In the dense forest, an Ice Cone flew out at high speed, striking the Goblin ahead squarely on the head.

[Ice Cone Skill] Skill Level +1

"Skill [Ice Cone Skill] Lv2 (20/20) has leveled up!"

"Current Skill: [Ice Cone Skill] Lv3 (0/40)"

Attribute Gained: Magic Power +1!

Finally!

Lin Mo looked at his Magic Power, which had increased by another point to reach 4, and was reminded of just how difficult it was to be a Mage.

People in other Professions, at least, had a basic foundation to build on. As long as a man came from a decent background and was well-nourished, his Strength, Agility, and Constitution scores could basically reach or approach 5 points.

But Magic Power was different. Before one set out on the path of a Mage, their Magic Power was zero; it had to be accumulated from the very beginning.

Add to that the fact that learning Magic was much more difficult than learning the Skills of other Professions, and it became clear just how hard things were for a fledgling Mage...

’No wonder they have to complete their studies at the Magic Academy and only venture out to gain experience right before graduation.’

Ali quickly stepped forward, deftly sliced off the Goblin’s ears, and tucked them into a cloth bag.

"That’s the fifth one."

Because the matter of Undead Creatures appearing in Loran Forest was still under investigation, and because Lin Mo wanted to focus on practicing a few of his Low Tier Skills, they hadn’t accepted any formal missions for this outing.

Coincidentally, with the Goblin population growing by the day, the Adventurer’s Association had added a new daily quest: Goblin Culling.

The quest’s requirements were simple: kill Goblins.

It was divided into several tiers, with the lowest requiring 10 kills, followed by tiers for 25, 50, and 100.

Different tiers offered different rewards. Lin Mo had accepted the highest tier, which paid 4 Silver Coins per Goblin.

This reward was quite generous compared to the usual bounty on a Goblin, so it naturally attracted many Adventurers to participate eagerly.

Although the money wasn’t much to Lin Mo, the quest’s appeal was its simplicity and convenience. It didn’t require long-distance travel and could be completed in the outer regions of Loran Forest.

Most importantly, it was a great way to grind Skill Levels, and it was safe enough for Feney, who was still a rookie, to get better acclimated.

During their two previous missions, Feney had clearly been quite nervous. In the heat of battle, she couldn’t do much besides applying BUFFs and Healing. But with a simple quest like culling Goblins, she was noticeably more active.

Neither her Healing Technique nor Light Aid was needed, so she started practicing her [Light Bullet Technique] instead.

This was another relatively basic Skill for the Priest Profession. With insufficient Magic Power, it could only serve as illumination. However, for someone like Feney, whose Magic Power was at a Professional’s level and who had gained some proficiency, it could also be used as a form of Attack Magic.

Its power couldn’t compare to a proper Mage’s, of course, but it was at least a means of attack. With Feney’s strength, it was more than enough to deal with Ordinary Goblins.

"Let’s keep going. I hope the next group of Goblins we find is a bit bigger..."

Lin Mo still had plenty of Magic Power left, and he could recover a bit more while they searched. Now that his [Ice Cone Skill] had reached Level 3, he could shift his focus back to [Fireball Technique].

’Time to set a small goal,’ he thought. ’Get Fireball Technique to Full Level within three days!’

The Goblin infestation in Loran Forest was far more severe than when Lin Mo had first arrived. As a result, there were many more Goblins in the forest. While this wasn’t a good thing, it did make finding them much easier.

Before long, Ali caught the familiar, foul stench of Goblins.

"Straight ahead. This direction. About a few hundred meters away."

The trio headed in the direction Ali indicated and, sure enough, they soon spotted the familiar green-skinned figures.

However...

It seemed they were a little late.

Several Adventurers had surrounded a group of Goblins and were preparing to attack.

"Boss, someone’s coming."

One of them, who had sharp eyes, spotted the trio and called out a warning.

The one they called "Boss" was a burly, broad-shouldered man holding a large cleaver. His demeanor wasn’t that of a leader at all; he looked more like a hired thug.

"Who is it?"

Hearing his subordinate’s warning, he glanced over. When he saw Lin Mo’s equipment, his pupils constricted. Then, his face broke into a wide smile. "Sir, we just found these Goblins, but we’re all comrades out here. If you want them, they’re all yours."

Since the other man had taken this attitude, Lin Mo couldn’t very well steal their kills. He was about to open his mouth to refuse, but then a thought occurred to him, and he swallowed his words.

"In that case, don’t mind if I do."

With that, to the bewildered gazes of Ali and Feney, he strode forward, drew his Black Sword, and dispatched the dozen or so Goblins—one per strike—in less than a minute.

Lin Mo flicked the blood from his sword, returned to the two women’s side, and waved them on. "Let’s go."

Ali blinked, unable to process what had just happened for a moment.

