《Zeke Herald, Goblin Slayer》


 I dunno what to call the chapters :3 This is Chapter 1

    Lost and alone, freezing cold and pitch dark. A deafening headache pounded painfully and roused a man from his timeless sleep. The world rocked like a ship in a storm underthe influence ofhisdelirium, his body awkwardly angled against jagged stone. Without a memory to cling to, his life is nothing butdisorientationand pain, devoid of lightor any form of relief. The torment only ends when the broken body returns to the slumber from whence it came.


    A crisp blinding sunlight beams upon the unknown man''s face. The bright morning lightpierced the tightly shut eyelids and patronised the battered man to conciousness. Virgin eyes openbrieflybefore slamming close,unusedto the sun''s radiance that brings a burning pain to the shattered brain''s senses. The pain only overshadowed by the limbs that had remained immobile for days on end and the countless bruises that cover them. Suddenly aware of his dire situation the limp body cranedit''srickety neck away from the sun''s rays, seeking the respite of shade.


    Excruciatingminutestrickle by as his mind regained it''s senses.


    Sight,currently, the inside of his eyelids. Smell, a musty and verdant vegetation. Sound, oppressive birdsong and a gentle breezerustling through an uncountablenumber of distanttreetops. Touch, an uneven stone floor covered in small stones and dead leaves. By extension of touch, anall-encompassingpain, like a rag doll that had tumbled from a sheer cliff. But through the agonyshone a light, a fire that fed off thepain and sufferingandblazed violently.


    This turbulent inferno was not one of hope ordesire to live, but a seething rage. Who was he? Why was he here? Why does everything hurt? And could someone turn those fucking birds down?!


    This rage invigorated the barelyconsciouseyes awake and a pairnonfunctionalarms lunged forward in a pathetic mockery oftransportation. A slow grueling crawl brought parched lips to a smallgrimeypuddle of water on the ground.His mouth wasn''t greedy, it drank slowly andsparingly, the bone dry throat at firstchoked and splutteredthe trickle of moisture, but then gladly acceptedwithoutreservation.


    After exhausting the small puddle, he lolled his head to thestone floorand stared blankly at a mossy cave wall. He then began to painfully stimulate his limbs with tiny jerks, attempting to reclaim any control of motor functions.


    "Status" came a dry croak from the laying body.


    [Zeke] level 1, Defier


    Health/4/142


    Mana/15/15


    Skills: Avarice


    Seeing the status seemed to trigger a forgotten knowledge in Zeke''s mind. Namely, his name, also, his reserves of mana. It seemed strange how he forgot such important things, but now that he remembered, helostconcern with the temporary memory loss.


    (Special Explantion, from Rhapsody: Mana is the mysticalenergythatpermeatesthrough all things inexistence. Itcan beharnessed and channeled by those with the talent for it)


    With little much to do Zeke continued wiggling what little muscles he could to awaken his body while his mind began to focus on his innate mana.


    Even through he knew the existencemana and it''s presence in all things... manipulating and making use mana was a new subject altogether. First he tried to feel his own mana in his body, all 15 of it.


    He shifted his focus across every millimeter of his body, sensing for any fluctuations or abnormalities. This little session of meditation was timeless and lasted for many hours, far into the afternoon. Through this inner-exploration, Zeke discovered that his mana was mostly contained within his spine, a smallerconcentrationwas spreadevenly throughout the rest of his body, in his skin, blood, bones and marrow, mana was omnipresent


    +1 Mana (12/16)


    Good, progress.


    Next was to manipulate the mana inside him. First would be to move it. Zeke tried to shift the mana in his spine where the mana was most potent. Easier said then done apparently as no amount of willing would impact the mana inside him, but he did notice that the mana flowed around in a circuit and was never stagnated. Frustrated with the lack of progress Zeke shifted his mind to another part of his body, his hands, the mana in his hands was minimal, the flow was like a calm spill to the rapid river in his spine.


    Surprisenly, it was mucheasierto sense and influence the smaller amount of mana his hands contained. Within just a few minutes of practice Zeke was able push, pull andprobethe mana inside. He pulled the mana from his fingers into his palm and vise versa, there was no goal in mind just raw manipulation. A voice in the back of his mind told him that mana control wasnecessary, for what, he knew not. He then began to swirl the mana in his palm like a miniature whirlpool or hurricane, slowly adding more mana and increasing the intensity. Just when he felt has if he was on the cusp of reaching some new benchmark of progress, his weakened mind slipped from control and darkness overthrew him, forcing him unconscious.


    + 1 Mana (0/17)


    Morning light once again woke the sleeping man from slumber, apleasantlight warmed his legs, a feeling that heralded the quick return of soreness, only slightly lessened from the day before.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Zeke once again grasped at the rocks before him while seeking out another puddle of water. There was one about 2 meters away,largerthen the empty below him. The journey was mucheasierthe second time but just as painful to his wobbly arms.


    Upon reaching the pool of water he drank deeply, bringing it to half empty before rolling on to his back. Zeke sat there for a few moments to regain his expended energy before crawling towards the mostcomfortablelooking section of the rocky wall. With hisback against the wall, he was able for the first time, to take in his surrounding enviroment.


    He was sitting by the entrance to a small cave mouth. The entrance was low, to the point where you would duck your head to pass, the cave''s inside however were tall enough to stand in. A soft looking green moss and ivy coated all the walls, abitof red moss was visible too. The cavewent deeper into whatever mountain side itwas entrenchedin, but Zeke''s eyes couldn''tpenetratethe darkness so the exact length wasunknown. Tiny little stalactites lined the roof which he noted would make for a nastysurpriseif someone decided to jump while underneath them. Other than these features there was nothing else of note and with his immediatesafetyassured, Zeke began to manipulate his mana a second time.


    "Status" spoke Zeke.


    [Zeke] level 1, Defier


    Health/58/142


    Mana/17/17


    Skills: Avarice


    It seemed as if a night''s sleep wassufficientto refill his total mana capacity.


    Zeke closed his eyes and focused on the nearbreakthroughhe achieved yesterday, gathering and swirling his mana in his palms. He quickly reached the state he achieved earlier and pondered where to go from there. With his mana slowly dwindling, time was against him. He knew he only had enough mana to try one of 2 things. He could try to eject the mana outside of his body and see what became of that. Or, he could unleash the mana through his body in a strong pulse. A thrid option may have been totry andmoving the mana from his palm around the rest of his body in a form ofcomplex manipulation.


    Ultimatelyhe decided on the recently thought of third option that occur to him.


    The swirl of mana in his palm surged intensely, he figured the easiest way of moving it would be to drag the ''eye'' of the storm and hope the rest followed. There was moderate success in this method as the mana movedthrough his arm and towards his chest. The closer it got to his chest/spine, the faster it spun and the stronger it pulled in mana. Zeke felt a little worried at the prospect of losing control but before it became to big to handle what little mana Zeke had remaining promptly depleted. The swell of focussed mana evenly dissipatedbackinto his natural mana flow.


    +1 Mana (0/18)


    Zeke let out a sigh of satisfaction. Working with mana was like a strenuous workout for your mind. Seeing a numerical improvement to his efforts greatly inspired Zeke to train further. Raw mana manipulation seemed to increase his total capacity which was incredibly useful for longer practice sessions even though it had no practical application. Trying his other optionsmight''veyielded different results which he was eager to test out once his mana refilled.


    Prying his eyes open he noticed that it was around noon, the mana sessions had a noticeableeffecton his sense of time, as the few hours that passed felt only of a few moments.


    Zeke decided that he would spend his time exercising his arms. Stretching them, flexing the weary muscle and feeling a good sense of control throughout the suffering, Next were the legs, which had been mostly neglected in favour of using his arms as transport. His legs were clearly in a bad state, he could barely bend it before the pain becametoo muchtobear, so he just settle for a toe-wiggling workout.


    Thehour-longexercise left Zeke acutely sensitive to a grumbling stomach. Turns out forgoing meals for 3 days started to show symptoms of starving. This was a problem.


    Grimeywater could only fill you so much, but that didn''t stop him from draining the remaining half into his greedy stomach whilst he pondered the issue. He guessed that if he ventured out into the forest outside of his cave he may find some edible vegetation, not that he would be able to differentiate from the inedible. This hunger brought attention Zeke''s attention to the only skill hepossessed, Avarice.


    "Status"


    [Zeke] level 1, Defier


    Health/66/142


    Mana/2/18


    Skills: Avarice


    He focused on the skill in question, he didn''t know why he knew this, butthinking hard enough would conjure infomationon it.


    Avarice: Greed incarnate, take from others and stand above all.


    The remainingremnantsof power from a recently slain foecan beabsorbed toempowerthe victor. Has a random level of success.


    Hmmm, Zeke thought.


    A skill that could potentially grow toridiculouspower. He wasn''t sure why he had such a powerful skill, it may have had something to do with his title ofDefier.The description ofthe skill made it seem as if Zeke was some sort a demon incarnated as the skill soeloquentlydescribed. He wasn''t going to complain too much lest he jinx his luck.


    Although extremelypowerfulit wasn''t something that helped with the current food situation, so he quickly put the unrelated thoughts to the back of his mind.


    Due to his mostly immobilepredicamenthe decide to try eating the soft looking moss that grew in the cave, at worst he would just vomit it up. He didn''t want to risk the forest outside as it was an unknown element and maypotentiallybesuicidedlydangerous. The cave however, hadn''t killed him yet, which was dubious logic at best.


    Scraping along the walls beside him Zeke manged to collect a handful the spongy plant. It smelled earthy and ''green'' much like a brocoli, it didn''t seem to malevolent, in fact, it was quite appetising, mostly due to hunger. Without hesitation Zeke shoveled the small helping of moss into his mouth and began to slowly chew.


    It tasted of grass and dirt, not the mostpleasanttastes but under the circumstances he wasn''t one to complain,at leastit wasn''t instantlyregurgitated. It was very tough despite it''sappearanceand clung to his teeth in an annoying fashion, still, he was already scraping another handful of the stuff, popping it in.


    Several mouthfuls in, Zeke stopped eating, not because he was full or because he''d clear the immediate area of moss, but because he knew that consuming too much moss was boundto beunhealthy, especially if it turned out to actually by poisonous or otherwise harmful. For the short-term, he had more or less sated his hunger. Zeke promised himself that he wouldn''t eat the moss for any longer than the day after tomorrow, incase he suffered any dietary-based issues.


    The sun had fallen to about late afternoon after the glorious moss-meal. Zeke''s mana had refilled about 12, another mana session would take him to the night and then he could sleep till morning. Which is exactly what he did.


    He decided to try a different mana exercise, one he thought of earlier.


    After a few seconds. or what felt like seconds, a circling storm of mana was in his palm. He quickly peeked through a half-openeyejust to see if there was any visible change to his palm during this process. Just the same old bruised hand it had always been. He closed his eyes and again and regained his focus. He brought the storm of mana to the limit of what his remaining mana would sustain. Just before his mana had completely depleted he forced the mana through his arm in a singular strong pulse.


    Zeke could feel the warmth radiate from his hand, tapering off as it traveled, it was ablissfulfeeling. As quickly as the warmthoccurreddid the ever-present pain return,ahh, so fleeting.


    With just a single digit of manaremaingand a weary bones to match, Zeke felt a sleep quickly seep into his thoughts. A sleep he encouraged tiredly.


    Skill earned: Blood Regeneration

 Sticks and Stones

    A familiar sunlight and birdsong greeted Zeke early the next morning. His damp cave did well to keep him cool from the heat outside, as well as keep any potential dangers at bay.


    The groggy man began his morning ritual of searching for a puddle of cave water, to which he would drag his body to like a newborn deer and a slurp up quickly as he considered the possibilities of the new day.


    Zeke was shocked to find that his right arm had made visible recovery overnight.


    Most of the dark purple bruising that had completely covered the arm had gotten at least several shade lighter and the pain was only a fraction to that of his left arm. Holding each arm side by side made it quite easy to contrast the miraculous healing. The cause of this radical healing wasn''t hard to deduce either as a new skill had made itself known on Zeke''s status, which he then subsequently conjured information on.


    Skill: Blood Regeneration


    By forcing ecessive mana through one''s blood, a higher rate of regeneration can be achieved for a moderate amount of time.


    An another excellent skill! Usefull to the current predicament.


    He wasted no time in repeating the same process that led to the creation of the skill. He gathered roughly a half his mana in his right hand, let it swell in strength, and expelled the flow, allowing it to spread through his arm.


    "Blood Regeneration!"


    There was no sensation immediately, but he knew that the skill had taken effect. The mana that permeated in his blood had a stronger mana composition, he could feel the skill''s effect.


    He then used the remaining half of mana in his right leg, which was all he could afford.


    "Blood Regeneration!"


    He figured that he would soon need to leave the cave to continue any semblance of survival, so healing his legs was a must. He also assumed that if he were to practice his newly acquired skill enough or increase his mana capacity sufficiently, he would be able to use Blood Regeneration over out his whole body in one cast. That would be a fantastic way of healing one''s injuries whilst they slept.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Zeke was starting to feel hopeful.


    His injuries were healing, his magic was progressing steadily and his place of isolation sounded to be a life-filled forest, not that he''d actually checked outside. Zeke''s was especially happy about being stranded in a forest, it would be quite a lot easier to survive here then in say... a desert or frigid iceland.


    As he chowed down on a mossy-breakfest he pondered how exactly he''d even came to be, but as much as he tried to think, the place were he knew his memories would and should be was just an empty void. His earliest memory was a searing pain and a cold stone floor, said memory was only a few days old so it wasn''t hard to forget.


    With his brain proving a dead-end, Zeke hazarded a taste of the small patches of red moss that grew a little deeper in the cave. It smelled, much more vegetable-ly then it''s green counter-part and a quick nibble revealed it as extremely bitter. He still ate it of course, any food was better than no food, it didn''t taste poisony either, thankfully.


    Now with a semi-full tummy and almost depleted mana, the hopeful man warily decided to explore at least the immediate surroundings of his little cave. Afterall sitting around on his ass doing nothing would be rather unproductive to his goal of staying alive.


    At first the man just slowly poked his head around the ''frame'' of the cave mouth, you could never be too safe. The last thing he wanted was to crawl out into a forest full of man-eating-somethings. His first impression of the forest was a rather good one.


    The forest was absolutely rife with varying trees, huge and tiny and of every imaginable shade of green, and then some. An overpopulation of birds flew through the tree tops too, much like the trees, no two birds seemed of the same species or colour. The forest floor was just as flabergasting. Shrubbery littered the ground, berry bushes and game trials covered every square inch of the ground, leaving nothing bare. Even small creatures were out in the open and nonchalantly nibble the emerald grass, things such as rabbits and boars and even a large forest-infested rhino was seen stumping around not even 40 meters away.


    Zeke Smiled. If he was able to catch the smaller creatures, survival wouldn''t be an issue, as long as he avoided the larger things like the peculiar rhino and other nasties. For the meantime the man would just scavenge the sharp rocks and sturdy fallen branches around his cave-home to create some simple tools.


    There were plenty of rocks around, he gathered a number sharp stones and one large flat stone to use for whatever purpose. He threw the varying stones into the cave mouth with an awkward kneeling throw. (Did I mention he was still crawling like a human-sized caterpillar?). There were many sticks and branches too, he threw a whole bunch into the cave, stick after stick, sticks were useful after all. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a rather desirable stick, well a branch really... about as long as his arm, just as thick and recently dropped from the trees above, so it retained a lot of ''living'' durability.


    With a fit of awkward shuffling along the ground he reached the branch. It would make for a dependable club, it even had a knot at the end to emphasise it''s club like qualities. Unfortunately it would be too heavy to throw but dragging it along the ground wouldn''t be an issue, only painful.


    As the hobbled man began to drag he newly found club back to the cave, another thing caught Zeke''s attention from the corner of his eye. Unlike the branch this ''thing'' wasn''t nearly as useful and in fact, was the reason Zeke had reservations about leaving the cave in the first place.


    It was a nasty.


    A hostile and ugly one too.

 First of Many

    Frozen still, both man and goblin stared at one another.


    Somewhere deep inside Zeke hoped that if he didn''t move a muscle, the creature before him would just ignore him.


    But sure enough, just 20 meters away, staring straight into his eyes, stood a hunch backed goblin.


    Short and stocky, as tall as Zeke''s waist and with the appearance of a lean child mixed with a century old grandfather. The most notable features were as follows... the head had a pair of long pointed ears, a sharp chin with significant underbite, the nose too was quite large and dominated its face. Its iris were a murky green that matched its skin and the pupil was a deep black square, much like a goat. A few obscenely large warts were strategically place on it body to reinforce the ugly factor.


    Finished with the stare-off the goblin started slowly walking towards Zeke''s prone figure. It reached to its dirty brown loincloth and pulled out a decrepid stone dagger, moving it in a menacing manner.


    Zeke was overjoyed at the encounter... just kidding. He was quite concerned. He quickly evaluated his options as the ugly approached.


    Bad news: He was being approached by an ugly little goblin.


    Good news: His cave was only a few meters away, he''d easily reach it before the goblin reached him. Which Zeke wasted no time in doing.


    Zeke decided to leave the wooden club behind in sake of speed. Hoping that the cover of the cave would provide a better chance of victory than the weapon. If he waited by the entrance he could crush the thing''s head with a rock as it entered, although he really just hoped that the goblin would be too fearful to enter the dark cave in the first place.


    Quicker than ever before Zeke scrambled around to the cave entrance, muscles on fire from the strain. As he entered he slid towards the closest rock, grabbed it and barrel rolled on the floor to the cave mouth. With much effort he pushed his back up the wall with his legs and free hand in some sort of pseudo standing position. His legs were trembling at the weight of his figure but Zeke''s fight or flight adrenaline held them up. He played the scenario is his mind. essentially, the goblin walked in, and he fell towards it with an overhead swing, rock to head, easy done.


    A rustling could be heard outside, branches snapped at the weight of a goblin running towards the cave.


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    Zeke saw the shadow of the goblin just before it entered the cave giving him a little time to judge its arrival.


    A small green body entered the cave and Zeke began his descent upon it.


    Zeke hit it, and hit it hard as he fell down.


    Just not where he aimed.


    Instead of ending the ambush with a single strike, he only manage to scrape the rock down the goblin''s spine and finally crushing the creature''s left foot, completely obliterating the fragile bones. He didn''t expect it to barge in so fast and almost completely overshot it.


    With a huge yelp Zeke''s body crashed on the jagged stone cave floor, winding him and cutting his forearms on the small stones beneath. Zeke hadn''t considered the damage he''d receive from his own attack, as the plan was to win in one hit.


    The goblin writhed on the ground letting out an ear-piercing scream, but never once letting go of the small knife in his hand. It fought the pain, tackling the downed Zeke and stabbed man''s exposed back.


    It was Zeke''s turn to scream now. But he didn''t waste too much time as he knew that screaming wouldn''t stop the onslaught from the mounted savage.


    Twisting his body around he sent a backhanded fist to the goblin''s face, hitting it right it the ear. It went flying to the far side of the cave, not before it sliced the offending arm as it blasted away.


    Zeke wasn''t in a good spot.


    Some would say it''s a bad spot to be in.


    Using his left arm to hoist him up to the Goblin''s level he curled his fingers around a nearby rock and faced the hostile.


    Both were breathing heavy, both bleeding but the goblin more so. Every second that passed was an advantage for Zeke, the goblin was losing blood fast and it''s skin had even gone a shade lighter due to blood loss.


    The monster noticed it too and began a deadly final charge, abandoning all thoughts of living, it only intended to inflict as much damage to the man before it, before dying. It cried out in blood lust as it ran on its broken and bloodied foot.


    Zeke recognised the deaththrows of the cornered goblin and initiated his own last attack.


    Specifically, throwing the rock at it''s face.


    He waited, seconds turned to minutes as an unreal focus slowed down time.


    The goblin stood at 4 meters away... 3 meters... 2 ... now!


    He pifted the rock with every ounce of energy, aiming for the impending ugly head.


    The goblin saw the throw and desperately tried blocked the rock with a frantic swipe of it''s claws, managing to knock it off course so that the projectile hit the side of his face, not the place between it''s eyes.


    What it didn''t block was the follow-up rock that slammed into the top of his head as he was temporarily blinded by its own arm. A slow deep red blood flowed down the goblin''s head as it lifelessly crumpled to the blood coated stones below.


    Zeke too fell on the rocky floor, completely spent and mentally exhausted. His final attack had driven his already devastated legs beyond their limits.


    He just laid there unmoving, his body wasn''t even capable of movement, but the adrenaline prevent his consciousness from slipping away. He knew that in a few minutes he would black out from exhaustion.


    With his remaining mana he began casting a Blood Regeneration at his back, where he''d been stabbed and was bleeding most. He felt the warmth travel to his thighs and sternum, at least he would survive untill tomorrow. With his final action fulfilled, the bloodied man entered a dead sleep.


    Level Up!


    Level Up!


    Reached level 3!


    Attribute points +6

 Avarice

    Unlike every other morning that Zeke awoke to, this one specifically, was quite insufferable.


    Zeke whimpered at the pain washing through his arms, back, legs, and oh god did his calfs hurt, like he was dunked in a vat of acid. The next sensation after pain was the stomach turning stench of dried blood and rotting flesh.


    Zeke eyed the goblin corpse and unleashed an impressive slew of obscenities through gritted teeth. Stupid fucking thing should have died from the first hit, not the fifth. He personally promised to torture every goblin in this forest. let them taste the pain he was made to experience. This was a promise he had every intention to keep.


