Chapter 9

Final Expedition

When the exhausted Genius and his party returned, the other adventurers seemed surprised.

One after another, they asked in unison what had happened, showing concern. When Genius told them about encountering a group of goblins, their faces initially showed relief, but when he mentioned the scale of the group, they were once again astonished.

Before leaving the forest, they counted the goblin corpses at the site and found over 40 of them.

According to Genius and his companions, they had fought goblins several times, both in the square and in the forest. Despite trying to flee, they were caught and decided to fight in a place where they could coordinate more effectively.

Their testimony suggested they had battled over 50 goblins, and for cutting through this fierce battle, Genius and his party were praised by other adventurers and the alchemy guild members, looking somewhat embarrassed. Nod was also commended for his combat skills and for coming to their aid.

Nod’s meal, enhanced with the fish he had caught, turned out to be even more luxurious.

Genius and his party generously shared their food as a token of gratitude.

However, the food was most needed by those who were injured and bleeding (magic could heal wounds but not restore stamina), and Nod also caught more fish than usual, resulting in a lavish meal (mostly preserved food).

What made it even better was that Shin, a member of Genius’s party, was an excellent cook. Shin, whose family ran an inn in his hometown, put his culinary skills to good use in the limited environment.

As they savored the food, other adventurers joined in, and the gathering turned into a feast.

Genius was already recounting their heroic tale for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day, but one of the adventurers interjected:

"If there were that many goblins, their den must be of considerable size. Even if there’s no gold or silver, they might have hoarded something, right?"

Hearing this, Genius and his companions exchanged glances, their faces illuminated by the campfire. They had not thought of this in their rush to escape.

Afterward, Genius, the party leader, invited them: "Would you like to explore the goblin den tomorrow, on our final day?"

Nod was conflicted.

Due to the battle with the goblin group, the amount of herbs collected today was much less than usual—only about 60% of what they normally gathered. Although they had collected a decent amount so far, he wondered if it was wise to spend more time on this new venture.

Nod had achieved significant results in the battle with the goblins, but unless it was a bounty, killing goblins wouldn’t earn him any money for the herb-gathering mission.

He had heard that goblins tend to hoard treasures in their dens, but given that they were just goblins, it might not be worth much. However, if there was any money, what would he do?

In the end, Nod, unable to resist the temptation, chose to go on the adventure.

When he told Genius he would join, everyone else was also pleased. It seemed that his timely assistance had significantly raised their opinion of him.

Genius proposed starting the exploration as soon as the sun rose the next day. For Nod, if the exploration turned out to be fruitless, he could still gather herbs in the remaining time.

As Nod prepared for the next day and lay down, he immediately felt drowsy and fell into a deep sleep...

§

The next morning, Nod woke up and quickly got ready. Genius and his party also finished their preparations quickly, and they set off into the mountains where they had fought the goblins.

The goblin corpses, now a day old, were already emitting a foul odor. There were also goblin corpses scattered in the forest where Genius and his party had fought while fleeing.

The area where Genius and his party were attacked by goblins was also rich in herbs. To Nod, these herbs looked like scattered copper coins, and he felt the urge to gather them several times, but he managed to suppress it.

"Stop...!"

While exploring the forest with Genius and his party, Almina, one of the party members, suddenly whispered to the group.

Almina, born to a hunter in her hometown, was a skilled archer and scout. During yesterday’s battle, she had run out of arrows and fought the goblins with a dagger. In the forest with many obstacles, her bow was less effective, so she carried it on her shoulder.

Almina moved silently and cautiously. Despite being in the forest, she made no sound, and Nod realized that his makeshift forest skills were still far from those of a professional scout.

Almina returned after a while.

She had apparently found what seemed to be the goblin den.

Following Almina’s instructions, they moved cautiously. From there, they could indeed see goblins.

It appeared to be a lookout, and only one goblin was visible.

Nod and Genius spoke in hushed tones, careful not to alert the goblin.

"Are you sure you want to go in, even if there might be survivors?"

When Nod asked Genius, he nodded. Then he instructed Almina to take out the lookout goblin with a shot.

Almina moved a few steps away from the group, nocked an arrow, and quietly drew her bow, pulling the string taut. She focused her mind, and then released the arrow.

The arrow, released with tremendous force from the fully drawn bow, made a small sound as it flew, but it was drowned out by the morning birdsong and the rustling of leaves. No one except the party members heard it.

