Chapter 292: Consequences Of A Bad Habit
"Boss! Look, a goblin!"
After walking for an hour, Shye and Seira finally reached the location where the goblin village was supposed to be.
Unfortunately, probably due to fear, the location reported by the nearby towns' residents was a bit off.
They were mere mundane folks and walking close to such a dangerous creature settlement would be the end of them, hence, Shye understood their difficulties in even reporting the village's approximate location.
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However, since the residents' wives and daughters had been kidnapped, the mayors knew they had to do something.
And that something was to post a request to adventurer guilds.
Fortunately, after looking for almost an hour and a half, Seira spotted a lone goblin, seemingly patrolling the nearby shrubbery—most likely on guard duty.
Seeing the goblin's repulsive appearance, Shye had the sudden urge to kill the darned thing in one hit.
Short, scrawny physique, bald, long ears, green skin, scarlet-eyed, and sharp-fanged—the best way to describe it.
The goblin wore a tattered human garment that was clearly oversized for its small frame, serving as its makeshift armor, and wielded a small stone axe as its weapon.
It looked so weak.
However, Shye knew that this seemingly weak creature was way faster and way stronger than a regular, full-grown human adult.
It was (D-) ranked after all.
Still, for adventurers like him and Seira, this goblin can indeed be considered weak.
They could throw a random punch at it and it would die.
The two of them knew better than to kill their only lead though, hence, they glanced at each other, nodded, and slowly faded into the background to observe its actions.
Well, he had a choice to simply kill the goblin and go for the front-door approach as stealth is obviously not listed in the quest requirements.
However, because they were unsure of the strength of the Goblin Chieftain's top underlings, it would be unwise to engage openly, as it might put them in danger.
For now, the smarter decision is to follow the small, green creature.
After thirty minutes, a change finally occurred.
The goblin cautiously scanned its surroundings one final time before deviating from its patrol route, vanishing into a dense thicket moments later.
Witnessing its strange actions, Shye and Seira swiftly left their hiding place and followed the goblin, almost losing track of it as it went through numerous shrubs before arriving at an empty clearing and standing idly in the middle of it.
A few seconds later, the goblin suddenly cackled.
Hearing its laughter, Shye's eyes suddenly widened, promptly realizing that this was a trap.
Unfortunately, there was no chance for them to retreat as grating laughter echoed across the clearing—from all directions.
They were surrounded!
Naturally, Shye gritted his teeth, unable to accept the fact that he had been outsmarted by a mere goblin.
If his friends from Colzen learned of this, they would make fun of him endlessly.
This f*cking goblin almost ended his career as an adventurer!
Imagine, the ace representative of the champion academy, outsmarted by a goblin.
Diabolical.
Luckily, only he and Seira were present, so this... slight... embarrassment would remain between them as a secret.
Well, Seira wasn't even aware that they were being mocked by the goblin as she was too focused on the impending danger and the pressure of being surrounded by numerous monstrous creatures.
"B-Boss! What's the plan?" she asked with a subtle hint of panic.
Shye couldn't answer immediately as his attention was still glued to the dastardly and cunning goblin.
[Name]: Goblin Scout
[Creature Rank] : D
[Description]
A goblin who learned the concept of adventurer classes and went on to try and master the scout class. This goblin has exceptional detection abilities and is usually more agile and smarter than average goblins.
[Skills]: [Echolocation Lv.3] [Sneak Lv.2] [Swift Slit Lv.2]
[Strength: 40]
[Intelligence: 60]
[Agility: 65]
[Dexterity: 58]
[Stamina: 30]
[Vitality: 35]:
[Wisdom: 20]
[Exit System]
'F*ck! F*ck!' Shye inwardly cursed, finding it hard to believe that these goblins could devise such a clever trap to protect their village from invaders.
He was so pissed at himself as he had the tool to avoid the trap but due to a stupid reason such as carelessness, they now found themselves surrounded.
'F*ck! I have this damn appraisal skill and I always forget to use it on weak opponents!'
This…was one of his bad habits.
Once he perceives a foe to be "surely" weaker than him, he always forgets to use his trusty [Appraisal Lv.3] skill.
Well, to be fair, the goblin was indeed way too cunning, donning the attire and weapon of a common goblin to hide the fact that it was actually a higher-ranked creature.
Shye didn't know whether it was the goblin scout's plan or if it was ordered by a higher-ranked, smarter goblin.
However, as thirty other goblins of various sizes unveiled themselves from the cover of the shadows, he quickly found out the answer to his question.
There were other goblin scouts like this one dressed as common goblins!
'Tch…so it was under orders…'
Since he had no time to use appraisal on each goblin, Shye used the skill on the seemingly more menacing ones, then, upon realizing that the strongest of the bunch seemed to be of (C) ranked, he breathed a sigh of relief.
'Phew…Luckily, the (B-) ranked Goblin Chieftain isn't here…' Shye inwardly thought, glancing at Seira who was gritting her teeth hard—her arms and legs, positioned for battle.
"Seira, as long as we watch each other's backs we can take these guys. However, be careful as these bastards seem to be well coordinated." Shye warned, not holding back at all as he armed himself with two elemental staffs. "The Goblin Chieftain isn't here so just fight like you normally do and you'll be fine."
Shye's words proved to be effective as Seira, who was initially nervous, gradually calmed down.
Finally, after a few more moments, the cackling goblins started their advance, drooling as they looked at Seira as though she was some sort of snack.
Gripping their weapons tightly in response, the duo stood back to back.
"Come then, you little green shits…"