Sorry for the wait, everyone. Been perhaps a bit too preoccupied playing God of War Ragnarok, ha ha. But for real, that game has an incredible amount of content. I'd been a bit blown away and almost even doubtful when I'd first installed the game, which had been roughly 3 times the size of the previous GoW game, but now that I'm roughly 20+ hours in, I can see why the game takes up so much damn space – there's just so much to do!

Armor to upgrade, huge areas to explore in nearly every realm so far, far more favors to fulfill than in the previous game… it's crazy to think that it still feels like I have quite some more time to go before I even get to the endgame! And god above, does it ever fuel my fanfic obsessed brain. It really could make for some good fanfics if I really take the time to sit down and think it all through, though I'm holding off since this fic is my priority as far as writing goes. Plus, I still want to see what exactly the rest of the story will have to offer before I really bother committing conjuring up any kind of fic idea for it, much less act on it.

And on that note, to address two reviews for the hell of it…

Rook435: Hell yeah, seeing Kratos as of the Norse saga in the Lands Between would definitely be super interesting, especially as he is now in Ragnarok, since the option of doing things more diplomatically is now something he is genuinely considerate of. Whether or not such an option would work on anyone/anything in the Lands Between as opposed to the Aesir though… man, that'd be interesting to think over and see what happens!

DarkAres12: Sorry to hear that Elden Ring wasn't really your cup of tea. Personally, I think Fromsoft did a great job crafting an open world game, though that's mainly because for the first time in a long time, a game was able to offer me genuine surprises as I fumbled around and found loot and gear on my own instead of being openly guided to such things in game like in other works. But to each their own.

Now then, not too much else to say, I suppose, other than that the Tarnished will be getting the spotlight this time around, more introspection about the situation and all included. Plus a few more details that may be of interest to you guys…

Anyways, do enjoy!

P.S. As usual, please consider buying my novels! Universal links found on profile page, remove the spaces! Fading Darkness, Rising Light and the Infinite Genesis trilogy available for purchase on most platforms, from Barnes and Noble to Apple, Amazon Kindle and so on!

Chapter 7

The travel from the cave back to the town that had commissioned adventurers to deal with the goblins had been pleasantly uneventful, allowing the Tarnished and the adventurers safe travel back to said town. There, the girls had been placed, a good number of them having been able to reunite with their families whilst those that had been traveling through the region before being caught by the goblins were sadly left to their lonesome. That isn't to say that the townspeople simply ignored them, no, nothing of the sort – these women were given the same welcoming treatment as the other girls, it's just that there was no family of theirs there to welcome them with familiar open arms.

After having gotten all the rescued women situated, with the future as to how they'll hold up still rather uncertain, the adventurers had gone to see the town mayor to receive their compensation for a job well done while the Tarnished had waited for them.

Not long after that, they'd taken their leave of the town, the day still plenty early enough for them to make the journey back to the adventurer's guild. And of course, the Tarnished had gone along with them.

And so, the rest of that day had gone by without issue… though not without the Tarnished feeling something horribly amiss yet unable to pinpoint the source of his newfound discomfort.

In any case, it was now a new day – literally – and he'd arrived in the town where this adventurer's guild was located at.

He'd followed Goblin Slayer and his party to said guild, but chose to wait in the back of the… lobby? Was that what this area was?... anyways, he chose to wait here for the time being to dwell in his own thoughts while the others had gone to report how their adventure had gone to a rather fetching young woman who'd practically lit up the entire room with her smile upon seeing Goblin Slayer step in through the door a moment ago.

As it was now well into the morning of the day now, there were plenty of people milling or flitting about. Some of them appeared to be dressed in a manner similar to the woman – a clerk for the guild – thus marking themselves as employees of the guild as well. However, there were also plenty of others dressed in manner of things, ranging from casual clothes that were nonetheless easy to move and battle in while others wore heavy and elaborate armor that ranged in design from something similar to his own to designs that he felt may have been more at home in the land of Reeds.

So, the Tarnished thought as he crossed his arms, these were adventurers…

To be perfectly honest, when Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman had explained to him what adventurers were during the course of their travel here, he'd been rather confused by it all. As far as he could tell, adventurers were very much like sellswords, something he'd brought up to them only for his newfound allies to try and explain the differences between adventurers and sellswords. Yet even then, the armored man felt unable to really tell the difference. Just about the only thing that stood out to him was the very existence of the guild, which acted as a hub for these adventurers to gather and form parties to tackle quests, whereas it seemed to him like sellswords simply met wherever when it came to sharing information and picking up jobs.

Ah well, whatever differences there really were between the two groups was irrelevant to him. What did matter was whether or not they were capable… and he could tell just by the way most of the adventurers moved around him that they were indeed accomplished fighters in one form or another, though he did take note of quite a handful of youngsters, greenhorns eager to build up experience and prove their worth. The mere sight of such hopeful and bright children was enough to make him feel nostalgic.

But just as he calmly observed these adventurers around him, so too did others look him over albeit far more obviously, whispers flitting about here and there.

"…The hell is he…?"

