Ch.4141. Gobling

Gobrings are essentially goblins.

Small stature. Skinny body. Green skin.

They’re bipedal humanoid monsters that live in groups, making them quite troublesome to deal with.

Farming World users say that while Rats are annoying because they ruin crops from unseen places, Gobrings are irritating because they don’t really bother crops but instead wait for moments of carelessness to launch attacks.

That’s why people who’ve experienced Gobrings often say that dealing with Rats was heavenly in comparison.

At least with Rats, you rarely risk getting killed unless you enter the sewers where Big Rats appear, but Gobrings openly try to kill users.

That annoyance began not long after.

Swoosh-

Along with the sound of something flying through the weeds, I felt a stinging sensation on my back.

“Ah.”

When I turned my head, I saw something protruding from the weeds.

It was a blowpipe, the Gobring’s main weapon for shooting poison darts.

[Life Force: 85%]

The Gobring that shot the dart disappeared back into the weeds.

And that wasn’t the end.

Swoosh!

Another dart flew from the opposite direction where I had turned.

[Life Force: 70%]

Each hit drains 15% of my life force.

If my Stamina wasn’t S-rank, I might have been dead already.

“Master! It’s Gobrings!”

I wasn’t the only one being targeted.

Kim Sujeong, who had been discussing farming with Lulu in the garden and receiving advice, was also being shot at, as was Lulu.

“Kyaah! What is this? It hurts so much!”

“Get inside the house.”

With her low health, Kim Sujeong could actually die.

She hurriedly went into the cabin with Lulu.

When I drew my sword, no more darts came flying.

[Sub Quest]

[Territory – Level 0 Biome]

[With the Big Rats in hiding, the Gobrings who were biding their time have begun to move.]

[The cunning and group-oriented Gobrings are attacking the farm to claim the Big Rats’ territory.]

[The only way to survive is to exterminate the Gobrings! Stop the invasion and eliminate the Gobring village]

[Reward: ‘Map’ activation. Base points +10. Farming stat +10. ‘Slave’ activation. 3,000 Farm]

A quest appeared just as I was being attacked.

“10 points.”

These sub-quests are quite important as they serve as keys to activating various systems.

‘Map’ is a feature that marks locations you’ve visited so you don’t have to rely solely on memory to navigate this vast area, and ‘Slave’ is a function that allows you to tame monsters and use them as slaves.

It’s a slightly different concept from the NPCs that Suhyeon used extensively in Farming World 1. Unlike NPCs who require wages, these slaves only need to be fed and housed, making them more convenient to use anywhere, anytime.

Of course, there are various restrictions and higher risks compared to paid NPCs.

“Not sure I want to use these disgusting creatures as slaves.”

It’s a feature that will be useful somewhere eventually.

And more importantly, regardless of the reward, I had no intention of leaving alone these pests invading my farm.

“I should start getting serious.”

Having SSS+ combat ability doesn’t make me invincible.

In martial arts novels, characters easily block attacks coming from unseen places, but I’m not at that level yet—I took two darts from blind spots.

Though I probably could have dodged them if I’d tried.

The very subtle sound when a dart is flying.

The strange sensation I felt belatedly where the dart hit.

Perhaps some unconscious sense had detected it.

I calculated that if I focused, I could catch that feeling and dodge with my S-rank reflexes, but it still wouldn’t be easy.

That would mean constantly being on guard, which is too exhausting.

Spending 24 hours looking around, thinking something might be somewhere, could give me a mental disorder I don’t already have.

“I just need to eliminate blind spots.”

Instead of chasing the Gobrings that had disappeared into the weeds, I started clearing the weeds near the front yard garden.

The reason the Gobrings could shoot me from blind spots was because I hadn’t cleared the tall weeds outside the garden, making it easy for them to hide.

If they can’t hide, they’ll be visible even in a ghillie suit on this wide-open land.

“Oppa, are they gone?”

