Southern Forest

Kyoma and Rina, unable to carry any more loot, left the goblin corpses behind and made their way towards the Southern Forest. Despite being a common enemy, goblin corpses held little value in the market. However, they could still be put to good use, such as crushing their bones to create fertiliser or for educational purposes, as goblins shared a similar anatomy to humans. As such, they were often used as subjects for dissection and study.

As Kyoma and Rina drew closer to the Southern Forest, they came across a growing number of goblins. With ease, they dispatched each one they encountered. The weaker goblins were easily defeated with a single strike from Kyoma's weapon. The hobgoblins, on the other hand, required a few more blows before Rina finished them off with a fireball. Compared to Kyoma's powerful and agile mutated hobgoblin, these hobgoblins were feeble, with inferior strength, agility, HP, and defence. They also wielded comical weapons, such as rocks.

Kyoma's hobgoblin was in a league of its own compared to the wild hobgoblins they encountered. It was at least 5 times stronger than the regular hobgoblins, but it was hard to make an exact comparison. This was because Kyoma's hobgoblin had been powered up in multiple ways, including through its mutation, Kyoma's necromancy magic which had been enhanced by the Loran's ring, and the assimilation of other hobgoblins they had encountered.

"Guuuuuuuu.." The hobgoblins let out a final groan as Kyoma assimilated them, turning their bodies into a slimy substance. With a total of 12 hobgoblins assimilated, Kyoma's hobgoblin had almost doubled in strength. However, despite the significant increase in power, there were no signs of it evolving anytime soon. It seemed that the number of monsters of the same species that needed to be assimilated for evolution was directly proportional to the strength of the monster. Nonetheless, the increase in power was still considerable, especially considering the hobgoblin's base stats. In fact, it was now more powerful than the mutated hobgoblin boss that Kyoma had faced in the dungeon. It was like having a dungeon boss at his beck and call, an impressive feat indeed.

Moreover, some of the stats that Kyoma's hobgoblin assimilated were shared with him, resulting in a further increase in his power. At present, Kyoma's stats had grown by 1.5 times compared to the end of the wild boar hunt. Kyoma's growth was staggering, and even Rina was astonished by his progress. How could she keep up with Kyoma if he continued to improve without any signs of slowing down? In the past, Rina had to use basic spells like fire arrows or fireballs to assist Kyoma in killing hobgoblins. However, now Kyoma could take down hobgoblins with ease using only his familiars. As Kyoma became stronger, so did his familiars, leaving Rina behind in the dust. Previously, Rina felt like a supporting character, but now she felt like a mere mascot as her assistance was no longer necessary. She only intervened when Kyoma faced a group of three or more hobgoblins. This increasing gap in power motivated Rina to catch up with Kyoma even more, increasing the pressure on her to cast stronger and faster spells.

Kyoma had hit a limit after assimilating the power of 12 hobgoblins. He couldn't cast another assimilation to enable his hobgoblin to absorb the 13th hobgoblin. Every time he attempted to cast assimilation, his head became as heavy as lead, and some invisible force prevented him from overexerting himself. With the assimilation of 12 hobgoblins, the mutated hobgoblin's presence became heavier, and its physique visibly improved, struggling to fit into the armour that Kyoma had previously bought. The horn of the mutated hobgoblin had also turned darker in colour with each successive assimilation. However, despite becoming stronger, Kyoma's control over the hobgoblin had decreased. Controlling the hobgoblin had previously felt like wielding a plastic toy hammer, but now it felt like Kyoma was wielding a gigantic, heavy hammer.

Before, Kyoma's hobgoblin would immediately react to his commands of attack, defend, and retreat. However, with the hobgoblin's increased size and strength, there was now a noticeable one to two-second delay in its response time. Although this may seem insignificant, Kyoma was accustomed to giving quick and frequent commands, particularly during guerrilla warfare tactics that involved cycles of three to four seconds with an AOE spell at the end to facilitate their retreat. A delay of even two seconds could disrupt the coordination that Kyoma and Rina had developed over the past two days of hunting wild boars.

Looking on the bright side, Kyoma's hobgoblin had undergone a massive power boost, reaching close to 10,000 HP and becoming more than capable of absorbing a few rounds of AOE damage. Additionally, assuming the target survived the initial crushing blow from the hobgoblin, it was like facing a walking boss-level monster, with very few opponents able to withstand Kyoma and his undead companion's relentless attacks. As a result, Kyoma and Rina easily strolled through the Southern Forest, as if they were taking a casual walk in the park, in search of the goblin's cave.

The Southern Forest presented a stark contrast to the fields where they hunted rabbits and wild boars. Instead of a single predominant species, the forest was home to a variety of creatures. The trees and foliage were thicker, taller, and denser, blocking sound beyond a five-meter radius. In contrast, the fields had sparse trees that were only two stories high and had thin bark, allowing them to detect danger from at least 100 meters away with their sight and hearing. However, in the Southern Forest, even the shortest tree was 50 meters high, and the average was 80 meters. Combined with the thick bushes and mist, visibility was severely reduced, making it challenging for Kyoma to see anything beyond ten meters in front of him. He couldn't rule out the possibility of a snake monster lying in wait just eleven meters away, ready to ambush him. Such was the danger and unforgiving nature of the Southern Forest.

