《Goddesses are out of Heroes, so it's up to Me to Save an Isekai World! [Poll Story]》 Prologue Yuusha Kigiraya was on the bus with the rest of his class, driving to what was supposed to be a fun time in a water park¡ªsun, water tube slides, long still shots of teenage schoolgirls in swimsuits. Yuusha didn¡¯t see the car driven by a drunk person coming from the opposite direction, spiraling out of control. He didn¡¯t have to see that car. The bus driver, however, did have to see that car. But he didn¡¯t. He was too preoccupied on his phone, playing his favorite gacha game ¡®Ambitious Hunt¡¯, finishing a daily quest before ¡®hot time¡¯ ran out. The bus driver did periodically look up at the road and when he did, and finally saw the car coming straight at him, he panicked, overreacted and turned the bus off the road, off the bridge and down into the Hudson River. Nobody survived. Drowning is not a very pleasant experience. So to ease her conscience a certain goddess made it so the students all hit their head against the ceiling of the bus during the fall and lost consciousness. Everything was dark. But it wasn¡¯t cold. It wasn¡¯t hot either. ¡°Open your eyes, oh potentially great hero!¡± Yuusha opened his eyes. There was only darkness all around him, not even a single star. But before him, shining in heavenly light floated a woman. Early twenties. Long, blonde wavy hair, reaching to her knees. Natural D-cups, perfectly shaped and on full display, save for the nipples, which were hidden by narrow pieces of pure-white cloth, no doubt silk, extending from her shoulders and connecting beneath her navel, where the ¡°dress¡± continued all the way down to her ankles, but only from behind. At the front, it was cut out and had a skirt that barely reached her upper thighs. Full, red lips. Deep, blue eyes, long black eyelashes, and perfect eyebrows. Either a goddess or a bimbo. ¡°My name is Luluna,¡± the woman spoke in an echoing voice. She spread her arms and looked upwards as if basking in imaginary sunlight. ¡°And I am the Goddess of Awakening and Transportation.¡± ¡°Very specific,¡± Yuusha said. Luluna glanced at Yuusha but continued without change in tone, ¡°There can be no overlapping titles between Gods and Goddesses. Some are... luckier than others.¡± ¡°Will I get a prize if I guess correctly why I am here?¡± Yuusha asked sarcastically. He already knew the answer. Perhaps he watched too much anime for his own good, but what else could this be ¨C he dies a tragic and pointless death only to immediately find himself facing a Goddess welcoming him with open arms? Yuusha saw this scenario too many times ¨C he was basically a short conversation away from gaining an overpowered item or special power and being on his way on a magical adventure with an ever-growing cast of quirky companions (most of whom or all of whom would be female). That would also adore him, of course.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. There could be some variation, Yuusha surmised, but as long as the goal is to save the world from a Demon King of some sort I¡¯ll be able to breeze through this on savviness alone. There is even a decent chance that the Goddess herself will join me if I¡¯m especially lucky. Another glance from Luluna. ¡°You have been summoned here to help save a fantasy world from¡­ Let me check.¡± Luluna pulled out a hard-cover notebook, (don¡¯t ask from where ¨C Yuusha didn¡¯t notice) licked her thumb and quickly flipped through the squared pages. Here it comes, Yuusha thought. ¡°A Demon Lord named Gorgonoth and his five lieutenants.¡± And the winner is Yuusha Kigiraya! Yuusha felt like patting himself on the back. I suppose I should go through the motions so that her effort is not completely wasted? ¡°Why me?¡± Yuusha asked. ¡°Japanese teenagers and young adults, that are knowledgeable enough in gaming and/or fantasy novels, aren¡¯t dying fast enough and we aren''t allowed to commit murder in Japan, so we had to look abroad. Right now, we¡¯re rapidly burning through Japanese exchange students, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon one with some potential as a reincarnated hero.¡± ¡°Potential? Such as?¡± Luluna flipped some more through her notebook. ¡°Let me see: Dark spiky hair, that sometimes covers the eyes for dramatic effect? Check. Slightly anti-social but in a cool, standoffish way? Check. Facial features generic enough not to stand out but pretty enough to be attractive to girls that should be out of his league? Check. Pretty enough to be attractive to boys if need be? Check-¡° ¡°What the fuck!?¡± Yuusha protested. ¡°Hidden potential? Check Virgin? Check-¡° ¡°Oh, fuck you! I¡¯ll have you know that I-¡± Luluna would hear none of Yuusha''s excuses. "As far as I¡¯m concerned, you¡¯re more than qualified to become a hero in another world. So, off you go!¡± ¡°Wait, that¡¯s it? Don¡¯t I get an item of my choice to take to this fantasy world so that I stand a chance to save it?¡± ¡°Here, you go.¡± Luluna tossed an orange crystal at Yuusha. ¡°This crystal will activate the special potential, hidden within you. Just hold it close to your face, imagine your potential and it will become so.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not coming with me?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°But what if I need some support or guidance, or advice-¡± ¡°Those are synonyms.¡± ¡°Or comedic relief-¡° ¡°Look, buddy! Do you have any idea how many generic fantasy worlds there are out there that need saving?¡± ¡°A lot?¡± ¡°A LOT! Every half-baked light novel or manga or web novel or webcomic that was ever started and dropped or canceled. What, you think those worlds just stop existing? They create the setting, the problem, and then don¡¯t solve it! Like some kind of demon king, or regular king, or an incoming zombie apocalypse, or, Jupiter-forbid, an eldritch abomination! Those are FUN!¡± Yuusha wondered if the vein bulging on Luluna¡¯s forehead would burst or not. ¡°And now lesser goddesses like me have to go around cleaning up these messes. And it never ends! The backlog just keeps piling up by the second! I swear turning all that garbage into reality has got to be the most heinous, sadistic, inhumane prank by that Bitch, Aurora yet!¡± ¡°Are you done?¡± ¡°YES!!!¡± The vein didn¡¯t burst. After a couple of seconds of awkward silence, Luluna took a deep breath, extended her right arm, pointing the palm of her hand at Yuusha. A bright blue light appeared under Yuusha¡¯s feet and grew brighter and larger, slowly engulfing him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that was not very Goddess-like of me. Now go and¡­ have fun or something.¡± The bright blue light consumed Yuusha completely, and he disappeared from Luluna¡¯s presence, leaving her alone in the void. 1: Hillside The goddess Luluna disappeared from Yuusha¡¯s sight as he was engulfed in bright, blue light. In a couple of seconds, the light dissipated, but by then the goddess was no longer in Yuusha¡¯s sight and neither he was floating in black nothingness. Yuusha was standing on a hillside overlooking a lush green field ¨C grass, shrubbery, trees, and rocks, as far as the eye could see. With a single dirt road winding around the hills like a river. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this show on the road,¡± Yuusha said while stretching his arms. ¡°Time to find the nearest low-level-¡° Yuusha froze mid-sentence. When he was about to take his first step, his foot hit against something soft. And looking down, he saw a body. A human body. In leather armor, with a cracked wooden shield lying near. And with no head. He turned his head slightly to the left and saw another body. And another. And another. Then Yuusha heard footsteps. A lot of them. Looking behind him, Yuusha saw several hundred small green creatures marching on the dirt road, around the hill he was on. ¡°Aliens!¡± Yuusha gasped and ducked for cover. No-no, she said fantasy world, stupid, not sci-fi! Yuusha thought and looked closer. Goblins! A lot of them too. Armed to the teeth. The goblin force walked slowly in loose formation. They had no semblance of cohesions and even their armor and weapons were rarely alike. One of the goblins had a bent spear that seemed completely impractical, another had a steel longsword he was dragging behind him, clearly too heavy for the goblins tiny arms. Several of the goblins carried banners on dirty cloth. On the banner was crudely painted in black some sort of symbol or a letter that vaguely resembled Japanese kanji ¡°Shi¡±. Then Yuusha saw several figures, each no less than twice the size of a single green goblin. At first, his brain must not have even registered them as part of the goblin army as they were so different ¨C rust-colored with sharp, pointy teeth sticking out of their square jaws and muscles that would make Hulk Hogan jealous. All of them carried at least three bladed weapons, each at least as long as their arm. Hobgoblins? One, two, three¡­ four, five, Yuusha counted. The other side of the hill, that Yuusha did not see at first, that the goblins were walking past, was littered with corpses. No less than fifty. None of them had any plate armor on chainmail as far as Yuusha could see. And since he also didn¡¯t see a single weapon so far, it was safe to assume that anything usable was already looted by the goblins. Yuusha couldn¡¯t see any captives among the goblin force, so if there were any survivors, they ran away. The casualties on the goblin side seemed far less severe as Yuusha saw very few green little bodies among the human ones. They blended with the grass a little, so perhaps there were more than it seemed, but it didn¡¯t matter ¨C a few goblins made some weird screeching noises, and pointed in Yuusha¡¯s direction.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Shit! They saw me! Yuusha deduced. Yuusha did hide as soon as he saw them, but for a good thirty seconds, he stood in plain view all dreamy-eyed, so it would only be a surprise if they didn¡¯t spot him. Yuusha¡¯s heart raced faster and faster as a couple of green goblins ran up to two hobgoblins jumping up and down, screeching and pointing at the hilltop. Both Hobgoblins walked out of the column and took their first steps up the hill, in Yuusha¡¯s direction. Shit! Shit! Shit! Yuusha panicked. Wait! I¡¯m the hero, right? Aren¡¯t I supposed to take care of stuff like this? Clearly, this is some kind of an enemy force that is on its way to attack some small town or village or something. Alright, reincarnation¡­ fantasy world¡­ goblins¡­ let¡¯s see. ¡°Menu¡±! ¡°Character¡±! ¡°Status¡±! ¡°Information¡±! ¡­ ¡°Stats¡±? A semi-translucent tab appeared in front of Yuusha¡¯s eyes. [Name: Yuusha Kigiraya] [Class: None] [Level: 1] [Health points: 10] [Mana points: 10] [Strength: 1] [Endurance: 1] [Dexterity: 1] [Willpower: 1] [Intelligence: 1] [Skills: None.] ¡­ Yuusha stared blankly at his stats. WHAT THE FUCK!? Yuusha almost screamed out, but somehow managed to restrain himself. Probably because he realized that with these stats, the moment Hobgoblins find Yuusha, they will gut him like a rabbit. Can I even kill a rabbit!? The hell is this!? Hobgoblins were a third of their way up the hill. Yuusha pressed himself as close to the ground as he could without kissing the dirt and slowly crawled backward, trying to stay out of sight. Argh! Sweat was pouring from Yuusha¡¯s forehead and got into his eyes. He tried to rub it out with the sleeve of his jacket. After he had crawled on the ground. Now he also had dirt in his eyes. How the bloody¡­ Fuck saving this world! How am I supposed to stay alive!? How am I supposed to do anything!? You incompetent bimbo! Wasn¡¯t it your job to actually make sure these worlds were saved!? Wait¡­ Was it? Yuusha tried to remember. She was a Goddess of Awakening and Transportation. If they go that specific, doesn¡¯t that mean there should be an actual Goddess of Saving? All she did was- THE CRYSTAL! Hobgoblins were half-way up the hill. Yuusha took the orange crystal out of his jacket pocket. Alright! Alright. Think, think¡­ What did she say? Let me see. Yuusha put the crystal up to his face and imagined his potential. I have hidden potential. Potential that qualifies me to save this world. Luluna, Goddess of Awakening and Transportation said so herself! Oh, magical crystal, awaken the hidden power within me! Nothing happened. No¡­ Yuusha¡¯s heart beat faster yet again. His palms were sweaty. Yuusha looked at the crystal. Inside the orange crystal, he saw a white hourglass spinning on its axis. No no no. Yuusha felt like his heart would jump up his throat. Crystal¡¯s stats! He commanded. [Name: Orange Crystal of Potential] [Level: 3] [Status: Not Ready Loading... 1%] NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO- 2: Sizarbob Hobgoblins were already two-thirds of their way up the hill where Yuusha was hiding. If Yuusha could crush the useless crystal by clenching it in his fist, he would have already. In anger and frustration, he didn¡¯t even notice that the sharp-edged of the crystal had already pierced his skin. Great! I have no chance against them! None! Yuusha cursed and put orange crystal back into his jacket pocket. Hell, I probably don¡¯t stand a chance even against one of those small goblins. Panicking Yuusha looked around. Loot the bodies for some equipment to raise my stats? As if! If there was anything better than what the goblins were wearing they would¡¯ve taken it already. Yuusha looked at the broken wooden shield lying next to one of the bodies and commanded in his mind, ¡°That shield¡¯s stats!¡± [Name: Broken wooden shield Shield Requires: Level 1 Physical resistance: +1] Yeah, sounds about right, Yuusha thought and sighed. He crawled further back and found himself on the edge of the hill he stood upon just a couple of minutes ago. He looked around at the hill itself. On all three sides, the hill ended with a sharp rocky edge. The only gentle slope was the one facing the goblin army. What kind of a hill is this? Yuusha complained. Looking down from the edge, opposite of the goblin forces he confirmed that the rocky edge was steep, almost vertical with about six or ten meters of climbing before it leveled out. Well, it¡¯s not impossible to get down, Yuusha thought. Beats facing off against the goblins- Looking down Yuusha saw half a dozen goblins running up to the bottom of the edge he planned to climb down on. The little critters... Erm... Plan B! Yuusha rolled over to one of the headless corpses and touched the puddle of blood beneath the neck. Phew, still fresh, he thought and hastily smeared himself with it ¨C hands and chest. He couldn¡¯t bare smearing someone¡¯s blood on his face. Then Yuusha tore his jacket and trousers and laid face down, with his head as close as possible to the neck of the corpse and with one hand put the broken shield over his head, pretending to be dead. The Hobgoblins were on the hilltop moments later. Yuusha not only heard but could also feel each of their heavy steps, churning the soil beneath their boots. One of the hobgoblins slowly walked up to Yuusha. ¡°Sneiv ot met mitoid at iconen mi? ulvag,¡± he said in a voice that sounded like a mix of pig squealing and gravel crushing. ¡°Dat tricon! Se u?¨¥lkem uk¨±l¨©z,¡± the other replied. Yuusha knew the sound that made his heart stop beating ¨C metal sliding against another metal. The hobgoblin drew one of his swords. The heads, you idiot! They collect the heads! Yuusha didn¡¯t wait a moment longer after his realization ¨C he rolled away from the hobgoblin and jumped to his feet and looked around. One of the hobgoblins was to the left of him, probably dumbstruck by Yuusha¡¯s appearance as the hobgoblin froze in place and just stared at him. The other, with a thick, curved blade in his hand, stood four meters away from Yuusha and also, just stared. Then both hobgoblins dropped to their knees and prostrated themselves before him. ¡°...¡± The fuck? Now Yuusha was dumbstruck and stared at them. ¡°Ra ok sem mase i?uj¨©n usj¨± intubl¨¡k?¡± one of the Hobgoblins murmured. Even though Yuusha could not understand a single word, he still noticed a change in the monster''s tone. He was afraid.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Adak ri usj¨± elevap?¡± the other asked, trembling. ¡°...