novelraw Chapter 226: New City Quests, Old Friends the Goblins
Chapter 226: New City Quests, Old Friends the Goblins
After chatting with Leonard, captain of the Lion Adventuring Company, for a while longer, the task list he had arranged for Lin Mo and the others was finally completed.
Lin Mo took the list and prepared to take his leave.
After all, the Lion Adventuring Company had their own business to attend to, and he did not want to pester them any longer.
Leonard urged him to stay several times as he was leaving, which contrasted slightly with his outwardly cheerful demeanor, and when they finally waved goodbye he repeated his reminders, telling Lin Mo to come find him anytime he ran into trouble.
After leaving the Lion Adventuring Company, Lin Mo planned to spend the rest of the day taking everyone around the city.
They had just arrived in a new city;
diving straight into work felt a bit too harsh. Improving strength and making money were important, but they shouldn’t push themselves too hard, or their mindset might break.
Big city energy is big city energy. Fargard City’s prosperity level was a whole tier above Silverstream City.
The shops lining the streets were far more legitimate and larger in scale than those in Silverstream City;
even the small food stalls in alleys looked much tidier.
From these signs it was clear the city lord of Fargard was doing a commendable job.
Seeing a snack stall by the road, Finnie—always a foodie—couldn’t resist. She bought this and that.Sherfilia wanted to scold and stop her, but now that Finnie had Lin Mo as backup, the little maid’s hands were tied.
“Don’t be so strict... These things aren’t that unhealthy. An occasional treat won’t hurt.”
Compared to Finnie, who was both the young mistress and his charge’s sister, Lin Mo’s word carried more authority in Sherfilia’s eyes.
So she could only grumble helplessly and let Finnie have her way.
Finnie stuffed a pastry in her left hand and a skewer of grilled meat in her right, her cheeks puffed out and her face lit with a genuine smile.
Ellie, by contrast, was far more interested in meat—purely carnivorous.
Lena preferred sweets and hardly ate meat.
Lin Mo accepted everything offered but didn’t eat much;
he only took a bite when Ellie or Finnie fed him. Sherfilia didn’t eat at all—following them like a puppet, her expression carrying a trace of resentment.
If someone didn’t know her, they might find her intimidating, but after living with her, Lin Mo only found her a little cute.
Of course, Sherfilia’s height had a lot to do with it. If she were as tall as Flora and wore that cool, indifferent expression, she might be imposing.
But at under 1.5 meters, even shorter than Lena, she had little of that aura.
After snacking and drinking, clothing shopping was inevitable.
They already had plenty of clothes, but they hadn’t brought many from Silverstream City.
Lin Mo’s Spatial Ring had substantial capacity, but it was still limited and reserved for important items. Everyday clothes weren’t included, so they needed to buy more.
This made Lena and Finnie the happiest. Ellie had not cared about dressing up before, but since meeting Lin Mo she’d begun paying attention. Sherfilia, as always, remained indifferent.
Speaking of which, Ellie had never seen Lin Mo wear anything other than his male-servant outfit.
Outside Leonard’s wardrobe it seemed he only had a few nearly identical sets of servant uniforms.
Considering that being a servant for Leonard was both an identity and a job, this was understandable.
Ellie glanced at Lin Mo and dropped the idea of coaxing him into trying other clothes.
Even if she asked, the chance he’d agree was slim, and she didn’t want to trouble him.
“Lin Mo, how about this dress?”
Finnie changed into a pretty white dress, shyly hiding her hands behind her back and swaying gently.
The skirt flared as she moved, radiating a fresh, pure charm.
“It looks great, absolutely gorgeous!”
“Then... I’ll take this one. Miss, could you please wrap it up...”
“Lin Mo, over here.”
Ellie unceremoniously rested a hand on Lin Mo’s head and pulled him to her side.
The little wolf-girl wore a neat, form-fitting outfit that made her look both cool and cute. Her large tail wagged constantly, making it tempting to reach out and touch it.
“An... and me...” Lena’s soft voice came from the side. The cat-eared girl typically dressed conservatively, but this time she’d chosen a low-cut knit sweater covered by an overcoat, letting Lin Mo catch only a glimpse.
“Ellie said... you would like it. I’ll buy it and only wear it at home for you to see...”
Her words were clearly coached;
she stumbled through them, then flushed bright red.
Sherfilia shot a dangerously sharp look at Lena, then shifted it to Ellie.
Ellie returned the stare without hesitation, her eyes glinting with pride and challenge.
