As they gradually ventured deeper into Roland Forest, the number of adventurers they encountered along the way became increasingly sparse.

In contrast, the goblins they ran into grew more numerous.

[Ice Spike]!

Lin Mo unleashed another ice spike, piercing straight through the goblin ahead at incredible speed.

Unfortunately, the angle wasn't ideal, failing to take out its companion nearby as well.

But that was fine—Lin Mo's mana wasn't as scarce now, including his mental energy. Just casting some ordinary-level spells didn't put much pressure on him.

So he raised his hand again, and a crystalline blue ice spike quickly formed before shooting forward. This time, the angle was perfectly chosen, piercing straight through the remaining two goblins simultaneously.

[Ice Spike] proficiency +3!

However, since [Ice Spike] had only just reached level 4 earlier, there was still quite a distance to go before the skill leveled up again.

The battle... let's call it a battle for now. In any case, with the few goblins in front defeated, the group continued forward. Landon looked thoughtfully at the goblins with pierced chests.

He remembered how shocked he had been when he first saw Lin Mo using magic. At that time, he was astonished that a warrior could also use magic, but Lin Mo's magical proficiency back then wasn't particularly high—at least not at professional level.

But now... how many days had passed since the Silvermoon Town support incident?

Lin Mo's magical ability had now completely surpassed that of ordinary professionals, and he had likely reached the level of a second-tier professional!

What kind of monster was he?

Landon recalled all the hardships he had endured while learning magic and felt a wave of emotion wash over him.

In his youth, he had been arrogant too, unwilling to listen to his elders' advice. Back then, his teacher had told him: "Never think you're a genius, because there will always be someone more talented than you in this world."

At that time, Landon, whose magical progress far exceeded his peers, completely dismissed this advice, scoffing at it.

But as he grew older, he gradually came to truly understand those words.

And Lin Mo's appearance was like a real-life example, with undeniable persuasive power, making him thoroughly convinced of this truth.

Some things that seem outrageous to you might just be trivial daily occurrences for a genius...

The team continued forward, encountering many waves of magical creatures along the way. Among them were goblins and some other monsters. Whatever they were, Lin Mo greeted them all with [Ice Spike].

The consumption of this ordinary-level magic wasn't high to begin with, plus he wasn't using it constantly and had time to recover some mana, so endurance wasn't much of a concern.

And with such high-intensity practice, [Ice Spike]'s proficiency rose accordingly.

[Ice Spike] proficiency +5!

After dealing with another five-goblin squad, Lin Mo glanced at his panel. The skill's progress had reached Lv4 (43/100).

Still a long way to go...

Actually, this speed wasn't slow at all. In the past, he wouldn't have dared to imagine gaining so much proficiency in just half a morning.

It was just that his progress back in Silvermoon Town had been too rapid, creating a stark contrast with the present.

He recalled that there were some goblin infestations in other nearby cities too—maybe he could consider those?

After some thought, Lin Mo temporarily abandoned this idea.

Not to mention the time consumed traveling, Finnie and the others couldn't possibly follow him to such distant places. If Finnie didn't go, Sherfilia wouldn't go either, and if he got ambushed by the Lawrence family then...

Lin Mo hadn't forgotten that he was probably on Lawrence's kill list right now.

Within Silverstream City, they couldn't do anything to him, and in the forest, he had Sherfilia's protection, so there wouldn't be any problems. But without these safeguards, things might not go so well.

It was better to steadily complete missions, play it safe and not get reckless. With his growth speed, it wouldn't be long before he became strong enough to make those damned nobles cry for mercy!

"We're not far from the goblin settlement now. We should rest for a while."

Landon glanced at the map, then looked at the sky.

Lin Mo was quite familiar with this rhythm too. After all, he had completed the goblin settlement clearance mission many times and had considerable experience.

Setting out from Silverstream City, they usually arrived near the goblin settlements around noon or just before. If they arrived early, they'd rest briefly;

if late, they'd attack directly. In any case, they targeted the time when goblins were drowsy in the afternoon.

Even high-level adventurers followed similar patterns.

No matter how strong you are, it's always better to achieve maximum results with minimum effort—efficiency matters.

