The team had already arrived at the entrance of the Goblin World, the Sowat Kingdom.
Qasim looked around, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.
"So how do we enter?" Doran asked.
"Don’t worry. Our ticket will appear any moment now..."
Right after Valen finished speaking, an elf girl approached them.
She stopped in front of Valen and respectfully greeted him.
Valen nodded back.
The girl then turned around and gestured for them to follow her.
As they approached the entrance, the guards stopped them.
Qasim looked at them.
And immediately froze for a second.
These were not the Goblins he had imagined.
Back on Earth, whenever someone mentioned goblins in fictional stories, it was tiny creatures with green skin, bald heads, long ears, and an overall disgusting appearance.
But these?
They were huge.
Their skin was red, their heads covered with hair, and their teeth were so long that they could still be seen even when their mouths were closed.
Their bodies were massive and muscular.
They looked more like buffed humans than goblins.
’These are more like Orcs than Goblins...’ Qasim thought.
The girl showed the guards a card and explained that the humans were with her.
The guards looked at them for a moment before stepping aside.
The team entered the kingdom.
Qasim looked around in disbelief.
It was... surprisingly civilized.
He had imagined something much more aggressive.
Something filled with giant trees, primitive houses, and Goblins running around everywhere.
Instead, the kingdom looked surprisingly similar to a human kingdom.
Buildings.
Roads.
Shops.
People walking around.
Everything looked organized.
’Wait... am I racist for thinking it would look different?’
Qasim quickly pushed the thought away.
Soon after, Team Four met with Team One.
Aluna welcomed them into the large mansion-like building where she and her team had been staying for the past five months.
"So Black Seed sent you to help..."
One of the elves spoke.
"What a waste of time."
Qasim recognized her immediately.
She was the same elf who had looked annoyed by him during the meeting with the king.
Aluna quickly stepped in.
"Well, let’s get into the important stuff, shall we?"
Everyone immediately focused at her explanation.
"My team first came to the Goblin World around six or seven months ago on a mission. During that mission, we accidentally discovered a plant very similar to the one elves usually value in the Spiritual World."
"After finishing our mission, we requested permission to stay in the Goblin World and study the plant."
"Since then, five months have passed, and our research was progressing smoothly. The king even sent us an entire group of alchemists to assist us."
Qasim already knew most of this because she had explained the same discovery during the meeting with the king.
But then her tone changed.
"However..."
"There have been some strange movements in this kingdom, and they have directly affected our research."
"The supply of some of the ingredients we need has been decreasing more and more."
"If that were the only problem, it wouldn’t be a big deal."
"But about a week ago, someone broke into our mansion."
"Luckily, I was awake and managed to stop the intruder."
"Unfortunately, I couldn’t catch them or see them. They managed to escape."
Aluna took a tired breath.
"And yesterday, the Goblin government informed us that they had concerns about what we were doing."
"I showed them all the paperwork and evidence proving that everything we were doing was legal and would not harm the kingdom."
"We even have a contract stating that we will share some of the healing potions with them once the research is completed."
She paused.
"But for some reason, it feels like they want us gone."
"Of course, they can’t simply force us to leave because their king personally approved our stay."
"So instead, they asked us to complete a mission to prove our good intentions."
Aluna sighed.
"The mission is to enter the most famous area owned by the Goblins."
She looked at the others.
"The Death Caves."
"Also known as the Dungeons."
Qasim’s eyes immediately lit up.
*A dungeon huh...*
After more discussion, the situation became clear.
The Goblins held a monthly expedition into the Death Caves.
Team One would join them and provide protection and assistance during the expedition.
In exchange, the Goblin government would allow them to remain in the kingdom and continue their research.
Qasim was visibly excited.
Perhaps a little too excited.
Selena, the elf who had complained about him earlier, approached Valen and quietly asked:
"Is this human boy mentally stable?"
Aluna immediately called her out.
"Selena... We are a team, don’t be rude."
"I’m not being rude this time."
Selena looked at Qasim.
"I’m genuinely asking."
The next day, everyone gathered in front of the entrance to the dungeon.
From the outside, it looked like nothing more than a massive, deep cave.
Qasim looked around.
There were Goblins everywhere, preparing for the expedition.
But something strange caught his attention.
They were building what looked like a small arena.
’Why are they building an arena before entering a dungeon?’
After some time, one of the Goblins suddenly shouted.
"THE FIGHTING ARENA IS READY!"
"ALL OF YOU, GET READY TO PARTICIPATE!"
"THOSE WHO LOOSE WILL BECOME SLAVES!"
"AND THOSE WHO REFUSE TO FIGHT WILL HAVE TO LEAVE!"
Qasim’s eyes widened.
"What?!"
"Oh yeah."
Valen placed a hand on Qasim’s shoulder.
"I forgot to mention that."
"The Goblins are a simple race despite their scary appearance."
"They believe strength is everything."
"If you’re strong, you earn rights, respect, and even love."
"Otherwise, you’re worthless trash."
Qasim stared at the arena.
"So before we start the expedition, we need to establish the hierarchy."
"It’s surprisingly effective at avoiding complications between the members during the expedition."
Qasim thought for a moment.
"What if I beat some Goblins, but they refuse to listen to me anyway because I’m human?"
"Nah, that won’t happen."
Valen shook his head.
"Remember, they’re a simple and trustworthy race."
"As long as you’re strong, they’ll follow you."
"They don’t have racism in their culture..."
He paused.
"Well, not in the way humans do."
Qasim looked toward the arena.
Then a young Goblin stepped forward.
"I challenge you, short human!"
He pointed directly at Qasim.
Qasim blinked.
He looked around.
Every Goblin nearby was staring at him and they all had the same expression.
They thought he was the weakest one there.
Qasim stepped into the arena.
The young Goblin entered as well.
They stood opposite each other.
The older Goblin acting as the judge raised his hand.
"START!"
The young Goblin immediately grinned.
Life energy surged through his body, strengthening his muscles.
He imagined himself having a new human slave during the expedition.
But Qasim suddenly disappeared.
The Goblin’s eyes widened.
"Huh?"
Before he could react, Qasim was already behind him.
He drove his foot into the back of the Goblin’s head.
BAM!
The Goblin crashed face-first into the ground.
The impact was strong enough to make his skull feel like it was shaking.
In the span of a few seconds, Qasim was already standing on top of him.
The young Goblin struggled beneath him.
Qasim looked toward the judge.
"So... Did I win?"
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