Chapter 8

# Chapter 8: New Adventurer Bern (6) – Swift Action

The first thing Bern and Blankah did was reconnaissance.

Without knowing how many enemies there were, how strong they were, and the exact location of their base, they couldn’t even begin a fight.

Bern’s sharp senses accurately detected the movements of the goblins roaming around without alerting them and allowed for unilateral observation.

“…Do goblins usually move this systematically?”

“There’s no way. This is the first time I’ve seen anything like it.”

Surprisingly, the goblins weren’t just wandering around aimlessly looking for food.

At least four of them always traveled together, reducing the chances of unexpected incidents. Even if some were defeated, the survivors would spread the news to other nearby goblins.

Wild animals of a certain size, like boars or bears, didn’t fall easily to goblins and could even drive them off. However, even those animals, if enough goblins gathered, would eventually succumb to their numbers.

The goblins didn’t immediately devour their prey where they hunted. Instead, they cut the animals into pieces they could carry and took them somewhere.

Not only animals but fruits, fish, and even the bodies of their fallen comrades were carefully recovered as “resources,” giving Blankah goosebumps when she saw it.

The farther they ventured, the more frequent the sightings of goblins became, while the signs of other creatures vanished.

If not for the goblins ignoring plants and insects, the area might have become a complete wasteland.

Moreover, the quality of the equipment worn by the goblins improved the closer they got to the central area.

While the goblins on the periphery carried crude stone axes and wore clothes barely stitched together with leather straps, the ones they saw now wielded spears with iron tips on long wooden shafts and wore neatly sewn clothing.

The base of the goblin group was a large cave, with about ten goblins stationed near the entrance, guarding like doormen and keeping watch on the surroundings.

Bern lowered his voice.

“Even a decent mansion typically only has one or two guards at most. Looks like goblins have plenty of manpower to spare.”

“Do you really have time to make such comments? With this many guards, it’s impossible to quietly take them out one by one.”

“Is it impossible to blow them away with magic all at once?”

Blankah hesitated for a moment before answering.

“It’s unrealistic with low-tier spells, but possible with mid-tier ones. However, I wouldn’t recommend it. We don’t know how many more enemies are out there, and using half our mana now could cause problems later. Plus, fire magic is loud and will attract others quickly.”

Bern inwardly marveled.

Blankah’s composed and rational demeanor was beyond what he imagined.

He himself, confident in his abilities, thought he could handle this, and if the worst came to the worst, he believed he could ensure Blankah’s safety. But she was different.

Since she didn’t know the extent of Bern’s abilities, she’d likely account for the possibility of failure and could guess how horrific the outcome with goblins might be.

Ordinarily, someone might panic and say they couldn’t proceed, or rely entirely on Bern to solve any issues. But she didn’t do either.

She clearly stated what was possible and what wasn’t and provided clear reasoning for each.

She truly was a remarkable individual.

Honest to say, she was worth bringing back to the royal palace…

“…No, I shouldn’t think like this.”

Bern swiftly dismissed the crown prince mindset that almost surfaced again.

He wasn’t the crown prince of the empire right now—he was an adventurer in a guild.

It would be strange for an adventurer to think, “Ah, I should recruit this senior adventurer to exploit for our side.”

RP, role-playing. Focus on the character.

With a small sigh, Bern said,

“It’s probably best to save the magic for later. Area-of-effect spells are precious, and it’s not the right time yet.”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

“There’s no need for elaborate schemes. They’re already giving us openings on their own.”

Blankah furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“Perhaps not. Just because you have more guards doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better.”

“What?”

“Take a closer look at those guys.”

Over ten goblins buzzing around.

However, very few were actually focused on guarding.

Most were leaning against walls sleeping, playing with their spears in the sand, or chattering together in small groups.

“Threatening creatures have been removed through ‘hunts,’ and furthermore, there are plenty of others around to keep watch. In a similar situation, even humans would find it hard to maintain concentration, let alone impulsive, childlike goblins.”

Perhaps the person who ordered them to guard got the idea from observing the guards in raided villages or learned about its usefulness.

But they probably didn’t realize that having too many people could lower the efficiency of the task.

“When I signal, count exactly to ten and then shoot a burst of flames into the air where the goblins can easily see it. The power itself can be the lowest level.”

“Got it.”

“Begin.”

As soon as Bern finished speaking, he quickly dashed to the side.

He moved silently through the bushes without making a rustling sound—how did he do it?

While contemplating this, Blankah was already counting under her breath.

She prepared a low-level fire spell, the ‘Wood Burning Magic.’

Though completely insufficient to wipe out the goblins instantly, it should be enough to draw their attention.

The firing sequence was three seconds away.

A stone flew from nowhere and precisely hit two particularly diligent guarding goblins.

The firing was two seconds away.

They fell to the ground, and the goblins playing with sand and chatting looked in that direction.

One second.

Just as they began to feel disoriented and that sensation started turning into alertness…

‘Now!’

