[There is a significant decline in affinity with the owner of the Oblique Restaurant, "Sanghes."]
[You have lost all the money in your pocket.]
[Your inclination is leaning toward "evil."]
"Rotten guy? Affinity? Let it fall! d.a.m.n it. Eat well and live well. This guy!"
"What? This old man!"
I saw Sanghes coming toward me with a meat tenderizer and started to run away at a high speed. His slos.h.i.+ng fat belly and flapping ap.r.o.n made him look like an elephant. The meat tenderizer in his hand was terrifying.
"I"m going to be sick."
I quickly fled and arrived at the fountain square full of people. I breathed roughly and sweated for a long time. d.a.m.n. It hadn"t been this hard to fight goblins...
"d.a.m.n, chasing me for five minutes... pant."
[The after meal exercise has returned satiety to 100.]
[Movement speed is back to normal.]
...Still, there was something good.
"Shall I go back?"
* * *
"I have filled up my satiety."
"Based on your pleased expression, you must"ve eaten something delicious."
"It was a great place."
...Except for the matter of chasing me.
"Well, I"m ready to take on the next job."
Once I was ready, my lips curved. I had to become strong as soon as possible to get those guys off Mido. Preparation was mandatory!
"I am ready at any time."
"Ohh, you are a natural adventurer! My eyes weren"t mistaken! By the way, I don"t know your name. What is your name?"
"Jackson."
"Yes, Jackson. In fact, there is something I have for you."
"What is it?"
Chen frowned like he had to tell a very difficult story. "Um, actually, a few days ago, the head of the training camp here, Kunta, personally asked me for a favor. If you go west, there is a small mountain. There seems to be a village of goblins there."
"A goblin village...?"
"Yes. The captain of the garrison had Kunta send some soldiers as support but he said he hasn"t heard from them."
"I see."
"I"m worried about the training camp. He came to me and asked me to get some adventurers to gather information on the village."
"Um, so I just have to gather information on the village."
"Can I request this of you? It could be dangerous."
"Of course."
[The quest has been accepted.]
[Find the Goblin VIllage]
[Difficulty: D
Mulan"s village chief, Chen, has given you a second job. It is said that the ever-increasing goblins are forming a village. Find the place where they are hiding and report back on it.
-Quest Completion Conditions: Information about the goblin village 0/1.
~It is recommended to have a party of four or more.]
"Please. It would also be good to have a few people. There are many goblins out there."
"Is that so?"
Hopefully, this would take me to level 10? My blood boiled at the thought of many goblins coming out.
"This is what I will give to you to buy potions."
Chen handed me an old leather bag filled with money.
[$500 have been acquired.]
...He should"ve given it to me sooner. I thought of the unscheduled running exercise because I was missing $50 and felt like crying for a moment. As expected, money was a good thing. I quickly felt this way.
"Once again, I recommend not going alone. This is a place where goblins are forming a village. The number is bound to be great. Do you understand?"
"I understand. I will find a party."
Thus, I went to the square and started to ask for groups to join me. However, I couldn"t get anyone no matter how hard I tried. It was because the young people refused for a variety of reasons.
"I"m sorry. We"re looking for an archer."
"I"m sorry. We are only looking for people in their 20s."
"I"m sorry. Only people in their 30s are accepted."
"I"m sorry."
"I"m sorry!"
I kept being refused but I couldn"t understand why.
...I could also fight well.
Once I heard of a young man"s secret story, I was forced to give up on finding a party. Based on the contents, I was too old. The young man had once hunted with an uncle in his 50s. At that time, the uncle"s reactions were too slow and he was a hindrance to the hunt. He ended up being killed. It was the same for the other young people. That"s why there was an unwritten rule among young people not to accept anyone over 50.
...Foolish guys.
Inevitably, I had to hunt alone and visited the alley market again. There, a familiar face was found. It was the first NPC I spoke to.
"h.e.l.lo~ How are you?"
"Um?"
"I"m here to buy potions."
"Ah~ That old man who asked me for directions. Haha, welcome. I have many good potions. Would you like to see them?"
"Yes."
I nodded and a window appeared in front of me.
[Dylan"s General Store]
[Lowest Grade Health Potion - $1.
Lowest Grade Magic Power Potion - $1.
Low Grade Health Potion - $2.
Low Grade Magic Power Potion - $2.]
...These were the potions. I looked at the window and wondered what to buy. The lowest grade health potion filled 50 health and the low grade health potion filled 100 health. I thought about it before deciding to buy 200 low grade health potions. I thought it would be better to buy many good things after hearing Chen"s words.