After resting briefly on the spot, Finnie and Ellie very naturally gathered beside Lin Mo, looking at him with eager eyes.

Lin Mo knew they were waiting for his special little burgers.

Come to think of it, since their last outing was to support Silvermoon Town, it had been a while since he'd made the little burgers.

Making them now was much more convenient than before. He didn't even need to start a fire—just conjuring a fireball with fire-element mana was quick, easy, and saved time and effort.

After making three little burgers in a row, Lin Mo was about to put away the ingredients when he suddenly paused, then made one more.

After finishing, he looked around, placed it under a nearby tree using a napkin as a mat.

After chatting with Landon and the others for a while, when he turned back, the "burger" had disappeared.

"Lin Mo, your way of eating is quite interesting... Although they're simple ingredients, eating them together feels completely different from eating them separately."

Huck had also seen Lin Mo making burgers earlier. This guy had strong initiative and directly mimicked the process.

The method itself was simple, with no technical skill required. Although the appearance wasn't great, Huck actually succeeded in making one and praised it highly after trying it.

After resting for a while—which basically meant sitting together and chatting—when the time seemed right, the group continued toward the goblin settlement.

Approaching the settlement, it was naturally the assassin's duty to scout ahead.

Sid, the assassin from the Azure Orchid Team, was the second strongest after captain Landon, with third-tier strength. Combined with Lin Mo, who was a part-time assassin, they were more than sufficient for scouting.

After silently eliminating the patrolling and lookout goblins along the way, the group reached a dense forest behind the settlement and observed the settlement ahead.

Different from previous missions, their combat power this time was completely sufficient. So what they needed to consider wasn't how to win, but how to completely annihilate these goblins, leaving none alive.

In this situation, there was no need to directly target their leader.

Otherwise, with their leader gone, the goblins would scatter like birds and beasts. With so many goblins fleeing everywhere, some were bound to be missed.

Landon observed the terrain of the goblin settlement, then began assigning tasks.

Warriors Huck and Ellie, along with knight Benny, would attack from the front. Landon would bombard with magic from the rear, working with ranger Sheila to block the goblins' escape routes.

Lin Mo and Sid would take left and right flanks respectively, free to act as they saw fit, while also dealing with any goblins attempting to flee.

With the division of labor complete, everyone moved out immediately. Huck and Ellie headed to the front, Lin Mo and Sid went to their respective sides, and Landon in the rear, after everyone was roughly in position, directly revealed himself, waved his staff, and unleashed his signature skill "Wind Cyclone" right away.

Turquoise mana gathered as a tornado quickly formed and advanced forward.

The sudden attack caught the napping goblins completely off guard. Dozens to hundreds of goblins were directly swept into the tornado, followed by a bloody storm.

Well, literally.

Even several mutated goblins were caught in it—sub-adults and adults alike—all effortlessly eliminated.

The power of an excellent-level magic cast by a fourth-tier mage was truly terrifying!

From the front, Huck and Ellie also sprang into action simultaneously, brandishing their blades and beginning the slaughter of goblins.

If he didn't act soon, there would be no proficiency to gain. Lin Mo stopped hesitating, flames gathering in his mithril-gloved hand as a compressed fireball quickly formed before flying toward the densely packed goblin area.

[Explosive Fireball]!

"BOOM—!"

With a thunderous explosion, the deep-colored [Explosive Fireball] instantly detonated, engulfing over a dozen nearby goblins in blazing flames. Any caught in the blast died instantly.

Even several nearby goblins were affected by the flames, their bodies catching fire as they rolled on the ground in agony.

[Explosive Fireball] proficiency +16

Although it still couldn't compare to Landon's [Wind Cyclone], it was quite good nonetheless.

And...

Just as the [Explosive Fireball] in Lin Mo's left hand was thrown, flames had already begun gathering in his right hand. Soon enough, another [Explosive Fireball] formed and flew toward the goblin crowd.

"BOOM—!"

One explosion after another rang out as [Explosive Fireball]'s proficiency soared like a rocket, rapidly climbing upward.

"Skill [Explosive Fireball] Lv2 (20/20) leveled up!"

"Current skill [Explosive Fireball] Lv3 (12/40)"

"Gained attribute Magic +2!"

