Night in the town. Citizens are sound asleep, preparing for the hard work of the last days of autumn before the dreaded winter blankets their homes white and hunger knocks at the door. Nevertheless, there are people that cannot fall asleep from excitement. Like me and the girl sharing blankets after I promised her to tell some stories of my... exploits of the last months.

"Did you fool the king? You've been a bad boy!"

"The things a monster will do to survive... Anyway, do you want to hear the story or not?"

"And how does it begins?"

Grendel was very angry because he thought Helen was murdered. He was feeling bad that he ate those adventurers, but it was something he could not control. He went berserk, and his HP restoration technique burned too many calories.

"What are calories?"

"Food energy."

"Was Grendel angry or sad when he thought that Helen was murdered?"

"Both. But he was also very happy to find her, so happy he broke down like a toddler eating candy for the first time. Now please let me continue."

Anyway, he got hungry because he had recovered from too much damage and slept for three days straight. But he had unlocked a skill to turn into a human, so he now had a way to go to human towns without making everyone run in fear. He also was afraid that more powerful humans would be sent to kill him. That was not the time to be afraid. Because he had to go and kick the butts of those that dared hurt Helen.

He had clothes and equipment from the bags of the adventurers, but there were too many bags. The monkeys brought Grendel seven bags, but he only fought four of them? Whose bags were those other three? He also felt sad for the little rat with a collar. Had he died for a good cause? Grendel picked up the rat, and read the collar. He knew then that Helen was trying to contact him. To call for help. He decided to answer that calling. To complete the rat's mission.

"Shhhh. Emory!"

He looked at the other bags, and they belonged to a boy and a girl. He recalled hearing Marcy's voice, so the girl bag should be hers. But the third bag had several tools and implements that would be needed in civilization. Were Marcy and the boy bringing those things to him? Grendel thanked them in his heart. He gathered what would be useful in his travels, and left the other bags in the care of his monkeys. Grendel bid farewell to Shraaizar and the monkeys. He was probably staying a long time away from the Syrup Meadow that was his home.

"Syrup?"

"That's death willow sap."

Grendel ran to the human town. By the time he left the forest where it all began, it was already night. In the distance, he could see fires and smoke columns rising at the horizon. He knew something was wrong. Approaching the fields, he saw orcs camped outside the town walls. He wondered the reason those orcs decided to attack the humans. The reasons driving monsters were a mystery even for other monsters.

Grendel sneaked around the town and found a spot in the wall where neither orc nor man was keeping watch. He climbed the wall and crept inside the city. He had to disguise himself, so he activated his new unique skill for the first time. And his body changed. Shrunk into the shape of a young boy. He walked out of his troll clothes, that were too big now, and dressed the human clothes he brought in his bag. He then gathered information about the plight of the town. The orcs were raiding the crops, and the people were afraid they would not have enough food to survive winter, much less pay the taxes. Grendel knew he could avenge Helen later, that Helen would prefer he saved her town. Maybe her family was still within those walls.

He then caught a rumor from a merchant, that the young King Hrothgar was hunting in the plains south of the town. Maybe if he could get the King's help, he could save the town. The villains were not going anywyere, and his vengeance could be even more terrible. Grendel assumed the name Beowulf for his human form and rented an inn room. He slept in a bed for the first time of his life. And he liked sleeping on a bed.

The next morning he ate breakfast and left town going south. He had to find King Hrothgar. After running for a few hours, he found the King's entourage. He also found out that he still had his monster stamina while in human form. He tried to talk to the King, but the guards would not let a peasant out of nowhere have an audience this easily. He then concocted a plan based on an old story from his world.

"Oh, what story?"

"It is an old faerie tale where a cat fools a king. I'll tell you a lot of faerie tales from my world later."

"Okay ~ ♫"

He went into the woods and hunted lots of monsters. He noticed he was getting levels in a job! For a monster, jobs are something strange and enigmatic. But he was in human form, so maybe having a job was not strange? The job was called 'villager'. 'Are villagers tasty?' Grendel mused. No, he was Beowulf now. He had to remember that. He was a person, not a dumb monster. So Beowulf hunted several monsters, and laid them down by the road before the King Hrothgar's carriage would pass through the road.

