"Are you sure of becoming an Adventurer mister?"

A nod will suffice to her answers.

"Alright! If so, please fill out this Adventure Sheet. Are you able to read and write?"

The quill still feels weird in my rough, scarless hands. So delicate and so light, unlike the graphite I have mostly used in my lifetime. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a muscular heavily tanned woman signing the same sheet that I was filling out. Our eyes met for a brief moment, the vibrant blood red of mine clashing with rich dark golden of hers. Then we turned our heads away facing what was in front of us.

I no longer saw her for the day after that.

"Let's see… 19 and… a Melee Fighter…?"

It's either a scout or that… Is there a problem?

"N-no… it's just that… you don't seem like a Melee Fighter to be honest… Oh! Forgive me for my rudeness sir!"

No need. Everybody could make the same mistake in my opinion. My body was indeed looked quite thin and frail on the outside, although there were hard condensed muscles inside this trench coat, inside this black tank top. Inside these clothes and endless weapons that do not belong to me.

"The requests are all in th— e-eh? A… Goblin quest? Sir, are you sure about doing this quest? Not to be rude, but most first time adventurers form a team of four at least…"

I stare at her. Hard.

"A-ah… E-even if you give me that scary stare I will no—"

Staring intensifies.

"All right! All right! I'll let you take the quest! Just… just don't stare at me like that again!"

Good.

Without further more words, I head out into the sunlight as a warrior with full armor came past me. Strange. He was the only one I have seen with full head armor on since others won't wear it for they fear their face won't be known publicly and be praised for a hero. Dumb people… if you die, it's just another body among the nameless people. First, live, then contemplate of getting famous.

…

…

…

I need a smoke.

*tak*

*puff*

*phew*

Let me tell you what happened. I was just a cosplayer. Nothing more, nothing less. A simple person just a few months ago who just minding my business doing what I wished to do at that certain time. Cosplaying was just one of my nerdy hobbies. Getting into the mood of the character, impersonating somebody who experienced something we could never experience, pretending to be somebody else was something I found to be pleasing. For me acting was something that made me look into the perspective of others, allowing me to be in the shoes of the tyrant 'Richard III', a boy who was driven to madness from 'King of the Flies', a priest who fell to the temptations he had so hardly suppressed in 'Notre Dame de Paris'… Since we couldn't speak French, we had to go with the translated version for the last one, but it wasn't so bad.

…

Anyways I was cosplaying, brooding as this guy I dressed up should… then…

…

…

…

I must have spaced out because I don't remember what happened then. The next thing I remember is the hard asphalt ground replaced with hard dense dirt and…

…

…

…

…

…

And monsters…

At first, I tried to run. Oh, how I tried to run away from the whole horde of them. How I tried to beg and plead to let my language go through their heads. How I squeezed my brain to recall all the Spanish I have learned in my young years to try and speak it to spare my life. Then, when it dawned on me that communication was impossible when I realized what they were going to do with me, I fought back like a little girl struggling against a pedophile's forceful hands as their iron grip prevented her to be released. I think I poked one in their eye and that was it the minute something stabbed me through my stomach. I screamed and forgot to fight back.

…

…

…

…

…

How they ripped me into shreds with their teeth, claws, body, fingers, magic, feet… How they burnt me with their torches, fireballs, steam, acid, poison…

How they killed me over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over…

…

I don't know how I know this, but after 300 hours, I finally got used to the pain.

…

and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over…

…

50 more hours from that, I decided I had enough.

…

…

I started to kill them with what I have brought along.

My cosplay materials, the character's weapons, his ax was lying, buried in the ground. I dug it up and the axe seemed real enough. Lo and behold, it was real and that was all I needed.

SPLAT

One down.

SPLAT

Two down.

SPLAT

Three down.

SPLAT

…

I died again.

SPLAT

I killed it.

SPLAT

I died. Didn't expect that monster's acid to be so strong.

