Year One Light Novel Volume 2

'''Goblin Slayer! Side Story: Year One Volume 2''' is the second novel of the Goblin Slayer Year One series.

Official Synopsis
The die is cast.

''During one of his usual raids, the young man who has come to be known as Goblin Slayer discovers a ring that glows with a mysterious, fiery light. In is quest to identify it, he's introduced to Arc Mage, an eccentric wizard who lives on the edge of town. She enlists Goblin Slayer's help in revising the Monster Manual, a task the Guild has entrusted to her. It just so happens that the article she's been assigned to write is about...goblins.''

''Arc Mage and the young Goblin Slayer's ongoing research takes them to the ends of the earth, where they eventually reach an ominous, dark tower... It'll take some teamwork to get all the way to the top!''

- Yen Press

Chapters

 * Chapter 1: After Session, Scenario Hook The End of One Fight, the Shadow of Another
 * Interlude: Of How Everything Starts with a First Step
 * Chapter 2: One Ring, One Spark
 * Interlude: Of How They're Unable to Come Home Because the Map Is Unfinished
 * Chapter 3: The Electric Magus
 * Interlude: Of the Things That Worry a Receptionist
 * Chapter 4: Johnson and Runner The Relationship of Quest Giver and Adventurer
 * Interlude: Of How Showing Off Is Part of Being an Adventurer
 * Chapter 5: Her Scenario, His Scenario
 * Interlude: Of How It's Best Not to Argue over the Distribution of Magic Items
 * Chapter 6: After Session, Scenario Hook The Reward and the Next Adventure

Chapter 1
In the aftermath of a battle, a young monk was told by an injured general to give rites to their deceased enemies so they wouldn't return undead. After mentioning that the west, the general said that she wasn't interested in becoming an adventurer, farming nor selling herself, to which the young monk praised her for finding her own way to live. The general admitted that she came here because she didn't want people to look at her as a spoiled and coddled person, and thought to herself that her sister was the same. When the general asked him what he planned to next, the lizardman priest stated his interest in visiting the western frontier, thinking it would provide him with excitement.

Interlude
Young Warrior was in the middle of advising a party of four to be careful before entering a mine, but struggled to talk due to the presence of a female silver-haired adventurer who looked like the late Half-Elf Ranger. The rookies then got into a disagreement about what to do next. Young Warrior began walking away, recognizing that he was little more than a rookie himself and that it was shameful for him to patronize them. However, when the silver-haired martial artist thanked him for his advice, Young Warrior figured moping wouldn't help anyone and decided to go with the party to assist them.

Chapter 2
Inside some stone ruins, a group of goblins entertain themselves by raping their captive adventurers. Before one goblin could have his turn, Goblin Slayer killed it before taking care of the other grunts. The leading hobgoblin proved to be formidable, but was defeated once Goblin Slayer bludgeoned its head multiple times. While looking for goblin children, Goblin Slayer found a ring with a shimmering stone, but decided to carry on with taking the captives home, collecting the reward and taking the next goblin slaying quest.

As Cow Girl washed Goblin Slayer's clothing, she found it difficult to imagine him as the same person as the boy five years ago. She thought about what to do for him, and decided to make him dinner.

At the equipment shop, Smith refused to buy the ring Goblin Slayer found. The craftsman labelled it as a magical ring that had to be identified before being handled, which he claimed was a hassle. Having other plans for his money, Goblin Slayer was unable to afford Smith's price, so Smith suggested he ask other adventurers. After arriving at the Adventurer's Guild, Goblin Slayer is introduced to Witch, who suggested that he look for someone living on a riverside outside town. Once Goblin Slayer left, Witch asked Guild Girl to form her a proper party with Spearman.

After entering a hovel on the riverside, Goblin Slayer requested the wizard inside to identify his ring, which immediately piqued the wizard's interest. The wizard, who turned out to be a woman, assumed he had found Spark, but decided to analyze the ring first. After Goblin Slayer told her his ring was found in a goblin cave, the woman burst into laughter at the fact that it was found in such a location. She identified it as a breath ring, a ring that allowed him to breathe anywhere. The woman then attempted to seduce him into giving it to her, but Goblin Slayer simply asked something to help him kill goblins and offered her apple cider. As the woman fell down laughing at his response, the narration states this was Goblin Slayer's meeting with the magus of electricity, Arc Mage.

Interlude
Led by Young Warrior, the rookie party fought off goblins as one of them mapped the abandoned mine, and eventually encountered a hobgoblin. Martial Artist delivered a punch to the hobgoblin, but its layers of fat protected the hobgoblin from harm. When the hobgoblin caught her leg, the padfoot wizard cast Fumble to disarm the hobgoblin long enough for Martial Artist to launch a kick into the hobgoblin's face. With the hobgoblin dead, the party finished off the remaining goblins.

Noticing that Martial Artist was still distraught by her near-death encounter, Young Warrior went to solace her; He told Martial Artist that it was okay to be scared and not everything goes as planned the first time; she would get another chance as long as she was alive. The elf and dwarf recovered pictographs from the hobgoblin, speculating that they were directions to wait for orders. Young Warrior learned that the party didn't know how to read or write, but offered to learn alongside them. Deciding to keep going a little longer, Young Warrior intended on telling the bald monk who was a member of his former party with to do the same.

Chapter 3
To Cow Girl's disappointment, Goblin Slayer refused her offer of breakfast to go goblin hunting. She and her uncle discovered the large amount of money he left behind for rent, which made the latter speculate that he has a lover. The flustered Cow Girl suggested otherwise, which led her uncle to guess that Goblin Slayer may be finding companionship among whores. Visibly upset, Cow Girl called her uncle disgusting before storming outside. Alone, Cow Girl's uncle worried about how the boy from five years ago had taken up the nickname "Goblin Slayer". He hoped nothing odd would happen to his niece, but immediately regarded the thought as disrespectful to his late sister and her husband. After Goblin Slayer came back to the hovel, Arc Mage told him that had he accepted her seductive offer, she would have cast an illusion on him to satisfy his fantasies. She revealed that she had been assigned to revise the guild's Monster Manual, specifically on goblins. Wanting to dissect a goblin, Arc Mage asked Goblin Slayer to help her. The two promptly went inside a goblin cave, but Arc Mage left the responsibility of guarding them both to Goblin Slayer alone. Nevertheless, Goblin Slayer killed the goblins and their wolves, along with a shaman and hobgoblin. As Arc Mage disemboweled several goblin corpses, she confirmed that goblins were a purely male race, and pointed out several vital points she suggested Goblin Slayer to target. She suggested that Goblin Slayer research goblins to aid in hunting, but Goblin Slayer refused, claiming that would allow goblins to destroy villages and that his sister told him they came from the green moon. When Arc Mage dismissed the latter as a mere fairy-tale for adults to joke about, Goblin Slayer told her he never found it amusing. As the two carried the goblins' captive outside, Arc Mage commented that to travel was to have traveling companions, but added they weren't going to the same place despite that.

Interlude
At the Adventurer's Guild, Inspector deduced that Guild Girl was harboring feelings of depression upon seeing Goblin Slayer with Arc Mage, someone she knew little about. Arc Mage went up to the counter and asked for something, but Guild Girl could only nod and reply "yes?" as a response.