Chapter 34: Kobolds!

Chapter 34: Kobolds!

William lightly jumped down from the carriage, standing in front of it.

The two kobolds, clad in unknown red leather, seemed oblivious to the danger and continued wielding makeshift spears made of branches and stones as they charged forward.

Nichole and her teammates, seeing William preparing to take action, also turned their gaze towards him.

They weren't doubting William's ability to deal with these two kobolds. They just wanted to see how William would perform when facing monsters for the first time.

Although kobolds posed a significant threat to ordinary people, it was mainly because they usually operated in groups. If their numbers fell below those of their opponents, kobolds generally chose to flee.

Encounters like these, where two kobolds charged alone, were rare.

William appeared calm and relaxed, not even taking out his jade staff. He simply raised his right hand and cast a spell without a staff.

"Flash!"

William deliberately increased the magical output. A dazzling light flashed in front of the kobolds.

Because kobolds had adapted to living in dark environments, even a zero-level cantrip like Flash could have a blinding effect on them.

"kreee! kreee!"

Blinded by William's Flash spell, the two kobolds panicked, clutching their heads as they scurried around in confusion, emitting unintelligible cries.

It seemed that only higher-level priests and sorcerers among kobolds could speak a common language and some Dragonic. Most kobolds communicated with each other through their cries.

"Fireball!"

With a flick of his finger, William accurately struck the two ugly kobolds with two Fireball spells, instantly incinerating them into ashes in the flames.

"You have dealt fatal damage to the target with Fireball!"

"You have slain two kobolds (Normal) LV10!"

"You have gained 200 experience points."

"Kobold experience points are really low!" William quipped.

There was no helping it. After all, kobolds were too weak. A single wild boar could take on five normal kobolds single-handedly.

Jason raised an eyebrow. Flash wasn't much, but only an experienced wizard knew to use Flash to deal with low-level kobolds.

And William's Fireball spell seemed a bit off. Why did it feel more powerful than the Fireball spells he had seen before?

As William walked towards the jungle where the kobolds had appeared, Jason quickly asked, "William, where are you going?"

"Kobolds usually operate in tribal groups. I'm going to see if their lair is nearby."

"I'll accompany you. Nichole, you guys stay with the carriage."

"I want to go too!" Nichole, who had been bored sitting in the carriage for half a day, naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity.

"Alright then." Jason sighed inwardly. But considering that Elena and Lumbro were guarding the carriage, nothing should go wrong.

The three of them followed the path left by the kobolds towards the depths of the jungle. The traces left by the kobolds were still quite evident. Even though none of them had the Hunter profession, they quickly found the kobolds' lair.

It was at the bottom of a small rocky hill, with an obvious dug-out cave leading into the mountain. At the entrance, two kobold guards stood watch.

"How should we proceed?" Out of courtesy, William asked Jason before taking action.

"There's nothing much to say. Let's just charge in. These kobolds pose no threat to us," Jason replied casually, then seemed to remember something and quickly reminded William, "William, remember not to use earth-based spells once we're inside the cave."

"I know."

Of course, William knew why. In his previous life, there was a wizard who, for some reason, used an earth-based spell, Earth Tremor, while exploring a dungeon. This spell caused the entire dungeon to collapse, resulting in the death of the entire team underground.

This miraculous operation was hailed on player forums as one of the classic examples of a wizard's blunder.

That being said, William didn't feel the need to cast any offensive spells himself. His teammates were simply too powerful.

Before William could even cast Shield spells on Nichole and Jason, they had already charged out. The two kobold guards at the cave entrance hadn't even seen what happened before their heads were sent flying.

Nichole and Jason charged into the cave, leaving William shaking his head as he followed.

This situation made me feel useless because my teammates are too powerful. The only thing I can do is cast Shield spells, Elemental Shields, and Protection Arrows on myself to feel more involved.

Entering the kobold cave, William noticed that despite kobolds generally being only a meter tall, the cave was quite spacious. William could walk in without worrying about hitting his head.

Kobolds, being natural miners, were skilled at excavating caves. William even noticed that at intervals along the way, kobolds had set up ventilation shafts and support pillars. It was quite impressive.

No wonder dragons liked to gather a group of kobolds as minions, letting them mine precious ores and gems. This was the reason William wanted to explore kobold caves. In his previous life, almost every time someone discovered a kobold nest, they could find some valuable ores inside. If lucky, they might even stumble upon magical gems.

So many players were addicted to exploring kobold caves as if they were opening blind boxes.

Nichole and Jason had already disappeared from sight. For them, it wasn't about the possibility of finding precious ores in the kobold cave. It was simply about eliminating threats. After all, while kobolds might not be much of a threat to them, they could pose a significant danger to ordinary passersby, especially considering how close this kobold nest was to the main road.

William quickened his pace, heading deeper into the cave. Along the way, he saw one or two dead kobolds lying on the ground.

His panel kept popping up with notifications of his teammates killing kobolds, and he shared some of the experience points. It was better than nothing.

Estimating that the cave passage was over a hundred meters long, William soon reached the end.

At the end was a relatively spacious area where the kobolds had excavated five or six meters upwards, forming a large space. On the sides of the walls were several separate caves dug out by the kobolds, where they probably rested.

"William, come over here and take a look. There's actually a sorcerer inside this kobold nest," Nichole waved excitedly at William, inviting him to see her discovery.

William walked over to Nichole. This area faced the cave passage directly, and the caves on the walls were significantly larger than the others.

There was a dead kobold lying at Nichole's feet. This kobold was obviously different from the others, wearing more intact animal skins. Next to it was a crude staff made of bone and wood.

"You killed him already, so what's there to see?" William couldn't help but feel helpless.

"Oh, I forgot. I saw the light emitting from his staff and instinctively chopped him down," Nichole said with some embarrassment. It was her first time encountering a kobold sorcerer, and she acted without thinking.

"It's alright. After all, there's nothing much to discuss with these monsters," William waved his hand. Even if kobold sorcerers could speak a common language, William didn't feel like there was anything to communicate with these creatures. He didn't need kobolds to help him mine.