Ch.1414. Graduation (1)

Winter is an unrelentingly harsh season for all who inhabit this world.

In a world where winter has arrived, the cold wave that strikes the merciless world steals the warmth from living beings. Therefore, more food than usual is needed to remain active during winter… but winter is extremely unforgiving to those who are unprepared.

The cruel winter suppresses the mysteries of life that abound in this world. Since winter is already the worst season for new life to be born, the forest naturally provides less food, causing everyone to go hungry.

Winter claims countless lives through the cold wave alone. However, there is another reason why winter is truly considered the season of death in this world.

In this fantasy world, winter suppresses the mysteries of life while simultaneously strengthening the mysteries of death and cold. Because of this, various mysterious phenomena occur alongside the cold waves every winter.

Dead animals or human corpses rising as undead due to the suppression of life’s mysteries is merely an annual occurrence.

Frequently, magical cold condenses to create winter spirits or cold elementals in large numbers, or various magical beasts mutated by the influence of cold mysteries attack villages on the outskirts.

Even normally peaceful tribes like brutal ogres or orcs, who usually live quietly in their own territories, set out to plunder when food becomes scarce. In this world, winter is a kind of calamity that brings cold and death to those who are unprepared.

Thus, through this winter forest where many living beings withdraw and fall asleep, someone was trudging along.

This “someone,” wearing brown fur over a flowing green robe, boasted a considerably large build and carried a thick but simple wooden staff in one hand.

A young man with short, dark brown hair like the bark of an ancient tree, partially covered by a bear-skin hood, whose golden eyes—resembling those of a wild, ferocious beast or predator—darted around.

Despite his muscular build exceeding 180cm, he clearly had a youthful face… and at the same time, despite looking like a boy, he wore a cloak-like aura of wildness and ferocity.

Fifteen-year-old Gregory was passing through the winter Aleinos Forest with his two animal companions.

‘The winter forest… whatever else you might say, the scenery is truly a work of art.’

[Is that so, Gregory?]

[Winter, cold! I hate it because it’s cold!]

The silver stag Astra, with the form of a magnificent silver male deer, and the thunder bird Corin, with its pure white body adorned with striking golden feathers.

These two magical beasts, having grown considerably over the past few years, had both successfully reached the intermediate level under the influence of their contractor who had harmonized with the mysteries of nature.

Astra the silver stag, now with a physique that easily surpassed a large horse, and Corin, who had grown into an adult (intermediate level) and could now manipulate weather within a limited range beyond simply shooting lightning.

The two intermediate magical beasts and one intermediate druid were now heading somewhere to take a graduation test as instructed by Dalia Aleinos, the caretaker and master of this Aleinos Forest.

To be precise, rather than a graduation test, it was closer to the druids’ traditional custom of testing whether one could “safely” function outside the forest as an intermediate druid.

※ ※ ※

From the perspective of a druid tasked with managing a natural environment like a forest, goblins are a species that can hardly be viewed favorably.

With an average height of 120 centimeters and bodies roughly the size of 7-year-old children, goblins strangely resembled the goblins I had encountered in media from my previous life.

Mottled green skin. Large, pointed noses and ears. Skinny limbs with no hair and large heads. Add to that their wrinkled, ugly appearance.

True to their appearance that strongly suggests “cannon fodder,” goblins can be considered the weakest among all sentient beings.

Their intelligence reaches the average level for sentient beings and they’re reasonably cunning… but the problem is that the goblin physique is extremely fragile.

To put it bluntly, they can barely match a 10-year-old child in a physical struggle, and with lifespans rarely exceeding 30 years, establishing a civilization in this harsh ecosystem presents an extremely high difficulty.

Moreover, the inherently selfish nature that goblins are born with is one of the factors that exacerbates this situation.

While it’s perfectly natural for any sentient being to possess selfishness… goblins’ selfishness is exceptionally severe. Severe enough that I feel compelled to point out its excessiveness.

