Wizard: I am a goblin

Road, donkey, old man, cart, hay, half-man.

The road is long, the donkey walks, the old man is sleepy, the cart is bumpy, the hay smells sweet, and half of the body is asleep.

Smoke billowed from the road, startled the donkey, bewildered the old man, brought the cart to a sudden stop, caused the hay to fall, and woke the half-man with a start.

"Magnu...Obak above, what's wrong?!" The half-human character jumped up, grabbing his dimensional bag, ready to run away at any moment.

The old driver tightened the reins, pulling the frightened donkey back. "Whoa—behave yourself, you little beast!"

"Who are you calling an old man!" Gebu retorted instinctively.

"...I wasn't talking about you! I was talking about the donkey!" The old man whipped the donkey's rump hard, and the donkey cried out in pain before finally calming down.

The driver looked ahead at the road. A hundred meters away, several wisps of gray smoke rose from a wooded area, carrying a slightly burnt smell.

The old man frowned and spurred the donkey to turn around.

"Hey, don't turn around!" Gebu immediately protested. "We haven't arrived at our stop yet!"

The driver glanced at the half-man and muttered:

"I told you before, this road has been treacherous lately... It's not worth risking your life for a few gold coins."

"It's nothing much, I just saw a little bit of smoke."

"Where there is smoke, there is fire; where there is fire, there are people—"

"Perhaps the traveler cooked it?"

"Cooking around ten in the morning?" the driver said, raising his whip and aiming it at the donkey's rump. "They could be good people, or they could be bad people. I don't want to take the risk."

"Don't rush, don't rush... I'll go check if that's alright. If something happens, we'll run; if not, we'll keep going. Finding a car isn't easy, so please be kind." The halfling scratched his head and said with a smile, taking out a silver coin from his waist and handing it to the driver.

The old man looked at the silver coins, then at the cigarette, and sighed.

"If you don't come back in ten minutes, I'm leaving."

The old man took the silver coin and let down his braid.

"Okay, okay."

Geb grinned widely.

-----------------

Geb walked alone along the road toward the place where the smoke was coming from.

Sigh, in this world, even getting a ride requires considering the driver's mood... Human society is really too difficult.

Geb learned from the book that the country he lived in was called the Holy Kane Kingdom, which consisted of three political entities:

The Kingdom of Kane - also known as the Old Kingdom, is a large plain in the center of the continent and the birthplace of the Church of Oubak.

The Rose Kingdom, also known as the New Kingdom, is located south of the Old Kingdom, nestled between mountains and the sea, and it seems that the royal family has always been women.

The Northern Kingdom, also known as the Kingdoms, is located north of the Old Kingdom, facing the Gobi Desert and snow-capped mountains. Although called a kingdom, it is actually a collection of various duchies—said to be the places where knights who assisted Obak in his battles were enfeoffed.

The Kingdom Forest is located in the eastern part of the Old Kingdom, and the giant eagle has placed itself around the forest, in the complete countryside.

People in the countryside are highly localized, with low population mobility, and are very wary of outsiders. A strange half-human, with an off-key accent—Gebu had to go to great lengths to persuade a farmer to give him a ride to Chifang Town.

Yes, go to Chifang and find the gem—a gem worth 500 gold coins.

Find gems, craft basic alchemy stones, then prepare anchor potions, meditate for 24 hours, break through nodes, and level up.

This is a short-term goal.

What about long-term goals?

After much deliberation, Gebbs decided to put aside the question of where he would go on his journey, whether it was the magic academy or somewhere else.

What I need most right now is an "identity".

Yes, an identity within a human society.

Human social relationships are very complex and cannot be learned from books: Gebu discovered a very subtle way of coexisting that combines cooperation and competition by observing the daily interactions of the farmers in the village.

Everyone in the village has a social identity: a baker, a milkman, a miller… Everyone has needs from others and also provides value to others. Of course, in the process of interaction, everyone tries to take advantage of others—but in the long run, a dynamic equilibrium is basically maintained.

