Up to now, he still didn't know how the Golden Finger decided things.
If the Golden Finger judged that a monster had to be killed by him alone, then since the mutated goblin had first taken an arrow from Nia, his plan to get the Mutated Goblin Bloodline would've failed.
But if the Golden Finger only required that the last blow before the monster's death be from him—
Then, without a doubt, he'd be able to obtain the bloodline of this rare mutated goblin, and probably get that spellcasting ability he so desperately craved.
As for whether the goblin's power wasn't a bloodline mutation, but somehow it "learned magic" through its 'wits'?
That's just impossible.
Even a lifelong village farmer like his original self knew that learning magic generally needed knowledge, chanting, and hand signs.
Goblin couldn't even speak common language, let alone more advanced spellcasting languages—so obviously, its ability to cast magic must come from some mutated bloodline.
The only thing to worry about was whether this goblin had some once-in-a-century stroke of luck, picked up a magic item and used it to release magic.
But based on the archer Nia's astonished reaction just now, that didn't seem likely either.
Raine heard Nia quietly mutter clearly: "Mutated Goblin."
At that moment, Raine heard branches snapping behind him.
He saw the Militia Captain Jefferson and Archer Nia rushing over.
Jefferson, as the Militia Captain, was worried Raine—his fellow villager—might run into trouble, while Nia was simply curious to see if this young farmer could actually chase down and kill the wounded Mutated Goblin.
"Raine, you're too reckless, if you—..."
Jefferson was in the middle of saying something, but when he saw what was in front of him, the words—a mix of reproach and concern—came to an abrupt halt.
"You actually killed it…?"
Jefferson, the Militia Captain, stared blankly at the ground—at the Mutated Goblin in linen clothes riddled with small holes—muttering to himself.
He never expected Raine would really chase after and slay the mutated goblin—one who could cast magic.
After all, with just one magic spell, that goblin had knocked an Adventurer out of the fight.
Nia was also stunned.
She had doubted before—wondering if this farmer Raine exaggerated the goblin kill count—but now there was no doubt: it was true.
The countless tiny punctures all over the Mutated Goblin's body left by a pitchfork made it obvious—in the battle just now, Raine's pitchfork thrusts must have been swift, powerful, and relentless.
Maybe even as skilled as the kingdom's trained pikemen.
"Uncle Jefferson, after the Adventurer shot the Mutated Goblin, it couldn't cast again. Wasn't much stronger than the others."
Raine glanced at Nia behind Jefferson, and credited her arrow for most of the win.
For Raine, he already got what he wanted most.
Maybe the Mutated Goblin had loot, but he wasn't greedy.
And on another level, he'd already hit the jackpot—any loot should go to the Adventurer Squad that took the goblin hunting quest in the first place.
Hearing Raine's words, Nia smiled.
She hadn't expected this young farmer to be so brave—and so diplomatic.
She approached, clicking her tongue in admiration: "Really brave—you're Raine, right? …Maybe you shouldn't just be a farmer."
"Uh… Thanks."
Meanwhile, on the main battlefield—
With the last three goblins completely wiped out, rescuing the two girls from the cave happened as a matter of course.
But when Raine and the others returned, he saw the two girls curled up in their fathers' arms.
The girls—Rose and Loli, with tattered clothes—were alive, but obviously terrified, their eyes full of helplessness, shivering in their fathers' embrace like frightened rabbits.
Seeing this, Raine felt a heavy weight in his heart.
But, luck amid misfortune—thanks to Low Light Vision, Raine could see their linen pants were still intact.
Apparently, just as the girls were snatched into the cave, their rescuers arrived not long after.
Right on time.
This time they got lucky—next time might not be the same.
If they'd arrived a day late, just imagining a dozen goblins with 'High-speed Reproduction Lv2' ability swarming two weak human girls made Raine shudder.
If it really happened—even if they rescued them, there'd be much tougher problems to deal with. Those green-skinned rats in the girls' bellies…
Raine shook his head, refusing to dwell on it.
...
On the way back—
The Adventurer Squad up ahead was whispering—mostly complaining about their luck; even in a small goblin group, they had run into a mutated goblin.
Raine, walking at the back, listened for a while, but couldn't suppress his excitement—and checked his system.
He saw four square slots, now fully filled—one showed the Goblin Warrior's icon, while the other three displayed normal goblin's weak appearance.
"Huh? Where's the Mutated Goblin I killed?"
Raine's heart skipped a beat!
"Did it fail because the slots were full?"
"Or is it because Nia helped attack, so it doesn't count?"
Suddenly, Raine noticed in the bottom right of the panel, a new icon—like a game inventory from his previous life.
He focused on it, and the inventory opened, revealing four rows and four columns—sixteen slots in total.
In the first two slots were the icons for a normal goblin, and the linen-clad Mutated Goblin.
"Awesome!"
Raine was thrilled—if he hadn't had people before and after him in the squad, he'd have punched the air in celebration!
He really got the Mutated Goblin Bloodline.
But he couldn't add it right now.
With unfamiliar Adventurers around, if he applied the bloodline and something changed in his body—like sudden magic energy fluctuations—it would attract unwanted attention…
So, after thinking it over, Raine didn't apply the Mutated Goblin Bloodline right away.
Instead, he tried moving the Goblin Warrior icon into his sixteen-slot inventory.
When the Goblin Warrior icon moved successfully, Raine suddenly felt a wave of weakness—his muscles reverted to what they had been, and his little belly started to reappear.
He couldn't even see distant objects clearly anymore.
That was because Low Light Vision had disappeared, too.
Raine checked his system panel:
[Name: Raine]
[Class: Farmer]
[Power: 5]
[Agility: 5]
[Constitution: 5]
[Intelligence: 7]
[Perception: 5]
[Charm: 5]
...
For a moment, Raine felt like Cinderella after losing her glass slipper.
But instead of focusing on the sense of loss, he put three identical normal goblin icons onto the panel—but it still showed "Insufficient quantity."
So Raine added a fourth identical normal goblin icon—placing all four in the slots.
"Now, to see if my theory is right."
Raine thought to himself.
He concentrated on the four unlit goblin icons—
The same system prompt appeared:
[Cannot apply four same-tier identical bloodlines. Fuse? Yes/No]
"Yes!"
Without hesitation, Raine quickly picked "Yes."