A deeply rooted selfish disposition full of cunning, contempt for the weak, and a violent, cruel nature. The sight of goblins killing, plundering, torturing living beings, and cackling without hesitation is reportedly quite common.

Goblins in particular have no qualms about torturing or killing other sentient beings, and even engaging in cannibalism. If I recall correctly, even during the serf era, goblins were objects of contempt and disgust.

And to druids who manage forests, goblins are essentially like cockroaches.

Their high reproduction rate comparable to rodents, small stature that doesn’t easily catch the eye, mottled green skin perfect for hiding in forests, plus their tenacious cunning.

No matter how many extermination attempts are made, they continue to reappear, and there’s nothing good about letting goblin forces grow.

Goblin groups occasionally produce higher species like shamans with magical abilities or hob goblins. These not only have the potential to unite goblin villages into larger forces based on their innate strength, but the shamans likely to emerge in this process also significantly harm the forest’s mysteries.

Although goblin shamans’ magic is innate, they cast spells by borrowing power from their ancestral spirits—or more accurately, from demons or evil spirits disguised as goblin ancestral spirits.

Therefore, the magic wielded by goblin shamans is fundamentally classified as black magic, which contaminates the surrounding mysteries and corrupts the essence of nature’s mysteries.

For this reason, goblin groups are enemies that must never be left alone… but the goblins that I’m now setting out to exterminate with my animal friends are a group that was being monitored and controlled in terms of size.

More precisely, it’s a test in the form of the traditional druid custom prepared by my master—testing whether I can survive in the dangerous outside world.

An artificial dungeon (otherworld) created by isolating a goblin village using the forest’s barrier. It was a test to see if I could handle intermediate-level enemies with subordinates by ordering me to exterminate them.

So after walking for about two hours, the three of us at the intermediate level, concealing our presence using nature magic…

‘…There it is. Everyone, we’ve arrived. Let’s prepare.’

[Okay!]

[Yes.]

What came into view was none other than a goblin village trapped inside the barrier.

A crude palisade made of branches and plant fiber ropes. About 30 shabby huts that barely surpassed the level of pit houses. Hides hung drying on racks made of bones and wood.

I briefly marveled at the sight of the goblin village that seemed to perfectly embody a primitive settlement… but only briefly.

Combining a druid’s life-sensing ability, Corin’s vision, and the animal senses of smell and hearing I borrowed through wild magic, I assessed the fighting strength of the goblin village.

‘…About 130 adult goblins capable of fighting, and about 40… no, 50 young ones. Have they tamed about 10 shadow hounds?’

Despite the rather shabby appearance of the village, the goblins’ fighting strength seemed adequate.

They’ve tamed shadow hounds to ride, and since they haven’t moved beyond the hunting-gathering stage, it’s safe to assume they all know how to fight.

They’ve also made leather armor and mass-produced throwing spears and weapons from beast teeth or stones, so their combat power is considerable…

But they can never defeat us with ordinary goblins alone. The difference between low and intermediate levels is a gap that cannot be bridged simply by numbers. Rather, the more threatening enemy to me now is the leader of that village.

[Is it that one?]

‘…Yes, Corin. Get ready to fight.’

In the center of a magic circle likely drawn with goblin blood, performing a wicked ritual, was a hob goblin shaman who had reached the intermediate level.

Wearing something like a helmet made from deer bones, holding a staff with what appeared to be a goblin skull attached to the end. A figure wearing a cloak adorned with various bone fragments and strange ornaments.

And now, while they remained unaware of our presence, I decided on a surprise attack to maximize the effectiveness of the first strike.

For stealth, I had been slowly gathering high-density magical power for nearly ten minutes without even chanting, and now I released it, borrowing the mysteries of nature to cast a spell—

‘—Now!!’

-KUGUUGUGUNG!!!

In the next moment, with a thunderous roar echoing from all directions, the earth began to crack.