36: Should this knife be repaired?

The next day.

The trio of the squad left Jiuwan Village and continued their investigation of other areas within Area 7.

For most Adventurers, a so-called investigation simply meant heading over alone to see if any supernatural-like phenomena had occurred.

This was common practice within the safe zones; as for entering the Monster Forest, they relied more on the advantages of their respective factions' members.

The Adventurers Guild possessed highly advanced technology for utilizing various biological materials, having refined a complete industrial chain covering extraction, preservation, and appraisal.

Therefore, when Adventurers entered the Monster Forest in squads, they would always try to pick up a material collection quest as well, commonly known as making some extra cash on the side.

“Boss, since we're heading into the Monster Forest anyway, why don't we pick up a Goblin hunting quest while we're at it?”

Drill Mouse asked Evil Axe in a low voice, “One Goblin is worth at least 3 silver wolves, after all.”

He didn't dare ask White Night directly, fearing he might say the wrong thing again and get another scolding from the captain.

“Idiot! There are hardly any Goblins on the outskirts of the Monster Forest; they're all deep inside!” Evil Axe warned.

“Then should we go in and make a killing?” Drill Mouse asked, eager to try.

“We'll head deep inside, find a solitary Goblin nest, finish the job, and retreat immediately!”

“How's that for an idea? Are there many nests like that?”

“Plenty! By the time you find one, you'll basically see a massive horde of Goblins surrounding you.”

Evil Axe recalled the scene of being surrounded by a Centurion last time and said with lingering fear,

“Why do you think Goblin quests are so popular?”

“Finding a stray Goblin on the outskirts is like picking up money. How could it not be popular?”

Evil Axe sized up the Halfling.

“It’s a good thing you were a solo Adventurer before, otherwise the grass on your grave would be taller than you by now.”

“Eh? If you're going to explain things, explain them, but why the insults?!”

Drill Mouse said with a face full of indignation, “We could still take the quest just to have it; what if we actually run into one...”

“There's no time to return to the city and come back out,” Ronan spoke up.

The initial investigation quest had a time limit; he didn't know what the Count who issued the quest was thinking.

“Captain, do you think we could...” Drill Mouse tested the waters, “Take the money... and not do the work?”

Ronan shook his head.

With the regional supervisor around, if something major happened in this area and the squad didn't report it, the other party would quickly notice.

“If you come up with another rotten idea, don't blame me for giving you two more solid punches!”

Evil Axe raised his fist, then suddenly paused,

“Captain, this place isn't considered the outskirts of the Monster Forest yet, right?”

He saw a distorted, humanoid figure suddenly appear in the distant woods.

Ronan followed his gaze.

Sure enough, he saw a familiar black creature, with black liquid constantly dripping from its body.

“Don't move yet!” Ronan immediately called out.

Since they hadn't entered the outskirts, his Spiritual Power web wasn't deployed.

Spreading it out now, he realized there wasn't just this one black creature around.

There were many to the front, back, left, and right, all well-hidden; only the one furthest away was blatantly revealing its form.

However,

Drill Mouse had already darted out the moment Evil Axe spoke, completely disregarding Ronan's command.

“I let you escape last time, but I'll catch you this time and show the captain my true strength.”

The corners of Drill Mouse's mouth curled up, his face full of determination.

He moved swiftly, constantly using the acceleration from his invisibility to dash.

It looked as though he had reached the back of the black creature through several brief teleports.

An Assassin's specialty was backstabbing!

Drill Mouse revealed himself, raising his dagger to plunge it into the black creature's head.

Just then, the head of the black creature suddenly split open into a large mouth, rotating 180 degrees without any obstruction.

A large burst of thick black liquid suddenly sprayed out from its mouth.

Drill Mouse's brow twitched wildly; he had no time for any other response.

His hands instinctively retracted to block in front of him as he drove his skill, “Hidden Stab,” with all his might.

This was the skill he relied on for survival as an Assassin.

It allowed him to enter invisibility and accelerate his movement in an instant; the duration was extremely short, but the acceleration effect was outstanding.

