A small group of goblins, four in number, was tracking the footprints of a single human.

  The midday sun shone brightly upon the forest soil – not that the goblins, possessing darkvision, truly needed such light.

  While goblins had an innate advantage at night, at least over humans, they could still hunt during the day.

  Additionally, while their general intelligence wasn't very high, their hunting instincts were excellent in comparison.

  The two of them possessed rusty swords, while the others held decrepit spears. A slightly better equipment than usual, but nothing too far out of the ordinary.

  Like most goblins, they did not truly maintain any formation, although the speargoblins instinctively understood they should stay farther back.

  Either way, for a group this size, finding the fresh tracks of a single human was an unexpected delight.

  Sure, humans were dangerous, even more-so than wolves. However, four goblins, with decent weapons to boot, were confident in their ability to handle a single human hunter, and, beyond the meat, they even had a chance to loot useful tools, a better weapon, or pretty shiny metal circles.

  The agile goblins followed the tracks, swiftly but quietly, carefully avoiding stray branches and acorns.

  The tracks veered off the trail. The goblins turned as well, following the trail which led… straight into a bush?

  Suddenly, a rustle came from the goblins’ right, where an even bigger bush took root.

  The closest speargoblin just so happened to be the first to turn its head. The last thing it saw was a blurry figure, and a glimmer of sunlight reflected off of dark-ashen metal.

  The second speargoblin reacted just in time to see his kin being pierced by a large sword – moreover, the ambusher's charge didn't stop, and the sword, carrying the blood-spraying corpse with the help of the initial momentum, was making its way straight at it!

  The goblin, as befitting its species, had good reflexes – it jumped downwards and to the side, barely dodging the sword's trajectory.

  However, dodging the initial trajectory did not save its life, as, upon reaching the goblin's previous position, the sword simply followed its target. Despite the weight of the corpse slowing down the swing, it was still fast and long enough to cut the belly of the green creature, which had just hit the ground, and couldn't dodge again just yet.

  Of course, by now, the two sword-wielding goblins had already identified the enemy – a young man, his black hair tied in a small bun on top of his head, and his cold green eyes looking directly at them, not even sparing a glance to the corpse on the ground, or the one sliding down along the sword's blade to join it.

  “SCREEEEE!”

  Perhaps driven by bloodlust, or maybe desperation - but definitely not comradery for their kin - the two goblins showed not a moment of hesitation, and not a faintest thought of retreat.

  Instead, in near-perfect sync, they pounced at the enemy, both swords aiming at his throat, their eyes filled with endless hatred.

  The young man did not dodge – instead, he brought his sword farther back and to the side, and for a moment, it seemed as if the air stirred around it.

  SWOOOSH

  Just before the goblins’ swords could reach their target, the two handed sword moved in a perfect arc – although, for the goblins, this movement appeared as a momentary blur.

  One of their swords managed to reach the attacker's abdomen, harmlessly bouncing off his chainmail. The other simply dropped to the ground farther to the side, together with its owner's upper half.

  Adorning the ground with blood, entails, and other liquids, the two goblins now lay in four pieces on the soaked forest soil.

  “Sweet. Finally a bonus.”

  With satisfaction in his eyes, the young man went into the smaller bush, returning with a backpack on his back, a short dagger in one hand, and an empty sack in the other.

  ***

  “That will be 1 gold and 2 silver for the bounty, and 8 more silver since the extermination is currently in effect. 2 gold total.”

  “Thank you.”

  Ever since my first mission, Jane had become.. if I had to put it into one word, it would be “milder”.

  I still wouldn't call her polite, but at the very least, much of her passive aggressiveness was gone, replaced by a regular flat tone, which even sounded professional at times.

  I took the gold coins from the counter, and tossed them into my pouch, which had become noticeably heavier in the last two weeks.

  The sun was still up, albeit not far above the horizon. Due to the lucky encounter today, I allowed myself to take a shortcut, and cut the gathering route a bit shorter. The haul was still pretty good, though – I've already dropped by the alchemy shop, securing just over a gold coin.

  By now, I had slightly over 60 gold, and my stay in the inn was still prepaid for a few days.

