Chapter 63: The Little Kukuk

This is an origin far too insignificant.

"In this world, is there a race weaker than us?"

"In the entire multiverse, is there a sapient race more chaotic and weaker than us?"

"There actually exists a race that takes pride in serving as slaves; there actually exists a race that longs to roll in underground mud for a lifetime."

The newborn he was, opened his eyes from a mass of chaos and stench.

His intelligence, far higher than that of his kin, made him remember that scene throughout his long life thereafter.

In a cramped space less than a meter wide, more than thirty skinless "puppies," their bodies entirely red, were piled together, pulling and shoving one another.

Cries, the stench of urine, and the scent of milk mixed together, yet no one cared.

Wow, so many little monsters.

He looked down and saw his own short, thick, round paws, and his newborn body color, which was completely red.

Hmm, it's fine; I am one of them too.

"Waaah!" He saw a cub crying the loudest being picked up by a dog-headed monster and fed milk.

Thus, he felt a bit hungry too.

After hesitating for a moment, he also began to cry loudly.

"Wawa!" Compared to his seven brothers from the same litter, he was the smallest, yet he cried the loudest.

Thus, he was picked up as well, and the caretaker patted his little elephant down there.

"A male... the little one has plenty of spirit, that cry. Hmm, let's call him Kukuk." Thus, Kukuk received this name that would accompany him for life.

Do not ask why he was given this name; even the gods could not understand their line of thought.

Perhaps they simply liked onomatopoeic reduplicated names because they were easy to use and remember; for them, whose mother tongue was Draconic, their tongues were simply unsuited for other common languages.

Their generally low intelligence made it very difficult for them to speak sentences that were too long, let alone remember overly complex "foreign names."

It was just unknown how many Yaya, Wawa, Anan, and Kukuk existed within that particular tribe.

It was said that Lili were the most numerous, often only usable by the tribal chieftain, because the name sounded very powerful.

Kukuk was a kobold, a race that could be called the weakest on the entire continent.

His childhood ended very quickly; starting at three or four years old, he began digging pits, hunting, and weaving alongside his kin, which was normal in the tribe, as they could reach adulthood and reproduce offspring by six or seven years old.

Kukuk grew up with the little companions in the tribe; he vaguely knew who his parents were, yet never cared, for kobolds had no concept of family, and parents were merely old ones with very similar scents.

Being oviparous, they had two litters a year, with up to seven or eight per litter; weak races were always the most adept at reproduction.

But the total number of kobolds in Kukuk's tribe had actually never increased much.

"Great Dragon! Evil Dragon! We are willing to dedicate everything to you!"

The reason? This tribe had a "benevolent" master.

This greedy, green great bad dragon always made the kobolds dig holes underground to search for gems, or hunt and fight for him.

Many clansmen died in mine collapses, but most deaths occurred because, though clearly weaker than goblins, they served as the vanguard cannon fodder for the evil dragon's legion.

Although known to the world as kobolds, the kobolds of this world were completely different from canine beastmen.

Though very weak, these scaled little fellows were indeed true dragonkin.

Their hairless, dog-like heads were actually round, small dragon heads of the lizard variety.

They were born miners and excavators, and also born worshippers of great dragons; they would even actively serve evil dragons. The patron of Kukuk's tribe was an evil adult green dragon, a young dragon ambitiously expanding his territory.

Do not misunderstand; the kobolds of Kukuk's tribe were not forced into service.

They came to pledge allegiance voluntarily; they were very willing to serve their master.

Being able to witness the posture of a massive, majestic great dragon (especially a chromatic evil dragon) up close made them feel safe and joyful from the bottom of their hearts.

Following a stronger dragon was an instinct that could not be refused from deep within their bloodline.

Some say kobolds are the malice of an evil dragon god, a race of born slaves created for their own kind.

Others say they are the result of a wizard's experiment, degenerate life born from dragon blood.

But these creatures indeed felt joy from the bottom of their hearts for serving evil dragons.

"... Woo, this is wrong; Kukuk feels this is wrong."

But within the race, Kukuk was an outlier.

