"Let's call it the Goblin River from now on!"
From a high vantage point, the river in the forest wound its way forward, stretching all the way to the horizon.
Li Meng, perched on a treetop, packed up his wooden board and swiftly slid down the tree.
As soon as he landed, his figure flickered and he dashed down the mountain.
In the following days, Li Meng focused on one task: mapping both banks of the Goblin River.
Another new day began in the forest on the southern shore of the Goblin River.
Deep in the dim forest, Li Meng walked leisurely, holding a wooden map and making adjustments with charcoal.
After several days of following the river upstream, Li Meng had gained a lot, memorizing the topography of the Goblin River's banks.
"This is... hmm, a scent I've never smelled before!"
Li Meng suddenly halted in his tracks, raising his head slightly and twitching his nose, sniffing the unique scent in the air with his keen sense of smell.
"Could it be a high-level Magical Beast?" he wondered, looking towards the depths of the forest.
The tribe was located at the northern edge of the Goblin Forest, and encountering a high-level Magical Beast was not an easy feat.
In areas inhabited by Barbarians, high-level Magical Beasts were also rarely seen, as Barbarians would consciously drive them away or hunt them.
Despite their strength, the lack of intelligence was the greatest weakness of Magical Beasts, making even the strongest of them targets for hunting.
"Let's go take a look!"
Driven by curiosity, Li Meng headed towards the source of the scent.
After walking about three hundred meters, a sunlit clearing appeared in the forest ahead.
Seeing this, Li Meng quickly hid behind a large tree, cautiously peeking out to observe.
What he saw left him stunned.
Outside was a forest lake, not very large, about two thousand square meters.
The water was shallow and crystal clear, revealing some round, semi-transparent little creatures.
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[Water Slime]
[Level: 1]
[Strength: 1]
[Defense: 1]
[Agility: 1]
[Magic: 3314]
[Elemental Affinity: LV3]
The bizarre panel attributes left Li Meng, hidden behind the tree, in disbelief. All attributes were 1, even the level was 1, yet the magic value was as high as 3314. Such a high magic attribute value without any attack magic skills was too strange.
"Didn't expect it to be Water Slimes!"
Hiding behind the tree, Li Meng looked greedily at the Water Slimes in the lake. The skill of the Water Slimes was exactly what he needed. With the "Elemental Affinity" skill, the problem of insufficient magic could be perfectly solved.
Li Meng glanced at the ground, bent down, and picked up a stone about half the size of his fist, weighing it in his hand.
He looked towards the lake, searching for a target.
"You're the one!"
Li Meng locked onto the nearest Water Slime, assuming a throwing stance from behind the tree.
With a powerful throw of his right hand, the stone flew out.
"Smack!"
The stone crossed over twenty meters and struck a Water Slime, bursting it like a balloon with a "pop," its remnants quickly dissolving into the water.
Li Meng was momentarily stunned by the sight.
Meanwhile, the death of their companion startled the Water Slimes, causing them all to dissolve into water and disappear without a trace.
Seeing the Water Slimes vanish, Li Meng, hidden behind the tree, was dumbfounded.
"How am I supposed to catch them now?"
Li Meng walked out from behind the tree, speechless, looking at the calm lake, feeling at a loss.
"I don't believe you won't come out!"
After a while, Li Meng turned away from the lakeshore and hid back in the forest.
Time passed slowly, hour after hour.
Three hours later, in the forest by the lakeshore.
"Why is there still no movement?"
Li Meng, hiding behind a tree, peeked at the lakeshore. It had been so long, yet the lake remained still.
"Could it be they won't come out?"
Helpless, Li Meng continued to wait.
Another hour passed...
Another day passed...
Three days later, at noon, in the forest by the lakeshore.
"Damn it, come out already!"
Li Meng, holding a huge rock, angrily walked out of the forest.
The boulder was thrown with a "splash," landing in the water.
"Come out, come out!"
Frustrated, Li Meng picked up stones from the lakeshore and threw them into the lake, causing water to splash everywhere.
The sound of splashing water echoed through the area.
"Not coming out, huh? Let's see how long you can hide!"
Three days of waiting had exhausted Li Meng's patience.
He quickly approached a large boulder on the lakeshore, pulling it out of the ground with both hands.
"I'll crush you!"
The several-ton boulder was hurled out, flying dozens of meters before crashing heavily into the water.
With a "boom," a massive column of water shot into the sky, causing the water's surface to ripple violently, forming small waves that slowly spread out.
After venting his frustration, Li Meng lay on the lakeshore, panting heavily.
"You little cuties, you really know how to waste my time!"
Li Meng grumbled as he crawled to the water's edge, gulping down lake water.
"Ugh, what is this stuff, no taste at all!"
After a few sips, Li Meng spat out the lake water in disgust.
[Skill Devour successfully activated, acquired skill "Elemental Affinity"]
The sudden system prompt left Li Meng stunned.
"What the... this works?"
Li Meng was shocked, feeling a mix of emotions.
He had waited for three days, only to acquire the "Elemental Affinity" skill in such an unexpected way.
"Could the water in this lake be made of parts of the Water Slimes' bodies?"
The water had no taste at all, clearly not ordinary water. If it wasn't water, then what was it?
With a thought, Li Meng opened his character panel.
[Name: Gobu Meng]
[Race: Goblin]
[Level: 15]
[Strength: 1675]
[Defense: 1659]
[Agility: 591]
[Magic: 1086]
[Charm: 0]
[Luck: 11]
[Devour: Chance to acquire skills by devouring the flesh of Magical Beasts]
[Steel Skin: LV5 (Strength +1500, Defense +1500, Agility +500)]
[Wind Blade: LV1]
[Body Regeneration: LV5]
[Heart Speech: LV1]
[Ice Element Control: LV1]
[Berserk: LV1]
[Limb Enhancement: LV1 (Strength +50, Agility +50)]
[Elemental Affinity: LV1 (Magic +1000)]
The magic value indeed increased, soaring by a thousand.
"Could the water in this lake be liquid formed by magic?"
Realizing this possibility, Li Meng hurried back to the water's edge and drank several large gulps of lake water.
But it turned out Li Meng was overthinking it. The magic attribute value didn't change at all.
"Looks like I was overthinking!"
With an awkward smile, Li Meng stood up.
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