We left the city of Boltward through its western gate, heading towards farmland located outside the city walls, a mere few hours of walking away.

* “Alabaster, you just became an adventurer, right? You're starting off with a mission that’s a higher rank than you - that’s a great opportunity! No need to thank me!” Luka said over his arm.

* “Yes, you have my gratitude… Actually, these ranks - how do they work? I know that the more missions I do, the higher my rank becomes, but how exactly will…”

* “O-ho? You were registered by Master Hexton the cunt? I can’t find any other reason for you to not know such basic information.”

* “I indeed was registered by the guild's vice leader carrying such a name and deserving such title.” I nodded my head

* “Poor you… Well, basically, you are allowed to do all the quests of your rank and those below it, and in certain circumstances also those of higher rank - like for example with a member of a higher rank. I am silver, you are copper, together we count as two bronze rankers, so there is no problem. There are more ways to take you along, like for example - when the quest requires three people, and then we could take you as an extra force, or if we would take you as a non-combat power, so a scavenger, healer, and such.”

* “Scavenger?” another term I didn’t know.

* “Ah, sorry, our own not very kind word for people in a party whose work is cleaning bodies of skin, bones, and such. They gather everything valuable from monsters that the attack force killed. Especially in dungeon raids - warriors can’t get distracted looking at shinies, or else they would be begging to get backstabbed. No. The attack force cleans the room, moves to another, and then scavengers protected by few warriors clean the room of everything that could be used or sold.”

* “Clever tactic.” I nodded with approval.

* “Sure is, Lions were the first one to implement it in their raids, since then we noticed a huge boost in raid clearing speed, reduced number of casualties, and better hunt-yield! Commander’s Nicolai father - who invented this method - was a tactical genius. Leading commander Nicolai is proud of this, and envious at the very same time, though he will never admit it. His father left huge boots to fill for him.”

Our conversation was disturbed by the sound of carriage riding slowly behind us, and soon it lined up with us.

* “Greetings brave adventurers! Where are you heading to? If we would share the same destination or at least part of our road ahead, I would be honored to take you on my cart and ease up your journey, even if just a little bit!”

The cartman, a man around his forties, called for us bowing his head in a humble greeting.

It was a custom - merchants would offer a lift to adventurers, letting them travel faster and in a bit better conditions, and merchant in the company of adventurers would feel far safer - in the end, bandits are less likely to attack a cart guarded by a group of experienced warriors.

… But, why was he addressing me while making this offer? Luka was registered as our party leader…

… ah yes. The armor.

Luka became a bit pouty as the petty merchant ignored him and made the offer to me, despite the silver pendant hanging off his neck. I decided to improve his day, even if just by a little, by honoring him for the position he wields.

* “With all due respect, kind traveler, that’s a question to my commander.” I said lifting my copped pendant slightly, so he could see it “... I am just a brute force, Luka does all the thinking.”

* “Oh, my apologies for my lack of tact!...” He quickly urged his horses to run a bit faster, so he could once again offer his greetings to Luka “...Forgive this old man, kind warrior. Eyes are not working as they used to.” he bowed his head in apology.

* “No offense taken!...” he said proudly sticking out his chest.

Hooo? Bold words for someone that just a moment ago was as grumpy as an old fart with rheumatism in the rainy season. I lowered my head slightly trying not to giggle.

* “... and we were headed towards a place named Stillwater’s Lake. We took the job of goblin extermination.”

* “By the merciful heavens!...” The man smiled widely “... That’s my home! My name is Marc Steiling and I own that business! I delivered that request just yesterday as I was selling our crops and buying other merchandise! Kind warriors, I insist, take shelter in my cart! It might be a bit cramped, but it should still be faster and more comfortable than just walking there!”

The rest of my team beamed with joy hearing those words.

* “In that case stars appear to be fortunate for both of us! We will shamelessly take you up on your offer!”

Said Luka as he jumped onto the cart. Together with Greg and Thomas we quickly followed, finding some space between barrels, crates, and chests filled with all kinds of goods.