“They seem to be for now, but stay inside just in case.”

“Those Gobrings, the ones I know about? They’re all dead if they show up.”

“…Don’t get cocky.”

Kim Sujeong is a C-rank fire mage.

Even if the Gobrings have increased in base rank, she could probably handle them in a fight.

The problem is that if she uses magic to hunt them, her fire-attribute spells could burn everything.

This vast field of weeds—I could quickly burn it all as long as the fire doesn’t reach the cabin, but I’m carefully cutting them down to conserve basic resources while farming.

I can’t just burn all the accumulated resources just because Gobrings are annoying.

“Will you be okay?”

Kim Sujeong asked worriedly.

My life force, which had dropped to 70%, is rapidly recovering at 5% per minute.

That’s the power of S-rank stamina.

While mana recovers at a fixed rate of 20% per minute, health recovery varies depending on stamina rank.

Moreover, severe wounds or critical injuries can prevent recovery beyond a certain life force or slow down recovery, but with S-rank stamina, minor damage like this recovers without any issues.

“This is Farming World.”

I actually feel a rush of endorphins.

This is what Farming World was originally about.

It’s true that I had lost my purpose before receiving this map.

There was nothing to do.

No monster would dare attack my mansion, and none even spawned within a reasonable distance.

I had completely cleared a radius of tens of kilometers, built my own city, landscaped, constructed villages, created parks.

Even when invasion events occasionally occurred, the NPCs at the massive walls tens of kilometers away would handle them without me even having to check.

So I had no particular goals.

I was just passing time with small gardens and decorations, like enjoying retirement.

Because of that, I didn’t have any specific goals even when I received the secret farming map.

I did aim to level up and become stronger since gaining SSS+ abilities made me stronger in reality too, but it was hard to call it a clear goal for growth.

Being attacked by Gobrings seems to have rekindled that old sense of purpose.

It’s quite funny.

Not goals like becoming the best in reality or conquering dungeons no one else has cleared.

Instead, finding purpose in this dimensional rift that’s no different from a game.

Perhaps I’m more serious about Farming World after all.

“I need to kill them all so they stop being a nuisance.”

I’ll make sure no one dares to covet my farm.

For that, I diligently cut down the weeds.

Fortunately, I’ve developed a knack for cutting weeds.

Or rather, a skill.

[Leap Slash]

I don’t necessarily need to move 150 meters.

I can move up to 150 meters, but I can choose to move just 10 meters or 5 meters if I want.

So by using Leap Slash and expending mana, I can instantly cut down tens of meters of weeds at once.

It’s not like a game where things get cut automatically with a click—I’m actually cutting as I move quickly, so it’s not about using less strength but rather saving time. Still, the feeling of rapidly clearing the surroundings was quite satisfying.

Then something strange brushed against my sword.

“Kekeek!”

A sound that came a beat late, and blood staining the falling weeds.

“Oh, what’s this?”

While cutting only weeds, I inadvertently slashed a hiding Gobring too.

I didn’t even cut it cleanly—its lower body was half-severed, and it was flailing on the ground, having lost balance, which looked somewhat grotesque.

“Sorry about that.”

I apologized without much sincerity.

To quiet the noisily chattering Gobring, I cut its neck in a spirit of atonement.

Though Gobrings walk like humans, they’re still monsters.

The rags they wear, the weapons they carry.

When butchered, they drop items.

But typically, Farming World users don’t prefer Gobring meat.

It feels like cannibalism due to their human-like form.

I feel the same way.

There’s plenty to eat without resorting to Gobring meat.

Instead of butchering the Gobring, I just collected the dropped items and continued on my way.

After doing this once, cutting weeds became a bit more fun.

“Hide, hide well. Your hair might show.”

Was it my imagination, or did the weeds seem to twitch somewhere?

“Got you!”

Occasionally, when I suddenly changed direction while cutting, strange sounds would come from somewhere.

“Kieeeeek!”