CRAK
The last goblin from this lair fell to my Lightning Bolt striking the back of its head as it exited from one of the tunnels connected to the burrow. I had estimated that there would be 8 goblins but my detection was still a bit fuzzy through the ground. There ended up being a 9th goblin that came out.
"Should be done for the day." I looked up at the sky through the sparse canopy in this area, at the afternoon sun bearing its full heat down on the woods.
I felt the ping of a notification from the Weave and considering I had not bothered to absorb any of the cores from what were likely Red cored goblins, it could only mean that one of my spells had leveled.
[Lightning Bolt leveled up 6 -> 7]
[You have increased your Mana Core Capacity by 1,400]
"Ah finally!" I dismissed it. Checking the notifications was usually quick enough that I did not mind doing it in the forest, but staring into space looking at the full status was just asking for trouble.
I had been only hunting goblins over the last week — I still had not scrubbed the image of the goblins' obscenity out of my eyes as it had been refreshed several times in the last week. Though admittedly attacking them from their backs definitely helped.
I had initially been excited to check out what other quests were available on the mission board for bronze. There were definitely more than just goblin extermination quests but unfortunately, some of the jobs required specific types of affinities. They were basically errands given by the town folks or barony that could be completed by regular people, but were exceptionally tedious or time consuming if you did not have the right affinity.
Considering that 90% of the population — and correspondingly adventurers — had common affinities, all the missions were related to the four basic elements. Some days there were requests from the smithies for Fire mages to help with their work. There were some where some of the farmers needed the help of Earth mages with tilling the soil.
Admittedly, most of the farmers or blacksmiths probably had the right affinity, but the Bronze mission board also acted like a marketplace for temporary hires of bronze ranked adventurers when they did not have other missions. This was probably this world's version of the gig economy.
I jumped down from the mound after making sure there were no more goblins exiting or coming towards me. If there were any left from this lair, they might have long escaped using some other tunnels that were too far or too deep for me to detect.
"Urgh, I still can't get used to this." I felt the cold clammy skin of the goblin's right ear as I held it in one hand, and sliced it off with a knife in my other hand. I quickly worked through all nine goblins before throwing the ears in a water proof leather satchel. I had upgraded it after I got a scolding from Sennika for getting blood all over the guild hall floor during my first hunt.
There were a few things that I had picked up while hunting so many goblins over the last week. The first was learning how to differentiate between an Orange or Red cored goblin. Most Orange cored goblins are taller and bigger, usually the original breeding pair of the lair.
It's not always the case that they are Orange cored though. As a lot of these lairs only propagated recently, the goblins hadn't had as much time to mature yet. The other obvious difference was the amount of energy I could feel in their core after I had slain them. This allowed me to avoid touching the chest of the Red cored goblins unnecessarily.
The second thing I had picked up was a more effective way at hunting the goblins. If I took a bit more time to locate the entrances of the burrows, I could at least block off a few that were closer to me with rocks and other things I found on the forest floor.
While in normal circumstances the goblins would be able to dig themselves out quickly, they would usually panic and look for another tunnel that was not blocked when Sournettle smoke was quickly filling their lair. I just had to make sure that I stood over the entrance I had intentionally left unobstructed and I could zap them down one at a time usually. Once in a while, I might miss an entrance and a few would either attack me from the back or take the opportunity to run away.
"I better go turn these in now." I said as I finished up slicing off the last goblin ear. I had gotten into a routine of hunting goblins starting in the morning till late afternoon. Closer to the evening the goblins would start being more active and leave their lair. It was too annoying to hunt them down one by one and they would usually avoid human contact unless attacked first. I would then check the mission board for anything new after turning in the bounty before heading back.
Once I was on the main road heading into town, I pulled on my status through the Weave to look through my summary.
StatusCore: Lightning Affinity (Perfect)Core Stage: YellowStage Level: 4Mana Core Capacity (MCC) Progress to Next Level: 2,499/2,500Core Mutations:- Lightning Brain- Lightning AdaptationSpells:- Electrolocation (Tier 2) - Level 3- Lightning Bolt (Tier 2) - Level 7- Lightning Infusion (Tier 1) - Level 9Soul Mutations:- Adaptive Soul- Nature's Constitution- Myelin Insulation
"Urgh so close, it's like the Weave is either mocking me or teasing me."
I was making good progress, gaining another level in the last week or so and was nearly across the line to the next level. Though I knew that things would slow down again once my Lightning Bolt and Lightning Infusion were maxed out at the current tier. Unless I found another breakthrough, the only way I would get a quick boost to my levels was leveling my Electrolocation.
"Well, problem for future me." I said as I passed through the southern gate. The town guards had stopped asking for my guild tag now as they recognized the adventurer with the weird mask that hunts goblins. I contemplated buying one of those delicious baked buns but lost my appetite when I looked down at my bloody and dirty hands.
I guess after I get cleaned up, maybe I should get a few extra for Marta and the other kids. Hopefully the vendor has a closing clearance discount. My mouth watered at the thought of biting into the delicious crust and juicy filling.
