The next day, Batara woke up a little late and prepared to head out to collect items a little more before walking back to Quarzith. When he was about to reach the inn’s door, the innkeeper reached out to him in panic “Hey young man! You’re an adventurer right?” Batara was surprised at being called out all of a sudden and just nodded in response. The innkeeper continued “Please help search for my son. He said he was going to hunt in the Grove but he hasnt returned since dawn. Dont worry, I will pay you when you get back.” Batara hesitated because he is not very confident in going deep into the Grove alone. Seeing Batara’s hesitated, the innkeeper said “Dont worry Pamme will go with you. He is also an adventurer staying here.” The innkeeper continued “Adventurers must work in a party right?” The innkeeper was correct but this is not an official quest. However, Batara was really tight on money so he decided to take up the request and said “ I will try. But dont get your hopes up.” The innkeeper replied with a delighted face “Thank you adventurer. My son’s usual hunting spot is 20 minutes walk northwest from the grove entrance.” The innkeeper continued “Pamme is right outside the inn door. Please bring back my son.” Batara nodded and left.
Right after Batara opened the inn door, there is a Beastman about his age with a bow on his back leaning against the wall. Batara asked “Are you Pamme?” Pamme noticed Batara and replied in high spirit “Yes I am! Oh you must be the other adventurer the innkeeper talked about. What’s your name?” Batara felt nervous by Pamme’s overly friendly way of talking and replied “Batara.” Pamme replied “Batara? Thats too long, I will call you Tara instead.” Batara didnt mind and nodded in reply. Pamme continued “You dont look strong, are you really an adventurer?” Thankfully Batara was used to this kind of comment already. Pamme is the type of person who is nosy and straightforward. He also lack the capability to read the room. Batara showed his adventurer tattoo to Pamme. Pamme showed his hand too and replied “Oh we have the same mark. We Beastmen have sharp senses and your aura seemed a bit underwhelming for an adventurer hehe.” Batara didnt understand what Pamme was talking about but he let it go since he talked too much. Batara then replied “Lets go, we dont have much time.” and walked away. Pamme replied “Hmm not much of a talker do you? Okay, but are you sure you want to lead the way? Ive been staying here for a while” Batara stopped and thought about his bad sense of direction. He then said “Okay, You lead.” Pamme walked to the front while giggling mischievously.
The two headed to the Grove and walked northwest as instructed by the innkeeper. After walking deeper into the Grove, cockatrices and deers started to appear. Batara thought this must be the place where the innkeeper’s son hunted. Pamme said to Batara “hey I think we’re close, I found the innkeeper’s son’s tracks leading there.” Batara looked in the direction of Pamme's pointing but saw nothing. Seeing Batara’s confused face Pamme said “Dont worry, Beastman like me have sharp senses that made me an expert in tracking. I can spot anomalies in any environment.” Pamme continued “How long have you been an adventurer any way?” Batara replied “Just yesterday.” Pamme giggled and replied “Kikiki, figures! I have been an adventurer for 4 months already, that makes me your senior!” Batara wondered why he was still in the beginner's place, but he didnt ask further, thinking its a hassle. Seeing Batara’s reaction Pamme nagged him and said “Hey dont ignore me.”
The two continued walking. After a while, Pamme stopped as he noticed the track changed and said “Here, from here on it looks like a person was being dragged.” The two started to walk slowly in caution following the dragged track but it disappeared just before a big bush. Pamme then said “wait, I sense some creatures walking around.” Pamme then swiftly jumped onto a tree and looked from above. There is a goblin settlement with around 10 goblins walking around and a small cave behind it. Pamme then came down from the tree and told Batara what he saw. Batara was amazed by how swiftly pamme can move around the trees. Pamme then said to Batara “Hey, I have a plan. I will attract their attention while you rush into the cave to get the innkeeper’s son.” Batara’s surprised by how reckless Pamme’s plan was. Seeing Batara’s reaction Pamme quickly continued “Dont worry! I was in a circus, I know best how to attract attention.”