    As the pain dulled slightly, he realised in horror that the corpse and blood sloshed in his little cave would definitely attract other, probably nastier predators in time. Unfortunately for Zeke, he wouldn''t be moving anytime in the immediate future, rest and recuperation came first. Still, the thought nagged the back of his mind much like how a seagull nags a dock, always.


    He cursed as he begun casting his regeneration, he should of done this as he awoke but the recent spell escaped his memory.


    "Blood Regeneration"


    "Blood Regeneration" he cried out again.


    Focusing much of the spell on his legs and chest, he could feel blood trickling from his back wound, probably reopened when he woke up.


    +1 Mana (Mana/3/19)


    The increase in mana reminded him of the 2 levels he gained at the end of his life or death duel.


    "Status" he spoke


    [Zeke] level 3, Defier +6 points


    Health: 26/142


    Mana: 3/19


    Skills: Blood Regeneration, Avarice


    "Attributes" he added and a new mental image appeared.


    Strength: 28


    Endurance: 32


    Agility: 23


    Intellegence: 42


    Affinity: 18


    Each attribute was a numerical representation of capabilities when at peak performance. Currently Zeke had 6 points to delegate at his discretion which would give minor improvement when applied.


    He decided that the points would be best spent towards affinity. That would increase his mana cap and to some extent his magic prowess, allowing him use to cast more blood regenerations.


    +6 Affinity (24)


    The small increase of just 6 points brought Zeke''s cap to 33, enough mana to cast Blood Regeneration around 5 times when at full, Zeke guessed this improvement would probably save his life in the days to come.


    Looking through his status reminded Zeke of one more thing he''d forgotten, Avarice. The ability to take power from things he''d slain, like the goblin just a few meters away. He worried that there was a time limit on skill''s activation or if the corpse''s freshness affected the success in any way. This thought spurred him into action against his body''s protest.


    He prone-crawled through a huge puddle of dried blood and goblin brain bits that seeped from the goblin, wincing in agony as his legs flopped around. He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and return to sleep, but the prospect of stealing power outweighed the pain he felt.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    He placed a hand against the Goblin''s outstretched leg and chanted the spell.


    After casting the spell, the world that was the goblin''s mana had flooded his senses. He could feel the subtle differences between his own in the one he was currently taking. The mana was siphoned through his hand and merged with his own body, adapting and mutating. The feeling of power transferring was euphoria and he greedily devoured it.


    But the spell had failed. Just as the power was about to become his, it fizzled violently and faded to nothing.


    Zeke was a little disappointed, not too much, the skill mentioned that not every attempt would yield results, but enough to deeply regret moving around.


    He wondered if he could attempt a second time and promptly tried again.


    "Avarice"


    Nothing occurred, not suprising. He assumed it was because what mana the goblin body contained was now fully stagnated, whereas before it still flowed, if only slowly.


    With his skill experimentation complete, he sprawled beside the goblin corpse a let his magic recover his injuries. He figured in a couple of hours he''d have the strength to move the corpse some else, for now, rest. A well deserved nap.


    The afternoon heralded a heavy overcast that greyed the world.


    Zeke had woken from his nap and casted his regeneration a few times, happy with how short nap had miraculously healed him to the point where movement was again a possibility. Blood regeneration was probably getting a lot more efficient with how much he was abusing it. At the moment he was at pre-goblin fight to the death levels of pain, maybe even a little healthier, a huge improvement.


    Once again Zeke poked his head from the cave''s mouth, hoping to god no more unwanted little green uglies wanted to pay a visit. He dragged the dead body outside the cave, striving to put it as far away as safely possible before returning to the cave''s sanctuary. He even had the chance to search for the club he abandoned before returning.


    With a sigh Zeke parked his bum in a cosy corner of the cave, the new weather ushered a cold wind and even a slight drizzle. He was thankful that any rain would mask the scent of the blood in the cave but fire would be needed to stay warm during the coming night.


    One issue followed the other in this god-forsaken forest.


    Zeke took stock of his collected resources, starting with the most important.


    A small stone knife and a fibre belt that had once fastened the loincloth around the dead goblin and acted as a sheath for the dagger. The belt didn''t actually fit Zeke''s frame but it could be used for other purposes as a crude rope or string of sorts. He also had a plethora of varying sticks and a bunch of bloodied stones.


    Notably, Zeke lacked any firestarting methods, except maybe using sticks and a tonne of friction.


    With nothing coming to mind Zeke reluctantly opted for the stick on stick method of flame.


    With a groan he selected some appropriate looking sticks. With the stone knife he stripped away at a flat branch, exposing the dry timber beneath and collecting the shavings as kindling. Then, using the fibre belt and a short-bendy stick he made a small bow, using the bowstring to wrap around a straight thin stick, one that would gather heat quickly.


    With all the necessary items gather he started the grueling task. He lacked the proper technique and experience, so just getting smoke to rise had taken an hour. By now the slight drizzle had picked up into a light sprinkle, it would rain tonight for sure. A further hour had the smoke turn to a weak flame, which quickly died because Zeke failed to tend it properly. An hour after that, just as dusk settled, a small fire a been created.


    Title Gained: Survivor


    Oh cool, a title.


    Titles were a record of achievements or sometime experiences and came with their own benefits.


    Survivor for instance, proved one had lived by crude methods whilst in a hostile enviroment. It gave the benefit of improving one''s immune system and allowed one to sleep soundly when in good health. The second benefit probably wouldn''t work at the moment, but the first would come in handy for sure, Zeke had noticed there were a few tempting berry bushes just outside the cave.


    Zeke swapped the Defier title to Survivor. The titles still gave passive bonuses regardless of what was equiped, but the Defier title felt ominous to Zeke, it''s requirements and benefits were unknown despite his attempts to conjure information.


    After tending the fire and casting Blood Regeneration for the last few times, Zeke drifted off. Hopefully some embers remained for the next day, after all spending multiple hours on starting a fire, wasn''t very fun.


    Zeke went to sleep with a day of not much happening, but a keen eargerness for tomorrow.

 The Next of Many

    In many ways, this morning was the best.


    Sure, there was a torrential rain silencing the otherwise boisterous forest outside, making any exploration impossible, or rather, very depressing. Besides this point Zeke''s, situation was quite ''cosy''. His small fire had lasted throughout the night, his body felt limber and his wounds had mostly recovered. There were enough sticks scattered about to fuel the fire for at least two more days, the only imminent concern was food. As always, moss was abundant, but Zeke had told himself that living off the stuff would probably be a health risk in the long-term.


    But that was before obtaining the survivor title, so he risked another day on the mossy diet.


    After the fleeting joy of being in good health faded, Zeke now suffered from an intense boredom. For the first time since he awoke, he had a real longing to leave the cave and soak up the outside while his healthy body permitted it. Zeke had a sneaking suspicion that the forest was sentient and held some sort of grudge on him. He sat down by the fire in a meditating pose, the background rain soothed his mind as he sunk into his own mana.


    His mana had changed. It was faster and stronger, it responded to his poking and prodding more readily and it was flowing in more abundance. If he just let his mind sit in the flow of mana he could expand his mind across every inch of his mortal container. From the tips of his toes, to the ends of each hair, he felt everything and how mana touched all. If not for the omnipresent danger of Zeke''s situation, he felt as if he could spend an eternity wading through the serene mana that filled his whole being.


    +1 Mana (31/34)


    Noting the progress, he delved deeper. This time trying to peer into his spine, where mana was strongest. Now that there was a higher quantity flowing in his spine, the sensation of it was almost overwhelming, but he managed to hold his ground. It was his own god-damn mana anyways, he wouldn''t let it reign over him.


    Seeing through the strong storm as it raced by his consciousness he noticed a flickering. He could recognise the flickering as himself. His own thoughts and feelings were flowing through the mana, his fear, his pain and his pleasure... mostly pain. He now understood that mana was not just a tool for magic, but his own essence, an extension of his being.


    +5 Mana (27/39)


    Brilliant! The best revalation and improvement so far!


    Zeke didn''t push on in trying to reveal more, he knew he''d exhausted the extent he could delve into his mana. With roughly the half he had remaining he tried something he wanted days ago, if not for the constant need to heal his wounds he would have.


    Zeke gathered the mana into his palm as per usual, but instead of moving it around or releasing the flow he attempted to exert it out of his body. There was moderate success with the method. Most of the mana was lost in the transition from body to outside, it leaked harmlessly into the atmosphere, but a good amount passed through as intended.


    Opening one eye Zeke saw a plume of blue energy flow out of his hand for a brief second. Cool, even though it didn''t seem functional on its own there was more experimentation to be done.


    With all remaining 20 something mana Zeke gathered it in his palm and gradually released it, with a focus on a low output, steady stream, as opposed to the violent burst earlier.


    One eye still open, Zeke examined the plume of mana, it would probably last for 20 seconds at the current rate of expenditure. Without purpose the mana plume just dissipated in the air, Zeke ran his free hand through the plume just to see what would happen. It was slightly warm and clung to his hand like a sticky web before disappearing, it didn''t seem too usefull to be honest. With only a single digit amount of mana remaining Zeke decided to expend it all into his waiting hand in a final burst. The plume of mana was no warmer than before but clung on to his hand for while longer, giving him a somewhat translucent glove of warm mana.


    Zeke''s meditation had taken the most part of the day. He relished how much free time he had and considered himself lucky that he was safe enough to indulge in his mana. It truly fascinated him to no end, he felt as if he''d barely scratch the surface of hairs that covered the surface of mana. He was hoping that he''d uncover a skill by now but a total increase of 6 in capacity was good too, he could now cast blood regeneration enough to cover his entire body and still have a little left over.


    After stoking the fire and eating a smidgen more moss, he settled for some sleep. Mana manipulation was a good remedy for a boring day and big help for getting sleepy in a pinch. He planned that if the rain cleared by tomorrow he''d get some serious exploration done, he hoped the morning would bring his body at least 90% of his peak performance and was something Zeke longed for.


    <hr>


    Zeke stepped outside.


    True to his hopes, the rain of yesterday had vanished so completely, the only evidence were the tiny puddles scattered on the forest floor at random. Not even the countless tree leaves showed any sign of moisture. It was kinda strange how such strong and persistent rain resulted in the small puddles he saw, but Zeke didn''t question it, so what if the forest was thirsty?


    With a wooden club in hand and a stone knife sheathed in a pilfered loincloth, Zeke set out, making sure to mark trees with a series of triangles atop one another, lest he lose his way. His main goal for today would be to collect some berry varieties, locate more goblins for a prompt slaying and keep an eye open for other oddities.


    Goblins came first obviously, carrying around berries everywhere would be cumbersome and they were in surplus, so they would come last.


    Unsure of the best method of goblin hunting Zeke just followed a small game trail through the forest, probably a small animal like a boar, the prints indicated something four-legged and heavy but he wasn''t sure. The benefit of following a trail was the prospect of finding a source of fresh water and tracing the trail back to his little hidey-hole. Animals gotta dink water too after all and Zeke wasn''t keen on drinking from puddles for the rest of his life.


    It had only taken half an hour to run into a curious creature, not a goblin, but a boar/dog hybrid, not the one he was tracking, just an animal from the same species who was using the same trail.


    It''s snout was dog-like, as were the teeth and tail. The body and legs were stumpy and powerful, a pair of tusks grew from the mouth too, emphasising the boar aspect. Imagine a barrel-chested dog on steroids with a pinch of tusks and that was the thing he stumbled across.


    Zeke didn''t get a huge amount of time to ogle over the discovery. The dog boar, I guess a bog, noticed Zeke once it obliviously bumped into the man''s leg. Once the bog came to the realisation the Zeke was a living breathing thing of scrawny statue it dropped the casual attitude and attacked the ''easy prey''.


    The oblivious bog shocked Zeke with its terrifying speed, he only barely dodge aside as it charged past. It slammed its head into the tree a meter or so behind him and swaggered around at the recoil. Zeke puzzled, were all bogs normally stupid or was this one particularly unobservant. The bog spun around a gnashed it''s jaws at Zeke, it seemed to take offense at the insult, much to the explorer''s regret.


    It charged a second time, reaching speeds even faster than before.


    Zeke easily predicted it and swayed within a hair''s breadth of the gnarly tusks before swinging down his club at it''s head. Zeke wasn''t going to play around, a single hit from any of its attacks would mangle him at best.


    Once again, much like with the goblin, he was a little slow with his strike and missed the head, hitting only the rump.


    The bog nimbly dodged the tree the flew towards it''s face and skidded around a second time for a third charge. It was getting real pissed that the lanky weakling before it had been lucky and narrowly side-stepped his attempts at impaling him. It kicked up a clump of dirt and grass with it''s front hoof before taking off.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Zeke noticed how little his club seemed to affect the thick brown hide and taut muscles of the bog''s rump and decided to switch tactics, taking advantage of the impending beast''s reckless charge. Zeke quickly jogged towards the nearest tree, putting himself between the tree and the bog who was currently charging.


    As opposed to stepping aside of the charge, Zeke thought to jump over it, to make absolute certain that it hit the tree behind him


    Seconds from contact, Zeke jumped and soared over the charging mass of muscle.


    As planned, the Bog slammed into the tree at ludicrous speed, shaking the entire plant and permanently bending it''s form. The bog''s jaw hadn''t fared much better and was crushed on impact, not before rearing upwards and battering Zeke''s legs before collision.


    Zeke cussed as the bog''s tusks rended his shins, sending him into a full front flip that ended with him flat on his back. The soft forest floor softened the fall but to say he was only in a shitload of pain would be an understatement.


    He swiftly fought back the pain and stumbled at the bucking bog, if Zeke didn''t finish it off now, his legs would prove useless to any more assaults of that caliber. The bog was going hysterically berserk in pain, blood flowed from its facial orifices and it''s jaw was completely mangled, hanging slack and dislocated.


    Zeke timed his step-in as the animal bucked around, getting hit by a stray hoof after being hit in the shins would be a bad start to the day. He pulled his knife from his loincloth and in a moment of opportunity lunged at the bog''s side swinging the blade upwards, straight to the neck.


    It connected to the throat and plunged down to the hilt, it wasn''t quite enough to instantly kill the writhing mess. Zeke back off the dying beast with a hearty shove and waited for it to bleed out. Watching the beast slowly die had given the hunter a pang of remorse. If it wasn''t still so jumpy despite it''s near-death condition he could move in and end it''s life without risk, but he wasn''t willing to sacrifice health over remorse and just continued to loom it.


    The beast toppled to it''s flank, occasionally twitching, bleeding profusely from both neck and mouth. The remorseful hunter sulked towards it and pierced the bog''s eye, ending it''s life.


    Zeke allowed himself a cast of blood regeneration on his legs and attempted a try at Avarice, hopefully at least he''d be able to finally see the effects of his unique skill. He placed his hand on the bog''s spine and chanted.


    "Avarice"


    He felt the bog''s mana run into his own, it was wild and dense, much like the owner. Zeke marveled at the sensation of Avarice, it was addicting. As the culmination of mana merged and adapted, it just as quickly scattered and dissipated.


    Not before imprinting a gift.


    +3 Strength (31)


    Wow! three whole points of strength! that as much as a level''s worth of points for free!


    Zeke flexed his arms in joy, he couldn''t feel a difference from just flexing but if he could find a way to test it he was sure there''d be a change. Maybe he''d be capable of 5 more push ups or kick a goblin several centimeters further, any remorse he once felt was now quickly discarded in trade for the intoxicating high of Avarice.


    With the afterglow of his successful Avarice he pondered how to deal with the bog corpse. Taking the whole thing would be physically draining and may attract predators, leaving in here might have been sensible, but a rumbling stomach said otherwise.


    Zeke bent down and began amputating the bog''s front leg, the tough hide and muscle made long work and pushed the tiny stone knife''s cutting ability to the extreme, giving it a few new chips and cracks.


    With a spring in his step, the hunter hummed his way to the cave where he placed the leg, right at the back of the cave where it should be safe from prying noses and stepped back out into the woods.


    With more daylight to burn Zeke set of again, avoiding the same trail and opting for a different one, leaving a trail of triangles. After all, a larger beast may have decided to clean up the mess he made, a beast he would rather not get acquainted with.


    In efforts of being as efficient as possible, Zeke made sure to expend a little mana whenever it reached it capacity, letting it just sit at full would just be a waste. Turns out that trying to manipulate mana at the same time as walking and paying attention to his surroundings at the same quite was quite challenging. It was like trying draw a circle with one hand and a square with the other. Zeke decided that his focus would be directed at gathering his mana into a whirlpool in not just one palm, but two, and if possible a third elsewhere. The task was strenuous and satisfying. If he could manipulate two or more areas of mana at once he may be able to cast blood regeneration once instead of twice, it wasn''t that exciting, but the future application may be.


    Once more, it only took half an hour or so to run into another bog.


    It did seem that being oblivious was a trait shared by all bogs, they hit like a boulder, hitting them felt like hitting a boulder and they shared the awareness of a boulder to compensate. As if a boulder had adopted the guise of a boar/dog, It was quite terrifying to imagine what one with a speck of perception of intelligence could accomplish.


    Much like with the first victim, placing yourself between it and a tree was a surefire method of gaining precious seconds to go in for the kill. This time Zeke even managed to completely avoid any damage, although the Avarice failed again. So far it had a 33% chance of succeeding, taking into account the utility of the skill made Zeke think that the real percentage was much lower, only time would tell.


    Leaving this one behind, Zeke walked deeper into the forest leaving his triangular markings as he went.


    Another bog down and two strength stronger (33) with a lucky Avarice, Zeke happened upon a rapid stream. It was a hub of forest life, bog''s had packs scattered around drinking and bathing, even a couple of verdant rhinos were lazing around, soaking up the sunlight, a deer or two bounded off when they sensed Zeke. The rhinos seemed to be living plants in the shape of a rhino now that he had a closer look. He wanted to get closer and really get a good look at the green rhino, but better judgement stopped him, he got a real ''don''t mess with me and I won''t mess with you'' vibe. Finally, and much to Zeke''s joy, he saw a small group of goblins that had taken it upon themselves to hunt a bog that had strayed to far from it''s pack.


    Zeke grinned as he stealthily slinked towards the scuffle.


    Eight goblins in total and one bog. The bog was bleeding from several areas, a deep cut on it''s belly and an arrow lodged in it''s eye. The goblins had suffered too. Two of them lie immobile to the side and four others were skirting around the bog''s frantic charges, there was one goblin with a bow taking pot shots when ever the bog stopped moving. It''s clear the Goblins would emerge victorious, well they would''ve if Zeke wasn''t present.


    The first target would be the archer, he posed the largest threat, next he''d let bog wear down the remaining four untill they were ripe for the reaping, the two immobile ones were easy kills and could wait till last.


    Despite posing the biggest threat, the archer was actually in the most convenient site. It was using a tree for cover by the outskirts of the fight and would duck behind it after every shot to reload.


    Slowly creeping through bushes and the longer grass Zeke made his way towards the goblin.


    Each time the goblin took aim Zeke would scoot closer, and pause as the archer took cover behind the tree and reloaded.


    A few rounds of red-light green-light later and Zeke lay crouch just 5 meters away, the next shot it took would be it''s last. Then the unknowing cadaver popped out of the tree''s cover to take another shot.


    Wasting no time Zeke slithered up into a long strided walk, closing the distance in just a few steps. He was right behind the archer now and entirely unseen.


    Zeke reached out.


    One hand lifting it''s disgusting, wart infested chin, the other deftly slice the throat as he pulled the archer to the ground. A perfect unnoticed ambush.


    Level Up!


    +3 Attribute Points


    Zeke had been so lucky that when he assassinated the goblin. The arrow the it shot was thrown off and veered into one of the five goblins scraping with the bog, straight to the knee.


    The shot goblin twisted it head around, scanning with seething eyes for the perpetrator only to get slammed aside in it''s moment of distraction. Instantly killed by a furocious tackle. Lucky for Zeke.


    Zeke crawled towards the two immobile Goblins, favouring speed over stealth now that the archer was no more.


    The last four goblins and the bog were the only remaining targets, he''d been so precise so far, he didn''t want to make a mistake now and get himself injured, or worse.


    Holding out his club he walked at the melee with a steady pace, unfazed and assured of victory.


    Three of the green uglies notice the advance and scurried backwards, the one who didn''t stared confused at his running allies and caught himself a 33 strength bonk to the head, either killing it or knocking it unconscious.


    The bog was so tunnel-vision on the retreating goblins that Zeke was utterly ignored. One of the fleeing goblins was mowed down in bestial fury and Zeke finished the other by catching up with his longer stride.


    The bog charged onwards to claim the life of the other running goblin only to find a Zeke standing over it''s corpse. The moment of confusion was all Zeke needed to rush in and bonk the Bog''s snout before it could react.


    Bleeding, bruised, missing an eye and exhausted, the bog wasn''t stupid enough to fight a losing battle, much like the goblins it turned tail fled.


    Bleeding, bruised, missing an eye and exhausted, the bog wasn''t stupid enough to fight a losing battle, much like the goblins it turned tail fled.


    Zeke wasn''t too happy about the potential Avarice running away, but his speed wasn''t enough to give pursuit so in a last-ditch effort to earn bonus attributes, Zeke threw the club at the fleeing form.


    It was a mighty throw. Strong enough pass the thick hide and shatter bone.


    Just not this throw. He missed the mark by an embarrassing margin. With a slight blush on his cheeks, Zeke scanned the perimeter to make sure no one had witnessed the abysmal throw.


