Last time Daisuke and Cecily paid a visit to Vulcan's Hammer, a blacksmith forge owned by Luna's childhood friend, Wayland Blecher. The duo manage to reignite Wayland's dream and offer him a position in their adventuring party. Now this trio of misfits embark to the Guild to find their next Quest!

It had been a day since Daisuke and Cecily had recruited Wayland to their adventuring party. The duo had opted to stay the night at Vulcan's Hammer before they would all travel to the Adventurer Guild the next morning. Daisuke and Cecily were seen waiting outside of Vulcan's Hammer, dressed in their equipment, their new weapons given to them by Wayland secured to their backs.

Cecily: I wonder what's taking Wayland so long?

Daisuke: He mentioned that he needed to gather his equipment, apparently it's been awhile since he last left the city.

The duo then heard the door to Vulcan's hammer open, they turned to see Wayland walking down the stairs. He replaced his blacksmithing apron with a simple steel breastplate, his blacksmithing gloves were replaced with steel gauntlets, his work boots replaced with steel greaves. Strapped to his back was a large War Hammer, strapped to the back of his waist was a pickaxe. Finally a leather bag was slung over his right arm.

Wayland: Sorry for the wait, wanted to triple check to make sure I had everything I needed.

Daisuke and Cecily looked Wayland over, surprise evident on both their faces as they didn't expect for the blacksmith to bring so much.

Cecily: For a blacksmith, you almost look like a crusader or paladin with those armor pieces on.

Wayland chuckled at the Priest's comment before scratching the back of his head.

Wayland: A blacksmith should know better than anyone that going out on a quest with no armor is a death sentence! Besides I need my pickaxe and leather sack to collect raw materials, mostly ores.

Daisuke: So you don't just forge weapons, but gather your own materials? Self sufficiency, a great trait to have as a business owner.

Wayland let out another chuckle before nodding his head in agreement.

Wayland: Yeah, I mean sure I could post a Quest for some Adventurers to gather the materials, but it's a lot easier to do it myself since I know what I'm looking for.

Daisuke and Cecily nodded their heads in agreement as that was rather sound logic. Cecily however shot Wayland a curious look.

Cecily: Are you ready to set foot in the Guild again Wayland?

Wayland's smile immediately fell as he let out a weak sigh, but nodded his head.

Wayland: No avoiding it now since I agreed to join your Party, don't worry I don't back out of a deal when I make it. So I'll just swallow my nerves and do my best to march right in there and act like I belong.

Daisuke: Don't worry, we're with you every step of the way Wayland, you're a member of our party now, we got your back.

Wayland smiled at Daisuke and nodded before a determined look spread across his face.

Wayland: Well we better get a move on then, we're burning daylight just standing around here idly!

Daisuke and Cecily nodded before the trio began their walk towards the Adventurer Guild, ready to find a Quest to take on.

Adventurer Guild
Daisuke and Cecily noticed that the aura within the guild was far different from what they were used to. Everyone stared at them, their body language tense and their eyes nervous. Of course this behavior was directed at their newest member, who did his best to keep his head down.

Adventurer 2: Isn't that Wayland?! The Cursed Blacksmith?!

Adventurer 3: What the hell is he doing here?! What are those rookies thinking bringing him in here? Don't they know he's bad news?!

Adventurer 4: You think he blackmailed them into doing this? I mean guy hasn't had business in months. I mean look at them, they got new weapons, must've forced them on the rookies.

Wayland grimaced as he looked down at ground, doing his best to ignore the comments made about him. However he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Daisuke.

Daisuke: Don't listen to them Wayland, we know the truth, if everyone is dumb enough to believe a stupid rumor that's their problem.

Wayland looked at the Combat Cook for a moment before nodding his head and taking a deep breath. The trio continued to make their way towards the Quest Board, only for the Adventurer who tried to stop Daisuke and Cecily from going to Vulcan's Hammer the other day stood in their way.

Adventurer 1: I warned you guys he's cursed! Why would you not only buy weapons from him but bring him to the Guild?!

Cecily: Wayland is our newest Party Member, why wouldn't we bring him to the Guild with us?

Everyone in the Guild looked completely dumbfounded as they never expected that a couple of rookie Adventurers would want the Cursed Blacksmith to be apart of their Adventuring Party.

Adventurer 1: Why would you want him in your party?! Do you both have a death wish or something?! You remember what I told you happened to that party that bought equipment from him right?!

Daisuke: Yes and it's pretty obvious those idiots didn't want to admit they took on a quest they couldn't handle so they made up a story to save their fragile pride. It's pretty obvious that's the reality of the situation if you think about it for more than five seconds.