¡± Yuusha said nothing. Shit! I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re saying! They must have mistaken me for someone else. Their ally or commander or something. But they expect me to understand them. Which means that as soon as they figure out I don¡¯t know their language ¨C I¡¯m dead! One of the hobgoblins ever so slowly raised his head to look at Yuusha. Shit! Think! Think! Erm... eh. Hobgoblin stared at Yuusha, then slightly tilted his head. Erm... eh... Yuusha pointed at his throat with one hand, opened and closed his mouth, shook his head, pretending that he can¡¯t speak. ¡°Usj¨± ri smem?¡± the hobgoblin to the side of Yuusha whispered to his buddy as best it could with such a voice. ¡°Makial,¡± the other said and stood up. He then pointed his blade in the direction of the body laid a moment earlier and snorted, ¡°Ok usj¨± tie? tajirad?¡± Yuusha understood that it was a question. Pointing at the body, huh? So, if I¡¯m one of your allies why was I lying in the dirt, covered in blood next to one of the corpses is that what you¡¯re saying? Hm, good question! Yuusha slowly walked closer to the hobgoblin and the body. Can¡¯t just stand there like a moron, I need to give them an answer. Fast! While they still think I am what they think I am and will swallow any excuse I give them! Covered in blood... What if I show them that I was eating the corpse? It''s not that unusual in fantasy for villain''s monsters to bite and/or eat humans- Urgh! No way! I¡¯d have to literally show them to make them understand and there is no way in seven hells I¡¯m doing that! And God-forbid they- Ah! Yuusha walked up to the body, looking in the hobgoblin''s eyes all the way. As he walked Yuusha pretended to wipe his hands with his torn jacket and reached into his pocket as he did that. When Yuusha got to the body he kneeled down, reached to the dead man¡¯s neck and slipped his fingers inside while looking away. Urgh, so disgusting! What the hell am I doing? Yuusha thought and removed his fingers, lifting up a small orange crystal, covered in blood. ¡°Ooooh,¡± hobgoblins eyes glowed looking at the shiny relic. ¡°Ri sat as? Sat ajib a?ki?¡± asked the other one. Yuusha got up and cleaned the crystal with his jacket. Then he again showed it to the goblin, pointed at the body and demonstrated pretending to eat the crystal and again pointed at the body. Then Yuusha put the crystal into his trouser pocket, turned around and walked down the hill. One of these soldiers ate a crystal I was searching for. I got what I wanted and have no more reason to stay here or wait for your approval. Yuusha repeated in his head what he was trying to show to the goblins. Is that a far fetched excuse? Yes! But if I show no fear of any of them, they might buy into the bluff more. They¡¯re the ones who were afraid of me in the first place. ¡°Pagaideit m¨±s!¡± Hobgoblins shouted from behind and ran up to Yuusha. Yuusha¡¯s heart stopped beating again, but he did not waver and did not change his pace. Hobgoblins ran up to him, one from each side. They sheathed their weapons and apparently were trying to speak to him, as they continued in their incomprehensible language. Bingo! Yuusha thought. During their speech, one of the Hobgoblins pointed at himself and said ¡°Inam cua Sidzarboz.¡± Huh? Is that your name? Or maybe Sizarbob means chest? Whatever. Sizarbob is your name from now on! Yuusha also noticed while walking next to the two Hobgoblins, that Sizarbob was at least ten centimeters taller than the other hobgoblin, and had clearly longer teeth sticking out from his square jaw, that no doubt has all the goblin ladies fawn over him. ¡°Supk¨¥ ok meij¨¥tev meij¨¡tov s¨¡vediz takvas s¨¥m ilgev majan¨©c,¡± Sizarbob continued talking to Yuusha. The trio had already reached the goblin force. As soon as the goblins saw Yuusha they all dropped to their knees. Yuusha stopped and looked down at them from above with the smuggest expression he could muster. Then he signaled with his hand that they can rise. ¡°Sajak!¡± Sizarbob commanded. ¡°S¨¥m seimadod torakei Foric ut¨¥lip. Usj¨± van umudlibei? Sat ¨¥cuartzien usj¨± sun¨¡lp? Iav usj¨± ur¨¥tav smus seitoneivei? Sat utub sleil dog tretsnomed uvas suk¨¥p!¡± Sizarbob was clearly asking Yuusha something. Figuring that he needs to give some sort of a response from time to time, Yuusha gave Sizarbob the thumbs up and nodded. Sizarbob turned to the other goblins and growled ¡°Sai?mut kseini?ur ri ra smus!¡± The goblins raised their weapons and screeched in unison. They created a noise so horrible that Yuusha flinched, but did not dare cover his ears. Where was it ever seen that an ally of orcs and goblins would cover his ears from their speech? He¡¯d probably be ripped apart on the spot. ¡°Zu u?keir!¡± Sizarbob growled and raised his own weapon. ¡°Tir sem misid¨¥ sagvair satvis!¡± Sizarbob turned around and walked forward on the dirt road, towering above his army. The goblins followed him. The goblin force resumed its march, which Yuusha, the hero, was somehow now a part of. 3: Language The sun was shining brightly in the clear blue sky, birds were chirping, flying from tree to tree and about two hundred goblins walked unopposed on the only road in sight in these grasslands. Yuusha yawned as he walked at the front of the goblin column, alongside hobgoblin Sizarbob. He got no sleep last night. Part of the reason Yuusha could not sleep walked right next to him in the form of hobgoblin Sizarbob. The rust-colored brute two heads taller than our hero had talked Yuusha¡¯s ear off for the better part of the night and almost never left Yuusha alone for more than a minute. Sizarbob was the leader of this goblin raid party. Yuusha was learning the goblin language at frightening speeds. Once he figured out that each time the goblins said ¡°usj¨±¡± they were referring to him, each new goblin word came to Yuusha easier than the previous one. Hardly a day had passed, but he could already roughly understand what the goblins were talking about. Though, since Yuusha was still missing a lot of words and all the nuances of goblin language were alien to him, he understood their speech in only the most primitive form. For now. And since Yuusha was learning as he was listening, that made yesterday¡¯s one-sided conversation with Sizarbob all the more painful. The hobgoblin talked passionately, in a less than pleasant voice, without stopping. And for the first three to four hours of the monologue, Yuusha understood one or two words at a time, with no idea how they related to each other. Thus, Yuusha also spent a good part of the night learning how many different ways there were to silently say: ¡°yes¡±, ¡°hm¡±, ¡°you¡¯re right¡±, ¡°continue¡±, "is that so?", and ¡°maybe¡±. Up ahead by the road a single goblin ran out of the trees and swiftly moved in their direction. He was skipping more so than running. Sizarbob often sent scouts ahead, so far they had nothing new to report. This one, however, apparently did have some news and screeched, ¡°Human house that direction, not long.¡± ¡°Scout say human house distance off road,¡± Sizarbob said to Yuusha, repeating the same thing in different words. Yuusha slightly nodded in response. Oh, and Yuusha understood some time ago that Sizarbob¡¯s name was actually Sidzarboz, but at this point, he had gotten used to thinking of it that way, and since Yuusha would never have to actually say Sizarbob¡¯s proper name, he saw no reason to correct his thoughts. ¡°Stop!¡± Sizarbob commanded. ¡°Sorzak, take five, follow.¡± Yuusha, Sizarbob, his brother Sorzak and five regular, small, green goblins separated from the party and went off the road. Yuusha got a small orange crystal out of his pocket and checked it¡¯s stats for about the ninth time since he got it. By this point, Yuusha did not need to consciously issue some mental command like ¡°stats!¡±. Ordering the crystal¡¯s stats to appear with his mind took about as much mental effort as stepping over a rock beneath his feet. [Name: Orange Crystal of Potential] This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. [Level: 3] [Status: Not Ready Loading... 3%] What am I doing? Yuusha sighed and put away the orange crystal back into his pocket. He knew the percentage wouldn''t change compared to an hour ago. It was slowly turning into a habit for him. The other reason Yuusha got no sleep last night was that he tried to figure out how to get out of this mess. In theory, so far this is going about as well as I could hope, given the circumstances, Yuusha thought. I mean sure, I unwittingly agreed to accompany Sizarbob and his crew as they pillage and plunder through the countryside, but what was I supposed to do? I¡¯m the only hero who can save this world, so my survival is a top priority! Right? But the main problem is that learning Goblin language is so far my only accomplishment in this world. A glorified companion to a slightly confused hobgoblin, starving and weak. What kind of hero am I? This is supposed to be an adventure where I kick evil¡¯s ass and hit it off with beautiful exotic girls. Otherwise, what¡¯s the point? If I wanted to suffer I could do that back in my world just fine. And whether Sizarbob is around me all the time because of his strange fascination with me or simply because I¡¯m the only one that lets him talk for as long as he does, he keeps me from running away without even realizing it. Not that his presence is the deciding factor ¨C scouting and patrol seem to be a speciality for these little goblins. And it explains how they¡¯ve managed to be so successful so far in avoiding slaughter. Yuusha saw smoke in the distance. They were no more than a kilometer from their target. The goblins made no effort to conceal themselves and considering how few of them came meant that whatever their target was, they did not expect it to be any threat. ¡°Be sure none escape,¡± Sizarbob said to his brother. Sorzak repeated the command to the goblins. Either way, I can¡¯t keep this up for long. Even it the goblins unwittingly protect me from the dangers of this world, for now, being surrounded by strong allies is only good up to the point they don¡¯t point their blades in my direction. And right now there are too many ways in which this situation can and will lead to my death. Sooner or later these guys will run into opposition that will be able to stop them or at least put up a decent fight. And if I have to fight in my current condition ¨C I¡¯m dead. Or they might want me to demonstrate my strength, of which I have none. Or we might run into someone that knows I¡¯m not their ally. Not to mention I can¡¯t just let them kill people left and right and still call myself a hero! Yuusha¡¯s stomach growled. When they set up camp yesterday one goblin did bring him a flask of water and a piece of meat, but Yuusha did not dare to imagine the source of that meat and had no way to ask, so he declined the offer. If any good will come out of this, it¡¯s that I¡¯ll eat something edible, Yuusha thought. He kept an eye out for some berries or other fruits, but deep inside he knew that it¡¯s a waste of effort. How was I supposed to know botany will come handy? At the grocery store, everything is labeled anyway. I was never interested in being a doctor or some sort of scientist in a white coat! And they said that writing cheat sheets helps memorize the text! What a load of bull! Not to mention this is a fantasy world so who knows what is edible and what isn¡¯t. On average these types of generic fantasy worlds keep the same kind of food as in our regular world to not confuse the reader or just out of laziness or lack of creativity, but still, there is a risk. There it was in plain sight - a one-story house with a straw roof and clay walls, and a couple of sheds, surrounded by a short wooden fence. ¡°Surround!¡± Sizarbob commanded his party and the goblins did just that. They split up to come at the fenced-off house from all sides. Sizarbob and Yuusha came from the front. 4: Farm house pt.1 While the goblins surrounded the farmer¡¯s house, Sizarbob simply broke a path in the fence with his leg and walked in. The gate was right there, Yuusha thought as he followed Sizarbob, barely a meter from the closed gate. The door to the house opened, a woman stood there, in poor clothing, past 30 years ¨C which was way past Yuusha¡¯s interest range. At that point, it didn¡¯t matter if she was thirty-one or sixty-one. Yuusha¡¯s brain barely registered the wrinkles around the woman¡¯s dim blue eyes or scarred hands, aged by manual labor. The woman screamed. Maybe don¡¯t come outside during a goblin attack? Yuusha criticized her decision. Then he saw that the woman covered a little girl that snuck up behind her, but Yuusha only caught a glimpse of her dark hair. A man ran out from behind the house towards the screams, with a dirty rake in hand that still had some sort of grass in its teeth, and froze in place when he saw the uninvited guests on his front lawn. One look at the man and Yuusha completely wrote him off as a potential threat. If this was a game, then this aging farmer would probably not even get a name and would be a background NPC, not worthy of being even a quest giver. ¡°§¦§ä§Ú§Õ §à§Ó §â§ä§å§Ó§î §Ú §Ö§ã§î§ñ§é!!¡± The man shouted to his family in a language Yuusha had never heard in his life. I figured as much, Yuusha thought and his heart sank a little. He expected as much. It wasn¡¯t just that he didn¡¯t know goblin language. He didn¡¯t know any language in this world. Of course, he didn¡¯t! Sure, if that bimbo fucked up everything else, why not this also? And that means even if I leave this group in addition to all other problems, I will also need to learn the local human language. The best-case scenario now is that humans have some sort of common language. Maybe I¡¯ll get lucky and find someone as talkative as Sizarbob? Meanwhile, the man charged at Sizarbob, holding his rake with both hands, but the hobgoblin easily grabbed it with one hand and with another punched the man in the face, sending him into the ground with such a force that the man slid in the dirt for three meters before hitting his wife¡¯s legs. Poor fool never stood a chance, Yuusha thought comparing the aging farmer to the muscle mountain that was Sizarbob. The hobgoblin crushed the rake in half just by clenching it harder.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The man groaned and tried lifting his trembling arm, but could barely get it off the ground before it fell again. Oh, wow, he¡¯s actually alive? Yuusha was legitimately surprised. The old guy is more durable than he looks. The girl ran out to her father, crying and calling ¡°§±§Ñ§á§Ñ!¡±. The girl was no more than twelve or thirteen years old. Black, spiky hair reaching to her shoulders, dark blue eyes, small nose. A petite body was hidden under her simple, worn-out brown dress. A stunning beauty. My God! Yuusha was stunned. She looks like a sister I never had! How did these two NPC-level stock characters manage to create such a thing that is almost as beautiful as I am? Meanwhile, the other goblins were already inside the area ¨C one ran into a wooden shed, the other was chasing a pig, the third tried to unsuccessfully move a cow. ¡°Puk Pukaaak,¡± chickens cried out from inside the wooden shed. After a couple of minutes of this circus, a hobgoblin almost as tall as Sizarbob came up to him and Yuusha. ¡°We take all animals,¡± Sorzak reported to his brother. ¡°Good,¡± Sizarbob said. ¡°Tell others - if any goblin eat a single leg off chicken, goblin lose all legs!¡± ¡°What if goblin eat chicken wing?¡± Sorzak asked. ¡°Goblin have no wing.¡± ¡°Then goblin learn fly with no wing!¡± Wait, what? Yuusha was confused. Did I hear that right? Chickens? ¡°Delicious chicken for best warriors,¡± Sizarbob said, licked his lips and walked towards the door of the house. Together with the girl, the woman helped her man get on his feet, and they all got inside the house, closing the wooden door behind them. Sizarbob walked up to the door and ripped the door off its hinges just by pushing into it with the palm of his hand. Is this normal or is he just overpowered? Yuusha wondered. At first glance, most of the small, green goblins looked more like comedic relief than an actual threat, with their scrawny build, bent legs, and giant heads. The big noses and even bigger triangular ears didn¡¯t help. Yuusha got a sneaking suspicion that the slaughter of the human party was mostly the handy work of a certain someone and his four square-jawed buddies. Yuusha heard more shouting and crying and sighed as he walked in. ¡°§¦§ä§Ú§Õ§Ñ§ë §ã§à§á §ã§Ñ§ß!!