Rahz was a killing machine. In just two days, he had wiped out all the groups of Kobolds outside of the mine. He had obtained a total of 30 pieces of Copper Ore and all sorts of little trinkets that were of not much value.
Thinking about how boring it was to go back home so early filled Rahz with depression. The Level 6 Kobolds didn't give him any energy at all but at least it was exercise. Sometimes Rahz liked to put himself at a disadvantage in order to get a tiny bit of that Rush he felt when he killed the bear during his trainee test.
Level 9 was very difficult hurdle to pass, It was the last level before the first evolution and in order to go through it as fast as possible, the main solution would be to kill First Evolution Beast. The thought had cross Rahz's mind many times but the words of his father, " Do not Fight anything pass Level 9 or you will regret it" Always stopped him.
The First Evolution was a Rite of passage for any fighter. At that stage, the warrior sheds the first shackles of the mortal realm and starts on the road to become what people called a divine being. However, since the great war Divine Beings had been a matter of legends and nobody could ascertain that they had seen one.
In order to become a Berserker of the God of War it was necessary to passed a test. If one did not succeed, then he or she would stay at level 9 for the rest of their lives. The test very much depended on the god they wished to follow and the class they wanted to pursue.
Those that passed the test were granted a big boost in terms of their physical ability but more importantly they were able to utilize their energy to affect their environment. It wasn't as simple as one plus one. The change was significant and Rhaen did not want his son to experience the difference in a life and death situation.
While cooking a piece of juicy steak, Rahz started thinking that he had never venture inside the mine. In his opinion most of the trainees that came were low levels, ' I am different, I can kill Kobolds so fast I don't even break a sweat. I won't go too far in anyways'.
" What do you think Mr. Choppy? Ready for an adventure?"
Rahz had his dinner and turned in for the night. Next day was going to be a very hectic day and he need it to be rested. Rahz climb a tall tree and set himself on a pretty wide branch and close his eyes to rest.
The following morning, Rhaz woke up early and started making breakfast. Throughout the last few years the importance of an excellent breakfast and the maintenence of his weapon had become a must do before every adventure.
Rahz's Axe was not magically enhanced to never lose its edge, so every time he cut through the tough leather of animals the edge of the weapon would dull. This problem made it difficult to grind creatures for long periods of time.
After finishing up his preparations, Rahz made his way to the entrance of the mine. There was not a Kobold in sight since all of the low level Kobolds by the entrance had been eliminated by him previously. In the eyes of the Kobolds staying inside the tunnels, living outside was a punishment or a sign of weakness. Even though the Kobolds were not the smartest tools in the shed, it was easy for them to realize that the mortality rate outside the tunnels was considerably high.
Rahz stood by the doors and took a few minutes to let his eyes get use to the decrease in brightness inside the tunnel. The Kobolds did have some very primitive torches to illuminate the road but they love the darkness because it made it easy to recognize a shiny piece of ore.
The tunnels were about 8 ft wide and about 7 feet tall. It was very easy for the Kobolds to move about but it was a challenge for tall races to transit in an out.
Inside the tunnels there was a very earthy smell and the further Rahz went in, the warmer it got. Rahz couldn't help but think of how great it would be to be able to set up a camp inside and avoid the cold winds. It would also be easier to keep a fire going to bbq.
While thinking about all the pros camping inside the tunnels brought to the table, Rahz made his way inside the tunnels. The reverberating echo coming from the mining process became louder and louder just as Rahz's excitement climbed higher and higher. After about half a mile of walking, the first group of Kobolds came into view. Compare to the tunnels, the work area designated for this group of workers was about 3 times bigger.
Rahz observed the situation and determined that the problem was no longer the levels but the amount and distribution of the creatures around the area.
There were about 14 Kobolds mining the walls and in the middle of the semi circular space, the Rock Throwers seem to be supervising the work of the miners. Most of the time Kobolds acted on instinct, and their instinct told them to keep the ore. The Rock Throwers job was to remind them to not keep the ore for themselves. Everytime the miners were discovered trying to pocket a shinie the Rock Thrower made them pay dearly.
The Kobolds had a hierarchical society. At the bottom were the workers that mined all day long looking for ore. The ones that supervised the workers were the Rock Throwers that were responsible for delivering the supplies of ore to the Elite Kobold overseeing a couple of areas. The area supervisors were then responsible to collect all the ores and give it to the Evolve Kobold in charge of a region. Finally, each region manager had to give accounts to the king.
Kobold evolution was very different from the humanoid creatures, besides liking the way the ore looked, they were able to digest it and used it as a catalyst to increased their Levels. The higher the Rank, the more resources would be assign and the easier their time would be evolving.
Elite mobs were around Level 9 but the most powerful ones had their first evolution completed. It was very easy to recognized a first evolution Kobold. With the utilization of the metal properties from the ore they consumed, a Level 10 Kobold had a metallic sheen on their fur that made it even tougher to get through.
The place were Rahz was heading to was pretty weak compare to other areas. The closer to the center of the mine the higher their levels would be.
While hiding by the door of the circular space, Rhaz inspecting their level and quickly rejected the idea of taken care of all the Kobolds at the same time. Mr. Choppy was pretty long and the space was pretty narrow so a cyclone was impossible to do.
Instead of rushing in, Rahz displayed a little bit of his wisdom and try to observe the behavior of his prey and build a plan around it. Every 10 minutes or so, the rock thrower in charge of supervising the miners close to Rahz's location left to supervised the miners in the opposite side.
"Bingo!! Now all I need is a way to attract the Kobolds into the tunnel".
Rahz thought for while and the only thing that could attract the attention of this creatures was a chunk of copper ore. Fortunately for Rahz, he already had a few pieces from all the group that he had slain outside.
As soon as the Rock thrower pathed back to the other side, Rahz threw a small rock to the Kobold closest to him. When the rock hit the Kobold's head, it made him turned around to see if the supervisor was trying to call his attention. Seeing that nobody was close by, it furrowed his eyebrows and continued his work.
Rahz was a little frustrated with the intelligence of the creature he was trying to lure but was not discourage. Rahz threw yet another rock at the Kobold and this time he manage to made him look towards the tunnel entrance. The low amount of illumination made it extremely easy for Rahz to hide in the shadows.
The Kobold looked towards the tunnel and didn't see anybody. A little infuriated with what was happening, the Kobold decided to once again go back to his work. Just when he was about to turn and face the wall a bright light in the dark background caught his eye. He turned towards the tunnel one more time and this time its eyes were as big as saucers.