Batara went silent and thought for a while. However, Pamme suddenly said “Okay no time to waste! Lets go!” Pamme then jumped back onto the tree and shot one of his arrows to the goblin’s head. Batara was startled by Pamme’s sudden action and since he didnt have time to think, he just proceeded with Pamme’s reckless plan. Pamme then casted his arte “Elusive Taunting!” and started to perform acrobatics with a very distracting colorful aura. The goblins' attention started to be directed at Pamme and they started to rush towards him. While the goblins were chasing Pamme, Batara ran towards the cave and enchant his weapon with “Gust Blow!”. Batara arrived inside the cave, where there were several goblins waiting. The goblins suddenly noticed Batara and ran towards him. Since the goblins' movements are predictable, Batara successfully sent them flying with Gust Blow and ran forward to find the innkeeper’s son. Shortly after, Batara found the goblin’s lair and the innkeeper’s son was tied in a cell made from bamboo.
However, there is a red hobgoblin holding a club while guarding the cell. The red hobgoblin is bigger than normal goblins but still has short feet. Batara tried to hide, but the red hobgoblin had already noticed his presence. The red hobgoblin then quickly swung his club towards Batara. Batara immediately defended with his scepter causing both him and the red hobgoblin to be knocked back due to Gust Blow. The red hobgoblin immediately regained his footing and did a follow up attack. Batara quickly casted “Wind Leap!” to evade its attack. The red hobgoblin was faster than the other goblins Batara fought earlier. Since the red hobgoblin has short feet Batara devised a plan to entrap it. Batara kept evading using Wind Leap while drawing mana lines around the red hobgoblin to cast his Pitfall magic.
After evading for some time Batara was able to drew the mana lines and casted “Pitfall!” The ground below the red hobgoblin quickly got pushed down creating a hole. The red hobgoblin fell hard into the hole and shouted in pain. Seeing the red hobgoblin was furious and ready to jump back up, Batara took a step back. After using several magic, Batara’s mana was already depleted by half so he cannot do the same strategy again. However, when the red hobgoblin jumped from the pit, an arrow struck one of his eyes. Pamme then shouted from behind “Pamme the great come to the rescue!” as he was hanging upside down on the cave ceiling. The red hobgoblin got more furious and started to chase Pamme. Batara then attacked the red hobgoblin from behind and Pamme kept shooting his arrows while jumping around. The two kept attacking but the damages were not enough to kill the red hobgoblin. Pamme shouted to Batara “Tara! I’m almost out of arrows!” Pamme continued, “My arrows are not strong enough to pierce its body!” Hearing what Pamme said, Batara got an idea and told Pamme “Switch with me and save your shot until I tell you to!” Batara ran to the edge of the pitfall he made earlier and enchanted “Gust Blow!” on his weapon.
Pamme lured the red hobgoblin to Batara and jumped high right in front of him. The red hobgoblin swung his club furiously but Batara used all of his power to counter with his enchanted scepter and push the red hobgoblin into the pitfall. Batara then casted his magic “Gust Vortex!” creating a horizontal vortex made of wind and rotating pressure in front of Pamme. Pamme noticed what Batara was doing and prepared to shoot his arrow. Batara shouted “Now Pamme!”. Pamme casted his Arte “Piercing Shot!” as he shot his arrow through the vortex. The moment Pamme’s arrow touched the vortex, a loud screeching sound was made followed by the arrow launched with the speed of sound. The arrow rotated and pierced right through the red hobgoblin’s head before destroying the ground where it landed. The red hobgoblin instantly died and vanished leaving its monster core on the ground.
Pamme laid on the ground and said “The show finally ended!” as if he was closing a circus. He then said while out of breath “Fuhh, I’m exhausted! Can you check on our guest star?” Pamme pointed to the innkeeper’s son in the cell. Batara nodded and walked to the cell. After all that, Batara still had some mana left making him able to avoid mana depletion, probably because of the Hood of Facade he’s wearing. The innkeeper’s son was stripped of all of his equipment and his hands were tied behind his back. He was still breathing even though he’s unconscious with bruises all over his body. Batara tried waking him up and his eyes opened slowly. The innkeeper’s son said “I’m still alive… Thank you for saving me.” with tears running down his eyes and trembling body. Batara took whats left of his equipment and brought it to him to wear. Batara then helped him get up while saying “Your mother’s worried about you.” The innkeeper’s son nodded and replied “hu-um, she must be.” Batara asked, “can you walk?” The innkeeper’s son nodded. Seeing him limping while he walked, Batara supported him with his shoulder and the two walked to Pamme. Pamme then got up and said “You guys ready to go back?” The two nodded. Pamme continued “Okay dont forget to pick up the monster core.” Batara showed him the red hobgoblin core which has a glowing red color and is three times the size of the normal goblin’s core. Pamme replied “Good. I have picked up all the other goblins' cores so lets go!”
