Little John desperately wanted to kill his future father-in-law.

But he couldn't.

So, he had no choice but to become an Adventurer.

The morning fog had just lifted in the autumn forest, but a chill still hung in the air.

"Mary is the prettiest girl in our village. You're a lucky man," Gunter said, laughing heartily.

He walked ahead of Little John, beating at the surrounding brush with a long wooden stick.

"I remember when you were little, you used to pull Mary's braids. Mary chased you all over the village with a broom, like she was chasing a dog. And what happened? You were the one who ended up falling into a pile of cow manure."

"We were just kids back then," Little John said with a sheepish smile.

"Mary's a good girl." Gunter stopped and scanned the undergrowth. "So why are you out here trying to be an Adventurer?"

"You know... about Mary..." Little John trailed off.

"Oh, right, I remember now. That old cheapskate. He really gouged me when I was leaving the village," Gunter said resentfully.

Little John knew he was talking about Mary's father. As the village's only Blacksmith, he had a personality that nobody much cared for.

He and Mary had grown up together—they were childhood sweethearts. But Mary's miserly father, the Blacksmith, had never liked her, always saying a girl was useless for the family business. And now, he was even planning to marry Mary off to an old man, just because the man offered 6 Gold Coins.

Little John knew that brutish old man had beaten his own wife to death just a few months ago. He'd gone to confront Mary's father about it, but the old cheapskate's only reply was, "You can have her if you give me 6 Gold Coins."

Little John and Mary put their heads together and decided to do whatever it took before winter arrived.

Mary spent all day washing clothes for the rich to save money, while he chose to become an Adventurer.

There was no other way. There was only one month until winter, and earning 6 Gold Coins was extremely difficult.

After all, a laborer at the docks earned only 6 Silver Coins a day. To make that kind of money, Little John would have to haul sacks for a hundred days without spending a single coin on food or drink. The only way to earn that much in a month was to become an Adventurer.

"Don't worry. The forest is dangerous, but you'll be fine with me," Gunter said, raising his long stick. "Here, look."

Little John stared and saw a venomous red-and-black-striped snake coiled around the other end of the stick.

His pupils shrank as he instinctively took a step back. "A Red Ring Snake! Gunter, be careful!"

The venom of the Red Ring Snake is incredibly potent. Hunters jokingly call it the "Chill Wind," because a bite makes your body feel a spreading numbness, as if you've been hit by an icy blast. They say a single bite is enough to fell an elephant.

Before the words even left his mouth, Gunter flung the long stick aside. A blade flashed—SHING! SHING!—and the venomous snake, now in three pieces, fell into the nearby brush.

He drew and sheathed his sword in the space of a few breaths. 'A true veteran Adventurer,' Little John thought, lowering the Longsword he had just drawn and watching Gunter with envy.

"This is child's play for an Adventurer. Once you're more experienced, one trip into the Nightmare Forest—with the herbs, game, and bounties—you can easily make 40 Silver Coins. After food, lodging, and equipment maintenance, saving twenty or so silver coins a day is no problem at all. And if you manage to take down a Low Level Magical Beast, a single Beast Core can sell for a few Gold Coins."

"The money's easy," Gunter continued, laughing as he led the way again. "And you've got goblins practically handing you cash. 3 Silver Coins an ear. Come on, let's head to their den."

Little John grunted in agreement. He glanced at the leather cord wrapped around his wrist, from which hung a small wooden charm. It was a good luck charm Mary had made for him.

'As a hunter who's still pretty green, I'm so lucky that Gunter agreed to take me with him. He left the village to become an Adventurer three years ago.'

He hurried to catch up, and soon their figures vanished into the Nightmare Forest.

The Nightmare Forest was a vast expanse of land situated at the heart of the Three Great Human Kingdoms. It was thousands of years old and teeming with danger. Aside from Adventurers, not even lumberjacks or Hunters dared to venture too deep within its borders.

But if you were to ask any veteran Adventurer what you'd find most of in the forest, they would undoubtedly say: goblins.

These short, green-skinned creatures looked like malnourished children with round heads and spindly limbs. They had mouths full of sharp, yellowed teeth and two long, pointed ears that jutted out from the backs of their heads. Their nature was a contradiction: greedy yet foolish, cunning yet cowardly.

A pack of two or three would only dare to ambush a lone traveler from the bushes. A group of nine or ten might be brave enough to attack a passing merchant caravan by night. But a mob of more than twenty would even dare to raid nearby villages for supplies.

Every bestiary listed them as one of the vilest monsters. The great Kingdoms all funded the Adventurer Association to post a standing bounty quest: one left ear in exchange for 3 Silver Coins. This "bread-and-butter" quest was a major reason the Adventurer profession had grown so large.

Unlike farmers, Blacksmiths, or other craftsmen, Adventurers owned no land or fixed assets. They lived by taking on quests for pay, selling their labor and, often, their very lives. In the big cities, people privately called them vagrants, but here, on the borders of the Nightmare Forest, they had a more... unique moniker: Ear Cleaners.

"Ear Cleaners, my ass. They're just jealous." Gunter stopped and pulled a stained parchment map from his coat.

