I hurriedly ran through the woods in the direction of the sounds.
Soon enough, I make it to the edge of the forest.
I hide behind a tree and poke my head out to observe the situation.
Beyond the forest is a large, flat, dusty-tan dirt road. On the road is a farmer, dressed in stereotypical Western fashion: overalls and a straw hat. Behind him is a cart with several rough sacks, obviously containing goods.
What immediately sticks out are the green, pointy bat-eared children harassing him.
The farmer uses a hoe to keep them at bay. As he fends them off, I hear him yell profanities: "Back off, you little green pissants! Go back to the filthy sewers where you belong!"
Goblins, eh? Normally, the first hostile entities one encounters in an isekai fantasy would be slimes or something similarly weak.
I wonder if these schmuckos are the goofball kind or the sex offender variety.
Regardless of which version they are, it's a classic staple for goblins to look ugly as hell, and these guys most certainly fit the bill.
I should probably help out, the guy doesn't look like he can handle it all by himself.
Time to put my skills to the test.
I think now's the time to use Eldritch Mote.
I make a gun with my hand and point at one of the goblins, "Eldritch Mote."
A crackling blackish-green mote shoots out of my finger.
'Zwack!'
In an instant, the chest of one Goblin loudly bursts open in a torrent of blood, surprising both the farmer and the dead Goblin's comrades.
'Zwack!'
Without wasting time, I hurl another mote, creating a gaping hole in the next Goblin's torso.
After the death of the second Goblin, the rest of the green pack begins to panic. However, the farmer is one step quicker.
'Bam!'
An iron hoe bashes the skull of a nearby Goblin in. Its head splits open, revealing fleshy red and grey matter. Going with the flow, the farmer deftly swings his tool and breaks the spine of another one of the disgusting little critters.
Not wanting to be outdone by a literal peasant with a farming tool, I throw a few more motes. Unfortunately, without the element of surprise, several of my shots miss the panicking Goblins, but I manage to take out two more.
Barely seconds after my intervention, the Goblins' numbers had been whittled down to almost half of what they started with.
With their ranks almost depleted, the survivors glance at the corpses and make a hasty retreat, squeaking while scurrying away in fear.
Unfortunately for them, they were running toward the forest, where I was hiding.
Sensing no threat, I boldly step out from behind the tree and finish off the critters with several close shots.
'Zwack!' 'Zwack!' 'Zwack!'
In a few moments, the remaining survivors turned into chunks of flesh.
Despite shooting off all those spells, I don't feel tired in the least. I examine the corpses. It seems I severely underestimated the firepower of my spell.
Whilst I marvel at my cheat Eldritch powers, the farmer walks up to me, grateful for my assistance. "Thanks for the help. My crops would've been stolen if you hadn't helped. What's your name, stranger?"
Damn? Is he a Texan? That's a real nice countryside accent he's got going on.
"My name's Shin, I'm new to these parts."
Shoot, I forgot. I should've gone with a pseudonym.
Ah, whatever. The Church has probably put out a description of my appearance already.
I just pray this farmer is ignorant of my wanted status.
Looking at the farmer stroking his bearded chin like he's hearing about an exotic cuisine for the first time, I think I can safely say I'm out of the Church's sphere of influence, for now.
"Shin? An unusual name, an unusual appearance, wearing unusual clothes and using unusual magic..."
...
Oh, you have gotta be kidding me-
"Are you an Otherworlder, by any chance?"
...
Should I lie, or should I tell the truth?
He clearly knows I'm from another world, so it'd be suspicious for me to deny it.
Hmm...
After giving it some thought, I decide to go with the truth. If he tries to sell me out later, I'll just shoot him with Eldritch Mote.
"If you're asking whether I'm from another world, yes, I am. Popped in just five minutes ago."
"Ah! No wonder." The farmer nods to himself, "Whoops, where are my manners? The name's Ralph. As you can see, I'm a farmer."
As he speaks, something appears before my eyes.
It's the green screen again, but this time, it's a new announcement.
[You've received a Revelation.]
The frick? Am I seeing this right? A quest mission? What's this, a Korean game system novel?
Also, Revelation? Really? Don't make it sound like God gave me the Ten Commandments. What's so divine about an octopus?
[*&^%1@#$U commands you to establish a presence in a neighbouring town.]
Oh, sounds easy enough, just preach about the end of the world and the worthlessness of everyone's lives. Are you effing kidding me!?! The moment I do that, the Inquisition will come rushing over like wolves smelling meat!
