NOVEL WEB Chapter 2
“Welcome…”
A woman greeted from across the table with a voice that lacked the presence of Himari.
She was probably a staff member of the village.
With golden brown hair tied halfway, dressed in a white shirt that reached her waist and a shabby leather vest that looked like it belonged to medieval peasants, she appeared rather pitiful.
Was it because of her gloomy expression, or did she seem very small and fragile?
There were many things he wanted to say, but he just nodded silently and held back his words.
It wasn’t the kind of situation or atmosphere to cheerfully start a conversation anyway.
Before the staff member arrived, Keyal had no choice but to keep his mouth shut while moving in place, scanning the interiors of the Adventurer Guild.
Everyone there looked dejected, some wrapped in bandages, and a few bore the sight of severed limbs,
Women stared at him with drooping eyes, dripping blood from their wounds.
It was a sight that seemed more like the aftermath of a brutal battlefield than a fantasy world overflowing with dreams and hopes!
‘Oh, what a vibe.’
He could never let his playful inner thoughts out loud for these folks to hear.
He had to at least pretend to empathize with their pain.
‘…Heh.’
*
Despite witnessing the dire scene, Keyal couldn’t empathize with their pain.
Honestly speaking, he had zero concern for the suffering of complete strangers.
He had no intention of feeling sorry for them; his mind was solely focused on not wanting to be targeted.
He just wanted to live a stable life as an adventurer.
It wouldn’t do him any good to attract the attention of promising adventurers, including the guild leader, and while those promising ones would be dealt with later, he had to make a good impression on the guild staff, closely related to the leader.
If he started on a bad note, there would surely be times he’d regret it.
While secretly snickering, he acted the part of a sensitive and emotional pretty boy, glancing at the sad adventurers as if he might break into tears any moment.
“U-Um, customer…?”
“…Oh, I-I’m sorry… The guild’s atmosphere today is unbearable…”
Was it Keyal’s heart-wrenching performance that worked? The dark expression of the woman turned into a faint smile, reassuring him.
‘Oh, this actually works.’
*
“So, you want to apply as an adventurer?”
“Yes.”
The wooden table, which looked like it hadn’t been dusted in ages, had cobwebs strung across it. The dust made the already shabby surface appear even more neglected.
With a rusted document stained with old marks, the staff handed it to him with a sly grin. Keyal carefully took it and started writing his name with a feathered pen.
𝓚𝓮𝔂𝓪𝓵 — Yes, this should be correct.
Recalling his English nickname from the game, he awkwardly wrote his name, lopsided as it was.
The handwriting…
“Um, have you never written your name down before?”
It looked like a child’s scribble, and upon closer inspection, it even appeared blunt.
“Ha-ha…”
His cheeks flushed red. The narrow gap between the tables filled with adventurers made it painfully obvious he couldn’t even write his own name, causing snickers and laughter from some, including the wounded who were bandaged all over, all of whom found his situation amusing.
The sound of laughter echoed around him, pricking at his ears.
Never before in South Korea had he been laughed at for not being able to write his name. Mortified, he hung his head low.
‘Ugh… so embarrassing…’
What would it feel like to settle alone in a foreign land and be mocked by outsiders?
‘…….’
He continued to feel bashful, keeping his head down until he left the Adventurer Guild after writing his name.
He couldn’t bear the scrutinizing stares of those jerks who looked at a foreigner who couldn’t even write his name.
‘You bastards. I’ll see you later.’
I’ll definitely succeed and slap my name on your foreheads.
*
The first quest was incredibly simple.
‘Please eliminate the goblins in the goblin den.’
There was a goblin den located in the forest near the village.
The goblins occasionally raided the villages, stealing the residents’ belongings, and reportedly kidnapped children and women, prompting an appeal for adventurers to subdue them.
However, all the adventurers had refused.
‘That’s only to be expected.’
Adventurers are generally quite prideful.