"Sure haven't seen him around…"

"Must be one hell of a guy to have armor that good…"

"Either that or he's just loaded and bought all that stuff…"

These were but a handful of whispers that he picked up as he listened. Alas, he paid it all little mind. While it did fill him with a certain level of joy to see so many capable warriors gathered, his observations were simply a function of existence for him by this point, a skill he'd honed over the course of his life to the point where sizing up just about everyone and everything he came across was second nature to him, like breathing.

His thoughts were primarily filled with how to proceed from here.

Back in the previous town, he'd quietly watched as the town mayor had paid Goblin Slayer and his party, having taken note of how the currency system in this land seemed to work. That single observation in addition to a very brief explanation, again courtesy of the kind Lizard Priest, had allowed the Tarnished to start figuring out how to go about obtaining funds of his own as a precaution.

The first thing that came to mind was to sell some of his items.

Not his equipment and definitely not his weaponry – he was something of a hoarder like that, having long since sold all the equipment he'd deemed ill-fitting to Hewg or Kalé – ah, how he missed those two dearly, such good friends – while holding onto all else that he felt he may have some use for. Thus, selling what equipment remained was out of the question.

That ultimately left items such as his consumables… and on that front, he may be in a slight bind.

The Neutralizing Boluses should fetch him quite a bit of coin as could the Stanching and Thawfrost Boluses since he'd imagine bleeding out and frostbite were hazards as common here as they were back in his world. As for the other boluses, however… he's no idea if this world had their own version of the Scarlet Rot – he most certainly hoped not – or deathblight, sleep, or even the form of madness inflicted by exposure to the Frenzied Flame.

Aside from the boluses, well, he did have a number of throwables such as kukri and fan daggers, but not all that much, having found his Serpent Bow as well as the more far reaching skills afforded to him by some of his weapons to make up for such throwables. He could afford to sell the kukri and daggers for some coin once they were appraised, he supposed.

Alas, despite all these options at his disposal, he did have to ponder how far he could take it. After all, while he'd gone on a bit of a crafting spree and had created the maximum number of items that could be stored by sites of grace, that meant that as far as his inventory goes, he 'merely' had access to ninety-nine of each bolus until he could restock at a site of grace or craft more during his travels, neither of which he was sure he would have access to in this new world.

While ninety-nine of each bolus certainly sounds like a lot, well, he could end up burning through them rather quickly depending on how popular they prove once he begins selling them.

But would the money he could likely obtain be enough to see him through the rest of his journey towards Ranni? He liked to think so, but he didn't get this far by being too trusting of current circumstances, especially since he still doesn't yet know the full scope of this world's layout and hazards.

"All done."

"Hmm? Ah, I see. Good to hear."

Goblin Slayer had suddenly called out to him and the Tarnished had responded in just as simple a tone. He lowered his arms and took a few steps towards the younger man and his party who also approached.

"So what is next for you lot?" asked the Tarnished, interested.

"…For now, I must return home. There's plenty to check on," spoke Goblin Slayer as he tilted his head in thought. "…What about the rest of you?"

"Eh, it's about lunchtime, so I might just grab a bite to eat before hitting the hay. We pretty much traveled nonstop from the last town to here, so I'm feeling like a good nap would do some good. Right, Beardcutter?" spoke Dwarf Shaman.

"Mm."

At Goblin Slayer's reply, High Elf Archer sighed. "I'm just gonna get going to my room – I'm tired. See you guys tomorrow, I guess." The elf then swiftly took off, though not before shooting a glance in the Tarnished's direction. It would seem his continued presence around them was still leaving the woman feeling on edge.

"U-Uhmm…" Priestess began, looking back and forth between where High Elf Archer had been and the Tarnished. "I'm really sorry about her. I… we don't really know what's gotten into her."

The Tarnished smiled under his Crucible Axe Helm. "Don't apologize for something that isn't your fault. And as for your friend's attitude, I'm far from offended by it so worry not about it."

His calm reply left the young girl visibly on the backfoot. However, after a few seconds, she recovered and then bowed. "T-Thank you very much for your understanding and for your help with our quest too. Uhm…" She turned to the others. "I actually have a few errands that I need to run. Should we meet back up early tomorrow, sir Goblin Slayer?"

"Yes. Same time and place," he answered.

"O-Okay! Have a good day!" The young Priestess bowed once again towards all of them before taking her leave, trotting out of the guild with the sort of frenetic energy that only the young seemed to have.

"Ha, as always, our little Priestess is so dedicated," commented Lizard Priest before then addressing the rest of them. "As for myself, I believe I shall be joining you once again, master spellcaster, for a bite to eat. Would that be fine?"

Dwarf Shaman just guffawed. "Seems like the two of us are just the strangest pair out there, eh? But I don't mind, scaly; it's always good to have a drinking buddy!"

Lizard Priest chuckled. "Indeed. And what of you, my good sir? Care to join?"

The Tarnished shook his head respectfully. "I'd be honored, but I'm afraid I've some pressing business to tend to now that I'm here. My journey may not perhaps be the most pressing, but it is important nonetheless."

"Mm, most understandable. A pity. I would truly love to hear what tales you surely have to tell of the battles you've been in. But should we ever meet again, perhaps you'll regale us with those tales?"

"Only if you would grant me the honor of hearing your own tales," the Tarnished said with a chuckle.

Lizard Priest laughed. "But of course. May your journey be a fruitful one."

