Isekai Losers!

Vol. 3, Chapter 1: A (truly) reborn town!

Somewhere in a deep, dark forest echoed a small voice. It was tired but desperate as it dashed past the trees.

The voice belonged to a small green creature, running without pause, holding its injured left shoulder.

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind raged past those very trees, landing at the creature's feet and toppling it.

The being coughed as it rolled in the mud, coming to a halt near a tree. It had not the luxury of a moment's rest, yet it enjoyed this moment so very much.

As it finally looked up, not a second having passed, it saw a person leaning against the tree. 

It was a young girl, dressed in neat leather armor, looking down at the creature in cruel pity, her emerald green eyes piercing, mesmerizing.

Terrified by her, the creature quickly pushed itself away from her, unable to get up properly from the shock and injuries..

"You're done."

A voice came from the trees. With a sharp twist of its neck, the creature found a boy squatting on a tree branch, balancing himself with two blades that were pushed into the tree bark.

Finally, a third boy emerged from the shadows of the trees. He wore a dark blue coat, his eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses---The boy looked intimidating, perhaps more intimidating than he truly was.

"I almost feel bad for them when they are so defenseless." commented the cloaked boy.

"Don't." The girl drew her bow.

The creature attemped a final, desperate attempt at running, but its cry was cut short by the merciless arrow.

The armed boy on the tree jumped down, landing neatly.

"That's another nest down, perhaps the final one." he commented. "This area really went from goblin paradise to probably one of the safest places in this world."

"Perhaps." the girl nodded as she retreived her arrow from the goblin's head.

"It went from... from goblin paradise to just goblin dise (dies)" continued the boy.

The girl sighed.

"It went to from goblin heaven to goblin's going to heaven... Or the equivalent of their heaven."

"The goblin's don't have a heaven. Their shamans worship the Earth Mother, meaning they believe that they are born from the earth and go back to the earth when they die."

"Dust to dust." Ivan whispered dramatically. 

"I would never have thought goblins have such complex thoughts, or any thoughts past how to kill and eat." he added.

"You say that after everything that has happened?" Lynn shot him a sharp glare, to which the boy only shrugged.

"Even goblins have beliefs, fears... it's all written in Doctor Goblin's notes." Gabriel smiled happily. "They are such a refreshing read, you should check them out."

"Pass." Ivan turned his head the other way as he began walking. 

"We've been given the gift of understanding the language of this world as if it were our own. I thought you'd have more fascination for their history and knowledge." Gabriel pouted.

"Oh I do." Ivan yawned. "I read plenty in my room, just not about goblins."

Gabriel remained silent.

"Let's discuss this further in the town after we collect our pay for the day."

And so, the trio headed back to Lyugo.

***

The streets of Lyugo are bustling with energy and euphoria. The buildings that have been damaged during the battle are getting repaired steadily; those that weren't are already being expanded. Not one pedestrian walked by without greeting the skyborn with a wave, handshake or hug,e even.

It's been about ten days since the battle of Lyugo. There has been no sign of the Doctor or Henrietta so I'd say that they are respecting our arrangement. The remaining goblins have already been killed, or scared off, leaving behind a miniscule population that doesn't dare leave the crevaces they are hiding in, let alone attack people on the roads.

This of course lead to a similarly steady decline of adventurers in town, as the goblin ear offer has been abolished as well. Even so, there's also the adventurers that do construction work and other chores, as well as the adventurers who took a liking to Lyugo and have decided to go out of their way and find other things to hunt and explore in the area just so they could stay here. It warms the heart.

"Ivan, what's up, brotha!?"

Ivan looked up, finding Itten on a rooftop, hammer in hand.

"Oh! Oh yeah! Work it, construction man!" Ivan waved over, smiling.

"Hello, Itten!! Aren't you working a bit to hard?!" Gabriel clasped his hands around his mouth, screaming.

"This is the fifth rooftop I'm seeing you on!!"

"I hear you just fine, dude. No need to scream." smiled Itten.

"Oh."

"I have to keep working for the sake of Rishia!" Itten exclaimed. "Construction pays better than most available hunting jobs right now, you know!"

"It's a steady income." Lynn commented. "Better than searching all day for goblins that probably aren't there anymore." 

"Exactly!" Itten nodded happily.