SPLAT

I killed it.

Eventually, I lost count as I recovered more of what I have lost. One ax. Two machetes. A few handguns. Then I noticed something strange. I still had my clothes on. Clothes that had to be torn into pieces and pieces. Clothes that I shouldn't have had. Surprisingly, I found out that my equipment, his equipment, comes back after 24 hours. Great, I wouldn't need to worry about running out of the smoke.

But my face has also changed from what I remember mine. My face that was once probably fair was now ghastly pale and wan as if all of my blood has drained as if I was just a dead man walking. My eyes were red even without the contact lenses and how red they were… It was as if all the blood that had gone from my skin went straight to my eyes to shine my life, my soul, my callow youths that was destroyed during that 300 hours of pure absolute torturous experience of death.

Is this what he had gone through all his life? Then what for? What was the purpose of his everlasting life that was full of death and blood? What made him go on? What was his drive?

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Tell me… why the fuck do I need to know that?

I chose to become an adventurer because I needed a job to live in society. I chose to become an adventurer to live a life with meaning. I chose to be an adventurer so I could finally help those in need. I chose to become an adventurer to kill those fucking monsters so they can't hurt me back.

…? Is somebody calling me?

…

Oh. It's the man with full armor. But why is he calling me for?

"I heard you took the Goblin Quest"

So I did. What of it?

"Let me join you"

… for what reason?

"I have to kill goblins"

… no. An actual re—

"I have to kill goblins"

… that's a solid reason. His voice that was layered with sheer conviction persuaded me in an instant. Just don't die.

With that happy note, we started to walk towards our destination and in 15 minutes I would realize just how badly broken this man was similar to me. PTSD? Is that what they called it? Yeah. For some reason, this poor bloke had somehow gone through worse than me. 30 minutes from now, I would catch on his obsession with goblins and assume that those creatures were the ones responsible for his current state. And then, until lunch we would walk, silently, shoulder to shoulder as the glowing tip of the cigarette would touch my fingertips as a large, lazy, white smoke, foul but calm, would rise from it.

…

Don't smoke. It's foul and filthy as they will make your lungs black with malicious pain and rot your balls to wrinkly bags of skin and allow your dick to go limp most of the time. However, for me it's okay. I'm not affected by it at all…

…

So who am I you ask? Still didn't guess yet?

I'm just a pseudo Zombieman cosplayer who is an adventurer as a hobby.

All away from here, I see a little sway of redness from a distance attached to a little form that seemed to be an innocent child. She races up towards the two of us as I extinguish the orange glow from my cigarette with my palm as it seared my skin. Feels nothing like dying by being drenched by the acidic liquid.

The girl now curiously leans her small frame as she stares at us, peering at our outer appearances with her apricot-colored eyes moving up and down as if she was an inspector evaluating the two of us as if we were suitable to accomplish this village's plea of help from the green bastards.

"Hm? You both look weird…"

I brushed off the rude remarks. After all, she was just a child.

"Is that so?"

What is a child doing in such a time of peril? Although it wasn't the end of the world, a horde of goblins certainly meant the end of a village. My time in this horrific world has proven that much.

"Ummm…" The young girl fidgets in her spot, tapping her forefingers together as she avoids our eye contact and develops a sudden interest in her shoes. Then, with each word she grows confident and certain for why she was out here. "I… was ummm… worried you would get lost so I'm here to guide you!"

"This town is too small to get lost in!"

I pitifully stare at the retreating form of the sobbing girl as she rushed back towards her room as the abbess scolded the girl for going outside without her permission again. The child runs back to her friends to seek comfort from the manager of this holy house. A house where a servant of God tends to look after these parentless children on a small knoll.

No matter wherever it is, places like these needed more support. Children are obliged to laugh throughout their childhood, an innocent smile stretching their chubby little cheeks as wide as they can.