There was no such thing as a cooldown for a Professional's skills, but using them could easily place a burden on the mind or body.

After using “Hidden Stab” consecutively to charge forward, Drill Mouse needed a brief pause before he could use it again.

But at this moment, the large burst of thick black liquid was already shooting straight at him, seemingly about to hit him right between the eyes.

In the next second.

With a *shoo* sound, Drill Mouse vanished in an instant.

The thick black liquid shot straight into a distant tree, corroding a charred black hole into the trunk.

A moment later, beside the tree, Drill Mouse revealed himself, leaning against the trunk and panting heavily.

Just before the liquid could hit him,

The life-and-death crisis had forced his body to break its limits, overcoming the fatal pause to immediately unleash the skill.

“The captain was right; this thing really isn't human.”

He retreated quickly, putting distance between himself and the black creature, then looked back toward Ronan and Evil Axe.

He completely failed to notice that a drop of black liquid on his wrist had seemingly come to life, avoiding his line of sight and quietly wriggling... As Drill Mouse charged in recklessly, the hidden black creatures also began to reveal themselves one after another.

“Evil Axe, be careful not to get splashed by that black liquid.”

With his Spiritual Power web fully expanded, Ronan felt that this black liquid was not simple; it likely had more than just corrosive properties.

“Then how do we fight?” Evil Axe was stumped.

He was a melee fighter whose combat style involved hacking people with an axe; trying to swing an axe without getting a single drop of black liquid on him was honestly a bit difficult.

“Don't go up yet.”

Ronan instructed, reaching into his storage pouch and rummaging around.

Seeing his actions, Evil Axe's heart skipped a beat. “Captain, you're not planning to use a concentrated elemental orb, are you?”

This wasn't exactly a safe distance; he didn't know how many black creatures it would kill, but the two of them would definitely be finished first.

Ronan ignored him, unhurriedly pulling a small, crystal-clear cube from the pouch.

“An ice cube?” Evil Axe said, looking confused.

This small piece of ice had been placed into the pouch by Ronan a few days ago; he hadn't expected it to look exactly the same as when it went in.

Looking at the ice in his hand, he couldn't help but marvel at the power of the Adventurers Guild's preservation and storage technology.

Then, he poured a massive amount of Spiritual Power into the magic construct in his mind,

Pressed his palms together, and slowly pulled them apart.

Ice crystals continuously formed between his two palms, and as his hands separated, a crystal-clear arrow gradually took shape.

“Elemental Flying Arrow” – Ice Arrow Form!

Compared to the attribute-less flying arrow which was completely transparent, after absorbing the ice in his hand, the arrow's element had transformed into ice.

The arrow in his hand now could be called an “Elemental Ice Arrow.”

This was Ronan's first time attempting to absorb an element for transformation, and he took this opportunity to verify its power.

“Watch which one I shoot. Once it's frozen, don't worry about anything and just go in for the finishing blow,” Ronan said, turning to Evil Axe.

After elemental transformation, the flying arrow would carry some additional damage and almost negligible special properties.

These properties were only possessed by a few elements,

For example, the fire attribute would carry heat, while the ice attribute could potentially cause freezing.

He didn't expect a single arrow to take down a black creature, but he was confident he could freeze the black liquid for a short time, making it easier for Evil Axe to move in for the kill.

Ronan locked onto the black creature furthest in front, and with a thought, the ice arrow was triggered!

Swoosh.

With the enhancement of his powerful Spiritual Power, the ice arrow's speed was staggering, vanishing silently from his hand in the blink of an eye.

Evil Axe didn't even notice the ice arrow's flight path.

He only heard the sound of a water balloon bursting and saw a large hole abruptly appear in the chest of a black creature.

Immediately after,

An invisible chill spread outward from the hole, instantly freezing the black creature into a large mass of transparent ice crystals.

As a cold wind blew past, the transparent crystals cracked layer by layer from the inside out,

Finally shattering into a pile of sharp-edged ice shards.

“Captain...”

Evil Axe stared at the pile of ice shards, remembering Ronan's instruction to 'not worry about anything,' and asked hesitantly,

“Is a finishing blow still necessary?”