“Qianya, Qianya—what do you think of this exam?” My voice skipped like a pebble over a pond.

Lan’er had given up asking Tangxue; ask her anything and she just breezed, “Not hard,” like wind brushing tall grass.

“Not bad. I think Teacher Xuewei’s testing personal skill and team rhythm,” Qianya said, steady as a pine in light snow.

“Yeah,” I cut in, words flicking like sparks. “Goblins have scary-good synergy. A few are smart, but most are just two-legged beasts. They move on instinct—yet they’re sharp at ambush and teamwork, like wolves melting into mist.”

“And I really, really hate Goblins.” The memory pricked like thorns. I almost got dragged off as a girl by those things—bleep—and if Frostwhisper hadn’t shown up, I’d have been done, like a candle snuffed in wind.

Back then I was weak. The Adventurers’ Guild had no easy jobs. To eat, I took dangerous quests, walking knife-edges under a cold moon.

Anyway, I hate Goblins. Full stop.

“I-I don’t like them either… They’re all slick and green. Just gross,” Lan’er said, face scrunching like she’d bitten a sour plum.

“Gear up, now. Or the good stuff gets picked clean,” Qianya said, rolling her eyes like a cat’s tail flick.

“Okay, okay…”

We took what we needed. Xuewei gave a brief rundown, then handed each of us a map. Two days for the mission—by the afternoon two days from now, we regroup here, like birds returning to a roost.

The route was tight as drumskin on the map. Even a Third Rank sprinting now would hit the village at nightfall. If we drag our feet, we sleep in the forest’s black sea or on a cold street under a thin sky.

We could team up, but the rewards dropped. Safer, though—like stepping stones across a stream instead of a jump.

Everyone here was at least Third Rank. A single Goblin—First Rank—was a breeze, a leaf crushed under heel. Unless it’s a giant Goblin. Those hit like boulders tumbling down a cliff. So most people went solo; the team penalty cut deep, like frostbite.

We still chose to move as a trio. Qianya and I didn’t care about scores; passing was enough, like clearing fog to see a path. Lan’er hated being alone. So we teamed—less reward, more fun, like sharing a campfire under stars.

“By that canyon, there seem to be three villages,” I said, finger circling like a falcon. “We’ve got thirty in class. Lodging’s limited, so each village needs people, right?”

“Mm. And I think Teacher Xuewei’s hint means the same,” Qianya murmured, eyes on the map like reading ripples. “I bet academy staff went ahead to hold spots. Each village can only take so many. Move slow and you’ll switch villages, or sleep on the street like a stray.”

“Don’t stare at the map while walking, Qianya…”

“Habit. I’m fine.”

“Also, Xuewei said Goblins might raid nearby villages soon. Night’s their hour. We should take turns on watch. If Goblins come, we wake everyone and deal with it. A team means rotating rest. Tomorrow we won’t be sleepy at the canyon.”

“That works. But there are three villages. Goblins will hit just one, right? Which one do we bet on?” Lan’er asked, worry fluttering like a moth.

“This.” Qianya tapped the village closest to the cliff, crisp as a bell. “Goblins are lazy. Mostly they harass and rob like rats. If I were a Goblin, I’d choose the nearest target.”

I opened my mouth, then shut it like a door in the wind. “Okay…”

Honestly, I wanted to say: Qianya, Goblins think with what’s below the belt. They raid where the women gather like blossoms. But maybe that’s just me being weird, so I swallowed it like a bitter pill.

“Then let’s move. Beat nightfall, grab beds. Charge!” I whooped, like an arrow loosed from a bow.

“Hey—hey! Tangxue, don’t drag me—ahhh—”

“These two…” Qianya sighed, a soft frost on glass. “If I want a good impression before Kerlinveil Xuewei, team mode is key. I need a solid score, like carving my name in stone.”

…

By the time we reached the village nearest the cliff, a few students had arrived, lanterns flickering like fireflies.

“Hey~” I waved at a classmate checking in at the inn, hand swinging like a pennant in wind.

They nodded and kept checking in, calm as a stone.

“So jealous… Tangxue talks to strangers so easily. Not me,” Lan’er whispered, voice shrinking like a snail.

“That wasn’t easy! She ignored me. I’m dying of secondhand embarrassment,” I muttered, cheeks warm as embers.

“Enough. Check in. There’s only one inn in this village,” Qianya said, sharp as a blade’s edge.

“There are spots—three, exactly. Lucky us~” I grinned, like catching a falling leaf.

“Mm.”

“Hey—those three spots are ours!” Three students burst through the door—two girls, one boy. The loud one crackled like a firecracker.

“…We came first,” Qianya said behind me, cool as shade, with a faint bite of winter.

“No! We reached town first, but got delayed on the road, so you checked in before us!” the girl snapped, like a cat with fur up.

“We came first,” Qianya repeated. The chill deepened, frost crawling over her tone.

“B-but…” The girl faltered, like a candle guttering.

“We. Came. First.”

“Forget it, Luo Yi. Let’s go,” the boy said, shaking his head, calm as a still lake. “Running into Goblins near town wasn’t our fault. We did slow down. We’ll switch villages.”

“But—” The girl stamped, eyes sparking, then threw us a glare and hurried after them, anger trailing like smoke.

I watched the three with interest, like reading a crease in the clouds.

That boy and those two girls—there’s a story there, coiled like a spring.

“Lanno, why’re we giving up this village? Didn’t you say this one’s most likely—”

“Remember the Goblin on the road?” his voice drifted like a low drum.

“I do. What about it?”

“I guessed wrong. That wasn’t a scouting line. That Goblin was a straggler, fallen from the flock.”

“A straggler?”

“Yeah. There will be a raid tonight. But not here. It’s…”