The King's men stopped and questioned the now disguised Beowulf about the monsters. He told the guards in a loud voice that those monsters were a tribute to the mighty King Hrothgar from his master the Hero Beowulf. The King was interested in Heroes, he looked out the window and ordered his men to accept the monsters. Beowulf gave the monsters whole to the King, except for their pemadras he had already removed. He needed those.

Further down the road, the King's carriage was attacked by rampaging armordillos that were not scared into the road by a troll.

But when all hope seemed lost, Hero Beowulf appeared and helped King Hrothgar's men defeat the armordillos. The King was marveled at the Hero's performance. He offered gold to the Hero, but he declined. After all, he was a Hero just passing by, so he felt he deserved no reward. He bid the King farewell and quickly went off to do heroic stuff elsewhere.

The King's carriage resumed their travel back to the capital city when the guards stopped. There were signs of a mighty battle ahead. Goblin corpses were strewn all around, and further off the road, a site where a mighty battle happened could be seen. The knights were sent to investigate the place, and there found the body of a boy, holding the hilt of a broken sword, all wounded and with a tattered armor. Next to him was a Goblin King, missing its head. Surely that was a fight where the contenders killed each other, one to go into the epics. But wait! The boy was alive! The knights brought the boy back to the road. The King was interested in the boy and commanded his wizard to heal the boy. When the boy awoke, he thanked the King. Asked for his name, he answered "I am the Hero Beowulf. Those goblins were plotting to do evil in the King's lands, so I had to go and exterminate them in the name of my Liege."

The King invited Beowulf into the palace. His ministers were against, but surely a Hero must be treated with great care. The King offered a reward for defeating the Goblin King, but Beowulf refused. Fighting evil was its own reward. Had the King a daughter, he would surely offer her hand in marriage too.

"Humph!"

"But of course Hero Beowulf would refuse to marry the princess. He had only eyes for Helen."

"Better be so. Or 'his' Helen in the underworld would be very sad if the Hero even glanced at another woman."

"Ahem. There was no princess. No princess in this story at all. Please stop hitting me."

Moving forward, Beowulf was healed and was currently taking a stroll through the palace gardens. The King had showered him with laurels and had the bards compose songs of the Hero's bravery. But Beowulf was unquiet. Surely there was evil somewhere that needed to be fought. Then he visited the King and asked where he could be of use to the realm. Coincidentally, the king was hearing about the orc siege in Mirfield. That very moment, Hero Beowulf offered his service to relief that town. He also offered to deal with the other problems of the town. King Hrothgar then made Beowulf his commissary and granted him full powers to deal with the town's problems. He offered a vast reward in gold, but Hero Beowulf settled for just a tenth of the gold and monster cores that had very little use from the Kingdom's treasury. King Hrothgar was delighted.

Hero Beowulf then went back to the town of Mirfield, defeated the Orc Prince, killed the evil Guild Master, and rid the land of the incompetent Baron. All in the name of the King. He also learned that his dear Helen was alive! He made the apothecary mayor and cleared Helen's name of all crimes and charges. All that was left ...

"Who is it?" The door opens, Marcy pokes her head through.

"It is me, Marcy... Why are you WEARING clothes!?! Have you even slept?" Hey, clear that smirk right now!!!

"Marcy! No-nothing happened! We were just talking! Beowulf was telling me of... a story! A story from his world."

"Oh ho ho, and what kind of stories were those to make such a fair maiden blush like this?"

"Wawawa..."

"Hey, you two, stop this racket. There are people in the other rooms."

Skill Sleep Resistance level 4 acquired. Skill Willpower level 1 awakened.

After getting out of the bed, the trio of Helen the Tomato Wizard, Marcy the Spoilsport Queen and Beowulf the Fake Hero walked into the inn's dining hall for breakfast. Our grand adventure was about to get a new chapter.