Most of the Adventurers within the Guild then began thinking about Daisuke's words and the story about Wayland being cursed. Many of their eyes widened as it was entirely possible the curse story was in fact a lie. The Adventurer blocking the trio's path however only grew more annoyed that no one was taking him seriously.

Adventurer 1: Are you guys idiots?! Don't you realize how dang-

The Adventurer was roughly shoved out of the way and sent crashing on top of a table as someone had barreled past him.

Luna: WALLY!!!

Luna quickly pulled her childhood friend into a tight hug, his face being pressed into the receptionist's bosom as his whole body stiffened and steam started to come off his head.

Luna: Oh I'm so happy you are okay! I was so worried when you stopped coming to the Guild months ago! Are you okay? Have you been taking care of yourself?

Luna broke the hug as Wayland was free from the hug, his face as red as a tomato, steam still coming off his head.

Wayland: H-H-Hey L-L-Lulu, yeah I'm f-fine, business has been kind of s-slow......

Wayland barely managed to stamper out that statement as he was still reeling from the hug he had been given by his childhood friend. Luna however smiled and turned to look at Daisuke and Cecily.

Luna: I can't thank either of you enough for going to check on Wally for me, it's means the world to me.

Cecily: You'll be seeing a lot more of him from now on considering he's the newest member of our Adventuring Party.

Luna's smile only grew wider as she turned to face Wayland once again, who had just recovered from her first hug. The blacksmith found himself being pulled into another strong hug, his head once again being pressed into Luna's bosom.

Luna: Oh I'm so happy Wally! It'll be just like when we were kids and hung out every single day!

Wayland flailed his arms around wildly before they fell to his sides in defeat, his head smoking relentlessly.

Daisuke: Luna, could you not suffocate him? We kind of need him conscious if we wanna go on a quest......

Luna's eyes widened as she looked down to see she was in fact smothering her childhood friend and quickly released him from the hug. An embarrassed blush spread across Luna's face as she let out a nervous giggle.

Luna: Sorry about that Wally, guess I got a little too enthusiastic there.

Wayland: I-It's fine Lulu......

Wayland's face was now as red as a ruby and his eyes were glazed over, smoke still coming off his head like a chimney. Daisuke and Cecily stared at the duo as a single thought crossed both their minds.

Daisuke & Cecily's Thoughts: These two need to get a room.

Luna quickly corrected her posture before a serious expression spread across her face.

Luna: Yes well it is wonderful to hear that you two have gained another party member, one more and there shouldn't be a quest you won't be able to tackle. The newest batch of Quests have just been posted, please feel free to look them over.

Luna then turned and began walking back to the receptionist counter, but she quickly shot Wayland a wink over her shoulder before disappearing. Cecily turned to look at Wayland, who was still dazed from the double hug he received.

Cecily: Come on lover boy, we need to find a quest.

Cecily grabbed Wayland's right arm before dragging him over to the Quest Board. The trio began scanning the board for any Quest that might net them a good amount of money. Wayland's eyes landed on one in particular that caused him to smile.

Wayland: What about that one?

Daisuke and Cecily looked at the Quest that Wayland was pointing at, Daisuke grabbed it and pulled it off the board.

Daisuke: Mining Mishap, apparently a tribe of Goblins has invaded a local mining cave disrupting the Miners work. Looks like they want us to clear the mine out for them.

Cecily: It's also paying 120,000 Eris, that's pretty solid money for a still relatively low level Quest.

Wayland: Yeah, but Goblins can be dangerous since they tend to work with Beginner's Banes which makes them dangerous for rookies to take on.

Daisuke and Cecily tensed at the mention of such a dangerous monster, however Wayland laughed his own words off.

Wayland: It should be fine, I might be a blacksmith, but my skills with a War Hammer are pretty solid. I can probably handle one of those felines if they try and ambush us!

Daisuke and Cecily let out a sigh of relief before they both nodded their heads in agreement. The trio walked towards the receptionist desk to accept the quest. With that sorted out the trio exited the Adventurer Guild to make their way to the cave.

Mining Cave
Half an hour later the trio found themselves standing in front of a large cave that had been overrun by Goblins since last week.

Daisuke: No wonder the Miners want the Goblins cleared out, this place is huge. I imagine a cave this big must have a lot of ore deposits.

Wayland: You'd be right about that, caves like these are gold mines for iron, steel, and even some precious metals like gold, silver, and bronze.

Cecily: I mean that's great and all, but why would Goblins wanna take up residence in a cave? It's not like the ore is of any use to them.

A perplexed look spread across Daisuke's face as it didn't really make a lot of sense, then again he never encountered goblins before either. Wayland however let out a frustrated sigh.

