What job to take? Leon contemplated as he looked at the board. The guild was more filled with players than before because it was close to nighttime for NPCs.
Suddenly, he noticed a job concerning the goblins. He took it off the board and looked closer. ‘Investigate the Goblin Scouts.’ Leon didn’t forget about the castle, but he was too weak to enter it.
But I still want to find out more about them. He wasn’t entirely convinced such a nest went undiscovered until he found it. There must have been some signs, right? Plus, this job paid 8 silver.
Leon took the job to the clerk. “I’ll take this one.” He said, placing the job on the counter.
She hesitated as she saw which one it was. “Are you sure? Goblins travel in packs and are more active at night. Being in a group is safer.” She advised Leon.
Leon held back a sigh, as he had already expected such advice. “Yes, I’m sure.” He insisted on the job.
The clerk didn’t hold back her sigh as she nodded. “Fine, here are the details.” She handed him a letter.
[Hard Quest The Goblin’s Plan accepted.] Quest Detail: Reports have indicated the goblins in the fort are actively searching the forest for something that can help them in their conquest. The job falls to you to find out what and stop them if possible. Objective: Stop the goblin’s plan.
Well, that’s pretty vague. Leon wasn’t happy as he read the details. The letter was the same, as it didn’t give him much extra knowledge. Back to the forest I go. At least he knew the general location of the quest.
[Congratulations! Over 1,000,000 Players have successfully registered in Souls Online! Launching the gold trading platform!] Leon stopped as he read the message. There it is, our meal ticket. He smiled as he read the message.
Leon heard and saw other players either silently cheer or frown really hard. Over on the forums, their voices were heard with a mixed reaction. Merchants and players who only focused on their professions cheered loudly, as they could earn money while playing the game.
Players who enjoyed PvP or PvM were among the loudest naysayers. If overpowered gear could be bought with credits, wouldn’t this make the wealthiest people also the strongest? That’s not the case in this game. Leon knew as he read the complaints on the forums.
In the beginning phase, these types of players would be strong, no doubt about it. However, Souls Online was more skill-based than what players could even imagine. The main reason for that was mana and the ability to go above the human limits with the stats.
Mana was a completely new sense and their bodies could scale to new heights, allowing techniques people could only dream about. Once all these things are being explored, these rich Players would only be one thing, walking treasure chests for PvP.
But that’s all for later. I’m still learning things about my mana. Leon had learned Meditation and was experimenting with some other things. He put these thoughts aside and focused back on the quest and walked into the forest.
Once he was in the forest, the sun had fully fallen, and the incomplete moon came out. It still looks beautiful. Leon gave a glance at the moon before continuing to the war castle. As he was walking, he suddenly had a realisation, Why don’t they just attack? Is it the castle itself?
Seeing that it was a castle made for war, it was bound to have some defences. Defending was easier than attacking. As Leon approached the castle, he could see a pack of 5 goblins heading towards him. He equipped the ring of shadows and endured the uncomfortable feeling as they walked past him.
[Goblin Scout] (Common)
Level 15
HP 120/120
Just casual scouts, but following them may help me find out what they’re looking for. Leon had an idea and followed them using the ring whenever he felt like he needed it. As he followed them, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu as he walked into a certain part of the forest.
Isn’t this where Beans and I fought the Mossback Serpent? Leon noticed some blood splotches and broken ground from his battle. What were they doing here? Leon watched as the goblins smelled the ground and looked towards the east.
The snake came from the west with a bovine and went to the east. Leon didn’t know why the goblins were tracking the serpent’s movements. The goblins walked east as they carefully looked around.
Leon heeled them, making sure he wasn’t discovered. He wasn’t afraid of them, but he wanted to know what they were after. It was an odd sight to see as an outsider, with 5 goblins exploring and one human following them.
Suddenly, the goblins stopped and pointed towards a broken tree. Leon frowned as he watched them get closer to the tree. He could hear faint sounds coming from the trees, and the goblins seemed to be excited. I guess they’ve found it. Leon knew it was time to act.
He grabbed his new staff and fired off an Arcane Missile. The power that the staff gave Leon was almost intoxicating as he fired off a large missile towards one unlucky goblin.
-180
The missile slammed into the goblin’s chest, making it explode and throwing its limp body back a few feet. The goblins looked at their fallen comrade in stunned silence. They turned towards Leon with angry and vicious looks.
Let’s use that new skill of yours Beans. Leon mentally said to him, Beans jumped down and drummed the ground like bongos. Tremors were sent through the ground, paralysing the goblins and even making some stumble. This was Beans’s new Seismic Shock spell.