Luka took a spot closest to the cartman.

* “What can you tell us about this quest? How big is your farm, is there a forest or other place where goblins could hide? How many individuals have you seen at the same time?” our tracker quickly started gathering information regarding our next tasks.

* “Hmm. The farm is quite big, we owned this piece of land for generations, the soil is fertile, the lake located nearby is always full of fishes… oh, and the forest nearby is also rich in all kinds of animals. The farmland is managed by me, my wife, my daughter, and two sons, to that we hire around fifty men to work in the fields, because of that goblins are not attacking, instead, they are waiting till either the late evening before they run into the farmland, rob the storage room or steal a sheep or pig before running into the darkness… we can’t follow them there, and as in the morning the entire land is covered in mist and/or dew, thus most of the tracks are gone.”

* “Oh? They are not attacking the workers?”

* “Few tried, but my boys are huge men! A pitchfork is more than enough to defend themselves! One of them wounded two or three of these little green devils and since then, they haven’t even bothered attacking, sticking only to stealing.”

* “I see… and how big were they? Could you notice individuals significantly different in sizes?”

* “Hm? No… I mean, I have never seen one, I barely work in the field, and definitely not in the evenings, my workers were the ones seeing them!”

* “I see… and… I am sorry for dropping such accusations - are you sure that these for sure were goblins? And not your workers deciding to get some additional salary bonuses?”

The owner of farmland quickly shook his head to the sides.

* “No, kind adventurer. I am a good boss to my workers. They are getting paid more than they would get anywhere else, and if they need something - having a harder situation in the family, or are getting sick, I help them as much as I can. A worker that is happy to work for you is the best investment, for he works twice as hard as a regular one. No, noble Luka, I have full confidence in the trustworthiness of my people.”

* “Fair enough.” Luka only nodded with approval.

For the next three or four hours the two were talking about all kinds of matters, starting from goblins, but eventually changing subject to more pleasant ones such as methods of fishing and the greatest individuals they even managed to catch. They were having a wonderful time, till eventually, around noon we reached a beautiful, picturesque landscape. A huge house at least two stories high stood just a few meters from a huge lake with few fishing boats waiting ready on its shores.

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The house was surrounded with a few small barracks - probably where workers lived, and then, in all directions stretched a beautiful land filled with crops, cows lazily eating grass, pigs playing in the mud, and few horses running in specially prepared areas.

* “Do you see? That girl riding the horse? That’s my little pride and joy! My daughter - Lilly!” he started weaving towards her from the cart, trying to draw her attention, and eventually, he did.

The girl rode her horse towards the fence which isolated horses from the rest of the farmland, got down off her horse, jumped through the fence, and started running towards us.

* “Daddy!” she yelled while in full gallop, which in speed could rival that of a horse.

She jumped on the cart and right onto her father, giving him a huge, tight hug.

* “Hahaha! There-there, my little treasure! I hope you didn’t cause your mother too many troubles while I was away?”

She was quite pretty. Sixteen years or so, with long dirty-blonde hair, huge blue eyes, and face ‘stained’ with multiple freckles only adding to her charm.

* “What?! No!?!” she puffed her cheeks, pretending to be mad, eventually shifting her gaze to us “...Father, who are these people?”

* “These brave men are adventurers that your papa hired to help us with the goblins!...” he looked back at us “... I warn you, she is a huge fan of your profession, don’t let her drag you into a conversation or she will bombard you with questions and never let you go!”

* “Faaatheeer!” she blushed annoyed, then she managed to crawl further into the cart, sitting between us. “...Anyway! Any-waaay! You’re adventurers huh? What kind of quests have you already finished? What lands have you seen? What monsters have you felled?!”

And she was asking this of the warrior who looked like the one that had the most experience and combat power. And how did she try locating one? You guessed it - by comparing armors. She sat directly in front of me on a barrel, cross-legged, with a huge terribly honest grin on her face.

