...
...
In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.
The third year of preparatory school ended, and Shulim entered her school break, also welcoming her tenth birthday.
One day, not long after her birthday.
Shulim went to the forest outside the town as usual.
“Semilis... what are you looking at?”
Beside the lake where the two of them had first met, Semilis was staring blankly at the water's surface, not even noticing Shulim's arrival.
“...Ah, it's Shulim. You've come.”
Semilis turned her head, a smile that didn't quite look like a smile on her face.
“Yes, I'm here. How are we training to... Uh, Semilis? Is something wrong? You don't seem to be in very high spirits today.”
Shulim noticed the strange expression on Semilis's face and couldn't help but ask.
“Eh? Me? Low spirits... Haha, no way! Shulim, you must have seen wrong. More importantly... training... right, training.”
Semilis denied her abnormality, but Shulim couldn't help but feel that something was on her mind.
“Hey, Shulim.”
Just then, Semilis's expression suddenly became serious, and her tone grew a bit more solemn.
“Today's training will be a bit special. Prepare yourself.”
Although Shulim felt puzzled, she still nodded.
Then, just like usual, Semilis flew toward the deeper parts of the Monster Forest with Shulim in tow.
However, the difference this time was that Semilis was far too quiet.
Her expression didn't change at all throughout the journey, and she didn't say a single word.
...
“We're here.”
Before long, Semilis landed on a mountain in the forest with Shulim.
Shulim looked around and couldn't help but ask, “Semilis, this shouldn't be the deep area of the Monster Forest, right?”
Because they flew around every day, Shulim was already able to accurately keep track of time. The flight duration this time was noticeably shorter than before.
Semilis replied calmly:
“That's right. This isn't the deep area, but the middle area close to the outskirts.”
“What are we doing here?”
“Look over there—”
Instead of explaining, Semilis pointed toward a spot at the foot of the mountain.
Shulim looked in the direction Semilis was pointing and saw wisps of smoke drifting into the sky. Below the smoke, an open clearing without trees had appeared in the forest. Or rather, the area that had originally been filled with trees was now replaced by rows of crude houses.
Inside and outside those houses, green-skinned humanoid creatures were coming and going.
“Is this—a goblin tribe?!”
Shulim immediately recognized these creatures as goblins, one of the notoriously weakest monsters.
Of course, their fame was not just due to their status as one of the weakest monsters, but mainly because of their notoriety.
As the most numerous foot soldiers in the Demon King's army throughout history, goblins served as a symbol of the Demon King's minions, while also becoming the embodiment of humanity's fear of the Demon King over the ages.
In all books depicting or recording the terror of the Demon King, this creature was bound to make an appearance.
Without exception, they were described as greedy and cunning, with mouths full of sharp teeth that could easily crush bones, hands with long, pointed fingertips, and cold eyes that seemed to hate all living things in the world.
More importantly, goblins were not always bottom-tier monsters. They were one of the few species capable of evolution, possessing extremely high intelligence even when they were very weak.
The most common E-Class goblin would evolve into a D-Class hobgoblin or goblin mage. Going a step further, they could evolve into a goblin lord, then a goblin general, a goblin king...
Some scholars had once boldly speculated that goblins might not be monsters at all, but a form of lesser demon. Because they were looked down upon by other powerful demons, they were demeaned as monsters.
The evidence was that when goblins evolved to an extremely high level, they were no weaker than ordinary demons.
“Semilis, do you want me to...”
Shulim looked down at the tribe of what looked like over a hundred goblins at the foot of the mountain and couldn't help but ask.
“That's right. This is your target today!”
After giving an affirmative answer, Semilis stared into Shulim's eyes and said calmly:
“Shulim, listen carefully. What you must do today is eliminate this pack of the Demon King's minions! You can use any means, any strategy. However, I will not be watching from the sidelines today. I have left a mark on the goblin leader. Only when it dies will I receive the message and return.
“In other words, today, even if you die, no one will come to save you. Before that mark is triggered, I absolutely will not show myself. This also means that as long as these goblins are not eliminated, I will not appear, and you will be trapped in this dangerous forest.
“So, your only option is to completely eliminate them!”
Shulim looked at Semilis.
After a moment, she replied with equal calmness:
“I understand, Semilis.”
Then, she unstrapped the wand from her back and walked down the mountain toward the goblin settlement.
“I will completely eliminate them!”
...
...
“Ga—!”
“Gaji!”
“Galu!”
“Ga...”
Shulim cautiously sneaked near the goblin tribe, where she could already hear the voices of the goblins on guard duty.
At this moment, Shulim was hiding behind a large tree, and no goblins had noticed her presence yet.
She squatted down, carefully observing the ground.
She could vaguely make out numerous footprints as well as drag marks left by large objects. She had already seen many such traces on her way here.
This meant that these goblins frequently traveled in and out of their tribe.
For all she knew, there might be countless goblins patrolling or hunting right behind her back at this very moment.
Through the sparse gaps in the bushes, she could see some goblins wearing crude armor and holding wooden bows and stone arrows around the simple fence the goblins had built.
Shulim couldn't help but frown.
They had ranged archers. This would be troublesome...
With a large number of melee goblins charging, archers attacking from range, and maybe even a mage, all backed by a C-Class goblin lord holding the line, such a force, even if it looked like a ragtag army, would highly likely wipe out a fully equipped team of C-Class adventurers.
A frontal assault was out of the question; she had to find a way to weaken them first.
She also had to constantly monitor her remaining mana, or she might easily end up in a desperate situation.
Having decided on a general course of action, Shulim determined to prioritize gathering intelligence first, and then devise a strategy based on that information.
“【ᛞᚺᛃᛜᛣᛃᛏᛒᚠᚺᛗᛜᛈᛒᛁᛖᛡᛣᛚᚠᛈᛒᛡᛏᛒᛞᛚᚲᛜᚠᚾᚺנᚪ】”
“Nature's Breath.”
After casting the First-Tier Nature Magic, Shulim's aura suddenly seemed to blend in completely with her surroundings.
“【ᛖᛞᚠהᛓᛜᛈᛒᛁᛖᛡᛣᛚᚠᛈᛒᛡᛏᛒᛞᛚᚲᛜᛣᛚᚠᛈᛜᛃᚾᚪᛜᛟᛄᛓᚾᛜᛚᚲᛜᛓᚠᛒᛃᛟᚾᛖ】”
“Nature's Rhythm.”
With the Second-Tier Nature Magic applied, Shulim's entire being became incredibly coordinated with her surroundings, as if she were naturally part of the background.
“And next is—Conceal.”
“【ᛖᚲᛃᛏכᛤᛜᛚᛄᚪᛡᛏᛗᚠᚺᛜᛖᛄᚠᚳᛜᛓᚠᚪᛏᛃᛖᛚᛡᚪᛚᛜᛃᚾᚪ】”
Once she cast the Second-Tier Dark magic spell “Conceal,” Shulim's figure became completely imperceptible.
These spells were not as powerful as Third-Tier magic, but because they were only First- and Second-Tier spells, the strain on her mana was not that great, allowing her to maintain them for a long time.
Furthermore, when these spells were used in combination—especially the composite Nature Magic of the four major natural elements—the effect was exceptionally powerful, ultimately making it no less effective than Third-Tier magic.
After finishing her preparations, Shulim did not immediately infiltrate the tribe to gather intelligence, choosing instead to test the waters on the outskirts first.
She quickly found a patrolling squad of goblins.
Rate on N.U.