The arrow pierced the lookout goblin’s head, and he died instantly, not knowing what had hit him.

Nod and the others approached the goblin den cautiously.

It seemed there was only one lookout, and no reinforcements.

The den was a cave that extended deep inside, and the interior was not visible from the entrance.

Without a word, they exchanged glances.

—Let’s go.

They lit the torches they had prepared the night before and stepped into the goblin cave.

§

The cave was dark and deep.

In the poorly lit cave, Nod and the others explored cautiously. The fear of being surrounded and cornered, as they had been the previous day, was still fresh in Genius and his party’s minds, and they were particularly vigilant about being ambushed from behind.

The cave was complex, with narrow passages that occasionally opened into larger spaces.

In these areas, they encountered a few goblins, but the numbers were small, and they were quickly subdued.

The larger spaces—rooms—served various purposes, such as living quarters and food storage. However, the primitive items found there had little value, and only a few copper coins were discovered.

Nod’s initial hope of finding something valuable, which he had felt before entering the cave, had completely faded.

As they moved through a room with only goblin corpses, Almina, who was leading the group, gave another signal to stop.

The reason was immediately clear. They could hear the voices of goblins coming from deeper in the passage.

It seemed there were a considerable number of them.

After quietly discussing a plan, the group moved deeper into the passage.

The passage opened into a particularly large space.

The goblin voices grew louder, echoing off the cave walls.

Amid the noise, Almina’s preemptive shots began.

The goblins inside the room, initially stunned by the arrows sprouting from their comrades’ heads, soon realized they were under attack.

They turned to the entrance, but by then, the assault had already begun.

Nod and Genius, like bullets, burst into the room and cut down the goblins with their swords.

Shin followed, throwing her throwing knives, which pierced a goblin, causing it to scream in pain before Genius finished it off.

Gaius, who entered last, thrust his spear, skewering the goblins. Although the spear was cumbersome in the cave, it was effective in the open space.

Ris, who was supposed to heal any injured party members, didn’t seem to be needed.

There were about a dozen goblins in the room, but they were caught off guard by the ambush and were quickly reduced in number. They were killed without being able to regroup.

Only the dead remained.

"Is that it?"

Shin asked lightly.

"Seems so," "Yeah," Almina and Ris, who were still on guard for any reinforcements, agreed. There were no signs of more goblins.

"There’s no other passage," Gaius, holding his spear, noted as he looked around the room. It seemed this was the final room.

"Let’s search the place."

At Genius’s command, the group began to explore the room.

Two of them—Gaius and Almina, who volunteered—stood guard at the entrance while the others searched the room.

The final room—the great hall—was much larger than the others and contained many items, making the search time-consuming.

"What’s this?"

Shin muttered, playing with some junk she couldn’t identify.

So far, they hadn’t found anything valuable.

"Hey!"

Suddenly, Genius exclaimed excitedly.

Nod looked over to see Genius holding a box.

It was an old, but not goblin-made, wooden box with intricate designs and a keyhole.

When Genius shook it, it made a jingling sound.

"Is it gold!?" Shin asked hopefully.

"Maybe... let’s see."

The box was about the size of a small child.

Genius inserted a goblin’s sword and forced it open. Unfortunately, none of them, including Nod, had lock-picking skills, so this was the best option.

"Wow!"

Sure enough, the contents of the box matched Shin’s guess.

It seemed to be the goblins’ treasure chest, containing various items.

There were shiny fluorite and obsidian, which had little value, but there were also a considerable number of coins.

"Hmm... mostly copper coins..." Genius sifted through the contents.

The others gathered around, curious. Almina even left her post to take a look, and Gaius took over her guard duty.

In the end, they found a large number of copper coins and, to their delight, a few silver coins.

Unfortunately, there was nothing else of note, so these coins were their reward for the adventure.

By the time they left the goblin den, the sun was fully up.

They would return to the capital the next morning on the alchemy guild’s carriage.

Nod spent the rest of the day gathering herbs with Genius and his party, completing the final herb-gathering mission of this quest.

That night, they had another feast.

Everyone had high hopes for the spoils, but when they learned there was nothing significant, they sighed in disappointment, saying, "Well, they’re just goblins, after all."

Incidentally, when the treasure from the goblin den, including the silver coins, was divided among the six of them—Nod and Genius’s party—it amounted to about the same as a full day’s worth of herb gathering.