Some days, he wondered why the world despised him so much. On those days, he would usually ask himself why he was even born or why he kept living like this. Days like those are not uncommon for him ever since he got kicked out of the tribe but it was easy to deal with such thoughts. Bottle them down in some corner of his heart and his mind and ignore them until it starts appearing again. But then again, why was he so hated in the first place? What's the reason for all of these complicated things he's been feeling every now and then?

Was it his skin color? Sure, he isn't as dark or as bright as the other Goblins but he's still a good shade of green compared to most of them. He's probably as green as the moss he once took care of and cultivated, and that thing was a good green before he ate it. Maybe it was his brown hair? Having hair isn't that strange for Goblins but it was usually on their chins, chests, or it grew wild down there. If not the hair, then what is it that made him so hated?

"A Goblin! A Goblin! Riel! Get behind me!"

He watched the three people he just saved clamor up to their feet in a panic. They practically shoved him aside while he just stared at them.

He wasn't surprised by their behavior. In fact, he was ready to ignore their shouts and screams if it wasn't for the fact they were now stuck in his home for the time being. It was usual for most people to scream and raise weapons at him, but he felt a bit insulted seeing this right now right after he just saved them. He didn't know why or what he should do with it, so he just ignored it for now.

"Shit! The Goblin's got an enchanted sword!"

"H-He's also got a few rings on him too!"

His eyes glanced down at the many rings on his fingers. Each did something unique or boosted something, but he didn't really care that much about their magical properties or unique effects. He wore them because they looked shiny and cool.

"S-Shit, I don't think I can really move around that much."

"I could still cast spells but it hurts to move around."

"Shit, so it's just me? F-Fine! I'll cover for the two of you."

The strange, pointy-eared girl raised her bow and aimed it at him. He rolled his eyes at her and sighed loudly. He could feel the animosity towards him in his own home, but he did his best to ignore it.

The Goblin turned his back at the dangerous guests and scowled. Part of him hoped that they aren't stupid enough to fight in such a state and a part of him made sure to keep an eye and an ear out for any sudden movements. His eyes scanned the shelves for a certain thing he kept hidden for such an occasion, muttering angrily to himself while he did so. Adventurers are dangerous, even if wounded or cornered, and he knows what powerful ones can do when they're desperate.

Finally, he found it. It was a small bag he looted from a corpse a few weeks ago, and he kept it hidden for emergencies. He walked over to the large shelf at the back of the room, kicking away some of the treasure in front of him in anger. His ear twitched at the sound of a bow being drawn and aimed at him, but he still forced a smile when he turned towards them with the item in his hands.

"Take. Take and rest. Leave later."

Everyone gaped at him in surprise while he walked over towards the girl with the bow.

"Potions. Make man with broken bone drink."

He looked at the girl in front of him, who was still aiming an arrow at him. The girl's face went from being angry to one of shock the moment he spoke.

"Y-You can speak?"

He rolled his eyes at the dumb question and scoffed at her. She put away the bow slowly while they all looked at him and stared at him in disbelief. At least they finally knew he meant them no harm, but will they do something about him?

"Common Tongue easy to learn."

It was more complicated than Goblinspeak, but it wasn't that hard to pick up if you have the time for it. So why are they looking at him like that?

"A-And what's in there?! A trap?"

His eyes darted towards the man with the weird shoulder and swollen side. He grimaced and shoved the bag into the girl's hands while he looked at him closely. The girl let out a surprised squeak the moment his hand touched hers, but he didn't mind.

"You. Rib broken and shoulder out of place. Other girl's foot is swelling."

"Potions! Healing potions!"

The girl pulled out five potions from the bag and looked back at the Goblin. Everyone's eyes turned towards the yellow liquid in the bottle and they all stared at the small Goblin currently eyeing the man warily.

"Where did a monster like you get this? This is high-quality Healing Potions!"

"Dead adventurers. Already dead when I found them."

Rude. That's what he immediately thought of the girl who accused him of stealing. Well, it's not like she's wrong, but he only steals from dead people and what use does the dead have for Healing Potions? He scowled at her again and grumbled under his breath some curses in Goblinspeak.

