We walked back to the receptionist's desk to notify her about the mission we got. She blinked in surprise as she read it. Then she looked up at me with a smile.
"Congratulations… Theodore," she said, scanning the name on the paper.
"Thank you, pretty," I replied smoothly.
She chuckled as she continued flipping through the documents. She looked to be around twenty-four.
Asking a lady her age in this world, though? Yeah, that'd be suicide.
I remember when I first started roaming the Murim and made the mistake of asking Namgoon Byung's sister her age. Sheesh… I almost got skewered. What a tough beauty she was. Ha.
"So… you guys are going as a party, yeah?" she asked, snapping me out of the memory.
"Yeah," Kevin answered before I could.
She smiled at him. "What's the name of the party going to be?"
Kevin and Edmund both turned to me, silently leaving the choice to me. Kevin looked like he had something on his mind, but he left it in my hands.
"You choose," I said, giving him the nod.
His eyes widened. "But—"
"Don't worry. Pick one."
He hesitated a moment, then muttered, "The Kyne Trio." He looked up and repeated it more clearly, "The Kyne Trio."
Kyne, huh? Thoughtful. He must have a reason for it—probably a tribute to Old Man Kyne.
He turned to me. "Kyne means 'royal,' and we're three. So…"
"It's a good name," I said. "Right, Ed?"
"Yeah. It's a beautiful name, Kev," Edmund answered with a grin. Kevin placed a hand on his shoulder, and the two exchanged a few words, chuckling while Edmund played with his badge.
Then another receptionist walked in—the one who wasn't there when we arrived. His jaw practically hit the floor when he saw the papers. He snatched them from the lady's hands and scanned them.
"Goblins?" he muttered, looking at us again. He straightened up. "Ahem… Congratulations," he said, smiling wide.
A fake smile, of course.
"If you're through with the mission, you can come to me to submit it, okay?"
He's already scheming how to rip us off. I ignored him and continued chatting with the lady.
"I'll make sure to always come to you, pretty," I said.
That definitely annoyed him. He glared at her, and under his breath—barely audible, but not beyond my hearing—he muttered, "Little shits."
Would you look at this bastard?
"And… I'll come to you if I have any troubles," I said to him. His expression shifted—caught off guard.
He put that fake smile back on. "Well, yes. I'll make sure you're taken care of."
I extended my hand, and he shook it. I infused a touch of demonic qi into his body through the handshake. That should leave him disabled in a few hours. He'll be down for days. Maybe that'll give him enough time to reflect on his trash behavior.
I winked at the lady and took the papers from her. "So… I never asked. What's your name, pretty? Or do you want me to keep calling you that? You are, after all, so it fits."
Kevin tugged at my sleeve and whispered my name. I glanced at him and Edmund. They looked embarrassed.
Embarrassed? For me? That's cute.
The lady was smiling. See?
"Cecile," she said. "My name's Cecile. My mother hoped I'd be blind to the bad things in the world," she added with a chuckle.
"It's a beautiful name," I replied. Though I doubt she'll stay blind in a world like this.
"Thank you," she said. "You're cheeky… but it's cute. Stay safe," she added, still smiling.
Cute? Me? Wow. Baek Jo-Pil getting called cute. Really sets in that I'm in another world.
I grinned. "See you around, Cecile," I said as I turned to leave. "Let's go," I told Kevin and Edmund.
As we walked out, the murmurs from the adventurers inside reached our ears. No doubt they were surprised. Being an adventurer meant you were stronger than the average adult—or at least close. Seeing newbies walk out with a goblin mission must've shaken some expectations.
"Umm…" Edmund mumbled.
"What is it, Ed?" Kevin asked.
"Can we really handle the goblins?" he said, concern clear in his voice.
"There's nothing to worry about," I said. "Let's go see for ourselves. I'm here, so no worries."
We stepped out of the guild office.
-----
We got to the green plains outside town after almost half an hour. We had to show the soldiers at the gate our adventurers' pass before they let us out. They kept asking questions, even with our badges. Ha.
"Stay sharp," I ordered as we walked through the plains. "Tell me if you see anything," I added. I turned back to look at them because they were silent. They must be nervous. I spread my righteous qi to calm them a bit. Kevin took a deep sigh. I guess he's back to normal. Edmund seemed to become sharper.
We heard rustling in the nearby bushes. We walked slowly to take a peek at what it was. There, I sighted a weird-looking creature—short, green skin, long ears, but walked on two feet. It oozed of demonic energy.
I was about to jump at it and bring it down, but Kevin held my shoulders.
"Wait," he said. "According to Old Man Kyne, goblins don't move alone. There must be a group nearby," he added.
A group of these? They weren't even up to third rates, but a group of them might cause problems.
"How many are in a group?" I asked.
"Around twenty to thirty," he answered.
