“Alright! All we need is one more person, and we’ll have four people. It should be safe then.” Rita excitedly pumps her fist in the air as I agree to join the party temporarily. If my calculations are correct, it’s fine even if I gain a few levels here and there. Right now, the top Hunters should be able to handle my zombie, especially if they have a class already. Of course, I’m not going to go level willy-nilly. The Gray is a cunning thing. It’s been quiet ever since my return for the most part, but I know it’s still in me somewhere. Biding its time.

For some reason, I get the feeling that even if there are higher-level Hunters out there, I shouldn’t let my level rise much.

“Okay, we have you and I to fight on the front lines. Mr. Hei, can watch our backs, but we’re still missing one more person. Otherwise, Nigel will be angry at me for going out without a proper party. Is there anyone else who could sub for Jie?” Sierra paces back and forth outside the Hunter Guild Alliance. They brought me to a small-town west of Tiendas, called Snowfall. Well, I say small because I’ve spent time in the Capitals closer to the frontlines, but this place is fairly sizable. By counting the number of flags on outside the building, I can see that there are at least five different guilds in town, including the Flame Hawks and Black Ravens.

“How about, Tepis? He’s a solo Hunter, but maybe he’d be willing to join if we promised him more of the rewards?” Rita asks as if hoping to be praised. Sierra thinks it over for a minute. I can already see where her thoughts are going.

“Well, yes, I think if we gave him a larger share, he’d be interested. I’ll give him some of ours, huh Mr. Hei?”

I show her my notepad-

“No need. Give him my share. I’m not fighting anyways.”

“What! Mr. Hei, do you even know what you’re saying? For a new Hunter like you, the spoils from slaying System Monsters are extremely important! Even if you’re not fighting, you need to survive at least!”

“It’s fine. I really don’t care. Let’s get going already. Or I won’t come.”

My brusque note frightens the sisters.

“Big Sis! Just let it go. Mr. Hei is trying to be nice!” Rita begs and Sierra quickly agrees.

“W-Well if that’s what he wants! Um…how about this, you look hungry, why don’t we treat you to a good meal as repayment? Also, you probably need a place to stay after, huh? You could take Rita’s spare room if you want. Would that work?” She offers and I tilt my head.

Stay in a newbie village? I mean…to be honest, I don’t have anywhere to be. Now that I’m back…I don’t know where to go.

I wonder what she has been up to? Even if I sought her out, she wouldn’t remember me. I don’t think I could take that again. With any luck, she was a high enough level that she was picked up by a good party after Tiendas collapsed. Doesn’t that mean my obligation is technically over? She should be okay…well as okay as anyone can be in this twisted world. Maybe I should just stay here and live out the rest of my days peacefully?

“O-Okay.”

“Great!” The sisters respond in unison. Just like that, I get roped into a newbie party.

Maybe she rubbed off on me after all that time.

Hopefully some of my teachings stuck with her as well.

Sierra brings us away from the center of Snowfall. In the outskirts, there’s a small hut smoking in the distance. While most people are living in crumbling apartments or self-constructed log cabins, this person has clearly decided to distance themselves from the rest. A small pipe running out of the chimney drips gently as we approach.

*Plop*

*Plop*

I follow the two girls like some sort of silent specter. I don’t really care about most people, but I have a slight bit of curiosity about a solo Hunter. There aren’t many people who are willing to battle the System alone.

Anyone who does is either crazy, or capable.

*Knock*

“Hello! Tepis? Are you in there? It’s Sierra and Rita!” The older sister raps on the door with her knuckles. Inside, I hear someone take multiple rapid steps to the door with inhuman speed. Huh…this guy’s Agility Stat is quite high. What level is he?

*Creak*

“Sierra? What’s up?” A young boy with a slicked up mohawk stands at the door. It looks incredibly out of place on his oriental features. He’s breathing a little heavily and as Rita leans sideways to try to see inside his hut, he quickly pulls the door shut behind him and steps outside. Brushing a few loose strands out of his eyes, Tepis nervously stands in the sunlight. “What brings you to my…house?”

“Heh…house.” Rita giggles and the boy turns scarlet. He’s actually quite young compared to the sisters, perhaps even younger than me. “Do you want to go on a hunt with us?”

“Huh, me? But what about Mr. Chiang and Jie?” Tepis looks back and forth between the sisters and me with confusion. “Who’s he?”

“Mr. Chiang…had an accident.” Sierra breaks into the conversation with a grim smile that doesn’t quite touch her eyes, “Jie is arranging his funeral at the moment. In the meantime, Mr. Hei here has kindly offered to join our party to make up the numbers, although he isn’t a combat specialist. We could use someone who knows how to handle themselves on a hunt. Rita thought you might be that someone.”

“Ohh…damn.” He stills as he realizes what happened. “Um, you know I’m a solo Hunter right? I’d love to help but I don’t want to join the Flame Hawks-“

“We just need a temp. And you’ll get half the shares from the total hunt.” Sierra’s response instantly changes Tepis’s hesitation. He steps back inside the hut. There’s a click and then he comes back out. The door locks behind him and he stomps down the steps in a long white trench-coat with a wicked curved scimitar.

“Alright, let’s go!”

#

Sierra takes us back to the Guild Alliance Building and shows us a list of potential missions and training zones which the Flame Hawk Guild is allowed to participate in. There are not a whole lot of choices, because we’re so far from the frontlines. Most of the dungeons which spawn now are small-scale and just require regular cleaning from time to time. Any truly dangerous places would have already been subjugated by the guild’s high-level players so anything left behind is either a lucky spawn, something which regularly occurs, or purposely kept here for newbies.

“How about this,” Rita grabs a memo from the wall, “Clear out the infested Ghoul Grotto? Suitable for parties with average Lvl. 15.”