"And may your future adventures be fruitful as well."

The two of them clasped each other's forearms in a sign of great respect for several seconds before finally letting go. Only then did the lizardman take off deeper into the guild, presumably towards whatever mess hall this guild had, with Dwarf Shaman happily trailing along after giving a casual wave towards him and Goblin Slayer. Said dwarf was already partaking in an audible gulp from his alcohol jar.

And so, it was only the Tarnished and Goblin Slayer left now.

The two of them simply stared at each other momentarily, seemingly oblivious to the curious gazes being thrown their way by other adventurers around them.

"…Hope you're able to find the one you're looking for." Goblin Slayer uttered these words rather awkwardly, even for him. It felt as if a thousand and one words wanted to be spoken but the young man's heavily affected mental state was preventing him from speaking even a single one of the words he'd wanted to say.

But the Tarnished, perfectly understanding this, merely nodded and smiled in genuine warmth. More so than Lizard Priest, Goblin Slayer's personality and quirks were things that he understood the most. For in some ways, it was as if he was looking into a mirror which reflected an image from long, long ago.

"Thank you. May your future goblin slaying quests go well… and may your adventures be great," the Tarnished replied as he clasped the younger man's right shoulder firmly. "Remember, your actions do have meaning and worth."

"…" Goblin Slayer made a sound of some kind that had some of the adventurers nearby that were still observing them looking at one another now in confusion. But the Tarnished understood and finally let go of the man's shoulder.

Giving the younger man one final look and nod, the Tarnished brushed past him. It was several seconds more before the veteran warrior detected the armored man finally begin to take his leave.

Silently muttering a prayer for Goblin Slayer, the Tarnished now refocused back on the matter at hand. He now approached the guild counter, hoping he could get some service here.

Said counter was currently free of anyone else, meaning he had the freedom to just walk on up. Specifically, he approached the young woman that he'd spotted Goblin Slayer recounting his quest to. If the woman would treat Goblin Slayer's words so seriously and even happily then surely she was someone quite capable; from what he's discerned so far, goblin slaying in general was somewhat frowned upon due to a perceived 'easiness' to it in addition to such quests often being financially unrewarding.

And yet this woman treated it all quite seriously nonetheless. That alone earned her some favorability in his eyes.

With that in mind, he strode on up as confidently as could be.

Time to begin some negotiations.


As was long since the usual, Guild Girl went about her work as efficiently as possible, all whilst awaiting the return of her favorite adventurer. Even though Goblin Slayer and his party had just finished giving their report to her just moments ago, well, was it really so wrong to want to be around the goblin-obsessed adventurer some more? Outside of certain circumstances, the only times she ever got to interact with him was here within the guild.

Such a fact made her inwardly sigh, vividly recalling the time she'd spent with him during that festival all that time ago. Aside from how that day had ended, it'd been a genuinely good time, being able to go around town with Goblin Slayer. It was something she hoped dearly to be able to do again, so long as she wasn't stepping on anyone else's toes, of course. She was well aware of the attention he got from others, such as from his childhood friend whom he lived with on her farm as well as the adorable young priestess in his group… and maybe the lively elf as well, despite what said archer may say.

"Excuse me."

Guild Girl, having been so caught up in her own thoughts as she'd been filing some papers in the cabinet beside her station, ended up squawking from sheer surprise.

But she was no longer the newbie who balked and borderline whimpered at being approached by others. The years spent here interacting with adventurers of all kinds had helped her work up her nerves and thus she was able to pull off a rather graceful recovery if she did say so herself. In a split second, she neatly put aside the papers she wasn't able to file in time and sat up straight, delivering the practiced professional smile that she always reserved for others that… well, that weren't Goblin Slayer or his party members.

Only to blink slightly upon seeing who now stood before her station.

Just like everyone else, she'd taken note of the warrior – for that is clearly what he was – that had accompanied Goblin Slayer's party into the guild. To say he stood out would probably be an understatement, sporting armor and gear that she was certain none of them had ever seen before.

But more than that…

…T-This man… he was rather tall and evidently well-built, even more so than adventurers such as Heavy Warrior or even the Amazon, assuming his armor wasn't simply designed to look so large on his frame.

But more than simply his build, the man practically exuded an aura of professionalism and confidence, the kind that only the most experienced could have.

And he was glancing right down at her.

"Yes, how may I help you?" she said, maintaining her own professionalism, hands folded together neatly in front of her.

"Greetings," the man began, his deep voice nothing less than courteous. His build and presence aside, he seemed well-mannered enough. In a way, he reminded Guild Girl of Lizard Priest, whose own appearance belied the intelligent and amicable personality he had. "I'd been told by sir Goblin Slayer and his party that the guild could provide certain services, such as selling and purchasing supplies?"

Guild Girl managed to keep from blinking. From the words spoken just now, this man didn't seem to be an adventurer, having spoken as if this was all new to him. A foreigner then? That had to be it, for the adventurer system was something very well known throughout this land. It would also explain the uniqueness of his armor as well.

"Yes sir, that's correct. But if you are hoping to obtain weapons and the like, I'm afraid you'd have to go to actual blacksmiths for that. The same would apply as well for more specialized forms of magical items such as scrolls as well – in that case, we only sell the most generic of them," she explained concisely.

