I definitely got lost on my way to the area I was asked to scout by Guild Master Trenton. Fortunately, I did manage to find the area, and I scouted the whole thing. Three groups of goblins, each with at least one that had good loot. However, there was no goblin outpost in the zone I was assigned.

The presence of three groups in such a small area told me there might be something nearby, however, so I looked around some more.

Now, I'm crouching on a tree branch, examining the goblin outpost. It's a little further north of the area I was sent to look. I've also marked the location on my map. Not the good map, though – on the map I made as I came this way. It contains rough drawings of features I saw to help guide me. This should make it easier to point things out to Guild Master Trenton.

I make another mark on my map, drawing a circle and making a few lines going down from it before making a goblin's face in the center of it. The goblin outpost is around two hundred feet across, and it even has outer walls. The walls are just logs around eight inches thick and twelve feet in height.

The top of the posts were whittled down to make points, each one about a foot in length. The logs themselves are roped together pretty tightly. I don't see any gaps. There's some sort of walkway that runs all the way around the inside of the wall, made of branches from what I can tell, and supported by angled branches. Goblins patrol on that, keeping an eye out for potential threats, probably for any potential hunters who find them. Or for monsters.

Their outpost has two entrances. Both are a pair of large, wooden double-doors that swing inward. I can't make out the back one too well, but judging by the pair I'm close to, they have a giant wooden beam they can lower onto it to avoid having it opened by force.

Unfortunately, I'm not high enough to see into the camp too well, just enough to make out the tops of the buildings and the walkway. Those doors make me nervous, though. They're ten feet in height, and goblins are shorter than me.

For monsters, that's pretty good work. Then I remember that goblins can craft stuff, too. This is basic compared to forging metal, so it's no longer surprising. Goblins are a little intelligent, after all.

From my perch in the tree, I can see several buildings constructed, mostly out of canvas and leather that's been strapped to posts. I could burn it pretty well, but I'd run into the issue of 'we're in a forest'. They've cleared out a space to construct their outpost, but it's still close the trees and a fire that big would definitely catch the forest on fire.

One of the goblin archers on the wall looks in my direction, and I'm glad that I put the effort into learning how to create illusions after training. They really helped me with [Light Cloak], an illusory spell that manipulates light to render what's inside of it invisible. The goblin looking this way looks right through, seeing what's behind me instead of seeing me.

Should I try and take on this outpost? I'm not really losing fights against goblins anymore, and I have plenty of Mana to spare since I worked on [Light Cloak] after learning it earlier. The main issue is probably that I'd have to cast more spells than I have Mana, actually. At least I'll recover Mana throughout the fight, it takes me less than ten seconds to cast a bolt spell from empty.

By my estimates, there are at least one hundred goblins in the camp, plus whatever those large doors are for. Goblins don't need doors that large for themselves, so they have something else in there.

Or maybe they have human allies, and the doors were made a little larger than needed for that? If they have human allies, then those allies need to be outed and killed. Am I strong enough to do that?

Job Request Issued! His Royal Majesty, King Arthur, will pay 10 silver coins per kill of each boar from a goblin outpost, 25 silver coins per kill of each goblin from a goblin outpost, 1 gold per kill of each troll from a goblin outpost, and 5 platinum for the destruction of a goblin outpost, to be paid accordingly between those who have done the job or assisted in the completion of the job. [You are receiving this notice because you are within 50 yards of a target location and have been so for 180 seconds.]

That's a lot of money for killing goblins. Then again, these are tougher goblins and taking on this job will heavily reduce the kingdom's expenses in the long-run, since they won't have to deal with a war or people killed off by the goblins here while they're hunting.

Okay! I've decided!

I put my map back into my pack, pull my pack back on, then climb down the tree. Facing the goblin outpost, I examine the pair of guards standing to either side of the open doors. The doors must be so large to allow the boars and trolls through. I don't know what trolls are, but boars are super easy for me to kill, as long as I use a spear spell instead of a bolt spell.

Since goblins and boars are so easy, and goblins are the main threat, trolls are probably just big, strong, and slow. That's why the doors are large – they're for fitting the trolls through. They won't be too much of an issue, but I might have to use a bomb spell.

Speaking of bomb spells, I conjure up three [Flashbang Bomb]s at full power. We're twenty miles or so from the edge of the forest, so it's unlikely anyone will hear them and come running to help. Trenton told me that this far out is an ideal spot for the goblins to put up an outpost because they're less likely to be noticed or found by accident.