…

Especially those with no adults to guide them to pursue their happiness are in immediate help, like that child that guided us to this place. Like those children who are staring at the two of us fidgeting and giggling to themselves.

There is a need to guide them, but that guidance has no meaning if they are for the dead. First, they need to live to be guided, and that very fundamental aspect is being threatened at this very moment. This mission was no hobby nor was it any form of recreation. This mission is an obligation that needs to be done.

Back then, I had to be selfish and turn my back on those who needed help to sustain their lives. I had a life on my own, and I had people who I cared that needed my support. But now… this feels like as if I'm inside an arcade room, in front of a blazing screen with an unlimited amount of coins in my stack. Endless continues, endless retries. With nobody to care about, with nobody to be saddened by my death…

…

…

…

But now, I could help them with nothing to lose. And I shall continue until I stop living.

…

…

…

Can I stop living?'

I can feel the villagers whispering and gossiping to themselves. After all, smart guy and I were a pair of oddball adventurers. Him being covered with armor are not very talkative and me being a creepy looking man who looks like a necromancer's familiar, pale and dead.

I stare curiously at my companion as he started to ask the villagers some questions. Then as the man gave some coins to a villager to buy him some materials I butted in asking him what we were dealing with.

"Wanderers" Spoke the man getting straight to the point. "Goblins that are chased from their homes for numerous reasons. They are here for a new home, establishing it in this village which will provide them food to give them strength, and women to debauch to replenish their numbers"

I wondered and spoke my thoughts to the man, asking if he had a plan.

"Yes," He answers curtly. "We kill every Goblin"

…

With a click, I lit my next cigarette. Sounds good to me.

It feels like home, sitting with my grandmother, and mother as we would sometimes get rid of the organs from dried fish, or fermenting some other vegetables or meat. This time, I was with a stranger I met today as we were sharpening the long wooden scrap woods into sharp long stakes. With my weapons not well suited for sharpening and him not wanting to risk his weapons getting dull we had to borrow carpentry tools. We also got some leftover fencing materials.

Sitting at the top of a hill far from the mountains—to hide from the sight of goblins, who my companion was positive that they were in the forest behind the village—we did our job of carpentry.

While doing our job, the red-haired child came again and stayed with us, peering over our shoulders, flopping on her stomach with her hands supporting her face, or sometimes sitting between us and twisting her head side to side. But after taking a whiff of the smoke that permeated my clothes she pinched her nose as she stuck out her tongue indicating that it stank as she leaned towards my companion. But before she got into a more comfortable position, I pointed towards the distant figure that was getting closer and larger by the second. Her clothes indicated that she was the abbess, probably out here to take the little girl back to the orphanage.

"Yipes!" Yelped the girl as she ran for her life. The abbess came up, out of breath and decided to rest for a bit and check on the two of us too.

"I'm so sorry…" She said catching her breath. "I told her not to bother the two of you…"

Both my companion and I denied that the girl was in our way of work. I even told her that I found her existence to be pleasant and the aged woman sighed in relief. Then, my companion started to ask more questions to the abbess, suddenly standing up. After a few minutes of questioning, my companion located the crop storage house that was made out of stone, but not well built. After the abbess left we hauled our woodwork and set off to finish making the fences. Then the companion told me what he was thinking.

"That place would most certainly be the goblin's main target" He spoke as we trudged along side by side. "The one place we must keep them away from"

I thought for a while, then looked back at my companion. I'll think of something for them. We went into the house of God and started to work on attaching the stakes.

We could've hired some other folks, but my companion left them to other tasks of digging the irrigations deeper and wider so that it was capable of drowning a child and create great difficulty for one to get across. Then, the villagers would spend the rest of their time harvesting their crops and have a nice happy, small but merry festival to provoke the goblins to come and invade their lands, which my companion and I would be waiting for them.

Goblins were naturally nasty creatures who resented others from being happy. They were filthy, filled with jealousy and hatred that urged them to ransack and defile the people filled with joy and love; hence, the festival was taking place.