    Content with his current massacre Zeke went to each corpse, looted them and Avarice them.


    In total, he gained 8 loincloths, 6 stone daggers, a small stone sword and 8 fibre belts. The Goblin archer also had a leather vest and a kid-sized bow with arrows. In a stroke of genius Zeke ramshackle the leather vest with the loincloths and a few fibre belts, making a nice backpack to carry the other items. It was more like a wearable bucket, but that was besides the point.


    The Avarice only functioned on 5 of the corpses, the 5 he killed, the bog''s kills were incompatible with the skill. But, of the 5 Avarices attempted, not a single one yielded a gain, very frustrating to say the least.


    This murder-operation had gone of without a hitch yet, his skill seemed to make an effort to sour his mood. Next time he would make a conscious effort to claim every kill and try to avoid others stealing his kills, as he assumed stolen kills wouldn''t count as his own too.


    Now with an even bouncier spring in his step, the goblin exterminator made his way back to the trail of triangles satisfied with the level of goblin killing he''d accomplished.


    On the way back he encountered two bogs, Zeke allowed them to live as he was feeling quite tired and the quicker he returned the sooner he could eat. He also made an effort to collect an assortment of wild berries in his makeshift backpack as he forgot to do so earlier this morning when he returned home.


    It was late afternoon, the sun warmed his back as the familiar cave mouth came to view. Zeke pipped up a little at the sight, eager to drop the heavy bag of weapons.


    Needless to say, Zeke was very upset to see that his humble abode was currently being raided by a large bipedal lizard who feasted greedily on Zeke''s hard earned piece of bog leg.

 Intruder Alert, Intruder Alert

    Zeke stood disregarded by the entrance of his cave, watching the thieving lizard slurp down the bog meat, making eating noises he''d thought previously impossible.


    This was an issue.


    There wasn''t enough daylight to hunt another animal, more importantly, there was no way Zeke would roll over and allow his cave to be stolen by some stupid lizard. Tonight would not be another meal of moss for Zeke! The few berries he collected might suffice as a meal, but he had been looking forward to dinner since the morning.


    The lizard had a slender figure, bright yellow scales with patches of dark green, green feathers also lined its neck, much like a lion''s mane. It stood on a pair of muscular legs, finished with a single nasty talon on each foot, it''s claws also look razor-sharp and ready to tear into any obstacles. Two rows of jagged teeth tore into the rather sizable bog leg on the floor as it''s tail slowly swayed in the air.


    Zeke was very happy to have arrived when he did, any sooner and he would''ve been ambushed in his cave, any later and he would''ve found it while it wasn''t distracted by a tasty snack. He was pretty lucky to discover the lizard when he did.


    Maybe with the element of surprise he could take his recently acquired stone sword to the creature''s unguarded back, though it didn''t seem like the smartest idea. Once it turned around he''d have to fight two pairs of deadly appendages, not desirable. No Zeke had a better idea.


    Zeke would definitely kill it, the potential for attributes was very tantalizing, and mused the lizard meat probably tasted just as good as bog.


    Silently Zeke backed away, mindful of the twigs and looses rocks on the ground. He place down the backpack by the cave mouth and pulled out the stone sword as he clambered above the cave''s entrance. There was an audible scraping of feet and hands on rock, but the lizard was too enthralled in it''s meal to react.


    The plan was similar to the first goblin encounter. Hide around a corner and jump it as it went by. Simple and safe, no heroics here.


    Perched above the cave, the would-be beast assassin waited patiently, confident the lizard hadn''t noticed his presence or scent, still keeping surprise on his side. He sat there listening to the ripping and crunching of the thief''s dinner. The sounds made him strangely hungry too, even if they were vomit inducing.


    An eerie silence preceded the eating noises abrupt end.


    A light clicking noise could be heard emanating from the darkness in the cave, the talons hitting the stone floor as it moved about. Zeke briefly considered the possibility that the lizard might choose to stay in the cave, leaving Zeke to spend the night to the open elements. If that were the case then he could just wait for it to go to sleep, hopefully it was a deep sleeper.


    Thankfully, a slow clicking signified the beast approaching the exit, coaxing Zeke to tense up.


    A scaled yellow face poked out, preceded by a feathery green mane. Blood and gore was slathered around it''s razor sharp toothed mouth. It curiously scanned the forest, it had in fact, seemed to notice the rather primal strench of Zeke''s odour, just not from where. Something it didn''t need to search long for, as the man in question had just dropped themselves from above.


    Absolutely determined not to undershoot the neck and hit the back like he''d usually did, Zeke launched himself the moment the lizard poked it''s head out.


    With a sword held in front in both hands, he made a deadly descent to the exposed nape of the intruder''s feathery neck.


    The strike was true and lodged it''s self straight through the neck, pass the throat, and protruded from the exit wound. The sword''s hilt wasn''t able to withstand the impact of Zeke''s full weight and the blade snapped, leaving it stuck the lizard''s neck. Zeke tumbled by the lizard''s claws and avoided them by landing a solid kick to the ribs as he fell to the leafy ground. He grumbled internally as he scrambled to his feet. He intended to mount the beast''s back where it would be safe from the nasty curled sythes that passed as claws and talons, but shit happens.


    The Lizard gurgled out a fountain of pale blood as it thrashed into nearby by trees. It clawed weakly at the embedded blade, which only served to make it bleed faster. Zeke was staring dumbfounded as the finaldrop of life-blood left the lizard''s body and it slumped down a young tree, coating it in a layer of blood.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    As the lizard hit the floor with a soft thump, a brisk sprint brought one of Zeke''s many daggers into it''s head. The whole ''fight'' didn''t even reach the 10 second mark, the most dangerous opponent to date was somehow the easiest to dispatch.


    Level Up!


    Level Up!


    You''ve reached level 6


    + 6 Attribute Points


    Easy peasy. Zeke grinned at the easy win, freelo. Jumping from above with a sword to the neck was something he should try more often, once he gets a new sword of course. Just to show how intelligence can trump raw killing prowess.


    Zeke went giddy as he placed both hands along the lizard''s back. Acreature this scary was sure to hold a serious attribute bonus, that''s if the skill was successful. God he hoped it worked this time.


    "Avarice"


    Mana poured into Zeke. The mana had a rough texture and slow flow, Zeke noticed that the slow mana flow in the mana had a unique characteristic of escaping his ''sight''. It resembled a type of mana camouflage, something interesting and he would try to replicate later.


    As he reached the peak of the skill''s mana culmination, the lizard mana began to fizzle, dispersing into the air without transferring any power. Another failure.


    Zeke punched the cadavar in rage.


    He punched again, and once more for good luck.


    He raged at the constant chain of failures he had faced recently. Was it some unnoticed variable? Or was it just plain bad luck? perhaps it wouldn''t work with certain things? He didn''t mind the goblin failures earlier and just brushed them off, but this lizard was clearly a superior monster, one that would grant Zeke a significant boost to his stats.


    So far Zeke had retrieved attributes from the 2 bogs he killed, nothing else, not even the several goblins he''d taken out or the lizard. Maybe Avarice was picky and only liked bogs?


    Musing the ability, Zeke concluded it was probably just bad luck, after all, the ability did function on every corpse he''d killed. Just plain old bad luck, something he had by the bucket-full.


    He chased away the negative thoughts after a moment of deep breathing and began carving off the lizard''s smaller front arms. The smaller appendages probably held the tastiest meat. The scales proved to be a little less durable than the bog hide he cut through earlier. In just a few minutes he had removed the arms. With a meal sorted he carved out the two giant foot talons and finger claws, a couple of teeth too, he was sure he''d find some purpose for them. He didn''t even bother trying to skin the hide, he wasn''t sure how. Now that the looting had finished he hoisted the body on his shoulders and dumped the remains a good distance away from his cave to fertilize the plants, but mainly to keep other lizards away while he slept.


    Returning to his home Zeke nimbly skirted around the huge pool of quickly drying lizard blood that covered the area, like a giant red doormat. He didn''t have a method of clearing it, and it would definitely attract other carnivorous, but he''d just cross that bridge when he got to it. He wasn''t just going to abandon house and strike out elsewhere, he''d grown attached to the little cave. He resigned to just prepare for any potential visitors and ignored it for now.


    The tired hunter threw the collection of sharp keratin to the side and splayed out on the cave floor, using his remaining loincloths as a makeshift pillow. It smelled like dirty dog, but Zeke wasn''t much different and deemed the comfort greater than the smell.


    He casted a couple of blood regenerations, not because he was injured, but just to aliviate a general soreness and fatigue.


    He stoked the softly glowing embers and skewered the lizard arms on a stick. The small flames licked the roasting arms that hung above as Zeke entered his meditation, as he wasn''t willing to watch the meat cook, if he mediated for a bit, it would cook in a jiffy.


    He drifted inwards a tried to remember the composition of the lizard''s mana, it was slow yet elusive. He used his leg''s mana as a testing ground for the experiment, he gathered a small amount of mana and willed the flow to a stand still. While not a complete stop, the mana slowed down to a sedated speed, just enough to keep it from stagnating. Zeke wondered what would happen if the mana fully stagnated, if he had to guess, something not good.


    +1 Mana (26/40)


    Zeke frowned, whilst he slowed the flow to speeds even slower than that of the lizard''s, he still didn''t achieve the same camouflage it had. Zeke reasoned that if the lizard had a mana camouflage, there must have been a monster capable of sensing mana in this forest. If Zeke had managed to acquire the same camouflage and maybe even improve upon it, he''d be much safer.


    Skill Earned: Mana Concealment


    Maybe his attempts wern''t as fruitless as he thought?


    He had earned the skill, but to Zeke, the mana he slowed down was just as visible as the fast flowing mana, there was no changed at all!


    He conjured the infomation on the skill.


    Mana Concealment: By crippling one''s own flow of mana, one can make themselves mostly hidden to mana sensing. This skill prevents one''s mana from naturally recovering while active.


    Realisation dawned on the man. It made sense that it wouldn''t be possible to hide his own mana from himself, such an effect would be quite useless, possibly even dangerous. He was also glad that he was able to so cleanly mimic the lizard''s special mana, even though Avarice had failed to take any power, it still gave a unique insight of the target''s mana. This tidbit of knowledge reminded Zeke of how crazily powerful Avarice truly was, even when it failed it had a benefit. If he could figure out how take advantage of it.


    The timing of earning his new skill matched perfectly with the lizard legs that had just finishing cooking. A soft meaty aroma wafted past his nostrils and dragged him out of the serene meditation. The meat had taken on a light brown tinge and juices dripped readily as in bathed in the heat. Zeke had to mop his own drool as he took in the majestic view. Grabbing a nearby dagger, he held one of the skewered legs and began brushing off the charred scales, leaving just tender meat behind.


    Oh boy, real meat, not just some glorified cave grass, real, protein packed meat. Without missing a heartbeat, Zeke bit into the divine feast and he swore, that for a flash, he''d actually died and entered heaven as he bit down. Generous juices bursted into his mouth as his chewed, it was a bit leathery in texture, the flavour however was everything he''d dream it to be. The first leg was devoured lickity split, the man eyed the second, grabbed the dagger, set off and removed the charred scales again. This time, he ate while savouring the flavour, truly... delicious, he really wished he''d taken more meat from the lizard, live and learn.


    With a satisfied tummy, Zeke nodded off next to the fire''s warmth, content with a day full of death and consumption.

 Goblin Stream, 1

    "Attributes" Spoke Zeke as he poked the morning embers with a stick.


    Strength: 33


    Endurance: 32


    Agility: 23


    Intellegence: 42


    Affinity: 24


    Hmmm, with 9 points to spend, Zeke could add a huge boost to a stat, either strength or agility.


    He narrowed down his choices to either smash goblins, or slice goblins. Smashing skulls with a wooden log held a deep satisfaction, but not be outshone by a stealthy goblin assassination. Quite the conundrum indeed.


    Stealthy kills were without a doubt the safer option. Aside from the slicey lizards ''slizards'', the forest had only offered relatively weak creatures. Zeke wasn''t so smug to believe a stronger monster wasn''t lurking around, waiting for a tasty Zeke-shaped treat to tread by. Opting for agility would give more speed for running and footwork for sneaking. To a certain extent agility can also hone one''s accuracy, if Zeke ever chose to take up the bow and arrow, or throw daggers.


    Strength is self-explanatory, it would be an all-round useful thing to gain. Durability to enemy attacks, power to overwhelm foes, as well as just general survivability. Strength was far more practical to wilderness survival than agility. Zeke could even just split his points evenly across the two attributes and have the best of both worlds.


    Without any preference for any specific fighting style, Zeke ended up leaving the choice to fate. A simple gamble, of tossing a flat rock in the air, heads or tails.


    Zeke picked up one of the many rocks that littered his little man-cave, a flat rock with a splash of dried blood coating one side, goblin or lizard blood, he shuddered a bit when he realised it was also just as likey to be his blood.


    Blood is agility, stone is strength.


    With a light toss he threw the rock towards the roof and watched the result with a passive disinterest.


    It landed with a soft screeching noise, did a little flip, rolled on it''s edge and fell still with the blood facing down.


    Looks like strength.


    Zeke immediately added all 9 free points in strength before he second guessed any doubts he had with his selection method. His overpowered Avarice skill also hinged on luck so a heads or tails game would suite him thematically, if anything else.


    +9 strength (42)


    Zeke winced in pain as his muscles grew to adapt to the dramatic change in attributes, his whole body cramped for a split second before adjusting back to normal. He grimaced at the unnatural changes, next time he would add the points bit by bit, not all at once.


    Now with the attributes taken care of, time to extract more revenge on the local goblin population.


    Zeke rose up, grabbing a few stone knifes, shoving them into his loincloth that he made a little more modest by tying five together, hoisted his club on his shoulder and grabbed a fistful of moss from the wall. He chomped down on the cave-grass and also picked up a handful of red berries, some of the few he collected the day earlier. He''d try each berry type, one at a time to determine which were safe to eat, if he got sick later, then he wouldn''t eat these particular red berries again. As he strutted out of the cave he scooped up his makeshift backpack for any potential goodies he might find before heading to the stream.


    As he entered the forest and began to follow the marked trees, he activated his Mana concealment. It steadily drained about 1 mana every 10 minutes, with 40 mana he could last for over 5 hours, although he had to keep in mind that the skill removed his natural mana regeneration, so he''d have to make sure to leave a bit of mana for emergencies. With the Concealment active there ''should'' be a lesser chance of ambush from mana-detecting things, if a slizard like last night''s got a jump on Zeke... it would be a shit-show at the very least.


    Zeke softly hummed a tuneless song and popped the last berry in his mouth as he absorbed the forest''s natural beauty. Century old trees creaked and groaned under persistent winds, insect buzzed, birds sang, bogs stumbled, bushes bushed and every so often Zeke stopped to observe some other forest curiosities. These included a few mushroom colonies the lined the older trees, glowing with a bioluminescent green, a sleeping bat family hanging from a dead tree, and even a wild lynx.


    The lynx was especially exotic, it prided itself with fiery orange fur and sharp crimson feline eyes. it glided through treetops with a wing-like membrane between it''s front and hind legs, it''s sturdy claws allowed it to effortlessly climb higher before gliding off again. Zeke only noticed it due to the colour of the unique fur, if not for that than he wouldn''t even be able to keep up with it''s movements.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    The leisurely stroll ended up leading Zeke to the stream with little incidents, as the stream entered eyesight Zeke dropped the casual atmosphere, there were goblins to be slain.


    And goblins there were... lots of them.


    Massive groups of anywhere from 7 to 20, they were hunting down any isolated bogs that wandered stray from their packs. There was one group of gobs that just patrolled up and down the stream keeping an eye out for threats. Zeke mused that his slaughter yesterday had put the Goblin hunters on high alert, but to think there''d be so many!


    "Just lambs to the slaughter I suppose" Zeke whispered to himself with a carefree ear-to-ear grin.


    He slithered silently through the dense foliage, scouting out an unprepared party to engage. There were roughly 80 Gobs in total along the water, but Zeke was confident that with careful planning he could wipe out a majority without too much hassle. If there were any issues, he could easily outrun any goblin, his cave was too far away to be in any danger either. The goblins walking around might as well just been living bags of experience and stone weapons to Zeke''s eyes.


    A few minutes of spying put Zeke before a hunting party of 10, they weren''t actively engaged in a fight but were walking away from the main group to find their own bog. Zeke stalked them carefully from behind, they''d be the first kills of the day.


    Zeke watched as the unit of hunters happened upon a lonely bog that strolled from a thorny bush. All three archers knocked their arrows and took aim, five dagger wielders clumsily tried to sneak behind it and two spear ''men'' gained its attention from the front. The bog... didn''t even notice the ten goblins.


    The spear-goblins snarled menacingly and growled towards the bog, gaining it''s attention. Four of the five rogue-goblins jumped from behind and stabbed the bog''s muscular back, they backed away after striking, but one of them still got a double hoof to the chest, sending him flying. The archers shot their arrows just after the rogue''s attack, two missed and one flew in-between the beast''s ribs, hanging loosely. The spear holders then charged in and met the bog''s own charge, both the spears and snapped on impact but left deep holes either side of the bog''s frame, the spear goblins then pulled out their own daggers and joined the melee.


    Zeke was honestly impressed by the fluid engagement on behalf of the goblins, they had obviously done this before. But, it seemed the once their first attacked came to and end, the goblins returned to the savage and free-for-all attack style they were known for.


    Surrounded in all directions by goblins, the cornered beast unleashed an uproar of squeals and barks as it channeled a beastial fury. It tore at the grass beneath it''s feet and charged it''s hulking tusks and body at the closest moving enemies. It manage to incapacitate 3 of the green bastards in it''s assult and even kill one with a deep gash to the belly . Zeke was quite impressed with the bog''s tenacity, it was remarkable, but alas, the mighty bog fell after a minute of rampaging.


    The 6 still mostly healthy goblins let out a snickering cry at their small victory. They ignored the crumpled allies on the ground and rushed at the dead bog, skinning the bog seemed to be a higher priority than the fallen warriors to these despicable monsters.


    Zeke moved the moment the bog hit the ground, he knew that their guard would be lax once they felt the fight was over, little did they know, the real fight had just started.


    He dropped all pretenses of stealth and charge at the back-turned archers with club in hand. They didn''t even notice the solid wooden branch untill he had cracked the skull of two archers with one swing. The nine bonus strength revealing it''s dividends. The third let out a confused yelp and jumped in the air in shock . Zeke grasped the goblin''s throat, suspending it off the ground with one hand and slammed down the butt of his club into its horrified forehead, silencing the weak gurgles. The 5 goblins scavenging the kill didn''t even notice the brazen attack on their back line, but one of the injured ones off the side did. It cried out weakly, it''s chest had been crushed by the bog''s previous rampaging so Zeke summarily ignored it, he would kill the incapacitated last.


    Zeke sprinted at the five hunched down figures, crossing the ground in a few seconds and drawing back a powerful swing. He clocked one of the ugliest uglies in the ribs, knocking it''s body into the gob next to it, then Zeke used the swing''s momentum to wind up another hit which splattered the closest goblin''s head on the ground.


    If they weren''t paying attention before... they were now. Three shocked Goblins stared slack-jawed at the two mangled corpses and the panting man beside them. The momentary pause rewarded them with another dead goblin joining the two one the ground with a stone knife to the skull. This was the last straw it seemed, as the two remaining jumped up and gunned it towards the main hunting party they departed from.


    Zeke reveled in his newly acquired power, 42 strength saw that the filthy green monsters either died in single hit or were left dying on the ground, the feeling was... invincibility.


    The goblin slayer gave chase to the fleeing scum, they both ran in the same direction so finishing them off was a simple matter. One got a club to shoulder, the other got a few daggers thrown at their back, knocking him down and leaving it open to a specific blood-soaked wooden club.


    With a happy sigh Zeke walked at the crippled goblins who had bared witness to the one-sided battle. He gave his shoulders a few shrugs as he pulled out his last dagger, which he used to clean up the stragglers.


    9 fresh, green cadavers to absorb and 10 green bastards to loot. It was a shame how easy it was, Zeke had avoided any injuries once again and was somewhat longing for a bit of a challenge.


    He collected several more daggers, ten more fibre belts as well as cloths and one crude metal dagger that an archer had sheathed. The dagger was a bit of an oddity as Zeke was sure that goblins didn''t have the technology to produce metal items, he guessed that it was stolen from a human who fell victim to the goblins. Which was a good sign because Zeke had no clue if there was any civilization near this forest, the dagger was a strong indication there might be.


    With looting done, he moved on to Avarice with a gleeful grin.


    +2 Agility (25)


    +1 Endurance (33)


    +1 Affinity (25)


    Three successes, each with different gains. The increase was minor, but every little bit would add up. If he wanted larger increases he would need to slay much more powerful monsters.


    Zeke meandered to the nearby stream to wash his bloodied hands and club, killing was messy work after all. With a quick glance at the sun''s position Zeke guessed about two had passed since he left home, plenty more daylight to spend abusing Avarice, which is exactly what he set out doing.


    He wandered off the way he came, eager to wipe out the green-skinned population.


    In his defence, a goblin once attacked him, totally unprovoked and while he was injured to boot. Nothing less of racial genocide would satisfy his revenge itch.

