Hunting Alone

While Charles was learning spells, he also worked through the task procedures.

After capturing goblins, he figured out how to turn in the task; after killing goblins, he learned how to submit their ears for the bounty. Everything had been sorted out.

The process was not complicated. This sort of dirty, dangerous work was not particularly sought-after.

What kind of work was truly in demand?

Potion brewing, scroll crafting, and forging wizard tools. Those jobs were easy and profitable.

After preparing everything, Charles donned his armor, brought three bold servants with him, and descended into the sewers.

Unlike wizard apprentices, servants had even fewer jobs to choose from.

Although Charles did not pay much, he promised that whenever he had time, he would teach them how to meditate and cultivate into Third-Rank Wizard Apprentices.

That was how he managed to recruit three servants brave enough to come along.

Starting from a break in the sewer, they went deeper underground. As they walked, Charles chatted with the three servants behind him.

"Following me means you've struck it lucky. Work hard, and during the day, I'll teach you some of my insights into meditation!"

"Thank you, sir!" The three servants were overjoyed. Even the stench filling their nostrils no longer seemed quite so overpowering.

After walking for nearly half an hour, Charles began preparing bait according to Beck's method.

The bait consisted of foul-smelling sewer sludge mixed with a special potion. That potion alone cost one Magic Stone per bottle.

Once mixed in, the scent it gave off was an irresistible temptation to goblins.

He mixed it evenly with garbage, dripped in the potion, and everything was ready.

The three servants were stationed farther away. Underground, they were practically useless in a fight.

Even with torches lit, they might not be able to see clearly.

Charles stood in a concealed spot with his sword in hand. Before long, he heard rustling sounds all around him.

The first to appear were, as expected, large black-furred rats.

The rats here were far bigger than ordinary ones, and some were even larger than cats.

Charles traced runes and constructed a spell model. As his magic power drained away, he cast Rat Speech on himself.

The moment the spell settled over him, Charles immediately felt different.

What had once been nothing but squeaks now carried simple emotions.

Within the rats' cries, Charles could even understand simple meanings—mostly things like tasty and eat quickly.

Rats were fairly intelligent. Charles wondered whether he could raise a batch of rats in the future and use them as his eyes and ears.

That could work. These black-furred underground rats might even have mutated breeds among them. Once he was stronger, he could give it a try.

He could put together some Rat Special Forces!

The bait gave off a rank, fishy stench.

Rats and insects were both part of the bait's chain.

The insects came to eat as well, only to be caught by the rats along the way.

The departing rats then spread the bait's scent farther out.

Some rats leaped into the water and swam to the other side, while the scent drifted farther away with the current.

Finally, after waiting for more than half an hour, Charles got the goblins he had been waiting for.

This group of goblins chattered all the way over, their voices gradually drawing closer.

Charles, who had been standing there with his eyes closed to rest, snapped awake and swiftly cast a spell.

Dim Vision!

After the spell was successfully cast, he looked toward the source of the voices.

Several goblins had already swaggered out from there.

These goblins were in much the same condition as the ones he had killed before.

They carried crude weapons, most of them wooden clubs. Some were even goblin leg bones, while others were clubs made from unknown materials.

The goblins' target was obvious: the pile of bait. They had followed its scent here, and once they got close, they no longer cared about danger, charging straight at it one after another.

The rats and insects on the ground did not frighten them. Instead, they let their guard down.

Sensing danger, the rats and insects scattered in all directions. Still, a few unlucky ones were crushed to death by the clubs the goblins swung.

One goblin grabbed a dead rat from the ground and, without caring about the filth, stuffed it straight into its mouth. Blood splashed everywhere as it tore into the flesh.

With Dim Vision, Charles had no need to light a torch before attacking.

In the darkness, Charles counted the goblins that had arrived.

There were eleven in total. Three of them were slightly larger and met the standard.

The rest were mere fodder goblins, weak and pitiful, but in this environment, he could not afford to let his guard down.

Charles began casting, tracing runes.

A second later, Bone Needle Bee was complete. Three sharp bone spikes floated at Charles's side.

Charles was less than sixty meters away from those goblins.

Apprentice spells did not have much range to begin with, and Third-Rank Apprentice spells had even less. Sixty meters was already the maximum firing range of Bone Needle Bee.

At this distance, if the goblins discovered the attack, the three knight-level goblins could rush in front of Charles within three seconds at most.

That meant that after being discovered, Charles would have at most two chances to cast spells—three if he was lucky.

Charles searched through the goblin group with his gaze, first locking onto three ordinary goblins on the outskirts.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three faint whistles tore through the air in quick succession.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!!"

The three outer goblins had no chance to react before their heads were blown apart.

Their bodies collapsed limply to the ground, holes punched through their heads. White brain matter and red blood flowed everywhere, like tofu pudding drenched in chili oil.

After killing three goblins, Charles had no intention of stopping. He continued tracing runes.

Bone Needle Bee!

Before the spell could be released, the goblins discovered the corpses beside them.

"Grrik grik!!"

The goblins immediately descended into panic, unable to see where Charles was at all.

But panic was exactly what Charles wanted.

Bone Needle Bee fired again.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!!"

Three Bone Needle Bees shot out, blasting apart the heads of three more ordinary goblins.

The goblins instantly erupted like a pot boiling over. They had not even seen the enemy, yet six of them were already dead.

The remaining goblins turned and tried to flee.

But how could Charles let them escape? He drew his sword and roared:

"Kill!"

Only then did the goblins realize that there was only one enemy.

Three knight-level goblins and one ordinary goblin—four against one.

The goblins' courage immediately surged.

The four goblins howled as they charged straight at Charles.

Three of them were stronger fighters, and Bone Needle Bee might not be able to kill them instantly.

Besides, it would be best to capture these goblins alive. So for his final Bone Needle Bee cast, Charles aimed at the knees of the three goblins.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!!"

The three charging goblins were as though arrows had struck their knees. After running a few more steps, one leg on each of them suddenly gave out.

Two of the goblins even lost control and crashed headfirst onto the ground.