Goblin Governance Association

"Look who it is, messenger Ryan!" Gagnor heard a rough, loud voice as soon as he entered the inn.

Following the sound, his eyes widened involuntarily.

A sturdy uncle, though a good two heads shorter than him, was leaning against the stairs, drinking. His thick brown beard was soaked in wine near his lips, forming clumps.

This was… a Dwarf?

Ryan seemed to guess his thoughts. "That's right, he's a Dwarf, rarer in South Sea Town than a rat that's slept with a cat. You can call him Grim."

Gagnor had heard of the Dwarven race in both his past and present lives, but this was the first time he'd seen one in person.

After all, humans held absolute dominance on the Falaro Continent. Other races, whether the savage Orcs, the cruel Trolls, the beautiful Elves, or the hardy Dwarves, were all weak minorities, mostly forced to huddle in resource-poor border regions.

Ryan had apparently told a local joke, prompting a burst of laughter from many in the inn. The Dwarven uncle, Grim, rolled his eyes.

However, Grim seemed to suddenly notice something. His expression instantly turned serious, and he stepped forward to solemnly say to Gagnor, "Greetings to you, devout devotee."

"?" Gagnor, who was taking his pack off his back, was taken aback by this.

But he quickly realized.

Grim had seen the Raymond Necklace around his neck, worn smooth, and mistaken him for a devout follower of Mosa.

Gagnor didn't know what to say, so he replied with a blessing, "May the light be with you."

"Are you looking for a room?" the innkeeper asked, walking over at this moment.

Ryan said, "Yes, Gagnor is a friend of mine. He's just arrived from out of town and needs a place to stay."

The innkeeper nodded. "Fifty copper coins a day, simple meals provided."

"That's acceptable."

Gagnor found the price acceptable, and the surroundings of the inn were also good.

Ryan seemed to have something to do, and after giving Gagnor a few more instructions, he prepared to leave.

"Oh, right, Ryan, do you know where they buy Goblin ears?" Gagnor suddenly remembered that he had six Goblin ears in his bag.

They'd start to stink if he didn't exchange them soon.

"The Hunter's Guild, it's not far from here, to the east," Grim said.

Ryan also nodded, adding, "I'll come find you again tomorrow. Get some rest today."

After Ryan left, Gagnor booked a room, put down his luggage, and then went out with the six Goblin left ears.

Guilds, or associations, were an important type of organization in the Falaro world. Although they weren't as authoritative and prominent as the church, their influence was also very widespread.

One important reason was that professional ranks were assessed by the corresponding guilds.

The number of Holy Names was also a person's rank, and a more essential rank, but most people were unwilling to fully reveal their Holy Name.

Even the church tacitly allowed lower-ranking priests to hide part of their Holy Names.

Of course, there were actually two opposing viewpoints within the church. One side believed that Holy Names were private and should allow people, including priests, to hide part of their Holy Names; the other side believed that only the impure would hide part of their Holy Names, and true, pure Mosa believers should openly announce all their Holy Names.

However, the "privacy faction" currently had the upper hand, and the "purity faction" was suppressed, so most people and organizations tacitly allowed Holy Names to be hidden.

In addition, some non-combat professions had little to do with Holy Names, so the assessment of professional ranks couldn't completely rely on Holy Names. Various assessments also had to be considered, and professional guilds were responsible for this assessment work.

In order to make their professional rank as high as possible, most professionals would try to cater to the guild's assessment standards, and even obtain higher ratings through some shady means. This wouldn't make them stronger, but it could help them gain extra fame and wealth.

Gagnor arrived at the South Sea Town Hunter's Guild.

The Hunter's Guild building looked ordinary, but above its entrance hung a large and eye-catching Great Antlered Deer Head. The deer head had a bow on it, and the bow had an arrow on it. The three together formed the Hunter's Guild's logo pattern—Old Darryl had such a badge at home.

The guild was bustling with some hunters.

"Are there still spots available for Regnus's trap lecture?"

"That guy has been to seven Tidal Lands..."

"I've already learned Multi-Shot, I'll definitely pass the Level 3 Hunter exam this year!"

"I heard that a Level 10 Hunter is coming to South Sea Town for a visit, is that true?"

Listening to the surrounding hunters' discussions, Gagnor went to a person who looked like a guild clerk. "Hello, where do I submit Goblin ears?"

"The Goblin Governance Association specialist is over there," the person said, pointing.

"Thank you."

Gagnor followed the direction he pointed and found the Goblin Governance Association specialist, handing over the six Goblin ears.

"Hmm, six Goblin left ears, two silver coins each, totaling twelve silver coins." The specialist took the Goblin ears and inspected them, then handed twelve silver coins to Gagnor. "On behalf of the Pope and the Duke, I thank you for your contribution to Goblin prevention!"

Weighing the twelve silver coins in his hand, Gagnor felt happy, but he couldn't help but have some questions. "The Pope and the Duke?"

"Don't you know? The Goblin Governance Association was established with funding from the church and the monarchs of various countries," the specialist said with a smile. "Otherwise, who would use pure silver coins to buy useless things like Goblin ears?"

Gagnor nodded in understanding.

He didn't really know about this. He had only heard that Old Darryl bought Goblin left ears before, but he didn't expect there to be a governance association behind it.

Gagnor spent one silver coin at the Hunter's Guild to buy a Hunter's Handbook, and then spent two silver coins at the Apothecary Guild to buy an Apothecary Handbook, before heading straight back to the Eagle and Whistle Inn.

At night, he lay in bed, flipping through the two handbooks while pondering his future.

He yearned to ascend to godhood, and that required leveling up, constantly leveling up.

The best way to level up was by killing monsters, a fact he had personally verified. Killing a Goblin yielded 10 experience points, while a Level 2 Priest granted 100.

To kill monsters, joining a mercenary group or becoming an adventurer was undoubtedly a good choice.

A mercenary should be better than an adventurer.

After all, in a way, adventurers were just free-range mercenaries without death benefits.

But being a mercenary also had its downsides. As a type of soldier, mercenaries were subject to discipline, and Gagnor didn't like strict discipline.

Besides that, he was a bit afraid of dying.

Well, that wasn't quite right. Having experienced death once in his previous life, Gagnor had a much more detached attitude towards life and death than ordinary people. But he certainly wasn't willing to take on too much risk for a mercenary group. Shooting arrows from a distance was fine, but charging into battle? Better find someone else for that.

If only he could kill monsters without any risk.

Sigh, better go to sleep. Anything's possible in dreams.

Gagnor decided to ask Ryan about it properly tomorrow, then pulled up the covers and instantly drifted off to sleep.