{Trip Snare:} Tier 1
{Type:} Control Trap
{Proficiency:} Beginner {0%}
{Materials:} Vine/rope, bone/wooden peg, stone weight
{Information:} Triggers when a creature steps into the line. Target is tripped and briefly restrained.
{Build Failure Chance:} 25%
{Misfire Chance:} 20%
{Spiked Pit:} Tier 1
{Type:} Damage + Control Trap
{Proficiency:} Beginner {0%}
{Materials:} Dug pit, sharpened bone/wood spikes, leaves/soil cover
{Information:} Target falls into a pit and takes piercing and bleeding damage.
{Build Failure Chance:} 30%
{Misfire Chance:} 15%
{Falling Stone Trap:} Tier 1
{Type:} Burst Damage Trap
{Proficiency:} Beginner {0%}
{Materials:} Rocks, wooden brace, trigger string
{Information:} Heavy stone drops from above and deals blunt damage. Has a high chance to stun or daze.
{Build Failure Chance:} 20%
{Misfire Chance:} 25%
Crunch! Yum!
Crunch! Yum!
{Tiger bunny meat ingested}
{+5 exp gained}
Kyle read the trap skill information with a bloody chunk of flesh in hand, as if he were holding a slice of pizza. His initial thoughts of cooking the meat fizzled out the moment he realized he was a loser with no survival skills, someone who couldn't even make fire despite once living in the most advanced era of humanity. He legitimately had no skills he could boast of.
The realization was painful, but that pain soon faded when he discovered that raw meat was actually pretty tasty. It reminded him that he was now more animal than human.
"Spiked pit is not that bad. To be honest, none of these traps are bad. If set up properly, I could fatally harm tiger bunnies without putting myself in danger," Kyle speculated while rubbing his chin.
His attention was briefly stolen by the sound of rustling leaves, but it turned out to be Tu'ka, who nervously stared at him from a distance. Even so, the jump scare was all the reminder Kyle needed about the dangers of eating openly in a forest.
With that, he dragged the tiger bunny's corpse along and began making his way back. Still begrudged by earlier events, he offered nothing to Tu'ka. He planned to share the catch with the entire family so Tu'ka could eat with the rest. It took him a while to find his way back, but it wasn't difficult since all they had to do was stick to the foot of the hill.
By the time he reached the cave entrance, the full moon hung high in the empty sky, illuminating the evergreen forest. Green fireflies flocked around trees and flowers while the sound of crickets rang in the background. For the first time since coming to this world, Kyle encountered a magical scene that made his entire life on Earth pale in comparison.
He stood at the entrance, refusing to enter the dark cave, simply witnessing the beautiful scene. Tu'ka stood at a corner, salivating over the corpse in Kyle's hand but daring not approach. He feared his big brother would beat him to death with the bone club resting on his shoulder.
"Let's go in," Kyle said after a while.
A small, rare smile played on his lips for the first time since coming to this world. If he could truly live up to the Greater Kobold's expectations and build a prosperous home for kobolds in this forest, he wouldn't mind living a peaceful and quiet life here.
With that, the two headed into the cave. As usual, they navigated through the underground maze that served as their home, built long before their birth. If anyone else dared to enter this cave without knowledge of the correct route, they would surely find themselves trapped in a deadly maze.
With old man Lu'k here, Kyle wasn't worried about their safety. That was why he dared bring back his game even though the blood trail might attract other animals.
A kobold high shaman might not be as skilled as sorcerers of other races, but they were still sorcerers nonetheless!
Once Kyle presented his catch to his brothers, he made sure to personally take out a sizable portion for Tu'ka and old man Lu'k. What remained of the game was devoured savagely by his remaining twelve brothers, who referred to him as big brother.
{Major Milestone Achieved: Big Brother}
{By taking the initiative to prove your usefulness to your brothers, they acknowledge you as the eldest and will rely on you from now on. Congratulations}
{+3 Unused stat points, +3 talent points & +300 exp}
{Basic Leadership Starter Pack Added To Talent Store}
The moment he received this, Kyle left the group and returned to the cave entrance, where he sat under the moonlight and read the system message. He had planned to lead the new generation for his own sake, so he hadn't expected to be rewarded for it. But why?
"Why is this considered a major milestone?" Kyle rubbed his rough chin and pondered silently.
He recalled the first message he received from the system on the day he was born:
"You have been selected by the Greater Kobold to lead the kobold race to prosperity."
Repeating those words, a wave of realization washed over him.
"To lead to prosperity," Kyle muttered.
He had been rewarded for taking his first step toward a leadership role. However, this realization brought another question.
"What would be considered prosperity for the kobold race?"
Was it food?
Security?
Strength?
No matter how much he pondered, he couldn't find the answer. Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused on improving his profile. What seemed like an unfruitful hunt had turned into a bountiful harvest. This milestone alone was enough for him to understand what the Greater Kobold wanted—and how to extract more resources from the stingy system.
{Level:} 3→4
{+1 unused stat point}
{Experience Points:} 265/450
That one point, combined with the four unused points he already had, gave him five points in total. Initially, he was tempted to dump everything into strength and speed, but Kyle decided to slow down and review the day's events before deciding.
During his encounter with the tiger bunny, two major factors had nearly cost him his life: speed and stamina. He couldn't escape the beast because he was too slow, and he couldn't outrun it because of his limited stamina. After the fight, he barely had five stamina points left, which was why he didn't leave immediately.
If he had more stamina, even if he couldn't outrun the tiger bunny, he could have kept circling until it gave up—or simply led it back to the cave, where old man Lu'k and the terrain traps would easily handle it.
Without hesitation, Kyle did the unthinkable. He distributed the five points between speed and vitality, at a 2:3 ratio.
{Name:} Kyle
{Race:} Kobold
{Level:} 4
{Stats}
{Strength:} 3
{Agility:} 3
{Vitality:} 6
{Intelligence:} 5
{Health Points:} 30
{Stamina:} 30
{Mp:} 5
{Experience Points:} 265/450
{Talent Points:} 003
{Inventory}
{Bone Club}
{Common Grade}
{Weapon Type:} Blunt
{Requirement:} 2 Strength
{+5 damage}
{Durability:} 8/10
After the upgrade, he immediately checked the talent store to see the price of the Basic Leadership Starter Pack.
{Talent store}
{Weapon Mastery: Blunt}
{Price:} 5 Talent points
{Basic Leadership Starter Pack}
{Price:} 7 Talent points
{Basic Bloodline Starter Pack}
{Price:} 10 Talent points
"Just rob me, you scoundrel!" Kyle cursed at the top of his voice.
So even after all the suffering he went through—even if he hadn't bought Primitive Trapcraft—he would still be two talent points short of the leadership talent.
How could this system be so stingy with rewards and yet so pricey at the same time?
Truly, there was nothing great about the Greater Kobold. Just a stingy old bastard looking for poor souls to slave away for it.