He knew Halflings were more hospitable than most races, but this reception was still a little unnerving.

"Are you Adventurers?"

"Tell us about your journey! You must be from Thousand Masts City."

A group of Halflings chattered away, spreading blankets around the trio and sitting down. A few of the older ones even brought out plates of cookies and a couple of teapots. It looked like they weren’t planning to let their guests leave anytime soon.

"It’s like this every time I get back to the tribe from a hunt. A bunch of little runts asking a million questions," Kase grumbled.

He was more than happy to talk. He found a spot, sat down, and began, "It was a perilous winter..."

With just a few sentences, snowy plains, Wolf Packs, and Giants materialized before their eyes, as if the frigid winds of the World’s Roof had reached this very place. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The Halflings around them were captivated.

Even Orelia sat listening among the cluster of meter-tall Halflings, a cup of hot tea in her hands.

Storytelling was child’s play for this Orc Warrior who had traveled from north to south. He could conjure up a tale about anything, and he told it well, with the flair of a Wandering Poet.

Colin was rather surprised.

’This guy rarely talks to anyone; I had no idea he had such a talent.’

’If he gets crippled by some bad luck in the future, maybe the two of us can make a living telling stories in taverns.’

Seeing the Halflings beside him completely absorbed in the story, Colin brazenly reached out, grabbed a cookie, and popped it into his mouth.

The cookie was perfectly crisp; he could taste it was made with plenty of butter and milk.

It was no exaggeration to say they tasted almost as good as the factory-made cookies from his past life.

After eating a few more cookies and filling his stomach, Colin lay down in his sleeping bag.

Gazing up at the star-dusted night sky and listening to the Half-Orc’s gruff storytelling, he soon drifted off to sleep.

-----------------

Colin felt a tickle on his nose and reached up to rub his face.

He opened his eyes to see a small brown bird flap its wings, chirp, and fly away from his face.

"Good morning, Mr. Colin," Orelia said from her seat nearby.

She was sitting on a log, holding a small earthenware pot. She meticulously scooped out some white grease and began applying it to her horns.

Colin asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

"If I don’t, my horns might crack. It’s like how humans have to comb their hair," Orelia said, pursing her lips in embarrassment. "Besides, having cracked horns feels disrespectful to others."

"That makes sense," Colin said.

’By that logic,’ he thought, ’I wonder if races like Centaurs have to shoe their own hooves.’

"Get a move on, Your Excellency the Mage. Move your ass," Kase said, walking over. "I asked that short Old Guy. The Goblin Nest isn’t far. We can leave our packs here and be done with it in no time. These twenty-some Gold Coins are practically free for the taking."

"What’s with him? He seems to be in a bad mood," Colin asked.

Orelia cupped a hand to her mouth and whispered, "Last night, Mr. Kase asked the Halflings about their ages. They said they only come of age at twenty, and Mr. Kase got upset."

"So Kase’s dreams of playing the elder were crushed again," Colin chuckled.

Halflings can live to be a hundred and fifty, twice the lifespan of a Half-Orc.

"Let’s go! Still laughing!" Kase’s complaint echoed from a distance.

After a quick wash and breakfast, the trio left their luggage with the Halflings, grabbed their weapons, and headed in the direction of the Goblin Nest.

A Goblin Nest was unlikely to be in an easily accessible location, so they had to follow a faint animal trail, picking their way through the forest.

The path beneath their feet gradually grew more uneven.

They eventually reached the edge of the forest. A small, pine-covered knoll came into view. Beside it stretched a field of waist-high grass, dotted with a few fallen trees that broke up the terrain.

"A spot with some pines and fallen trees nearby... this should be the place." Kase looked at Colin. "What’s the plan, Colin?"

"A place like this can’t be a major Goblin Nest. There are probably only a few goblins inside at most," Colin said. "We don’t have any Antidotes, so let’s try to be quiet and take them out one by one. Getting hit would be a huge pain."

"Um, I can help with that."

As both men looked at her, Orelia swallowed and said, "I have a Cantrip called [Enhance Resistance]. All it does is make one person harder to poison for about a minute; it’s not complete immunity."

Colin pointed at Kase. "Cast it on him, then."

Orelia pinched a corner of her woolen Cloak, lightly touched Kase’s shoulder, and recited, "May the Morninglord protect him."

A faint golden light flashed over the Half-Orc’s body.

’I don’t know if it’s an illusion or a side effect of the Divine Art,’ Colin thought, ’but his skin looks a little smoother now.’

"It’s not like I’m that scared. The Carrion Insect incident was a fluke," Kase said. "Besides, I’m pretty experienced when it comes to goblins. If there are no objections, just follow my lead... On second thought, I’ll go myself."

With that, he took out his Longbow and Quiver, stepped out of the woods, and began creeping toward the knoll.

The Half-Orc’s movements were incredibly stealthy, like a nimble leopard. If they hadn’t been watching him from the very beginning, it would have been difficult to track his silhouette.

The Half-Orc spent several minutes scouting back and forth around the knoll.

Just as Colin was about to go over and ask what was happening, Kase abruptly rose from the tall grass, his Longbow drawn taut like a full moon.

The next instant, an Arrow shot like a black streak into the branches of a pine tree.

A dark figure immediately tumbled from the tree.

Only after Kase turned and waved them over did the other two slowly approach.

The figure that had fallen from the pine was a goblin, clad in rotting Beast Hide and clutching a Stone Spear. Kase’s Arrow had pierced its throat, killing it with a single shot.

"Was that their only Guard?" Orelia asked.

"This proves what the shorties said was right—it’s just a small outpost," Kase said, a little excited. "Come with me. The entrance is over here."

They walked over to a cluster of bushes between the pines.

There, they spotted a small fissure in the rock, concealed by the bushes. The opening slanted downward and was just wide enough to pass through.

Kase went back to retrieve his weapons, drawing his Shield and Battle Axe. He took the lead, and the other two followed behind.

After about a dozen steps, the passage grew steadily wider.

Soon, the three of them were able to walk side-by-side through the underground tunnel.

Waves of a foul stench washed over them. Colin could faintly hear sharp, cackling laughter echoing from deeper within the tunnel, which sounded rather unsettling.

They walked a little further, and a flickering firelight appeared up ahead.

Just as Colin was about to press on, Kase suddenly threw out an arm to stop him.