Elincia recommended me to hire Rya for a week, since I was heading to the goblin village. This would cost me 35 gold in total. Of course, I had to provide for her accommodation, though since she was a slave, it would also suffice to bring her back at the end of the day before curfew, so that she could spend the night there. Some adventurers would opt to do that to save money, but in my case, since we were going to the forest anyway, this wasn’t a big deal.
She was given basic equipment by The Residence, and if it ever broke I would be the one responsible for replacing it. We were also offered basic camping supplies, like a tent and sleeping bags, but I already prepared them beforehand. With that, we were ready to head out to the forest.
“Hey, Mister Neuwelt,” Rya asked. “Where are we going?”
“Just call me Rivers,” I said.
“Okidoki, you’re the boss!”
“Anyway, the goal is to get to the goblin village that’s somewhere in this forest.”
“Do you have any business there?”
“Not specifically, there are just some things I wanted to know about magic stones. Hopefully they can teach me a thing or two.”
Rya was pretty energetic. She seemed quite content with her life, despite her being a slave. In fact, you wouldn’t even know she was one based on how she acted or talked. For one, she was really casual with Elincia, despite being her trader.
But despite her carefree nature, she was also pretty alert. If you weren’t paying attention to her, you’d miss the times she’d carefully look around, listening to every sound, sometimes even trying to sniff things out. Because she was a bear-like beastkin, her sense of smell and hearing was great.
“Hey boss, I think I hear something,” Rya said.
“What direction?”
“I think it’s in that direction, around five hundred meters away. It sounds like wild boar. Smells like it too.”
“Do you know how many?”
“I’d say it’s around five, maybe six.”
“Do you think you can handle them?”
“Yeah, I definitely can handle them.”
“Then, let’s try and approach them as silently as possible.”
Our goal was to hunt as many wild boars as possible, so discretion was the key. It would be of no use if we were to scare off the entire herd. Due to Rya’s experience, I decided to let her lead, and follow exactly in her tracks. That way I wouldn’t accidentally make a sound by stepping on something.
When we finally were close enough, I waited for Rya’s signal, after which it was my time to strike. I leapt with my sword in hand, and stabbed the boar in the back. This was enough to kill it in one strike, but it also alerted the others after the boar let out a final dying shriek.
“Try the throat next time,” Rya said, while slicing another one with her claws.
Three of the boars managed to get away, while the last one was preparing to attack us. I had no doubt Rya was able to take it on, and with a swift strike, the beast was slain. Since the other three were too far away, we decided to take it easy and deal with the boars we currently had.
As Rya retracted her claws, I was mesmerized. Beastkin mostly look human, but they still have some animalistic characteristics, like the typical beast ears and hands that sometimes look like paws, almost looking like wooly mittens or gloves. I’ve been told that most beastkin, and mainly male ones, shave their hands. This is less the case with females, due to the belief that they’d either look more attractive or sexy or just cute, I’m still not sure which one it really is, everybody gives me a different reason.
“You should definitely do something about your sword skills,” Rya said while laughing. “I mean, that was a pretty bad stab. It’s a wonder that boar died that quickly!”
“I don’t suppose you can teach me the proper form.”
“Well, I did dabble with the sword a bit when I was a bit younger. Ya know what, tonight, I’ll show you how to handle a sword.”
That night, after we set up camp, we began our sword training. Even though I was only learning the basics, it did cause my 【Sword】 skill to rise to level 1.
“Now, since you know the basics, you’ll be able to learn 【Quick Slash】.”
“【Quick Slash】?”
“【Quick Slash】.”
After a few seconds of waiting for an explanation, I asked, “What is 【Quick Slash】?”
“It’s just a simple technique where you quickly slash through your opponent. If you do it right, your opponent won’t be able to dodge, but you can’t direct your attack once you’re swinging. Most effective when rushing towards your enemy.”
“Is it a sort of skill?”
“Yeah, it is. Once you reach a certain point in sword training, you can more easily learn it.”
“And I can’t perform it if I don’t have a level in 【Sword】?”
