hunting is always good - II

The armored goblin lunged at his opponent, sword slicing through the air.

SWISH!!!

But the strike ricocheted off Carlos's thick armor. He didn't even flinch.

— Is that all? said Carlos, flashing a confident grin.

At that moment, Victor and Robinson appeared from the sides, surrounding the enemy.

BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!

The goblin tried to back away from the recent blows, stumbling. But Carlos stepped forward, blocking its escape.

— Where do you think you're going? he asked, already raising his sword again.

The armored goblin didn't know fear, nor self-preservation. Its only drive was to attack, attack, and keep attacking.

Seeing Carlos — the most threatening among them — approach with his reinforced armor, the goblin swung its sword again, driven purely by wild instinct.

Carlos was already expecting the attack. He reacted with precision. With his free hand, he grabbed the broken blade of the goblin's sword, gripping it firmly.

Player HP: 82/100*

The poor green goblin shot a confused and almost desperate look at his opponent — who now held its own weapon. Behind Carlos's helmet, the gleam in his eyes revealed something clear: he wanted more.

At the same time, the side attackers struck again.

BOOM!!! BOOM!!!

— Looks like your end has come. said the rat-man, unleashing a relentless series of blows.

BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOMM!!!

While the battle raged on, Lily and Med observed from a distance. The woman wore a satisfied smile — she was excited to see her plan executed perfectly.

— Seems like you didn't think your plan through very well, huh? she said, her tone light but sharp.

— Didn't you notice the pattern in the goblins' behavior? Every one that followed you and put up a fight was either wielding a broken sword… or wearing armor, like that one.

She paused deliberately, giving the tamer space to reflect.

— In certain games, there's that classic mechanic — you need to eliminate a certain number of enemies before the boss appears. Now tell me… what would you do if the boss showed up right now, with you still at level 2 or 3?

— Uh…Med choked on his response. He had completely forgotten about that kind of mechanic. Unlike Lily, who had planned every step since before the game's launch.

He was just a casual player, looking for a distraction from real life.

Lily, on the other hand, was methodical and strategic. And now she extended an unexpected proposal.

— Look, we really liked your performance so far. Come to think of it, how about joining us? We want to be the first to claim the goblin title. I know our first appearance wasn't the best… but we work well together, with harmony and focus. Want to join?

Her last line sounded almost like a company pitch. Well, clichés worked — and no one knew that better than her.

— Sur… The tamer's voice was full of excitement, barely hiding how thrilled he was with the offer.

Lily noticed. A slight smile escaped at the corner of her lips, subtle enough for Med not to catch.

He looked her straight in the eyes, firm.

— 70% of everything we find in the goblin camp goes to me. I found the place and did practically everything alone so far. Fair enough, right?

Lily brought her hand to her chin, thoughtful.

— Hmm… okay, but what exactly did you do? Finding the goblin camp isn't some big achievement. It was easy enough for even a noob like you to stumble across it.

She raised an eyebrow, tone provocative but still open to conversation.

— Still, you're pushing it with that ask… we're four people, and 30% doesn't even cover a dentist visit. How about 50%? That way neither of us loses out. Deal?

Med didn't reply immediately. He stayed silent for a few seconds, weighing the offer carefully.

— 60-40," the tamer replied.

— I've been farming here for a while. You guys just showed up… I can't just give up more than 20% like that, no strings attached. How about that middle ground?

"What a son of a…"

"Calm down, Lily… breathe…" the mage thought, fighting the urge to pull out her staff and do exactly what she threatened to do to the bard earlier.

But she held back. She had bigger plans for the tamer — and losing control now wasn't part of the script.

— 50%, like I said before," she answered, firm but diplomatic.

— You're not going to find a more coordinated team than mine at the start of the game. And if you do, you can bet they'll kill you and steal the loot at the end of the quest.

She crossed her arms, staring him down.

— Last chance to rethink before making a really dumb decision.

