Chapter Twenty-Four: The Nest’s Treasure Chest

Jia Zhengjin drew his bow, aiming from above at the kobold leader who had yet to notice him. Thanks to diligent archery practice during hunting in recent days, his accuracy had improved considerably.

The arrow zipped through the air, intended for the kobold leader’s head, but struck its left arm instead. Nevertheless, for Jia Zhengjin, simply hitting the target was a significant achievement.

The centipede venom took effect—the poisoned arrow caused the kobold leader to collapse instantly, paralyzed by the toxin. Since the venom worked on the kobold leader, Jia Zhengjin felt much more at ease. To prevent the leader from escaping, he quickly descended from the tree, switched his bow for a poisoned iron spear, and launched a close attack.

Arrows could miss, and the kobold leader’s resistance to poison or recovery speed was uncertain. Jia Zhengjin wanted to ensure the leader had no chance to recover, keeping him permanently paralyzed.

The leader was indeed formidable. Despite being tormented by the giant pythons for so long and bleeding profusely, his health remained astonishing—2000 out of 5000.

Five thousand health points dwarfed Jia Zhengjin’s mere one hundred. It was a gap that made one envious! Even wounded, with two thousand left, Jia Zhengjin’s current attack power meant he’d need to stab with his iron spear roughly two hundred times.

Two hundred thrusts—standing still, anyone would be exhausted before finishing!

Jia Zhengjin gritted his teeth and persevered. Thanks to daily mining since crossing over, his physical fitness had improved, so he gradually wore down the kobold leader’s health. By the end, his hands were so tired he could barely move them.

The giant pythons had apparently forgotten the kobold leader, or perhaps they were simply full. After all, they’d swept the entire kobold nest clean! When Jia Zhengjin finally dispatched the kobold leader, he found the pythons had vanished without a trace.

[Message] You have slain the kobold leader and gained 500 experience points!

[Message] You have leveled up!

The kobold leader’s experience points leveled Jia Zhengjin up to level five, and he still had around four hundred experience points in reserve. He needed about 1200 more to reach the next level at 1600 points.

He rummaged through the kobold leader’s body and, as expected, found a wealth of loot!

[Message] You have obtained [Superior Ebony Staff]!

[Message] You have obtained [Small Fireball Skill Book]!

[Message] You have obtained [Superior Leather Armor]!

[Message] You have obtained [Perfect Wooden Club]!

[Message] You have obtained [Nest Treasure Chest Key]!

[Message] You have obtained [Superior Beast Fang Ring]!

It was a veritable windfall: three pieces of superior equipment, a perfect wooden club, a skill book of magic, and a treasure chest key!

The perfect wooden club, though impressive in quality, dealt less damage than the iron spear, so it was little more than disposable junk.

However, the ebony staff, leather armor, and beast fang ring all boasted outstanding attributes. The ebony staff granted one point of intelligence and increased magic attack damage by five percent; the leather armor provided ten defense points, higher than any entire set of fiber armor; the beast fang ring added five points of physical damage, greatly enhancing combat prowess!

Naturally, Jia Zhengjin immediately put on the leather armor, donned the beast fang ring, and took up the ebony staff. In high spirits, he took out the [Small Fireball Skill Book] to learn it.

This was a magic skill book—something never seen in the game! If he mastered magic, he wouldn’t have to face these dangerous otherworldly creatures head-on.

He silently recited the command to use it, but his excitement was doused in cold water.

[Message] You have unlocked the Technology Skill Tree and cannot simultaneously unlock the Magic Skill Tree!

“I can’t learn it?” Jia Zhengjin was furious! It turned out his golden finger—the skill tree he brought with him after crossing over—was a self-contained system, automatically cutting off the path to the magic skill tree!

So the skill book was now essentially useless. He wanted to throw it away but couldn’t bear to part with it. Then he wondered: if he couldn’t use it, could someone in this world—like Tina?

With this in mind, he carefully stashed the ebony staff and the Small Fireball Skill Book in his backpack, determined to let Tina try them when he returned. If it worked, Tina would gain some means of self-defense!

His mood swung wildly. Staring at the last piece of loot—the treasure chest key for the kobold nest—he couldn’t decide whether to head home now or risk a trip to the kobold nest.

If he returned home, who knew if the kobold nest’s treasure chest would refresh or be taken by some otherworldly creature? If he went, the giant pythons might still lurk nearby, and he wasn’t nearly strong enough to survive a single bite!

After much deliberation, he finally gritted his teeth: “Fortune favors the brave! Those giant pythons shouldn’t be coming back!”

Despite his resolve, he remained extremely cautious.

He moved forward step by step, stopping to check at the slightest sound, ensuring no danger lurked nearby.

Slowly, he made his way to the kobold nest. Confirming there were no giant pythons, he swiftly ran over, crouched, and squeezed into the cave to search.

The kobold nest’s tunnels were low, allowing kobolds to move freely. Jia Zhengjin could not even enter without crouching.

Inside, the interconnected tunnels surprised him. He immediately saw piles of animal bones, including one skull resembling a human, which sent a chill down his spine. But for the sake of treasure, he forced himself to ignore the bones and searched deeper.

Aside from bones, he found some rotting corpses, the stench almost making him vomit. It seemed several unlucky otherworldly humans had become the kobolds’ reserve food. Had he not saved Tina that day, she might have been among these corpses now.

Suppressing his disgust, Jia Zhengjin covered his nose and pressed on. At last, in the deepest, most spacious chamber, he discovered a massive, locked wooden chest.

Clearly, kobolds would never craft such a chest for storage—this was a reward generated after slaying the kobold leader.

He quickly used the key to open it.

[Message] You have obtained [Kobold Nest Construction Blueprint]!

[Message] You have obtained [Garden Construction Blueprint]!

[Message] You have obtained [Arrow Tower Construction Blueprint]!

[Message] You have obtained [Basic Vitality Potion]!

[Message] You have obtained [Perfect Beast Hide Boots]!

[Message] You have obtained [Beast Bone Helmet]!

[Message] You have obtained [Malt Bread]!