《Daily life of reincarnated goblin [Dropped]》 Prologue: Oblivion Well looking student is calmly walking through hallways with his usual smile gracefully, he is an honor student and the most good looking guy in the wholeschool - Kyaah, I wonder if he has a girlfriend - It''s him? It''s my first time seeing him... he''s better than rumors say, can you introduce me to him? - Are you kidding? He''s super popular you know? I am not close to him - Aww... The girls immediately start whispering and shoot shy or bold glances towards him, and he Dylan receives them all calmly, like usual '' Ah, life is so beautiful '' He thinks and absorbs all the popularity like it''s the common thing to do He sits on his seat and boys give him weird glances Some are annoyed, some are jealous, some want to beat him up but they know that he''s not all good looks, he''s pretty strong too, likely he knows some martial arts - Damn he pisses me off - Cut it, he''s way out of our league - What did you say, four eyes otaku? - Who are you calling four eyes and I am not an otaku - Ahh? Did you say something bastard? And door opens, professor walks in and claps his hands once - Alright, everyone, take your seats ... - Tch, I''ll get you again The dissatisfied student snorts coldly at four eyes and takes his seat Dylan is unaffected by such common occurrence. Despite being popular, he is pretty inexperienced in love and has almost no friends because they think he''s way out of their league, but he does not worry a single bit because this is just his cover, outer looks and not his true self His true self is neet, who spends most of his time playing and reading manga, and someone is dissatisfied with that - Brother, Are you going to eat by yourself again? This is not normal, it''s lonely eating all by myself His sister scolds while he plays his favorite MMORPG game - Come on, you are all grown up, are you that lonely? Just invite over your friends, I am busy Dylan says coldly without even looking at her direction, he does not notice how her eyes tear up as she clenches her fists wanting to say something but she stops and leaves him alone, closing his door - Shit, I lost again, it''s her damn fault, now I will have to grind for this zombie bastard again, it''s going to take forever '' I am Dylan inkman, college student and playboy type of man from outside, but I don''t really care about that, the truth is I like games and carefree life style of shut it, but after my parents passed away, I can''t afford to fool around either, pity but I have to keep up in social life too, or else it might backfire, I will eventually have to get a job and work, what a pain'' '' Fortunately our parents left me and Lisa, my sister with a lot of money which will last us for quite some time, so that''s why I don''t give it my all, despite that, my IQ is pretty high and I can have double the result with half the effort'' - Damn I am running out of games, I am already sick of this one, I will have to buy the new one, hmm I should check newer games popularity before I go, I don''t want to buy some shitty game I went in convenience store and was giving passing glances to games when I noticed my classmate - Shit I thought and hid away from her, I don''t want strange rumors going around that I am some neet, why is she here anyway, what was her name again? Haru? Haruna? Haro... fuck I don''t remember, but I don''t have to, hahaha, I better gtfo of here I went back empty handed, damn wench, losing my precious time like that, I have to go to gym too, stupid bitch I cursed in my mind and walked back to my house dejected, my sister wore her new summer clothes and was about to leave too - Ah, brother, what a coincidence, I want to buy some things, can you accompany me? She asked, without glancing at me I got annoyed by that, adding fuel on fire and yelled - You know I will refuse, no? Then why bother asking? She looked at me angrily, there was some disappointment and resentment in there too, I felt even more annoyed and said before she could say anything - I will go, let''s grab some food while we are at that, it''s been ages since we''ve gone out She looked surprised, then hesitant but then just nodded, her previous anger was nowhere to be seen but she was awfully quiet, am I missing something? We went out together, she was quiet, come to think of it, I have been neglecting her lately, I feel sorry, but oh well, she''s all grown up and all, she should be able to deal with it - Brother... She said, almost whispering - Yeah? - ... Do you hate me? - Pft, where did that come from? - You are always cold to me, avoid me and sometimes say hurtful things, are these games so important to you? Am I inconvenience to you? She looked at me straight in my eyes, ugh, it''s hard to lie her to face, but I have to thicken my skin - O, of course not, I just, I am addicted you know? Does not seem convincing does it? ... Look, I really... - It''s fine, if you regret, then you should make up for it She said, smiling at me brightly, I sighed in relief inwardly, that solves the problem - Yeah, let''s do that So that day we had some fun, I forgot when was the last time I saw her smile, she seemed especially happy today, we walked in parks, rode attractions, ate ice cream and tasted different cuisines, neither of us was a big spender but today we allowed to enjoy ourselves, my stress was somewhat relieved too, killing two birds with one stone We even met some of my classmates, they blushed and had hard time talking but with my easy going demeanor I lightened up the mood for them, my sister was not surprised, she probably knew me more than I knew myself, then we went home - Today was fun, let''s do this some other time too She said, smiling at me more brightly - Yeah I replied Two months have passed since then, I bought a new game and semester''s end was approaching, we never went out again and I returned to my previous schedule - Brother can you buy some vegetables from convenience store? I am walking over to friend''s house for studying, I will cook something once I come back - Eh, no way, I am busy I replied as usual - Brother can you be a least bit more understanding? She said, in moodier tone, which got on my nerves - Where are you going anyway, I can teach you, is it maths? History? Hell, you forgot I am an honor student? As I replied I never glanced at her, I was busy killing some mecha monsters There was silence then I heard an yell - This is the problem, you never even glance at me, you are always so selfish, I thought you would grow up but you just... don''t.. brother you are an idiot, I hate you! She said and I heard hard door shutting sound, damn I lost, fuck, I will have to go all the way from the beginning? How many times does she have to interrupt me? I was pissed and angrily opened my door, then I heard her crying sounds, my expression turned ugly, how did it come to this, damn this is pissing me offThis tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I went outside, I was sick of that atmosphere, I needed to relax, I called my girlfriend and we went on date, my mood got significantly better and I forgot all the fight I had. Oh forgot to mention I confessed the most beautiful girl in class, Alice and she agreed, we started dating two weeks ago, and things are going smoothly, I wanted to try out new things and live more fulfilling life The next day I went to school but something was unusual, girls gave me weird glances and acted as if avoiding me, I felt it was weird and thought it was my imagination, but when boys smirked at me I felt something was not right - Oy, Dylan, I did not know you were a neet and otaku My classmate said with weird glint in his eyes My soul shook, how did they know? Who told them? I did not think much and jumped from my seat, leaving the classroom immediately - Oy, where are you running to? I heard an yell but I ignored it - Just let him be, he''ll come eventually My expression was uglier as it would get, then I exited the school gates, panting heavily, I called - ... Dialing... hello? - Alice, it''s me, I want to talk with you in private I told her hurriedly and nervously, there was silence for a while and she told me to come behind the school at 17:00 I was there at right time - Dylan, I''m sorry, let''s break up -... Why? I asked, clenching my fists - I am sorry... She said and left, I stood there, not really heart broken, but angry, all these years, I accumulated my popularity only to get destroyed that easily? It was that DAMNED BITCH! What is her problem? Was it necessary to go that far? I am not a nice guy but I never abused and hit her, do I deserve something so cruel? I returned home all fired up, but did not find my sister, there was note left behind by her '' You never cared for my feelings, I hate you my egotistical selfish brother, all you think about is your games, you were never there when I needed, heck you did not even know anything, I am moving out, do not seek for me'' I read and my anger was subdued, when she needed me? Did something happen? Why did I not know anything? Where the hell is she? The next day I went to school like usual but I avoided all these annoying guys and their criticism, I could crush their jaws if I really wanted to I went and searched for her class, I talked to her classmates, apparently nobody knew anything, I was depressed and sat on bench outside when someone approached me from behind, that girl wore glasses and was an average beauty - You are Lisa''s brother right? She asked, I could not see her eyes, the sun light reflection covered it, then she approached and sat on bench - You know her? Did something happen to her? She was quiet for a while, she watched me from head to toe all over at least thrice then she said - I am her best friend, she... let me guess, you do not know anything that happened to her right? - Did something happen? Is it serious? I was getting extremely worried She just watched me in the eyes and said - She got pregnant I was dumbfounded, speechless, what? Pregnant? WHO? My sister? - W, how, I mean... what... what happened? - I knew her very well, she was my best friend for a reason, cheerful, happy, helpful, but one day she stopped smiling, I knew he had a boyfriend and they were in love, but somehow they made a mistake and... well that bastard did not want to take the responsibility Deep anger grew in me, I was ready to beat him to death, but I had other things to do, I had to find her first - Anything else? I said, my fists were clenched - Anything else you say? As she said you really are an idiot She said and stood up, walking away I did not care about that, I shot up and started searching, it got dark and I found her, this place... it was the park that we visited that day, she sat on bench, I approached with heavy heart, she lifted her head up, they were lifeless, I felt my heart sink - Why did you not tell me? Who is that bastard? I will kill him I said gently first then my voice turned cold She did not reply and just gestured for me to sit, I did, expecting her to answer - So you know... I went to his parents, they did not acknowledge it and he''s not going to take responsibility either - I will kill them! I shot up once again - Don''t bother, it does not matter anymore Silence, was it my fault? Because I neglected her too much? - I, I am sor... I was slapped then she said quietly but each of her words pierced my heart - You never cared about me in the first place, I am amazed, showing such care after that long? Is it an acting? I do not need it anymore, you never cared about me, goodbye She said and she ran, I was petrified, but her last word woke me up, I pursued her, she was running towards street, the truck was approaching Shit, I have to make it I did, I pushed her, she''s safe, thank god, I am sorry I was such an idiot... what is this feeling? Pain? Is this blood? My consciousness is... fading... ... Lisa''s POW I watched my brother''s bloodied body and I did not dare believe, he died in my stead? I blanked out, he who never showed any dependence, he who was selfish and uncaring of anything, he... Impossible, why now? If you really were kind, why did you have to show it now? Why now? Tears streamed down my face, I did not think my emotions could be further stirred anymore I crouched down, my face was full of tears and disbelief - Brother, wake up, stop this, why now... you never cared so why now... why would you... Brother WAKE UP... wuuuuu~ I started crying, it was painful, I did not notice how crowd swarmed around us - Give the way, I am doctor I heard voice and old man with jacket on his shoulders walked out from crowd, he threw it down and checked on him - Will he live? There was silence, and my eyes teared up again, was this really happening? - I am sorry young lady, he''s already... And he shook his head, stood up with long face and dusted his jacket No... why... why now... Where am I? Am I dead? Lisa, poor girl, I truly am a bastard, but it''s too late for regrets, poor girl, now she will have to live all alone... not like I actually helped her anyway, it''s hard, painful, what will she do now? How will she continue living? IF ONLY I ... There was darkness, I don''t know for how long but I heard voice - Dylan eh? Wow, you really are something This type of scenario... I''ve read it somewhere - Is it god? - God? Kukuku I heard soft then gradually increasing dreadful maniacal laughter - GODS? GODS ARE DEAD, I KILLED THEM HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA~ I felt fear, gods are dead? They existed in the first place? Who is this freak, he''s scaring me, am I going to hell? - I can hear you you know? Ah, I do not care anymore, just send me to afterlife, I am just... I do not want to continue feeling this guilt - You regret? ... I do - Whoa, really dude? Now you regret? Good job, I won''t send you to heaven either way puahahahaha You bastard, I do not care anymore... hey, aren''t you the one who killed gods? Then, can you help her somehow? In my stead - Oh well, then what can you offer me in exchange? I do not know? Soul maybe? Whatever you like, I do not have much to offer - Puahahaha, that''s reaaal funny, you know, there are no gods to restrict me so I can do whatever the heck I want, so I''ll make an exception for you, to be blunt I already did Really? How is she now? You are not lying are you? - Let me start from the beginning, I know your whole life Dylan, and I know your type, you were always different weren''t you? Let''s say you never liked the way people did things, you liked to do things your own way, you find what people liked utterly boring, you lived because you wanted to live however you wanted, without obeying any kind of rules, no society, no religion restrictions, you wanted to escape, let me tell you dear Dylan, YOU DID NOT NEED THE WORLD AND WORLD DID NOT NEED YOU, SO I PITIED YOU AND YOU WERE ERASED LIKE YOU NEVER EXISTED, Lisa your sister would do just fine without you, you never were of any help to her anyway, you realize this? You are unneeded by anyone and you never existed, I the sovereign of four realms, the god of games erased your character completely and utterly from your own world and there was not a single being who would miss you. You get it? ... You''re right, she would probably be much better off without me, how does she live now? - Oh, don''t you worry, since I am mighty and all I erased her boyfriend''s great grandfather like I erased you so he did not even get to say WAAAA, he never sucked her mother''s milk and she never did a wobbly dobbly puahahaha Stop it, it gives me creeps - Eh, you are no fun at all, so I can give choice, either you get completely erased or I can reincarnate you, but not on earth, but in the world where you can do whatever you want, kill and get stronger, but I ain''t givin'' ya any cheats, I wonder will you pour your all and do your best if the world will be to your liking? Lucky you I am here all mighty and all, where is my thanks? Where is my smooch? Gross, anyway, you did not tell me how Lisa lives now - Bah, stop being a worrywart, she''s fine, lives with her parents, flick of my fingers and your parents never got to accident, Lisa is happy without you and lives peacefully, are you satisfied now, can we talk about your reincarnation please? Why do I feel ignored, you know what, you bore me I changed my mind Thank you, can you please watch over her for me? I was not a good brother, I was the worst in fact, I want to make up for it, but I... I can''t do anything - Yeah, yeah, I can give her glance or two every year, not that I have much to do anyway, SOOO WILL YOU TALK SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR NEW LIFE? EXCITED? SOMETHING? I am excited, please let it be some noble''s house, I don''t want to start from scratch - ... Of course leave it to me... NOT! Puahaha, did ya really think I would give you an easy time? I will reincarnate you as a GOBLIN! Cause... you know, why not? God please no - God please yes No - Yes No - Yes ... - No... oh fuck you got me, anyway do not go out with your gamer knowledge and try to wreck some shit, no slimes are not the weakest, you thought otherwise, no? Eh really? - Yeah, y''see they are nasty, they can absorb magic, physical attacks? Pah, wasting time, they are very adapted, have all around high resistance, they are many in numbers and their poluted water from their excretes is the reason why most people die, not some demon king and shit, heck they are not even classified as monsters, so be careful, do not die meaningless death or else it would be booooring They are not monsters? What are they? - They are natural oddities and oh well, you should go out and find out yourself, oh forgot about it, status, you do not get to see stats''n all, but there is levels and levels have great significance, just so you know, if difference of levels between two is 1, the one with the lower level deals 50% less damage than he deals to enemy same level as him, as for his opponent, he deals 50% more damage to the one 1 level lower than him, so it''s literally exceedingly hard to kill higher level enemies Wow, that''s really unfair, how about other levels differences? - If difference is two levels, the lower leveled guy deals 75% less damage while opponent does 100% more, if difference is three levels then lower leveled guy deals 90% less damage while opponent does 150% more, if it''s four levels, lower leveled one does 95% less damage while enemy deals 200% more as for 5 level difference, they are untouchable by lower level one and they deal 250% more damage to 5 levels lower enemy. Bah so much to explain but it''s important and don''t forget ok? ... Wow that''s... - Yeah, as for how you level up, you don''t just go off and kill a hydra, you go kill hydra and dissect it, take its mana stone and eat it, to level up from 1 to 2 you need 5 grade one mana stones, list goes on and requirement doubles, maximum level before evolution is 30 and from level 1 to 30 enemies all drop grade 1 mana stone, but higher level mana stones are much more beneficial and mana stone is much more purified, for example eating mana stone of the level 30 enemies will make you much stronger than your peers if they eat lower grade non purified mana stones, it also depends on species too, for example even lowest grade dragon mana stone will have abundance of mana, so keep that in mind, go figure other things out for yourself Wait, that''s it? Is there not anything you are missing? - Fuck, I might be missing something, but who cares, you go figure out things for yourself, allrighties, prepare your nonexistent ass, here it comes, now say WAAAA, puahahahaha ________ It was utter darkness at first, I could not feel anything, then that weird freak started talking to me, still could not feel anything, like I did not exist, but I was capable of thoughts and somehow my thoughts reached him and I could understand him too But then it came, my feeling of existence came back, I felt it, I was alive, once again I really did not want to be a goblin, but I had no saying in this, so I was born after some time, It was weird, feeling alive and thinking while in mother''s womb, it was comfortable But my rate of growth exceeded my imagination, before I knew it I was brought out and started crying, they were rough and not gentle, these goblin fuckers My eyes were still closed, I know so few of this world, and soon I would open my eyes and my life would begin Chapter 1 Reborn In the primitive hut a little creature was born. Little did he knew of this world however he knew things that no one in this world did. Little creature opened his eyes, scared by darkness, started crying, soon he noticed he was not alone Cries of other creatures got mixed in his own cry. After a while everyone calmed down, but they felt a new feeling-hunger. Wooden door opened and little creatures startled. Roughly 1 meter tall green ugly creature came in with round belly and short stature. He threw something which fell with thud sound. Little creatures were not disturbed by his appearance except for one. Soon they felt aroma of meat, their tummies started growling and they crawled to the meat and started eating. Little creature who was more wary than others started eating too due to his instincts When he was full he started doing things that others were not capable of yet. He started thinking - Fuck, I really am a goblin huh? He looked around and saw green little ugly babies - Well, at least I am not a hero and do not have to work my ass of for some kingdom A or something, freedom is good but... other wordly harem can not happen, I mean I would not like female goblin in hundred years and humans would not date a goblin, so while I am literally a monster I can''t just go off and rape girls, that''s a crime, even if law enforcers are absent, so the plan is to get stronger first and then... I''ll think of something Controlling new monster nature will also be tough, thankfully I retain my memories of past life so I can probably surpress monstrous instincts to some extent Time passed awfully slowly, occasionally the adult goblin would visit and give us some meat, my tastes were also altered, it felt incredibly delicious to me, even if it was raw, is it how lion feels when it eats deer? Weird Other toddler goblins urinated and excreted right here which did not drop my appetite unexpectedly, I felt disgusted, monster nature is kicking in, that¡¯s bad Goblins mature fast, after three days my crawling skills were top notch, couple of days later I could walk, with no proper clothes and my thing dangling between my legs I was not embarrassed, not because I am a pervert, but because monster nature is kicking in again, I am getting worried Others were also maturing as fast, I wanted to leave and sneaked out of hut but I was caught and bastard goblin carried me with my right leg, I was hung upside down, he sure is rough, is this how you treat a toddler you son of a bitch? Others were also getting increasingly anxious, they wanted to leave, but we were not allowed to As god or whatever said I can use skill appraisal but it does not give much information, level is self explanatory and difference in levels means you have to bow, you can''t beat him
Goblin
Level 1
That''s all my status revealed, same for other ones As for the one outside he was level 2, which means we have to sit on our asses and get tossed like kids fighting adults if we try to run off And I am sure about two weeks have passed, and we''ve grown,this growth rate is terrifyingly fast, if their fertility rate is also high and they have many females they should multiply like cockroaches, no, even faster, then how do they manage their numbers, I guess many die, but something is not right here, I mean numbers would go awry if we include many goblins in their reproductionTaken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Finally I have grown into 1 meter tall ugly bastard with ugly face, dark green skin, round belly and pointy ears, my previous handsome self is tarnished and thrashed, it does not matter any longer, all that matters is strength, if my fists are deadly then they bow, if my fists can''t do shit then I bow, it''s as simple as that, there is nothing like pride for goblins, I have some pride but I think if I want to blend in their society I have to forget about it, at least for now, for the better Once we matured, level 2 goblin opened the hut''s door which was wooden, this hut seemed spacious once we were small, but now about 60 grown up goblins had to stay here, so it was cramped, I had to smell their shit but it did not smell like anything disturbing, my monster nature is killing me, I got mentally tired after such ordeal And then goblin talked, I understood, weird, he said things like Guageggaaagagegoggou or something but I could understand his meaning Goblins were much more intelligent than I thought, but it''s just their monster nature was rotten We were to follow him in line, if we ran off we would get butchered, not showing any sympathy, huh? It''s normal, I say we are monsters, nothing more nothing less, and then he said something alarming on the way - Tribe has many toddlers like you, you have no worth, if you want to stay in tribe, prove your worth Others were silent then one talked back - What do we have to do in order to stay in tribe? New goblin''s voice was as coarse as him, seriously you would not know difference from outside but if you appraised you would know who was the boss - It''s simple, you have to abide tribe''s rule and fight between each other, you will fight to death, everyone who wins 3 fights will pass, of course you can fight more than that, but resting in between fights is prohibited What, it''s life and death fight after we start walking? Formidable We walked outside and I looked around a lot, there were primitive huts, fences and goblins with some weapons, most were level 2, not 1 because level 1 goblins would be in abundance, but most were killed off I guess I have to stay alive, 3 matches huh? It''ll be troubling but I knew some martial arts from my previous life, I should be fine, If I can''t even win against these dull bastards who just started walking what can I ever beat? First we were brought to some hutand loinclothes were distrubuted to all of us, it was fitting, then we were brought to tribe''s chief, he had 2 bodyguard goblins with heavy attire of nice clothing, robust figures and they were taller than all of us, we had to prostrate ourselves and pay respect, I did it reluctantly Goblin chief was level 13 and his guards were level 10, I guess I knew the reason, guards would probably benefit from him and chief would not like to personally take action every time, but it would not be good if his guards overthrow his throne of chief, so they were given enough benefits to be content, while chief received all the mana stones and grew in power while sitting on his ass, I was envious but there was nothing I could do, I was at the bottom right now, they could just butcher me and would not feel any ounce of remorse, I had to play smart, not tough - You will fight to death, you can choose your weapons, but you have to return them, if you want to take them afterwards you have to pay mana stones The chief spoke, his voice was domineering, he sat on high up place, full of fur of some kind of animal, his body was not robust, instead it was thin and he looked not too old, yet experienced and crafty, he held some kind of staff embodied by jewelery and gem on top, his clothing was also luxurious black fur, there''s no need to fear him, I won''t have much to do with him anyway, at least not now, I am just a nobody and I am hesitating, should I go on killing spree in arena or stay humble low profile? I was amazed, so mana stones are used as acurrency? This is getting interesting And then we were lined up, waiting for our turns to come, I watched their clumsy yet bloody battles, none showed sympathy, loser was the thief and winner was the king, this was the rule of our tribe Most fought with daggers, they could not hold swords quite well yet, but they could wield some short swords, hatchets, even small double axes, shields, bow, their quality was as bad as it could get, they were wooden but it was better than nothing, as for blades they were of steel, they should be loot from killed adventurers or something. Fact that they gave us a lot of meat while we were toddlers means that