After carefully identifying the direction, he casually stuffed the map back into his coat and said with a smile, "This work is freeing, the pay is good, and as long as you're diligent enough, those farmers and laborers can't even hope to keep up."

"Thank you for everything," Little John said sincerely.

But he also recalled a rumor he'd heard. Choosing his words carefully, he said, "I heard at the tavern... that the forest has been particularly dangerous recently."

"That's just stuff to scare the newbies. Those guys say that all the time," Gunter scoffed. "When I first became an Adventurer three years ago, I went into the forest with two teammates. I wasn't afraid in the slightest. Then, while we were making camp for the night, we heard this rustling in the bushes... Turned out six goblins had snuck up on us in the dark."

Gunter pulled the Great Sword from his back and brandished it showily. "They started screeching, trying to intimidate us, but you know what happened..."

Little John watched him, captivated, waiting for the rest of the story.

With a WHOOSH, Gunter swung the Great Sword through the grass before him. "I let out a war cry, Charged, and cleaved right through them!"

"Their heads all flew right off."

Bits of green grass drifted down, as if reenacting Gunter's past glory.

Little John played along, clapping and cheering.

In the last two days at the Ear-Cleaning Master Tavern, he'd heard that an entire party of Adventurers had vanished without a trace.

And it was a veteran party that had worked together for a long time, with a balanced composition of ranged and melee classes.

It wasn't unheard of for Adventurers to die, but for an entire party of three to be wiped out with no survivors was highly unusual.

This turn of events had the Adventurers in the tavern buzzing. They were all talking about forming larger parties before heading into the forest.

Still, watching Gunter in action put Little John at ease. 'With his help,' he thought, 'I can definitely earn those 6 Gold Coins.'

"Getting tired? The nest is just up ahead." Gunter handed him a waterskin. "Stick close to me. We're about to go collect our pay from the goblins."

"Okay, I'm counting on you, Gunter." Little John took the waterskin and tilted his head back, taking a large gulp.

"Not far now," Gunter said as he took the waterskin back. He didn't drink from it, instead stowing it directly in his pack.

After a few more steps, Little John started to feel his mind grow hazy. He staggered, swaying unsteadily. "Gunter... I feel..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he collapsed into the grass with a THUD.

"Feeling what?" Gunter walked over to the unconscious Little John and looked down at the young man from his village. "Dizziness is perfectly normal."

"Since you've been calling me 'Big Brother,' I'll teach you your first lesson of the forest: never accept food or drink from a stranger."

He then knelt and slowly drew the Longsword from Little John's hip.

"A fine blade. Worth 2 Gold Coins, at least," Gunter remarked, turning the Longsword over and examining it.

"See?" He laid the edge of the blade against Little John's neck and smiled. "Making money in the Nightmare Forest really is easy."

As he spoke, Gunter began to draw the blade across.

Just then, the COO-COO of a bird echoed through the woods.

Gunter shot to his feet, holding the Longsword defensively before him. He sniffed the air sharply. There was a faint, foul odor.

"Looks like we have company." He began to move slowly, scanning his surroundings.

CLICK. Gunter felt his foot press down on something. A moment later, the brush a dozen meters ahead of him rustled, and three green figures emerged. Goblins, by the looks of them.

'9 Silver Coins.'

Without a second thought, Gunter let out a shout and charged.

He held his Great Sword at a slant, moving like the wind.

He crossed the dozen-meter distance in just a few strides.

He twisted his waist.

Planted his foot.

All that was left was the cleaving blow to end the fight.

But then, Gunter suddenly felt the ground give way. With a CRASH, he plunged into a pitfall trap.

"AHHH—!" A piercing scream echoed through the forest.

A nearby bush was thrown aside, and a Green-skinned Goblin holding a Long Spear charged forward. "You is deady-dead!"

He rushed to the edge of the trap and looked down at Gunter, who was impaled on several spears and still twitching. The goblin muttered in confusion, "Chief, that not a wild boar."

Another, slightly shorter goblin with a bald head walked up behind him and kicked him out of the way. He stared down at Gunter, who was now quite dead, and said calmly, "I can see that."

"Green Egg Leader, there's another live one over there."

"Shut up. Call me Handsome Guy Leader."

"Right, Green Egg Leader."

...

WHACK. A few frogs were decapitated, ripped in half, and tossed—skin, guts, and kicking legs included—into a large, soot-stained cauldron.

The water in the cauldron bubbled and sputtered. A goblin with a short tuft of white hair on its head stirred the contents back and forth with a thick branch.

Next came several fat, white worms. The goblin grabbed a worm by its hard, black head and yanked, pulling out its yellowish-green innards before flinging the body into the cauldron.

Then, a few unknown bird eggs and a large handful of wild berries.

Finally, several tubers. The white-haired goblin broke the plant roots into small pieces and, without washing the skin, tossed them dirt and all into the pot.

The color of the broth in the cauldron went from clear to yellow, then turned cyan after the berries were added, and finally shifted to green.

As the white-haired goblin stirred continuously, an indescribable stench filled the air.