 Goblin Stream, 2

    Zeke eyed up the 70 or so goblins that were hunting along the rapid stream. The small groups averaged numbers of 8 to 18, they were hunting bogs and chasing rabbits. One larger was patrolling up and down the hunting parties, securing the perimeter from impending threats. The 10 goblins that Zeke annihilated moments ago went unchecked by the remaining forces, which was good for Zeke, he still held the element of surprise.


    The only issue was that these hunters were more tight-knit then the now dead unit, they never once moved beyond the sight of another group. No matter how much surprise Zeke had, he wasn''t going to catch every single goblin off guard.


    The now bona-fide goblin slayer impatiently stalked his prey among the dense treeline, seeking any windows of engagement. A whole hour passed without even a moment of opportunity presenting itself, this deflated Zeke previously held vigor. His legs were sore from ducking and crouching, his arms craved battle.


    But the observation was not for naught, as among the many goblins that comprised the patrol unit, a particular goblin stood above. This goblin literally stood a head above the others and donned it''s own custom bog leather armour, also wielding an intricate dark brown wooden staff. The wooden staff was easily twice the length of the owner and the top of it branched into three wooden prongs that then rejoined at the tip. Inside the 3 prong cage floated a thin red gem, it flickered with violent amber light, clearly visible even while in the direct sunlight. It looked like fun and Zeke wanted it.


    Zeke was no idiot, that goblin was superior to the rest of the gutless bunch and mostly likely a mage, a fire mage at that. A dangerous threat to be sure. The presence of a mage gave insight to how vast the goblin population must be in this forest. After all, if they had the power to spare mages for a hunting party, the main base must be quite formidable. This was ok for Zeke, just more outlets for his completely-justified-anger.


    Zeke was no idiot, but he was getting bored. He could only tolerate sulking around for so long before it was time for some action. Against his better judgement he trekked his way to the closest goblin group, a group of 12, 4 archers, 3 spear''ers, 5 dagger''ers. They weren''t in battle, just following a pack of three bogs, waiting for one isolate itself.


    With a stiff gait Zeke made his way to the back line with club in hand. He guess he''d be able to remove the 12 here, before the main body could reach his position, once they did Zeke would just leg it back home with his higher agility and endurance.


    As he reached close of the group''s back line, the archers jolted around at the sound of his running.


    Three swift clubbings and three archers down. The fourth one narrowly survived with just glancing blow to the arm as it scrambled at it''s allies, screaming at the top of it''s lungs.


    The whole group was now aware of the man who had attacked them and after a series of snarls, rapidly organised themselves into a flimsy formation that half circled the goblin slayer. The green-skinned gremlins mostly just growled and spat at Zeke''s imposing figure, he looked like a deranged cave-man with murder in his eyes, which was actually not too far from the truth.


    None of them actually ran in, mostly because they were too scared to be the first one facing that club wieldling nightmare. Zeke however held no reservations and pounced on one of the daggered gobs that got too close, reducing their numbers to just 8.


    With the first move made (or really the second move, techniquely speaking) the bloody brawl began.


    Four daggers traced their way to Zeke''s back and one spear flew in from the front. With a graceful twist Zeke avoided the spear''s path and battered the offending attacker''s face, not before suffering two slices to the back. Grunting in pain Zeke rolled forward to gain some distance from the rogue-like goblins, a quick swing of the club snapped a rogue''s leg mid-roll as he bounced back up.


    Zeke tripped over his feet when a crude arrow whizzed by his ear. It was the archer he had landed a glancing hit on. Turns out that damaging a goblin''s arm can actually improve their accuracy.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Just several more to go though. Strutting briskly Zeke trounced upon the remaining forces, hoping to end the fight before any reinforcements notice the scuffle and joined in. There was no time to think, just act.


    Swinging wildly Zeke bashed at arms, legs, torsos, and when lucky the odd head or two. He gritted his teeth as rogue daggers sliced up his legs and lower chest, one a lucky spear thrust impaled his left forearm. It wasn''t too bad though, they had to get with his own attack range in order to hit him.


    In the midst of the fight a mental notifcation pulled him from a murderous trance.


    Level Up!


    You''ve reached level 7


    +3 Attribute Points


    The once 12 manned party became 2.


    The archer cowered behind the last remaining spear-gob who quaked under Zeke''s intimidating advance. The archer had used all their ammunition, without even once hitting it''s mark, expect for a few arrows that protruded from its own allies. Unbeknownst to the doomed goblins, their reinforcements were already running to help from afar, they lined the crest of the hill like a howling... stumbling tidal wave. Zeke saw this and hurried to the end the gobs.


    Zeke raised the club above his head and launched the sturdy stick at the spear wielder. Unable to dodge in time, the gob just raised it''s spear in a futile effort to block the incoming projectile, the spear snapped in two, doing little to protect the gob''s face behind it.


    Now without a goblin-shaped sheild blocking the way, the last crippled archer ran like a bat out of hell. Zeke just watched it go, 11 kills out of 12 was pretty good, plus, no bogs had taken his kills either. Zeke went to work Avarice''ing the strewn about corpses, he forewent looting as there was an angry mob of green-skinned bastards that were getting rather close.


    +1 Intelligence (43)


    +2 Endurance (35)


    +1 Agility (26)


    + Spearman Class obtained


    Spearman is Level 1


    "Ohhh, that''s new." Zeke exclaimed as he sprinted through a huge purple fern.


    Apparently Avarice could do more than just take attributes, it could even take classes too! Avarice was even more unfair then he originally thought.


    Special explanation: (Classes are kind of like jobs, they level up independently from one''s main level. Gaining experience by performing actions related to the Class. In the case of Spearman, using spears. If Zeke continued to fight using his club he''d soon earn the class of Bludgeoner, or Rogue in the case of his daggers.)


    Zeke pondered weather or not creating a spear from his materials from home would be worthwhile as he navigated the unforgiving forest from a small army of goblins. He wasn''t concerned that they''d actually catch up, he was just wanted to gain extra distance so that his cave''s location remained hidden.


    Because he had gotten the class without doing anything, he could immediately gain the bonuses associated with class leveling. The only problem was that no spear he created would be able to match the ferocity of his wooden club or a well placed stone dagger.


    He ultimately decided to resign himself to just his club and daggers, maybe occasionally thrusting his club as a faux-spear and seeing if that counted as Spearman experience.


    Zeke zig-zagged his way through the forest for the better part of an hour, and as he got closer to the cave he took extra measures to cover his footprints and preserve the nature around him, lest he tip off his hiding place. He wasn''t sure if the army was still following him, but one can never be too careful.


    The goblin slayer made it home with a fair amount of daylight remaining, confident his tracks had been properly obscured. He set down the backpack of goblin loot and started to prepare. Prepare for what? Obviously, preparing weapons of mass-goblin destruction. They were more numerous than originally thought as well as tough, Zeke suffered a few more cuts and bruises then he hoped from the small 12-gob detachment. An army of 80 was a little out of reach for the time being and Zeke wanted to create some tools to even the playing field.


    Before, as he was running through the forest, he was struck with a flash of inspiration, something that he could easily build and would allow him to utilise his new Spearman class.


    The primary weapon he would make were spears. Not the stabby kind, well... they were for stabbing, but for stabbing from afar with a trained arm. Javelins counted as spears right?


    He opted against a bow, as a bow was quite large and cumbersome, it also didn''t offer much utility when in melee range or without arrows. Javelins on the other hand could eliminate any nasties at distance while offering at least a little defence in close proximity, and with any luck, throwing them may count as experience for the Spearman class.


    Now that he thought about it... in a way the javelin was the arrow and his body was the bow, maybe he''d earn the Archer class too? Probably not.


    Zeke also roughly sewed together an assortment of his loincloths with the fibre belts to make an extra-large javelin-quiver that could be fastened over his back and hold 3 throwing ''spears''.


    Now Zeke really looked like an archer, but with super-sized arrows and no bow.


    With dusk fast approaching, Zeke wandered the forest for a bog dinner, one was easily found and easily dispatched with his original face-to-tree method he invented days ago. Zeke left his javelins at home, they probably wouldn''t even pierce the prey''s hide, they would really shine against softer creatures, like goblins, or maybe the countless birds that dominated the trees, if he got good.


    Zeke severed off the bog''s leg with a practiced haste and rushed to his abode, positively starving. He left the rest of the carcass as a present to forest gods.


    Zeke scoffed down the meat, a little disappointed that it wasn''t as tasty as the lizard, it was very tough and had a foul odour, but tasted good enough. With another massacre under his belt, or loincloth in this case, Zeke slept while dreaming of mowing down hordes of goblins with fireballs from a familiar dark brown staff. A dream he wanted realise, sometime soon would be nice too.

 Breadcrumbs

    The crisp new morning shepherded in a gloomy overcast with sporadic showers.


    Zeke sheltered in his cave, trying to fashion a target-board for his javelins from the cloth, sticks and dead leaves laid about.


    It turned out a little wobbly and not very durable, but he would just make a better one once this one broke. Zeke smeared a bright red circle in the centre with some crushed berry paste. He also spent an hour on simple magic practice just before he went out for another bout of gob-grinding. Unfortunately, no new secrets or skills wereunlocked from the practice.


    +1 Mana (25/42)


    Of course he''d leave enough mana to maintain his Mana Concealment.


    Zeke donned his spear quiver, tucked in a few daggers and hefted his club over his shoulder, fully locked and loaded.


    He ducked out of his shelter into a just-arriving drizzle. He traced the carved tree triangles while trying to avoid all the creepy crawlies that popped out of their hidy-holes to soak up the rain.


    The rain had cleaned the air and carried a sweet, damp freshness that filled his lungs and freed his thinking.


    Such a shame that the soon to occur gob-culling would ruin the atmosphere, it was messy work, but some one had to do it Zeke thought with an exasperated sigh.


    Zeke''s plans had reached a minor hiccup as he came to the halfway mark of the path. Well, maybe it was more like a major hiccup, but since Zeke had discovered ''it'' before ''it'' discovered him, the threat was minor hiccup level. The hiccup in question was a small squad of 8 goblin fighters that shuffled through the dreary forest with gruff snarls and killing intent.


    Like a practiced owl, Zeke ghosted parallel to the cluster of goblins and analyzed the walking bags of exp. These gobs were well equiped, not a single dagger could be seen, they had all been replaced with stone swords and a couple of brown metal swords that matched his metal dagger. The typical goblin loincloth had also been upgraded into an almost full bog leather armour, one gob in particular had a vest made of slizard scales and scouted ahead of the group, probably the leader.


    The Scaley-gob bounded around, ceaselessly darting his head at the wet foliage, searching for any markings or tells. Ahhh! another one! A pair of stacked triangles marked a nearby tree''s bark. This particular squad had been scanning the forest since the crack of dawn, hunting down the man who had been ambushing their hunting parties. The ''elite sword unit'' will make him pay! With a new direction to follow, the scaley goblin surged onwards with renewed confidence.


    From within the bowels of a giant yellow fern, Zeke stroked the scruffy stubble that covered his chin in contemplation. It was clear that his home would be discovered in the matter of days, hours even. The markings he left were a double-edged sword. He wasn''t the only one who could use them.


    Zeke cursed his own clumsiness, he lamented all the wasted time he had spent covering his footprints.The markings had slipped his mind.


    The Goblin leader just found another marking too! and rushed ahead of the rest. Zeke couldn''t allow them to continue.


    Zeke raised his hand to his back and clutched his fingers a javelin, slowly drawing the weapon without a peep. He hadn''t actually practiced yet but there was no time like the present. Raising the opposite hand he took aim at one of the sword-gobs that lined the middle of the formation.


    WIth a sudden thought he applied his 3 free attribute points he had ignored untill now. Every little edge helped after all.


    +2 Agility (28)


    +1 Strength (43)


    Twisting violently the Zeke poured every ounce of his 43 strength and 28 agility into the throw. It flew in a deadly arc to the back-turned targets.


    Zeke wasn''t surprised when the spear wildly flew over his target, missing entirely and putting the all the goblins on high alert. Fortunately for Zeke however, the gob behind of his target was subjected to the poorly aimed spear, it embedded itself in it''s shoulder, effectively removing one warrior from the brewing battlefield.


    The small unit of 6 huddled up into a tight circle facing outward, the scale-clad leader ducked to the forest floor and escaped from Zeke''s sight.


    A tense few seconds passed without a single human or goblin muscle twitching. The drizzling seemed to pick up to a proper rain and the wind built up to drawn out howl, setting the scene for a gruesome battle.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    As slowly and as soundless as possible, Zeke drew the second spear from his back.


    The huddled fighters were standing at about 20 meters from his position, he would be able to throw both spears before they reached him. Also, the target he was aiming for was bigger, so he felt confident that at least one more goblin would be leaving the fight before it even started.


    Abandoning his yellow fern, Zeke leaped out and let loose his javelin, pulling the third one out and throwing before he even saw the result of the one still mid-air. The first one hit, right in the groin of the unlucky recipient, the second was narrowly deflected by a deftly swung stone sword. Now, with Zeke in view, the bloodbath began.


    "KIHL MANSZ" screamed the five goblins in unison as they trodded the emerald forest.


    Goblin met club and club met goblin.


    The 5 elite sword gobs went unhinged, disgusting smirks curled up their wretched faces as they hacked and slashed with swords and claws at the goblin slayer. Zeke too gave in to a primal rage as he swatted them away with his trusty club.


    + Bludgeoner Class Earned


    Bludgeoner is level 1


    Bout time!


    The bog skin armour the goblins wore lived up to the bog''s natural defence. Zeke was unfamiliar with smacking a goblin more than once, these tough buggers seemed to get more ferocious with each hit, right up untill the died.


    Zeke had only managed to smashed down three of goblins in the brief scramble and had taken roughly half of his health in the form of cuts and stabs.


    Thankfully, there were only two left in fighting condition. Both parties stared each other down in a vicious stalemate. Even though it was two on one, Zeke would be able to pull through.


    "Blood Regeneration" Zeke repeated a few times in the short lull. The effects of blood regeneration weren''t instantaneous, but as the fight goes on, an increase in healing could mean the difference between life and death he thought.


    The scale vested goblin, who had been absent since the very first javelin throw, chose this moment to make his apearance.


    "KHIL MANSZZzz" echoed from every direction.


    It burstfrom the treetops above with a bloodcurdling warcry, it''s sword replaced by a pair of twin metal daggers that gleamed threatenly.


    Zeke was too slow to dodge and the airborne-gob slashed down his exposed back with all it''s momentum and performed a quick, clean roll as it hit the ground.


    Zeke shrieked in pain as he was dropped to the blood-stained floor.


    The 3 man-group of goblins pounced upon the downed man with a maniacal laughter.


    "KEKEEEKAKAAA"


    Zeke flopped to his back and held his club at the centre with one hand as an impromptu shield whilst his free hand formed a fist that soon met a warty green nose. His club had managed to block one of the incoming sword strikes, another strike left a huge gash in Zeke''s blocking forearm, bleeding it into the crimson grass. Zeke''s health had plummeted to around 20% in the space of a few seconds.


    He was in a bad state but the fight wasn''t over.


    Zeke hoped that his blood regeneration would pull him through the blood loss and cuts that had accumulated.


    He gave the club a wide swing and flung it at the closest foe, using the small window to roll to his feet and equip two stone daggers. Blood dripped freely from Zeke''s arm and back, the plants below seemed to move towards him, greedily absorbing the precious liquid.


    A storm of daggers and swords ensued. Pale goblin blood and darker human blood in equal part was whipped across the forest canvas, the verdant landscape took the form of a bloody hell, heavy rain unable to wash away the horrors occuring.


    Two more goblins joined the corpses, their faces coated with cuts from a dagger. It was now a one-on-one. Only the scaled goblin remained, it''s own body covered in fresh deep wounds, identical to Zeke.


    The goblin leader was hunched over and gasping, desperately trying to fill it''s empty lungs. With a final huge gasp it floundered towards the drunkenly-swaying man. The ''elite sword unit'' had overestimated themselves, the opponent was far stronger than they thought, but at this point, it was already too late to flee.


    So it made a last stand with it''s dying breathe.


    Zeke watched the drenched goblin weakly stumbling as it moved towards him, Zeke just stood there without moving. A darkness chipped away at the outskirts of his vision, the rain had gone silent and his arms were too heavy to lift. But he would not fall, to fall is to die, goblins didn''t have the right to kill him, he would not fall, he would not die, not today, and certainly not here.


    The goblin was just a few steps away from him. It croaked out something that went unheard and gave a weak thrust with it''s dagger. Zeke did not move, he couldn''t.


    Time slowed as death approached. Zeke could only watch the dagger with his vacant eyes.......... the goblin''s feeble thrust connected, it harmlessly scraped along Zeke''s stomach and the goblin collapsed and crumbled to the goblin slayer''s feet, dead


    "Blood Regeneration" exhaled Zeke as he too fell to his knees.


    He was done.


    He faceplanted on top of the goblin''s dead body and closed his eyes. The rain above poured harder, once again reaching torrential. The wind screamed like an ancientbanshee, but to Zeke there was nothing but silence.


    An unknowable amount of time passed and Zeke awoke.


    The rains had passed and even the air had stilled, the forest however, was devoid of it''s usual life.


    Zeke had never seen the night sky before, it was as incomprehensibly brilliant as it was cruel. Had the stars stolen this world''s beauty? It seemed like it.


    His many blood regenerations had run their course and Zeke was once again able to move.


    He gingerly pushed himself off the adversary below him, he pried off the goblin''s slizard vest with a dead-eyed indifference then used his Avarice.


    Nothing.


    Too tired to complain, he groaned to his feet and went about taking the rest of the spoils. He didn''t want to stick around too long, he didn''t even want to be in this blood thirsty forest anymore.


    A few of the goblins were weakly holding on to their lives, barely breathing with their faces pressed into the dirt. They took their last breath as Zeke crushed their heads underfoot.


    Level Up!


    You''ve reached level 8


    +3 attribute points


    He stuffed his backpack with the blood-stained bog leather and scavenged the few metal swords and daggers that littered the recently established open-cemetary. His Avarice only attained gains from two of the many dead bodies.


    +2 Intelligence (45)


    +2 Strength (45)


    Finished with necessities, he trudged past the forest trees in a solemn reflection. He too had overestimated himself, these goblin fighters were in a different league. He was also willing to bet that there were stronger goblin variants, lurking from whatever deep, dark, decrepid ditch they dredged their disgraceful dickfaced existence from.


    The weight to his backpack gave him a meager reassurance, for every goblin he killed, the next one got just that much easier to crush.


    He would put this experience to good use.


    None will survive.


    A promise, no longer an idle threat.

 Fortify

    Zeke sat crossed legged next to his dying campfire, hard at work. Using a stone dagger to chip away at some sizable logs he''d procured from the forest floor just as dawn broke.


    He gave the sharpened log a few more scrapes and pushed the point into the embers. The heat would remove the moisture and burn splinters, allowing it to hold it''s edge for a longer time, after a few seconds of burning he tossed it into the small pile he had amassed.


    Zeke was making fortifications, the reality of the last fight had sunken in, he was not invincible just because the enemy was stupid. His little cave wouldn''t be a secret forever and Zeke would need to be ready to repel the gobs once they undoubtedly attacked. Of course, Zeke had considered leaving the cave, finding another place to settle himself or even try to find a civilization. If push came to shove, he would, but for now, Zeke would do his best to defend his current home.


    With a stockpile of cheval-de-frise prepared, Zeke moved onto the abundance of leather he had ''gathered'' last night.


    Leather armour? or use it for something else? that was the question.


    It would be nice not to get stabbed so often.


    He also couldn''t think of any thing else to use the leather for, so his choice was rather obvious.


    Zeke fetched one of the several leather vests and cut out a wonky rectangle the size of his arm with his metal dagger, then placed the rectangle template on another vest and cut out a replica. Start simple and work up from there was Zeke''s mindset. He poked in some holes along both sides of the leather''s length and threaded a fibre belt in a criss-cross fashion, creating a leather tube. A minute of tugging, readjusting and stabbing his own fingers he had created a simple leather vambrace.


    Zeke slipped the vambrace over his left hand, placed his arm on the floor, then dexterously navigated his opposite foot to hold the armour down and used his free hand to tie of the fibre in a simple knot. It was an awkward process, but it worked, he had created his first piece of amour.


    The construction was easy enough and Zeke created a new one for his other arm. It turned out a little better.


    Next on the list were boots. Zeke often found that the infinite number of little stones outside and even some in his cave would leave cuts on his feet, in that sense his feet had suffered the most punishment of all his body. A pair of leaher boots would do well in protecting him, they should be a step-up from vambraces in terms of difficulty.


    Zeke place a foot on one of the few untouched leather vests and cut around it for the boot''s sole. Next, a short rectangle with one end that was shaped in a semicircle. After poking some appropriate holes he carefully sewed the thick pieces of leather with a couple of fibre belts, and by his third attempt he had made a leather shoe.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Well, it was more like a slipper at this point so he added a thin leather strap that wrapped around the ankle and could be twisted into a knot, keeping the shoe firm in place. It wasn''t a fully fledged boot like he hoped to make. Boots were unexpectedly tedious and complex, but it still, the newly made footwear functioned to keep his feet free from the annoying stones and prickled bushes he walked through, which was good enough.


    As an afterthought he made a pair of slightly larger vambraces.


    He popped his foot in the leather vambrace and tied it around his calfs, his shoe looked more boot-like now. If he couldn''t make a boot as one item, a two-part boot would be just as acceptable. It wasn''t like Zeke was trying to make a fashion statement with his crudely put together armour, he just wanted something better than his mostly naked glory. Anything was better than nothing.