"Oh no, I'm no need of any of that." The man gently waved a hand, dismissing her words. "The opposite actually – I was hoping if it would be possible for me to sell some wares that I have no use for."

Oh? Well, that was definitely unexpected.

"That is possible, yes. But it would depend on what it is you wish to sell."

"But of course. May we begin then? Or will we require a change in venue or something else?"

"We do have a backroom where us guild clerks and a proper appraiser can look over what you have to sell," Guild Girl explained. "If you wish to sell the guild items, then we could head there in just a moment. But first… if you'd allow me to go and call for our appraiser."

"By all means."

Guild Girl then stood and took her leave for just a moment. She headed through the immediate backroom and located one of the colleagues there, speaking quietly as she asked the man diligently sorting some other miscellaneous items if he could call the appraiser over to backroom number twelve, which is where sellers and buyers often did business at.

After doing so, she returned back to her station, but remained standing instead of taking a seat again. "Our appraiser will meet us there, sir. If you'd please follow me…"

She motioned kindly for him to follow her as she now maneuvered her way around the entire counter and out into the open.

The man nodded and dutifully followed after her, his gait relaxed yet still perfectly upright somehow.

The two of them soon reached a hallway and began their brief trek through it in complete silence… a rather awkward silence too, if Guild Girl was being perfectly obvious.

Despite herself, she couldn't help but glance back the man's way as discreetly as possible.

Only perhaps she wasn't quite as discreet as she would have liked to be.

"My presence is a curiosity, isn't it?" the man spoke in amusement.

"A-Ah, my apolo-!" she began to stutter out.

"No need. I'm well aware that I'm a stranger in these lands. It is the nature of people to be curious about the unknown."

"That… That is certainly true…" Guild Girl trailed off as the two of them reached the backroom in question. As she entered it, she noted the appraiser wasn't there yet. It would likely be a few minutes or so before they arrive. "Would you care for something to drink while we wait? Our appraiser should be here momentarily."

"No, thank you. I will be fine, young one. But go ahead and fetch yourself something if you so wish – I don't mind." Once again, the man was as friendly as could be.

Guild girl shook her head as they now took their seats across from one another, a large table in between them for him to lay out his wares as needed.

Then, after a moment, she decided to speak, this time not about business but about the point of curiosity that had been nagging her and no doubt a lot of the others out there. "You came here alongside Goblin Slayer and his party… did you happen to meet on the way here?"

"Oh no, we meet during their quest," the man replied casually. "I'd noticed something amiss about the mine and had gone in there to investigate and deal with the goblins should I find them, which I most certainly did. Goblin Slayer and his party came along not long afterwards and it was in there that we met."

That was indeed what had happened, the details of Goblin Slayer's report still very much fresh in Guild Girl's mind. This was just her way of seeing if the man would say anything different, but so far it seemed like his account of events generally matched up with what Goblin Slayer had said.

However, Goblin Slayer's reports were always very barebones, only the most relevant details given while all else was often left out, especially if it had absolutely nothing to do with the quest at hand. So getting some extra details from this unknown man was of genuine interest to Guild Girl.

"I see! You must be quite the warrior to go into a place where goblins had been nesting in like that," she said.

"I've my fair share of experience, yes." The man chuckled lightly. "That said, it was good that the others had come when they had – while I could have very well handled the goblins on my lonesome, their actions did help ensure the physical safety of all the captives those creatures had taken. I can tell they're a capable bunch, especially Goblin Slayer – I can say with certainty that he is an admirable young man. I can only imagine how much of an effect he's had on the general wellbeing of various towns and villages out there, given that goblins do seem to be a very rampant threat in these lands."

Despite herself, Guild Girl couldn't help but beam a bit. Even now, Goblin Slayer still got some mockery from other adventurers. Granted, said mockery was more out of good humor now rather than the outright derision he used to get before having met his party, but still it just never sat well with Guild Girl. Hearing this man so earnestly compliment the awkward silver ranked adventurer thus helped lift her mood considerably.

"My apologies for being late!" called out Inspector as she all but suddenly came dashing into the room. "Got held up with some other work!"

Inspector, much like Guild Girl herself, was a young woman and yet was a longtime worker here at the guild itself, having begun her work here at quite a young age indeed. Though a receptionist much like Guild Girl herself, she was trained in appraisal as well as in several other fields. Her Sense Lie miracle granted to her as a follower of the Supreme God especially made her effective in situations like this, hence why she'd been called.

Now that she was here, the young and petite woman took a seat next to Guild Girl, flashing the latter a somewhat playful smirk that she tried to keep hidden from the man across from them. "You're practically glowing – got to see your favorite adventurer just a little while ago?" Inspector whispered.

"H-Hush, you!" Guild Girl just as quietly whispered with a small blush.

The other woman snickered but swiftly adopted a professional expression as she now faced the man. "Sorry for the wait, sir. I'd been informed you've some items to sell to the guild. Shall we begin then?"

"Of course."

As the man nodded and began to reach into what both women assumed to be a back pouch or something of the sort, Guild Girl couldn't help but idly wonder just what the man could possibly wish to sell – it didn't seem like he was visibly carrying a whole lot on him after all.

Several long minutes go by and Guild Girl now found herself pretty much eating her own words.