“By the time you know 【Quick Slash】, you’ve already learned the basic sword fighting techniques to be a level 1 sword user.”
“So simply knowing a skill can improve my sword skill.”
“Well, I mean, I guess? Like, it’s more that you already need the techniques to use 【Quick Slash】. Other sword skills can be learned at level 1, but they become much easier if you know the more advanced techniques and sword skills.”
For dinner, we had boar with some local herbs. There are many herbs in the forest, most are needed for various kinds of potions, but you can also use them for cooking, and in fact, most people get these herbs for that purpose. There were also some vegetables, spinach-like plants for example, which we also added to our dishes. Rya taught me about the different herbs and other kinds of edible plants in this area, and because of Rya’s basic dismantling skills, she was able to secure food for the entire week if needed. Since 【Storage Box】 places items outside of time and space, food would remain as fresh as it was when I put it in. The only reason it wouldn’t be used more often is because a 【Storage Box】 is always bound to one person, and unless you have 【Unlimited Storage】, you’d only have a limited space.
“How do skills actually work?” I asked. “How does anything actually work in this world?”
“Don’t think too hard about it, things just are the way they are, no need to question why.”
“It’s just that everything seems to be set up like a video game.”
“I don’t even know what a video game is. But, well, I guess you’re talking about those status screens and skill lists and stuff.”
“I mean, how do we even gain skills?”
“It’s easy, by just learning them. I mean, of course, there are other methods to gain skills, but they’re basically the same, you learn new skills. I mean, that’s what I’ve been taught. Like, back in my village, there was this bird beastkin. He thought up a new technique to attack, called 【Eagle Nosedive】, I don’t even know how that works. Anyway, after more people started to use it, it became an actual skill in the skill list. Like, I guess the status screen is more of a personal monitor, to help you keep track of everything about yourself.”
“So skills can be invented?”
“Yeah, basically. But, I mean, what I’m saying is, things are there, sometimes you don’t need to think about it. You definitely shouldn’t break your head about it. I’d like to believe that people can get strong on their own, even without all these things like levels and skills and whatnot.”
There was a serious tone in Rya’s voice, maybe a kind of sadness, or a tinge of regret. I wasn’t sure what it was. It didn’t last long, as she quickly got back to her cheerful self. After a bit more talking, we decided on our guard shifts and called it a night.
We finally arrived the next day at the goblin village. It was a peaceful village, with simple huts, though most homes were either built inside the trees or were extended from the trees. There was also simple fences and guard posts. I was told that the goblins who actually do live in houses are called hobgoblins, though it wouldn’t be uncommon to see goblins and hobgoblins working together to build better housing for the goblin villages.
The village itself was clearly built in nature. There was next to no stone used, and the paths were basically just dirt roads, though there were some places that were covered in either sand or gravel, like the main square.
If you would take a quick look at a goblin, you would actually mistake them for a monster, with their pointed faces, their greenish color and their yellow eyes, almost like small devils, though there were things about them that made them look more human. Unlike manga and cartoons, they do have pupils, which makes them a lot less menacing. Also, not every goblin looked quite the same. Some had more pointy faces, some more flat, some had notched ears, others had small noses. They all did seem to have hair. Not one goblin looked the same, and they weren’t nearly as scary as you’d think.
While being in the village, they taught me about a use for 【Magic Stone Infusion】, one I didn’t think about, but did make sense. It’s a technique that’s actually been used to train people who work a lot with magic stones, and all it uses is mana. To demonstrate this technique, they used a depleted stone, and would then cast a simple 【Conjure Magic】, which they would combine with 【Magic Stone Infusion】 to create a new basic magic stone. The more magic you’d pour in it, the higher the quality, though the quality was also dependent on the stone itself.
Using this same technique, you could overwrite a magic stone with a new kind of essence, though most recommend to just deplete the magic stone first for the most success. All it uses is 【Conjure Magic】. I wasn’t aware that you would be able to use this skill with a specific type of essence in mind, so this actually came as a surprise, though, after reading back on it later, I should have known.