    Zeke turned his attention to the scaled vest the goblin rogue leader had owned. It wasn''t as tough as bog leather but the overlapping nature of the scales made it better for deflecting blades and arrows. Zeke examined the armour carefully, he wanted to use as much material as possible with as little cutting as possible.


    He back and forthed a few ideas involving scaled pants, a scaled helmet, scaled reinforcement to his leather vambraces or even just stretching the vest over his broader back without changing anything at all.


    The fourth option was the most appealing as Zeke had been stabbed in the back before, in the literal sense, and it wasn''t pleasant.


    Zeke picked up the armour and started pulling his thick-set arms through the armholes. It was tight, but it did fit. The vest pulled on his shoulders unforgivably and failed to cover his lower back, but it could be worn without much alteration. It looked ridiculous, but the less he changed the armour from it''s base design, the more strength it could retain.


    Zeke struggled to pull it off, he actually had to cut the armholes a little to get his arms free, so much for not cutting it.


    Once he was freed from the armour''s grip he began to cut the armholes vertically, from top to bottom. A disregard for fashion can only stoop so low and wearing kid-sized armour was Zeke''s deal breaker, something had to change.


    The cut-off pieces of the scale armour was carefully sewn back together with utmost care, adding more length to the back. There were no second tries with this precious material. He would use the scales to cover his whole back and use the regular bog hide for the front, a happy compromise.


    Zeke battered and bruised himself as he put his ideas into practice, the work was slow and meticulous. So many time did Zeke want to abandon the work and search around for a human-sized goblin''s clothing to plunder, but he stuck with it.


    Four long hours trickled by as Zeke gave the armour some finishing touches, a few dagger sheaths were sewn into the chest and a couple of leather pouches were attached to the back for whatever future purpose. He also upgraded his loincloth to leather and added a proper sword sheath.


    Zeke held the masterpiece vest to the ceiling, a maniacal smirk twitched on is lips. He couldn''t wait to show the local goblin population his new armour. He was sure they''d love it, after all, it was originally their armour to begin with.


    Done with the armour making Zeke shuffled his stiff limbs to the pile of sharpened logs, there were about twenty of them in total and of varying sizes. One by one, Zeke carried the logs out side and placed them in a shallowed ditch he dug with one of the many stone swords from his arsenal. He had them packed together side-by-side around the cave in a semi-circle that had a narrow entrance in the middle, a choke point of sorts.


    After the wooden spikes were lined up in the ground Zeke shoveled the dirt back into the ditch and stomped back to it''s compact state. Zeke stood back and admired his handiwork from afar. The spikes poked out from the ground at random heights, from waist-high to shoulder-height, from a goblin''s point of view it would seem gigantic. He also made sure to place the shorter logs between the larger ones, to discourage any eager uglies from jumping over a weak point.


    It wasn''t perfect, it could be knocked down with a little effort and it stood out like a sore thumb. It was also close to the tree line, so any climber would be able to leap over the wall from above, if their legs could survive the drop that is.


    Zeke began to rip out berry bushes from a little further in the forest. The night was setting and Zeke had one more glaring improvement to make. With an excess of bushes in tow, he began to place them in front of the wall as a dodgy camouflage. While obvious to him, he hoped that the goblin''s lower intelligence and perspective would help keep his cave at least a little obscure.


    The day was done and Zeke collapsed to his rough pillow, his arms like jelly from constant movement. He dreamed of legions of goblins marching into a comically large pits and being impaled upon wooden spikes. Zeke''s dreams had been so pleasent recently.

 Even Fields

    Zeke reached to the rocky sky and gave way to a mighty yawn. He rubbed his redden eyes for the umpteenth and tiredly lumbered out of his cave. The forest looked back at the sleepy man, it swayed gently as it displayed the full spectrum of the colour green, it was calm and undisturbed.


    This was getting on the man''s nerves.


    Several times, ...that''s how many times Zeke had been jolted awake last night. Since a day ago, Zeke had been preparing for an invasion that never arrived. He had been fully expecting a horde of goblins to been knocking on his door at the light of dawn or some un-godly hour of the night.


    Needless to say, any abnormally loud noises the forest produced had pulled Zeke from sleep and super-charged his body with adrenaline. Whether it was a tree falling over, an animal howling or an insect crawling on his legs, Zeke had been shocked awake for all of it.


    Despite sleeping for longer than usual to get a proper 8 hours, he still felt tired, but without being sleepy, his eyes also refused to open fully. Long story short... he felt like shit.


    With glazed eyes, Zeke double checked the defences he erected, the armour he created and the new weapons he looted, he even made a few extra javelins for extra measure. He was as physically prepared as possible for an attack.


    "Status" He spoke to the treetops.


    Zeke Level 8, Survivor +3


    Health: 224/224


    Mana: 42/42


    Skills: Avarice, Blood Regeneration, Mana Concealment


    Classes: Spearman 1, Bludgeoner 1


    "Attributes" he added.


    Strength: 45


    Endurance: 35


    Agility: 28


    Intelligence: 45


    Affinity: 25


    Zeke idly thought about the 3 points yet to be distributed.


    He clambered up of the entrance of his cave where he had once ambushed the slizard from and sat in his well-known meditation pose. It had been a while since he''d furthered his talents in magic. With a quick thought he added all the free points into affinity.


    +3 Affinity (28)


    Now he had a little more mana to work with (42/48).


    Zeke descended his mind into the flow of mana, it was warm and welcoming, the perfect place to retreat to and think. As long as he didn''t try to manipulate his magic he could stay inside his flow for days on end without running out of mana. So with that thought, he started to think.


    What''s the best way to kill a goblin? Smash it, obviously, Zeke knew that.


    What''s the best way to kill a group of goblins? Stalk it and attack the weak points obviously, Zeke knew that.


    What''s the best way to kill an army of goblins? He wasn''t sure.


    You need an army to fight an army, he mused. He needed something to bridge the gap in numbers. They were many, he was but one man. He needed to focus on the few advantages he had over the goblins.


    First and foremost was intelligence, goblins were smart, about as smart as a fresh turd, but still smart. Unlike the goblins Zeke could plan, he could evaluate the pros and cons of a situation and act accordingly. Zeke had already fortified his home and created his armour, he also knew that retreat was a viable tactic too, if he was desperate enough. To his knowledge, he had exhuasted every possible measure his 45 intelligence provided him.


    He was far stronger and quicker than the goblins, a better constitution too. In a one on one fight, Zeke would never, never ever lose. Then again, what were the chances that an army, of goblins no less, would arrive and challenge him to 1000 consecutive duels? He imagined they were low. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Zeke knew what needed to be done, he needed to defy the odds, he needed to develop his magic into something proactive. A way to kill enemies at the cost of mana, not health. He had blood regeneration and mana concealment, while both fantastic and essential skills, were not lethal by their own means.


    The mana in Zeke''s body swelled and gain speed as he pondered the best path to achieving his goals. The most glaring issue was that his mana was not deadly as it was now, he needed to make his magic dangerous before it could be turned into a weapon.


    He thought of flames, the fire that devoured the world and snuffed life from all who crossed it.


    Zeke allowed a tiny plume of mana to exit his up-turned palm, after all, he wouldn''t to start a mana-fire in his own body. He examined the plume, it was warm, which was a good start, but he needed it hot, enough to boil the blood of his opponents. Zeke tried to constrict the plume''s size and retain the same output of power, hoping for some sort of mana-friction to ignite the magic and produce fire.


    Zeke watched with a single open eye at the mana exiting his hand, it went from a pale blue to a rich deep-sea navy, the edges of the plume became more defined and it condensed it''s appearance into one akin to a candle flame. Good! it was more flame-like now. He then glided his free hand through the condensed magic to test it''s changes. The mana flame latched on to Zeke''s fingers as they ran past and a new flame sprung to life in Zeke''s palm.


    +1 Mana (30/49)


    With a surprised yelp, Zeke flailed his hand away from his face, trying to extinguish the mana, but it stuck to his hand like a fly to shit.


    It took Zeke a few frantic seconds to realise that the mana wasn''t actually burning him, just a subtle comforting warmth. With an amused look, he watched the small and sticky mana flame dwindle into nothingness, which took a good twenty seconds, much longer than the translucent mana-glove he made many days ago.


    "Well at least it looks the part" Zeke said to himself. He then wondered when this ''talking out loud'' habit started, guessing it was probably just a consequence of prolonged isolation. He gave his head a light shake in attempt to banish the unnecessary question from his mind, he had better things to do.


    So far, he had achieved a darker, stickier and longer lasting mana-flame, he just needed the heat and his goal of true flames would reach fruition.


    Nothing particularly promising came to mind, constricting the plume was his epiphany on creating heat, which failed miserably. Zeke spent many hours considering the predicament. Of course he delegated a portion of his mind to take notice of the world outside, incase that goblin army happened to show up.


    He had a lofty idea on how to get the heat he needed, it was a discovery he made a few days after his first ''awakening''. The idea was really just wishful thinking, both figuratively and literally.


    He thought back to when he had once plunged into his own spine, he had seen his mana, it was him, it was his soul. It carried all of his emotions in it''s endless flow, it was probably why Zeke felt so comfortable and ''at home'' when he practiced magic. If he wished hard enough, with any luck, maybe he could just ''will'' the spark into an inferno.


    Zeke outstretched his palm from himself and faced it towards the forest. He took and deep breath and firmly closed both eyes. Mana from all reaches of being was directed into his palm, but he didn''t release it yet, he''d let it build up a little.


    Zeke began to whisper fiercely to the winds.


    "flame flame flame, fire fire fire, burn burn burn, ignite ignite ignite and devour."


    Zeke noticed a change in his mana, it now boiled with conviction.


    With his mental steeled and newly-made lucky mantra spoken, Zeke unleashed the absurd amount of harnessed boiling mana in his hand, out into the world beyond.


    + Skill Earned: Fireball


    ''FFFFFFFFffffffffffffffffffffffffFFFFFBOFFTT" was the sound that preceded the mental notification of gaining a new skill.


    A sea of dark blue consumed Zeke''s vision and a deafening blast left his ears ringing. The heat from the ridiculous explosion charred his hand and choked the moisture from his eyes and throat.


    The vast world of rich blue flames quickly faded back to the forest that Zeke was now intimate with. A forest that was now partly on fire. Calm blue flames burrowed into the dead twigs and leaves that coated the floor, even the living bushes, grass, bushes and trees weren''t exempt from the flame''s touch. The fire''s brightness was unreal, bathing the forest''s umbra night in a calming blue luminance that penetrated even the darkest of shadows.


    "Oh shit" Zeke said with dawning realisation.


    "I just set the forest on fire didn''t I?"


    A drawn out second past and the only response was the silent flames that hungrily licked at the life around them.


    With a fear-fueled speed Zeke jumped off his perch and rushed to the burning forest. He skidded to a stop near the closest fire and furiously stomped an unlucky patch of grass.


    "Fuck"


    "Fuck"


    Not matter how much Zeke attempted to scatter the fire or snuff the heat, the blue fire didn''t extinguish. Zeke gave a dreadful glance at the rest of the forest, half expecting it to be fully ablaze.


    It was still on fire, burning with all it''s etherial blue brilliance, but Zeke relaxed at the sight.


    While it was... still burning, the flames had died down into only smouldering remains, even the dry forest floor didn''t seem to fully catch alight. It was just then, the would-be magician noticed that since he ignited the forest fire, it hadn''t once spread beyond where it originally landed.


    A magic fire that only burned what it landed on, maybe it was too sticky to spread? He felt like that wasn''t the correct answer but at least it was something.


    Zeke calmly walked to a charred tree that was still burning merrily. Zeke marveled at his own creation. There was no sizzling or crackling, but there was an intense heat that was immediately felt from even a meter away. The most impressive feature was easily the colour. It was harsh and kind, it tempted one''s gaze with beauty and then dried their eyes, forcing them to look elsewhere. Similar to his mana flow, but in fire-form, it''s splendour had increased tenfold in this physical realm compared to mana in his body. The intertwined dancing blue sparks still mesmerizing to watch as the embers faded.


    A twinge of pain shot through Zeke''s heart when the last of the brilliant blue winked out of existence, such a shame it couldn''t be allowed to burn forever.


    He immediately slapped his forehead in his own stupidity. He had forgotten that the magical fire which enthralled his heart was now at his beck and call. It was so out of this world, it didn''t seem like such a thing could even be in the hands of a mortal and not some God of Fire.


    Zeke hurriedly retreated back to his abode and conjured another fireball. He contained the fire into his hand without launching it out, once again marveling at the magical cinders and unbearable heat.


    The flame-seduced man forcibly fell asleep moments later. Not because he was tired, well he was tired, but because his Mana had reached 0. The mental and physical depletion coaxed his resistant consciousness into the darkness. Zeke''s last thought of the night was him cursing how often humans needed to sleep, every second asleep was a second not observing the wonder of his magic................................................................................................................at least his mana would be full when he wakes up.

 Sanguine, 1

    An evil cackle resounded across the vibrant trees of the woods. A small cave mouth at the base of a narrow hill flooded the surroundings with a ghostly blue and the occasional miss-fired flame.


    From these factors, one may conclude that a child had found themselves a magical artifact and gone crazy with power. Such a conclusion would be fair way to describe the ''child'' in question.


    With a gleeful grin Zeke summoned forth and flung a ball of blue flames to the cave wall. The ball hit the wall and washed over the surface like a tsunami, leaving behind a fantastic wall of flames behind.


    Zeke was quite happy with his new toy.


    He had been experimenting with the new spell since the very moment his birdsong alarm clock sounded.


    He had learned a great many things about his first offensive magic, the most important thing being that the name ''Fireball'' didn''t do the spell''s abilities justice. Almost every aspect of the flames could be manipulated if Zeke made an effort to do so. He could change the heat from a lukewarm to an intense magma, he could throw the spell or just hold in his hands, he could even adjust the duration the flames, all at the cost of mana. The only thing the couldn''t be altered was the appearance of the magic, which to Zeke, was a blessing, he didn''t want to sully it, it was already perfect.


    For a harmless, short-lived fireball the mana cost would be around 7, a proper-fire temperature flame would cost around 12 mana, and a super-heated fireball would cost around 20 mana. So if needed, he could cast 2 super-charged fireballs and a harmless one, or, exactly 4 regular fireballs. The flames also seemed happy to burn through anything, even the solid stone of the cave wouldn''t snuff the flames, this made the fireballs especially effective on armoured foes. He could cook them alive in their armour while the armour burnt to ashes, very scary stuff.


    Zeke also developed a sort of failsafe from setting himself alight. If the fire was close enough, he could absorb the fire back into his body at the expense of pain. Absorbing his magic after already casting it couldn''t be perpetually sustained, there was always a loss of mana in the process, much to Zeke''s frustration.


    Zeke shoveled in the last remaining cave moss into his mouth while he waiting for his mana to recover, he had 14 at present. In his magically induced trance, he had ''accidentally'' incinerated most of his life-sustaining vegetation that the small cave provided.


    Zeke went outside and donned his never before worn armour, strapped on his javelin quiver and picked up his trusty club. He was glad he had the foresight to evacuated the cave of all his hard-earned loot before he went on the pyromanical fireball spree.


    Zeke gave his club a wistful look-over, the poor thing had been through a lot, literally, and was looking much more worse for wear then when he first found it. The branch was fully dead and becoming brittle, the knot at the end was tinged a pale red from countless victims and sinister splinters covered it''s shaft. He would need to find another club, or just switch to a sword, which would be a shame as the bludgeoner class would be neglected. For now, Zeke would continue to use the branch untill it inevitabley broke, a sad day that will be.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    With the sorrowful thoughts put to rest Zeke entered the slightly burnt forest, he had to do something about the impending goblin scouting parties. There must be a reason why they haven''t already sniffed out his ''more than obvious home'', it was strange, afterall, not two days ago had a group found his tree markings and made it half-way to his refuge. Surely by now he would have been discovered? Maybe they lost interest because I haven''t attack their hunters in a while? or maybe i''m just not worth the body count to kill me?


    As Zeke trudged through the humid bushes he suddenly paused mid-step.


    "Status" he called aloud


    Zeke Level 8, Survivor


    Health: 224/224


    Mana: 17/49


    Skills: Avarice, Blood Regeneration, Mana Concealment, Fireball


    Classes: Spearman 1, Bludgeoner 1


    "Mana concealment" he spoke out loud and his mana flow slowed to a crawl in response.


    "Whoops, shouldn''t forget about that" Zeke said with relief, and then mentally chastised himself for voicing his thoughts again as he continued through the greenery.


    As far as he was aware, only slizards had some sort of mana-awareness and Zeke was confident he could fight two easily, but still, he''d rather sacrifice a minor about of mana than a huge amount of health. Not to mention that slizards had a concealment skill to hide from something bigger and badder then themselves.


    To be fair, he had only seen one slizard in the past week he had spent in the forest. Prehaps they were a rare-find and taking precautions against them was not worth the mana spent, it would be nice if he didn''t need to use mana concealment while exploring, especially since he now needed mana for his offensive spell.


    Halfway to the stream, the landscape changed. This was a path Zeke had walked many times, it was easy to tell something was off.


    The first abnormality was the silence. The forest was never silent. The only sound was an eerie bone-chilling wind that bounced through the trees.


    Zeke continued on to the next marked tree and felt the forest change again. The usual greens had dulled. A muted murky green now dominated the foliage, even a few dead patches could be seen. The cause of this change left Zeke stumped, it was like the forest had contracted an illness. A morbid curiosity pushed Zeke further into the diseased woods. Whatever this change was, it was probably keeping him safe from the goblins on the other side.


    Another three marked trees were passed when Zeke happened upon the cause of the diluted forest. A tree.


    This tree stood out because compared to all the dead trees around it, this one still had colour to it''s bark and leaves.


    The tree''s thick sanguine trunk twisted around itself multiple times as it reached up to the dulled sun. The tree looked long-dead and somewhat hollow through the few holes in it''s trunk. Despite this, it paraded a collection of blackened leaves amongst it''s gnarled branches, it was like each leaf was coated in a thick black soot. The higher branches swayed back and forth in an non-existant breeze, as if tree was breathing with invisble lungs.


    Compared to all this, one feature specifically had paralyzed Zeke legs and halted his breath. He stood there unmoving at the clearly unnatural tree, unable to tear his eyes away from the tree''s centre.


    On this trunk''s blood-red bark, was a carving, of two triangles, one atop the other, the same he had carved on a hundred trees before. Zeke was sure that he would have remembered marking something like this.

 Sanguine, 2

    The tree of blood? No, I am the tree of death.


    Crimson roots twist and dig into the saturated ground, seeking more blood, the fuel to our fury. I can taste it, more blood pours upon our family, we can feel the anger of a dying wish. Their death brings us life, we will take their wishes, we will take their blood, we will pay back that blood by killing all that tread. My family drinks and I feel our sorrow.


    "Why must we carry this burden?" I hear them cry.


    They can''t stop, they must drink, it is their life, but I will save them. I will take all that vile liquid, I will save my family by sacrificing myself, I''ve lived longer than most, I will hold this fury, I will save the young.


    I dig deeper, I spread my roots and take from my family, the crying voices subside as I bring them back to rest.


    "Don''t worry I will save you all" I roar.


    "Stop resisting I must take it all"


    I feel my insides rot, my leaves wither and my soul melds with the anger. My world is nothing, my family is gone, but I saved them... right?


    I hear more blood above me, it is moving. I can''t let them corrupt my family again, I will keep my family safe from the filth.


    I command my roots to stop the blood, I must take it into myself.


    The blood is caught and I drain it away, but one moving piece of filth escapes my grasp, it''s heading towards my tree.


    I open my eyes.


    Eyes? What are those? but I can see. I see the blood. It''s small and fragile, the blood has eyes too, it sees my trunk and collapses to the ground where my roots catch it. I walk to the blood with my feet? what are they? but I can move. I loom over the blood and open my hollow mouth to consume, eat the blood and save the forest, it is my duty, the only thing keeping me sane.


    The blood explodes inside me, it coats my roots and runs down my branches, my job... done. Now the plants are safe, but I sense more blood, it''s coming towards me, more than before. It hurts, moving hurts, my existence is pain, but I must continue, I need it all.


    <hr>


    After what feels like an eternity, Zeke finally remembers to breathe, but he does so quietly.


    The crimson tree shuddered and the already scarlet bark darkens further as it spreads it''s thin branches higher . A roaring groan echos through the silent tree graveyard as the tree of death contort it roots away from Zeke, to somewhere unknown in the distance.


    Another silent moment passes before screams are heard in the distance. Goblin screams. Zeke was personally familiar with the sound.


    Zeke opens his mouth and wordlessly calls forth his status.


    Zeke Level 8, Survivor


    Health: 224/224


    Mana: 10/49


    Skills: Avarice, Blood Regeneration, Mana Concealment, Fireball


    Classes: Spearman 1, Bludgeoner 1


    The tree''s leave rustle slightly at Zeke''s movement before returning back to a foreboding sway.


    Ten mana was everything at his disposal, Zeke had a feeling that single weak fireball wouldn''t affect this tree. He also knew that the only reason he was alive was his mana concealment, if he wasted mana now, his concealment would be removed.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    With utmost care, Zeke tentatively stepped back from the living tree. A few twigs snapped under the pressure and were amplified to deafening in the otherwise silent forest.


    Zeke went as still as a statue.


    His heart thumped like a war drum and sweat ran from his brow freely, his breathing came in sudden shallow gasps. He took another step back, and dead leaves crunched in the silence.


