He sighed, as the Mink chortled above him. Ever since he’d told it about his Class’s problem, it had been laughing at him. He glared up at it, swimming some height above him. “You could be a little sympathetic, you know.” He muttered before returning his attention to the road again. They were still walking by the wheat fields, yet they hadn’t seen anyone working. “Do you know where everyone is?” He asked it, and only received a shrug in return. He shook his head, and continued to walk. The sun was still shining down, and the wind was pleasant across his skin. The sound of stalks rustling was calming; something that he needed right now. He closed his eyes while he continued, and just enjoyed the sensation for a while. He frowned when the sound of the wind lessened, and he opened his eyes to look around. The fields had been crushed, with the wheat in some parts looking like it had been roughly harvested. He frowned, and looked up at the Mink again; it was also peering around nervously. “Mink?” It didn’t respond, but sped up its pace, and he hurried to follow it. The damage got worse and worse, and eventually he spoke up again. “Mink, I think we’re heading towards whatever’s doing this.”

The animal looked around and then down at him, before shrugging and swimming down before slipping into the backpack again. He started. “What are you doing?”

It poked its head out and patted him on the cheek, before retreating. He blinked. Is it leaving me in charge now? He exhaled noisily, and glanced around at the wreckage, before turning around and heading back the way they came. Yeah, no way am I going to risk it.

The journey back was quick, due to his pace, and he started to relax when the fields were back to normal. “I guess I’ll just keep goi-” A snap interrupted him, and he whirled to his left where he saw a group of ten shortish figures, wrapped in rags. His hand immediately went to his sword, and they tensed as well; the one in the middle raising their hands aggressively. The cold inside him prickled, and they remained like that for a moment; he took the opportunity to [Identify] them.

‘Ding’ [Black Witch Lv ??]

‘Ding’ [Viper’s Arrow Lv 78]

‘Ding’ [Rot Mage Lv 60]

‘Ding’ [Rotting…

He swallowed, and tried to give a friendly smile. “Ah, hey there! Don’t suppose you know where the nearest town is?” He watched their hoods turn to face each other, the shadows inside them not showing anything. The Witch turned back and stepped forward, and he got a sudden whiff of decay and sweat, causing him to cough.

The Witch paused, before they harrumphed. “Sorry about that, we’ve been on the road for…a long time.” Her voice was gravelly, and he struggled to hear it over the sound of his spluttering.

“Ye-yeah, no kidding.” He finally got out.

The Witch’s hands clenched, and she looked away; the rest of her group behind her glanced at each other. The woman spoke again, “The nearest town is not far…we are heading there ourselves. The inhabitants are…unusual however, they…” She struggled for a moment, before looking back at the others. He watched them curiously. Definitely got secrets.

“Is it aaaah….a dangerous place?” He asked cautiously.

She hesitantly nodded.

“Oh alright then…” His mind flitted through different possibilities, before he settled on one. “I kind of need help though. Do you mind if I come with you for a bit?”

They had been relatively friendly so far, but when he asked that question, he suddenly felt their gazes sharpen. He swallowed. “I’m a bit lost, and…I could do with some information. I’ll leave before we get to the town. Alright?”

They all looked to the Witch who tilted her head, before slowly nodding. “That is acceptable.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, and they awkwardly set off back the way he’d come. He didn’t ask anything, at first, but he eventually started off with a safe question. “So…where am I?”

The Witch’s hood turned to him, and he didn’t need to see her eyes to know that she was incredulous.

He held his hands up defensively. “Don’t ask, it’s just how it is.”

The woman shook her head and then began to answer. “You are on the continent of Bretae, in the Wildlands, and this road leads to the town of Frogob.”

He nodded. “Okay, makes sense…” He tried to think of another question that wouldn’t potentially anger them, but was coming up with a blank.

The woman sighed. “I can sense the death magic in you.”

He blinked. “Oh, you can? Oh, is that what that feeling is?” He had been wondering why the cold in him had been so persistent.

She gave him an odd look. “What?”

He blinked. “What?”

She huffed. “How can…” She paused. “you're not from around here, are you?”

That caused him to freeze, and she stopped as well, regarding him curiously. “You really aren’t? To the degree that you don’t know about death magic? You are a novice…only level 13. But still, you should know…”

He swallowed, and looked at the rest of her group, who were watching with interest. He opened his mouth to respond, and was cut off as he felt something jump onto his head. He jerked back, and the fluffy thing fell onto his face; he tried to swipe it off, but it just crawled over to his shoulder, and he turned to see the Mink looking around warily at the group – who were leaning back in shock. He returned his gaze back to the Witch, and was surprised to see that he could make out her eyes. Red. He felt a chill down his spine, but the woman didn’t do anything.

