I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 1: Adventurer's Manual

Emerald Forest, Grayrock Town.  

The morning wind sweeping through the trees awakened this gray frontier town.  

"Ding-ling-ling—"  

The small wind chime hanging on the window frame swayed and collided, producing crisp sounds.  

Gauss sat on his plank bed, pressing down on the linen beneath him, feeling the thick layer of hay padding underneath the rough fabric. He remained silent for a long time.  

Fragments of past memories flooded his mind—the memories of a young hunter who left home to make his way in the world and a freshly graduated college student starting his first job intertwined, plunging him into confusion.  

Who am I? Where am I? Is this a dream?  

As if to confirm, he stood up and walked to the window, gazing outside.  

The morning mist hadn't fully dissipated yet. Merchant wagons creaked over the sandstone roads, women carried clay pots under their arms as they arranged goods on display racks outside their shops, and a blacksmith's apprentice pushed open the door and hung up the "Open" sign.  

The scene before him was a street view brimming with an otherworldly atmosphere, utterly different from his previous life.  

Everything told him unmistakably—he had crossed over into a brand-new world.  

Gauss stared blankly.  

If his memories were correct, this world seemed to be filled with all sorts of fantastical, magical forces.  

From goblins, kobolds, and mud monsters that even commoners might encounter, to dragons and devils capable of threatening entire kingdoms—they were all real, not just fictional tales passed around by bards.  

Beyond the myriad monsters, there were also professionals who wielded magic and combat techniques—mages, sorcerers, warriors, druids, rangers, and more.  

Thinking of this, Gauss's somewhat gloomy heart couldn't help but beat faster.  

Although becoming a professional in this world wasn't easy for ordinary people, he hadn't arrived empty-handed.  

Accompanying him to this world was his golden finger—a magical book that existed only in his mind: the "Adventurer's Manual."  

[Status Panel] [Monster Encyclopedia] [Map]  

The appearance of this book in his mind greatly reassured Gauss, who had suddenly found himself in another world.  

Name: Gauss  

Strength: 5 (physical power, carrying capacity, explosive force, etc.)  

Agility: 5 (body flexibility, dynamic coordination)  

Constitution: 5 (endurance, physical fitness, wound recovery, cardiopulmonary metabolism)  

Intelligence: 6 (memory, thinking, mental power)  

Perception: 5 (senses, intuition, judgment)  

Charisma: 5 (demeanor, affinity, appearance)  

Skills: None  

The Status Panel page recorded his various attributes. Aside from Intelligence being 6, everything else was 5.  

His physical condition was utterly average—5 points likely represented the standard for ordinary people.  

Perhaps the 6 in Intelligence was related to his transmigration?  

Shaking his head, Gauss turned his attention to the Monster Encyclopedia.  

The Monster Encyclopedia categorized creatures by threat level: Common, Elite, Supernatural, Lord, Legendary, and ??.  

Currently, he could only view the Common section. The following pages were firmly stuck together, impossible to open.  

Even the Common section remained grayed out.  

Clicking randomly on a darkened icon would prompt a message: "Target not yet slain. Corresponding entry cannot be unlocked."  

"Note: Encyclopedia progress is tracked both per species and overall. Upon reaching specified kill counts, corresponding stage rewards can be claimed."  

It seemed he needed to kill monsters first to fully unlock the Monster Encyclopedia and receive various stage rewards.  

Gauss nodded thoughtfully.  

Next, he examined the final tab—"Map."  

Focusing on it, a map soon appeared in his mind.  

The center likely represented his own location—a simple icon of a stone house.  

"Name this building."  

"Sophia's Inn," he silently recited. The building was promptly named.  

The illuminated area on the map was minimal, limited to his immediate surroundings.  

The rest was shrouded in fog. Intuitively, he felt this related to exploration progress.  

Having not even left his room yet, he naturally couldn't gather information to fill out the map.  

As he explored more of his surroundings, the map would presumably reveal more areas.  

Having reviewed his golden finger's functions, Gauss felt much more settled.  

Packing his belongings, he headed downstairs.  

"Sophia, breakfast, please."  

