Goblins are small green-skinned monsters.
Their low intelligence makes them easy for beginners to defeat, so they’re a very popular target when people are just starting.
Their official name is Green Ogre, but people call them goblins because of the gobgob sounds they make. And the lin part? I don’t know that either, ask a scholar.
Speaking of goblins, there’s one right in front of me, making those gobgob sounds and trying to threaten me.
It charges at me while holding up a club, but I mercilessly hit it with the mid rank ice magic spell Ice Cannon, right in the face.
I look down at the no longer breathing goblin, and hold my adventurer card in front of it.
Magic energy then bursts out of it, and some is sucked into my card.
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○Defeat goblins in the Great Vidd Forest
Main quest
Hunted goblins 3/10
Bonus quest
Hunted goblins 3/50
Current area level: Controlled Area (Area 2)
I already took two down before, and once the adventurer card checks this one, it goes up to three.
It absorbs some of the magic energy released by monsters when they die, and automatically registers that they’ve been hunted.
It’s very useful, but its principles are unknown. My theory is that the card doesn’t absorb magic energy, but the monster’s vital energy.
I pick up its magic stone, and check its quality. It’s good, and could add one more serving at dinner if sold at the market.
And as I think about dinner in Minerva, I put the magic stone in the Item Box.
“Forty-seven more to go.”
I need to hunt ten to complete the quest, but I’m going for the extra bonus, so I intend to take down fifty. I’m at three now.
And since dead monsters turn into undead after some time, I can’t forget to cast the purification spell Turn Undead.
The goblin’s body shines after being hit with Turn Undead, and disappears into particles as if being sucked into the air.
Now let’s look for the next one.
After walking a little more in the forest, I find five new ones. They haven’t noticed me yet, so I use the high rank wind spell Cyclone to take them out in one fell swoop.
The giant tornado catches the goblins and tears them apart. Maybe that was a little overkill, but what matters is that they’re down.
And like before, I take their magic stones.
◇ ◇ ◇
I spend twenty minutes hunting goblins, and hit my goal of fifty.
I’ve collected eighty-five magic stones, and the bonus quest is done too.
The number of magic stones and defeated goblins don’t match, but that’s because I took out some plant monsters while I was at it.
My first quest went pretty well, after I leave the forest, I follow the paved road back to the campsite.
There’s a staff member by the entrance, who smiles and talks to me.
“Ah, the solo adventurer that just entered the forest.
Is the goblin hunt going well?”
“It’s done, so I was thinking about going back.”
“Y-you already took down ten? That’s really fast for a first timer!”
I actually took down fifty, but he doesn’t need to know that.
I’m back in the camp, where a few tents dot its central area.
This is like a safe area, so there are a lot of parties who use this as a base while exploring the forest.
I’m here by myself, so I have to do everything alone, but this is the best part of camping alone.
I take a tent out of the Item Box and set it up. When I pull the strings, the tent expands, and my bed for tonight is ready.
There’s a river nearby too, making this the perfect spot.
◇ ◇ ◇
It’s currently ten in the morning. I’m planning to return to Minerva tomorrow, so I have nothing else to do today.
I could stroll around in this place filled with nature. That’s the slow life I want.
As I check the food I have in the Item Box, I start thinking about what to make. Maybe stew for lunch.
I start a fire with lanokos tree bark I picked up in the forest. It’s perfect firewood, because it’s easy to rip off and burns for a long time.
I learned this from Lela, so I feel like I’m putting that knowledge to use.
“Lela was right, it does burn for a long time.”
I never noticed it before, but I’ll be sure to harvest it from now on.
I cut rinorabbit meat that I had in the Item Box into bite-sized pieces, and then do the same with vegetables like onion, and fry them together in a pan.
Then I put it all in a pot, add milk and some other ingredients, and let it stew in low heat.
Eventually, the smell of stew fills the air.
It takes a while for the stew to be done. This sort of thing varies from person to person, but I like to let it stew for half an hour, and then leave it for an hour. Letting the taste of the ingredients sink into it makes it taste even better.
In the meantime, I drink black tea and read.
Black tea is my favorite, both with or without sugar.
Ruby also liked black tea, especially earl grey, which is a black tea with a citrus aroma. It’s pretty popular in the capital, so you better be ready to wait in line for hours if you want to get a good one.
A mage enjoying a grimoire while drinking black. I really am too conscious about this sort of thing.
I look around, but don’t just see adventurers in this camp. There are couples with their children too.
This place has value as a picnic spot too.
Newbie adventurers practice with their swords here, kids play tag… What a peaceful place.
This being a popular hunting ground means it’s well taken care of, so regular townspeople come here too.
“Pen waaaaaaaaah!!”
Suddenly, the voice of a screaming girl echoes.
It’s a six year old that’s wailing.
“What’s wrong young lady?”
I ask after walking to her.
“My balloon flew to the sky.”
She says while pointing up.
The sky is clear without a cloud in sight, so I can see the red balloon flying away.”
“Then I’ll go get it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I promise. I’ll be right back.”
I cast both Grow and Cyclone to conjure up a new spell.
I call what I’m about to use Double Magic. I guess I could also call it Mid-Air Triangle Jump.
By using Cyclone, I create footing in mid-air for just a moment, and then quickly jump on it.
With this, I draw a lightning path and run quickly through the sky, catch the balloon with my right hand, and use wind magic again to slow my descent before landing back on the ground.
And then I give the balloon back to the girl.
“Don’t let go of it again.”
“Yes! Thank you mister!”
She says with a big smile.
“W-what was that magic!?”
“Did he just fly…?”
“I’ve never even seen that in the magic association!”
People who saw me voice their impressions. I feel like this happened before…
But this time I don’t have a friend with me to blurt out that I’m a master rank, so I go back to my tent like nothing happened.
And as I do that, a beautiful silver-haired false saintess comes floating down from upstream, so I catch her.
Poor thing. She must have gotten lost from her attendant again.
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Catch her?
Like catching a fish