Wayland: Goblins are territorial little monsters, new tribes are constantly popping up and they spend as much time fighting each other for territory as they do fighting Adventurers.

Daisuke and Cecily looked at Wayland in surprise, not expecting him to know so much about the Goblins.

Cecily: You sure know a lot about them Wayland, didn't think a blacksmith would know much about monsters.

Wayland: Oh that? I sometimes travel to other towns and cities to sell some of my weapons and armor pieces so I can still make money. Goblins sometimes try ambushing me to loot my wares. So when we get in there be careful, they'll most likely want our stuff.

Wayland then walked towards the entrance of the cave as Daisuke and Cecily watched him go before they quickly followed after him. The trio entered the cave and saw that the cave was mostly stone, but also had wooden scaffolding was built leading to other sections of the cave.

Daisuke: Man they really got setup in here, I bet that's part of the reason the Goblins took it over, it practically already a base.

Before either Wayland or Cecily could respond however they heard the sounds of hurried footsteps. The trio turned to see short green creatures that stood at around three feet in height. They all carried an axe in one hand and a makeshift wooden shield in the other. In total there was around fifteen of them.

Wayland: Looks like they figured out we walked into their hideout. Get ready you two, we got our fight on our hands!

Daisuke drew the Silver Pitchfork from his back while Cecily readied her Golden Ankh. Wayland reached behind his back and pulled out his War Hammer, which was rather ornate and had engravings across the hammerhead.

The Goblins lunged at the trio as Daisuke and Wayland leaped in front of Cecily who took a few steps back. Three Goblins surrounded Daisuke, who readied his Silver Pitchfork. One Goblin charged at the Combat Cook from the front, its axe raised ready to strike. Daisuke twirled his pitchfork above his head before swiftly thrusting it three times at the Goblin. The monster raised its shield, blocking the thrust attacks, but with each hit the wooden shield splintered before breaking apart. The Goblin snarled as it leaped into the air, raising its axe above its head, clutching it with both hands.

Daisuke: Left yourself wide open!

Daisuke thrust his pitchfork upwards, skewering the Goblin through the torso, causing it to let out a strangled sound of pain as it dropped its axe. Daisuke then slammed the his pitchfork into the ground, crushing the Goblin. A second Goblin lunged at Daisuke from the side and slashed its axe at the right side of his ribcage.

Daisuke: Shit!

Daisuke let go of his pitchfork and felt onto the ground while taking one of the frying pans off his waist with his left hand. The Combat Cook raised the pan, blocking the axe with the pan. The Goblin snarled and smirked at Daisuke, who quickly grabbed his chef knife from his waist with his right hand before swiftly stabbing the Goblin in the right side of its abdomen. The Goblin screeched in pain as it stumbled backwards as a result. Daisuke quickly got up and retrieved his pitchfork before stabbing the Goblin with his knife in its abdomen through the chest. The Goblin went limp and died as Daisuke let out a sigh of relief. However the third Goblin leaped at Daisuke from behind with its axe raised.

Wayland: Watch out!

Daisuke saw Wayland charging at him as he quickly ducked down. Wayland swung his War Hammer over Daisuke's prone form as it slammed into the torso of the airborne Goblin. The sounds of bones shattering was heard as the Goblin was sent flying backwards before crashing into a nearby wall. Daisuke retrieved his knife from the Goblin and sheathed back on his waist before turning to look at Wayland.

Daisuke: Thanks for the save Wayland.

Wayland: No problem, now get your pitchfork ready, we still gotta a serious fight on our hands!

Daisuke and Wayland both turned to face the remaining twelve Goblins who all started closing in on the trio.

Cecily: Get down you two! I'm gonna knock them off balance!

Daisuke and Wayland nodded as five of the Goblins charged at them with their axes raised. However the Combat Cook and Blacksmith leaped out of the way as Cecily raised Golden Ankh as water molecules gathered around the golden ornament on the top of the staff. A spray of water was launched at the five Goblins, splashing them across the body, knocking them off balance.

Wayland: Daisuke, you go in first! I'm right behind you!

Daisuke nodded before lunging towards the disoriented Goblins, the Combat Cook swung his pitchfork horizontally in front of him. The five tips of the Silver Pitchfork sliced the five Goblins across the torso, causing all of them to let out screeches of pain. Wayland then lunged past Daisuke, readying his War Hammer as he got closer to the monsters. The Blacksmith swung his hammer horizontally, smashing three Goblins across the head, knocking them all into the wall. Daisuke quickly twirled his pitchfork above his head before swiftly delivering four thrusting attacks. The remaining two Goblins were pierced twice in the torso each, both collapsing to the ground.