"What do I pay ye for, ye blockead?! Standin' around, talking?"

A hairy head stuck out from the other side of the roof, screaming at Itten.

"If ye don't finish that side until the day's end, we are gonna have a serious problem, mate!"

"Aye, sir!" whined Itten as he turned away and began hammering a board into the roof.

The trio moved on.

Itten is working his butt off. I do get it, though. Rishia and him revealed that they are expecting a few days ago. Lynn used that moment to whisper "I told you so." into my ear, which I didn't quite understand, but her breath felt very nice.

As I was saying, Rishia is expecting and Itten used the occassion to declare that they are settling down in Lyugo and made a grand promise that he will get married to Rishia and buy a house before the baby is born. I don't quite get why'd he say the part about marrying without actually proposing but oh well. Money's tight. 

In other news: Lyugo secured the iron veins and coal deposits that were used by the goblins. There was a massive underground mining system in the main goblin nest which has now been taken over. It required very little work to get it running and it's now a big source of income and work. Penta wasted no time striking a couple of trade deals with merchans in town regarding these materials.

So much good has happened since we won the battle. I could've never guessed that this stinky, dying town in the boonies could turn into a real, honest to God fantasy town with adventurers, markets and all that. Feels good, knowing we did all this.

The only real issue remains the absence of a proper priest in town. There has been a lot of death and suffering and the young boy who is acting priest can't deal with so much pressure and responsibility. Let's hope the Archbishop or whomever Penta contacted sends someone, soon.

***

"Alright, everything is in order with the report." smiled the guild girl as she slid the wooden tray with a bag of coins across the counter. "Here is the 3500 Perun, thank you so much for your work!"

Lynn nodded, stashing the coin pouch into her leather satchel.

"Ho- ho- ho- now hold on." Ivan stuttered. "For a second there, I misheard you saying three, as in, three thousand."

"Mhm, that is correct." smiled the guild girl.

"Now ho- ho- hold on. We agreed on 8500, not 3500! It says so on the quest!" protested the boy as he grabbed the piece of paper from the counter and held it up to the guild girl.

"The reward on this quest is clearly listed as 3500 Perun, Mr. Ivan. Please take a closer look."

Ivan, in fact, did take a closer look.

The number at the top of the parchment, right next to the word "Reward" did in fact, look like 3500.

"So it never was a faded out eight, was it? You just let me accept this weak ass quest!" Ivan complained.

"I'll have to remind you that this morning, you came up to me holding this very quest and said, and I quote: 'Hello miss, the pay for this quest is totally eight-thousand-something, right? The eight faded a bit so it looks like a three but it's probably an eight. That's a relief.' and then you left the guild without waiting for me to reply."

Ivan narrowed his eyes, glaring up and down at the young woman. The silence lasted a couple of uncomfortable seconds.

"Hey." Ivan spoke up.

"Mhm?" the guild girl looked up innocently.

"Aren't you that adventurer girl that lost her party on a goblin extermination quest...?"

"I thought you were pretending to not know me, Mr. Ivan." spoke the girl. "It's Clara."

"Yeahh, oh no I totally didn't forget. I was just, you know." 

"I know. Please don't worry about it." smiled the girl.

"Well, how's the guild treating you?" Ivan leaned on the counter. "Hope the grannies aren't too demanding."

"Not at all, I enjoy the work." nodded the girl. "It's a hectic job but I'm very happy to help out adventurers. Thank you so much for introducing me to this job."

You better thank me. I got harassed by a senior citizen because of you. Just thinking about it...

Ivan shivered.

"Is everything okay?" the girl tilted her head.

"Ah, yeah." Ivan nodded. "Well, nice talking to you, Carla. Give Nanami my best." waved the boy as he turned away.

"And tell her to raise the rewards a bit! This is still outrageous!"

And so, he left the guild.

"I am terribly sorry about him." Gabriel lowered his head in shame.

"Feel free to ignore him next time he shows up." Lynn added.

"Oh, it's alright." Clara nodded. "He is a kind person, and I do get the frustration. Goblins aren't much of a threat anymore so the pay has been lowered substantially."

"As long as the green pest stay manageable, I'm okay with a pay cut." said Lynn.

"If I may, hunting jackalopes would be more profitable as things stand."