Shire sat by the large cauldron, head bowed as he examined a silver necklace.

Ten days ago, his favorite game had just released its "Business Franchise" DLC. As a veteran player, he was overjoyed. He immediately brewed some tea, lit a cigarette, and pulled an all-nighter to experience it.

He never expected that the very next morning, as soon as he got to the office, he'd be sent to a client for a product presentation. On the way there, he really hit the jackpot.

When he first crossed over, the memories in his head told him that his original body was human—the son of a Baron who was wanted continent-wide for treason and whose entire family had been beheaded.

But looking at his current appearance, he didn't look human at all.

Shire used his long, slender green fingers to flip open the locket's cover. Inside was a portrait of a young girl with shoulder-length blonde hair, red lips, and pearly white teeth.

That was his sister. Of their entire family, only the two of them were left. His sister was beautiful, so he must have been handsome too. But now, he was a green-skinned goblin standing only 1.3 meters tall.

'What kind of crappy plot is this? A Song of Ice and Fire: Goblin's Game? Hey, Mr. Truck-kun, I really have you to thank for this.'

Searching his memories, Shire was certain the charge of treason was a conspiracy, a frame-up, but he couldn't identify the mastermind behind it.

His sister was nowhere to be found, and his own transformation into a goblin was also very strange. Unlike his sister, who had a High Tier Mage for a teacher, Shire was just an ordinary person who helped his father manage their domain. The enemy could have clearly just killed him. 'Am I just part of some twisted game?'

SNAP. Shire closed the locket and took a deep breath. In an instant, the blended stench of dirt, gamey meat, sour fruit, and feces assaulted him, making his eyes roll back. As the chief, he couldn't just go and kick over the pot of "lunch"—which was comparable to a can of surströmming—so he could only clutch the necklace and move to a rock farther away.

"This is no way to live. I have to turn back into a human, and soon," Shire muttered to himself, fanning the air with his hand to drive away the smell.

But turning back into a human was easier said than done. The only way Shire could think of was to contact his sister and have her figure out how to lift the Transformation Curse.

But not only did he have no way to contact her, he himself was now "prey" for human Adventurers.

As a goblin, the forest was full of dangers. They could die from food poisoning, get carried off and mauled by wild beasts, be killed by Adventurers, or beaten to death by other goblins. The possibilities were dazzlingly diverse and splendidly varied.

When he first joined this tribe, there were nine goblins. On his very first day, three of them were "harvested" by Adventurers, including their chief at the time.

Among the six goblins who survived by fleeing and hiding, a new chief emerged. Two days later, that chief was dead too.

He was swatted to death by a Fearsome Claw Bear, a Magical Beast that was emanating a faint black aura.

Only four goblins made it back to the burrow after that. In the end, Shire desperately used a set of Military Boxing moves to beat down one of them and become the new chief.

Three chiefs in just a few days. It was no different from Cheongwadae—the burrow was permanent, but the chiefs were disposable.

Therefore, Shire felt his top priority was to stay alive. Only by surviving would he have any hope.

'Staying alive is hard enough as it is.' Shire thought, calling up his panel to check it.

[Tombstone Artifacts: Shire Merlot]

[Race: Goblin (Human)]

[Danger Level: 0.5, Useless]

[Subordinates: 3]

[Personality: ???]

[Own State: Advanced Transformation Curse (Negative), Malnourished (Negative)]

[Title: Gang Leader]

"'Tombstone Artifacts.' Seeing those words always pisses me off," Shire muttered, his lips twitching. This was an Ability he'd had ever since he crossed over.

He closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink. In the space of his mind, a towering Black Obelisk stood at the center.

The Obelisk was jet-black and covered in cracks. There was no inscription, only three strange letters glowing at its base—one bright, two dim.

If he focused his consciousness on the letters, he could see their contents. The bright one was the Eye of True Sight, which allowed him to see the characteristics of others or of items. This function had activated when he became chief.

Of the two dim letters, one was the Scythe of Life. Its effect was to strip an Ability from a defeated enemy and either bestow it upon a subordinate or reclaim it.

The other was Domain Will, which allowed him to see the status of the Domain he controlled.

Both of these were very important Abilities. One was for developing his minions, and the other was essentially a map function. If he could activate them, his chances of survival would definitely be higher.

But Shire was still trying to figure out how to activate them. He deduced it might be related to the number of subordinates under his command, and that there were probably more letters on the Obelisk that hadn't appeared yet.

Shire opened his eyes and stared at his panel.

"Calling me useless? You're the useless one! Your whole family is useless!" he cursed.

"I am a master of everything from astronomy to geography, skilled in both scholarship and combat, omniscient and omnipotent. From Ireland to Qidan, from Athens to Philadelphia, from Rome to Constantinople—all were once within my sphere of influence."

"I've waged war against the nations of the world, married their princesses, disbanded the illegal organization known as the Divine Luo, and even served as a lapdog for the Great Ming."

"I have built magnificent cities, personally led the Charge on the battlefield, punched out the Fallen, kicked the Scourge, destroyed entire planets, and conquered the whole galaxy."