“I see.” She eventually said. “So you know nothing at all!” She chuckled, before shaking her head. “Well, we’ve got nothing to hide then.” She reached up and pulled off her hood. His mouth opened and closed again, as he observed the charcoal skinned creature in front of him. She had matted and frizzy black hair, along with very long pointed ears. Her chin was small, with her mouth wide in proportion, and had two tiny fangs poking out.

She looked at him expectantly, before breaking out into laughter at his expression. He was baffled, and he watched as the rest of her group started taking off their hoods too. They all looked incredibly alike, with dark skin, pointed ears, and small chins, along with little fangs too.

“No offence, but what are you?”

They roared in laughter, some of them bending over. He felt his patience wear away. At least the Mink seemed just as weirded out as he was.

The sounds of their mirth slowly stopped, and the Witch smiled at him. “Come, we have much to talk about.”

Finally.

They set off, and he noticed the woman now had a thoughtful expression across her face. “I can’t believe I’ve met a Mink of the Multiverse… the legends about them said they were incredibly rare, and there has been precisely one tale of them bringing someone back from wherever they go.” She reached out to the animal on his shoulder, and it retreated, hissing at her. Her eyes flashed, but she lowered her hand.

“So, you know that I’m not…?”

“From this plane? Yes, I do. Not many other people would, unless they are educated.”

He looked down at their scrappy rags, and back up again.

She grimaced. “We were a part of an organisation that had information like that readily available.”

He raised his eyebrow, waiting for more, but none came. “Right…so I kind of want to get back, but this little guy says he doesn’t know how. Do you know a way?”

Her face scrunched up. “I do not, and I can promise you that no one else does either. No one even knows what magic it uses. It doesn’t know though? How strange.”

He briefly considered telling her it was space magic. Is there any reason to?

The woman continued. “My name is Gomorra by the way.”

“Jason.”

She nodded, and then sighed. “Well, it seems that you are stuck in this world for now Jason, and there are some things you have to know, especially if you are a user of death magic.”

She regarded him seriously. “First of all, a lot of factions revile it, although there are some places which can afford to tolerate it.”

“Afford?” He asked, not liking the sound of that.

She bobbed her head. “That is the second thing; the Holy Will. They are a faction that is immensely powerful, and they have taken it upon themselves to eradicate the use of death energy. They have enough power to threaten even the strongest factions into complying. Now that you have death energy yourself, you’ll need to look out for them.”

He stared at her.

She shifted. “I’m not joking.”

“...right.”

The Mink crawled on top of his head again, before giving Jason a pat. He blinked. “Okay, great. Anything else?”

“Well…”

“Really?”

She snorted, and smiled, although it had a grim edge to it. “There is another faction…the one we came from. The Grasping Hand. They are the Holy Will’s main enemy. They are an organisation that helps those with death magic…and we are running from them.”

They had moved back into the destroyed fields now. “Uh, that doesn’t sound good?”

“That’s because it isn’t. They are desperate for more power, and well…they bring too much attention to themselves, for our liking.”

“Would they harm me?” He said while the dirt crunched under his feet.

She hesitated. “Not if you aren’t an enemy. But if you could help them achieve their goals? They won’t take no for an answer.”

He nodded, and gave her a sidealong look. He didn’t know how dangerous people were in this world, so he’d immediately assumed the worst. However, they had done nothing yet, and if anything, they had seemed afraid of him. He huffed in amusement, and scratched his cheek. “So, that's useful to know. Anything else?”

She surprised him by clasping a hand on his shoulder. She had to reach up to do it, but still managed to. They both stopped, and her eyes were hard. “If you ever see a settlement filled with golden eyes. Leave.”

He stammered. “What?”

She poked him in the stomach. “It's a thing that the Holy Will does. It's…” Her expression went stricken, and she fell silent.

Jason looked around awkwardly at the rest of her party, but all he got was sympathy. The woman let go, and silently continued to walk.

After about an hour, they could see the Frogob, and he was surprised to see the sea behind it. It was a bizarre blend of sturdy stone walls, and flimsy wooden ones, reaching around to the beach. Behind them, he could see towers cobbled together, and if he squinted, he could make out figures crawling over them. It was almost like the town had been…

“There is something you should know about us Jason.”

He felt a trickle of sweat go down his back, and he turned around to weapons surrounding him. Gomorra gave him a sad smile.

“We are Goblins.”

Fuck sake.