¡± the woman cried out. Sizarbob towered above the three humans and for the first time since he got here reached for his blade. Oh, wait, he¡¯s actually going to kill them! Yuusha snapped back to reality. Usually, in games, Yuusha didn¡¯t give a fuck about NPC¡¯s, but he remembered that these aren¡¯t NPC¡¯s¡­ He still didn¡¯t care about them all that much. But, as a hero, I¡¯m not supposed to let innocents die, right? Yuusha asked himself. Hm, maybe they aren¡¯t all that innocent? Yuusha tried to rationalize the upcoming murder. Who knows what evil deeds they are up to on this secluded farm in the middle of nowhere? What dark rituals this below-average couple performed to summon such a beauty? Sizarbob slowly raised his blade, the girl screamed. Next thing he knew, Yuusha found himself between the girl and the hobgoblin, signaling with his open palm to stop the attack on the farmers. 5: Farm house pt.2 Well, this is awkward, Yuusha thought, with his arm still extended as a sign not to attack the human farmers. In front of him stood a mountain of teeth, steel and muscle, weighing no less than two hundred kilos. ¡°You protect tiny human? Why?¡± Sizarbob asked with his weapon still raised in the air. Why indeed? Yuusha asked himself the same question as the realization of his current predicament dawned on him. Dear God, what was I thinking!? How the hell am I supposed to explain this and keep everyone alive? That I wanted to kill them myself? Why would I stain my hands? And if I did do that then what was even the point of trying to save them? ¡°Human not tasty enough,¡± Sizarbob said, still frozen in place holding his weapon above his head, ready to strike. I''m guessing you won''t get tired of holding that thing any time soon? Yuusha wondered rhetorically. ¡°And human bad slave. Weak, make trouble, try escapes, other human try save. Not good trouble.¡± Great! So, to these goblins, humans are terrible slaves, bottom-tier food source- Chickens! They fight over who gets to eat chickens! So, for goblins, it must a delicacy or something. Then it¡¯s easy! I just explain to Sizarbob, that these farmers can just keep raising chicken for the goblins in exchange for their lives! Yuusha¡¯s heart sunk again when he remembered that he pretended to be mute. Reveal that I was pretending to be mute just to solve this mess? But then I¡¯d have to deal with another one. How could I have known back then that I¡¯d learn their language so quickly? No, no way! Right now I still understand only half of what they¡¯re saying. And even if eventually, I learn the goblin language completely - understanding it, and speaking it is completely different. And if I tried, I would probably have the most atrocious accent ever, so I would have to figure out an explanation for that also. Lies upon lies upon lies! At some point, even the most brainless goblin in this godforsaken world would call bullshit on me. Wait! I could write to them what I want to say! Then I still wouldn¡¯t have to actually speak, but would solve my communication issue, get out of this mess and keep my relationship with the goblins intact all in one move! Perfect- No, Stupid! What are the chances of these muscle-heads knowing how to read or write? And if they did, they would have asked me to do that in the first place- But that symbol on their banners- Probably a mark of their leader or a clan sigil or something. And judging by how poorly it was painted, there¡¯s no guarantee they even drew it properly- Fuck, stop arguing with yourself-This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Ah, that¡¯s it! I don¡¯t need to write! Yuusha thought. If this was a cartoon, a light bulb would turn itself on right above Yuusha''s head. He signaled the hobgoblin to give him a moment. I need to act fast before his confusion turns to displeasure. Yuusha looked around for some sort of paper and ink. And then it dawned on him. Shit! Who said these farmers are literate? Why would they have ink or paper? Does paper exist in this world? How much would ink cost- Fuck, shut up! Whatever, it doesn¡¯t matter! Even everyone in this universe is illiterate - they will still understand pictures! I just need to find something to draw with, anything! And I¡¯m not using blood! Yuusha walked around the room, slowly, in order to not give away his anxiety. I need to appear calm, in control, Yuusha thought to himself while his eyes analyzed the room. BREAD! Yuusha smelled It before he saw it. The brown, shaped mass might not have looked as impressive as the one Yuusha used to buy at the store, but the smell was undeniable ¨C it was edible! The hungry young lad salivated at the thought- No! Later! Concentrate! I need some chalk or- Coal! Smoke! Fireplace! Yuusha looked around and saw what he was looking for, sort of. It wasn¡¯t even close to a fireplace he had imagined. It was hardly anything more than a stone slab, with a pot on it. And the fire wasn¡¯t burning. The smoke we saw when we approached must¡¯ve been from burning gathered weeds or something- Whatever, it doesn''t matter, the idea still counts! Yuusha thought as he knelt and reached to the blackest part of the hearth, felt up a small piece and pulled it out. Yuusha smiled ¨C his hand was already black. Alright, paper wouldn¡¯t work anyway, Yuusha went up to the clay wall with the most empty space to work with and signaled everyone in the room to come closer. Making sure he had their attention Yuusha began to draw: First. A square and triangle for a house, and three stick figures - two taller ones, one shorter. With six circles next to them with stick legs and smaller circles for heads. Second. Same drawing with stick goblins now holding four chickens and the little human figure by the hand. Two stick figures are left with two chickens. Third ¨C Goblins come again with the small figure at their side and there are many, many chickens. Goblins take chickens. Fourth drawing ¨C Goblins come again and there are no figures at the house. The small figure with the goblin loses its head. Yuusha turned around and looked at the family, then at the hobgoblin. Have them grow more chickens for you! Yuusha repeated the plan in his mind, hoping Sizarbob gets it, and then pointed at the girl. The father pulled her closer to himself, holding her tightly. Oh yeah - he gets it, Yuusha thought. Sizarbob turned to the man, grabbed the girl and showed her father away, sending him flying backward for the second time today. This time across the room and into the furniture. Looks like Sizarbob understands also, Yuusha thought with a self-congratulatory smirk, watching how the hobgoblin walked out of the house, carrying the screaming girl at his side like a bag of groceries. He held the girl by the back of her dress, where the girl could not reach, leaving her hanging with her face to the ground. All she could do was fruitlessly hit and kick Sizarbob¡¯s right leg, which had the effect of a fly hitting an elephant. Yuusha looked to the side. The couple was on the floor. They were sobbing, cuddling, trying to comfort one another. Oh, stop your crying! I risked my life for you! You should be thanking me. Yuusha wished he could say that to the couple, but even if he did, they wouldn¡¯t understand him anyway. At least both you and your daughter are still alive! Thanks to me! Yuusha praised himself, already eying his prize ¨C a loaf of bread on the table. Reward for the innocent lives he saved? Or spoils of a first successful raid? He took the bread and sank his teeth into it. 6: Rooster With his new knowledge concerning the Goblin diet, Yuusha was pretty confident that he wouldn¡¯t starve with the goblins. Raiding for livestock, with an actual purpose, Yuusha thought and found himself slightly impressed by the goblins. The fact that they found humans ¡°not tasty¡± helped a great deal. It means, that the meat they offered me last night was probably from some animal. Whether it¡¯s a pig or a deer or a rabbit, hardly matters at that point. And if their tastes are so¡­ normal, then it is also likely that the meat wasn¡¯t rotten. I wonder how they preserve it? Salt? Smoke? Still, to be on the safe side- Yuusha gathered whatever food he could find in the room on short notice and put it in a makeshift bag, made out of his torn jacket. The girl will need to eat something too, he rationalized. Ah, I forgot! Do chickens need a roster to keep laying eggs? Damn biology. Better hurry and check if the farmers had a rooster or not. Yuusha rushed to the door. Before he stepped outside, he took a look at the couple one last time ¨C they were still crying on the floor. Yuusha felt a tinge of guilt that he couldn¡¯t do anything more for the farmers. They¡¯ll remember me as a villain, won¡¯t they? Taking their daughter away? Oh, yeah ¨C the lowest of scum, Yuusha answered himself and left the bleak room. Heading out of the house Yuusha saw that the goblins were ready to go. Sorzak was carrying a cow. Wha- oh yeah, the one which the green one couldn''t handle before, Yuusha remembered. At this point, the imposing strength of the Hobgoblins seemed normal to him. ¡°Move!¡± A small goblin shouted at the three pigs in front of him. He was herding them with a tree branch he must¡¯ve picked up somewhere. Four other goblins carried chickens ¨C two chickens for each goblin. The rooster! Yuusha went up to one of the goblins. On his way, he noted that despite how hard the chickens tried to get out of the goblins¡¯ grasp, they had surprisingly little trouble simply holding them under their armpits. These guys might be stronger than they let on, Yuusha thought and stopped next to the goblin with the male chicken. The last thing I want is to fumble and lose a fight with a goddamn rooster. ¡°Rooster? If I''m a rooster, I say if I''m a rooster-¡± Oh, god, not now! Yuusha remembered a cartoon he saw while he was in America but quickly snapped back to reality. The goblin froze in front of Yuusha, trembling, but did not let the chickens escape. Whatever they think I am, it¡¯s good that I an even greater effect on the regular goblins. Yuusha thought. At least I have this going for me. Whatever this actually is. Yuusha pointed at the rooster and then at the shed. Take it to the shed! Yuuji commanded. The goblin ran off to the shed. The rooster probably wasn¡¯t in the shed, but this is the easiest and fastest to explain, Yuusha was relieved it went so well. The goblin ran back from the shed with just one chicken. Wait, if you left two chickens already before, then you should¡¯ve replaced- oh whatever, let¡¯s just get out of here! Yuusha¡¯s patience was wearing thin on this whole chicken ordeal and his inability to communicate properly. I need to figure out a way to relatively believably explain why I was pretending to be mute, and fast! Yuusha walked to Sizarbob, but slowed down half-way, pretending he noticed something at his feed. She¡¯s still screaming? Yuusha glanced at the girl in Sizarbob¡¯s arms. How long has it been now? Doesn¡¯t she get tired? Sizarbob turned around and looked at Yuusha. Feeling no desire to walk next to a crying pre-teen, Yuusha simply showed a thumbs-up, and the raiding party moved out of the farm.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. On his way out Sizarbob busted open the gate in the wooden fence, which caused it to fly open and destroy the small remaining part of the fence between the gate and the first hole Sizarbob made, increasing the path for the goblins. The party was slightly slower on their way back to the army. Mostly due to the poor handling of the pigs, that kept trying to run off course. ¡°Hope your plan work,¡± Sizarbob said loudly so that Yuusha could hear him from a distance. Sizarbob barely had to try ¨C he had a naturally loud voice. ¡°Goblins no skill farming.¡± It¡¯s not even farming- Ah! Yuusha almost gasped out loud. He got a suspicion. I haven¡¯t checked in a while... Yuusha kept pestering his orange crystal like it owed him a million dollars, but he did not check on another thing. Yuusha brought up his stats. [Name: Yuusha Kigiraya] [Class: None] [Level: 1] [Health points: 10] [Mana points: 10] [Strength: 1] [Endurance: 1] [Dexterity: 1] [Willpower: 1] [Intelligence: 1] [Skills: Evil Language: Level 9 (16%) Good Language: Level 0 (1%)] Oh, praise our Lord and have mercy on our souls ¨C I actually have a stat with a number above ¡°one¡±! Yuusha wanted to see the skill in more detail. [Skill: Evil Language Passive Overall level: 9 (16%) Evil Speech: level 8 (98%) Evil Writing: level 0 (15%) Evil Reading: level 0 (3%)] So at least some skills are learned passively, huh? All of them? Maybe, though not likely. So, instead of finding a class specialist who would grant me a class, could I achieve the class of ¡°Wizard¡± by just starting to read ¡°Wizardy¡± scrolls? Do I have to do it that way? But then that would mean I would have to go to a temple to become a ¡°Monk¡±? Lame. Maybe this applies only to ¡°passive¡± skills? Too many variables. And I don¡¯t have any ¡°Wizardy¡± scrolls or ¡°Monk¡± temples at hand to test my theories. And ¡°Evil¡± and ¡°Good¡± languages? Are these the only two languages in this world? That would be good because then I would be set as long as I manage to learn them both. Though it could also mean it¡¯s the only two languages I¡¯ve encountered thus far. ¡°Good language¡± being at level zero with one percent makes sense - thus far I''ve only understood word "papa". ¡°Evil Writing¡± at fifteen percent? Did it give me bonus points for those drawings? If I remember correctly, back in our world, in ancient times the first writing was basically simplified pictures. But combined with ¡°Reading¡± at three percent, it increases the probability that some form of writing exists for this language exists, I just haven¡¯t stumbled upon it- except for that symbol on the goblin banners. As for the speech- ¡°They back!¡± Yuusha was awoken from his thoughts as if from a daze by the ¡°welcoming¡± goblin screeching. The raiding party reunited with the rest of the goblin forces uneventfully. ¡°Sorzak, put loot at back with wagons,¡± Sizarbob commanded his brother. ¡°If cow slow ¨C cut up. Go!¡± ¡°Garsaul!¡± Sizarbob called out. A yellowish hobgoblin crept up. He was as tall as Sizarbob, despite constant slouching. But even though Garsaul was skinnier than either Sizarbob or Sorzak, he somehow seemed nastier and harsher. Garsaul stank far worse than any of the other hobgoblins, that was for sure. But that was not what was so off-putting about him. He had a presence. An uncomfortable aura. Garsaul was almost completely naked above the west. What cloths he dead wear seemed to serve one purpose ¨C to fit as many sharp objects on his body as he liked. His main weapon was on his back, held by a worn-out leather belt ¨C a two-meter-long, forward angled blade with no guard. And though Garsaul did not have as much mass as his other hobgoblin companions he was by no means scrawny. Sizarbob looked like a mountain, Garsaul looked faster, more agile. His left arm up was deformed, crooked, disproportionally longer, but no less muscular. Garsaul was covered in scars, though none of them seemed fresh. Hasn''t been injured in a fight for quite a while, Yuusha assumed. ¡°Loot grows. Stay at rear and protect. Take this.¡± Sizarbob dropped the girl at Garsaul¡¯s feet. She was more or less quiet for the last three minutes of their journey and was now simply weeping softly. ¡°Keep alive. We exchange for many chickens later,¡± Sizarbob explained to Garsaul. ¡°If girl no walk ¨C throw in head wagon. With head attached.¡± Garsaul looked down and stared and the girl for a good half-minute as she laid on the dirt road. ¡°Ahem,¡± Yuusha cleared his throat. Garsaul turned his head to Yuusha, stared at him for another ten seconds, then grabbed the girl by the wrist and slowly went to the back of the column, dragging the girl behind him. She is going to need a new dress, Yuusha thought as he watched the girl disappear behind the goblin troops. 7: A night with the goblins ¡°Camp!¡± Sizarbob gave a command to his goblin army once the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon. Oh, thank God! Yuusha breathed a sigh of relief. The goblin army had been marching without rest since the Farm raid. And even though Yuusha was not burdened with any heavy weapons, armor or supplies, apart from his one, small makeshift bag, his knees were about to give out. I¡¯m not made for these long journeys on foot. You¡¯d think that if I gained stats passively in this world, I would¡¯ve gained a point or two in endurance by now. Yuusha quickly glanced at his main stats. [Name: Yuusha Kigiraya] [Class: None] [Level: 1] [Health points: 10] [Mana points: 10] [Strength: 1] [Endurance: 1] [Dexterity: 1] [Willpower: 1] [Intelligence: 1] [Skills: Evil Language: Level 9 (93%) Good Language: Level 0 (1%)] Zilch, zip, nada, got it. Yuusha wasn''t even disappointed by this point. Hard to be disappointed when you expect nothing. At least my "Evil Language" keeps improving. But main stats have no percentages like the skills. I likely need to unlock my class first. And even then, the combat stats probably only increase during actual combat. Or simply just with leveling. Yuusha pulled out his orange crystal our of his trouser pocket. [Name: Orange Crystal of Potential] [Level: 3] [Status: Not Ready Loading... 