We kept on carving and plotting, coming up with more ideas to exterminate every last one of them. Hopefully, they wouldn't realize the difference in the village.

Behind our backs, parentless children were watching us with deep curiosity, their big wide eyes staring at us as they loudly whispered amongst themselves, thinking that we couldn't hear them speak.

How cute. I could even hear their lips moving.

With a quick turn, one of my eyes met several of theirs as a wicked malevolent red flashed at them. They squealed with terror and retreated hastily back to where they were as I turned my head back and focused on my work.

Not too wide with the crossbeams, he said. Not too wide or else the goblins would slip right through them. But not too narrow too. Too narrow and the goblins would climb them like a ladder. We tried our best, and with two men doing this, we managed to finish our job before sunset as the two of us stared into the beautiful sky, turning dark as it would soon shine two moons.

"The sunset is red and dark…" Muttered my companion as we carried our fences. "It will rain soon"

I wondered how he knew that.

"My sister told me"

Must've been a great sister.

"She was"

I spoke no more of his dear family member, knowing quite well what must have happened to her. Unpleasant events are not worth talking about unless the one who went through We trudged to where the irrigation was and at there, we satisfied our throats from thirst. My companion filled his leather sack with water and I just sip it directly from the irrigation, we met one of the farmers who was taking a rest from the harvest. I asked him how the harvest was going.

"We'll be done by tomorrow" Then the farmer looked a bit more forlorn as he seemed to recall his past. "It's better'n five years ago y'know? When monsters trampled our fields, destroyed our homes…"

"I know"

I didn't, but I didn't say that out loud.

"You two would! You're adventurers" Laughed the old farmer, but then he once again developed that sense of sadness around him as the last beams of sunlight glazed our eyes. "Back then… only the villages that adventurers went to survived…"

…

…

…

"We'll do what we can"

Sure we would.

"We did what we could" Spoke my companion the next day as he stared at the defenses he had put up with me. "Thank you for your assistance"

I shook my head digging the ground with a shovel that I borrowed from the villagers, setting up my trap. Everything that we had done was all of his ideas after all. Even with my unique gruesome abilities, there was a high chance of a few goblins escaping if I were to face them alone.

My companion kicked one of the fences, creating an obvious gap between them as he stared towards the mountains where the wanderers were at.

"Now…" He spoke staring into the mountains. "We wait"

Then he turned his head to me.

"But what are you doing?"

I stood up and answered his question.

The goblins came and lo and behold it rained, true to my companion's words. They came as the scout led them to the place where it should've been a plain open field, but now there was a fence that thwarted the goblins from plundering the villager's lands. The scout paid dearly for his wronged information as he was beaten to death by his members.

The green bastards now try the irrigations as one of them foolishly jumped into the water. The pikes that were installed pierced him to death. The others laughed at his stupid death until another shouted out as he found the gap in the fence. They are coming closer… closer… closer… They slowly, one by one, go through the fence with a vile smile stretched upon their faces… as th—

Then he attacked. My companion attacked, jumping out of the bushes as he slammed one with his torch, sending the worthless creature tumbling onto the wet ground. Without hesitation, my companion rushed towards the stunned goblin and drove his shortsword deep into his head. With this dramatic entrance, the armored man successfully stopped the goblins for a brief moment as they too were stunned by his sudden appearance. But soon, they charged right at him, howling gibberish.

The first in line was the first to die as the shortsword, being even longer than the goblin's arm, pierced his neck, but the goblins were fast and true to his words they weren't geniuses, but at the same time, they weren't idiots. They surrounded him in an instant, but he never let go of his control over the situation as he put up his shield, intercepting a goblin that was charging right at him. Then, he immediately swung his sword in a long arc, managing to slice a goblin's stomach that jumped up at him, but it was too shallow.

