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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Goblins shouldn’t be underestimated, even if they were considered the lowest of the low.
They were still monsters, more dangerous than most beasts.
‘If it’s a single individual, even a low-level mercenary can somehow manage…’
The problem was that they were monsters that formed groups.
Moreover, their claws were poisonous, and even low-level mercenaries occasionally fell victim to goblins if they lacked immunity.
They were quite cunning creatures, and as soon as they realized their opponent was poisoned, they would stall for time, allowing the poison to spread throughout the body. Therefore, it was essential to be well-equipped with protective gear and be careful not to get injured first.
I had equipment I had seized from the hunter, my physical abilities were above that of a low-level mercenary, and with my experience from the second round, it wasn’t difficult for me to deal with them.
‘Hmm… they’re in good condition.’
Not only me, but the goblins also had almost no injuries.
This was truly the best quality.
Although I had initially knocked them out with a strong impact, apart from cutting off their claws, there were no major external injuries.
‘The claws will grow back if left alone anyway.’
Even though the opponents were goblins, I felt a sense of pride as it was my first real combat in a long time, and it had gone smoothly.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve engaged in close combat, but I haven’t gotten rusty.’
Before meeting my Master, I had worked as a warrior.
Therefore, unlike ordinary mages, I had a body capable of close combat.
Thanks to that, I easily captured the goblins.
‘Indeed, that house has many useful items.’
The house of the deceased hunter, Nenson, was being used as my temporary residence.
The leather straps I had used to tie up the goblins were originally his belongings.
‘But now they’re mine.’
He was a hunter who gave generously.
‘It’s quite decent, so I should use it as a temporary residence.’
If there were no requests, I planned to stay within the territory. However, when I received requests and had to work outside, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to use the hunter’s residence as it was.
The reason I didn’t live there on a regular basis was simple.
‘There are things I need to do inside the territory.’
Just in case, I planned to ask the slave trader to allow me to temporarily use the hunter’s residence.
In fact, although he was a human hunter, he was known to the outside as just a hunter, so he must have paid taxes to the lord. It would be awkward to squat there for a long period, not just a short time, but nearly a year.
‘I can’t advertise that I killed him either.’
No matter how dangerous the frontier development territory was, the hunter was a resident of the lord’s territory.
Even in this damn world, murder was considered a felony on the surface, so it would be troublesome if I got caught.
This was why having backing was important.
The power to commit a felony and move on as if nothing had happened.
Power and connections were also necessary to survive in this damn world.
“Kieeh! Kieeeeh!”
They were still noisy creatures.
‘Should I have brought a wagon or something?’
Unless I had a porter, it would be difficult and extremely inefficient for me to move five goblins alone.
‘Hmm… they’ll get a little injured, but…’
As long as nothing was broken, it would heal quickly. Despite their appearance, they were monsters.
As soon as I made up my mind, I chose one of the goblins that was barking the loudest.
As I approached, the goblin became even noisier.
I approached the creature and kicked its stomach with all my might.
Thud!
“Kieeeh!”
It didn’t pass out from a single blow. However, I didn’t kick it hard enough to damage its internal organs.
Still, the stomach was a vital point. The goblin let out a scream filled with immense pain.
But I paid no attention to its screams and mercilessly beat it.
I kicked its stomach and stomped on its head, shoulders, and arms, causing the goblin to curl up to survive.
Thwack!
“Kieeek!”
But the violence didn’t stop.
I ruthlessly slammed down on its back.
“Kiek, kieek…”
The screams gradually weakened.
Before I knew it, the goblins that had been barking around me had shut their mouths and were looking this way with fearful eyes.
However, I had no intention of beating the other ones.
The one I was beating now was an example.
“Kie, kie…”
As I stopped the violence, the beaten goblin let out a groan mixed with pain.
Even though I had stopped the violence, the other goblins didn’t open their mouths.
‘It’s convenient at times like this that they have some intelligence.’
Even if we couldn’t communicate verbally, they had confirmed what would happen if they rebelled or made noise, so they would be quiet for the time being.
The effect of violence was definite. Even as I tied them up in a line, they didn’t resist.
I led them straight to Owalan territory.
Although the beaten one’s pace might be a bit slower since I avoided hitting its legs, it wasn’t in a condition where it couldn’t walk at all.
It wasn’t beaten to the point of having aftereffects, so it didn’t matter.
‘From their perspective… I must look like Nenson or the slave trader.’
I didn’t care.
Monsters were enemies anyway.
And I wasn’t a particularly good person either.
In my previous life, there was a reason why I said it was my own fault for being caught by my Master.
‘Honestly… it’s already too late.’
When I was first summoned, I wasn’t like that.
Just an ordinary modern person… that was the old me.
However, after rolling around in this world, I had become a person that my former self at the time of summoning would be shocked to see.
‘Well… in this world, this is actually more common.’
Among mercenaries, I was considered average, and among Warlocks, I was evaluated as being sensible and gentle.
I believed this was largely influenced by my Master.
My Master was also sensible and kind for a Warlock.
Of course, the standard was for a Warlock.
