Having finished reorganizing, Rough immediately got moving.
Before beginning his monster hunt, he toured every corner of the village in search of clues to a possible Dungeon.
In other RPGs, NPCs might have exclamation marks floating above their heads.
Or clues might be given through a glowing lightbulb.
But Dream World Online had nothing like that.
To obtain relevant information, players had to put in the legwork themselves.
“Have you heard? The Kobold Lord has been subjugated!”
“Of course! I was worried sick that those bastards might raid the village, but now I can finally breathe easy!”
“Just thinking about all the trouble those kobolds caused us makes me feel relieved!”
“Tch! It’s such a shame! If I’d seen the thing myself, I would’ve sent it to an early grave!”
“Wouldn’t it have been the other way around? Kobold Lords tear people apart.”
The villagers gathered in front of the bulletin board murmured among themselves.
Rough and Jaar quietly listened to their conversation.
“Once the kobold subjugation is completely over, they’ll start subjugating goblins next, right?”
‘Goblins, huh.’
Goblins were humanoids with small builds and green skin.
Like kobolds, they were a staple of fantasy settings.
They were also an excellent source of experience in the early game.
“Haven’t the goblins seemed strangely more vicious lately?”
“They have. Haah, goblins after kobolds... Still, the immediate danger is gone, so if we hold out just a little longer, it should be resolved.”
Just as the villagers’ conversation ended—
“Are you two adventurers?”
An elderly man leaning on a cane approached them.
“I’m the village chief of Asente. It looked to me like you two were interested in those goblins.”
Before the village chief had even finished speaking—
[Main Quest generated!]
[Quest Title: Goblin Subjugation]
[Grade: Normal]
[Description: Although the subjugation of the Kobold Lord has eased Asente’s worries, the village is still exposed to the threat of monsters.]
[Objective: Reduce the number of goblins!]
[Goblins Slain: 0/100]
[On Success: Considerable experience, 5 Gold, a slight increase in the Asente residents’ Affinity, and a linked quest may be generated depending on your performance.]
The first Main Quest since the Tutorial had been generated.
‘A linked quest may be generated depending on my performance. It’s probably a higher-difficulty quest, right? The rewards should be better too. High risk, high return, then.’
“More adventurers have suddenly appeared lately, and they are hunting goblins, but it has not been enough to drive them out completely. Could you help as well? I will not disappoint you with the reward.”
He should clear the Dungeon first if possible.
But how could he turn down a quest that might offer good rewards?
“Sounds good. Let’s do it.”
Rough readily accepted.
“Then we’ll gather what we need and head out right away—”
“Ah, excuse me.”
The village chief stopped Rough.
“Were you the ones who subjugated the Kobold Lord? You seem to match the descriptions the knight order gave me...”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I knew it! Just as I thought!”
The village chief clapped his hands.
“Come to think of it, you are Asente’s benefactors. I ought to do something for you. Go find my granddaughter, who runs the general store over there.”
The village chief pointed toward the center of the village.
“If you tell her I sent you, she will give you some recovery potions free of charge.”
It was not much, but it was a small additional reward for subjugating the Kobold Lord.
***
Following the village chief’s advice, Rough and Jaar found his granddaughter.
“The village chief sent us. He said you would give us some recovery potions?”
“My grandfather did? Please wait a moment! I’ll get them ready right away!”
The young-looking girl hurried about.
While gathering the potions, the girl seemed bored and struck up a conversation.
“You must be an incredibly strong adventurer, right? It isn’t often that Grandfather sends adventurers to me.”
The village chief had sent Rough to the girl because he had subjugated the Kobold Lord.
The exact requirements were unknown, but subjugating the Kobold Lord had fulfilled some kind of condition.
That meant there were other users besides Rough who had met the village chief’s standards.
“If it isn’t often, that means there have been others, right?”
“You’re the second adventurer!”
The girl smiled brightly and held up her index and middle fingers.
‘The second?’
Hearing that he was second, Rough became curious about the first adventurer.
“May I ask what kind of person they were? Anything memorable about them.”
“Hmm, something was a little strange. They were looking for chickens. Do chickens help with killing goblins?”
‘What is she talking about?’
At the out-of-place question, Rough turned to Jaar.
Jaar simply shrugged, indicating that he did not know either.
“Why chickens...?”
Rough tilted his head.
“Since even you don’t know, I’m even more curious about the reason.”
The girl tilted her head along with him.
While he pondered it, she finished gathering the potions and handed Rough a bundle.
“Here you go! Sorry to keep you waiting! Your potions!”
***
[Tanlin Plains]
[Recommended Entry Level: 10 or higher]
[Recommended Combat Power: 650 or higher]
[Appearing Monsters: Goblin, Goblin Squad Leader, Goblin Centurion, Goblin Chieftain]
[Main Loot: Goblin Chieftain’s Gloves, Skill Book 《Double Jump》]
“Level 10 and Combat Power 650 or higher. The requirements are pretty relaxed.”
Thanks to his outstanding performance in the Tutorial, Rough was currently exactly Level 20.
His Combat Power went without saying.
He had several Titles, along with a Rare-grade weapon obtained as a reward for subjugating the Kobold Lord.
“Then shall we go?”
Without hesitation, Rough and Jaar stepped into Tanlin Plains.
The first Safety Zone players arrived at after the Tutorial.
It was what people called a newbie zone, or a beginner village.
Perhaps because of that, countless newbies were forming parties and eagerly hunting goblins at the entrance to Tanlin Plains.
There was nothing more efficient for hunting monsters than party hunting.
“Excuse me? Why are you so bad at killing mobs? You’re slowing down the hunt! What’s your Combat Power?”
“Uh... 700.”
“Seven hundred, my ass. You’re kicked.”
[‘Helicase’ has expelled ‘UltimateWarrior87’ from the party.]