  If no unexpected expenses arose, even if I had to subtract around 3 gold for living expenses, food, harvesting tools and the rations which usually served as my lunch in those last two weeks, the next week would still net me around 10 gold in profit, given my current pace.

  Of course, this would depend on how lucky I got with my goblin encounters – as I heard, one could wander the woods for a month and barely encounter one lone goblin, while another, like me, could encounter three small squads in two weeks.

  Still, even if I haven't found another goblin, the profit from plant harvesting was more than enough. I also had about 2 gold in certificates, which I'd have to remember to exchange before I leave.

  I took a look at my panel once again.

  —

  【Skills】:

  [Charge Thrust] - Lv3 (11/100)

  |__ [Charge] Lv2 (58/100)

  |__ [Thrust] Lv2 (54/100)

  [Arc Slash] - Lv1 (68/100)

  —

  My skills have progressed well in those 14 days. Between the diligent training - which I began sneaking into the early mornings before my departure, and the evenings after my arrival - and the actual fights, I managed to further train my [Arc Slash], level up my [Charge Thrust], and even unlock its second sub-skill.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Honestly, by itself, [Thrust] felt pretty underwhelming, especially considering I still had to take a proper, stable stance, and step forward just to use it without losing my footing.

  Still, it increased my versatility, and I could imagine a few scenarios where it could become useful. Moreover, I have confirmed that training sub-skills contributes to the main skill proficiency, albeit at around 70-80% rate.

  [Soul Contamination] - Your soul shall be corroded in 1027 days.

  Of course, a single glance at my condition tempted me to stop everything and rush to the sheriff, tying up my business here, so I could move on to Silverveil, and then - Valor's End.

  However, rationally, since I agreed to take Bern's mission, I'd still have to time my arrival two weeks from now, at the earliest.

  The last caravan left around a week ago, and the next one was scheduled to arrive in around a week, too. That could potentially be the one I'd take, depending on how long this true interrogation would last. On my next day off, tomorrow, I was going to ask him for those details.

  Well, technically, I could have taken the caravan yesterday, but I decided to build a bigger gold reserve, as well as use this time to further train my skills.

  Oh, and speaking of skills – to reach a Path, I either needed to learn another skill, up to the level of basic proficiency, or to bring my existing skills to higher levels, perhaps even to master them both, something that would take way more than a month or two at my current pace.

  I really wanted to reach a Path before meeting Bern, but learning another skill by then seemed impossible.

  ‘Oh well, those last few weeks have already gone as well as they could.’

  Discarding the meaningless fantasies, and realizing I've been blankly staring at the guild's notice board for at least a minute, I promptly exited the building, pondering my next destination.

  ‘I need to drop off my bag first. After that.. since the sun is still up, I wonder if that place is still open.’

  I followed a familiar route, taking me from the Adventurer's Guild straight to the Blue Mushroom Inn.

  As I entered the reception hall, I was ready to greet Arthur, the inn keeper, as I usually did when returning from the forest in the early evening.

  However, today, before a single word escaped my lips, my eyes were already glued to the unusual visitor.

  So far, my intuition, based on the general fantasy stereotypes I knew from Earth, proved to be pretty accurate. Thus, when looking at the robed figure who was just handed a room key by Arthur, only one word came to mind.

  From the unusual fabric of the brown robe itself, clearly of higher quality than the regular travel robes I've seen around town, to the multiple pouches and cases hanging from his waist, to the thin metallic staff, inscribed with unknown symbols, and adorned by a large light blue gem of some kind.. this man clearly looked like a wizard!

  After taking his room key from Arthur, the man turned towards the second floor stairs, his black eyes inadvertently meeting mine.

  The man's gaze seemed dejected, and his long brown hair was disheveled and messy, completely separate from the image of a wise, mysterious wizard.

  Realizing I was staring at the man while standing at the doorway, I awkwardly averted my gaze and walked towards Arthur.

  The wizard seemed to pay me no mind, walking towards and up the stairs without sparing me a glance.

  “Hey there.”

  “Sebastian! Early today, aren't you?”

  “Had a lucky break, so I decided to cut my usual route.”

  My eyes glanced at the stairs, which the robed man already ascended, fully leaving my view.

  “Was that a wizard?”