The girl dropped her bow and rushed towards the man in front of him. She shoved him aside once more and hurriedly opened the bottles. He got up quickly and patted away the dust and dirt on his wonderful shirt and frowned at the slight. He stared at her and waited for her to apologize, only to be ignored entirely by her.

The girl didn't even say sorry to him! He wanted to kick that strange, pointy-eared girl out but he knew doing so would just lead to them dying. Instead, he turned towards the smelly girl sitting on his chair while she rubbed her swollen ankle. Unlike the other girl, she immediately noticed him staring at her.

"You there. Mage."

"Me?"

Who else is in here? If only he could say those words properly, he would've said it to her face. But instead, he just sighed and nodded at her question.

"Yes. You know [Heal]?"

The girl glanced towards the other two then back to him. She shook her head from side to side while he knelt in front of her. He glanced back at the two as well and saw the man taking off his armor.

"Put back arm in place before-"

"We already know how this works."

The pointy-eared girl snapped back at him and he grunted. Moments later, a muffled scream rang out from the man's mouth as the girl popped back his arm into the socket. The Goblin and the Mage winced at the sound and looked away. Her robe is still wet but he didn't really care about the strong smell although she looked like she wanted to cry in front of him.

"I will touch."

"T-Touch what?!"

"Touch leg. Can use [Heal] but need to touch."

The Mage gave him a strange look and looked down at his hands.

"I-I don't think you need to touch me to cast that spell."

"Difficult. Tried to do once. Not work."

"Ah... I see."

She winced as she lifted her foot off the ground.

"P-Please make it quick."

"Try."

He looked at the swollen area around her ankle and frowned. The soft skin beneath felt strange compared to his rough and calloused hands, but the girl didn't seem to mind.

"[Heal]."

His green hands glowed with magic and the swelling around the girl's ankle began to subside. She watched the Goblin furrow his brows while his yellow eyes narrowed around the mana that swirled and danced between his fingers.

"Y-You're... You're a magic caster!"

"Please don't talk. Very hard to do."

He paused for a moment. He looked up and saw the girl staring at him with her emerald green eyes.

"...But yes. I study magic."

"Oh! So then those books over there must be-"

"Can't take those. Very hard to get. Also, done."

He stepped away from her, his hands now sweaty and tired. It took a lot of concentration to mend the muscles and tendons, but at least he isn't doing it on himself while on the run.

The girl tried to stand up but the Goblin shook his head and waved his arms around while he made grunts and snorts at her. Immediately, a numb pain ran up her leg and she was forced to sit down again. The Goblin pointed at her foot and clicked his tongue together.

"Foot needs rest. Few minutes."

"Oh. Okay, well..."

The two of them looked at the stains on her robe. She blushed and looked away from the Goblin while he nodded his head in understanding.

"Pee. Clothes dirty of pee."

"D-Don't say it out loud!"

"What is wrong? It is natural to pee if scared. Very scared."

"Yeah, but it's still embarrassing if you say it out loud."

The Goblin tilted his head and looked at him quizically.

"But Goblins pee on each other. Not embarrassing but I no like."

"Eww! Seriously?!"

"Yess! It's true! Chieftain marks us by peeing. I hate it but smell links us together."

She found his tale revolting and immediately inched away from him in her seat. He noticed this and flashed her a toothy smile.

"No worry. I won't pee on you."

"You better not do it! And what did you mean by that?!"

Suddenly, there was a loud crash from the other side of the room. Their heads turned towards Stefan while he clutched his arm in pain. Beside him was the pointy-eared girl, Semilia, scolding him angrily while she rubbed some Healing Potions on his shoulder.

"Gaaaah! F-Fuck! My arm!"

"I told you not to move it!"

"I didn't move it! You suddenly moved it!"

"That's because I need to rub some potion under your arm to remove the swelling!"

While the two of them argued, the Goblin sighed and grabbed the book he was reading from the table. He was about to put it away for later when he suddenly felt a tug behind him.

"C-Can I borrow the book?"