With the goblins stunned, he could easily pick them off one by one, [Goblin Scout killed. Obtained bonus experience for killing a higher levelled enemy. Obtained 104 EXP.] The message kept repeating every two seconds as Leon killed the goblins.
He levelled up to level 14 but instead of being happy; he felt more perplexed. Wasn’t this supposed to be a hard quest? The quest had been easy until this point. After the goblins were taken care of, he didn’t even bother storing them. Goblins didn’t have any good alchemy materials on them.
Their bodies turned into motes of light and Leon got closer to the broken tree. The closer he got, the more the sounds could be heard. As Leon looked down at the tree, he was stunned, So this is what’s making the sounds.
[Mossback Serpentling] (Elite)
Level 5
HP 200/200
It was the sounds of hissing as there were tens of snakes in this hole. Realisation hit Leon as the plan involved grabbing these snakes and harvesting their poison for the goblin’s weapons. [Plan discovered, eliminate the plan.]
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Leon couldn’t help but think of the consequences if the goblins got their hands on the venom. It’s enough to give me shivers. He also realised why these goblins suddenly got active.
I killed their guardian, likely their mother. So they could find them. A sour taste could be felt in Leon’s mouth as he caused these snakes becoming parentless and defenceless as they were trapped in this tree stump.
Leon didn’t want to kill them, exterminating an entire species this defenceless felt awful to him. Their experience and items weren’t worth much either, as the marketplace was only accessible in cities and towns, so he’d have to fill his inventory with white-quality items.
I can make more money with alchemy. Leon knew how lucrative alchemy could be. As he thought of alchemy, he thought of his need for venom. Maybe I can try that. And if that works, then maybe I don’t need to kill them.
Leon’s mind suddenly came up with a plan. “Beans, can you dig me a hole? Make a tunnel in the hole with multiple exits,” Leon instructed, and Beans quickly went to work.
With his new digging skill, such a task was simple for Beans, as he thoroughly enjoyed digging through the dirt. I have to study up on ferrets in the real world. Leon thought as he watched Beans go. He knew the general things such as that they were carnivores and slept a lot, but ferrets had to have other quirks and traits.
He also kept a close eye on his surroundings, as this couldn’t be this easy. Once Beans was done, he called him back, “Alright, get ready to use your Seismic Shock.” He said as he grabbed some bottles and placed them down.
Let’s hope this works. Leon gave a quick prayer and gave Beans the signal. As Beans drummed on the floor, the snakes all fell quiet. Leon quickly grabbed one snake, opened its mouth and pressed its fangs down into the bottle, giving a light squeeze as he did.
A small amount of clear fluid shot out of the fangs into the bottle. Yes! It works! Leon cheered mentally as he threw the snake in the hole Beans made. The snake quickly recovered and slithered through the hole. Leon looked at the bottle and smiled as he read the description.
[Mossback Venom] (White) {Quest Item}
Venom that was extracted from a mossback serpentling, has a small paralysing effect. Can be used in alchemy.
It’s a white grade, but it’s still venom. Leon had run out of venom while experimenting with the recipe, but now he could get more and create more anti-paralysis. His potions were currently the only anti-paralysis on the market, but there wasn’t much demand for them.
But that’s all in due time. I faintly remember the first dungeon Rose raided in her ‘second’ life had a basilisk boss. Leon recalled some details. Basilisks were famous for their paralysing gaze, which meant that Leon had invented the counter before they could even know about it.
Level 20 should be the point when people raid that dungeon. Dungeons were special instances in which players grouped up and took on rooms of enemies and bosses in a special theme. Beating the dungeon awarded gear based on what difficulty you completed it.
But that was all for later. For now, Leon had tens of snakes he needed to milk for their venom. Beans got a good workout from it as he used Seismic Shock whenever he could, make him less antsy and pent up.
After close to 30 minutes, Leon had milked all the snakes and got three full bottles of venom. The snakes had all left in the tunnels. [Plan eliminated. Report back.] The objective was clear and Leon could breathe a sigh of relief.
The moment Leon relaxed his vigilance, a cacophony of sounds erupted from his surroundings. With swift thinking, he triggered his Arcane Step skill, instantly teleporting a few steps forward while checking behind him.
