Goblins

I examined the detailed map inside the town hall. It offered a wider view, but the names of the regions still weren't written on it. As I continued studying it, I noticed the mountain area where we would be playing.

"Looking at the shape of these mountains, this is the game area. Take a look, Lie."

Lie fixed her eyes on the spot I was pointing to with my finger. After studying it for a moment, she agreed.

"It really does look like it. Should we go check it out?"

"Let's do that. There's probably not much else in this building. Come on."

Lie nodded and kept walking with me. Meanwhile, she checked her own phone. Surprised by what she saw, she immediately wanted to let me know.

"Rei, look. Haru joined that guy's team."

I checked my own phone and saw that Haru had joined Premeus's team.

"I expected something like this. No problem."

"That cute-faced kid really turned against us just like that?"

"Like I said, don't be fooled by appearances."

"You're right. I shouldn't judge people by how they look."

Lie's eyes suddenly lit up as if an idea had come to her.

"What if we asked Akari? You know her, right?"

"Akari might join our team, but I'm not sure if she'd betray us. So I'm not going to add her to my team. Besides, Haru probably expects me to cooperate with her. I don't want to move the way he's predicted."

"I see. So what do we do then? We can't convince anyone from the village. After what they saw, no one probably thinks we're going to win."

"You're right. That guy has a strong reputation here, so most likely no one from here will join us."

"Then what are we supposed to do!"

"Calm down. You're reacting like you're about to die or something. I have another idea."

"What idea?"

"I'm going to try to befriend the goblins."

Lie was stunned. She leaned in close and stared into my eyes.

"What? You're going to make friends with goblins? How are you even going to talk to them? And how would they even join the game?"

"Didn't you hear the system? It emphasized the concept of 'living creature' several times. That means we're not the only living things with phones that can join the game."

Lie remembered what the system had said and saw my point. Her eyes looked at me with renewed energy.

"Oh! That's right. But how are we going to communicate?"

Her face fell again the moment she thought about communication.

"I'll handle that part. I think there won't be many of us in general, so let's split up tasks."

Stolen novel; please report.

"Split up tasks? What's that?"

"You do one thing, I do another. We'll save time."

"Oh, okay. What do you want me to do?"

"Use your money to buy us decent fruit. Find a suitable place to sleep in the forest. We can't spend much time in the village—we could even be assassinated. We need to be careful. In the meantime, I'll find the goblins' nest."

"How are you going to find it?"

"I'll follow the path they took while we were hiding. They had food in their hands—they were probably returning from a hunt. Also, further down that path, there was a location on the map inside that building. If I put in the effort, I think I can find it."

"Don't get hurt. Be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. But after I leave, I might not come back for a day."

Lie nodded in approval. We continued walking through the center of the village, heading toward the Bright Forest again. As we were walking, we ran into Akari. Akari looked both pleased to see me and curious at the same time.

"Rei, did you join a game?"

"Yeah. Some things happened. How did you hear about it? Were you around here?"

"No, I came from the other village. News travels fast."

"The other village... I see. Were you alone there?"

"No. Haru was with me, but then he came to this village. We argued a bit."

"I see. So Haru came from that village. He didn't start here. Thanks for the information."

"What are you doing? Are things going well for you in the other village?"

"Yes. I'm living comfortably for now thanks to the game coins I earned. I'm focusing on strengthening my ties with the villagers. After I heard about what happened, I wanted to talk to you. Do you have a plan?"

"Not right now. Thanks for worrying about me."

"No problem. I also came to check out the market. I heard this place has a famous one."

"Is that so? Well, happy shopping then."

After talking, we parted ways. Lie and I kept walking toward the area with the tall grass from before.

"She seems like a sweet girl. Her white hair is pretty. Is she our enemy?"

"I'm not sure. But lately, she's been closer to a friend. Still, be careful around her too, okay?"

"Alright. We've reached the spot we talked about. I'll look for a suitable place around here. I'm heading to the left. We'll meet back here in the tall grass afterward."

"Got it. You be careful too. See you."

"See you."

We split up. I continued down the path to the right where the goblins had gone. After a while, I saw two goblins up ahead walking again. I slipped into the bushes to hide. I kept watching them from the bushes until they moved away from me. They had sacks on their backs and long spears in their hands. They were close to two meters tall, and their noses were large. I figured they must serve as hunter goblins in their nest. Just like my previous observation, they kept speaking in their own language. Once they were gone, I continued moving through the forest alongside the path this time.

I checked my phone again. Premeus's team had already grown to five people. I could understand how he was able to recruit—his reputation preceded him.

Based on my observations, this man is arrogant. He could also be a meticulous control freak. Even if Haru is on his team, Haru probably won't listen to him much. People like him can't stand uncertainty. I can manipulate him.

I kept moving forward. After a short while, I noticed what looked like a mine entrance. This was probably the goblins' nest. There was one guard goblin stationed on each side of the nest's entrance. I could tell they were tasked with protecting the entrance.

To get inside, I used a simple distraction. I hurled a large rock to the opposite side of where they were standing. The moment they heard the sound, both of them turned and headed in that direction to check it out.

I entered the nest's entrance with silent steps. I continued quietly down the iron spiral staircase. The lower floor was like a gathering or entertainment area. A large number of goblins were talking and having fun in their own language. I headed toward the left corridor and glanced into the first room on the left. I noticed it was empty and went inside. It looked like a simple guest room—there was only a bed. Seeing it reminded me of the cells I had stayed in. I crawled under the bed and began hiding here.

Now it's time to listen.

For about six to eight hours, I continuously listened to the goblins' conversations. I tried hard to understand their pronunciation and their language. I devoted my full concentration to understanding it for hours. After all those hours passed, I began to think I could speak their language at a certain level.

Alright. Now I can reveal myself. If they see a human speaking their language, I can present myself as a goblin secret supporter or some kind of mysterious prophet in their eyes and deceive them. If I'm convincing enough, they'll listen to me. After all, they've never encountered a human who could speak their language.

I think I'm ready. I hope I can pull this off.