Thankfully, he didn't panic. Next, he killed the one latched onto his shield with a thrusting strike.

…

…

…

My turn.

I began to realize one of my flaws in this little ambush the moment that the young red-haired girl came between my companion and me. She choked on the foul smell. Smell. Scent. Although it was raining, I couldn't leave that factor untouched, which had the potential of ruining our ambush so I had to come up with a way to stop the stench from reaching the goblins' noses.

Thus I came up with an idea to be buried in dirt, just a few feet away from the outside of the fence. My companion also stated that it wasn't a bad idea.

As it rained, I went into the hole that I had dug. It was comfortable since the ground was soft, but it felt dirty, thanks to the rain. Then, when I was in, I asked my companion to cover me with the soil, enough so that the rain wouldn't wash it away to reveal my vulnerable self. He did as I complied and I laid down in the dirt, my head propped up as I witnessed everything with a single eyeball, calmly watching the scene unfolding in front of me. Now…

…

I stood up like a zombie. With the strength of an A-Class Hero, shoving off the dirt was an easy task as slowly made my way to the goblins that were solely focusing on the man that was slaughtering their kin.

I raised my ax and brought it down. The goblin in the rear had his head smashed like a watermelon as the axe crunched the bone and brains, and the timing was good too. The moment the goblin's head cracked open was also the moment when thunder rang. Nobody noticed this goblin's death. I raised my ax again and brought it down. This time they noticed me as they screeched in surprise as my left hand lashed out and grabbed one of their heads. Strength of an A-class hero… they truly are strong. With immense pressure I applied on my hands, the goblin's head shattered.

Now, all of them are truly panicking. Beyond the fence in the land of the humans was that goblin obsessed man who killed every stinking goblin, and right behind them was me, a strange-looking thing who just performed extreme strength.

A few decided to flee, but they can never outrun me. After all, I doubt they could outrun a bullet.

BANG

They couldn't as they were peppered with bullets. If the bullets were small, I would've commented that they would look like beehives, but these weren't normal bullets. They were bullets that the Hero Association made for Zombieman, an S-Class Hero. One bullet tore a goblin into two…

…

I must limit my use of these handguns for I could easily harm a comrade or a bystander with these dangerous materials. Unless I'm 100% sure there isn't anybody around, I won't be using these… and I certainly WON'T use these red marked magazines… I tried to use them once in an isolated area and found out that these were only for extremely high-level monsters.

Thunk

I feel blood trickling down the side of my head. I whipped my head and stared coldly at the goblin who just shot me in the head. Without more to say, with ease, I pulled out the arrow from my head thanks to my skull protecting the tip from entering the brain. But before I could do anything, a small ax flew and landed with a thunk on the goblin's head, killing it instantly.

I stared at the man who was panting heavily as he made his way through the fence and he fell on his fours as I immediately rushed to help him. As he tried to take his helmet off, I did it for him, allowing me the access to see his young face and dead eyes. He throws up having trouble to breathe and I try my best to soothe him by patting his back, allowing the contents to spill on the ground.

"I'm fine…" He croaked, reaching for his helmet. "I'm fine… How many did you kill…?"

Sixteen. I'm positive I killed sixteen. I was counting the numbers of them as he asked me to.

"I killed eight…" He growled, putting his helmet on and strapping it firmly on his head. "So… twenty-four…"

Then, he stood rigid, his eyes rolling across the dead bodies, inspecting every single one of them.

"Twenty… four?"

He sounds uncertain and I wondered what had happened to him. Then, when he suddenly picked up the goblin's spear and hurtled it towards the irrigation, I saw what happened.

The goblin scout who I presumed dead by the others was still alive and somehow made its way across the irrigation, probably using the dead goblin as a stepping stone. The spear tore its head as the force knocked out one of its eyeballs as they landed with a sickening squelch.

