Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: 7. Greenback Forest
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Around three hundred goblins.
And orc slaves on top of that.
They might even have captured other monsters that originally inhabited the Greenback Forest and turned them into slaves or livestock for battle.
No matter how strong goblins are, they're still just E-Rank at best. But with three hundred of them gathered under the command of a Goblin King, boosting their intelligence...
That would definitely make it a serious situation requiring at least a B-Rank party.
"What do we do? Head back?"
Instructor Rasen asked the students for their opinions on how to proceed.
He'd factored in various variables and rated it B-Rank, but if a Goblin King had truly appeared, it might be a bit heavy a burden for the students.
They were temporary A-Rank adventurers with registration cards, so they weren't lacking in skill by any means.
But against an intelligent foe that set traps and employed strategies, their lack of real-world experience compared to active adventurers would inevitably be a major drawback.
Still, it was a far cry from the way the first-year intermediate Class 3 had immediately pulled back at the first sign of danger.
Deciding whether to retreat or press on—that judgment itself was the duty of an adventurer leader.
That single call could determine the success or failure of the request, and the life or death of the party members.
A choice demanding immense responsibility.
This was the lesson: adventurers were made of such stuff.
"...It probably won't be a Lord. If it were, the nearby villages would already be in ruins."
Student Qumel coolly assessed the situation.
The Greenback Forest was fairly large by Preta standards, but not vast enough to quietly accommodate over a thousand goblins.
Whether goblins invaded or other monsters displaced by goblins attacked...
The villages near the forest would be in chaos.
In other words, the worst-case scenario... the emergence of a 'Lord' was unlikely.
Something on that scale would be A-Rank to S-Rank territory.
A city- or national-level disaster.
At most, it was a Goblin King right now.
A level that a B-Rank party could somehow resolve.
No matter how smart they got, how numerous, or how they enslaved other races...
They were still just goblins in the end.
"We can handle it ourselves."
Student Qumel chose not to back down.
The other party members seemed to agree, their expressions resolute.
There was probably some calculation in there: 'If we leave them alone any longer, their forces will grow, putting the nearby villages in real danger.'
This... the reasoning made sense, but it might be a little risky.
I'd need to stay sharp.
"Instructor Edin, you okay with this?"
Instructor Rasen asked me as well.
What wasn't okay about it?
Plus, if there was a Goblin King, there'd naturally be goblin shamans in the village.
As they gradually took over the forest, they'd have stockpiled tons of forest herbs and poisonous plants.
You could tell from the traps occasionally coated in poison or acidic fluids.
"Could we possibly hand over any plants or materials the goblins have gathered directly to the academy's general store?"
I asked Student Qumel, the party leader.
I was tagging along, but technically, I wasn't a party member.
I had no claim to shares.
Still, it was the academy's store... I couldn't help but hope they'd sell cheap.
"Of course. We'll hand them over at the lowest possible price."
"Thank you. You can bill the academy for payment."
Well, goblin-gathered stuff wouldn't be high quality anyway... but cheap enough not to dent the budget much.
I'd been gathering materials for free anyway, so the budget had plenty left.
Buying from academy students meant low prices.
For them, low-grade materials were a hassle to sell through the Adventurer Guild or Alchemist Guild for peanuts.
This direct deal was win-win.
Of course, that was business after the job was done smoothly.
"Watch out there! Trap! Whoa, Instructor Ed...!"
There was a trap I'd missed on my path.
It was off the route they'd taken, so they'd overlooked it.
Well, it was on my path.
Since I wasn't officially in the party, maybe they weren't as vigilant about me.
That could happen.
I wasn't supposed to be here originally anyway.
Still, it was a simple trap, so I disarmed it easily.
A poison needle launcher on step, huh.
Crude, but pretty threatening.
"...?"
Wait, didn't Student Shunero just call me?
"Something wrong?"
"...N-no, nothing."
She scratched her head awkwardly.
Oh, was it because she missed the trap by mistake?
Eh, mistakes happen.
I spotted and handled it, no harm to the party, so no issue.
They were good students usually, so they could brush off a slip like this.
'Dangerous.'
Shunero had just felt a chill run down her spine.
A poison needle trap she'd overlooked where her detection magic had slipped a bit.
Her detection magic was quite reliable, but this trap happened to be exceptionally well-hidden compared to the others.
By the time she spotted it late, Edin was already about to step right over it.
"Whoa, Instructor Ed...!"
She'd urgently tried to stop him, but then he casually swept the trap aside with incredibly natural movements.
'Huh...?'
Shunero panicked at the sight.
'Even if they weren't paying as much attention to him... missing a trap that detection magic overlooked...?'
Traps were traps precisely because they were hidden from sight.
Unless you were a ranger with keen senses catching minute changes or a mage whose detection magic outright revealed traps, spotting them was tough.
Goblin traps were crude enough for mid-to-low adventurers to detect.
But every now and then, one was coincidentally well-made.
Yet Edin had spotted it nonchalantly and disarmed it smoothly.
Something impossible without exceptional eyesight.
Thanks to his outstanding observation skills and the unique focus from super-precise talent.
He'd caught the subtle differences from the surroundings and recognized it instantly.
Keener detection than most rangers.
'Is he really just an alchemist? Skills that'd shut down herbalists, knowledge that'd surprise veteran adventurers, finding traps even detection magic misses...'
At this rate, she wondered if he was some hidden master in disguise as a young man who'd come to the academy.
He called himself just a general store guy, but he had so many mysterious sides.
That's what she thought.
"Front: two goblin shamans. Two goblin warriors. Five regular goblins."
"Kek! Kieek!"
"Keeek!"
Then, goblins appeared again.
This time, finally, shamans showed up.
Among the spotted group, the regular goblins held not weapons but worn sickle-like tools for harvesting grass, and baskets overflowing with what looked like herbs.
They'd brought two goblin warriors as escorts while gathering herbs.
"We're getting close to their village now."
"Indeed."
Shamans were elite among goblins.
They rarely sent them far into danger.
In other words, the goblin boss's village was nearby.
"......"
At that moment, Edin's eyes narrowed slightly.
He was eyeing the suspicious baskets of herbs they were gathering.
'That's Remode fruit with antibiotic effects. Next to it, Acorhol herb... disinfectant.'
Edin instantly identified their names and effects.
The shaman urgently leading minions to harvest these herbs personally.
Antibiotics for treating inflammation, disinfectants to prevent wound infection.
If they needed those...
'Someone's badly injured and needs urgent treatment. And it's someone extremely important.'
No need for the shaman to come out personally for mere stockpiling.
This was a rush job, directing on-site for speed.
"Looks like someone in the goblin village is hurt. With the shaman out here like this... probably a high-ranking upper species."
"Hm? Ah... yeah, now that you mention it. That grass is Acorhol. Disinfectant material."
Hearing Edin, Instructor Rasen finally noticed the details and nodded.
'Impressive. He spotted that at a glance.'
Edin was even more remarkable than he'd thought, Rasen mused.
"...In that case."
"Something's gone wrong in their village, whatever it is."
Then the goblins must be in disarray.
Now was the chance.
With that in mind, the student party quickly cleared the visible goblins.
Then hurried onward.
"Rin. You get the situation? Let's pick up the pace a bit."
Rin nodded at Qumel's words and swiftly vanished into the forest.
They were in chaos now—the perfect opportunity.
No one doubted it might not be the case.
The evidence was solid.
And more than anyone... it came from Edin, who'd exceeded expectations so far.