Chapter 20: Mutation

“Miss Krexia, are you really going to take on a C-Rank commission all by yourself?”

After leaving the city gates, the four of them headed toward the Mageling Forest. On the way, Fana couldn’t help but ask.

Elvie and Falco, walking behind, wore equally serious expressions.

They all knew that they had only dared accept this commission because they had spent several days beforehand gathering enough intelligence and making thorough preparations.

Especially Fana, who had spent a fortune buying a large amount of magical materials and high-grade equipment for all three of them to ensure the commission could be completed smoothly.

To put it bluntly, even if this commission was successfully completed, the rewards might not cover the costs invested.

After all, Fana’s intention in accepting the C-Rank commission wasn’t to make money but to complete the internship task assigned by the Academy; otherwise, she risked having to repeat a year.

Both teammates understood this clearly.

Falco and Elvie each had their own calculations as well.

Originally, they had planned to accept this commission yesterday.

To reduce risk, they even temporarily recruited a freelance mercenary named Hodge. But upon receiving news that the situation at the Mithril Mine had changed, they had no choice but to abandon that plan and instead took on an F-Rank commission that no one else wanted.

They intended to use the opportunity to scout the Mithril Mine but ended up running into Krexia just as she had awakened.

“What, you don’t trust me?”

“Not exactly…”

After fighting alongside Krexia, the three didn’t doubt her strength; the scene of her unleashing magic in battle was still vivid in their minds.

Perhaps out of caution toward the monsters, Fana still voiced her concern.

“All right, this is about where we should part ways. The Mithril Mine is near the southern village, right?”

“Yes.”

Fana didn’t even need to look at the map. They had studied the routes around this area for over a week and were naturally very familiar.

So the group separated at the edge of the Mageling Forest and each headed toward the task location on their own.

***

An hour later, Krexia gradually approached the base of a low mountain peak in the central part of the Mageling Forest.

Along the way, to avoid disturbing possible monster groups nearby, she tried to avoid single monsters of around third-tier level whenever possible.

Only when she couldn’t avoid them or if hidden monsters attacked first did she draw her Gunblade to fire a shot or use her Magic Wand to cast low-noise but powerful spells, aiming for a one-hit kill.

As a result, it took her a bit longer than expected to reach the task location.

Sitting quietly on a tree branch, she looked down at the crude settlement before her.

The crooked buildings were made from timber, surrounded by a flimsy-looking fence built around a steep rock face.

The poor construction even made one doubt whether these buildings could provide basic shelter from wind and rain.

Krexia quickly counted—there were twelve buildings of various sizes below, and at the rock face was a naturally formed cave.

Five adult Goblins were wandering outside the buildings, along with eleven young Goblins. No sign of a Greater Goblin.

A faintly familiar aura emanated from the cave, leading her to assume the Goblin Lord must be hiding inside.

However, the wandering Goblins inside the fence looked odd—each one sluggish and tired, like overworked laborers running on empty after several long nights.

“Whatever, I’ll just shoot a few first.”

With that thought, Krexia raised her Gunblade and aimed at one of the adult Goblins.

Just as she was about to pull the trigger, a voice sounded in her mind—it was Coutia.

“Don’t be so quick to act, little one.”

“There’s the scent of a Witch inside the cave.”

Krexia raised an eyebrow and lowered her Gunblade for the time being.

“What do you mean? You’re not saying there’s a Witch inside the cave, are you?”

“Ah, that’s impossible. There are only two Witches left in this world, and they’re both perched on this very branch.”

“So what exactly are you saying?”

“Remember yesterday morning, after you cast that fifth-tier magic, you briefly fell into a state of magic power depletion?”

Hearing Coutia’s words, Krexia recalled the moment.

“Yes, that was pretty unpleasant. I hope to never experience that again in my life.”

“At that time, your magic power supply was insufficient, and a bit of the Witch’s Power I sealed inside you leaked out. Some monster must have come into contact with it, causing some strange changes to occur.”

“Just say they mutated already.”

Krexia rolled her eyes.

“Is your power really that dangerous? Just a little leak and it can cause a third-tier monster to mutate?”

“Honestly, yes.”

Coutia confirmed matter-of-factly.

“I am, after all, the Goddess of Magic Authority, the Main God who presides over magic power rights. Though I no longer hold the divine position, my power still possesses god-level status.”

“Even this portion sealed inside you, which I heavily diluted, retains a trace of divine power. It’s not something lowly, base monsters can casually touch.”

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“Telling you wouldn’t help. It already leaked.”

“…”

Krexia felt a headache coming on.

No matter how much she calculated, she hadn’t accounted for this.

Though, to be fair, she hadn’t had much of a plan to begin with.

“Take a guess. What do you think those Greater Goblins will look like after being exposed to your power?”

Coutia pondered and, perhaps realizing her own slight guilt, began calculating seriously for once.

“Hmm… My power mainly affects magic power, and the trace of Witch’s Power primarily serves to activate magic power. But since the quantity is what it is, I’d guess the most it could do is boost them to the fourth-tier level—not particularly strong.”

“You should be able to handle them.”

Krexia’s expression instantly darkened.

Three third-tier monsters would be bad enough; three fourth-tier?

What kind of joke was that?

“You can handle it, right?”

Coutia’s voice softened noticeably.

“…We’ll see when I get there.”

If only one Greater Goblin mutated, it might still be manageable.

Krexia raised her Gunblade and aimed at one of the adult Goblins, observing carefully.

These Goblins didn’t look well. The exact reason was unclear, but one thing was certain: their strength only hovered at second-tier levels.

They didn’t exude the same dangerous and aggressive aura as those in the cave.

“Bang.”

The sound of the modified Gunblade firing a magic bullet was much quieter than before, and its magic efficiency had improved significantly.

A single second-tier Magic Crystal still only allowed for ten shots, but the power had been noticeably enhanced compared to the previous version.

“Pop!”

The magic bullet struck precisely at the Goblin’s head. The lethargic green-skinned creature immediately collapsed, headless and lifeless.

“Yah! Yah yah!”

Though the other Goblins looked listless, upon seeing their comrade attacked, they still dutifully shouted warnings to alert their fellows.