Mine

The four continued onward. This stretch of forest was fairly open, with the occasional fallen Elwynn Ancient Tree blocking their path, but it did not hinder them much. After the spider attack, everyone was more cautious. Moni, the mage, cast Frost Armor over herself. The Paladin also activated his aura. A seal of light rose beneath his feet, and Li Shaolin immediately felt as if his skin had hardened. That must be Devotion Aura, he thought.

They seemed to have reached the depths of the forest. In just half an hour, they killed four giant spiders. The Rogue grinned from ear to ear as he busied himself pulling out and collecting the spiders' fangs. Those things could be used to make poison later on, saving a great deal of money. Li Shaolin found it strange. How could that guy's bag hold so much stuff? But he did not dare ask, afraid of giving himself away. He figured it was probably some kind of spatial magic equipment.

At that moment, Jack, who was up ahead, raised a hand for them to stop and called the others over. Through a gap between the towering Elwynn Ancient Trees, they saw something on a hill ahead. It was around a meter tall, with dark rusty, scaly skin and a rat-like tail. "A Kobold?" Li Shaolin asked softly. "Yeah. Everyone, be careful. Fargodeep Mine should be beneath that hill. Get ready to fight!" Jack ordered.

Excitement surged through Li Shaolin's body. How could a game ever compare to experiencing this kind of thrill for real? The Kobold was squatting beside an open copper deposit, a small bag slung across its back, seemingly digging through the copper ore. Then Moni fired a Frostbolt! With a sharp smack, it struck the Kobold in the waist. Its body darkened at once, a wound split open across its waist, and green blood flowed out. With a cry, the Kobold charged at them. But after taking Moni's Frostbolt, it moved sluggishly, half a beat slower than before. Jack rushed out and swung his warhammer, smashing it straight into the Kobold's head. With a bang, its small head burst apart. Li Shaolin suddenly felt his body tremble. A ray of white light descended from above and shone upon him. He had leveled up! The Rogue, Mogaban, immediately congratulated him. "Congratulations! You advanced already. You've got potential. But that's strange—you barely fought. Where did you get the combat experience to advance?" So that's how it is. They need to keep fighting to advance. Could it be that, thanks to getting transported here, I can gain party experience? Li Shaolin thought.

"Well, I was already on the verge of advancing. I didn't expect it to happen now," Li Shaolin could only reply. No one questioned him after hearing that. Jack said, "Shaolin, take some time to get a feel for your new rank. I'll inspect that copper deposit. Mogaban, searching the Kobold corpse is your job." Mogaban's face immediately turned green. Kobolds carried the stench of stagnant water, overwhelmingly fishy and foul enough to smell from afar. Though he grumbled, he still went over to search it.

Seeing everyone busy with their own tasks, Li Shaolin took out the Book of the Dead. Apart from the bloody skull on its cover, the black book looked completely ordinary. He opened it, and sure enough, there was another skill point. Li Shaolin hesitated. Since he was pretending to be a mage, he needed to know at least one magic skill. So he put the point into Fangs. At once, a strange feeling surged into his mind, and he sensed that he could now cast the spell. After checking, he found that it only required three mana. Li Shaolin now had more than eighty mana, enough to cast over twenty Fangs!

After they finished up, the group went around the hill. Beneath a massive Elwynn Ancient Tree, a steep slope appeared before them. At the bottom of the slope, huge stones leaned against the mountainside. Beside them stood the wooden frames of old buildings, and below was a huge mine entrance, with minecarts, wooden scaffolding, and other things scattered around. The minecart tracks had long since broken. From the looks of it, they had not been used in ages.

Jack said, "The people of Goldshire used to mine ore here, but the Kobolds took it over, so it was abandoned. Most of the Kobolds are hiding inside the mine. Get ready. We're going down." Seeing how steep the slope was, Mogaban took a rope from his bag and tied it to an Elwynn Ancient Tree before taking the lead and slowly sliding down. "Moni and Shaolin, you two go down first. I'll come last," Jack said.

Gripping the rope with their backs toward the mine, they slowly descended.