"…And these are kukri as you can see," spoke the armored man as he laid down several of said item on the table before them. "As you can see for yourself, the quality is likely not the greatest out there, but they are still plenty durable and sharp enough to cut into most things, provided the thrower has a strong enough arm and proper throwing technique."

He slid one of the kukri over to them for a closer look, causing some of the other items on the table to rattle a bit.

And it was indeed a good thing that the table was so large, for there were quite the handful of items placed upon it.

Just how has this man been carrying all of this? And just where was he even storing it all?! Some form of magic?!

These were but a few questions that Guild Girl silently mulled over, feeling more than a little overwhelmed. A quick glance to Inspector showed the fellow receptionist also looking a little taken aback by the large quantity of items all but literally being thrown their way.

"Y-Yes, these certainly are of good enough quality…" mumbled out Inspector, managing to sound only marginally flustered by all these items. She delicately took the offered kukri into her slender hands and looked it over carefully, feeling for any faulty parts and the like that would otherwise decrease the throwing weapon's value.

Given that the woman had her Sense Lie miracle active and had yet to call the man out on anything he's told them so far, Guild Girl surmised that Inspector has found nothing amiss so far, no sign of shadiness.

Guild Girl's gaze fell upon the table again and shifted from one end of it to the other, looking over the items the armored man had placed on them.

Several types of items known as boluses, one which was said to be able to cure any type of poison, another able to treat blood loss, and a third that could apparently deal with frostbite. There were ten of each of these types placed upon the table and neatly sorted together.

Then on the other side of the table were entire belts worth of throwing implements – fan daggers, poisoned daggers, and the aforementioned kukri.

Yes, Guild Girl thought, this man would be making quite the handsome profit.

She actually couldn't help but gulp.

Though there were plenty of adventurers out there who could face off against even the most powerful and dangerous of creatures and walk away alive with nothing more than their current equipment and their own skill, the adventuring life was still far from an easy for these sorts of people. A single bad roll of the dice could be all it took to turn an otherwise favorable situation into a fatal one, necessitating as much in the ways of preparations as possible. Thus, support equipment of any kind was very often welcome, but more often than not, such support tended to be lacking.

While throwing knives, cures, and other sorts of items and equipment did exist to make certain types of situations easier to deal with, the effectiveness of such things ranged from marginal to effective but only under certain circumstances. It all ultimately came down to the adventurers' own experience and the roll of the dice to really make the most use out of these things. And that wasn't even getting into the simple fact that the higher end items and gear tended to be very rare and thus pricey upon being found.

Yet here this man was, willing to sell them items that could upturn the situation entirely.

While the throwing weapons were hardly anything unique, the quality of them would still make them plenty valuable, even Guild Girl could tell this much despite her amateurish eyes when it came to appraisal.

However, these boluses that the man had placed on the table were the true gamechangers here.

Cures meant to heal poisons or staunch bleeding or otherwise treat horrible status conditions did exist, but the general effectiveness of these cures can range depending on the quality. Lower end cures merely kept the user alive hopefully long enough to receive proper treatment, assuming said medical treatment was nearby. Higher end cures obviously worked much better but even then, it was still heavily recommended for users who took them to still take things easy in case of any lingering effects from before.

Yet these boluses, if this man's words were true, seemed capable of borderline instantly – and more importantly, completely – curing the things they were meant to work on.

The guild would pay top coin for such items, especially if there existed a possibility of this man having more and being willing to deal exclusively with the guild.

And naturally, Inspector was very well aware of this too.

"These items are certainly of impressive quality – especially these boluses," began the young woman. This time, the amazement she'd been feeling was openly bleeding through into her tone. "…Is there a specific price you intend to sell these items for? Because I can say on behalf of the guild that we are indeed willing to buy them."

The man leaned forward a bit in his seat. "All I ask for is a fair price for them. The kukri and fan daggers and the like are of no real loss to me, but the boluses are of considerably more worth as you can imagine. Thus I would like to be paid accordingly."

Inspector nodded and then as subtly as she could glanced over in Guild Girl's direction.

W-What is that look supposed to mean?! Such was the thought running through Guild Girl's mind as she became aware of said look.

Internal panic aside, Guild Girl merely nodded as imperceptibly as she could.

"Do you intend to only sell the boluses currently placed on the table?" asked Inspector as she folded her hands neatly together. "If so, then that's perfectly fine… though to be completely honest, if there exists a possibility of purchasing more from you, that would be far more preferable. You've brought us some very interesting items here, good sir, and in an amount that we certainly couldn't have seen coming."

"Mm, I'd imagine so," spoke the man. "I take it you wish to form an exclusive partnership? I sell to the guild and only them?"

"And in turn we offer you a perfectly honest and fair price. Additionally, should you in turn wish to purchase any wares from a guild, we can provide discounts," replied Inspector, now regaining her cool as she entered negotiations. Meanwhile from the side, Guild Girl watched on, practically captivated.

The man sat up straighter and rubbed at where his chin presumably was, his gauntlet somehow able to gently rub against his oddly shaped helm without making a single scrapping sound.

"I will not deny that securing such goods would be helpful… but I must decline," the man finally answered after about half a minute. "The journey I'm currently on in these lands… I can't imagine myself coming across these guilds too often, at least not often enough to warrant this partnership you are offering me."