The flame shot from Blankah’s hand, brilliantly streaking across the air and drawing the full attention of the goblins.

And Bern seized the moment.

Leaping out from the bushes and sprinting close to the goblins, he swiftly cut their throats.

The goblins, distracted elsewhere, didn’t even recognize Bern’s shadow before they were instantly killed. Bern also quickly dispatched the sleeping ones.

It was truly swift action.

Satisfied, Bern called out from the bushes.

“Let’s go.”

“Do I even need to help?”

Even if Bern had just gathered more stones and charged alone, he would probably have taken them all out.

Bern didn’t bother being modest.

“Ninety percent would’ve been fine.”

“Then why involve me?”

“It’s better to ensure success than risk failure due to a 10% chance. After all, you shouldn’t trust dice easily.”

“Just like the adventurers who lost everything gambling, I suppose.”

Bern shrugged.

Strictly speaking, the dice he played with weren’t for gambling, but there was no need, nor way, to explain.

“Will we dispose of the bodies?”

“Let them be. No one else is around anyway, so it would just be a waste of time.”

“Then give me a moment.”

As Bern tilted his head, Blankah took something resembling dry grass from her bag, scattered it near the cave entrance, and then, at a safe distance, fired another flame to burn it.

“‘Green Hunter.’ It’s a plant that emits a smell goblins and orcs with green skin absolutely hate. Normally, they won’t even approach places with that smell. It should cause hesitation from any goblins trying to come back.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to apply it to our bodies to avoid them approaching altogether?”

“It could expose our location more easily. Besides, it won’t work if they’re in an extremely agitated state, so it won’t help much in combat.”

Bern understood.

Indeed, three years of adventuring experience wasn’t without merit. With that impression in mind, he moved forward.

As they advanced deeper into the cave, their strategy was simple:

Find them first, strike first, suppress before the chaos grows. They just repeated this process.

Of course, just because it was simple didn’t mean it was easy.

If suppressing enemies so effectively while exploring their base was this simple, then establishing bases or patrols would have long disappeared as pointless efforts.

From Blankah’s perspective, the reason this impossible base assault was possible was entirely due to Bern’s overwhelming physical prowess.

‘This guy clearly sees much farther than I do. His throwing power is also incredible.’

That said, no matter how good one’s senses, there are still situations beyond their control.

The three-pronged fork in the path inside the cave gave them pause.

With no way of knowing which path led to what areas, there was a serious risk of getting lost in the cave.

Bern asked,

“What would a typical adventurer do in this situation?”

“To start with, no ordinary adventurer would assault a goblin den with just two people. … But if we were to follow general guidelines, they would block off some paths. That way, while going through route A, we would avoid having enemies from routes B and C encircle us from behind.”

“Specific methods?”

“If the environment has plenty of physical barriers, use them to block. If you have more companions, some stay here to guard as a central base. And if none of these are viable, just set those routes on fire.”

“Looks like we can use the last option right now.”

“Though based on the cave’s structure, we might end up suffocating ourselves as well if we do that.”

“Can’t you handle this with magic?”

“I heard there are spells like that somewhere, but I can’t cast them. I only know two that spit fire, one that enhances the body, and one that heals wounds. Do you think spells are that easy to learn?”

Complaining while mentioning how much money it took just to learn a mid-tier fire magic, Blankah grumbled.

[His highness the Crown Prince, who gets any spell carried to him by his servants whenever he wants to learn, probably doesn’t understand these hardships.]

Ignoring Lucidra’s snarky remarks with a toss of the ear, Bern pondered for a moment.

There were no wooden furnishings in the cave’s interior, and even if they stacked goblin corpses, it wouldn’t make for an effective barrier.

Dividing their two-person party was out of the question. While Bern was confident in his own survival, one misstep could spell the end for Blankah.

Setting the paths on fire was ruled out moments ago, so the method Bern could choose now was only one.

“Swift action—there’s no other choice but to move fast.”

“What do you mean by that stance?”

Facing Blankah with his back turned, Bern crouched and said,

“Hop on.”

“Are you crazy?”

“It’s faster for me to carry and run than to adjust to your speed. Plus, I only need one arm to carry you, leaving the other free for fighting. On top of that, if you cast spells while holding on, it would be ideal. You’re the moving artillery.”

“Come on, even if that makes sense, how long have we known each other to just say ‘hop on’!?”

“I’m fine. I’m not starving enough during combat to think ill of my allies.”

“You’re really inspiring confidence now.”

Blankah grumbled but knew bickering like this was unwise. Sighing, she reluctantly entrusted her body to Bern’s back.

“Alright, from now on, you’re my bomb. Just fire whenever I say.”

“You know what? I’d rather just throw fireballs into your mouth, so can you stop talking?”

“Then let’s go. You don’t need to hold on too tightly. I’ll manage to keep you secure.”

After saying that,

The two figures launched forward like an arrow.

…

From then on, Bern’s movements were akin to a shooting star.