Chương 75: Into the Nest

Watching the scene unfold, Zelier quietly shook his head. A boy raised in a noble household really did lack any sense of caution toward the outside world. If Lante's luck was bad enough to end up with a party led by someone like Drake... He'd probably wind up as another adventurer who had "tragically" died during a commission.... The carriage rolled steadily along the dirt road.

Lante leaned against the window like a child leaving home for the very first time, his eyes sparkling as fields and rolling hills drifted past. When they neared their destination, Marcus reined in the horses and tied the carriage beside a small grove. From there, the party continued on foot. Before them stretched a barren landscape of rolling hills. Years of relentless mining had stripped the land bare, leaving the soil a lifeless reddish brown. There were almost no tall trees to be seen.

Only stubborn weeds and scattered shrubs clung to life. The air carried the scent of rust and dust, while abandoned mine shafts stood silently in the distance like weathered gravestones. Vaelis couldn't help sighing. Perhaps it was simply his elven blood, but seeing the land scarred like this filled him with both regret and helplessness. Following the map, Marcus quickly located the commission site at the foot of a hill. The mine entrance was half-buried beneath broken planks and loose stones.

Fresh footprints marked the surrounding dirt.

"Can you confirm it's kobolds?" Marcus asked. Cyr crouched down to inspect the tracks. After a few moments, she nodded.

"This is the place."

"I can still smell the sulfur lingering on them." Marcus tightened the straps on his reinforced scale mail before issuing orders.

"Cyr, you take point. Scout ahead and clear any traps."

"The rest follow behind."

"Formation is: me, Grey, Vaelis, Lante, then Zelier."

"Understood." Everyone acknowledged the command. Lante nodded seriously as well. The excitement that had filled his face moments ago vanished, replaced by nervous determination. He was finally about to see monsters that had previously existed only in books.... The abandoned mine was far more spacious than he'd imagined. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. After all, it had originally been excavated by humans, not carved out by kobolds.

The tunnels were wide enough for three or four people to walk abreast. Rusted mine rails stretched along the floor, while broken tools lay scattered here and there beneath layers of dust. As they ventured deeper, the light steadily faded until the darkness became almost impenetrable.

"Lante." Zelier spoke softly.

"Light."

"R-Right!" Lante gripped his staff tightly and began constructing the Spell Matrix. His nervousness was obvious. Even with such an excellent staff, a simple Light spell still took him over seven seconds to cast. A glowing sphere slowly floated upward. It drifted above the party, bathing the tunnel in soft white light. Only then did they continue forward. Cyr moved through the darkness like a phantom. She didn't need the light at all. Within moments she'd already pulled far ahead of the party.

Sometimes Zelier knew exactly where she was. Even if he fixed his eyes directly on her... Her figure still seemed to blur in and out of existence. At times he even lost sight of her completely. Is my Perception just too low...? Only thirty points. If it were higher... Would he be able to follow Cyr's movements more clearly? The thought lingered in his mind. The mine was eerily silent. Only the group's deliberately softened footsteps echoed through the tunnels, accompanied by the distant drip... Drip. Drip....

of water striking stone. The deeper they went, the colder the air became. Lante could even see his own breath. He nervously scanned every shadow. Kobolds... They aren't going to suddenly jump out at us... are they? A warm hand rested gently on his shoulder. Zelier's calm voice came from behind him.

"Relax."

"I'm watching your back." Those simple words eased Lante's nerves considerably. He nodded firmly. Then— Cyr suddenly stopped. She raised a hand, signaling everyone to halt. Then she pointed at the ground. The party slowed to a crawl. Under the glow of the Light spell, they noticed one section of loose soil looked slightly deeper than the surrounding ground. Cyr carefully brushed away the dirt. Beneath it lay several sharpened wooden stakes.

Judging from their sickly coloration, they had clearly been coated with poison. Had someone stepped onto that trap... Their foot would have been skewered clean through. The party carefully circled around the concealed pit. Over the next stretch of tunnel, Cyr uncovered another four or five hidden traps. Some concealed more poisoned stakes. Others consisted of tripwires hidden in cracks along the walls. There was even a net loaded with heavy rocks suspended overhead.

"... Those little bastards fight dirty." Grey muttered under his breath. Eventually, they reached a fork in the mine. Three equally dark tunnels stretched into the depths. Cyr stood perfectly still. More than ten seconds passed. Then she slowly opened her eyes and pointed decisively toward the passage on the far right. The party followed. They hadn't gone far before faint metallic echoes drifted toward them. Clang. Clink. Clang.

"What are the kobolds doing?" Vaelis whispered.

"Expanding the nest." Grey lowered his voice.

"This tribe only migrated here recently, so they're still manageable."

"But if we leave them alone long enough..."

"They'll dig a dozen interconnected tunnels."

"And once that happens..."

"They'll become a nightmare to exterminate." Marcus raised a hand. Silence. From that point onward, not another word was spoken. The party advanced soundlessly until they finally reached the end of the tunnel. Carefully, each of them leaned around the rock wall, exposing only half a face. Beyond lay an enormous cavern. It was clearly the mine's natural central chamber, vast enough to house an entire settlement. More than twenty kobolds bustled about inside.

Like tireless worker ants, they wielded crude stone tools, ceaselessly hacking away at the rock to excavate new tunnels. Adventurers' Guild Universal Monster Guide [Sequence 4] Kobold Threat Rating: [Easy] Appearance: Small humanoid creatures that rarely exceed 1. 5 meters in height. Their bodies are covered in fine brown or dark red scales. They possess reptilian, dog-like heads, sharp claws, and long tails. Behavior: A subterranean monster with a primitive social hierarchy and division of labor.

Kobolds frequently steal ore and tools from human mines. They possess an almost fanatical reverence for dragons, and most tribes construct crude shrines within their nests. Special Traits: Natural-born excavators. Exceptionally skilled at constructing traps throughout their lairs. Primary Weakness: Almost everything. Like goblins, kobolds are physically frail and can be dispatched with ease. Their scales provide little protection and offer almost no resistance against bladed weapons.

Guild Note: The greatest danger posed by kobolds is not the kobolds themselves, but the countless traps hidden throughout their nests. Adventurers undertaking extermination commissions are advised to proceed with extreme caution.