Chapter 34: Kobolds!

Li Si jumped lightly from the carriage and stood in front of it.

The two kobolds, clad in some unknown red leather, seemed oblivious to the encroaching danger, still charging forward like fools, brandishing crude spears made of branches and stones.

Ya’er and the rest of the team turned their gazes toward Li Si, seeing that he was preparing to act. They were not doubting Li Si’s ability to handle two kobolds; they were merely curious to see how he would perform in his first encounter with monsters.

Although kobolds pose a significant threat to ordinary people, it is usually because they operate in groups. Once outnumbered, they typically choose to flee immediately. It was rare to see two lone kobolds act with such reckless aggression.

Li Si, for his part, looked relaxed and casual. He did not even bother to draw his emerald staff; instead, he raised his right hand and cast a spell without a focus.

"Flare!"

Li Si intentionally increased his magical output, and a blinding flash of light erupted before the kobolds. Because kobolds live in dark environments, their eyes are highly adapted to the gloom. Thus, even a cantrip like Flare could produce a blinding effect on them.

"Waa! Ya!"

Blinded by the spell, the two kobolds clutched their heads and scurried about in a panic, emitting unintelligible cries. Among kobolds, it seems only the higher-ranking shamans and sorcerers can speak Common or fragments of Draconic; most communicate only through shrieks.

"Fireball!"

With a flick of his finger, two fireballs hit the ugly creatures with precision, instantly silencing them as they were reduced to ash within the flames.

[You have dealt lethal damage to the target with Fireball!]
[You have killed two Kobolds (Common) LV10!]
[You have gained 200 experience points.]

*Kobold experience points are truly low,* Li Si grumbled to himself. It couldn't be helped, though; kobolds were simply too weak. A single tusked wild boar could take on five common kobolds single-handedly.

Yasen raised an eyebrow. The Flare spell was nothing special, but it was the hallmark of an experienced mage to know that Flare was the perfect tool for low-level kobolds. Moreover, there was something off about Li Si’s Fireball—why did it feel significantly more powerful than any he had seen before?

Seeing Li Si walk toward the forest where the kobolds had emerged, Yasen quickly asked, "Li Si, where are you going?"

"Kobolds usually move in clans. I’m going to see if their nest is nearby."

"I’ll go with you. Ya’er, you and the others keep watch over the carriage."

"I want to go too!" Ya’er, having grown bored after sitting in the carriage for so long, was not about to miss this opportunity.

"Fine, then." Yasen felt a bit helpless, but he reasoned that with Elena and Lunbos guarding the carriage, there shouldn't be any issues.

The three of them followed the path the kobolds had taken, venturing deep into the forest. The tracks left by the kobolds were quite obvious; even without a professional tracker among them, their experience led them quickly to the nest.

It was located at the base of a small rocky hill. A clearly excavated tunnel led into the mountain, with two kobold sentries standing guard at the entrance.

"What’s the plan?" Out of courtesy, Li Si asked Yasen before acting.

"Nothing to discuss. We’ll just charge in; these kobolds pose no threat to us." Yasen said casually, then, seemingly remembering something, he hurriedly warned Li Si, "Li Si, remember not to use Earth-type spells once we’re inside the cave."

"I know."

Li Si certainly knew why. In his previous life’s game, a "clever" mage had once, for some inexplicable reason, cast an Earth-tremor spell while exploring a dungeon, causing the entire area to collapse and killing the whole party. This legendary blunder had become a classic case study of what not to do as a mage on player forums.

That said, Li Si did not feel he would need to cast any offensive spells—his teammates were simply too powerful. Before Li Si could even finish casting Shield on Ya’er and Yasen, the two had already surged forward. The sentries at the entrance didn't even see what happened before their heads went flying.

Ya’er and Yasen charged directly into the cave, and Li Si shook his head before following.

*What should I do when my teammates are so powerful that I feel useless?*

He could only cast Shield, Elemental Ward, and Protection from Arrows on himself to at least feel a bit involved.

Stepping inside the kobold cave, despite the fact that kobolds are only a meter tall, the tunnel was surprisingly spacious. Li Si didn't have to worry about bumping his head. As natural miners, digging caves was their trade; Li Si even noticed that at regular intervals, the kobolds had installed ventilation shafts and support pillars—truly reliable work.

It was no wonder dragons liked to gather kobolds as their kin; they were indeed skilled at excavating precious ores and gemstones. This was exactly why Li Si wanted to explore the nest. In his previous life, finding a kobold den almost always meant acquiring rare ores, and if one was lucky enough, even magical gemstones. Many players found this addictive, treating the exploration like opening a blind box.

Ya’er and Yasen were already out of sight. To them, the rare ores didn't matter; they were acting simply to eliminate a potential hazard. After all, while the kobolds were nothing to them, they posed a significant threat to ordinary travelers given how close the nest was to the main road.

Li Si quickened his pace, passing the occasional dead kobold lying on the ground. His interface kept popping up kill notifications from his teammates, granting him a share of the experience—better than nothing.

Estimating the tunnel to be over a hundred meters long, he soon reached the end. It opened into a relatively spacious area where the kobolds had dug upward for five or six meters to create a large chamber. Along the walls, smaller individual holes had been excavated where the kobolds usually rested.

"Li Si, come look at this! There’s actually a sorcerer in this nest!" Ya’er waved cheerfully, beckoning him to see her discovery.

Li Si walked over to Ya’er. This spot faced the main tunnel, and the hole in the wall was significantly larger than the others. At Ya’er’s feet lay a dead kobold, clearly different from the rest; it wore more complete leather garments, and lying nearby was a crude staff made of bone and wood.

"You’ve already killed him, so why call me over?" Li Si sighed, feeling helpless.

"Ah, I forgot. I saw his staff glowing and just instinctively chopped him down." Ya’er looked a bit embarrassed; it was her first time seeing a kobold sorcerer, and she hadn't held back in the heat of the moment.

"It doesn't matter. There wasn't much to say to these monsters anyway." Li Si waved his hand. Even if the kobold sorcerer could speak Common, he didn't feel there was anything worth discussing with such creatures, and he certainly didn't need kobolds to help him mine.