6%] About three to four percent per day, huh? Yuusha put the crystal away. At best that would mean it still has about twenty-three days to go until it¡¯s charged. Assuming I¡¯m not in for additional surprises with this thing. This is bad. So far, these goblins seem to be the toughest guys around, but that could change quickly. If I¡¯m going to stay with them (and for now they are the closest thing I have to allies) then I¡¯ll have to keep ourselves out of trouble. While Yuusha was contemplating his precarious position the goblins had already started about a dozen campfires. Even faster, than last time, Yuusha noted. It couldn¡¯t have been more than a couple of minutes since they stopped. Though the fact that the goblins set up their camp right then and there ¨C in the middle of the road, helped speed things up. Do they really expect no resistance whatsoever? Yuusha wondered. Or they want to make sure none passed them by accident? Either way, Yuusha did not feel as bold as the goblin leaders to risk getting trampled by some cavalry while he slept, and went to the side of the road, where there was at least some cover between the shrubbery and a steep hill. Sure, it wasn¡¯t as warm as by the fire could be, but it wasn¡¯t the middle of winter either. Whatever time of year it was supposed to be in this world now, Yuusha would rate it as an early august ¨C though the sun had set, it was still warm, but not hot enough for him to wish for a pair of shorts.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. More importantly, I need to figure out how to stay alive. Yuusha plotted while ate the second half of the bread he appropriated from the farmers. The bread was¡­ edible. If I play my cards right, the hobgoblins can be used as my bodyguards, at least for now. They seem strong enough. Though the only power reference I have so far is a couple of farmers and an unnamed band of human soldiers that might as well have been ill-prepared conscripted farmers. Ideally, we¡¯d stay in some secluded, lush canyon and sing songs to each other until the crystal loads. At that point it would unlock the powers that would make me the strongest being in this world, I would kill the Demon Lord¡­ Whatever his name is, and spend the next couple of years searching for the most beautiful girl there is and eventually have her bear my children. Sigh, that would be nice. I think I earned at least that much already. While Yuusha daydreamed, Sizarbob found him and sat down next to him. A couple of goblins followed shortly, bringing wood for a campfire, a third one carried a couple of burning twigs to light it up. ¡°Tomorrow we attack town Foric,¡± Sizarbob informed Yuusha. ¡°Scouts say the city is undefended, some humans already left. We take it and place our banner on roof of tallest building.¡± My ¡°Evil Language¡± improved even further during the day, Yuusha noted while he watched the small goblins argue over why the fire wasn¡¯t starting properly. ¡°I hope to have a glorious battle soon,¡± Sizarbob continued, looking up to the star-filled sky. ¡°It is long overdue for Goblins to remind Humans we are more than hunting challenge! Yuusha didn¡¯t quite pick up every time he increased his knowledge of the Goblin language. There was no magical ¡°ding¡± with a notification or light surrounding him. It was more subtle than that. But now, sitting with Sizarbob, listening to his monologues, Yuusha appreciated the colossal gap between last night and this one. Sure, Yuusha¡¯s understanding was still a bit crude, but by now he understood most of what the hobgoblin was saying. Well, I didn¡¯t understand him as well last night, so I suppose I have a chance to fill in the blanks in his previous speeches. But after only two hours of listening to Sizarbob talk about his tribe and all his relatives, going back four generations, Yuusha confirmed his suspicions - Sizarbob was prone to talking about the same thing over, and over, and over again. At least I¡¯m learning his language the easy way, Yuusha thought, trying not to doze off. ¡°¡­And that¡¯s when my great grandfather, Garsnilk, the Insane, struck down Valgor, the White at the Battle for The Hill. He led Goblin forces to victory that day, slowed Human advance into Goblin lands.¡± ¡°Pig?¡± one of the green goblins offered Yuusha a piece of cooked meat. Yuusha accepted but took the first bite very hesitantly. Delicious! The juices flowed in Yuusha''s mouth, finally satisfying his taste buds. He devoured the rest of the meat barely chewing it properly. There is hope for this world yet! ¡°We will have big feast tomorrow!¡± Sizarbob proclaimed. ¡°My uncle happy with collecting Human skulls. But we prepare for greater honor! To have a Demon officer be with us! If Gorgonoth¡¯s officers already begin scouting, then war soon comes to Human Realm, correct?¡± Oh, Yuusha finally knew for certain what the goblins thought he was and nodded in agreement. ¡°Never thought I would survive and see Demon officer! I hope we find worthy warrior against you soon.¡± Shit. 8: Lucina Lucina looked down at her hands. They were covered in blood. And it was dripping into the already blood-soaked snow. Each chilling breeze sent shivers across her body. Her dress was drenched in blood. Lucina slowly raised her head and looked around her as if in a daze. There was hardly a single white snowflake left in the entire mountain valley. It was hard to believe that just an hour ago there were two armies here. All that was left was¡­ minced meat. Apart from Lucina, only one more living being was left standing in the ghastly area. Further ahead, in front of Lucina, stood a young woman. Lucina only saw the back ¨C long ruffled dress, with many layers, completely covering her body. The dress was crimson-red even before the battle had begun. Her long, luscious blonde hair, made in high pigtails, was blowing in the freezing gale. She turned her head toward Lucina, revealing her heavenly blue eyes. ¡°Celi-¡± Lucina opened her eyes and saw a familiar wooden ceiling of her room, still out of focus. She turned her head and saw her grandmother, Rosemary, next to her. An elderly woman, with gray hair, wrinkled skin, with a kind, but worried smile. Lucina couldn¡¯t even tell anymore how old her grandmother was. To Lucina, Rosemary hasn''t aged a day for as long as she remembered her. ¡°The sun is so high up?¡± Lucina asked after looking past her grandmother at the window opposite of her bed. "How long has it been? I asked you to wake me up! Did Peter and the others left already?" ¡°They left a long time ago. You''ve been slipping in and out of consciousness for five days,¡± the old woman answered. "F-five?" Lucina gasped. "Wait, so, did they took care of the goblins, then? Have they returned? Or sent some word?" ¡°Not yet, but not even a week has passed,¡± the old woman answered as she gently cleaned Lucina¡¯s face from sweat with a wet towel. ¡°I should¡¯ve gone with them,¡± Lucina said and hit her fists against the white blankets in frustration. ¡°No, you shouldn''t have! You still have to rest! This is the first time I¡¯ve seen you lucid in five days. Had you gone with them you would have not only slowed them down but probably even died!¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°To come down with a fever during a goblin invasion, what a sick joke!" Lucina complained and clenched her fists in frustration. "But, I feel better now, I should go! I can still-¡± Lucina tried to get up but the old woman effortlessly pushed down the sluggish girl. ¡°You¡¯re still weak! You''re not thinking straight! Rest! John and Peter are with them. There isn¡¯t a single goblin village for over a hundred kilometers with a monster of a high enough level to cause them trouble. They can handle it.¡± A bell rang in the distance. Again. And again. ¡°The church?¡± Grandmother whispered. ¡°Three times. An attack! The goblins!¡± Lucina exclaimed. She seemed revitalized and jumped to her feet, but before taking even a single step the girl wobbled and leaned on her bed for support. ¡°Stop this nonsense! You can¡¯t move so recklessly!¡± Rosemary scolded her granddaughter and helped her stay on her feed. "If the goblins are indeed here, we have to leave!¡± Lucina fought out of her grandmother''s grasp and stormed to a desk at the window, pulled out the left drawer and took out a silver necklace with a silver coin instead of a pendant. ¡°Do you see this?¡± Lucina showed the silver coin into her grandmother¡¯s face. The coin had an emblem ¨C a dragon head pierced through with a sword. ¡°I am a Silver ranked member of The Adventurer¡¯s Guild! "Silver"! Not some "Wooden" brat of a rich lord! I will not run away with the elderly and the children from a band of goblins!¡± Sweat poured down Lucina''s forehead, she could not focus her vision. ¡°You expect me to watch my fifteen-year-old granddaughter run off on a suicide mission?" Rosemary protested. "I¡¯ve already lost enough! We both have¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± An uncomfortable silence interrupted only by the screams of other townsfolk outside. ¡°Please," Lucina muttered, "I can¡¯t run. Not again. I might- I might at least be able to delay the goblins long enough for the others to escape.¡± Rosemary hugged her granddaughter with tears in her eyes. ¡°I will be fine," Lucina reassured her grandmother. "Have you forgotten what it takes to reach the Silver rank in The Adventurer''s Guild? Even in this sorry condition, I have enough tricks up my sleeve to delay some goblins.¡± ¡°Not in that nightgown you won¡¯t!¡± Grandma let go of Lucina and wiped the tears from her eyes. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. If I can¡¯t change your mind, at the very least I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re prepared! "Take that thing off! It stinks anyway.¡± Grandma ordered her granddaughter, went across the room to an old wooden cabinet. She opened the cabinet door and took out a small glass bottle. It was nearly empty, only a mouthful of brown liquid remained. ¡°Drink it all,¡± Rosemary handed the bottle to the buck naked teen. ¡°It will keep you on your feet for an hour or two. But after that, you will wish you had listened to me. Vomiting will be the best of it. Make sure you are far away from the goblins when that time comes!¡± Again the church bell rang three times. ¡°They¡¯re close!¡± Rosemary said. 9: The raid on Foric pt.1 [Name: Orange Crystal of Potential] [Level: 3] [Status: Not Ready Loading... 9%] No hope for this yet, after all, Yuusha sighed and put the crystal away. It was two hours past sunrise, Yuusha, four hobgoblins taller than he was, and a couple of small green goblins were standing on a hill, looking south. There they saw their objective - the town Foric was already in sight. The town was split in half by a river and surrounded by a palisade, which was nothing more than a three-meter-high fence made from tree trunks, sharpened at the top and with no spacing in between. The palisade had two gates, opposite each other on either side of the river. Each gate had two towers, which were hardly anything more than glorified platforms above the palisade, with additional wooden spikes on the front to act as a parapet. At a glance Yuusha assumed there to be about fifty or so buildings in the enclosure, most of them couldn¡¯t be more than two stories high. The highest building was a gray church with a bell tower on the other side of the river. It stood on an elevated position, close to the palisade, with an additional wooden fence of its own. No more than an hour at a brisk pace to reach the gates, Yuusha estimated looking at the leveled field between them and the town with only a few gigantic trees in between. Probably too troublesome for them to cut down. The field was orange, covered in wheat. They will spot the hobgoblins easily, but the goblins could run through the wheat almost all the way to the gates, Yuusha analyzed. Is this okay? Even if the goblins prioritize securing the food, they will still probably cut down anyone in their path. It¡¯s how any typical raid worked in our world, so why should the goblins be any different? How am I supposed to stop the goblins? And why should I? If the goblins think I¡¯m on the side of the Demon Lord, won¡¯t the humans think the same if I show up on their doorstep? And the only language I can talk so far is Goblin language so that wouldn¡¯t help my cause unless it¡¯s to get shot on sight. Am I really supposed to alienate everyone for the sake of some vague understanding of what a hero is supposed to be? I risked everything to save those farmers and at the end of it all they still probably curse me every time they remember my face! ¡°They not have many fighters,¡± Sizarbob said .¡±Scouts say those we kill before come from this town.¡± ¡°We can just storm the town directly and they won¡¯t be able to stop us,¡± Sorzak said. ¡°No, none must escape,¡± Garsaul, the yellowish, slouching hobgoblin spoke in a soft voice that sent chills down Yuusha¡¯s spine. ¡°I agree,¡± said Laksnemak, a hobgoblin with a greenish tint, third tallest of the ones present. ¡°Sidzarboz, you remember our shaman¡¯s words do you not? Collect as many human skulls as we can! Perhaps not all of us get as much enjoyment out of it as your uncle Rograg, nonetheless, the ancient ways must be preserved!¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Yes! Ancient ways! Ancient ways!¡± a small goblin with prominent rabbit teeth jumped up in agreement. ¡°You are right, friends!¡± Sizarbob nodded in agreement. ¡°At times I waver, but behold what Shaman¡¯s Blessing bring upon this journey a minion of Gorgonth, bearing his mark! He not only approve but join Goblin campaign! Let carry our marked banners ever high! And indeed, Goblin campaign most fortuitous with him. And this only beginning! Soon we bring war to Human Realm and take back lands they steal from goblins!¡± All the goblins and hobgoblins cheered, except for Garsaul and Yuusha. Yuusha was too busy checking his skills. What is going on? Yuusha wondered as he double-checked his language skill. [Skill: Evil Language Passive Overall level: 13 (84%) Evil Speech: level 13 (66%) Evil Writing: level 0 (15%) Evil Reading: level 0 (3%)] My language skill improved so much over yesterday! And I understand the other goblins so much better now! Way better than Sizarbob! So why is it- Oh, don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s just the way he always talks? The party headed back down to the goblin force waiting below the hill, hidden from view of the town. ¡°Garsaul, how is human girl?¡± Sizarbob asked as they walked down. ¡°¡­ Alive¡± ¡°Leave human girl with Blutsap, he guard supplies. Need you in attack. Take forty goblins go south of town, cross river. Sorzak, take forty other goblins, cross river from north. Surround small town, take second gate. None escape.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Garsaul hissed. And what Mark? ¡°His¡± mark? That Demon Lord? So, the goblins¡¯ banners are also marked the same way? Yuusha wondered as they walked down. I knew they thought of me as their ally for some reason - my face or my clothes. So, then I¡¯ve been marked? Where? How? Is it my aura? Yuusha looked at his hands turning them around to look at both sides ¨C nothing. I would¡¯ve noticed something if there was something to notice. Once the party of hobgoblins was down, Sizarbob wasted no time. ¡°Garsaul, Sorzak, take goblins! Move!¡± The leader of goblins commanded ¡°Cross river a distance away. Avoid notice! ¡°Blutsap stay with thirty goblins, guard supplies! Laksnemak also stay behind with another thirty ¨C guard flank, be reserve! ¡°The rest - follow me!