they are not as weak as I imagined them to be In ongoing fight goblin with double hatchet broke through opponent''s wooden shield and slashed on his chest, blood sprouted violently and then his head was also chopped off, what a pity, he had two more fights to go There was not a single one who fought after 3 fights and ones who survived 3 fights were just 4 out of 40, remaining 24 and me were waiting for our turn, winner could get mana stone from dead goblin, even though it was of worst quality, it was better than nothing, not to mention eating 5 would result in level up, then you could look down upon all level 1 goblins and most importantly you would no longer be at the bottom of their fucked up society So they fought hard to death, blood was spilled, there was not some kind of arena, it was an open field of barren land and other goblins, onlookers just surrounded the two who fought, they were not allowed to flee, or else they would be killed mercilessly Many died violently and barren land was painted red, but space was big, it would not obstruct anyone, their blood was green, unlike human''s, still their death was so life like, it etched in my mind, instead of fear I felt my blood was boiling, damn monster nature is welcomed for the first time, I do not want to feel fear, not now, not ever, so I have to personally kill and get stronger I personally saw how they butchered dead goblin and took out light blue crystal from their brains, the scene would be traumatizing, but it was not for us, instead everyone was cheering Chapter 2 Deadly tribal rule, three consecutive battles There were 65 of us in total, most of us would die, 5 or 6 would remain at maximum, but one would think we got all remaining 60 stones than that''s a pure dream, these mana stones would occasionally be collected by adult goblins, we could only get as many as we killed, which was not unfair, but these guys were much craftier than I expected, they could just fuck around and get 60 mana stones every week, that''s broken, and where does it all go? To chief of course, and that''s not all, I bet we are not the only batch, there should be other newcomers too Clever, very clever and that was not all, I would get amazed by them over and over But for now my turn has come, I stood in front of weaponry, contemplating what to choose, I am not used to my new body yet, I never fought with weapons either, but I can''t just go against blades with bare fists, after some thinking I chose a wooden shield and short sword I blanked out for a second, monstrous cheers filled my ears, I looked around, if I did not move I would die, death, knowing it''s close was a weird feeling, but I was not scared, because I was confident The enemy chosea dagger, he held it awkwardly and he made a first move, using my blanked out state, I came back to my senses at right time and jumped, dodging his dagger which were about to cut my feet, that was a weird move, attacking feet? He''s surely an amateur, I jumped and bashed my shield to his face, he staggered and screamed in pain, I cut his neck while he was confused, green blood sprouted and dyed my body This was the first time I killed something, all I felt was excitement and anticipation for another battle, I wanted to know the extent of my prowess Other goblins were cheering, I cut his skull open, brain matter spilled out, his gruesome corpse was not as scary as I thought it would be, my humane nature was suppressed by monstrous one, was it because I saw blood? I felt it was normal thing to do, I cut his skull open and took out light blue transparent stone, I cleared it with my own hands and green blood of the goblin was swept, it had a size of a fingernail, I put it in my loincloth and prepared for another fight The crowd was cheering, I really wanted to fight many times but reasoning told me to stay low profile, I do not want bigger guys picking on me just because they saw me as a threat, and again I have a little information about how things work here My next opponent held half foot long axe, he wanted to smash my wooden shield but was awfully slow, I landed a clean hit to his vital - neck yet again and he died, rolling on the ground upside down The second win And here comes the last one The last one held two daggers in his hands and was visibly shaken by my performance, I felt fear from his eyes, I got annoyed, fear? So even they know fear? Is this not a bad thing? Maybe I will feel fear at some point too, and I wanted to be invincible emotional-wise. Disgrace, he is a disgrace to all goblins, goblins do not feel fear, I do not feel fear! I rushed towards him while protecting my chest and head with shield when dagger was thrown towards me, wooden shield almost cracked, this bastard... I raged when another dagger came flying to my direction, it pierced my shoulder and I wailed in pain, god it was painful, I was angrier as I could get, first he showed fear and destroyed my image of fearless warrior, reminding me that they could also be cowards, then he used such despicable means to wound me Kill him! Crowd roared and I dropped my shield, taking out dagger from my left shoulder, green blood oozed out, ignoring the pain I went after him He ran, he was faster than I was but... he could not flee Evil grin was displayed on my face as I slowly approached him like a god of death Once he tried to flee he was thrown back and was lying on ground shaking in fear, I grabbed his skull and dragged him towards the center of arena and then * Slash, slash, slash... I repeatedly slashed with his own dagger at his hands until I tore off his own hand with my own, he wailed and screamed in pain, thrashed but it was useless, I beat him with his own severed hand, then I stomped his head, with cracking sound his skull caved in I won, I am aliveThis narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. This is nothing I dissected his corpse and took out the third bloody mana stone, this is where I stop, not to mention my wound, I do not want to get much attention yet I went back and watched other fights calmly along with others I heard sound of footsteps and saw a goblin with couple of strands of hair on his bald head walking towards me, he showed me red vial and said - Low grade healing potion, two mana stones, but since you are new I can give it to you for one I hesitated, the wound was really painful but I did not want to spend these yet, I denied with heavy heart, despite that he cackled and said - I watched you fight, and since I like you I can give you advice or two, of course in exchange you just have to remember me in the future I was silent for a while and then nodded - Come on, follow me, it''s not really necessary to watch it anymore ... - Where are we going? I asked - You are new and do not know but we have one older goblin who can purify mana stones and increase its quality by 2, for example if your mana stone is from level 1 monster, after his purification it will have same effect as one from level 3 monster - Does it make difference? - A little to be honest, but it''s better to consume higher quality stones for good foundation, you might have higher chance against your peers this way - He won''t do this for free right? - Kukuku, of course it''s not free, if you pay him one stone he can purify other two for you, how about it? Come to think of it, god really said something like that, it''s more beneficial to consume mana stones from higher level monster, I will go agree for now, it sounds good to me - Hey, many choose not to do that, right? - Of course, it''s not cheap and many do not have luxury to purify them and think of foundations, they just want to get stronger, but I think you have good potential, it would be waste for you to eat lowest grade mana stones - I see And I followed him for about ten minutes, I met a lot of goblins on the way, most were level 2, level 1s were also many, higher level goblins were rare to be seen but it''s not like you could not find them - Goblins rarely hunt alone He started - We like to group teams, but you do not have a qualification to group a team yet, once you are level 3 you can hire as many goblins as you can afford, you have to pay them 1 mana stone every month, of course if you hire level 2 goblins they require 2 mana stones per month, they will obey your orders and everything they get from battles will belong to you, except you should always pay them, or they might riot or tell higher ups Wow, so mana stones really are currency here, their system is also cleverly made - Say, why does nobody turn against each other and kill their kin for mana stones? - Heh, things like that happen, but you should not get discovered, if you get suspected you will be killed by chief''s guardsman, you can always go off alone and leave the tribe but it''s very hard to survive easily, months might pass and you might not hunt a single mana stone, if you stay here you will have chance to earn them, we also have common enemies, we raid small nearby villages, kobolds are our nemesis and we are their nemesis, we always fight, what can you do alone? They will outnumber and kill you - So that''s why... - Occasionally adventurers come too, they are not really strong since this place is desolate and adventurers from cities would rarely go near here, we loot them, it''s so much fun, you know? - Hmm, you guys kill guys and rape girls right? I felt it was cruel, I had to know more about them - Usually we do not rape them at first, we bring them back intact and auction their first time, after some time they get tossed away and can be used by everyone but chief''s guardsman are rather fond of tasting girls first, we know that and they offer no less than 10 mana stone for each girl, while it''s tempting to have your way with freshly hunted humans, getting stronger is much more tempting, besides there are many captured humans who we can use Cruel, these bastards are cruel - What if I offer more mana stones than guardsman? Will I get to have the captured girl for my own? I was not thinking bad things okay, I just wanted to know if it was possible to save them - Of course, but they would not like it, nobody has ever done that and probably they would become your enemy, but I think it''s possible, however they have Chief''s backing and it''s impossible to display more mana stones than they can - I see... - We are here He said and knocked on the door, the ancient wooden door opened with creaking sound and goblin hunchback which could not get any uglier opened the door, he was supporting himself with stick - Come in He said and we did - He wants purified stones Potion seller said, I asked him on the way, seems these potions can not be produced by them but adventurers have them in flocks and they looted quite a lot of them - Oh, newbie who wants some foundations? It''s rare, however I do not do things for charity, 1 mana stone for 2 purified stones deal? He said and I gave him my three mana stones His hands let out a blue light and visibly color of mana stones became more blue, I was amazed, how can he do that? - Can you teach me? I asked curiously - Haha, teach you? It can''t be taught, it''s natural Ah, what a waste I took my two purified mana stones and gulped them down Refreshing feeling burst in my body but I heard yell - Idiot, you should find a secluded place to properly refine them, ah what a waste Refine them? And then my stomach hurt, I had hard time controlling the energy, slowly they subsided, but I felt uncomfortable for a while - Next time you should properly refine them, now go, I do not have time to spare for likes of you Before exiting his house I appraised him, he was level 7, his foundations should also be good, but I guess he''s too old now I said goodbye to potion seller and was left alone in this place Where do I live? Ah, fuck I am lost, I better ask things around, I hope I do not make enemies Chapter 3 Schemer I looked around, everybody was minding their own business, I felt lost - Ah, give me a break I murmured and stopped the random stranger goblin, asking him about where newcomers would sleep - Sleep? Newcomers don''t have house, you can either sleep outside or ask someone to take you in party, this way he might show some sincerity and let you sleep - Uh, right, when do I get my own hut? - Once you level up to 2, now stop getting in my way, I am busy I awkwardly stood aside, looking at my bare hands I realized I did not have weapons, probably newcomers would exchange mana stones for weapons at first, rather than consuming it, but oh well, I will do just fine without them My shoulder wound was still there aching, it was not bone deep but it was pretty nasty, I decided to go out by my own and try my luck, if I die too early then that''s how far my luck stretches I asked passerbys to lead way to nearby forest and before I could leave their fences I saw a level 2 goblin approaching me - Hi there, I was missing a single party member, care to join? He said in coarse voice - I''m fine, I am just going out for a fresh air I said and continued walking - Going alone? What a joke He snorted and burst in laughter - Got a problem with that? He did not reply and I saw evil grin on his face, he''s planning something does not he? Probably he thinks that I am some hot-headed newborn goblin wanting to throw my life away and then he will snatch my mana stone, dream on I went in forest, the trees were neither short nor tall, there was pleasant breeze, not like one you breath in cities, it was clear and refreshing, there were someshort bushes and ground was wet, seems there was rain, I realized I did not have shoes but my legs were rather adapt on moving barefoot, unless I step in some pointy rocks I should be fine I heard small footstep sounds, they were rather bad at concealing their presence, I wonder why did they not attack already, do they want me to go further away so nobody knows how they kill me? Battling level 2 goblin will be troublesome too but it''s not like I am hopeless, if I hit his eyes for example even 50% damage reduction is not anything I wanted to check my skills and tried climbing up a tree, with my rough feet and strong arms I managed to do it easily, compared to my human body this body was tad bit stronger, despite being a single meter tall I had quite some strength in muscles even at level 1, it must be monster nature, if I fought my human self in goblin state, it''s hard to determine who would win, I can move much more skillfully with my human body, but now it''s gone, I have to get used to this one Once I was high up, I looked down from tall tree and appraised things, unexpectedly my eyes stumbled upon something rather good
Healing herb
Putting this herb on wound will fasten healing speed and get rid of fatigue
Woah, that''s something I needed, it''s god-sent, though that freak said gods are dead, why would he kill them? Who caresStolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. I climbed down carefully and plucked green leaves of healing herb, then applied them to wound, I felt my pain getting less noticeable and it was refreshing feeling After that, I just remained in that position, never moving Play smart, not hard, that''s my motto from now on as for what does it have to do with anything, well, I noticed a group of 4 kobolds, one of them is level 2, others are level 1, they should have good smell so they will find me soon and then knowing my stalker goblin''s hiding spot I''ll use dog eat dog tactic, and then once both sides die out I will receive all the benefit I was not disappointed, soon I heard rustling sounds, my heart was beating fast due to anticipation, I knew I was getting surrounded but I acted as if I did not notice anything and then... knowing they were about to make their move I ran with all my might to goblin''s direction, they were soon exposed Kobolds chased after me and after I passed throughmy fellow goblins they gave up on me and went for fat prey of 3 goblins I heard level 2 goblin''s angry roar towards me but I gave it a deaf ear They started fighting, I was grinning evilly from the sides, watching them slash each other, this was the heavenly opportunity, I would be disgrace to humanity''s mischief if I failed to do such simple thing and the result was as I wanted, their subordinates were dead while they were cut all over, fighting until death, level 2 goblin was bleeding from chest and kobold who held dagger had hard time walking on two legs, his left leg was wounded and his mobility dropped Goblin screamed and his slash was avoided, kobold''s slash almost chopped off goblin''s right hand, goblin screamed in pain and kobold tried finishing him off by piercing his eyeball, with crunching sound goblin''s eyeball burst and green matter oozed out Time''s not ripe yet I wanted to grab some popcorn and watch them fight to death but my expression changed, reinforcements are coming, they will get here in about minute, I can''t drag this any longer, I have to finish them off and run off with their mana stones, but... there''s not enough time to dissect them, damn it, truly damn it! Ruining my plan like that, I will get you for that stupid kobolds I dashed from my hiding spot and smashed my rock to kobold''s direction, wounded goblin was delighted to see gap in enemy''s defense and finished him off by slicing kobold''s neck, then I had an evil idea - Let''s grab the loot and run I yelled to him, despite helping him the hatred did not disappear from his eyes - You... - There''s no time for that, I can''t let tribe lose someone as capable as you Kukuku, since when did I become so good at boot licking and deceiving? I did not wait for his reaction, my honey-sweet words were for him to not attack me while I was smashing dead goblins and kobold''s heads and taking their mana stones, he hesitated but looking at his poor condition he started running Kobolds were approaching but I had a little more time to spare That was 5th, now last one I crushed their skulls and took out mana stones as fast as possible, and then arrow landed at my foot, I felt shivers Shit, I have to run I still managed to grab the last 6th mana stone and ran off with all my might, kobolds were chasing but they would not catch up until I reached our place I saw the surviving level 2 wounded goblin running with his all too, still I was catching up, his condition was rather bad, I praised him for being so persistent, what a pity, I do not have time to kill and dissect him on the way, surely he will come bother me for mana stones, shit, I should have killed him first, that''s my mistake, fuck I screwed up, why did I shoot that damn kobold at that time? I can not let him live I ran with my all to his direction, seems he noticed my bad intent and yelled - Bastard! Then he coughed blood while running, he did not slow down though, he could not or he would be eaten either by me or kobolds He knows my intention, I''ve got even more reason to kill him, I sprinted with all my might once again and was about to catch up when I saw familiar fences, shit not now! If he lives, things are going to get ugly for me, I did not hear kobold''s footsteps anymore - Help, he wants to kill me That bastard yelled after he fell, goblins noticed him and were running to me My face was sour, they''re not going to believe me, are they? Once I approached him I passed through him and yelled at level 2 guards with fake terrified expression - The kobolds chased after us, only we survived, please take care of him, he''s badly wounded The guard goblins did not know how to respond and turned their faces to dying goblin, but... he was no longer moving, I grinned in my mind, that was very, very close, now I had to finish my acting I ran to him and yelled in grief - No, please don''t die I even started shedding fake tears when guards came to my direction and kickedme - Why so dramatic, if he''s dead he''s dead He said in displeasure, I was dumbfounded, so even level 2 goblins are not that respected? Their lives are just tad bit better than level 1 goblins? Damn... I continued my acting despite knowing it was unnecessary, they might suspect something if I stop now After taking his mana stone fence guardsman returned to their duties, I was left alone, with no crimes labeled, it sure feels good, if they were humans I know things would not end this peacefully, but it does not mean I have to underestimate them, it was fun playing around with their lives, deceiving them and thrill of being about to get caught and then getting away with it Today was a lot of fun ? Chapter 4 The feast for the victor, the torture for the conquered My mood was rather good after dealing with all this hurdle, but something felt uncomfortable - Ah My bare feet was full of mud, damn it, I need some shoes, I have mana stones, but I wanted to get stronger first, what do I do? I know, I''ll just visit the refiner old hunchback and get 4 level 3 grade 1 mana stones, consume 3 and buy some shoes with last one, though I could probably buy some good equipment with what I have, seeing the death of level 2 goblin treated as nothing I want to get as strong as possible in short time So I remembered the way and payed hunchback to get 4 purified stones, what is he losing anyway, could he not just take 1? Bullying a newcomer? I looked around, there were some goblins having fun, I wanted to mix in their crowd so I approached, they were merrily drinking some beer? Booze? I don''t know, probably some loot from village raid? - Mind if I join? - Oh, a newcomer, come sit, I''ll tell you my exciting story And so he started telling how he mercilessly killed off some families in villages, I wondered what was there to boast about, but I could not say no to free drink and gulped it all down, after 10 minutes of his boasting he was still at it, if another goblin did not approach and yell he would not stop - Everyone, lord Gruntar has hunted down a huge boar, everyone will have merry feast tonight, come, do not be left behind A feast? Great, I haven''t eaten a thing since morning I followed the goblin along with everyone and saw a boar at least 2.5 meters in height and full of fat hung on a pole which were carried by 2 guards of the tribe''s chief Chief was also there, everyone was cheering, chief touched the boar with his hand and the next scene left me dumbfounded, boar ignited and it started frying That, what, magic? So it really exists? How do I learn that? - All hail chief! - Chief is the best! Everyone was cheering, after asking around I understood that sometimes chief would do such thing and they liked fried meat much more than raw one so everyone seemed addicted to it The boar was cut in multiple big pieces and fried, then chief and his guards started feasting upon the best parts - ribs, I gulped down mothful of saliva, its aroma was truly godlyUnauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. One has to say that my tastes changed after being reborn, even raw meat tastes incredibly good to me, as for fried boar? Mmm, if only we had some salt, but it does not matter Once they were done it has come our turn, we drank and ate cheerfully, after asking around in between feast I was told that goblin''s lifespan was merely 30 years, most of them died early so they wanted to taste life until they did, they added that there was someone who reached 45 years and that was counted as a miracle I sighed, 30 years is truly too short, but thinking about it, sovereign said that after level 30 there''s an evolution, I wonder if it also increases lifespan? Reaching level 30 will be very tough, heck I am not even level 2 yet, I did not have time to refine my mana stones yet The feast continued all night, the half of the huge boar, even after split by so many was barely taken care of in one night, though after that everyone''s round belly seemed more stretched out, that includes me, oops, can''t blame me, it truly tasted incredible Feast continued all morning too, my mood was truly good, until some group of goblins arrived at our party saying - Eh, you guys are having a feast? Damn is there something left for me? Others laughed and urged him to join them - Alright, but first I have good news, we captured some newbie adventurers, they are all tied up, there were two male and one female, I did not even kill males, they might be used as slaves My mood hit rock bottom after hearing that, I knew their activities were harsh and immoral but I still have not seen them do the deed, and here I was getting all cozy with these monsters, what am I even doing? Others cheered and asked him to lead the way, we were brought nearby and saw 2 goblins supervising three humans who were tied behind the tree At least be a bit ugly, please be ugly, I do no want to feel guilty There was truly nothing I could do if I stood for them, I was still level 1, compared to tribe chief and his guardsman I was also dirt poor, what could I do except for getting killed for getting in their way? I clenched my fists, I will get stronger by any means, so that does not happen anymore, and then, either they''ll live by my own rules, or die! I watched panicking humans, goblins were laughing in delight, I looked at the juvenile girl who had her eyes teared up, there was fear etched in her eyes, I could not look away and mumbled to myself in guilt Sorry... I can not save you And then guardsman appeared, with his robust figure and luxurious clothing, he threw at least 10 or even more mana stones to the 3 goblins who brought them here like it was truly some stone and strode towards humans with big steps, I had my fists clenched, I really wanted to help, but words can''t really work against monsters like them Guardsman took out an edged sword and in blink of an eye two heads rolled on the ground, blood uncontrollably sprouted from dead male human''s severed heads, the girl looked horrified I was struck, dumbfounded, why would he kill them instantly, could not they be used for something? Heck, that''s too cruel But cruelty party was just starting The bastard untied the girl and started doing it, despite her screams nobody helped, everyone was instead cheering only I was silent, after he was done with her she was tossed away to others, I could not look at it any longer and escaped, gasping for breath I have seen blood, I thought I was mentally invincible but was I wrong, I just can''t accept this, I need time, I will change their god damn society, I won''t let them act this way, not as long as I am standing strong and alive. Her pleading fearful eyes was still stuck in my head, I am too weak, damn it! I have to get stronger so this does not happen again! Chapter 5 Bargaining with the sovereign I wanted to be left alone with my guilt, I rushed in forest alone and climbed the tree, wrapping my arms around knees and sank in negative thoughts, that''s when I heard the voice in my head '' Oh, it''s our Dylan, I wanted to check on you, are you doing well?'' I heard ''''concerned'''' voice in my head, it was the sovereign, I would never forget his voice - You know how I am doing better than myself, don''t you? '' No way, I was caught so easily? Puahahaha, anyway how are you doing? Aren''t you sticking out like a sore thumb already? You''ll soon get killed this way '' - I won''t get myself killed for no reason '' Oh really? You were about to burst at any moment, it was so much fun looking at your expression, you were scared, weren''t you, you were confused, if you racked your brain you could find a solution, it''s your fault '' - SHUT UP, there was nothing I could do, I was too weak, I had no money to buy her freedom, I... '' Excuses, excuses, anyway she reminded you of your sister right? You were just there, and did not help, you do not change Dylan '' - Shut up, you hypocrite, why did you not help yourself? Aren''t you all mighty? '' Y''see world is bigger than you think, and there are many worlds where life exists, I can not help them all even if I am all mighty and all, blaming me? You were just there, why did you not help? I was silent, this bastard was stomping my sore point shamelessly, how could I respond? '' Puahahaha, teasing you is so good, I''ll be in cheerful mood for next decade '' - Is your concept of time as wrecked as your brain? '' Good one and yes, my concept of time is different compared to yours, your perception is quite good '' - Say, if you don''t want to involve yourself, then why not just give me some cheat abilities, being helpless... it''s a very unpleasant feeling '' Bargaining with me? That won''t do, I want you to struggle, I want you to be forged and I look forward to your change, if you change too fast then you won''t be entertaining any longer so I''ll just have to find the new one '' - You are an asshole, you know that?You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. '' There has not been a single being who told me that and lived a day longer '' ... '' Just kidding mate, teasing you will become my habit, so look out for my antics, well then I am busy, I am going '' - You are watching me like some TV show don''t you? You can''t be busy '' Eh, that''s not true, I am a busy-busy manly man'' - I do not believe it, what are you busy with then? '' W, well, oh yeah, saving people? '' - Why is there a question mark in your voice? Sigh, just leave me alone '' Oi, cheer up, once you get stronger things will go your way, you just have to try harder and play smarter, go further and kill that Gruntar, oh yeah baby, I am the father of rhythm - It was shitty, just leave me alone already '' Fine, fine, I will leave you with your own feelings, don''t be so dramatic though, things like that happen couple of trillion times a day in the galaxy '' - Was that supposed to reassure me and cheer me up? '' Yep, it did not? Weird, I really lost the feeling of how I was back then a long time ago, what a pity '' - Say, can I really do it? Can I really get stronger? Are not the requirements too high? The amount of mana stones that I need in future will double all the time right? '' That''s not true, from level 1 to you will need 5,10,20,40,80,160,320 and 640 mana stones, then at level 10 there''s a break through, and you will need 1000 for reaching it, after, it increases by 100 for each higher level, there''s also another good news, while until level 9 only grade of mana stones matters, from level 10, the level of mana stone will matter too, for example if you consume level 8 monster''s mana stone at level 10, instead of 1 point your progress will increase by 8 points out of 1000. This does not work until level 9 though, mana stones all give 1 point until level 10, you get it? '' - Yeah, probably... but is not the requirement too high? '' It is, and that''s why it''s so hard to evolve, even some noble houses who sit on their asses and collect taxes have hard time reaching an evolution point, when you become level 30 you won''t simply evolve either, there are further hardships, but I guess you are too weak to hear about that, I won''t spoil the fun for you, well then, I shall leave you or knowing myself I might spill some information and make things easier for you, oh wait, I already did, shit, I''m out '' This guy... sigh It was already morning, the sun did not rise and the air was still misty and cool, I sat down on the bigger branch of the thick tree and gulped down 3 mana stones I could not properly refine them last time, I do not know if that''ll give me some problems, I have to properly do it this time, this is my first step of getting powerful! Cool refreshing energy swirled around in my stomach and as they melted they merged in my body, there was not a single cell left out, unlike last time the feeling I got was much better, probably because I guided the energies while fully concentrating on them, it felt natural and nothing hard to grasp and there it was, I felt my body was stronger than before, I clenched my fists, the feeling was there, level not only increased the damage dealt against the lower level enemy, but it also increased physical abilities, although leap was not huge it was there, I was no longer at the bottom of the food chain, but it was not enough Steadily, I shall become stronger and stronger, now I need 10 mana stones to reach level 3, I have 1 left but I want to grab some shoes or sandals with it, I can also have my hut since I have become level 2 I can even hire some low level goblins and make them hunt for me, but I do not want to rely on others, I am different, I want to be strong myself, not to depend on crowd, then that''s settled Chapter 6 Staying the low key (unsuccessfully) I followed the path I came from after leveling up and returned, the feast was still continuing, some were sleeping, some were still gnawing on boar meat, the most of them were drunk, even the chief was not an exception I asked around to random level 2 goblin how to receivemy own hut, but his statement shocked me - The most are taken, you should fight the owner, if you win the hut will be yours, if you manage to do that, then you will have to pay 1 mana stone as a tax every month The taxes? No way in hell, I refuse I can just live on a tree or whatever, I do not care, I am not paying taxes! The next destination was storage, I bought some decent leather sandals with my one and only mana stone, but since its quality was higher than the lowest ones, I was given an opportunity to take a spade, to be blunt I bargained a lot and after fucking the brain of the goblin who was assigned for storage item distributing job, I gladly came out with spade in my hands and sandals under my foot Why spade you say? Why not some good weapon? You are mistaken, this spade is for digging a hole in the ground, that''s going to be my house, it''ll be cozy, decorated by stones, I do not want to pay taxes, I refuse to stay outside and I will go with that I started digging near some goblin''s huts, they asked what I was doing and I answered that I was building my own house, they laughed at me but I shrugged them off By the end of the morning I had my little ''''house'''' ready, it was roughly a 1,5 cubic meters hole in the ground withflattened ground, I was tired and thirsty, I grabbed some drink from nearby goblins and sat in my house dead tired, my hands were numbed After resting up and dusting off my loincloth I crawled out of my hole and starting walking around, I still did not know this place well. I was satisfied with my work, sun would not bother me in my house and rain would ... rain... ah, fuck! FUCK! I am such an idiot, the rain will fill up my house, it''s not dependable, I worked for nothing, ah And then I was depressed, I felt like an idiot and I really was, I wondered why sovereign did not appear and throw his annoying antics at me, I am sure he will mention it the next time he appears, ah, so embarrassing, I want to find a hole and hide myself, oh wait, I already dug a hole but hiding in it will be even more embarrassing, shit Just as I cursed in my mind I heard some commotion I asked around and tried to split the crowd - This guy is so shameless, someone should teach him a lesson - What is happening? I asked curiously as I looked at two level 2 goblins fighting - You see that guy with dagger in hands? He shamelessly declared he will pay a single mana stone for exchanging some sparring pointers between him and other level 2 goblins, but he seems to ''''accidentally'''' deal a killing blow all the time and gets their mana stones instead - Won''t he get attacked by level 3 or higher goblins out of greed then? Is he stupid? That goblin shook his said and screeched in his annoying voice - He should have a backing of higher level goblin, he would not dare do that otherwise, goblins keep ''''sparring'''' with him because he accumulated quite some mana stones already and they want to do the same as him, '''' accidentally '''' kill him and take his wealth, tch, they sure are clever, it''s hard getting a mana stone, we get paid two every month if we work hard, that''s so unfair I see, so that''s how it was, so not only is that guy intelligent, he is also a swindler and quite confident in his skills to fight against same level goblins, hmm, there''s some easy money, should I go issue a challenge too? Yeah, let''s do that, but... if he has level 4 goblin backing him I am not confident in beating him at all, let''s hope that''s not the case, I do not have a weapon, that''s rather troublesome, but I think I can deal with him, he can beat amateurs but not me After slashing vocal artery of another level 2 goblin, he took his mana stone and waited for another one, he did not seem tired at all, I realized he was conserving his stamina and if he got tired he would just stop this, then probably run off to his higher up and split the mana stones, that''s really clever, that high level goblin should not be underestimated in intelligence either, to recruit someone so talented and make him work like that, that''s a shortcut to get stronger There were many who had their eyes blinded with greed and some who were afraid of death too, I yelled out to get his attention - I want to spar with you I walked out empty-handed, others were dumbfounded - Is he an idiot? - He wants to fight him with no weapons? That''s suicide - Let him be, once he dies his mana stone will add up to his wealth and then we can kill that arrogant bastard too, claiming his mana stones I was really angry to begin with and I made the first move I dashed towards him in zigzagging pattern, he stayed on spot vigilantly and once I got closer I was met with downwards slash, I rolled to the side and grabbed some sand, once I got up he was about to pierce my neck with his dagger, I threw dirt to his eyes and averted his attack, moving to the right angle, he screamed, easy-peasy, then I punched his jaw, dislocating it by hitting at right spot and once he fell I crushed his skull, taking his dagger and piercing his skull And then I realized it was strangely quiet, everyone had shut up I searched his loincloth and found 4 more mana stones, I thought he would have more, what a pity, now I have five in total and I got a dagger for free, sweet, not to mention they are all level 2 mana stones, they can be upgraded to 4 if I pay that hunchbackThe narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. - How dare youdisrespect breathren and kill a fellow goblin? I heard the high pitched voice and I thought Shit, the real trouble is coming The crowd was split and a goblin appeared, he was a little bit taller than everyone, he wore simple leather jacket and similarly had dagger in his right hand, it should be the one to hire that goblin, but there was no real feeling of loss in his eyes, it was just a cover, he just wanted to grab my wealth, what a bitch I grinned inwardly, level 3 huh? I should be able to handle it, I hope he''s not too disappointing - Bullshit, he killed these goblins and shamelessly swindled them, he deserved to die, our tribe does not need the likes of you Everyone was still quiet and then he yelled - Traitor, I will dismember you! As he said that other goblins also started cheering for him and cursed at me, what a shameless bunch, just because he''s a level higher does not mean he can land a hit on me and just because my attacks deal half the damage, it does not mean I can''t get his vitals,he''s stronger, they think and they do not reserve themselves and start fully dedicated boot licking The goblin rushed towards me with low posture and gave a straight thrust, he was fast, I barely dodged it but the second attack was already coming to my sides, I tried hard to keep up with his attack, his slashes were dexterous and we exchanged couple of attacks, his attacks overpowered me greatly and I tried to not lose my footing, his every slash was met with my own clash with his dagger, the sparks flew from collision and his domineering attacks did not stop, then I was kicked in belly, my stomach churned and I almost puked the contents of what I ate in the morning Since I lacked the experience in fight I was really tense and I tried to determine the trajectory of his attacks but since he was not that skillful either I barely managed to deflect his attacks while my hands were numbed all over, I did not expect him to kick me so suddenly though, I rolled on the ground Shit, he is tougher than I expected, he did not give me chance to get up and stomped his feet at my face, I rolled away, I was slashed while vulnerably rolling on the ground, I awkwardly blocked with my own dagger but his overpowering attack outpowered me and my dagger flew a meter away while my hand was numbed to dullness, I could not bring out my full strength in this position and so it has come to this I did not have time to feel fear, I was struggling to live His thrust came to my face, I blocked it with my two hands but his dagger was getting closer and closer to my eyeball, he was grinning evilly, and then... I kicked his balls with my knee, he screeched in pain, no matter how much damage reduction he had due to his level superiority I smashed his balls with a knee, that got him, I used the opportunity and crawled all the way to my dagger, then I stood up and while panting heavily made a leap in the air My dagger pierced his eyeball and he was thrown on the ground, wailing in high pitched voice, I ignored it, due to his vulnerability after getting his balls smashed, he was too dull to react to my attacks I held down his hands, they were still vigorous but he could not bring out his full strength in this position while being held down by me I pierced him through under the chin, attack deeply pierced his skin and then I slashed his neck, it felt more durable, but I had no problem cutting it after slashing it couple of times, with gurgling sounds he drowned in his own blood Dead He died under my hands, everyone was silent while I was heavily panting That was really close, I almost died there, wooh Shit! I''ll get popular, I do not want this, I wanted to keep a low profile, shit, there''s nothing I can do about it but I hope things are not going to get too troublesome I grabbed my 6th mana stone today and his leather armor and ran off, as to where, of course to hunchback, I wanted him to refine these stones as fast as possible, not to mention 5 were level 2 mana stones while 1 was level 3, if I payed him two, I could get 3 level 4 mana stones and 1 level 5 mana stone, which is more than good for a rookie I guess While running my hands were shaking and I felt like falling couple of times, I acted cool outside but I was mentally exhausted I ran with utmost speed, I did not really stand out since there were some bloodied goblins returning in their camp with some hunted animals and loot The hunchback was surprised when he saw my mana stones - It''s been just two days and you already brought this many mana stones, what did you do boy? You are not killing our own and getting away with it are you? Damn this bastard is too sharp, it''s true, if we do not count 4 kobolds, other mana stones were all from goblins - Just do your job old man I growled in displeasure - Ohoho, I see a good potential in you boy, I will give you a discount, give me that level 3 mana stone and I will refine other 5 without charging another mana stone, how about it? - Eh? No way, is it not precious? - It does not really make much difference but oh well, fine, you can just pay level 2 mana stone and I''ll refine others for you, just don''t forget this old man when you strike it big This old fox was planning this from the start, well, does not matter, it''s good deal to me - Alright I agreed and he did his job and then I ran off to the forest, I did not have time to properly equip myself with looted leather armor and once I climbed the thick branch I dressed myself in brown leather jacket, it was a bit big but it was not disturbing, with my new sandals and dagger along with the sheath I truly looked like a decent goblin warrior, I did not forget to refine all the mana stones, leaving none for the future, so my progress was 50% to level 3, I nodded satisfied at myself after appraising myself, now it showed my progress too
Goblin
Level 2
Progress: 5/10 mana stones
It describes me as a goblin, others are the same too, I wondered why we have no names, I asked one of the goblins while having a feast and he gave some unimpressive answer - Only strong can have a name or title Anyway I wonder what should I do to get more mana stones, work for a high level goblin? Nope, there''s no way in hell, I''ll wait for one month measly salary of 2 mana stones, not to mention owning a hut would take one from me, how about I hire some goblins? Still no, I do not want to pay others when I have no assurance I can actually earn anything, how about I raid a village and slaughter humans... You seriously think I would do that? Kobolds? If I am lucky I should catch some stray kobolds, but I''m sure they mostly move in groups, not to mention their agility is higher than goblins Apparently humans do not have mana stones, that''s what I was told, yesterday''s feast was very informative, only someone who has elemental or magical affinity would have it and they are rare, they said, so even if I raid a village the loot would not be impressive, not to mention I would not do that I am not sure what they meant, my magical knowledge is limited, to be blunt it''s nonexistent, if I do not make my guesses from knowledge of my previous world, but sovereign said to not throw my conclusions based on my past life''s mythical stories Sigh, why is it so hard do survive? What do I do when requirements for mana stones raise, how long will it take to collect up 100 or so mana stones, seems I have to rack my brain and work hard in order to get stronger Chapter 7 Lowering ones head, finding a suitable party I thought long and hard and decided that fighting a group of kobolds all by myself is too reckless and dangerous, I do not possess any long ranged skills to hunt them down from trees either, so I reluctantly decided to search for a team to my liking, team whose leader will agree to my conditions Before searching for teams that usually gathered around the fences where goblins were stationed, I appraised my attire
Rough leather jacket
Quality:common
Effect: Armor +1(Only includes the guarded area)
Durability: 27/35
He should have used this jacket for quite some time, while it''s roughly made it''s not really unpleasant to wear and most importantly it''s not heavy and does not obstruct my mobility
The Crude dagger
Quality: common
Damage: 1-3
Durability: 48/60
The dagger was made of rough steel, its edges were a bit dulled, but it can be used for a while, that being said, I forgot taking level 3 goblin''s dagger, what a waste, I was in a hurry, his dagger would undoubtedly have higher quality
Straw sandals
Quality: Poor
Effect: none
Durability: 10/10
That''s it, that''s all I am equipped with,I still wore my loincloth because leather jacket did not completely cover my guts despite being a bit longer than my size, like sandals it was also of poor quality and did not give any stats boostA case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I searched for parties and most of them declined my conditions My conditions were: I get half of what I hunt, for example I hunt two kobolds, then I get one mana stone while giving one to the leader, I grit my teeth as I spewed these conditions yet they thought it was ridiculous and even cursed at me for being too shameless I did not give up, I needed their protection, I could not go off and hunt alone yet, I was not strong enough, what if I get injured and can not flee, what if I stumble upon some predator? As they said kobolds and goblins are not the only inhabitants of this forest, there are dire wolves, some other goblin tribes, that have enmity towards ours and there are also orcs, they said they are dangerous, even 1 level lower orc has advantage of their body and strength, not to mention that they hunt in groups Kobolds are many in numbers like goblins, they have some unique abilities to call for help if their comrades are nearby, their agility is good and they are troublesome to deal with So it''s not so easy to go out and hunt, it''s rare seeing a lone monster hunting, I guess some wolves would do that, but I bet they would not risk it if their strength is insufficient either So I decided against running off and getting killed, I need to be alive and safe if I want to achieve something - Such arrogance, go away, telling me your conditions? Who do you think you are? You are asking for a beating I was turned down another time but I did not find it necessary to answer him, instead I searched for some more After 10 refusals I was dejected, not expecting someone to accept my conditions at all, that''s when I received unexpected answer - Ah, aren''t you the reckless one? Good, I heard you have some good fighting capability, I accept, you can join our team Huh? What? So that level 3 goblin unexpectedly accepted my condition - However, I won''t pay you in exchange, got it? Oh, I guess that makes sense - It''s alright, I accept I agreed immediately, afraid that he would change his mind, his group consisted of 2 archers, me and him who held thin and long sword in his hands I tried appraising him, only level was displayed, his progress was not shown, as for the first time when I appraised myself and why it did not show my progress, the answer could be that I simply have not eaten any mana stones at that time and did not have progress at all I also tried appraising his sword but it seems it''s impossible to appraised the equipment that others wear, that''s fair I guess - Where are we going? I asked - Just trying our luck, to be honest we are aiming to find stray wolf offsprings, chief might pay a lot, they can be tamed if caught at young age, it''s another shortcut to earn a lot of mana stones Wow, these guys should be more experienced than me, so it was a good idea joining a party after all - I see... ah, earlier you recognized me right? What did you hear about me? I asked, I was truly curious, I was afraid some would not like my good performance of killing level 3 goblin while at level 2 - I heard you had no trouble passing the ceremony of killing 3 peers, you refused to live in a hut and refused to form a party, they recognize you with the scar on your shoulder, you are a bit famous you know? Due to your behavior they call you reckless one Ah, shit, really? - They don''t like me right? I asked while smiling wryly, though you would not know from my ugly face - That''s not true, some big shots want to recruit you, they say they will pay higher for someone like you - Surely there are some with ill intentions too, no? Ah, my worries are leaking - Not really, at least not one that I know of, since you grabbed some riches many were blinded by greed but seeing your progress of getting level 2 in merely a day they thought that you would undoubtedly spend or consume them, so their greed was subdued, trust me, you do not have much to be envied, if you think your fighting skills are exceptional you are wrong, there are some who have battle power which surmounts 2 levels, so you are not the most wanted goblin in their party, but I guess you are somewhat popular I felt astonished, battle power which surmounts 2 levels? I admit I would have very hard time dealing with enemy 2 levels higher than me - How is that possible? - Sigh, it''s their secret, likes of us do not know Hmm, I should find out their secret sooner or later But for now, I should focus on contributing in fights, for every 2 I kill, I get 1, which is good enough for me We followed some kind of trail and went further in the forest, I would easily get lost, I trusted that this level 3 goblin, our leader was more experienced, since I doubt he had many shortcuts until becoming level 3 I also liked his way of thinking, he was not as narrow minded as the most of them, even though he is also the rotten bastard since he is a goblin he is worth befriending And we continued going deeper and deeper searching for stray wolves and archers would occasionally climb trees and scout with their bare eyes I felt safe, but it would be bad if they died and I got lost so I have to make sure they live and stay vigilant all the time Chapter 8 The hunt begins Our pace was not fast but surely we were getting deeper and deeper into the forest, trees were much taller and thicker than before, some of their roots even bulged out of ground and obstructed our way These guys brought some leftover meat and small gourd of water, so I could just latch off them on the way, I should start taking care of things like that too, I can''t always eat what they hunt But again, goblins have upside down sense of taste, everything, even tree barks taste ok, we can literally eat anything and live, however undoubtedly meat is our delicacy - Is your hunt always so fruitless? We walked for a long time now, did not we? We have not met any monsters on the way I asked curiously - Happens, let''s be patient He said, soon goblin scout returned with interesting piece of information - I see kobolds ahead, there are at least 10 of them, they were fighting something, but from this far I could not see what, neither could I appraise them from this distance - Then let''s get closer Leader commanded and I followed his lead, he was trying to be sneaky and so were we, as for how good we were at that, I honestly have no idea I had a bad feeling instead of anticipation, not because I have good foresight or perception, but because their numbers were worryingly high, in that case, someone strong should be leading them, but again, I do not know much about kobold''s, their society and how their system works to deduct anything accurately. For goblins, mostly if you see many of them, then someone who is capable of paying a lot should be leading them - Hey, it''s dangerous, if their numbers are so high, I''m afraid someone capable should be leading them. Let''s go back I urged him in low voice - That''s why we are sneaking up to them, if their leader is level 5 we''ll flee immediately, but if it''s level 4, I think we can handle themThe narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. - How can you be so sure? I was seriously confused, how could they overpower 10 or more kobolds and be so bold to say that they can even kill level 4 kobold, that''s just a pipe dream The leader did not answer and pointed at archer goblins with his green fingers - We stumbled upon a slime goo some time ago, their arrows are poisoned Holy shit, seriously? Oh, I see, that''s good piece of news, but I don''t know how good their poison is against kobolds, I did not expect to hear of slimes so early though, sovereign mentioned their numbers being high but I have yet to see one personally, they should be rather scarce in numbers in this region Back to the point, I need to confirm their poison''s effects - Is that poison strong? Will it deal with level 4 enemy? - No, this won''t be able to kill them, but after poison takes effect they should be paralyzed, we will have about two minutes until poison loses its effects, we tried it out on level 4 wolf once, we were led by level 4 goblin back then, but he was no match for a lone wolf since he was already injured, out of 8 of us only 3 remained and the only reason we survived was because poison took effect much later, wolf''s limbs slowed down as it was chasing us, it''s reaction speed was greatly reduced and soon it fell, then we killed it, now I have a nice fur sofa in my hut, kukuku As, so their mortality rate is truly high, level 4 goblin dying this miserably, what a waste - Archers will do their job but what do we have to to meanwhile? I was interested in my role, because out of every 2 kills one was mine, I did not want to go back empty handed, I was not ashamed to depend on goblin to strategize either, his intelligence was high, not to mention his hunting experience. While I had no experience in group hunting whatsoever. I preferred hunting alone but again, when enemy is 2 or more levels higher I have no chance to live at all, that''s why I need team for now, I''m glad I joined this team, he''s clever and not as shallow minded as others - Since they are already fighting something they will be confused if we also attack, archers will paralyze their leaders, we will wait until poison takes effect, hide until that happens and once their leaders are immobile we use their confusion and kill off others, you should kill as many level 2 goblins as possible, leave level 3 ones to me, I am somewhat confident in close quarter combat I nodded and everyone got in their positions, we were about to strike enemy while they were down, to win one must use such means, power does not always mean everything, not unless you are powerful yourself - Aim carefully, you can''t miss it, they will be alarmed otherwise Archers were hiding high up in the trees while we were hiding behind the