Gobhill Forest, Republic of Valeria, Central Continent;
A team of five Astron warriors is seen entering the forest known to be inhabited by goblins.
There are two types of wild zones in the world.
One is a restricted zone and the other is a free zone.
The restricted zones are small in area and are protected by a barrier over it, to keep the monsters within the barrier and also to make sure low-level warriors don't step in.
On the other hand, due to their vast areas, the free zones are usually available for everyone regardless of their level. But then again, it also means there would be an army stationed nearby all the time, preventing any kind of invasion.
Coming to the gobhill forest, which spans over fifteen thousand sq. km, is a free zone without any restrictions to explore this wild zone. However, compared to other free wild zones, the risk of death is quite low due to the fact that all types of goblin species are usually Tier-1 beasts, and some rare ones are Tier-2 beasts.
Due to the fact that Goblins have a high reproduction rate and their numbers are quite high, this area usually serves as a training ground for the academy cadets and rookie Astron warriors.
One such team, filled with five high school teenagers, four of them are in Tier-2 and their leader is a Tier-3 Astron warrior, enters the forest while wearing shiny magical equipment.
At one glance, they looked like they were quite rich. And no doubt there would be some greedy players and astron warriors following them with ill intentions.
"Silver, do you really think we could capture the target?" whispered Mark as he glanced to the right and left. He was considered the second strongest in the team and yet, his face couldn't hide the nervousness he was feeling.
The golden-haired boy with exquisite scarlet armor on him cast a sidelong serious glance at the boy with the glasses and responded with a finger on his lips, gesturing for him to be silent.
The glasses boy gulped his saliva and shut his mouth, proceeding to walk forward at a steady pace as the others.
They traveled for about an hour deep into the forest until they reached a goblin settlement at the shores of a stream. It's a small settlement with over roughly 80 goblins, found in small groups here and there, doing chores just like any other human; some are washing clothes in the stream, some are cooking meat in pots, little goblins are playing tag, and the old ones are resting and conversing with each other.
Instantly, three of the five teenagers took out their weapons as soon as they witnessed the beasts.
Mark's hands are shivering as he tightly gripped his sword, "should we run?" He couldn't help but ask as he wiped off his sweat, watching the goblins with levels are all tier-2 beasts and not Tier-1 as they learned in their Magizoology class.
The strongest of them, who was busy hitting a sword with a hammer on the side, was even in the Tier-3 realm.
However, Silver placed his hand on Mark's sword and slightly pushed it down, "Don't worry, Glasses. Observe their features a bit closely. These are Mosskin goblins. They are not a threat."
Mark couldn't help but inspect one of the goblins nearest to him through the magic monocle equipped to his left eye that improves one's eyesight, "Phew… You are right." He dismissed the sword, letting out a sigh of relief.
Slightly smaller than your average goblin, a mosskin goblin is considered the most peaceful goblin ever. They don't like fighting or scheming and love to live in peace until they die. They are also friendly to other races, especially humans, who are the source of their knowledge. Surprisingly, they are the only goblin race to speak a human tongue.
Perhaps, these special traits made them feel like they were different from the other goblin races and lived in separate settlements on their own. Hence, one can assume that the entire settlement is of mosskin goblins.
But, at the same time, they held another unique characteristic. Once in a while, a goblin king would be born in their race and this special beast would rule over other goblin races. However, the goblin king is an extremely hostile being.
Because of this just one fact, some teams purposely massacre them on sight. Nevertheless, they still welcome humans to rest in their settlements.
As the party of five stepped into their settlement, the mosskin goblins looked at them and many of them continued their work while the little ones rushed toward the guests, curiously observing them or jumping around in joy.
While Silver was all smiles as he patted the heads of the little goblins, even giving them treats he bought from a nearby village market, his silent younger brother who was hiding his face under the hood, Nash, separated himself from the group and jumped high to land on a nearby tree and sat there in the name of looking out.
Mark was confused and didn't know how he should react, and the two girls of the group couldn't help but show their disgust on their faces at the sight of their captain being all friendly with those creepy goblins.
"Tch, look at him being all lovey-dovey with these beasts," muttered Jasmine under her breath.
The other girl, Marie, nudged her with her elbow, "Shh. They have enhanced hearing."
"So, what!" Jasmine raised her voice this time, not caring about her surroundings and attracting the attention of her party members and startling the little goblins, "I alone am enough to massacre all these beasts. They should be grateful to live."
"Eek?" "Kill… run… bad humans… run…" The goblin kids quickly got away from the team while alerting the others. As some of them took up their weapons and many looked at them warily, Silver shouted at his teammate, "Jasmine, shut up."
The heiress of Beastbane extractions shuddered at his voice before she was forced to apologize as Silver grabbed her head to bend it toward the goblins.
"Sorry about her. This is her first time meeting your kind. Don't take her words seriously," Silver once again put up his smile and addressed the wary goblins. "You don't worry. We are harmless. I'm just here to meet your chieftain."
As if they believed his words right away, the goblins around no longer put up their guard against the humans and continued with their duties as one of them led the teenagers to their chieftain's hut.
Jasmine Walter quietly followed her captain but her expression was quite ugly. All the way, she was gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, but eventually, she calmed down as her friend constantly reminded her of Silver's mission.
As they entered the chieftain's hut, they were greeted by a muscled goblin lying down with a bottle on the side; there was spilled beverage nearby the bottle, smelling like alcohol.
Mark, the glasses boy, shivered in panic once again as his face went pale. "Tie… Tier-fo," Silver swiftly closes his mouth, "calm down and trust me." He whispered.
"I apologize, humans, for this unsightly appearance," An elderly-looking goblin, who had a staff in his hand and had a humping back, freckles over his body, came out of the kitchen with a smile on his face. His manners were quite human-like. Who knows where he learned this from…
After serving everyone a cup of green tea and sitting at the table, the elderly goblin finally asked, "So, what is the purpose of your visit?"
Silver calmly replied, "I'm here with a request. I wish to form a contract with that warrior," He pointed his finger at the snoring goblin in the corner.
"EH? A contract?" As the elderly goblin's eyes widened and he almost spat out the tea, Silver let out a smile and said, "The Goblin King. I wish to form a contract with the Goblin King. In return, I could shift your entire tribe to a safe location where you don't have to worry about predators and provide you with every basic facility that humans enjoy."
"That man is the goblin king?" The two ladies felt like their hearts skipped a beat, taking another glance at the snoring beast from the corner of their eyes.
"Hmm…" The goblin chief rubbed his chin; his eyes glowing in gold, taking Silver by surprise as he sensed that this goblin's gaze penetrated deep into his soul.
Fortunately, it only lasted for two seconds and the goblin replied with a nod, "Alright, but one condition."