Stealthily

"D20+2+3=24, Success." Accompanied by four villagers wielding pitchforks and shovels, Lin Yun and the others headed towards the mine entrance. As always, Lin Yun maintained a constant state of vigilance. Soon, they triggered a perception check.

Lin Yun quickly raised his hand, signaling the group behind him to be on guard.

With a high Perception of 24, Lin Yun easily spotted two Goblin standing on a cliff edge in the dense forest. They were clearly scouts.

Fortunately, these scouts weren't like the soldiers of a certain nation who could remain motionless in sub-zero temperatures, charging even in death. These two were incredibly lazy and weren't doing a very good job of scouting.

As a result, they hadn't detected Lin Yun's group yet. This was thanks to the relatively dense forest cover and Lin Yun's eagle-eyed Perception check, which he estimated had a DC of at least 20.

Gathering the group, Lin Yun asked the female Magician, "What spells have you prepared for today?"

"Ah, yes. Magic Missile, Burning Hands, Burning Hands, Color Spray," the female Magician replied calmly, adjusting her glasses.

"..." Lin Yun blinked, utterly bewildered. What was this? A pure damage-dealing mage? "Um, excuse me, are you an Evocation Specialist mage?" Lin Yun's lips twitched beneath his helmet.

"No, to be precise, I'm a mage from the School of Fusion," the female Magician said proudly, adjusting her glasses again.

"..." Lin Yun decided to remain silent. He couldn't afford to offend her.

He finally understood why she had been so withdrawn yesterday. Lin Yun recalled that even without spell slots, mages had abilities similar to his Channel Divinity. For example, an Evocation specialist could conjure a D4 force missile that hit automatically and tracked targets.

This could be used at least three times a day. Furthermore, due to the Evocation specialist's unique ability, any damaging Evocation spell would gain bonus damage equal to half the caster's level, a feature called Spell Focus. This made the damage quite respectable, especially the guaranteed hits.

As for the School of Fusion... it was a branch of Evocation. They claimed to be the true Evocation mages because they could freely change the damage type of elemental Evocation spells. For instance, Burning Hands normally dealt fire damage, but the School of Fusion could convert it to other energy types.

It could become Lightning Hands, for example. Because of this, the School of Fusion believed they were the only ones who truly mastered elemental magic and looked down upon the standard Evocation school...

There was a subtle feeling about this. 'Are you that brave? You didn't take Mage Armor or Shield. What are you planning?'

"Ahem, alright. In that case, can you see those two Goblin over there?" Lin Yun asked with a subtle smile, though his face was hidden by his helmet.

"Mhm." The female Magician squinted, looking for a while before finally spotting them. "So, what do you want to do? Although my Magic Missile can barely reach them, I can only hit one."

"That's enough," Lin Yun nodded. He estimated the distance and then said to the Female Fighter, "You stay here and protect the villagers. The rest of you, follow me. You," he said to the young warrior, "lend him your light crossbow. We'll approach a bit closer and prepare to ambush."

Lin Yun had the female Magician hand her light crossbow to the young warrior. Then, accompanied by the young warrior, the female Magician, and the Goddess Priestess, they moved to within about 20 meters of the Goblin.

"Prepare yourselves. Wait for my command. Magician, you'll use Magic Missile to kill the left Goblin. You two," he said to the young warrior and Goddess Priestess, "prepare to shoot arrows to kill the right Goblin. I'll be ready to support." Lin Yun spoke in a slightly low voice.

The Goddess Priestess and the young warrior nodded nervously. The female Magician, however, remained calm. She had failed yesterday because she didn't have her spellbook. Today, she had it, so she felt invincible. Well, actually, Magic Missile was a spell that couldn't miss.

Lin Yun remained silent, watching as the young warrior and the Goddess Priestess took aim with their light crossbows. He nodded and raised three fingers, slowly counting down.

When he reached one.

The female Magician began to chant softly, extending her arm. Three Magic Missiles, glowing with blue light, appeared in her gloved hand and surged towards the left Goblin.

The three Magic Missiles reached the left Goblin at astonishing speed, striking its chest, hand, and head, knocking it to the ground.

The other Goblin, witnessing its companion's sudden demise, stood up in surprise. Two crossbow bolts then flew out from the bushes... one arrow hit a tree behind the Goblin, and the other grazed its body, but... it didn't inflict any damage whatsoever.

If possible, Lin Yun would have slapped himself. It seemed giving too much hope to these two inexperienced novices wasn't a good idea.

Fortunately, Lin Yun had already prepared for this.

"Here goes, Guiding Bolt!" Lin Yun swung his shield, which bore a Holy Symbol, and a meteor-like object shot out from it, hurtling towards the Goblin that was still stunned by the two missed bolts.

"D20+3+2+2=17. Hit." Due to Spellcasting Genius, Lin Yun's spell attack bonus increased by 2. If this didn't hit, Lin Yun would have to prepare for a full-on battle.

"4D6=13." The damage was decent for a 1st-level spell.

But Lin Yun felt like crying. This was such a waste, a 1st-level spell! However, nothing was ready yet, and rushing into battle in such a large forest would overwhelm them. So, this had to be dealt with.

After yesterday's battle, Lin Yun realized he lacked ranged attacks. Among his cantrips, he had one ranged spell, but its damage was inconsistent, only D8. It was called Sacred Flame. This... well, it was powerful.

One Guiding Bolt to the head of the Goblin had caved in half its skull. Lin Yun wouldn't be surprised if it exploded next.

After casting the spell, Lin Yun and the others waited a bit longer, assuming no one would notice them for a while. Then, they slowly retreated back to regroup with the villagers and the Female Fighter.

During this time, the young warrior and the Goddess Priestess quickly apologized to Lin Yun, saying they had failed his expectations.

Indeed, they had...

"Alright, the real battle begins now. Cheer up," Lin Yun said in a steady voice, despite his inner frustration.

"Yes," the two replied, their spirits slightly lifted.

"Okay, next, you'll guard the cave entrance. Ambush them. If any Goblin come out to relieve the guard, kill them immediately. If there are too many Goblin, just run. The rest of us will head to the ventilation shaft," Lin Yun instructed the young warrior, then turned and nodded to the others.

The young warrior nodded and thumped his chest. 'No need to offer your heart now.'

Lin Yun suddenly thought of something. Goblin might be stupid, but they weren't idiots. Anyone would know that the air in the mine was stuffy. Going to the ventilation shaft would be more comfortable. Given the Goblin's pleasure-seeking nature, it was likely a large number of them would be gathered near the ventilation shaft.

According to the villagers, there was a direct path from the main mine to the ventilation shaft, as it was a matter of life and death. Therefore, a battle might be waiting there.

They led the villagers to a semi-open cliff face with a clearly man-made large hole – likely the ventilation shaft. On the other side, appearing as a mere crack, was a hidden passage, or a back door.

Listening closely near the ventilation shaft, one could hear faint noises from below. Just as Lin Yun had suspected, some Goblin had chosen to camp, or rather, live, below the ventilation shaft.

Lin Yun nodded to the villagers and, along with the others, hid in the crevice, ready to deal with any Goblin that charged up.

Seeing that Lin Yun and the others were ready, the villagers exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and picked up their shovels. They began to dig at the soil around the ventilation shaft, seemingly intending to fill it up.

At first, it was fine. But after about ten minutes, some soil likely fell down, attracting the attention of the Goblin. With a loud shout, a squad of Goblin was sent up to their deaths.