Even as I was lost in thought, I didn’t take my eyes off the goblins.
They feared me, but as they got further away from their territory, they kept rolling their eyes, trying to find a way to escape.
Naturally, I “warned” them whenever their demeanor seemed suspicious, and they soon gave up on life and let themselves be dragged along as I led them.
“What is this?”
A familiar-looking guard alternated between looking at me and the bound goblins with a dumbfounded expression.
He had briefly spoken to me in a higher tone earlier, but as soon as I brought the monsters, his attitude changed.
‘Well, it hasn’t been that long since we met.’
Erasing my thoughts, I quickly replied.
“It’s a request from Sir Kuman.”
Kuman was the name of the slave trader.
“From Sir Kuman? Why would he want monsters… Ah.”
The fact that he was a trader was well-known.
‘Although those who know will probably know that his main occupation is a slave trader.’
This guard seemed to be well aware that Kuman was a slave trader.
“If you contact the inside, they’ll explain.”
“Well, it’s not like we can just let monsters inside… Hmm… All right. I’ll contact them right away.”
As soon as the guard realized that I had made a deal with Kuman, his tone changed again.
He even spoke to me in a higher tone than before.
I felt the power of connections indirectly once again.
Before long, a person sent by Kuman arrived.
‘Albert?’
It was a familiar face. Although he was Kuman’s slave, he was the person Kuman trusted the most, a slave in name only.
‘He sent Albert…’
It seemed that I was quite highly anticipated.
He checked the five goblins and nodded slightly in surprise.
“I’ve confirmed it. Please come inside. The master is waiting for you.”
The man spoke to me in a polite tone, and the men he had brought with him seized the goblins.
“Kieeek!”
The frightened goblins began to struggle again, and I approached them, struck the back of their heads, and knocked them out once more.
“…Thank you.”
Albert expressed his gratitude to me, and I followed him to Kuman’s office.
“I heard you brought five of them.”
“I happened to encounter a group of five.”
“I thought monster hunters worked in teams, but you have that much skill alone…”
“Well, I’ve been operating with a small number since long ago.”
“Moreover, I heard their condition is uniformly good. One of them seemed to have a lot of external injuries, but they said it was just bruising.”
It seemed that the guard had reported in detail.
“I put in some effort. It was an opportunity to showcase my skills, after all.”
Perhaps he liked my confident attitude. Kuman smiled and said.
“Hahaha. Right. I’ve seen your skills well, Jimnis. I look forward to working with you in the future.”
‘It seems he intends to just call me Jimnis.’
I took it as a sign that he wouldn’t mind my past identity.
Therefore, instead of correcting my name, I simply affirmed his words.
‘An alias…’
It didn’t matter for now.
Although I was more used to my real name.
“Here’s your reward. Seeing their good condition, I added a little more.”
7 silver and 50 copper.
With 100 copper being 1 silver, he had essentially given me an extra 50 copper per goblin.
It seemed that my evaluation had risen in Kuman’s mind.
“Do you have any plans to form a team?”
“Hmm… I do have thoughts about it, but…”
“If you want, I can assign a few useful guys to you…”
It was a blatant attempt to steal my know-how.
Naturally, I had no intention of falling for it.
“Haha. It’s fine. If I really need to, I’ll either save money to purchase slaves or find people separately.”
“Hmm. There aren’t many people active in this area, right?”
“Well, if that’s the case, it can’t be helped. For the time being, I’ll operate alone to get a sense of the surroundings.”
“If that’s what you want, I can’t do anything about it.”
“Ah, about Nenson’s house, may I continue using it? I’d like to use it as a temporary residence whenever I have a request.”
“Nenson’s residence? Go ahead. I’ll take care of it.”
With a few words, I resolved what would have been a troublesome matter.
Even if it was quite far from here, it was still a house used by a hunter. To acquire such a place with just a few words?
It would have been absolutely impossible in my first round.
“I’ll try to make contact with the Magic Tower using the goblins you brought. For now, there’s no need to capture goblins. Orcs are always welcome, though.”
After all, even just keeping them was a task. Moreover, the ones I had captured were in good condition, requiring almost no recovery period.
I nodded with an inwardly satisfied smile.
“I’ll do that.”
“Thank you for understanding. That doesn’t mean I won’t purchase monster, magical beast, or animal byproducts, so don’t think there won’t be any work. I’ll tell Albert to pay special attention to your goods.”
If he took care of it, all the better for me.
As I left Kuman’s mansion, I checked the money I had.
The money I had seized from the hunter was roughly 50 silver. Added to the 7 silver and 50 copper I had just earned.
This amount was more than enough to live on for the time being.
Although I had to stretch it a bit, it was equivalent to several million won in Earth money.
In a fairly large territory, the daily wage for physical labor was around 50 copper, and even that wasn’t available every day.
‘And that’s considered quite good pay.’
A healthy adult male with all limbs intact had to receive that much.
The wealth gap in this world was hellish.
The lower class with no talents could never become upper class, and it was common for them to live miserable lives and die before they even reached their fifties.
That was the reality of this world that I had experienced so far.
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