I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 101: Druid

「Tick！Tick！」

Dew dropped from above, splashing into countless droplets upon Gauss’s forehead.

In the early morning of the Emerald Forest, the air was cool and thin. As Gauss drifted between sleep and wakefulness, he couldn’t help but shiver.

Half-dazed, he opened his eyes. Just as he was about to turn over and get out of bed like usual, he realized his limbs wouldn’t move.

After a brief moment of confusion, his brain snapped out of sleep mode.

「Right, I’m inside a sleeping bag up in the tree.」Gauss turned his head to glance beneath him.

He was now at least a dozen meters above the ground.

Thankfully, he had tied the rope securely beforehand. If he had woken up and fallen without remembering to cast Mage Armor, even if he didn’t die, he’d at least break a leg.

Still, though sleeping in a tree carried risks, it was the safest place he could think of to spend the night in the forest.

At the very least, the night had passed.

Aside from the soreness from being bound in place, nothing dangerous had occurred.

He unfastened the sleeping bag and tossed it to the ground, then nimbly climbed down the large tree.

After landing, Gauss stretched his limbs on the spot.

The Emerald Forest was misty in the early morning. Each breath felt like it replenished his body with moisture.

After a quick rest, he slung his pack and the bundle of spoils over his back and began to retrace his steps, guided by the mental map in his mind.

It would probably take most of the morning to get out.

His pace through the woods was not fast. With the added burden of heavy weight, Gauss also had to stop frequently to rest, preserving his strength to avoid accidents.

As such, he considered it quite optimistic if he could exit the Emerald Forest by noon.

As it turned out, that was indeed the case. Gauss walked and rested intermittently along the way.

After about three hours, he had only covered a portion of the distance from the Goblin Village to the entrance of the Emerald Forest.

The Emerald Forest truly was vast. He couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

To think, the Goblin Village was situated only on the outer edge of the Emerald Forest’s Outer Region, not even deep within. If someone truly wanted to traverse the forest, Gauss believed that even traveling light, without encountering any danger, without falling ill or succumbing to muscle fatigue or other adverse factors, it would still take several weeks or even longer on foot.

Who knew how many Low-level Monsters and Elite Monsters were hidden in this enormous forest...

No wonder the Kingdom needed to establish dozens of towns and cities outside the Emerald Forest—the purpose was to form the first line of defense.

Should some powerful creature rally a horde of Low-level Monsters and Elite Monsters to wage war, the network formed by these dozens of towns and cities would serve to hold them off initially, buying time for the regular army to assemble.

Gauss shook his head.

He tossed the thoughts out of his mind.

He was merely a regular Tier 1 novice spellcaster. Matters of such scale were not yet his concern. His top priority now was to complete commissions, earn resources, learn spells, and continuously grow stronger.

He walked for another hour, dealing with several reckless, death-seeking slimes along the way.

Suddenly.

A hollow sound—「空」—echoed beside Gauss.

Walking along the narrow path, he set down his pack, picked up the Unbreaking Staff, and looked into the lush forest.

Was that the scent of a beast?

Gauss raised his staff, magical ripples gathering at the wand tip.

As the sound drew closer, a wolf’s head darted out from the forest. Just as he was about to Activate Skill and cast a spell, he heard a woman’s voice ring out.

“Wait, wait, wait! Don’t attack, man!”

As the large wolf stepped through the underbrush, he saw, at last, a disheveled-haired woman sitting on its back.

And coincidentally, this person was someone he had briefly met before.

She was the blue-haired woman from the carriage ride. After disembarking, she had likely teamed up with that white-haired mage dragging a suitcase.

But compared to her composed and graceful demeanor in the carriage, her current appearance was far more wild and fox-like.

Although Gauss felt a bit puzzled, he refrained from casting any spell and stepped back several paces to put distance between himself, the woman, and the wolf.

Though they had arrived together by carriage, the two had never met prior to that. Now encountering each other in the wilderness, it was only natural to stay vigilant.

 That wolf was massive—standing on all fours, its shoulders reached nearly ninety centimeters high. Its fur gleamed in a silver-gray sheen.

Long, sharp fangs jutted out from the gaps in its lips, and at the moment, it was baring its teeth menacingly at Gauss.