"Twenty… five" My companion breathed heavily as the rain beat down on us as lightning flashed once more. Then, he stumbled and I caught him. He was exhausted for sure. Even when he skillfully dealt with those who managed to get inside, they somehow had him injured as I could feel his muscles scream in agony.

"We've… slain all goblins…" Huffed my companion as I hoisted him up and giving him a piggyback ride.

I know. I know and get some sleep. You were lacking that since yesterday.

"I… suppose so…"

With that happy note, I went to the orphanage once again and was greeted with the red-haired girl, with a broom tightly gripping the handle. But why was she here when the night is dangerous and full of terrors?

"I-I had to at least see who was out there knocking!"

That, dear innocent child, is your headmistress's duty, not yours. Is she informed of your actions at this very moment? However, she smartly avoided this question entirely.

"Did you beat up the goblins?" She asked, jumping up and down as she opened the door wide enough for me to go inside. Well… yes. Yes, we did. We killed them with no casualties thanks to him. The young girl sniffed again like a young pup and made a grotesque face once again. Was it the smoke or was it the stench of mud, blood, and other substances? But first thing is first. Does the abbess have any medicine or healing miracles?

"Hmmm… no. Headmistress doesn't have any miracles…" Spoke the child sadly. Sad believing that she wasn't able to help either one of us. What a kind, pure soul this girl had. Then she spoke again with her innocent voice. "How about you two rest? Or… would you two like to go home?"

Home… I may not have such a thing, but perhaps…

I glanced at the sleeping companion. Maybe… just maybe this man has somebody waiting for him. After all, I needed somebody to treat his beaten up body and it seems like I couldn't get that help from anywhere here.

Well then… home it is.

"Umm… well… Thank you!"

The girl called out and with a simple thumbs-up, I answered her back, walking through the rain, carrying the companion of mine back to where we started from. Our job was done, but never finished, I trudged towards the Adventurers' Guild as the night went flying by. Dawn broke as tiny rays of sunlight shone on my face as the clouds cleared, leaving the sky bright blue with white cotton puffs floating around. It was a long walk that took many hours but being a man with unlimited stamina, it was no problem.

As I went near the city, I saw the Temple of the Earth Mother and many adventurers going in and out. Then, from the little talks made by the surrounding people, I got the gist of what was going on. The people of the sanctuary temporary turned the temple into an impromptu hospital for the adventurers who just came back from a Rockeater extermination mission. I kicked open the door and called out for a medic. Immediately, a young girl in her early teens came rushing towards us, but abruptly stopped and fidgeted adorably not knowing exactly what to do.

All I needed was a place for him to rest. She smiled brightly, then led us towards a place.

"Umm… Were you two also battling the centipede?"

No. We were off hunting goblins.

"O-oh I see… Umm… but are you alright…? You have… dried blood on your head…"

Hm? Oh. She shouldn't be worried. I heal pretty fast, but she didn't need to know that. All she had to do was to patch him up.

"Covered in blood and mud… I must clean him up and administer first aid. Please wait here!" Then the girl dashed off to help him and I sat down for a bit, my fingers reaching for smoke, then stopping abruptly after realizing that this was a place where such actions were probably not very welcomed. Then, I stood up, knowing that he was in safe hands and proceeded to part ways with him. Someday I will meet him again and probably we would go on a goblin slaying mission together. He was a good fellow, silent and straightforward. A man of focus and intelligence. A man that was likable to somebody like me…

Entering the Guild once again, I walked up to the Guild Girl and told her about the success. She seemed startled at the sight of dried blood on my head but quickly dismissed it as she saw no wound on my head. She paid me my share and left half for the man who was resting in the Temple of Earth Mother and immediately, I went for the next quest on the board. Since I was a Porcelain rank, I couldn't do high-level quests so I had to settle with rats in the sewers. I mean… how bad could they be?