The three walked outside the cave and headed back to Cedar Village. While walking back Pamme asked the innkeeper’s son “Whats your name boy?” The innkeeper’s son replied “I’m Marco Sore.” Pamme continued “How did you end up in that situation?” Marco replied “I was out hunting by myself when a red hobgoblin suddenly appeared and ganged up on me with the other goblins” Pamme replied “Whoa you’re hunting alone? Isnt that dangerous?” Marco replied “Yes. I’m usually accompanied by my father since I am still training. But my father is on an expedition with other hunters and wont be back until next week. So I got ahead of myself and tried hunting alone since I have been training for a while. The last thing I know I was saved by… you two.” Pamme replied “Whoops forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Pamme the Great Acrobat. An ex circus member and now a wandering adventurer.” Pamme then pointed to Batara and said “This mute’s name is Tara. He is a mysterious being from an underworld that got his voice stolen by a giant octopus.” Batara got irritated and said, “Shut up, I'm not mute.” Pamme giggled and said “kikiki, So you’re not denying you came from the underworld then?” Batara gave up and sighed in response. After hearing the two, Marco giggled and felt more relaxed. Marco then said to Batara “I’m okay now I can walk on my own. Thanks uhmm Tara.” Batara nodded and replied “My name’s Batara.” Marco nodded.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
After walking for a while, the three finally arrived at Cedar Village’s inn. Seeing her son all roughed up, the innkeeper rushed to hug him while crying and said “Oh Marco my Marco! What happened to you??” Marco replied “I’m sorry mother. I was out hunting and It was so sudden.” The innkeeper replied “I told you to be careful. Thank god you came back in one piece. Lets take you to a priest to get healed.” The innkeeper was very furious earlier but the moment she saw her son, her expression softened as if she knew what he’s been through. Batara noticed how different it was from how his family treated him, but he didnt envy it, he just noticed that its different. The innkeeper then turned to Batara and Pamme “Thank you adventurers. I will forever be grateful for you saving my son!” The innkeeper continued “Here are your rewards!” The innkeeper handed 1 gold coin each to Batara and Pamme. Pamme said “Wow gold coin? thanks a lot ma’am!” The innkeeper replied “Its still worth far less than my son’s life. Unfortunately thats all I can give you at the moment. So the next time you visit Cedar Village be sure to drop by my inn, I will give you both free stay!” The innkeeper continued “My name’s Margaret. Be sure to visit my inn next time!” Margaret left the inn.
Pamme and Batara then left the inn after Margaret. Just outside the inn, Batara remembered about the red hobgoblin’s core he took and pick it up from his pocket. Batara showed the core to Pamme and asked “How should we split this red hobgoblin’s core?” Pamme’s confused and replied “Split it? You’re the one who took it no?” Batara replied “Yes but you’re the one who killed it.” Pamme was surprised by how naive Batara’s statement was and replied “You’ve gotta be kidding me. My arrow won't even leave a dent without your weird magic.” Batara kept trying to point out his incapability and replied “But-“ Pamme interrupted him and said “Nope. Finder’s Keeper. You keep that red hobgoblin’s core and I will keep the rest of the goblins core. Fair enough?” Batara didnt know the comparison between the two cores but since Pamme insisted he nodded in agreement. Pamme then said “Now that its settled lets go back to Quarzith.” Batara was confused by Pamme suddenly being familiar, asking him to go together and replied “No. I’ll go back alone.” Pamme replied “Aww, dont be like that. We are a party right?” while massaging Batara. Batara replied “Temporary!” Pamme then put on a serious face and said “Look, I know why you’re here. You cant find a party to do quests right?” Pamme continued “Besides, we did a great job as a team fighting that goblins earlier.” As much as Batara hated being around Pamme, he thought that Pamme’s words were spot on. Pamme was outstanding in combat which made Batara wonder why he was still here when he received his adventurer license ahead of Batara.
Batara couldnt contain his curiosity and finally asked “Why are you still here then?” Pamme squinted his eyes and replied mockingly “Oho, someone’s interested in me.” Batara quickly replied “I’m leaving.” Pamme replied “Oi no I was joking! Sheesh.” Batara stopped as Pamme continued “But it is kind of a long story so lets talk while we walked back to Quarzith. Shall we?” Batara sighed and nodded.
