I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 59: Challenge Level 1

The elderly Goblin-like creature died too quickly.  

At that moment, no one even had time to react before it exploded and perished.  

But after a moment's thought, several of them realized it was most likely Gauss’s doing.  

Not understanding what had happened, blaming the caster within the team was probably the correct conclusion.  

"Crisis averted." Gauss let out a sigh of relief.  

It was also a hidden crisis resolved without major danger.  

His gaze shifted toward the remaining Goblin-like creatures.  

At this time, the other Goblin-like creatures were trembling all over, terrified by the sudden death of the elderly one; one even knelt on the ground, facing the Dragon stone statue, fervently kowtowing repeatedly.  

It was as if the death of the elderly Goblin-like creature just now was the result of the dragon’s wrath.  

"Without overwhelming numbers or a powerful leader, these Goblin-like creatures really are just a disorganized rabble. It’s just that coming in here is too much trouble; it takes so much effort," Gauss couldn’t help but sigh upon seeing this scene.  

According to intelligence from Meva, this Goblin-like creature nest was already relatively simple. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe some long-established Goblin-like creature nests built from excavations as underground tunnel labyrinths.  

Faced with those more complex nests, some novice adventurers didn’t even dare to enter, abandoning their quests on the spot out of fear of getting lost and dying accidentally.  

Even using certain items to blow up entrances or tunnels couldn’t affect the deeper Goblin-like creatures.  

It could be said that once they all successfully reached the nest’s main hall, more than half of the mission progress was completed.  

Gauss pulled back his thoughts and looked at the Goblin-like creatures before him who had lost their will to fight, trembling in their legs and preparing to flee. He felt little sympathy.  

Although this was an abandoned mine, geographically it still belonged to the Kingdom of Carlos. As monsters, from the moment they set foot on this land, they further encroached on human living space.  

If left unchecked, the number of monsters would continue to grow, gradually swallowing up areas originally belonging to humans.  

This was why the Adventurers Guild regularly issued contracts, even if the location was an uninhabited area for monster extermination missions. In fact, these contracts were ultimately funded by the Kingdom of Carlos.  

Similarly, humans venturing into the depths of the Emerald Forest were very susceptible to attacks from other monsters.  

Therefore, there was also a saying that non-professionals should not enter the interior of the Emerald Forest.  

"Kill!"  

Gauss’s sword moved swiftly.  

In the blink of an eye, it pierced through the throat of a Goblin-like creature.  

After his Agility attribute increased, his control over the rapier seemed even more precise.  

In the past, he would still have had to aim carefully.  

"Splurt!"  

"Splurt!"  

"Kill Goblin-like creature *1"  

"Total monsters killed: 55"  

The remaining Goblin-like creatures fell one by one beneath the blade.  

After dealing with the adult Goblin-like creatures present, the group looked toward the knee-high, large-headed Goblin-like creature cubs.  

Gauss’s sword hesitated momentarily, but after a brief pause, it swung rapidly again.  

"Slash!"  

"Slash!"  

Several sword afterimages cut through the air.  

One by one, the Goblin-like creature cubs fell into eternal slumber amid their cries.  

Sheathing his rapier, Gauss did not see a kill count increase notification.  

He looked at the interface panel.  

Sure enough, the total monster kill count remained at 55.  

The cubs apparently were not counted.  

Was it because their size was too small and they lacked corresponding combat abilities?  

Gauss shook his head.  

However, even if the count didn’t increase, based on the principle of cutting the grass to eliminate the root and eradicating evil, he had to act decisively.  

Who knew if letting these lizard pups survive would lead to the rise of the next Goblin-like creature tribe?  

Not long after the team swiftly wiped out the Goblin-like creatures in the hall, hurried and short footsteps echoed from the entrance passage.  

Obviously, the noise in the hall had reached the mining area, and the miner Goblin-like creatures were returning to defend.  

Unfortunately, Gauss and the others were still too fast.  

When the first Goblin-like creature wielding a stone pickaxe ran out from the passage, seeing the corpses of its kin scattered everywhere, its steps immediately froze.  

It was as if it had witnessed something extremely shocking; its pupils contracted, and it stood there dazed.  

The Goblin-like creatures that followed were the same.  

Who would have thought they had been mining next door, and in the blink of an eye, their home was robbed.  

"Oh! Oh! Oh!"  

After a brief moment of shock, the Goblin-like creatures became furious.  

Even though they were not particularly aggressive by nature, seeing this scene made it impossible for them to suppress their anger.  

"Clap! Clap!"  

Their lizard tails whipped the ground repeatedly, both as a way to soothe their inner unease and as a group morale booster.  

Unlike the elderly, weak, and sick who stayed in the hall earlier, these adult Goblin-like creatures clearly had a stronger fighting desire.  

But the only thing vigorous was their fighting will.  

A few minutes later.  

Gauss looked at the already wiped-out Goblin-like creatures while wiping the blood off his sword with a cloth.  

Because he had Mage Armor activated, he was unscathed during the fight. Occasionally, attacks that grazed him were nullified by Mage Armor.  

Feeling the persistent resilience of Mage Armor, he genuinely felt a strong sense of security.  

"Total monsters killed: 59"  

Goblin-like creatures could not defeat humans stronger than themselves by courage alone.  

The chance of anger and hot blood surging to trigger an explosive increase in combat power was extremely low in reality.  

"Huff—"  

"A bit tired."  

The others sat down to rest for a while.  

The fight itself had no other dangerous moments besides the elderly Goblin-like creature’s fire breath, but the constant stooping and crawling exhausted everyone.  

Now that the battle was over, they finally relaxed.  

After sitting for a moment, Gauss scanned the hall with his eyes; next came the time to collect spoils.  

Goblin-like creatures had a habit of collecting “treasures.”  

Of course, in low-level Goblin-like creatures’ collections, it was almost impossible to find anything truly valuable.  

Most of it was just junk found from some obscure corner.  

Gauss ignored the piles of rubbish the Goblin-like creatures had accumulated; Meva would search among them for possibly valuable items.  

He walked toward the rock platform where the elderly Goblin-like creature had stood earlier.  

Using Mage Hand, he dragged the corpse of the Goblin-like creature down from the platform.  

"Thud!"  

The Goblin-like creature’s body hit the ground heavily.  

Gauss was quite curious about this fire-breathing Goblin-like creature.  

He grabbed the nearby grotesque lizard head and placed it next to its body, silently examining it for a while.  

Unfortunately, its neck had been blown to pieces, but from the broken scales and skin fragments, it was clear that the neck’s skin color was much darker than its kin.  

"This old Goblin-like creature’s body should be worth some money," Levin approached from somewhere unexpectedly.  

"Is this a monster with an official challenge level?" Gauss asked casually, noticing Levin seemed to know something.  

The so-called monster challenge level was similar to the profession levels humans had; it represented powers that ordinary people could hardly reach.