“...? Fuck.”
Leaving those users behind, Rough headed toward a secluded, deserted area.
Something was more urgent than hunting goblins right away.
‘There were a few unfamiliar systems I got as Tutorial rewards.’
They were the Achievement Shop, the growth of his Personal Trait, and the Second Weapon System.
‘My Achievement Points are pitiful, so I’ll test the other things first.’
Rough first checked the changes to his Personal Trait.
His Personal Trait, the Advanced Status Window, had reached Level 5 and undergone its first growth.
Yet there had been no apparent change in the system description.
‘What changed?’
Frowning, Rough turned his gaze toward a distant goblin.
[Goblin]
[Lv: 5]
[Title: None]
[Classification: NPC]
[Affiliation: Goblin Tribe]
[Disposition: Evil]
[HP: 350/350 MP: 80/80]
[Strength: 10 △▽ Agility: 18 △▽]
[Intelligence: 2 △▽ Luck: 7 △▽]
[Total Combat Power: 601]
Then, when he used his Personal Trait—
[Strength: 1 △▽ Agility: 1 △▽]
[Intelligence: 1 △▽ Luck: 1 △▽]
[Total Combat Power: 601 ⇒ 468]
The stats fell all at once.
Previously, he had needed to manually tap each button over and over.
Now, there was no need for that.
Its convenience had improved beyond recognition.
‘Something that was already good got even better?’
Satisfied, Rough next checked the Second Weapon.
[Weapon Exchange LV. MAX]
[Grade: Lower]
[EXP: 99.99%]
[Active Skill]
[Switches your weapon to a registered spare weapon.]
Following the system prompt, Rough registered a bow he had acquired temporarily in his Equipment Window.
The moment he used the skill—
The Iron Sword in his hand instantly became a bow.
“Oh-ho. So that’s how it works? It really is convenient. It’ll be a huge help.”
Having finished checking everything, Rough’s gaze fell on the greatsword Jaar carried on his back.
‘That must be Jaar’s Second Weapon.’
Looking at the greatsword, Rough had one question.
“That greatsword on your back. Is there a reason you don’t use it? Subjugating the Kobold Lord would have been much easier if you had.”
“Ah, this?”
Jaar gave a bitter smile as he stroked the greatsword’s hilt.
“...I am not yet worthy of wielding this.”
‘Ah. Maybe there’s some problem, like he can’t draw it, like Excalibur...’
Shing.
‘No, what?’
To Rough’s surprise, Jaar drew the greatsword without any restriction.
He stared at it for quite some time with melancholy in his eyes.
It seemed as though he had a story behind it, so Rough decided not to ask any further.
“I think we’ve checked enough, so shall we start hunting?”
Rough and Jaar hunted the surrounding goblins as they ventured deeper into the forest.
When Rough entered Tanlin Plains, one of the messages visible only to him had listed the Goblin Chieftain’s Gloves and a Skill Book as main loot.
To obtain them, he would surely need to hunt a boss monster or an elite monster of comparable rank.
As they continued hunting and entered a deep area where even sunlight barely reached—
The elite goblins Rough had been seeking began to emerge one by one from the thick brush.
[Goblin Squad Leader]
[Lv: 6]
[Total Combat Power: 801]
[Goblin Centurion]
[Lv: 8]
[Total Combat Power: 1,078]
They were clearly different from the ordinary goblins near the entrance.
Their appearance, Levels, and Combat Power...
And on top of that—
“They’re... really angry, aren’t they?”
They were furious because an intruder had slaughtered so many of their kin.
They prowled around and surrounded Rough and Jaar.
“Kieeek!!”
At the cry of a Goblin Centurion, the goblins charged at the two of them all at once.
Whoosh.
A rough, clumsy hand flew toward Rough.
Rough lightly twisted his upper body to evade it and used a skill.
“Heavy Blow!”
The Goblin Squad Leader’s waist was easily severed by the sword he swung.
An elite monster with a Total Combat Power over 800 had been defeated with a single skill.
‘Whoa, it dies in one hit?’
After the Tutorial ended, Rough’s power far surpassed his expectations.
Moreover, his total MP had increased beyond comparison due to his higher Level.
That meant the number of times he could use skills had greatly increased.
Unlike when he fought the Kobold Lord, he no longer needed to obsess over MP.
“Hiya!”
“Mwah!”
Each time he used Heavy Blow, the elite monsters were swept away like leaves in the autumn wind.
‘If I’m this strong, Jaar must be toying with them.’
Rough’s guess was correct.
“Gwek, gwek!!”
The goblin caught in Jaar’s grasp burst apart as easily as tofu.
Before long, the area where the two stood had been dyed red with the blood spilled by goblins.
“Eek, eek!”
The goblin horde, having lost all will to fight, fled for their lives.
[You have hunted more than 100 goblins!]
[You have acquired the Title ‘Goblin Hunter’!]
[Goblin Hunter]
[A Title given to users who have hunted more than 100 goblins.]
[Effect: Additional Damage against Goblins +5%]
[All Stats +1]
[You have completed the Quest!]
[More than half of the 100 goblins you defeated were Goblin Squad Leaders and Goblin Centurions. A linked quest has been generated!]
[Quest Title: Subjugate the Goblin Chieftain!]
[Grade: Rare]
[Description: The Goblin Chieftain’s personal guard has suffered considerable losses! Now is the perfect opportunity to raid the Goblin Chieftain!]
[Objective: Defeat the Goblin Chieftain!]
[On Success: Considerable experience, 100 Gold, a Rare Item, and a linked quest may be generated depending on your performance.]
‘Oh?’
Interest flashed in Rough’s eyes.
It was the first Rare-grade Quest he had seen.
More surprising still—
“A linked quest could be generated again?”