Chapter 44: Learning Humanity Again
The city gates were already behind them by the time the forest came into view.
Nira walked beside him, quiet but not tense. Her hand rested on the hilt of her sword.
"Forest East," she said, reading the quest paper again. "About an hour walk. The guild said the goblin den is in a cave near the river."
Tanaka nodded. The air here was different from his forest. Louder. Dirtier. But still familiar.
Goblins. I wonder if they’re like ours.
Probably not.
They didn’t talk much on the way. Nira kept glancing at him like she was trying to figure him out. Tanaka pretended not to notice.
The den was easy to find. The smell hit them first.
Three goblins were outside, sitting around a fire, roasting something that used to be a rabbit. They were smaller than Tanaka expected. Dirty. Weapons looked like sharpened scrap.
One of them saw them and stood up. It grinned, showing yellow teeth.
"Humans!" it screeched. "Food!"
The other two grabbed spears.
Nira immediately drew her sword. "Stay behind me."
Tanaka didn’t move. He looked at the goblins.
"Leave," he said simply. "Go somewhere else. Don’t hurt people."
The goblins tilted their heads. Then they all started laughing.
"Leave? Why?" The first one pointed at Nira with its spear. "Girl pretty. We keep girl. Use girl. Make many baby goblins."
It made a crude gesture.
Tanaka’s expression didn’t change. But something cold settled in his chest.
Nira’s face went red. "Don’t you dare—"
She stepped forward and slammed her hand down.
The air rippled.
A circle of blue light appeared under her feet. Mana gathered in the air like dust catching sunlight. Then it shot forward.
Boom.
A wave of wind and force slammed into the three goblins and threw them against the cave wall. One of them didn’t get up.
Tanaka just stared.
That was the first time he’d seen magic in this world.
No chanting. No staff. Just her hand, and will, and mana moving.
The remaining two goblins screamed and tried to run. Nira was already moving. Her sword flashed twice. It was over in seconds.
Silence.
Tanaka blinked. "You... killed them."
Nira wiped her blade on the grass, breathing hard. "They were going to..." She cut herself off. "Yes. That’s what adventurers do."
She looked at him, expecting judgment.
Tanaka just nodded slowly.
"Right. Quest complete."
They were unintelligent. No communication. No surrender.
Not like my goblins. Not even close.
They didn’t have a leader like the goblin elder, is that why they were unintelligent.
They dragged the goblin ears back as proof and sat by the river to wait for the bleeding to stop on a cut Nira got on her arm.
Tanaka handed her water. "That thing you did. With the light."
Nira took it. "Magic."
"I figured. How does it work?"
She hesitated, then explained while wrapping her arm.
"Everyone has a Magic Core. Humans, elves, even monsters if they’re strong enough. It’s like a second heart. It makes mana."
She tapped her chest.
"If your Core is C-rank or higher, you can form spells. Spells are patterns. You learn them, you pour mana in, they come out as fire or wind or healing. That’s what I did."
Tanaka listened carefully.
"And if it’s lower than C-rank?"
"Then you can’t make spells. But you can still do two things." She held up two fingers.
"Mana sense. Feel others mana. And mana infusion. Push mana into a weapon to make it stronger or sharper. Most F and E-rank adventurers do that."
She looked at him. "You didn’t use any magic back there. You just... stood there. And they listened for a second."
Tanaka shrugged. "Beast Tamer," he said, repeating the lie. "I’m better with monsters than magic."
Nira nodded, though she didn’t look fully convinced. "You handled that well. For your first time."
"I’ve dealt with bullies before," Tanaka said. "Just not with magic."
They stayed quiet for a while, watching the water.
Nira finally spoke. "Thanks. For stepping in back there. In the guild."
Tanaka looked at her. "You didn’t deserve that. Just because your skin is different."
Nira’s eyes widened a little. Then she looked away, smiling a bit. "Most people don’t say that."
"I’m not most people."
She laughed. A real one this time.
When they got back to the guild, the receptionist stamped their quest complete and gave them 20 silver each. Nira’s rank didn’t change yet. Tanaka was still F.
Outside, the city was starting to light up for evening.
"How about tomorrow?" Nira asked.
"Yeah," he said. "But let’s make it in the afternoon."
The city woke before sunrise.
Tanaka realized that on his very first morning.
