Chapter 57: Kobold Lair
The group whispered additional specific information at the camp outside the cave, then made a final check of their weapons and equipment before departing.
After ensuring everything was in order, they entered the cave in single file.
By rights, Levin, as the shield soldier, should have taken the lead, but because of the dark, confined, and winding environment inside the mine, this task clearly fell to Gauss and his partner, who had already scouted the cave.
Gauss, with the map in his mind showing the path, was able to accurately keep track of their direction and position even without light inside the cave.
Moreover, with Mage Armor reinforcing him and the potential enemies being Kobolds, there was no worry of being instantly killed by concentrated attacks, even if exposed.
Thus emerged a somewhat peculiar scene where Gauss, the mage, walked in front.
Medvedeva originally wanted to lead, but thinking Gauss seemed more familiar with the cave’s paths, she did not insist.
They proceeded silently through the cave, moving deliberately to minimize the noise of their footsteps.
Fortunately, under Gauss’s guidance, they had little risk of taking the wrong turn and arrived at the junction leading to the Kobold living area.
Unlike the human-mined tunnels designed for convenience, this passageway dug by the Kobolds was somewhat cramped.
The highest point was just under 1.7 meters high, and the branch tunnels further on were only about 1.2 to 1.4 meters high, forcing normal humans to crouch or even crawl.
The branch tunnels connected to various Kobold nest rooms.
This apparent recently migrated clan numbered fewer than a typical Kobold tribe.
Thus, their dwelling area so far consisted only of a main hall used as a main living and hatchery space, alongside a digging zone doubling as a refuse area, as well as some dead-end spaces equipped with traps.
Gauss signaled to the others, then bent over and moved into the Kobold-dug main passage.
Once inside, even turning around was difficult.
As he advanced, he silently used the Mage’s Hand to scout ahead.
To prevent any sudden emergence of a lizard-faced little monster from one of the branching passages.
Thanks to his agility having been increased from 5 to 6, Gauss was able to move rather flexibly.
The others found traversing within the mine more arduous, especially the tall Levin, for whom the low ceiling felt even more oppressive.
Fortunately, he had switched to a smaller single-handed shield before setting out, instead of his large shield, otherwise the discomfort would have been more than just inconvenient.
The group’s progress was very slow, footsteps kept low; passing by the digging zone, they could hear the clinking sounds of work inside.
Even though it was an already-mined-out, abandoned vein, the Kobolds’ innate skills allowed them to barely find some residual mineral resources amidst the ruins.
Without pause, Gauss led the group more carefully past the entrance to the digging operations zone.
The team had already established a strategy before coming in.
More than the digging zone, the group aimed for a surprise attack on the larger and more open Kobold living main hall.
The main hall had been fashioned out of a natural cavern space found by the Kobolds, with a ceiling about 3 to 4 meters high and over a hundred square meters in size, featuring vertical ventilation shafts, making the area both spacious and adequately lit.
It was better suited as a battlefield compared to the digging area.
The group cautiously navigated, avoiding the various traps and devices set along the way.
They finally reached the entrance to the branch tunnel leading to the main hall.
The next leg of the journey required crawling through even lower branch tunnels.
After a brief rest, Gauss bent down to crawl into the tunnel.
He felt a brief moment of sympathy for Levin before focusing his attention ahead.
The path ahead required even greater caution.
Unnoticed, the white bone staff was already in his hand.
If the Mage’s Hand detected anything amiss ahead, he would cast a spell to adapt to the situation.
Fortunately, they crawled all the way to the entrance of the main hall without incident.
This was expected, as the Kobolds involved in the digging were working in the digging zone, and it wasn’t a time when the Kobolds were frequently moving in and out.
Gauss exited the tunnel, making way for the team members crawling out behind him.
He leaned against the main hall wall, observing the structure within.
Upon formally entering, the cavern’s space appeared even more expansive than anticipated.
In the center was a ventilation shaft, and not far from it, on the open ground, was a fire pit where two Kobolds sat, using rough stone knives to cut up what seemed to be rat-like creatures.
Beside their dirty claws were several broken ceramic jars filled with water, and some muddy plant tubers and fungi they had just dug up.
It looked like they were preparing food to cook.
Beside the fire pit, at the most conspicuous spot in the hall, stood a crude stone statue.
The statue lacked any aesthetic appeal; calling it a statue was generous—it was merely a stone block placed on the ground, roughly carved and smeared with poorly made mineral pigments.
Upon closer inspection, one could vaguely make out a contour resembling a Giant Dragon-like lizard.
Then there was the stone storage area and small pits dug around the cavern, presumably used as rooms where Kobolds rested.
Gauss’s eyes quickly scanned the main hall, counting the number of Kobolds present: a total of nine adult individuals and about seven or eight Kobold pups in the "rooms".
The rest were in another digging zone.
During Gauss’s observation, the others also quietly crawled out of the tunnel, maintaining silence like Gauss.
Luckily, all the light sources were centralized in the fire pit area and below the ventilation shaft, leaving the areas near the perimeter of the hall poorly lit, so the group’s emergence didn’t initially alarm the Kobolds within.
"Oh, oh, oh..."
One of the Kobolds by the fire pit suddenly seemed to catch a scent of something, making a puzzled noise toward its companion.
"Oh oh!"
The two Kobolds stood up warily, glancing around.
Gauss, seeing that his teammates had crawled in successfully, recognized that the Kobolds might have sensed something.
Exchanging glances with his teammates to confirm readiness.
He seized the moment when the two Kobolds stood closely together.
He aimed his white bone staff toward them.
After the magic missile symbol flashed in his mind, his entire magical power was swiftly mobilized and then flooded into the white bone staff.
Accompanied by the infusion of magic power, the staff began to glow faintly.
A blue light orb quickly coalesced into being at the tip of the staff.
"Buzz!"
The two "cook" Kobolds noticed the disturbance as soon as the glow appeared.
But before they could make their next move.
Gauss’s rapidly formed Magic Missile launched in response.
"Boom!!"
The missile streaked through the air, illuminating the entire silent cave, heralding the commencement of battle!