"And you're calling me useless?"

Though, all of this was accomplished in games.

GRRROWL—a sound rumbled from his stomach as hunger pangs struck.

Shire looked up at the simmering cauldron, and his entire body shivered.

'It's bad enough that goblins die so easily, but the stuff they eat is even more horrifying.'

Besides, the goblin Race had two major rules. One was that after the food was cooked, the chief ate first. Then, all the other goblins would fight over what was left in the pot.

'To this, I wish I could just depose myself.'

For the past few days, he had just been tossing the tubers he dug up into the embers to roast them.

Shire didn't know the name of these tubers. They were a bit thicker than Chinese yams and tasted something like potatoes.

Several days of eating saltless "roast potatoes" had given him acid reflux, and he had become lethargic from malnourishment.

'I really wish I could eat something normal. A dozen grilled oysters topped with minced garlic and ginger would be perfect, washed down with a few bottles of draft beer. Tsk tsk.'

Finally, after going to great lengths to train his subordinates to hunt wild boars, he had something to show for it.

Shire got up and walked over to Little John, whom he and his subordinates had dragged back. "See if he has anything to eat on him."

After searching for a long time, they found nothing but 30 Silver Coins.

"Broke bastard. Doesn't even have any food."

But on second thought, human Adventurers entering the forest could just hunt their own prey. No one would carry food with them.

Shire casually called up the other man's panel.

[Name: Little John Franklin]

[Race: Human]

[Danger Level: 1, Amateur]

[Personality: Cautious]

[Title: Future Hero]

"Hm? A Hero? This Nightmare Forest is really something else. Heroes can just sprout from the ground now? What's this, a gift from Mother Nature?"

...

Heroes were the bane of all Demons. They could even slay dragons, yet they were exceedingly rare. As far as Shire knew, the most recent Hero in history was the Dragon Slayer Hero Siegfried, from 110 years ago.

Yet, without exception, these powerful and rare individuals all started on the path of the Hero by killing goblins. Siegfried himself was even called the Goblin Slayer for having turned in nearly ten thousand goblin ears in his lifetime.

As everyone knows, we men from Tokyo University love to do two things: corrupt a Hero and redeem a Demon.

And now, a living, naive Hero lay at Shire's feet. 'How could this not be tempting?'

Shire knew he was naive from the information on his status panel, but given time to grow, the boy would inevitably become a true Hero.

Furthermore, his frayed, threadbare clothes, his broken leather shoes caked in mud, and his patched trousers all spoke volumes about his circumstances.

'Many Heroes rise from humble beginnings, after all. But this... this is a weakness I can exploit.'

'If I play my cards right, I can establish a channel to acquire supplies and intelligence.'

Shire wasn't about to just come out and say, "I'm Shire Merlot, the traitor with a bounty of 300,000 Gold Coins on his head. I'm inviting you to join my crew today. If we succeed in overthrowing the Kingdom, I'll grant you a Noble Title."

Doing so would be no different from saying, "I am Qin Shi Huang. I'm not dead, I'm just trapped in the Underground Palace. If you send me 50 bucks, I can lead my army to rebuild my dynasty, and I'll make you a king."

'It's best to build up enough trust between us before I ask him to help me find my sister.'

'And so, it was time for the interview.'

Holding the boy's "resume," Shire knew that a goblin trying to hire a Hero to work for him was the stuff of fantasy.

'But,' he thought, 'nothing is impossible. Besides, an opportunity like this won't come again.'

He stared at Little John's trembling eyelashes, his mind scheming like one of the outlaws of Liangshan Mountain, plotting how to recruit him.

'First step: play hard to get.'

...

With a SNIP, Little John felt as if someone had cut something.

His head was still spinning, but he instantly remembered what had happened. He squinted, scanning his surroundings.

"Get up, you're awake," a voice by his ear said in Common Speech.

Little John scrambled to his feet and looked around. He was at the entrance of a den. In the distance, two goblins squatted before a cauldron, brewing some concoction. The smell wafting from it was beyond description.

Before him stood another goblin—short, bald, and holding a Short Sword—staring at him coldly.

"Goblins?" Little John jumped, assuming a defensive stance.

Seeing him free, the two in the distance immediately grabbed wooden clubs and began to close in.

The goblin in front waved a hand at his companions, and they returned to what they were doing.

"If you're okay, you can leave," the goblin said, sheathing the Short Sword at his waist.

'Huh? He's not going to eat me?' Little John froze for a second, then remembered what happened before he passed out. "Where's my teammate?"

"Dead. Ran into our boar trap. Got impaled by Long Spears," the goblin said, his tone nonchalant.

Little John was floored. 'This turn of events makes no sense.'

He thought about the waterskin Gunter had handed him. 'I was probably drugged by Gunter, but I still don't know why.'

'And the veteran Adventurer who screwed me over was himself taken out by a few goblins.'

"Did you eat him?" Little John asked, staring hard at the goblin.

"We don't eat people." The goblin before him looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Er." Little John was taken aback, but then it dawned on him. "You can speak Common Speech?"

