19. To Enter That Place
After the bloody festival ended, the Muri Badgers finally calmed down a little.
Among them, the most sensible-looking one approached us the next morning.
“Powerful warrior. While sleeping, I thought about the center of the forest that powerful warrior mentioned yesterday.”
His tone was completely different from the wild and excited way he had spoken yesterday.
He was calm, serious, and trying to discuss what they should do next.
Wow.
So they really were intelligent after all.
“The powerful warrior has strong energy, so nothing will happen to him even if he goes to the center. But our people are different. If we recklessly enter, we will be devoured by the Witch’s Breath at the center of the forest.”
“Have you thought of a way?”
I had been listening blankly, so Pai answered the badger instead.
Apparently, she couldn’t trust me to handle this kind of conversation.
Hey, I could do it if I wanted to!
“Our people say that if we head east from here, there is a tribe of Champion Goblins.”
“Goblins! More goblins! Krrr~!”
“Be quiet. Go on.”
“They say that the Champion attacked humans passing through the forest and took all their equipment. Among those things, there should be necklaces that humans wear.”
Oh!
So those were the protective items they had mentioned before!
As expected of goblins!
Even this far into the forest, they were still helping me!
“If we have those necklaces, some of our people will be able to follow the powerful warrior.”
“Some?”
“Most of our warriors died fighting the powerful warrior. There aren’t many warriors left.”
These guys were much more organized than I thought.
I had assumed they were nothing more than idiots who charged forward without thinking.
“Otherwise, we can go around the Witch’s Breath and head north to the Fairy Lake. I heard that we can evolve if we go there.”
He looked at me with firm determination in his eyes.
But I had no idea what he was talking about, so I could only look at Pai.
However, Pai was still only a beginner guide.
There was no way she could know everything about this forest.
She didn’t know whether everything we had just heard was true or false either.
“How long will it take to reach the Fairy Lake?”
“Four days at most.”
Four days to go around the center of the forest…
It seemed the center wasn’t as far away as I had thought.
If that was true, we had a decent amount of time.
If what they said about being able to evolve was true, changing our route toward the lake was worth considering.
Still, since we had no idea what would happen at the center, it would be better to leave ourselves plenty of time.
I’m the kind of person who arrives ten to thirty minutes before the agreed time and waits.
“Where are our goblin friends? Are they far away?”
“If we run, we can reach them in half a day.”
We had fifteen days left until the deadline in game time.
It would take four days to reach the Fairy Lake.
The goblin tribe was half a day away if we ran, so it would probably take about a day on foot.
“Do you think it’ll take a long time to find the artifact in the center of the forest?”
“None of our people know anything about the center. The only thing passed down is that no one who entered ever returned.”
“Same here. I’ve only heard that the center is a place where monsters constantly slaughter each other. Nothing more.”
If necessary, we could just charge into both places.
The center of the forest might unexpectedly be smaller than we thought.
Damn it.
I didn’t know enough to even figure out what I was supposed to do.
“…Screw it! We’re doing both!”
Let’s go with the method that was safe, reliable, and would let us experience as much as possible.
Either way, if we failed, everything would return to zero.
There wasn’t much reason to hesitate.
“First, wipe out the entire goblin tribe! Then go to the Fairy Lake!”
I was a little sad that if things didn’t go well, the goblins might die and we’d have to leave behind most of the useful things they dropped.
Still, they attacked adventurers and stole their belongings, so they probably had plenty of useful equipment.
Much better than the ragged clothes I was wearing right now.
Of course, none of the equipment would match, so I would probably end up looking ridiculous.
Still, this was a chance to see how much this realistic game cared about a player’s appearance.
[Quest creation successful!]
[“Step by Step with Numerous Subordinates!” — You have become the leader of a group! Successfully lead your group!]
[Quest Reward — Skill: Leader’s Eye]
[Quest Generated! “Goblins… Be Destroyed!” — Annihilate the goblin tribe led by the Champion Goblin!]
[Quest Reward — Title: Goblin Slayer, Goblin Language Acquisition, “Plunderer’s Gloves”]
[Quest Generated! “The Lake Where Fairies Live” — Go to the ancient Fairy Lake located in the Labyrinth Forest and overcome the fairies’ trials!]
[Quest Reward — Title: “One Who Overcame the Fairy’s Trial”, Evolution Choice Unlocked, Blessing: “Fairy’s Celebration”]
Wow.
How long had it been since I received a quest?
For the past few days, all I had seen were level-ups, skill proficiency increases, title requirements being fulfilled, and things like that.
I’d almost forgotten that quests even existed.
Anyway…
The title Goblin Slayer didn’t really suit me.
Who else in this world loved goblins as much as I did?
They should call me Goblin Lover instead.
Regardless, unlike the quests I’d received until now, which were all completely beyond my level, these quests didn’t feel quite as impossible.
I was definitely stronger than before.
…Though I still didn’t think I could defeat Oehorn.
But I didn’t think I would lose to goblins either.