Daisuke: Only seven more to go, this is a lot easier with three people. Wayland, are you sure you're just a blacksmith? You fight pretty well for someone who supposedly spends most of his time in the forge.

Wayland: That? Fighting is like blacksmithing, it's not about brute force, it's about repetition and knowledge. If you keep up the process consistently, you can easily overwhelm your opponents! Let's keep it up, we keep knocking them off balance and strike while they're disoriented!

Daisuke and Cecily both nodded their heads as they readied their weapons. The remaining seven Goblins snarled at the trio of adventurers before charging at them. Water molecules gathered around Golden Ankh as Cecily pointed it at the charging Goblins. A powerful jet of water was launched at the Goblins, knocking them off their feet. Daisuke and Wayland both lunged at the disoriented monsters, their weapons at the ready. Wayland charged towards three Goblins, one raised its shield while the other two hid behind their comrade, ready to leap out and attack the blacksmith.

Wayland: Big mistake grouping together like that!

Wayland then leaped into the air, raising his War Hammer above his head before slamming it down on the Goblin's wooden shield, immediately breaking it. The hammer impacted all three Goblins, crushing them into the ground. Wayland quickly lifted his war hammer before spinning around and striking the downed Goblins again, sending their bodies skipping across the ground before they crashed into the wall.

Wayland: That takes care of them, hopefully Daisuke has taken care of the stragglers.

Daisuke dodged a axe swipe from one of the Goblins by jumping backwards, away from it. The Combat Cook quickly thrust his pitchfork at the Goblin, skewering it through the torso. Daisuke spun around on his heels, and slammed the skewered Goblin into one of its brethren, sending it sprawling across the ground while simultaneously flicking the other Goblin off his pitchfork. The Combat Cook heard footsteps behind him as he quickly whipped around and raised his pitchfork in front of him. The axe blades hit the pole of Daisuke's pitchfork as the short monsters attempted to overpower the Combat Cook.

Daisuke: Wayland, a little help here!

Wayland: On my way!

Wayland lunged at Daisuke, his war hammer at the ready as the Combat Cook shoved the two Goblins away from him, causing them to clumsily stumble backwards. Wayland swung his war hammer down, smashing one Goblin across the head, sending it crashing into the ground. Daisuke lunged forward and swiftly skewered the last Goblin through the torso, causing it to collapse to the ground. The adventuring trio let out a collective sigh of relief as they all sheathed their weapons once again.

Cecily: Those things are relentless, good thing there was only a handful of them.

Daisuke: That's odd, they didn't drop any ingredients.

Cecily's eyes widened in surprise as she looked around at the dead Goblins and noticed that there wasn't a single ingredient on the ground.

Cecily: That's never happened before! Do you think your Skill stopped working?

Wayland: No, I imagine it's due to the fact Goblin bodies are highly poisonous, there isn't a single part of them that could be harvested for cooking.

Daisuke and Cecily turned to look at Wayland who was busy breaking the axe heads off the Goblin axes before tossing them into his leather sack.

Daisuke: Why are you taking those axe heads with you?

Wayland: The metal on them is still good, I can melt these down and reforge them into new weapons and armor. No point in letting them go to waste right?

Daisuke and Cecily looked at one another, that was actually a pretty resourceful use of discarded weapons. Wayland collected the last few axe heads before closing up the leather sack and tossing it back over his shoulder.

Daisuke: So what should we do? Was that all of them?

Wayland: Most likely not, there's probably a few more deeper in the cave, we should probably investigate the entire place thoroughly just to make sure.

Cecily: You also wanna see if you can find any ore deposits don't you?

Cecily shot Wayland a coy smile as the Blacksmith let out a chuckle at the accusation.

Wayland: I'd love to, but those Miners need it more than I do. I'll just buy ore from them once they get back up and running here in the mine.

The Priest's eyes widened in surprise while Daisuke simply smirked at Wayland.

Daisuke: You understand the value of making connections to help your own business, smart man.

Wayland: That's business ownership 101! Now come on let's continue spelunking and see if can find the rest of these Goblins.

With that the trio set off deeper into the cave, however Cecily's thoughts wandered to Daisuke's words, she wondered if she could form those types of connections to help the Axis Order. Little did the trio know however, they were being stalked by a creature lurking in the shadows.

So Wayland set foot in the Adventurer's Guild once again and reunited with Luna! The new Adventuring Party took a quest to clear out Goblins from a mining cave. However it appears something has its sights set on the trio. As always please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments! What awaits the Trio as they travel deeper into the mining cave? What creature is stalking Daisuke, Cecily, and Wayland as they continue to investigate the cave? Will they be able to successfully complete the Quest? Find out in the next Dish of Konosuba: A Master Chef in this Wonderful World!