Why would they take on the task of capturing goblins of all things? Not formidable goblin women or lords, but mere lowly hop goblins?
Under normal circumstances, he would have outright refused such a pathetic quest without thinking twice.
‘If it were a celestial extermination quest, that would be a different story.’
Waving his hands dismissively, Keyal let out a sigh, gazing at the empty space ahead.
[Status Window]
Immediately, lines of text started to pop up, obstructing his view as squared windows covered his sight, and Keyal smiled in satisfaction, dismissing the status and information screens above.
‘I know it’s a low-tier quest, so I can’t expect much in terms of skill enhancement.’
======
Quest
Eliminate 20 goblins living in the goblin den./ Eliminate 2 hob goblins.
Rewards will be given upon success.
In case of failure, Keyal Kralin will die.
A sudden death threat.
‘Wow, that’s pretty extreme.’
Just when he was about to click the accept button, he hesitated for a moment.
‘Wait, how can I die just for not being able to catch goblins…?’
Will you accept the quest? [ Y/N ]
======
[ YES ]
With a deep sigh, he placed his hand on the YES button of the status window.
Regardless of whether he did or didn’t, death was just a part of the deal anyway.
‘The reward may be lame, but… being dead is worse, right?’
At least by dealing with some monsters, he could relieve some stress, he thought as he made his way to the path leading to the goblin den.
*
Before long, Keyal arrived at the goblin cave, quickly grabbing a torch and stepping inside.
With each thud of his footsteps echoing, he felt absurdly nervous about facing mere goblins.
Keyal clutched his pounding heart, waiting for it to settle down.
With each step, the bright light from behind began to diminish, signaling his growing distance from the outside world.
With the sound of his boots growing louder alongside a stench that revolted him beyond imagination, he realized he might be walking into a scene of burnt bodies.
Was it possible that goblins possessed the intelligence to burn corpses…?
Keyal recalled some moments from TBG Heroes. As far as he knew, goblins were mere mobs appearing briefly in tutorial quests.
Lacking intelligence and raiding simply by instinct, the children and women they kidnapped were solely for their carnal desires or hunger.
Apart from high-ranking goblin lords or shamans from TBG Heroes, goblins were generally akin to primitive barbaric creatures.
Or at least, they ought to be.
“…Is this real?”
What he was witnessing was so far removed from the goblin behaviors he believed he knew that he found it hard to accept.
‘…..’
Keyal blinked in disbelief.
Before him stood goblins, primitive in appearance, lighting fires, crafting weapons from bones, and tending to black wolves.
It was clear they possessed intelligence, acting in sync like primitive human beings.
Keyal blinked again as he absorbed the scene—ferocious creatures bound by insanity, the very picture of the goblins he had imagined.
However, they were behaving like humans. They were mimicking the ancient ways of humanity.
As he opened his mouth to unleash his frustration, he simply stood there, jaw dropped at the absurdity unfolding before him.
The goblins mirroring human society, and then,
“Help me… No… No… No….”
Before understanding why they were branded monsters or evil, he saw the reality they presented.
They were tearing apart children and devouring them.
“Grrr!”
“Stop! Please…!”
They were sexually assaulting the woman who screamed for mercy.
‘Wow… monsters really are monsters.’
Swoosh—
In that instance, a black mist began to seep from Keyal’s palm.
The black mist, resembling his own dark hair, spread like strands of magical particles, moving slowly toward the monsters looming over the children and women.
‘First…’
“Grrrr….?”
The goblins began to realize the approaching magical miasma, eventually spotting Keyal peering at them from the entrance.
But by then, it was far too late. By the time they acknowledged him, they were already engulfed in the magical aura.
Unaware of what was happening, goblins collapsed one by one, and Keyal couldn’t help but smile.
At some point, his golden brown eyes radiated a crimson glow.
‘So I just need to smash them?’
Once they realized the dark miasma closing in on them, it was already too late.