Chapter 40

The goblins, who had been forcibly controlled by the Goblin King's unique skill, "Follower Subjugation LV2," were now free after the Goblin King's death.

To grasp the current situation, I deployed "Heaven's Net." This skill spreads threads of magic around me like a spider's web. With my current MP, I can only spread them on the ground, but eventually, I should be able to deploy them in a sphere rather than a circle.

Incidentally, when searching for Lena in the forest, I had deployed them in a fan shape rather than a circle.

A Goblin Knight suddenly attacked, so I immediately tried to steal its skill. As I stole it, I also split its torso in two. The skills I stole were "Sword Technique LV2" and "Combat Technique LV1." Perhaps because my skill level had increased, the headache was less severe than before. More importantly, the memory of the "Sword Technique" the Goblin Knight could use also flowed into my mind.

(I need to master it, but this could be useful.)

If I had stolen a skill like "Spirit Magic LV4," I would have stolen not only the skill but also the spirit magic the person could use.

Attracted by the smell of blood, an Orc Soldier, Big Bo, and a Poison Grizzly gathered.

The Poison Grizzly swung its log-like right arm down. This Poison Grizzly was even stronger than the one in the dungeon, with a strength of 378. For a typical front-line fighter, a strength of 200-250 at levels 20-25 would be considered good.

My current strength is 210, which is not particularly high, but with the passive skills "Strength Enhancement" and "Physical Enhancement," and the active skill "Combat Technique," my total strength exceeds 900.

I easily blocked the Poison Grizzly's attack with my left arm and then unleashed a single strike with my right arm, infused with fire magic through "Magic Fist." The attack, enhanced by "Magic Fist," pierced the Poison Grizzly's abdomen and killed it instantly. The hole in its belly was charred, showing the power of the fire magic.

"This is never-ending..."

The number of monsters caught by "Heaven's Net" was around 300-400. I also noticed that Joseph was hiding in the shadow of a tree, so I launched an Explosion, but Joseph used the technique he showed at the training ground to dispel it.

"Damn... What a pain in the ass."

While killing the monsters, I joined up with Nina and the others. None of them were seriously injured, and the goblins seemed to be losing their momentum.

"Yu~"

Nina hugged me. Her large chest made it hard to breathe. When I pulled her off, Lena hugged me from behind and even started sniffing me.

"... This rich scent is good."

I didn't understand. I gave her a chop, but she wouldn't let go. How much of a smell fetishist is she? Muuga looked at me with a cold eye.

"What are you doing?"

Larit also looked at me with a somewhat cold eye. I didn't like this either.

"Anyway, I'll finish them off quickly."

The gathered goblins and other monsters didn't have any significant skills, so it would take too much time to steal their skills and kill them one by one. I launched Explosions in all directions as before, only killing the monsters that managed to get close. Unlike before, the goblins were not well-organized without the Goblin King, and those who sensed danger fled.

"Phew~ I thought my luck had run out, but it seems I'm still okay."

"Thanks to you, we were saved."

The goblins had fled, leaving craters around. I cut the magic core and ear from the Goblin King's corpse. As expected, a complete magic core could be obtained from a named monster, and the core I cut out was a beautiful sphere. I threw the magic core to Larit.

"Hey, is that okay?"

"It's for all the help you've given me and for this time."

Larit hesitated to accept it, thinking it was too much as a reward, but I insisted and forced it on him, so he reluctantly took it. Then I gave the Goblin King's ear to Muuga.

"Wh-What... is this...?"

"You were on a quest to kill a Goblin General, right? Even if the target Goblin General had upgraded to a Goblin King, you can still claim the reward, right?"

"But... I don't have the right to claim it..."

"Don't misunderstand. The reward will be split between you and Lena. Besides, your companions fled during this incident. We don't want to get into trouble with your clan over this."

(Well, those two are probably dead anyway.)

"Also, there's an old man around, right? Come out."

From the shadow of a tree in front of me, Joseph appeared. His expression was one of dissatisfaction, as if he had been tricked.

"Damn that dwarf... What kind of detection skill does he have that he can't be found... He even took 30 gold coins... Wait, you... You knew I was here, didn't you? The Explosion earlier wasn't just a coincidence, was it? You did it on purpose, didn't you? What a joke! If it wasn't me, I would have died!"

Joseph was making a fuss, but I ignored him and closed the distance to attack. A loud metallic sound rang out.

"Have you improved your skills again? I'm still better, though!"

"Old man, why are you using both hands to block? Before, you could handle it with one hand, right?"

Joseph's sword skill level is 8, and mine is 7. I thought the difference wasn't that big, but with my improved sword skill level, I could tell the difference in skill between us. Although he is using both hands, Joseph still has room to spare.

"Stupid! Stupid!!"

Joseph left, muttering like a child. As he left, he touched Nina and Lena's butts and was hit by throwing knives and magic, but he dodged everything.

"Alright, let's go back."

When I tried to cast a healing spell on everyone and head back, Lena looked at me as if she wanted to say something.

"What is it?"

"I'm tired, so carry me on your back."

I cast a healing spell on everyone. What is she talking about?

Even if I say no, she will probably force her way onto my back, so I decided to indulge her this time. As I carried her, she started sniffing me from behind, which was very unpleasant.

Nina kept saying, "Lucky, lucky," from the side.

Lena leaned her face close to my ear. I was on guard, thinking she might sniff my ear, but she whispered in a voice so low that only I could hear.

"Thank you."

In Chapter 39, Joseph's sword skill level is 8, not 7. I have made some corrections to the content.