Spell Scroll

Lin Mo did not stop her.

This was her own choice. A girl who had lost both her feet and all her family had no way to survive in this cruel world.

He walked over to the grass nearby, picked a small white flower, and laid it across their chests.

That was all he could do for them.

There was no point in burying the two bodies. Not only would it take time and effort, but goblins or sharp-nosed beasts would soon dig them back up.

There was no time for much sentimentality. Lin Mo rose to his feet; he still had plenty to do.

First, he found the two goblin ears on Leo's body, then searched through both his and Larry's corpses, gaining several dozen Copper Coins in the process.

Of course, he did not forget the loot Raine had received earlier, nor the seven goblins he had just killed, along with the Mutated Goblin. Lin Mo cut off each of their left ears and put them into the small cloth bag he had taken from Larry.

Finally, there was the nest before him...

Sword in hand, Lin Mo carefully stepped inside.

The cave was not very deep. A torch hung on the wall, its weak light barely allowing him to make out the scene ahead.

On one side of the cave lay some grain and several large chunks of meat roasted black. On the other was a pile of miscellaneous junk—bottles, jars, and all sorts of things.

At the end of the cave were several green-skinned babies lying on piles of straw.

Lin Mo strode over without hesitation and dispatched those evil seedlings with several slashes.

After rummaging through the pile of junk for a while, he found that most of it was worthless, though there were still a few surprises.

Inside one jar, Lin Mo found a pile of Copper Coins, around forty or fifty in total. More importantly, at the bottom of the pile, he found a round piece that gleamed with golden light.

Lin Mo held the heavy disk in his hand. The patterns engraved on it were very similar to those on the Copper Coins.

It was actually a Gold Coin!

Lin Mo's eyes widened as he carefully tucked it into the cloth bag.

Besides that, there were some old weapons, most of them nearly as battered as the one in Lin Mo's hand and not worth much.

After picking through them, Lin Mo ultimately took two shortswords that looked fairly decent.

Just as Lin Mo thought there was nothing else and was about to stand up, the corner of his eye caught sight of a yellowed sheet of paper pinned beneath one corner of the crude wooden table in the center of the cave.

Lin Mo stepped forward, flipped the table over, and unfolded the sheet of paper.

It was filled with densely packed tiny writing. At the top was a sentence: "Devout apprentice, cast aside all anxiety and restlessness. Only with an undistracted mind will the gates of magic open to you."

Lin Mo could practically hear his own heart pounding with excitement as he looked down at the signature.

—Written by Archmage Elvis, instructor of St. Antonia Academy.

This was actually a Skill Scroll—and an extremely precious magic Skill Scroll at that!

Where had these goblins even gotten something like this?

And they had used such a precious item to prop up a table leg. What a waste!

Lin Mo carefully put the scroll away. After confirming once more that there was nothing else of value, he hurriedly left the cave.

It was getting late. If he delayed any longer and the goblins that had gone out returned, things would become troublesome.

He did not think he had what it took to handle more than ten goblins at once. Especially at night, the odds of things going wrong would be even higher.

Lin Mo was no expert at finding his way around. On the contrary, he was somewhat directionally challenged. Luckily, Larry had left markers along the way. Following them, Lin Mo barely managed to find the right direction and sprinted all the way out of the dangerous forest before the horizon turned completely orange-red.

His luck was not bad. He did not encounter any goblins along the way, only two wild wolves. After a brief standoff, both sides went their separate ways unharmed.

Lin Mo let out a slight breath of relief, then immediately pulled himself together and quickened his pace toward the town.

Before he returned to town, nowhere could truly be called safe.

Putting aside the goblins that might be wandering outside the forest, the unpredictable human heart was the most dangerous thing of all.

As he neared the town, he began to see other adventurers returning from outside.

Some were officially registered adventurers, while others were rookies like him, temporarily conscripted.

The difference between the two groups was obvious. The official adventurers appeared much more relaxed, chatting and laughing with their companions. The rookies, on the other hand, mostly wore grave expressions and bore injuries. Some could not even walk anymore, limping along with sticks in hand while their teammates supported them.

And these were the lucky ones.

The less fortunate, like Larry and Raine, had already been left behind in that forest forever.

Lin Mo composed himself and walked to the town gate.

"Wait!"

Just as he was about to enter, a guard beside the gate stopped him.

The guard wore simple Leather Armor and held a spear as he looked Lin Mo up and down.

"You're not an officially registered adventurer, are you?"

He glanced at Lin Mo's slightly bulging chest. "Where are your teammates? Why are you alone? Don't tell me you snuck back after deserting?"

Lin Mo met his gaze and instantly understood.

There was no explaining this sort of thing. Even if he took out the goblin ears as proof of his trophies, anyone determined to smear him could come up with plenty of excuses.

They did not care whether he was a deserter, nor did they care whether he had killed any goblins. What they cared about was whether they could add another meat pie to their dinner.

So he reached into his pocket, pulled out more than ten Copper Coins, and naturally placed them in the guard's palm. "Sir, you misunderstand. My teammates and I unfortunately ran into a big one. They were all killed, and only I was lucky enough to escape..."

"A big one?"

The guard's expression changed at once. "You don't mean a Mutated Goblin, do you?"

"I'm not too sure. It was just really tall, almost two heads taller than me. If I hadn't run fast enough, I probably wouldn't have made it back either."

"...Fine, I understand. Go on in."

The guard pocketed the Copper Coins and gave Lin Mo another once-over. Having done this job for so long, he naturally knew when to exercise restraint. He could not push someone too hard, or it might end in mutual destruction. Besides, someone ruthless enough to escape from a Mutated Goblin was not someone he should offend lightly.

Lin Mo entered the town without trouble. By now, the streets had grown somewhat dim. The noisy crowds passing back and forth gave him the strange feeling that a lifetime had passed.

The heart-stopping scenes from that afternoon seemed to rise before his eyes again.

He was still alive. That was good...

It was getting late, and many things could wait until tomorrow. As for now, the intense exhaustion had made his eyelids droop. Lin Mo only wanted to find somewhere safe and get a proper night's sleep.

Fortunately, in Roland Town, which was full of adventurers, such a place was not hard to find.

Before long, Lin Mo found an inn on a street called "Flowerbeds."

The innkeeper was a broad-shouldered, stout middle-aged woman. When she saw someone enter, she looked up and gave him a glance before continuing to sort through the papers in her hands.

"Staying the night or looking for someone?"

Looking for someone?

Lin Mo froze for a moment, but did not think much of it. "Staying the night."

"Thirty Copper Coins a night."

As she spoke, the innkeeper extended a hand.

Just as Lin Mo inwardly complained about why it was so expensive, she added, "That includes two meals."

Then never mind.