"Found it!"
Lin Mo's eyes lit up. He took out his plant encyclopedia and cross-referenced it. Sure enough, it was the Clear Fragrance Grass he needed for this mission!
Drawing his Sword, he observed his surroundings. He specifically used the blade to part the foliage, checking carefully for venomous snakes lying in ambush. Only after confirming it was safe did Lin Mo step forward, gently uprooting the stalk of Clear Fragrance Grass and placing it in his bag.
One stalk of Clear Fragrance Grass was worth two Silver Coins. This was equivalent to the bounty for killing two Goblins, and in normal times, it would have been worth the bounty of ten! Material gathering missions were indeed best suited for newcomers. There was no need for dangerous battles, nor did one have to endure a nauseating stench to slice off a Goblin's ears. The returns weren't high, but they were relatively stable and low-risk. Moreover, with good luck and a sufficient yield of herbs, one could earn a considerable amount of money.
Lin Mo's luck seemed pretty good today. Right after picking one stalk, he spotted two more just a short distance away. This was all money! It was like picking up cash right off the ground!
Maintaining his cautious approach, Lin Mo plucked these two stalks of Clear Fragrance Grass one after another. Three stalks of Clear Fragrance Grass amounted to an income of a mere six Silver Coins. Naturally, Lin Mo wasn't going to stop there. The next few kilometers were known as dense distribution areas for this specific herb.
Glancing at the sky, he saw it was still early. He had at least two hours left to gather safely. Lin Mo figured he needed to find at least a hundred stalks to scrape together an income of 2 Gold Coins.
RUSTLE. A gentle breeze swept through the dense foliage as the chirping of insects mixed with the singing of birds. Bent over, Lin Mo grunted as he spent an entire hour and a half diligently searching.
Because he always acted with caution, locating a stalk of Clear Fragrance Grass and successfully plucking it inevitably took some time. However, his luck was truly remarkable. In just over an hour, he had found exactly 150 stalks. Converted, this was already an income of 3 gold coins—roughly on par with what a standard Adventurer Squad would earn from a single mission.
Yet, having searched for herbs for so long, he inevitably felt sore in his back and shoulders. Lin Mo rubbed his lower back, suddenly finding himself a bit bored. He wondered if maybe a couple of Goblins could show up for him to slash so he could grind his Skill Level a bit.
Earning money to upgrade to better equipment could certainly increase his Combat Power. However, for Lin Mo, the best way to improve his strength was undoubtedly by accumulating Skill Proficiency through monster grinding. As long as his Skill Level hit the mark, he would gain Attributes. That was true improvement.
The main reason he hadn't accepted subjugation missions was that those quests always had specific targets. Obviously, no one was bored enough to set bounties on Ordinary Goblins, which were Low Level Demons. Therefore, most subjugation missions required venturing deep into the forest, which was extremely dangerous, and their Level requirements were always at least One-Star. To put it bluntly, he didn't have the strength to take them.
Still, Lin Mo truly hadn't expected to not encounter a single Goblin while searching for herbs today. He didn't know if that should be considered good luck or bad luck.
Never mind, he thought. It was getting late. He should get ready to head back and figure out the rest tomorrow.
Just as Lin Mo decided to stop looking for Clear Fragrance Grass and prepared to embark on his journey home, a discordant noise suddenly echoed from the nearby forest.
"GAAH!"
This familiar cry caused Lin Mo's expression to instantly darken. Quickly stuffing everything he held into his backpack, he gripped his Sword. He hunched over and slipped into the bushes, advancing carefully.
After crawling forward for a bit, he parted the tall grass and looked ahead. Sure enough, a group of Goblins was hunting. Their target was a rabbit. There were six Goblins in total, split into pairs that surrounded the rabbit from three sides.
Lin Mo scanned the surroundings for a long time but didn't spot any additional Goblins. It seemed there were only these six. That meant he could make a move!
Under the Goblins' encirclement, the rabbit was coincidentally forced toward the very bushes where Lin Mo was hiding. He gripped his hilt tightly and held his breath, entering a state of Stealth as he waited for the Goblins to close in.
Twenty meters, ten meters, five meters...
That was close enough!
The next instant, Lin Mo pushed off the ground and darted out of the brush, the Long Sword in his hand carving a beautiful arc through the air.
"Slashing!"
With sharp, swift speed and clean, crisp movements, two unsuspecting Goblins were beheaded before they could even react, their heads sent flying into the air.
Lin Mo felt the empty sensation of his blade slicing through the air and found it momentarily jarring. Good weapons really were different. Although he had previously used [Slashing] to decapitate three Goblins in one breath, he had used nearly all his strength back then. After severing the third Goblin's head, the momentum of his Sword had been completely depleted, leaving him with no spare energy.
But this time, it felt as effortless as chopping two cucumbers. He hadn't even used half his strength.
[Slashing] Skill Level +2
[Stealth] Skill Level +2
"Skill [Slashing] Level 1 (10/10) upgraded!"
"Current Skill [Slashing] Level 2 (0/20)"
Along with the two-point increase in Skill Level, Lin Mo's [Slashing] Skill upgraded. This upgrade didn't grant any attribute points, but Lin Mo still felt a rather obvious change. It was a profoundly mysterious sensation, difficult to describe in words. In layman's terms, his understanding and mastery of this technique had reached a whole new height.
"SCREECH!"
The remaining four Goblins were startled to discover their fallen companions. Realizing Lin Mo was alone, the Goblins let out piercing shrieks, banking on their numerical advantage to charge at him all at once.
Two fists were no match for four hands, after all. Lin Mo had no intention of clashing head-on with these four Goblins. Even if he wouldn't necessarily lose, suffering a careless injury would make it a terrible deal. Why fight head-on when you could kite them?
Taking a step back, he opened up the distance and easily dodged the Goblins' attacks before dodging behind a tree trunk. The Goblins chased after him in unison, only to find no trace of Lin Mo behind the tree.
The next moment, a sharp gale struck from above. By the time the Goblins felt a chill on the tops of their heads, it was already too late.
Lin Mo dove down from the tree trunk, executing a diagonal slash with his Sword. One Goblin's head was forcibly cleaved in half, and the Goblin next to it fared no better—its neck was cleanly severed, sending its head flying.
Feeling the abundant residual momentum of his Sword strike, Lin Mo rejoiced. Sure enough, the power of his Skill had increased significantly after upgrading. While there was no explicit indicator, it physically felt like an improvement of at least ten percent.
This fierce strike clearly terrified the remaining two Goblins. Letting out bizarre shrieks, they lost all will to fight and scattered to flee.
Naturally, Lin Mo wasn't going to pass up these two free points of Skill Level. He quickly gave chase, lopping off another Goblin's head. He was just about to pursue the final Goblin and was on the verge of catching up when he suddenly skidded to a halt.
SWISH!
The sound of rushing air tore through from his side. A Feathered Arrow pierced the final Goblin's head with absolute precision.