Book 2: Chapter 14

“You’re the new guy, right? The one that joined yesterday?”

“Ah, yes?” I'm asked that upon going up to the front desk.

I'm alone this time, but the new receptionist in place of Bell is indisputably a rather plain-looking guy. He doesn’t come off as condescending or hateful, so I have no beef with him.

“The assistant guild manager told me to let her know when you returned.”

“Oh, Kida did? That’s fine, I’d like to see her as well.”

“Rookie would?” a voice comes from behind and I turn around.

A moment later I look up because naturally, the woman behind me is considerably taller. As it is, my head is only a few feet from two massive watermelons that are barely covered with her bikini armor. She has a blush on her face and seems to fidget, which is only a little odd on a woman as tall as she.

“Ah, guild master. I’ll let you process him then.”

Kida’s blush grows larger, “Yes… thank you.”

“So, you were waiting for me then?”

Kida gives a quick nod. “Yes. Usually, once accepting a rookie into the guild, one of the more experienced members take them on a mission to evaluate them.”

“Ah, that sounds troublesome.”

Kida laughs as she scratches the back of her neck. “Yes, well, even though you were able to defeat me in combat, we still need to do things… by the book.”

“And you’d be the one to take me?”

“That is…” Kida sighs and loosens her shoulders. “To be honest, there is a bit of a sensitive mission I was given, and I’d feel more comfortable completing it if I had someone of your abilities as backup.”

“That serious?”

“Well, the guild master may run off regularly without a care, but it’s serious enough that headquarters called me out of the guild personally. As I understand it, there have been many goblin sightings recently.”

“This is a big concern?” I raise an eyebrow.

Admittedly, I haven’t really been a part of this world very much. I only knew a couple of things, enough to help stabilize Grimhilde’s country and live comfortably myself. The inner workings of this world are something I’ve left for some other time. If I am going to live in Riun from now on, it might be a good idea to establish myself here.

“Well, a few goblins are usually of no concern. A rank E would be able to handle it. However, given the numbers reported, it might be something bigger.”

“Would that be like a goblin king?”

Kida’s eyes flash in surprise but then she gives a tight-lipped nod. “Mm, Yes. If the goblins have organized under a goblin king, their breeding usually intensifies, they can quickly grow an army of millions if we don’t wipe out the situation swiftly.”

I consider things for a moment, scratching my chin as I ponder. This seems to worry Kida as she immediately waves her hands.

“Although our mission is merely surveillance. We just need to ascertain if a Goblin King has been born and how far along we are from a potential Goblin invasion.”

“Shall we go then?” I ask.

“You’re ready without preparation? The trip would normally take two days by foot, but if I ran at full ability we could be there and back in a few hours.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind for the quick and done. Speed is best, right?” I suggest.

Kida seems to be waiting for me to say that as she immediately smiles. “Try to keep up.”

The pair of us head swiftly out the door. Once I reach the gate of the city, she starts to pick up the pace, and while I adjust myself, so I kept at her speed as she continuously accelerates, it takes a while before I realize exactly how fast she can go. Kida is running about the speed of a car, right? I am certainly moving somewhere around 30-45 miles per hour. This certainly couldn’t be considered reasonable for a normal human. Once again, I am reminded of the discrepancy of specs felt between people in this world. I am, of course, a cheat exception, but there are A-class and S-class that can move mountains.

However, Kida suddenly stops, and I barely manage to prevent myself from running face first into her. When I finally stare out in the direction she is looking, I give an involuntary gulp.

“Um… about how far would you say this is towards a goblin invasion?”

Kida turns back to me with a wide-eyed look. “In progress… They’re already moving on Riun as we speak.”

The pair of us are standing out on a ledge, and as far as I can see there is nothing but hordes and hordes of goblins marching in our direction. Looks like dinner is going to be a bit late tonight.