Chapter 16 : Talent: Iron Stomach
Chapter 16: Talent: Iron Stomach
There was another one: 【Iron Stomach】.
This racial talent was even more overbearing, granting Goblins the ability to digest almost any organic matter.
Whether it was raw flesh, rotting corpses, or moldy roots and stems, once eaten, everything could be converted into energy. Moreover, it provided extremely high immunity to most diseases transmitted through food.
In a world without food safety regulations, it was essentially a powerful life insurance.
Lance was filled with anticipation for this.
What he didn’t know was how the selection range was calculated in this world.
Was it limited to drawing only the most basic racial talents?
Or could it randomly draw from the entire Goblin talent lineage, including all mutated individuals?
Lance recalled the records from 《Monster Manual》 in his mind.
Although Goblins were weak, their genetics were a complete mess.
Among all monster races, the lower the lifeform, the worse the genetic stability tended to be.
This instability was a double-edged sword.
It resulted in the frailty of individual Goblins, but it also granted them an extremely high probability of mutation.
From immensely strong Hobgoblins, to Goblin Shamans capable of casting spell-like abilities, and even winged Flying Goblins, the variations were endless.
On the contrary, those apex creatures like Dragons had extremely high racial uniformity, with genetic structures as stable as bedrock.
While this ensured that every hatchling was born with a powerful baseline of strength,
once an extremely rare mutation did occur, it often meant the birth of a monster that surpassed the racial limit—enough to trigger a natural disaster.
Lance looked at the “4/20” progress bar, his anticipation growing stronger.
As everyone knew, among all monster bestiaries, Goblins were the most numerous low-tier existence.
For Lance, gathering the remaining sixteen research points simply meant spending more time clearing out these green-skinned pests.
It was hardly a difficult task.
Of course, in the rather improper game setting from his memory, methods of increasing research progress were never limited to slaughter alone.
Certain specific “negative-distance interactions” could also provide large amounts of research experience, and even had exclusive animated CGs.
But looking at the Goblins’ appearance,
Lance felt it was safer to stick with physical extermination. As for those bold attempts, he would leave them for when he encountered a Succubus or Elves in the future.
For now, the most pressing issue was the increasingly unstable environment.
Whether it was the earlier mana rampage in the dungeon, or the expanding activity range of creatures at the forest’s outskirts,
the source behind both remained shrouded in mystery.
Lance had a strong feeling—
the surrounding environment was like a pot of water being slowly heated, growing more and more unstable.
If it were periodic disturbances, that would be fine. What he feared was that this was a precursor to some great disaster.
But placing hope in luck was clearly not his style.
“Training can’t stop.”
Lance looked at the shortbow he had recently bought in the corner and muttered to himself.
Previously, to register as an Adventurer, he had pushed himself through half a month of intensive training.
But once he obtained the certification, the tension loosened, and that high-intensity training rhythm became hard to maintain.
That wouldn’t do.
Whether it was for hunting Goblins to accumulate points, or to deal with potential unknown risks in the future,
he had to wind himself back up again.
After all, possessing a divine skill like 【Hvergelmir’s Surge】, yet living like an ordinary person who slacked off every few days, would simply be a waste.
Taking advantage of the daylight not yet fully fading, Lance sat at the table and began to reorganize his financial situation on paper.
He was still working as a Scribe, attending five days a week, and spending the remaining two days in the forest taking on low-risk gathering tasks.
Recently, due to increased physical activity, his food expenses had also risen accordingly.
Lance scribbled calculations on the paper and finally arrived at a number.
After daily expenses, he could save about sixteen silver coins per month.
However, to practice archery and consolidate his swordsmanship, he would need to pay a fixed fee of 10 copper coins per day to the guild’s Logistics Department for equipment wear and tear.
By this calculation, that was an additional expenditure of 3 silver coins per month.
Lance looked at the number with some reluctance, counting on his fingers repeatedly.
“Let’s observe for a month first.”
He drew a heavy circle on the paper.
This month would serve both as his adaptation period and as a time to observe the environment.
If he gradually adapted and his strength allowed it, he could quit his Scribe job and become a full-time Adventurer.
Otherwise—
if the situation in Copper Creek Forest worsened further, causing the safe gathering commissions to shrink drastically, or the risks to exceed what he could bear,
he would retreat without hesitation and rely on the stable salary of a Scribe.
He had no desire to become like those wandering Adventurers who lived on the edge, forced to pack up and move to another town at the slightest disturbance.
Lance’s goal was clear: to steadily endure in Graystone Town until he saved enough travel expenses to reach Trade Capital · Ostera.
Moreover, there was Nia’s lively smile, Amber’s hearty laughter, and Flora’s blushing face.
These vivid people gave him a sense of belonging in this unfamiliar world.
Rather than struggling alone in a strange city, it was far more comforting to stay here and rely on one another.
“I hope that potion research pulls through.”
Lance sighed, his gaze shifting to the patch of moss drying on the windowsill.
As long as he could finalize the improved formula for 【Hemostatic Ointment】, he would gain another stable source of income.
Once that improved formula was complete, whether for personal use or consignment sales, it would become a steady additional earning.
As for the seemingly distant 【Swordsman】 class—
just the pile of daunting attribute requirements was enough to make him abandon any thoughts of changing classes in the short term.
It was better to stay grounded, first improving his basic skills and raising his attributes before making further plans.
Overreaching was a shortcut to death.
Besides, he could also look into other class information—there might be something more suitable for him.
After listing all his short-term and long-term goals on paper, his previously chaotic thoughts gradually settled.
By now, the sky outside had already begun to darken.
Lance pushed open the small attic window, and the evening breeze mixed with the aroma of food rushed toward him.
On the street below, townsfolk who had worked all day were returning home in small groups. Children’s laughter intertwined with the faint sound of an organ drifting from a distant tavern.
The entire Graystone Town was bathed in a warm, lazy orange-red sunset.
This kind of lively tranquility slowly relaxed Lance’s tense nerves, even making him somewhat intoxicated by it.
He leaned on the windowsill like that, watching the massive red sun slowly sink behind the rolling mountain range in the distance.
……
At the same time.
Hundreds of kilometers away from Graystone Town, in the northeastern region of the Iris Kingdom.
A river of astonishing width ran across the plains. Because the riverbed was covered with pure white chalk stones, the water reflected a unique milky-white color under the sunlight.
This was precisely how White River Province got its name.