    He took another step and once again and an uproar of dead leaves gave their all to reveal Zeke''s presence to the now slightly pulsing crimson tree.


    Zeke could feel the wind chilling his very bone marrow. His eyes felt drowsy and constantly unfocused as fear started to rule over his thoughts. He wanted to turn around and run, but he knew that there was no chance he''d survive.


    He took another boisterous step as he inched closer to a nearby dead tree, an actually dead tree. This last step seemed to be the final straw as the red tree of death shrieked out another cry, the sound of brittle wood twisting and extending.


    Zeke used the noise to mask his own as he quickly scrambled behind the dead tree.


    With rugged exhales Zeke looked out into the bleak dead forest as he listened to the horrific sounds behind him. It sounded of hundred of trees being felled at the same time, the cacophony threatened to burst Zeke''s eardrums. The gnarled creaking then gave way to the sounds of thumping, the unmistakable rhythmic footsteps of something moving with immense weight.


    How the fuck is it walking? Zeke screamed internally.


    The ground trembled as the walking tree stopped just short of Zeke''s hiding place.


    Another silence followed the tree''s halt and Zeke closed his eyes, wishing that the monstrosity would go away. The paused stretched out for so long that Zeke began to think that maybe he was just hallucinating the terrible sights and sounds. His horrors were only drawn back when the tree moved again. It stomped it''s way back to were it was originally sitting? and another gut-retching medley played as it lowered it''s giant form back into the life-less hole in the ground.


    Well, so far, Zeke had gained about 3 meters worth of distance from the living nightmare.


    Zeke wasn''t having fun, if he had to say, this was the least amount of fun he''d ever had. At least it sounded like the goblins were having just as much fun as Zeke, gotta look at the bright side to stay sane. Now he knew what had stopped the goblins from finding him. The Scarlet Ent as he now called it.


    Now that Zeke could see where he was stepping, he resumed creeping as far away from the monstrosity as humanly possible. Every now and again an unseen twig or branch would crumble underfoot, but the Scarlet Ent ignored it. The reality of how lucky Zeke was, set it.


    How was a human even supposed to kill something like that? It wasn''t just a tree, it was this whole fucking domain of dead forest! It really gave the term ''nature''s fury'' a new meaning, putting a face to the name.


    It definitely seemed as if the Ent could hear, no mistake about that, he also assumed that it had some type of vision on top of an ability to sense mana. Oh, not to mention it could sprout from the ground and walk around like a... well he didn''t see it himself, but it sounded like it had two legs.


    The silver lining of the situation was that so long as he avoided the tree of death, it probably wouldn''t seek him out. At least he hoped that it was bound to it''s own dead forest and couldn''t leave.


    Another bonus was that so long as it remained between Zeke and the goblins, it acted as a ''natural obstacle''. Untill they chose to walk around it, but if they chose to do that, the goblins would have trouble finding their way back to his trail of triangles. What a fortunate series of lucky coincidences!


    Maybe someday Zeke could return after amassing a wealth of mana and burn down the freak of nature. He had a dreadful lump in his stomach that told him he was somehow responsible for the creature in the first place, it was his job to destroy it.


    The dead forest scenery gradually changed back into Zeke''s much prefered emerald greens, even the deeply hated birdsong in the distance sounded like the voice of angels beckoning Zeke back into the light. A calling Zeke answered by breaking out into high speed sprint, eager to exit the grey domain of the tree of death. All in all, the day so far had been quite terrifying,


    Meeting the incarnate of death had really put Zeke''s views in a new perspective. No longer did Zeke harbour any delusions of grandeur of slaying dragons and saving princesses with sword and magic, he was happy as long as he never had to look at that tree again.


    <hr>


    It was late afternoon when Zeke returned, satisfied and horrified with the amount of exploring done for today. He managed to think of another goal to finish the day off with, anything was fine as long as he forgot about that near-death experience.


    Zeke pulled out the rickety and poorly made target board from his home and placed it in the forest, about 10 meters away. It was time for target practice. He hadn''t forgotten how bad his aim was from previous goblin skirmishes, he was pretty sure he never once hit his intended target.


    Each javelin was only good for about four throws before it fell apart or snapped in half, he had the materials to repair or create new ones so he wasn''t too concerned with the mortality rate.


    The first 20 or so throws were pretty abysmal, only 3 landed on the board, on the edges at that. The next 50 throws had a good 50/50 hit rate. At this point Zeke had to make more ammunition as he''d managed to destroy every javelin during the practice, all in the name of progress.


    As dusk fell, Zeke wandered the close by woods in search of a bog dinner, this time he brought along his javelins for extra practice. When he came across the bog, Zeke was lucky enough to impale it''s hind leg with one of his throws, then swooping in with two daggers and slicing it down in a drawn out game of chicken.


    Avarice resulted in failure but Zeke came out of it with a decent chuck of bog meat. A meal that was ravished by Zeke''s empty stomach.


    The entire time Zeke was thinking back to the Scarlet Ent, each time he pictured the tree, he felt his heart rate speed up and his palms sweat. It would take some time to get-over that experience.


    As Zeke fell asleep he decided to himself that tomorrow would be the day. The day he finally decimated a significant portion of the goblin population. Between his spears, magic and swords and daggers he was confident that he could bulldoze down their numbers. In comparison the Scarlet Ent, goblins were nothing to be feared, at least he could fight back against goblins, he thought with a shudder. Also, he was dying to know what sort of benefits were to be gained from leveling up his classes, something he would learn by tomorrow night if all went well.

 Class Levels, 1

    Zeke blissfully wandered through the forest, the sunlight filtering through the busy treetop and gracing his face with it''s welcoming touch. Insects buzzed lazily in relaxing heat and thousands of birds chirped their songs. Each bird had it''s own unique sound, but they all melded into one great rhapsody of nature. Zeke normally wasn''t a huge fan of the noisy wildlife, although recently he had started to enjoy the little things in life, like sound, any noise really. His memories of yesterday were still fresh and he was doing his best to distract himself with the minor things in life.


    While he was strolling through the vibrant woods he happened across a type of berry bush he remembered. It was the bush with the red berries that tasted of water, no flavour but at least they were edible. With a merry smile he plucked the ripe little spheres of happiness from the charitable bush and gleefully enjoyed the texture of the skin as he chewed. From this demeanour alone one may not suspect that this man was on his way to mass murder a large number of goblins, but that was the case.


    Zeke was marking a path around the Scarlet Ent''s domain, as he now called it, trailblazing a new path to the goblin stream. This time he was leaving a less conspicuous mark to find his way on the tree, he would call a flame and burn a vertical line into the tree. It might sound more obvious than two triangles, but the black burn actually blended in quite well against that already dark brown of the trees. Zeke had another, bigger reason for changing the marking he left, as of recently, Zeke had acquired a somewhat fearful disposition towards triangles in general and especially triangles on trees.


    About an hour passed as Zeke leisurely hiked around before the refreshing sound of running water greeted him. He had arrived.


    Zeke took in a deep breath and relished the smells of earthy plant life. It was time to do what he does best, introducing his large arsenal of weapons to as many green faces as possible, in the shortness amount of time possible. For the past two days there wasn''t so much as single goblin sighting so he was feeling a bit rusty, as if he just took a vacation from work. Albeit, it wasn''t the most relaxing vacation, but nevertheless, it gave him a new appreciation for his hobby.


    Relaxing thoughts finished, Zeke then adopted a hunter''s mindset and his lofty smile fell back into the passive neutral of fierce concerntration.


    Crouching down and sticking to the cover of trees, Zeke advanced. The stream came into sight with all it''s goblin glory as the many trees parted ways before him. Maybe ''all it''s gloy'' was an overstatement, there weren''t as many goblins as three days ago, but still quite the number, maybe half?


    Did they reduce their numbers because of the Scarlet Ent?


    They must have thought I died to it, or that maybe the Ent was keeping them safe from me, Zeke thought.


    Funny, the Ent was really only killing the goblins and keeping me safe. Well it did nearly catch me, but let''s not think about that, the sooner I forget the better.


    The total number of goblins hunting by the stream was about 40, from the once 80 they had. The hunting parties were comprised of weaker goblins and much to Zeke''s dissipointment the patrolling party with the goblin mage was nowhere to be seen. He really wanted to get his hands on the magical staff and study it, unraveling the secrets within.


    Despite the lack of a mage Zeke retained his moral, the forces before him should be child''s play, He guessed all 40 goblins here at the stream would only be slightly stronger than the 10 elite goblins he fought in the forest. Back then Zeke didn''t even have offensive magic!If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    But now that he thought about it, he had fought the sword goblin unit exactly where that Ent was currently sitting/standing/living. That lump in his stomach returned at the thought. He really was responsible for that twisted almalgamation of hatred wasnt he? Oh well, problems for another day, I just wish it would stop dominating my every waking moment.


    With a much more solemn attitude Zeke stalked his way closer to a pack of goblins.


    Several goblins were crowding around a collapsed, but still breathing bog, chuckling visciously as they hacked away at the helpless limbs with their dull stone weapons, the bog could only watch faintly as it''s limbs were ruthlessly removed from it''s body. Four more goblins were strewn across the battlefield with mangled arms and legs from when they were unable to dodge. Zeke was sure that one of the unmoving bodies was really dead, as a thick pool of pale blood puddled around it''s unnaturaly twisted head.


    So really all Zeke had to do was kill the seven that were crowded up, then put the straglers out of their misery. Good thing, he had just the right plan of achieving this.


    Zeke inched closer, crawling with the many insects in the grass as he made his way behind the closest tree to the unsuspecting goblins. Once he made it to the tree he slowly slid his back up the trunk as he stood while remaining dead silent. It was a bit overkill to be so sneaky for the less perceptive goblins, but Zeke took the precautions anyway.


    Now that he was standing upright, he summoned forth his majestic blue fire and a small flame danced in his palm that grew as he fed it his mana. 10 mana gone and it was fist-sized, 5 more mana and a head-sized ball of flames waited patiently to be unleashed. For the moment it was still at a lower than expected temperature, but once he threw it he would crank it up at the cost of more mana. It was just easier to concentrate on casting his spells if the spell wasn''t burning his arms while he manipulated it.


    Preparations complete, he stepped out from cover and thrusted his hand at the crowded group while he increased the flame temperature, the fireball flying at a perfect trajectory. The flames themselves made no sound, but the unreal spectrum of blue that painted over the forest greens alerted the goblins to the strange magic. What they saw was the sight of their impending doom.


    The fireball made contact with the targets just seconds after release and a silent explosion lit up the area in blue flames. All seven of the goblin were hit in some way or another and they screamed desperately as the super-heated fire burnt into their flesh. Many of them rolled on the ground in attempt to extinguish the fire and one goblin actually had the intelligence to jump into the water, but it was all futile as the persistent magic continued to burn.


    Zeke briskly ran towards the engulfed goblins, a few of the unlucky ones who took the brunt of the hit were already dead, but the others clawed furiously at their own charred skin. In all of Zeke''s boundless mercy, he promptly finished off the pleading goblins with his battle worn club and extended that same mercy to the already incapacitated goblins too. The ambush was over instantly.


    In just 5 seconds, Zeke had killed all 10 goblins as if it were as easy as cleaning his clothes.


    + Bludgeoner has reached level 2, New skill awarded


    + 1 Attribute Point


    + Skill Earned: Harden


    A new skill huh? For something as early as level 2? Also a single attribute point, which isn''t much for me but still good, better use it now before I forget later, like usual.


    + 1 Affinity (29)


    "Status"


    Zeke Level 8, Survivor


    Health: 224/224


    Mana: 49/51


    Skills: Avarice, Blood Regeneration, Mana Concealment, Fireball, Harden


    Classes: Spearman 1, Bludgeoner 2


    Zeke focused his thoughts on the new ability to conjure the infomation on it.


    Skill: Harden


    By pouring mana into a weapon, one can give a minor increase to the weapon''s durability for a short amount of time.


    Such a simple thing, fairly useful too, considering the state of my club, in fact, its almost perfect to have at the moment, he thought to himself.


    "Harden" Zeke chanted while examining his club.


    He felt a bit of mana leave him, about 8 or 9, the club shone briefly with blue light and then returned to it''s deep brown. It was a little expensive, almost as much as a regular fireball, but hopefully it was worth the cost. He gave the club a few test swings into the vacant air. It hadn''t gained any weight, or feel any different in his grip, so he walked up the closest tree.


    "Please don''t break on me" he nicely asked the club in his hand as he drew it back.


    With that, Zeke gave the old branch a serious slam into the tree''s side.


    He felt the club creak in his hands in protest to hitting such a solid thing, but it still remained in one piece, proving the Harden had lived up to it''s promise. Zeke inspected the tree to find the bark had been obliterated where he struck, his club however, seemed to have only gained another few splinters. Satisfied with the test, he let out a pent up breathe. It would of been really sad if the club broke, the weapon had saved his life many times in the past and he didn''t want to snap it doing something stupid. It was like a comrade to Zeke, the only thing in his life that had survived through everything he''s been through.


    He gave his classes another look over and decided that Spearman would be the next to level. He only had three spears at the moment so he would throw two and stab with the other, hopefully collecting the thrown ones later. Leveling his Spearman class next would be a good way if seeing if the benefits gained were the same across all classes. Would he get a new skill and attribute point at level 2? Hopefully.


    While thinking these things, Zeke walked from corpse to corpse and activated Avarice, it had been a while since he''d used the skill, which was a shame because it was so god-damn powerful, stupidly unfair really.


    +1 Agility (29)


    +1 Endurance (36)


    +1 Strength (46)


    Three out of ten, ''not bad'' Zeke hummed in content.


    Time to get some more.

 Class Levels, 2

    When goblins hunt, they hunt in packs, because they are individually weak and stupid, possessing no more strength then a strong child, and in some rarer cases, a weak adult. But what they lack in strength, they excel in numbers and ruthlessness. An army of goblins could effortlessly raise entire small villages if left unchecked, their savage absence of any morals can make them a fearful foe to the unprepared and those who underestimate them.


    There is a saying. "The only good goblin is one with a sword sticking out of it". No one knew when it came into the commonplace, but everyone agrees with the underlining message... the world is better off without them.


    Zeke was just doing his part, contributing to the decline of goblin-kind and then some, to some he would be a nameless hero, to others, an indomitable machine of murder. Whichever side of the fence they stood on, one thing was for certain, Zeke was the Herald of Blood, the Harbinger of Purgatory and the Omen of Death, feared and respected by all who saw the destruction in his wake.


    However, such a story is for another day, as for now...


    <hr>


    With furrowed brows Zeke waded through the knee height stream, golden fish circled at his ankles and nipped playfully at his skin as he trudged through. Zeke made a mental note to try to catch a few for dinner if he got the chance, they looked nice and fat and had an all round ''tasty'' vibe going on. It was a wonder why he''d never seen a goblin fishing before, not even spear fishing, maybe they were poisonous? or plain old disgusting to the point when goblins wouldn''t eat it? He vowed to find out sooner or later.


    His hungry thoughts were interrupted by the worried snarls and cries of the 30-odd goblins on the opposite side of the fast running waters. He originally intended to kill the goblins discreetly, leaving no survivors, of course it was just his luck that he''d need to cross the stream to get to them. There was no stealthy way over making it to the other side unnoticed so he opted for the direct route and b-lined the distance without an ounce of grace.


    As he exited the shallow water he noticed that three of the gobs were already sprinting down the water bank in full retreat. The remaining hunters grouped up to presumably stall time and secure their escape. Seemed like Zeke had made a name for himself among the small-fry hunters, the thought only served to stroke his ego.


    The group of 25 goblins tightened their grip on their many weapons as the goblin slayer marched forward. They knew that the man capable of defeating the revered squadrons of elite sword goblins and controlling the Evil Tree had them overpowered in every sense. Their only hope was to delay him and protect the messengers, they were the fastest in the group. Once they reached home they would send in our best soldiers, the hobgoblins! Or even Big Brother. No human is a match for Big Brother. They only need to stall for a few more minutes and then they could enact revenge!


    The 4 archers at the back shoot their first volley at his slim figure. Each shot either falling short or missing widely, a combination of terrible aim, pathetic bows and crude arrows.


    Zeke drew out a javelin once he was 15 meters away, a long shot but it should at least hit something. He let loose the projectile with a small 3 step run-up and unsheathed his dust-metal sword in one hand, club in the other. He''d never dual wielded anything but daggers before, the current situation was as good as a chance to try something new.


    "Harden" He chanted into the club as a second volley whizzed by.


    "Looks like you still remember me, hey boys!" Zeke jeered with a too jovial voice as the terrified faces wavered.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Zeke was in his element, the heat of battle where all of his previous trials and hardships floated to the surface of his soul, to sharpen his wits and decimate his foes. He used the longer weapons and his longer reach to barrage the poorly armed enemies. The sword in his right hand wasn''t being used to it''s full potential, more like a second club, but it still stole life like the tool of war it was.


    Stone daggers that were more akin to glorified sharp rocks scraped almost harmlessly on the thick bog and slizard hide armour. Where his skin was exposed on his upper legs and arms suffered only shallow cuts and some purple bruising, they weren''t even capable of mortally wounding him. Zeke''s utter win was an inevitability.


    A third volley of arrows pelted into the fight at a near point blank range. Each of the arrows hit a combatant, three bounced off Zeke''s slizard hide guarded back and the fourth hit an unlucky goblin in the hand, flinging the weapon from it''s grip.


    Zeke grunted as the arrows pelted his shoulders, he spun around to glare at the offending archers and take the opportunity to run his sword through a goblin that suddenly dropped their dagger. He grinned maliciously when his glare caused all three archers to fumble their arrows, the evil smile only caused them to blunder further. He had them domintated.


    Zeke took a quick moment to batter away four goblins as he hastily jumped away from the centre of the fight. He used the short window of time to sheath his bloodied sword and launch a fireball at the place he was standing. For a brief moment all witnesses store agape at the brilliant fire as it hurtled from Zeke''s hand, he used the temporary infatuation to circle around to the archers at the back while a silent pyre of flames lit up the already brightly illuminated stream.


    ''Harden" Zeke spoke again as he systematically bashed the goblin archers admits the wailing screams beside him. He wasn''t sure of the exact time limit on his harden, but it was better safe than sorry, even if it consumed the last of his limited mana.


    With the pesky stick shooters dealt with he charged back into the fray of silent flames and burning goblins.


    The fight ended not too long after, without any ranged threat Zeke was able to attack a lot more recklessly. The fireball had also hit a majority of the fighters, not enough to kill any, but enough to injure and distract them so that they could be cleaned up soon after.


    The blood drenched victor wiped at his sweaty forehead as he relished the exhaustion of a long fight. The blood on his arm mixed with the sweat on his head and created a uncomfortable, sticky metallic-smelling face paint. With an audible ''blahh'' Zeke ran to the stream and plunged his fluid-covered body into the cleansing flow. The golden fish swam up to nibble on the bits of flesh and blood that got washed away.


    "FUCK!" He shouted in a jolt as he sprung from the water.


    "Oh shit, oh shit"


    With a scrambling crawl he prostrated himself by the stream''s bank.


    "Please don''t make another Scarlet Ent here please, O gods of the forest or whoever''s in charge around here!" Zeke pleaded with his forehead to the soft grass.


    "I think one of those is enough and I also need this water to live you know!"


    Zeke remained praying to whatever god-like being that might''ve been listening for a good three minutes before he recovered the courage to resume his personal quest. He scanned down the length of the stream, the few that retreated were no where to be seen. If he had to guess, the were running towards their base, or cave or town or whatever they lived in, there was no chance of Zeke catching up to the deserters.


    The pursuit had gone cold, but the tracks remained hot. The evidence of hundreds of little green feet were rampant on the ground, it wouldn''t require a skilled tracker to follow this obvious trail. The only thing stopping Zeke from continuing was his near depleted mana and his health that had lowered to around 60%.


    He decided to leave the tracking for another day, who knows, maybe the goblin mage would return tomorrow? If another Ent didn''t spring up in the meantime. With the conflicting thoughts in mind Zeke started the process of stealing the fallen goblin''s power, 25 in total the biggest haul yet.


    +2 Strength


    +2 Agility


    +1 Intelligence


    + Class Earned: Swordsman


    + Class Earned: Archer


    A bit shitty on the attribute side, but the classes are always welcome!


    Well classes were a bit useless untill they provided a skill, the attribute points they gave were meaningless to Zeke. The Swordsman shouldn''t be too much of a hassle to work towards, but Archer wasn''t feasible at the moment, bows were not effective when outnumbered and in such close quarters.


    In terms of loot there wasn''t much worth mentioning, no metal weapons or other curios. The only things Zeke bothered to take were the fibre belts which he crammed into the two small leather pouches on his vest.


    Zeke waded back through the wide stream, leaving the small pile of dead to the animals. It was time to find something to eat and call it a day. At that point he remebered the tasty looking fish that swam by. He licked his lips as he drew a javelin from it''s quiver and spent a few embarrasing minutes trying to (and eventually suceeding) to stab the elusive morsels. Now dinner was sorted.

 Class Levels, 3

    "Seven out of ten.. I''m getting there" Zeke said with a grunt as he pulled out the last transfixed javelin.


    Once again Zeke had been honing his aim at the close distance of 10 meters. Another batch of javelins were destroyed and another was created through out the morning practice. The poor target board had been riddled with holes, from the edges to centre, the thing was barely standing. He probably should''ve replaced it after the last training session, but it still functioned to provide a clear target that allowed his javelins to pierce through and not be damaged. Zeke was also just feeling lazy.