trunk My heart was thumping loudly with excitement - They are in my appraisal range, I see there is only single level 4 kobold, 3 level 3 ones and 8 level 2 kobolds, there is no level 1 enemy... I can also see what they are fighting, it''s a female human, she seems to be with no reinforcements and she''s wounded Oh no, not this again~ Chapter 9 Scheming in order to save POV change I amLianaHerbard My father passed away while fighting against bandits and protecting our village, he was the one who doted on me the most and he was the one who taught me swordsmanship Now he''s gone and my brother Rowan has become ill, his conditions are getting worse and worse, while village herbalist takes care of him, she mentioned that my brother has very weak constitution and the easiest way to increase it is to get mana stones to increase his level, this way not only will he become healthier, but also stronger Naturally mana stones are hard to get, it is done by hunting monsters, I am currently level 4 because my father was hunter and brought them once in a while, he was truly too caring and did not let me be in danger and hunt by my own Normal animals do not possess mana stones and to encounter monsters one has to go deeper in the forest, I am hesitant, I want to bring mana stones to my brother but I can not let my fellow villagers be in danger for selfish reasons, I should go alone Yesterday I packed some dried rations and bottle of water, hoping to hunt some low level monsters after venturing in the nearby forest, I hope I do not lose my way, I can not go in too deep, I am afraid of losing my way and getting lost My heart was beating fast, this was my first time I would fight something, I knew swordsmanship but the only sparring partner was my father who is no more... I am not confident at all, but I have to do it, to save Rowan I have not met any monsters until dawn, once I encountered 3 wolves I panicked, but after appraising them I calmed down, they were level 1 and 2, nothing I could not handle Despite having an advantage I still had hard time fending off 3 of them, they left me with some minor scratches and I killed them, I felt pity but there was nothing I could do, they are monsters, I have heard from my fellow villagers that there are also goblins in this forest, they are nothing but maggots who only know how to kill and loot, I hope I do not encounter them, I have heard of many scary stories regarding them I spent night on a tree branch, due to being nervous I could not get a wink of sleep at night, as a result I was drowsy the second day, still, I tried to keep myself awake, I was alone in this forest after all I heard rustling sounds and I was alarmed, I looked around but saw nothing, but my heart felt uneasy, I wanted to flee but an arrow flew to my direction and landed on my thigh, ah it was so painful, I wore a leather armor and short battle skirt, I did not want my agility to be obstructed, that''s why my legs were defenseless and I suffered Small scream escaped my mouth due to pain, wound was not bone deep but it was enough for me to lose a lot of blood If I took out an arrow, I would lose blood so I ripped it in half I was truly scared, but there was nobody who would help me, I will have to stay strong and run away And then creatures came out of bushes, I knew what I was against, kobolds, and there were at least 10 of them, their delighted monstrous laughter shook my soul and I panicked, I had to flee I tried fleeing but they were fast, arrow flew to my way and one landed on my back I have no choice but to face them head on, I can not flee from them, they will easily catch up They laughed and said some things but I could not understand their language My complexion was pale and I was forcing myself to stand, despite being in so much pain that made me want to scream 3 kobolds attacked at the same time in close quarters, they used daggers, I had hard time defending and did not have chance to land a hit, at this rate I would soon exhaust my energy and die Death? I became afraid, I did not want to die yet, I wanted to save Rowan, why is god so cruel? Am I really going to perish to these monsters And then it happened An arrow flew out of nowhere and pierced the strongest kobold, their leader, I thought somehow god heard my pleading and reinforcements were coming, kobolds became wary and started looking around, their leader roared in anger and probably ordered to find and kill intruders but there was not a sign of enemy My heart felt a bit relieved, I thought that someone from my village followed me and protected me from shadows, but I was wrong, after some time two goblins rushed out of bushes and my expression turned even paler POV change Leader and I rushed out at the same time, I swiftly pierced the neck of nearby level 2 kobold, taking its life in process Leader went after level 3 level 3 kobolds which were fighting a human, I did not get a chance to look at her properly, I was busy killing kobolds Two kobolds stood in my way, trying to land a hit, I dodged one, caught another''s hand and kicked with my elbow, another one was already about to attack me and I turned my attention to him, kobold was aiming at my face, I did not have time to dodge in time and my cheek was scratched, well, it was probably more than scratch as I felt pain transmit into my face, I did not have time to linger and finished him off with deadly blow in the head Another one was out of dizzy state, similarly I slashed his neck but I heard swift wind sound from behind, I knew I could not dodge but an arrow flew, an air support from other two goblins managed to kill the enemy on spot while I was vulnerably waiting to be butchered from back, having someone to watch your back is surely nice, that was close thoughA case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Then arrow flew to my face, it was an archer kobold, I stole 3 daggers from dead kobolds and threw them like throwing knives, two landed and resulted in bloodstream, other one missed, another two arrows flew and wounded other 2 kobolds, I swiftly finished them off while they were busy roaring in pain I stalled for time with remaining level 2 kobolds since my stamina was getting lower and lower, goblin archers finished them off before they could flee I looked at leader''s direction, he was wounded all over but he preserved, I went to help him, landing a sneaky attack on level 3 kobold, he was finished off by leader, meanwhile I grabbed another one''s neck and started to choke him, other one was handled by leader The leading kobold was paralyzed, crouching on one knee and gnashing his teeth in anger, he tried to stand but it was useless, arrows landed on him over and over, while level 2 goblins could not deal a killing blow with their arrows, it still managed to greatly reduce his agility in case poison effect disappeared After finishing off the last kobold with my dagger I looked at the human I was dumbfounded, she had a blonde flowing hair, her figure was just too good, her bust was bulging from her leather armor, a bit bigger would be fat and bit smaller would be flat, her chest was just the right size, her white thighs were wounded and her face was pale, after realizing her situation she tried to flee but paralysis arrow flew and she fell on the ground We knew she would not go far in this state, goblin archers came down from trees and we collected up all the loot She was desperately trying to crawl away from us butparalysis was already activated and she could barely move She was tied down by rope by my fellow goblins, my heart felt pained and panicked, I knew the fate that awaited her if she was delivered in the tribe, but I could not just free her, they would attack me - Kekeke, leader you are the best, we are rich, not to mention 12 mana stones, she will fetch at least 15, she is an exceptional beauty - I want to do her now, but Grunter will be angry, besides once he is done with her we can also have our way with her Goblin archers giggled evilly POV change I was tied down, knowing what awaited me I felt cruelty of life, why did this happen? I will never see my brother and mother again, before I knew it tears welled up in my eyes, despicable goblins seemed happy, I wanted to suicide and bit down my lips until they bled, it was painful, I stopped and had more urge to cry Then the goblin with short dagger started yelling something at others, they seemed dissatisfied, but then level 3 goblin, which seemed to be their leader took out a red vial, I recognized it, it was a low grade health potion The more I thought about it the more fear I felt towards them, their enemies were so many in numbers yet they dealt with them with merely four, I felt they were very dangerous, despite being a level 4 I was tied down and could not move, I could not fight them like that I had hard time accepting my fate and my heart was about to burst, I was caught by these greedy lustful monsters, I felt hatred towards them and towards myself for being too weak POV change I told them that her wounds were serious and she would die on the way, I suggested to treat her wounds first, they were against it because health potion was precious and they had a single one, I told them that she was worth much more than that and we would not be losing anything, they collected some healing herbs and leader made her drink health potion, her wounds started to heal visibly, though it was slow, she would recover soon enough, good I told them that I knew something about dealing with wounds and they agreed to let me apply the healing herbs to her wounds, I was stalling for time and started smashing healing herbs with rocks, I told them it would have much better effect If I did it this way, they seemed to believe it While I was stalling for time the potion healed most of her wounds, I asked them and they said that poison would not deal any damage to her, it was just for paralysis and healing potion would neutralize the effect They even praised me, if we gave Grunter her in good condition they said there was a high change he would pay more, after all he was not lacking mana stones I started applying crushed healing herbs to her wounds, I seriously had no idea what I was doing and if it would have any effect, but I was not after that, while applying the herbs I sneakily moved my dagger and cut her ropes which bound her hands and waist while others were laughing and talking to each other I saw her eyes widen and disbelief was plastered on her face, I put my green finger on my nose, indicating for her to not make it obvious, she still looked at me in daze, it would be a waste for her to be wasted under goblin''s lustful crotch, believe it or not I wanted to accumulate good karma because I felt guilty in not only my past but current life too, I could not save the girl from morning, I did not have the capability to do so After pretending to apply herbs to her wounds I stood up and indicated her to escape POV change I was shaken, I was freed just like that? Why would he do that? Does he want me to flee, no it can''t be true, I should be valuable to them, so why? I looked inside his eyes, it was not of a monster, they seemed much more intelligent, I roughly understood his meaning, but I still could not understand why and how It was impossibly unbelievable, I felt grateful, I knew that somehow he was different from others, his eyes were kind, it''s weird to say that but I truly felt that, I could not thank him, all I could do was act along with him The next thing he did left me dumbfounded, he slashed his own left hand and threw himself at archer goblins, he wailed in pain and others started to panic, I did not have time to stay, my wounds were healed, I ran with all my might, not looking back, I heard footsteps, level 3 goblin was approaching but since I was already healed I was much faster, soon I was alone After running away to a great distance and checking the marked trees to not get lost I stopped and tears welled up in my eyes, my emotions overwhelmed me, I always thought that I was a strong girl, father taught me to be strong because world was not kind enough to tolerate weak, but I could not help it I could not understand how could such thing happen and I could not forget his special eyes, when I returned everyone looked very worried and villagers showed a great support, I tried to smile a lot to not make them worry, but my emotions still could not calm down When I was left alone in my room I checked mana stones in my leather armor inner pocket, I did not manage to gather enough to save Rowan, I felt sorrowful, my fingers met much more than 3 stones, I took them out and I saw that there was 6 I cried for a long time after realizing who would do that POV change Whew, this was close, leader returned with ashen face and cursed - I am sorry, it''s my fault, I did not notice she was hiding a dagger I blamed myself - It''s alright, despicable humans are tricky, you are a good warrior, keep being in my team, the next time we will surely catch a human I could only sigh to myself, it ended better than expected, I wondered why would she venture in this dangerous forest alone and thought that she needed some mana stones, in total I was responsible for 6 kobold''s deaths so I recieved 3 mana stones, but since I felt that reason why she was here was mana stones, I secretly put them in her pocket, sigh, I hope I was of help It''s depressing though, I will return with nothing, but... did you watch me? Sovereign, I saved a life, I was not as bad person as you described, probably you were teasing and good or evil does not matter for someone like you, but I wanted you to see that Iam not as bad person as you thought, surely nobody would shed a single tear if I died in my previous world, nobody would miss me and forget me in 2 days but here I found a human who would remember me, even if I die somebody will remember me, it''s a good feeling I have not changed, I am still a selfish bastard, but I am fine with who I am, as long as I am still alive I will control my fate, as for my success, it will depend on luck Chapter 10 Rooting for orcs Remember when I said that I was still a selfish bastard? Well, that''s 100% true since I pleaded to our leader how despicable human not only wounded me, but stole my mana stones, as a result I was given 2 to not be broken hearted In truth I was grinning in my heart, this guy seems to value me, if I did not swiftly take care of others he would be finished, so he wants me to stay and to not be dissatisfied With outer looks you would think that I really hated her but it was just a play, I was glad she survived and I was proud of my wit, I was waiting for sovereign''s sarcasticremarks but his voice did not appear, was he waiting for me to be left alone before making his appearance? Hell if I care So I did not return empty handed The following day we ate some remnants of pork, drank some booze and went to the forest another time, I was hoping to not see another human One and only thing that I liked about goblins was that they would share their food without grudges, if one hunted a deer it could not be eaten by him even if he tried, it would get wasted, even if frequency of their hunting was low, they would still have more than enough food That day our archer goblins hunted a deer but it was not easy, it escaped couple of times and I and leader were not of much help, we followed the blood trail until dawn and found a delicious prey lying dead on the ground I felt pity, nope I did not, my tummy growled, since chief would not just fry a deer for us and neither of us knew magic or a way to make a fire we ate it raw, but it was still delicious, not as tasty as a boar pork from yesterday but it was still very satisfying Our another encounter was horned rabbit, it hopped and skipped very fast, it basically looked like a normal bunny from my previous world, but it had a 10 cm long horn on its head, their eyes were red and goblins seemed to avoid it - Hey, you know where these monsters gather right? Let''s go hunt them I suggested - No, they are very despicable, I know where their den is, they are also classified as monsters and can drop mana stones, but we can''t hunt them I was confused, why not? It''s some easy kill Before I could ask why he started yelling - Look, these are not horned rabbits, we call them horny rabbits for a reason, they are fast and if you anger them they leap in the air and aim for your crotch, heck I prefer to die by being pierced by dagger thanout ofbleeding from ballsThe tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I felt shivers, they are that ruthless? I guess that''s their survival instinct, but damn, even goblins don''t touch them, I''m impressed, I am glad I did not go out and hunt by myself, I am sure I would use my knowledge from previous world, make some baseless conclusions and die...by bleeding from balls, I would give a good laugh to sovereign and he would find a new toy, eventually forgetting about me, sigh Scary, horny rabbits for aiming for crotch huh? It''s funny... and not funny at the same time The most of the time I was bored, there was not a new encounters and I followed the leader mindlessly Soon it would get darkand we were going to return when we heard a monstrous sound, I have never heard such sound before - It''s an orc I heard a whisper Orc? My heart beat faster, I recalled my memories, these guys should be a lot bigger than goblins with great physical strength and pig head right? They even said that orcs have battle power that surmounts 1 level and it''s innate racial trait, for example level 2 orc would probably be equally matched with level 3 goblin, so it was not a good thing to encounter - What do we do? I asked anxiously He did not answer and made a hand sign, archer goblin immediately went to scout, another one stayed vigilant, tension was also getting me, I really wanted to just fuck off but I would get lost, I also did not want to act cowardly so I was stuck fighting my inner self but in reality all I could do was to wait for orders As fucked up and rotten goblins were, they were still good to their comrades, at least mostly, because nobody wanted to hunt alone, if there is an enemy you can''t beat and everyone flees, at least one would have a chance for survival, unless one encountered some high level monstrosity There''s no way in hell I would approve of their behavior but they weren''t intolerable in their inner society, if you''ve read about medieval age society you would think that humans were much more fucked up then us, but again, that''s all for survival, for greed and for power and authority The scout returned with some bad piece of news - There are 2 orcs, both level 4, they are fighting against goblins, but they are not from the same tribe as us They are from other tribe? - How did you know that they are not from our tribe? Do they wear some different colored clothing or some shit? - Their weapons are much better, our weapons are mostly crude clubs and stolen daggers or low quality swords, their tribe is much stronger and they all wear equipment, not to mention there were 2 level 5 goblins in their team Woah, is not that dangerous? - Should we really get involved? I really did not want to fight level 5 enemies as I was, I was still god damn level 2, they could smash me to bits - We''ll wait - Why, do you think the winner side will leave some loot for us? I asked a bit angered by our leader''s short sightedness - There is a chance that orcs might win, in this case even if they don''t leave mana stones, goblin''s clothing is too small for them, we could loot their equipment, if goblins win, then there''s nothing we can do He said calmly I was amazed, seems I was the one who was short sighted, he seemed more and more dependable to me, I was trying to learn from him and I did not want to always be his henchman, I think he was a good start as a teacher, I needed to learn how to survive in wilderness - Then let''s do that, let''s hide well though, I don''t want them to find us or else we are dead for sure I urged them, they nodded and we distanced ourselves from their fight, but still found a good spot to watch their battle Chapter 11 Reinforcements We found a good place to watch them fight, while our cover was abundance of leaves of the thick branch, we could sneak glances at battle, we stood on rather high and thick tree with thick branches, trunk and even leaves were thick And there I saw the real orcs for the first time in my life, they stood on 2 meters, their muscles were bulging, not that they were overly muscular, but their muscles could be discerned at a glance Their heads were of a pig, but it was dark green, have you seen a green pig? Me too, so they did not really look like a pig, while they did Let''s not follow the weird logic and watch them fight They fought barehanded but they still got the advantage, they fully deserve their title of brutes, their mighty swing on that meaty arm would shake the trees and even tear apart ones with small and feeble trunk Oh, am I drooling? Why you say? Cause I''ve heard the rumors that their meat is even tastier than boars, honestly I do not believe it, but I really want to try it But there''s no chance I can do that yet, if orcs win, then no meat for us, if goblins win then they will take their corpses, I''m sure The best scenario would be that single orc wins and everybody else dies, he could not carry everything by himself, or he could be wounded and exhausted, though even in that state we should be careful, because their actual strength is of level 5, not to mention their inhumane strength that is amplified by level bonus We would become a meaty paste in a single swing of their arms But it''s too early to make conclusions, let''s just grab some popcorn and watch the ground shaking battle unfold I do not have a popcorn, do they have it in this world? Lots of weird ideas are going through my head, why you say? Because there is a chance for free loot, oh, there''s nothing better than free loot Imagine doing literally nothing, folding your arms, watching battle while yawning and then grabbing loot from their corpses Hahahaha Ahem, it''s bad to be in good mood when there''s nothing decided yet, I do not want to stay disappointed by the end I am still drooling though * Roar The orc roared and with a stomp ground shook, several low level goblins flew in the distance of 2 or so meters away due to impact while higher level ones stood their ground and slashed orc''s leg Orc roared in pain and other one tried to help by trying to grab the nearby low leveled goblin, then he threw the poor goblin with pure brute force, the poor goblin smashed his comrade and turned into disfigured anomaly while the level 5 goblin who was smashed with his own comrade was visibly injured too, he swung the dead goblin away while crouching and puked some blood, he did not give up though, I was admiring a little guy, what courage, what determination Truly, where is my popcorn, it''s so exciting watching a battle, though it would surely be awful to be in their shoes, but don''t worry, I''ve got my own shoes, sandals to be precise * Roar Another angry roar and orc tries to root out a whole tree and he fails miserably, what a rock head, think a little bit, sure you are pretty strong but rooting out a tree? Really dude? Aren''t you a big brainless muscle head? He was taken advantage of and slashed and pierced with daggers, while wounds were not deadly they were surely accumulating, orc would lose more strength and stamina as he fought and surely fall sooner or later Ah that''s bad, we were rootin'' for orcs, I am left disappointed, I knew it, I should not have been so excited, what do you expect from a brute that can not do a simple thinking, if you ask him how many fingers they''ve got they''ll think a lotLove this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Hmm, how many fingers do they have? I can''t really see from here, ooh, right angle, they got five fingers, good to know Another orc roared with lung splitting sound, wow, calm down, my ears are bleeding - He''s calling reinforcements The leader mumbled Hmm? - Is that bad? - Probably, if there are more of them they would think of taking the whole loot Ah, no, my loot, don''t take them - Can''t we do anything? I really did not want to lose that loot, their weaponsareof much higher quality, it would help in battle, if I appraise my equipment their durability is sinking towards zero day by day, at this rate I''ll be left naked, and I refuse to buy some rough leather workings of my incompetent tribesman - Look, the goblin Hmm? Oh, what is happening? Suddenly level 5 goblin''s skin turned light red, or pink, whatever and his attacks seemed to deal some critical blows, orcs were losing their footing against a little 1 meter tall midget while they were a little bit more than 2 meters - What is happening? Leader was deep in thought and then shook his head * Roar, roar, roar~ Bunch of angry monstrous roars came from far, their reinforcements are coming Goblins seemed to be anxious and each and every one of red goblin''s attack was getting more fleshy and brutal, green blood painted the ground, trees, goblins and orcs themselves, they were about to be butchered alive Goblin screeched and some started to flee, but soon miserable cries resounded in the forest and 3 orcs appeared, one of them wore a huge leather armor and pants, his body was domineering, being at least 2 and half meters, his muscles were bulging and he held a huge club made out of wood in his hands, he had a small tusk under his mouth and he roared, surroundings shook and I truly felt fear, even from this far, I appraised it
Orc
Level 6
