My job list is full of alien girls.

Chapter 9 This kid has been acting against me all along!

"Wait, that's not the point, is it?"

Alina, who had almost been led astray by Rhodes's train of thought, couldn't help but say, "I'm worried they'll deliberately hold us back and not put in any effort, or even regarding the money..."

"Don't always think the worst of people," Rod paused, glanced at John and the others beside him, and smiled, "but don't be too nice either."

Alina was skeptical, but didn't say anything more.

They walked along the dirt road on the outskirts of the Misty Forest. By this time, the sun had fully risen, the fog had completely dissipated, and the sunlight, cut into tiny spots by the intertwined branches and leaves, fell on Rhodes and the others.

John walked in front, chatting with Rhodes from time to time as they went, asking him about his background and how much experience he had in hunting monsters, testing his strength with every word and action.

Warrior Burke and thief Tom followed on either side, singing in unison.

However, Rhodes remained silent throughout, only occasionally uttering an "uh-huh" to indicate that he had heard her.

"What's wrong with this guy? Is he mute?" John asked for a long time, only to find that the other person was replying randomly after reading his message, which made him even more annoyed.

When asked if he was from out of town, he replied, "Yes."

When asked what race he was, whether he was human or elf, he simply said "uh-huh."

When asked about his archery skills—whether he was a beginner or an expert—he simply replied with "Hmm."

Is this guy crazy?!

"Brother Hero, is something on your mind?" John forced a smile, his expression stiff. "Why don't you tell us so we can help you through it?"

Rod hummed in agreement, then shook his head in refusal.

John was completely out of options and gave up on getting any information out of him, so he pretended to chat and laugh with the others.

He didn't want to know anything about a dead person!

Alina was also quite puzzled by this and asked Rhodes why.

"I think the Wind Ranger embodies the cool and aloof temperament of an elf, and should project an image of detachment from worldly affairs. Therefore, I will not answer or will only answer questions that are not essential."

Regarding her question, Rhodes said the following.

As the last trace of Misty City completely disappeared from sight, the group, who had been chatting and laughing at the beginning, gradually became quiet and somber, and only their footsteps and breathing could be heard in the forest.

"We're almost there," John, who was leading the way with a map in hand, suddenly stopped and lowered his voice. "We've heard there are signs of goblin activity around here. From now on, we need to be on high alert."

He scanned his surroundings warily, his expression suggesting he wasn't joking.

In fact, according to the intelligence he had gathered, there might indeed be a goblin's lair in the vicinity.

Although their team was used to double-crossing, murder, robbery, and harming fellow adventurers were still dishonorable acts.

Moreover, if they misjudge the situation and the target isn't a fat sheep, everyone can cooperate to hunt monsters and earn some bounty, so they don't make a wasted trip.

"Tom, and the Hero brothers, please scout the area. Burke and I will protect you."

Rhodes nodded, offering no objection.

Using his experience from collecting corpses, and with the enhanced reconnaissance abilities after merging, Rhodes quickly distinguished between the tracks of ordinary wild animals and those left by goblins from the messy ground.

"Over here."

Rod pointed to a nearby earthen slope, which was covered with shrubs and looked like there was no road at all.

"There's nothing there, how could it be there..." The hot-tempered Burke instinctively wanted to scold him for making trouble, but was stopped by John next to him.

He noticed that Tom, who had just finished scouting the area, was also looking in that direction, his expression hesitant as if he was wondering whether he should jump out and correct his companion.

Seeing that John and Burke were both looking at him, Tom wiped the sweat from his brow and said somewhat uncertainly:

"That should be it..."

The group walked down the mountain for several dozen steps, parted the bushes, and sure enough, they saw a cave entrance about half a person's height, from which they could faintly hear the cries of goblins.

"You actually guessed right!" The warrior Burke looked at Rhodes beside him in surprise.

Looking at his calm expression, I don't know if he's faking it or if he really has something going for him.

"The Hero brothers are amazing!" John praised enthusiastically.

They gathered some dry firewood around them, John took out a small powder, poured it on the fire, lit it, and directed everyone to retreat to their respective positions.

Soon, a thick plume of black smoke rose up, and Burke pushed a large rock from the side to block it halfway, ensuring that all the choking smoke would flow back into the goblin's lair.

Before long, the goblins' cries in the nest became anxious and shrill. They were choked and disoriented, huddling together and banging their heads against the rocks, causing the small cave to tremble.

"They're here! Get ready!" John shouted.

"Bang!"

The goblins smashed open the rocks at the cave entrance, and a dozen or so short goblins rushed out in a frenzy, coughing and hunching over, unable to hold their wooden clubs properly. Some even bumped into each other, unable to even tell which way was which.