Lin Mo realized their household had already begun to divide into factions, each trying to outdo the other.
How to put it...
Although he felt this would harm harmony, he couldn’t call them out directly—otherwise the conflict would all fall on him.
Lin Mo did not want to light a fuse and experience a full-on war zone.
After all, it was his fault to begin with.
Best to say nothing. These emergent alliances actually created a delicate balance.
Countless veterans’ experiences told him the right move was to play dumb.
One dress wasn’t enough;
they tried on many outfits, some tasteful and some daring. The store had private changing rooms so no outsiders could see, and everyone kept coats on outside, so even the clerk at the door couldn’t notice.
Lin Mo enjoyed the view but also suffered—he grew hotter the more he watched.
When shopping finally ended, they went to a high-class restaurant in Fargard City named the Fargard Hotel.
Named after the city itself, it was reportedly opened by the city lord, and was one of the city’s top dining establishments.
Lin Mo ordered a variety of high-quality dishes and some local specialties;
the meal cost twenty to thirty gold coins.
Of course, the money wasn’t wasted—the premium dishes were made from high-grade monster meat, which provided tangible benefits.
Combined with the clothes they’d bought earlier for another twenty or thirty gold, today’s spending was nothing to sneeze at.
But the clothing bill wasn’t paid by Lin Mo.
He had intended to cover it, but everyone refused, so he let them pay.
Ellie and Finnie were fairly well-off, and Lena’s finances had improved after selling crops she’d cultivated in Silverstream City.
After returning to the inn in the afternoon, Lin Mo sparred a bit with Sherfilia. The back of their small residence had a large courtyard reserved for adventurers who needed practice.
After training and using Cleansing Flow to wash up, Lin Mo still habitually went to his room to bathe.
Sherfilia, who had practiced with him, naturally went into the bath as well to help him cool down.
After emerging from the bath, the heat that had built up during the afternoon dissipated.
He even noticed a slight boost to his Agility—this evolved Shared Cultivation skill was indeed proving quite effective.
The rest of the day passed leisurely. Lin Mo didn’t forget the task list he’d taken from the Lion Adventuring Company and reviewed the missions recommended by their analysts.
Professionals were professional—the task list was thorough yet well organized, listing suitable tasks by difficulty.
Since they had just arrived in Fargard City, Lin Mo decided to warm up with some simple missions and selected a few D-rank tasks.
Actually, it had been a while since he’d seriously taken on missions. The recent wars in Silverstream City and Lania City had boosted his strength considerably, so when he first read the D-rank tasks on the list he felt a little unfamiliar.
In his impression, D-rank missions still had some challenge, but now they appeared ridiculously easy.
If not for being new to the city, he should at least be taking C-rank tasks by now...
Oh well, he’d pick a couple at random.
After a brief study, Lin Mo set the list down and they had dinner together.
Normally they would rest before a mission the next day, but because D-rank tasks were so easy, it was fine to put in a little extra practice that night.
Sherfilia had already eaten meat in the afternoon, so the evening was Ellie’s time.
The little wolf-girl was as driven as ever—eager to grow stronger and diligent about training.
All in all, they spent a pleasant evening.
Early the next morning, after breakfast, the group went to the Fargard City branch of the Adventurers' Association.
In a large city like Fargard, the association had more than one branch—one in the east and one in the west—but they were part of the same organization under a single branch leader, split for adventurer convenience.
Compared with Silverstream City, the Fargard branches were obviously much larger.
Even split into two parts, each branch occupied an impressive area.
The association’s gate alone was several meters wide, and the interior felt enormous—like a train station or airport.
Despite the space, the density of adventurers inside was still very high.
This made sense—Fargard City was one of the most suitable cities for adventurers in the Doria Kingdom. Even the Royal Capital paled slightly in comparison.
Adventurers in the Royal Capital were slightly stronger on average and included a small number of top-tier experts, but their numbers were far fewer.
In such a large association, mission pickup and completion were divided into different areas by rank.
Each area had a corresponding counter;
you could only pick up missions of the appropriate rank at the matching counter.
Unsurprisingly, the largest area was for E-rank missions.
F-rank missions were too low-level and usually stayed in small towns;
they rarely came to a big city like this.
Adventurers capable of taking and finishing E-rank missions were the mainstream of the adventuring populace.
D-rank also had many people because many adventurers from smaller places came to Fargard after becoming known.
Lin Mo stood in line for a while before finally squeezing up to the D-rank mission wall.