    With his weapons retrieved and the board cleared he took his stance by 10 meter mark that was indicated by a little line of bloody-rocks, an aesthetic choice by Zeke.


    With practiced motion, Zeke hurled that homemade javelin at the lop-sided target. The moment it left his hand, he knew it was a perfect throw. Sure enough, the blur of pointy death passed through the dead centre of the faintly visible bull''s-eye. It managed to pass right through an already punctured hole, causing the thrown javelin to shatter into hundreds of tiny splinters when it hit the hard-packed dirt on the other side, Zeke''s abnormal strength was too much to handle.


    + Spearman has reached level 2, New skill awarded


    +1 Attribute Point


    + Skill Earned: Aim Lock


    After finally leveling a second class to level two, Zeke was able to confirm a few things. Level two will award a new skill and an attribute point and after reading the description of Aim Lock, the skill given was tailored to the individual. Without another person to compare with, he wasn''t sure to what extent the skills differed,buthe was sure that most spearman wouldn''t have got the same skill he received.


    Skill, Aim Lock, passive


    Any thrown projectiles will receive significantly improved accuracy when aimed for at least 3 seconds.


    It sounded less like a skill and more like common sense, Zeke didn''t need a skill to tell him that aiming properly was better than not aiming at all. He was depressed at what seemed like aworthless skill, well, that was untill he decided to follow the skill''s instructions.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Zeke reached for another javelin from the pile near his feet and took aim again. He waited patiently for 3 seconds to pass as he seized up the target and launched it with all his might. True to skill''s description, the javelin passed right through the same hole the previous javelin passed through, once again littering an explosion of wooden splinters on the dirt behind. Zeke had never once hit the same pin-point target consecutively before, not even by fluke from the hundreds of times he had tried. With a somewhat doubtful skepticism he brought up another javelin to his jaw line.


    A third wooden explosion flooded the forest, as yet again, the perfectly aimed spear slipped through the miniscule hole in the board.


    Zeke whooped the success with a fist pump, once was a luck, twice was a coincidence, thrice was a pattern, the pattern being that his new skill was amazing. The 3 second delay before throwing wasn''t too annoying as shorter ranged throws were easier to land anyway, the skill would really show it''s strength at longer range. The lack of a mana cost was also a huge bonus, Zeke already felt like his mana was being taxed too hard by super-charged Fireballs and Harden. Passive skills were permanent and didn''t require an activation cost, unless you considered aiming for 3 seconds to be a ''cost'' of sorts, which Zeke didn''t.


    With further experimentation Zeke was able to assert what his hit chances were at different ranges while Aim Lock was active.


    At the 10 meter and 20 meter range, each throw was always at least a ''hit'' on the practice board. 30 meters was a 60% hit rate and the 40 meter distance was a whopping 20%, better than what felt like the less than 1% he had earlier. With the new skill he could ensure that each javelin would remove one threat in a fight, the biggest shame was that Zeke only carried three javelins at a time, any more would make traveling difficult, getting stuck in bushes and such.


    With Spearman at level 2 Zeke concluded his practice and turned to a new class, one he didn''t have yet, but he felt like he was close to gaining. The class Zeke wanted was wizard, or mage, or sorcerer, whatever it may be called. He was willing to bet that if physical classes existed, so did the magical.


    With a quick thought he called forth a tiny and harmless flame at the cost of 5 mana. He wasn''t sure what the best method of unlocking the class would be, that only thing he had to work with was ''use magic'' much like with Swordsman, use swords.


    He figured the best place to start would be trying to improve his accuracy like with the spears. Fireball was already quite easy to aim as it wouldn''t stray off course and the drop-off was minor, if he threw it horizontally it wold travel 20 meters before it hit the ground. There was some amount of control on Zeke''s part, as he could magically reduce the drop-off at the expense of mana, he could even increase the drop-off if he chose to, for the most part, the magic responded to how he envisioned it and the amount of mana consumed.


    In just a couple hours practice of shooting tiny fireballs and recovering by crafting more javelins while his mana ticked up, his aim had pretty much reached 100% at any range, even 40 meters. The afternoon sky had turned to a apricot shade of orange as he sweated away, still unable to unlock the longed for class.


    He was on the cusp of unlocking it, he could feel it.


    With just 11 mana to spare Zeke thought of one final idea to push him over the barrier of entry. It was something he had secretly wanted to try since he learned to control the flame''s temperature, but never had the chance to. To be fair, it was a silly idea, too silly to work, but crazy enough to elicit a miracle.


    Zeke circulated all his mana across his form in preparation of the silly idea, deep down, he knew it would be awesome and used that thought to sweep away the embarrassment creeping up. With a shove of mental encouragement, Zeke ignited all the mana he circulated, engulfing his whole body in lukewarm flames and colouring the surroundings teal.


    + 1 Mana (0/53)


    "I knew this would feel amazing!" Zeke spoke through the shell of silent fire.


    "Now I''m really the God of Fire!"


    + Class Earned: Magus


    Magus has reached level 1

 Hobgoblin

    Zeke pulled his vest around his broad shoulders and well-built arms, the leather was thick and stuffy but well fitted as the result of some minor adjustments he added after yesterday''s test run. Subsequent to the vest were the vambraces and shin-guards which had been repaired with a second layer of leather sewn on top, the extra thickness improved the defence and the weight was barely noticable to Zeke''s endurance. With the most awkward armour equiped he happily slid his feet into the bog hide slippers and tied off the ankle strap with an excited gusto. Next were the various sheaths that were carefully filled with their appropriate weapons, four metal daggers, one metal sword, three well-balanced javelins and the last weapon, a used and abused red-tinged branch, soaked in the blood of goblins. His club was his pride and joy, and today, it was about to submerge in the glorious deaths of more goblins.


    Zeke eyed his club lovingly. A somewhat frightening thought emerged from the back of his mind. ''I hope it doesn''t turn into a demonic avatar of nature''s fury, hell-bent on sucking blood'', one Scarlet Ent was enough for Zeke. Well maybe it wouldn''t be too bad if it was just goblin''s blood, but a normal branch was just as good in Zeke''s expert hands.


    Now armed to the teeth with his many tools of death, of both physical and magical, Zeke set out on the brand new trail, leading to the stream while avoiding the territory of the Scarlet Ent. He noticed a few patches of unusual dead grass had encroached further into the healthy greenery, the Ent was spreading out, slowly. Given a couple of weeks Zeke may have to widen his path to avoid any nasty roots that decide to spring to life and attack passerbys. For the meantime, he should be safe.


    By staying on track and without being distracted by the ever-changing flora and fauna, Zeke made it back to the ''goblin stream'' in record time, a little less than 30 minutes, all the more time to hunt. When Zeke felt as if he was approaching the stream, he left the marked path to approach the goblin hunters from further away, he suspected that the numbers would have been increased again.


    The good news was that the goblin mage with the fancy staff had returned with his entourage of several sword goblins. Now Zeke finally had the chance to swipe the staff for himself. There was more good news too, the number of low-leveled hunting goblins still stood at about 40 or so, a force easily dispatched.


    The bad news was that 5 very distinct, more ferocious goblins were present. They were bigger, badder and had a yellowish tinge to their skin, their height reached Zeke''s chest and their arm muscles bulged out of their skin. Much like Zeke they all had a set of bog armour and a club, although, their clubs were a proper ''metal head with a smooth wooden shaft'' club, unlike Zeke''s club-shaped branch. If there was ever a time to upgrade his favourite weapon, it would be now.


    Zeke winced in empathic pain as one of the yellow gobs in a far-off group slammed down their metal club on a bog''s snout, the poor thing''s mouth was crushed instantly. The lower-leveled green gobs swarmed over the writhing bog and finished it off to be harvested, the yellow gob just picked it''s nose with disinterest, as if they bog was no threatening than an ant.


    To be fair, Zeke also possessed the arm power to one-hit a bog with a club to the face, but for a goblin, it was unprecedented!


    Zeke hoped that the insane strength of the yellow gobs was counter-balanced by an abysmal lack of agility and intelligence. At the very least, they looked just as dumb and ugly as the smaller greenies. He imagined that fighting all 5 high-leveled gobs at the same time would result in defeat, so the tactic would be the same as always... divide and conquer. And after he cleaned up here, their home would be next.


    Zeke stealthily advanced along the treeline to the most isolated group, which wasn''t saying much as they were all wary of an attack. This particular group was of 12 low-goblins, 3 archers, 3 spearman, 6 rogues and 2 high-goblins. They were crowding around what Zeke could only assume was the corpse of one of the verdant plant-rhinos, due to the sheer size of the corpse being obscured by the cackling goblins. One of the high-goblins was nursing a bloody arm, the other was unscathed, but both were laughing in a deep grumbling voice.


    "HAHAHAHAHA, WE KILL BIG PLANT" the uninjured one said. Confirming the creature killed.


    The ability to verbally communicate indicated a higher intelligence than regular goblins, bad news for Zeke.


    "PLANT HURT" the bloody one answered, clearly not as happy as the other, his arm was most likely broken, great news for Zeke.


    "PLANT EASY" disagreed the healthy one. "PLANT HARDER THAN MANS, MANS LIKE BUG"


    The injured one cracked a evil grin of agreement at the mention of Zeke''s race.


    "GOBLIN STUPID, HOBGOBLIN NEVER DIE, KILL MANS FAST"


    An evil smile of Zeke''s own creeped to his lips, they were about to find out just how outclasses they were. Even though the hobgoblins weren''t aware that Zeke was listening, the taunts had undoubtably undercut Zeke''s ego, making him stop at nothing to kill the hobgoblins. After all, killing goblins was his life''s work, all two weeks of it, no one was better at goblin extermination than he.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Zeke channeled his anger into two regular fireballs as he strode from the bushes, one in each hand, totalling 22 out of his 53 mana. The bright blue fire would''ve given away his position anyway so strolling out of the bushes was the best option for giving him a clear shot. Fortunately, the clueless goblins didn''t even see him brazaenly walk out.


    He launched both fireballs at the grouped-up cluster of 12 low-leveled goblins by the dead rhino, he wouldn''t use magic on the hobgoblins, no, they weren''t worthy, they would suffer his trademark club treatment.


    Magic is a beautiful thing, its a force that defies logic and laws alike... its also very useful for eliminating large numbers of small fry, for example, the 12 green goblins that had just been washed over by a wave of muted blue flames and were all scrambling around on the ground to put the undying flames out.


    The two hobgoblins watched the living fire pyres screaming their heads off in awe, in their defence, the magic flames did have a knack for being both wonderous and dreadful in tandem. It looked as if Zeke''s magic was an unknown weapon to the goblins, the few messengers that escaped Zeke yesterday never witnessed them personally, so the forces here were ignorant of it.


    Zeke was all to familiar with the star-struck feeling the flames bestowed upon its watchers and flawlessly used the distraction to draw a javelin, wait for Aim Lock to activate, and hurl the crude stick at the back of the uninjured hobgoblin''s head. At the distance of 20 meters, the chances of hitting the mark sat at about 95% if Zeke''s practice proved true.


    All the hard work paid off as the stone tipped javelin penetrated the exposed yellow neck at bewildering speed, knocking the goblin forward in a sudden lurch and causing it to howl in pain. Of course he knew that a single javelin wouldn''t be enough to kill, even if it hit right in the back of the head, but Zeke was still utterly disappointed when the downed hobgoblin ripped out the projectile and a big chunk of flesh as it stood to it''s feet. Such a shame it didn''t hit the vertebrae and paralyze it, or at the very least, stall it for longer than a measly two seconds.


    Roaring out in pain the hobgoblin returned the spear in Zeke''s direction, it''s throwing form and aim were poor, the javelin didn''t even land in the same universe as Zeke which made him internally giggle. The broken armed hobgob had already started their war-charge the instant his friend got hit, club raised high into the air, ready to swing down at a moment''s notice. The second followed behind in a similar fashion soon after throwing the javelin pathetically.


    The sight of two hobgoblins charging in one''s direction was intimidating to say the least, Zeke contemplated expending the rest of his mana to kill them instantly, but he managed to fight the temptation, knowing he may need it later.


    Drawing a second spear Zeke hastily threw again, not using Aim Lock this time as it wasn''t necessary, and hit the closest hobgob in the broken arm, making him cry out and stumble away.


    "Harden" Zeke shouted as the second charger drew near at terrific pace.


    With all his might Zeke met the charge head-on and smashed his club at the speeding head, it was convenient to have the goblin''s head at arm height, it made the perfect target. The crimson coloured branch thunked with great satisfaction into the ugly yellow head with a round-house strike, the force of the blow knocked-out and floored the running monster, it''s face skidding on the soft grass for a meter or so. But, the hobgoblin too, had managed to land a powerful strike, right into Zeke''s exposed ribcage where his raised arms didn''t cover.


    Zeke reeled to the side, unable to breathe, his whole body wracked with pain, a few broken ribs for sure. Before he could even recover his breath, the other goblin was upon him, battering the back-turned goblin slayer with it''s metal club. What little breath Zeke had left was then fully exhaled as he crashed to the ground. The next strike the hobgob aimed was directly at Zeke''s head. Zeke only barely noticed it and jerked to the side with all his agility, he then gave a weak kick to the goblin''s head as clumps of dirt showered his face where the club landed.


    With a second to compose himself Zeke released his grip on his club and unsheathed two daggers, opting for a grappling match where his shorter weapons could cut and slice freely. He repeatedly slashed viciously at the hobgob''s good arm with a vengeful wrath. The goblin sharply jabbed Zeke''s belly and rammed it''s shoulder into his sternum, pushing him back a bit, but paying dearly as Zeke ignore the attacks and continued the onslaught of stabs. The hobgoblin was reduced to a bleeding mess in a matter of seconds.


    As Zeke got tackled by the impaired goblin, he plunged a dagger straight into it''s right eye. He sensed the hilt make contact with it''s face and then he rocked the handle back and forth, making a mess of the brain on the business end of the lethal blade stab. Zeke felt all the life of the hobgoblin instantly drain away as he pulled the dagger from it''s victim and the goblin collapsed.


    Level Up!


    You''ve reached level 9


    +3 Attribute Points


    + Rogue Class Earned


    Rogue has reached level 1


    With a hearty kick he rolled the body away as he took stock of the surroundings.


    One hobgoblin was still unconscious in the grass, eight normal goblins were dead on the floor around the rhino cadaver, four more were splashing around in the stream as they tried to sooth the torment of the magically induced burns. As Zeke expected, just a javelin''s throw away, was an angry mob of 30 green gobs, 3 hobgobs and one mage gob. Some were swimming through the stream, others were running at full pelt to where the corpses of their comrades laid. Zeke had only seconds to act untill another fight began.


    "Blood Regeneration" Zeke said as he moved a hand to the now one-eye-less hobgoblin.


    "Avarice"


    Nothing.


    He then quickly picked up the goblin''s discarded metal club as he rushed to the other hobgoblin, crushing it''s head. He was abandoning the much-loved wooden club, but he would weep for it later when he wasn''t in a war zone.


    "Avarice" he repeated.


    + 4 strength (52)


    It was unfortunate, but there was no time for the other goblins.


    Zeke ducked to the floor when a ball of yellow flames hurtled pass where he had once been crouching, erupting the trees at the end of the Fireball''s destination in amber fire.


    Zeke shot the mage an angry sneer as he jumped back to his feet to avoid another Fireball that was launched soon after.


    "How much fucking mana does it have? to shoot so willy nilly?" Zeke cursed.


    With a renewed vigor, Zeke ducked, dived, dodged and danced from a further six fireballs untill he scrambled into the safety of the trees. The situation was looking a little bleak, but from here, outrunning the pursuers would be easy... not that he intended to. This wasn''t going to be another retreat from Zeke, no, he had concocted a nefarious plan from the moment he arrived and was eager to act on it.


    Zeke slowed down his speed as he jogged through the shrubbery, allowing the goblins to maintain a safe distance and still keep up. He laughed out loud as he imagined his plan playing out in his mind while bloodcurtling screams of anger were screeched in his direction.


    It was a little underhanded, but...


    It was about time to pay the Scarlet Ent a little visit, with some guests of course.

 Despondent

    Zeke stumbled. A stray root was hidden under the dense foliage of the forest. The excited warcries of the pursuing small goblin army echoed endlessly as Zeke kicked up dirt while clambering to his feet. Low hanging branches and hidden thorns whipped across Zeke''s terrified face and legs as he fled past, drawing thin lines of blood. The goblins were gaining ground, their energy sustained by the thrill of hunting a wounded enemy, they knew, the next time Zeke crashed into a thicket or tripped on a dead log, it would spell his end. Zeke of course was aware of the imminent danger too. Already wounded, and low on mana, beating the 50 or so goblins and hobgoblins behind him was an impossibility, it was certain death.


    All according to plan.


    Bit by bit, Zeke had ''pretended'' to ''accidentally'' run into a tree, ''stumble'' over a bush, or ''fall'' over a large stone. Never once did he actually feel any danger, despite the frothing army that was rapidly closing distance. In order to fool the less than perceptive goblins to the sudden change of scenery, he would need to act as bait, staying just out of reach so they were committed to the chase. Any sane person would have immediately noticed that wilted grass and plant life, the absence of wildlife, and the muted sun that was casting a dull light on the surroundings. Zeke could of sworn he''d even seen a cluster of roots, tight''y wrapped around what looked like the skeletal bodies of once, too-curious goblins.


    "Mana concealment" Zeke whispered in the stale air.


    It was time to get serious, Zeke had once again stepped foot into the Scarlet Ent''s backyard. He was confident in his plan, being that mana concealment made him completely invisible to the Ent''s mana sensing skill. The not so prepared goblins would simply waltz into their own death while Zeke watched from the sides.


    For good measure, he decided put on one last performance for the chasing audience that was not even 10 meters away. Well, the performance was mostly directed at the owner of this corrupted forest, it did have good hearing from what Zeke remembered. He was going to sing his favourite song, as loud as he could.


    With a deep inhale Zeke filled his lungs with as much of the empty air as possible. He cupped both his hands around his mouth and directed his shout upwards to the sky.


    "DINNER TIME!"


    "C''MON SCARLET! I BET YOU''RE HUNGRY!"


    Zeke''s outrageous bellow completely dwarfed the vicious snarls and cries of delight that the ugly goblins vocalized. The uproarious declaration lingered in the air, an air that seemed to shift, where it had been still before, it now picked up and swirled around the Ent''s interlopers, seeming to pin point their numbers. Zeke felt the change acutely, there was no way he could forget any of the horrifying sensations in the forest, the goblins however, must of assumed Zeke had only wailed in anguished, as his escape proved futile.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    As the many different swords and daggers of metal and stone traced their way to Zeke''s stationary form, he dashed at a 90 degree angle from the relatively straight line he ran untill now. Zeke pumped his legs with every ounce of his 52 strength and 31 agility as he accelerated away, he had done his part of the plan, now it was Scarlet''s turn.


    A howling groan reverberated across all the forest, rumbling the ground and causing a few of the dead trees to fall on their own. The sound was so monstrous that the unknowing army stopped in their tracks, all thoughts of Zeke had vanished as the realisation of their surroundings sunk in. Zeke lunged down to the vile, brown mockery of grass when the goblins took their sight off him, to watch his trap spring before his eyes.


    The Scarlet Ent groaning was increasing in volume every second, it was already loud, but now it was deafening, Zeke had to jam his thumbs into to ears to prevent them from exploding. The ground trembled stronger, causing some flat-footed goblins to randomly fall as the rest of the helpless goblins kicked and clawed over one another to escape back to the green.


    The roaring groaning and creaking of the Ent stopped just as it reached it''s climax, silencing the world. But to those present, the sound had already been etched into their memory, and they could still hear it in the silence. Not a single soul dared to move after the abrupt silence, Zeke was sure he was thinking the same thing as the goblins... ''maybe I''m safe now''.


    A hushed snapping twigs whispered, barely audible, not from the goblins or from Zeke, but somewhere in the distance, and it was getting louder. Mortified goblin heads all spun and surveyed the direction the sound was emanating from as it got closer. Zeke couldn''t see anything different, only hear it, he also had a good idea what the sound was from his last visit here. Seconds trickled by as the new sound of snapping twigs drew closer, now it sounded like branches being broken apart, only thousands breaking at once.


    The standstill was brought to an end when, as Zeke expected, a living mass of burrowing roots erupted from the barren dirt. The blood-sucking tendrils snaked towards the despairing army of goblins. Tormented screams of terror and pain alike contended with the sound of the Scarlet Ent''s tendrils. The blood-red roots pierced into goblin flesh, transfixing them to the floor, preventing escape as the Ent stole away their life. Many blades hacked away at the crimson shackles, the stone weapons, did next to nothing while the metal ones chipped only a few centimeters at a time. The effort only served to prolong the suffering as each chopped root was replaced with three more.


    Zeke stoicly observed the ordeal to it''s end. He wasn''t as happy with he results as he would''ve like. The plan had gone perfectly, if anything it was more gruesome than he would of ever fathomed, it was too... torturous. Zeke thanked the goblins for just that, being goblins, if any other creature had of been subjected to that... experience, Zeke may have actually felt some remorse for his actions. Goblins don''t deserve remorse.


    With a meek, downcast gaze, Zeke hurriedly paced back into the living forest, leaving the scene behind him. He pushed any vomit-inducing thoughts to the back of his mind as he continued back towards the goblin stream. After all, there was more work to be done, villages needed to be pillaged, goblin villages that is, and now was the best time to do it.