"Gurgle!"

"Gurgle, gurgle!"

John and the others' eyes lit up as they realized that their fighting strength had been weakened.

John charged forward first, wielding his sword to cut down a goblin with swift, decisive, and ruthless movements.

The warrior Burke didn't hesitate either; with a single swing of his axe, he cleaved a goblin's head in two, shouting, "Well done! Perfect for stretching my muscles!"

The thief Tom also joined in, and taking advantage of the goblin's inattention, he plunged his dagger into its lower back. Although his movements were timid, he still managed to kill the goblin with his agility.

In a short time, they took down three goblins, but the more they fought, the clearer it became that the goblins in front of them were not particularly strong.

Thinking of this, John glanced at Rhodes, who was nocking an arrow and drawing his bow not far away, and exchanged glances with his two companions.

This is a perfect opportunity to use these goblins to probe this fat sheep and see if he's just pretending to be high and mighty or if he's really capable.

He deliberately slowed down his movements, pretending to be struggling. He swung his greatsword but held back, letting a weak goblin circle behind him. He pretended not to notice, and when his shoulder was grazed by a wooden stick, he showed a pained expression.

"Damn it! These goblins are getting fiercer the more we fight them!"

John yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran towards Rhodes, "Brother Heero, help me hold them off! I can't hold them off any longer, my arms are numb from all the hitting!"

"Huh?"

Hearing John's loud scream, the goblin carrying the wooden club made a puzzled sound.

Am I really that strong?

Rhodes glanced at John, nodded slightly, gripped the newly bought ash wood longbow on his back, drew an ordinary arrow from the quiver, aimed at the goblin that was fighting John, and simultaneously channeled magic into the arrow.

Besides hunting goblins for bounty, his main purpose this time was to test the [Armor Upgrade] skill.

He wanted to figure out the difference in strength between ordinary arrows, enchanted arrows, and magical arrows.

"Don't put too much magic into it this time, or the arrow will fly out again."

Rhodes spoke to Alina in his consciousness space, slowly channeling magic into the arrow with his fingertips. The arrow tip emitted a faint blue light, much less than last time.

"call out--"

The arrow shot through the air, originally aimed at the goblin's forehead, but because it was still not skilled enough, the magic attached to the arrow suddenly dissipated, causing the arrow to only graze its shoulder.

Even so, the arrow still caused the goblin to scream wildly and roll on the ground in pain. In the end, it lost too much blood and stopped breathing.

"Gurgle, gurgle!"

John almost burst out laughing at the sight, but he maintained a grateful expression: "Thank you, Brother Hero!"

Seeing that he had finished, Burke, who was not far away, understood and pretended to be exhausted, slowing down his axe swings. He also deliberately drove the remaining goblins toward Rhodes, panting and shouting:

"I can't hold on any longer! This goblin doesn't look like much, but it's incredibly persistent. Brother Hero, come and lend a hand!"

Tom did the same thing.

The next few goblins were basically all handed over to Rhodes.

He remained calm and unhurried, continuing to experiment with his skills while moving around and dealing with them.

His arrows were sometimes fast and sometimes slow; sometimes they pierced deep into the tree trunk, and sometimes they flew away lightly, disappearing into who-knows-where.

If the magic power is unevenly distributed, adjust it slowly. If a goblin gets close, use your agility to dodge and then create distance to fire a follow-up shot.

In the end, apart from the few arrows scattered on the ground, he didn't get a speck of dust on him, and his clothes weren't even touched. He easily killed the three goblins.

For him, this was simply a process of practicing skills. Aiming at live targets and still objects was on a completely different level, not to mention that he also had to practice the new skill of "Armed Upgrade".

But seeing this scene, John and his two companions were completely relieved.

In their view, Rhodes, who couldn't even handle goblins, was no match for the three of them.

Tom, who had previously failed to track Rod, secretly glanced at him, secretly overjoyed.

This guy is definitely a fraud!

The equipment looks impressive, but the person's basic aiming is terrible; they have no real skill whatsoever.

They were determined to devour the fat sheep before them.

As the battle intensified, most of the goblins were either killed or so frightened that they lost all will to fight and only wanted to flee.

Under the guidance of John and others, Rhodes was unknowingly lured into a closed environment.

The area was flanked by thick, old trees with dense vines, and the ground was uneven, making it difficult to run quickly.

This location, where it was difficult to maintain distance for shooting and where the rangers' preferred kiting tactics couldn't be used, was precisely the ambush point they had previously chosen.

"Brother Hero, don't let those green-skinned monsters get away!"

John spoke, but without anyone noticing, he was carrying a greatsword and had moved to Rhodes' side.

