Meeting up with civilization is a priority, but a man in goblin rags will bring suspicion at best and if I can't communicate with the locals then that will be a problem.

That being said, there isn't much I can do to prepare, I fish in excess and make a pouch out of some leather to hopefully earn a bare minimum of money to trade, but I can't really improve my clothing unless I hunt some of the animals that run away from me, and setting up a trap for them would take quite some time.

I follow the river upstream, and I can already walk longer without tiring, it is a matter of a few minutes difference but it is noticable as I have been paying attention in case something like this will happen. It takes 3 hours for me to spot a village, there are no walls or guards, so hopefully my story won't get investigated deeply.

The village has primarily wood buildings, but there appears to be a stone building as well so the people aren't tribal at least.

I approach one of the locals and start up a conversation.

"Hi, my name is Xiquey and I would like to ask some questions if you have the time" (Xiquey)

"Rather strange clothes you have there, I assume you are a traveller or an adventurer of some sort" (Random civillian)

*internally feeling like a mountain on my shoulders is removed because we speak the same language* I am inwardly snickering about how "being a traveller" applies to me in a completely different way than he is thinking.

He also looked rather disgusted seeing my clothes, goblin skin is less than aesthetically pleasing but it may have also been because I look like a begger in my current state.

"I happen to be a traveller, unfortunately my bag was lost while fighting monsters and my clothes were torn beyond repair, so I had to improvise with my current rather shameful display" (Xiquey)

"I am a bit busy at the moment, but if you help me out for a bit then I wouldn't mind answering some questions, the name is Jerin by the way" (Jerin)

So I follow Jerin to his hous and help him with some farm work, I am suprised that they appear not to use manuer or fertilizer of any kind, but refrain from commenting on it.

After we have worked the fields for a few hours, we head back to his house.

"I'll throw in a free meal and a change of clothes as you took the work seriously, thanks for the help" (Jerin)

"No problem, now then has there been any big news lately? I lived in a rather secluded village and am travelling to learn more about the world" (Xiquey)

"Well the war with those green freaks has only gotten worse, the increase in goblins nearby probably tipped you off to that though. The ceremony to call heroes from another world should finish up soon so you should keep your eyes peeled for anyone who looks suspicious so that the king can quickly gather them to fight the troll king" (Jerin)

Okay so there is a war with a troll who rules over goblins and is of similar strength to the human nations, I also may have some superpower considering I am probably one of said summoned heroes.

"Yeah I spotted quite a few of those green buggers on the way here, as for the heroes I am skeptical that a bunch of strangers will be able to do better than our soldiers who fight for their families and homes" (Xiquey)

"Because our soldiers don't grow stronger at 3 times the rate of normal people, I take it that you had friends or family join the army?" (Jerin)

A good friend yes, he..... died in battle" (Xiquey)

"Thats a damn shame, not uncommon though, many people have lost people these days" (Jerin)

"On a less depressing note, does this villiage buy anything from hunters or adventurers? I have some fish to trade if nothing else" (Xiquey)

"We buy berries, fish, meat, and leather if it is a good enough quality, but stuff like the goblin leather you wore is certainly not high enough quality and no one wants to wear such an ugly green anyway. Our village isn't large enough for an adventurer guild that would pay for goblin subjugation, but if you head on the north-east road then you will reach one that will " (Jerin)

"Don't remind me how terrible I look, if my clothes weren't torn to shreds I'd never resort to... well... this, are there any particularly dangerous monsters to look out for nearby?" (Xiquey)

"There is a Goatagon that lives around these parts, but it isn't carnivorous and won't cause any problems as long as you don't go out of your way to get involved with it, you already know about the goblins so you should be as prepared as you can be for the wilds" (Jerin)

"Alright,also do you need to pay a special tax or entrance fee to enter town?" (Xiquey)

"Maybe for a big city, but for town you should be able to come and go freely" (Jerin)

"Thanks for all the information, it has been a great help" (Xiquey)

"Don't mention it, and good luck out there, travellers definately need it" (Jerin)

"That we most certainly do, good luck to you to for your harvest" (Xiquey)

I change into the clothes Jerin offered meand as comfortable as my old underwear was by comparison I plan to bury it in the forest later to avoid suspicion.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Whos going to notice me having strange underwear? A guy can dream.

I want to watch some people trade first to get an idea of the market price of goods, but this villiage isn't large enough for a commercial district so I settle for bartering some fish for a spare change of used clothes and a waterproof pouch to store water in.

The stone building was a smithy, but anything metal is beyond my current buying capacity.

I really wanted to ask about magic, how to measure someones rate of growth, and what they name of the kingdom I am in is, but those are super suspicious questions and I think I only barely passed the stranger isn't a hero test, if I passed it at all.

I could just reveal my identity and go straight to the king, but I am hesitant to trust and work alongside someone who kidnaps other people to solve their problems. I will probably still intervene in the troll war, but I will do it my way.

All my clothes smell, but so do I, I bathed in the river but there is no soap and the locals are all clearly putting hygene as low priority.

There isn't much to do in the village, but I do want to resupply on fish so that I won't have to feed on goblin again on my way to town, I also make some more rope and ask some locals how to set up a basic snare before heading off on the road to the town.