The armored man then held up a hand just as Inspector prepared to retort. "That said, I'm not against some kind of long lasting deal – these lands are still very much unknown to me, even with some help that had been provided to me thus far by some of the adventurers that come here-."

He must be referring to Goblin Slayer and his party, Guild Girl thought.

"-Thus, given that the guild must surely possess quite the information network, I would like access to it as needed should I come across another guild or any place affiliated with your organization. Information such as new map details, general threats and the like… I would much appreciate such knowledge. In exchange, while I am not willing to sell exclusively to the guild, I am willing to sell select goods only to the guild."

If the man had accepted Inspector's offer, he'd only ever be able to sell any of his wares to them and no one else. Should he be found in violation of the terms of agreement, the deal would be broken, fines would be implemented and depending on other circumstances, even worse things could happen. There have, after all, been some cases where people that had done business with a guild ended up being shady individuals that had secretly meant to do harm in one form or another.

However, what he was offering was just a modified version of the deal – they'll very likely secure rights to these boluses of his should he ever come calling, but at the same time, he'd still be perfectly free to do business as he pleases with others so long as he didn't try to sell the boluses to any other party out there. He'd be free of the restraints the original deal would have and the adventurer guild would still be able to obtain the boluses to sell at their own adjust prices. And all this would cost them was simply giving the man access to information that he deemed pertinent at the time in addition to whatever price they agreed on for the boluses.

It may seem like this deal heavily favors the man, but the guild will secure exclusive rights to the boluses which in the long run would allow them to easily recoup the money paid to him for these practically miraculous consumables since adventurers would be willing to shell out plenty of coin for the boluses, especially the ones that were much more likely to knowingly head into situations that would require them.

"That should be no problem," Inspector said after just a few seconds of thought, a gleam in her eyes. "However, before we fully seal the deal, I must ask – just how rare are these boluses? Can they be replicated?"

"The number of boluses on the table are just a drop in the bucket for me in terms of overall amount… though at this time, I only have access to so many," answered the armored man. "As for the second question, more can be made, but said method is known only to me."

And he's not willing to share such info was left unsaid.

"I… I see. Then in that case, I see no reason to refuse the deal at all," said Inspector who now stood up, prompting the man to stand as well. The sheer height difference between the two of them was quite comical, Guild Girl noted as she also got up from her side of the couch. "As for the price we're willing to pay… normally, I'd just offer an amount and that would be that, but given the items being sold, I'm afraid I must consult my higher ups first, run it by them. Can I please ask you to wait out in the reception area? Once an amount is confirmed, my colleague here will call you over to her station with your coins. But rest assured that the amount paid will be significant. I'll personally see to that."

"My thanks, milady," he said as he bowed slightly to her and offered his hand.

Inspector reached out and shook it as firmly as possible before then excusing herself, though not before pulling out a special bag that she then placed all the items the man had sold them into it, which she then lugged out with a bit of a huff of effort.

"If you'll please follow me then," Guild Girl said. "I'll escort you back out and then head over to help my colleague. We'll try to be quick about it."

The man nodded. "Again, my thanks. This will be most helpful for me."

She then took her leave of the room and he followed along without hesitation back to the reception area.

Guild Girl watched in silence as the man headed over to the wall across from the reception stations and got comfortable leaning against it, proceeding to idly watch the adventurers and employees that came and went.

What a day this was turning out to be, Guild Girl thought a bit dizzily as she finally turned to leave for the time being.

As she went to continue on with her original duties until Inspector or their boss called for her, the young woman couldn't help but worry slightly.

Perhaps she was being overly paranoid, but whenever Goblin Slayer got caught up in any kind of unusual circumstance, bad things tended to be afoot. By this point, she's simply heard enough reports, both official and unofficial from the goblin-obsessed adventurer and his party to know that even the most seemingly innocuous of events seemed to mean something extraordinary, for better or worse, was afoot.

It had happened not long after he'd first started to party with Priestess and then the others, when they'd spoken of confronting an ogre, to say nothing of the attack on that farm. Then there'd been what relative little they'd spoken of what had happened in the water town and Guild Girl could certainly never forget how things had turned out during the festival, following her little date with the awkward Goblin Slayer. So on and so forth…

…And him meeting such a clearly unique foreigner on a goblin slaying quest would definitely count as an unusual circumstance, more so when she now recalled his vague comments about the goblins acting just a bit notably different from the usual.

Guild Girl paused in her steps to place a hand over her heart, feeling its beating speed up a little from the anxiety that now dwelled within it.

She could only hope that this time around, things wouldn't turn out too badly.


It took about twenty minutes or so, but the sale of his wares was approved by the appraiser's higher ups and he soon received his compensation.

The Tarnished took his leave immediately thereafter, though not before bidding the two employees that he'd interacted with farewell.

Once out of the guild, he'd decided to explore the town briefly. Partially to see what sights the place had to offer, but primarily to see if there was anything that could prove useful in his journey ahead.

