Chapter Two: Celia, Can We Not Talk About Money?

That girl with grey hair, red eyes, a green top paired with a white skirt and red lace trim—Seria, who loved to wear her bangs swept to one side—seemed to be calling out to him.

She was a figure who evoked both love and hatred, a complicated existence who had emptied players' wallets, transforming herself from a modestly dressed eighteen-year-old girl into a wealthy, voluptuous lady draped in gold, jade, and expensive cheongsams.

"I'm relieved to see you're safe."
"Today is another day full of hope..."
"I will always be waiting for you."

A kind and innocent girl; with these words of concern, whether it was cloudy or sunny, she would always silently cheer you on.

No one had ever imagined that they shouldn't have saved that girl ten years ago, for she had taken away a lifetime of youth!

He had once decided that on the day he finally left, he would take his worn-out short katana, stand silently in Seria's Inn for an entire day, and wait for an ending...

Now, the ending was unknown, and instead, a new beginning had arrived.

Yelin shook his head to clear his wandering thoughts, gripped a basic black wooden stick, and, using a massive rock-tree for cover, dashed toward the source of the cries for help.

His "chuunibyou" ghost hand was gone, and his secondary profession had become Supreme Mage; naturally, he no longer possessed his starting skill, Ghost Slash.

In its place was...

Magic Missile: Condenses magic, consumes 10 MP, fires a magic missile at the enemy. Proficiency (0/100)!

Embarrassing. He wasn't one of those little girls from Pandemonium who fell over on flat ground; a grown man shouting "Oh yeah" while casting? And why was it a Magic Missile instead of a Magic Ice Ball?

Yelin held his breath and leaned slightly behind a tree, his body jolting at the scene before him.

Three goblins holding spiked wooden clubs were grinning hideously as they circled a girl whose dress was stained with filth. Not far from him, there was another goblin with a basket of stones on its back, facing away from him—a Throwing Goblin.

Four in total!

The clothes were familiar, the face was familiar; the only difference was that this young girl was currently in a state of extreme panic, her red eyes filled with terror.

Goblins: the low-level fodder of the game. Yet, they possessed a fierce, cruel nature and a cockroach-like ability to survive and spread. They were not only scattered across the entire Arad continent, but even the great fire in the Forest of Grand Flores had not significantly reduced their numbers.

They would never easily let go of a lone prey.

"I have to draw their attention first!"

Yelin gritted his teeth and began to gather magic in his hand. This wasn't a game where a level-one character could solo dozens of goblins without issue; he had to be careful now!

Yes, he had decided to save Seria. The main reason being... the system store was with him, so Seria couldn't swindle him out of his money.

Magic Missile!

A star-shaped projectile shot from his hand, accurately striking the Throwing Goblin near him on the back of its head.

Strike while the iron is hot!

Yelin moved quickly. In the split second the three ordinary goblins were stunned, he raised his wooden stick high and brought it down hard on the back of the head of the fallen Throwing Goblin.

Thud!
Experience points +3!

"Why does this number make me feel a bit annoyed?" Yelin muttered. He quickly grabbed the vines on the giant tree and climbed up the trunk to avoid the angry charge of the remaining three goblins.

"I must finish them off quickly, or these sharp-toothed little beasts will attract more of their kind."

Yelin held the vines with his right hand to steady himself, while his left hand gathered another Magic Missile, hurling it at the goblins below. The trunk was slippery with moss, and there was only one vine available for climbing. One goblin, blinded by rage, even discarded its weapon, gnashing its teeth as it tried to climb up to take a solid bite out of him.

Magic Missile!

A fishing-style tactic: two Magic Missiles were enough to severely injure a goblin, and the cooldown for the skill was very short. Finally, after two of their companions kicked the bucket, the last goblin realized what was happening, screamed, dropped its weapon, and fled in a panic.

Thud!

A spiked club struck the goblin square in the face, causing a burst of red and white—a bloody, unrecognizable mess. The last goblin collapsed limply.

Huh? What was going on?

"The goblins' cries will attract others; let's run!"

The girl in the green dress and white skirt, despite her body still trembling with fear, now had an indescribable determination in her eyes.

Yelin was momentarily dazed. After all, Seria's image had always been that of a gentle, kind, and—to put it simply—helpless girl. How had she just taken down a goblin?

*Hiss~*

Seria lifted her skirt and ran in one direction. Seeing that the four goblins hadn't dropped any loot, Yelin followed her without hesitation.

About ten minutes later, the woods thinned out, and the ground underfoot turned into gravel and furnace slag, with the path gradually widening.

"Here, it's safe enough. This is the outskirts of the Lorien Forest; there are very few goblins here." Seria patted her chest, showing a sense of relief after surviving a disaster. "By the way, hello! Everyone here calls me Seria."

Yelin felt a sense of déjà vu—such a familiar line.

He looked at the girl before him and said softly, "Yelin, your most loyal knight."

Was Seria beautiful? She was indeed, though she was currently covered in mud mixed with goblin blood, her hair was a bit disheveled, and her pretty face still bore the traces of their narrow escape. Only those eyes remained bright.

Seria blinked. This rather unique reply amused her, and she playfully chimed in, "Do you think fate brought us together?"

"I suppose so." He smiled. Perhaps it was.

"You must be a brave adventurer, too. Elvengard isn't far from the Forest of Grand Flores; adventurers head there every day." Seria brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes, pointed in a direction, and said, "I run an inn in Elvengard. I can provide hot water and lodging. Would you like to take a short rest?"

"Yes, thank you for the trouble."

Yelin nodded. He not only needed to familiarize himself with everything here, but he also needed a decent weapon—even a piece of garbage with no stats would be better than a wooden stick.

"The room rate is one hundred gold coins per day. Hot water is free. I can provide bread and ale, but those aren't free. I also know some healing magic and can craft some recovery potions and small items—those are charged separately."

Yelin's forward momentum stiffened; a chill ran through his entire body. It was back, it was all back!

He had always felt something was strange, but he couldn't put his finger on it... but as Seria counted on her fingers, explaining the inn's charges with a serious expression, that strange feeling vanished instantly.

Even without a system store, a Seria who charged for everything was the real Seria!

Tears of an old man streamed down his face. As expected, even in another world, his wallet couldn't escape your clutches!

"However, since you helped me escape the goblin attack, I'll personally give you a fifty percent discount during your stay..."