Already seven years old and thus an adult, he was far more intelligent than his peers and slightly stronger... he was a full two and a half feet (0.7 meters) tall, a little leader in the tribe.

He felt his tribe did not work for the green dragon in vain; at least...

"Kukuk feels it must at least give gold coins, woo, give wages!"

"If it doesn't give them, we will sell the mines and gems! Go exchange them for shiny gold ourselves! Beautiful, sparkling shiny gold!"

Then, he was kicked out of the cave, exiled from the tribe for the first time.

After wandering for a while, enduring an unpleasant adventure filled with pursuit and racial discrimination, and inexplicably learning the common tongue, it returned to the tribe.

And this time, he still did not stay long.

"Woo woo, these are seeds, these are farming tools; we can farm! We can support ourselves!"

Amidst the eyes of his clansmen who could not understand at all, he was promoting his new discovery.

The big fellows outside live exactly like this; this is far more stable than hunting and eating the leftovers of dragons.

But no one cared about his discovery.

Nor was he discouraged; he cleared fields himself, but before the crops ripened, passing wild beasts and monsters trampled them completely clean.

For a whole year, Bai Mang.

"Clown" Kukuk received his first title.

But in his future career, this was not even considered too unpleasant.

Before long, because he did not participate in hunting or digging pits, nor was he willing to provide miscellaneous services for his patron and the legions under his command, he was exiled once again.

But he came back very soon.

"Good food, good fun, I've got it all here! Just trade with the scales that dumb dragon dropped, and the stuff those adventurers left behind!"

"I bought a house at that big guy's place nearby, we can go live there! Farm! Mine — the miners there get paid! We can trade the ore for lots of food! Good food!"

Still no kobold paid him any attention; in fact, the tribe had long since treated him as if he were invisible.

But this time, they still went to that nearest "big guy gathering place."

They had a plan long before.

"Boom—!"

The evil dragon descended from the sky, and its dragon breath destroyed the walls and the city.

Driven by the evil green dragon, eager to expand its territory, a legion of all manner of demons and monsters surged into the town.

This small town of only a few hundred souls was doomed from the very day the evil dragon built its nest nearby.

Those friends and relatives of Lord Lord Kuku's, those kobold kinsfolk who had once seemed dull but decent — at this moment they were vicious as jackals, pouring out the killing desire in their blood with crossbows, spears, and wooden clubs, like madmen.

They were biting, they were chasing, they were imitating the evil dragon gnawing at flesh and blood.

Their faces were hideous, yet amid the slaughter they laughed like bloodthirsty devils.

That terrifying sight stunned Lord Lord Kuku, who was watching it all from the hill.

"This isn't right, this isn't right"

Lord Lord Kuku left the tribe for the third time; this time, he left on his own.

Unable to understand why any of this had happened, he walked toward the unknown distance with a vacant gaze and stumbling steps.

This was only a beginning — a beginning that was nothing special in his long life.

"Truly too humble an origin."

When Li En awoke from the dream, he too fell into a long daze.

Before, at the very least, he had been a person; this time's experience had been too much of a shock.

For a kobold whose aesthetic standard was dragon scales, tails, and lizard heads, it took a little time to recover his love for normal beauty. Li En forced himself to stare at Miss Lana all morning before he recovered a little.

"Mm, the color of the scales and the curve of the tail don't matter! What matters is the beautiful girl with red eyes and white hair!!"

And when he finally came to his senses and returned to his own residence, he also knew exactly what his past self had done yesterday.

Li En gave a wry smile, yet he did not stop there — this Heroic Spirit was truly a little out of the ordinary.

He thought it over for a moment, then spoke to the backpack he had brought back.

"Heroic Spirit Lord Lord Kuku, sir — or rather, Mr. Li Ensu, please come out so we can talk." But his seemingly paranoid invitation received no response for a long while.

The mouth of the backpack had already quietly opened, yet there was not the slightest movement.

"Click." The sudden sound made him whip his head around.

A small figure had already been sitting on his nightstand for quite some time.

He set down his book and showed a disdainful expression.

"What do you want to talk about, you silly bad dragon rider. Let me say this first — Lord Lord Kuku doesn't talk to idiots."

(End of chapter)