Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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Arriving at the inn, I gained a considerable amount of knowledge through the guidebook I received from the Swordsmanship Guild.

The most emphasized section urged not to hesitate to invest in armor, with a warning in red lettering stating that wearing sturdy armor is vital to preserve one’s life.

Should I really invest in armor?

I inspected the clothes I was wearing.

Old leather shoes and tattered cloth garments, topped with a rough fur coat made by a country hunter and a hood made of wolf fur—that was all.

Surely, I looked somewhat deficient in protection, but I was a bit reluctant to tailor armor just yet.

I was now 13 years old.

I would turn 14 after winter.

A sign of growth, no less.

With my body still on the verge of growth, if I had armor tailored now, it would undoubtedly become ill-fitting very soon.

Moreover, I wondered if there would even be armor that fit me.

If there wasn’t anything that would fit, I would have to order custom-made armor, leading to additional costs.

While I still had quite a bit of money left, I needed to develop a habit of saving to live on my own.

In the end, I headed over to the Adventurer’s Guild just as I was.

I wanted to undertake my first mission as an adventurer rather than make a purchase right away.

The interior of the Adventurer’s Guild was bustling with many people.

I maneuvered through the crowd towards the receptionist.

Fatigue was evident on the receptionist’s face.

“Hello.”

First impressions are crucial during encounters.

Additionally, someone who appears this tired could easily get annoyed, so I figured it would be better to approach kindly.

“Ahh?”

The receptionist raised his head, eyebrows wrinkling at my greeting.

He looked around and then lowered his head, acknowledging me.

“Did you come for a request?”

“No, I came to pick one up.”

The receptionist tilted his head at my response.

Judging by my small stature, he seemed to have concluded that I wasn’t an adventurer.

I hurriedly pulled out the bronze badge that was hanging from my waist to show him.

“Look at this.”

“Oh…”

The receptionist showed a slightly surprised expression upon seeing the bronze badge.

He quickly nodded and pointed to a bulletin board.

“Over there, that section is for bronze rank requests, so pick a request you like.”

Is this something I have to do myself?

I nodded and headed to the bulletin board.

There were indeed a wide variety of requests posted on the board.

There were requests for escort missions, gathering goblin parts, and even a request for finding a lost cat.

As I pondered in front of the bulletin board, the eyes of those around me naturally focused on me.

“Hmm…”

The most eye-catching requests were those for gathering goblin ears and collecting a special herb.

Since the locations for both requests overlapped, it seemed I could complete both at once.

In the end, I tore off two requests and approached the reception desk.

“Gathering Red Deer Antlers and goblin subjugation… Do you need party members, miss?”

The receptionist looked at the requests I handed him with a worried expression.

Just to be sure, I asked him a question.

“Are goblins very strong?”

“Hmmm… Rather than strong…”

“If a wolf and a goblin were to fight, who would win?”

“Well, that depends on the situation…”

“Does that mean they’re about equal?”

“Something like that…?”

“Then it’s fine.”

Ultimately, I was able to accept those two requests.

“The duration for this mission is from today for three days. If you exceed this time, you won’t receive your reward, so keep that in mind. The completion reward will be given after deducting a 15% fee.”

I nodded at the receptionist’s friendly reminder.

This was something I could also check in the guidebook given by the Swordsmanship Guild.

After leaving the guild, I headed straight for Adventurer’s Street.

There, I opened the guild guidebook and began purchasing basic tools for adventurers.

Flint and lamp, rope and water bottle, oil for maintaining my sword, and cloth, etc.

Once I started purchasing, I realized that I needed more items than I initially thought.

But what could I do? All of this was necessary for becoming an adventurer.

I smiled with satisfaction at my now heavy backpack.

Next, I purchased dried fruits and jerky.

They said it would take about a day to go to and from the goblin’s habitat, so I bought food for only one day.

Just as I was about to exit through the massive castle gate after finishing all my preparations, I heard something.

– Is this really sure?

– Emily!

– Did you happen to see a pretty girl with blonde hair?

A familiar voice carried from not too far away.

Turning my head, I saw the twin boys with blue hair dashing around in a fluster.

How could I not know their names? They were Su and Shu, the twin boys I learned swordsmanship with in our rural village.

The fact they had come all the way here meant that their parents might also be nearby.

I hurriedly pulled up my wolf hood.

The large wolf head completely covered my face.

If I got caught here, I would surely be dragged back to the countryside and live a life with no freedom.

I walked cautiously and slipped out of the castle gate.

To my relief, the busy twins did not seem to notice me and moved further away.

After escaping the castle, I walked quickly along the path.

I wasn’t heading to the village but toward the huge mountain range; by continuing along this path, I would hopefully reach the goblin habitat.

At least that’s what my map said.

On the road, I could see other adventurers besides myself, all moving towards the castle with exhausted, lifeless steps.

Considering they were covered in dirt and reeking of sweat, it seemed they had recently tussled with monsters in the mountains.

I distanced myself from them as I walked.

