Chapter 102: "Senior, My Shoes Are Slippery

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: "Senior, My Shoes Are Slippery

Especially what that girl at the front desk, Nia, had said.

On the surface, it all sounded like concern, but thinking back on it, none of it was pleasant to hear!

The intimate undertones between the lines made Cecilia’s chest feel tight.

Just then, as she looked at her senior waiting patiently at the bottom of the slope, a bold idea suddenly popped into her head.

"Senior, I think my soles have gotten a bit worn down. It’s a little slippery here."

The girl lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper.

"Could you give me a hand?"

A hint of anticipation was hidden in her tone.

But that was followed by a small pang of guilt. She felt like she was being dishonest.

"Of course."

Without any hesitation, Lance reached out his broad right hand and took Cecilia’s small, slightly cold one.

"Alright, you go first. Just hold on tight."

The moment he finished speaking, the familiar Blue light screen popped up on his retina without warning.

[Sub-human Half-Elf Research Progress +1]

The corner of Lance’s eye twitched.

’To hell with it.’

He decided to let this damn system do whatever it wanted.

’There was no stopping this ridiculous thing anyway. The real priority was to focus on completing the clearing mission.’

With Lance leading her by the hand, the two of them steadily made their way down the sizable slope.

The moment their hands intertwined, Cecilia felt a warmth spread from his palm to hers.

All the unpleasant feelings that had built up back at the Guild suddenly vanished into thin air.

She was surprised to find that the flushing of her skin, which had happened whenever she touched Lance recently, was starting to subside.

But a secret desire was taking root in her heart. She found herself wanting to constantly be in physical contact with her senior.

"There’s a small outpost up ahead. Probably fifteen to twenty Goblins."

Lance explained in a low voice.

Cecilia nodded obediently. Her palms began to sweat, and she grew tense.

In contrast, Lance’s eyes held a glint of excitement as he readied his Bow and Arrow.

’The time for revenge has finally come.’

It was a crude camp built into a natural cavern.

Outside the cave entrance, two Goblin Scouts on lookout duty were dozing off, leaning against a rock.

This small, outlying tribe was nothing like the elite Goblins Lance had encountered before—the ones trained by a commander. They weren’t even in the same league.

They were scrawny and small, without even a decent weapon among them.

Lance hid behind a bush, slowly drawing his Hazelwood Short Bow.

WHOOSH!

The air shrieked as the arrow flew.

The arrow flew true, piercing the throat of the Goblin on the left.

Foul-smelling green blood instantly splattered against the stone wall beside it.

The sudden turn of events terrified the other dozing Goblin, causing it to drop the dilapidated weapon in its hand.

It opened its mouth wide in terror and let out a sharp shriek, alerting the Goblins resting inside the cavern.

But Lance was faster. A second arrow whistled through the air, pinning the Goblin to the ground.

A horde of Goblins charged out of the dark cave, screeching wildly.

They were met by a third, precise arrow. The force of the impact sent the foremost Goblin flying backward, silencing it instantly.

Lance didn’t fire again.

He calmly slung the Short Bow over his back, slipped the Kite-shaped Steel Shield onto his left arm, and drew his Short Sword with his right.

He strode out from the bushes and charged straight toward the shrieking horde of Goblins.

It was a one-sided slaughter.

CLANG!

The Goblin’s attack was pathetically weak. It couldn’t even make Lance budge an inch, only managing to strike a trail of sparks from his shield.

Lance sneered, thrusting his Short Sword forward and instantly reaping the life of a green-skinned monster.

This mob of Goblins couldn’t even organize the most basic encirclement.

One cunning Goblin tried to circle around for a sneak attack from the rear.

Lance didn’t even spare it a glance.

He violently kicked his right leg out, slamming it into the chest of another Goblin in front of him.

The kick landed squarely on a red, glowing weak spot, and the sound of the Goblin’s bones snapping was clearly audible.

The flying Goblin shot backward like a bowling ball, striking the would-be ambusher and sending it flying several meters away. Both monsters let out agonized howls.

The crisp snap of breaking bones echoed continuously across the clearing.

Faced with Lance, whose Power and agility were nearing the Professional Level threshold, this small tribe of Goblins was pitifully weak.

The battle could only be described as an overwhelming rout.

[Goblin Research Progress Level 2 (31/50)]

During the one-sided slaughter, Lance didn’t let Cecilia participate, having her watch from the rear instead.

When only a single Goblin remained, trying to flee, Lance grabbed it by its ugly head.

He dragged the monster over and threw it down in front of Cecilia.

"Try attacking it with a Spell."

Lance said patiently, looking at the pale-faced girl.

"I know it can be difficult the first time you face a humanoid Demon."

"Just try to injure it for now. Take it slow. We have time."

The Goblin on the ground seemed to have injured its leg while being dragged.

It let out a miserable, child-like shriek, writhing on the ground as it dragged its broken body. Then, it made a gesture of begging toward Cecilia.

Cecilia stiffly raised her right hand.

Her face was as pale as a sheet.

The creature before her had a limb structure remarkably similar to a human’s.

This was completely different from killing those hard-shelled crabs.

A moral weight pressed down on the young woman’s heart.

Her upbringing made her instinctively resistant to the idea of taking the life of a humanoid creature.

But she bit her lower lip hard, forcing herself to channel the Ethereal Magic Power in her body and begin constructing the model for the 0 Ring Spell, Thorny Whip.

The halo of the Spell had just begun to glow.

The wailing Goblin on the ground keenly sensed the fluctuation of magic.

It realized the human female before it had no intention of letting it go.

The monster’s pitiful expression vanished in an instant.

It sprang up violently, a sharp stone shard hidden in its hand, and lunged straight for Cecilia’s stomach.

The sudden attack made Cecilia cry out in alarm.

This was the first time in her life she had ever faced a death threat at such close range. When fighting the Stone Shell River Crabs, she had always been attacking from a safe height.

Lance had protected her too well.

Panicked, she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, her mind going blank.

A second passed.

The sharp pain she expected from a blade piercing her flesh never came.

Cecilia tremblingly opened her eyes.

Before her, the ugly Goblin was frozen in mid-air.

Lance’s broad left hand was clamped firmly around the sharp stone shard.

Though she was unharmed, seeing her senior block the blow with his bare hand made Cecilia’s heart lurch.