"We'll consider it. Money isn't the only reason we hunt goblins, though." said the ranger calmly as she began leaving the guild, followed by Gabriel.

"Thanks for stopping by!" the girl waved after them.

"Hey! You're probably heading to the inn?" Gabriel asked as they exited the guild.

"I was actually going to head to the Blacksmith and get my gear checked. Want me to give you your part of the reward now?"

"Nah. Hold on to it until tonight. I'm going to the woods to train with Lan."

Lynn nodded.

"...Must feel good, finally being able to train with her in peace."

"You bet." smiled the young mage. "Although, being around Barny still feels a bit awkward."

"Of course. He's her grandfather. The fact that he's okay with you two dating doesn't mean he'll just hand her over unconditionally."

"You know we're not dating." sighed the boy.

"Well, then you better start soon." Lynn began walking away. "I hear that ever since the battle, Lan's gotten pretty popular with young adventurers."

Gabriel held his breath as the girl walked away. 

"Wh... where did you hear that?"

***

Down in the lush forests of the Lyugo region, a pair of young mages stood proud, one across the other, silently gazing into the other's eyes

One of them? A young man with curly brown hair. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of glasses reflecting the sunlight, which also hid his emotions.

The other? A young girl with long hair which were a shade of brown ever so lighter than the boy's. She wore plain, but well-crafted clothes, resembling someone who'd work in a successful store: a dark red leather vest, beneath which she wore a white shirt. She also wore leather pants of the same material as her vest. Her most defining accessory was, however, the wooden staff she held, crowned by a large ruby gem.

She gave the boy a merciless glare, her red eyes, brighter than the ruby gem itself, piercing his very essence.

"Fireball!" 

The boy made the first move, shooting a tiny ball of fire at the girl. She dodged the projectile effortlessly, and it blew up on impact with a tree.

The boy had already sent several more fireballs, all of which the girl effortlessly dodged.

"Ah---!"

The girl's eyes widened, having noticed that one of the fireballs began slowing down and expanding as it passed her.

She managed to jump out of the way before the expanding ball of fire could touch her.

With a flip, she landed of her knees and immediately pointed the staff towards the boy.

"Zap!"

She created a small dash of lightning which sped towards the boy. He panicked ever so slightly, but even so he raised his arm in defense. Commanded by the boy, a small amount of dirt and earth before him began separating from the ground and levitating, absorbing the lightning that would've otherwise hit him.

The girl couldn't help but smile at the idea, but she wouldn't let up just yet.

Standing up, the girl tightly grabbed her staff with both hands and began whispering something in a rapid fashion. 

Within seconds, the leaves falling from the trees began stopping mid-air, while dozens of leaves from the ground began levitating.

As the girl was done chanting, she swung her staff and with it, a powerful gust of wind send the leaves flying towards the boy like bullets.

"A-Ahh!!"

The boy stuttered as he began running in a circle around the girl, dodging the bullets.

The boy raised his arm as he rad and a magic circle formed at the palm of his hand. He then finally stopped and turned to the girl again, holding his hand in front.

"Fire--- wall!"

The usual ball of fire that he would shoot at his target began expanding, stretching and twisting, until it turned into a shield that burned the leaves.

After a couple of seconds, the terrible whistling and whipping noise of the speeding leaves hitting the fire ceased, and the boy felt safe enough to dispell the firewall.

This would prove to be a fatal error, as the girl was standing right behind the wall, her staff already pointed at the boy and glowing.

"Twister!"

Within the blink of an eye, he was sent up and above the treeline by a tornado emerging from the ground. After a couple of seconds of spinning the boy around, the girl lowered him down, gently, yet rough enough for him to land of his butt, unable to resume the fight.

"Good bout" she smiled as she walked towards him and offered her free hand.

"Yeah." Gabriel took her hand, standing up.

"Using levitation magic to block a lightning spell with dirt was some seriously quick thinking. I'm amazed." complimented the girl.

"So was using leaves as bullets." Gabriel replied in kind.

"Oh, yeah." Lan chuckled. "This staff has really opened new doors for me. Casting spells feels so much smoother. I'm getting better output with the same amount of mana."

"Interesting. I should probably get one of those. Hard to come by a staff in a town without staffmakers."