Nobina and Her Strange Journey Through Another World

The rest of the night passed without any issues. For Nobina, it was a bit harder to sleep, but everyone else had no trouble sleeping, which helped ease her into her own sleep. When she awoke the next day, the fire was mostly out, and it seemed everyone was awake before her. She wasn’t used to the adventuring lifestyle, so waking up as early as everyone else was a bit hard. However, it seemed no one was in a rush to get her ready.

“Morning Nobina,” said Merick, being the first to approach her.

“Morning Merick,” she smiled back, slowly getting up. “How was your watch?”

“It was ok. Nothing happened thankfully, so I had a chance to think more about how cool your sword was. Is that one custom made by some famous smith? I haven’t seen an emblem like the one you have on it before.”

Nobina thought about it and shook her head.

“I’m sure they must be famous to have made something of this quality. Though I can’t tell you much more about it.”

She wasn’t sure whether the Gaze could be considered a famous smith. However, she knew it was powerful and had no doubts it could create a legendary weapon if it decided to.

For her, someone who was still learning the sword, the weapon felt dependable and one she could trust to not fail her when the time came. Not only because it came from the Gaze, which has helped her time and time again, but also because Mimiki had vouched for the sword’s quality.

“That’s fine,” smiled Merick. “I’m just glad to be able to see it. Oh, I can’t wait to see you actually fight though. Of course, I’d imagine you’d…”

As he was speaking, Jonathan’s cough got their attention to him. He was standing close enough that he likely heard the whole conversation.

“If you don’t mind, we need to finish packing and head out. Else, we won’t reach the site before the end of the day.”

“Got it,” they both replied.

Packing didn’t take that long, and soon, the group was off. Darrias was still watching from the shadows, so it was just the five of them in formation. During the walk, Nobina approached Jonathan to discuss the attack from the previous night.

“Isn’t there concerns about being attacked by goblins this close to the forest edge?” asked Nobina.

“Hm… I guess there is. To be honest, in terms of the investigation, we trust you to determine what we should do. We aren’t the sponsors of the quest and you’d be the ultimate judge to determine if the requirements were complete. Do you want to head back now?”

Nobina had to think about her answer. If she responded yes, then they’d head back immediately. However, the investigation was to determine whether there was anything unexpected at the Goblin Pond, not the forest edge. All she could do was determine how likely that goblin attack was.

“So, with that goblin attack, did it seem out of the ordinary, or something that wasn’t too uncommon?” asked Nobina, trying to gauge how serious the attack was.

“I wouldn’t know too much,” said Jonathan. “I’ve only dealt with one other goblin night attack and that was deeper in. Perhaps Darrias knows?”

Hearing his name, Darrias appeared to answer Nobina’s question.

“I wouldn’t say it’s too unusual,” he replied. “Goblins are known to wander this whole forest, so five normal goblins attacking at night sounds plausible at least. At the very least, I don’t think that would qualify as enough information for the sake of the quest.”

Nobina gave a nod.

“I’ll trust your judgement. Let’s continue on.”

With that, the group continued on to the Goblin Pond. After about three hours, they stopped for lunch and began chatting amongst themselves. Nobina, in particular, was approached by Herrita, who was still apologetic about the previous night.

“I’m still sorry about my attitude last night,” she said in an apologetic tone. “I did not mean to shoot down your love for adventuring.”

“It’s alright,” Nobina said with a soft smile. “I’m sure you didn’t do that for no reason right? I’d love to hear your story for adventuring.”

Herrita nodded, sitting right next to Nobina.

She began telling her about how she became an adventurer for the sake of money, not the sake of the thrill or helping people.

“It might sound bad, but I’m no saint. I’m doing this because the magical academy I want to attend costs a lot of money. In the town I lived in previously, there was no way I’d make enough money if I didn’t become an adventurer. Perhaps it was also because my path was the Path of the Fire Mage that my parents always encouraged me to develop it and become a Fire Mage adventurer. I wasn’t against it personally, considering fire magic is really cool. However, training without a teacher is a nightmare. I was just lucky my parents were able to get me a basic book on magical energy. Else, I probably wouldn’t even have my only fire spell, Fireball.”

“I see,” replied Nobina. “Do you mind telling me more about Fireball? Or would you prefer that being a secret.”

“I don’t mind,” she replied. “You’re a part of the team, after all. See, to develop the Fireball skill, it’s not done through using it constantly. Rather, it’s done by constant focus and gathering magical energy. When I sleep, I gather a small amount of energy subconsciously. When I meditate, I gather this energy as well. Other than those two ways, I won’t gather any energy.”

Nobina nodded, thinking about how different fire magic was compared to healing magic.

“So, is there no real limit to how many you can use a day?” asked Nobina.