By using 【Conjure Magic】 with an essence in mind, you could infuse that essence into the magic stone. The goblins mostly showed it to me with simple essence, like water and fire, but they said it was also possible with other kinds of essences. However, the more abstract the concept of an essence is, the harder it is to create it. For example, I as a regular human would have a hard time creating the nature essence, though goblins had it a lot easier, mostly because they live in nature.
I also let them look at the wood infused magic stone I made, to identify which essence it was, and they said it would most likely be either nature or wood, though they couldn’t tell for sure since the stones were impure.
As it was getting late, we decided to stay in the village, and a feast was held. Actually, the only reason there was a feast was because Rya and I decided to donate some of the meat we collected. We hunted quite a lot of beasts, mainly boars, though also some birds and occasionally other wildlife, and each beast would yield quite a lot of meat, so we felt like we could miss a few. Most of the money would come from the other materials anyway.
I have to say, goblins know how to craft food. Due to their better understanding of nature and their knowledge of the forest, they can find the perfect herbs for the right meat. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Rya’s food is great, but it doesn’t match up to what the goblins can create.
The feast went on through the night, but Rya and I decided to just head to bed, since we wanted to leave early in the morning. Since we stayed at the village, we both could have a long night of sleep.
“Yo boss,” Rya said. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Yeah, I think I have. And I found out that goblins in this world are pretty great.”
“I’ve heard from Lady Elincia you’re from another world. What are goblins like there?”
“Well, there aren’t any actual goblins in the other world, though we do have them in fiction. Usually they’re mean or evil, though some stories make them a bit more friendly.”
“Are there any other races though? Like, are beastkin like me treated kindly?”
“They might be if they existed there, but I don’t know. There was a group of people that used to be obsessed with catgirls, though even in fiction they’d be treated more like pets I guess.”
“Do you think I would be accepted there?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
We’d depart the next day, and stay for another two nights in the forest. As a parting gift from the goblins, one of them infused magic essence in the single impure magic stone I still had with me. By the time we went back to the guild we were beat, so I decided to rent a room for Rya for the remaining two nights.
“Is it okay for me to stay here?” Rya said. “I could just go back to The Residence.”
“Well, aside from the fact that I’ve paid for an entire week, I think you should have some time to rest.”
“I mean, I don’t really hate going back, but thank you, I appreciate it.”
It’s only been a week, but I felt there was a genuine feeling of trust between us. Of course, some level of trust is needed when forming a party, even with mercenaries, and I guess the guild wouldn’t have sent me to The Residence if they didn’t trust me, but this felt similar to a friendship. Of course a friendship between us would be hard, since this was just a contract job for her.
The inn wasn’t as crowded as it normally would be. In a few days, a new season would start. Some adventurers would venture out to more profitable places, since rabbit season would be over. There wasn’t a lot to do here. There were no monster dens or dungeons anywhere near this place, and the guild was pretty barebone. Sure, there was a training ground, but there wasn’t a lot to practice with.
“Hey Rya,” I said.
“What’s up, boss?”
“Can I ask you why nobody has, well… bought you yet?”
“Hehe, yeah, it’s actually just as Lady Elincia said. I might be good enough to be able to work as a mercenary, but not at a level that I’m actually useful enough to stick around for longer periods. It’s why people are willing to hire me but not purchase me.”
“Why’s that?”
There was a slightly pained look on her face.
“You don’t have to answer that question if you don’t want to,” I said.
“No, it’s alright. I’d tell you anyway before you even consider purchasing me. Ya know, to prevent you from doing a mispurchase. Look, beastkin, we’re generally seen as strong, especially the predator types, things like lions, wolves, those kinds of beastkin. Well, one of those strong types is the bear type, but, panda beastkin are the exception to this. Ya see, while we’re strong, we’re not nearly as strong as the other bear types. I mean, not that we can’t become as strong, it’s just that we’re not as ferocious.”
“Is that the reason why you’re considered not worth purchasing?”
“No, I mean, yeah, but that’s only part of the reason. The main reason is that, even for a panda beastkin, I’m weak. I’m below average. I mean, compared to humans or elves, my stats are just average, but why pay for a panda beastkin when you can pay less for an elf with similar stats, right? And they look more attractive.”
