Free Web NovelChapter 116: Chapter 101: Clearing Out the Goblin Settlement (2)
Even though they were all Half-Beastmen trying to cut the line, Lena was still very happy. Her tail swayed gently, a clear sign of her good mood.
"Hello, I’d like to accept a quest."
Lin Mo waited a few minutes before walking up to the Little Cat Girl.
"Mr. Lin Mo, are you heading out on a quest today?"
Lena’s eyes lit up when she saw him, but her expression quickly turned to one of confusion.
’Ali said their squad wasn’t planning on taking any quests for the next few days.’
"I can’t sit still... Since I’m by myself, I’ll just take some simple ones."
Lin Mo said as he glanced at the numbers on the quest sheet, "E2334, and E4485."
"Of course, please wait a moment!"
Lena quickly completed the registration with practiced ease and returned the Identity Card to Lin Mo.
Lin Mo gave a wave, then turned and left, heading straight out of the city.
Silver Stream City was a bit farther from Loran Forest than Roland Town. It took him nearly half an hour to reach the edge of the woods.
Lin Mo took out the simple map provided with the quest and studied it for a moment.
After all this time adventuring, he could at least read a map. He was no longer completely hopeless with directions.
The target Goblin Settlement wasn’t too deep inside, only about a dozen kilometers from the forest’s edge. Lin Mo consulted the map as he walked.
Of course, he had to remain constantly vigilant for any potential dangers.
Even though he was already quite powerful, anything could happen in the forest. He couldn’t get arrogant and let his guard down.
This was the downside of going solo. He had to do everything himself, and it was mentally draining.
But there were upsides, of course. For instance, he could keep the entire quest reward for himself, and he didn’t have to worry about teammates stealing his kills. He could just relax and slowly grind his Skill Level.
SQUELCH, SQUELCH...
That grating squelch sounded again. The corner of Lin Mo’s mouth twitched as he turned to look at the translucent creature that had suddenly darted out from the grass beside him.
’Why are there so many Slimes near Silver Stream City?’
Fortunately, he’d had the foresight to stop by a local smithy yesterday and get a protective coating applied to his Wolf Bone Sword.
Besides, compared to before, seeing a Slime wasn’t such a headache for Lin Mo anymore.
Because...
WHOOSH—!
A sharp Ice Cone pierced its body, pinning the bouncing Slime to the ground.
The Slime struggled for a moment, then went still.
The power of Magic was truly terrifying. An Ordinary Skill cast with just two points of Magic Power had instantly killed the Slime.
Of course, it was clear the attack had just barely been enough. If the creature’s life force had been any stronger, he might have needed a second hit.
Slimes were, after all, the lowest-level Demons and even more fragile than Goblins. An ordinary Goblin would probably require two spells to take down.
[Ice Cone Skill] Skill Level +1
This was the fifth Slime Lin Mo had encountered. He’d finished off the previous four with his Fireball Technique; this time, he mainly wanted to test out his New Skill. Overall, it still wasn’t as powerful as Fireball Technique.
His Fireball Technique was Level 2 while Ice Cone Skill was only Level 1. The Level difference was one factor, but beyond that, the explosive power of Fire Elemental Magic was inherently greater than that of Ice Elemental Magic.
When he used Fireball Technique, the Slimes he hit had died noticeably faster.
He glanced at the sky. It had to be nearly ten in the morning.
He wasn’t far from the Goblin Settlement now, so Lin Mo decided to stop and rest for a bit.
It wasn’t for lack of Physical Strength. For someone with 23 Constitution, this short journey was a walk in the park.
The main issue was that he had used up quite a bit of Magic Power.
Lin Mo estimated that with his current Magic Attribute of 2, he could cast basic spells like Fireball Technique and Ice Cone Skill less than ten times in total.
He had already used nearly half of his reserves on the way here, even accounting for regeneration. Since the main goal of this trip was to level up his magic, it was only natural to wait until his Magic Power was fully restored before starting a battle.
He took a thin blanket from his backpack and spread it on the ground. Ever since coming into money, his life as an Adventurer had gradually grown more refined. He could now afford the luxury of considering his comfort.
Around noon, Lin Mo had a simple meal and continued toward his destination.
According to the quest’s intelligence briefing, this Goblin Settlement, designated number 63, wasn’t very large. It had only recently formed, with an estimated Goblin population of under 100. There were three confirmed Mutated Goblins: one adult and two sub-adults.