“I guess there is also a limit, but I’ve only reached it once. I can cast Fireball about ten times before running completely out of energy. This was after four days of sleeping, where I thought I’d be able to cast it twelve times. However, ten was my limit the last time I checked. The thing is that energy takes time to build. By sleeping, I can only build enough energy to cast it three times. That means I need four nights of sleep to charge up to my magic capacity alone. However, if I meditate for two hours, I can cast an additional Fireball.”

“So, if you sleep, then meditate fourteen hours, you can cast ten times?” said Nobina with a curious look.

“Sure… but I’d die of boredom doing that,” laughed Herrita. “Realistically, I’ll just depend on sleeping. If I’m really low, I’ll meditate a bit as well, though I rather not spend hours doing nothing if I can help it. It also discourages me from testing my limit more, as I don’t like wasting four days just to find out it’s still ten.”

Nobina could only nod back. She could see how meditating could be boring, but at the same time, that period of relaxation would be nice to have every once in a while. However, she could understand not wanting to waste time testing her spell limit if the recharge took that long.

“Let’s get moving,” called Jonathan.

As the two stood up, Nobina turned to Herrita and apologized.

“I didn’t know you were only doing this job for the money. I’m sorry for assuming you enjoyed adventuring.”

Herrita quickly waved her hands.

“Don’t worry about it Nobina,” she said. “Adventuring does have its moments and I have those two… hot heads as friends now. You should hear their story sometime.”

Nobina’s eyes turned to Noct, with Herrita getting close to whisper something into her ear.

“Don’t let Noct’s shyness fool you. Once you know him well, he opens up and can be pretty outgoing.”

“Good to know,” Nobina smiled.

With that, the group continued to the site. During the five hours heading there, there were no signs of goblins or any monsters in general. Nobina thought it was a bit boring, but the lack of a monster threat meant everyone was more open to talking. Hearing those four talk together really made the journey better than if no one was talking at all. She was learning about how adventurers thought, which was perfect for her research.

As they were walking, Nobina asked if she could check something really quick, with Jonathan telling her not to go too far.

Nobina found a spot behind a tree to check her Gaze bag. She knew that once they were there, it would be extremely hard to open her bag in private, so she wanted to check the bag for anything new. To her surprise, there were quite a few items.

The first item of note was a pair of nice boots. Trying them on, they seemed perfect for the trip. However, she wasn’t used to them yet, and bringing new boots would cause too much confusion. She merely tossed them into her bag, thanking whoever gave her them.

Next was a set of sturdy binoculars, which would be very useful for scouting. She thought about letting someone else try it, but it was quite advanced for this world, so it didn’t sound like the best idea. For now, she placed it in her Special Bag as well.

After that, there was a firecracker, confusing Nobina. She wasn’t sure what the purpose of it was, but she had an idea of what she could use it for. It could either be a distraction or a signal, both of which would be quite effective.

“I’ll just store this as well,” she smiled.

Last were two comments to address. The first one had a question about what would happen if she summoned two books and wrote in both. The second one was about having some sort of magical security camera and orb to watch the nests.

“Yeah… a security camera and orb would be useful to have… though I’m not sure whether the Gaze feels inclined to give me something so useful. As for the books… I did test it. It seems like if I write something in one and then something else in the other one, it will save both. For example, if the first line I write ‘I eat pie,’ and the second one I write ‘I hate apples,’ it saves both and creates a jumble mess on the first line. So basically, I need to be careful when recalling any book. That being said, I can’t leave a book out forever else I limit the maximum books I can summon while I have any out.”

With those comments answered, she recalled her page and headed back. However, she was stopped by Darrias, who was close by.

“Yes?” asked Nobina.

“You should be more mindful if you have secrets,” said Darrias. “I can hear whatever is in the shadows pretty clear, so don’t say anything you’d regret. I’m telling you this because your Mimiki’s friend, and I rather keep things like that.”

Nobina screamed internally for being so stupid, but she quickly calmed herself and thanked Darrias.

“Don’t mention it,” he replied, fading back into the shadows.

As soon as she was done, Jonathan called her over, curious about what was taking her so long.

“So sorry,” she replied. “I was checking something important.”

“It’s alright, but we want to examine the lake today before the first night. Else, we might need to extend our trip one more day unnecessarily,” he replied.

They departed as soon as he finished talking. The last hour was rather quiet, as everyone was focused on observing their surroundings. While they weren’t close to the Goblin Nest, they were approaching the Goblin Pond. Without any recent updated status on the location, they were preparing for the worst.

As they entered the location of the pond, Nobina couldn’t help but be in awe at how beautiful the pond location was. It was wide enough that it might take someone about five minutes to run around the whole thing. There was a small pier leading towards the center, while the rest of the surroundings were plant life perfect for the pond. On the other side of where they were, they could see animals enjoying the water of the pond.

“This is beautiful,” said Nobina, finding herself distracted.