The two finally left Cedar village for Quarzith. Pamme then told his story to Batara “So about your question. You must come from a city far from Quarzith if you dont know about this yet. It is still hard for a Beastman like me to find an adventurer party since not very long ago Beastmen were still considered slaves. Only after a Beastman named “Kai” became an S rank adventurer that we are starting to be acknowledged as equal with humans. However, until this day there are still humans treating our kind as slaves. Thats why I went to Cedar Village for general collection quest since I cant find anyone who want to form a party.” Batara felt sorry for his situation and said “Sorry I didnt know.” Pamme replied “Dont be, it is what it is. I was too once a slave in a circus with my sister named Rannae. However, even though we are slaves, our owner was kind to us so we didnt complain. Until one day, a member of the circus sold our location off to another slave trader. We were ambushed by the slave trader and his lackeys at night. Our owner was killed and we ran as fast as we could. But my sister got caught by one of the lackeys. I tried to get my sister back but the slave trader shot his fire magic on me. So I ran in fear. I always regretted letting my sister taken because I was so weak. So now, I decided to be an adventurer to become stronger and gather enough money to buy back my sister.” Batara was surprised by how tragic Pamme’s backstory was despite his cheerful demeanor. But Batara was not sure how to react since he just met him and if anything, Pamme could just made that story up to win Batara’s favor. Out of curiosity Batara asked “Do you know where your sister is now?” Pamme replied “Yes. I heard that she’s being sold by an underground slave trader in Quarzith. I have researched how much a slave costs and I should be able to buy her back in the near future.” Batara didnt entirely believe Pamme’s story because who would just go around and tell such a tragic story to a stranger. However, Batara replied out of courtesy “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Pamme was a little irritated of Batara’s dry response after he told him his long story. However he brushed it off and asked Batara instead “How about you Tar? Why do you want to become an adventurer?” Batara went silent for a while and said “Maybe later Pamme.” Pamme replied with an annoyed tone “WHAAAT! Thats not fair. I told you my full story.” Batara replied “That’s on you.” Pamme replied “Cih, its like talking against a wall. I bet you got no friends.” Batara felt attacked. After walking for two hours the two arrived at Quarzith and headed straight to the Adventurer’s Guild. The two submitted the items they collected for the general collection quest to the guild staff who happened to be Cylia. Batara got a total of 1 gold from the adventurer’s guild because he gathered quite a lot of monster cores and plants. Pamme got a total of 1 gold and 5 silver since he gathered a lot more than Batara. Pamme looked at Batara with a bragging face but Batara didnt care and just turned his face.
Pamme then reported about their encounter with a red hobgoblin in the Grove to Cylia. Cylia replied in surprise “A red hobgoblin in Cedar Grove? It seemed out of place if you are telling the truth. Red Hobgoblin usually roams further away where D rankers hunt.” Batara then showed her the red hobgoblin’s core. Cylia immediately checked it before saying “It is indeed a red hobgoblin’s core. Did the two of you manage to defeat one?” Batara and Pamme nodded in approval. Cylia replied “Well that’s impressive given you both are newbies. But I guess its possible if its just one.” Cylia’s tone suddenly turned serious as she said “However, next time, dont get ahead of yourself and assess the situation carefully before you rush into things. We dont need any more dead bodies than there already are. Understand?” Both Batara and Pamme were terrified of Cylia’s warning and nodded in approval. Turns out the Adventurer’s Guild took the adventurer’s vow more seriously than Batara’s thought.
Cylia’s tone turned back to normal as she continued “But we cant buy this core from you since there is no E ranked quest for it. We will investigate the matter on our own and if what you said was true we will compensate you two with investigation fee and achievement, since you two discovered and eliminated potential danger.” Batara nodded and Pamme said “I understand.” before the two left the reception desk.
After getting their rewards, Pamme said to Batara “Hey Tara, how about my offer earlier for the party?” Batara went silent to think. Seeing Batara had a pensive look on his face, Pamme put on a sad face and said to Batara “You wont abandon me like other humans right?” Batara immediately regretted his decision to listen to Pamme’s background story earlier. Since Batara had an agenda himself to form a party, he sighed and finally said “Fine lets form a party.” Pamme tapped Batara’s shoulder and said “Kikiki there you go! You’re so easy to persuade.” Batara only shook his head in response. As the sun was almost set, the two decided to head back and return tomorrow morning at the guild. Batara needed to stock up on supplies and Pamme said he had a side entertaining job at night with a shady look on his face. Batara did not dare to ask further. He just thought to himself “how dare he use his race issue to make me feel bad but go around using it to his advantage.”