It was only because I was going further than most hunters that I encountered stronger goblins. That resulted in me getting a quality staff from one, which resulted in the guild discovering this. Trenton said that judging by the number of stronger goblins that have been faced by myself and others, they've already been set up for several months now.

Considering the trail I found leading me right to this outpost, I'd agree. The goblins have torches set up for light around the outpost.

Even if someone does hear my spells, I won't mind if they help me deal with this. I'll be a little upset that I have to split the five platinum, but I'll accept that it's a necessary sacrifice.

But that's not for now. Right now, I throw the three [Flashbang Bomb]s over the wall, aimed at different spots. I practiced this earlier throwing [Stone Orb]s at slimes, because Trenton told me the goblins would have a wall. My aim isn't the best, but it's better than if I hadn't practiced.

The three [Flashbang Bomb]s go off in succession, and I release my [Light Cloak] before summoning an [Air Barrier] in front of me. A condensed Experience and Levels notification appears as debris is thrown everywhere. Even the walls of the goblin outpost are destroyed, fragments of it, goblin huts, goblins, and other monsters thrown outward.

My barrier takes a fair few hits, but I'm rather satisfied. That wouldn't have destroyed all of the goblins, but the blast range would have definitely taken out most. I don't know why I was worried about running out of Mana.

Suddenly, the dust filling the air begins to clear, sucking inward for a few moments before blowing outward. That wind is supernatural. One of the goblin mages was able to conjure a barrier in time, then. Or several.

A massive roar lets out from within the ruins of the camp, and as the dust clears, I see what let it out: a humanoid figure around nine feet in height, with matted hair and pale, green-grey skin. It's butt-naked (it's male) and quite muscular, and the creature is charging straight at me.

So this is a troll.

I hold up my left forefinger and middle in front of me, pointed up and perpendicular to my face (Thomas taught me that word yesterday). Once they're in position, I slash with my fingers, pulling them out to the side. A spear of concentrated air forms at the tips of my fingers, and I flick my arm forward. The spear shoots straight at the troll, slamming into its head.

Huh. My spell did punch through, but there was clearly some resistance to it and my spell finally broke before the shaft finished passing all the way through.

Not only that, but the troll was only knocked back by that. It's healing from the injury. Not just any injury, but from a giant hole in its head! That would have killed most monsters! What insanity!

If it's going to heal from injuries, then I'm going to burn it so there's nothing left! I thrust my hands forward and conjure up a [Flamethrower] with each. Over the sounds of the crackling flames, I can hear the troll howl in agony.

As the flames fade, I hear goblins shouting and more trolls coming. If I'm right, that's also snuffling of boars.

I conjure up another pair of [Flashbang Bomb]s and throw them straight ahead. A green-tinted [Air Bolt] shoots forward and detonates one of them early, and I'm glad I'd already summoned my [Air Barrier] back. The explosion caused the other [Flashbang Bomb] to detonate, and I can make out the shimmering, green-tinted forms of [Air Barrier]s.

Goblin mages have arrived on the scene, and they're strong enough to protect from those blasts. No! Their barriers are cracked, and they have several of them layered together.

"Heh," I smirk.

A single [Air Barrier] from them can't take on my spells, they have to layer them over each other to reduce the force enough even as it breaks them just to protect themselves. The handful of trolls I can see (three male and two female) were unprotected and are already healing from the injuries. Three boars were protected as well, and they immediately charge forward as the barriers fade and the goblin mages blow away the wind.

Using a trick I've learned about over the last few weeks, I throw a quartet of [Light Orb]s at the incoming horde before summoning [Air Spear]s to deal with the boars. As I expected, the goblin mages do nothing to the [Light Orb]s, allowing them to strike the four goblin soldiers I'd aimed at.

They probably figured that they could let four of them be blinded. I'm surprised enough that they can still see in the first place, considering the flash part of the [Flashbang Bomb]s. Or do they have shadow mages I didn't notice?

Either way, the goblins' attempts at stopping my [Air Spear]s with their barriers are disrupted the moment my [Light Orb]s strike the four goblin soldiers.

Contained within them were [Fireball]s. A [Fireball] is basically the fire version of a bomb spell. I'll deal with whatever fire gets set to the forest once this battle ends, fire is the only way to deal with the trolls that I can think of right now considering their regeneration capabilities.

And the four goblins I hit were all in front of trolls.