* “I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have just become an adventurer, I doubt if I can tell you many fascinating sto…”

* “Bullshit! Don’t listen to him, young lady!...” I looked at Greg who yelled that. In his eyes, playful sparks were dancing, betraying he was ready to cause mischief “...He is new among adventurers, true, but before that, he participated in the great battle of our House! He came out of nowhere, as we were battling a huge army of undead, he located their commander - a source of the plague - a colossal skeleton made of black bones with evil magic dancing in his chest like a black wisp… and wielding nothing but a damaged blade he killed it with a single strike, single-handedly winning the battle!”

Girls’ eyes nearly popped out.

* “First thing’s first! The blade was not damaged! Second,- the undead was distracted. And third - saying that I won single-handedly is simply a lie! Without all of you around wrecking havoc I wouldn’t have even managed to sneak up on him! Don’t make it sound as a heroic deed when all I did was backstabbing a distracted general in the middle of a chaotic battle!” I started violently shaking my hands as if trying to convince the girl that none of what she just heard was true.

* “You see, little Lily, our friend is very shy and humble! No matter how much you praise him he will do everything he can to downplay himself. The next day he officially joined our squad, and according to our customs, he challenged all other cadets… he defeated all of us. Ten men. Skilled warriors. One after another he was sending us into the dirt! Did he boast over it? No, even now he let the man he defeated become a quest leader. He is THAT humble... Not to mention...” Thomas, who took over the flow of conversation, was ready to deliver a finishing blow “... we still don’t know his name nor face! He uses a nickname and no one but the commanders have seen him without a helmet. He just came from nowhere, changed the tide of battle, and joined us on our quests, not accepting any praise at all! A knight on a quest to make the world a better place. Giving up on his name, so only his deeds would be remembered, inspiring others to challenge the same path he follows!”

* “That is NOT what happened at all!” I raised my objections. I tried staying low for the purpose of my small, egotistical vengeance. If I suddenly get a fan club yelling my name everywhere, my quest would become that much more problematic.

* “No? Then show us your face!” Luka chuckled.

Oh. So that’s what this was all about. They would either tease me or learn more about me. Both outcomes were a win-win situation for them. But, I couldn’t give them what they wanted

I turned my head to the side, avoiding their gaze.

* “I am just a soldier, not even a knight. Bah, not even an official member of the House! If you have time to fool around, you should also have time for training.”

The guy look at the little curious girl with a wide smile.

* “Tooold yooou!”

For the next hour, I indeed couldn’t get rid of the girl running around me and - just as the merchant said - bombarding me with questions. But, eventually, we started our job.

Together with Luka, we questioned the workers that saw and even fought globins. They said that green-devils - as they call them - were roughly of the same size, not even reaching their belt-levels.

Then, Luka led us to the storehouse, where he crouched down.

* “What are you doing?” I asked full of curiosity.

* “Goblin’s hands and feet have short, slightly curved claws...when they are in a hurry they tend to scratch the surface they are walking on…. and bingo!”

He pushed one of the crates away showing a long, thin mark over the floor. It was really hard to notice, as the wooden floor was damaged over by years of usage - sliding crates and such.

Then, next to it, he showed another, and another, and yet another similar mark.

* “Gentlemen and gentlemen. We indeed have goblins.” he got up stretching his back “... Now, a quick lecture delivered by Papa Luka. Goblins are fucking annoying bastards. Their eyes work perfectly as in the daytime, as at nights and in the caves. They multiply like rabbits and usually try not to bother humans. Because what for? Humans are big. Humans are scary. If they steal from farmland as big as this, it means that they have no other choice - either their usual hunting place has a new predator, chasing them off - which would be a great case for us. Or worse case - that they increased in number so much, that their usual hunting grounds are no longer enough, or yet another scenario - the worst - is that they have been taken over by another clan. That would mean that their numbers are ridiculous and soon a green plague will start. Highly unlikely - because otherwise, they would plunder the farmland instead of just stealing a single pig every few nights with a small group warriors. Still, better to be prepared than sorry.”