[Goblin Elite Scout] (Elite)
Level 17
HP 300/300
Four Elite goblins dressed in rogue-like gear were there, stabbing into an illusion with their daggers. Leon felt a cold sweat breaking out. If I didn’t dodge that, then I’d be dead. He now knew the real reason this quest was labelled as hard difficulty.
Were they watching the entire time? Likely here to steal the venom. Leon had seen the quest item tag. Should he die, then he’ll lose the venom. If they got the venom, then he’d fail the quest.
Can I run? Unlikely, scouts are supposed to be quick. The ring? That only works well against those unaware. Leon’s mind ran a thousand miles an hour and quickly found out he’d have to kill these three elites. Elites were easy. One-on-one, that was. Four on one? That’s significantly more difficult.
Seismic Shock! Leon gave the command to Beans, making him come out from the ground and start drumming. The four scouts froze, and Leon used his staff’s skill. The Arcane Missile took on a green glow as it was fired to the nearest Elite.
-164
The missile slammed into the goblin and was blasted back a few steps, but the interesting thing was that its green skin turned sickly pale. After two seconds, it started to cough and vomit up blackish blood as it wheezed and panted.
-36
So that’s the poison damage, quite a vicious poison. Leon thought as he fired off another missile, this one was aimed towards a fresh goblin. Beans also got in there and bit the first goblin in the throat.
-166
-43
Although Beans’ damage wasn’t his strong point, it would help speed up Leon’s plan. He wanted to cull at least two, maybe three elites before they broke out of the stun. Leon waited another two seconds before firing another missile at the second goblin.
-165
[Goblin Elite Scout killed. Obtained bonus experience for killing a higher levelled enemy. Obtained 322 EXP] One down. Leon thought as he looked at the other three. The first one coughed up more blood and Beans bit him again, making him go limp.
-38
-19
Two down, this should be good now. Leon thought he had this in the bag as he waited another two seconds and fired off his third blast at the third goblin.
-166
Yet the situation suddenly changed as the remaining two goblins suddenly regained movement. Leon frowned as it shouldn’t have been 10 seconds yet. Resistance against stuns. He concluded as he got ready.
Once the goblins got close, he swapped his staff for his wand. “Flash!” He yelled, creating a blinding light. The goblins stopped and cried out in pain as they covered their eyes. Goblins were nocturnal creatures, so this was especially effective against them.
Using exploits sure is fun. Leon smiled as he swapped his wand for his staff again. This type of equipment swapping was technically an exploit that only players had, as the NPCs didn’t have an inventory.
Naturally, using exploits like this so openly in front of Gaia meant they eventually would be addressed. Gaia observed all the players, including Leon.
With the goblins stunned again, he fired off another missile at the third goblin, killing it. Beans also continued to bite the fourth goblin. As the goblin recovered vision, he charged madly at Leon, but a mound of dirt grabbed his foot and he fell forward.
With the goblin now trapped, Leon fired off two missiles and killed it off. A change suddenly happened as the fourth goblin died. A blue orb floated out of the goblin. Leon looked in amazement as the orb shot towards him and into his body.
[Goblin Elite Scout Ability Soul gained!] The message sounded out and Leon quickly checked to see its ability.
Ability Soul: Goblin Elite Scout. (Precise Strike: Your next attack is guaranteed to be a critical attack. Cooldown: 5 hours.)
What!? Guaranteed critical! Leon couldn’t believe his eyes. Wasn’t this too powerful? However, the cooldown was a big problem. 5 hours meant this was a trump card that could only be used once.
Leon hadn’t got a critical yet with magic and he was thinking he couldn’t. But maybe this soul would give him a hint of how to try for a critical. There was also the skill completion, it was still stuck at 85% with no results of moving upwards.
He looked at the goblin corpses and felt a mix of emotions. Leon was happy to have triumphed, but he soon felt like he had cheated a little with the exploit. Only use it if necessary. He promised himself. He looked at the bodies and looted them for the items. And also brought a few bodies as proof.
Grabbing four white-quality items and his venoms he went back to the capital. Once he was back in the capital, he threw the items on the market and walked to the Adventurers’ Guild.
Leon wrote a report and gave his theory and some evidence to prove his theory. Only a tiny amount of venom was given to them alongside the corpses. “Thank you for the report. Given the evidence and your track record, we’ve rewarded you already.” The woman smiled as she took the package. The woman also handed him the 8 silver for the job.
[Hard Quest The Goblin’s Plan completed. Obtained 1,100 EXP.] Leon levelled up to 15 but he sighed a little as he didn’t get a reputation bonus. On the bright side, I get to choose a new skill for me and Beans.