The forest of shadows was dim and a bit dark, making vision a problem.
Well for others anyway as I and my followers have excellent night vision. This was probably due to my magnified senses skill and the fact that gobs had lived primarily in this dark place.
An arrow flew towards me.
Swish! I caught it with zero difficulty before turning to inspect it. The arrow was a crudely made one. Crafted from flame hardened wood to serve as a base.
Feathers lined its bottom and the arrowhead was made out of bone that was sharpened and grounded down to the shape of a triangle.
Nestled atop a tree branch was a growling goblin. It was dissatisfied on me catching its arrow easily. The bow it held looked to be self made aswell.
Goblins sure have a knack for making their own weapons out of materials from the surroundings.
The three gobs walking with me lost it. They raged and rushed to the three. Throwing tantrums and waving their weapons dangerously.
Khuhek! KHUHEK! Dandy was the worst. Unbefitting of his name, he was not looking fine and dandy.
He raised the axe and swung it for the tree.
Tac! It burrowed into the wood and made a huge cut on it. Dandy was inscenced to the point of wanting to chop down the tree and drag the goblin archer down.
Deck on the other hand had finished chanting and pointed his staff menacingly at the archer. His expression was a full scowl of hate.
Dean took a simplistic approach. He threw his buckler like a frisbee.
Thunk! Dean's aim was quite good. Landing an attack square on the green midget's head and it fell to the ground.
Khuekkk! Khuakkkk! The three goblins mercilessly beat it to death. Stomping, hacking and bashing. In the end, the product was a puddle of blood and grounded green meat.
Looking at their brutality made me sweat uncomfortably while praising them. Such good children you three are.
Dean, Deck and Dandy regrouped to me again. Forming a triangle position around my legs with weapons on the ready.
Goblins usually came in groups. It was uncommon to find a lone goblin as they are highly social creatures. And deep down these monsters knew that strength laid in numbers.
Making them group up frequently and even fueling their desire to procreate. Goblins are a male exclusive race in this world. They relied on other races to reproduce.
What a sad race. Unable to multiply on their own while being ugly to the point of having no one willingly couple with them.
An Idea flashed in my head. Maybe I could change that? Make goblins look better?
I examined their faces that even their tortured and sexually abused mothers can't love and discarded that thought. That would be nearly impossible. And I am not a plastic surgeon.
I looked at my gobs and they were like real hardworking filial children. These subordinates of mine deserved better treatment.
The state of their shabby worn out weapons made me feel unsatisfied. It might be fine for now but that will not do in the future.
These three would follow me as I roamed thr land and if they are going tp face dragons and even maybe titans, a worn out buckler, simple wooden staff and a lousy axe won't do.
They need a change of armor and weapons. I'll buy them weapons after earning money and buy them armor once they evolve into hobgoblins.
Halfling sized tailor made armor costs a little higher than regular marketplace armor. I'm a bit of a miser myself and I will not let me lose out on a deal.
We continued wandering around while I searched for specific herbs and things. The trio tirelessly kept their formation around me and I didn't have to worry about being disturbed.
Any weakling would be easily taken care of them anyway. The only time I have to intervene is if something stronger than them decides to show up.
Khuuu!!! Two goblins jumped from the tree lines and was intent on stabbing me with their crude weapons. Two spears came dangerously close to me.
I kept on walking and ignored them. Soon enough, a flying shield slammed into one and took it off route. The other remaining goblin had a fireball singe its face. Burning it to death.
I looked at Deck who had used the fireball. He may he a witch now but he could still use basic form magic I guess.
"Good job." My hand reached down and I patted their heads. The three seemed to enjoy it.
Khuaaa!!!
Except for Dandy who shivered and backed off. Alright? Wait, what's up with that regretful look.
Ah... I get it... He wants to be patted as well but is shy. Tsk...
That won't do Dandy, tsunderes have it hard in life.
?
I was surprised. One of the quest papers from my pocket trembled before flying out. It floated before me and started unfolding itself.
0/10
It kept on floating before me while flashing those numbers. This paper...
From what I remember it is one of the goblin killing type quest. Why is it doing that though?
Curious, I went to the other two fallen goblins and plucked off their ears. I made sure to be careful and not let any blood stain my hands.
Goblin kills take two ears as proof of your feat of successfully killing them. These sell for a price at marketplace too from what Stella had casually mentioned in the past.
Walking back to the floating paper, I pressed the two ears into it and they sank in!
Genuinely surprised, I used my observation skill on it.
=====
[Magic Paper] (Low Grade)
- Able to store specific items
- Fire Resistant
Description:
A magic paper formed from an inexperienced magus' efforts. Made out of low quality mana infused wood. Shaved to paper thin proportions.
=====
Ahh so that's how it works. Interesting piece of work. How does it really function though?
I grabbed it and started inspecting the thing before disappointedly storing it back inside.
Aside from the ebb and flow of mana and the addition of a number filling the requirement out, I couldn't learn more about it.
[ [Discerning Eye Lv 1] has risen.] The childlike voice of the system made itself known to my head again.
Its been a while since I last heard from you. If the skills do level up then I'll use it as much as possible.
Let's get that observation skill maxed out shall we?
"Alright now let's head further in. You guys deal with the goblins and the generally weaker monsters and I'll deal with the things out of your league." They nodded and we set off.
As their guide, I lead the way. Sniffing out and sensing things and determining our course while constantly using the observation skill on almost anything I laid my eyes on.
This is going to be a long day.
-----
Hurkkk!!! My mouth sagged open and I threw up yesterday's dinner while resting my hands on a nearby tree
Khuee.... The gobs worriedly looked at me and Dandy patted my back. I was quite tall so he had to sit on Dean's shoulders while using Deck as a stool to reach me.
Such good children. Your worries are irrellevant I really am fi-
Hurrkkkk!!!! Agh the diziness came again and made me vomit.
I could see the world spinning while my head throbbed. This isn't a fun experience damnit.
[ [Discerning Eye Lv 4] Has risen] Ah right. Shut up for now system I need to recover from the mental fatigue that is ailing me.
I never knew that spamming the observation skill would put too much of a strain on my mind. After the first dozen uses my head panged and made me experience being lightheaded.
But after a hundred more consecutive uses, that was when I felt a bit dizzy. But I could feel the skill nearly levelling up so I continued.
My vision swam while it spun like a disc in disc player. After five hundred scans I did not know how to tell reality from illusion anymore.
Trees rocks grass birds all sorts of things, I appraised them all and the influx of information seeping into my mind had sent it to overload.
"I'm fine..." After completely emptying my already empty stomach, I stood up wearily and yawned.
"Let's set up camp here for now..." I gestured for the three to start a fire under a funky looking tree.
We've killed tons of goblins for the day and all goblin related quests had actually been finished. Good job gobs.
I was hungry and we needed to rest. That huge looking tree with a face like feature embedded in the bark looks to be the perfect spot due to the faintly glowing mushrooms littering its bark and roots.
Did I just see the face smile and nod at me before becoming still as if nothing happened.
I think I'm starting to see things now.