 Goblin Village, 1

    A pair of deer bounded away from the water''s edge as Zeke walked to the kills he made earlier, they ran with an unexpected speed and dexterity through the tightly packed trees. A verdant rhino just gave the stink-eye as Zeke hovered over and Avarice''d the evil green goblins. The bogs of course, were oblivious to anything not within 10cm of their face as per usual.Zeke noted how the fast-paced stream was so calm and soothing without any goblin presence. Except the several goblin corpses on the bank, but they weren''t disrupting the wildlife so they didn''t count.


    +1 Strength (53)


    +1 Affinity (30)


    +2 Agility (33)


    The series of lucky Avarices reminded Zeke of the 4 free attribute points he earned from leveling up to 9, and leveling his class. It was a toss up between affinity and agility, either more stabbing finesse and speed, or more fireballs. Zeke ending up going with affinity because he already outclassed the goblins in speed, an extra fireball or two could possibly eliminate several goblins at a time.


    +4 Affinity (34)


    In all honesty, physical attributes and their capabilities paled in comparison to magic.


    A fighter with 20 strength, 20 endurance, and 20 agility would fall to a mage with only 20 affinity in terms of firepower. The only hope for the fighter would be to dodge the mage''s attack, then the mage would be a weaponless. It was only just now, did Zeke realize the weakness of mages, they were essentially glass cannons, something that wouldn''t affect Zeke because of Avarice supplementing his stats across the board. With that line of thinking, maybe investing all his stat points into affinity and intelligence was the most efficient option? Questions for another day he thought dismissively.


    Finished with the power stealing Zeke then waded through the cool stream as the golden fish nibbled his exposed skin. The nibbling fish brought back fond memories of the grilled fish he cooked a couple of nights ago, making him hungry for more. But that would have to wait, there were tracks to be followed and goblins to be raided. Since the time he last fought a few hours ago, Zeke''s health had healed back to 90% with Blood Regenerations help, all the cuts and bruises, and even the broken ribs were now just ignorable aches and pains. His mana was only at the meager amount of 27 out of the new capacity of 65, courtesy of his Mana Concealment''s recovery drawback, hopefully it would recover more as he followed the well-traveled hunting path.


    As Zeke was trailing the path he noticed few dead goblin bodies that were collecting insects next to the dirt path. It was clear to Zeke that any mortally injured goblins were abandoned by the rest, not worth saving in their eyes. It was more evident by the fact that dried blood stains indicated that they were kicked into the bushes to die alone.


    The path came to a t-section after a few more minutes of walking, another path like the one Zeke was on joined into a wider, heavily-trodden road of sorts. Zeke chose the larger path, guessing the smaller one would lead to another area where the goblins hunted for food and/or materials. While tempting, today was a day for true revenge, not a some minor battle.


    More and more decomposing goblins piled up alongside the path''s edge, the rancid smell was like a knife to the brain, it was that bad. Zeke already knew goblins had a tendency to ignore personal hygiene, almost making an effort to smell like shit, but these corpses were something else... perhaps the ''aroma'' was a first line of defence against invaders? Regardless, Zeke made an effort to breathe through his nose, it was painful, but he had to get used to it a one point.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    It was quite ironic how large goblin noses were.


    Zeke swam through the physical stench, he wasn''t sure how far away the end of the road was, but if the widening of the path was any clue, he must be getting close. Just as Zeke began to reconsider his purpose in life, a small group of goblins rounded the corner up ahead, exactly 6 normal green goblins, no hobgoblins.


    Zeke dived into the treeline of rotten skeletons, narrowly avoiding the eyesight of the bumbling gobs. There was a loud squelch as maggot infested flesh squished underfoot, it was now, Zeke was glad he chose to endure the smell earlier without covering his mouth, because it was ten times worse right next to the source. Thankfully, the adrenaline of a brewing fight was enough for Zeke to hold down his stomach.


    He waited patiently as the six goblins pushed and shoved each other as the walked, in a semblance of comradery. They walked past Zeke''s hiding place without a care in the word, Zeke was glad that his total annihilation of the hunting army hadn''t been reported as of yet. He gave the passing goblins a 2 minute grace period before leaving the trees, just to make sure there were no more following.


    Zeke broke into a light jog after the goblins, being mindful of his footing as to catch them unawares, It only took 20 seconds to catch up.


    Zeke slowed down to a fast walk as he drew the first javelin, after all, there was nothing wrong with a little target practice. Throwing the spear Zeke did his best to hush the sounds of his physical exertion, as soon as the javelin left his finger tips he reach for the second. As soon as the second was thrown, out came the third.


    Three of the six goblins instantly dropped dead with huge javelins sticking out of their abdomens, another one was hit over the head with a metal club, accompanied by grinning Zeke. The last two ran in fear, one up the path, and one down the path, tears streaming down their ugly noses and dripping off like a leaky faucet.


    Zeke walked over to the dead goblins and retrieved a javelin from the lifeless torso and sniped down the goblin that had ran towards the stream. Zeke then reclaimed the last two javelins and returned them to their sheath as he ran after the last goblin. He was going in that direction anyway, so he could just finish it in a drive-by clubbing.


    The poor goblin tripped and fell over it''s own clumsy feet, it didn''t even make it 20 meters away before Zeke bashed in it''s frantic figure.


    Zeke was immensely satisfied by the performance of his new metal club after this little test run. It was much heavier than the branch, like comparing a stone to a boulder, but Zeke''s high strength had no problems with the extra weight, in fact, he liked the little ''omphf'' to each swing. If there was one issue, it was the length, it was a little too short for a human. For a hobgoblin is was perfect... for Zeke it was more akin to a large hammer. Still, an upgrade was an upgrade, he would take what he could get, not to mention that killing things with their own things had a certain charm to it.


    Zeke then chastised himself for not avarice''ing the six goblins, he completely forgot about it, too immersed with ambush. He didn''t turn back though, he''d already covered a fair distance.


    Zeke''s idling thoughts were pushed aside when a menacing wall of sharpened logs came to view at the end of the path. The was a narrow gap in the 2 meter high upright logs that denoted the entrance to whatever this place was, and guarding the entrance was a single hobgoblin. It was ''supposed'' to be watching the entrance from any invaders, but fortunately for Zeke it was sitting on the ground with its eyes closed in blissful rest.


    Normally this would be considered a lucky break to most... to Zeke... it was an insult.


    Do they really think I''d be unable to reach this far?


    Am I really that little of a threat?


    Peaceful enough to sleep on the job, huh?


    These were the fleeting thoughts that rushed through Zeke''s scowling face as he marched directly to the sleeping goblin, all pretenses of stealth forgotten. Not that he''d admit it, but, provocation was extremely effective against Zeke, intentional or not, and especially from goblins.


    Zeke stood over the sleeping guard, casting a shadow over it''s resting face that seemed to disturb whatever dream it was having. Not once did Zeke even take notice of his surroundings, for all he knew there were 10 more goblins waiting right around the gate, not that it was important right now.


    The hobgoblins eyes fluttered opened in sleepy delirium to Zeke''s looming stance, just in time to receive a full strength solid metal ball of death to the side of it''s face, sending it rag dolling to the side of the entrance.


    "Now you have my permission to sleep" Zeke growled at the limp hobgoblin with blood seeping from it''s mouth.


    Without a second thought, Zeke turned to the wooden gate and waltzed right in, fuming in anger and ready to take it out on some more goblin scum.


    The belly of the beast, the goblin village.

 Goblin Village, 2

    The goblin village was fairly unremarkable as one would expected from a primitive race. A two meter high wall of entrenched logs marked the perimeter of the establishment with a pair of narrow entrances, opposite sides of one another. Inside the wall were five, round, wooden and thatch structures, they were rather small, with about 2 or 3 squared meters of space judging from size. The small poorly constructed buildings haphazardly circled around a larger, rectangular building, made fully from sturdy wood that sat in the dead center of the village, a hall of sorts?


    From what Zeke could see, there were about 100 green goblins present, a good portion were sleeping by the outside of the small rotund shacks, a further 20 or so were fighting each other by the shade of the relatively tall walls. There was one hobgoblin that Zeke could see guarding the entrance on the other side, so far it hadn''t noticed the human intruder.


    Zeke noted that there were less forces here than he had estimated, there were 100 he could account for outside, maybe 30 more inside the mysterious buildings. Plus the amount of goblins that were by the stream, which was roughly 45, meaning that over a quarter of their man-powered was dedicated to just the hunting parties. Maybe this settlement was just one of many? Zeke shuddered at the thought.


    But, to be fair, goblins were individually weaker than a grown child, so perhaps sending nearly a third of the village to hunt wasn''t as outlandish as he thought. Also, as an unrelated speculation, he had never considered the goblins to be nocturnal, but the 30 sleeping bodies on the dirt suggested otherwise, after all, it was early afternoon, too early to be sleeping. They could just be lazy too, can''t discount that.


    Zeke''s absentminded survey of the goblin village was broken by the scampering of the closest goblins that noticed him standing by the gate. They shrieked out in shock as they scurried into the nearby circular shacks, trampling over the sleeping figures of other goblins. The alarming sounds drew the attention of the other milling goblins, and then those goblins cried out and alerted more. The domino effect of distress soon had the whole village facing towards the stationary Zeke.


    "Well shit" said Zeke nonchalantly


    At least only 10 of the sleeping goblins had woken up, the others were to deep in sleep to be roused.


    This wasn''t the plan.


    That hobgoblin guard had enraged Zeke to the point where he was blinded to his environment. Zeke frowned when he remembered how angry he had gotten, it wasn''t like him. Well, he was easily provoked, but that didn''t explain the abnormal fury that bubbled up from nowhere. He just chalked it up to isolation symptoms, it had been a couple of weeks of nothing but murder, fear and near death encounters, not to mention the excessive creepy crawlies that sought to claim his cave after every day out. That was enough to drive anyone mad, he thought with a tone of despair.


    A lone green goblin charged towards Zeke with a stone dagger in both hands, holding it in front of it''s chest as it prepared to lunge at Zeke''s stomach. The solitary charging goblin evoked a courageous moral in all the other goblins and the shock of Zeke''s abrupt intrusion was channeled into a territorial anger.


    With a carefree flick of the wrist, Zeke slammed the wooden pommel of his club into the goblin''s head as he brushed past.


    With that, the first victim of this pillaged village fell to the grass-less dirt with a large dent in it''s forehead.


    A hushed silence spread across the spectators as Zeke casually walked further into the settlement , swinging his metal club in slow circles, catching the afternoon sun on the weapon''s head, making it shine brilliantly.


    A quiet, uncertain growl interrupted the dreadful silence of Zeke''s imposing advance. Another snarl filled the air from a different location, followed by another and another. Soon each goblin was hyped up into a roaring frenzy and all at once they charged at slowly walking Zeke who was utterly unfazed by the menacing cacophony.


    The odds were 100 to 1.


    Zeke spotted a single hobgoblin exiting from each of the small wooden shacks, disturbed by the vicious war cries of their lesser brethren. The only silver lining to their arrival was that they weren''t armored with bog hide and a sea of weak goblins blocked any direct path to Zeke, but they still carried their powerful metal clubs.


    Zeke swatted away at goblins with wide sweeping swings as he skirted the edge of the wave of goblins, sometimes hitting up to three enemies at a time. His better judgement told him not to allow the numerous foes to entrap him and block his movement.


    The weak green goblins were so inadequate when compared with Zeke''s stats. Even if they managed to land a glancing strike, it would barely cut deeper than the skin, whereas Zeke''s longer reach and weapon would often instantly kill all those who were struck. It was like the difference between a mouse and a hawk. In the few seconds that Zeke had been swinging his club, an unnerving number of lifeless green bodies scattered in his wake, and the body count was rising.


    + Bludgeoner has reached level 3


    + 2 Attribute Points


    The hobgoblins had noticed Zeke''s unstoppable rampage and had started to toss and trample over their allies in order to reach Zeke quicker.


    Once the hobgoblins reached within spitting distance, Zeke stopped fighting and backpedaled his way to the wall of logs to gain some breathing room, he then raised a hand at a pair of hobgoblins that were trudging side by side.


    Zeke mana still wasn''t full, only at 50 of 65, but he sure as shit wasn''t going to fight multiple hobgoblins at melee range. His last tussle with the two hobgoblins had taught him not to underestimate their strength and endurance. Zeke shot forth a medium-sized orb of blinding blue flames at the unsuspecting hobgoblins. They were easy to hit, seeing how they were almost twice the size of their green counterparts, all they could do was raise their hands to protect their faces from the magical attack, which worked, but their arms and torso combusted in an unyielding blue splendor.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    As always, the unexpected use of magic left the witnesses in a state of bewildered stupor, Zeke drew one of his two remaining javelins and hurled it at another close-by hobgoblin. He didn''t bother with Aim-lock as it would take too long, but the javelin did hit the mark, hitting a hobgoblin in the ribs, causing it to reel backwards in pain.


    Dealing as much damage to the hobgoblins before they made it to melee range would be the key to winning this fight, he thought.


    Zeke decided to draw the last spear and throw it at the same hobgoblin while it was still trying to pull out the previous one. The little green goblins were slicing up his armor and vulnerable thighs while he aimed, a pain which Zeke was able to ignore with a clenched jaw and adrenaline fueled focus. The last javelin pierced through the hobgoblin''s neck, just above the collar bone causing pale blood to freely spurt from the 3cm diameter hole. Unsurprisingly, it was still able to charge towards Zeke while pushing it''s free hand into the fatal wound to mostly stop the bleeding. A new fire of fury burned deeply in the hobgoblin''s maddened and fearful eyes.


    With a huge grunt Zeke pushed his way out of the swarm of goblin knifes and swords, the countless small cuts and nicks painting his legs in dark red blood. Zeke drew a dagger in one hand to slice and stab the goblins that were grappling his legs in attempt to immobilize him, his other hand was swinging wildly to dissuade the others from trying something similar.


    With great effort Zeke was able to kick his legs free from the living shackles, just in time as an untouched hobgoblin barreled into the front line of the fight. It''s metal club whizzed past empty air and hit the ground, leaving a club-shaped indentation in the bleak dirt, it sneered at Zeke''s fleeting footwork as it ripped the club from the ground.


    Another hobgoblin lumbered to Zeke''s warpath, this was one of the earlier fireball victims, identified by the charred arms and chest and the few blue embers that still burned weakly. It didn''t bother to use a weapon, it simply attempted to ram it''s blackened shoulder into Zeke''s escaping figure.


    A series of quick steps, followed by a half-spin brought his metal dagger into the burned hobgoblin''s shoulder, leaving a deep gash down to it''s lower back. Following up the attack, Zeke horizontally kicked the hobgoblin''s legs, sending it sprawling to the ground where it''s severe burns softened the landing, making it howl in agony. The other goblins then used the fallen hobgob as a doormat, digging in their feet into the profusely bleeding gash on it''s back, preventing it from rising.


    One hobgoblin had been removed from the fight, but there was no time to celebrate as another was approaching fast.


    Not only were the hobgoblins slowly closing in, a few of the regular goblins had equipped themselves with bows and were desperately peppering the area around the fight. Thankfully, they were doing more harm than good, but an arrow was still harder to dodge than a tiny little dagger. Especially when you consider the dagger not even being able to reach up to Zeke''s head, unlike the arrows.


    Zeke managed to sweep down a further eight or nine goblins before another hobgoblin rampaged to the fray. This hobgoblin was bleeding from it''s neck and chest, it the one he had spear''d earlier, it was struggling to stand upright due to blood loss. It''s skin had gone many shades lighter, almost a cream colour, not the usual murky yellow. Zeke concluded that it wouldn''t pose a huge immediate threat and danced away, but the berserk rage in it''s eyes still shone bright.


    For the most part, Zeke ignored it''s staggering pursuit, instead focusing on killing the endless tide of green goblins. Sure enough, the hobgoblin only made a few more unsteady steps before it succumbed to the cold embrace death and fell in slow motion on the couple of unlucky goblins in front of it.


    Two down and from what Zeke could tell, only three more to go.


    Speaking of three more to go... the remaining two healthy and the one heavily burnt hobgoblins were charging together in unison like a high speed wall of muscle, mowing down the green goblins in their path as if hobgoblins were an actual lawnmower cutting grass.


    Apparently they hadn''t learnt their lesson from the first time they grouped up, Zeke thought with a victorious smirk.


    Zeke freed up his hands by tossing his club and dagger at the nearest goblin and clasped his hands together. A huge ball of flames popped into existence between Zeke''s opening palms, the biggest one yet, consuming all his remaining 39 mana. The distance between Zeke and the phalanx of hobgoblins was closing rapidly, but he abstained from launching the deadly magic, choosing to instead pour every last digit of power into this final spell.


    Without the hobgoblin''s presence, the village would be helpless and Zeke wasn''t going to waste the opportunity to eradicate all the hobgoblins at once.


    "FIREBALL" Zeke shouted as the humongous spell departed from his fingertips.


    + Magus has reached level 2, New skill awarded


    +1 Attribute Point


    + Skill Earned: Mana Sense


    The flames were heated to such a degree that that had taken on a pure white appearance. Any unfortunate creatures who were withing a 2 meter range of the traveling fireball were scorched by the hellish temperature. The goblins further away who witnessed the magic were temporarily blinded by the whiter than white flames of death. Zeke''s hand were not exempt from the spell, remnants of the fireball coated his fingers in a teal fire as he was working quickly absorb the magic back into his body,but not fast enough to avoid leaving his hands smoking and in extreme pain. However, by far the ones most affected by the awesome yet destructive magical attack were the hobgoblins. Because of their momentum they were unable to move away or dodge and met the magic head on... literally.


    Instead of catching ablaze, they were completely incinerated.


    The only evidence of their existence was the bubbling puddle of melted hobgob ''stuff'' that seared the ground beneath it.


    The spell kept on traveling after it hit the hobgoblins and dropped to the floor about 2 meters behind the initial impact. When it hit the ground a tsunami of infernal white death flooded across the blinded goblins. As the fire seeped outwards and touched the villagers, they were reduced to ashes in the matter of a second. This continued for 5 seconds until the white flames then suddenly dissipated into nothing. That was the compensation for the extreme heat, Zeke had crippled the length of time the fire burned. It seemed to pay off, as that single fireball had killed over 30 goblins.


    + Title Earned: Goblin Slayer


    Zeke drew his sword as he lurched around the battlefield in a drunken manner, his vision was completely white from the light. He wasn''t able to see, but he could feel the resistance of flesh as he slashed randomly around in a circle. The time he spent in the white void felt endless, at least 20 seconds had past before he was able to make out the basic shapes that constituted the stumbling goblin army, which made killing them a lot easier.


    A further minute and his vision had returned, mostly to normal, save for a white blemish that appeared where ever he looked. What he was able to see was an expanse of scorched earth and a mountain of dead where some barely alive victims of the battle weakly crawled in pain to the exits of the village. Of course Zeke spare no mercy as he swaggered to the fleeing foes, ending them one by one.


    When the last goblin had taken their last breathe, Zeke too joined the many corpses on the ground. His mind slipping unconscious before his head even touched the ground.


    It was dead of night when Zeke awoke among the hundreds of dead. This marked the second time Zeke had ever peered into the starry sky, he noted that much like the first time, it was when he had awoken, surrounded by the decomposing corpses from a life or death fight. Zeke''s only company in this moment was the ambiance of millions of insects and the ever-present cooling wind that permeated every stretch of the forest.


    The lack of trees and tall structures in the village also offered a perfect, unobstructed view of the night''s canvas. Each star was like a tiny, shiny jewel and the cosmos of impossibly distant galaxies swirled in wondrous pools of green and blue, but the most dominate feature was the gargantuan moon. The surface seemed to not hold a single crater or other such imperfection, it was just a smooth spherical spotlight, the biggest jewel in the sky. Tonight was a full moon too, and the forest was illuminated by the Luna light, coaxing a magical undertone to all it graced. Zeke made a promise to himself to gaze into the night again sometime.


    With a worn out groan Zeke went about using avarice on each corpse while he inspected the newest addition to his titles.


    Title: Goblin Slayer


    One who has killed a great many goblins. The Goblin Slayer strikes fear with his presence alone, their life is to seek out and eradicate all goblin-kind.


    +8 Strength (61)


    +4 Agility (37)


    +5 Endurance (41)


    +2 Affinity (36)


    +3 Intelligence (49)


    + Rogue has reached level 3, New skill awarded


    +3 Attribute Points


    + Swordsman has reached level 2, New skill awarded


    +1 Attribute Point


    + Skill Earned: Poison


    + Skill Earned: Riposte

 The End

    Hiya all! Rhapsody here, reporting for duty!


    Well maybe not, as sadly, I''ve decided to bring ''Zeke Herald, Goblin Slayer'' to an end.


    It''s with a heavy heart that I must disappoint everyone who has been diligently reading the daily releases for the past two weeks, I know there''s quite a number of you, thanks for that.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Just so you know, I never intended for this story to be very long in the first place, it was just a test run, my first ever piece of literary work. I wanted to get a feel for story writing and the LitRPG system because I really love reading them, as I''m sure you also do.


    This isn''t the end of Rhapsody tho! I''ll continue to write things on an almost daily basis.


    Who knows maybe I''ll be revisiting Zeke again in the future :3


    P.S. Did you guys know that we made it into the top 5,000 stories? Thank you all so much!


    Once again, I''m sorry for the hundreds that consistantly follow the story :''(