¡± Showtime, Yuusha sighed and stayed close behind Sizarbob as they moved around the hill with some sixty small but well-armed goblins ¨C shields, spears, swords, bows, banners and axes. Some equipment bigger than the goblins were, which made them look like kids playing at war, but Yuusha gave them more credit than that. Either way, at least for now, it¡¯s best for me to stay out of the fight as much as possible- But they¡¯re going to kill everyone- Yeah? And what am I supposed to do about it? You¡¯re the hero! Figure it out! Easier said than done! Right now my top priority is to stay alive! Agreed! Good! Sizarbob stopped and crouched at the edge of the wheat field. It was still not quite enough for the hobgoblin to be completely covered by wheat and move unnoticed, so he had to get on all fours, pressing close to the ground to proceed. Yuusha simply crouched walked staying close to Sizarbob to avoid getting lost. Goblins had it easier ¨C they simply walked forward and were easily covered with room to spare, not a care in the world. Yuusha looked back and almost burst out laughing. It must be an interesting sight for whoever is watching from the platforms, he thought and smiled. About five minutes passed since they entered the wheat when the Yuusha heard a bell sounding from the direction of the town. Took you long enough, he thought. Somebody must¡¯ve finally looked at the fields and seen spears and banners bearing the mark of a Demon Lord moving through the wheat, towards the gates. 10: The raid on Foric pt.2 By the time the third bell rung screams could already be heard coming from outside the town''s walls. Within minutes it turned into an apparent panic. Sizarbob turned around and saw his goblins, marching through the wheat field, carrying their banners proudly, displaying them for all to see. ¡°Forward!¡± Sizarbob commanded, stood up in the middle of the orange field and charged towards the gates. His goblins responded with encouraging cries of war, that Yuusha was now able to distinguish from shrieks of pain, and quickened their pace. Yuusha also followed, but still stayed crouched and a fair distance away from such an obvious target as Sizarbob. When Yuusha looked toward the wooden gates, he saw them open ¨C some people were running inside the town from the surrounding area. They¡¯ll make it inside with time to spare, he thought moving forward with some relief that, at the very least, the civilians won¡¯t be butchered under the walls of their own city. Though it won¡¯t matter that much in the end ¨C there won¡¯t be a prolonged siege. There won¡¯t be any siege. Those defenses are at best suited to guard against a pack of wolves. Any half-decent thief or assassin would find a way over that wall. And as for the hobgoblins¡­ Yuusha recalled Sizarbob¡¯s previous encounters with wooden structures and wondered how thick a stone wall would have to be to stop him. An arrow whizzed through the air in the direction of the assailants but landed in the ground long before reaching any of them. Yuusha ducked back and sneaked a peek at the walls. He saw a couple of figures with bows on each of the two wooden towers over the open gates. They were obviously aiming at the only clearly visible target ¨C the huge hobgoblin, but even if it seemed that for now, the archers were of range, Yuusha still had no interest in getting caught in the crossfire and stayed further back. ¡°Archers!¡± Sizarbob shouted without stopping for a second, simply sprinting ahead, leaving the other goblins further and further behind. Damn, he¡¯s fast for someone his size! Yuusha thought. Had they spotted us a couple of minutes later he probably would¡¯ve even reached the gates before all the townies got inside! Yuusha heard rustling and straining sound from bowstrings being pulled. Arrows flew out of the wheat as the goblins responded to the enemy archers in kind. However, goblin arrows also failed to reach their target - about a dozen arrows were fired and every single one of those landed right back into the wheat field. Dear God, where are you aiming!? Yuusha wanted to kill the little green rats after one of their arrows arrow flew by his ear. Though the would-be defenders of Foric fared no better ¨C Sizarbob did not have a single scratch on him, despite being a target equivalent of an upright bull, charging straight at the archers in a straight line. Oh, right, Sizarbob did say most of their fighters were already killed, Yuusha remembered and saw Sizarbob already run out of the field, only a couple hundred meters from the gate and closing in fast. A goddamn locomotive! Yuusha thought in admiration, stopped for a moment and simply watched Sizarbob charge into the wooden gates, shoulder-first and bust right through them. All that¡¯s missing is a hobgoblin-shaped hole in the gate, Yuusha thought as tree trunks and pieces flew from the devastated gates. The human archers screamed, haphazardly firing their last arrow shots at Sizarbob with shaking hands, who ran to the base of the nearest tower. At this point they wouldn¡¯t have hit him even if he stood still, Yuusha thought with a tint of melancholy watching Sizarbob''s handiwork - one of the towers shook, creaked, tilted and fell into the other platform with the screaming archers still on both of them.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Yuusha understood that those archers were long beyond his help, so he didn¡¯t even bother rushing to the gates. Every single goblin that isn¡¯t carrying three times his own weight will outrun me anyway, so why embarrass myself by arriving dying and gasping for breath before I even had to lift a finger? When Yuusha did arrive at the gates the goblins were already done scavenging the corpses of the four archers for anything useful, which, it seemed, wasn¡¯t much at all, so a good portion of the goblins ran through the nearby houses, looking for more loot. The bows the archers had weren¡¯t any fancy longbows, in fact, it was astonishing that they survived the collapse of the towers. Nevertheless, they were still too big for the goblins¡¯ child-sized bodies to be used properly. And, as it turned out, the defenders had no armor, to begin with. Instead, they had loose, worn-out tunics in various autumn colors. Not even a single pair of shoes among them? Yuusha was surprised, expecting the fantasy setting staple - knee-high leather boots, completely forgetting how hot it would be in those in the middle of a hot summer day, and that an average fantasy world farmer usually didn¡¯t have access to a pair of fancy breathing sneakers. Yuusha was almost done with his brief inspection when he caught a glimpse of one of the defenders'' open, lifeless, fear-struck eyes, Yuusha instantly looked away and made sure not to look at their faces again. Shame, disgust. It was hard to tell which he felt more. It was Yuusha¡¯s second time ever seeing human bodies, and the last time not a single body had an attached head, which, as it turns out, had its advantages. Wide, deep cuts, Yuusha looked at their wounds. Two cut in the chest. The heart is there right? So, two - straight through the heart, one¡­ beheaded, the other- Yuusha gulped- cut in half. He¡¯s efficient, so at least they didn¡¯t suffer, Yuusha tried to comfort himself. They didn¡¯t suffer. The green goblins continued running back and forth from house to house ¨C one goblin ran out of a house, another two ran in, one jumped out of the window of a second floor, for some reason. It''s like kids having a party, Yuusha compared. None of them have blood on their blades, so at least this area was already evacuated. But even though the goblins seemed to have fun, all of them stayed in the area at the gates and none ran further into the town, as if waiting for something. ¡°My lord,¡± Sizarbob walked up to Yuusha, ¡°I ask if you willing to do goblins great honor.¡± Sizarbob took out the smallest blade he had, a dagger in his hands, but a full-blown sword for Yuusha, and extended it to the hero. Oh no! Yuusha already knew what the hobgoblin was going to ask. No fucking way! ¡°Goblins collect heads for Shaman. It will be great honor if you cut one for us!¡± No! No-no-no-no, FUCK NO! Yuusha stormed straight past Sizarbob without thinking and went down the main road, further into the city, past the goblin looters. Every fiber of Yuusha''s being rejected even the notion of doing¡­ that. Something like that, the mere thought sent shivers down Yuusha''s spine. See!? What were you trying to do? Yuusha vented his frustration in silence. Buy some time for the others to escape? Or did you actually believe that you would stop the goblins? Doesn¡¯t matter whether you¡¯re brave or stupid if in the end your head is thrown into a wagon! Was it that hard to run away!? Dumb fucks!! Yuusha kept walking down a main road without looking, not a single goblin or human in sight, though, boiling with anger and frustration, he probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed even he walked right past them. Yuusha came to his senses when he reached the fifteen-meter wide river that split the Foric town in half. He stood no more than fifty meters away from an arched wooden bridge, the only way, it seemed, to cross the river. On the other side of the bridge stood a single person ¨C a teenage girl with straight, blonde hair in two bunches, wearing a deep blue dress, and holding a silver staff. 11: The raid on Foric pt.3 She¡¯s trouble! Was the first thing Yuusha thought when he spotted the blonde girl on the other side of the bridge. Yuusha was too far away to see every detail but even from such a distance, he saw that the girl¡¯s blue dress was too fancy. All kinds of lines and belts. Embroidered gloves that ended above her elbows. A black choker adorned by a purple ribbon. Her collarbone and shoulders were covered by a separate part of the dress. The second part of the dress started low-cut, from her already decently sized breasts for her apparent age, which couldn¡¯t be more than fifteen, revealing quite a tantalizing view of her cleavage. Yuusha couldn¡¯t tell at which point the boots flowed into the over knee socks or if those were simply over knee boots, but either way, the most important part was that, combined with a cut-up miniskirt, they revealed just right amount of bare skin to create the perfect absolute territory. The miniskirt consisted of different pieces of cloth, connected by a belt at the lower part revealing even more flesh at her thighs while, somehow, avoiding showing the girl¡¯s panties. The miniskirt was probably combined with the rest of the dress, though the connection was hidden by a wide, slightly hanging belt from which another layer of the dress flowed, forming formed a knee-high skirt, open at the front so that not a single millimeter of the girl¡¯s long, thin, beautiful legs would be hidden. I must get her in my bed- I mean on my side! Was the second thought Yuusha got after he was done analyzing the girl¡¯s body. How much time had passed since Yuusha started starting? Two seconds? Two minutes? Probably not two minutes, because that would¡¯ve been too awkward. There is no way she is a simple villager! In fact, she doesn¡¯t look like she belongs here at all! To start with, for all intents and purposes this was supposed to be a starting area. At least that¡¯s how these stories and RPG''s usually start out! And all the signs are there ¨C green fields, random no-name farmers, newbie soldiers, goblin enemies. The only outliers so far are the hobgoblins that are plowing through this area as if they¡¯re using hacks! And now there is another outlier. This girl looks out of place here. And there is no way that¡¯s some starting equipment! Yuusha kept looking at the girl, but she hardly moved at all. There is clearly some sort of level system in this world. But the "stats" command has only worked on items so far and not living beings. I need to find a way to measure everybody''s power levels! And the sooner the better! The girl pressed her staff against the ground and leaned on it slightly, holding the staff with both hands. The staff was slightly longer than the girl herself ¨C the top of the staff had a rough shape, slightly resembling a crescent moon with some kind of a water drop shaped crystal in the center. Yuusha did nothing, the girl did nothing. She must realize I¡¯m not an ally, right? In such a small town they must know each other by name. And this side of the town is already deserted. So, she¡¯s content with just standing there? Blocking the way? But is there really no other way to cross? The current in the river is not that strong. Even though I¡¯m no swimming champion by any means, even I could cross it with no problems. ¡°My Lord!¡± Yuusha heard a familiar gravelly voice coming from behind. He turned around and saw Sizarbob and his entourage. The hobgoblin ran up to Yuusha and stopped next to him, also noticing the girl on the other side of the bridge. ¡°Ah, so this is reason for you leaving? You felt presence of enemy mage from such great distance? Your sensory powers impress!¡± Oh, no! Yuusha felt something alright. He felt his heart sink and feet grow cold. That feeling of your entire body slowly turning hollow, as if leaking through the feet. Please don¡¯t say it!This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°If you sense human girl presence from far away, she have great spirit! Or your sensory powers even greater than I imagined? Can you sense all humans in town?¡± Sizarbob continued his baseless assumptions. ¡° And this tiny human dares block our path? I understand - you went ahead to duel human girl.¡± No! I did not! Now let me think about how to get out of this new mess! ¡°What other reason to split away from goblin party in middle of holy ritual? This girl of great enough importance to require your immediate presence! And not attacking the instant enemy is seen? Measuring strength, no doubt! Ah! You already in spiritual battle against human mage? I am humbly sorry for disturbing!¡± The hobgoblin bowed and took two steps away. Holy hell, man! Way too many assumptions over here! Yes! Sure! Fine! I¡¯m in a spiritual battle a very young, very pretty wizard! Now, don¡¯t disturb my concentration! Yuusha gestured Sizarbob to stay back. What if I just walk up to her? Will she kill me on sight? Probably. I still don¡¯t know how exactly I¡¯m ¡°marked¡± as a demon ally. Maybe the mark is only visible to the goblins? But by now it¡¯s pointless anyway - not only did I come from the direction of goblin attack, but there they are, standing behind me, not attacking me, even talking to me with some weird, borderline creepy admiration. And unless she speaks fluent Evil, we wouldn¡¯t be able to talk anyway! Wait, what if we all just march in her direction? Maybe she¡¯s all show and will run away the second we approach her? There¡¯s a chance that she¡¯s just as delusional as those archers were back there and doesn''t actually hold a candle to the hobgoblin''s power? I mean look at her ¨C she looks like she¡¯s about to fall over on that staff of hers! And she¡¯s completely outnumbered! But am I willing to bet my life on that guess? I wonder how long I could hold my breath? What I get closer and pretend to slip and fall into the river? Maybe I could swim away underwater unnoticed- Yeah, right! ¡°Sidzarboz! Sidzarboz!¡± another gravely voice shouted from behind. Yuusha turned around and saw Sizarbob¡¯s brother and his forty goblins approaching fast. ¡°Sorzak?¡± by the tone of the voice Yuusha could tell Sizarbob was clearly not happy. ¡°Why are you not north, surrounding town?¡± ¡°We could not swim!¡± Sorzak answered between catching his breath. He must¡¯ve been really sprinting all the way here if even he got winded! Yuusha thought. ¡°The human town people threw their waste down the river! It¡¯s disgusting!¡± Pardon? ¡°What?¡± Sizarbob seemed enraged. ¡°They pollute river that feeds them and many other towns and villages? Are you certain? "Yes! Without a shadow of a doubt! One of the goblins swears he actually saw a pair of old underwear floating down the river!" "Savages! How dare humans corrupt nature!?¡± I actually don¡¯t believe this, Yuusha thought and made sure to close his mouth that dropped open hearing this new revelation. ¡°Oh, Great Shamans!¡± a little goblin with rabbit teeth screamed in horror, pulled out a scroll and unfolded it. The scroll was clearly too large for the little goblin to hold in his hands since he had to keep his arms as wide as he could to keep the scroll open and ended up touching it with the tip of his large triangular nose. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Alimdul river?¡± ¡°Alimdul?¡± Sizarbob asked. ¡°Are you sure, Ertak?¡± ¡°Yes! See? It flows from here, to there, then it goes through the Dryad lands and here, in this area, through our, Goblin lands. It eventually flows past the village I was born in! Ah! My family takes drinking water from that river!¡± ¡°Barbarians!