The sun had set, and the orange hues flowed high into the sky. At this time, adventurers were, as usual, retreating back to town. Another day of work had ended—a day of completing quests, a day of preparing for raids in taverns, a day of haggling prices with the potion shop owner, a day of delving into darkness, a day of walking through green meadows. It was over.
In one of the adventurer-filled areas, where there were some high hills and rocky elevations, a group of adventurers stood. They were clearly a party, yet while others were exiting the southern dungeon, they remained lurking in place. Well, let's leave behind the sunset and the adventurers returning home and see what's happening here.
"Talon, cast a spell on the nest," a young human man commanded while gripping a longsword, his gaze locked onto a nest—one that resembled a bird's nest.
It was quite large, clearly housing numerous chicks awaiting their mother's return. A short distance from this nest, four adventurers stood. At the forefront, behind the rocks, stood a human swordsman and a rabbit-headed dwarf—a Bunnien adventurer—who held a small wand, also staring at the nest.
Behind them, perched atop a tree, a silent, shadow-like figure watched the nest with keen focus. He held a bow, his fingers poised to draw an arrow from the quiver slung over his back. He was the party's archer—a young human man. The last member was a girl, one with cat ears and a tail flicking rapidly. Dressed in a long white robe, she stood further back, her hands clasped together. She appeared to be a priestess.
"Fulgurios!" the small Bunnien shouted, pointing his wand at the nest.
A streak of lightning shot from his wand, soaring straight ahead before striking the nest. The bolt was weak, not even enough to set the nest ablaze—merely causing it to lift slightly into the air. At that moment, the entire party's expressions shifted to seriousness. Suddenly, the human swordsman grabbed his weapon and dashed toward the nest.
"Come on! Let's kill him!" the young man shouted as he ran.
The nest had been jolted into the air before crashing back down. However, it contained no birds. Instead, a tall goblin dressed in leather armor emerged. It bore some resemblance to a human, but its terrifying face betrayed its true nature.
The entire party immediately stood tall and readied themselves. Their expressions were filled with anger—some even showing hints of fear. They gripped their weapons, and even the archer descended from the tree to join his comrades.
Standing directly before the four adventurers, the goblin loomed. It wasn't just any ordinary goblin—it was of medium height, wielding terrifying silver dagger, and bore features eerily close to those of a human. It stared at the party with a chilling gaze. By now, the sunset had faded, and the moonlight illuminated this high, rocky, and sparsely grassy terrain.
"It's him… Daemon!" the young swordsman muttered, gripping his sword tightly as he locked eyes with the strange goblin.
"This is our chance, Dan. Let's finish this quest and celebrate with glasses of wine," the archer said, preparing to fire.
"Yes! Yes!" the Bunnien mumbled excitedly.
"Oh great Moon Goddess, protect us with your light, guide us this night, and shield us from the darkness," the cat-eared priestess prayed, her tail slowly swaying.
And then, the goblin charged at them, and the battle began.
A battle where a great deal of blood was spilled.
A battle where everyone was wounded.
A crimson battle that raged in the dark of night.
A battle that no one saw.
A battle that no one heard.
A battle where the goblin remained unscathed.
Daemon.
After easily defeating them, he began dragging their bodies, one by one, into a cave. Their pale corpses were hauled away roughly, staining the ground red with each pull. Once he had dragged all four bodies inside, Daemon retreated deeper into the cave. Moments later, he returned with a massive rock and began crushing their heads one by one until their faces were no longer recognizable. Then, under the moonlight, he defiled their corpses.
It seemed to be nothing more than a habit for this goblin, given the number of naked, faceless bodies scattered throughout the cave. Or, to be more precise, in the depths of the cave—a cave that might seem empty from the outside. But upon delving deeper… something else awaited.
◆ ◆ ◆
Another scorching afternoon in Iveleth. The knights from the capital had seemingly left, and the town had returned to its usual state. Inside Fiona's tavern, the atmosphere was as chaotic as ever. At one of the tables, three people sat together—Laos, Maris, and Ponier this time. In front of them, a table overflowing with food and drinks.