Level 6? That means he can smash level 7 monsters to pulp with his club, formidable! Ah, goodbye loot, but still I want to see the battle until the end, there are some serious conflicts going on in this forest Once they made their appearance all three of newcomer orcs held goblin corpses in their hands that tried to flee seconds ago Bad ass! Go kick their asses, I am still rooting for orcs, cause, who knows, they might leave some loot for us, even if it''s little, as for goblins, these greedy bastards they won''t leave their corpses, not to mention our tribe is in conflict with them, it would be good if their strength was reduced, oh I know we should report the death of 2 level 5 goblins from enemy''s camp and we might even get rewarded, hurray! * Roar Ouch, oh, come on, I hear you, everyone is scared alright, why need to roar all the time? - Hey leader, is poison going to work on these big bad guys? I asked with anticipation, if these orcs won and I am sure they will, if our poison arrows work on them then we could quickly loot the battle area and flee - He is much higher level so effect would be minimal, not to mention his huge body, it will take a lot of time for poison to spread and it will disappear much faster then you expect, we can''t risk it - Oh, come on, even if it''s 10 seconds we could just loot couple of mana stones - It''s dangerous, but... you really are a reckless one, huh? Alright, we shall do as you say, if situation turns bad then your life depends on yourself, we shall try to flee, separately! - Let''s use trees to flee - You are not going to jump from tree to tree are you, these huge trees will be inconvenient for that, not to mention if you fall you die and if you just wait until they are gone, they won''t, they''ll station some orcs and change shifts until they hunt us down, orcs are persistent and keep grudges, at least that''s what I learned from my previous leader - Your leader fought an orc? Wow, was not he just level 4? - Yeah, he fought one, but it was low level orc, still he had a lot of trouble killing it, even though orc was of lower level he just kept going until death, it did not want to keep the humiliation of losing, they have a lot of pride - Wow, they sure have a lot of useless pride for brainless bunch if they keep on fighting until death - Yeah, so that''s why, let''s be as swift as possible, you two, we will depend on you, do not miss the arrows, ah, there''s no way you can miss their huge bodies but anyway, mistakes are not to be made or else it will cost us our lives We nodded solemnly, we were about to do some very dangerous shit, but time was not ripe yet, let''s wait until one side wins, more corpses are welcome, we will have to deal with less alive ones, but I do not think the goblins can turn the tide of battle, I think they are doomed, so that means we will have to deal with 3 orcs, one of them having power of level 7 monster, these two are too battared to move, these two orcs are at their death''s door so they are not threat anymore since that goblin smashed them to pulp in his frenzy state It''s going to be nerve wrecking, but there is no reward if there''s no danger, that''s why, we won''t lose and loot them, raise in power and soon, we won''t have anything to be scared of anymore! Chapter 12 Reckless plan The battle kept going, goblins were mercilessly slaughtered The orc with the club was especially brutal, he would smash goblins to pulp, not to mention the level difference, his strength was abnormally high Ah, not to mention their strength, their agility was also good, at least enough to catch some fleeing goblins, that could be us if we fail What is this uneasy feeling? I feel I am missing something, no that''s not right, what could go wrong? '' Oh, it''s Dylan, I took my eyes off you for a second and you want to suicide?'' It''s sovereign''s voice, which sounds like middle aged man''s hoarse voice by the way I could not really talk out loud so I tried communicating with him with thinking What do you mean? Is there a problem? '' Not telling you, I told you I''ll give you no support whatsoever, if you want to eat a pie, go to the village, terror the grandma and make her cook a pie, then eat it, I won''t do anything for you, got it? '' I knew you could read my mind, so that was true, gross, esper, cheat, go away '' I''ve seen you save that girl, good job I guess? It does not really matter to me, but some of your weight in your heart should have been lifted right? You don''t feel as guilty anymore, that''s good, but that case was special, the way you are now, you are bound to see unpleasant things once in a while, knowing your character you''ll try to endure and hurt yourself, it''s better to get stronger faster, what is this turtle pace? Kill, Kill, Kill! '' Look, I am trying ok? It''s not that easy, if not for leader''s guidance I would have died at least twice already, I am learning alright? And it''s not that easy to find enemy, they don''t just lay down like dogs, I have to find them, besides it''s just been 3 days and I am already halfway to the level 3, is not that good enough? '' You call that a progress? Puahahaha, I''ve seen some ants do better, oh don''t underestimate them punk, a single big colony of theirs will exceed the number of humans that were alive on earth, meaning billions, if you meet the colony you''ll be eaten alive, got it? Don''t go around killing yourself saying oh, it''s just an ant, I''mma step on it, pah, I was expecting more from you, weren''t you a hardcore gamer, did not you want to be better than anyone else? What''s with this performance, so disappointing '' It''s not easy to survive, leave me alone you weirdo, I am trying to get some loot '' Idiot, what did I tell you? You started depending on that ''''leader'''' too much, their archers and that orc have difference of 4 levels, if we add the battle power that surmounts 1 level, that''s 5 level difference, you know what that means? That means that their damage will not even scratch his skin, and you''ll be discovered and die, think with your mind and don''t depend on that newbie goblin, that''s the last time I''m helping you, if you keep disappointing me, you might as well die, I won''t care ''The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Ah, right, he should not have fought someone with high level difference yet, so he does not know, I was not thinking, damn, I''m learning on my mistakes alright? I do not care how much expectations you have for me sovereign, all I know is I want to live the way I want, I am not a TV show of yours, thanks for the help and advice... but I still have not given up '' Are you an idiot? Definitely an idiot, you still want to get yourself killed for couple of mana stones? That''s it, I am not interfering, or else it would be boring, if you die then I won''t care, if you succeed and I doubt it, I will be amazed, but that''s it'' Let''s make a bet sovereign, if it''s a success give me some cheat power '' Bargaining with this mighty sovereign? Not so clever, I told you I won''t, but fine, if you win I will give you a surprising gift, but that gift will be received much, much later, even decades later, but you''ll like it very much '' A decades later? Will I live that long? Sigh, fine, at least tell me what it is '' Alright, if you evolve couple of times, oh and level requirement doubles every time for each evolution by the way, I will give you a secret evolution path of lost goblin''s ancient bloodline, here''s your cheat, but you have to deserve it '' Holy shit, couple of evolutions later? It''s exceedingly hard to reach level 30 and you want me to evolve couple of times? That''s nuts, it''s ridiculous '' Think what you want, there''s no reward if there''s no danger, did not you say that? Well show me what you are capable of Dylan, Puahahahaha~ '' And he was gone, I tried to communicate with him, but he left me - Leader, you have couple of unused mana stones right? - Hmm, yeah, but it''s not a time for payment yet, why asking? - I want to ask, do you believe in their archery? What if I told you that level difference is so big that their arrows won''t even scratch the big guy, I want you to give them some mana stones and evolve them, if you have enough of course, that''s not all, I want each of them to hit big orc''s both eyes The leader was dumbfounded and hesitant - It''s worth it, we''ll get about 30 mana stones if we succeed not to mention the loot will be sold for about another 30 mana stones, if we blindfold the leader then they are just clawless tigers, other two are level lower, with barrage of poisoned arrows they will not move for a while The leader was silent then turned to the archers - I have 12 mana stones in total, I''ll use it on you guys, but don''t use more than needed, as for the loot, all mana stones will belong to me since I am risking a big loss - Fine, we agree Archers agreed, so did I As for why, if we just sold the loot to our tribe, we will get more than two dozen mana stones, not only does it cost money to take tribe''s clothes and weapons, it also costs tribe to buy them, that''s the rule chief had made and order is kept by everyone, not because they want to, but because they fear the chief With that chief gains steady amount of mana stones, not to mention killing 90% of newborn goblins and taxes, he should have other ways to earn mana stones, so he''s very intelligent, I still do not know his name though, everyone just calls him chief and there''s few who actually have contact with him - Are you guys sure you can hit his eyeballs from that distance? If you miss we''ll die, let''s not risk it if you are not confident The leader asked solemnly - Well, I... They were hesitant and looked at each other The leader sighed and said dejected - If you are not fully confident there''s no need to risk so much, we will wait until the end and wait if they leave something, then we''ll scavenge them I was also in a bad mood, failure of this plan meant that sovereign would not give me the reward, I reassured myself to not be unhappy because even if I won it, it was so distant, I had to evolve couple of times? That''s ridiculous But I did not give up - Listen up, everyone, there''s a change in plans, let''s use the plan B I said solemnly - Plan B? The archer tilted his head and leader looked at me as if trying to read me through just a gaze I replied with a slight grin, merging with my monstrous face I am sure Ilooked sinister Chapter 13 Negotiating with orcs Orcs are stupid and not as intelligent as goblins, they have advantage in strength but this time I will take advantage of their small brains -Is it possible to talk with orcs? I asked The answer I received was that we can, our goblin and orc language are very similar, it could be compared to dialect of same language, if you tried hard, you could understand their talk, so it is confirmed! And I murmured the plan to others, after hearing it they showed amazed expressions and leader eagerly nodded his head It''s not that this plan was not dangerous, in contrast it was even more dangerous, because we would have no way to take a step back, but we had more chance this way By the way the number of goblins were about 35 at the beginning, mostly level 5 goblins fought while others supported them with arrows and even rocks, so they did not have many casualties, but now, at least half of them were eliminated That means about 18 were still alive, this was the chance we would use * Whoosh, whoosh Arrows were shot from the tree but it did not land on orcs, it landed on goblins POV change (Lv 6 orc) These despicable maggots, how dare they kill my brethren? I will smash them until there''s nothing left! * Roar These cowards were fighting shamelessly once they outnumbered my tribe, now look at them scattering around like straw, that makes me want to eat them alive and drink their blood even more!!! * Smash With a swing of my arm a goblin was smashed to death, turning into bloody meat so its previous form can''t be recognized - Catch and slaughter them all!!! I roared and my brothers started chasing after fleeing cowards I heard the wind tearing sound and nearby goblin fell, his back revealed an arrow, hmm? They started killing each other? That''s not right, who cares, they''ll die anyway, trying to confuse me? It won''t work! Before I could rush another time I heard miserable screams, the fleeing goblins were being slaughtered, I did not stop and slaughtered them mercilessly, they should pay! Even level 5 goblins were not my match, humph how can they compare to great me? Hmm? I saw two goblins slash and arrows that flew out of nowhere took other goblin''s lives, now I was really confusedSupport creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. With their help none managed to flee, I feel it''s strange, let''s hear them out at least POV change I and leader stood in front of three robust orcs, I felt like an ant in front of them, their domineering figures and bulging muscles made my heart beat faster, not because I liked them, you idiot! But because I truly felt fear, but for this plan to work I had to muster the courage and talk to them They did not seem to want to kill us, at least for now, good, I''ll use this opportunity well Leader knew what to do and we both fell on one knee - Oh great Orc lord, great general and flawless warrior, we have long since heard of your courage and strength, our tribe is mortal enemies with the tribe you have enmity with, we humbly request to form an alliance and exterminate the great enemy together, it would be an honor to be your brothers POV change ( Sovereign) I was watching his clumsy performance, if someone acted like that to me I would kill them immediately for excessive boot licking, but that orc is different, I did not misjudge you Dylan, that''s why I like you, I am looking forward to your growth POV change ( Level 6 orc ) I was dazed by his words, great general... flawless warrior... me? I knew I was great but, kuhuhuhu, I like this little one Then that''s settled POV change ( Dylan ) There is a saying that enemy of your enemy is your friend, knowing their simple nature and if I use this unmatched opportunity to fawn on the big guy and flatter him, I am sure he won''t refuse, with the humble way we acted he would not kill us, I am sure of it - What is your name little one? He said and I lifted my head, looking at his eyes, his pig head did not look embarrassing at all, his small tusks made him look even more monstrous, his facial expression that was brutal seconds ago was nowhere to be seen, his eyes were flashing with interest, good, I caught a big fish, and I mean really big one - This one does not have a name, but they call me reckless one I said, my fear was starting to disappear, I just had to follow the flow and keep acting, good for me, he was a naive bastard, I am sure this flattery would not work against normal humans and they would get suspicious, but he''s different Most likely he hunted for his whole life, he seeks glory and he wants to be praised, what a naive idiot He laughed at my response - Reckless one? Good, I see why they call you that? Aren''t you afraid I will kill you? He asked, playing with words with me? You are hundred years too young - Since I trust great general''s judgement, I know you would not kill us I answered the way so if he killed us he wouldseem stupid in front of other orcs - Oh, why do you think so? His eyes narrowed and I felt chills, it''s fine, I''ve got this - Because we want to be your subordinates, following someone as great as you would be an honor, I believe you would show mercy to us He burst into cheerful laughter, he really likes to be praised huh? What an idiot - Good, then we shall form an alliance, we shall hunt together, I will give you 20% of the loot for being loyal, how about that? Call your archer friends too Archers also appeared and knelt on one knee Everything went smoothly, it was a nerve wrecking but I was almost fully confident it would work, we were given 7 mana stones as a compensation - Oh, you guys can take their armors, we have no use for them He said, I grinned inwardly, that''s to be expected, selling the 35 full armor and weapons to our tribe will make us rich, not to mention their higher quality! We could not carry all of them though We bowed in courtesy to the big dumb orc and collected up all these armors, it would be hard to carry them all, we would need to come back and carry them couple of times - Tomorrow, you guys come here, we will hunt together The big orc said before going on his way, kukuku, I am wondering, shall I continue this play or just ignore him after all that? I''ll have to think about it, 20% is not bad, he''s also very strong, I''ll discuss that with leader But for now, we buried all the loot, because we did not want someone to stumble upon them and steal it, we decided to split loot evenly among us Each of us took full equipment of 2 dead goblins and went back, carrying them all the way to our tribe, of course we did not forget to equip ourselves with the best of what they had Chapter 14 Level 3 Despite the great risk of moving in dark we decided to not leave this loot here, we had to return couple of times and carry them to our tribe Before that, we made sure to choose the best of them and equip ourselves I personally chose the leather armor of level 5 goblin, despite being worn, one would discern the high quality and neat leather working skills of whoever made this, my torso was covered by leather but my hands were not, I could move them freely, it was designed like that, it was thin yet sturdy As for pants, they would not get in my way since it was short, reaching my knees As for boots, I found a good one, the stepping side was made of oak wood, whatever it is, it''s what appraisal said, the remaining part was made of wolf pelt, it was fluffy but not hindering For weapon, I was hesitating, I used daggers recently but I really wanted to have a short sword and shield, like that time when I fought for the first time, in the end I decided against carrying a shield back and forth so hid the one I liked in order to take it last, as a weapon I chose a steel gladius sword, its handle was comfortable to hold and I found it fitting I have not really thought of it before, but what if enemy sneak attacks me with an arrow? I want my head to be safe so I also chose a steel helmet, it was crude and oval, it only covered my bald head, my ears were sticking out, but if was better than nothing, leather one would be like paper defense, as for steel ones, there were not full steel helmets that covered the whole head, neither did I want to wear something like knight helmet, completely covering my head and obstructing my vision In the end the equipment did not matter as much as level and skills, but it was still needed, at least the damage would be reduced slightly, here are the appraisal results
Sleeveless Leather top
Quality: Common
Effect: Armor +2(Only includes the guarded area)
Durability: 38/45
Gladius
Quality: Common
Damage: 7-12
Durability: 71/75
Wolf pelt shoes
Quality: Common
Effect: +7% Agility Wolves will be more hostile
Durability: 24/25
Oval steel helm
Quality: Common
Effect: +5 armor(Only includes the guarded area)
Durability: 88/90
Leather shorts
Quality: Common
Effect: +2 armor(Only includes the guarded area)
Durability: 30/30
Small steel shield
Quality: common
Effect: Deflect, parry, block
Durability: 169/175
The tribe received us with cheers, it was dark but they have not slept yetA case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Leader asked for the audience with the chief, His guardsman Gruntar and Gnar responded fiercely, but once they knew of circumstances they did not dare receive any measures instead of chief so chief showed himself, now that I looked at him from up close, he seemed different He was taller and slimmer than others, despite that the vibe he gave off was even more dangerous than his guardsman, that orc from before would not even be worth a fart in front of him His ears were also less pointed and with all his attire and staff embodied by gems he looked like a priest, his face did not have many wrinkles either Once he knew of circumstances, and because of the great loot and the good news we obtained he rewarded us with whole 50 mana stones, others showed greed but they could do nothing about it The next time we did not have to enter the forest alone, many goblins and even Gruntar was assigned to aid us carry back all the loot, they had displeased expressions since we were under chief''s protection for a while but I ignored them, I grabbed my shield and we returned with all the loot On the way we were encircled with stray wolves, but with all the army we had they were easily butchered, unfortunately we did not receive any rewards since they finished them off and we were already given enough rewards As for wolves, it makes sense for them to mostly hunt at night, they should have good night vision and other advantages at night That day leader distributed the stones almost evenly among us, each of us received 14 while he received 15 In total now I had 16 mana stones, this was the big harvest, I could not sleep because I knew that I would become level 3 tomorrow, I did not plan on consuming them just yet, I wanted to make that hunchback refine them first By the way I lived in my own hole that I dug before now, but I deemed it dangerous since many greedy goblins would shamelessly nag me because of my riches and I slept on a huge tree branch As for why there was no greed between us four was because leader needed us, we all knew that we were not invincible andneeded someone to watch our backs, even higher level goblins did not dare go out solo, because all the predators aim for the lone wanderer, if they have not enough firepower, they can overwhelm the enemy with numbers, that''s why it''s dangerous We have many enemies and we live in constant mini wars in order to survive, even if we are monsters mostly driven by our nature, we don''t want to die in a stupid way Our overall team power would rise tomorrow, I believe everyone would reach a level up, as for the payment that was nothing but the money for temporary hired team members, as for us, we trusted each other and would most likely stick together Sooner or later I would quit but I was not ready just yet The next day I woke up with almost a heart attack, seems in sleep I wriggled around and was on a brink of falling off the tree branch, I could not calm my beating hard and thought it was dangerous to sleep in such narrow place, but it could not be helped I visited the hunchback and with a discount he only received 4 stones in exchange of purifying other 12 I was excited and immediately ran off, I got up rather early for that, I woke up the hunchback with the kick, he was angry but with the stones I showed he calmed down and even showed a surprised expression, I did not listen to his comments, I was excited for soon to come level up! Goblins have a sense of comaraderie, but their greed is even bigger, they do not know the concept of family and they are mostly driven by their desires, of course I am an exception and I am getting used to controllingmy monster nature since my brain is much more intelligent and emotions can''t really weight down my self conscious I locked myself up in the hole and consumed the mana stones one after another, I did not hurry, I did not want to let the single strand of energy escape and wanted to fully refine them, I was feeling down since my first refinement was crude and most of the energy from stones dissipated, so I had to make up for it with higher quality ones It took some time to fully refine them, I got up rather early when others were soundly sleeping, I did not want to be disturbed Finally I reached the level 3! I felt my power further raise, as for other things like perception, thinking speed, agility and others would also undoubtedly raise, but it was not very noticable and apparent, still, I had to spend some time to get used to my body Now the mana stone requirement for next level doubled again, I needed 20 in total, since I consumed all, my progress was at 7/20 mana stones I was not a shrimp soldier any longer, though I was not really strong, my power definitely rose I suddenly had the urge to try out my new strength and went out, found a decently short tree with thick branch, hopped in the air and grabbed the trunk, I wanted to try how many times I couldlift my body up and touch my chin to the tree trunk, in my past life I could do it about 30 times before being exhausted 1... 2... ... 17... 18... I was doing it continuously and with average speed but I did not feel my muscle strength diminish by much, I could go on for longer 31... I exceeded my record, that means my strength exceeds the one I possessed in my past life, I am starting to feel my muscles stain though, I can still go on! 40! I was breathing heavily and I could barely lift my body, my whole arms went numb 41... 42... And I fell, panting heavily, I smiled while huffing, despite being a little 1 meter tall maggot my strength is satisfying, not to mention the level damage bonuses that follows the level ups, I feel I can deal with level 4 enemy if I try my best, my new equipment is also more depending At this early stage mostly enemies do not have enough skill, that''s why I have advantage, but I am sure it will lessen over time since the higher the level of monster, the more experienced and skillful will they be After tiring myself out I rested for a while then I remembered rather important thing I have not bathed for a whole 3 days! And here I thought I was missing something The smell of sweat and blood does not bother my monster nature but! I have the urge to shower Oh yeah, there is a small cliff behind the tribe, there is a river, I should go there I followed the path and got past our tribe, walking through grass that reached my torso and saw small steep cliff, there was a path carved, I followed it while supervising my every step and breathed in the fresh air, then I started to undress That''s when I noticed that I was not alone, near the river there was a goblin that was washing tribal clothes I felt embarrassed being all naked, even more so when I realized it was the female goblin, but I soon calmed down, I did not really have any kind of feeling while looking at her,I did not really hate her but I did not have an ounce of liking towards opposite sex, I wondered was it because of my human mind? I ignored it and jumped in the river, it was cold It took some time to get used to the temperature and then I unintentionally looked at her direction She did not even lift her head, she continued her job, she gave off a gloomy aura, I started getting curious of her circumstances and hesitated whether to converse with her or not I did not really know much about the female goblins, the male ones got all the attention, I also rarely saw the female goblins and female warriors were even rarer, I suddenly had the urge to know the reason Chapter 15 Acting against principles - Hey I called her No response She''s definitely heard it, I got annoyed but looking at lonely figure I involuntarily thought she was bullied, I had that kind of feeling, so I called her one more time - Hey, need some help? Well, I never did a laundry, my sister did, but I could try? That''s not the point, I want to get her attention ... Still no response Tch, fine then! I continued washing up and when I was done I did not bother dressing up, I want to dry up first and it''s not like I am ashamed Wuah, I am not a pervert alright? It''s just I think it does not make a difference, if it was a human I would dress up, if it was an elf, and I hope they exist and I hope I see one in my life, I would still be ashamed, but it does not matter, there''s no way in hell I would like such monster, no offense but she''s ugly green bastard like I am, there is not much difference, I am sure others feel the same way, still, I am really curious as to what are her circumstances I appraised her, she was level 1, so she did not hunt, that makes sense - Look, I became an adult 3 days ago, can you enlighten me of your and other female goblin''s circumstances? She stopped what she was doing and looked at me with these beady eyes and crooked nose, then continued doing her job again, this time I hit my limit, I felt ignored and was about to burst in rage, when she started talking Ah that was close, monster nature, shoo, I can''t control it in all situations - What do you want to know? The fact that we are not given the chance to fight in tribal ceremony? The fact that most of us are killed due to being unneeded? The fact that we are not allowed to hunt? The fact that we are nothing but your toys? The fact that we don''t know when we''ll be thrown away? The fact that we are just substitutes for breeding if you don''t hunt humans? ... Woah, that''s a loooots of resentment there, I was speechless, of course she would be fucking moody as fuck, not giving a chance to fight? I thought the ceremony was brutal and unneeded bloodshed but to think it could be looked at at such angle? I felt it was unfair for them, but that''s it, I never liked the goblin bastards, they have no good traits, but I wonder if there are tribes that have matriarchy? There should be some right? It''s really unfair, but I have no intention to help, that''s just how most societies work, as sovereign mentioned it does not matter how many you help, there''ll be immeasurable amount who need it, if she really is against it then she should just stand up and fight, I do not care I am sorry, but I really am not fond of goblins, this is not the race I would feel guilty to abandon and I would not feel guilty if they disappeared I quietly stood up and put on my clothes I wanted to walk away, but something was holding me down I hesitated, I do not know whyThe narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Haah, it really can''t be helped huh? It''s just how I am * Clank Steel sound echoed and I threw my gladius to her direction, the sword bounced off the rocks and fell to her side She looked at me, I could read curiosity in her eyes - Sigh, you wanted to fight right? Come, show me what you''ve got I saw her expression change from confusion to astonishment, she looked at the sword She really wanted to fight huh? How about I give her an opportunity? She''s 2 levels lower than me anyway, that means she''ll deal 75% less damage, though remaining 1/4 might still hurt, it''s not going to be serious, besides, I don''t think she has much to offer, I bet she has never held a sword in her entire life - What are you waiting for? Did not you want to fight? Try me I yelled at her She was still looking at me inbewilderment - Oi, can''t you hear me? I''ll change my mind then It can''t be helped if she cowers, I wanted to take back my sword when I noticed that she stood up and bent down, taking a sword in her arms, she caressed it like it was the most precious thing in the world - Come! I grinned and told her She looked at me once again and her next action left me frozen ... She fucking grabbed my sword and ran off - Oi, come back, son of a bitch! I gave her an opportunity, I wanted to help yet she... she fucking stole my blade and ran off? What is she going to do anyway, where is she running to? I chased after her,she was fast - Oi, come back, I''ll kill you if I catch you! I yelled truly angered by this ungrateful bastard She was pretty fast, despite being a level 1 she ran in zigzagging pattern, annoying me on the way, the rage was building up And then I saw her stop I huffed softly and told her - Got enough of this stupid chasing? What was the need for it in the first place? I started approaching her, but I realized the reason why she stopped was not me She was trembling and she fell, dropping my gladius on the ground In front of her stood a towering brown bear, showing his white fangs and thick limbs that could tear a tree apart I appraised it, hoping that its level was not high, I was left disappointed
