I’m not Goblin Slayer Chapter 088

In the-colored flames, yellowish-green viscous blood spurted out from the charred wound, burning into a pungent green mist the moment it encountered the flames.

The cracks in the shattered carapace rapidly spread under the high temperature, emitting a crisp “crunch” sound similar to glass quenching.

The seemingly incredibly hard chitinous carapace began to peel off in pieces, exposing the fibrous muscle tissue resembling thick ropes underneath, which then released a smell of burnt protein under the gnawing of the spore-attached blue flames.

“Can it be burned to death?”

Gao Si, who had been watching the Mantisman burning fiercely in the fire and hadn’t received a kill notification from the panel, could only drag the weak-limbed Edith to a distance first.

After confirming she wasn’t injured, he casually picked up her single-handed crossbow and the scattered short arrows beside her.

Arrows into the groove, string drawn, aimed, fired!

Just like that, he shot arrow after arrow towards the Mantisman.

The others also walked to his side at this moment, similarly not daring to approach the Mantisman.

Even though it was now burned to a miserable state, especially its compound eyes, which were shattered into tiny granular fragments all over the ground by the shockwave from the spore bomb.

But intimidated by the psychological shadow it had left earlier, everyone still dared not step forward to deliver the finishing blow.

Fearing that the Mantisman, even covered in wounds from the explosion, still possessed the power to kill.

“Be careful, it’s not dead yet, don’t go over.” Gao Si reminded.

This was also one of the panel’s functions.

As long as the panel didn’t show a kill notification, it meant the enemy hadn’t completely died.

This also prevented him from encountering situations where enemies feigned death and then retaliated in their final moments.

“Okay.”

The others, hearing Gao Si say this, dared not approach even more.

At this brief moment of relaxation, they also began to recall the details of the battle.

After a little reflection, they immediately realized one thing.

If not for Gao Si in today’s battle.

It would have been difficult for anyone present to survive.

This wasn’t self-deprecation, but a clear understanding of the huge gap between themselves and the Mantisman.

This was the terror of monsters with challenge levels.

The front-line warrior apprentices were unable to effectively hold back the Mantisman head-on, and the back-line archers and mages couldn’t fully utilize their abilities.

Moreover, the Mantisman possessed high mobility that they couldn’t match, and could completely bypass their relatively clumsy front line to ambush the relatively weakly defended mages and archers.

If the Mantisman hadn’t focused its attention on Gao Si from the start.

It wouldn’t have been just Bianca who was instantly killed.

Thinking of Bianca.

The few people present showed a touch of sadness, especially Lawrence, who dared not look in the direction of her corpse at this moment.

Fearing to see the head that had fallen to the ground.

Edith also had a look of lingering fear.

If Gao Si hadn’t extended a timely helping hand just now, she would probably have met the same fate as Bianca.

“Clang!”

“Clang!”

Gao Si was unaware of the mixed feelings of his other teammates present.

He simply transformed into a ruthless finishing machine.

The shockwave from the spore bomb shattered the Mantisman’s sturdy carapace, and the stubbornly adhering flames caused the cracks to continuously widen, now exposing its internal flesh and blood.

So every arrow he shot now could penetrate into the Mantisman’s body and flesh.

Finally.

When the single-handed crossbow shot another arrow.

Gao Si’s eyes finally showed the translucent prompt that made him sigh in relief.

“Slain Sliclean Mantisman* 1”

“Total monsters killed: 179”

“Expand: Normal monsters 178, Elite monsters 1”

“First kill of an elite monster, reward gained: Perception + 1. Reward skill gained: Enhanced Jump”

“Skill [Enhanced Jump]: After using this skill, consumes more stamina, temporarily strengthens leg muscles, gains stronger jumping ability, for better terrain traversal and rapid mobility.”

“You have accumulated 1 Sliclean Mantisman killed.”

“Title [Mantis Hunter] gained. This title will upgrade as the number of Sliclean Mantismen killed increases.”

“Current effect: Armor Penetration. In combat against Sliclean Mantismen and related advanced species, the armor penetration effect of attacks is slightly increased.”

The text in front of Gao Si kept flashing, as if there was too much information, making it hard to read all at once.

At the same time, after a certain prompt sound.

His brain was also enveloped by a clear and cool energy, exceptionally comfortable.

Then came the changes in his five senses: sight, hearing, smell, etc.

With each blink, the information captured in his vision seemed to increase, changes in color, pixels, and the speed of visual signal reception at various levels; his hearing also seemed to have suddenly pierced an invisible veil, and after a hum, the world became much quieter…

Gao Si felt the world before him was brand new.

Is this the world after perception has strengthened?

He stared blankly, and it took him a while to get used to the differences brought by this perception improvement.

He opened the panel.

Name: Gao Si

Strength: 6

Agility: 6

Constitution: 6

Intelligence: 7

Perception: 6

Charisma: 6

On the attribute panel, the last weakness had been filled.

He felt it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe himself as a super low-end “hexagonal warrior.”