"Yeah. So?"

"But don't goblins speak goblin speech?"

"Gribble grobble waka waka," the goblin shouted to his companions, before turning back. "Like that?"

Little John's jaw dropped. 'My entire worldview is crumbling.'

'The goblins Adventurers always talk about are greedy, stupid, evil, and cowardly. You could use every negative word in the book to describe the species.'

'Adventurer parties mow down goblins like weeds, and they really are just like weeds, ripe for the slaughter.'

'He'd even heard veteran Adventurers say that to escape, goblins would knock down their own companions with clubs to slow down their pursuers.'

'But now, this goblin who had just outsmarted and killed an Adventurer was using Common Speech to tell him that they don't eat people.'

This was just too unbelievable. 'Are you even the same goblins they talk about back at the Ear-Cleaning Master Tavern?' Little John wanted to ask.

"So, what are you waiting for? An invitation to lunch?" the goblin asked.

'No thanks, I'm good,' Little John thought, waving his hands in refusal. He had just seen the other two goblins toss three dead rats, chopped in half, into the pot.

"Hurry and go. Humans can't stay in this forest for more than three days. Especially a rookie like you..." The goblin trailed off, but his meaning was clear.

Little John had heard that humans had a low resistance to the forest's corruption. Stay too long in the Nightmare Forest, and you'd start seeing illusions. Your mind would weaken, and you'd eventually descend into madness.

The handbook from the Adventurer Association recommended a maximum stay of three days.

He said nothing more, just lowered his head and started to walk away.

The scrapes and bruises all over his body throbbed with every step, but a deeper pain resided in his heart.

'My Longsword is gone. My Silver Coins are gone. Even if I make it back to town, I'm completely broke.'

'I could probably find a day's work as a laborer on the docks to make enough to eat.'

'But without a weapon, I can't go back into the forest. And even if I wanted to take a gathering quest, I don't even know where any of the plants grow.'

'Only veteran Adventurers have that kind of information, and no one's going to team up with a weaponless rookie.'

'Rent a weapon? Don't be ridiculous. Where would I get the money for a deposit?'

Little John heaved a long sigh. 'Mary... I've failed.'

When he'd left the village, he had gone to see Mary, only to find her by a large wooden tub, vigorously scrubbing clothes, a huge pile of laundry waiting beside her.

He hadn't called out to her then, simply turning and leaving in silence.

But now...

"You're a strange one. Free, and yet you're sighing up a storm," the goblin's teasing voice sounded from behind him.

"Come on, spit it out. Let's all have a laugh at your expense."

Little John looked back. The goblin was sorting through a pile of items, and in his hands was Little John's own Longsword.

"I..." Little John started, then hesitated. But then he glanced at the Lucky Card on his wrist, and an idea sparked.

"I am in a bit of trouble," he said. 'Maybe I can trick this stupid goblin into giving my Longsword back,' he thought. 'If worse comes to worst, maybe I can just grab it and run.'

After Little John explained, the goblin before him nodded. "I get it. So you just need money. What's so hard about that?"

"I'll provide for you."

...

Shire looked at Little John, who stood there dumbfounded, and he was inwardly ecstatic.

He had noticed the young man's dejection as he walked away, which is why he had deliberately picked up the Longsword and called out to him.

Sure enough, the young man had laid out his predicament.

The troubles of a young man were always the same: a father in debt, a gravely ill mother, a brother who needed to stay in school, and the girl he loved about to marry another.

Now that this champion of pure love had taken the bait, Shire was ready to show his fangs.

But he had to do so carefully. After all, his target's defining trait was caution.

Now for step two: seize the initiative.

"I'm Shire. And you are?" Shire asked, tilting his head up.

"Little John. Little John Franklin." Little John's brow twitched, as if he found it odd for a goblin to have a human name.

"Well then, respected Mr. Franklin, is it a large sum of money you require?" Shire asked, his hands behind his back, tapping his shoulders with the Longsword.

"I need..."

"It's no matter, even if it is. That's not a problem, Mr. Franklin," Shire interrupted.

"You can call me Little John." It seemed to be the first time in his life he'd been called Mr. Franklin, and he wasn't quite used to it.

"Little John, you can work for me."

"Hmm?" Little John was taken aback. 'Did I hear that right, or am I losing my mind?' "Work? Here?"

"No, Little John. I need you to handle some business for me."

"Business?" Little John asked dubiously, looking at the perfectly composed goblin before him.

"That's right. One moment." Shire turned and entered the burrow, emerging less than half a minute later at a brisk pace.

Two goblins followed behind him, carrying a large package.

"Sell the contents of this package. After you've fulfilled my procurement list, the rest of the money is your commission," Shire said, pulling one hand from behind his back. He held up a rolled, yellowish piece of paper.

"Procurement list?" Little John took the list and scanned it. There were only three items: 10 kilograms of smoked jerky, 10 kilograms of hulled rice, and 5 kilograms of fine salt.

"On this one job, you can earn over 40 Silver Coins," Shire said, hands clasped behind his back, puffing out his chest over his round belly.

