The group exchanged a few final pieces of information in low voices outside the cave, making one last check of their weapons and equipment before setting off.
Once everything was confirmed, they entered the cave one by one, maintaining formation.
Normally, the vanguard should be Laevin, the team's shieldbearer. But due to the narrow, dark, and winding nature of the mine tunnels, that responsibility fell to Gauss and Meva—the two who had scouted the cave earlier.
And since Gauss had a map in his mind that revealed the terrain, he could navigate accurately even in total darkness. Combined with his active Mage Armor and the fact that their enemies were kobolds—who posed minimal threat individually—there wasn’t much concern about him getting focused and killed in the first wave.
Thus, the rather bizarre sight of a mage leading the team.
Meva had originally wanted to take point, but knowing that Gauss seemed even more familiar with the cave layout than she was, she yielded without argument.
Everyone moved forward in silence, careful to keep their steps light. Their pace was slow to avoid unnecessary noise.
Thankfully, with Gauss in the lead, there was little risk of taking a wrong turn. They soon reached a fork that led to the kobold living quarters.
Unlike the human-sized mining tunnels, the kobold-dug paths were cramped and tight. Even the main corridor barely reached 1.7 meters in height, while the branching passages were only around 1.2 to 1.4 meters tall—forcing average-sized humans to crouch or even crawl.
These side passages led to various nest-like rooms.
Because this kobold group was newly migrated and smaller than a full-sized tribe, their living area only included a central chamber used for habitation and egg incubation, a mining/work zone that doubled as a dumping ground, and a few dead-end trap tunnels.
Gauss gave a hand signal, then crouched and entered the main kobold tunnel.
It was so tight that even turning around was difficult.
As he advanced, he used Mage Hand to probe ahead—just in case some lizard-headed critter decided to pop out of a side tunnel unannounced.
Thanks to his agility stat increasing from 5 to 6, Gauss found crawling and maneuvering relatively smooth.
Not so for the others. Moving through the cramped cave was clearly a struggle—especially for the tall and broad Laevin. The space felt suffocating.
Thankfully, Laevin had switched to a smaller buckler before departure. If he’d brought his full-sized shield, it would've been more than uncomfortable—it’d be impossible.
The group advanced slowly, keeping their steps soft. As they passed by the excavation area, the faint sounds of mining—clink, clink—could be heard.
Even though the ore vein had long been abandoned, kobolds were known for their uncanny ability to scavenge the last traces of valuable minerals.
Gauss didn’t stop. He led them carefully past the entrance to the excavation zone, toward their actual objective—the kobold main hall.
This central space was a natural cavern, slightly modified by the kobolds. It had a height of 3–4 meters and spanned over 100 square meters. With a vertical air vent and some lighting, it was a far better place for battle than the narrow mining tunnels.
The team carefully avoided the traps and tripwires along the way.
Eventually, they reached the final tunnel before the main chamber. From here on, they had to crawl on their bellies.
After a short break, Gauss dropped to all fours and led the way.
He spared a brief second of sympathy for Laevin, then focused his attention forward.
The path ahead required absolute caution.
His white bone wand had already found its way into his hand without him noticing.
If Mage Hand sensed anything ahead, he was ready to cast a spell immediately.
Thankfully, they made it to the edge of the main hall without incident.
This made sense—most of the kobolds were working in the mining area right now. It wasn’t peak traffic time.
Gauss emerged from the tunnel first and made space for the others to crawl out behind him.
Leaning against the wall, he took in the layout of the kobold main hall.
It was even more spacious than expected.
At the center was a vertical ventilation shaft. Nearby was a firepit, where two kobolds sat, using crude stone knives to butcher what looked like a rat.
Next to their filthy claws sat broken clay pots filled with water, and a small pile of muddy roots and fungi—likely for cooking.
Next to the firepit stood a rough, crudely painted statue—more like a carved stone block than an actual sculpture. It bore a vague resemblance to a dragon or some other large reptile.
Around the edges of the cave were piles of stones and shallow dug-out pits, likely used as sleeping areas.
Gauss scanned the chamber quickly, counting nine adult kobolds and seven or eight young hatchlings.
The rest were in the mining area.
While he observed, the rest of the team quietly emerged behind him, keeping completely silent.
The firepit and vent provided light in the center of the chamber, but the outer areas were dim—perfect for their infiltration. No kobolds had noticed them yet.
One of the kobolds by the firepit seemed to sniff the air suspiciously and let out a confused grunt to its partner.
Both of them stood up, alert and scanning the room.
Gauss exchanged a glance with his teammates—they were all ready.
The two kobolds had just stood side-by-side.
Gauss pointed his wand at them.
The mana surged Magic Missile lit up in his mind, and his mana surged forward, flowing into the wand.
The wand glowed faintly as a blue orb of energy began forming at its tip.
The two "chef" kobolds immediately noticed the glow.
But before they could even react—
The missile blasted forth, lighting up the entire cave and officially kicking off the battle!