After walking along the lengthy road, I encountered a variety of adventurers.

After about two hours of this, I reached one conclusion: being an adventurer isn’t as romantic a profession as one might think.

Covered in sweat and wounds, staggering around, I resembled a laborer who had just rolled around on a construction site.

I started seriously contemplating the profession of an adventurer as I walked along the road.

During this reflective walk, a sudden fresh smell caught my attention.

Soil dampened by water, rotting leaves, and the natural sound of grass and leaves rustling.

Swoosh—

As the cold winter breeze brushed against my cheek, a colossal mountain sprawled before me.

“Ugh…”

I sniffled as I entered the mountain’s entrance.

Climbing the mountain wasn’t too difficult. For a girl who had lived her whole life in the countryside, a mountain was an incredibly familiar place.

I hopped around easily, carrying the heavy backpack without any trouble.

The winter mountain was exceedingly quiet.

So much so that if someone approached, I would notice right away.

The sound of crunching leaves echoed from a distance.

I spread out my map and headed toward the self-growth area of the Red Deer Antler.

However, there was not a single blade of grass left at the spot marked for the Red Deer Antler on my map.

Of course. It was a place marked on a publicly accessible map, so others must have come first and harvested it.

“Ugh…”

Sniffing, I perched on a large rock nearby.

I had walked for quite a long time and I was quite hungry.

I pulled out a few pieces of dried fruit and some jerky from my pocket.

I stuffed them all into my mouth and swished some water as I chewed.

I shifted my gaze upward along the tall trees.

On the top of a tree, all the leaves had fallen off, and white snow blossoms were blooming, slowly scattering whenever the wind blew.

After finishing my meal, I moved further into the depths of the mountain.

I figured I wouldn’t find the Red Deer Antler herb near the mountain entrance.

I stood still, scanning my surroundings.

Whenever humans pass through a path in the mountains, a trail naturally forms there.

Naturally, there wouldn’t be herbs remaining near the trail.

I climbed the mountain in a direction that bore no signs of human presence.

“Whoa…!”

I didn’t know how long it took, but I spotted the red grass covered in snow.

It was a herb that resembled deer antlers, hence the name Red Deer Antler.

I didn’t know what it was used for.

I simply grabbed it because I was told to bring it back.

I brushed off the snow from the gathered herbs and wrapped them up in cloth to store them in my bag.

However, I still didn’t have enough to meet the required quantity for the request.

I based my search from the first place where I discovered the Red Deer Antler and scoured the surrounding area.

As a result, I was able to unearth about six more roots.

The request called for three roots, so I could just sell the remainder separately.

I didn’t know how expensive this herb was, but judging by how people submitted requests to gather it, it might be high-priced due to scarcity in the market.

While I was happily imagining that, I suddenly heard a distinct sound of snow and leaves crunching from a distance.

In a winter mountain, where even the common sound of bugs was absent.

It meant that it couldn’t have been a mistake.

I cautiously drew my sword.

Swish—

At the edge of my vision.

The bright white as snow in my clear line of sight revealed something moving cautiously, covered by both leaves and snow.

I squinted to focus on that spot.

In that instant, a strange-colored skin peeked through the leaves.

A murky shade of green.

Without a doubt, something hidden under the leaves and snow was a goblin.

They had said that there was a goblin habitat near the self-growth area of the Red Deer Antler, so it must be true.

I lowered my body and kept an eye on its movement.

The goblin was steadily moving in one direction, and at the end of that path, a white snow hare was resting under the sun.

It seemed like it was aiming to hunt that snow hare.

At the moment, I possessed no techniques to move stealthily.

I had only one choice: to charge.

I set my backpack down and gripped my sword with both hands.

Fortunately, the goblin was distracted by the snow hare.

If I didn’t act now, there wouldn’t be another chance to surprise it.

I took a deep breath and sprang forward.

Bang!

Crack—!

The sound of crushed leaves echoed loudly as I propelled myself through the snowy ground.

The snow hare seemed to have heard that noise, its ears perked up.

The goblin, startled by my sudden presence, jolted up from its position, but that was an ill-fated choice.

The distance between us closed rapidly.

At that moment, the goblin’s gaze turned towards me.

It jumped up in surprise, but my sword was already darting toward the goblin.

Kwahh—!

The thrown sword pierced straight through the goblin’s chest.

My hand gripping the sword felt a slight twinge of pain, as if I had done something wrong, but there was no time to tend to that pain now.

“Kyah!”

The goblin, with the sword jammed into its body, writhed in agony.

I twisted my sword, bringing it down and causing the goblin to hit the ground.

Grabbing a nearby rock, I struck down on its head.

The goblin, with its head shattered, trembled and slumped into a lifeless stare.

I felt no hesitation in my actions. I felt no regret.

I harbored no guilt for taking another’s life.

The only thing consuming me was the endless surge of adrenaline.

“Hah…!”

As I exhaled the breath I had been holding, I sank down to the ground.

My first victory, achieved without anyone’s help, delivered a thrilling rush like no other.