At the same time, the system notification chimed in their ears.

Monster eliminated!!

¶• Goblin ear. 1x

Level: 1 (11.25/100)

"WHAT A FUCKING RIPOFF," she thought.

After realizing how little XP she'd get from this adventure, Lily was even more motivated to recruit the tamer into the group.

— It's this or nothing. We've got a team made of a tank, a mage, a fighter, and a rat-man. Want a better setup than that? Add a tamer, and now we're unstoppable! she said with a confident smile.

— You can try soloing it… or take advantage of us being here and make the most of the time we spent saving you. she added, with that persuasive tone only she could pull off.

The tamer hesitated, but Lily's silver tongue won him over. She could convince even the most stubborn man.

— Hmm… Okay. Fifty percent sounds like a good starting percentage. he replied, defeated.

TAP!

Lily tapped her staff on the ground, symbolically sealing the tamer's entry into the team.

Carlos stepped forward and opened the system.

Party of Shaolin Pig Slayer!!

¶• Red Butterfly

¶• Yumi

¶• Empolo-man

¶• Med

¶• Shaolin Pig Slayer (Host)

— Let's head back to the city and get everything ready. she said with a wide smile.

— That girl's nuts…murmured the rat-man.

— Let's go back to the city and make the preparations! she repeated with a big smile.

— That girl's nuts… muttered the rat-man, shaking his head.

— You said it.

— You're totally right. said two of the teammates in unison.

∆∆∆∆

At the entrance to the starting city, Etán, the five were already gathered. As usual, the place was crowded, but that didn't bother them at all.

— First, let's find a guild to register and sell the items. said Red Butterfly, taking the lead.

Med raised an eyebrow, surprised.

— You guys haven't done that yet? he asked, incredulous.

After all, the standard was to register at a guild before venturing into the forest. But looking more closely at the group, he began to understand that his new team was far from ordinary.

They all turned to him at the same time, as if he had just said the dumbest thing in the world.

— Of course not! What's the fun in having an explanation right at the start of the game? The point is to go exploring. When there's nothing left to do, then we come back and deal with that boring admin stuff. replied Carlos, shrugging.

— Dude… For someone who served in the army, you're far from the discipline standard, huh, egg-head. jabbed Robinson.

— This is a game, you fat fuck. Unlike you, I'm an evolved being. Carlos shot back without hesitation.

— Evolved with that egg-shaped head? Lily chimed in, nearly laughing.

And so, another argument began — as always, full of jabs and banter that ultimately led nowhere.

Med looked at the fighter, who caught the signal instantly and just shrugged in response.

— That's called jealousy. But honestly? I don't care about a poor person's opinion. We pretend everything's fine and move on. said Lily, turning around and starting to walk.

— Let's go to the guild already.

The rest of the team followed her without much resistance.

The city, as expected, followed the cliché medieval standard: no special charm, it looked like the GTW developers had just copied and pasted references from the era.

Without much delay, they arrived at the guild.

Lily looked around and saw players interacting with NPCs and crowding around the mission board. Some were doing exactly what Med did — bragging about how they'd become the world's greatest players.

Her expression immediately soured.

— On second thought… maybe we should leave this for later. This place isn't worth sticking around with so many dumbasses in one spot. grumbled Lily, turning to the group.

— But you were the one who suggested we come register and now you wanna go back to the forest? questioned Robinson, frowning.

— In my head, it made perfect sense. I was thinking of something, but now I forgot what it was… so I brought you guys along. she replied, unapologetically.

Med mumbled, almost to himself.

— It had something to do with our quest in the forest… you know…

— I don't fucking know. That's your fault, whining over a measly 50% cut. Lily shot back with a sharp look.

Med didn't even know how to deal with his new teammate. He just sighed.

— Let's stay focused on the goal here. He's not to blame for anything. Carlos stepped in, trying to be the voice of reason.

In the end, all four stepped into line to register at the adventurer's guild.