The task list he’d gotten from the Lion Adventuring Company even noted the regions on the mission wall where each task was posted, so Lin Mo quickly found the tasks he wanted. After signing up, he moved to the counter.
Lena followed to observe—she might later serve as the team’s adventurer assistant, and needed to learn.
She walked behind Lin Mo, eyes wide at the spacious hall and the much larger counters than she’d seen before.
The clerks behind the counter noticed her wonder;
when Lin Mo and the others reached the counter, one of them smiled and asked, “Hello, are you new adventurers in Fargard City?”
“Yes.”
Lin Mo nodded.
“Okay, according to the association rules we need to register you first. Please present your adventurer badges.”
Lin Mo, Ellie, and Finnie handed over their badges.
Sherfilia... had never officially been an adventurer, so she had no badge and was not a team member—she had simply stayed with them and helped for free.
“Silver Radiance Team’s Lin Mo, right?”
“That’s right.”
“All right, please wait a moment...”
The registration process was quick. Soon the clerk handed back their badges with a smile. “Done. You can now pick up missions.”
Lin Mo handed over two mission slips. The clerk took them and began checking and recording information.
“Mission number D48238 and mission number D62938, correct?”
“Yes.”
“All right, please confirm the mission details and requirements.”
Lin Mo glanced again at the two missions he’d chosen.
[Kill Petrified Lizards]
Mission Number: D48238
Type: Cleanup/Material Collection
Client: Adventurers' Association
Reward: 700 gold
Mission Summary:
Go to Silent Forest and kill three Petrified Lizards, and bring back the Petrified Lizards’ eyes and tongues.
Note: Petrified Lizards are widely distributed in region 11 of Silent Forest. Their threat level is approximately 4–5, but be aware there may be giant Petrified Lizards at Lord Level or higher, with threat levels reaching 6–10. Exercise caution!
This was a common cleanup and material-collection mission. The difficulty wasn’t high;
because they only needed three, the reward was relatively generous at 700 gold.
As for the second mission...
[Hunt Goblins]
Mission Number: D62938
Type: Cleanup
Client: Adventurers' Association
Reward: Reward based on number of kills
Mission Summary:
Go to region 8 of Silent Forest. Kill at least 300 ordinary Goblins, 50 Mutated Goblins (adult form) or Goblin Guards, or more than 10 Bronze Goblins or Giant Goblins. More kills, more reward!
Note: The Goblin population in region 8 has shown a slight upward trend recently. Adventurers are encouraged to participate to help control the Goblin numbers.
Yes—old friends again, the Goblins!
These resilient, highly reproductive creatures could be found almost anywhere on the continent, and Silent Forest was no exception.
In fact, among the hundred-plus monster regions in Silent Forest, nearly ten were Goblin territories.
Each territory belonged to a different Goblin tribe, developing independently but occasionally contacting each other.
From this mission’s description, Fargard City took Goblin clearing seriously.
They monitored each Goblin region’s population and increased eradication efforts when numbers rose, to prevent the Goblin tribes from growing.
This effort required significant resources and was an important measure of a city lord’s competence. From current evidence, Fargard’s lord was doing well.
On the task list Lin Mo got from the Lion Adventuring Company, the Hunt Goblins mission was listed as one of the missions with the highest reward ceilings across ranks.
The mission had multiple rankings, from the simplest F-rank up through E, D, and even C.
C-rank required killing Lord-level Silver Goblins.
In places like Roland Forest, the appearance of a Silver Goblin was a major event. Roland Forest’s monsters were generally weaker;
a Lord-level Silver Goblin appearing there, combined with massive Goblin numbers, could dominate and squeeze out other monsters, seizing mates and growing stronger.
But in Silent Forest, Silver-level Goblins were nothing special.
Silent Forest’s monsters were stronger and organized into tribal territories. A Silver Goblin among those powerful creatures was like a stray dog by the roadside—no real threat and unable to trespass on other species’ territories. Even tribes with Proto-Gold-level Goblins wouldn’t cause much trouble.
Only a true Gold-level Goblin reaching High-tier Lord Level—comparable to a Transcendent Level human—could trigger a Goblin disaster.
Lin Mo loved Goblin-clearing missions.
Huge numbers, easy to find, satisfying to kill, and generous in both experience and reward...
They felt tailor-made for him!
He guessed the Hunt Goblins missions would become his go-to daily choice.
Don’t know what mission to accept? Take Hunt Goblins. Short on money? Goblins. Need proficiency? Goblins...
Goblins were practically family to him!