I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 27: Leather Armor

The members of the Night Owl Squad, aside from their leader Levin, all displayed somewhat cold attitudes.

After Gauss introduced himself, the others merely stated their names and preferred weapons before falling silent.

Some were simply shy—the female priest stole several glances at Gauss but, seeing no one else speaking, hesitated before choosing silence as well.

Others might have been naturally aloof. The cloaked rogue, who served as the team's assassin, offered a brief greeting before lowering her head to continue polishing her dagger.

Interestingly, Gauss had initially mistaken the assassin for male due to her full-body cloak and perpetually bowed head—until she spoke and revealed her gender.

The remaining archer and swordsman were similarly taciturn.

Gauss understood perfectly well—one couldn't expect everyone to be outgoing and friendly, especially toward a stranger suddenly joining their ranks.

If Levin's claims held true and this was indeed an "elite" squad, then some aloofness among its members was only natural.

Isn't that how experts typically behaved?

Moreover, Gauss actually preferred this politely distant attitude over excessive enthusiasm from strangers—that would have made him uncomfortable.

"If there are no objections, everyone should rest this morning. We'll gather at the guild entrance this afternoon for joint training to familiarize ourselves with each other," Levin announced.

"Tomorrow at first bell, we'll assemble at the town gates to depart for our mission location."

"Rewards will be distributed based on individual contributions."

"Understood, Captain."

"I'll take my leave then."

Before Levin could finish speaking, the cloaked woman waved and departed.

The others soon followed suit after their goodbyes.

"Don't mistake their reserve for coldness," Levin told Gauss, who remained behind. "Given time, you'll find them good people."

"Provided, of course, you earn their recognition."

Levin chuckled heartily.

"I understand," Gauss nodded.

He suspected the others viewed him as a temporary member—someone not worth investing social effort in since he'd likely depart soon anyway. Maintaining distance from the outset made perfect sense.

"Now, Gauss, come with me to register the mission. I'll add you to our temporary roster."

After completing formalities at the Adventurers Guild counter, Gauss officially joined the squad for this assignment.

Levin's Night Owl Squad was an unranked adventurer team properly registered with the guild.

In truth, anyone could register an adventurer squad for fifty silver coins.

The benefits of formally registering a team were numerous.

Firstly, certain clients and organizations sometimes specifically requested guild-registered teams when commissioning missions, as established squads with consistent members naturally demonstrated better coordination and combat effectiveness than temporary groups of comparable individual skill.

Moreover, the ability to pay the fifty-silver registration fee itself served as proof of capability.

Thus registered teams could access more missions than independent adventurers or temporary parties.

Secondly, adventurer squads could rank up just like individual adventurers, so registering early helped accumulate mission experience from the novice stage.

Finally, registered teams found recruitment easier—free agents naturally gravitated toward established squads when choosing between recruitment offers.

After registration, Gauss bid Levin farewell to prepare his gear.

Their mission location near Mill Village wasn't as distant as Birch Village, but still required over a day's travel.

Factoring in necessary preparations upon arrival—intelligence gathering, potential combat, looting, rest periods, and return travel—they'd need at least three days before returning to Grayrock Town.

Thus essential supplies like rations, water skins, and spare clothing needed procurement.

While gathering basics in town, Gauss decided to purchase leather armor after some consideration.

He'd need it eventually regardless.

Though somewhat pricey at fifteen silvers, it offered significantly better protection than cloth armor while maintaining similar lightness and flexibility.

The secondhand cloth armor he'd worn before was bought back by the shopkeeper for fifty coppers—a steep depreciation from the one silver he'd originally paid, despite having only used it once properly (excluding that first goblin ambush).

Leaving the shop, Gauss couldn't help suspecting the squint-eyed, smiling proprietor would simply refurbish and resell that same cloth armor for one silver again.

Admiring his new leather armor's wax-hardened lamellar plates from various angles, Gauss felt his mood lift considerably.

"Better protection means significantly reduced injury risk against goblins."

He refused to admit that part of his motivation stemmed from not wanting to embarrass himself during afternoon training by standing alongside well-equipped teammates in dirty, secondhand cloth armor.

No, this purchase was—and had to be—purely pragmatic.

......

The afternoon's inaugural team training occurred as usual in the clearing outside town.

Such sessions were standard whenever new members joined.

Even normally, conscientious squad leaders conducted regular drills.

These exercises served as mutual technical briefings—newcomers demonstrated their abilities, skills, team roles, strengths, and weaknesses.

In turn, existing members showcased their own specialties to the recruit.

This meant none of those dramatic "hidden talent" tropes where someone suddenly reveals amazing skills during actual combat.

Such behavior endangered everyone by treating teammates' lives as jokes.

In real combat, you couldn't expect proper coordination from teammates completely unfamiliar with your capabilities.

Without established teamwork, even game-changing secret techniques might accidentally harm allies.

Thus training was essential.

Gauss arrived at the guild's entrance to find all five teammates already assembled, uniformly armored and armed.

Captain Levin and swordsman Doyle stood out most in their striking black metal scale armor—overlapping iron plates resembling fish scales protecting their torsos, with leather coats underneath and metal-reinforced limb guards.

Levin's massive oak shield edged with metal looked particularly imposing.

Admittedly cool.

Gauss had to acknowledge their gear's impressive effect—scale armor looked entirely different when worn versus displayed on shop walls.

The other three—archer Oliver, rogue Meva, and priest Daphne—wore lighter leather armor that still appeared superior in quality and craftsmanship to Gauss's brand-new purchase.