The more secure and irreplaceable a person's identity, the higher their status within the group. This gives them a greater advantage in interactions with others.

Geb was missing just one thing: he needed to figure out a way to make himself useful to others, so that when others asked him for favors, he could in turn ask them to do things for him.

This identity could be that of a herbalist.

In the vagrant market, Gebu witnessed the market for potions in human society. This profession was highly profitable, prestigious, and respected.

Traveling herbalist Geb, sounds good.

Of course, I only know my own little world right now, and I'm still a frog in a well. Once I have more contact with the human world, I will definitely discover other opportunities.

Take your time, there's no rush.

Lost in thought, Gebu had already walked to within fifty meters of the edge of the woodland.

He glanced back at the coachman, and when the man wasn't looking, he turned away to hide his face, then took off and put the Thousand Faces Mask back on—in an instant, the goblin's face flashed, and then he transformed back into a halfling.

Refresh the duration, lest you give yourself away.

He then summoned his magical pet—to adapt to the surrounding environment, Geb adjusted the appearance of Big Eyes, turning it into a shiny, slick rat. When it flew, it would grow wings and turn into a bat, which wouldn't look out of place.

Bats fluttered overhead through the woods, and through the eyes of his magical pet, Geb saw a devastated traveler's camp.

The van was overturned, the burned tent was still smoking, and there was blood everywhere on the ground.

Gebu's heart sank. There really wasn't anything good... the driver had been right.

The bats circled twice in the air, and the camp was empty—only two people, one tall and one short, stood in the middle of the camp, seemingly arguing.

A female human and a dwarf.

One was tall and thin, the other was short and stout.

The woman was fully armed, wearing close-fitting scale armor. A cloth hung from her back, covering a bundle of weapons—long swords, long knives, short spears, javelins, and short swords and daggers. Every time she moved, they clanged and clattered. This woman, does she really need so many weapons? How many hands does she have?!

The dwarf carried an oversized crossbow on his back, was chubby, had a large brown beard, and looked very festive.

The people in this camp...were killed by them?

Geb observed it and it didn't seem like it.

First, both of them were very clean, not like they had just committed murder.

Secondly, there was no body. Who dragged it away? These two people definitely couldn't have done it.

Third... these two don't seem that good at fighting. This camp is big enough to house at least seven or eight people. Putting aside the woman, this dwarf doesn't look like a combatant at all. He's fat, and the crossbow on his back is very ornate and exquisite—it looks like a decoration.

How did these two people come about?

The bats flew higher, and Gebu saw two pack animals, one tall and one short, on the other side of the woods—a white horse and a giant goat. The horse was chewing grass, and the goat was chewing the horse's tail.

Judging from this, the horse belongs to the woman, and the sheep to the dwarf.

The bat flew up into the tree and hung upside down to observe.

The hoofprints were fresh and moist, confirming my guess that the two guys had only been there a short time.

Ok?

Gebu noticed something interesting on the goat's back—a small brass lens was tucked into a leather bag next to the saddle, along with small tweezers, awls, hammers, and other tools, all neatly arranged and well-maintained, gleaming subtly in the sunlight.

These tools aren't those of a blacksmith, nor do they look like those of a sewing or shoe repairman—they're too intricate… more like those of a jeweler?

Jewelry—gemstones?!

Geb suddenly became excited and jumped up on the spot—he forgot about his synesthetic pet. The bat leaped up and crashed into a tree branch, then disappeared.

Oh dear! Ten gold coins!

The halfling (goblin) was heartbroken and filled with regret.

Sunk costs! They don't affect decision-making!

No one would be foolish enough to bring jewelry and tools to rob someone, so these two people probably aren't bad guys.

A craftsman and a mercenary—an employer-employee relationship?

Make friends, maybe you can get some gems?

Geb rubbed his face; it was time to unleash the charm of this handsome halfling.

Smile, showing eighty teeth...

No, it's eight. How did I laugh...? They're evenly distributed, four on top and four on the bottom.

A standard smile.

Gebu pouted and walked toward the camp like a pea shooter.