As they gazed upon the ominous Southern Forest, Kyoma and Rina felt a sense of hesitation and began to doubt their life choices. However, they were relieved to know that the goblin's hideout was located on the outskirts of the forest, which meant that they wouldn't have to venture too far inside. Their mission was simply to investigate the goblin population around the cave, and with determined expressions, they gritted their teeth and entered the forest.

The sound of "geek geek" filled the air as Kyoma and Rina were welcomed by a massive green toad, about the size of a large dog. It launched a surprise attack by lashing out its tongue at lightning speed, catching Kyoma and Rina off-guard. However, their hobgoblin quickly sprung into action, using a defensive posture to block the tongue attack with its arms. In response, the goblin archer unleashed a barrage of dark arrows at the toad, but to its dismay, most of them failed to penetrate its slippery skin. Without hesitation, they charged forward with their weapons and began their assault on the toad. Kyoma's serpent fangs dagger, enhanced by his increased physical strength, effortlessly tore through the toad's skin, causing poison damage over time.

Rina didn't want to lag behind and quickly began casting her fire javelin spell. Within 2 seconds, she had a clear shot and launched the javelin at the fire toad. The projectile cut through the air, finding its mark and seared the toad from the inside out, killing it instantly. With improved teamwork and coordination, Kyoma no longer needed to retreat completely after Rina completed her incantations. Instead, he focused on ensuring that Rina had a clear line of fire while continuing to attack the toad. This allowed them to deal continuous damage without interruption.

Compared to wild boars, the toad had weaker defence and attack capabilities. However, its ability to camouflage itself in the surrounding greenery and launch surprise attacks from mid-range made it a formidable opponent for unsuspecting foes. Once its position was compromised, killing it was relatively easier than slaying a wild boar.

+110 experience points (Kyoma)

+85 experience points (Rina)

As the battle with the first toad came to an end, the noise drew the attention of two large toads in the vicinity, which attacked Kyoma and his hobgoblin with their lightning-fast tongues. The duo split up to engage the toads separately. Kyoma dashed towards the one that had attacked him, swiftly cutting it to pieces with his serpent fang dagger. Meanwhile, the hobgoblin charged at the other toad, delivering several powerful blows with its sledgehammer. Rina provided cover fire with her fire arrows, picking off the toads whenever she had a clear shot. Despite their surprise attack, the two additional toads were defeated with ease.

+125 experience points (Kyoma)

+76 experience points (Rina)

...

As Kyoma and Rina continued their exploration of the Southern forest, they encountered a diverse array of monsters. Among them was a warthog, which resembled the wild boars but had lower defence and higher attack power. Packs of mouse-type monsters gave them a hard time with their numbers, and they also faced battle monkeys swinging from branches to attack with their long arms. With each encounter, Kyoma and Rina gained combat experience, increasing in power. They were able to link together attacks on monsters seamlessly without any communication, taking them down with ease. However, the most troublesome monster they faced was a giant mantis, the size of a human adult, with razor-sharp claws and ridiculously high movement speed. The mantis easily dodged all of Rina's attacks, while Kyoma's Windcutter Rabbit was the only thing that could keep up with its speed as they blinked from branch to branch, leaving a trail of fallen branches sliced in their wake.

The forest turned into a blur as Kyoma and the giant mantis engaged in a high-speed duel. Their movements were so fast that it seemed as if they were teleporting from branch to branch. The windcutter rabbit was Kyoma's only ally in the battle, and it proved to be a formidable opponent. Despite the mantis's sharp claws and incredible speed, it couldn't penetrate the thick fur of the windcutter rabbit. Similarly, the windcutter rabbit's attacks were unable to penetrate the mantis's thick carapace.

After a few intense minutes of battling, the mantis grew tired of the stalemate and retreated, leaving the battle without a clear winner. Kyoma and Rina took a moment to catch their breaths and assess the situation. Even though the battle ended in a tie, Kyoma knew that he had gained valuable experience in fighting such a strong opponent, and he was eager to face the mantis again in the future.

As they continued their exploration of the Southern forest, they encountered increasingly larger groups of goblins who were scavenging for food and hunting monsters. This new group of goblins was distinct from the one they had encountered in the wild boar territory, as they exuded a stronger presence and carried better weapons such as hand-crafted stone axes and wooden shields. What surprised Kyoma and Rina the most was the presence of five hobgoblins, ten regular goblins, and a dark goblin archer with a bow slung over its back, who seemed to be the leader of the group. Accompanied by the hobgoblins, the dark goblin would occasionally fire arrows at their foes. Unlike Kyoma's dark goblin archer, these arrows did not carry any debuff effects, but they had a greater penetrating ability that was augmented by the power of darkness.

The dark arrows shot by the other group's dark goblin whistled through the air with such speed and power that they could even penetrate the slimy skin of giant toads. The power of darkness that enveloped the arrowhead appeared to be swirling in a vortex-like manner, which made it as sharp as a drill. In contrast, Kyoma's dark goblin wielded a power of darkness that was blunt and heavy, rendering its arrows ineffective against the thick hide of wild boars and the slippery skin of wild toads. The heavy power also made it difficult for the arrows to match the high velocity of the giant mantis and the unpredictability of the battle monkeys. As a result, Kyoma's dark goblin had little contribution to recent battles, leading to doubts about its self-worth. Witnessing how the other group's dark goblin used the same power of darkness to sharpen its arrows was like a ray of hope for Kyoma's dark goblin.