At this moment, the greed and ruthlessness in his eyes could no longer be concealed.

Taking advantage of Rhodes' attention still being focused on the remaining goblins, she suddenly swung her sword and slashed fiercely at Rhodes' lower back.

Even without magical effects, the brute force imbued with fierce power is not something an ordinary person can withstand.

"Watch out!" Alina shouted urgently in the consciousness space.

Rhodes reacted extremely quickly. With the ultimate agility of the Wind Ranger, he instinctively turned and spun around, barely avoiding the fatal blow. The greatsword grazed his clothes and created a gust of wind.

In his haste, he lost his grip on the ash wood longbow, and it fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Got it!" John growled, his eyes turning sinister. "Tom, go!"

Tom, who had been poised to strike, flashed forward and, using the bushes as cover, drew his short sword and thrust it straight at Rhodes' chest with astonishing speed.

He was a thief, skilled in close-quarters combat, and was certain that Rhodes, without his bow and arrows, would be no match for his attack.

But to his utter surprise, Rhodes didn't panic at all. With a flick of his right hand, a small but sharp dagger precisely parried the short sword.

"clang!"

The crisp sound of metal clashing rang out, and Tom felt a tremendous force, which jolted him back two steps, almost causing him to fall to the ground.

His eyes widened, his face filled with astonishment.

This guy can actually fight in close combat without a bow and arrow? And he's so strong?

Instinctively, he wanted to turn around and run away, but when he caught a glimpse of John and Burke beside him, he hardened his heart again: What's there to be afraid of?

With two companions around, even if this guy knows a bit about short knives, he can't withstand being attacked by three people!

Tom gritted his teeth, his eyes turning fierce again, gripped his dagger tightly, and approached once more.

John and Burke also joined in, and the three of them formed a triangle, trapping Rod in the small area.

John toyed with the greatsword in his hand, his face full of smugness: "Brother Hero, stop struggling. You've lost your bow and arrows and are surrounded by us. You can't escape at all."

"If you know what's good for you, hand over your weapons and money, and cut off your own arm, and we might spare your life."

Burke roared, gripping his axe tightly, his eyes fierce: "Otherwise, I'll make sure you die a horrible death today!"

Tom chimed in, "That's right! You're just a well-equipped slacker. Without that bow and arrow, you're nothing. Don't overestimate yourself!"

Rhodes glanced down at the ash wood longbow entangled in vines on the ground, then looked up at the three of them, slowly shaking his head. His expression remained calm, without the slightest hint of panic.

Seeing that he wouldn't back down, John's face darkened: "Since you want to die, then we'll grant your wish!"

But at that moment, Rhodes had a sudden thought, and a faint blue-gold light appeared instantly, and a crystal longbow made entirely of emerald green appeared out of thin air in his hand.

It is the magical longbow that comes with the Swift Ranger's transformation.

"You...you have a bow?!" John's smile froze on his face, his expression filled with disbelief.

So this kid was impersonating me all along!

This bow and arrow are clearly no ordinary weapon; they are many times better than the ash wood bow on the ground.

But he kept it hidden and never took it out!

“I never said I only had one bow,” Rhodes shook his head. “You didn’t ask.”

Tom trembled with fear and instinctively stopped in his tracks. His previous ferocity vanished, leaving only cowardice.

The aura emanating from this bow is far stronger than that of the ash wood longbow; it's definitely not an ordinary piece of equipment!

Without a word, Rhodes channeled magic into his fingertips, and a cyan-gold magic arrow instantly formed, nocking itself on the bow.

As Burke charged at him, he loosened his grip on his wrist.

"call out!"

The arrow was incredibly fast; Burke didn't even have time to react before it struck him in the chest. He groaned, fell straight down, and died instantly.

Without needing to consciously control the magic attached to ordinary arrows, Rhodes experienced a significant improvement in both aiming and power.

The timid Tom was so frightened that he forgot all about his companions and turned to run into the woods.

But Rod's speed was far superior. With a light tap of his toes, he caught up with him like a phantom, and with a backhand arrow, accurately struck him in the back.

Tom screamed and fell heavily to the ground, motionless.

John was the only one left on the field. His hand, gripping the greatsword, trembled uncontrollably, and his face was filled with fear and regret.

"Wait, I can..." Before he could finish pleading, all he heard was the whistling of arrows.

"call out--!"

John clutched the wound on his chest, blood gushing out quickly from between his fingers, staining the surrounding grass red.

He stared blankly at the sparse dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves.

At this moment, does he recall that afternoon when he registered as an adventurer?

That version of myself who dreamed of becoming a world-renowned adventurer?