"A toast to you!" Ponier bellowed, raising his wine glass like a fool.
"Awesome! I got a healing spell!" Laos shouted, drinking greedily.
"Looks like your prayers paid off," Maris muttered, watching them with embarrassment.
"Yes! Yes! Come on, Ponier, let's show her the spell. Cut yourself!"
"What?!" Maris suddenly blurted out, shocked by Laos' request. But it seemed both of them had already gotten too drunk.
"But you won't be able to use the spell again for a while," Maris reminded them.
The tavern's noise was deafening—some gamblers were yelling, others were fighting, and some were competing to see who would pass out first. It seemed Laos hadn't heard Maris' words and kept pressuring Ponier to injure himself. The drunken Foxen eventually pulled out a small dagger and stabbed his own palm. At this moment, Laos burst into laughter and taunted: "I won't heal you! I tricked you!"
"What did you say… you bastard?!" Ponier growled, hiccuping.
"I'm joking… I'm joking."
After that, Laos placed his hand over Ponier's wounded palm, And a soft green light, identical to the glow from Maris' spells, slowly radiated from his hand. Bit by bit, the wound closed until nothing remained but a faint scar. Laos then slammed his beer mug onto the table and shouted: "I'll show you, Naofumi! I'll become the greatest isekai protagonist! Just you wait, you Shield Fucker!"
"Huh?" Maris mumbled, confused.
They continued eating, and after a long while, their senses finally started to return. They were no longer as foolishly drunk as before. Ponier eventually decided to leave, but at that moment, a group of adventurers approached their table. They varied in height—short, medium, and towering. It was Grell's party. As they stopped before Laos and the others, Grell spoke: "Good, I found you all together."
"What's going on?" Ponier asked seriously, as if he hadn't been drunk just a moment ago.
"Daemon, another party has gone missing on a quest to kill him," Grell replied calmly.
"Let me guess, you want me to babysit the three of you and take the quest?" Ponier asked.
"Yes, we know it will be a tough quest, but I want to finish it, and also put an end to the number of adventurers who keep dying in his cave," said the archer, his eyes full of hope.
"Daemon?" Laos muttered.
"He's an evolved goblin. It's said that he was feeding on monsters until his nemesis power developed, so he's no longer just an ordinary goblin. He's now a huge threat to adventurers of porcelain rank and lower," Miro explained.
"And also, the guild has updated his quest. Now, any party of porcelain rank or lower can take it, but they need a supervisor of bronze rank or higher. So please, Ponier, come with us. And you too, Laos. With the five of us, we can kill him and finish the quest," Penny added.
"So, what do you think?" Ponier asked his partner.
"Hmmm, sounds easy. Why not, let's take it," Laos replied.
"How much is the reward?" Maris suddenly asked.
"Six Nova, and a rank promotion for every adventurer who participates, except for the supervisor," Grell answered.
"So, you'll be at wood rank, Laos," Maris said.
"Yes!"
"So, agreed?" Grell muttered.
"Yeah..." Ponier replied, shaking Grell's hand.
After that, they finished their lunch, and Maris left to get a packed lunch for Laos to take with him on the quest. So, it was just the four of them sitting at the table. The noise of the tavern gave them some privacy, and no one knew they were on a quest to kill Daemon, the goblin who had terrified all the beginner adventurers in the town.
"Okay, as you all know, Daemon is an evolved goblin. His speed, strength, intelligence, everything about him is dozens of times better than an ordinary goblin. So, don't think of this quest as just killing a bunch of goblins. On top of that, Daemon is classified as a tier 3 monster, and if he continues killing adventurers every time, he'll easily reach tier 4," Grell said, placing his bag on the table.
He then started pulling out a number of potions and a wooden bow, arranging them neatly. Miro also took out some iron axes from his bag and placed them on the table. Penny took out some daggers. After that, Grell said: "This is our equipment. Each of us has a backup weapon, and right now, we have only five health potions."
"Do we need more?" Laos asked.
