Chapter 68: Title Upgrade
He opened the Adventurer’s Handbook and found that it was the Goblin-related title that had been upgraded.
"You have killed a total of 50 Goblins. The title 【Goblin Hunter】 has been upgraded to 【Goblin Slayer】."
After the title upgrade, the entry effect also changed completely.
Current effect: Nemesis. In battles against Goblins and their related advanced species, damage dealt by attacks is increased by an additional 20%.
(A special effect: Critical Strike. You have a certain probability of triggering a critical strike, greatly increasing attack power during the critical state. After triggering, this effect cannot be activated again for a short time.)
The title upgrade increased the Nemesis damage bonus from 10% to 20%.
Don’t underestimate this 10% increase—damage bonuses, compared to other flashy effects, are the most direct and brutal improvements.
Even at 10%, the Nemesis effect had already allowed him to triumph against numerous Goblins with ease.
Now raised to 20%, ordinary Goblins would find it even harder to stand against him.
He even suspected that, with just Swordsmanship Basics and the 20% damage boost, he might already be able to face off head-on against the mutated Large Goblin he encountered during his first mission.
Moreover, the title upgrade also added a critical strike effect to Nemesis, which, when triggered, would further greatly enhance attack damage.
Gauss browsed through his panel and felt he was indeed walking further and further down the path of a Goblin Slayer.
For now, he did not think this was a bad thing.
His Adventurer’s Handbook required him to accumulate a total number of monster kills, so Goblins were a prime target.
Because Goblins existed in large numbers, had strong reproductive abilities, and were among the most common low-level monsters.
Although the vast majority of Goblins were no longer a threat to him, encountering too many at once could still pose a risk.
Moreover, powerful individuals with higher challenge ratings could also emerge among Goblins, so his increased specialization against them would provide more assurance during related commissions.
He just didn’t know how many more Goblins would need to be killed for the title to upgrade again.
Gauss pondered silently.
After a moment of thought, his consciousness returned to reality.
Glancing around, he took out his dagger and skillfully began slicing off the large ears of the Goblins, then searched the area for loot.
Unfortunately, this group of Goblins were paupers.
Aside from some wooden and stone tools, there were only a few ragged pieces of cloth used for shelter.
This was, in fact, within his expectations.
Generally speaking, the weaker a Goblin’s combat ability and desire, the cheaper the items they hoarded.
Only those Goblins who truly posed a threat to humans and caravans might plunder or steal enough valuable goods.
However, deep in the cave, Gauss discovered a small female wild goat tied up with ropes and wooden stakes.
The discovery left Gauss quite speechless.
Because the weakly bleating goat lying on the ground had a swollen belly. Upon closer inspection, he could see something wriggling under its skin like worms.
It was a pregnant goat.
Although Gauss had long heard that Goblins could reproduce offspring using the bodies of other animals and that there was no reproductive barrier, seeing it with his own eyes still startled him with the Goblins’ exaggerated reproductive abilities.
The Goblins' thing was just far too liberal.
Glancing at the bleating goat on the ground, Gauss decided to put it out of its misery.
"Slash!"
With a swift slash, the blade cut through the rope imprisoning the goat and, at the same time, ended its life.
After finishing off the goat, Gauss did not stop moving.
The tip of his sword pressed against the goat’s belly. With a gentle slice, the soft skin slowly split open, exposing the warm interior of the goat’s body.
Gauss found the little creatures inside the goat’s belly—like green-skinned baby rats—and poked each one out with the sword tip.
Lined them up and counted.
There were six Goblin infants in total.
Not many, not too few. It seemed the number and survival rate of Goblin infants born from a host were closely related to the host’s size.
Gauss had heard before that if Goblins used small animals like rabbits as hosts, usually only one or two offspring could be nurtured. If it was a large animal, it might be several, or even a dozen or more.
Insufficient nutrition from the host would also result in smaller-sized Goblin offspring.
No wonder the nearby Goblins were all small.
Gauss had finally found the answer.
The six Goblin infants he killed, just like the previous Kobold pups, would not count towards the Monster Encyclopedia tally, but Gauss still felt it had to be done.
Although killing these six infants could not change the rampant spread of Goblins, at least it could reduce some immediate threats to the nearby villages.
And it was just a simple task along the way.
After checking the surroundings of the cave once more and confirming nothing was missed, he picked up his belongings and left.
The goat’s corpse was also left inside the cave.
Goblin flesh was poisonous to humans and most other creatures and could not be consumed as normal food.
Since the goat had been used to gestate Goblin offspring, its body was likely contaminated with some toxins as well.
Moreover, after witnessing that earlier scene, Gauss had no appetite for it.
He returned to the wheat field where he had previously killed four Goblins, cut off their ears as trophies, then removed their corpses from the farmland and dumped them in a wasteland before heading towards the village.
He greeted the sturdy man guarding the entrance, passed through the earthen walls and fences outside the village, and stepped into the village.
The village was peaceful and tranquil.
On the dirt path, a freckled girl in a faded hemp dress ran barefoot through the muddy path, speckled with grass bits, playing and laughing with her companions.
Beside the stone and wooden houses of every household, small fenced yards were filled with various flowers and sun-blocking vine plants.
Gauss paused and observed for a moment.
Compared to villages further south, this one indeed seemed wealthier and more peaceful.
He became somewhat entranced, as memories of the protagonist’s hometown from the original host’s memory were gradually stirred.
But a sudden commotion snapped him out of it.
It turned out a girl, turning her head to joke with a companion, didn’t notice the path ahead and bumped directly into him.
Gauss reacted quickly and helped the girl in the hemp dress, who was about to fall.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m okay.” At first, the girl was a bit nervous from bumping into a stranger, but after glancing at Gauss’s gentle and handsome face, she instinctively relaxed. “Thank you.”
“Mm, be more careful next time.” Gauss helped the girl up.
Seeing her shyly wave to him before running back to her companions, he couldn’t help but smile.
At some point, his Charisma had quietly risen from 5 to 6.
While the boost in Charisma might slightly enhance appearance, it primarily affected aura and likability, making it easier to gain others’ trust when necessary.
Looking at the peaceful village.
Gauss decided not to leave just yet.
He planned to first clear out the surrounding Goblins and develop himself in the area for a while.
See if he could reach a total of 100 monster kills.
Moreover, practicing spells in actual combat accelerated progress significantly.
Having finally found a group of weak Goblins, he had to seize the opportunity.
Tier 0 Cantrip Mage Hand lv3 (1/50)
Tier 1 Spell Magic Missile lv2 (15/20)
Tier 1 Spell Mage Armor lv2 (19/20)
Mage Hand had already reached level 3.
Mage Armor was also about to reach the next level.
And, perhaps it was just his imagination, but recently when casting Mage Armor, he always felt a strange warm current surge within his body.