(Bonus Chapter) Katsu

I kept up, running from the mob of Gnolls behind me. Numbered 28 of them. I didn't expect there to be this many in one area. I could take on this many outdoors. With high difficulty.

But in a place like this, I would be stepped all over.

A question filled my mind.

Why Were there so many Gnolls? What's really going on in this tunnel system?

I would have to worry about this later and focus on avoiding their poisoned arrows.

Thanks to my honed reflexes, I evaded each arrow that came my way. When I reached a certain point in the tunnel, I jumped over a hole that I created earlier.

And to block the enemies' visions, I casted a smokescreen around me. Only I was capable of seeing through this smoke.

'Gnolls. They're fearless and Aggressive monsters. The easiest kind of monsters to lure.'

One after another, I watched as the Gnolls fell into the hole, where they would be impaled by the spikes below.

Shank! Shank! Shank! Shank!

Eventually, they all ended up down there, but not all were dead.

Some were climbing over the bodies of their friends, attempting to get out.

I already predicted this, that's why I laced the hole with a certain oil.

Highly flammable.

I lit a match and tossed it in, watching the monsters engulf in flames.

Their beastly screams only lasted for a minute, then they were dead.

I jumped back over the hole, continuing on my original path.

'These kind of flames could even kill certain A-rank monsters. I expected no less.

I always had some useful items. Given to me by a good friend of mine. A well-connected merchant.

I followed the direction of my gut-feeling.

After an hour or so, I finally peered around a corner, spotting a set of doors. The doors were pretty big, and were guarded by two Elder Gnolls.

Had I possibly stumbled on the entrance to their base. It had to be.

Why else were their two Elder Gnolls guarding the way? Those kinds of units were the strongest ones among them.

I murmured, "This was really labeled as a B-rank quest. I can't believe it."

The average B-rank adventurer would be slaughtered.

Even lower A-rankers would have a tough time.

I didn't fret, though. I was equipped for hardened fights.

Using the element of surprise, I leaped out of cover and tossed a dagger at one of them.

Like I expected, the gnoll lifted its axe to block it. As a result of the spell embed, the dagger explodes on impact.

Boom!

That simple, first Gnoll was killed.

I charged at the second enemy and slashed, but they parried against my blade. Quickly, a counter attack was swung at my throat. My body waved to the side, then I shoved my blade through the Gnolls chest.

[Enemy Killed]

Its corpse dropped to the floor and I sheathed my blade.

Now, the doors had my attention as I wondered about the other side of them.

I already knew it was their base of operations.

But would I be overrun the moment I open them? I couldn't take that risk.

So I turned back to the corpse of the Gnoll next to me.

There was another way to get information. [ Memory Extraction ]

I set my hand against the Gnoll's head.

All of its memories from its last hour alive neutered my mind. I now knew what I knew, concerning the area behind the doors.

The place was thriving with Gnolls all doing different tasks. Some were Forging weapons and armor, and some were handing out rations.

They were just as advanced as a small army.

Why Were they so organized? It just wasn't in their nature.

Something else was at play here.

But what really caught my attention was something else.

Something that laid deeper within.

A long hallway with many prison cells, holding numbers of people.. Women, children, and even men.

"The Gnolls are keeping people captive? Strange."

Unfortunately, the extracted memories didn't give me any insight about this.

It was strange nonetheless. Gnolls usually killed people on sight. Brutally.

I did an equipment check on myself:

Longsword.

Chestplate.

Helmet.

Healing potions.

2 Poison Antidotes.

This wasn't enough to fight their numbers head-on.

I would need to head back to the surface and re-supply.

A situation like this should be reported to the guards.

I didn't like that idea though.

As guards should, they would rush in head-on. Losing men in the process.

There didn't have to be casualties over something I could solo.

My methods were both effective and efficient.

As I headed back, a problem arose for me inside these tunnels.

I was lost.

It was almost like the tunnels had changed directions when I wasn't looking. Nothing looked the same as before.

[ Magic Detection ]

My eyes lit up and observed everything, catching sight of a magical haze.

This was earth magic. Structure manipulation.

I sighed.

"If a Gnoll was behind this, then I would be impressed."

Regardless, I understood what this spell was for.

It was for trapping a target in a maze, so they couldn't escape.

Luckily, if the spellcaster is killed, everything would revert back to normal.

Bad-dump!

"I'll track the spellcaster by their magic. Then I'll kill them, without mercy."