[Become a key figure of the town.]
"What? You mean become the mayor or something?"
[3^NI2?>%*&@ leaves it up to you to decide.]
The screen disappears the next moment as if it had never been there.
I try to will it back into existence, but all I'm able to summon is the status window listing out my skills and level.
Welp, that was helpful. I turned my attention to Ralph, who was musing and rambling about something. Typical middle-aged men's behaviour.
No caring about some random story about harvests have been bad with spikes in monster population, I interrupt him, "Do you know any good way to develop a reputation in a town?"
The farmer breaks away from his train of thought and answers, "Easy! Be rich or famous!"
That's way too simple, and I have none of those qualities.
"I'm neither of those."
"Then be an Adventurer! Fastest way to become rich and famous!"
Shoot! How did I not think of that!? Of course there are Adventurers in an isekai fantasy world, who would've guessed!?
Oh, wait, I'm supposed to lay low so those fanatics don't catch me!
Hmm, but I'm not sure how else I'm supposed to find employment.
I don't have any legal papers since I'm literally from another world, and those goddamn fanatics will probably have all the major settlements under close watch.
Heh, fanatics hunting a guy named Cultist who's an actual cultist.
How absurd.
Yet, for some reason, it happened.
"I'm not sure if I'm cut out for it. You seem better suited to be an adventurer, given how you fended them off."
"What? You think I'm skilled?" He laughs, "Wait until you meet the guards! I only did two years of mandatory service!"
"Mandatory service?"
The frick? Why are there Korean elements in a Japanese-inspired English web work?
"Yeah. Since you're an Otherworlder, you might not be aware of this, but we've got ourselves a bit of a problem with Demons. To make sure everyone can defend themselves, they make us go through two years of service with the local garrison." He stops, realizing he forgot to ask something: "You know what Demons are?"
Oh, of course there's Demons throwing things into chaos in a fantasy world. There's always Demons.
Now I wonder if it's going to use the classic 'kill the Demon King because he's evil and wants to conquer the world,' or go down the 'the Demon King isn't evil but has to wage total war because of humanity's greedy, abusive, expansionist policies' route.
Either way, it doesn't concern me that much.
"Yeah, I heard of Demons. They're just folklore where I'm from."
"Wow, you guys are really lucky. The Demon Kings and their detestable underlings are running amok more than usual. At the rate things are going, we might get another war."
"Demon Kings?"
I heard that correctly, right? Demon Kings, plural?
Ralph confirms, "Ah, right, forgot you're from another world. "
The hell!? Isn't this world overusing common tropes way too much!?
I've heard of dark lords splitting their souls and getting revived several times over, but having several dark lords at once!? How is the story supposed to progress!?
Only that company run by that capitalistic mouse can come up with such an absurd, overused and cheap setting!
Ralph shrugs "Not sure myself, but I hope things don't escalate into a full-blown war at the Frontier. Things are tough as is with the surge in monsters."
Aside from the part about the surge in monsters, the word 'Frontier' caught my attention.
Based on classic isekai tropes and settings, a place called the 'Frontier' is most likely located in an isolated region where local lords are the rulers, not some king or religion.
Such a place wouldn't be monitored closely by other nations, unless some sort of disaster arose.
If communication doesn't travel as far or as quickly out there, then people are less likely to recognize me and report me to the Church.
Plus, humans and all the other peaceful citizens of this realm are going to be more concerned about the Demon threat than some rogue Otherworlder.
On another note, since there is a monster problem, I might be able to build up a reputation that can shield me from those fanatics if I use my powers to help the locals.
However, for my deeds to be known, I must register as an adventurer, which means I must find an Adventurers' Guild in some town.
I turn to my trusty former conscript farmer, "Do you mind telling me where the nearest town is?"
I avoid words like settlement or village as I'm not sure if those levels of civilization are advanced enough to have an Adventurers' Guild.
Ralph smiles, "Of course, I can take you to town myself. Are you going to join the Adventurers' Guild?"
My eyes widened, "How did you know?
He chuckles, "Seems like the only place for someone in your situation. Besides, it'd be a waste not to use those skills of yours.
I'll take you to the Guild myself, I have some errands to run in town anyways."
Thus, my isekai adventure begins.
I have become the enemy of the Church immediately upon landing, and my first party member is a farmer.
Surely things couldn't get crazier, right?
...
I need to shut my dumb mouth.