“It is for sure,” said Jonathan, standing by her side. “I don’t think I told you this, but the incident Sarah grilled us for with the goblins occurred much closer to their nest. You can say we got lucky that we managed to defeat so many goblins, but its thanks to Lorrita. Despite her dislike for adventuring, she’s far stronger than us and has saved us twice already.”

Nobina gave a nod.

“I’d imagine she’d leave the group one day to accomplish her dream.”

“Yeah,” sighed Jonathan. “I know she won’t be with us forever, but… I’m glad to have met her and I’m happy that I’m helping her out with her dream. We have our own adventuring dream of becoming amazing adventurers, but for her this is just a means to an end. Though… I don’t hold it against her. We are all here for our own reasons, right?”

His smile was clearly directed at Nobina, who smiled back. She had her own reasons for being here as well. She wasn’t trying to become a legendary adventurer or make tons of money. Rather, she was just researching the role of adventurer. No matter what, she would always return to being a writer at heart and prioritize her friends over her own glory. Those two things made up her core, after all.

As soon as the others were done with their initial check, the group decided to begin their patrol of the region. Nobina took out her sword, ready to act if necessary. Merick instantly became excited but held back enough to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to Nobina. As for Jonathan, he was curious about the sword and asked to see it. Checking it out, he merely nodded and handed it back.

“This must be expensive considering its quality,” he said. “And you keep it in some sort of special bag, right? It’s truly amazing how prepared you are Nobina. You even have a potion belt, which a thing that only C rank adventurers or above usually have.”

“Thanks, but it’s all because of Mimiki,” smiled Nobina. “She has done so much for me, and I truly appreciate everything she has done.”

Jonathan gave a nod.

“Yeah… I’m grateful for Noct, my best friend as well… The two of us lived in the same village together. See, originally… I also did this for money. My path was the Path of the Swordsman and becoming an adventurer seemed natural. My parents approved of it, and I fully intended to become an adventurer, even if I was going to go at it alone. However, I convinced my good friend Noct here to join me! Without him, I’m sure this would have gone horribly.”

Noct, who was close by, merely sighed.

“John… Please…”

“Oh,” smiled Jonatha. “Noct is the shy one so…”

Noct walked over to Jonahan and hit him over the head with his bow, prompting an “ow” from him.

“Take better care of you bow Noct,” laughed Jonathan.

“Let people tell their own stories then ‘John’,” he replied back, a bit annoyed.

As he said that, Nobina’s bag glowed. Both Jonathan and Noct looked as Nobina hesitated to open her bag. However, she felt it would have been weird if she didn’t address the glow.

“Oh right,” said Nobina. “This bag glows when… I need to check something in it. This is private stuff though, so…”

“Oh,” said Jonathan. “So earlier…”

Nobina nodded.

“Right. Don’t let me keep you. Go ahead.”

Nobina made her way behind a tree and opened the bag. She pulled out a note that had a single cigarette on it. The note said, “for Pausers.”

“…”

Nobina was dumbfounded by the note. Why was the Gaze giving a cigarette to a cute, innocent bunny? It made absolutely no sense. Nor did Nobina want to believe that Pausers would even know how to use such a thing.

“What are you trying to tell me… Gaze,” she said, squinting her eyes. “Is Pausers some sort of edgy bunny? Why would they need a cigarette now of all times? I swear…”

She stuffed the cigarette into her bag and recalled the note, shaking her head. She planned to have a long talk with Pausers after she got back to explain the cigarette.

“I feel like a parent planning to lecture their kid… Even if Pausers is a bunny,” she sighed.

With that, she headed back to where Jonathan and Noct were. As she was heading back, she noticed the two of them were arguing. Her curiosity only grew as she got close enough to draw their attention.

“What’s going on?” asked Nobina.

“Nobina,” said Jonathan. “Tell me. Have you killed a goblin before?”

“Uh… yeah?”

Jonathan cheered, holding out his hand for Noct to give him a few coins.

“What…”

“Sorry,” said Noct. “I thought you hadn’t killed a goblin before, yet Jonathan wanted to bet that you’d killed at least one.”

“Oh…” she smiled. “Well… yeah.”

Noct gave a disappointing sigh while Jonathan did a quick celebration.

“Next time I’ll win it,” said Noct, looking a bit determined.

“Your record isn’t that great so far Noct, but I’m sure you’ll get better at it,” smiled Jonathan.

Nobina wasn’t sure what this was about, but she was glad to see they were having a good time. If there was one thing she knew for sure about adventurers, it was that moments like this really made the experience. Besides all the fighting, exploring, and other more serious stuff, the comradery between everyone displayed moments that might not have happened otherwise. After all, outside of the mission, there was plenty of time to chat and have a good time. Something that Nobina was glad to be a part of.

“Back to the mission at hand,” said Jonathan.

The two of them nodded, continuing their patrol of the area for any goblins. So far, there wasn’t any sign of danger, but Nobina was still worried that there was a looming threat.

“Why do I have this bad feeling,” she sighed.