* “So… what do we do now?” I asked, feeling slightly useless.

* “You? Nothing. You sit on your ass in Marc’s house and entertain his daughter with some stories, drinking beer and eating lamb, while I will go scout the forest, trying to look for more tracks. If I don’t find anything, I will be back before dusk. Hopefully, they will come to steal tonight as well. Then, I will follow them…” I tried raising my voice, but I was not allowed to even start “... Alabaster. You are not a scout and you are wearing huge and loud armor. You will scare them off. Up to the point that they may lay low for a couple of days, starving, but not risking betraying their nest. Marc is a great man, I enjoy his company, and Lily is pretty, but I still don’t want to waste more time than needed here. If we don’t return in two days, the commanders will start bitching around. Oh, and you also have a date with Rowan, knowing them they already requested a formal duel.”

He patted my shoulder a few times before walking towards the edge of the farmland, jumping over the fence and entering the forest.

I didn’t do what he asked me for. The reason for that is that I had slowly started hungering. The need wasn’t big yet, it just reminded me about itself, but, when you spend time in a kitchen filled with the smell of delicious food, your needs tend to become far more significant within minutes. That’s why I decided to pick up my blade and start training in the middle of the field, distracting myself from the dull feeling in my bones, which were demanding being filled with life.

I raised my blade, imagined an enemy approaching me before delivering a blow. My shadow partner dodged, and so, I chased him. Fully focused on training, I let hours pass. Swing after swing, thrust after thrust. During my training, I sensed that someone was watching me from afar. Thinking that it was a goblin, I kept on twisting my body while training, slightly changing my stance, till I could barely see with corners of my eyes who was looking at me from the edge of the farmland.

Lily’s hair flashed as she ducked behind the fence, hoping I wouldn’t spot her. Silly girl. If she is that interested in an adventurer's life, why doesn’t she just join them?... Wait, that was a silly question. Seeing how much Marc treasures and spoils her there is no way he would ever let her take such a dangerous job.

* “Alabaster!” I was called by one of my companions as they entered my training field. “... Try not overdoing it! You need to be in the best possible condition for the quest!

* “No need to worry, just warming up. You will see, even after training I will be faster than all of you combined!”

Shortly after that, Luka returned from the forest, a bit dirty and sweaty.

* “Good news, I managed to find them. They hid in the cave in the forest. Two guards at the cave entrance, one hunter deeper in the forest, I managed to sneak up on them because these idiots were sleeping. Apparently, they got a bit overconfident as nobody had found their nest so far.”

* “Do you know how many of those green bastards are hidden in there?”

The shrug of shoulders was his only response.

Of course, how would he know? This was not a settlement in the forest, where he could roughly count the huts and estimate their numbers.

* “We were prepared for ten to twenty, so it will be best to assume that there would be forty of them.”

* “Why so many?” I asked, surprised by Luka's words.

* “Captain’s Gregory says: when you face unmeasured enemy forces, always assume that there are twice as many of them as you expect. This way the only surprise you would get would be a pleasant miscalculation. Better than having a second group attacking your backs right when you think you already won it.”

The wisdom of a veteran of countless battles was showing now and I had no intention of giving any of my opinions on this. And so, I just put the blade back in my sheath and once again checked the straps binding the small shield to my left arm.

* “Ready whenever you are.” I reported myself for duty.

Skill proficiency increased Skills:

[Sword Usage - Apprentice level 11 ➝ 12]

[Shield Usage - Apprentice level 8 ➝ 9]

[Bow Usage - Apprentice level 1]

[Nature Magic - Novice level 1]

[Mana Sense - Low - Passive]

[Life Sense - Low - Passive]

[Combat Maneuver/Team tactic - Novice level 3]

[Heavy Armor Usage - Novice level 4

[Hand-to-hand Combat - Novice level 4]

[Stealth - Novice level 8]

[Mind Magic Resistance - Low level 8]

[Dark Arts - Curse Words - Novice Level 3]

[Dark Arts - Necromancy - Novice Level 2]