Drawing on years of memories of helping his father manage their domain, he easily calculated the price margins. Even accounting for regional and seasonal fluctuations, the profit would be about the same.

"You're saying I can make 40 Silver Coins from one trip?" Little John's eyebrows shot up. That was about what an Adventurer made from a single foray into the forest. He didn't even notice he had unconsciously adopted a more respectful tone.

"That's right. And with none of the usual bloodshed. All you have to do is meet me at the spot marked on the map on the morning of the fourth day." Shire pointed to the package, indicating that the map was inside.

"You can also provide me with intelligence I need—gossip from among the other Adventurers."

"So you mean I'm free to do as I please for the next few days?" Little John asked.

"Correct. I'm not putting any restrictions on you. You can even go see your, er, Mary. So what do you think of the offer?"

Little John didn't answer immediately, and Shire waited, perfectly composed.

Man and goblin stared at each other in silence.

After a few seconds, Little John was the first to break the silence.

"You had this planned from the start. This is a setup," he said, staring into Shire's eyes, his tone level.

"Yes, it is." Shire had to applaud the man's caution. "So, what is your choice?"

"I could also..."

"Bring a party here to slaughter us," Shire cut in, tapping his back with the Longsword held behind him. "But do you have any idea what you'd be throwing away?"

"An opportunity. The single greatest opportunity to exploit the resources of this forest."

Little John remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"No one knows this forest better than we do. We know where all the... *lovely* plants grow."

"You can accept numerous gathering quests, have my people complete them, collect the bounties, and then use the money to make purchases from my list. The rest is your commission."

"In the meantime, you can run some of the safer jobs yourself to get familiar with the forest."

"I can even tell you what's happening in the forest. You could trade that information to other Adventurers for a tidy profit."

"Safe, efficient... isn't that a better deal than a one-time payment of 3 Silver Coins?"

"Or would you prefer scheming and backstabbing alongside teammates you can't trust? Wondering which one of them will put a knife in your back?"

"You know a lot about Adventurers, Mr. Shire. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were human." Little John stared, trying to see through the goblin's facade.

Shire just shrugged and gave a mysterious smile.

They both fell silent. The only sound was the CLANG, CLANG of Bai Mao the goblin stirring a large cauldron.

After a long moment, Little John asked, "Why help me?"

"This isn't help. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"Why me?"

"You're a novice, and you're in trouble."

Hearing this, Little John finally reached out and picked up the package.

"The right choice. Work hard." Shire smiled, then flicked the Longsword from behind his back, embedding it in the dirt in front of Little John.

"All right, it's getting late. Linger any longer and you'll be in danger traveling through the forest alone. Go on." He pointed in a direction. "Remember: the morning of the fourth day."

Little John picked up the Longsword and its sheath, shouldered the package, and strode off in the direction Shire had pointed.

After a few paces, he suddenly stopped and said, as if to himself, "They're forming a bigger party to head into the forest."

After saying that, he strode away without looking back.

Watching him go, Shire couldn't suppress a massive grin.

He knew he had, for the moment, successfully persuaded the future Hero. Three outcomes were possible in four days: one, Little John wouldn't return at all. Two, Little John would return alone. And three, Little John would return with company.

If he didn't come back, Shire wasn't too bothered. It was only a few pieces of equipment, after all. The goblins couldn't wear them, and they certainly couldn't eat them.

If he came alone, Shire would proceed with the next assignment.

The only tricky one was the third possibility. A goblin hiring an Adventurer to run goods was unheard of. People were far more likely to believe in an Adventurer trading goblin ears for cash.

So Shire still had to prepare for the possibility that Little John couldn't wrap his head around the idea.

And the way to prepare was...

"Chief, dinner's ready."

The call interrupted Shire's thoughts. He turned his head to see Bai Mao holding a wooden bowl brimming with food up to his face.

A green broth steamed gently inside the bowl. A pair of frog legs, boiled until the skin had burst, floated on the surface, glistening under the light with a tempting, pearl-like sheen. Crushed eggshells and yellow, writhing grubs were scattered throughout the soup, like stars and a bright moon in the night sky.

A "unique" aroma shot straight into his nostrils like an arrow, traveled up through his brain to the crown of his skull, and instantly made his eyes water and his breathing labored.

"You guys go ahead. You eat."

Shire hastily refused, grabbing a few tubers and burying them in the hot ashes to cook.

He then sat upwind, watching the three Green-skinned Little Nose Gargs as they huddled over the pot, wolfing down their meal.

'I've got to prepare a little surprise for the Hero.'

...

Goblins are a very interesting species.

They don't eat the heads of their prey. Instead, they impale them on wooden stakes and place them in the forest to mark their Hunting Grounds. Each tribe demarcates a section of the forest as its Hunting Ground, and the borders are ultimately decided through conflict between the tribes.

This cycle repeats itself. As the goblin tribes continually expand, the Nightmare Forest has been carved up into numerous Hunting Grounds of varying sizes.

Goblins are greedy. Even with the head-marked borders, they will still sneak across them. If they aren't attacked, they will occupy their neighbors' territory.

