I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 371: The Urban Legends of Falim

The caravan passed through the woodland and arrived before the monster nest deep in the forest.The members of the Red Dragon Guild were quickly stunned by the sight before them.

On the magnificent yet decaying giant trees, incomplete corpses were visible everywhere.

On the heads of each corpse were eyes with wide-open pupils.

The depths of their gazes were filled with horror, as if the owners of the corpses still hadn't escaped that terror even now.

Many members of the Red Dragon Guild swallowed hard in unison.

Although they had encountered many monster corpses and materials before this, it had always been within the grounds of the Red Dragon Guild's manor.

But the current situation, this battlefield where the blood hadn't fully dried and was permeated with a foul stench, was completely different.

The only ones who seemed to handle it a bit better were probably the old veterans who had retired from the adventuring profession.

Although their strength wasn't particularly impressive, they at least had plenty of experience with Goblin corpses.

After all, this was the source of livelihood for most of them back then, and in a way, it was also their bread and butter.

So these people were more awestruck, seeing over two thousand Goblin corpses scattered across the ground, which still looked quite spectacular.

Especially when considering that Gauss and the others had entered the forest, a battle had erupted, and it was all over not long after.

Even slaughtering a pig in the village isn't that easy, right?

"Let's start working."

Gauss cleared his throat lightly, interrupting their wild thoughts.

Compared to fighting, looting the spoils was an even more massive undertaking.

Everyone glanced at him, snapping out of their daze, and soon, under the guidance of several team leaders, began moving corpses and collecting materials.

Gauss didn't participate directly, instead having the clay constructs act as laborers, helping to carry the bodies and materials down from the heights, then handing them over to other members for the next step of sorting and processing.

Aside from lacking independent thinking ability, as tools, the Clay Constructs were practically flawless.

With their help, the entire cleanup process sped up significantly.

Gauss sat up high, watching the busy scene below, but his expression suddenly grew somewhat distant.

"What are you thinking about?"

Aria came to sit beside him. After a brief rest, she had recovered again.

"Nothing..."

"Just seeing this scene, I couldn't help but think back to two years ago."

"Two years ago, we definitely didn't have a whole team like this."

As he spoke, his body relaxed, letting the breeze from the high forest rustle his hair.

When he first killed a Goblin, it was just him alone, filled with fervor.

Now, dozens of people were bustling around, handling the trivial work outside of combat for him.

Although that kind of solitary, nerve-wracking adventure had its own unique thrill, he still preferred the sense of security that came with having a team.

Hearing Gauss's words, Aria didn't speak, just her expression froze for a moment.

Perhaps she was thinking back to when they had just formed their team.

It had only been two years, yet it felt like they had spent a very long time together.

The two of them quietly watched the members below busily working.

The cleanup work continued until nightfall without finishing.

Gauss and the others cleared out about a dozen buildings in the Tree-city, planning to temporarily stay overnight in the Goblin nest.

In front of the bonfire, the cook was busy using the carried ingredients to prepare dinner for the Red Dragon Guild members.

Gauss looked at his panel.

He only now discovered that the levels of both [Energy Storage Gland] and [Sturdy Scale Bloodline] had been upgraded from Elite to Commander.

And the racial talent [Rider] he had recently acquired had also been upgraded from Initial to Elite.

Among his many racial talents, these three were all extracted from Goblins, so their specific levels were also linked to the number of Goblins killed.

He sat by the bonfire, quietly activating [Sturdy Scale Bloodline].

Although the talent quality hadn't changed, after the level increase, his mastery and application of the Sturdy Scale Bloodline had become more proficient.

That strange energy emitting a draconic aura had also expanded considerably.

Moreover, he could now perform localized, fine control.

For example, he could concentrate the power of the Sturdy Scale Bloodline on his right arm or other specific areas, unlike at the beginning when activation covered his entire body.

After a brief practice, Gauss withdrew this power.

The night passed peacefully.

The members of the Red Dragon Guild enjoyed a deep, satisfying sleep in the monster nest.

Waking up the next morning, many members had slightly strange expressions on their faces.

Even though they had worked hard for most of the day yesterday and spent the night in the buildings of a monster nest, just when they thought they'd be sore all over today, upon waking this morning, there wasn't any sign of discomfort.

On the contrary, they all felt refreshed and full of energy.

"What's going on?"

"First time I've slept this comfortably."

"Even more soundly than in my own bed at home, it's really strange."

