Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Goblin Subjugation
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"There is no such thing as free happiness."
As the saying goes, there's no convenience or happiness handed out for free in this world. Unfortunately, to grasp happiness, you have to run yourself ragged with your own efforts here and there.
It had already been about a week since I arrived in Isvant. I was starting to seriously think that if I didn't get to work soon, I'd be totally screwed. But up until now, I hadn't been able to do any work because I'd been busy gathering all sorts of information. I had to at least show my face at the Adventurer's Guild and pound the pavement to find jobs. With a new place to call home, there was a ton to do.
Above all, it wasn't easy for an out-of-towner adventurer to just waltz in and snag work right away. Call it cliquishness or whatever. That kind of thing existed.
And so, after all that effort, the quest I finally landed a week later was goblin subjugation. Nothing fancy about it. Just beat the crap out of a pack of filthy goblin bastards, chop off their heads, and bring them back for 3 copper per head. Simple as that.
A subjugation request is basically like a pest control service.
When certain monsters show up and pillage or devour crops, causing damage, they put out a request like, "Bring me those damn sons of bitches, and I'll pay you."
Farmers get to hire cheap adventurers to exterminate the monsters, which is great for them. Adventurers get paid just for killing a few monsters, which is easy money. It's a win-win quest all around.
That was the job for today.
Thud, thud.
The day before, I'd joined a party for the goblin subjugation quest, and now, early in the morning, I headed to the rendezvous point in front of the general store. When I got there, a bald man holding a spear was already waiting. I waved hello.
"Good morning."
"Morning."
His name was Sant, an E-rank adventurer. His gear was just leather armor and the spear in his hand. I didn't know much else, but his thick arm muscles looked reliable. Arm muscles were proof of training. He clearly looked like a veteran who'd been rolling as an E-rank for a long time.
The other party members were Meria, a brown-haired, blue-eyed woman adventurer wielding a one-handed sword and shield, and the last one—a boy who looked like a total minor just carrying a sword. His name was Gibson. I wasn't too confident in them, but since they were both E-rank, it didn't matter. For someone that young-looking to have made E-rank, he had to have some skill.
"Looks like the other two aren't here yet?"
"Seems that way."
I plopped down next to him to wait for the rest. But for some reason, things suddenly got awkwardly serious, so I decided to break the ice.
"It's just goblins at worst, so it shouldn't be too hard. Let's knock out our daily pay and head back."
"Sure."
This guy was all short answers.
"Hmm... With four of us, if we bag about 16 total, that'd be perfect. Roughly ten copper per person. Not sure if we can get that many, though."
"Yeah."
Sant here seemed like an extremely taciturn guy. Or were all bald guys hairless up top and short on words? Who could say that was fair?
He never seemed to use more than five words when he spoke. His hyper-efficient style—only the bare necessities—doubled my awkwardness in seconds.
"You any good with that spear? Not many adventurers carry them around."
"A bit."
As I traded meaningless Q&A with Sant, the others showed up. Meria and Gibson.
"Hi, hi."
Meria waved both hands with a blank expression. On her back was a wooden shield of decent size rimmed with iron. It looked sturdy—perfect for main-tanking. Not many adventurers lugged shields around.
"Pleased to meet you."
Gibson—or should I say, the teenager?—looked exactly as young as he did when I saw the party listing. Anyway, like me, he was just toting a single sword.
I didn't know if it was youthful bravado, but jumping into the desperate job market of adventuring while still growing meant his family must be dirt poor.
I wasn't jealous of the poverty at all, but damn, I envied his youth.
"Everyone's here. Let's move out."
As soon as the others arrived, Sant spoke the longest sentence I'd heard from him yet and took the lead. He'd mentioned yesterday when forming the party that he knew the farm that posted the goblin quest.
And so, we followed Sant to the quest area. Farms, huh? Like with the cockatrice job, there were more requests from farms than I'd expected. They grew crops in bulk, so they were always under monster threat.
Even in modern Korea, wild boars and deer wrecked crops nonstop. What difference did another world make? Wild animals were just replaced by monsters. And smart ones like goblins raiding crops in organized groups? The farm owner must be losing his mind.
Goblins.
Yeah.
Goblins.
Goblins were small demi-humans with green-tinted skin. Distinctive long ears and noses. Unlike other low-level monsters, they could use simple tools, making them a pain. Tool use meant some brains, so they could do things other monsters couldn't—tricky bastards.
