Chapter 57: Kobold Lair
The group exchanged a few more pieces of specific intel in low voices at the campsite outside the cave.
Before setting out, they conducted one final check of their weapons and gear.
After confirming there were no issues, they entered the cave one by one, maintaining their formation.
Logically, Levin, as the Shield Bearer, should have taken the lead, but due to the dark, narrow, and winding nature of the mine tunnel, this role clearly had to fall to Gauss and his companion who had previously scouted the cave.
Gauss, with a map displayed in his mind, could navigate accurately even without any light inside the cave.
Plus, with Mage Armor active and considering the enemies were only kobolds, even if they got exposed, kobolds’ combat abilities weren’t enough to cause fatal damage in the first wave.
Thus, a rather strange scene occurred—Gauss, a mage, walked at the very front.
Meiva originally wanted to take the lead, but seeing that Gauss seemed even more familiar with the layout than she was, she didn’t insist.
The group moved silently through the cave.
To minimize the noise of their movement, their pace was slow.
Fortunately, under Gauss’s guidance, they had almost no risk of getting lost and arrived at the tunnel junction leading to the kobolds’ living area.
Unlike the mine tunnels dug for human work, the passage ahead, dug by kobolds, was notably cramped.
The highest point barely reached 1.7 meters—this was the height of the main passage.
Some of the branch tunnels were only about 1.2 to 1.4 meters high, forcing normal humans to crouch or even crawl.
These branch tunnels connected to the various nest chambers of the kobolds.
This was clearly a newly relocated group, smaller than a typical kobold tribe.
So far, the nest chambers included only the main hall used for living and hatching, a digging zone that doubled as a waste area, and some dead-end spaces rigged with traps.
After making a hand signal to the others, Gauss bent down and entered the main passage dug by the kobolds.
Once inside, even turning around became difficult.
As he advanced, he silently sent Mage Hand ahead to scout.
This was to prevent a sudden ambush by a small lizard-headed creature from one of the side tunnels.
Thanks to his Agility increasing from 5 to 6, Gauss moved with reasonable nimbleness.
Others had a much harder time moving through the tunnel, especially the tall Levin—the low ceiling made him feel even more stifled.
Luckily, he had switched to a smaller one-handed shield before setting out, instead of a large one.
Otherwise, it would’ve been more than just discomfort.
Their pace was extremely slow, feet pressing close to the ground.
As they passed the digging zone, they could hear the clinking of mining tools inside.
Even though it was an abandoned and previously mined-out vein, the kobolds’ innate skill still allowed them to scrape out a few residual bits of ore.
Gauss didn’t stop.
He led the group carefully through the entrance to the digging area’s side tunnel.
The team had formulated a strategy before entering.
Instead of the digging zone, their target was the kobolds’ main living hall, a more spacious and open area suitable for a surprise attack.
The main hall was a repurposed natural cavern, about three to four meters in height and over a hundred square meters in size.
It had vertical ventilation shafts and a broader space with some lighting.
Compared to the digging zone, it was more suitable as a battlefield.
The group carefully advanced, avoiding all the traps and mechanisms along the way.
Eventually, they reached the side tunnel leading to the main hall.
The tunnel ahead was even lower—now they could only crawl forward.
After a brief rest, Gauss bent down and crawled into the tunnel.
He silently pitied Levin for a second or two, then focused his attention ahead.
This next stretch required even more caution.
Unknowingly, he was already gripping the Bone Wand in his hand.
If Mage Hand detected anything suspicious up ahead, he would cast a spell immediately in response.
Fortunately, they crawled all the way to the main hall entrance without incident.
This was reasonable, as the kobolds in charge of digging were already working in the excavation area, and this was not a time when kobolds frequently moved around.
Gauss exited the tunnel, making room for the rest of the team to crawl out.
He leaned against the wall of the main hall while observing its interior structure.
Once they were fully inside, the cavern space turned out to be more spacious than expected.
At the center was a ventilation shaft, and not far from it was a fire pit.
Two kobolds sat around it, using crude stone knives to butcher a creature that looked like a rat.
Next to their filthy claws were several broken clay pots filled with water, along with freshly dug, soil-covered tubers and fungi.
It looked like they were preparing ingredients to cook a meal.
Next to the fire pit, at the most prominent area of the hall, stood a crude stone statue.
The statue was completely lacking in artistry—more of a stone stump roughly shaped and then painted with cheap mineral pigments.
On closer inspection, its outline vaguely resembled a large dragon-like lizard.
Beside that was a pile of stone materials and some small pits carved into the cavern walls, presumably used as resting rooms for the kobolds.
Gauss’s eyes quickly scanned the entire main hall and counted the kobolds present.
Including the ones resting in those “rooms,” there were nine adult kobolds and about seven or eight kobold pups.
The rest were in the other excavation area.
While Gauss was making his observations, the rest of the team had also silently crawled out of the tunnel and remained quiet like him.
Fortunately, the only light sources were the fire pit and the area under the ventilation shaft at the center.
The outer edges of the hall were dimly lit, so their appearance didn’t immediately alarm the kobolds.
“Woh, woh, woh...”
One kobold by the fire pit suddenly let out a confused call to its companion, as if it had caught a strange scent.
“Woh woh!”
The two kobolds stood up, cautiously glancing around.
Seeing that all teammates had successfully entered, Gauss realized the kobolds might have sensed something.
He exchanged a glance with his teammates to confirm everyone was ready.
Then he seized the moment when the two kobolds happened to stand together.
He raised the Bone Wand in his hand toward their direction.
The Magic Missile rune in his mind flickered, and his magical power surged quickly.
It flowed swiftly into the Bone Wand.
As the magic entered, the wand began to emit a faint glow.
A blue orb of light rapidly condensed in the air in front of the wand’s tip.
“Vmmm!”
The two “cook” kobolds noticed the glow the instant it appeared.
But before they could make any move.
Gauss’s quickly conjured Magic Missile shot out with a roar.
“Boom!!”
The missile tore through the air, lighting up the previously silent cavern and announcing the official start of battle!