Rosetta-sama, You're Overdoing It! - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Riley’s Fateful Day

On that day, Riley had taken on a certain request at the Adventurers Guild.

It was a fairly simple request.

A standard request to exterminate goblins.

Still, for fledgling adventurers, it was a challenging task.

When facing them for the first time, everyone hesitated.

After all, goblins were small humanoid creatures with green skin.

They were a type of monster that manipulated magical energy, and their appearance was grotesque, known for abducting women of various races and impregnating them in their nests. While female goblins were also born, they tended to abduct females from other races.

Because of this, goblins were greatly despised by humans. However, due to their strong reproductive abilities, they could reappear in the forests surrounding towns no matter how many nests were destroyed. Though numerous, they were not particularly intelligent, at least when lacking higher-ranking individuals.

Nonetheless, there were instances where female adventurers, caught off guard, were assaulted and taken to their nests. Once the nests were discovered, they were typically eradicated by higher-ranking adventurers. Otherwise, if left unchecked, the goblin population could swell to the point of mass migrations toward towns, resulting in stampedes of monster hordes. By then, mutated variants might emerge, with some possessing high intelligence becoming Goblin Magicians, and those with exceptional strength becoming Goblin Soldiers, often leading to the transformation of the horde under the control of a Goblin King, potentially even leading to the destruction of entire nations.

Hence, regular extermination was deemed necessary.

Fledgling adventurers were tasked with individually defeating the specimens that wandered into the grasslands surrounding the kingdom.

However, only adventurers of E-rank or higher are eligible for this task.

F-rank adventurers, at the lowest rank, typically handle gathering requests.

For Riley and her party, who have finally reached E-rank, this is their first real encounter with monsters. While they have undergone guild training, this battle is their first actual test.

A goblin, considered mere fodder for regular adventurers, is a formidable foe for these fledgling adventurers. Standing only as tall as a human child, with an ugly face and a green, glossy body emitting a strong stench due to lack of hygiene, the goblins bring tears to Riley’s eyes as they approach, obstructing her vision.

Riley’s party consists of herself and Glendel in the frontlines, with Ririn and Napatsita in the rear.

Riley, equipped with light armor and a sword, serves as the attacker, while Glendel, clad in heavy armor and wielding a shield and flail, acts as the tank.

Ririn, wearing a robe, serves as the healing mage. She is a sister who has been rented for the day from the church, which, saturated with new recruits every year, rents out its sisters and priests to adventurers for extra income.

Napatsita, a dark-skinned beauty, caught Riley’s eye with her appealing appearance, prompting Riley to invite her to the party. She eagerly accepted and serves as the party’s most powerful mage. Even with the combined efforts of the other three, it’s unlikely they could match her abilities.

While Ririn, with her rental status, possesses a cute appearance, both Glendel and Riley find themselves intrigued by Napatsita’s mysterious and alluring aura.

In their first battle with such a lineup, Glendel was sent flying by a powerful blow from a goblin, causing the front line to collapse instantly.

A goblin rushed towards Ririn, leaving Napatsita frantically trying to cast a spell in time.

With trembling legs, Riley desperately urged her body to move.

At last, just as her legs began to respond, she saw a goblin swinging a club in front of Ririn, who was frozen in place.

It was too late to intervene.

Riley sprinted desperately, but her outstretched hand couldn’t reach in time.

Napatsita, with a pale face, stared at the goblin while chanting her spell, but her magic wasn’t ready yet.

They might defeat the goblin eventually.

But at that moment, Ririn was struck in the head by the club.

Survival depended on luck.

But the blow delivered with fatal force was certain to leave lasting repercussions.

“Stop it!”

She screamed desperately, feeling helpless.

She prayed to the gods.

But the world was unforgiving.

No one came to help. So…

The goblin’s club swung down—

Thud!

In an instant, both Riley and Napatsita were left dumbfounded, not understanding what had just happened.

Riley froze in place, Napatsita halted her incantation, and Ririn stared in astonishment as the goblin was engulfed in flames.

It was truly a perfectly timed strike.

From high above in the distant sky, a sudden burst of flame descended as if targeting the goblin, causing it to erupt in flames.

Screams echoed as the burning goblin danced wildly, struggling in agony to extinguish the flames.

“What… what just…”

The goblin burned to death, turning into light and vanishing.

When monsters die, they turn into light and disappear, leaving behind drop items.

For a moment, they stared blankly at the drop items.

There, as if to mark the presence of the goblin, a part of the grassland was sharply scorched in a humanoid shape, with at its center the drop items: a club, smelly loincloth, and a chunk of thick meat cut into chunks, all called goblin meat.