Hmm... that's a number that will cause problems for a third-rate martial. I should inquire about the level of swordsmen in this world to get a grasp of their strength.
I checked the bag and brought out knives from it. I handed them to Kevin and Edmund.
"Apply your qi to your hands and use the strength to slice them."
I should've taught them before we came.
"Like this?" Edmund asked as he did it. Not flawlessly, but he actually pulled it off. Kevin looked at him and tried too. He succeeded after trying a bit. They really are exceptionally talented.
"Okay... don't use too much of your energy. Just like holding back your qi, okay?" I added. They both nodded. Good.
We followed the goblin slowly until it got to its group. The numbers were greater than what Kevin said. Around four times.
"I thought you said they'd be around twenty to thirty," I asked.
"That's what Old Man Kyne told me," he answered sharply. He thought for a while.
"Should we retreat?" he asked.
Retreat? No way. I scanned the area with my Qi sense. A hundred and twenty. And one very strong one. It seemed different from the others. It was barely as strong as a first-rate martial. Fascinating.
"They're around a hundred and twenty," I replied, not talking about the unusual one so he doesn't give up on this.
"A hundred and twenty?" Edmund asked, gasping.
"Let's retreat and go report this at the adventurer's guild," Kevin said again.
"Don't worry," I replied.
He looked at me, surprised.
"I believe you, Theo. I do. But can you take them on?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied. "You guys just have to stay at the back and take care of the ones I let towards you. It should be a good experience," I added.
Kevin and Edmund clenched their hands on the knives. They must be scared. Understandable. But even a little fear can bring the downfall of a powerful man.
"Individually, they're not as strong as you are right now. You should be able to take them down," I said to them.
"Did Old Man Kyne not tell you anything else about them?" I asked Kevin.
He brought himself back to composure.
"Well... he said their weak point is their heads. 'Just pop it,' he said," he answered.
Good.
"Use your strength to crush their heads. They are monsters, not humans," I replied. Though some day may come when they have to fight humans, we had to get through this first.
"Yeah... they are monsters," Edmund muttered. He might have the better martial talent among both of them, but a few days ago, he was just a kid of the slum, looking for what to eat. Sigh.
"Let's go," I ordered.
We rushed at the group of goblins. It caught them off guard, so they were surprised. They scattered and started shrieking in weird noises. I cut some of them down and let a few escape towards Kevin and Edmund after weakening them. I turned back to look occasionally and, even though they struggled, they still managed to take them down.
Some of the goblins hauled stones toward me and crudely made spears. It was annoying. I combined my Qigong techniques and cut them down. It was a bit slow since I had to weaken some of them and let them escape towards Kevin and Edmund. Occasionally, I would let some of them go without weakening them. Kevin and Edmund took care of them. With struggle, but they were victorious.
After half an hour, we massacred the one hundred and twenty goblins.
"That was tough," Kevin said as he sat down, exhausted. Edmund kicked through the goblins. He seemed disgusted about them.
"Get back," I said to Kevin who was near me.
"What?" he replied, confused.
"Get back. You and Edmund go hide somewhere around," I commanded.
He stood up, looked at me confused.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"The big guy decided to show himself," I added.
The sound of the monster walking toward us, and its noise, made Kevin freeze.
"You've got this, yeah?" he asked as he quickly regained himself.
"Yeah. I got this. Now..." I replied. He immediately ran toward Edmund, grabbing him and dashing behind a bush.
The monster, slightly bigger than an average adult man, bore fangs that looked like they could rip a human apart and chew even their bones. It was still green-skinned like the others, but it was more powerful. It dashed toward me with its blade. Fast. I dodged it. It looked at me for a while, then it stared in the direction Kevin and Edmund were hiding.
Shit, it must've sensed them.
It dashed toward them, but before it could get there, I blocked him using my heavenly steps. The weight of his blade on my knives was obvious.
"Step back some more," I commanded. They dashed from the position, moving back even more.
"It's me and you, big guy," I said, grinning. I wrapped my blade with qi. It was similar to sword qi, but just barely. Sword qi was only possible for peak masters. This was just elementary. I slashed at it, dealing damage to its blade. It jumped backwards. Looked at me. Swung the blade a bit.
Does this thing possess intelligence?
It dashed at me again. This time, with more force. I didn't bother to dodge. I was going to end this. Haven't used this since I learnt it.
Heavenly Demon's Technique: First Sword — Asura Blade.
With my qi and the technique, I slashed through it, cutting it into two. The technique was really powerful. Just like its owner. If there was anybody that could stand as an equal to me in Murim, it would've been the Demonic Sect's leader. Too bad we were on opposing sides.
It fell to the ground, groaned a bit, and died. I looked at it. That was a good fight.
I hope you rest well, warrior. Strange.
Why do I feel such camaraderie for a monster?