Old Gold Tooth pressed his lips together and did not answer at once.
While waiting, Luge recalled the images that had once floated through his mind of kobolds with scales—those must be dragonborn kobolds. He had also thought of Half-Man, the headless wizard who could not move. Since Half-Man had claimed he could help Luge free himself from the bonds of the short-lived species, it was reasonable to suppose that Half-Man likely possessed a treasure capable of transforming a kobold into a dragonborn kobold.
Being a powerful wizard, he would not produce some worthless junk. If speaking of the best effect, it must be dragon blood.
From Kaliu's diary, Luge had seen that wizards, besides fiddling with scrolls, loved making all sorts of strange potions. So Half-Man might have a potion made from dragon blood. To use or consume the raw material directly would be considered a great disgrace by wizards. In a wizard's view, that was foolish and a huge waste. Only after being processed with wisdom to achieve the best effect was it the finest choice.
A commotion arose among the kobolds in the distance.
Aisjin immediately got up to investigate. Knowing Old Gold Tooth would not die for the time being, she no longer wore that worried, frowning expression.
In Luge's view, these two kobolds were a bit like father and daughter or grandfather and granddaughter.
Of course, in the normal kobold's loose family concepts, there would not be such a specially cherished kinship. They gathered in tribes only because they were too weak. Before Luge appeared, Aisjin and Old Gold Tooth might have been the only kobolds each could talk to, so their relationship was good. Probably in their eyes, the other kobolds were more like beasts than fellow tribesmen.
Aisjin came running back in long strides.
She first looked at Old Gold Tooth, then turned to Luge and said: “The Gray Longneck Holy Lord is back! Then, then they discovered that Black Claw Master is missing! There is so much blood! So much blood, outside the Holy Cave, blood covered the ground before the cave…”
She waved her arms. With each sentence she spoke, Big Dumb Hum's broad shoulders beside her would tremble once.
After the initial surprise passed, the return of the Gray Longneck Holy Lord seemed to have no effect on the few kobolds present.
Old Gold Tooth, silent for a long time, finally spoke.
“Their scents are too alike…”
The old kobold spat out a sentence as if it had drained his strength.
“I am not like you and Aisjin. Most clever kobolds are not like that either. We became clever during the process of undergoing transformation into dragonborn kobolds… Although I did not become a dragonborn kobold, I still grew a bit taller.”
“Before that I was the smallest and most foolish in the tribe. The kobolds in the tribe bullied me, and I almost never ate my fill. Then one day they gave me food to eat. Watching me eat, I was happy, and I ate mouthful after mouthful… When it was gone they would give me another piece. It was the fullest meal of my life… I kept eating… until my stomach felt like it would burst…”
The old kobold's tone did not change noticeably, but the luminous threads growing on his body shook more and more violently as he spoke.
“Only long afterward, when a dragonborn kobold's mind suddenly became clever… did I suddenly recall that meal and realize that I had eaten my worm-person friend mouthful by mouthful…”
“My friend, cut into many pieces. Stupid me did not recognize him…”
Old Gold Tooth curled his lips as he said this, as if telling an uninteresting matter.
Multiple thoughts flashed through Luge's mind. He had originally thought Old Gold Tooth would know what was going on with those plump grubs. Now it seemed that was wishful thinking. Still, one point was made: grubs smelled very much like the worm-person race. This reminded him of that little crybaby worm-person who had run away without leaving a name.
And Aisjin—she was the truly rare clever kobold. He might only count as a fake.
“I’ll tell you one more interesting thing.”
Old Gold Tooth revealed a strange half-smile.
“I might be of the royal bloodline among kobolds,” he paused, looking at their expressions, then continued. “In legend, long, long ago, kobolds were all clever. They were clean, wore beautiful clothes, had huge cities, and had their own civilized nations—even stronger than those pointy-ears.”
“But later they did something wrong, and a curse was brought down. In the blink of an eye, civilization vanished and the nation collapsed, becoming what they are now. The stronger the royal bloodline in a kobold, the more dull-witted he is,” he said, glancing at Big Dumb Hum. “Especially this type—huge and dull-witted best fits the legendary royal traits. Whereas those small, ordinary kobolds who were not so clever and brave before carried less of the curse's power, and their descendants might still produce a few clever kobolds.”
While the three chatted idly, the kobolds in the distance had already prepared to go hunt for the Gray Longneck Holy Lord.
Aisjin turned to glance at Old Gold Tooth, looking eager to get moving. Luge could tell at a glance that she did not want Old Gold Tooth going around eating random things anymore. And since the old kobold did not eat grub meat, he could only choose to go hunt with the others.
“No need to go hunting. Give Old Gold Tooth this to eat. I only need a claw tip for a weapon.”
He took out that big black claw, used the beast-fang dagger to barely cut open a bit, then began to tear at it with brute force.
“You and Big Dumb Hum, if hungry, go catch some grubs nearby. Do not wander too far lately.”
Aisjin nodded. At this point how could she not understand whose claw this was? Seeing Luge divide the Gray Longneck Holy Lord's claw before her eyes, her expression changed repeatedly for a moment. She did not know what she was feeling.
Big Dumb Hum was even more useless, shrinking back without stopping, putting on a complete royal air.
Luge left the meat there and departed from that place. At the same time he warned Aisjin that even if she kept a certain distance, she must not always stay by Old Gold Tooth.
When he had time he would come find Old Gold Tooth again to chat about other things.
He wound his way back to his secluded nest.
Without those noisy fellow tribesmen.
Staying alone quietly, maintaining the Fetid Skin spell, actually gave him a greater sense of security.
He took out the Black Codex, preparing to start learning new runes. The various changes around him gave him more motivation. And the map in his mind—the legacies of several wizards, he believed, would not disappoint him, provided he could reach there safely.
Of course, these were only the one-sided words of a little chrysalis worm-person. Without seeing them with his own eyes, they could not be counted on.
For a while drowsiness came upon him. Too late to eat anything, he closed the book and fell into a deep sleep.
This sleep was especially deep.
In his half-awake, half-asleep state, he saw that tree again—the incomparably holy tree he had seen once during the solidification of Fetid Skin. Back then it was as if he had crossed an extremely far distance before finally gazing at it from afar. But this time was different. He changed his angle, drifting around the giant tree like a willow catkin that would never fall.
Suddenly he felt this was not a tree. Once this thought arose in his heart, the more he looked, the more it resembled one.
This was a hand—a hand buried starting from the lower half of the palm. The five sturdy tree branches were the five fingers.
As for the pure white throughout, it was actually because it no longer had flesh and blood. This was a white bone palm without flesh and blood.
A bone hand filled with a sense of pure holiness.
When he understood these things, the scene before his eyes suddenly shook.
He woke up.
The first thing upon waking, he discovered that the Fetid Skin spell seemed somewhat different.
Chapter 14