The woman on its back gave it two pats, then leaned over to its ear and made a strange-sounding call, “Ooo–oh–ooo–oh.” Only then did the fierce beast calm down.

‘Druid?’

Seeing the woman’s behavior, Gauss speculated inwardly.

A Druid was also a relatively common Professional. Their abilities focused on natural magic, animal companions, and environmental adaptation.

Aside from mastering some basic spells, what made Druids distinct was their loyal animal friend—commonly a wolf, eagle, horse, or snake. Once they advanced in level, Druids could even transform into animals themselves.

Additionally, most of them had also mastered Animal Communication, allowing them to communicate on a basic level with beasts.

”Hello, we meet again.”

The woman flipped off the large wolf’s back and landed.

”My name is Alia Kin. You can call me Alia. And you?”

”Gauss.”

”You're also heading out of the forest, right? Want to team up for the road ahead?”Alia invited.

Gauss eyed her up and down.

Though he was filthy from killing so many Goblins and hadn’t had time to clean up, Alia wasn’t faring much better—disheveled and grimy, she reeked of sour sweat, and her hair was clumped and hardened from dried blood.

Ignoring her invitation, Gauss cautiously asked in return:

”If I’m not mistaken, didn’t you have a teammate before entering? That short white-haired youth with the suitcase?”

”Ugh, don’t bring him up. That guy—I teamed up with him temporarily at the Adventurer’s Guild. Thought I’d take care of his frail body, even offered to ride the carriage over together.”

”We came here to look for a relic. Who knew we’d get surrounded by an Ogre and its minions? At first, I was still worried about him. But then—without a word—he ripped open a scroll and teleported out.” Alia’s tone was filled with resentment. ”Luckily, I managed to catch them off guard with Entangling Spell and escape thanks to my wolf companion’s speed.”

”Otherwise, I would’ve been screwed over by him.” As Alia seemed to recall the scene from yesterday, she grumbled bitterly. ”Mages really are the most unreliable bunch.”

Gauss: ?

Although his Professional Class was Spellcaster, in outsiders’ eyes it was more or less the same as Mage. He felt like he was inexplicably getting slandered.

”Sorry, I wasn’t talking about you.” Alia quickly clarified. ”I meant most of the Mages I’ve met aren’t very dependable.”

”Pfft... whatever. I’m done explaining. Want to travel together? It’d be safer for both of us, and my wolf companion can carry some of your baggage too.”

Gauss looked over at her.

She did indeed look like a wild vixen, and she wasn’t carrying the young Mage’s luggage anymore.

”Sure, let’s go together.” Gauss nodded and agreed.

But his agreement didn’t mean he fully trusted her.

Although her expressions and behavior appeared natural, it could also be a well-practiced act.

He agreed because—if the other party truly had ulterior motives and staged a “chance encounter”—he’d much rather keep her in his sight at all times than face a hidden enemy capable of swift action from the shadows.

After all, open strikes are easier to dodge than hidden ones.

”Alright, should I have my wolf carry your pack?”

”Thanks for the help.”

Since she offered first, Gauss didn’t decline. He placed his backpack on the wolf and secured it.

The backpack wasn’t as valuable as the pack containing spoils, but it was still quite heavy—just right to add some burden to the beast.

The two didn’t talk much on the road.

Whenever monsters attacked, they worked together seamlessly to eliminate threats.

Ever wary, Gauss slowly began to relax.

In the short skirmishes so far, he hadn’t revealed his impressive close-combat skills, showing only a small part of his spellcasting ability.

Earlier, he had deliberately left an opening. If she had malicious intentions, based on the stereotype that spellcasters had weak bodies, she should’ve immediately commanded the large wolf to pounce.

But the other party had remained completely well-behaved. Despite her fatigued body and spirit, she repeatedly used Entangling Spell to manipulate plants and bind monsters for him.

From his observation, he confirmed that she was indeed capable—likely a Tier 1 Druid. Besides her tall animal wolf companion, she also wielded control-type Skills and could swing a wooden stick for melee combat.

A control-specialized Professional?

Honestly, though Gauss had intentionally held back, her help in restraining enemies made it far easier for him to kill them.

Gauss pondered quietly as they walked in silence, frequently casting glances her way.

No, I still need to keep a closer watch.