¡± A goblin cried out. ¡°Monsters! Kill them!¡± Another goblin shouted raising his rusty sword. ¡°I see! I see!¡± Sizarbob ground his teeth ¡°For a moment I felt pity for weak, defenseless humans! But no more! Ertak, take your clansmen! Find source of pollution! Put an end to human evil!" ¡°With pleasure!¡± Ertak licked his two long, upper front teeth. ¡°Alright! Epam, Eluk, Sorg, Morg, Mudu, Gudu, Jatekta, follow me!¡± The small goblin party turned away from the bridge and went into the city. ¡°I understand now - even weak human can do big evil! We put human down. Forever!" Sizarbob slowly walked past Yuusha, drawing the largest, sharpest blades he had. ¡°I must ask forgiveness for stepping between you and your prey. But now humans made this personal! Goblins! Attack!¡± 12: The raid on Foric pt.4 What am I missing? Yuusha wondered while Sizarbob did his little speech about monstrous humans and pollution of nature. If the goblins are that concerned about waste and garbage, then what do they do themselves? Do they have active garbage collectors, landfills and sewage systems? Don¡¯t make me laugh! And sure - they don¡¯t seem to be all that dirty, considering the circumstances. But they always smell so bad! Is that just their natural odor? But it doesn¡¯t seem bad to them at all? Like, I¡¯d get if they were just used to being dirty all the time. That would kind fit in with the standard RPG goblin archetype. Are they really some sort of nature lovers? On top of all the other things? Really? If it wasn¡¯t for their shaman-kept, ancient head-collecting traditions¡­ Yuusha took a few steps back as Sizarbob, Sorzak and all their goblins charged at the bridge. Well, your move, wizard girl. Finally, the young girl did something. She raised her staff and shouted aloud in a voice that could only belong to a cute teenage girl, ¡°§¦§ß§ñ§à§Ó §ß§Ö§Þ§Ö§Ý§Ö §Ö§ä§Ú§Õ§Ú§â §Ö§Þ!¡± Same language as the farmers, after all, Yuusha noted, though he wasn¡¯t prepared for what happened next. First, the current of the river, that separated goblins from the girl and the second part of the town, slowed. Then the water surface rippled. Three ripples formed, with a small water bubble at the center of each of those. The bubbles grew rapidly, expanding in size and rising like half-translucent, water trees out of the river. But those were no trees. They had a humanoid shape, with a rather big belly. It hurt to look at them as they kept changing different shades of blue and reflecting sunlight. Three water giants. Two of the giants rose to be at least eight meters high. The other third one was hardly higher than three meters as it was twice the girl¡¯s height and took position close to the wizard. Of the other two - one stepped out on the goblin side of the river and stood at the start of the bridge, the other ¨C slowly walked in the direction of the biggest threats, the two hobgoblins. Yuusha was at first surprised that the river was not emptied after producing such behemoths. Ah, that''s why she slowed the current - to feed the elementals without losing her defensive position. ¡°Water sorcerer!¡± Sizarbob shouted to the other goblins. ¡°Stay out of river!¡± Without hesitation, Sizarbob and Sorzak attacked the water giant that moved at them, but their slashes simply cut through the water elemental¡¯s leg doing seemingly nothing. The water that was separated away from the rest of the body by the iron blades flew just a couple of meters sideways before smoothly returning back to the elemental¡¯s form. In response, the elemental formed a club in its hand that was twice the size of either hobgoblin and swung it against Sizarbob. Sizarbob dodged the attack sideways. The water club hit the earth, but just as the water club began to burst it retained its form. Sizarbob and Sorzak swung their blades and cut into the middle of a club, separating the upper part of the club from the rest of the elemental¡¯s form. The separated water lost its form and flew into the air, defying gravity, separating further, taking shape of about two dozen birds. Yuusha would have no idea what kind of birds they could have been even if they were real birds instead of rough watery silhouettes, but, at the very least, he could tell that they were slightly smaller than the doves, that used to bombard his school¡¯s bus stop. It was also at that moment that Yuusha saw black clouds gathering in the distance, moving fast towards the town. That''s not good in a fight against a water mage, he concluded the obvious as the wind picked up. The small goblins meanwhile tried to attack the second water giant by the bridge, but it simply swiped the goblins away like flies, with each swing of its own water club. The goblins didn¡¯t appear to be harmed by the attacks all that much. All it seemed to do was knock the goblins back and disarm some of them, with the added effect of making them wet. But the dexterous goblins were quick to pick up their weapons and try again, albeit with similar results. Oh, crap, I hope she can¡¯t do any lightning type of magic, Yuusha thought remembering one of the most basic of the standard elemental magic system combos. That being that water greatly amplified electricity damage.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The water birds meanwhile turned around for a dive in the direction of both the large orange hobgoblins and the smaller green goblins. ¡°§Á§à§Ó §à §Õ§Ö§Ý!¡± The wizard girl shouted. As the water birds closed in on their targets they turned to ice, increasing in speed. ¡°Shields!¡± Sizarbob commanded his warriors. You do remember that about half of them don¡¯t have shields, right? Yuusha thought and watched as the ice sculptures descended upon the goblins in icy fury. Sizarbob and Sorzak crushed the birds that flew at them mid-air with their massive blades. Yuusha half-expected Sizarbob to catch one with his bare hands. The other goblins were not as lucky. The good news for them was that they were small nimble targets and about half of the ice sculptures missed their mark. The bad news was that the other half didn¡¯t. The wooden shields that some of the goblins did have and raised for protection were violently shattered into splinters. By the end of it, it didn¡¯t matter if the goblins had shields or not. A few dropped dead and never moved again, with an ice tail sticking out of their chests or throats. Several more writhed in agony - impaled deep in their stomachs, arms or legs. Surprisingly, those that got hit straight in the head might have survived. Nearly all the goblins had helmets of worrying quality ¨C leather, wood, and armor. Three of the four goblins that were hit on the head got knocked unconscious and didn¡¯t move, but one goblin somehow managed to stand up. And he was the one without a helmet! The ice bird simply burst into pieces against his skulls like the wooden shields did an instant before. What are their skulls made out of? Yuusha wondered in amazement. Still, the goblin loses were substantial from just one attack ¨C at least ten incapacitated in one way or another. While Sorzak dealt with the water giant, Sizarbob witnessed as his comrades fell. His eyes bulged red and he grit his teeth, turning to look at the other side of the river - at the source of his losses. ¡°Archers!¡± Sizarbob growled in fury. ¡°Turn tiny sorcerer into hedgehog!¡± The goblins with bows wasted no time in drawing their arrows and nocking them. But only a few goblins got to fire before the water giant swept them to the side. Out of those arrows, only one flew directly at the girl. The wizard stood still as the arrow approached her, but, just before it could pierce her face, the water elemental standing beside its master swiftly extended its watery appendage, knocking the arrow off course. Wait, are we actually going to lose this? Yuusha found himself worrying for the simple goblins who had finally found their match in the form of an apparently high-class wizard. Wait, ¡°we¡±? Since when? I deliberately went out of my way to stay out of whatever trouble they were causing as much as possible while staying alive! So why did I say ¡°we¡±? If the goblins fail here I could just back away, and start all of this over from scratch! Is this some Stockholm syndrome bullshit? For about a minute the fighting between the elemental giants and the goblins went nowhere. Sizarbob and Sorzak traded ineffective blows with one of the water giants, though to their credit they both managed to avoid being hit by it. Meanwhile, the other giant was playing gatekeeper at the bridge. At one point the water giant grew two additional arms, using the water from its big belly to push back the swarming goblins. Its shapeshifting abilities did little to no actual harm to the goblins without support from the wizard but worked phenomenally well when it came to preventing a single goblin from passing. If the water elementals aren¡¯t doing any damage without ice magic, why not just rush through them? Yuusha thought while overlooking the battle. Apparently, Sizarbob thought the same thing and after dodging another attack from one water giant, rushed at the other one and shouted to Sorzak ¡°Follow me!¡± The water giant was not happy being ignored and, sacrificing its massive body, rapidly extended one arm in an arc around both hobgoblins, to stop their charge. Sizarbob, being Sizarbob, charged through the watery arm, popping it like a giant water balloon. Sorzak followed not far behind, running on a freshly made giant puddle. Oh no! Yuusha realized why the fighting was going nowhere and rushed in to try and save the closest thing he had to an ally in this world. What am I doing? Again with the damn, heroic- In a matter of two seconds, the water giant at the bridge collapsed its massive size to form a three-meter high wall, which in shape was closer to a cube than a wall. Sizarbob only picked up speed preparing for another locomotive charge-in. Stop, you muscle-bound fool! Yuusha only now passed the first goblin and had no chance to catch up to the sprinting champion. If I shout out now, will he even hear or understand- ah, too late. Just when Sizarbob was a couple of steps away from his target, the water cube vomited itself violently all over Sizarbob, Sorzak and all the goblins that were near. At that moment the water giant that the hobgoblins were fighting before also lunched its body into the ground, splashing itself in the direction of the further goblins, turning the area around the bridge into a lake, that even reached Yuusha, if only up to the ankles. ¡°§Á§à§Ó §à §Õ§Ö§Ý!¡± The girl commanded and in a couple of seconds, all the water turned into rock-solid ice. 13: The raid on Foric pt.5 ¡°Water To Ice!¡± Lucina cast a spell sending out a chilling wave that only she could perceive, turning the remains of her two collapsed water elementals to ice. The water did reach every single enemy before turning to ice. However, the result was not quite what Lucina had hoped for. Not even the big ones? She asked herself and sighed in weary frustration. The two hobgoblins charged right at the water elemental guarding the bridge, just as Lucina had hoped. But even these huge targets were not completely frozen. And already at least one of them was vigorously, albeit futilely, punching the ice to break free, with his free arms. No, one arm- ¡°Ugh,¡± Lucina leaned against her staff. Her already blurring vision was now doubling. It hurt to keep her eyes open. And the headaches were only getting worse. They came and went in waves like an ocean in a storm, growing in strength, trying to break free out of her skull. She massaged her temple as if to shore up the dam. ¡°Ah!¡± Lucina snapped back to reality. She thought she had closed her eyes for just a second, and just now realized she lost all sense of time and what remained of her concentration. The only sign of the failed water elemental she kept by her side throughout the fight was a pool of water, flowing back into the river. She couldn¡¯t even raise her head to look at the other side of the river anymore ¨C the shining ice reflecting sunlight was blinding to her now more than ever. At the very least it will keep them here for a while. Lucina thought. And I don¡¯t feel like turning this into a suicide mission after all. She slowly turned around. Another ocean wave slammed against the dam. Lucina clenched her staff tighter. This is not running away. I accomplished what I came here to do ¨C everyone will be out of the town by now. She sighed, hesitated, but, finally, took her first step back to her grandmother, as promised. The path from the bridge to the edge of the city never felt so long. The wind blowing straight in her face did not help at all, forcing the already squinting girl to close her eyes completely before each new gust of wind that grew only stronger in the long, wide road, walled off on both sides by straight two-story buildings. The only comfort for Lucina was that, just like the main road to the Western Gates, the path to Eastern Gate was almost completely straight. She just had to go around the church, where the road lead originally before the palisade was built up around the town. Was this road always this steep? Lucina asked herself before nearly tripping on a small sack lying on the road. Another wave crashed against the dam. Argh, why is this garbage even here!? No, of course it¡¯s not their fault. That¡¯s why I was here in the first place ¨C to buy my people time to escape. And they hurried as fast as they could.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. It got darker and Lucina dared to look up at the sky. Black clouds were approaching fast and already blocked the afternoon sun. Though it eased the stress on Lucina¡¯s strained eyes, her mood soured. Dark clouds always reminded her of the countless Beastkind towns and villages burned to the ground years ago. Light flashed in the clouds. Then thunder roared. It¡¯s going to pour. Lucina looked to the blurred, gray bell tower up ahead and lowered her head again. Well, Peter, I hope Diana treats you well in the afterlife. Because she clearly didn¡¯t give a damn about you or your prayers while you were alive! As she walked, leaning on her staff, Lucina thought of the short battle she had. I was late with my spell, yes, but still it should not have been as ineffective against the hobgoblins as it was. What are such strong monsters doing that far beyond their borders? Peter and the others couldn¡¯t have possibly stood a chance against them! And the dark man in that strange get-up¡­ He was clearly human! But not a single human has fought on the side of Evil races since- Argh! Lucina stopped and gently massaged her temple again. There is no way this pain could possibly get any worse! Just a little bit further! Lucina encouraged herself and with a deep breath hobbled further again, placing more and more weight on her staff, which had been reduced to a walking stick. The rumbling of thunder got louder. Lucina finally reached the wooden fence of the old, stone church, overlooking the town from atop a low hill. The palisade surrounding the town was clearly visible - the gate was just up ahead. The wizard turned right to walk around the church. As she walked Lucina threw a glance at the small gate, which was broken, barely hanging on one hinge. Will I even make it to the others? Lucina finally considered that while others ran for their lives, some on horseback, she crawled at the pace of missis Talma. At this point, grandma would run circles around us both, Lucina thought and smirked bitterly, staring at her feet in a daze. Lucina was around the fence of the church when she finally noticed a commotion and raised her head. The wide-open Eastern Gates were in full sight of what was left of Lucina¡¯s vision, as was another band of goblins, that was standing between her and the exit. The closest of the goblins stood just half a dozen meters away from Lucina, but neither he nor any other goblins seemed to notice the girl. The small goblins were standing in a wide circle, earnestly observing the two larger figures inside it - facing off against each other, standing with their sides towards the gates. One figure was a hobgoblin, not unlike the two Lucina faced before. Even though he was slouching, he looked just as menacing and dangerous as the others did. He held, seemingly with ease, a ridiculously long, forward angled blade in his deformed hand. The other figure was much smaller, tiny and frail, by comparison - only half of the hobgoblins¡¯ height. Wearing a colorful kirtle, a blue kerchief to cover her gray hair¡­ ¡°Grandma?