The store was closed on Mondays, so Ace managed to take the day off to put his plans into practice. He took on missions in the world of Goblin Slayer, but initially he preferred to choose missions to collect items so he could learn more about the world and its surroundings, places of interest that could be useful, as well as earn some money.
Sitting on a rock, he began to rest from the trip. He did two missions in a row without taking time to recover. "Time to satisfy my hunger! Hehehe." Ace loved barbecue, so he would prepare one to eat and relax. Ace prepared a fire with some charcoal that he brought. He took some sealed packages of meat out of his bag. "Aaah, I can finally eat some roast meat! It's a pain that the apartment doesn't allow me to have a barbecue". Ace wasn't an idiot and knew that the smell of the meat could attract some unwanted visitors, so he didn't leave his Shovel Knight form. He would put his trademark seasoned salt on the meat.
The sound of roasting meat spread through the forest along with the smell of meat; it was a way to relax from the stress of studies, physical training, and missions that had been constant these days, especially after he had been involved in almost daily combat. Ace pointed his shovel at one of the trees. "Snooping is not at all respectable, especially for a lady." Coming out of that tree was a young woman with black hair and a ponytail, next to her was a young woman in white clothes that looked like a priestess. 'Wait a second...' He recognized the two of them and especially the rest of the group that came out of the trees, it was the famous group from the first episode of Goblin Slayer.
"We're sorry, it's just... curiosity got the better of us, besides the smell that was pleasant." The boy with brown hair and a red headband spoke apologetically for the situation. "We're sorry for the intrusion and watching you. We were on our way to our mission when we changed path." She was a classic fantasy mage, with red hair and wearing glasses. "We're going..." Knowing the destination of this group, Ace sighed and stood up.
"Come here first, eat some food, and relax from the trip." The reluctant group approached, taking the boy who went forward excitedly, keeping a smile on his face. "Hehe, thanks!" He took one of the skewers and ate. Some time passed between the group, and Ace looked for some loophole that he could use to join this journey and prevent the fate of these young adventurers.
"We're going on a mission against goblins, also rescuing people captured by them. We're going to enter with both feet in the door and finish them off!" The boy beat his chest confidently, little did he know the fate of his group. "Save captured people, huh? Well, I'm in to help. I don't have much to do, and don't worry, I won't ask for a reward." The boy wanted to refuse but was quickly cut off by his companion, the fighter of the group, also known as the second survivor of the group.
"That's great! It's always good to have someone with us. Let us introduce ourselves. My name is Karina, the wizard of our group is called Rose, his name is Yuto, and finally, our priestess is called Onna!" Introducing everyone and not giving Yuto a chance to refuse, they left the camp and headed towards the goblins' nest.
"Stay alert. Goblins themselves may be weak, but they love to use dirty strategies like poison and attack in large numbers; be careful." Ace warned the whole group about the dangers of the goblins. Yuto seemed unimpressed by the situation, but the rest paid close attention. Entering the cave, Ace prepared the torch to continue on their way.
"I can hear them approaching; stay on guard." He spoke softly as he prepared his shovel. The group became tense, and soon they also got ready; one of the goblins would approach from the darkness. Rose prepared her staff and began to chant her magic. Yuto charged at the goblin without thinking, attacking him recklessly. It didn't take long for one goblin to die, but when several others jumped toward him, Ace intervened. "I warned you!" Using his shovel, he attacked all the goblins, giving Yuto a chance to get away. "Firebolt!" The mage finished chanting her magic, launching it at one of the goblins, who was charred.
"Pay attention, goblins who use knives always use poison on them, so be extra careful!" Yuto remained quiet and now began to be more calm and rational.
Ace, Karina, and Yuto began to attack together. Yuto decided to help kill the goblins that Karina attacked, preventing them from getting closer. Ace attacked the rest of the goblins, thus causing the goblins death.
"Your warnings were useful; underestimating goblins because they are physically weak is never a smart idea, many adventurers have already met their death when facing them." Coming out of the darkness and accompanied by a torch was a tall, armored man. He carried a shield and a short sword, Goblin Slayer, who in the story would have saved the Priestess.
"Even if they weren't goblins, underestimating any enemy is a bad idea. I may like to play with my words, but I know I can't relax." Sighing, Ace would clean his spear of the rest of the goblins' blood, facing his enemies, mainly the Power Rangers monsters. He liked to play with their faces with words, but he knew that many were too dangerous to let their guard down.
"Anyway, I see you're here for the same reason as us, right? Eliminate the goblins and rescue those who were captured." Rose, the group's wizard, would talk to Goblin Slayer, remaining alert with him. Without saying anything, he just kept walking. Ace's group followed him, starting the attack against the goblins.
"More enemies in the background, and I feel a cluster in some corner." Hearing Ace's words, Goblin Slayer already prepared his sword. As expected, a group of goblins appeared that now faced a large group of adventurers and were completely annihilated, reaching the end of that place where the goblins offsprings were located.
"Save your words, good goblins don't exist. If he didn't do the job, I would." He knew what the priestess was going to say, interrupting her right away. It didn't take long for the captured ones to be found and rescued. Ace sighed in relief since he was tense all the time. He could defend himself, but the rest? He had no security that could guarantee that they would survive.
"Ace, thanks for your help earlier. I should be more careful. I put my entire group at risk because of my idiocy." Yuto seemed to feel guilty, and with a tearful tone, Ace gave a friendly laugh. "Come on, kid, we all have stupid moments! All you need to do is just not do the stupid thing again." This relieved the rest of the group, who laughed along.
———
[YingYang: HUH!? This guy is Shovel Knight, and how did this group survive?!]
[TunaKaslana: Calm down! I know this guy, he's the same one that was appearing in that new Power Rangers series.]
[KonoDioDa!]: Power Rangers? I took a look, and it really is him, same armor and voice. The Shovel Knight devs said they don't know what's going on.]
[YouAreNumberOne!: So you mean Goblin Slayer got a good ending for this first episode?]
And then a strange miracle came to happen, the famous episode 1 of Goblin Slayer was avoided, bringing the full attention of Goblin Slayer fans.
———
"Yo guys, now that we're safe...how about we eat the rest of that barbecue? Are you up for it too, the big guy? You must be hungry." Ace was still craving some barbecue meat, so he wouldn't miss the opportunity again. Goblin Slayer was ready to refuse but felt a certain hunger pass through him. Preparing a fire, the group was eating barbecue.
Goblin Slayer was logically the only one who was silent the whole time, except for a few times when he answered questions about how to exterminate goblins that Yuto talked so much about. 'Why do I feel like I created a Goblin Slayer 2?' Seeing Yuto's enthusiasm to learn how to kill goblins was a sign of a catastrophic future for goblins.