pendant around his neck, Jun-hyuk couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
「You really don’t know anything about that pendant, do you?」
“Huh?”
Ssshhhhh…
「You can’t leave yet.」
“Why not?”
「Because there’s still one more thing you need to do.」
As soon as Jun-hyuk’s words left his mouth, the pendant began to emit a soft breeze.
It was as if a sealed door had suddenly opened, pulling air from the outside into a long-closed room.
And with that breeze came a chilling voice from behind.
“…I’ve finally been released.”
At that moment, Killian let out a long, exasperated sigh, sensing that something troublesome had just begun.
‘Maybe… I should just ignore it?’