Goblins are also foolish. Adventurers don't pull out these head markers; instead, they map out the various territories, making it easier to "harvest ears."

It's common for a tribe of seven or eight goblins to be wiped out by Adventurers in a single day, only for a few more goblins to occupy the same area three days later.

When Shire became leader, the first thing he did was pull out all the head markers in his Hunting Ground and secretly plant them in the territory of a neighboring goblin nest.

At the same time, he had his subordinates climb into the treetops to stand guard. Through these tactics and the camouflage of their green skin, they successfully evaded the Adventurers' searches.

However, the intelligence Little John revealed before he left—that Adventurers would be forming larger parties to enter the forest—was very important.

While waiting for the "potatoes" to finish roasting, he picked up a stick and casually drew a simple map on the ground.

"This is the forest. On its edge is Yangjiao Town, which is under Count Valentine's rule. The Darren River flows through the town."

"More manpower means a wider and more thorough search." He drew a line along the edge of the forest. "Therefore, this entire peripheral area of the forest will become more dangerous."

'Strange, why would they expand their parties?'

'Did something dangerous happen? What danger could there be on the forest's edge? It's just goblins everywhere.'

Unable to figure it out, Shire tapped the stick against his palm like a teacher's pointer. 'Whatever. No matter what, we have to increase our strength to protect ourselves.'

'To protect ourselves...' He sized up his three subordinates, who were currently fighting over food.

"Bastard, that's mine!" A 1.5-meter-tall goblin snatched half a rat back from his companion.

His name was Red Eyes. He was the number two in the tribe. Compared to the green pupils common among goblins, he had a pair of red eyes.

[Name: Red Eyes]

[Race: goblin]

[Danger Level: 0.8, a capable piece of trash]

[personality: Reckless]

Although Red Eyes was a bit stupid, he was the tribe's current muscle. He was also the one who had competed with Shire for the leader position. Now, during hunts, Red Eyes was the one who mainly confronted enemies head-on.

The goblin whose rat had been stolen by Red Eyes didn't dare to fight back. Instead, he scooped an insect out of the pot.

His name was Broken Tooth. He was 1.4 meters tall, and one of his left teeth was broken in half, though by whom was unknown.

[Name: Broken Tooth]

[Race: goblin]

[Danger Level: 0.7, a somewhat useful piece of trash]

[personality: Cowardly]

Broken Tooth was extremely timid. When the Fearsome Claw Bear swatted the previous leader to death, he had run even faster than Shire.

However, he had excellent eyesight. Shire had him climb trees to act as a lookout. If he spotted anything unusual, he would make a "COO COO" bird call. He was also responsible for snatching bird eggs.

Just now, when Little John was here, he had been hiding behind the leaves.

The white-haired goblin cooking at the front, Bai Mao, fished two frog legs out of the pot and began gnawing on them with gusto.

Her name was Bai Mao. She was 1.3 meters tall and the only female goblin in the tribe.

[Name: Bai Mao]

[Race: goblin]

[Danger Level: 0.5, a piece of trash]

[personality: Cowardly]

Female and male goblins looked mostly the same, but females were smaller, with softer features and fewer wrinkles on their faces.

Another major rule of the Goblin Race is that the leader possesses all the female goblins. This is one of the reasons why insubordination is so common in this Race.

However, Shire had no interest in female goblins. He still preferred blond, fair-skinned, long-legged Elf girls.

Besides, since he joined this tribe, Bai Mao had already become a "widow" three times. Shire felt it was more appropriate to call her "Sister-in-law."

Her daily tasks were to gather wild fruits and Mushrooms, as well as cook the food.

Shire didn't trust the intelligence of goblins, so he always had Bai Mao show him the Mushrooms she gathered. He would then test and identify them, picking out the edible ones.

For example, those that were entirely yellow with red and blue spots on their caps looked problematic at a glance.

Shire rubbed his chin and mused. 'A brute, a coward, and a sister-in-law... These are my subordinates.' They seemed unreliable, but their saving grace was that they were obedient. When he had trained them to hunt wild boars before, their coordination had been excellent.

First, Broken Tooth, hiding in the trees, would signal the appearance of prey with a bird call. Then, once the prey triggered the mechanism, a dummy goblin made by Bai Mao from vines and grass would pop up. After the enraged boar charged the dummy and fell into a pit filled with Long Spears, he and Red Eyes would jump out from their hiding spot to attack the remaining piglets.

The plan was seamless and thorough, and his subordinates had rehearsed it quite convincingly.

He hadn't expected to reap such a great reward the first time they put it into practice today.

"But relying on just the three of them is courting death." Shire took the stick he'd been using as a back-scratcher from behind his back.

"The fastest way is to absorb another tribe." He pointed the stick to the north. "'When the enemy advances, I retreat.'"

"Red Eyes, come here." He summoned his subordinate to his side. "Do you know the situation with the nearest goblin tribe to the north?"

"I know. They're very, very cunning," Red Eyes said nonchalantly, a piece of fruit peel stuck to his teeth.

"How many goblins do they have?"

"Leader, they have 16."

