Gun Chapter 49: Return (Patreon)

“The goblins in Chalk Forest have been getting more and more abnormal lately.”

Lenk’s tone turned serious.

“In the past, goblins mostly stayed in the middle parts of the forest. Even if some appeared on the outskirts, they were usually just scattered little squads of three or five. But these last two days, there have been goblin traces everywhere on the outskirts—there are even squads of a dozen or more now. Quite a few rookie adventurers have already died in there.”

“And not just that.”

Lina hurriedly added, a lingering trace of fear still on her face.

“Yesterday at the town gate, we saw some farmers fleeing from a village in the north. They said their village had been attacked by goblins. All the grain was stolen, some people were dragged away, and only a few of the village men managed to escape after fighting desperately.”

Aila also spoke up timidly.

“I... I heard some guild veterans say that the guild has already raised the bounty on goblins. It used to be 3 copper per goblin, but now it’s gone up to 7 copper. They’ve also issued an emergency commission to wipe out goblin nests, and the reward is especially high... but I heard that two class-holder parties already took the commission and never came back out.”

“And the bounty on that mutated goblin leader we mentioned earlier has already gone up from 5 gold to 8 gold.”

There was a trace of awe in Lenk’s voice.

“They say that leader is surrounded by hundreds of goblins, along with several goblin chiefs and shaman goblins that can cast curses. It’s especially troublesome. Even a Level 3 class-holder party ended up dying to it.”

Wakasha’s eyes narrowed slightly.

A goblin nest?

A force numbering in the hundreds, with shaman goblins?

That was on a completely different level from the small squads of three or five he had met before.

Creatures like goblins might be weak individually, but once their numbers exceeded a hundred and formed a complete tribe, even class-holder adventurers wouldn’t dare provoke them lightly.

And with a mutated leader, chiefs, and shamans mixed in, that was no longer an ordinary low-rank monster group. It was a full-scale disaster capable of threatening the safety of nearby villages and towns.

No wonder the guild had put out such a sky-high bounty of 8 gold.

Before, Wakasha had completed two commissions and earned only 16 silver. Eight gold meant 800 silver—enough to buy a full set of high-quality adventurer gear and another dozen or so spell manuals.

Of course, that was only in direct numerical terms. Normally, the actual value of a gold coin far exceeded that of silver.

There was nothing strange about that.

After all, the value of a currency wasn’t just its face value—it also carried other added significance.

More importantly, a massive number of goblins meant a massive amount of EXP.

With the 20x EXP multiplier from Law of the Jungle LV2, even if an ordinary goblin only gave 1 base EXP, that still became 20. A hundred goblins would mean 2000 EXP, not to mention the chiefs, shamans, and mutated leader—elite monsters like those would only give even more.

For Wakasha, who wanted to level up quickly, it was an enormous temptation.

But he wasn’t so dazzled by the huge EXP and bounty that he lost his head.

He knew very well that he was only a Level 1 Demon-Hunting Gunner, Challenge Rating 1. Even though his EX-rank skills and dual Deathbirds probably put his combat power far above others of the same level, facing a hundred goblins at once would still be risky. If they got close and swarmed him, then even with Mage Servants assisting him, the danger would still be significant.

Goblins might bully the weak and fear the strong, but once cornered, they could become ferociously mad. And with shaman goblins mixed in, dark curses and toxins would make things even harder to guard against.

“I understand. Thank you for telling me.”

Wakasha nodded to the three of them, and there was a trace of genuine approval in his tone.

These three rookies might have been weak, but they knew how to repay kindness. The fact that they had gone out of their way to warn him about these dangers made them far better than many adventurers driven only by greed.

Lenk and the others waved their hands hurriedly, looking flattered and a little overwhelmed.

“My lord, you’re too polite! Compared to the life-saving grace you showed us, this little bit of information is nothing at all!”

“Oh, right, my lord—if you’re thinking of taking the goblin extermination commission, you absolutely must not go alone!”

Lenk quickly added, his voice full of concern.

“The guild said this commission can only be accepted by a party of at least three class-holders, because it’s just too dangerous. Quite a few lone-wolf adventurers have gone in already and never come back out.”

Wakasha merely lifted a brow slightly and didn’t respond. He only gave them a small nod.

“I’ve got things to do, so I’m heading into town. You three stay safe too.”

With that, he turned and headed for the gate, leaving Lenk and the others standing there, watching his straight-backed figure with admiration written all over their faces.

“That lord is seriously so cool!”

Aila muttered quietly, her emerald-like eyes full of worship.

“He doesn’t even look much older than me, but he’s already an adventurer who can stand on his own.”

“Yeah.”

Lenk let out a sigh full of emotion.

“If we had even one-tenth of that lord’s ability, it wouldn’t be this hard for us just to scrape together a meal on the forest outskirts.

Come on, let’s hurry into town too. We’ll sell these materials, get something to eat, and buy some wound medicine.”

Supporting one another, the three of them also hurried toward the gate.

At White Earth Town’s south gate, two town guards were leaning against the wall, idly watching the people coming and going.

It was dusk, and the adventurers and farmers who had gone out earlier were returning to town one after another. The gate area was lively and crowded.

“Do you think that kid Wakasha got himself killed in the forest?”

The younger guard nudged the companion beside him, worry in his voice.

“That kid looked like he was only fifteen. He just came out of the orphanage, and on his very first day as an adventurer he already dared run into the forest alone. He still hasn’t come back after a whole day and night... chances are he’s dead.”

The older guard—the same burly man who had warned Wakasha several times before—furrowed his brow and sighed.

“Hard to say.

The kid looks thin, but his eyes are steady, and he’s cautious by nature. He doesn’t seem like the kind of reckless fool who charges to his death on impulse.

Still, there are too many variables in the forest. Especially now, with the goblins causing so much trouble. I just hope he made it back safely.”

As the two were speaking, both of them suddenly stopped, their eyes fixed on the boy walking toward the gate.

The glow of the setting sun fell over him, outlining his upright figure.

The leather armor he wore was still that same cheap beast-hide set, but it was now clean. A short sword hung at his waist, a cloth bag was slung over his back, and he walked with a steady stride and sharp eyes. There was a faint smell of blood around him, but not a trace of disarray. Instead, he gave off a sense of calm and severity far beyond his years.

More importantly, the guards could clearly sense a faint magical aura unique to class-holders coming from him. It wasn’t especially strong, but it was solid and concentrated. Compared to the green rookie adventurer he had been yesterday, he was like a completely different person.

As guards of a town, the two of them could be considered fairly well-informed.