Feney tilted her head slightly, a blank look on her face, her brain having apparently short-circuited as well.

’What was that all about?’

But seeing Lin Mo walking off, they hurried to catch up.

They left the small group of Adventurers standing there, completely baffled.

"Boss, I don’t think he took the ears."

The subordinate who had first warned him spoke up again.

"I’m not blind," the Boss retorted, scratching his head. He watched the trio’s retreating figures, completely bewildered.

"So... he killed the monsters for us, and then just left..."

He just left?!

This... what a good guy!

They were just a low-tier Adventurer Squad. Even though they had the Goblins surrounded, if they had actually fought, they would have definitely sustained some injuries taking them all down.

But then some powerhouse suddenly popped out of the bushes, decked out in high-quality gear and looking incredibly strong. And he was. Before him, those Goblins were like chickens, completely unable to resist.

They had just been thinking they’d have to find a new group of monsters, but then the expert killed their targets and just up and left without a second thought...

"Maybe he just doesn’t care about such pitiful loot."

That was the only explanation the Boss could think of.

"I’d always heard that Silver Stream City was a safe place and that the Adventurers here were on friendly terms. I didn’t believe it at the time, but I believe it now... If the city wasn’t so safe, would you find a ’Living Angel’ like that?"

Those Adventurers felt they had come out ahead, but in reality, Lin Mo hadn’t lost out at all.

Kill-stealing, of course, was an immoral act. But if one only rushed in to do the killing and left the loot, well, that was just being a good Samaritan.

He didn’t care about the bounty from a few more or a few less Goblins; what mattered was his Skill Level.

That little maneuver had just raised his [Stabbing] Skill Level by 11 points—an absolute win.

’Come to think of it, those Adventurers from before didn’t seem to be locals...’

People from different places had their own characteristics; it was easy to tell if someone was an outsider.

"Mother has recently enacted several policies regarding the Goblins, which seem to have attracted Adventurers from other nearby towns," Ali explained.

The fact that they could be drawn in by policies related to Goblins meant these Adventurers weren’t particularly strong. Still, this was a good thing. After all, one didn’t need immense strength to deal with Goblins. Any Adventurer Squad with a bit of experience could handle killing Ordinary Goblins without issue.

The core problem had simply been a lack of manpower.

If they could attract enough people, the pressure on Silver Stream City would surely be greatly reduced.

As for the resulting increase in financial expenditure... for a well-managed, well-run, and populous city like Silver Stream City, it was a trivial matter.

Ali and Feney didn’t dwell on Lin Mo’s odd behavior. They just chalked it up to him being a nice person, and the three of them continued searching the forest for traces of Goblins.

However, it seemed that the new policies had indeed attracted many Adventurers. Finding Goblins wasn’t hard, but they frequently ran into other parties.

Lin Mo continued his new method. Regardless of whether the other party was already fighting or just preparing to, he would charge in, kill all the monsters, and then immediately turn and leave.

When they encountered "unclaimed" Goblins, he would stop and leisurely practice his Magic.

The day passed quickly. Although they hadn’t gotten the full 100 Goblins for the quest, Lin Mo’s Skill Levels had increased significantly.

First was [Fireball Technique]. Since it reached Level 3, he hadn’t focused on it, prioritizing [Ice Cone Skill] instead. Over the course of the day, it went from (1/40) to (34/40), a gain of 33 Skill Level points.

As for [Stabbing], it had increased even more. When "helping" others clear monsters, he had to be efficient so as not to give them time for any misunderstandings. Thus, he primarily used [Stabbing] to kill the Goblins, which raised the Skill directly to Level 4.

"Skill [Stabbing] Lv3 (40/40) has leveled up!"

"Current Skill: [Stabbing] Lv4 (29/100)"

With just 71 more Skill Level points, this Skill would reach Full Level. At that point, he would gain another 2 points of Strength and a New Skill.

As it was getting late, the group returned to Silver Stream City. They could finish the quest tomorrow.

Although it was called a "daily quest," the Association took practical considerations like travel time into account and gave the Goblin Culling quest a two-day time limit. They could still complete it tomorrow.

Furthermore, completing the 100-Goblin tier of the quest would count as one E Level Task completion.

Lin Mo’s current completion count stood at 13 E Level Tasks and one D Level task. He was only five E Level and one D Level task away from being promoted to a Bronze Level Adventurer.

He planned to continue at this pace, using the Goblin Culling quest to max out his required E Level Tasks.

However, plans rarely survive contact with reality. When they returned to the Association, they received some bombshell news.

The investigation into the appearance of Undead Creatures in the Loran Forest Deep Forest Area had finally yielded its first results.

Vick, the president of the Adventurer’s Association, personally appeared during the peak hour when Adventurers returned to the city to explain the situation...