Brown bear
Level 5
I looked at the direction of blade on the ground, it''s going to be hard to grab it, shit, now what? Wanting me to save a damsel in distress? You are wrong, it''s a fucking ugly goblin, which decided to play a bad prank on me after I showed her a kindness, that''s what I get, then you shall be a cannon fodder No hard feelings but it was fault in the first place, now then, stupid bear, quickly eat her! Then I can escape - ROOOAR!!! The bear who easily had the head twice the size of mine let out a big roar, seriously what was the need for it? Want to scare me? Well you failed since I am already scared? Not that scared to piss myself or not manage to run away though, unlike certain someone The bear lunged towards her, I was hoping that she would get eaten, but I was wrong, I watched her dumbfounded She grabbed the sword at the last moment and clumsily swung it while barely avoiding the tearing limb attack, her shoulder was slashed and she started bleeding I grit my teeth, she indeed has some potential but that''s as far as she goes - ROOOAR!!! Another angry roar, she crouched on one knee, panting The next move of the bear was another claw slash, she tried to block it but the level and strength difference was too big, she was thrown back to my direction I moved to the side I watched her trying to grab the sword and stand up despite having her hand dislocated, she was shaking but did not give up DAMN! I can''t watch this any longer, I grit my teeth and grabbed the gladius that she was trying to find with her shaking hands, fortunately I had my equipment on, I dressed up earlier Now come here stupid bear, let''s see how you can bully me! The level difference is 2, meaning his attacks are 100% fiercer while mine is 75% duller, despite that, I refuse to abandon her, not because I like her, instead I hate her for being selfish, but watching her do her best, try to fight back, I just could not watch it anymore, something snapped in my mind - Come here, stupid bear, try to eat me! I taunted and swayed gladius in my hand - ROOOAR!!! Yep, I was not expecting other type of answer And bear rushed to my direction with great momentum This isthe toughest opponent Ihave ever faced so far Chapter 16 Uneven odds, emerging victorious Now then how do I deal with an angry bear? Climbing a tree? Play dead? Bullshit If truck wants to eat you, RUN and dodge if possible I did the same, I stepped to the side, changing the angle of my body just enough so the bear would miss My shield was scratched with its claws and sparks flew around, there was also unpleasant sound of metal being scratched but who cares, after sidestepping the bear could not lose its momentum and once I kicked it from behind it staggered, but did not fall It was about to correct its stance when gladius pierced its back, I wanted to cut him further, wounding him while moving the sword inside his skin, but gladius would not budge, I guess the reduced attack is doing its job and its skin is bit sturdy to be cut futher when the sword has already pierced it It roared angrily and tried to turn around, I followed behind, trying to always stay at its back, if the sword won''t move, then I will... I pressed with my hand on the sword and turned it around over and over, making its wound even more painful, the answer was even more roars and bear started thrashing, I was forced back but my sword was left on its back, I plunged it so deeply to make the wound worse, that I could not take it out in time, then I am left with my shield only The bear is angered to death, wanting to tear me into bloody meaty pieces That won''t do I looked at her direction, she got up and while panting heavily watched the fight, she was not running, oh come on, don''t be so stubborn, I saved you once, if you don''t want to keep your life then fine, just don''t get in my way - ROOOAR!!! After angry roar the bear went on four limbs and with big strides charged at me How do I react?! I stood aside, bear was coming towards me, seems his running is coordinated this time, I don''t have much time I took my mini-shield and threw it at bear while running towards it on my own, I suppressed my fears, more than anything I wanted it to be beneath me, struggling to live, even if it was stronger, I wanted it to bow to me! While I am sure with my human nature I would surely run away, my monster nature made it so, I felt excitement I wanted to dominate! The shield flew like throwing disk and with unexpected accuracy it smashed the face of a bear, which made it painful for it. The gap thatI made could not be lost The bear lost its coordination for a second and in that split second I jumped towards it, landing on its back while it was standing on fourThe story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Due to pain it was going to stand on two and roar, but until that, after landing on its back and almost crushing my balls due to impact ( I hope they are safe ) I showed my middle fingers on each hand and * Crunch No matter how good its defenses are, even if my attack is 25% of usual, hehe, even the minimal power can hurt the eyeballs With all the force I could muster I crushed its eyeballs, then it stood on four, thrashing and roaring in pain and anger, but its anger was no longer directed I was thrown from theback, then I took out my gladius from its back and grabbed my shield I wanted to bash my shield to its face but that fucker was too tall if it stood on two, so I waited until it went down Soon it did, after thrashing around violently Of course I tried to not get in its way and when it landed on four, to my height I bashed my shield to its face, it wanted to roar and opened its mouth The chance I took the risk and placed my gladius in between its jaws, making so if it closed its mouth, his jaws would be pierced, it was placed rather smoothly, while it opened the jaws the space in between was just enough for gladius to be stuck Its saliva flew around, its eyes were bleeding, it did not manage to hold on like that and its mouth started bleeding, then after dodging its uncoordinated attack, after all it could not see me anymore, I grabbed my shield, crouched down, placed myself under its mouth and grinned * Bash I bashed its lower jaw from downwards and gladius that was stuck in its mouth did its job I ran away and watched the show It was no longer roaring with might, it was whimpering in pain, but I don''t care, want to eat me? Then prepare to get eaten yourself, if it landed a single attack on me, I would be finished, I would at least break some bones I was amazed by my accurate fighting style, sure, I had some battle sense from my past life, but I did not think it would be this handy, I learned how to stand against the older opponents while suppressing fear while I was kid myself I looked at her direction, why did she not flee? Well, the reason why I saved her is not sincere, I was bullied myself when I was kid, wanting to stand up against them, I did not give up and entered mixed martial arts school, seems I was a bit talented and I beat my bullies in the future, but it was no longer that fulfilling since they did not bully me excessively either Then I was more confident, having high grades, knowing how to defend myself, having good looks, I was confident, still it did not forbid me from being a hikkomori, a damn shut in who did not really care about the real world, now it all changed, the world I live in resembles the ruthless game, yet it''s so realistic, authority is determined by power, societies are build upon power and corpses of thousand others It''s cruel, I miss some things from my world, but it does not matter anymore, because for the first time in my life, I have a goal and that is to get stronger I looked at her again, she reminded me of my past self, I tried to stand up like her, even if I was stepped on, now it''s just a good memory, due to that, I learned how it feels to be in pain, how it feels to come back and how it feels to be strong, I did not regret, I thought it was a fortune that I was bullied, but if my personality was different I would turn out pitiful, that''s what I was afraid of in the first place, even as a kid I read a lot of novels, I did not want to be like certain protagonist so I was determined to pour my blood and sweat in myself, to get stronger Still, a damn truck was stronger than me, weird thing to say but there was no way I could survive that Now I''m gone from my world, nobody remembers, I never existed there, so I''ll make sure I exist here and leave my footsteps, be it of a villain, hero or a plain passerby who just wants to live a fulfilling life And I have a great question Do they have chocolate here? ... ... I awoke from daze after hearing the whimpering sounds, jeez, it''s not dead yet? It could not see so it could not flee, well then, how do I finish it off? Its skin is tough, I''m sure it will die after bleeding from mouth but it''s going to take a long time and I want my gladius back What do I do? Chapter 17 Ungrateful Soon the whimpering sounds stopped, I do not know whether it died or passed out from pain I cautiously got closer, touched it a bit forcefully with my finger couple of times, checking if it can still move or not And then I watched it from up close, this huge beast truly fell under my knees I felt fulfilled, I wanted to dance around in happiness but I suppressed the urge and cautiously tried taking out the gladius from its mouth, I was ready to jump back at any time, bear was also lying harmlessly, it could not really attack me in that fallen position, so I grew even courageous - Ugh, why is it... not coming out, damn, move! It was stuck very hard, I tried lifting the bear''s jaws but it was stuck Ah no, I am not going to give up, my precious sword, where can I find better? No,no,no, Noooooo~ Come out~ - Huff, huff, why is it not BUDGING?! I watched the sword in resentment POV change We, female goblins have no saying in the tribe, it''s unfair, why should I do what they tell me? Why should I comply when they do not even bother to glance and say thanks? I also wanted to have an opportunity, the chance to get stronger like them, I wanted to prove that I am not any lesser than them, but the reality was harsh In total, females were barely twenty while males should be couple of hundred, still, they do not even bother to glance at us, after raiding nearby villages they bring humans and the goblins who are interested in us is lesser than few I found it difficult to understand, why is the child of goblin and a human goblin? And the chance is 100% Was it to bully us? I have not given up for a long time, but harsh reality is not something we can change, something we can stand against So we obeyed, I obeyed along with others and days passed in boredom and resentment, I hated every single one of them, I felt nothing but disgust towards their selfishdesires Then he appeared, he asked the question I wanted someone to ask, I really wanted someone to understand our pain, but such was none, so after he asked about me I did not believe my ears, it would not make a difference I thought, what could he change? He is the same as others, hateful! He pestered me and finally I could not hold it anymore, all my resentment, I told him in questions, but the meaning was clear I was expecting something, I wanted to find someone who could hear my pleas, but as expected, after hearing all that, he walked away My heart sank, but I steeled myself, I saw it coming, there is no way they would understand, that''s right, they are all the same!Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. And then I heard clanking sound, I could not believe my eyes when I saw a sword to my side - Youwanted to fight right? Come, show me what you''ve got It went in my ears like thunder, I was given an opportunity? I looked at the sword, how I wanted to have one, how I wanted to be like them, to fight I watched him in bewilderment, how was this possible? I thought everyone was the same, so how did this happen? With this I can fight, I thought of fleeing couple of times but I was afraid, I knew that I was very weak, with this... I could fight It''s either now or never I grabbed the sword and fled, it''s over if I get caught, I heard his cursing sounds, which forced me to run even faster, but then... I froze, there was a monster in front of me, instinctively I knew that I was no match for it, I did not notice how he approached I heard a roar that shook my heart, I was too close to the monster, it was going to eat me, my life would end here, I felt resentment, I should not die yet, not until I have proved myself! I grabbed the sword and barely managed to dodge, I was wounded by its claws in the process, the next attack was fast, I could not dodge, I did not have choice but to block, it was also instinctual, I have never held a sword in my life I was thrown back, I was inexcruciating pain, my elbow was dislocated, I wanted to scream, but I endured, I tried to fix it but I was in so much pain, that I almost passed out I wanted to scream but no sound came out of my mouth, it was a weird feeling, was it because of fear? My eyes were closing, but I saw what I expected the least, he grabbed the sword that I dropped and I struggled to pick and he fought Even though the difference of strength was so big, why? Was it to save me? He could have run away, as expected, he is different And then I passed out, when I came back to sense I felt the pain that I have never felt before, I started screaming in low voice, but it was ignored, I looked at him, he was trying to take out his sword from the dead monster, that was stuck in its mouth, I was amazed for a split second, but pain was reminding me itself, my attention changed into pain once again Finally he did, grabbed his bloodied sword and he looked happy - ...elp I tried speaking but voice would not come out And then I passed out again Once I woke up theexcruciating pain was gone, it still remained but it was much weaker, I looked down at my hand, it was bandaged by leaves,thin vines and what looked like a crushed herbs, I looked around, I almost screamed in fright once I realized that I was on a branch of a huge tree, then I glimpsed at him, he was sleeping soundly He treated my wound? Why? Why is he so different? I felt grateful, but then it came back, the hatred I felt towards them and powerlessness I watched him sleeping defenselessly, his sword was lying close to him I grabbed it I wanted to avenge my pitiful self, I wanted to get stronger, I wanted to kill him... but I could not I did not put down the sword despite giving up on killing him and I went down as soundlessly as possible, then disappeared in night, only the moon lit my path, it was dangerous, I knew it, but I could not help but be excited, because I had a weapon, I was no longer weak POV change Jeez, why am I doing this? I grumbled at myself as I was wrapping her hand in healing herbs after putting her dislocated elbow in the socket I even spent my precious time on her, right, she should be fine, it won''t be as effective as healing potions but the amount of herbs I crushed was many, it should be enough for her left hand to heal in a day or two I was searching for high quality herbs and I had to left her alone for a longer time then expected, I spent a whole day to her, what am I even doing? I should be getting stronger, meh, whatever After properly treating her wound with my miniscule knowledge I was tired, I wanted to sleep, so I did, my exhausted mind drifted in nothingness called sleep soon enough I did not have a single dream after coming in this world, but I did not really care either, once I woke up I wanted to check on her, but she was no longer here - Where the hell did she go in this condition? I was worried and wanted to go down, but first I wanted to grab my sword - Eh? Where is it, I''m sure I put it here ... And then realization struck me MOTHERFUCKER! Chapter 18 Stomping the sore point, showing the weakness The first time she stole it, I get it, fine, she had her own reasons But now, not only did I try to help her, I saved her, treated her and the same thing happened ... I do not know what to think anymore, I just want to find her and teach her a lesson Where should she have gone? I jumped down from branch to branch like a monkey and landed on the ground, little dust hovered around my foot I looked around, where should I find he... She''s here? I watched her figure approaching, she held a familiar sword, my GLADIUS, I missed you I made big steps towards her and we were approaching to each other - Oi, is this how you repay the kindness? I growled unhappily, since she is here and I don''t have to find her, my anger dissipated, but by only a bit, that does not change the fact that she is an ungrateful bastard Once I stood in front of her she lifted her right hand and gave me my gladius, I forcefully snatched it even though she deliberately returned it I looked at her left hand, my herbs were not there As if knowing what I was thinking she moved her left arm slowly, I was surprised, it healed that fast? - Thank you for the treatment... and for saving my life... and sorry for snatching your possession without permission Then she fell on her knees with a putt sound I did not know how to react, her next words also left me dumbstruck - In exchange of your kindness, I will forever be your slave, I will do anything for you She said and looked at me right in the eyes Calm down me, if there was a nice elf girl saying this my heart would beat faster, if there was a cute human girl saying this I would go crazy, but if it''s an ugly goblin, no, nope, please no, I do not have weird fetishes, I do not want to lose my humanity, even male goblins rarely touch them and I will never ever do something so ugly - W, who said that I''d like you to be my slave? Do you have qualifications? I don''t take random cats and dogs as slaves, if I had one, I''d prefer one to be a human She looked sad then she smiled, which looked like a satan''s grin, seriously goblins are too ugly to be liked - I am sorry for not being up to your liking, but I think I have the qualifications to be your slaveUnauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Eh? Bullshit - Are you kidding? Your level is 1, you don''t know how to fight, how the hell do you have the qualifications, go take a piss and look at yourself in it, that matter is concluded, don''t misunderstand, I do not want anything in exchange of saving you, now scram and never appear before me, or I will beat you up, no kidding I turned my back and started walking away - Please wait master I cringed and broke into wry smile while cold sweat ran down my cheeks, seriously, it''s going to traumatize me, I wanted to cute lo... I mean mature woman to call me that but a goblin? - Listen, once and for all, Never ca... She screamed in annoying voice and did not let me finish my sentence - Please appraise me What is she talking about, is not she a level 1? - Look, it''s not gonna happen alright? Just give up - Give me a chance master, you still have not appraised me She has not stood since then, she was still kneeling Is there something wrong? Did she level up once because she took my sword? Hah, level 2 is still too low, she does not have a potential, it does not hurt to appraise her though
Goblin
Level 4
... ... ... ... - Umm, master, did you appraise me? - WHO ARE YOU? I grabbed my sword and pointed it at her, there''s no way she leveled up thrice in a single god damn night, that has to be a lie, cheat, is sovereign making fun of me? Is she fake? Where is the real one, is it dead? - It''s me, master - D,d, Don''t lie! It can''t be you, who are you? - It''s really me, please believe me She started pleading and almost teared up Ugh, traumatizing, I can''t watch it anymore - Then prove it, how did you level up 3 times in a single night? She started - Yesterday once I woke up I could not stop the urge to become stronger, and... and, I stole your... - I know that, continue, what happened next? My patience was running low, I really doubted, was that even possible? No, there has to be something wrong - Then, then, I met the horny rabbits on the way, I have heard of them and I knew that they were dangerous, but... umm... because I am a female their attacks would not hurt so much, I thought, then I started hunting them, I found their nest and... no matter how many came at me, they could not hurt me, instead they... - STOOP! I yelled and huffed heavily, it was seriously getting dangerous for my health, I know what she means, breath in, breath out, calm down, my little friend, do not betray me, do not stand, there''s no way you can get aroused by the fact of some ugly goblin bastard getting impaled by... rabbit horn, don''t betray me, no! - And then... sometimes they hit right on the spot but, umm, it did not hurt, instead... it gave me pleasure... they were weak, I hunted them until... I got to level 4 She was blushing It stood FUCK NO, NO, NO, NO, I am not a pervert, I can''t, - Aaaah I started running away, I wanted to get as far as possible from her, there''s no way I have weird fetish, there''s no way, sovereign help, cleanse my brain, let me forget this scene, cut, hey, you are there, aren''t you? You are laughing aren''t you? Please erase this moment, SOMEBODY HEEELP - Master please wait I heard the voice I did not want to hear for a year, no for an eternity - NOO, get away from me pervert, somebody help, monster is trying to fuck me, I don''t want to - Master, I won''t, please stop - NOOOOOOOOOOOO~~~~ Chapter 19 Batreyal Weird I have searched for reckless one for a long time but could not find him, I am worried, was he bothered by some greedy goblins? It''s possible, but I do not think they would dare to steal in open, as for reckless one, he is no less intelligent than I am, he could be even more clever, but he does not have the experience That does not matter, I believe he would not get killed so easily, we had to meet an orc today but because we could not find reckless one only 3 of us had to go, I am afraid orcs will misunderstand otherwise and I do not want more trouble After the great rewards I became the level 4, with my skills I can probably deal with level 5 opponent, but against 2 of them it will be very hard Archer bros also leveled up to 3, now they will be more useful, though their slime goo is running out, which is a bit worrying, their archery skills are pretty good, I can entrust my back to them I am sure that reckless one also had the increase in power, our team will have higher chance for survival, though it''s a pity we have to go without him today Archers kept on scouting as always, we are not strong enough to risk ourselves, so we need constant insurance that we are safe We met couple of low leveled kobolds on the way, that were killed easily, due to our agreement reckless one does not get any stones since he is not here After walking for some time, we reached that place, place where we buried the loot was very apparent However it was quiet, orcs did not come I frowned, something was not right, either they were in trouble or they fooled us, which is unlikely Archer scout returned and said - It''s quiet, there''s nothing noticeable in vicinity Hmm, where could they be gone? And then I noticed something unusual, it was very tiny, but I could feel small tremors underfoot I put my ear on the ground and listened, it was shaking, after some time I barely deducted the direction where noises came from - Let''s go I ordered and they followed like always We had to walk deeper into the forest, I have not passed this area, I have to be double careful Scout archer returned and said - I see the orc village, the situation is bad, they have been invaded I was surprised, by any means orcs are not weak, instead they are very strong, who would dare to invade their territory? Goblins? No, that''s not right, even they would not dare to do such a thing - Details? - There are only 4 invaders, but they are very strong, I have never seen such monsters before, they should not belong here, they are bigger than orcs, their body looks like that of an over sized human and they have ... 2 heads, I have never seen such anomalies before, we should inform our tribe, if orcs can''t handle them, we are in dangerLove what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. I was shocked, I have heard of such monsters from stories of old goblins, but they are supposed to live in further mountains that we can barely see from here, why would they appear here? Is there a whole tribe? No, that''s not right, they could not have migrated this far, if they did, then that''s worse, that means something even more dangerous than them appeared, which caused them to lose their home, but it''s unlikely, the most accurate deduction would be that they were banished from their tribe... monsters with 2 head and frightening strength that surpasses orcs... Ettins! this is very bad, we have to inform our tribe And then sounds of trees shattering could be heard, we can''t stay here any longer - We are leaving I ordered without any hesitance and we started fleeing We started running as fast as we could, we should be safe, but I am sure our tribe can''t take on such monsters, we need time to migrate, I hope the chief does not stubbornly order us to fight to death, we do not have any chance at all - WELL, what do we have here? I heard a sound and chills crept up my spine, how is this possible? We were so far away, how did we get discovered? I looked around, there was nothing, but voice was so close I looked up slowly and froze in fear, two rows of yellow teeth were grinning at me
Ettin
Level 7/ Level 8