The first floor served as both dining area and front desk, with several round wooden tables standing empty.  

This building, which he'd named Sophia's Inn on his map, more closely resembled the youth hostels from his previous life—residential houses converted to accommodate rootless freelancers like himself.  

Rental options included short-term and monthly.  

A single room cost 2 copper coins per day, with a discounted monthly rate of 30 copper coins—far cheaper than taverns.  

Additionally, for extra payment, the proprietor Sophia provided meals.  

Breakfast cost 1 copper coin, while proper meals like lunch and dinner were 2 copper coins each.  

The food was cheap and filling, but one shouldn't expect anything beyond basic sustenance.  

Meat was naturally absent. Black bread, homemade pickles, wild vegetable soup, stewed beans, and oatmeal porridge comprised the regular menu.  

"Coming," answered a buxom blonde woman emerging from behind the front desk. She appeared around thirty, yet her looks weren't aged—instead exuding mature charm. "Sleep in today, little Gauss?"  

"Yeah, couldn't sleep last night. Prey's getting noticeably scarcer," Gauss replied, taking a seat at an empty table.  

"You still need your rest."  

Soon, Sophia brought out reheated premade dishes.  

Today's breakfast was black bread with vegetable stew.  

The black bread on the plate had been sliced, appearing rock-hard.  

Seeing Sophia return to the kitchen, Gauss picked up a slice and tapped it against the wooden plate—producing a crisp knocking sound.  

Was this even edible?  

He eyed the stone-like object suspiciously, spotting what seemed like tiny wood splinters embedded within.  

Whatever!  

Following remembered methods, he dunked the black bread into the steaming vegetable stew.  

After a while, the bread softened, soaking up broth until it looked marginally edible.  

Scooping a piece with a wooden spoon, he ate it with some broth.  

Chewing a few times, he swallowed.  

The food left a slimy, disgusting sensation in his throat, with slight scratchy discomfort.  

Huh? This taste... this texture... truly awful.  

Even mentally prepared, the reality was worse than expected.  

Back in his previous life—even as an ordinary office worker—his daily meals far surpassed this otherworldly subsistence fare.  

Gauss numbly finished his first meal in this new world.  

Waving off Sophia's "Be careful out there," he stepped out, properly embarking on his otherworldly journey.  

The rising sun had climbed to the mountain peaks in the distance.  

Morning light spilled over Grayrock Town's slate roofs as this forest-edge settlement came alive.  

The streets bustled with people—merchants buying and selling, groups of adventurer-looking types, and most numerous of all, freelancers like his original self.  

The original Gauss had been a half-baked hunter, surviving by setting traps in Emerald Forest's outermost reaches.  

Catching rabbits or pheasants earned 20 copper coins each, as meat was relatively expensive for commoners here.  

But hunting success depended on luck. With many hunters working the forest's fringes, resources were scarcer than one might think.  

On good days, Gauss might bag three rabbits, earning 50-60 copper coins.  

On bad streaks, he might go four or five days—or longer—without a catch.  

Fortunately, after setting traps, he could forage for wild vegetables, fruits, and herbs on the return trip, ensuring he never went home completely empty-handed.  

Occasional odd jobs—buying village produce to resell in town—helped scrape together a living.  

Having left home a year ago, the original Gauss had saved a small sum through inherited trap-making skills and frugality.  

3 silver coins and 65 copper coins.  

His goal was buying a house in town—the cheapest costing over 90 silver coins, plus ongoing property taxes.  

At this rate, without windfalls, he'd need thirty more years to afford one.  

Though a frontier town, Grayrock's proximity to Emerald Forest meant steady streams of adventurers and merchants, making property ownership difficult for commoners.  

Precisely for this reason, the original Gauss—forced from home—had dreamed of buying property here to prove his success to family.  

"Pity. The money you saved over a year for a house—I'll be spending it today," Gauss murmured, shaking his head.  

Today, he wasn't going hunting. Instead, he planned to slay a monster—to unlock the Monster Encyclopedia and see what rewards awaited.  

Escaping his freelancer existence now hinged on this "Adventurer's Manual."