This would be a tricky situation for most Adventurers—even for the Bull Run Squad, not including Lin Mo.
But for the Lin Mo of today, these Demons posed no threat whatsoever.
Less than a kilometer to go...
Lin Mo was just about to put his map away when he suddenly heard a rustling sound.
He looked up to see an arrow, its fletching half-missing, flying toward him.
Lin Mo dodged it with ease. The next moment, several short, green-skinned figures burst from the bushes.
Encountering Goblins was only to be expected, since he was so close to their settlement.
Lin Mo scanned the Goblins. Seven in total. It could be considered a medium-sized party.
Two of the Goblins carried wooden clubs, one held a nail-studded "Wolf Fang Club," two more brandished crudely made small Curved Blades, and the final two held bows. They struggled to pull back the bowstrings, and another arrow shot toward Lin Mo.
’So these are Goblins from a settlement,’ he thought. ’They’ve already started to coordinate, with front and back lines.’
Lin Mo sidestepped the arrow, raised a hand, and returned the favor with a Fireball Technique.
The Fireball struck the Goblin, which let out a piercing wail. The point of impact was charred black, and its body burst into flames, sending it rolling on the ground in agony.
Lin Mo clicked his tongue in annoyance. ’Right, forgot one spell isn’t enough to kill a Goblin.’
The other Goblins charged him. Lin Mo drew a dagger from his waist, rushed forward, and plunged it into the chest of the foremost Goblin.
He had intentionally avoided any vital spots, so the blow didn’t kill it. Lin Mo immediately followed up with a Fireball Technique.
[Fireball Technique] Skill Level +1
’Nice...’
He repeated the process with the remaining few. In just a minute or two, only corpses were left on the ground.
The Goblins in the rear grew scared and tried to flee, but escape was impossible. Lin Mo easily caught them, turning them all into more Skill Level for his Fireball Technique.
He rubbed his temples, trying to ease the discomfort from draining his Magic Power.
He had killed them a bit slowly because he was trying to practice his skills. The last few Goblins had let out a series of shrieks as they died. ’Considering the time,’ he thought, ’the others should be arriving soon.’
And sure enough, it wasn’t long before green-skinned figures began to gather from all directions.
Immediately after, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed as a Mutated Goblin wielding a large axe strode forward from the front.
Judging by its build, it had to be an adult. It was extremely confident, wearing a very human-like expression that seemed to say, "Well now, what do we have here?" as it looked down on Lin Mo.
Its expression darkened upon seeing the corpses on the ground. It slammed its axe into the earth, pointed forward, and roared, "Kill!"
’Look at this guy, he really thinks he’s some kind of "general".’
Lin Mo shook his head with a sigh of resignation. With little Magic Power left, it wasn’t a good time to keep grinding his Skill Level.
But he still had other skills to grind.
He slowly drew the Wolf Bone Sword from his waist and glanced at his status panel.
[Cross Slash] Lv5 (142/180)
’Time to level up this skill, too.’
The next moment, he finally moved, charging at incredible speed toward the densest pack of Goblins. He swung his long sword, unleashing two intersecting waves of Sword Qi that instantly diced several Goblins to bits.
[Cross Slash] Skill Level +6
’Keep going!’
These low-level Demons posed no threat to the current Lin Mo. He weaved through the horde of Goblins like a phantom, each swing of his sword claiming the lives of several more.
The Mutated Goblin grew anxious at the sight. It wasn’t easy to gather these underlings; it couldn’t let this human slaughter them all.
So it stopped posturing and watching the show. It brandished its great axe and charged at Lin Mo.
Lin Mo had just executed a Cross Slash, earning a few more points of Skill Level. Not even bothering to give the creature a second look, he casually swung his sword to parry.
After a sharp clang, an immense force slammed into the Mutated Goblin, making it stumble back several steps. It froze in place, a look of utter disbelief on its face.
Lin Mo wasn’t in any hurry to finish it off. He turned his attention back to the ordinary Goblins, intent on ruthlessly grinding his [Cross Slash] Skill Level.
Before long, the message he was waiting for appeared.
[Cross Slash] Skill Level +4. Current Skill Level: 180/180.
Skill [Cross Slash] Lv5 (180/180) has Leveled Up!
...