The next time some goblins attack me, I keep one alive and break its limbs to prevent it from resisting and hopefully allow me to attempt communication again, but after breaking both its legs it dies once again showing that ordinarily nonlethal injuries still can kill you here, and I suspect this means injuries that would normally kill you might not depending on the difference in strength between you and your opponent.

On the second dat of travelling to town, after killing a goblin I feel like my body is lighter and moving about is easier, seems like in addition to passively training your strength you can level up in this world.

It takes 3 days to reach the town, I kill some more goblins on the way but refrain from skinning them as the villagers viewed wearing goblin leather as a disgusting thing done only when you are desperate.

I also noticed that my fish didn't seem to spoil even though I expected them to be rotting by now, it seems food preserves longer here even without salt.

I have managed to create the tiniest of flames while practicing magic, the flame is smaller than a pebble but it is a start.

I basically just focused completely on making a fire without considering the more complex details and it finally worked. It is more about the feeling a fire emotionally evokes than an understanding of its composition and properties.

It has little more use than a fire starter at the moment, but that alone is quite useful and the potential for growth is exhilerating.

I can walk much farther before getting tired since levelling up, and even noticed I have an easier time noticing when other creatures are around then I used to.

I enter the gates without anyone even questioning it, and the first thing I notice is how much cleaner people look here than they did in the village, and I am shocked when I look at my hands and see the dirt begin to fade away until it disappears completely.

Someone went to the trouble of designing a magic system to clean everyone in town, they are a genius even if they don't recognze how they revolutionized the sanitation of a low technology society.

I can read the signs of stores without any problems, and from them I learn that this is the Mnairian kingdom when they boast at being the best in that kingdom.

The market confirms my suspicions about food preservation as none of the stalls have any rotten food on display, and all the fruit is sold at the lowest copper incriments.

Meat is more expensive as expected considering even without spoilage raising animals is slower than plants, and fish is only barely worth more than fruit.

I get a few dirty looks for wandering about the marketplace in rags, but I seem to blend in well enough among the other poor folk.

And then I see the slave district, 90% of the slaves appear to be part animal people, I will call them beastmen until I hear the proper name for them, and I now have a new goal besides stopping the troll king.

I either need to make this nation abolish slavery via revolution, or establish my own kingdom where slavery is banned and politically pressure the others into adopting the same policy.

It is depressing that there is nothing I can do to help them at the moment, but I promise myself to do something once I am powerful/influential enough to. For now however, I make my way to the adventurers guild.

The village isn't too large and I can read so it only takes me a half hour to find the adventurers guild, it appears to be a large and pure stone building that looks higher quality than the surroundings.

A couple of advennturers to the side of the building seem to be having a contest to see who can jump the highest as they are all jumping way higher than the room of the building.

So immature and childish, it looks like fun.

The interior of the guild was far simpler than I imagined, there are some receptionists and a board with jobs posted, but there is no bar or tables full of boistorous adventurers, nor are there food stands or training centers.

It is a bit dull if I'm being honest, and I am more that a little dissapointed. There are stairs to higher floors but there seems to be guards posted to prevent entry.

I walk up to a receptionist to ask how the guild works, one of them is quite pretty but I ask a more plain looking one as the pretty one has a long line of adventurers harrassing, I mean going to her.

"Hi, my name is Xiquey and I am new around town, my old village wasn't large enough for a guild so would you mind telling me how it works?" (Xiquey)

"I wouldn't mind at all, it is part of my job after all. The guild accepts requests when merchants need an item, or a town needs dangerous monsters dealt with, or other such tasks that require someone who has honed their strength. The guild then gives the jobs to the adventurers at a slightly lowered reward so that the guild can finance itself. Stronger adventurers usually get requested directly but weaker adventurers require the guild for stable work. Anyone can take a job and claim a reward from the guild, but guild membership will allow you to have your strength verified and to reserve a job to complete. If a non member starts a job and a guild member reserves said job then the non member cannot claim their reward. Some jobs like escorts require a verified guild member as well since they require someone to have a certain level of strength. Guild members are also allowed to use the library and training centers on the higher floors, and are also allowed to sleep within the guild where we can guarentee the safety of your items better than low class inns. Membership is 1 silver per month and new members are provided with a basic dagger and armor" (Receptionist)

"I don't have the funds to join at the moment, but I do believe I will take a look at some of the job postings, thank you for your time" (Xiquey)

"Not a problem, it is nice to see someone with manners around here even if they aren't that..... well off" (Rude receptionist)

There are a few herb gathering jobs and hobgoblin subjugation jobs, apparently normal goblins are weak enough that it isn't worth paying people to hunt them, but hobgoblins are desscribed as being a E rank monster. I have no idea what the level of my own strength is as I am not verified and don't see anyone listing a goblins strength grade. There are some herb picking jobs, but they don't give a picture of the plant nor decribe how it looks, I try asking these questions to the receptionist but she says that I will need to become a member to find that information in their library.

The jobs I can take are ones asking for rabbit horns and pest control, I've seen the horned rabbits before and they are F+ rank, the pest control job is aking to kill rats in the city and you get a copper for every rat tail you collect. The reward for rabbit horns are 10 copper each. A silver is a hundred copper by the way, so membership is quite a ways away.