Before Kaizen headed away from the municipal guard patrolling the eastern exit of Holinda, he asked the man in which direction the Silver Mountains lay.

The guard looked at him strangely and pointed to large mountains far away on the eastern horizon. It was a sunny day, so the field of vision was vast, but the Silver Mountains were so far away that it was only possible to see them because of their monumental size.

Kaizen thanked the guard for his help and left the starter town, this time walking eastward.

According to Pavin Dunhall, the Howling Drawers lay just beyond the Silver Mountains, which made anyone even more hesitant to explore this region. The Silver Mountains was also a place known to many users as the home of great dangers and terrifying monsters, but there were still some people who explored the region, unlike the Howling Drawers, which were gladly avoided.

Before the Silver Mountains, Kaizen had to venture into a valley covered with trees and wild grass as tall as a man. The trees and grass moved with the wind, so it was difficult to detect whether any creatures might be hiding there. Even a momentary oversight could cause a high-level creature to emerge and cut through all your bones in a single attack.

Kaizen remained careful and attentive around him. The strong wind of the sunny day was coming with much less intensity in the valley, but the tall grass was moving slightly.

Suddenly Kaizen saw something green, about half a meter long, sticking to the grass like a leaf. If he didn’t look closely, he would have thought this was part of the grass and never imagined it was a Goblin. This monster had exactly the appearance you would expect of a Goblin: short stature, completely green skin, long pointed ears, and human features on a completely deformed face.

When Kaizen noticed a Goblin standing before him, he let out a sigh of excitement, which shook the vegetation in front of him a bit.

The Goblin present, who was already accustomed to living in the area, immediately looked back, startled that the bush had moved. Without even seeing Kaizen, it began to run in the opposite direction.

At the same time, Kaizen stopped walking with his knees bent and started running in the direction of the short monster.

‘He didn’t see me… or did he? Ah, fuck him! He’ll see me now!’

As soon as the Goblin looked to his rear again, he saw a tall man running after him with a disturbing smile of happiness. The Goblin’s ears wilted, and a feeling of despair plagued him.

“Hurgghh! Hurghh!” The Goblin screamed in distress as he ran as fast as he could.

“Come back here, damn you! If you run too far, I’ll cook you and make you into some soup!”

The creature listened to what the novice said, and although it could not speak, it understood the message very well. The Goblin’s speed increased by two times.

“I am serious! I’m going to cook you!”𝑶𝐕𝓁xt.𝒸𝒐𝑚

“Hurrrghhhhh!”

As Kaizen ran after the Goblin, he took the opportunity to use the <Analyzing Eye>.

[Creature: Common Goblin

Level: 10 | Attribute: Flesh | Nature: Primal

HP: 70 | MP: 0

Attack: 7 | Defense: 5 | Speed: 10

Strength: 8 | Wisdom: 1 | Resistance:

0

Resistance to Spells of Water.]

The smile on Kaizen’s face got even wider after he saw the Goblin’s level.

Since the Goblin had two more levels than him, it was logical to think that he would gain more XP for this than if the Goblin had a lower level.

Kaizen understood that the amount of XP provided through killing mobs was proportional to their level. In addition, the regular amount per creature killed became less the more creatures of the same species that were killed, such as when he gained experience just by attacking Elfire Waylan or practicing blacksmithing.

The Goblin had 10 in Speed, so he was very fast; however, Kaizen was already at 13 attribute points in Agility, so he could catch up with him without any problems while equipping the Spear of Theus.

The spear tip moved with speed, and while splitting the desperate Goblin in two, it also trimmed some vegetation in its path.

[You have killed an ordinary Goblin and gained +100 XP].

[Congratulations! You have just risen to level 9!]

Kaizen was happy when he saw the notification congratulating him. It was exactly to evolve that he decided to venture into lands that were said to be so dangerous. However, something was bothering Kaizen.

‘Hmm… It’s been an hour since I left Holinda, but where’s all the trouble they warned me about?’ He wondered, looking around at the wild surroundings.

By an irony of fate, just the minute he thought about how easy the area was, he heard and saw all the vegetation around him swaying, and a dozen Goblins, who had been hidden until that moment, leaped at him.

Quickly turning the Spear of Theus, Kaizen managed to reflect a few blows of the Goblins’ sharp claws and killed two of them, but he underestimated the Goblins’ speed and instincts. Some who jumped against his back managed to attack him.

‘…!!! I fell into a trap?!’

With a metallic crashing sound, Kaizen felt only a slight discomfort as the Goblins attacked him as if a rock had hit his back. His armor protected him, and he didn’t even get a scratch.

Full of ecstasy, Kaizen took the opportunity to slash in the direction of the monsters in front of him.

Kaizen inserted part of the spear handle under his right arm and cut horizontally using his right hand. Several Goblins were unable to retreat in time and were cut in half. Red blood splashed everywhere, which didn’t make Kaizen uncomfortable. In fact, he felt joy as he heard the game’s voice in his head.

[You killed an ordinary Goblin and gained +100 XP].

[You killed an ordinary Goblin and gained +100 XP.]

[You killed an ordinary Goblin and gained +100 XP.]

[You killed an ordinary Goblin and gained +100 XP.]