What''s with this status? why is there two levels displayed? what is this monster? The monster was as I heard in stories, just more scary, it had two bald heads, body of a muscular human and he held a huge club in his hand, he was standing on the nearby huge tree branch * Swoosh It jumped down and dust and rocks scattered around, huge footprint marks were left in the place where it landed - Run! I did not dare linger any longer and started running, it was too huge, too fast, it could move on trees, we had no chance to live - Why running? Let''s start playing, I will eat the first one I catch, no, no, you guys fight, the winner will survive and I will eat dead ones, how about that? - Bullshit, he''s going to eat us, we should run! I yelled and kept on running in the zigzagging pattern, using some vines and bushes to obstruct the enemy that might approach at any moment Then I heard a great shattering sound and the giant landed on another tree branch, merely it could not handle the weight and it broke, in the process ettin also fell The chance, we can make it - Run as fast as you c... Huh? My back felt cold sensation, I looked back and saw arrow sticking out, then I looked at my fellow scout archer in disbelief and resentment - You, You!!! I turned around and wanted to tell them something but words would not come out, that was the least I expected to happen, how could they betray me in this moment? Why? We were always hunting together, we... * Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh Three arrows landed on my shoulder, stomach and thigh, I felt piercing pain in the wounded area and shivered involuntarily, I fell on one knee, soon the poison''s going to take effect, I am finished - Sorry leader, we never had the chance to survive anyway, we''ll get killed if we disobey, so, you should die first - YOU IDIOTS, HE''S JUST PLAYING WITH US * Whoosh The next arrow landed on my forehead, the world turned dark and I blanked out, never to open my eyes ever again... and there was darkness - Well, well, well, amusing, amusing, but it''s not over yet, the victor has not yet been decided - That''s right, that''s right, only one can survive The heads said separately and two goblin''s expressions turned even fiercer as they looked at each other Little did they know, that neither of them would be left alive As for ettin, it was watching the show in amusement, their wrinkled faces were horrifying to look at when they were smiling ... Spoiler: Spoiler Ettin: Chapter 20 Adventurers Pontos city Merchant association hall - Well done boy, you managed to sell off all those useless shit in auction for fat coins, you did not disappoint me, as promised 5% is yours, looking forward to your cooperation next time too, now see ya - Y, yes sir, glad to be of your service The bulky man praised the young merchant who barely started having some small cactus like beard on chin, they are barely noticeable The bulky man who looked like a bear left with a happy expression while waving his hand in the process, indicating goodbye Merchant flustered by the man who is sometimes hard to handle sighs in relief and still smiles at shining gold coins that are on his hands, then clutches it tightly and keeps them in his sack The bear-like man mixes in crowd and looks around, with sheepish smile he looks at beautiful woman''s perky butts, that can be found on all sides of busy street where merchants and vendors try to sell off their products while gaining some profit for themselves The sun is shining brightly and he''s become sweaty with all the armor that he has to wear, it''s not heavy for him, but the sun is annoying, despite that he''s in a good mood, because he earned good profits after the hard work of risking his life and because this magnificent city never lacks beautiful women After walking for couple of minutes he stands in front of the huge building with gates and guards stationed outside, he shows his guild card annoyed by this process and steps in the huge guild hall which is full of people - They sound like bees, annoying as always As he was walking some little girl crashed at him and fell over, unlike others of her age she wore a clothes befitting for someone who fights - Be careful kid The bear-like man says and helps her stand up, after patting her back he continues on his way - T, thank you sir He hears thevoice of stuttering girl, he merely smiles and looks around, searching for the guild tavern - Oh, here it is, lively as always, eh? As he opens the wooden door he sees the bundle of muscular adventurers, mature and young woman, they are all drinking, but unexpectedly there is not an unbearable smell, instead the atmosphere seems nice evenThe story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. - Oh Roy, you old bastard, you are still alive, I see, good, good, join us in drink, eh? What do you say? He hears the annoying voice, he does not need to turn around as he recognizes the voice, it''s the purple haired annoying guy - Shut up Loiser, who are you calling an old man? I can still marry your daughter and people would say that we are a fitting couple The purple haired man has black lines on his forehead as he retorts - I do not have a daughter, oi, if you want to make a fun of me find another way, boooo, you failed - That''s the point Loiser, you are already so old and not to mention daughter you do not even have a wife, hehahahaha~ - W, who are you calling old? Half of my life is still waiting for me, once I collect up some money I will retire and have a beautiful wife and live a peaceful life Loiser retorts, getting all red, alcohol is adding up to his current expression, he looks like an apple on his face Roy''s cheerful face turns serious as he replies - Be careful Loiser, we can die at any time, don''t you dare pass when you are so close to your goal Seems he knows the man very well - Humph, you don''t need to remind me of that, better take care of yourself Life of an adventurer is full of dangers, especially cities have subjugation quests which are sometimes very dangerous and mostly couple of people is needed, one man party is almost nonexistent, unless it''s some beginner who collects some herbs to raise in ranks, still, nobody knows when monster creeps up from the shadows and they are always at risk of their own lives, that''s why adventurers try to live their life without regrets Roy ignores the man and gives the receptionist girl a smile, who in turn returns one, then he proceeds to his own room - Room 67, that''s the one As soon as he opens the door he is pulled in and beat up by short red haired woman - Hey stop, Silicia, I am sorry, I had things to do, oww... - You tricked me, you ran off to see some girls did not you? Humph, you never change The short haired girl who barely stands close to his shoulder stands up and turns her head in opposite direction, indicating that she''s angry The man gets up from his position and stands on knees like a child who has done something wrong, still, he almost reaches her height even if he''s kneeling - I am sorry ok? I swear I did not go in brothel... not after that incident, I wound not dare, I will do anything you want, will you forgive me? Roy pleads shamelessly while showing a pitiful expression Silicia looks at him with one eye while her head is still turned to another direction, her hands are crossed at her chest, making her full bust size even more apparent - Anything? Humph, how could I believe to someone who lies in every third sentence? - I am serious, I will do anything Roy pats his chest, saying '''' leave it to me '''' in gesture Silicia''s expression turns nostalgic and she murmurs silently which is hard to hear unless one has full attention on her words - Then... can we visit my hometown? I''ve been missing my grandma... and you know that they are in constant danger, after all the forest is near and who knows when goblins or bandits attack, I am worried Roy, please let''s return for a while Her voice gets louder and louder and in the end she grabs man''s hands and looks directly in his eyes Roy does not know how to react and smiles wryly - Alright, while I am sure the village is safe with ''''him'''' protecting it, it''s worth a try to take a day off - R, really? The girl''s eyes are shining and her expression turns into utter happiness - Y, yeah - Roy, you big mean bear, you are the best The girl yells in happiness and hugs the huge man, her hands barely reach the back of his shoulders - Then, it''s decided, tomorrow The girl says excitedly - Eh? But tomorrow... - No buts Now her expression is serious, Roy can do nothing but comply His helpless sigh is returned with Silicia''s smile and victorious pose Chapter 21 Your worst nightmare Somehow I managed to escape from the pervert goblin and found the hole that I dug, where I passed out from mental exhaustion Huh? What is this place? A dream? This is the first time I am having a dreamsince coming to this world ... I clenched my fists and I felt the sense of touch No, this is not right, for a dream this is too realistic and I can even feel the touch and think, there''s no way this is a dream, but what is this dark space? Where am I? I thought doubtfully and tried to look around, surroundings were pitch black, but I could see myself perfectly Then there was a blinding light in front of me, I put my hand to cover my eyes, the light was too bright - Dylan, don''t you recognize me? Huh? This is the sovereign''s voice... I have only heard his voice and never seen him personally, is he showing himself to me? What''s the reason? I got actually curious as to what he looked like, his voice was of middle aged man, so I expected him to be tall bulky bearded man with evil grin plastered on his face, as if mocking me The light was subduing and the figure appeared in front of me, I was left speechless, it was not what I expected, it was a very beautiful goddess with silky silver hair, godly gown and presence that would make mortals suffocate if close and worship if seen from far, she was truly beautiful, her red lips were attractive and charming, her chest was big and round, there was small cross on her neck along with some necklace which would probably count as national treasure on earth, she was smiling, it blinded me and I almost blanked out, If she was compared to all the idols and most beautiful girls on earth they would shy away in shame, because her beauty was too godly I did not know what to say so I waited for her to say something Suddenly her sweet smile turned into smirk and her lips moved - Yo, Dylan don''t you recognize me? My dumb smile changed into disbelief, then my expression turned ashen and I even puked some blood - Guha, huff, that''s not funny, were you going to traumatize me to death? - Puhahahha, It''s fun to see you all flustered, got ya!!! Then I heard her, no, his annoying laughter How can this guy be so shameless? Just because he is powerful and can do anything does not mean he has to bully me to this extent, that almost gave me a heart attack, even now, I did not dare to look at him/her, afraid to wound my heart which beat frantically from many emotions - It''s safe to look now, lift your head up I heard his voice - Shameless! How can I believe you? Ha , ha, it''s fun to bully me, I get it, so please stop playing pranks, I might not survive this next time - Eh? You are no fun Dylan, this is your willpower training, you have not seen enough shit and your mind is weak? - Why is there a question mark, that was an excuse wasn''t it? I yelled while trying to wipe the blood from my mouth with hands and still looking down - It''s ok, really, look at me, I changed my appearance I looked up and this time I was even more afraid, because what I saw was not normal, her/his body was still the same but her/his face was constantly changing from one person to another, the change was slow yet fast, in merely seconds his face changed multiple times as if it was normal, it was truly bizarre and horrifyingYou could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. - What the fuck are you? I asked, taking a step back in the darkness, I involuntarily appraised him but as expected, I could not find anything
???
Level ???
- Oh, Dylan, you really want to appraise me? There you go, try again, you can learn more about me, aren''t you interested what I really am? - No thanks, I do not want to be further horrified, please take one face, stop it, it''s creeping me out, seriously I begged - You are so easily scared and freaked out, what if this happens when you fight? I won''t let you disappoint me, SEE MY TRUE FORM, FEEL THE TERROR AND IF YOU CAN SURVIVE YOU WILL BE QUALIFIED TO BE MY AMBASSADOR IN THE FUTURE!!! As he said it, the world turned bloody red, his body stretched into millions of black threads and like very old and complicated web of spider, his figure stretched into thick fibers entirely made out of darkness, but these fibers were wriggling as if they were alive, horrifyingly dreadful eyes of different size, color and aura appeared on the thick fibers, I heard some noises in my head, as if thousands of souls were screaming to seek my help, I felt their helplessness, wrath and curse, my eyes were entirely wide, the thick miasma of chaos and death enveloped the surroundings and I felt that my life was hanging between line of life and death, I could do nothing but stare in horror as my mind was attacked by echo of screams and my eyes saw the most terrifying sight The fibers were constantly changing, some parts were full of darkness, some parts would create the dark creatures, some were bigger than planets, some were as small as insects, they were of all shapes and size, but all of them were letting out thick miasma of death which made my very soul uncomfortable, I tried to resist, I tried my best to not succumb to the feeling of helplessness, because I had the feeling, if I gave up on resisting now, I would lose my sanity And then even if I did not appraise him, the information flowed about the monster in front of me, the sovereign of four realms, god of games, but that was not the scariest part of him, he killed gods and I believed it, even if he revealed just the smallest part of his status which was the tip of the iceberg of his true power, that''s how I felt
Mimicry phantom shade ( Shape shifter, corrupted )
Level ???
Titles: Space weaver, realm shifter, ruler of edicts, apotheosis of time, paradoxweaver, the all father, the all heavens, paragon of chaos and order, ascendant being, enlightened being, slaughterer of gods, planes keeper, Aeon, god of games, sovereign of four realms, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???,???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???,???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???,???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???,???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???...
I do not know how long the struggle continued, and then another darkness enveloped me Once I woke up my head was aching - Eh? I have a feeling I had a dream but... I can''t remember it... Oh well, it''s time to find leader, I slacked for one day, I hope he''s not angry, no he needs me, he won''t get angry at me I told myself reassuringly, stretched my body and exited the hole that I created, thankfully there has not been a rain yet and I have not remained homeless, ah screw it, I will get a hut for myself after all, my sides are aching after sleeping here POV change - Good, good! You did not disappoint me Dylan, your willpower is stronger than you think, to think that you would handle my true form... kukuku, despite being so weak and lacking in mentality, your last line of defense is quite strong, because you have the ability to accept the unacceptable in the shortest amount of time possible, even if you don''t realize this, your conscious is weak, but your subconscious... kukuku, I am looking forward to your growth, do not disappoint me The figure said in full darkness, no, he was the darkness himself Chapter 22 An unexpected attack I could not find the leader no matter how hard I tried searching, I guess he went to hunt without me, I hope he dealt with the orcs yesterday, I tried hard to get on their good side, with his intelligence I am sure he did not screw it up I took out a level 5 mana stone from my armor''s inner pocket and started looking at it, it was of the highest level that I have hunted so far, I do not have other stones to exchange for refining it and that stingy old man won''t do it for free either, sigh... After killing the bear and taking out the mana stone, I did not have time to feast upon it, because I wanted to treat her wounds, I was also afraid that some predator would find it and steal my food, so after making sure to hide her away I woke some goblins and told them to carry that to tribe, while I have heard that bear meat is delicious and really wanted to eat it, I could not keep the thing I had to do on hold either, so I just told them to leave me some, it''s not like they could finish the whole bear in half a day despite being gluttons... I hope... If it was another goblin, he would boast endlessly that he beat a bear that was 2 levels higher than he was, but I told them that I just found its corpse, they did not get suspicious either and happily carried the bear... after calling for more goblins. I bet it was heavy to carry So since the day has passed I wanted to check on the bear, it was gone... I thought it was a waste and felt regret while secretly cursed them for not leaving me some, but, since they love to share their food I had to make up for the hunger with some old deer meat, which tastes perfectly fine by the way, even if it''s rotten I am sure it would taste good It was boring, I had nothing to do, I was waiting for leader to come back, I did not want to join the other team or make my own, even though I was level 3 and had the authority to form my own team and many would not dare to look down upon me and bully me, I still did not find it necessary to do these stuff So I sat down in my own dug hole, the sun was shining and it was hot outside, and yes, it was also hot inside the hole, but there was little sunlight, if I crawled to the deepest part I would be covered in shadow I turned the mana stone in my hand and started playing with it, I could feel the mana fluctuation upon touch, but I knew that it would not leak, what would happen if I broke it? I thought I tried crushing it but as expected it was not damaged in the slightest ... - Ah, so bored I wanted to sleep again since I had nothing else to do when I heard uneasy goblins'' screeching sounds and noises that could not be ignored I came out of my hiding and saw that about 50 meters away there was a giant that was about 5 meters in height and possessed two heads, but it was not alone, there were 5 of them in total They held huge clubs and with a whooshing sound one of them swung it, crushing nearby goblins to death - What the hell is this? I was starting to panic, but then tried calming myself downThe story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The appraisal would not work from this far, but I knew that they were dangerous, I had to run It was a sight to see, the army of goblins were out of their huts on full alert, they had their weapons prepared, some were running, the monsters roared which did not have much effect, was it because I was too far from them? I wanted to flee but stopped my steps since I saw certain someone who could probably deal with the situation It was the chief and his two guardsman POV change Why would ettins come down the valley? They don''t like to have much contact with outside world, something''s not right here, they will be hard to handle - Gruntar, Gnar,evacuate everyone to the empty cave that we found before, I will delay them They nodded wordlessly, I grinned inwardly, want me to die here? It won''t be so easy, while I can''t kill them all, I am confident in taking down 2 of them while gravely wounding others if their levels are not too high, I will have to use my trump card though, which I am reluctant to part with I made a huge leap and landed on nearby hut, with big steps, I soon appeared near the monsters, I appraised them, they will be very hard to handle, I did not cower, I appraised them from up close, 2 of them were level 15 in total, another one was level 16 and 17, good, there''s not a single one whose single head exceeds level 10 or else I wouldhave no chance - Ettins huh? Did you guys get kicked out? I smirked at them - Are youthe chief here? Quite the sharp tongue you have here pipsqueak - Yeah, if we wanted to, we will crush you to death with a single blow Ettins replied annoyed by my attitude and released their aura but I did not flinch I can''t lose my tribe here, else earning sufficient mana stones will be tough by myself, I leveled to 14 couple of days later, if i consume that pill and use my skills, I will make them regret coming here - I would not be so sure, do you really want to test my patience? I replied coolly and took out a red pill - You guys know what that is? They looked confused, of course they would not know, it was a lucky loot from looting human merchants, did not expect them to have this high quality pill with them I activated my skill and my skin turned red, I put the pill under my tongue and told them - Don''t force me! And I lit a small fire on my hands, they flinched - Kuh, path of rage? You a mere goblin mastered it? Alright, cool, but if you think you can beat all of us you are terribly wrong - It''s simple, let''s reach a compromise, I won''t disturb you and you won''t disturb me, while I may not be your match, I can still make you guys regret! I said without backing down They were silent, their boss who was level 17 hesitated and answered - Fine, but this area is ours, you will pay us 100 mana stones every month, their quality should be higher than level 10, otherwise we won''t comply These greedy bastards! Oh well, I can afford this much and if I hide away in that cave, I am sure they won''t fit in, I will have territorial advantage and fry them to crisp if they try to forcefully enter, it''s safe to play along for now - Deal, now then, we are leaving I did not leave myself until everyone left then disappeared along with them POV change - Kuh, that arrogant pipsqueak, why would you spare him, Jox? - That''s right, he was so arrogant, I wanted to smash him with this club The two heads complained one by one - He''s not so simple, not to mention fire affinity that he had, his skill would increase his chances to win along with that mysterious thing that he was about to consume, my instincts felt danger, I could not risk it, don''t worry, they are under our control, we will be lords here and if nearby tribes resist we''ll either exterminate them or make them pay us constantly, once we grow in power, we will return and make them pay - Jox is so clever, we will do as you say - Yeah, jox is the greatest 6 heads kept on boot licking separately - Ah Jox exclaimed - DAMN IT! I forgot to make them leave their treasures, well, it''s fine, there''s nowhere they can escape, with our detection skills, they can''t hide... ANYWHERE The giant said proudly and crashed his club on the ground as if to demonstrate his power, small crater appeared on that place and dust flew at his feet, he stood proudly, with both of his heads having delighted expression Chapter 23 Still the same old me Unexpectedly chief handled the monsters and we were not pursued, on the way everyone grabbed what was precious and we ran, I mixed in the crowd and since my stamina was pretty good after leveling up and would not get tired so easily, it was easy for me, unlike some lower level goblins, they would probably be left behind, form their own teams and get killed, some might survive, who cares The tribe does not give a shit about them, I am gladthat I was not in their team of goblins with low level and endurance Since there were no pursuers the tension disappeared but for some reason everybody kept running, once I asked why, they answered that it was an order, chief guardsman were leading us to somewhere safe it seems, well, I can depend on them for a while I took a glimpse at the girls that were also running along with us, these human girls that were kept in the huge place called breeding hut, I have heard of them I never visited that place, I wanted to avoid it, the thought of my own mother being one of them just made me feel uncomfortable, there was nothing I could help them with... it was a harsh reality, all of them had empty gazes and even as they ran, there was not any will in their steps, some were attacked for being slow but they did not care, probably life has lost its luster for them, they did not have a future, they did not even try to flee, where could they flee to? Would anybody recieve them as they were? I heard that most of them died of diseases, was it because of their unsanitary lives? Dirty and uncooked food or were the goblins ones that gave them diseases, unfortunately nobody cared for them... The maximum amount of time they lasted was 3 months, I have heard all that from fellow goblins, being a newbie curious one is to my advantage, they would answer without hesitationthey loved blabbering, they did not have any real things to take care of, they did not know what family means after all, they lived to satisfy their desires, that''s who they were... They did not excessively destroy villages, while there were a lot of them nearby, they would leave some of them be, to let the new prey grow, once time was ripe they would continue their treacherous village raids Their intelligence far exceeded my imagination, while I could not see much mischief in their actions, at least not in the weaker ones, I could definitely see that they were not to be underestimated, the system of distributing mana stones was made up by chief, then chief must be much more clever than others, not only that, but he managed to repel these monsters, I can''t help but have a little respect to someone like that I am also worried about leader and two archers, if they did not manage to return then most likely they are... no, he won''t die so easily, he''s much stronger than level can describe While I was thinking of this and that and following the running tribe at the same time, I heard nearby goblins started screeching Nearby goblin''s body was flung away, he was kicked Then I saw a girl in tatters and messy black hair that has lost its luster trying to run away while attacking the nearby goblins and trying to pave a path and fleeHelp support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. I was surprised at first, there was someone that had some will left? While it''s true that goblins did not have much time for safety measures and did not chain them, they probably thought that it was not needed, but they missed the one, there was actually one who still had the willpower to try and end her hellish life I felt pity and heart ache but I was not a god to turn back time and it was not my obligation to help everyone, while it hurts to know that person who is nearby is suffering and there''s nothing you can do... well, I am not that much of an angel, but it''s unpleasant, I want my surroundings to be happy, but I do not have capacity to talk such big words She screamed some words as she kicked and punched her way out of encirclement, I could not understand her language Why is she trying so hard? I asked myself once again and I realized, she was not running to have a good life, she was running away to come back for revenge, her hate filled eyes leaked her true intention, that made me even more sure to end her suffering After successfully getting out of encirclement she ran off down the hill, on the way she slipped and got all bloody, while she let out painful scream She did not give up, she stood up and continued running Goblins were angered and were about to chase her but I made a leap and rolled down the cliff while yelling - I will return that bitch I even swore to make it even more believable They stopped, seemingly leaving it to me, my level was higher than theirs,so they left it to me Some even persistently stayed and shot an arrow to her direction, but she was too far to get hit I ran and chased after her I am sorry that I can not help you, I am sure you went through hell and life you will lead from now on will be no better, you will struggle and hate, you will hurt yourself and others, you will turn out to be a rotten adult and make other''s lives even more painful than it was for you, that''s why... let me end your suffering I took out the throwing dagger that I have stored while looting with orcs incident and shot her from 10 meters away It missed, but I had few to spare Another one hit her leg, I was catching up due to being fine while she was wounded, I appraised her to make sure that she was not dangerous
Female human
Level 3
