I thought long and hard and decided that fighting a group of kobolds all by myself is too reckless and dangerous, I do not possess any long ranged skills to hunt them down from trees either, so I reluctantly decided to search for a team to my liking, team whose leader will agree to my conditions

Before searching for teams that usually gathered around the fences where goblins were stationed, I appraised my attire

Rough leather jacket Quality: common Effect: Armor +1(Only includes the guarded area) Durability: 27/35

He should have used this jacket for quite some time, while it's roughly made it's not really unpleasant to wear and most importantly it's not heavy and does not obstruct my mobility

The Crude dagger Quality: common Damage: 1-3 Durability: 48/60

The dagger was made of rough steel, its edges were a bit dulled, but it can be used for a while, that being said, I forgot taking level 3 goblin's dagger, what a waste, I was in a hurry, his dagger would undoubtedly have higher quality

Straw sandals Quality: Poor Effect: none Durability: 10/10

That's it, that's all I am equipped with, I still wore my loincloth because leather jacket did not completely cover my guts despite being a bit longer than my size, like sandals it was also of poor quality and did not give any stats boost

I searched for parties and most of them declined my conditions

My conditions were: I get half of what I hunt, for example I hunt two kobolds, then I get one mana stone while giving one to the leader, I grit my teeth as I spewed these conditions yet they thought it was ridiculous and even cursed at me for being too shameless

I did not give up, I needed their protection, I could not go off and hunt alone yet, I was not strong enough, what if I get injured and can not flee, what if I stumble upon some predator?

As they said kobolds and goblins are not the only inhabitants of this forest, there are dire wolves, some other goblin tribes, that have enmity towards ours and there are also orcs, they said they are dangerous, even 1 level lower orc has advantage of their body and strength, not to mention that they hunt in groups

Kobolds are many in numbers like goblins, they have some unique abilities to call for help if their comrades are nearby, their agility is good and they are troublesome to deal with

So it's not so easy to go out and hunt, it's rare seeing a lone monster hunting, I guess some wolves would do that, but I bet they would not risk it if their strength is insufficient either

So I decided against running off and getting killed, I need to be alive and safe if I want to achieve something

- Such arrogance, go away, telling me your conditions? Who do you think you are? You are asking for a beating

I was turned down another time but I did not find it necessary to answer him, instead I searched for some more

After 10 refusals I was dejected, not expecting someone to accept my conditions at all, that's when I received unexpected answer

- Ah, aren't you the reckless one? Good, I heard you have some good fighting capability, I accept, you can join our team

Huh? What?

So that level 3 goblin unexpectedly accepted my condition

- However, I won't pay you in exchange, got it?

Oh, I guess that makes sense

- It's alright, I accept

I agreed immediately, afraid that he would change his mind, his group consisted of 2 archers, me and him who held thin and long sword in his hands

I tried appraising him, only level was displayed, his progress was not shown, as for the first time when I appraised myself and why it did not show my progress, the answer could be that I simply have not eaten any mana stones at that time and did not have progress at all

I also tried appraising his sword but it seems it's impossible to appraised the equipment that others wear, that's fair I guess

- Where are we going?

I asked

- Just trying our luck, to be honest we are aiming to find stray wolf offsprings, chief might pay a lot, they can be tamed if caught at young age, it's another shortcut to earn a lot of mana stones

Wow, these guys should be more experienced than me, so it was a good idea joining a party after all

- I see... ah, earlier you recognized me right? What did you hear about me?

I asked, I was truly curious, I was afraid some would not like my good performance of killing level 3 goblin while at level 2

- I heard you had no trouble passing the ceremony of killing 3 peers, you refused to live in a hut and refused to form a party, they recognize you with the scar on your shoulder, you are a bit famous you know? Due to your behavior they call you reckless one

Ah, shit, really?

- They don't like me right?

I asked while smiling wryly, though you would not know from my ugly face

- That's not true, some big shots want to recruit you, they say they will pay higher for someone like you

- Surely there are some with ill intentions too, no?

Ah, my worries are leaking

- Not really, at least not one that I know of, since you grabbed some riches many were blinded by greed but seeing your progress of getting level 2 in merely a day they thought that you would undoubtedly spend or consume them, so their greed was subdued, trust me, you do not have much to be envied, if you think your fighting skills are exceptional you are wrong, there are some who have battle power which surmounts 2 levels, so you are not the most wanted goblin in their party, but I guess you are somewhat popular

I felt astonished, battle power which surmounts 2 levels? I admit I would have very hard time dealing with enemy 2 levels higher than me

- How is that possible?

- Sigh, it's their secret, likes of us do not know

Hmm, I should find out their secret sooner or later

But for now, I should focus on contributing in fights, for every 2 I kill, I get 1, which is good enough for me

We followed some kind of trail and went further in the forest, I would easily get lost, I trusted that this level 3 goblin, our leader was more experienced, since I doubt he had many shortcuts until becoming level 3

I also liked his way of thinking, he was not as narrow minded as the most of them, even though he is also the rotten bastard since he is a goblin he is worth befriending

And we continued going deeper and deeper searching for stray wolves and archers would occasionally climb trees and scout with their bare eyes

I felt safe, but it would be bad if they died and I got lost so I have to make sure they live and stay vigilant all the time