Brushing Past

"Should we go down and take a look?"

Above the giant mushroom, Karl lowered his rifle as he watched the goblins who suddenly retreated.

The two had been ready to fight the goblins below, and Karl had even abandoned the infusion of the Alchemy Jug, instead applying the Rapid Fire Weapon infusion to the rifle he had already made.

Once those goblins discovered them, he would transform into a sniper and leave them all here.

But fortunately, they had retreated in the end.

"Let's not. Don't you still need to adjust your main weapon? Let's go down after you've finished everything."

Hopp, who was just watching the excitement, felt danger from those Dire Goblins and didn't intend to put herself or Karl in harm's way.

"Alright then."

Shrugging, Karl put away his rifle, preparing to try drawing Magic Runes on the rifle in the usual way again.

Time flew by, and after a long while, noisy sounds could be heard from the distance again.

"Are those goblins back?"

Continuing to focus on the rifle, Karl didn't look up, only pausing his work slightly to confirm with Hopp.

"Yes, and it looks like a full-scale invasion. Weren't they going to deal with the Mind Flayer? Why did they come over here?"

Hopp was very confused as to why the goblins were coming towards them.

After all, in her opinion, these goblins were so close to the forest, so it was understandable that they didn't know there was a Mind Flayer base deep in the woods. But now that they knew, why weren't they going directly to deal with them and instead were wandering around here?

"Could it be that they discovered us, and they've come to kill us to avenge their tribesmen?"

As he spoke, Karl, beside Hopp, suddenly put down his tools.

The parts that made up the rifle began to emit a faint blue light, the Magic Runes connected, and rhythmically dimmed and brightened, as if breathing.

Seeing this, Hopp's expression brightened.

"Did you succeed?"

"Phew, I guess so. It's just that the magic power conversion efficiency isn't very ideal, and the rate of fire is much lower than an actual automatic rifle."

Even as he said this, Karl couldn't help but lift his head.

"Quick, install it on your Power Armor and see how it works!"

As the goblins got closer and closer, Hopp had to place her hopes on Karl's weapon.

The invention of the semi-automatic rifle had once changed the state of warfare on the Continent of Khorvaire. If it weren't for the popularization of standard equipment with a constant Mage Armor enchantment, the final war would have ended prematurely, it was said.

The goblins in this dungeon clearly lacked the technology and productivity to popularize equipment with constant Mage Armor enchantments, so their level advantage was not obvious when facing a rifle with infinite ammunition.

"Okay!"

Nodding, Karl hung the rifle on the pre-reserved buckle on his Power Armor.

Putting on the Power Armor in one motion, Karl walked out of the room, raised the arm holding the rifle, and pointed it at the distant goblin troops.

At this time, the goblin formation was less than fifty meters away from the two. Karl could clearly see the clothing of the goblins below.

Scanning through the goblin ranks, Karl tried to find a relatively high-ranking unlucky individual to leave the first shot of this new era weapon to.

Soon, Karl spotted a Hobgoblin in the goblin ranks that was dressed more "exquisitely."

Taking a deep breath, Karl maintained a forward lunge, preparing to fire.

But just as he was about to pull the trigger, Hopp, standing beside him, suddenly reached out and blocked his view.

"Those goblins don't seem to have seen us."

With a tone of disbelief, Hopp tilted her head to look at Karl, as if hoping he would tell her this wasn't an illusion.

And just as Hopp said, the vanguard of the goblins seemed to have completely missed the two of them, and actually passed by the giant mushroom where Karl and the others were.

The vast formation merely cut down the petrified mushrooms that obstructed their advance and then continued forward, leaving.

Looking at the scattered goblin formation, Karl was momentarily bewildered.

"Are you kidding me? We should be quite conspicuous, right? They didn't even see us?"

"They... they must all be nearsighted, right?"

Although this idea was somewhat absurd, based on the goblins' behavior, Karl felt it was the most likely possibility.

Hopp, standing beside him, pursed her lips, unsure of what to say.

Within the goblin formation, the Barbarian goblin who had previously identified the Brain Eater's parasite, the Wild Magic path, looked at the mushroom where Karl and Hopp were a couple more times before the formation left.

Karl and Hopp, who had been fully monitoring the goblin team's movements, did notice this goblin.

But seeing that the goblin still hadn't discovered them, Karl and Hopp felt a sense of frustration, as if they had punched cotton.

Had they been worrying for nothing?

What Karl and Hopp didn't know was that this goblin team came from the Rage Tribe.

They lived on an island surrounded by a lava lake, not the goblin tribe near the forest.

The lava brought them many conveniences, but it also caused their eyes to become nearsighted due to prolonged exposure to stimulating gases.

Therefore, although goblins also possess the racial trait of darkvision, their eyesight couldn't even make out objects ten meters away.

This was also why the Mind Flayer had only managed to injure its arm back then – the barbarians of the Rage Tribe aimed at their prey purely by instinct.

"It seems that guy should have sensed our magic fluctuations. Could he be a Mage or a Druid?"

Watching the goblins gradually move away, Karl took off his Power Armor and stroked his chin, guessing.

"I don't know, but it seems unrelated to us for now. By the way, I've been feeling a bit off lately. Can you check on me?"

Seeing that the crisis had passed and Karl's equipment was successfully made, Hopp suddenly asked Karl shyly.

"You're not feeling well? Is it that your menstrual cycle hasn't completely passed yet, or…"

Just as he was about to step forward to check, Hopp raised a hand.

Karl instinctively rolled, darting behind Hopp from its feet.

Tsk, has it become an unconscious reaction due to too many battles in the Dream World?

The second after rolling away, Karl realized he had overreacted.

Hopp's gesture was very similar to the casting motion for Burning Hands. Karl had died to this move many times in the Dream World, so he reacted instinctively.

Looking at the dumbfounded Hopp, Karl, who had gotten back on his feet, tidied his hair.

"Cough, sorry, I overreacted. What was it you wanted me to look at?"

After an awkward, dry cough, Karl decided that he absolutely had to change the appearance of the illusion in the Dream World training tonight.

Otherwise, if he got too used to it, something might go wrong in the future.

Accepting Karl's explanation, Hopp nodded, then closed its eyes, guiding some kind of power to gather in its hand.