Chapter 4 TAKE YOU HAND OFF MY P***S

The supply cart creaked softly as it rolled through the forest path.

Every bump sent pain shooting through Eo’s ribs.

“My ribs are killing me,” he muttered weakly from beneath the helmet.

Selena sat beside him in silence, one hand still firmly gripping the front of his damaged armor like she feared he might collapse if she let go.

The injured adventurers trudged along, carefully pulling the cart over the uneven ground. Every now and then, one would glance back at the silver-armored rookie, lying half-conscious after taking down a mutant goblin champion on his very first day as an adventurer.

The swordsman still looked exhausted.

“Entropy,” he muttered again.

“What kind of team name is that…”

Eo raised one finger weakly.

“One that will break every single expectation.”

The swordsman stared at him for several long seconds.

Then sighed.

“The newbies sure are scary.”

The cart rolled on as the forest slowly thinned, the setting sun casting golden rays through the trees. Soon, the faint shapes of walls emerged on the horizon. A town. Not particularly large but lively.

Wooden walls encircled clusters of stone and timber buildings, as adventurers, merchants, and travelers streamed steadily through the gates.

As the cart rolled closer, one of the guards cast a lazy glance in its direction.

Then froze.

“Why is there a goblin champion corpse on the cart?!”

The surrounding guards immediately straightened.

“What?”

“Goblin champion?”

Their eyes fell on the massive corpse strapped to the back of the supply cart. Then shifted to the battered adventurers. And finally— to the silver-armored figure lying inside the cart like a dying man.

“What happened to him?”

The swordsman pointed immediately.

“He fought it.”

Silence.

The guards blinked.

“Is he’s still conscious?”

“Unfortunately,” Selena answered quietly.

Eo weakly lifted a hand.

“I am fighting for my life right now.”

One guard stared at him.

“How old are you?”

“18”

The town guards pushed the gates open in silence, and the instant they stepped inside, chaos broke out.

“Is that a goblin champion?!”

“What happened?!”

“Who killed it?”

The supply cart rumbled slowly down the streets, with crowds quickly forming in its wake. Adventurers, in particular, joined the procession after catching the words “goblin champion.” Mutants weren’t something you saw every day. Near the heart of town stood the Adventurer Guild, a building larger than most around it. As the cart came to a halt out front, Lina emerged from the guild’s entrance, shuffling through a stack of paperwork.

Then she spotted them—the battered adventurers, the wrecked gear, the hulking corpse of the goblin champion. And at last, Eo, slumped in the cart while Selena propped him up.

Lina blinked once.

Then twice.

Lina slowly looked toward Eo.

Eo weakly raised a hand.

“Good afternoon.”

“You just left few hours ago.”

“Yes.”

Several adventurers burst out of the guild upon hearing the commotion. The instant their eyes fell on the goblin champion’s corpse, the entire entrance erupted in a frenzy of noise.

“No way!”

“That’s a mutant!”

“Who killed it?!”

“The Blue Wolfs are here?!”

The swordsman pointed yet again.

“Him.”

Dead silence spread instantly.

Everyone slowly turned toward the silver-armored rookie currently leaking blood inside the cart.

“The F-rank?”

“The newbies?”

Eo gave a peace sign.

“That’s us.”

One adventurer stared blankly.

“You fought that thing?”

“I had a deeply unpleasant experience with it.”

Another adventurer looked horrified.

“You’re still alive?!”

“Barely.”

Lina strolled toward the cart at a leisurely pace, moving slower with each step, before locking eyes with Selena.

“How bad is he?”

“Few broken ribs.”

Lina’s eyes widened slightly.

“Possible internal bleeding.”

“…Ah.”

“Brain damage probably already existed beforehand.”

Eo pointed toward her.

“That one was unnecessary.”

Selena ignored him completely.

Lina pinched the bridge of her nose.

Then turned around toward the guild building.

“MEDIC!”

The guild immediately erupted into motion.

A healer rushed out moments later while several adventurers carefully lifted Eo from the cart.

The instant they touched him—

“DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY PE***.”

“Sorry!”

As they carried him toward the guild infirmary, Eo slowly turned his helmet toward Selena.

“Selena.”

“Yes?”

“I think our first day went rather well.”

Behind them, adventurers already crowded around the goblin champion corpse excitedly.

“The rookie team killed this?”

“No way they’re actually F-rank.”

“They just registered today!”

One older adventurer crossed his arms.

“I give them six months before they become D-rank.”

Another immediately shook his head.

“No.”

His eyes lingered toward the infirmary entrance.

“Those two are the exceptions.”

...

Inside the guild infirmary. As the healers reached for the clasps of his armor. Eo weakly caught one of their wrists.

“No.”

The healer froze.

“…Sir?”

“The armor stays on.”

Lina stared.

“You are bleeding internally.”

“Yes.”

“We need to examine the injuries.”

“You may heal me like this.”

Eo slowly tightened his grip on the cracked breastplate.

Silence.

Lina pinched the bridge of her nose.

“You are literally coughing blood.”

“Yes.”

“And you still refuse to remove the armor?”

“Yes.”

“Why?!”

Eo looked away dramatically.

“I can’t tell you the reasons..”

Another healer stepped closer carefully.

“Young man, if your ribs pierced an organ, healing magic alone may not fully stabilize you without proper examination.”

Eo crossed his arms weakly.

“Skill issue.”

“What?”

“Just use stronger healing.”

Lina looked moments away from retiring permanently.

One healer sighed heavily.

“Fine.”

He pressed his glowing hands to the damaged armor, soft green light spilling outward. Healing magic seeped slowly through the cracked breastplate, and almost instantly—

CRACK.

Eo’s body jerked slightly.

“Oh.”

The healer blinked.

“What?”

“That actually feels better.”

“Of course it does.”

Another healer narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Wait.”

His gaze moved toward the armor carefully.

“This equipment…”

He tapped lightly against the silver plate.

“What is this made from?”

Silence.

Eo answered instantly.

“Metal.”

“Yes, obviously.”

The healer’s expression became increasingly suspicious.

“This is a very rare metal.”

The healer continued examining the armor.

“No new adventurer should be able to own equipment like this.”