Chapter 56: Abandoned Mine
Gauss used this time to let his gaze wander around the Adventurers’ Hall.
He could sense that the recent number of people in the hall had slightly increased, many new faces among them.
And the change among low‑rank adventurers wasn’t the most obvious; the most apparent difference was that more professional-level adventurers capable of venturing onto the second floor had appeared.
Could the surge in quest numbers around Graystone Town have attracted adventurers from elsewhere?
After all, Graystone Town bordered the Emerald Forest, and it was not an exaggeration to describe that forest as a Monster Kingdom.
Gauss had also heard locals talking; it was said that the Emerald Forest served as a barrier between the Kingdom of Karos and the southern non‑human domains.
Deep within the Emerald Forest lived a wide variety of monster tribes—green dragons, lizardfolk, gargoyles, ogres, minotaurs, wyverns, hydras—all terrifying beings.
Graystone Town originally started as an outpost stationed on the fringe of the Emerald Forest and grew gradually from there.
However, the Emerald Forest seemed to have remained relatively stable for many years.
At least in Gauss’s memory, he hadn’t heard of any large‑scale wars.
Drawing his gaze back, his teammates had already selected a quest.
“I think this one looks good. What do you all think?”
“Clear out the kobold tribe holed up in the abandoned mine; their numbers are around twenty.”
Compared to his old friends the Goblins, kobolds were even weaker in combat ability.
They were burrowing reptilian humanoids, oviparous, innately worshipping dragons, and took pride in aspiring to serve under a dragon’s banner.
Meanwhile, the scaly kobolds often boasted of possessing a very slight draconic bloodline.
Besides serving as servants of the strong, kobolds were inherently excellent diggers and builders, adept at hiding in various caves and transforming them into livable environments suited for their kind.
Despite their building and excavation talents, their combat aptitude wasn’t remarkable; most kobolds struggled to survive past the age of ten, relying on numbers to face predators but often suffering heavy losses.
Gauss had no objections to his teammates’ chosen target.
Most kobolds stood around 1.2 meters tall and lacked strong frontal combat ability; the only concern would be their laid traps.
In this party, they had Meiva, who was skilled at traps and mechanisms, and Gauss, who had quietly learned a few missions alongside Meiva and mastered the investigative skill Mage Hand.
As long as they stayed cautious, the kobolds’ traps wouldn’t trouble the party much.
Gauss could fully use Mage Hand’s properties to inspect potential danger zones one by one.
The other teammates had likely chosen this quest for that same reason.
After confirming the accepted quest, everyone returned to rest and gather their gear.
Soon after, they regrouped at the town entrance.
With more quests to choose from, they could pick ones closer by, reducing travel fatigue.
This task would only take less than half a day to reach the site.
The quest location was an abandoned mine to the west of Graystone Town—years ago, its veins had already been fully mined.
This mission was issued by the Graystone Town Adventurers’ Guild, which periodically released monster-clearing tasks even in uninhabited areas.
“Too bad it’s an abandoned mine,” Daphne sighed, “Otherwise, with kobolds’ habit of hoarding shiny things, there might have been big rewards.”
“If that were the case, we wouldn’t be the ones taking it—we’d have already been beaten to it,” Levin reassured her.
Any savvy adventurer knew that in the low‑rank adventurer world, “high‑yield” quests were most likely grabbed first.
Some larger teams even hired people to stay in the Adventurers’ Hall to snag high‑reward quests as soon as they appeared, leaving only lower‑profit tasks available afterward—or so the quest details implied.
“That’s true.”
After walking a few hours, the party reached the designated quest location—an abandoned mine so forgotten it didn’t even have a name.
It was just past noon.
Apart from the team, the mine lay empty and eerily silent.
Knee‑high wormwood grew here and there along the roadside.
The wooden supports at the main shaft entrance had collapsed, and rotted wood fragments were scattered all over the ground.
Pale green sewage kept dripping from above the mine shaft.
The sound of "drip drop" could be heard from far away.
"This is the place."
Gauss noticed some fresh soil and stones piled not far from the entrance of the mine.
Considering that no one lived around here, the only ones digging had to be their mission targets.
The master diggers—kobolds.
Wherever they arrived, they would reshape the cave into their preferred environment.
After gathering some basic intel, Levin and the others did not act rashly.
Instead, they walked some distance away to set up camp, rest, and eat to restore their strength.
Unlike any previous task Gauss had done, this time he had to go deep into the cave to fight kobolds.
Compared to the open wilderness, the deep and unknown mine was clearly much more dangerous.
Thin air, collapsing rocks, lack of light, and the risk of getting lost—these were all hidden dangers of the cave environment.
So even though the enemies weren’t strong, the team didn’t dare to be careless.
A careless adventurer could hardly survive many years in this line of work.
After fully recovering their strength—
Meiva and Gauss set off first to scout the cave for information.
Before officially entering the cave, Meiva sprayed a scent-masking potion on both herself and Gauss.
This would help suppress their body scent to some extent, avoiding early detection in a confined space.
Gauss, on the other hand, cast an invisible Mage Armor on himself.
The reason he didn’t cast one on Meiva as well—first, casting Mage Armor twice would use up most of his magical energy.
Second, he hadn’t yet learned how to cast it on others.
Compared to self-casting, casting on someone else was far more difficult.
Drip. Drop.
Inside the cave, it was very dark; they could barely see their surroundings.
Fortunately, Gauss had a mental map, recording every detail of the mine’s layout around him.
He didn’t have to worry about getting lost, and with 6 points in Agility, he could keep up with Meiva’s pace.
The two of them explored cautiously.
The mine tunnels twisted and turned, and a strange, musky stench filled the air—a kobold scent, peculiar and strong.
It smelled like burnt, spoiled mutton fat with a faint hint of sulfur and rust.
Once inside, Meiva activated her skill.
As a result, she had to stop occasionally to hold her head, easing the amplified discomfort from the odor.
The two moved cautiously, with Gauss frequently using Mage Hand to probe ahead.
Finally, after several tens of minutes of careful searching, Gauss led a pale-faced Meiva out of the cave.
“They're definitely kobolds. Around twenty adult individuals, with a few young ones.”
“They’re armed with daggers, pickaxes, and other wooden weapons. No ranged weapons, but several entrances are trapped.”
“The air in the cave is circulating. There must be hidden tunnels and ventilation shafts inside.”
“The paths are complex. Be careful not to get lost going in.”
“You really are amazing, Meiva!” Doyle didn’t hold back his praise for the intel officer.
“No, actually the credit goes to Gauss,” Meiva shook her head and looked at Gauss.
Not only had he kept using Mage Hand to gather intel, but even when they exited the cave, it was Gauss who led the way out.
Otherwise, in that dark and winding mine, she would’ve had to grope around for a lot longer.
Thinking of Gauss’s claim of having a natural sense of direction—
She felt a strange emotion rise in her chest, even a faint tinge of envy.
She couldn’t help but feel that he might be more suited to being a Rogue than she was.