"Of course, also, Laos, you need a backup sword. You have to account for the possibility of your sword breaking during the fight," Penny added.
A broken sword? Impossible, but... what if Thalesa's power runs out? She'll fall asleep, and I'll end up empty-handed. Fuck! They're right. I need to buy another sword. God, this quest doesn't feel like a goblin-killing quest at all. They're giving him so much prestige, forgetting he's just a fucking evolved 'goblin'... This town needs the goblin slayer.
"Okay, yeah, I need a sword," I said, staring at the potions. They might look appetizing, like I saw them in my past life, but don't be fooled by their appearance. They're the most bitter thing you can taste.
"Okay, let's go shopping a bit, then we'll plan the raid," Grell said, putting his equipment back in his bag.
Wow! This is great! I feel a huge rush of excitement. This is the first time I'll be planning a raid with a party. I always just went with Ponier directly after accepting the quest, no planning. This is my chance to show off my adventuring experience. I'll buy everything I need. The days of lazy Laos are over!
We left the tavern, and suddenly, Maris ran up to us, her long hair and boobs bouncing like jelly as she carried a bag. She handed it to me, then gave me a beautiful smile and a lovely look, finally saying after she handed me the bag: "Here's a snack. Eat it if you get delayed on the quest."
"Thanks, Maris, this is really helpful," I said, looking into her beautiful eyes.
After that, we left, leaving Maris waving and wishing us good luck. God, all of this makes me feel like I'm on my way to kill a dragon threatening the kingdom. How can one exaggerate things like this? It really annoys me. Well, I just hope this arrogance doesn't end up being the cause of my death on this quest.
"Let's head to the weapon shop, then take the quest," Miro said.
"By the way, I also need some backup short swords," Ponier added.
After a while of walking, we finally arrived at the same shop where I bought my armor. We entered, and as usual, the place was crowded. So, we had to wait for our turn for a while. Damn, are we going to fight that goblin at night?
"Come on, Laos, order your sword," Grell said.
I walked up to the counter where a dwarf with a funny smile stood, the same dwarf I bought my armor from. Oh, that wave of tension... Whatever, I'm used to it, and it won't stop me from ordering a weapon. After a while, I realized I'd been slow to speak, so I quickly opened my mouth and said: "I'd like... a steel sword, uh... hmm... something with a long blade."
Damn, that was hard. After that, he took the Astral sword and went to take it somewhere. Fuck, has my hair turned black?! This is the first time I've given the Astral sword to someone else. Fuck! I forgot it's a spirit weapon, not just an ordinary sword. What a dumb I am. I'm sure this is all because I'm nervous. I just hope my hair is still white… Thalesa, has my hair gone back to its natural color?
"You idiot, your hair is still white," Thalesa replied.
"Phew, that's reassuring. But how? Don't you live inside the sword?" I asked.
"Well, after you make a pact with a spirit, the spirit becomes two parts, one lives inside the sword, and the other inside the user's body. That's what I meant when I say I'm your body's spirit," Thalesa replied.
After that, the dwarf came back with two swords, the Astral sword and another steel sword. They were about the same length, and the steel one seemed to be used. Well, that's fine. Thalesa's power depletion rate is extremely low, so I'll buy it.
"How much?" I asked.
"Three Nova," the dwarf answered. Whoa, that's a steep price for a used steel sword.
"Alri—"
"Three Nova? That's steep, old man Gous, we need a discount. It's just a backup weapon," Penny suddenly said. Damn, she was quick.
"But it's a good sword. Its blade is still sharp even after being reused, and don't forget its leather-wrapped handle," the dwarf said, trying to defend the sword's price.
"I know, I know, but it's still used. Most used swords don't even go for two Nova in other shops. So, come on, old man Gous, cooperate. We'll take it for two and a half Nova, okay? Just because this is my favorite shop," Penny answered.
"Okay, okay, two and a half Nova," the dwarf muttered.
That was amazing. She only knocked off fifty Bils, but she convinced a dwarf. After that, I took the sword, then Ponier bought two backup short swords as well. After that, we left the shop and headed to the guild. Let's go!