Even the simplest of creatures could still end one’s life if not careful. It was why G-rank was considered an inexperienced rank. Even if an F-rank sucked at combat, they had enough skills to actually defend themselves against a young goblin or a group of slimes as they had already encountered such scenarios many times before.

Yet there were actually G-rank adventurers who had fallen due to their carelessness of a mere goblin or group of slimes. Some even got injured or worn out due to wild animals if they weren’t careful.

Going back into the combat, as the goblin came closer Yuu slashed the area in front of him, causing the goblin to jump back before it could get hit. Preparing to strike again, he got closer, sprinting a few steps forward before slicing the air in front of him. But before he could, the goblin quickly placed its hand on the ground before tossing out a large amount of dirt, making it difficult to see. Deciding to swing anyways, he felt his scythe hit nothing and as soon as he was going to retreat, he felt a small rock hit him on the head.

Trying to ignore the pain, he saw the goblin next to him on his left side. Seeing that the goblin was about to stab, he barely managed to dodge as the sharp wooden dagger that the goblin wielded lightly grazed his clothing. He looked in shock as the weapon simply looked like a pointy, easily broken twig, yet it actually grazed his clothing, causing a small yet barely noticeable slice on his shirt. He backed away as much as possible and made sure he was stable and away from the goblin.

On Leah’s side, she had already taken out one of the slimes. Under Jebon’s guidance, she slowly learned how to take things out of her body while attacking. However, the best she could do was summon a weapon and drop it on whatever was in front of her. Luckily the slimes in front of her weren't as smart as her as she let one of them charge at her before pulling out a sword that was facing towards them. Causing one of the slimes to receive a cut.

This obviously wasn’t enough to actually kill the slime, but it did halt it enough for her to pull out a spear and push it with her body, heading deep into its jelly-like body, the slime most likely died, or at the very least it wouldn’t be able to move freely. However, now she had to deal with the other one.

When she finished her attacks, she was knocked near the river by the other slime. The same method most likely wouldn’t work but she did it anyway. But even so, the slime walked around it and charged forward. Even a young wild animal would realize that it wasn’t safe to just go toward a sharp object.

Being cornered, she had no choice but to dodge as the slime had no desire to stop. As soon as the slime did stop as it was nearing the river, Leah hurried and pushed it against the river, both trying to push one another. A squishy noise was heard as a small dagger was placed slightly above the slime, piercing its body.

While slimes were not very smart, they still felt pain and exhaustion to an extent. Having less strength, it felt its soft body collide with the water, slowly descending before finally being swayed by the water. Even though it was just on the edge to not be sent at the speed of light, it did go down a good distance, far away from the group.

While Leah had that moment, Yuu charged once more, preparing to swing but being careful in case the goblin did a feint once more. The goblin charged towards him as well, once again reaching towards the ground and throwing a chunk of dirt at him.

Knowing what was going to happen next, he decided to take a slightly risky move since he didn’t have the agility to suddenly move away or the perception to see through the dust. He closed his eyes and lowered his body slightly before taking a big swing around him. If there was one benefit of a scythe, it was targeting the area with range and strength.

“Gah!” the goblin let out a shriek as it felt a cut on its chest. Even though it wasn’t deep, it was still a painful cut. If it had been on its arm he would’ve felt his strength slightly sap away since the cut was big enough to cause some blood to flow out.

Deciding to book it as it was not worth dying to kill him, the goblin started to run away. But before it could get far, it fell down, not realizing that there was a spear underneath him. Before it could get up and sprint, it felt a sharp pain through its back and fell down, staring at the gentle and quiet river flowing. Its final sight was one of rest.

Yuu had quickly struck the back of the goblin as soon as it fell, not allowing it to run away. He pulled the scythe out and quickly looked away while trying to give a thumbs up to Leah for managing to place the spear in a really good spot.

Even though he had killed a goblin before, it still was not a beautiful sight to him, just seeing blood with the first slice was still gruesome to him. Taking a breather, he gulped before grasping the upper body of the scythe before slicing the right ear off. While adventurers did have quests, one of the other ways to make money was to sell off materials from creatures. Obviously, an ear wouldn’t sell at all, it was a way for the guild to know that he did more work and would receive a small extra payment from the guild or village.

As for the part that would sell, it would be an organ that would sell for a good amount of money. He heard that it was generally used for alchemy, but he didn’t want to know at this moment. After taking who knows long, he finally got it and cleaned it before placing it in a pouch. All adventurers had to dissect things, especially if they hunted, but Yuu just could not understand how people did it as it was just incredibly disgusting.

Dealing with the body and the slimes, he took a small break before continuing to gather herbs, wanting to just finish, go home, and sleep. Though he wasn’t necessarily in a bad mood as he finally got real combat experience from this quest.

Death was going to happen, he knew it himself. This obviously wasn’t his first kill, but he still wasn’t used to it. “It’s easier said than done. If this frightens me… then what if I have to actually kill a human?” Trying to clear his mind, he kept gathering herbs until it was slightly over the required amount.

Taking his time to walk towards the village with Leah, he saw an old man in plain clothing talking with two females, presumably adventurers. “Are you sure it’s fine? What if…” “Old man, I told you already, it’s just a baby. And even if we kill the young one, more goblins will appear. If you’re really scared, I'd just prepare escape routes, and make sure the elderly and children are safe. Don’t you know about the recent events?”

“Jane, don’t be too rude. He’s just being cautious, hmm?” the adventurer on the side looked to the left and saw a man with a slime on his head coming towards them.

Seeing how they noticed him, Yuu quickly apologized, “My bad, I didn’t mean to interrupt you two. I was trying to look for the village head.”

The old man raised his hand, “That would be me, young man. May I know how I can help you?”

Explaining the quest he accepted, the old man made an “Ah” sound, “Thank you, thank you, I’ll submit a confirmation later today,” grabbing the basket he looked at the herbs, “these are pretty nice, it will help the other villagers.”

“Oh, I also heard your conversation about a goblin. I killed a goblin while looking in the forest, it seemed like it was young and had two slimes beside it.”

The female adventurer in front spoke out, “Huh, what a surprise. Then, old man, you’re safe for now. Though I would still make some plans in case it gets worse. Worst-case scenario, send the children to stay in the city temporarily.”

“Thank you three! I’ll put in a bit of extra money as a tip, our village may not be wealthy, but I’d pay to keep our village safe.”

“No need, no need! I’d rather the money be used to help the village.”

“Are you sure? I don’t know how to repay you, especially since this was a G-rank quest meant for beginners, having to deal with a goblin must have been dangerous.”

The woman in the back quickly spoke up, “Eh, wait when did you join the guild?”

“It’s been five days when I joined, why?” Both Yuu and Leah slightly tilted their heads. Well, more figuratively for Leah.

She stayed silent for a quick second before speaking, “Nothing, just a surprising thing to see. Most adventurers usually take a good amount of time before killing or at least have someone supervise them. Good job.”

The two females said a few words with the old man before leaving. Yuu did the same, telling the village head where he saw the goblin, just so they could be cautious before leaving.