Chapter 37
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: 7. Greenback Forest
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"We can't confirm the exact situation this time. Since we don't know what might happen, reconnaissance is crucial."
Just before entering the forest, Qumel, who seemed to be the leader, was giving a briefing to the group.
He's definitely in the position of leading the party from the front, so it's common for the tank to take the leader role.
Even when there's no dedicated tank, the vanguard usually ends up leading.
"Rin, scout while keeping watch in all directions as much as possible. Shnero, cast detection magic every five minutes. I've stocked up plenty of mana recovery potions, so don't hold back."
"......"
"Okay."
Rin nodded quietly at Qumel's instructions, while Shnero responded energetically.
Appropriate commands and bold investment without hesitation.
And party members who followed them perfectly.
It was hard to believe they were still students—this party was put together so well.
They were a far cry from the first-years who'd charged in blindly without any proper briefing.
In investigation requests where you don't know the precise situation or target, detection is the most important thing.
The presence of a ranger with sharp senses and high mobility, plus a mage who can scan the surroundings with detection spells, is invaluable.
Yet they handed it off without a hint of worry, and nodded without a trace of concern.
As expected of the top students.
They could handle that much with ease.
Of course, deep down, they probably figured that even if something dangerous happened, Teacher Rasen would have their backs.
After all, they were students, with a veteran adventurer-turned-teacher as their escort and protector.
And in this case, it was even more special.
With that thought, I glanced back casually.
Nothing could be felt, and no one was there.
But I knew.
Saella was back there.
The students might not realize it, but if I sensed danger, she'd come rushing out in an instant.
As an S-rank ranger and an elf to boot, if anything dangerous happened in the forest...
She'd notice it before anyone else and let me know.
She's always going on about the pinnacle of beauty and such—a weird elf through and through.
But in situations like this, she was reassuringly reliable.
"Alright, let's move out."
At the party leader's signal to depart, Rin, the ranger, took the lead and entered the forest first.
Checking for any dangers in the surroundings ahead of time.
Of course, someone of Qumel's skill could gauge the nearby situation with his own senses to some degree.
But with a ranger and detection magic for certainty, it felt like double— no, triple—caution.
That's the adventurer life for you.
Living alongside death means you always have to stay cautious and deliberate.
...Which makes me wonder how Claude's managed to survive this long.
He must have the talent for it, but honestly, I question how long that luck will hold.
I heard after Claude stopped by the general store last time that the recent wyvern incident was caused by his party.
His natural carelessness is what leads to these messes.
No matter how impressive Claude's party is, taking on over ten wyverns at once?
They probably didn't prepare properly.
If they'd stocked potions and consumables thoroughly, researched wyvern traits and weaknesses, and planned accordingly, they wouldn't be impossible foes.
With Claude's skill, proper support could've made it feasible.
If I'd been there, the outcome would've been different for sure.
I have all the wyvern traits and combat tactics memorized.
Hmm, no point dwelling on it now.
Things are done with those guys anyway.
No need to think about it more.
Right now, there are more important matters.
"Like this, the key with Clean Mush is to cut precisely at the connection point. And to minimize exposure to contamination, seal it like..."
"I see. It does look higher quality than the usual ones."
"Whoa... this seems super tricky."
As we progressed into the forest, we spotted alchemy ingredients.
I showed and taught them how to harvest them.
Honestly, I figured upperclassmen wouldn't care about minor gathering like this since it was their first time.
But their earnest listening surprised me.
Maybe top students aren't just about raw talent?
Sure, oddballs like Claude or Lady Lunarin exist, but they're probably the exception.
"We have some time—want to try it yourselves?"
"Pardon?"
I handed the disinfected harvesting knives to the students.
They took turns trying to harvest the Clean Mush themselves.
"Ugh, hmm. This is way harder than it looks."
"Ack! It's all blackened! My hands must be filthy. Haha."
Qumel and Shnero, having ruined their Clean Mush beyond use, laughed awkwardly.
"Trying it myself, it's surprisingly tough. Teacher Edin made it look so easy."
"Right? How does he cut it without any contamination like that?"
The two stared at me in amazement.
Hmm... Clean Mush is a bit tricky to harvest, sure, but once you get the knack, it's not that hard, I thought.
"Well, you see, it's about this part..."
I was about to explain in more detail when...
"Teacher Edin's special, so it's unavoidable. That's a technique no ordinary person can imitate."
"...?"
Teacher Rasen suddenly praised me highly from the side.
N-No... even so, is it really that impressive?
My harvests are high quality, true, but with practice, anyone could manage this.
"His hand movements are anything but ordinary, for sure."
"There's something eerily precise about them."
...Eerily precise?
That stings a bit.
"Well, technically it's textbook perfect, so just imitating it as closely as possible should yield decent quality."
Teacher Rasen wrapped it up like that.
...Well, since I learned it straight from the textbook and copied it, yeah, it's textbook motion.
Nothing more to say.
Rustle—
"North ahead... three Goblin Warriors."
Just as the harvesting wrapped up.
Rin returned from scouting and reported the monster sighting.
The foes were Goblin Warriors.
E-rank monsters, just one step above F-rank regular goblins.
Utterly insignificant to these temporary A-rank adventurers.
But they prepared for battle swiftly without dropping their guard and headed toward the Goblin Warriors.
"Kek?!"
"Kieek!"
The three Goblin Warriors spotted the student party, freaked out, and bolted.
They instantly recognized the overwhelming skill gap and fled.
But.
"Where do you think you're going."
Whoosh—!
Qumel charged at unbelievable speed despite his plate armor and bashed one with his shield.
Crack!
Something shattered completely as blood sprayed across his shield.
And two silent arrows flew toward the remaining pair, piercing their heads clean through.
Thud! Thunk!
It was over in a flash.
The fight ended before anyone could blink.
An easy battle.
At this rate, they'd handle things effortlessly.
But...
"Two Goblin Archers ahead. Two Warriors."
The problems started with the next fight.
The battle itself ended easily, of course.
"Watch out. Traps everywhere. Disarming them one by one will take time."
How the goblins had set all these up was a mystery.
The deeper we went into the forest, the more traps littered the area.
This was the annoying part about goblin elites appearing.
Goblins are cunning and use traps often, but not to this extent.
However, when an elite goblin takes command...
The tribe's overall intelligence rises, and their surplus labor force fortifies the village and surroundings.
In severe cases, they enslave other races for labor—which is why the orc sightings coinciding with the elite goblin emergence prompted upgrading the request to B-rank.
"...A rock trap, huh. Definitely needs orc-level strength to set this up."
Qumel clicked his tongue while disarming the trap.
A trap using a boulder half the size of a person.
Goblins might've moved it together, but with so many strength-intensive traps...
Odds are they were using captured orcs as slaves.
He picked up on that right away.
As expected of the third-year top student.
Sharp eyes and solid situational judgment.
For lowly goblins to enslave orcs, no less.
...This is serious indeed.
That level implies a top-tier goblin elite overpowering the orcs.
"At least a Goblin General. Maybe even a King..."
Just as the Adventurer Guild predicted.
For tribe-based monsters like goblins or orcs...
The boss leader elites are tiered into four stages: Chieftain, General, King, and finally Lord.
A Chieftain leads just one tribe—a small-scale boss.
Generals unite and command 3-4 tribes.
Kings handle ten or more.
Lords control 30+ tribes, commanding around a thousand goblins and elites.
Given orcs are D-rank, enslaving an entire orc tribe points to at least C-rank Goblin General.
In the worst case... possibly even B-rank Goblin King.