Gao Si, who had a bit of OCD, looked at the panel and finally felt comfortable, except for 7 points in Intelligence, all others were a uniform 6 points.

Next were the changes in skill proficiency.

With the completion of the last room of the dungeon, the proficiency of various skills had increased to some extent.

Skills:

0-Ring Cantrip Light lv 2 ( 7/20)

0-Ring Cantrip Mage Hand lv 3 ( 27/50)

1-Ring Spell Magic Missile lv 3 ( 17/50)

1-Ring Spell Mage Armor lv 3 ( 48/50)

Basic Swordsmanship lv 2 ( 12/20)

Enhanced Jump lv 1 ( 1/10)

Talents: Rapid Digestion, Magic Resistance.

Light increased by 2 points, Mage Hand by 2 points, Magic Missile by 4 points, Mage Armor by 3 points, Basic Swordsmanship by 2 points.

And the new skill [Enhanced Jump] just obtained from the Mantisman.

He had exploration assistance skills, ranged spell attack skills, defensive skills, melee weapon skills, and displacement buff skills.

His abilities were becoming more comprehensive and diverse without him realizing it.

He opened the second page of the monster bestiary.

Besides the normal monsters on the first page, the elite section on the second page was also unveiled.

A tall and mighty dark brown Mantisman appeared on the first page of the elite bestiary.

Gao Si focused his gaze on it, and a data file card about it even popped up.

“Huh?”

He was a little surprised.

Isn’t this preferential treatment? Normal monsters didn’t have this.

Creature Name: Sliclean Mantisman

Challenge Rating: 1

Creature Type: Humanoid (Insect Subspecies)

Size: Medium (Adult height 1.8- 2.2 meters)

Habitat: Desert, Grassland, Savanna

Social Structure: Solitary or Small Hunting Groups (usually 2- 3 individuals)

Lifespan: Approximately 30 years (no sleep required, leading to shortened lifespan)

Racial Talents: Camouflage Carapace, Super Jump, Four-Armed Combat, Psionic Talent (manifests in a few)

Looking at the information on the Mantisman’s data card in the bestiary.

Gao Si gained a deeper understanding of this monster he was previously unfamiliar with.

The one that appeared as the final “BOSS” in the dungeon this time should have been close to 2.2 meters tall.

In other words, if judged solely by size, it should be an outstanding individual among its kind.

However, since this was Gao Si’s first encounter with a Mantisman, he wasn’t yet sure if this particular one was strong or weak compared to the normal individuals of its species.

After exiting the adventurer’s handbook, Gao Si began to feel a wave of hunger.

The magic missiles he had just cast consumed a lot of magic power, and his body was urging him to eat quickly to replenish the depleted magic energy.

“It’s alright, it should be dead.” Gao Si said while eating, noticing his teammates were still on alert, realizing he had forgotten to share this information with them.

“Ah—is it finally dead?” Lawrence plopped down on the ground.

His back was completely soaked with sweat.

The psychological pressure that Mantisman had put on him was simply too immense; for a frail spellcaster apprentice, being approached by it was almost synonymous with death.

Of course, Gao Si’s situation didn’t count.

Gao Si was the only one in the team who had withstood the Mantisman head-on for several rounds.

And almost all effective damage was dealt by him.

The difference in strength between Gao Si and his teammates wasn’t very noticeable in low-level matches, where everyone could relatively easily kill those low-level monsters. But in a “high-level match” like this, the gap between Gao Si and other professional apprentices became very apparent.

“Is this the way out?”

Gao Si noticed that a sloping upward passage had appeared on the side. Judging by the slope and direction, it should lead back to the surface.

But there was no rush to leave now.

There were still many things to deal with on site.

He walked over to the Mantisman.

The spores and flames wrapped around it had burned for a long time and were much weaker now.

The Mantisman was also charred black by the flames.

“What a pity,” Gao Si sighed.

If the Mantisman’s corpse was intact, it could have been cut into many valuable materials.

Its tough insect armor, its four blade-sharp forelimbs, its complex compound eyes, and so on.

Unfortunately, the explosion and the continuous burning flames had greatly damaged its organs and materials, and their value was probably significantly reduced.

But then again.

If it weren’t for the shockwave and flames of the spore bomb, it might not have been so easy to take down. If it could reduce danger, then everything was worth it.

“Hey! Watch out, there’s movement!”

While Gao Si was feeling regretful, Edith’s startled cry came from a distance.

“Boom boom boom!”

He followed his teammate’s gaze.

After a roar, a massive platform squeezed out of the flat ground.

“So scary, isn’t this just the room reward?” Lawrence was startled by her sudden exclamation, then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was the same as the previous clear rewards, just a larger platform.

What was the reward this time?

The others also gathered around curiously.

On a one-meter square platform, a dark metal staff, about a meter long and without any patterns, was quietly inserted. At the very top of the staff, a dusty geomantic quartz was embedded.

“Unbreakable Staff.”

Just like before, the information about this reward item suddenly appeared in everyone’s minds.

“The backbone of steel unbroken, the will of the staff-wielder unyielding.”