Chapter 10

I arrived at the forest. Well, it’s really just the entrance to it. You won’t see any orcs until you go further deep inside. Speaking of orcs, they were known as monsters who would sometimes ‘ravage’ female warriors, and even here, they would sometimes kidnap women from the villages for purposes of breeding, and kill all the men.

“The nests of these orcs are always brutal. The women who become prey to them are kept alive to live out their days as slaves for breeding…”

Eventually, they tend to lose their sense of self. As a means of self-preservation. If they are saved, they are put into rehabilitation hospitals. It’s to heal their destroyed minds.

I recalled what Gardo had said about them as I gathered the herbs and put them into my bag. These herbs were used in restorative potions, as their roots were full of magic sucked from the earth. But it was not as if the leaves were useless either, they had the ability to relieve fevers. This plant could almost be used for anything… I just needed to stuff them into this bag up to the brim and the quest would be complete. As soon as that was done, I scratched a mark onto a tree and headed deeper into the forest.

Of course, this was in order to kill goblins and raise my level. Thankfully, there were no forest wolves on this side of the woods. According to Russell, there was a different quality to the magic here that the wolves didn’t like. On the other hand, there were plenty of goblins living here. And all I needed to do was to hunt packs with as few members as possible.

I walked cautiously for several minutes. Then I found them. It was a pack of goblins. This one had…six. It was more than what was ideal, but I could manage it as long as I surprised them.

First, I watch. They were swinging their game around and looking for bait… They seemed a little restless, but their guard was weak. This was because there were no monsters around to hurt them. While orcs lived in the forest, you had to go much deeper inside to encounter one. And so goblins were careless, and so my ambush would work.

First, I throw my wooden spear. I was quite used to making these now, it only took me a few minutes. And that spear pierces into the goblin in the rear. It was all it took to immobilize the weak creature. But I run even before that goblin hits the ground. My strangely high AGI allows me to do this. It really was the meat of my stats. And so I was fast. I use my short sword to finish him off before thrusting the sword into the next target. Two down. It was too easy.

This is where all the goblins finally see what’s happened. They become outraged as they see their comrades lying in the dirt and so they raise their weapons into the air. I swing my blade to sever off those very arms. The freed spear is now used to thrust into the prey in front of me, then the fool right next to him. Then I cut off the head of the next goblin that rushes towards me. Now there is only one left, and he turns tail and runs. He must have decided that this enemy was stronger than him. I take my short sword and launch it towards the fleeing goblin. It enters his back smoothly, as if it were being sucked right into him.

And now it is done. An easy task. In an RPG they would represent the weakest of the monsters. And so this is what happens when they encounter me. I’m kidding. I can’t be too arrogant. Winning was about preparation.

Still wary of my surroundings, I collect the goblins weapons and tie them together with a quick rope made of vines. This was to bring back to the old blacksmith. This would also earn me a little money. You could laugh, but iron was iron no matter how old. After passing from the hands of so many owners, these would eventually turn into my own weapons. In other words, the cost of the materials was almost free. I was only paying to have them formed.

I hang the bundle of weapons in a tree just like I did the herbs and continue my trek through the forest.

Things went rather smoothly today after that, and all in all, I was able to kill twenty goblins. And I got fifteen iron blades. That was good. I could trade in this old sword and short sword for new weapons now. I would prioritize ease of movement when choosing new armor. I won’t waste my AGI. I don’t think I’ll be able to survive if I don’t make the most of that stat.

And so I walked back down the road to Fhiraldo, accompanied by the clanging of weapons and a somehow reinvigorating feeling of exhaustion.

The first thing I needed to do after getting back to the town was to visit the blacksmith near the south gate. Who knows what they’d say if I returned to the guild house like this. Well, I’m sure they all knew…there was no way those bastards hadn’t found out. They’d probably rat me out. But I wasn’t going to do anything until it was mentioned. This was my livelihood after all. It was how I could eat; it was important.

“Good evening. Is the Chief here?”

“Ho! Is that Asagi!”

From the smoke-filled back appeared the manager of this smithy, a dwarf called Aragira. I had once called him ‘manager’ and he had roared back, ‘Call me Chief!’ so I’ve been doing that ever since.

Dwarves. They tended to be blacksmiths, didn’t they? He was one of those well-built types too. But one thing that was not usual was that he was not short. The Chief was apparently half-

-human and half dwarf. And so he was muscular and tall. A real mass of power. Though, apparently pure blooded dwarves were short here, as you’d expect.

“I’ve brought some weapons again if you don’t mind. Also, I’d like a new sword and short sword.”

“You’ve brought quite the load here… Very well. Weapons are over there. Choose any you like.”

“Are these also test weapons your apprentice made?”

“‘Course they are! It’s about an eon too soon for a Rock like you to hand one of my swords!”

While he was roaring at me, this was the way our conversations usually went down. There was no meaning behind it.

I pick up and inspect the swords stashed in a barrel and the short swords lined up on a chest. The thickness of the blades, the sharpness, the feeling when holding them. I look for one that does not feel inferior to my old swords. Even if I had the ‘Jack of all Trades’ skill, I still had to use my body to learn how to wield them. Only the protagonist could rest on their laurels when it came to skills. And this in this world, there were no special settings for the protagonist.

“I think I’ll take these two then.”

“You! You’re really going to take the two best ones again, are you!”

“I’m really quite sorry.”

Aragira’s hands went to his head in exasperation. I grinned and put the blades in my sheaths. They were the same level of weapons, so they would fit into my sheaths perfectly. Which saved me from having to buy new ones.

I received the money for the goblins’ weapons and used it to pay for the new ones. It was really an unnecessary act, but the sad convenience store clerk in me could not rest easy without such proper transactions.

“Come back soon, Asagi.”

“Sure, Chief. See you.”

Aragira was also an important person who was kind to me. He looked at weapons and he looked at people. Apparently, I was a good one. Who knows what his criteria were, but it made me happy nonetheless.

And so I was feeling quite happy as I made my way over to the guild house. But it was not enough to put a lid on the rising feeling of dread as I got closer.