Naruto put away his ninja sword, inserting it back into the scabbard at his waist, ignored Butler, and picked up the money bag.
"Is this acceptable?"
Naruto asked the witch.
"No, that's..."
"Hmm?"
"It's impossible."
The witch still spoke slowly and deliberately, completely unconcerned that such pauses and breaks would cause misunderstandings.
"Captain, from now on, please take care of me."
[Side Quest "Sword Saintess's Invitation" Completed]
[Obtained Underground City Team Badge (Purple) * 1, Obtained 100 Experience Points]
[Level Up!]
[Obtained 2 Free Attribute Points]
He finally leveled up again.
Naruto allocated the new 2 free attribute points to [Strength].
A warm current flowed through his entire body, finally merging into all his muscle cells, as if his strength had greatly increased.
This kind of immediate improvement was quite satisfying.
After completing one quest, Naruto set his sights on the remaining two.
Before that.
He returned to the Adventurers' Guild and took down all the Goblin-related quests posted on the notice board.
"I'll take these quests."
Naruto placed the quest slips on the counter.
"Hmm, no problem."
The Counter Lady glanced over them, smiling and nodding.
"Oh, and one more thing."
Naruto put away the quest slips and said to the Counter Lady, "After work, could you wait for me at the Adventurers' Guild? I have something to tell you."
"Oh oh~"
"A date?"
"I didn't expect the younger brother to make the first move!"
His colleagues teased, eager to stir up trouble.
The Counter Lady's cheeks flushed, and she shot her colleagues an annoyed glare, then gently nodded and replied, "I'll wait for you."
"Thank you!"
Naruto left the Adventurers' Guild and teamed up with the Sword Saintess and the witch to head to the Goblin Forest.
"To kill a Goblin Hero, but in this vast forest, how do I find it?"
"Should I use Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu for a carpet search..."
"System, can you pinpoint the Goblin Hero?"
[Do you want to enable Quest Tracking Mode?]
A pop-up window appeared before Naruto's eyes.
"Yes."
With a silent thought, the pop-up switched to a translucent mini-map, with a red skull icon representing the current dungeon's BOSS—the Goblin Hero!
"Found it."
"This way."
Naruto immediately changed his route, leading his teammates towards the Goblin Hero's location.
At the same time.
Deep in the forest, in front of a seemingly ordinary cave, a wooden pole was stuck in the ground.
At the top of the pole was a pale, unknown monster skull, with two human leg bones tied crosswise below, adorned with colorful feathers and other items.
A three-person adventurer party arrived at the cave entrance.
The burly man leading them was the Heavy Swordsman Kane.
Kane saw the strange wooden pole stuck in front of the cave entrance and said with a smile, "A Goblin Shaman's mark, warning other monsters that this is their territory."
"Let's go, after we clear out this nest with a Goblin Shaman, I can be promoted to a Silver-rank Adventurer."
"Congratulations in advance, Big Brother Kane," Dalia said happily.
It was as if she was the one being promoted to a Silver-rank Adventurer.
"If we kill a few more Goblins, we can also apply for a promotion review at the Adventurers' Guild."
Ryder rested his long spear across his back, his hands resting on both ends of the spear, and followed Kane into the cave, looking incredibly relaxed and at ease.
It was as if he was on vacation, not here to kill Goblins.
The cave was deep, dim, and damp.
A foul stench, a mixture of blood and some other odor, assailed them.
"Ugh!"
Dalia couldn't help but gag a few times.
Kane walked forward and said, "Dalia, the torch."
Dalia lit the torch, holding it up, and the flickering flames licked at the damp, bloody air, bringing light and warmth.
Ryder said, "If Alicia were here, we wouldn't even need a torch."
"Go to hell, go to hell."
Dalia waved the torch irritably, and the wind-distorted flame brushed Ryder's backside.
"What are you doing?!"
Ryder jumped up, clutching his backside with one hand, and demanded of Dalia.
"It's always Alicia this, Alicia that. Does she even care about you?"
"Have you forgotten how mercilessly Alicia rejected us?"
"Honestly, if you ask me, it's good that that bitch left."
"She's just a priestess, at most a support. What's so great about that?"
"In the end, aren't we the ones charging into battle, fighting monsters, and even constantly getting distracted protecting her?"
"Heh, you're just jealous," Ryder sneered.
"So what if I'm jealous? Aren't you coveting her chest and butt!"
Dalia waved the torch a few more times.
"So what if I am? Do you have them, do you have them!" Ryder made a face and retorted rudely.
"Alright, the quest is important."
Kane stopped them, his peripheral vision catching sight of the shaman's wooden marker stuck nearby, and reminded them, "We're already deep in the nest. Be careful of the Goblins."
Before he finished speaking.
The whistling sound of a sharp arrow cutting through the air came from... behind them.
"Thud!"
An arrow struck Dalia's arm, and in pain, the torch in her hand fell to the ground.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Arrow after arrow shot from behind.
Ryder grabbed his long spear, ready to block, and swung the spear behind him, but with a "clink," the spear was too long, and its tip hit the cave wall, striking sparks.
"I'll do it!"
After all, as a Bronze-level adventurer, Kane's speed and reaction were much faster than Ryder's. He strode in front of Dalia and blocked with his sword.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Arrows struck the greatsword, making metallic sounds, and fell to the ground.
"Are we ambushed?"
"How is that possible? Goblins are cunning and insidious, but when did they get so smart!"
"And how did the Goblins behind us appear?"
"Isn't that the way we came?"
Ryder and Dalia were surprised and angry, but even more so, confused.
They hadn't seen a single Goblin on their way in!
How could Goblins suddenly appear behind them and launch an attack?
At this moment, a Goblin even grabbed onto an inverted stalactite, ambushing them from the cave ceiling.
Taking advantage of their unpreparedness, it pounced down, its hand grasping a rusty dagger, and stabbed towards Ryder.
Ryder dodged the vital point, but his left shoulder was struck by the blade, and he cried out in pain, grabbing the Goblin's head with one hand and angrily throwing it away.
"Be careful, it might be poisoned! Drink the antidote quickly!"
"I'll distract them—"
Kane roared and activated his "Miracle"—"Taunt"!
"Gurgle! Guk-guk!"
From deep within the cave, a shout echoed, and a dozen Goblins screamed as they rushed out, madly and grotesquely attacking Kane.
Kane transformed into a god of slaughter. Although the relatively narrow cave prevented him from fully utilizing the greatsword's wide swings, limiting the Heavy Swordsman's strength, it was still not something a mere dozen Goblins could stop.
With Kane's support, Ryder and Dalia breathed a sigh of relief and caught their breath.
They quickly treated their wounds, drank the antidote, and helped Kane eliminate the Goblins.
At the very bottom of the cave.
The space suddenly opened up, forming a quite spacious stone chamber.
There was a hill made of various monster and human bone remains.