Despite what she said, she didn’t really seem upset. I mean, she didn’t exactly smile or laugh, but she was fairly calm.
“Ya know,” Rya continued, ”normally, panda beastkin get sold for a high price for a different reason.”
“What reason?” I asked.
“Well, what pandas lack in strength or speed, we gain in looks. Or, well, most panda beastkin have a natural beauty.”
“Well, at least you’ve got that going for you.”
“That’s just the thing, I’m not beautiful or attractive, I don’t have this natural charm or sexiness. My chest is small, my hair is short and often unkempt, and my face is plain.”
“And? How does that make you less attractive? Surely there are those out there who think that’s cute.”
Rya began to blush. “Do ya think so?”
“I’m pretty sure. And besides that, is what you aren’t that important? The only thing that matters is what you are.”
“Aw geez, I guess you’re right.”
She looked pretty content. There was a huge grin on her face. It made me happy to see her like this.
“Can I ask you something personal?” I said. “How exactly did you get into slavery?”
“Free food and housing,” she replied. “I know, sounds silly, right? But you know, I still think it’s the best decision I’ve made.”
“Why’s that?”
“Before I came to The Residence, I was just a regular adventurer, I even have a guild card. I guess I didn’t exactly have it to be one, though. I mean, it’s hard to adventure alone.”
“What do you mean, alone?”
“Oh yeah, you haven’t hung out with me for that long, have you? I kinda tend to run my mouth, is what people say. I annoy people, I guess.”
“You tell it as it is.”
“Yeah, exactly. It’s just that, in doing so, I do tend to offend people. I mean, not deliberately, of course. But, well, I never stuck around with a party for too long, not that I didn’t want to, but adventurers just stopped taking me on their journeys, and, well, I began to lose confidence and purpose.” Rya let out a huge sigh. “Eventually I settled in this town, and spent my remaining money until I had nothing. After that, I went to The Residence, and put me up as a slave.”
“That sounds pretty rough.”
“Well, it’s all fine now. Lady Elincia takes good care of me, so I have nothing to complain.”
“Don’t you miss your freedom?”
“Well, it’s true that us slaves have next to no freedom, but at The Residence, it just feels like a home where I can eat and sleep for free. I mean, when I’m not being rented out as a mercenary, I’m being trained as a slave, but apart from that, I don’t really have it bad.”
“So you don’t mind that people won’t buy you?”
“I mean, I am a little bothered, and I do feel a bit unwanted at times, but at times I feel like this, Lady Elincia is always there for me. Boss, The Residence isn’t a bad place, and Lady Elincia isn’t a bad person. I mean, sure, I’m a slave now, but I chose this life, and I chose The Residence for its reputation. I mean, the only reason you were able to hire me was because the guild trusted you, because Lady Elincia believed in your kindness. So don’t be too sad about it, I’m doing fine. Every potential customer at The Residence gets screened first, so that they keep the bad people out.”
“It seems like you really like that place.”
“I guess I do.”
Thanks to Rya’s efforts in dismantling the monsters and beasts we’ve slain, I made a bit more gold than I anticipated. In total, we made around 152 gold and a few silver and copper. On top of that, thanks to Rya’s help in identifying herbs, I’ve managed to fulfill some guild requests, and I was able to raise my guild rank to E.
I continued to hire Rya on occasion. The first few times, it was on the suggestion of Elincia, and even though I was free to ask for another person, I always still picked her. Eventually I actively began to ask for Rya. I mean, yeah, Rya can sound a bit rude, but she’s never mean, and I think I actually began to see her as a sort of friend.
It was around three months since I first hired Rya that one thought had passed my mind. If I like hanging around with her, why not just purchase her? I mean, I didn’t intend to keep her as a slave, I just wanted to give her back her freedom so that we could go on adventures as equals, as friends.
Rya was still considered a high quality slave, though, mainly because she’s a panda beastkin and because of her experience as an adventurer. Her price was 1304 gold, and it would only rise the longer I would wait. I decided to go on one more quest with her before I would make my decision.