Chapter 21
――After that, I kept hunting goblins.
Fireball killed goblins in one hit, and I overwhelmed them with 【Dagger Technique】, too.
I’d been able to kill goblins with a dagger before, but the speed of my swings and the damage I dealt were on a whole different level now.
This was the power of Skills.
The power of Skills I’d wanted for so long.
At long last, I’d obtained it.
I couldn’t thank MP enough.
I continued deeper into the forest――.
Goblins appeared alone in the shallower parts of the forest, but the deeper I went, the more they gathered in groups.
I ventured deep into the forest, gradually increasing the number of goblins I took on at once.
Other adventurer parties were fighting in the forest, too, but approaching them carelessly would be bad manners.
I used 【Presence Detection】 to avoid running into them and kept fighting goblins.
And――I confirmed that I could defeat even ten at once without any trouble.
“Yeah, no problem at all.”
“Master, you’re so cool~.”
MP looked at me admiringly.
It had been so long since anyone praised me that I felt a little embarrassed.
“Then, it’s finally time to give it a try.”
“I’m excited~.”
After fighting goblins time and again and gaining confidence that I could succeed, I was finally ready to take on today’s goal.
The risk would be higher, but I’d be fine as I was now.
My destination was――a Goblin Colony.
The goblins wandering the forest formed groups of at most ten or so.
But deeper in the forest, there were numerous goblin settlements known as Goblin Colonies.
In clearings stood rows of ramshackle wooden huts, home to dozens of goblins—or, in some cases, over a hundred.
That was a Goblin Colony.
The monsters on the First Floor were generally ones even F-rank parties could handle.
But Goblin Colonies were different.
Even an E-rank party could be wiped out if they underestimated one.
But with that Skill, I should be able to win without any trouble.
I continued deeper into the forest in search of a colony――.
“Oh, there they are.”
“Ugh, it stinks~!”
According to Presence Detection, there were ninety-three in total.
That was a fairly large colony.
The stench of filthy goblins.
I was used to it, so it didn’t bother me, but MP covered their nose and grimaced in disgust.
“Well then, let’s wipe them out quickly.”
“Please do~.”
I’d gotten within about twenty meters, but they still hadn’t noticed me.
At the center of the colony was a particularly large individual――the Goblin Leader who led the group.
Let’s start with him.
“――Fireball.”
I launched a fireball at the leader.
The fireball flew as if drawn to him, struck its target――and took the leader’s life.
The leader was one rank stronger than a goblin, but it still took only one hit.
It had gone as expected, but I was taken aback by how anticlimactic it was.
Meanwhile, the goblins noticed the attack, turned toward me, and charged all at once.
Goblins weren’t very intelligent.
And they were aggressive.
When one of their own was attacked, they’d charge even the strongest opponent rather than run away.
Nearly a hundred goblins came charging toward me, bellowing at the top of their lungs.
The wave of them rushing toward me was intimidating enough to make anyone unused to it want to run.
But after overcoming countless deadly situations over the past five years, I found them no more daunting than a lukewarm bath.
I calmly launched a fireball――.
Normally, you couldn’t use the same Skill consecutively.
Apparently, it took time for the body to adjust to the mana loss caused by using a Skill――.
So, for a while after using a Skill, you couldn’t use that same Skill again.
That interval was called the recast time, and generally, the more powerful the Skill, the longer it was.
Fireball, a beginner spell, had a short recast time, but even so, it was unusable for a dozen or so seconds.
But in my case, things were different.
Because I had 【Mana Transfer】!
This Skill let me transfer mana back and forth between myself and the Magic Repository.
The first benefit was that I could store my mana in the Magic Repository.
I had to store up my mana for several days to buy powerful Skills, and this Skill made that possible.
The second benefit was that I could replenish my mana from the Magic Repository as I spent it――letting me keep my mana level constant.
That meant I could cast spells repeatedly without any recast time.
“――Fireball.”
“――Fireball.”
“――Fireball.”
“――Fireball.”
“――Fireball.”
“――Fireball.”
“――Fireball.”
“――Fireball.”
“――Fireball.”
“――Fireball.”
All I had to do was burn every goblin that came near me――!