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Goblin Chapter 105: Another Goblin Related Quest
🕑 Added 2025-08-02 14:57:24 +0000 UTCIn the lush green sea of trees…
Perched atop a towering tree, Gauss carefully used his dagger to slice off a patch of vibrant green moss nearby.
Inside the sponge-like mass were dozens of tiny, plump, berry-like beads.
[Berry Moss]
An edible ingredient, sweet in flavor. When simmered or roasted with meat, it gave the dish a fruity, aromatic undertone.
Unfortunately, it spoiled quickly—once detached, it began to rot within hours. It had to be used during the adventure itself.
Looks like lunch is settled.
Gauss didn’t take more than he needed. There was no point harvesting extra—it would only go to waste.
Better to leave some for the next lucky adventurer.
He untied the rope securing him to the tree and began descending along the sturdy trunk.
Once on the ground, he stowed the rope and returned it to his pack.
Ever since that extravagant meal at Firefly Kitchen with Andeni, he felt like he had discovered an entirely new world of food. His usual travel rations—the dry jerky, hard bread, and bland preserved meat—had become increasingly hard to stomach.
And truthfully, once you stepped beyond areas commonly traversed by hunters and herbalists, the forest was full of usable ingredients.
He just hadn’t known where to look—until now.
Thankfully, he’d bought a copy of "The Complete Guide to Foraging around the Jade Forest", which taught him all about the rare ingredients hidden in the wild.
Some were even valuable enough to sell for a good price back in town—a blessing for someone constantly short on cash.
Cutting costs wouldn’t be enough. He had to expand his income.
“This isn’t the Jade Forest proper, just a secondary growth zone. Danger level’s low enough that cooking here should be safe, right?”
Gauss looked around.
Conveniently, there was a clearing nearby, and plenty of dry firewood beneath the trees.
He even had a freshly killed spruce grouse in his bag—already bled, plucked, and cleaned.
It all felt… perfectly timed. Like the world itself was telling him to start cooking.
After doing a quick perimeter check to ensure safety, he lit a fire and got started.
The wood crackled and popped as flames danced upward.
He pulled the spruce grouse from its clean tarp wrap.
It weighed about four pounds—just enough for a solo feast. He’d shot it with his crossbow an hour ago, and handled the field dressing by a creek.
Now it was ready to be cooked.
He washed the berry moss, then stuffed it into the grouse’s cavity.
He rubbed the skin with coarse rock salt, squeezed the juice from some wild spring onions he’d picked along the trail, and coated the meat evenly. Then he wrapped it in layers of banana leaves.
Finally, he covered it all in a thick layer of mud and buried it in the embers.
Thirty minutes later…
Gauss cracked open the hardened clay shell.
As the scorched banana leaves peeled away, tender, steam-filled chicken glistened underneath.
A wave of fresh, fruity aroma hit his nose—berry moss.
He swallowed hard.
Hard to believe I made this.
Maybe I have some chef talent after all?
He tore off a piece and took a bite.
The sweet juices burst in his mouth, blending perfectly with the savory meat.
Gauss chewed slowly, eyes half-lidded, a blissful expression on his face.
It could’ve been a coincidence, but he felt like the moment the food reached his stomach, it was digested faster than anything else he’d eaten recently.
His Quick Digestion trait seemed to love it.
“Delicious!”
Gauss couldn’t stop. He tore off bite after bite, steam rising as he huffed to cool it down, juice dripping from his lips.
Warmth flowed through him. He felt his stamina rapidly recovering.
Was this it? High-nutrition meals paired with Quick Digestion—that was the meta combo?
By the time he finished, only bones remained—even those were cracked and sucked clean.
He lay back, rubbing his full stomach with a satisfied sigh.
If only the grouse had one or two more pounds of meat...
After a short nap, Gauss packed up the site and resumed his journey.
The feast was great, but he hadn't forgotten why he was out here: his third evaluation mission.
Once again, the target was goblins.
All three of his Bronze advancement tests had been goblin-related.
The second goblin tribe had been similar in size to the first, though its leader had been slightly weaker than the Redcap from before.
When he accepted this third task, the receptionist had looked at him strangely—probably thinking he had some kind of vendetta against goblins.
This time, he was up against about 60 adult goblins.
He checked his monster log:
[Total Monsters Kills: 302]
[Goblins Total Kills: 175]
“Beginner missions are great for grinding.”
Even though he’d grown increasingly efficient at killing goblins, Gauss hadn’t dropped his guard.
In fact, the more he fought them, the more he respected them.
Individually, they were weak—but their breeding rate was insane. They were like a plague—where there were woods, there were goblins.
Still, that also meant an endless supply of EXP without needing to dive into more dangerous zones.
“According to the mission briefing, this goblin tribe has a lot of archers. Dangerous.”
Gauss recalled the intel.
For weak monsters and low-level adventurers alike, weapons made all the difference.
Goblin archers, for example, were way more threatening than their melee counterparts.
They could reduce his speed advantage, and a volley of arrows—random as it may be—could always land a lucky hit.
That’s why, in his first exam, he had prioritized sniping the archers first with Magic Missile.
“Time to test the armor.” He patted his chest.
Other newbies might shy away from this kind of mission. He wouldn't.
The reward was a generous 1 gold and 30 silver.
Not to mention the loot from reclaimed bows and arrowheads could probably net him even more.
…
A couple of hours later, he arrived.
He climbed a tree and surveyed the area.
A goblin village sat in a clearing below.
“Hm?”
Something caught his eye.
Near the bonfire, several naked human men were tied up.
Captured?
This was only the second time in his adventuring life that he’d seen goblins take live prisoners.
Usually, they butchered their victims quickly.
“Looks like I need to move fast.”
The goblin numbers seemed lower than expected. Probably out gathering firewood and food for a feast.
Which meant the village’s defenses were currently weakened.
Perfect timing.
Gauss's eyes gleamed.
He’d originally planned to poison the water again, like the last two missions, but this time? Strike while they’re gone.
He studied the layout, memorized key points, and climbed down.
He adjusted his gear—already prepped on the way.
Took a deep breath.
Then, silently, he crept toward the goblin palisade.
And at the right moment—
BOOM.
He launched himself.
[Enhanced Leap] activated.
His legs coiled like springs, and with explosive force, he soared over the fence.
A nearby goblin emerged from the storehouse, carrying a banana leaf filled with berries. It looked toward the bonfire, eyes full of joy.
Then a shadow loomed over it.
It looked up, startled.
All it saw was a flash of cold steel.
“!”
The world spun.
In its final moment, it saw the calm face of a tall human, sword flashing.
“Thunk!”