Fair assessment: a bit higher level than kobolds.
Still small fry to me, though. Anyway, the farm was close enough to the city for walking distance. I chatted with the party while we went.
"Hey, you're Katt, right? Wow, you're tall. From some foreign tribe?"
Meria was friendly and started asking me all sorts of questions. My standout looks apparently sparked curiosity. It didn't feel like disdain—just pure interest—so I answered politely.
"Yeah. From Mirkeshia. No hope in my barbaric homeland, so I came to the big city. But it's hopeless here too."
"Ooh, really?"
"Height's just average for my people."
My height was about 178 cm, pushing 180. Taller than the average guy here. Add black hair and eyes, and I was the spitting image of a barbarian warrior. Meria seemed fascinated.
Honestly, I hadn't seen many black-haired folks in the city either. Rarer than I thought. If I got to know a few adventurers personally, I could start a "Mirkeshia Hometown Club" clan.
"What's your homeland like? I'm dying to know—tell me?"
"Well... you know..."
Explaining Hell Joseon would take days, so I BS'd it moderately.
"Just lots of grass and trees. Nomads, so no real hometown. Always riding horses here and there."
"Horses? You good at riding?"
"Nah. That's freaking hard."
"What?"
I'd actually tried riding in Jeju once—super hard and scary. Not BS. I shake learning to drive a car. My riding skill was F-rank at best.
"What about you, Meria? Tough doing this rough work as a woman?"
Not prejudice—just hormones and physiology. Women build muscle slower, smaller frames. In the brutal, life-or-death brawls of adventuring, low strength and size were huge drawbacks.
This world had mana-enhanced warriors and knights, and mages boosting stamina with buffs, but that was otherworldly to me. F-to-D ranks were basically civilians with skill gaps, so yeah, women didn't fit great at this level.
Though I saw plenty.
In this harsh world, men and women alike jumped into the job grind.
"It's tough, but with a sword, it's all the same. Man or woman, grab a weapon, and we're about equal."
"True. Sword in hand levels the field. People don't get that—you're wise."
Exactly. Woman or not, a sword lets you kill most monsters. If you've got the fight in you to kill enemies, you can be a warrior. Mindset. If you're ready to risk your life, you can scrape by anywhere.
"We close?"
"Looks like it."
Chatting with Meria, we reached the quest area. Sant and Gibson trudged silently like ascetic monks on a vow of silence. Thank goodness Meria was sociable.
Without her, we'd have walked in total quiet.
"We're here."
Under Sant's expert guidance, we entered the village hall. Ugly, exaggerated goblin wanted posters plastered the walls. The rage in them—like North Korean anti-invader propaganda—gave me chills.
"Oh, Sant, my man?"
"Good to see you, Village Head."
"Ah, yes. You and your friends are the adventurers here for the goblin subjugation."
An old man greeted Sant. They seemed to know each other—Sant had local ties. We gave quick hellos, then heard the briefing.
"Good. I trust Sant. Kill the goblins and bring their heads. Do that, and it's 3 copper each."
"Leave it to us."
"With Sant vouching, I trust you all."
Confident? Hell yeah.
Killing weaker monsters was one of my few specialties. Goblins were trickier than kobolds, but still just "kobold-plus." I'd sliced plenty back in the day.
Goblins had some smarts, so they armed with scavenged junk.
Junk like weapons dropped by dead adventurers, lost items, discarded blades. Basically, they carried stuff worth money.
Sometimes coins or equivalents—jackpot. Like magpies, they hoarded shiny things.
That's one reason goblins were rare in Krasheim. If it paid, adventurers swept them clean—greedy human locusts. No stopping that for little goblins.
"Let's go. They'll likely nest in woods or hills near raided fields. Might have stashed loot in caves—grab it for bonus pay."
Sant suddenly eloquent? Instant trust boost.
"Gibson, anything you know about goblins? I've hunted plenty, but not their habits."
I asked Gibson, who stood blankly nearby. He seemed surprised I spoke politely despite towering over him. My motto: polite unless they start shit. I'm a cultured modern guy.
Anyway, needed to break the ice for flexible combat.
"As a kid, my village fended off goblins... Habits? Not much. They can communicate with each other, I think."
He looked young now—what age was "kid"?
Under Sant's lead, we searched likely spots. Like most jobs, it meant climbing mountains.