Chapter 101: Chapter 101

"Learned skill [Ice Spike]! Magic +1!"

In the hotel room at night, a line of information appeared before Lin Mo's eyes.

After gaining previous experience, the combination of magic circuits was no longer completely unfamiliar; at the very least, he had some experience and it became much smoother.

After several attempts, Lin Mo saw the prompt indicating he had learned this skill.

[Ice Spike] Lv1 (0/10): Gather magic power to resonate with ice elements, forming ice spikes to attack enemies.

Lin Mo tried using this magic, and in his palm, a small ice crystal quickly formed.

It was slightly larger than when he first learned Fireball, probably because Lin Mo had just increased his magic by 1 point.

He decided against releasing it - damaging hotel property would mean paying compensation - so Lin Mo directly dropped the ice crystal into the juice he had just ordered. Moments later, the juice became refreshingly cool.

Having both ice and fire magic - forget about killing enemies - daily life would become much more convenient, able to enjoy chilled drinks anytime.

This night, he slept particularly soundly.

The troublesome magic scroll incident that had plagued him for so long was finally resolved, he had left Roland Town and arrived at a completely new, safer place, plus the 50 copper coin per night room was indeed much better than the 10 copper coin one - the bed was much softer, the quilt was fluffy, giving Lin Mo a feeling of being home.

Therefore, when he opened his eyes the next day, it was already 8 AM.

Lin Mo stretched lazily - since starting his adventuring career, he rarely got to sleep this well.

Getting up to eat at the restaurant downstairs, although not included in the room fee, the prices weren't expensive either. A simple breakfast cost only a few copper coins, seeming more about providing convenience for guests than making money.

Had to admit, the owner here had good business sense.

Alden and his team had just settled in, with some matters to handle in their new home, probably needing to rest for a while. So after eating, Lin Mo went directly alone to the Adventurers' Association.

Entering the association, compared to Roland Town, the hall here was not only more spacious but also noticeably more exquisitely decorated. The tables and chairs looked more high-end and sturdy, with many more counters available.

What remained unchanged was the adventurers' enthusiasm and noise.

This familiar clamor quickly put Lin Mo into "adventurer mode."

The interior structure was largely similar to Roland Town's, with many missions posted on a huge wall. Following habit, Lin Mo first briefly scanned the F-rank missions, and finding nothing special, directly turned his attention to the E-rank mission area.

Compared to Roland Town, Silverstream City's adventurer association indeed had missions that were more than just slightly abundant. At a glance, it made Lin Mo dizzy.

[Slime Condensate Collection]

Mission Number: E3029

Type: Hunting/Material Collection

Go to Roland Forest, find and kill 1 Large Slime, collect condensate and bring back.

A very familiar mission flashed before his eyes, making Lin Mo shudder involuntarily, immediately looking away.

Damn it, they have slime missions here too.

Although the price was 3 gold higher than Roland Town, no matter what, Lin Mo wouldn't actively take this mission.

[Minotaur Horn Charge]

Mission Number: E2334

Type: Hunting/Material Collection

Mission Brief: Read full story at novel✦fire.net

Go to Roland Forest, find and kill Minotaurs, bring back intact horns.

Note: If high-level Minotaurs are found, can contact client for purchase - price will surely satisfy!

This one was somewhat interesting, but encountering Minotaurs wasn't guaranteed, depending on luck.

After all Lin Mo's numerous outings, aside from that time he accidentally entered the secret realm, he never seemed to encounter any.

But since it was a long-term mission with no time limit anyway, he might as well take it first.

Lin Mo continued looking, filtering through them one by one, until his eyes grew sore, finally finding a mission that suited him.

[Goblin Settlement Cleanup]

Mission Number: E4485

Client: Adventurers' Association

Reward: 10 Gold + additional 3 Silver per goblin, 1 Gold additional for mutated goblins

Newly formed small goblin settlement discovered in Roland Forest, number 63, requires adventurers to clean up.

Note: Requires adventurer with professional-level strength to lead team

The approximate location of this settlement was attached at the back.

