A second stray goblin.
We searched the forest to track one down, but couldn't find any at all.
Using the magic tool to detect presences, whenever I headed toward what seemed to be a lone monster, it was almost always a slime.
Still, stray slimes were valuable targets for me, too.
I would creep up softly and strike the core from behind to secure EXP and materials.
"...We can't find any, can we?"
"Yeah. Looks like that goblin earlier really was a rare find. Fighting it for experience was definitely the right choice."
Two hours had passed since we entered the forest.
In that time, our harvest amounted to a single goblin.
The rest was a dozen or so slimes.
After that first one, we hadn't managed to find a single goblin.
"Do you think we'll just have to settle for a pair of goblins?"
"...Well, that might be best. If we take one out from a distance with magic, we can turn it into a one-on-one fight just like with a stray, but that puts a heavy burden on you, Philia."
"That's true, but after walking this much to find only one, a little strain is unavoidable. Besides, once the fighting starts, you'll be on the front line holding them off, right, Erik-kun? In the end, we're sharing the burden, so I'm completely fine with it."
With Philia saying so, I decided we would fight the next time we spotted a pair of goblins.
As we continued searching, we soon discovered two goblins ahead.
"Philia. Ready?"
"Yeah. Let's do it."
Saying that, Philia began chanting her spell.
The goblins hadn't noticed us keeping our distance and were playfully swatting at each other with their clubs.
Philia's spell struck one of the two goblins directly.
"I'm sorry, Erik-kun!"
However, because of the distance, the spell's trajectory had veered slightly off-course.
Philia's magic only hit the goblin's arm, failing to bring it down.
"Gugyak-gyak!"
"Gyak, gyak!"
Spotting us, the two goblins charged, shrieking in fury.
With one arm severely wounded, the injured goblin had poor balance and couldn't swing its club properly.
I decided to deal with the wounded one first.
"Spirits of the earth. Create a shield to protect me. Earth Wall."
Earth Wall.
I activated the spell instantly, cutting off the path of the healthy goblin.
"Gyagyak!?"
Panicking as its companion vanished behind the wall, the other goblin faltered.
With its injured arm, it couldn't even grip its club with both hands.
I closed the distance and drove my sword straight into its neck.
"That's one."
I brought down one of the two.
With this, things were essentially back to our original plan.
"Gyagyak!"
The other goblin circled around the Earth Wall I had raised, only to catch sight of its dead companion.
Furious, it hurled its club aside.
Now unburdened and light on its feet, the goblin lunged straight at me with blistering momentum.
"I won't let you! Spirits of water. Lend me your strength! Water Lance!"
The goblin sprang toward me.
However, before it could land a blow, Philia's magic pierced right through its torso midair.
Blown back several meters by the lance of water, it never got back up.
"Erik-kun, I'm so sorry! If only I were better with magic, this wouldn't have..."
"Don't worry about it. It was my fault for not properly accounting for the effective range of your magic. Besides, neither of us got hurt, so there's nothing to apologize for."
"B-but..."
"And that last spell—the power behind it was incredible."
When I said that, Philia looked down at her hands.
"About that spell... its success rate isn't very high even in practice. That's why I usually avoid using it, but the distance between you and the goblin was so close, and Water Ball is too slow, so I went with that magic instead."
"I see. Even if it's something you're still practicing, you did an amazing job pulling it off in a split-second situation."
Praising Philia, I harvested the proof of subjugation from both goblins.
Then, just like with the first one, we dug a hole, incinerated them with fire, and covered them with earth to dispose of the remains.
"Philia. That spell earlier really seemed to take a lot out of you."
"Y-yeah. But that goes for you too, right, Erik-kun?"
"Well, fighting with that much focus definitely tired me out a bit... Let's take a short break."
Agreeing on that, we decided to rest in a relatively open, safe-looking clearing.
There, I checked my status screen.
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Monster subjugated.
Acquired 1 EXP.
72/100 until next level.
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Trained Swordsmanship.
Acquired 1 EXP.
15/100 until next level.
◇
◇
Trained Physical Enhancement.
Acquired 1 EXP.
87/100 until next level.
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◇
Trained Parallel Thinking.
Acquired 1 EXP.
72/100 until skill acquisition.
◇
I obtained this EXP from that battle.
I had been fighting the goblin while keeping [Parallel Thinking] consciously active in the back of my mind.
I had been told it could be used not just for magic, but in close combat as well, so I put it into practice.
Thanks to that, I was able to process thoughts simultaneously, and it felt like I handled the fight smoothly.
The EXP for [Physical Enhancement] had also built up considerably; it looked like it would level up soon.
Looking at the screen, a natural smile spread across my face.