They had only just reached the bottom. Sliding down backward had taken a lot out of them, and before they could rest, a series of howls rang out. A Kobold darted from the mine entrance and spotted them. With a shout from it, two more rushed over. Three Kobolds charged at them! The Rogue sprang up, slashed the Kobold before him with his dagger, and with a hiss, green blood splattered everywhere. The Kobold immediately went limp, stunned in place and unable to move. Kidney Shot? That's insanely powerful, Li Shaolin thought. The Paladin moved as well, meeting the other two Kobolds with his warhammer. At the same time, flames ignited in Moni's hands as she began chanting. She was preparing Fireball.

Li Shaolin silently chanted and pointed a hand. Two sharp Fangs shot out, twisting around each other in the air before striking a Kobold directly in the head. With two piercing hisses, the Kobold's head was punched clean through! Its head split open, it swayed once, and then collapsed. Damn, that was accurate. It hits wherever I point—better than a bullet. He could not help feeling delighted. Meanwhile, after disabling one Kobold with Kidney Shot, Mogaban appeared behind another and drove his dagger downward, slicing open its throat. Jack then slammed it with a heavy blow, killing it as well. Moni finished preparing Fireball. With a crackling sound, it exploded against the stunned Kobold, scorching more than half its body black. Before it could react, Jack and Mogaban rushed in and struck it once each, finishing it off.

"Say, Shaolin, your magic system is pretty strange. It's Arcane Magic, right?" Mogaban asked. "Well, hehe, even I don't know what kind of magic I use. Probably," Li Shaolin answered vaguely. But inwardly, he scorned the Rogue. Arcane Magic, my ass. This is Necromancy.

After killing the three Kobolds, Mogaban searched them and actually found a bag of gold dust and two large candles, making him ecstatic. After a brief rest, they went around the scattered minecarts and entered the mine.

The moment they entered, it became dark. The interior had been reinforced layer by layer, so it did not seem likely to collapse. Still, if an accident happened, Li Shaolin would probably become the first transmigrator to be buried alive. The mine was enormous. Torches had been placed at intervals inside, their dim light lending the place a sinister air. Barrels, minecarts, and ore were piled everywhere in chaotic heaps. Waves of fishy stench filled the air. Moni became a little frightened and moved closer to the others. A faint fragrance drifted from her body, contrasting with the mine's moldy rot and fishy odor.

Mogaban leaned forward and disappeared, entering Stealth as he headed deeper inside. Jack put away his warhammer, took a shield and a one-handed sword from his bag, and equipped them before following after him. Mage Moni came next, leaving Li Shaolin to bring up the rear.

After walking for quite some time, they killed several lone Kobolds, but there was none of the large-scale Kobold activity they had expected. Jack said, "Looks like another party came through here. Don't let your guard down." Before he finished speaking, Li Shaolin heard several howls from a side tunnel beside him. Since he was bringing up the rear, the others had already walked ahead, leaving him several steps behind! Just as he was about to call for Jack, firelight flickered ahead, and four Kobolds rushed out!

Is this thing deliberately trying to screw me over? I need to get over there first! Judging by the sounds from the side tunnel, there had to be ten or twenty Kobolds living inside. If they all swarmed out, they would tear the group to pieces on the spot! Li Shaolin suddenly remembered that he still had two Skeleton Warriors. He hurriedly summoned them toward the side tunnel, ordered them to hold the tunnel entrance, then quickly took several steps forward to catch up with Jack and the others.

Jack swung his shield and took on all four Kobolds, but the combined assault of four Kobolds was more than he could handle. He was beaten into pure defense and could not strike back. Li Shaolin flicked out a Fangs spell, but this time his aim was not so good. It barely struck one Kobold in the arm and waist, making it howl in pain. Mogaban revealed himself and viciously stabbed another Kobold in the back, taking it down after several strikes. In the pitch-dark mine, Moni did not dare use Fireball. She could only send a Frostbolt at the Kobold Li Shaolin had wounded. With a smack, the Kobold's arm took another hit and snapped clean off! A huge gash opened across its waist as well, spilling organs and blood across the ground. Jack smashed it away with a blow from his shield, and it was clearly not going to survive. Seeing that things had gone badly, the remaining two Kobolds let out a cry and turned to run!

The group hurried after them. Li Shaolin did not have time to mention the side tunnel and could only leave the Skeleton Warriors to hold it off. They could always be summoned again if they died. He quickly followed the others in pursuit.

Just as they were about to catch up, a burst of clamorous noise came from ahead.