  Without noticing, my tone grew hushed.

  “It was… I think.”

  Arthur's voice became quiet as well.

  “We don't usually see his kind around these parts. In fact, in the last decade, I could count the number of wizards who stayed at my inn on one hand.”

  “Are wizards really that rare?”

  "They're rare. Also, most wizards one could meet would usually be flocking to their towers and academies. There are no such places here.”

  The innkeeper thought for a moment.

  “Well, some wizards are adventurers, but they don't group up with the sort of low level parties you'd find here. No offence.”

  “None taken. By the way…”

  My eyes glanced at the empty stairway once more.

  “Is this wizard staying for long?”

  Arthur furrowed his brows. His voice, which had regained its normal volume by now, became hushed once more.

  “Sebastian. I say this for your own good - stay away from wizards.”

  “...”

  “Gods forbid he hears this, but.. associating with their kind will give you nothing but an early passage to the grave.”

  The bold man’s narrowed eyes looked into mine.

  “Wizards – even if you put aside the evil ones, many of them are insane, one way or another. Especially the type you'd find traveling alone in a remote town.”

  It was strange hearing those words. From my occasional chats with some of the regulars at the bar, which I visited a few times those last few weeks, I was under the impression that people in Valoria held wizards in high regard, their reputation as wise and mysterious elders upheld by the few people I asked about this subject.

  However, it was clear that beneath the surface, likely among those who actually had contact with them, their reputation was very different from the general populace’s view.

  “Really, just pretend you never saw him here, and avoid his notice if you can. He'll be gone in a few days anyw- bah! Just forget he even came here.”

  Realizing he let the answer to my original question slip, his face turned slightly bitter, before being marred by a mix of worry and reluctant acceptance.

  “Thank you very- I mean, I see. I'll try to heed that advice.”

  I tried, perhaps unconvincingly, to calm down the middle aged man who probably saw me as a young, hot-blooded adventurer looking for trouble.

  Well, given this body's age, I couldn't blame him. Moreover, I really was looking for trouble, at least in this particular case.

  Truth be told, I had considered learning more about magic.

  The blacksmith’s words, about my sword’s unutilized strengths, continued replaying in my mind.

  If I could somehow learn magic, at least the very specific niche that allows for weapon enchantment, I could bring out the sword's true potential while subverting two of the biggest problems – the monetary drain, and the potential for exposure when employing or partying with a mage.

  Also, perhaps learning the basics of magic would help me break through the Path bottleneck.

  Talking with the blacksmith, I learned that even the most basic skills can take months to train regularly, and professional trainers would charge at least a hundred gold, even for the shittiest skills - not to mention high quality, rare or hidden skills, which could cost anywhere from a few hundred gold to a few dozen thousands, and some would never even be sold for money.

  However, presumably, the very most basic technique all wizards used - something related to arcane energy control, although the smith didn't know the exact details - counted as an actual Skill. Or an Ability, maybe. But it was certainly something that could become a stepping stone for reaching a Path.

  However, learning this base technique required access to manuals usually sold in wizard academies, or personal tutoring from an actual wizard.

  The latter was not something I'd even consider – given how expensive everything related to magic was, a wizard's time was likely even more expensive than that of a martial skill trainer.

  The former was potentially achievable – books containing the basic arcane technique could be acquired by anyone, as learning this technique was one of the perquisites to being accepted into any magic academy.

  However, just because it was available for purchase, didn't mean it was cheap. As far as I knew, such manuals could go for anywhere between a few dozen to a few hundred gold coins.

  I was lacking a lot of information, and, if possible, the best source of such information would be a real wizard.

  Whether I could get him to disclose any useful information was a different matter - but I sure as hell would at least try.

  With renewed resolve after the appearance of an unexpected lead, I vowed to try to catch this mage for a short conversation – at the very least, I hoped I would at least run into him again, given that we were sharing an inn.

  But for now, I decided to put the matter aside. I haven't eaten since noon, I've walked for kilometers on end, and now, I had a potential opportunity – one which eluded me for most of the last two weeks, due to my tight schedule.

  Quickly dropping my backpack at my room, I exited the inn, half-walking, half-running to my next destination, while the sunrays grew a deeper shade of crimson.