Three hours after setting out alone from Millfall, Vicente was already near the deepest part of The Rocky Gorge, having retraced much of the path he had taken weeks ago when fleeing from stronger and more numerous enemies.
Most of the way, he had encountered no problems, just as he had weeks ago. The Rocky Gorge had several types of magical beings in its area, but most were closer to its center.
At the same time, most of the beasts in the area had become more cautious in the days since the army and local powers had begun exploring the area, interested in what might be in the basilisk's nest.
Not only that, but having reached almost 96% progress at level 2, Vicente hoped to advance to level 3 in the next two days, something that would make him stronger than almost all the magical beings in this great forest.
Aside from the 3rd stage basilisk and a few humans from the army group, there weren't many creatures around that could threaten him!
Due to these circumstances, he would soon find traces of the army battalions hunting in the area.
...
In the early afternoon, Vicente reached a partially destroyed forest area, with smoke rising here and there from ashes, fallen trees, and the remains of animals and humans.
While observing the area from behind a bush, Vicente's eyes narrowed as he saw six small creatures with green skins, each one of them having big mouths full of sharp teeth.
'Goblins? What are these creatures doing here?' He asked himself, knowing this was a battleground for the royal army's conflict with the beasts in the area.
Not only was this not a battlefield of goblins, but it was not a common area to see such creatures.
The continent Vicente was on, Polaris Realm, was vast, with different types of natural habitats, races, climates, and so on. But even though he was in a small part of the continent and didn't know much about it, he knew goblins and other special magical creatures were not common in this southeastern part of the continent.
There shouldn't be any goblins, giants, orcs, ogres, etc., in the area of the Seidel Kingdom. These were creatures that, according to the stories, lived further northwest, at the other end of the continent.
Finding members of these races in other parts of the continent was not impossible. But it was extremely difficult, especially in this area of the Seidel Kingdom.
Vicente remembered the encounter he and Rory had had with goblins on their way from Millfall to Martell Village months ago and was worried.
Goblins were extremely dangerous to lower-level beings. They weren't particularly powerful, but they could reach the beginning of the 3rd stage. If a group of goblins lived between Martell Village and Millfall, it could become a great danger to those areas and people traveling nearby.
Goblins were known to loot, kill travelers, and kidnap women and children. Although their behavior was considered chaotic and unreasonable, these magical creatures were generally more intelligent than ordinary beasts.
For example, instead of getting into trouble with stronger beings, goblins would secretly hide near them and try to steal from them. They would take advantage of third-party battles to collect items from those wounded or killed in combat.
In short, they could operate under the radar against those stronger than them, collecting items, using them to strengthen themselves, and even planning actions.
Beasts would do this as they grew stronger, but goblins had these instincts from the very 1st stage. Although they couldn't be compared to humans, they were ingenious creatures.
Vicente had learned the basics about them from the books he had read growing up in Martell Village, and he was interested in this group of goblins.
'I will follow them.' He decided to let the creatures do what they wanted in the rubble while he stored his mana in his body and hid behind a large bush.
This time, he wouldn't act violently, especially since the strongest goblin there was only a level 1 Acolyte.
'I don't know exactly where to go to find the basilisk's nest. So I'll follow these creatures. If they are settled in this area, as I think they are, they might know something about the basilisk.' Vicente folded his hands, feeling this was the best he could do for now.
If these goblins had a camp nearby, it was almost certain that they would have resources from raids in the area. What's more, they might be plotting against the basilisk and have information about such a beast!
So Vicente stood quietly in his place and watched as the group of green creatures collected the belongings of the dead in the area.
There were the bodies of 8 humans and 15 beasts but also damaged weapons and shields, probably items left behind by fleeing humans or beasts.
When they finished after a few minutes and started to move north, Vicente followed them from a safe distance, keeping an eye on them but also on their surroundings.
'Let's see where this takes me...'
...
Meanwhile, in another area of the depths of The Rocky Gorge...
Nova sat on a rock near a stream and washed her sword, stained with dirt and blood, while several of her companions without serious injuries did the same.
Meanwhile, others moaned in pain, receiving first aid from comrades while the group's doctor cared for those in the worst condition.
After days in this area, her group had fought several times against 2nd stage beasts in search of their target, the 3rd stage basilisk.
Finding this creature was not as easy as one might think!
The basilisk was defensive about its territory, but with so many groups of humans entering the area in the past few days, it wouldn't reveal itself easily.
If anyone wanted to find it, they would have to find its nest and challenge it!
Until then, its many subordinates in the area would act against groups like Nova's to scare off or even eliminate opponents.
As one of the strongest in her group, behind the commander leading the battalion, Nova hadn't been hurt too badly in the last battle, but that didn't stop her from worrying.
The number of beasts in the area far exceeded the number of groups that were there to hunt the basilisk!
"Sigh... I hope this ends soon." She thought as she looked at the stream in front of her, which was now reddish-brown from the blood and dirt left behind by soldiers like her.
