Encircling the Goblins

After calling a halt to the battle, Isaac had the Black Knight return and carry in the three sets of materials he had bought. Then he turned and headed into the castle, already unable to wait to learn magic!

Especially the Black Knight. It possessed such high intelligence that simple commands could direct it in both battle and daily life. That level of intelligence surpassed the artificial intelligence available on the market in his previous life.

And this was merely one of the lowest-grade magic puppets!

Magic was becoming more and more interesting!

Back in the laboratory, Isaac placed the three books he had bought onto the bookshelf. Then, with a tearing sound, he summoned the Demonic Claw.

"Kehehehe~" A savage mouth emerged from the palm of the Demonic Claw, which had devoured five Soul Hall elders in a single meal. It let out an evil laugh as it gently rubbed the back of its hand against Isaac's cheek, like a small animal.

Isaac smiled faintly and lightly patted the Demonic Claw. He picked up the last bottle of Blood Essence Potion from the desk and poured it directly into the gaping, serrated maw in its palm.

"Hiss~"

The Demonic Claw chewed twice, and the potion turned into streams of crimson light that flowed into its veins, beginning to strengthen it.

Though the Demonic Claw existed somewhere between tangible and intangible, it was essentially still a Magic Pet. Moreover, it was a Magic Pet formed from a portion Isaac had stolen from a demon through a ritual, so it possessed a bloodline—the demon bloodline.

Naturally, it could consume Blood Essence Potions. And since a Magic Pet and a wizard were one, using it on the claw was equivalent to using it on Isaac. There was no reason to feel reluctant about it.

Besides, this was only an appetizer. Based on the information Isaac had freeloaded from Lake Town earlier, Magic Pets like the Hand of God were considered a fairly classic type among Legendary Wizards. They were convenient, powerful, and had many possible development paths.

The Blood Essence Potion was merely meant to lay the foundation.

"Burp~"

The Demonic Claw burped, then curled its claws up somewhat bashfully. Isaac smiled and patted the back of its hand before dismissing it.

Now was... Learning time!

Although he had bought new books, Isaac did not change his study plan. He still intended to learn the Three Basic Arcane Spells first and raise his combat strength further. In a world where individual strength could reach such absurd heights, burying his head in research was a foolish thing to do.

And so, three days passed in the blink of an eye. During those three days, Isaac did not stay up all night researching spells as frantically as before. Instead, he returned to a normal routine. Though his body and stamina had become extraordinary after being altered by magic power, he was still a living creature and still needed proper rest.

Even so, Isaac's progress had not slowed by much. He had completely mastered the Three Basic Arcane Spells—Arcane Missile, Arcane Shield, and Arcane Teleport—and had even begun studying one of the three Magic Books he had bought, the "Basic Magic Spell Compendium."

That morning, however, Isaac set aside his spell studies and arrived early at the training ground before the castle with a guard unit composed of one Quasi-Knight and ten knight squires.

Today was the agreed-upon day to exterminate the goblins. They were waiting here for Goblin Slayer to arrive.

Before long, Smith dismounted alongside a man dressed in tattered leather armor with an old short sword at his waist. Goblin Slayer was wrapped up tightly from head to toe, with bandages around his hands and a black hood over his head, revealing only his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.

It was obvious that this Goblin Slayer was poor.

But that was not surprising. Anyone with money became a knight directly. Who would become a Goblin Slayer?

And anyone with money would not take on this tiny job for five Gold Coins.

Isaac had once considered becoming a Goblin Slayer himself, because it really could increase one's strength in a tangible way. It was like playing a game—just kill goblins. For someone as frail and sickly as he had been, it had indeed been a decent option.

But in the end, he had given up on it. First, being a Goblin Slayer was dangerous, and that made it even more dangerous for someone as weak and sickly as him. Second, no noble became a Goblin Slayer. Doing so would make one a disgrace to the nobility, and that would have had quite an impact. Third...

There was also the option of becoming a Legendary Wizard.

Still, since it had once been an option for him, Isaac knew a little about Goblin Slayers, especially their attire. Wrapping themselves up so tightly was a rule for Goblin Slayers, a necessary part of obtaining power.

Of course, from Isaac's current perspective, he could detect traces of ritual magic power within it. The reason Goblin Slayers could grow stronger by killing goblins was likely related to this ritual.

"Hello. I'll be relying on you from here on. As agreed, you only need to find the goblins, and we will handle the rest. Of course, if you want to take part in the battle, that is perfectly fine." After meeting him, Isaac immediately handed Goblin Slayer two Gold Coins. The remaining three would be given to him once the goblins had been completely exterminated.

Goblin Slayer nodded, silently accepted the Gold Coins, and said nothing more.

"Young Master, are you going too?" Smith walked over to Isaac, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Don't worry. They're only some goblins. I know what I'm doing, and I need to be there to control the Black Knight." As he spoke, Isaac patted the Black Knight behind him.

Smith was still somewhat worried. As a retainer, he instinctively did not want Isaac to take risks. But he could not ignore Isaac's orders either. He could only nod helplessly and pay closer attention during the battle. There should not be much of a problem.

Just as Isaac had said, they were only some goblins.

Soon, after roughly checking their equipment, the group set off.

After leaving the village and entering the wilderness, Goblin Slayer crouched by the roadside. He felt around in the grass for a while, then pointed toward the river.

Clearly, the goblins were over there.

"How could you tell?" Isaac asked curiously. He had watched from the side for quite some time without seeing anything. There were no obvious traces, and he had already scanned the area several times with his mental power.

Goblin Slayer glanced at Isaac, then at the two Gold Coins in his pocket. "Magic."

"...All right. A reasonable explanation..." Isaac was speechless.

The answer was concise, but there was nothing wrong with it. That was simply the answer.

A large part of the reason Goblin Slayers could deal especially effective damage to goblins came from the ritual magic on their bodies. Only those who had been Goblin Slayers for over a decade relied on their own skills to counter goblins so effectively.

After confirming the direction, the group followed Goblin Slayer's guidance. Around three or four in the afternoon, they finally arrived beside a small river and spotted seven or eight goblins fishing by the bank.

Isaac narrowed his eyes slightly, but he did not act rashly. Instead, he crouched in the nearby grass with the others and observed carefully.

The number of goblins was off. There should not have been so few.

Sure enough, after observing for a while, Goblin Slayer successfully found the goblins' nest: a burrow beside the river, covered by a massive boulder positioned at an extremely tricky angle. If Goblin Slayer had not possessed specialized magic, they might not have found it at all.

Once they had confirmed the location of the nest, things became simple. Isaac lightly waved his hand.

"Go!"