Under the blazing midday sun, Renato leaned wearily against a rock after spending the entire morning searching through gullies in the mountains. He shook his empty water flask and couldn't help cursing under his breath.

  "Damn it, what kind of nonsense is this? South? A mountain gully? There are a dozen gullies around here! That's basically the same as telling me nothing at all!"

  "That bastard must have been messing with me. Just wait until I get back—I'm going to settle the score with him…"

  There wasn't a proper path anywhere in the woods; the ground was nothing but loose stones and tangled tree roots.

  Renato was covered in mud splatters, his clothes full of rips and scratches. After half a day of walking, he hadn't seen so much as a single goblin—let alone a rabbit.

  "Calm down, Renato. Stay calm. This is nothing. Just looking for goblins. How could this possibly be worse than becoming a cultist and spending three months on the run from the Harpers? You survived being hunted; this is trivial by comparison…"

  Renato took a deep breath and stood up again.

  "You're an Earthling with a modern education. How can you stoop to the level of these crude medieval villagers? Besides, they have no reason to trick you. Think, Renato—think again. Use your knowledge."

  "There must be something wrong with my search method. Yes, that's it. I don't know the terrain here, so my initial route planning was flawed from the start. I should have begun from the western slope…"

  ————

  At dusk, Renato trudged back toward the Miloz Village, leaning heavily on his longsword with every step.

  "Fine. Very fine! They played me for a fool!"

  "Goblins my ass. Mountain gully? They must have made the whole thing up just to watch the outsider make a fool of himself!"

  The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. All that talk about green skins and shrieking was obviously invented to mock him!

  That's why the guy couldn't even give a clear number…

  As for the quest… right now Renato didn't care about goblins or adventuring. All he wanted was to find that stupid-looking swineherd, smash every one of those yellowed teeth, and take out every ounce of mud and frustration on him.

  Just as Renato was viciously imagining how he would beat the villager senseless, a light breeze blew past, and he suddenly wrinkled his nose—a faint stench of rotting garbage mixed with animal musk drifted through the air.

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  Then came a series of shrill, guttural "ga-ga" cries from ahead. At the village entrance, a group of small green monsters was rushing outward, straight toward him.

  There were about seven or eight goblins, scrawny and barely waist-high on an adult. They shrieked loudly, shoving one another, clutching crude weapons—wooden sticks, bone clubs, and the like.

  The moment they spotted Renato, the goblins froze. The nearest one flung the dead chicken it was carrying straight into the air; another quickly ducked behind a companion and shoved a smaller one forward.

  But when they realized it was just a single, panting, mud-caked young human, their fear quickly gave way to a blustering, savage bravado.

  The scattering goblins suddenly regrouped and charged at him. One even scooped up a stone from the ground and hurled it with a wild screech.

  Renato glanced at the pebble that landed near his feet and gained a deeper appreciation for the goblins' feeble strength.

  As the little green creatures rushed forward, Renato instinctively shifted his weight forward, sword tip lowered, assuming a stance he remembered from fencing lessons.

  Then he realized what he was doing and relaxed with a wry inner laugh.

  'This isn't some formal sword duel. They're just harmless goblins…'

  The ornate longsword slid cleanly through the chest of the leading goblin without resistance. Renato shifted his weight again, stepped back with his right foot, and—withdrew the blade in one smooth motion—brought it up from a low guard to a high one.

  The second goblin didn't even seem to register that its front-running companion was already dead. It swung its stick wildly, shrieking, its pockmarked green face twisted in an exaggerated grimace.

  The next instant, the longsword swept horizontally.

  The goblins behind it abruptly halted, their cries cut off in unison.

  A green head had just flown into the air.

  ————

  When the sun rose again, it was a new day.

  Exhausted in both body and spirit, Renato dragged himself back to the Adventurers' Guild.

  Thinking back on yesterday, he swore he would never aim for the neck again.

  After decapitating the second goblin, blood had sprayed across his face in a gush. By the time he snapped out of it, the clearing was empty—the rest had fled.

  Because of the time, he couldn't make it back to town and had to spend the night in the village.

  Add in the cost of buying food for the trip, and he was out another 12 copper pieces. Heavens help him!

  His reward for the entire task was only 10 copper.

  The thought made his heart sink even further; he could already picture himself homeless and starving in the near future.

  Renato let out another sigh. Whatever happened, he would at least collect the 10 copper reward first.

  Watching the receptionist at the desk expressionlessly open the sack, jot something down with one hand while quietly sorting through the goblin ears with the other, Renato felt as though the 2 silver registration fee he had paid was money down the drain.

  "Mr. Renato, here are your 10 copper pieces. Please count them now. If there are any issues after the task is completed, please refer to…"

  In the flat, mechanical tone of her rehearsed speech, the scene before Renato gradually blurred. A book materialized in his vision and slowly opened.

  But he barely registered what was inside—his attention was instantly seized by the five square characters on the cover, utterly alien in structure to the script of this world.

  They weren't especially clear, nor were they particularly large, yet they gripped his mind completely.

  Because they were characters he had known intimately for over twenty years—characters he had not seen once in the past three months.

  [Adventurer's Guide]

  ————

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