First, he decided to venture into a clothing shop. A rather unusual decision on his part, he shall admit, but on the off chance he'd have to pass through and stay at any other towns and villages during his trek, then it would be rather unbecoming of him to simply remain in his armor the whole time and he imagined it would be just as rude to mill about if he were to strip himself down to the clothe he wore to cover his unmentionables. Thus, he proceeded to buy himself a simple long sleeve shirt, casual black woolen pants and boots and stashed them away in his inventory.

Secondly, he went on to peruse through some shops that sold miscellaneous items, having spotted from outside some things that he felt might make for decent substitutes for some of the materials needed to craft certain items, such as the boluses he'd sold to the guild. On his journey, he fully intended to take a few minutes to try and see if he could make some more boluses and the like.

Outside of those two shops, however, he didn't really splurge on anything else. Not because nothing else drew his interest or anything, oh no, there were plenty that drew his gaze. It's just that he felt it best to move on and reunite with Ranni, for that strange feeling of foreboding was now significantly stronger.

The oddity of such a feeling aside, however, he was overall quite pleased with how things had turned out. Though he doubted he'd be running into Goblin Slayer and his party any time soon, the Tarnished felt he could rely on them should such a time ever come where he will need the help of others. Additionally, he's finally obtained some coin from these lands and a very fair amount at that too. How often he'll end up having to rely on his newly obtained funds, he knew not, but at least he now had the option of staying in an inn should staying out in the field turn out to be impractical for any reason.

But best of all was that deal he'd established with the guild, which had been written out and required him to sign as Guild Girl had come out to hand over his payment for his wares. Much to his relief, the written language of this land appeared to be the same as his own and so he was able to sign the document after checking to see that everything was in order. Deals always had to be looked over, especially since this was a whole new organization he was essentially signing on with.

That said, the armored warrior was a little uncertain as to how often he'll be taking full advantage of this new deal. This adventuring guild seemed to lack some of the capabilities that other groups and orders back in the Lands Between relied on, so there was a fair chance that what services he now had access to wouldn't be as extensive as he'd require. There was also the simple fact that even without any additional information, he should be able to finish his quest to link up with Ranni without any other sorts of trouble… hopefully.

But as was the norm for him, better to have something and not need it than to need something and not have it. Thus, no matter how often or how little he relied on the guild's services in the future, he could at least rest a little easier knowing that he had such an option at all.

Feeling as about as secured as he was going to, the Tarnished now felt it best to leave. The day was still fairly young, but time always had a way of passing by so terribly quickly. Best to get a move on now. Even though he could travel just as well through the night as he could through the day, it always helped to have to fight during daytime – at least then he'd have the light available to him to spot his enemies for the most part.

Consulting his once again updated map, he headed for the town's eastern exit, silently enjoying the hustle and bustle of the environment around him as people went about their business. Once again, he could only marvel at just how… how peaceful… this world was when compared to his own. Hopefully, once he and Ranni are able to make it back home, they will be able to slowly guide their lands along a path that could rival these lands in terms of prosperity.

"…Hmm?"

The Tarnished let out a little sound as he approached the eastern exit, where there seemed to be a minor commotion at.

A party of four stood almost in the middle of the road. The Tarnished immediately discerned them to be adventurers, made painfully evident by their equipment.

"Come on, I know it's heavy, but you can't be giving up this easily," soke a gruff voice, belonging to a fairly tall and well-built young man. Dressed in dark armor and with a large blade on his back, he was clearly an experienced warrior. Beyond simply his experiences as an adventurer, the Tarnished had the feeling that this warrior had some other form of battle experience.

"I-I know! Just give me a minute!" cried back a younger man – no, a boy, really, easily in his mid-teens. In comparison to the older man, the boy was naturally shorter and much slimmer in build though still with some strength in his limbs, the Tarnished noted. He was also much less armored and his rather poor form at carrying the large pack of items on his back spoke of his inexperience – a greenhorn. Looks like this was some form of training to help build up his strength and endurance.

"Ugh! I'd hoped you'd have gotten used to this by now. You better pick up the pace or we'll drag you along, pack and all, if we have to! Pretty sure you don't want that," commented a blonde-haired woman decked out in immaculate armor. Her very presence gave the Tarnished just the slightest bit of pause – though extremely faint, he could detect something akin to fundamentalism about her. Had she once been a practitioner of incantations or at least what passes as incantations in this world? If so, it's rather odd – it seems as if she's somehow lost the ability to use them. A change of faith or mindset, perhaps? Or had whatever higher power she followed that had likely granted her such abilities decided to take said abilities away from her?

Meanwhile, next to the blonde was a girl. About the same age as the boy and dressed in surprisingly bright green clothes that the Tarnished immediately noted to belong to some school of magic, though he knew not what such a school could be due to the differences both big and small between both worlds. In any case, she was looking rather concerned for the boy-.

"Come on, you're holding us up!"

-Though evidently not concerned enough to hold her rather clipped remark, the Tarnished noted with a slight smirk.

He resumed his pace and just seconds later, they took note of him.

"…Huh. You're that guy that was with that goblin-obsessed guy earlier," the blonde – Female Knight – suddenly said as she placed a hand on her hips.

"Ah, so I'm that well known already?" the Tarnished replied casually. "Consider myself honored to become so renown so swiftly." He chuckled.

He'd intended to just pass on by but now that they've called out to him, he saw no reason to just ignore them and move on.