"Let's start working after breakfast."

"The sooner we work, the sooner we can return."

"…"

The ordinary members of the Red Dragon Guild exchanged their impressions, all finding it a bit odd.

However, no one came to ask Gauss about it.

Gauss listened to their discussions, thought briefly, and then an understanding expression appeared on his face.

Aside from the effects of the Mass Healing Benediction provided by Serlandul, it was probably also related to the effects of Proof of Leadership.

It seemed that with him, possessing Proof of Leadership, being present with the team, he could provide temporary boosts to various aspects of the team members.

Just like a walking, human-shaped aura.

If that was the case, then [Proof of Leadership] was even more useful than he had anticipated.

"Charisma attribute is still too low."

He couldn't help but shake his head.

The higher his Charisma, the better the effects of his [Proof of Leadership] feat would be.

If it already had this kind of boosting effect at just 14 points, what would it be like if it reached 15 points, or 20 points later?

Watching the Red Dragon Guild members, who had just finished breakfast, quickly get to work, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

They worked busily until noon, finally having looted and packed up the entire massive Goblin nest.

The originally empty caravan wagons were now piled high with mountains of goods and packages.

Before departure, the members were using hemp ropes to tightly secure the cargo, ensuring it wouldn't fall out due to the wagon shaking from being pulled by the Pack Animals.

But actually, even if some fell, it wouldn't be a huge loss.

Because the truly high-value spoils were already safely stored in Gauss's various Storage Bags.

"Move out!"

At his command, the long caravan began moving again.

Only, what Gauss didn't expect was that his [Proof of Leadership] professional feat was effective not only on the human members but also on the Pack Animals pulling the wagons, who similarly enjoyed the boosting effects.

So when the caravan started moving, the travel speed was noticeably faster.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Outside Falim.

A long caravan flying red dragon banners approached the white city walls.

Along the way, it attracted many curious onlookers.

"Which adventuring guild is this?"

"Red dragon flags, I'm seeing them for the first time."

"Returning fully loaded."

"Looks like they wiped out a big nest."

Some quick-witted merchants had already quietly followed behind the caravan, planning to follow them back to their base to see if there was any business to be done.

At the city gate, there wasn't much delay.

Adventuring guilds like the Red Dragon Guild, being local, possessed higher-level passage permissions and didn't have to go through the complex inspection procedures like ordinary caravans or tourists.

"Welcome back to Falim."

The lawkeeper at the city gate saluted Gauss, inspected one or two wagons briefly, and then let the entire caravan enter the city.

"Guild Leader, you've returned."

When Gauss returned, steward Ivan was brewing potions. Upon receiving the notification, he hurried out of his room to greet everyone.

"Yes. Thank you for managing the base during my absence, Ivan."

"It's my duty."

"Guild Leader, sir, then I'll go arrange the work now."

"Go ahead."

Ivan's gaze lingered on the wagons filled with supplies. After bidding farewell to Gauss, he organized manpower to start unloading, moving the supplies to the sorting and processing workshop.

For the next period, the Red Dragon Guild manor would be operating at full capacity again.

A nest of over two thousand Goblins was enough to keep a newly established adventuring guild like the Red Dragon Guild busy digesting it for quite some time.

Gauss returned to his residence and took a bath first.

Then, sitting on the balcony seat, he opened the Adventurer’s Manual.

During these three days on the road, he hadn't been idle.

Instead, he used the time on the wagon to ponder and practice the two spells he had just mastered.

The 4th-circle Conjuration spell [Dimension Door] and the 3rd-circle Illusion spell [Fear].

Thanks to the selfless contributions of sparrows along the way, his Fear proficiency had now increased to lv2 (15/20).

Dimension Door was slightly worse, but its proficiency had also reached lv1 (8/10).

He closed his eyes and meditated for a moment.

Then a powerful surge of mana began to manifest around him.

A deep blue circle of light appeared beneath him.

A few seconds later.

Without any warning, his body suddenly vanished from the chair.

On a bench downstairs, as a blue halo flashed, a figure appeared there.

This figure was Gauss, who had activated Dimension Door.

Sitting on the stone bench, he stroked his chin.

Although it wasn't the first time he had successfully cast the spell, every time he used this kind of spatial-effect magic, he still found it incredible.

Being transported from one point to another.

In his perception, the surrounding space seemed to fold, and then he traveled along the compressed passage, appearing at the anchored target location.

