Worried that she might alert them, she hadn't dared explore any deeper.
Somehow, she sensed that if she got any closer, she might be discovered. A peculiar kind of magic seemed to drift through the air, hanging over the area like a barrier.
After gathering what information she could, Shadow retraced her steps and memorized the route that led there.
She returned to the surface and rejoined Gauss and the others. Nearly two hours had passed since she'd entered the mine.
"What took you so long?" Gauss said with a relieved sigh. "We were about to think something had happened to you and go in after you."
"There was a bit of a surprise."
"So what did you find in the mine?"
Gauss hurriedly asked.
Shadow described what she had seen underground.
"Lots of kobolds. It looked like a town belonging to monsters."
"But I couldn't tell you exactly how many. The place was very complicated, with lots of cover and buildings."
"Mm."
Gauss stroked his chin, lost in thought.
If even Shadow called their numbers large—and had decided it was too risky to keep exploring—then the scale of the monster town beneath Brennan Great Mine couldn't be underestimated.
"Let's get farther away and discuss this."
Gauss led his teammates away from the hill overlooking the mine below.
The group set up a temporary camp and began analyzing the situation based on what they knew.
The information they had so far was as follows:
First, the mine was complex.
The simple map of the mine they had was outdated and no longer very useful.
According to Shadow, the passages inside crisscrossed in every direction. Many had been newly dug by the monsters, forming a maze-like network.
Fortunately, the mine was fairly spacious, making it suitable for combat and not too