Number 63... Looks like there are many goblins near Silverstream City too...

This mission was just right for Lin Mo currently.

Although the reward wasn't high, the difficulty was relatively low too. Traveling alone wasn't like being in a team - without teammates helping handle miscellaneous tasks and watching surroundings, risks increased significantly. Better to play it safe.

Moreover, low-difficulty missions were perfect for grinding magic proficiency, one could say they were quite perfect.

Taking down the mission notice, Lin Mo looked around and quickly found that familiar figure.

Silver-gray hair, wearing a beret, with exquisite and cute features.

Lena had already started work.

Compared to the quiet situation in Roland Town, here in Silverstream City, perhaps because she was new, there were actually a few adventurers at her window.

Although they were all half-orcs who didn't want to queue, Lena was already quite happy, her tail gently swaying, clearly in good spirits.

"Hello, I'd like to take a mission."

Lin Mo waited a few minutes before approaching the catgirl.

"Mr. Lin Mo, going on a mission today?"

Seeing him, Lena's eyes clearly lit up, then showed confusion.

According to Ellie, their team didn't seem planning to take missions these next few days.

"Can't stay idle... I'm alone, just taking some simple missions."

Lin Mo said, glancing at the mission numbers: "E2334, and E4485."

"Okay, please wait a moment!"

Lena quickly completed the information registration, movements very proficient, returning Lin Mo's identity badge.

Lin Mo waved and turned to leave, heading straight out of the city.

Compared to Roland Town, Silverstream City was slightly farther from Roland Forest. After traveling about half an hour, he reached the forest edge.

Lin Mo took out the simple map provided with the mission and compared it slightly.

After this period of adventuring, he at least knew how to read maps now, no longer completely directionally challenged.

The target goblin settlement wasn't very deep, only about ten kilometers from the forest edge. Lin Mo moved forward while checking the map.

Of course, also constantly watching for potential dangers around.

Even though his current strength was quite formidable, any accident could happen in the forest - must not get arrogant or careless.

This was the drawback of solo action - everything had to be done personally, quite mentally draining.

But there were benefits too, like keeping all mission rewards for himself, and not worrying about teammates stealing kills, able to safely slowly grind proficiency.

"Squelch, squelch..."

That teeth-grating sound echoed again. Lin Mo's mouth twitched as he looked at the translucent creature that suddenly emerged from the grass beside him.

Why were there so many slimes near Silverstream City?

Fortunately he had foresight - yesterday he went to the local blacksmith shop and got a protective coating added to his Wolf Bone Sword.

Moreover, compared to before, Lin Mo wasn't as headache-prone when encountering slimes now.

A sharp ice spike pierced into the body, nailing the hopping slime directly to the ground.

The slime struggled for a while before going still.

Magic power was truly fearsome - just an ordinary skill released with two magic points instantly killed this slime.

Of course, it was clearly close - if the opponent had slightly stronger vitality, might have needed another hit.

Slimes were after all the lowest-level magical creatures, even more fragile than goblins. Against ordinary goblins, probably still needed two spells to finish them.

[Ice Spike] proficiency +1

This was the fifth slime Lin Mo encountered. The previous four were dealt with using Fireball - this time Lin Mo mainly wanted to test this new skill. Overall, the power still couldn't match Fireball.

Fireball reached level 2 while Ice Spike was only level 1 - the level difference was one aspect, besides that, fire element magic's explosive power itself was higher than ice element magic.

When using Fireball before, hit slimes died noticeably faster.

Checking the sky, it should be almost 10 AM.

Not far from the goblin settlement, Lin Mo decided to stop and rest.

Not due to insufficient stamina - this distance was completely trivial with his 23 constitution.

Mainly because magic consumption was somewhat high.

Lin Mo estimated that with his current 2 magic attribute, basic spells like Fireball and Ice Spike could only be cast less than ten times.

Counting recovery along the way, nearly half was consumed. Since the main purpose of this trip was grinding magic levels, of course he should wait for full magic recovery before fighting.

