Evolution

The lord of Roland Town was no good man, much less a philanthropist.

Though he had only just arrived in this world, Lin Mo could tell from the scraps of conversation around him and the forced conscription that this lord was no decent fellow.

The reward of 100 Copper Coins for killing a goblin seemed generous, but for civilians who had never experienced combat and were generally malnourished due to food shortages, those creatures were not so easy to deal with. One mistake, and not only would they fail to get the money—they might pay with their lives.

But now that things had come to this, he had no room to choose. He could only follow the main group for now and take things one step at a time.

There were around two hundred people conscripted in this batch, divided into more than forty squads. Under the guards' watchful eyes, they left town and headed for the nearby Lorraine Forest, the source of the goblins and other monsters that had recently been attacking the town.

It was noon, and the weather was pleasant. A gentle warm breeze brushed against their faces as somewhat dazzling sunlight spilled over them.

Lin Mo looked into the distance and vaguely made out the edge of the forest.

Roland Town was closer to Lorraine Forest than he had imagined.

As they walked, the group naturally began to spread out, each squad acting on its own according to the earlier assignments.

Lin Mo took another look at his teammates. There were two fairly sturdy middle-aged men who looked as though their families were doing relatively well among the commoners.

There was also a tall, skinny young man, sallow-faced and emaciated, who clearly had not been living well.

Finally, there was the fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy. He had not said a word since the beginning, merely following behind them with a sword in hand. The two middle-aged men occasionally turned back to stare at him, afraid he would run away while they were not paying attention.

Though anyone who fled would surely be tracked down and dealt with later, losing one person right now would directly affect what they did next.

"Don't be so quiet, everyone."

The skinny young man was the first to break the silence. "When I worked errands at the tavern, I heard adventurers say those green-skinned little dwarves are only a little over half a man tall. They're not nearly as terrifying as those big-mouthed women claim. As long as you bring a blade down..."

He swung the weapon in his hand. The old blade cut through the air with a dull whoosh.

"You can chop their heads right off!"

Excitement gleamed in his eyes, as if he could already see himself returning with a sack full of goblin ears, collecting countless Copper Coins, and stuffing himself at the Demon Hunter Tavern.

Even as he spoke, his stomach let out a series of rumbling cramps.

The two middle-aged men exchanged a look and nodded in mutual understanding. "This little brother has a point. As long as we work together, those goblins might not be as hard to deal with as we think."

The other middle-aged man took out a piece of black bread from his clothes, broke off a small half, and handed it to the young man. "I'm Larry. This is my neighbor Leo. Being assigned to the same team is fate of a sort. Here, have something to eat first."

The young man took the bread and swallowed it in one bite. The dry, hard bread puffed out his cheeks, slowly softening under his saliva and sticking to the inside of his mouth.

Larry then shared the rest of the bread with Lin Mo and the still-silent boy.

After swallowing the bread with difficulty, the young man named Barnes grew even more excited. "Thanks, Uncle Larry. The ears from the first goblin we kill will be yours."

Lin Mo was not hungry for the moment, so he tucked the bread into his pocket and cautiously glanced at the two middle-aged men from the corner of his eye.

They looked every bit like gentle, neighborly uncles, faint smiles on their lips and deep gazes filled with the worldly air of adults.

After that, everyone introduced themselves one by one.

"Raine."

Lin Mo looked at the boy who had suddenly spoken. It was his first sentence. His voice still carried some youthful immaturity, and his words came out somewhat stiffly, as though he did not like talking to people.

They continued onward as they spoke. The two middle-aged men kept a close watch on their surroundings, while Lin Mo quickly withdrew his gaze from Raine and cautiously surveyed the forest ahead.

After entering Nolan Forest for a little over ten minutes, the grass ahead grew taller and taller, some patches already reaching past their calves. Flying insects occasionally darted past their faces, startling them.

"Phew."

Barnes smacked a beetle that had flown onto a tree with the flat of his blade, then let out a breath. "Another bug. Fuck, scared the hell out of me."

Rustle—

Just as he complained, a faint rustling suddenly came from the grass ahead.

In an instant, everyone in the squad straightened up and stared fixedly at that patch of grass.

"Rustle—"

The sound came again. Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, barely daring to breathe.

Finally, a white blur shot out from the grass and vanished in a flash.

"So it was just a rabbit..."

Barnes lowered his blade. "We should've surrounded it and caught it to roast!"

Seemingly imagining the taste, he smacked his lips and licked them. "It's been at least two months since I've had proper meat. Last time, a rich customer gave me his leftover roast. That taste was simply—"

His voice abruptly cut off. A jagged stone flew in from the side and struck him squarely in the head, instantly caving in his temple. Blood sprayed out and splattered across Lin Mo's clothes.

"Watch out!"

As Barnes fell, Larry cried out and raised his blade toward the direction the stone had come from.

Several short figures could vaguely be seen crouching in the grass, their mouths stretched into bizarre, disgusting grins.

Those green creatures blended almost perfectly into the grass. Without a careful look, they would have been impossible to spot.

Another stone came flying over, but everyone was prepared this time and easily dodged it.

With his sword in hand, Lin Mo naturally took several steps back, helping his teammates guard against possible danger from behind.

After throwing several more stones to no effect, the enraged goblins finally shrieked and charged out of the grass with weapons in hand.

As a transmigrator, Lin Mo was quite familiar with goblins, which appeared in countless fantasy works. Yet when those weak creatures from games and comics truly appeared before him, he realized just how terrifying they looked.

Sharp fangs, ugly faces, savage expressions and smiles, and excited, cruel eyes as though they had spotted prey.

"Don't be afraid! There are only five of them—we can handle this!"

Larry shouted, seemingly trying to bolster his own courage.

He waved his sword and took half a step forward without much conviction.

The image of Barnes having his head smashed open was still vivid in his mind. He had no intention of becoming the next sacrifice.

The next to charge forward was the quiet boy who had barely spoken until now.

He swung his blade and slashed at the goblin charging in front.

As mentioned before, goblins were cunning and cowardly creatures. Perhaps intimidated by his momentum, the goblin startled and frantically swung its nail-studded wooden club, which Raine easily avoided.

Crack—!

The rusty blade came down, only to be blocked by the goblin's arm. Raine roared and continued to push, pinning the goblin firmly to the ground and forcing the blade closer and closer to its throat.

Shock filled the two middle-aged men's eyes. Then they gathered their courage and stepped forward, blocking the goblins behind it to prevent Raine from being attacked by those following up.

Lin Mo followed as well, though he still stayed behind the two men, using Larry's sturdy body to conceal himself.

The two of them seemed to naturally forget his existence, standing in front of him without hesitation.

The goblins also seemed not to see him at all, focusing entirely on the other three.

Skill Slacking Off activated!

Lin Mo cautiously watched the battle ahead. At the moment Larry struggled to fend off the attacks of two goblins and kicked one of them to the ground, he darted out from the side and thrust his sword through that goblin's throat.

Proficiency +1

"Skill Slacking Off Lv4 (100/100) leveled up!"

"Current Skill Slacking Off Lv5 (Max)"

"Obtained Stat Points: Agility +2!"

"Automatically evolved into new skill—Stealth!"

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