Chapter 100: Clearing the Goblin Stronghold

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Clearing the Goblin Stronghold

"..."

Lance wanted nothing more than to curse out that damn system right now!

’This is what it calls a "mild hallucinogenic and relaxing sensation"?’

’How is this relaxing in any way?!’

’Can a reaction that causes somatic symptoms even be defined as "mild"?’

’Has my voice somehow become a source of spiritual corruption, like something out of an unspeakable horror?’

Lance hadn’t realized he was conflating the Elf’s Flowering Stage with the effect caused by the system.

He looked at the well-behaved, sensible Half-Elf Maiden sitting across from him.

Lance felt his conscience being tormented.

Fortunately, however, the last part of the secret mentioned that the symptoms were starting to fade, which meant the girl’s body was indeed gradually building up a resistance.

This news made Lance feel a tiny bit better.

He finally understood completely now.

’I’ve definitely had a serious cognitive dissonance with the system panel’s text descriptions!’

’The so-called "mild" in that degenerate system was most likely benchmarked against some kind of indescribable R-rated scene, maybe with the stimulus amplified tenfold like in certain fantasy works!’

’Otherwise, how could it possibly cause such an absurd physiological reaction?’

’This system is absolutely despicable!’

Just as he was about to close the panel, a glance from the corner of his eye happened to sweep over the second secret below.

’Birthday?’

’So her birthday is in five days.’

Seeing this, Lance decisively cut off his focus and closed the entire system panel.

He couldn’t keep looking.

The information he had just obtained already filled him with a deep sense of guilt.

’Everyone has the right to their own little secrets. Friends need to have boundaries.’

’From now on, I should try to reserve this Illustrated Guide’s secret-peeking function only for those damn enemy targets.’

More importantly, since this was a mess his damn system had created, he had to find a way to properly compensate her.

’I can use her birthday in a few days as the perfect opportunity to prepare a surprise for her.’

"Senior?"

Cecilia saw the man across from her holding his cup and staring blankly at the tabletop, his eyes looking a bit vacant.

She called out softly, a little worried.

"What’s wrong?"

The voice snapped Lance back to reality.

He quickly composed himself, put down his cup, stood up, and gave the girl a gentle smile.

"It’s nothing."

He looked into Cecilia’s pure eyes, his tone serious.

"I just suddenly felt that the bet for our game just now was too unfair to you."

"Huh?"

Cecilia froze for a moment, clearly unable to keep up with her senior’s leap in logic.

"That last round doesn’t count. I actually cheated."

Lance unreasonably overturned the very rules he had just established.

"Stick with me and complete the commission today."

"Tonight’s roasted meat cutlets are on me."

He shouldered the heavy Kite Shield and looked back at the still-dazed girl.

"Let’s move out!"

Watching his back as he strode toward the street, Cecilia sat frozen in place, her face a mask of confusion.

’Senior’s moods change so quickly, don’t they?’

’One second he was laughing so happily about winning the game, the next he was suddenly in a daze, and then he inexplicably says he cheated and wants to treat me to a meal.’

...

Behind the wide wooden counter of the Adventurer’s Guild, Nia seemed a bit distracted today.

She was holding a quill pen, registering a few low-level commission forms.

But every so often, her gaze would drift uncontrollably over the crowd and toward the Guild’s main entrance.

She had suffered from a complete bout of insomnia last night.

Whenever she closed her eyes, the voice of the young girl from the Imprint Crystal would involuntarily echo in her mind.

The voice was clear and sounded young. What bothered her most was the strong sense of dependence on Lance that it conveyed.

This inexplicable, sour feeling had tormented her all night long.

She couldn’t help but guess that while she was away in White River City to clear her head, Lance must have teamed up with this unknown female Adventurer to complete commissions.

SNAP.

A crisp sound interrupted her thoughts.

She had accidentally snapped the fragile quill in her hand, and black ink bled across the parchment.

Nia immediately came to her senses, put on a standard, apologetic smile, and quietly apologized to the Adventurer waiting in front of her.

She quickly swapped it for a new pen from her drawer, forcing her attention back to her work.

By the time she had finally dealt with the miscellaneous tasks at hand and handed the stamped commission form back to the person, the corner of her eye caught two figures walking in through the entrance.

Nia’s gaze was instantly captivated.

Walking in front was a familiar figure wearing a chain armor hood.

Just from his upright posture and the way he walked, Nia recognized him as Lance without a second’s hesitation.

And half a step behind Lance, a petite figure wrapped in a dark cloak followed closely.

This person was clearly a head shorter than Lance, and their hood was pulled so low that their face was completely obscured.

But based on that slender, delicate frame, it was undoubtedly a girl.

Nia’s heart skipped a beat.

’It’s her!’

While Nia was secretly observing them, Lance had already led the girl straight to the commission board.

His eyes swept quickly across the densely packed parchments, and he soon locked onto a sheet marked with a red danger symbol.

[Outer Copper Creek Forest: Goblin Stronghold Eradication]

The commission form detailed the locations of several scattered strongholds.

According to intel gathered by the Guild’s Scouts, there were over eighty Goblins active in this area, and it was highly likely that an elite variant had already emerged.

Ever since the last joint sweep by several surrounding towns, only these scattered gathering spots remained.

They were likely stragglers that had slipped through the net, emerging from some dark corner of the deep forest.

Without any hesitation, Lance reached out and tore the sheet from the board.

He had his reasons for choosing this quest, of course.

For one, his strength had just skyrocketed, giving him ample confidence to seek revenge.

’Today, I have to win back the face I lost, with interest.’

’It’s also a way to test the extent of my own strength.’

On the other hand, this was also a long-term plan for Cecilia’s ongoing training.

As an Adventurer, if she only ever faced aberrant demons like the Stone Shell River Crabs, her mental fortitude would never truly develop.

Goblins were typical humanoid demons.

They had a limb structure highly similar to humans and knew how to use crude weapons.

When their limbs were severed by a sharp blade, they would even let out wails that sounded eerily like human screams.