I made my way to the guild hall, pushing the doors open with my shoulders so that Miss Sennika would not yell at me again for getting them dirty with goblin blood.
"Oh, if it isn't our little goblin slayer. How many have you got for me today?" Sennika said as she saw me walking towards the reception.
"I think there should be 30 in here" I dropped the bag on the counter. "I'm gonna go wash my hands first. Don't want to get the counter dirty you know."
I headed to the enchanted tap by the bar. While enchanted weapons and armors were expensive, buildings could use clunkier materials for their mana storage devices. Water affinity was also common enough that even if the bar keep didn't have one himself, it was easy enough to pay one of the bronze adventurers to refill the mana. There were some missions that involved recharging water dispensing enchantments with water mana. Those missions however were limited and usually got snapped up quite quickly.
"Your payment" Sennika dropped 3 pieces of silver on the counter. She had apparently emptied the bag when I went to wash my hands. Where she emptied the contents and how she did it so fast — I had no idea.
"The nickname goblin slayer might really stick at this rate" Sennika just gave me a sly smile.
"It's not like I have a choice. There isn't anything else I can do! And it's getting harder to find the lairs now. I think I might have cleared most of the ones near the farms down south already" I complained. I was worried I might really have no other missions to do at this rate.
"You're not wrong. The farmers have been happy and reported a much lower rate in goblin attacks on their livestock in the last week. They are happy to keep the bounty going though. If you can still find any goblins~ heh" I caught a chuckle towards the end from her.
"Can I take the test for Steel Rank yet?"
"Not yet, just a little bit more" Sennika said without really looking at me. She had gone back to filing her paperwork.
Exasperated, I stomped over to the mission board to see if there was anything new. I skipped through most of the usual ones requiring specific affinities. That's when I saw a much bigger poster laid out across both Bronze and Steel rank sections.
Oh? Something new for both Steel and Bronze rank?
"Hmmm, an escort mission... they are looking for at least 4 more adventurers. Minimum of 2 Steel, but the last 2 can be Bronze..."
"60 silvers for Steel and 30 silvers for Bronze. Ah they must need manpower but want to save on cost... but the payout is unusually high though."
"Hey Miss Sennika, are there still spots available for the escort mission to Saltmere, the one where they don't mind some Bronze ranks?"
"Ah yes, I believe there are still two spots left. However I wouldn't advise you take that mission though."
"Why not?"
"The escort is one way. Meaning you would need to find another one way escort mission from Saltmere back to Hollow's Reach, or make the way back by yourself. That's also why the pay is higher than usual." Sennika explained.
I thought about it for a bit. I was confident in my own combat capabilities, and I could survive one day without sleep. If I travelled through the night without stopping, I could probably make it back by myself without issue. Additionally, my Electro Perception allows me to detect any living creatures approaching me even at night. As long as I stuck to the main road, there should be no issue.
The part that had drawn me to it — besides the fact that I wouldn't have to keep killing goblins — was the opportunity to visit another town. It was a long shot but I might be able to get my hands on high purity copper or some other material in Saltmere. I had heard that it was a city managed by one of the major noble houses.
"I think I'll be fine. Do you mind registering me?"
Sennika gave me a look, as if she wanted to say something but decided to keep it to herself in the end "Sure thing. There will be a briefing in two days' time at the guild hall in the morning. Don't be late" she noted down my name.
I was about to leave when I remembered what I wanted to ask "Will the mask be an issue?"
"Hmmm, I don't know, it could be. We won't know until you speak to the client in two days." Sennika said.
"Thanks" I said as I headed out the guild hall.
I had bought extra baked buns for everyone that day as a nice addition to our dinner. I loved Marta's cooking but a change once in a while was always nice. Sadly, the street vendor refused to give me a clearance or large order discount, almost chasing me away for even suggesting it.
"Mff, hifs goof. Waa if hif?" Merv asked with his mouth full as he chowed down on half a baked bun in one bite.
"Some kind of baked bread with meat filling. I had it once in town and I thought it's a nice treat for everyone" I said, amazed by my own ability to understand him.
"By the way Marta, I wanted to let you know that I might be gone for a few days. I'll be doing an escort to Saltmere" I broached the topic while everyone was eating.
"Is that the reason why you bought these things?" Thal asked before Marta could reply.
"What? No! I decided to buy this even before I saw the escort mission." I said, flabbergasted that she thought I was that sly.
"How many days would you be away?" Marta asked, placing her spoon down.
"Just a few nights, there will be other Steel ranked adventurers as well"
"Hmmm... it seems you've already made up your mind. It's not like I can stop you" Marta said with a hint of sadness. My heart broke at that. While Marta had come to accept me joining the adventurer's guild, it seemed that she could not completely place her worries about my safety aside.
"I promise I'll be careful" I said as I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, making sure to look her in the eyes to let her know I wasn't joking around.
"I'm sure you will. Come, let's eat up before the food gets cold" Marta smiled a little before resuming dinner.
I had left the part about making the way back by myself out so as not to worry her further. Maybe I was sly after all.