CHAPTER 69: GOBLIN VILLAGE!

The goblin’s cries were nothing but background noise to Leon, who couldn’t understand a word. And he was sure the goblins below couldn’t hear it either.

It didn’t take him long to find them — and when he did, his frown deepened.

Although the goblin in the trees outmatched him in climbing, he reached the others first thanks to his Mana Flight.

Leon could vaguely guess what the archer goblin was saying.

It must have been boasting, claiming that it had chased him away with its arrow, calling him a coward. But Leon didn’t care a single bit about its words.

Instead, he studied their actions carefully and noticed that the other goblins still moved with wariness, even after having searched for him. Unlike the carefree archer, they carried a subtle uneasiness in their movements—despite being certain he was gone.

It didn’t take long for the archer goblin to stop its ranting after noticing the others were quiet and refused to comment on its words.

It sighed loudly, still not understanding why they acted that way.

Soon after, all the goblins quietly went to start dragging away the corpse of the mutant leopard.

Leon followed closely, never letting them out of his sight for even a second.

As he trailed behind them, he decided to ask the system the question that had been bothering him.

’System, why did the corpse of that beast not disintegrate into pixels like it always does?’

’...’

’Don’t you dare play word games with me... I need an answer right now!’ His fist clenched tightly.

The system sighed, its voice echoing in his head.

’Isn’t it easy to guess? It’s because you weren’t the one that finished it off... Look, every dungeon is a world of its own. The creatures in it live independent lives. If you enter a dungeon, you might end up seeing its inhabitants at war, and more than half their population could already be dead. The corpses you see then will remain as corpses and won’t disintegrate. Only you can make a corpse disintegrate—by killing it yourself.’

’Does that rule apply to the outside world as well?’

’Yes, it does.’

’So what if I want to kill a beast to eat, not to level up?’

’Then the beast’s corpse won’t disintegrate, and you won’t get EXP from it. All of this depends on your subconscious intent. If you’re thinking about gaining EXP, then the beast you kill will disintegrate and grant you EXP. But if you’re killing only for food, it won’t. Got it?’

Leon nodded slightly—he understood what the system meant.

He then decided to check the notification he had received earlier.

┏━━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━┓

NEW MISSION

•─────⋅☾ Supreme Thief Dagger ☽⋅─────•

After your downfall, your dagger lost all its power, but it fell into the hands of the Elven King. Meanwhile, the Green Goblin King discovered a way to reach the higher world of the elves through a teleportation gate created by one of his mage subordinates.

In a sneaky manner, he stole the dagger and brought it back to his world.

•─────⋅☾ Mission ☽⋅─────•

Retrieve the dagger without being spotted.

•─────⋅☾ Reward ☽⋅─────•

Supreme Thief Skill [Skill Thief]

Supreme Thief Skill [Energy Thief]

•─────⋅☾ Punishment ☽⋅─────•

If you’re spotted before you can steal the dagger... your trusty dagger will be lost forever!

┗━━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━┛

Leon gulped after reading the mission.

From what he could tell, this was by far the most important mission he had received since obtaining the system.

The rewards were equally significant—especially the first skill.

He could already guess the effects of the first skill from its name alone, and he was certain the second skill would be just as valuable. Just thinking about it made his mind race.

Shaking off the thoughts for now, Leon focused on his surroundings.

After following the goblins for such a long time, boredom started to creep in. But then, his eyes lit up as they reached a cleared stretch of land.

The place looked primitive, and Leon was sure this was where the goblins lived.

He scanned the area, watching as the hunter goblins entered. The houses were crudely built from wood, with roofs made of thick canopy leaves reinforced with sticks.

While studying the settlement, he was interrupted by a sudden loud noise.

All the goblins gathered around the leopard’s corpse, showering praise on the hunters for their efforts. The hunters smiled and chatted among themselves, pointing at the archer goblin as if crediting it with most of the work.

The noise quickly died when a larger, more robust goblin appeared—accompanied by two muscular guards. The Goblin King.

He examined the leopard’s corpse, noting the arrow still lodged in it, then called the archer over. From Leon’s vantage point, it looked like the king was reprimanding it.

After some words, the archer handed over its arrows for inspection. The king focused closely on the tips before sharply scolding the archer goblin.

Leon watched as the king walked away. The archer stood still for a moment, then, muttering angrily to itself, it threw away its set of arrows before storming off.

’Hmm, so it turns out that mutant leopard died quickly because it was poisoned... just as I guessed. And clearly, these goblins aren’t immune to that lethal poison.’

A faint grin tugged at Leon’s lips. ’Should I call that archer foolish or insane? It literally poisoned their food and brought it to them. I don’t care what it does... but I will make good use of those arrows.’

He immediately went to collect them. Beside the arrows was a pouch made of animal hide, filled with a thick, slimy red liquid. Leon was certain this was the poison itself.

The arrowheads were coated with the same substance. He was careful not to let it touch his skin—its lethality was obvious. One contact could kill him instantly.

Examining one of the arrows closely, Leon noted the craftsmanship. It was clearly handmade, yet skillfully so. The short shafts were perfectly sized for the archer goblin’s use.

’Too bad I don’t have a bow...’ he thought.

But even if one were here, he doubted he could use it effectively. Since birth, he had never touched a bow—only seen one from afar—and he had no plans to start learning now.

Still, a bow and arrows would be perfect for this situation.

If he had them, he could easily sneak into the goblin settlement and kill the Goblin King instantly before it even knew he was there.

But without one, he would have to rely on his own hands. After all, there’s no better weapon than a person’s own hands.

Storing the arrows safely in his artifact, Leon prepared himself for the action that would soon follow.

He was not going to fail the mission—no matter what!

Leon decided to study the goblin village for some time before taking any action.

His eyes scanned the area until they found the tallest tree nearby. Without wasting a second, he swiftly began climbing it, careful with every movement to avoid slipping and injuring himself.

It wasn’t difficult for him, even though he hadn’t made a habit of climbing trees in the past. The only time he had ever done so was when chasing after the archer goblin, leaping and maneuvering through branches. Even then, despite it being his first time, he adapted instantly thanks to his high strength, agility, intelligence, and perception.

Those traits combined made jumping from branch to branch, or from tree to tree, feel natural. His intelligence gave him an instinctive ability to judge which branches could support his weight, while his perception ensured he could spot the most stable points instantly.

Without those advantages, he might have leapt onto a fragile, unstable branch and sent himself plummeting.

Now, as he climbed higher, Leon’s gaze searched for the perfect vantage point—a comfortable spot that allowed him to observe the entire village without obstruction.

It didn’t take long to find it. Upon spotting the ideal perch, he climbed toward it, settling his weight against the rough bark. He quickly set about cutting away the leaves that blocked his line of sight, knowing it would be too cumbersome to hold them aside while trying to watch the village closely.

With his view cleared, he took a deep breath. The air here was fresh, carrying the faint, calming fragrance of the small flowers clinging to the tree. That scent, almost soothing, was at odds with the tension building inside him.

Only then did he begin his careful surveillance.

He knew that with the right information, he could craft a foolproof plan. And he already had an ace to make its execution easier and faster: the poisoned arrow.

He would reserve it for the Goblin King and his guards. From his understanding, the king was likely a boss-level monster—something that would be extremely difficult to kill without the aid of poison.

Leon tightened his grip on the branch. This was not going to be easy.

Leon tightened his grip on the branch. This was not going to be easy.

Leon tightened his grip on the branch. This was not going to be easy.