A straight-line distance of over twenty meters actually consumed quite a bit of mana, enough to instantly drain a spellcaster apprentice's entire mana pool, but for Gauss, whose mana was as abundant as a lake, it was just a drop in the bucket.

In terms of speed, it was incredibly fast.

Aside from the slightly lengthy preparation time for the Dimension Door spell itself, the actual transfer time during the process was almost zero.

That meant if he increased his proficiency in this spell, compressing the preparation time to the minimum, the speed of spatial transfer using Dimension Door would be extremely fast.

Although mana consumption for Dimension Door increased significantly beyond a hundred meters, it now seemed that compared to using it for escape, this spatial magic was more suitable for practical combat offense.

Suddenly appearing behind an enemy to deliver a fatal strike—how many monsters could react to that?

Or using it for evasion, instantly disengaging from combat when faced with an enemy's attack.

The initiative would always be in his hands.

Of course, achieving this effect required mastering Dimension Door thoroughly, and the higher the proficiency, the better, with no upper limit.

Otherwise, with the current preparation time of several seconds or even longer, it was all empty talk.

Not to mention monsters, even an old lady by the roadside could react to him preparing a spell.

So, he still needed to practice more.

Practicing in the wagon was inconvenient after all. Now that he was back at the base, he planned to take advantage of these few days of rest to practice this spatial magic more.

He closed his eyes and began meditating and preparing again.

A blue circle of light once again appeared beneath him.

A few seconds later, his body vanished from the bench again.

In the distance.

At a building window, a receptionist who had been resting her chin on her hand, originally daydreaming, suddenly seemed to see something unbelievable.

She rubbed her eyes.

After she finished rubbing her eyes, the figure of the Guild Leader who had been sitting on the roadside bench was gone again.

"As expected..."

"It was my imagination."

"Am I fantasizing again?"

Thinking of the figure from last night's dream, the one she could manipulate at will, her cheeks couldn't help but flush.

Dreams at night stem from daytime thoughts.

It seemed her fantasies were too severe, now affecting reality.

She rubbed her flushed cheeks.

She couldn't help but remind herself internally to pull herself together.

In dreams, anything was fine, but if in reality she accidentally overstepped her bounds, this job of hers might have to say goodbye to her.

But...

"It really can't be entirely my fault, right?"

"Who wouldn't be confused if they came?"

.

Gauss didn't know that his spellcasting had made a certain receptionist fantasize and even begin to question her own mental state.

He just continued practicing the spell.

As blue light flashed everywhere in the manor, his figure kept appearing in various places.

"Guild Leader, sir, what brings you here?"

At the workshop, Ivan turned around, saw his figure, and was suddenly startled.

"It's nothing, carry on with your work."

As soon as the words were spoken, blue light rose.

Ivan had just been about to reply when Gauss's figure suddenly vanished again.

He blinked, briefly confused, then realized Gauss was practicing magic.

Turning to look at the unloading workers who were staring dumbfounded.

"Stop staring, get back to work."

"There's extra food tonight."

"Yes! Yes!"

The workers pushed the sudden scene from their minds.

Although they found Gauss's teleportation ability incredible, for them, after the initial surprise, accepting it was easy.

After all, they already knew this seemingly young Guild Leader was terrifyingly powerful.

The members who went out with Gauss this time naturally described things to the temporary workers who didn't go.

The workers resumed their tasks.

"Heave-ho!"

Ivan watched the scene of the workers, as if injected with adrenaline, their enthusiasm and work speed increasing a notch, and fell into thought.

"Does the Guild Leader showing up once have this kind of effect too?"

Gauss's practice grounds weren't limited to inside the manor.

After he discovered that practicing over longer distances had a greater training effect, his figure also frequently appeared on the surrounding streets. Of course, he had reported this to the Adventurers Guild beforehand.

As time passed, street tales of blue flashes gradually emerged in the area around the Red Dragon Guild manor.

According to rumors, within the few seconds of a blue flash, you could see a male figure as handsome as a saint, radiating a divine glow.

Regarding this, some superstitious believers thought their piety had moved the gods, causing a divine manifestation.

Perhaps it was psychological, or perhaps it was a case of "three people spreading a rumor makes a tiger."

According to the accounts of the few who witnessed that scene, after seeing the deep blue divine light, they would have particularly good luck for the rest of the day, as if blessed.

As a result, over the next few days, people kept coming, drawn by the fame, just to chase that flash of blue light.