Batara then headed to the market district to buy some supplies. He remembered that Ikki had a store in the merchant district so he headed there. The moment Batara arrived at Ikki’s store and opened the door, a bell rang and Ikki quickly greeted “Welcome to- oh its you Batara.” Batara just nodded in response. Ikki said to Batara “Its good to see you! What can I do for you?” Batara awkwardly browsed around the store leaving Ikki talking to himself. Ikki then said in a low voice with an annoyed face “He ignored me huh?” then said to Batara in a normal voice “Feel free to look around. I’ll be here at the cashier.” Batara nodded while his eyes were still looking at the goods. After browsing for a while Batara finally approached Ikki and handed him several items he wanted to buy. Ikki checked the goods and said “lesser potions, lesser mana potions, mana polishing stone, and magic cleaning scroll.” Since Ikki aware that Batara is not from Quarzith he asked him to make sure “Do you know what mana polishing stone and magic cleaning scroll are?” Batara shook his head and said “I only read the names.” Ikki sighed and said “I figured as much. You’re lucky I am your merchant or else you will get swindled easily.” Ikki explained to Batara “These items are commonly sold in Quarzith. The mana polishing stone is a stone that can restore both magical and physical weapon durability to a certain degree by only rubbing it against the weapon once. The stone will be destroyed upon use. This one, is a magic scroll. It can store one spell that can be casted once by infusing mana. Since it cannot contain strong spells, people only use it for casting small scale convenient utility skills that adventurers wont bother learning. This one for example, the magic cleaning spell that will clean your equipment in a small range.” Batara thought that these items are very convenient, especially the magic cleaning scroll since he didnt know there was magic for that. Batara replied to Ikki “Thank you for explaining.” Ikki replied “All good, just make sure to ask first next time.” Batara nodded.
Ikki started counting the prices and said to Batara “your total is 4 silver and 5 copper. Dont worry I’m giving you the best prices compared to other merchant since you are a friend.” Batara replied with a simple “Thanks” and hand over the money to Ikki. Ikki then asked “Do you need anything else?”. Batara suddenly remembered about the red hobgoblin’s core in his pocket. He picked it up and showed it to Ikki “I want to sell this.” Ikki replied “Let me see.” Ikki picked up an identifying item and got surprised “This is a red hobgoblin’s core. Where did you get this?” Batara replied “A companion and I defeated it in Cedar Grove.” Ikki got more surprised and shouted “Cedar Grove!? Isnt that supposed to be a place for beginners?!” Batara only raised his arms gesturing he didnt know as well. Ikki sighed in disbelief but since its Batara who’s talking, he must be telling the truth. Since Batara’s seemed very reluctant to explain further Ikki didnt pry further and said “You seem to keep running into unexpected things. Red hobgoblins are usually hunted by D rank adventurer’s Party. Their cores fetch a decent price even among upper adventurers.” Ikki continued “Its usually sold for 2 golds, but I can only give you 1 gold and 5 silver at the moment, so I will give you an item to compensate for it. Is that okay?” Batara nodded as he didnt expect it to be worth that much in the first place.
Ikki said “Okay wait here.” as he looked around the back of his shop for a while. Ikki then returned to Batara while handing over a belt with a unique design and a small magic bag attached to Batara. Ikki said “Here you go. A magic toolbelt. It is a prototype made by my late grandfather who was a magic item artificer. Its been put up for sale for a while but nobody seemed to be interested so I took it down. Probably because of its imperfect enchantment.” Batara actually liked the belt’s design but out of curiosity he asked Ikki “What’s the enchantment?” Ikki explained “The belt is enchanted with Leprechaun’s essence that can make your body lighter when infused with mana. But nobody seemed to be able to adjust it correctly and ended up floating, unable to move. Other than that, I think the design is pretty cool right? It was made from a Phylus Antler’s hide.” Without hesitation, Batara accepted it and said “I’ll take it. Thanks.” Ilki replied “You’re welcome. Please come again!” As Batara left the store Ikki talked to himself while smiling “I might really hit the jackpot when I met those three.”