She pointed at the book in his claws. He glanced at the book, then back to her.

"Help me read. You can borrow."

"Sure."

He waddled over next to her and plopped the heavy book in her arms. Her robes let out a 'Pompf' sound as she struggled to lift the heavy, gold book.

The feeling of excitement surged within his chest as he watched the girl flip the book open. Reading most of the words was hard, and it was also dangerous as well. One wrong chant and there was a high possibility of something going wrong horribly. The memory of summoning a giant Slime was still fresh in his mind, and he shuddered at the thought of having to clean up the mess it left behind. But now! Now was different! He had someone to help him read the texts he loved so much!

Next to him was the girl, breathing heavily while she read through the book's contents. The gold and intricate design of the book's cover was just a hint of how valuable the item in her hands was. Magic flowed liked ink on parchment from its many pages. The spells within were potent and powerful with spells ranging from simple 1st Tier Spells to the advanced 5th Tier spells that only Archmages are capable of casting. It was a valuable item for a mage like her.

In fact, she could tell that most of the books on those shelves were of similar quality to the one she's holding. Only a handful were inferior compared to it, but it was still valuable to new and beginner Mages. Just one could cost a few thousand gold coins, and this Goblin's got bookshelves filled with them! Not to mention the piles of coins, gems, and other valuable treasures lying about in the room. There was even a magical staff in the corner that she'd been eyeing ever since she entered the room.

She glanced at the other two and watched them look around at the treasures lying near their feet. She even saw Stefan reach out for a sword that's most likely enchanted. They were probably thinking of the same thing as her and she had no doubt that they also knew what they had to do for it. This was a treasure room, an artificial one inside a room meant for rest and built up over time and through hard work by the person beside her. She knew that all of this could be theirs and they would be able to return as heroes and legends.

And all she had to do was to kill the Goblin beside her.

She looked at him coldly, her right hand poised for the best shot with a quick [Lightning Bolt] and he would never even see it coming. The Goblin, on the other hand, was humming happily while he waited for the person beside him. The girl looked surprised, but at least she wasn't screaming anymore.

"This is good!"

She was almost caught off guard when the Goblin suddenly turned towards her but she managed to keep her cool. The spell wasn't ready yet so she decided to stall for time.

"Hmm? What is?"

"This is first time for me."

He smiled at Riel, her hand ready to blast the Goblin at any moment now. But he didn't know that, and she knew that he didn't.

"What do you mean?"

"This is first time I get to read with someone."

"...Don't you read with other Goblins?"

"No. Been alone for years now. Very lonely. Taught myself to read and was hard. Now it's easy!"

She smiled at him while the tip of her finger glowed faintly. All she had to do now was to flick and this would all be over. All she had to do was to entertain him some more.

"I love magic but it's hard. Many words not know."

"Well, I could help you with that, but why do you want to learn magic?"

"I want to help people. Mother died when I was young Goblin. Father also but because of adventurers. Couldn't help them."

"I-Is that so?"

"Yes. I'm still not good with magic but I try."

The Goblin looked... sad. It felt so strange for Riel, who was used to the tales of Goblins being vicious brutes who abducted young girls to be used as playthings. It felt like she was talking to a fellow person, a lonely and sad person instead of a bloodthirsty Goblin. But she knew how dangerous Goblins could be, she saw what a capable Goblin Chief could do.

And she could still remember their screams. Their horrible screams.

She turned towards the Goblin with a gentle smile on her face. It was a hard decision, but she knew what must be done. The Goblin looked at her and tilted his head curiously, and it made the decision even harder for her. In front of her was a Goblin with a very Human emotion behind his yellow eyes, and he was still waiting for her to teach him some of the words. A heavy sigh left her lips and she used her other hand to point at a paragraph.

"If you're not good with magic, then I'll help you."

"Really?!"

"Yeah... really."

As the Goblin's gaze turned towards the paragraph, she held her breath and flicked her hand.

"Magic should be used to help people."

She muttered those words silently. Electricity was still crackling around her hand, but she already made her decision and stuck with it.

But she didn't know if she would be able to live with it.