"Damn it." In the end, the Sorcerer might have been unable to contain his fear, so he simply ran off. Still, Lin Yun couldn't help feeling that the guy had shot him a furious glare just now.
???? You embarrassed yourself. What's that got to do with me?
Lin Yun looked bewildered. The commotion had drawn the attention of the players nearby. "Are you going to fight goblins? Great, we'll come too." "We're good at fighting goblins," and so on. Clearly, they thought this goblin-slaying quest was probably a beginner's task. After all, weren't goblins the lowest-level monsters in most games?
"Ugh... Let's not. I remember goblin caves being really narrow. If too many people go, it'll be cramped. Besides, these guys..." Female Fighter frowned slightly as she looked at the players in their "strange outfits," who didn't seem reliable at all.
"Exactly. Taking a bunch of dead weight along would be a real pain." The young Warrior nodded, looking thoroughly convinced.
Still, maybe it was just Lin Yun's imagination, but with so many people suddenly wanting to join their goblin-slaying expedition, the guy seemed to be getting carried away. His face was full of arrogance, as if he were thinking, So I really am the main character.
"Come on, let's go. The girls in the village are waiting for us," Female Fighter urged.
"Yeah, let's go. These people seem like they're up to no good." Female Mage, who had a keen sense for these things, looked at the strangely dressed players. Some of them were openly leering at various parts of her body, their eyes practically dripping with lust. It made her sick.
By comparison, Lin Yun, this "Adventurer," seemed oddly dependable.
"If you don't mind, could I come along? I'm a Thief, and I have Dark Vision. I'd be useful for scouting around inside the cave." Just then, a rather handsome-looking guy dressed in leather armor and a dark cloak spoke up.
Lin Yun took a closer look at him and noticed that his ears looked rather pointed. All right, he was an Elf player.
Of course, this player couldn't really be an Elf in the real world. In the space they'd visited earlier, they could choose their race before selecting a class. Given the range of options—which was enough to drive anyone with obsessive-compulsive tendencies crazy—and because Lin Yun didn't want to attract too much attention, he'd chosen the most ordinary race, human. His attributes had then changed to:
Strength 14, Dexterity 8, Constitution 18, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 17, Charisma 16
Humans had two ways to receive their attribute bonuses. The first was +1 to every attribute. The other was +1 to two attributes of your choice, or +2 to one attribute. They also gained a feat and a skill proficiency.
Lin Yun had chosen the first option. It still appealed to his obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but at least it didn't bother him as much.
This guy, on the other hand, had probably chosen Elf. Judging by his slightly coppery complexion, he was likely a Wood Elf. If Lin Yun remembered correctly...
Wood Elves had +2 Dexterity and +1 Wisdom. They were also proficient with longswords, shortswords, longbows, and shortbows. Their unusual way of moving made them faster than ordinary humanoids, and they were better at hiding in natural environments such as thickets, heavy rain, and snowfall.
Elves also had the standard trait of low-light vision: they could see twice as far as humans in dim light. They were immune to magical sleep effects and gained a +2 bonus to saving throws against enchantment spells. Since Elves were the first race to use magic, their experience also gave them a +2 bonus when overcoming Spell Resistance and a +2 bonus when identifying magic items. They even had a +2 bonus to Perception.
Compared to the straightforward bonuses humans got, Elves had a whole pile of special traits.
"An Elf? Sure, that works. We could use a Thief." The young Warrior, Female Fighter, and Female Mage exchanged glances. At last, the young Warrior held out his hand to the Thief. "Welcome aboard."
"Sure. I look forward to working with you." The Thief shook the young Warrior's hand, then pulled his own back. He seemed to glance at Lin Yun again by accident, but ultimately said nothing.
"All right, we're short on time. Let's get going." The young Warrior hurried to leave.
"Wait. Are you planning to go just like that?" The Thief suddenly stopped the young Warrior and asked.
"Why not?" the young Warrior asked, confused.
"Honestly, I don't know if this is your first time fighting goblins, but they usually live in narrow caves. If you use a longsword in there, it'll be easy to get it knocked aside." The Thief pointed at the sword at the young Warrior's waist.
"Oh, don't worry about that. With my swordsmanship, a few measly goblins will be no match for me. I'll send them flying!" The young Warrior wore a confident grin.
"No. If that's how you're going to approach this, then I'll stop you from going to your deaths, even if I have to risk my life. And you—are you really planning to take down goblins with just your fists? You have to understand that goblins are tough. It's hard to kill them with bare hands, which means you'll have to spend more energy killing each one. Even a small goblin tribe has at least ten or twenty members. That means each of us will have to fight at least four or five. Are you sure you can kill them all before they swarm you? Goblins also usually coat their weapons with poison made from their feces mixed with some herbs. It's a crude concoction, but it's extremely potent. If you get cut, you could easily be poisoned. And if you are, we might not be able to save you, because there's no specific antidote for goblin poison." The Thief spoke as if he were an expert in killing goblins, carefully explaining a whole lot of things.
From behind his helmet, Lin Yun gave the guy a knowing look. Clearly, the Thief had read the Goblin Slayer novel, or watched the anime, or read the manga. He knew a great deal about goblins.
Lin Yun had planned to say all this once they were outside, but he'd chosen to keep quiet so the players around them wouldn't get suspicious. He hadn't expected this guy to say it instead.
"Then what do you think we should do?" Female Fighter frowned and turned to the Thief.
"First, Warrior, you should bring one or two close-combat weapons. A thick wooden club or a shortsword would work. Fighter, you should bring one or two small daggers that you can hold in your hands, so you can use them to kill the goblins you knock down. And Goddess Priestess, you'd better change into chainmail to protect yourself. As for the Wizard, just keep track of the Warrior's position—or, um, the Priest's. Those two should be able to protect you better. Remember, you're a Wizard. If an enemy gets close, the consequences will be serious." Before anyone realized it, the Thief had more or less taken command and was giving everyone new instructions. But when he looked at Lin Yun, he couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Lin Yun's clothes were much like those worn by people in this world. His helmet in particular looked just like a certain someone's. More importantly, his complete silence made the Thief wonder if he really was that certain someone. Maybe the world was different, so the guy who couldn't use Divine Magic had become a Priest?
The Thief hadn't ruled out the possibility that Lin Yun was a player. But the receptionist's introduction had left him uncertain. He hadn't known that a background could really force its way into the setting. Because of what the receptionist had said, he'd automatically assumed Lin Yun was a local Priest. Maybe that part of the original story just hadn't been shown. Or maybe the players' arrival had changed things. Or maybe this was simply a parallel world that looked much the same.
After all, parallel universes existed in Dungeons & Dragons too. Even people who didn't follow the Marvel Universe, anime, or novels had heard of the concept.
Just because someone played Dungeons & Dragons didn't mean they watched anime, or knew this was the world of Goblin Slayer. A lot of the settings in Goblin Slayer were based on Dungeons & Dragons, after all. Well, everyone had their own interests.
Perhaps the Thief's lengthy explanation had drawn the attention of the players who had been pondering their options or waiting to be "assigned." One after another, a few more came over as Adventurers, hoping to join the goblin-slaying expedition. The Thief turned them all down with excuses: the cave was too narrow, too many people wouldn't work, and the current group was already as large as it could be.
The players who had come over because of what the Thief had said exchanged glances. They'd found their people. After confirming that they were all players, they simply formed a party of their own and prepared to set out.
This was starting to feel hopeless. Beneath his helmet, Lin Yun's face was full of despair.
Before you continue