There's a small village at the border of the Salad Kingdom and the Midnight Forest.
Maria moved here with her daughter and son after her husband was killed on the battlefield, hoping to spend her life peacefully and far away from the complexities of city life.
However, living in the countryside is not as simple as people suggest. Aside from the infrequent visits from merchants, the most concerning aspect of rural life is safety. Bandits and monsters roam freely, as patrols from the kingdom seldom venture this far to check on the border.
If they're not threatened by a gang of bandits, villagers risk being attacked by monsters. The village where Maria lives is relatively large for the area, with a tall log fence guarding it from both monsters and bandits, making it safer than many other villages.
However, Maria never anticipated that the money her husband left her would be spent so quickly. After just six months of expenses, there was only 200 Lya left from the original amount of 2,000 Lya, equivalent to 2 gold coins. With only 20 copper coins remaining, it was difficult to figure out what her family would eat the next day.
That's why she decided to go into the forest today. The villagers had always told her about a particular species of edible mushroom found there, and they often invited her to join them when they went mushroom gathering.
Initially, Maria thought that with her botany skills, she could sell rare flowers with minor healing properties for money. However, she could never have predicted that the flowers she painstakingly grew would wither right after blooming due to unsuitable conditions. As a result, she was unable to sell anything when the merchant visited the village before the last winter arrived. With all her flowers dead and her seeds depleted, she had no choice but to rely on her husband's money to survive the winter.
When spring came, as expected, her funds were nearly exhausted.
With hopes of gathering mushrooms for the next day's dinner and finding seeds or saplings of valuable plants, Maria walked into the dense forest.
It was then that a group of goblins suddenly appeared and surrounded her. Without any combat skills or experience, Maria was easily captured by the small, green creatures. They bound her with ropes and dragged her deeper into the forest.
Tears streamed down her face as she thought of her daughter and son. Despair shadowed her as she considered how they would manage without her. Although the villagers were kind, they were ultimately strangers. How harsh would her children's lives be without her?
At that moment, the goblins reached the center of the Midnight Forest, an area the villagers called The Plain of Graves. These goblins clearly resided on the other side of the forest, and soon they would arrive at their cave after crossing this plain.
Maria knew what typically happened to humans who were captured by goblins. Her husband had once told her stories about it. If the captives were male or children, they would become prey. If the captive were female, they would be turned into a Breed Maiden. As goblins were a race without females, they had developed the ability to cross-breed with females of other races to reproduce.
As these dark thoughts filled her mind, the cries of goblins echoed around her.
...
Dian's knowledge and skills in combat were limited to a single incident when he punched a man who approached his girlfriend—his ex-girlfriend, to be precise.
However, despite feeling a little panicked at witnessing a life-and-death situation of another for the first time, he managed to calm himself forcibly due to his high status and formidable abilities.
He raised his right palm and aimed it at one of the five goblins. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself, Dian muttered the name of his skill to activate it.
"Dark Javelin!"
He felt a shift in his body as a warm yet cold energy, which had been resting within him since he entered this world, began to move toward his right palm. This energy, known as Mana, gathered and formed a 1-meter-long, sharp, dark spear that emitted a dangerous aura.
The Dark Javelin launched itself automatically, accelerating toward the goblin in an instant. Before the creature had time to react, the javelin pierced its head, exploding on impact and sending dozens of smaller javelins flying in all directions. Dian had aimed only at the goblins, so the woman remained safe from the smaller javelins. However, each of the other goblins was pierced by the javelins, instantly killing them.
As if it were a video game, Dian immediately received notifications for the kills.
[You have successfully killed Goblin Level 1. Gaining +1 EXP and +2 Copper coins as a reward.]
[You have successfully killed Goblin Level 1. Gaining +1 EXP and +2 Copper coins as a reward.]
[You have successfully killed Goblin Level 1. Gaining +1 EXP...]
Having killed five goblins in total, he received 5 EXP and 10 Copper coins.
However, Dian's focus was not on these notifications. He quickly rushed toward the woman who was tied up.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, his fingers still trembling from the adrenaline rush and shock he felt out of his first time killing something just moments ago.
Despite his fear, he approached the woman lying on the ground, bound and surrounded by the goblin corpses. Shaken by the sight of so much blood, he managed to crouch beside her and began to untie her, trying his best to ignore the horror of what had just happened. It took considerable time to free her; his fingers couldn't stop shaking despite his efforts to calm himself. Finally, he succeeded in untying her.
The woman wiped her tears and smiled gratefully at him.
"I am okay. Thank you! Thank you very much, young man!" she said.
"Y-yeah, no problem..." Dian replied, glancing around and searching for the right words in such a situation.
Noticing that they were deep in the forest, he decided to ask why she was there.
"What are you doing this far into the forest?" he asked.
The woman, who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, lowered her head and smiled apologetically at his question.
"Actually, I came here to gather edible mushrooms for my children," she said, biting her lip bitterly. "I didn't have much money left, and my flowers decayed unexpectedly. I went into the forest looking for food, but unfortunately, those goblins found me..."
She fell silent, her eyes glistening with tears.
"I see..." Dian replied.
The woman reminded him of his grandmother, who had always prioritized his well-being. Despite her age, she would constantly seek ways to make his life easier. Ultimately, she had passed away due to overwork.
Dian's trembling subsided as an urge to help the woman ignited within him.
"If you don't mind," he encouraged himself, looking directly into her eyes, offering his help to the woman, "can I lend you a hand?"
As the woman raised her head, surprised by his offer, a quest panel suddenly popped up before Dian.
[You have triggered a Quest!]