As the goblin mages hastily change their [Air Barrier]s to protect against the fire, I send unmasked [Fireball]s at the trolls and lob another [Flashbang Bomb] – this one aimed to go over the barriers.

A green-tinted [Air Spear] soars at me through the chaos, and I let it slam into my [Air Barrier]. Not a single crack forms in my violet-tinted air. I'm right, I'm significantly more powerful than them.

Green-tinted arrows of concentrated air soar at me from above, and I adjust my [Air Barrier] to protect me from there, allowing their archers' attacks to simply bounce off of it or break. In return, I send more [Flashbang Bomb]s their way, this time aimed at the archers.

The idiot goblins hastily try to detonate them early with their arrows, but these spells are too strong. Their best bet would be creating barriers to block the spell entirely, not detonate them early. The ruined walls don't seem to have mages, so they need to focus on defense if I attack.

A dozen goblin soldiers and club-wielders are left on the ground for the melee fighters down here, along with one of the female trolls. My next [Fireball] is blown to the side by a goblin mage, which isn't even something I knew they could do. That's pretty useful information, considering the [Fireball] wasn't detonated by the conjured wind – it was by the impact, striking too far to cause damage to the force.

"You guys are taking more Mana than I want," I sigh as the melee fighters crash into my [Air Barrier], which I've spread to surround myself entirely. "Why don't you just go away?"

I thrust my hands out to the sides, and my barrier rapidly expands, throwing all of the goblins and the troll attack it back several feet, right before a trio of [Air Spear]s slam into it.

"And you are getting on my last nerve," I direct to the goblin mages. "You'd all be dead now instead of wounded if you didn't block my spells."

I've figured out by this point which of them are the shadow mages. There are two that haven't been using any air magics, suggesting they don't have an affinity for it. They haven't been using any magics, in fact. That's because they're probably conjuring up [Shadow Barrier]s right before the [Flashbang Bomb]s go off, to protect the eyes of themselves and their allies.

Because this is taking more Mana and time than I expected after that initial wave of destruction, I need to do something I didn't want to do: lightning magic. I can use [Static Bolt] just fine, but only because they're weaker, contained, and quieter. Lightning is… too dangerous for my tastes. That, and it honestly scares me.

I'm terrified of thunderstorms.

Taking a deep breath, I tap into the lightning in my Mana and summon an orb of lightning six inches in diameter.

[Lightning Bomb] learned!

Then I throw it, hastily erecting a [Lightning Barrier] all around me. I just learned the spell so it costs me more than [Air Barrier], but lightning is the counter to lightning. Sure, an [Air Barrier] can stop it, but I want to be extra certain here.

The goblin mages throw up [Air Barrier]s in an attempt at stopping the spell, and it works. Sort of. The thing about lightning, however, is that it spreads. It jumps from spot to spot. It arcs, looking for a new spot to continue until it's gone. Lightning magic constantly seeks out new targets until it's spent, and that's terrifying.

The accompanying rumbles of thunder as my lightning shocks everything around me outside of my barrier sends me to the ground, hands over my ears. My heart is beating in my chest, threatening to burst out of it. My breaths are heavy, difficult. My entire body trembles, and it takes every ounce of my willpower to keep the barrier up until the static storm is over.

As soon as it ends, I release the barrier and rise to my feet, looking at the damage. Burnt bodies are everywhere, but I didn't get them all.

One goblin mage is alive, its green-tinted [Air Barrier] wrapped around itself, covered in cracks. Three layers by the one mage, and I've broken parts of the first two and only cracked the third. The troll survived as well, already regenerating, though its wounds are taking longer to heal. The burns from my fire spells are still healing as well.

I meet the goblin mage's gaze.

"Fuck you."

I summon half a dozen [Air Bolt]s and send them at it. There's no need to continue looking, I know it's going to die so I turn to face the troll, which is stumbling towards me.

"Fuck you."

I summon an [Air Bolt] and shoot it at the troll's chest to make it stumble backwards more. That's followed up with a [Fireball], which finishes it off.

I fall backwards, landing on my ass as I clutch my chest. That was… terrifying. Not the goblins, not the part where they almost did get me… the lightning. I hate it. That was… too much. I'd wanted to do the [Flashbang Bomb]s hoping that the light and sound would help me with my fear of lightning.

It didn't work. It didn't work at all. I can't get up. My body's refusing to. It took all I had just to do so before and finish off the goblins.

"Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!"