[Explosive Fireball] proficiency +14

[Explosive Fireball] proficiency +17

......

"Skill [Explosive Fireball] Lv3 (40/40) leveled up!"

"Current skill [Explosive Fireball] Lv4 (21/100)"

After firing six or seven [Explosive Fireballs] in succession—equivalent to the consumption of about thirty ordinary-level skills—Lin Mo finally felt slightly pressured and temporarily stopped casting.

The large area before him was already in complete disarray.

Flames still burned on the grass, surviving goblins struggled in the fire, mutilated bodies were everywhere, and a large patch of nearby ground was stained red.

Landon's side was no less impressive. After opening with two consecutive [Wind Cyclones], he waved his staff, unleashing skills like [Wind Blade] and [Piercing Gale] one after another, each time harvesting large numbers of goblin lives.

By now, the heavily decimated goblins finally reacted. Some of the stronger goblins in the tribe began to resist bravely.

Several adult mutated goblins, led by a strong quasi-bronze-level goblin, charged toward Lin Mo.

The front had too many people, the rear Landon was too terrifying, and the other side's Sid was too cautious, elusive like a ghost. So they decided to target Lin Mo.

"Hmph."

Lin Mo sneered coldly. Instead of choosing to escape, they were coming straight at him?

This actually suited him perfectly.

Lin Mo drew his Black Sword, holding it in his right hand while earth elements gathered in his left.

[Earth Shield]!

The next moment, [Great Shield Charge] activated. Lin Mo charged forward at incredible speed while maintaining the earth shield.

His already powerful attributes were perfectly enhanced by the skill's boost.

The adult mutated goblin at the forefront swung its cleaver at Lin Mo.

The cleaver struck the earth shield with a dull thud.

The next moment, the terrifying force caused the mutated goblin's arm to twist into a grotesque shape, its cleaver developing some cracks before the entire creature was sent flying backward, crashing into several sub-adult mutated goblins behind it and involving them in the horrifying impact.

[Earth Shield] proficiency +23

[Great Shield Charge] proficiency +23

An instant kill without any suspense. The earth shield in Lin Mo's hand remained completely intact.

His movements didn't stop. While the quasi-bronze-level goblin was still stunned by his display, Lin Mo had already flashed forward, appearing before it like a ghost as he swung his sword.

[Shadow Strike]!

That quasi-bronze-level goblin was only about threat level 2.5, while Lin Mo's current strength was approaching fourth-tier. With such a vast disparity in power, it was naturally a one-hit kill without any suspense.

[Shadow Strike] proficiency +14

With the strongest goblin eliminated, the ordinary goblins stood no chance against the multi-directional assault, with no escape routes available.

Shortly after, not a single living goblin remained in the settlement before them. Even the goblin infants were carefully dealt with one by one, ensuring no survivors were left.

"Whew—"

With the mission completed, Lin Mo exhaled a deep breath, feeling only one thing.

Ease.

Although he had cleared out many goblin settlements before, none had been as effortless as this one.

Having more people was truly better, and everyone present was highly capable. With such a lineup dealing with a small-to-medium-sized goblin settlement, it was completely overwhelming superiority.

Lin Mo checked his panel, where there was information he had temporarily ignored during the battle.

The [Earth Shield] skill had been on the verge of leveling up. Lin Mo had deliberately used it earlier and successfully accumulated enough proficiency.

"Skill [Earth Shield] Lv4 (100/100) leveled up!"

"Current skill [Earth Shield] Lv5 (Max)"

"Gained attribute points Magic +1, Spirit +1!"

Excellent, another two points of magic acquired!

"Automatically evolved into new skill—Rock Shield!"

"Learned skill [Rock Shield]! Magic +2!"

[Rock Shield]: Gather and compress earth elements to form a sturdier "Rock Shield", more solid with enhanced defensive performance!

The new skill Rock Shield—there wasn't much to say about this skill. From the description, it was basically an upgraded version of Earth Shield—bigger, harder, and more effective.

With these additional 3 points of magic, Lin Mo's base magic attribute had reached 25 points, not far from reaching third-tier mage level!

This leveling speed was truly like riding a rocket.