¡± a single word escaped Lucina. This can¡¯t be¡­ But there she was, before Lucina¡¯s eyes ¨C her kind and gentle grandmother. Not a single weapon in her hands, no business facing a stray wolf, let alone a hobgoblin! ¡°Lucy?¡± Rosemary turned to her head and looked her granddaughter in the eyes. Lucina¡¯s vision might have been blurred, but there was no mistaking Rosemary¡¯s songbird voice. The hobgoblin dashed forward and swung his angled blade. Lucina watched in horror as Rosemary¡¯s head flew off her shoulders. ¡°NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!¡± 14: The raid on Foric pt.6 Mere moments after the giant water elementals spread their contents across goblins, all water turned to ice spreading in an arc from the wizard girl, trapping all that it covered. Yuusha took a step back, but the ice spread too fast - within two seconds every single goblin was trapped. She is fucking overpowered! In the middle of a hot summer day, it was surreal to feel the warming rays of the sun and a breeze that chilled to the bone, both at the same time. Even though the breeze lasted for just a couple of seconds, Yuusha shivered as if he stood in a freezer in just his t-shirt. But that made Yuusha notice something he wouldn¡¯t have otherwise. One place, slightly warmer than the others- his right thigh. To be more precise, a very small area of the skin behind his right trouser pocket, where his crystal was gently pressing against the skin. No way, Yuusha¡¯s heart skipped a beat. By this point, he wouldn¡¯t dare to hope. He reached into his pocket, got out the crystal and wished to look at its stats again. [Name: Orange Crystal of Potential] [Level: 3] [Status: Not Ready Loading... 19%] The percentage wasn¡¯t that high before. Something is happening¡­ Don¡¯t tell me- It¡¯s reacting to magic! The faint pulsating warmth of the crystal was also accompanied by a faint pulsating light. Just a slightly brighter color of orange coming from deep within the crystal. And it grew weaker with each pulse. Like dying embers in a winter storm. So, does it charge by collecting magic? In these circumstances, it¡¯s almost undeniable. But then why did it charge at all before? There wasn¡¯t any apparent magic. I spent nearly all my time with Sizarbob. Does he have a magic aura I didn¡¯t notice? Literal passive aura buffs like in games? That doesn¡¯t matter right now! I can figure that out later at my own pace. Right now, I need to use this once in a lifetime opportunity! Yuusha looked down at his feet. The sneakers were soaking wet, but they were not frozen in ice. The two ankle-deep puddles Yuusha was standing in looked like a pair of larger footprints and were the only place around where the elementals¡¯ water wasn¡¯t turned to ice. This confirms it - The crystal absorbed her magic! Yuusha hasn¡¯t been this excited since he got to this forsaken world. Yuusha looked to the other side of the river, where the wizard girl was. The third water elemental was no longer there and she once again leaned on her staff. Even from a distance, it was apparent she could barely stand. Then the girl finally slowly turned and, after a pause, simply walked away from the fight, using her staff as a walking stick. Yuusha decided to follow her. He stepped out of the two puddles and walked to the bridge, after the wizard. If I can absorb more of her magic, I can finally get some real progress in this whole ordeal! Most of the goblins were crying or screaming. Some of those further back and less frozen tried to pull their arms or legs out of the ice. They had the same results as the unworthy knights that tried to pull out Excalibur out of a stone. Yuusha walked carefully past his trapped comrades ¨C slipping and faceplanting into the ice would evaporite his reputation as a mighty warrior. But the ice was indeed magical. Even though the clouds in the distance approached quickly, the sun was still bright and warm. So it was highly unusual that the ice showed no signs of melting. The closer Yuusha got to the bridge the worse off were the goblins. Sorzak himself was frozen up to his neck, so any of the small goblins in his vicinity were completely entombed. Sorzak was still alive judging by his frustrated growling, though he could do little else. The spell has to wear off eventually, Yuusha thought. Hopefully, if the ice is magical, the other goblins will somehow end up being still alive. He knew how unrealistic that hope was even by magical standards ¨C any brain needs oxygen, and judging by the goblins¡¯ noses they were no exception. Nearing the wooden bridge it was impossible not to walk straight past Sizarbob, without walking in an obvious arc around him. The leader of the goblins somehow managed to have a whole arm usable, and having all his weapons lost to the ice did not deter him from trying to escape. Sizarbob kept hitting the ice with his bare fist again and again. A true test of durability and Yuusha placed his bet on the hobgoblin. Yuusha tried not to look at the hobgoblin as he passed him, making plans for the future. I am the only one not trapped in the ice like an idiot, after all. So, you¡¯re not even worthy of acknowledgment from a powerfull being like myself. Sizarbob might have actually thought the same as he did not dare speak up, and only increased the number of punches per second to the ice that trapped him. Showing how hard you are trying to get out? Whether it was patience, stubbornness or plain stupidness, Yuusha couldn¡¯t help but admire Sizarbob¡¯s earnestness. Yuusha breathed a sigh of relief when he got past the remaining ice without having slipped once and was now able to cross the rest of the bridge with ease. He did even didn¡¯t have to increase his pace to catch up to the girl at all since she hobbled at the pace of an old woman. Still, he tried to keep a low profile, moving from corner to corner in the wide street, but the town seemed to have been already evacuated.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It was surprisingly easy to follow the wizard girl. After sneaking to the next house, Yuusha frequently found himself waiting for her to gain some distance and slowly ended up getting closer and closer, growing bolder. There¡¯s the church, Yuusha looked at the old stone structure with a gable roof, covered with wooden shingles. I wonder if those that still pray in this world know that nobody¡¯s listening. The wizard girl went around the fenced-off church and Yuusha followed. The gate was near. What happened to Garsaul¡¯s party? Only Sorzak returned. And even if Garsaul also turns out to be picky about which water he swims in, the town should be throwing their garbage downstream, so south of the town the river should be fine. How did the townsfolk leave? Or are they being hunted down by the goblins outside the town? That''s when Yuusha saw Garsaul¡¯s party. Inside the town. And they did not have a pile of corpses at their feet. Not even a single head. All thirty goblins stood in a circle, surrounding two figures. Yuusha instantly recognized the slouching, sickly-yellow hobgoblin. The other one appeared to be some old lady, who for some reason was not on her knees, crying and begging for mercy. Garsaul? What the hell are they doing? With Garsaul being the sole exception up until now, Yuusha never saw the goblins be so still unless they were sleeping. Meanwhile, the girl just kept hobbling in their direction. She stopped only when she was basically within the jumping distance of an average goblin. Did she notice them only now? Is she sleepwalking? Yuusha was shocked. I guess all the stuff she did before really drained her. Luckily for her, none of the goblins seemed to care about the barely lucid wizard either. Or they didn¡¯t notice her either, which Yuusha found almost unbelievable. Yuusha thought he heard the girl say something, but couldn¡¯t make it out. The next moment Garsaul dashed at the old lady and cut her head clean off her shoulders. The girl screamed horror and fell on her hands and knees. Garsaul walked over to where the head was and stood there, staring at it as if in a trance. That one is a fucking creep! Yuusha concluded what he already assumed. But why are the other ones not moving either? What is going on? The circle of goblins remained undisturbed. They all stared, bewitched, in the direction of Garsaul and the body. Yuusha felt a drop of water hit his nose. Another on his head. The rain started and quickly picked up. In a matter of seconds, Yuusha was taking a shower. A bright light flashed in the sky followed by a rolling boom that Yuusha would¡¯ve mistaken for an explosion under any other circumstance. The wizard girl ignored all of it and only dug her fingers deeper into the wet dirt. That was someone dear to her, I guess. Yuusha surmised. Sad? Angry? Or simply her body finally gave out? If she did cry it would be impossible to see or hear in the downpour. Finally, Garsaul showed a sign of life - turned his head toward the teenage girl, soaking in the rain, with an ever-growing pool of water under her. How long are you going to stare at her? Yuusha was beginning to feel sorry for the girl. If she did overdo it back there, then she¡¯s done for. She might be useful as a captive though she¡¯s clearly unstable. Garsaul took a step in the direction of the girl. At that moment she let out a scream, grabbing her head in both hands, shrinking more and more into a fetal position. The pool of water under her grew disproportionately fast. No, the water is flowing to her! Yuusha realized. By now the girl¡¯s legs were completely underwater. Then the water began to rise around her. The rain itself distorted - the falling drops of water gravitated toward the wizard as if she had a field around her. Soon the wizard girl was surrounded by a waterfall. But it wasn¡¯t a pretty, straight wall of water. Uneven, rippling and growing, it spun faster and faster like a water tornado with the girl in its center. With cold water blowing in his face Yuusha could barely tell where the distorted figure of the girl or the goblins were anymore. And he noticed way too late that on the surface of the whirling tornado tiny solid white objects rapidly grew in number and spread all across the tornado. It was like watching bacteria multiplying with countless points of origin, fast-forwarded to the speed of light. ¡°No,¡° was all that Yuusha could say before a high-pitched scream escaped the tornado. He only had the time to wince. Yuusha never experienced a shockwave from an explosion, but now he could guess what that felt like ¨C as if his whole body got hit by a gigantic frying pan that sent him flying back. Silence. ¡°Wha¡­ What¡­¡± Yuusha uttered, opening his eyes and seeing varying shades of black. Those were probably the clouds. He felt like he lost a couple of seconds. Yuusha assumed he was lying on his back but couldn¡¯t tell for certain. He tried to order his body to move, but there was no response from his limbs. ¡°Blargh!¡± some liquid escaped Yuusha¡¯s mouth in a sharp, agonizing cough. Hail? Yuusha thought when he saw that instead of drops of water, tiny spheres of ice dropped from the sky. He couldn¡¯t feel them bouncing off his body but noticed that the round spheres bouncing off his face now had shades of red. Finally, Yuusha¡¯s arm moved. He touched his lips and looked at his fingers. Red¡­ With considerable effort Yuusha lifted his head and looked at his numb body ¨C countless spikes, white and blue, like icicles, were sticking out of his chest, stomach, legs, and arm. Some as small as a pencil, a few were the size of his arm. ¡°No¡­¡± Was all that escaped Yuusha¡¯s lips. There was no pain, no cold, only frustration as everything around him darkened. All of this for a stupid- Ah! Mustering what little remained of his strength and willpower Yuusha reached to his pocket for the crystal. Come on, you piece of shit! Yuusha brought the crystal to his face. It shined brightly in Yuusha¡¯s hand, pushing back the growing darkness. A small light of hope. [Name: Orange Crystal of Potential] [Level: 3] [Status: Ready] Listen! Crystal! Goddess! For all that¡¯s my potential is worth, don¡¯t let me die here! I can''t die here! I won''t die here! I will save this world or burn it to the ground ¨C whatever you want me to do, just give me another chance! I want another chance! I will have another chance, damn you! If not I''ll use all of eternity to seek out Aurora and work with her to make your life even more of a living nightmare! You hear me, you useless bimbo!? Nothing happened. The light of the orange crystal faded along with Yuusha''s hope, but not his anger. I swear on Aurora, I''ll make you pay! "Haha! She really is a bimbo, isn''t she?" What? A semi-translucent blueish tab appeared in front of Yuusha¡¯s eyes with a slightly blurry text. [Hidden Potential unlocked!] The next tab was harder to read. Yuusha couldn¡¯t tell if the text faded or his mind did. [Skill gained: Another Chance] Yuusha tried not to slip into the soothing darkness. [Class gained: Wiz¡­ Letters appeared and disappeared, but Yuusha could no longer comprehend them. His consciousness melted away¡­ 15: Aurora Yuusha shivered as if he stood in a freezer. ¡°... Huh?¡± was all that Yuusha could utter looking at the surrounding white ice. All around him were goblins¡ªpartially frozen, trapped in that same ice. But he didn¡¯t see the palisade or the Eastern Gate. The church was in the distance, on the other side of the river. A teenage girl in a blue dress guarded the crossing, leaning on her staff. Ah, Yuusha realized, I¡¯m here. The chilling breeze had already passed, but the summer sun was still not enough to warm him. The crystal! Yuusha reached to his trouser pocket. Empty. ¡°Ah!¡± Yuusha looked down and stared at his own body. Not only were his limbs obeying his orders again. Not only was he standing on his own two feet again. He was not coughing up blood. He was not a human-sized pincushion anymore. Yuusha lifted up his shirt for confirmation. Not a single scratch on him. Then does that mean¡ªStats! [Name: Yuusha Kigiraya] [Class: Wizard] [Level: 1 (0%)] [Health points: 20] [Mana points: 40] [Strength: 1] [Endurance: 2] [Dexterity: 1] [Willpower: 3] [Intelligence: 4] [Skills: Another Chance: Level 1 (10%) Arcane Flash: Level 1 (0%) Arcane Wall: Level 1 (0%) Evil Language: Level 13 (89%) Good Language: Level 0 (1%)] It¡¯s literally called ¡°Another chance¡±? Did she just name it after what I said? Wait, she? [Skill: Another Chance Passive Level: 1 (10%) Description: Upon death of User, brings the User back to life and Resets the world to thirty minutes before the User¡¯s death. Cannot Reset the world further back even if the User dies again within less than thirty minutes from previous Reset.] ¡°Ha! Hahaha! Ahahahahahahahaha!¡± Yuusha just stood there, laughing like a lunatic. I can¡¯t believe it actually worked! For once something actually happened as I wanted! Who cares that I¡¯m level 1? With this skill, I¡¯m practically invincible! ¡°Ahahahaha¡ª¡± Yuusha¡¯s laughter stopped when an ice spear flew through the air and impaled into a building behind him. With her staff still raised and pointed in the direction of the young man, Lucina¡ªbreathing heavily and squinting¡ªwatched the headless body fall on its back, before collapsing herself. _________ ¡°Pffffft! Bwahahahahaaah!¡± Undignified female laughter echoed in the dark. To Yuusha, the laughter was unpleasant and obnoxious, like a spoiled child¡¯s, though the voice clearly belonged to a grown woman. ¡°You don¡¯t disappoint!¡± The voice cackled. ¡°But please, next time, try to extend your demise at least a little bit! Your face was so cute last time! Hehehe!¡± Who are you? Yuusha wanted to shout out but couldn¡¯t. His mouth didn¡¯t move. He tried to feel it up with his hands¡ªnothing was there. No mouth, no nose. But Yuusha could feel his arms move. His fingers touched as they continued to grasp at nothingness. Yuusha felt up his shoulders, his neck¡ªMy head! ¡°Bwaaahhahhahah!¡± A new wave of psychotic laughter pierced Yuusha. He instinctively tried to cover his ears but couldn¡¯t¡ªhe had none. A headless corpse floating in endless darkness. It was not a matter of sight. Somehow Yuusha knew that even if he had eyes and could open them, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference. He felt it with every fiber of his being¡ªthis was not a nice place to be. It was devoid of light and warmth. Only tormenting laughter of an unknown entity traveled across it. Yuusha¡¯s thoughts were a scrambled mess. He could not move properly. He could not think properly. He wanted only one thing¡ªto get out of this place. Now! ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry¡ªyou¡¯ll be back to your exciting little adventure soon enough! And this place will fade from your memory far sooner than you might think!¡± The entity spoke, finally calming down. But even this calm voice was unnerving to Yuusha. ¡°I will even be so generous as to answer a few questions you didn¡¯t bother to ask!¡± Can we not? Yuusha had a very bad feeling about this. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re going to need a pair of eyeballs for this one!¡± Yuusha didn¡¯t see any difference. A black void was still a black void after all. Then, the world whooshed past him. It was like looking through a window while sitting on a bus, speeding at about five thousand kilometers per second. And just as suddenly it came to a stop. Yuusha stood in front of a casket. He looked inside and saw a teenage boy, sixteen years old, with straight dark brown hair, the same color as his eyes. I looked much better alive, Yuusha thought. ¡°You looked better? The mortician did a phenomenal job! Do you have any idea what water does to a body? Wait, let me show you!¡± No¡ªYuusha couldn¡¯t finish his objection. Half a second later he was staring at a bloated monster, lying on a metal table, reeking of death and decay. Yuusha fell to his knees to throw up, but couldn¡¯t. The contents of his stomach just jumped up and down. He tried wiping his mouth and that¡¯s when Yuusha realized that he still had no head¡ªjust a pair of eyeballs, floating above his body. He heard a snicker behind him. ¡°A few of the bodies ended up outside the bus. They recovered your body the very last, and, well...¡± That¡¯s why you brought me here in the first place? ¡°Bingo!¡± the voice answered and proceeded to laugh in the room filled with corpses. I get it, I¡¯m dead! Why even bring it up? ¡°Well, you might not have cared, but others did.¡± Another whoosh and Yuusha found himself in a familiar room, filled with planted flowers, palm trees and cacti in nearly every free corner and then some. At some point, Yuusha came to admire his host parents¡¯ obsession with plant life.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. What, you¡¯re going to show my host family crying, and I have to feel sad about it? On a brown couch, with majesty palms on either side, sat his former host father. He was in tears, trying to comfort his sobbing thirteen-year-old daughter. Yuusha was taken aback. This can¡¯t be real! The only thing they would be crying over is my fathers'' money. ¡°Oh, they were not sad that you kicked the bucket¡ªyou yourself made sure of that. Could you remind me what was the logic? You found out that your father was sending them substantial amounts of money to put up with your brooding, so you decided to be an extra-large pain in the ass for them to make it worth the money?¡± Yuusha didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Well, either way, you were mostly right ¨C they did not cry over your death. The girl outright hated your guts, and the father was relieved that you were out of their lives three months ahead of schedule. ¡°Still, your host mother felt she had to at least help your father arrange the swift transfer of your body back to Japan. She died in a car accident on the way home.¡± What? ¡°I just thought you¡¯d be happy to know that even from beyond the grave you managed to hurt this family. And in a way that topped any other!¡± The psychotic joy the owner of the voice got out of this situation was blatantly obvious. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to know how this feels like by any chance, would you?¡± This isn¡¯t my fault! ¡°Well, had you actually tried to get kicked out of this house, instead of half-assing it just to the point that everybody¡¯s slightly miserable, then you would¡¯ve been out of their lives sooner, and the little girl would still have her mother. So, it is, in fact, your fault!¡± Yuusha averted his eyeballs away from the remaining family, deciding to instead try and see if he could look down at his neck, now that he had no head. Success! Again, the old world whooshed by Yuusha. When it settled again, Yuusha found himself in a private office. It was a corner office, with glass windows from floor to ceiling, fancy white carpet, varnished wooden furniture. It was already dusk outside, and the view was as good as anyone could hope for in Tokyo. In fact, somebody was admiring that very same view, sitting in a long leather chair, with it¡¯s back toward Yuusha. The kanji spelling ¡®Kosuke¡¯ the back of the chair had slightly faded since Yuusha last saw it. Dad¡¯s moving up in the world, huh? Although the office itself changed, the furniture was exactly the same¡ªdesk, chair, shelves¡ªall of it. I don¡¯t care! Yuusha announced. He can be crying, laughing or busy at work without a care in the world¡ªI don¡¯t care! He can¡ª Yuusha¡¯s declaration was interrupted by a thud. He walked over to the window, where the chair was, and saw his father¡ªunkempt and unconscious on the floor, with his face in his own vomit. Two liquor bottles laid next to him, one of them empty. Dad... ¡°He¡¯s really not good at this, is he? He just sent everybody home and locked his office.¡± He¡¯s been like a robot since mom died, so what is this supposed to be? ¡°Fast-forward eight hours.¡± Again, the world shifted around Yuusha. A second later he was floating in the star-filled night sky, high above the streets of Tokyo. In front of him¡ªan edge of the rooftop of a high-rise. Yuusha froze in mid-air. He knew this rooftop. Now, the edge was surrounded by a metal mesh steel fence, but it was still the same. ¡°Yes, one way to say it is that this is the building where your parents moved their company.¡± The cackle that accompanied that sentence was downright sadistic. ¡°Did I mention it¡¯s your father¡¯s last day on the job? Look, here he comes now!¡± A door opened to the staircase to the roof. ¡°No¡­¡± Yuusha gasped. The same man that laid in his own vomit hours ago, now stumbled on to the roof, nearly falling over. The liquor bottle in his hand was nearly empty already, so not much was lost. And, as soon as he regained a more or less upright position, Yuusha¡¯s father took a mouthful right from the bottle and wobbled to the fence at the edge of the roof. No! Yuusha wanted to scream and reach out to his father, but couldn¡¯t. His body wouldn¡¯t respond. He was actually frozen. And he knew who was responsible. ¡°The company was your mother¡¯s dream, not his. He only kept it going to pass it down to you. So, what use is the company to him now?¡± No! Nonono! Don¡¯t do it! With all his might Yuusha tried to move, but instead he was forced to just watch his father¡ªclumsily, but with determination¡ªclimb on the metal fence and hang on the edge, looking down to the streets below. Darkness gathered next to Kosuke. While it appeared to have no shape, a mist not dense enough to be thought of as a cloud, Yuusha could swear it leaned to whisper into his father¡¯s ear. ¡°Yes, that is what Yui saw before she jumped down. Your drunken stupor is probably the closest you can get to what her last days felt like.¡± The mist swiftly withdrew and now floated next to Yuusha. ¡°Why do you want to stop him?¡± The mocking voice seemed to get louder. ¡°Didn¡¯t you yourself repeat countless times it was his fault your mother committed suicide? Didn¡¯t you transfer so you would never have to see him again? Even though you still relied on the money he sent you? But since it¡¯s from your mother¡¯s company it belonged to you anyway, so no problem there, right? ¡°So what if Yui was his childhood sweetheart? He''s a weak man and it¡¯s about time he paid for his crimes! In fact, you should encourage him! All together now! Jump! Jump! Jump! Hhahahahh!¡± Don¡¯t! Please, please, don¡¯t! If Yusha could cry he would, but his eyeballs were there for only a single purpose¡ªto stare exactly where they were commanded to. Kosuke gulped down what liquid remained in the bottle then held it in front of him for a couple of seconds, before letting it slip¡ªthe first object to fall that night. ¡°If he wants to join his beloved wife that badly¡ªlet him! Who¡¯s going to mourn him anyway? You!? At least they¡¯ll be together in the afterlife! You believe in such things now, right!? Aaaaahhhahahahahhhaaah!¡± The soul-piercing cackling was unbearable, but still, it somehow faded into the background when Yuusha saw his father lean forward. ¡°Bwaaaahhhahahahahahahahhaaahh!¡± Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!! ¡°Shut up¡±!? WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU¡¯RE TALKING TO!!?¡± Yuusha¡¯s body was torn to shreds before the sentence was over. His blood and guts were vaporized into a red mist and blown away. Only his two eyeballs remained, frozen in terror, watching the thunderous voice split the night sky open. Darkness spread from the cracks like a plague. ¡°You are less than an insect and you dare to tell me, one of The Seven Great Goddesses, to shut up!? How dare you call out my name and attempt to use me to save your useless existence!? You¡¯re going to work with me!? You!? Perhaps you would like to join Luluna in the joyful fun-time chamber I designed? Maybe there¡¯s still a regurgitated part of her left, that you could recognize!¡± The darkness had already consumed the sky above Yuusha and the city below him. It never took any proper form, but somehow Yuusha felt as if the core of the evil presence was right there, in his face, pressing and tearing his very existence apart with each sentence, like a hurricane. He could almost imagine it¡ªthough faint and distorted¡ªa face of a woman with red eyes, contorted by malice. ¡°A hero! What a joke! A spoiled brat that takes others for granted and doesn¡¯t know his place! The mere idea that Luluna would choose you as a hero, shows how utterly lazy and callous that useless sow had become! ¡°Save the world!? From what? They already saved themselves and would have finished off that joke of a Lord long ago if they weren¡¯t busy backstabbing each other!¡± Slowly, the pressure eased. The storm calmed. ¡°Tell you what, with Luluna¡­ preoccupied at the moment, I¡¯ll make you an offer. If you can rip that useless Lord to pieces and unite your new world under your rule, I will give you a chance to save your dear daddy. Deal?¡± ... Deal. Yuusha¡¯s battered existence could not manage more than a single word. ¡°Of course we have a deal! I¡¯m sure you can do it! After all, I gave you a sliver of godly power! With it, you¡¯re ¡°practically invincible¡±! And no one else in that world has such a skill, I can promise you that! So, make good use of it!¡± Yuusha was such a wreck he couldn¡¯t even muster the willpower to process the condescending insults. ¡°Oh, and I¡¯ll even throw in a warning as a freebie! While you do have a knack for making me laugh, I would not recommend calling out my name as lightly as you did before. A single Touch Of Nightmare is already more than you can handle.¡± 16: Nightmare Yuusha''s body shivered as if he stood in a freezer. Then he fell to his knees powerlessly. ¡°Tch!¡± Yuusha gasped at the first thing he actively felt¡ªan unpleasant, stinging feeling on his face. He tried wiping his face and brushed off a tiny layer of ice that formed all the way from his eyes, which were still wet. Crying? Why? Yuusha tried to think but everything was a mess. It was like he had woken up from a dream- no, a nightmare. A nightmare that he¡¯d rather not remember. The last thing Yuusha did remember was laughter. Malicious laughter. Ah! I was laughing! Yuusha remembered. And he remembered catching a glimpse of a thin, white object, flying straight at his face. Yuusha instinctively ducked and covered his head at the mere thought of what he realized had happened before. but Nothing flew at him, this time. Yuusha looked around and saw a familiar scene¡ªhis goblin buddies trapped in the surrounding white ice. Then Yuusha realized¡ªI¡¯m here... Again. Yuusha looked across the river. There she is, he thought looking at the pretty, blonde wizard girl, my murderer. Twice now my murderer. Or is it the ¡°soon to be murderer¡± now? She looks like she¡¯s about to drop dead herself. The girl was completely out of it¡ªeven her elemental disintegrated. The water fell to the ground in a splash, as if it lost connection to whatever magic that held it¡¯s form. So even in that state, she can still one-shot me? Better to stay the fuck away from her for now! Though, this would be a good opportunity to kill her. If I had any way to do so that is. Wait, kill her? Why? She¡¯s just protecting her town from a bunch of raiders and murderers. But she did kill me twice already, so if I kill her now, isn¡¯t that just pre-emptive defense? That¡¯s one option. And how about not raiding her town in the first place? Yes, but I value my own life higher and I can¡¯t risk the goblins turning on me! Then figure out a way to do both, hero! Anyway, even if I wanted to subdue her, is there any way for me to do so?This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Yuusha checked his stats again. [Name: Yuusha Kigiraya] [Class: Wizard] [Level: 1 (0%)] [Health points: 20] [Mana points: 40] [Strength: 1] [Endurance: 2] [Dexterity: 1] [Willpower: 3] [Intelligence: 4] [Skills: Another Chance: Level 1 (20%) Arcane Flash: Level 1 (0%) Arcane Wall: Level 1 (0%) Evil Language: Level 13 (89%) Good Language: Level 0 (1%)] No experience for dying, eh? At least I¡¯m not losing stats. And at least my revive skill is leveling at a steady pace. So, I just have to die eight more times for it to level up? Yeah, let''s not do that, if at all possible. Yuusha vividly remembered every horrifying second of his life slipping away when he was turned into an ice pincushion. What do I even have to work with? [Skill: Arcane flash Active Level: 1 (0%) Cost: 5 mana Activation time: 0.5 seconds Cooldown: 5 seconds Range: 10 meters Description: Deals 5 damage to a single target, with a 10% chance to Blind the target for 1 second.] Oh, good Lord, you have got to be kidding me!! Five minutes ago my goblin pals and the wizard girl were fighting that spectacular fight all over the place! Are you telling me they kept track of all of those distances and cooldowns, and costs, and percentage chances, and whatever else they might have had!? I know it¡¯s about right for how things work in games, but keeping track of all of that real-time seems inane! How did those water summons work? How many cubes of water was that? Did she need to know how much water was available in the river? I¡¯d need to sit down with a pen, paper, and a long-ass measure tape to figure that out! Was her smaller elemental a failed one because of some flat percentage chance or because she seems weaker? Or was she weaker because those elementals drained her life force¡ªor health points in this case? Alright, calm down Yuusha! Maybe it¡¯s not that hard once you get used to it. Maybe after a while, it¡¯s just like walking or breathing¡ªyou don¡¯t even think about it! Just cast a spell and watch the fireworks! And wasn¡¯t there that one novel where the game system was only created for the protagonist to comprehend how the magic worked and none of the other characters perceived it that way? Maybe the goblins just fire their arrows and don¡¯t think of it as an [Arrow shot] with fifty-meter range and a fifty percent decrease in chance to hit because they¡¯re firing while moving? Argh, it makes my head hurt just thinking of it that way! This is the point where some explanation from an all-knowing Goddess would come in really handy! You hear me, Luluna!? An image flashed in Yuusha¡¯s mind of a female torso caught between two jaws on either side, with several rows of uneven, pointed teeth sunk into the flesh, ripping it apart, letting the guts burst out, filling Yuusha¡¯s mind with red, agony and death. ¡°Blargh!¡± Yuusha fell on all fours and vomited what little he had left in his stomach. What the hell was that? Yuusha wondered as he wiped his mouth. ¡°¡ªTouch Of Nightmare¡ª¡± words echoed though Yuusha¡¯s mind. He had heard that voice. Pure malice. ¡°AH!!¡± Yuusha let out a gasp as images surfaced and flashed one after the other in his mind. A face with red eyes, distorted by a black hurricane. A bloated corpse on a metal table. A man leaning over a metal fence in the night sky and falling into the lights below. Psychotic laughter. Deal. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¡± Yuusha grabbed his head and screamed in pain. He remembered.