[You have succeeded in buying 200 low grade health potions.]
[Affinity with Dylan, the owner of the general store, has risen slightly.]
...Did I buy a lot? The affinity rose. I was about to swear and say that the game was capitalist but then I saw Dylan smiling in front of me and closed my mouth.
"Thank you. Please sell a lot."
"Thank you. Come again~"
The moment I left Dylan"s General Store, I headed to the west of Mulan. It was an impressive place with st.u.r.dy wooden fences and soldiers on high wooden towers. I called out to a guard at the entrance, "Excuse me, Guard."
"Yes! Private Carl! Who..." Perhaps he thought I was an executive. He coughed nervously and asked, "Cough, what did you need?"
"I"m wondering about the place where the expedition force headed to." I asked him while brus.h.i.+ng the dirt off his shoulder to relieve his tension.
He seemed like a new recruit who just started. Carl wondered, "Why...?"
"I"m just curious."
"That way." Carl pointed at a mountain in the middle of several mountains.
I nodded as I looked at it. Then I slowly started to walk through the gate.
Carl"s urgent voice was heard from behind me. "Grandfather! It is a dangerous place so don"t go alone..."
At this moment, a goblin rushed in front of me.
"Kyaaaak!"
"Ais.h.!.+ Get out of the way!"
[You"ve dealt a critical hit!]
[Experience has been acquired.]
[Goblin Nails have been acquired.]
The goblin rotated two times in the air after being hit in the chin and turned to ash. I turned my head back to Carl and asked, "What did you say?"
"N-Nothin... hiccup!"
I looked at Carl"s face and smiled.
...He must be very surprised. He continued to hiccup. Once I saw his face, I felt like I was still 20 years old. I saw him and remembered the time when my second son enlisted in the army. I approached him and touched his clothes once again.
"P-Private! Carl!!"
"Then I"ll see you later, young man."
I patted him lightly on the shoulder and started to run toward the mountain in the middle.
* * *
A feast of spectacular kicks that were unleashed without breathing! The beat up goblin muttered a villain"s last line as it turned to ash.
"Shameful...!"
Unfortunately, I didn"t listen to the words. I was distracted, checking the messages in front of me.
[Experience has been acquired.]
[Experience has been acquired.]
[Experience has been acquired.]
[Goblin Nails have been acquired.]
[Goblin Leather has been acquired.]
[Stinky Goblin Leather Top Armor has been acquired.]
"Top armor? What is this?"
I looked at the purple letters and opened my inventory. I saw the leather armor in the corner and opened the information window.
[Stinky Goblin Leather Top Armor - Set]
[Rating: Rare
Durability: 62/120 Defense: 22
Fitness +2
-Stinky Goblin Leather Top Armor
-Stinky Goblin Leather Armor Bottoms
-Stinky Goblin Leather Boots
-Stinky Goblin Leather Gloves
Goblin armor filled with a severe stench. It is unknown how often it is washed but the armor gives off a nasty smell.
-This is an item with a set effect.
-There will be a +10 increase in all stats when the set is worn.
-A hidden special effect will be triggered when all of the set is worn.]
"Hoh... there was something like this?"
I read the item description in a curious manner and stopped at one point. Smell...? I carefully pulled out the armor and sniffed it.
Sniff sniff.
"Eh~ hey!"
It was an indescribable smell. A smell that I really couldn"t comprehend! It was an impossible smell in itself to comprehend. No, I shouldn"t even try to comprehend it. The scent that I never wanted to comprehend seemed to dominate my mind.
I frowned as I covered my nose with one hand. "Stinky b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are really stinky..."
It was the only way I could express it. It wasn"t the smell of feet or sweat, it was something worse.
"Ugh, I am unlucky to pick up such a thing. Ais.h.!.+"
I grumbled as I threw the armor back into my inventory and quickly closed it. The developers actually made something like this. Tsk tsk.
Another goblin appeared as I was clicking my tongue at the developers.
"Human!"
"Yes, I am a human. A d.a.m.n human. Hah..."
I watched the goblins running and adjusted my dagger. I had smelled them earlier so my expression was extremely wrinkled. It was wrinkled like a black trash bag rolled up in my hands.
"I don"t know who your captain is but I need to meet him and teach him how to do the laundry."
Thus, I vowed to start the goblin laundry project. It wasn"t for me. Yes, let"s make this excuse.
"...It is for everyone."
I leapt toward another group of goblins with a mighty ambition (?).