“Could work. But Ghouls are not great for making money.” Tepis taps his finger lightly as he searches the list. “Since I get to take advantage of the Guild-exclusive missions for once, why don’t we shoot for something a bit bigger! I’m thinking…this one!” He grabs a notice off the board and holds it up for us to see.

“Guild Exclusive-Feral Goblin Dungeon open for exploration. Receive 5 bonus System Coins for any goblin killed higher than Lvl. 15. Contact Nigel for rights. Level requirement variable based on depth of Dungeon.”

“You want to do the Feral Goblin Dungeon? You know Mr. Hei is a newbie, right? He’s just coming along to make up the numbers…” Sierra says doubtfully. “I mean I don’t doubt your skill, but perhaps it’s a little too risky.”

“But Sis, the bonus System Coins could really help pay rent this month. And it’s not dangerous if we don’t go deep. Besides, there will be other guild members there in case we need help.” Rita swings her pigtails as she walks to the notice. “I think we should do it!”

“Mmm…” The older sister sighs helplessly before the exuberance of the younger generation, “Fine, then. But only if Mr. Hei agrees!”

“Mr. Hei, you’ll come along, right?” Rita snatches the notice from Tepis’s hand and brings it to me. “We’ll keep you safe, so you’ll absolutely be fine! P-l-e-a-s-e!”

It’s not like I was going to say no anyways…

I nod, and the resulting smile on Rita’s face makes even my cold heart warm up a bit.

“It’s settled then! Sierra, go tell Nigel we need the rights!”

#

*Snuffle*

A Feral Goblin is one of those creatures which was brought over by the System. Looking like little ugly green men, at a lower level, they’re the favored creature for many Hunters to train on before they class up. You can find them in plenty of small dungeons during the Calamity. And they reproduce quickly so training spots with them are highly valued and often monopolized by the guilds. However, one of the key problems is that while initially weak, they also learn quickly. Letting them survive for too long is not a good idea.

I’ve seen infestations which actually managed to develop architectural skills and expand their dungeon to the size of a city. The so-called Goblin Capital. Great experience…if you don’t mind getting swarmed.

Thus, the guilds have developed a sort of synergistic relationship with the goblins. They refrain from entirely clearing the dungeons, and allow newbies to hunt there occasionally.

It’s a win-win. The goblins get to avoid being wiped out by high-level adventurers and the newbies get a place to learn to fight.

Of course, if a bunch of newbies were to die in a short span of time, the guilds would immediately send a high-level party to investigate and wipe out any advanced goblins which managed to evolve.

That’s the thing with goblins. They’re just like people, if a bit dumber. Leave them alone for too long and no one knows what they’ll get up to…

*Snuffle*

The goblin in front of us has managed to pop out of one of the numerous side-entrances to the main dungeon. The species maintains a large network of burrows which all connect at the bottom of the dungeon and are practically impossible to eradicate completely without overwhelming force because of how cowardly they are. Even if you went in and killed every higher-level goblin inside, the weak ones would just run away through the escape holes and come back later once you’re gone. A foul stench wafts over despite how far we are from it and Sierra hastily sketches out a plan.

“Okay, we get a freebie before even going inside! Let’s nab em, Mr. Hei, you watch our backs. Rita and I will go in from the front, and Tepis will kill it once it’s tied down. Sound good?”

“Easy enough. Just give me a second and I’ll get its head.” Tepis hungrily stares at the goblin. His mohawk reminds me oddly of a shark fin. He lurks behind the bush with us as the girls get in position. “Don’t worry, Hei, just…uhh…how will you warn us if anything else is coming?”

The others turn to me, the question on their faces. I hold up the notepad.

I’ll run out and get you guys if anything’s wrong. Don’t worry.

“Cool cool!” The young boy responds with a hint of embarrassment. It seems he feels bad for pointing out my current disability. Looking away, he undo’s a button of his coat. “Okay, let’s go!”

“On it!” Sierra and Rita jump out of the bushes, their shields and short swords out front. I note how loose their stance is. They haven’t unlocked Basic Combat Proficiency in either swords or shields.

That’s not surprising though, considering they were on a guard mission when I met them. Serious Hunters wouldn’t take on a mission that doesn’t give them experience or they’d fall behind in the long run. I guess seeing what happened to Mr. Chiang must have convinced them to level up a bit.

*Snuffle-*

“Ha-h?” The goblin raises its head from the ground, a rotting mushroom dangling limply from its craggy red lips. It has an expression that’s altogether too human, an intelligence which seems almost akin to a monkey or some such. I imagine for some it may be difficult to kill due to this. However, this is the Calamity, and most Hunter's first introduction to the System was putting down the zombies of their loved ones. Even those who wish to live away from the frontlines understand what this new world is like.

“E-EEEYYYEEE!!”

The goblin draws an overly large rusty dagger the length of my forearm as the girl’s approach. It has a half-healed scar on its eyebrow and a mean demeanor as it chomps down on the limp mushroom, shearing it half. In a dark alley, one would undoubtably feel afraid encountering such a thing. However, the girl’s short swords are significantly longer than its dagger and with their buckler shields, the goblin is desperately outclassed. Even at full height, it’s a full head shorter than Rita, and fear fills its eyes as it realizes its alone. Warily, it begins to creep backwards.

Huh…it’s not attacking?

“Stop it! It’s trying to run!” Tepis explodes out of the bush and sprints for the little green man. The sisters react too late and before they can take more than a few steps, the goblin has already picked up speed. It quickly accelerates and dives into an escape hole nearby. When I leave the bushes and rejoin them, their staring down into the burrow. “Damnit, I’ve never seen one run so fast. They usually just attack.”