(2 hours later)

"SKREEEE—"

A swing of an ax brought silence to the last fucking rat. Now I know the feeling of what it feels like to be annoyed by sweat instead of blood. Even with skill, I lacked experience so this was an important job. Somehow, these bastards got big and bad due to the toxic chemicals in the sewers. Even in our world, shit didn't make rats or bugs into big fuckers. Just what in the world were these city people dumping into their water system?

This quest was a simple neverending quest and the pay differed from how much you slaughtered. Today, I just wandered around the sewers then, getting fed up that only a few rats showed up, I used one of my machetes to create loud noises that banged and clanged on the stone walls of the sewers. Soon they came and to be honest I was surprised at how they charged at me but comparing them to what I faced when I first came here…

…

They were a bunch of flies. I kept on killing and kept on finding more of those disgusting creatures and before I knew it, the kill count went past a hundred and now it was at 122. I was not feeling bad, but this sweat! That one thing was making things more irritable and annoying to m—

*skritch*

*skritch*

Oh for fuck's sake, what now? I grumbled to myself as I threw the cigarette I have bee smoking onto the ground and stamping it out with my foot. Now… roaches? Giant Roaches? Other Porcelain rankers said that they were a big pain than those Giant Rats…

…

Eh, whatever… More money for me from the Government since they are the ones paying for the cleaners of the sewers.

Leaving the 122 bodies of Giant Rats behind, I brought out my handguns with extreme laziness. I practiced using the ax and the machetes enough. And I don't plan on wasting a few more hours on these bastards using the same weapon.

BANG

No. No, I don't intend to do so.

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

But there is a problem.

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

This is way too easy. Suddenly, I can finally see just how scary our modern world is, even when the world I came from didn't had this much technology... But then again, we were bound to catch up sooner or later.

"Welcome back sir. Did y— OH MY LORD!"

The Guild Girl screams and half of the Adventurers and clients turned their attention towards me and gasped in shock and disgust. They had the right to do so for I didn't even take a dip in the water to get rid of the new fluids that covered my whole body. Fucking damnit. I forgot to keep my limited ammo in check, which resulted in me using my machetes to kill every single one of the bugs that tried to tears me into pieces. Caked with blood and bug juice I calmly walked into the guild, smoking the last cigarette for the day. In summary, I looked like shit and felt like shit. To others, it was as if I went through hell and came back.

"Are you hurt? Are you in pain? Medic! Healers! We—"

I tried to calm her down without touching her. I was fine. There was no need for medics or healers. I only needed money, some food, and a bed to rest. Nothing more.

"I-I see… Sorry for that sir. I was worried about your wellbeing. Now, just how many did you exterminate in the sewers?"

The Guild Girl after calming down sat back down on her chair and picked up her quill to record my actions. When she was ready and stable, I told her what I did.

The Guild Girl shook her head in exasperation, obviously having trouble believing my words and when she asked me to state the truth I told her what I've already told her. The truth that is so absurd that a single Porcelain rank Adventurer could kill so many creatures, without sustaining any injuries. Now, it looks like the Guild Girl is quite upset as the Inspector came down to see what the commotion was about. After the two had a brief conversation definitely regarding me, the Inspector, with eyes filled with suspicion stared at me directly into my eye and asked me to tell the truth one more time. She added that this was my last chance before they revoked my license as an Adventurer.

I told them the truth and the Inspector's eyes widened in shock.

"Wait… he's… he's telling the truth?"

"N-no way… Just… just who are you?!"

I stared at the Guild Girl and the Inspector who were slowly backing up as the whispers around me started to gradually grow larger and larger. They were stunned, curious, anxious of who this novice adventurer was

Me?

…

…

…

…

…

I'm just a dead man walking.

I know, I know. West Door made another story. He didn't update any of his original shit. People, I have a family of bunnies in my head. More plot bunnies, more bunnying, and ultimately more bunnies.

... shit.

Don't worry, though, I'll focus on what I have to update for the moment...

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Or am I~?

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