Seeing this, Zelir gently shook his head.

’A young man like him, raised in a family of Nobility, is indeed lacking a certain wariness of the outside world.’

If his luck was bad and he ran into a team like the one Drake leads, he could very well end up starring in a drama where "Lante unfortunately dies during a mission."

...

The carriage rolled smoothly along the dirt road.

Like a child on his first long journey, Lante pressed his face against the carriage window, curiously watching the fields and hills that flew past, his eyes filled with excitement.

As they neared their destination, Marcus tied up the carriage by a small grove of trees, and everyone disembarked to proceed on foot.

Before them lay a stretch of desolate hills. The land, over-mined in years past, had taken on a barren, reddish-brown hue.

There were hardly any tall trees, only some tenacious weeds and low-lying shrubs.

The air was thick with the smell of rust and dust. A few abandoned mine shafts stood silently in the distance like tombstones.

Perhaps it was due to the nature flowing in his blood, but Valles felt a sense of both regret and helplessness seeing the environment so ravaged.

Following the map, Marcus soon found the mission location at the foot of a hill.

It was a mine entrance, half-covered by wooden planks and rubble. The surrounding soil showed signs of being trampled.

"Can you confirm it’s Kobolds?" Marcus asked Hill.

Hill crouched down to examine the area for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

"This is the place. I can still smell the lingering scent of sulfur on them."

Marcus tightened the straps of his Scale Armor and began to arrange their formation.

"Hill, you’re at the front to scout and check for traps. The team will follow in this order: me, Gray, Valles, Lante, and Zelir."

"Understood," everyone replied.

Lante also nodded grimly, his expression shifting from excitement to solemnity, as if facing a formidable enemy.

’I’m about to... see the monsters I’ve only read about in books!’

Upon entering the mine, they found the space inside wasn’t as narrow and cramped as one might expect.

This was an abandoned site once worked by humans, not a lair dug by the Kobolds themselves, so the tunnels were quite spacious, wide enough for three or four people to walk abreast.

Rusted rails lay on the ground, and as they walked, they could occasionally see various broken tools scattered at their feet.

As the team ventured deeper, the light grew dim, making it difficult to see what lay ahead.

"Lante."

Zelir reminded him softly, "Use the Lighting Skill."

"R-Right...!"

Lante gripped his Magic Wand, beginning to sketch the Spell Structure in his mind.

It was clear he was extremely nervous. Even with such a fine Magic Wand, it still took him more than seven seconds to cast a Simple Lighting Skill.

An orb of light slowly floated upward, hovering over their heads and illuminating the surroundings. Only then did the team continue forward.

Hill was like a ghost melting into the shadows. She had no need for the orb’s light and had already put a good deal of distance between herself and the rest of the party.

Sometimes, you knew she was right there, and even if you stared directly at her, Hill’s figure would seem indistinct and ethereal, to the point where you might even lose sight of her completely.

’Is my Perception too low...?’

’After all, it’s only 30 points right now. If it were higher, would I be better able to perceive Hill’s movements?’ Zelir couldn’t help but wonder.

The mine was extremely quiet, with only the sound of their deliberately softened footsteps and the distant DRIP... DRIP... of water from a cave wall.

The air grew colder, and Lante could even see the white mist of his own breath. He scanned his surroundings cautiously, the tension inside him winding tighter and tighter.

’Kobolds... they won’t just suddenly jump out, will they?’

A warm hand rested on Lante’s shoulder, and Zelir’s reassuring voice sounded softly.

"Don’t be afraid. I’m right behind you, watching your back."

Zelir’s reassurance eased much of Lante’s anxiety, and he nodded vigorously.

Just then, Hill, who was up ahead, suddenly stopped.

She raised a hand, signaling the party to halt, then pointed at the ground.

Everyone slowed their pace.

In the glow of the Lighting Skill, they saw an area of loose earth on the ground ahead that seemed darker than its surroundings.

Hill carefully brushed away a layer, revealing several sharpened wooden spikes underneath. Judging by their color, they were clearly coated in poison.

If someone had recklessly stepped on it, their foot would have likely been pierced straight through.

The team carefully made their way around the pit.

Continuing on, Hill discovered four or five more camouflaged traps.

There were more wooden spikes, tripwires hidden in the crevices of the rock walls, and nets designed to drop rocks from above.

"These damn Kobolds... they’re a sneaky bunch," Gray cursed under his breath.

Finally, the team arrived at a fork in the path, with three equally dark mine tunnels stretching out before them.

Hill stood silently in place. After about ten seconds, she opened her eyes and unhesitatingly pointed toward the rightmost path.

The team followed her lead and continued on. Before they had gone far, the faint sound of CLINKING AND CLANKING echoed from deep within the tunnel.

"What are the Kobolds doing?" Valles asked softly.

"Digging and building out their lair."

Gray lowered his voice.

"This small Kobold tribe just migrated here, so they’re relatively easy to deal with. But if we let them get established for too long, they’ll dig a dozen interconnected tunnels, and then killing them will be a real pain."

Marcus made a "hush" gesture. The entire team fell completely silent, advancing without a sound until they finally reached the end of the tunnel.

They peeked out from behind the rock wall, only half of their heads exposed, and cautiously looked out.

Before them was a massive cavern, clearly the natural core of the mine and exceptionally wide.

Inside the main cavern were over twenty short Kobolds. Like diligent worker ants, they used various crude stone tools to tirelessly excavate new tunnels.

Adventurer’s Association Universal Monster Atlas

[Tier Four]: Kobold

Individual Threat Rating: [Simple]

Appearance:

A species of short, humanoid creatures rarely exceeding 1.5 meters in height.

Their skin is covered in fine, earth-brown or dark-red scales. Their heads are a mix between a lizard and a canine, and they possess sharp claws and a long, slender tail.

Habits: 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Typical cave-dwelling Demons, they possess a rudimentary social structure, understanding hierarchy and division of labor. They frequently steal Ore and tools from human mines.

They worship draconic creatures to an extreme degree, with most tribes building simple altars within their lairs.

Special Ability:

Kobolds are natural-born digging experts and are highly skilled at setting traps within their lairs.

Core Weaknesses:

Their entire bodies are weak points. Like goblins, they can be killed with ease.

Their scales offer low Defense Power and are incapable of withstanding strikes from swords and blades.

Association Notes:

The greatest threat posed by Kobolds is not the creatures themselves, but the ubiquitous traps within their lairs. Adventurers carrying out extermination missions are urged to be extremely cautious.