"Master, I will continue to collect the drop items. So, you can focus on hunting without any worries."
"Is that so? ...Then, I'll leave it to you."
"Aila is excellent!"
With that, Ayane jumped onto Aila. Aila held Ayane carefully and showed no signs of letting go.
"…?"
"Master, if you want to hug Aila, I can take her place."
"No, that's not it. Are you going to move like this?"
"Of course. After all, I am slower than the two of you. I can't keep up with Master's full speed."
"I understand, but…"
"Master, please don't worry. I can still do my job in this state."
When I think about it, Ayane was also being carried when the two of them appeared…
So, Aila was carrying Ayane while chasing after me and collecting items? And all while staying hidden? …How competent is this maid?
"Let's resume hunting."
"Understood."
"Try your best, Master!"
I'm not really feeling it, but I'll give it a shot anyway.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
"That's it… the end!"
The 100th one. To be precise, 54 new ones since the interruption.
Then, the smoke that overflowed from the goblin's corpse began to move as if it had a will of its own. Ah, it's much easier when they spawn naturally… Oh, right.
"Can you two see this?"
"What is it?"
"Is it the phenomenon you mentioned?"
"Is this it…?? No, I can't really tell!"
"I'm sorry. I can't see it clearly either."
"I see."
It doesn't matter what level or base stats you have. It seems that if your 'Luck' is 10 or less, you can barely see it.
Without saying anything, I chased after the smoke, and as usual, it led to the corner of the map.
The smoke continued to expand, gradually taking the shape of a monster.
"Master, did I disappoint you?"
"Why would you think that?"
"Because you couldn't see the phenomenon you mentioned…"
"No, no, I don't get angry over such things."
From the smoke, a 'Hobgoblin' appeared and let out a loud roar.
"Guooh!"
"Shut up."
I've gotten used to dealing with them, and I successfully beheaded it more easily than last time.
Yeah, my stats are now strong enough to take it down with one hit without any skills.
【Level Up】
【Your level has increased from 8 to 17】
After defeating about 150 of them, my level had increased from 6 to 8, and now it's up to 9.
I was satisfied with the result and confirmed the smoke spewing out. I immediately started the timer.
"Brilliant. Just as expected, Master."
"Excellent skills."
The two of them applauded.
It felt a bit awkward.
But unlike when Aki and Maki were cheering me on, my spirits didn't rise as much. No, I felt a bit uneasy. So, I just watched the smoke without saying anything, and the two of them waited silently.
As the 7-minute timer approached, the smoke that had been steadily rising suddenly began to expand.
"!?"
I put some distance between myself and the smoke, and readied my weapon.
"Master?"
"Another one is coming. Stand back."
"Eh?"
"Miss, please excuse me."
Aila instantly put some distance between herself and Ayane. What was that? I couldn't even see her move!
Even though my 'Body Reinforcement' is higher, she showed me her skills and stats, which are in the thousands, in a way that made me feel inferior. She is on a level far beyond me.
I don't want to lose.
"…"
"Ggya?"
It slowly emerged from the smoke.
Its build was somewhere between a goblin and a 'Hobgoblin.' However, it didn't resemble either of them.
First, its equipment: a longsword and full plate armor made of iron, with almost no gaps. It looked like a medieval knight, but its slightly hunched posture was that of a goblin.
The pressure it exuded was clearly on par with, or even greater than, the 'Golden Bug.'
It seemed to be scrutinizing me, its sharp gaze piercing through the helmet.
"Identify"
＊＊＊＊＊
Name: General Goblin
Level: 25
Strength: 250
Dexterity: 220
Stamina: 250
Agility: 180
Magic: 300
Intelligence: 100
Luck: None
Equipment: Magic Iron Longsword, Magic Iron Full Plate Armor
Skills: Super Strength II, Leadership
Drops: Random Magic Iron Equipment
Magic Stone: Large
＊＊＊＊＊
"Too strong all of a sudden!"
This goblin's armor looked like regular iron, but the 'Identify' result showed it was 'Magic Iron.' It does indeed look different from regular iron.
…This is going to be tough.
"Ggege! Ggegege!!"
The 'General Goblin' turned its gaze away from me and started laughing maniacally, as if it had found something.
Its gaze was directed behind me, where Ayane and Aila had retreated. …No, it was clearly looking at Ayane with a lecherous expression.
It seemed to completely ignore me, which made me feel an indescribable sense of discomfort.
"Hey? Hey, you…"
"Gge!"
I thought it was unlikely, but it really did ignore me and charge towards Ayane. Caught off guard, I was slow to react.
To chase after it, I turned and activated my skills.
"Super Strength II, Swift II! Hold it right there!"
I spun my body while accelerating and struck it forcefully with 'Yurei' and 'Kodama.'
"Kiiin!!"
"Ggya!?"
"Damn, it's really hard."
The 'General Goblin' couldn't avoid the sudden attack and bounced away like a rubber ball.
Usually, this would damage the opponent's armor, but the 'Magic Iron' was much harder than I expected. I had intended to cut it in half.
This thing was probably looking at Ayane. It must have judged her as weak and attacked her first. I don't know if this is a habit, but I felt an uncontrollable anger at the fact.
Before it could get up, I closed the distance in one swift move.
"Adamantine Strength II"
"Thud!"
"Gheeh!"
I struck it with both weapons with all my might.
"Crack! Kgeen!"
"Gge!? Ggya!?"
The slash didn't go through? So what?
It targeted the weak. I couldn't let it get up, not knowing what it might do. I had to finish it here.
I didn't give it a chance to counterattack and relentlessly attacked it.
Over and over and over and over.
"Gge, Guu…"
No matter how strong the armor, the shock from my skills, which greatly amplified my 'Strength,' penetrated the armor. The more I hit it, the more its strength waned.
When its resistance lessened, I ripped off its helmet and thrust 'Yurei' into its head.
Smoke began to seep out of its body.
After that, it was quick. Its body, along with the smoke, immediately dissipated.
【Level Up】
【Your level has increased from 18 to 41】
To all readers,
If you found this work interesting and are curious about the next part,
please bookmark it and rate it with ★★★★★. It would be a great encouragement.