Shire nodded. That was a decent number; any more would be troublesome.

The leader of a goblin tribe will expel subordinates they don't trust, and they will also absorb outsider goblins into their tribe.

'If I use the excuse of wanting to join them to lull them into a false sense of security, then carry out a decapitation strike, given the cowardly nature of goblins, there's a high chance they'll surrender en masse.'

'Right now, my tribe is a gang at best. If I can absorb all of them, then we could at least be considered a proper forest community.'

Shire asked confidently, "Have you seen their leader?"

"I have. It's a Bear Goblin, about this tall."

After saying that, Red Eyes picked up a long branch and stood on his tiptoes to show Shire the height.

"That... must be two meters tall." Shire was dumbfounded. He knew that the Goblin Race was not blessed by the Gods, so they had to worship Evil Gods. The power of the Evil Gods caused goblins to mutate, giving birth to "variants" like Bear Goblins. Moreover, this mutation occurred randomly during childbirth.

Shire had never seen a real Bear Goblin; his knowledge came from natural history books he had read. The books said that Bear Goblins were born for battle and chaos, and that they grew much faster than ordinary goblins within a tribe.

He hadn't expected the opposing leader to be a Bear Goblin.

"Alright, go on and eat." Shooing Red Eyes away, Shire continued to ponder his strategy.

'There's no way to win this fight. I'd go in, and I'd be instantly killed. It'd be like an adult swatting a child.'

'Should I find a time to go around them and avoid contact? Impossible. I still have to meet Little John. I have to take down this group of goblins.'

"Bear Goblins are powerful, huh," Shire muttered to himself as he poked at the "potatoes" in the ashes.

He speared a charred one and peeled off the skin. "But it's still just a mutated goblin."

"I'll go scout them out this afternoon."

He took a bite of the tuber and his mouth trembled from the heat. "Damn it, I'm so sick of eating this crap."

...

Scarface huddled into a ball, looking at the three goblins in front of him with some terror.

The Bear Goblin leader had eaten the lion's share of lunch today. He hadn't managed to get many scraps, so he had come out to find something to eat out of hunger.

He knew it was dangerous to go out alone, but he couldn't help it; he was just too hungry.

In the end, he found no food and was instead captured by three wild goblins.

'You guys have no honor, ambushing me on our territory.'

'If the leader were here, he'd definitely take you out one by one with his club.'

"Don't be afraid, I have something to ask you." Shire asked with a toothy grin, "What are you doing here all by yourself?"

"I... The leader sent me to scout," Scarface said, his eyes darting around. "He's right behind me with his men."

"You'd better let me go. When my leader gets here, killing you will be like squishing white grubs. SQUISH, SQUISH, one hit each."

Shire said, "That's great. I was actually coming to ask if we could join you."

"Join?" Hearing this, Scarface stood up straight. "You can join, but you have to get through me first. The leader doesn't just accept anyone."

As he spoke, he looked down at Shire arrogantly and pointed to his mouth.

Shire smiled and handed over a few wild fruits, asking, "So, can we see the leader now?"

"See the leader?" Scarface snatched the wild fruits and stuffed them into his mouth. "No, the leader is seriously injured. He's not seeing any goblins right now."

"If I don't agree, the leader will never see you." After saying that, he held out his hand and beckoned with his fingers, asking for more food.

Shire continued to smile and said, "Red Eyes, beat him."

After a few mournful howls, Scarface was curled up in a ball again.

'He was furious. How dare these outsider goblins bully him like this.'

'Aren't they afraid he'll tell the Bear Goblin leader and have them all beaten to death?'

'They should look at who they're dealing with. The scar on his forehead was given to him by the Bear Goblin leader himself, back when he was fighting for food.'

'Besides, these three goblins don't even smell like goblins. What kind of savages are they?'

"You know, I really do want to join. I just don't know when your leader will arrive."

Shire squatted down and helped wipe the blood from Scarface's face.

"I'm telling the truth," Scarface said, his mouth twitching as Shire touched his wounds. "Our leader was bitten by a Fearsome Claw Bear. He's recovering in the cave."

Hearing this, Shire took out two wild fruits from behind his back and said, "Really?"

"Really." Scarface's eyes showed his greed as he saw the wild fruits. "But you still need my approval."

Shire looked at the goblin who was bluffing while relying on his leader's might, and smiled. "In that case, we'll come tomorrow."

With that, he pulled Scarface to his feet.

As Shire moved, Scarface winced in pain, but he still quickly snatched the wild fruits and stuffed them into his mouth to chew, ignoring the pain in his face.

"Alright, aren't you going to get lost?" A satisfied smile appeared on Shire's face as he took the club from Red Eyes' hand and feigned a swing.

Terrified, Scarface turned and ran. After a few steps, seeing that they weren't chasing him, he stopped and looked back.

'Why did those goblins give me fruit? Are they afraid of me?'

Seeing them raise the club again in the distance, he turned and ran towards the cave.

'Those three goblins are afraid of me. They don't dare to chase me.' He was sure of it.

'These wild fruits are so sour. Why do I feel even hungrier now?'