Good luck with your goblin-hunt
As for XP, there is quite a bit of XP to be gained by winning any CIR-test available and by doing the quest in such a way that you get the most XPs out of them. The problem with CIRs is that it forces you to save and load a lot. When I created the walkthrough I did everything optimal to harvest as much XP as possible. I was level 12 when I did the trial, but I had not gone to Hiberheim yet. Only the SW part of the Luculla Forest map (sw of the river) was cleared, plus the cave until the lake where you can enter Hiberheim.
I guess this is a game where it matters to do the side quests and get as much XP out of them as possible.
As a side not I ended the game at level 23 (actually midway to level 24, but the only thing I hadn't killed where the people in Silverglen and Cyseal. I didn't bother killing them since it would not have been enough to reach level 24). So I think level 23 is the maximum level you can reach in this game.