Even before the sun climbed above the eastern walls, the streets were already alive. Bakers slid fresh loaves into brick ovens, merchants unloaded crates from wagons that had arrived during the night, and laborers swept the stone roads before the morning crowds appeared.
Standing by the window of the small inn where he had rented a modest room, Tanaka quietly watched the city come to life.
It was... efficient.
Every person had somewhere to be.
Every building served a purpose.
Compared to his town, where everyone knew everyone else, Rosen City felt like a giant machine. Thousands of people worked independently, yet together they kept the city alive.
"I have a lot to learn..."
His first stop was breakfast. He entered a small restaurant near the marketplace and took a seat by the window. The waitress smiled politely.
"What would you like?"
Tanaka hesitated.
The hunter’s memories supplied dozens of names for dishes, but remembering them and ordering them confidently were two different things.
"I’ll have today’s special."
"Coming right up."
A few minutes later, a steaming bowl of vegetable stew, fresh bread, and grilled meat were placed before him.
He stared at it.
"It smells... amazing."
Eating as a slime had never been about flavor.
Devourer simply absorbed.
This...
This was different.
The warm bread was soft.
The stew was rich and comforting.
Even the herbs reminded him of the ones the rabbits cultivated back home.
For several minutes, he forgot he was here to observe.
He simply enjoyed breakfast.
After eating, Tanaka wandered through the marketplace.
Unlike the scattered trading between monsters in his town, Rosen’s market was carefully organized.
One street specialized in food.
Another sold tools.
Another was filled with blacksmiths and armorers.
Merchants loudly called for customers. The noise should have been overwhelming.
It fascinated him.
He stopped beside a stall selling farming equipment.
The elderly merchant noticed his interest.
"Starting a farm?"
Tanaka smiled.
"Just curious."
The old man chuckled.
"Curiosity’s free."
He picked up a simple iron hoe.
"This design’s lasted generations. Easy to repair, doesn’t break often."
Tanaka examined it carefully.
Simple.
Durable.
His goblins could probably make something similar.
He thanked the merchant before continuing.
Every conversation became another lesson.
By midday, he found himself standing before a large bookstore.
Rows upon rows of books lined the shelves visible through the front windows.
Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
The scent of old paper instantly surrounded him.
A middle-aged woman looked up from behind the counter.
"Looking for anything specific?"
"Books about geography."
"And history."
"And monsters."
She laughed softly.
"Quite the list."
She led him through the shop, pointing toward different shelves.
Tanaka spent hours reading. He learned that the continent was divided among several human kingdoms. That trade routes connected cities across vast distances.
That monster territories were marked as dangerous regions on most maps.
One map caught his attention immediately.
The Great Verdant Forest.
The forest where his village was hidden.
It stretched across a massive section of the continent. Far larger than he had imagined.
His settlement occupied only the tiniest corner.
"So much..."
He whispered.
"So much I haven’t seen."
Before leaving, he purchased several books and a detailed regional map.
They cost more than he expected, but the knowledge was worth every coin.
He brought out his storage ring. And placed everything inside.
"I even forgot about you. Welp. Now my load will be easier."
That afternoon, he finally returned to the Adventurers’ Guild.
"Hey Nira." He called immediately he saw her. She smiled. "Hi, Tanaka, so what should we do today?"
Tanaka shrugged. "I want to know a bit about something. We do missions and get rewarded. What is the exchange rate of money?" Nira suddenly laughed.
"For a human, you really know nothing. Fine then. I’ll let you know. It’s not really interesting."
She hopped onto the edge of the request board and swung her legs. "Okay, listen. One gold coin is worth a hundred silver. One silver is worth a hundred copper. Easy, right?"
Tanaka blinked. "That’s... very round."
"That’s because the Guild standardized it fifty years ago, after the last market crash," Nira said, rolling her eyes like it was obvious. "Most quests pay in silver. Copper is for bread and tavern rooms. Gold is for armor, enchantments, or bribes. If a client tries to pay you in copper for a wyvern, they’re scamming you."
Tanaka nodded slowly, filing it away. "So if I see ten gold on a job posting..."
"That’s a lot of money, Tanaka," she grinned. "Enough to..."
The guild doors slammed open.
"Guild Master!" A deep voice barked. The scarred adventurer stepped in, flanked by three members in dented plate. "We’ve got a problem. And we need every able body. Now."