The woman scoffed. "Hard not to notice, what with that gear of yours… some kind of knight?"

"Nothing of the sort, though I suppose I am sworn to someone much like how knights swear their fealty to others," the Tarnished said. Now feeling a little bad for the boy – Scout Boy – he decided to move in and with one hand, adjust the pack on the boy's back so that the weight was more evenly distributed. The boy now had a notably easier time standing up and took an experimental few steps forward.

"Uh, thanks!" the boy said upon seeing himself have an easier time of it.

"You're welcome, young one." The Tarnished then decided to address the man – Heavy Warrior – upon perceiving him to be the leader of this little group. "Out on a quest, I presume?"

"Yeah. Just finished getting all set and ready to go. Place we're headin' to isn't too far, but better to get a move on now rather than later," replied Heavy Warrior. At first, he'd seemed terse but the rather laid back tone in which he spoke seemed to indicate that he just wasn't the type to speak first unless necessary, it seemed. The Tarnished could respect that.

"How about you? You a new adventurer out on their first quest or something?" asked Heavy Warrior as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Afraid not." The Tarnished chuckled. "I am on a very important quest, but I'm no adventurer, at least not officially."

"What, think proper adventuring is beneath you?" Despite the somewhat harsh words, Female Knight was smirking in good humor.

'Proper' adventuring… the Tarnished could almost sigh. In some way, Female Knight reminded him of High Elf Archer, who'd also spoken in part over such a thing.

Rather naïve thinking, in his opinion, but it wasn't his place to say such a thing, especially when it was needless.

"Hardly. I merely have my own way of doing things is all," the Tarnished replied in a nonchalant tone. "In any case, it would seem we're both roughly heading in the same direction for the time being. Should we get a move on? As you said, better to go now rather than later."

Heavy Warrior grunted in acknowledgement. Female Knight simply nodded. "Fair enough – to both points," spoke the latter. She then pivoted gracefully despite her deceptively heavy armor and gave Scout Boy a hardy slap. "Come on then, kid! Just because you now have that pack adjusted doesn't mean you can take it easy now!"

Scout Boy practically squawked and began to walk alongside Female Knight, the girl – Druid Girl – hastily following along in the process, adjusting her hat as she did so.

Heavy Warrior hung back for the moment and sighed. "We usually have another boy with us – another rookie – to help carry the load, but he's sick."

The Tarnished hummed, having actually been wondering why Scout Boy was carrying so large a load by his lonesome, even if it was as a form of training. "I take it the boy is not meant for direct combat?"

"Nah – scout. But even so, never hurts to put on some muscle, right? Especially in this line of work." Heavy Warrior paused. "Kid's gonna need all the strength he can get if he wants to make a living out of this."

"How caring of you," quipped the Tarnished in a mixture of humor and genuine admiration.

Heavy Warrior snorted, a little embarrassed. Looks like he wasn't fond of having his softer characteristics pointed out. A pity.

"Come on," Heavy Warrior said with just a bit of a grin. "Dunno who you are, but I can tell with just a glance that you're a damn good warrior. It'll be interesting to have you along for the ride, no matter how brief it might be."

As Heavy Warrior now trekked on to catch up with his party, the Tarnished followed, smiling beneath his helm.

"Should be an interesting journey, indeed," he murmured in response to Heavy Warrior's words.


Reality seemed to creak and groan as forces beyond its power tried to worm in.

Ordinarily, such forces wouldn't be able to find a foothold in this world, for despite their unfathomable power, there were certain rules and counterforces in place to prevent them from entering, to say nothing of these forces often colliding and negating each other to some extent.

But in the case of the Frenzied Flame, the prayers of the nomads had given it the beacon needed to home in and finally enter this world… and now that it had managed to enter, the unseeable walls of reality had been weakened as a direct result…

…Finally allowing another force to begin making its way inside reality.

Deep within an underground cavern, the creatures that had made a home of it jumped as something spurted into existence – something akin to blood from the looks of it.

Despite the sensation that they should flee, many of these creatures couldn't help but feel drawn towards the marginal gap in space that the blood seemed to have come from.

The closest of them stuck its hand into the gap – and felt the Formless Mother writhe in delight at having already found a new child to take up Mohg's place.

And so, the goblin, normally a creature of petty cruelty and animalistic desire, felt true purpose for the first time in its wretched life.


Damn, hard to believe this chapter is more than 9,000 words long! Honestly didn't expect that, heh.

In hindsight, though I guess it makes sense given the guild scene and what not, which I had really wanted to include for reasons that I believe should be obvious, namely for the Tarnished to finally obtain some funds in the GS world as well as being exposed, however briefly, to the other adventurers from the guild.

And of course, the ending… well, it wouldn't be a GS fic if goblins didn't end up having a role in it, right? Ha ha. As for why the Formless Mother? Well, reviewing the list of Outer Gods in Elden Ring and their lore, I decided that the Formless Mother made the most sense since some others are either too obscure or sealed or indifferent to really be bothering obtaining a foothold in the GS world. That said, regardless of the other Outer Gods' intentions, their very being defies all manner of logic so simply by existing, they're going to end up bleeding through into the world.

As to whether or not more of the Outer Gods start popping up though… I'll leave that to your guys' imagination.

Until next time, everyone. Stay safe!