Goblin Swordsman (1)

In truth, even with a guarantee, all you could get right away was a silver badge. Anything from gold upward required the realm of an Expert or a sorcerer of the fifth circle or higher. In player terms, that was ranker territory. At that level, you'd be acknowledged as a powerhouse anywhere on this continent, teeming with superhumans and monsters alike. It only made sense that they couldn't hand out a gold badge—the very symbol of such strength—based on a guarantee alone.

······Besides, Philip, who had given the guarantee in the first place, was already at gold-badge level. It wouldn't make sense for me to get one immediately either. My skills still fell short of Expert.

Winning against Philip in the Job Change Quest had only been possible because it was a test, not real combat. I'd exploited the loose vigilance bound by the test's framework, slipping in with the Natural Sword's ability to blend my presence with the surroundings. In an actual battlefield, or if I'd swung my blade, it never would have worked.

Anyway.

What quest should I pick?

After Philip left following the guarantee, I scanned the request board.

No herb gathering for me······ Better go for a hunting quest if possible.

Hunting gave both hunt EXP and quest EXP—a two-for-one deal. Thinking that, I roughly selected a few requests and checked the quest window. Approximate EXP gains popped up.

Hunting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quests seemed to offer meager quest EXP rewards. Escort quests paid the best······.

As I carefully reviewed the details, a familiar place name caught my eye, making me pause.

Sikat Mountain? Sikat, Sikat······ Feels familiar.

Where had I heard that? Right, definitely······. Hmm, back when I first came here, maybe.

The only times I'd been around here were as a mercenary long ago, and then again—

—They say he has the key to the Sword Saint's dungeon?

Ah, that.

I wracked my brain, groaning. I'd scattered them evenly by region, so there had to be one in Biden Kingdom too. A few dungeons tucked into the mountains, and amid that, the mountain name I'd heard—

Sikat Mountain.

A lightbulb flashed on in my head!

Right. It was one of my dungeons. I didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠remember the exact spot, but wandering around should jog my memory.

I made it for my juniors, but it'd be awkward if I cleared it myself.

My situation wasn't great right now anyway. I'd grab some elixirs, some cash, and a few useful artifacts. Whatever was left, I could share with Philip. Normally, you needed the exact key like Philip had to enter, but as the dungeon's creator, I didn't.

Then a sudden question hit me.

Why hadn't Philip found it yet? The key had a minor location-tracking function beyond entry rights. If he'd narrowed it to this area, it shouldn't take long.

Yet despite considerable time here, he still hadn't located it.

Is the key malfunctioning?

······Whatever. I'd find it and share with Philip, the key's owner.

In any case, I accepted the Azure Spirit Grass Gathering quest. I'd pick up whatever else I could do on Sikat Mountain while searching for the dungeon. Two birds, one stone.

But the board had no more Sikat quests, so I approached the receptionist again.

"Any requests for Sikat Mountain?"

"Ah, Sikat Mountain······ Here you go."

I read the request she pulled out carefully. But they were all simple ones like Azure Spirit Grass Gathering—no hunting like beast subjugation.

Not many magical beasts on Sikat Mountain?

I accepted the rest anyway, then asked her.

"No hunting requests? Like monsters or magical beasts."

"One moment, that's······."

As she rummaged through papers, someone nearby answered instead. A deep, gravelly voice.

"There is one. Though it's silver-badge level."

I turned toward the voice. A massive, muscular man stood there. I sized him up first.

Not Expert······ Three Flowers level. Pretty good for this backwater. Branch chief, maybe?

My guess ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was spot on. He extended a hand for a shake and spoke.

"Dakein Adventurer's Guild branch chief, Garen."

"I'm Yuri. Silver-badge adventurer."

I smiled and shook his hand firmly.

At my introduction, Garen smirked and said,

"Yeah, I heard. A girl guaranteed by a Sword Tower swordsman. Got a lot of questions about that, if you don't mind?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Alright then." Garen eyed me suspiciously. "How the hell did you get that guy to guarantee you?"

"With skill, obviously?"

"Problem is, I don't see it. My realm's below Philip's, but I've never doubted my eye for people."

"······."

"And that guy wouldn't vouch lightly, nor would beauty tricks work on him. Makes it even more puzzling."

A fair doubt. Honestly, a small girl with a childlike face peeking from under a mask—how strong could she look? Sure, aura made judging by looks foolish in this world.

Still, trained physique, age, visible presence, and seasoned insight usually gave a rough gauge. I probably looked like an utterly ordinary kid from every angle.

Garen voiced my thoughts exactly.

"To me, you're no silver badge—just a bronze at best. Felt it in the handshake: frail body, shallow internal aura. Can't judge your swordsmanship, but your hands lack proper calluses."

"······."

"I know players are quirky, but they usually lack technique. Could be some rare ability user, but Philip vouching for a non-swordsman? Hard to picture."

All spot on. No need to explain, though, so I just smiled.

"I'm a special case. Stronger than I look. Probably around your level?"

"······Hoh. Is that so?"

Garen's eyebrow twitched as he stroked his chin. Hmm, rethinking it, I might be a tad behind? Close, but factoring in his build and those massive muscles······.

As I simulated mentally, Garen sighed and spoke.

"······Fine. Must be something I missed, or Philip wouldn't vouch. Stings my pride a bit, personally. Anyway, looking for Sikat Mountain requests?"

"Yes. Hunting ones, ideally."

He nodded and opened a desk drawer, pulling out a request.

"Like I said, one hunting request for Sikat. But it's silver-badge, and I wasn't sure you measured up, so I held off."

"And now?"

"Still don't trust it. No track record. I'm doing this trusting Philip, not you. Owe him a few."

Garen grumbled, handing me the request. I took it with a smile and read.

Let's see, hunting request, goblin······ Goblin?

What goblin? I tilted my head.

As everyone knew, goblins were the weakest monsters. They lost to untrained civilians half the time.

A goblin hunt as silver-badge? Hundreds of them? But this was hunting, not subjugation. Large-scale would've been subjugation.

Other possibility······ A rare mutant. Goblin warrior or shaman.

I looked up at Garen from the request.

"A mutant? Like a goblin warrior?"

"Mutant······ Sort of, but not quite. Heard it's some weird one."

Weird? I cocked my head. Similar to mutant but different, somehow off? Vague explanation gave me pause.

No one had killed more monsters than me. I was an expert on their quirks.

Such cases weren't unheard of, but rare.

Garen continued.

"They say the goblin uses swordsmanship."

"······What? ······Pardon?"

"······Hm?"

I accidentally slipped into casual speech before correcting. I always kept polite for appearances, but this was unbelievable.

"A goblin using swordsmanship? Those idiots?"

Regular goblins were kid-sized with kid-level wits. Dumb as rocks—systematic swordsmanship? Impossible.

Garen explained in incredulous tones too.

"And damn good at it, they say. Six bronze adventurers rushed it together and lost?"

"······."

"Don't believe it myself, but they insist they saw it. Three bronzes actually died, fact."

Casualties already. Even mutant goblin warriors didn't use proper swordsmanship—just wild swings with oversized cleavers. Shamans were smarter, used primitive spells, but at the cost of mobility. They rode palanquins led by normal goblins their whole lives, barely walking.

And this wasn't even a mutant per Garen—just a regular small goblin. No orc-sized warrior or shaman.

······A goblin genius?

Garen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wrapped up.

"Quest is to verify if the story's true, and subjugate if possible. Who knows—might be a new named-grade monster born."