Adam took the item from Mugu's hands with keen interest.
Unlike the grimy Hobgoblin, the simple, pale bone necklace was remarkably clean.
At first, he hadn't paid it much attention.
Now, inspecting it closely, he noticed a faint greenish glow flickering across the ping-pong-ball-sized bone.
The telltale shimmer of a magical item.
"This is the bone of a Gigahorn Elk." Mugu said, gesturing animatedly with both hands. "The Gigahorn Elk is a magical beast from the deep jungle, with massive antlers, like this big…"
Its pained expression revealed the item's importance to both Mugu and the Gigu Tribe.
Despite Mugu's somewhat muddled explanation, Adam pieced together the bone necklace's ability.
According to Mugu, the Gigahorn Elk, a magical beast native to the Great Forest of Tob, could move freely through jungle terrain.
Thus, this magical item, crafted from the elk's skull, carried that same power.
Adam understood immediately.
Forest Passage!
Like Camouflage. it was a faith-based spell.
This spell granted the ability to move through jungle environments unimpeded by plants. Whether it was 3rd-tier or 4th-tier, Adam couldn't recall.
But Forest Passage was far more practical than Camouflage.
Knowing the necklace's effect, Adam had no intention of returning it. Instead of wearing it around his neck like Mugu, he wrapped it around his wrist.
Magical items needed to be worn in a fixed position to activate.
Rings, for instance, only worked when worn on a finger.
This bone necklace, though called a necklace, was essentially the bone itself. The vine cord was merely for Mugu's convenience.
Removing the vine wouldn't affect the item's power.
"Alright, enough chatter."
"Now, let's get to business."
Pleased with his new magical item, Adam turned to Mugu with a smile.
Business?
Mugu's eyes clouded with confusion.
"Exactly." Adam nodded, a cold glint in his gaze.
He hadn't killed the Hobgoblin for a reason. The earlier gains were incidental, his real goal was what came next.
"You came to the outskirts to select strong, healthy goblins. That means you must know every goblin tribe in the area, right?"
"So, how about you lead me to them?"
Adam's smile widened.
For over half a month, he'd been hunting goblins in the forest, relying on luck to stumble across them.
The Great Forest of Tob was vast!
The jungle's difficult terrain and nighttime conditions had drastically slowed his leveling.
Before level 10, it was manageable, he could gain one or two hundred experience points daily by hunting magical beasts and goblins. But at level 10, each level now required 5,000 experience.
Continuing at his old pace, he'd barely gain a few levels in the remaining half-month.
Mugu's appearance sparked a new plan.
Who better to know the locations of goblin tribes than a goblin itself?
Exactly!
He needed a guide, and this talkative Hobgoblin was the perfect candidate… or rather, the perfect goblin.
"H-Human l-lord, you can't k-kill them…" Mugu stammered, trembling at Adam's smile, as if facing a demon.
As expected!
With near-human intelligence, Mugu understood what Adam intended.
"This isn't a negotiation."
Adam stepped forward, smiling, and stomped hard on Mugu's left ankle, crushing the bone.
"Ah!!!"
Mugu's scream echoed through the forest, startling a chorus of birds.
After some "friendly" persuasion, Mugu quickly embraced Adam's brilliant proposal, promptly revealing the location of the nearest goblin tribe.
Satisfied, Adam hoisted Mugu and headed toward the tribe.
A figure darted through the forest.
Bushes, grass, and tangled branches parted automatically, clearing a path.
With the Forest Passage magical item, Adam's speed surged several times over. The jungle's constraints, which had limited his agility, were gone, letting his full prowess shine.
And it was nearly silent.
Combining Forest Passage with Camouflage. He was virtually undetectable without detection magic.
No wonder Mugu had tracked him for so long without being noticed!
What followed was a massacre!
With Mugu providing locations and the magical item's effects, no goblin could escape Adam's blade.
During this time, Adam even annihilated a large goblin tribe with over two hundred goblins and five ogres.
Before Forest Passage, facing five ogres would've forced Adam to retreat.
But with this ability, the jungle was no longer a barrier. Using his speed advantage, he kited and killed the five ogres with ease.
After Adam carved through that massive tribe, slaughtering every last one, Mugu, who had shown some resistance, gave up entirely, becoming a fully compliant guide!
Adam wasn't fooled by Mugu's apparent submission.
With goblins' greedy, cunning nature, complete compliance would be suspicious.
But after witnessing the destruction of such a powerful tribe, Mugu had clearly abandoned all resistance.
***
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