Taking a thin blanket from his backpack to spread on the ground - since having money, adventuring life had gradually become more refined, with spare capacity to consider comfort.

At noon, Lin Mo ate simply and continued toward the destination.

According to the mission intelligence, this goblin settlement numbered 63 wasn't very large, just newly formed. Estimated goblin count within 100, with 3 mutated goblins confirmed sighted - one adult, two sub-adults.

For most adventurers, even the Raging Bull Team excluding Lin Mo, this would be quite a tricky situation.

But for current Lin Mo, these magical creatures posed no threat at all.

Less than one kilometer left...

Lin Mo was about to put away the map when he heard rustling sounds.

Looking up, an arrow missing half its fletching shot toward him.

Lin Mo easily dodged, and the next moment several green-skinned shorties emerged from the grass.

After all, they were near the settlement, so encountering goblins was quite normal.

Lin Mo scanned the goblin count - seven total, a medium-sized squad.

Two goblins held wooden clubs, one held a "spiked club" with nails, two held crudely made small curved swords, and the final two held bows, struggling to draw bowstrings as another arrow shot toward Lin Mo.

As expected of settlement-forming goblins - already dividing labor and establishing front and back lines.

Lin Mo sidestepped half a step to dodge the arrow, raising his hand to return a Fireball.

That goblin hit by the fireball instantly screamed, the struck area charred black, body burning as it rolled on the ground in pain.

Lin Mo clicked his tongue in annoyance - he'd forgotten one spell couldn't kill a goblin.

The other goblins charged at him. Lin Mo drew his dagger from his waist, quickly advancing to stab the lead goblin in the chest.

Since deliberately avoiding vitals, this didn't kill it directly. Lin Mo immediately followed up with a Fireball.

[Fireball] proficiency +1

The next few were handled similarly. Within a minute or two, only corpses remained.

The rear goblins knew to fear and tried running, but absolutely couldn't escape, easily caught by Lin Mo, all becoming Fireball proficiency.

Rubbing his temples slightly relieved the discomfort from magic consumption.

Killing slower to practice skills - the last few goblins emitted series of sharp screams when killed. Calculating time, they should arrive soon.

Indeed, shortly after, green figures gathered from all directions.

Following that, heavy footsteps sounded nearby as a mutated goblin carrying a large axe openly walked forward from ahead.

Judging by physique, should be adult, hence very confident, face wearing a very human-like "let me see what's going on" expression, looking down at Lin Mo.

Seeing the several corpses on ground, its face darkened further, axe chopping ground as it pointed forward: "Kill!"

Looking at it, really thought itself some "general."

Lin Mo shook his head somewhat helplessly - with little magic left, it wasn't good to continue grinding proficiency for now.

But there were still skills to grind.

He slowly drew the Wolf Bone Sword hanging at his waist, glancing at the panel.

[Cross Slash] Lv5 (142/180)

This skill should level up too.

Next moment, he finally moved, charging at extreme speed toward the most densely packed goblins, swinging his longsword as two crossing sword energies flew out, instantly slicing several goblins into pieces.

[Cross Slash] proficiency +6

These low-level magical creatures posed absolutely no threat to current Lin Mo. Lin Mo moved like a swimming dragon through the goblin crowd, occasionally swinging his sword to take several goblin lives.

That mutated goblin saw this and grew anxious - gathering these subordinates wasn't easy, couldn't let this human kill them all in one go.

So it stopped posturing and watching, swinging its large axe to chop at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo had just used a Cross Slash, earning several proficiency points, too lazy to even glance at it, casually swinging his sword to block.

After a crisp collision sound, tremendous force surged forth making that mutated goblin instantly show horror, retreating several steps before freezing in place, its face full of existential doubt.

Lin Mo wasn't in a hurry to solve it either, turning to continue dealing with ordinary goblins, fiercely grinding [Cross Slash] proficiency.

Soon, the information he wanted to see appeared before him.

[Cross Slash] proficiency +4, current proficiency (180/180)

"Skill [Cross Slash] Lv5 (180/180) leveled up!"