She let out a scream and fell over, clutching the grass and screamed like a madman, then she glared at me, her eyes were full of hatred and her face was full of tears, tears of being weak and helpless I hesitated Then steeled my will and grabbed my gladius I''ll try to make it less painful I am sorry * Slash With full force swing her head was separated from her body, I looked as her corpse starting to bleed out and paint the grass red And I was reminded The world was cruel and would continue to be no matter what I did I was not an angel, I was selfish That''s why I did not desire the peace Merely I desired my surroundings to be peaceful, I wanted to have power to protect what and whom I liked, I wanted to make a domain where I could shut myself off from others and hear nothing of the pain that others felt Like old times, when I was a hikkomori To forget To avoid To be happy in my own space That''s what I desired! How ironic, seems I have not changed much even after experiencing two lives Chapter 24 Taking refuge I followed the crowd of morally lacking beasts who tried to seek refuge, oh wait, I am one of them, it''s rather depressing to know, looking around, seeing nothing but monsters that everyone (Probably) hates and being part of them is depressing, but what can I do? I bet my words aren''t worth a fart to the sovereign, comperhending such being is rather hard, maybe impossible, all I know is, that I am some kind of entertainment for him, as for details I don''t and rather to not know After doing the rather depressing deed my mind could not calm down, I killed a human, while my monster nature did not feel anything but bloodlust and faint excitement, they were supressed while my human nature told me that it was wrong, I did something inhumane, being no longer one does notjustify it at all But I feel that letting her go on her vengeful path would not be right either, I hope she will rest in peace, come to think of it, I don''t know many things about afterlife, after all I just reincarnated, does everyone get that chance? I have no idea, but next time sovereign shows himself I will tell him to take care of her soul, she was pitiful, yet all I could do was kill her, barbarically Depressing, ever so depressing And I kept on going until the forest ended and huge cliff appeared, there was a hole in the cliff, rather big one I would say, about 3 meters in both diameter and height, that might not count as big but for a 1 metter tall creature it kind of is... I can not calculate the number of goblins that have come this far, probably hundreds, probably thousand or a bit more, I don''t know Yet everyone obeyed, power is the great thing, chief''s guardsmen had such an authority to control the crowd, they were the first to enter the cave and we followed suit I heard some sounds coming from the inside, but I ignored it Once my turn has come, I halted my steps because it was too dark, I tried to adapt my eyes but I was pushed and I rolled down, you bastard, ouch, oww I did not expect that there was a way down and it was rather steep one, after slipping and rolling I realized that I was not the only one that met this fate, bunch of goblins were cuddled together and more joined us, now I feel stupid... but more than that it is suffocating, I tried pushing them away, but we were densely clutched together Ah fuck, I can''t breath I waited and waited, I was getting anxious, apparently the ones that safely entered the cave first helped us and once my turn came I was about to faint, the bundle of goblins did not dimenish but my turn came and I was helped by bunch of goblins I wanted to thank them, but since nobody did, I kept quiet - Idiots, I warned to watch your steps, didn''t I? Roared the guardsman Well sorry, I could not hear your voice from that far, well I did but... my mind is not used to gugagugeg... talking, it did not properly register in my head, I am still unaware how I understand them in the first place Once everyone was helped and bundle of goblins disappeared, revealing couple of corpses that suffocated here, yet nobody cared, no grave for them, their heads were mercilessly crushed and their mana stones were taken by guardsman, as for corpses... they were eaten... so cruel I shuddered at sight and had the urge to throw up... and I really did, others looked at me weirdly, but I was gasping for breath and did not care at all - Maybe I ate something bad I said, to justify myself - Fool, our stomachs are sturdy, we can''t get ill and any food is fine for us unless... Ah, right - Poison, probably I ate some poisonous mushrooms I said, others nodded and their attention no longer rested on me, these bastards... they don''t give a shit whether their comrade dies or not, well, I am already getting used to their nature, fuck, my stomach is now empty, it''s true I can eat anything but what can we probably find in the cave? Not to mention that entrance will be hard to climb unless they modify it into stairs or something, it''s too sloppy and it''s dark in here, well, some light is still coming from the entrance but I bet inside will be absolute darkness, can we adapt or something?The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Guardsman spoke, grabbing everyone''s attention, including mine - Chief has ordered us to take a refuge in here, we are not to leave this place often as predators will be awaiting for us, first few days are safe, we will modify the entrance and then everyone will be tasked to collect as much food as possible, we might have to spend a lot of time here Guardsman took his huge chunk of metal that could barely be called a sword and others gave him the way, he approached the entrance and swung his sword, leaving some marks on it, he started modifying the entrance like I thought he would, after all, I doubt anyone can climb this sloppy stone, which leads upwards to the entrance Looking at his vigorous swings, by no means were they weak and unable to leave a huge mark in rock, but the thing is, this rock seemed rather sturdy, probably it was not a rock, appraisal did not work on the whole structure It was dark, we did not have anything to do, nor were we tasked to, goblins watched the guardsman slowly ''''sculpt'''' stairs out of sloppy rock Meanwhile I was trying to adjust my vision to darkness as I thought it would prove useful, it was a need, the cave structure was vague but after my eyes got somewhat used to it, I realized that this place was rather huge, cavern did not have any kind of natural rooms curved out, it was just like a massive hall, surrounded by cave walls from all sides I tried taking a step and went further than others when system notification popped up, I was startled and even afraid for a second, it rarely happens, I mean it''s the first time system notification popped out of nowhere out of its own violation, the contents have also left me dumbstruck
Tribe has entered an F rank dungeon Dungeon gives your tribe 3 options 1. Becoming the dungeon monsters, gaining access to dungeon miasma ( Revival ), dungeon points, dungeon shop and bonus power for being a dungeon monster, access to advancement to named monster, access to advancement to boss class monster ( Warning: After registring as dungeon monsters your tribe can not leave unless dungeon is conquered or... contents are not specified ) 2 Register as intruders and conquer the dungeon, dungeon creatures will turn hostile towards you 3. Leave, does not have any impact on your tribe whatsoever Choose option 1/2/3
What the hell is this? Dungeon? Even this kind of thing exists? ... Hell yeah, but wait, wait, wait, if I agree, then I will be bound by this dungeon, which sucks, I really wanted to experience the freedom, so now, all these bonuses are tempting, but no, I''d rather just leave I chose the third option
You have chosen the 3rd option Processing... Access denied due to being weak you can not represent your whole tribe, access is transferred to unofficially named monster: Gruntar
What the actual shit? Where is my saying in this matter? I better fuck off here until that idiot chooses in our stead, stupid power, if I was stronger I could choose on my own, ah I should run, I don''t want to be stuck in this hellhole As Gruntar saw my intention he did not even hesitate and swung his massive sword as I was running to his direction, trying to flee, but alas, he was standing at the entrance Shit! Due to the sword being too big and predictable I managed to avoid the attack by merely ducking, I slid down and passed by him, as I was going to step on his self made ''''stairs'''' my leg was grabbed and with a great force I was thrown back to the darkness NO! I crashed to fellow goblins, thanks, they cushioned my fall NOW IS NOT THE TIME! I need to run, until he agrees to notification, it will be too late then - Defy and death will be your end Gruntar roared in annoyed voice - The decision is for the chief to make He added and continued his work, another dull sound of metal hitting rock, ah fuck, I am not getting out of this unscathed, how am I supposed to avoid becoming a stupid dungeon monster?! Chapter 25 Hiding from enemies in dungeon Goblins were curious as to what we were talking about, Gruntar shut them up, saying that we''d discuess it once chief returned We waited for chief to return, once he did, everyone started cheering and shouting all hail chief and other things, it''s understandable, this guy single handedly handled the scary monsters and returned unscathed Gruntar and Gnar stood on one knee in cliche way and said - Great chief, we seek your guidance, this place appeared to be a dungeon and it''s offering us to become it''s monsters, what do we do? The chief was quiet and nobody dared to say a word either, waiting for his judgement Please say no, I don''t want to become enslaved in this place - What rank? - F rank dungeon, great chief - Accept it Was the answer and I almost fainted, no, I don''t want to be imprisoned, it''s true that once I was a hikkomori, but what do I do here? The quest was accepted it seems, I don''t know whether it bounced off to the chief or not, because only he can represent tribe, but I recieved some notifications
Your tribe has been registered as dungeon monsters of the first floor + 5% battle power for being an F rank dungeon monster + 5% defensive power for being an F rank dungeon monster
You are bound to this dungeon Since you are monsters bound to the first floor, leaving the dungeon is available, you will lose bonuses and dungeon points once left, however regain them once you return You get access to visit the 2nd floor temporarily
Current dungeon points: 0 ( Earn dungeon points by defeating hostile intruders )This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Gained access to the dungeon shop Currently available skills to purchase: 1. Night vision ( 10 DP ) ( Since your tribe is not adapt in seeing in the dark, dungeon has decided to grant this skill in available skill list, making your future hunts more proficient in this area ) 2. Basic mana understanding I ( 100 DP ) ( Your tribe is not adapt in magic, dungeon has decided to give you foundations in magic ) 3. Unspecified ... ...
You can fight for the named monster title by defeating a dungeon guardian which will have its level lowered to match yours You are not qualified to fight for boss monster title
Gained passive skill: inspect, now you can further appraise and read more information about dungeon and its monsters
Gained passive skill: Percentage health pool inspect ( Only works while fighting in dungeon ) You recieve information about enemy''s health pool and the amount of it that decreases in battles in percentage value
Oh so we can leave too? That''s fine then, also these bonuses are quite good, I''ll have to work with it, I have no objections - Everyone is to return with at least a single hunted monster, we have to gather supplies and ready ourselves for secluding us in here Ah shit, I am not getting out of this huh? So I exited the cave and notification came up that I lost the bonuses, it''s fine I hid behind bushes, tall tree branches and started waiting for prey, using throwing daggers will prove efficient for hunting normal animals, such as deer I lost 2 deer, but I found a little boar which was quite persistant and did not flee despite having a low level, easy prey, and I returned with it Once I returned the cave was lit up by torches that most likely were installed by chief, that makes things a lot better Alright, what do I do now? ... I have no idea how long it has been, probably couple of days but things are boring here, we are not to go out and we have nothing to do, renewed breeding hut recieved more visits which made me want to puke, these guys have nothing to do, that''s the result And I slept soundly out of boredom... not! I don''t know why but I start having terrifying nightmares, which is making me afraid of sleeping, am I that much of a sinner that I start having nightmares? I don''t know what that dream is, I seem to forget once I wake up, all I know is, that I sturggle a lot while sleeping, as for how I know it, it''s because I wake up drowning in sweat, seriously, this way my huge belly might decrease in size too, jokes aside, I feel uneasy Meanwhile while I was awake I did not stay idle, I tried doing something that most people try out in fantasy novels, meditating, trying to sense mana No, nothing, it''s useless, magic exists, that''s for sure, but for me, I don''t understand it a single bit, no matter how long I stayed in meditative pose and numbed my limbs nothing came up, that''s the cruel reality, so lately I am even more pissed Having no way to increase the value of my current single mana stone, I gulped it down reluctantly, its quality is good too, level 5 grade 1. Now my progress is 8/20 mana stones at level 3 Leader has not come back, probably he was late and did not return in time, I am sure he lives, I hope we meet once again in this world Remembering that perverted goblin it makes me go blind with greed, she found such loop hole and leveled up so fast, while I think that her power should be unstable for consuming a lot and that''s just my assumption, it''s better than being stuck at lower echlons I have never seen her again, probably because everyone looks the same and there are too many of us here, or she was assigned some job, hell if I care It''s enough, I will try to test my strength and acquire named monster title or whatever, I have no idea how it works and how benefitial it is, but I have to try and find out, I am also planning to visit the second floor Chapter 26 Second floor, pitiful earth affinity I entered the 2nd floor, which was much larger than first one, ground was not rocky but muddy and some disgusting creatures were wriggling in the ground, I appraised them
Rock nibbling worm
Level 2
First creatures that appeared in the dungeon, they require rocks to sustain their lives and help dungeon to expand in size
And there were many of them Out of nowhere notification followed
Dungeon has allowed your tribe to hunt rock nibbling worms as source of food due to lack of sustainance in the dungeon Warning: Worm''s numbers can not drop below 100
And what if it does? Oh well, it means that I can freely hunt here Looking around, I realized I was not the only one who was here, some were even fighting worms, oh well, let''s earn some free mana stones I shot my throwing daggers, it hit from close distance, no way in hell did my accuracy go high, but I got used to the feeling of throwing daggers From such low distance I could not miss These worms were a little shorter than 1 meter, their carcass was brown and they were unexpectedly weak, my dagger pierced its skin, it did not have much fighting capability
Rock nibbling worm Level 2 - 21% hp
They are so pitiful, it tried to escape in the ground but I stepped on it in time and severed it in half, unexpectedly it still lived, I had to cut it further until it quit wriggling While disgusting looking it''s quite delicious and nutricious, I can''t be picky here, not to mention the taste is good for everything I eat, is it a blessing or a curse, I have no idea I kept hunting them, but I did not want to hunt them too much since dungeon would count me hostile, I hunted just enough - 16 I was going to leave the floor, visit the hunchback and get them refined, then I could level up to 4 but things were not that easy At the entrance Gruntar was standing stoically, once he saw me he showed me his hand... does he want a handshake? - Give the 80% of what you hunted, the tribe''s in need of resources, you can''t be selfish when we are in dire straits That''s bullshit, that''s daylight robbery!!! - What if I refuse? I asked without any fear He lifted up his chunk of metal from his back and smashed it to the ground, resulting in small fissure - Then I''m not leaving this floor for a while I''ll refine them here and now - Good plan, but naive, chief is in control of everyone''s stats, if you dare to steal you will not get away without a harsh punishment Shit, that''s unfair! They had to say that earlier, ah fuck it, I can''t hunt a lot, I can''t leave them for myself, what is this place? I might as well go alone and hunt by my own outside dungeonIf you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I growled in displeasure and handed over 12 mana stones, leaving pitiful amount of 4 to myself, they were all level 2 by the way, not big deal at all I am so pissed off now Then I''ve decided to fight for the title of named monster
Do you wish to initiate fight with the dungeon guardian for the title of named monster? Y/N
Yes please Then my vision blurred and I appreared in another place, it was still cave but I was alone, small particles started materializing in front of me and made it into a 3 meter long worm, seems I am not alone anymore
Advanced worm Dulukshia[ Earth ]
Level 3 [ Modified ]
+ 50% battle power for being named monster + 200% battle power for being a dungeon guardian + 20% battle power for being a guardian of third floor + 5% battle power for being a monster of F rank dungeon
Health: 100%
In order to become a named monster you have to defeat the guardian, if you are defeated your health will be restored fully and return to your previous position Attempts remaining: 2/3
This is too cheaty, how am I supposed to beat it? I died instantly, that''s right, but my health did not go down below 1% and my condition was restored, how miraculous, I lost the fight and attempt though It''s almost impossible to beat such a thing, it was not even its current level, in a single shot he threw me away like a rag doll, I could not even resist Sigh Seems things are not going that well, well what can I do? I occasionally kept on going on the second floor while meditating on the first one, there were still no results, as for dungeon points, it was impossible to acquire since we saw no intruders Today, I found something interesting though, the worm that has eaten a bit too much and could not even move, that''s not all, it also had an earth attribute
Bloatedrock nibbling worm[ Earth ]
Level 3
First creatures that appeared in the dungeon, they require rocks to sustain their lives and help dungeon to expand the size of the floor. Due to being overly gluttonous it has eaten more than it could digest, currently vulnerable
Ha, easy kill I killed it like a chicken on slaughtering board, the mana stone it dropped was a bit different though, even though it was blue in color and its size was still same as others, it had a brown hue mixed in it I took it to the hunchback who also settled in here like others, he showed surprised expression after seeing the stone - Oh, an earth attribute stone? You are lucky lad, you could exchange it for 2 same level stones, but you can also eat it, if you have an earth affinity you might gain an earth attribute, as for its mastery... elements are very hard to master and you can''t control magic so it will be impossible to control it even if you have an earth affinity, still, it''s a nice thing to have, I am also not capable of upgrading it Wow, overly informative, it''s a pity that it can''t be upgraded though, he does not have earth affinity so his mana should not be able to affect it - Thanks, refine these as always I gave him other batch of mana stones Probably couple of weeks have passed, I occasionally went for hunting, we were not allowed to excessively hunt so we were restricted, so it was hard to gain mana stones, not to mention despicable Gruntar who taxed us for no reason In the end my progress has become 14/20, still turtle paced, I did not go out to hunt because most of them did not, they said it''s very dangerous I consumed that mana stone with brown hue mixed in it and I recieved unexpected surprise
Gained:Earth affinity Current earth affinity: 0.01%
The number looks pitifully low... But it''s okay, it''s better than nothing, time to experiment, but now I am a bit tired I struggled to keep myself awake and rest at the same time, it did not work well, I became afraid of sleeping, the nightmares did not stop, I was becoming anxious * Rumble I heard rumbling sound and knew that something was wrong, everyone shot up and we received notifications that left us dumbfounded and afraid at the same time Chapter 27 Conquering dungeon, betrayal, fight to the death It''s been a while since I have started existing, despite being clueless about this world my core contains some innate memories, resulting in having a knowledge that I have never acquired I had no materials to work on, my dungeon only consists of 3 floors, the only creatures that were here were little worms, I decided to share a fraction of dungeon miasma and made them much bigger in size, compared to their tiny selves they are now big and numerous, they are useful to say the least because their food is rock, they nibble on hard rocks, somehow digest them and expand my territory, other than that, I am lacking the army, it''s worrying Some timeago a whole tribe of goblins appeared in my dungeon, I was worried at first, if they are hostile there''s no way I can handle them, but if they settle here, it would be very beneficial, so they did and I was happy They are stronger than my worms, I decided to receive the guests with hospitality and grant them most of the available options, they should be lacking a night vision so I granted them skill in the dungeon shop, if they want to earn it, they have to defeat invaders, honestly my dungeon did not have invaders yet, but it''s fine, I can use this time to grow my dungeon and reinforce it But then something happened that should not have, the strongest one, chief I assume moved to the second floor and tried to enter the third one, then I noticed that its mark turned red, it was hostile, sensing danger I reinforced the entrance to the third floor with a barrier and forbid it from entering, but I did not have enough time, the barrier was shattered by wall of flames that were raised exactly where my barrier stood, increasing the damage dealt immensely This is very bad, why did it decide to attack alone? It''s level 14, I can''t handle it with my guardian, I have to do something
Emergency call
Dungeon is calling for help, due to being invaded from the inside
Quest received: Help the dungeon eradicate the enemy Reward: 500 DP
I made sure that everyone got such notifications, meanwhile I have to stall for time, but my guardian which is merely level 7 won''t hold off for long and if he approaches my core... then I''ll be done for sure, seems I have no choice but to use my dungeon miasma to make my guardian grow faster, but... will it be enough?
You have poured 100 miasma intoAdvanced worm Dulukshia[ Earth ] Due to inability to handle the surge of power 33 miasma was lost Advanced worm Dulukshia[ Earth ] is now level 12
Good, with the bonuses that it has it should be able to win me some time until they appear - Call for help, I dare you! I heard the voice, the chief was approaching with his staff, it chanted some spell and shot fireballs to my direction, ah, he''s trying to make my guardian sacrifice itself to get rid of it, but I have my safety measures too
Core cocoon has been attacked Durability reduced by 231 Durability: 9769/10000
Repair rate: 2/sec
I''ll be fine for a while Earth worm dived into the mud and stone, grinding them in the process and swam in the ground, chief was vigilant, after all, even if its level is low, it can harm him due to many buffs that my dungeon granted it My guardian attacked from the ground, but it was caught by neck... oh no... It is being attacked by fireballs, NO, my guardian! You will pay treacherous monster!
Warning: Your guardian is in critical condition
It wriggled in order to free itself but it did not have much fighting capability, it soon... perished
Dungeon guardian has died, time before resurrection: 12 hours
I don''t have that much time, I hope it works, treacherous monster, if you think you have won, then you are wrong, your power, your position is envied, you will perish by the hands of your own henchman!!!
Core cocoon has been attacked Durability reduced by 810 Durability: 7716/10000
Repair rate: 2/sec
...
Core cocoon has been attacked Durability reduced by 421 Durability: 4980/10000Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Repair rate: 2/sec
... Finally they are here POV change I hurriedly went up to understand what was going on, my chief was fighting against the dungeon... but the quest also appeared, if I join my hands with Gnar and receive dungeon miasma we might have the chance against chief, how long has it been that I wanted to be the one to taste girls first, have jewelry and order everyone to my heart''s content, I HAVE TO BE THE FIRST! The time has come for me to ascend to the position of chief - Gnar, you know what to do! - Roger, our chance has finally come, we are fed leftovers and have to be content with it, it''s time for the rules to change! - Roar! - ROAR!
Path of rage and path of strength has been activated, you temporarily gain the battle power that surmount 2 levels
War cry has been activated: You and your ally gained 25% battle power boost
You have received 150 miasma points from dungeon, due to excessive amount 50 miasma has been lost, your level increased from 10 to 14
POV change Finally, they show their true colors Dungeon core is too precious, it was a wise decision to expose them, I have been discontent with their greed and performance for quite some time, not to mention they have been hiding '''' them '''' from me The time has come I stopped hitting the dungeon cocoon and looked at my two guardsman whose skins turned red You are not to be forgiven, you shall DIE for disobeying me!
Gruntar
Level 14
+ 5% battle power for being an F rank dungeon monster + 50% battle power for being named monster + 1 level temporarily due to activating skill: Rage + 1 level temporarily due to activating skill: Strengthen + 25% battle power due to activating war cry
Gnar
Level 14
+ 5% battle power for being an F rank dungeon monster + 50% battle power for being named monster + 1 level temporarily due to activating skill: Rage + 1 level temporarily due to activating skill: Strengthen + 25% battle power due to activating war cry
- Time to pay for batreyal! I yelled and fire swirled around me, my skin turned red and it also started sizzling
Activated skill berserk: + 50% battle power temporarily For every 10% health you lose, you gain 50% increased battle power Combo attacks deal 5% more damage than previous
- Roar! Eat this! POV change I ran up, the dungeon was calling for help, once I entered the 3rd floor I saw the guardsman and chief fighting, what''s going on, who''s the intruder? How can they contend with him with their low levels? Is there time for inner fighting? They are facing some two headed giants, how can they fight at time like this? Gruntar exposed his bare chest, probably not wanting his clothes to catch the fire, Gnar also did the same I was seriously confused, goblins also did not know whose side to take, they were afraid of both sides and taking the wrong side would result in rebellion and death if their side failed, so they kept being quiet, I also stood there unmoving, watching the battle unfold Guardsman were strong, they covered their weaknesses by combining their strength and landed a hit or two on the chief, soon their bodies were sizzling and burning but they fought and fought until the bitter end The more they attacked the more vicious they got, especially for chief, as he was covered in green liquid and I thought him to be losing, he managed to grab Gruntar''s sword with bare hands and smashed it on the ground, then grabbed his hand badly mutilating it, seriously where did this strength come from? Was not he a priest? The whirlwind of fire encompassed them and chief''s staff let out a bright light, catching the falling guardsman in the ball of fire They still stood up like zombies but to no avail, chief was a monster, despite his lacking physique and staff that could hardly win against sword, he was an absolute monster, playing around with his guardsman, soon they did not move and after gulping down the high grade potion his wounds mended almost instantly, his guardsman also used one but I guess they were of lower quality and could not deal with burnt skin POV change Finally, these are mine I said inwardly as I stored two necklace like objects in my robe Now time to deal with him - Fireball! Soon the barrier broke and I got to taste the core of the dungeon
You have absorbed F rank dungeon core Your level increased by 2
Gained title: Dungeon slayer + 25% damage against dungeon creatures
Tasty~ Now these ettin bastards won''t be able to lift a finger against me, I will crush them! POV change I expected this outcome, but I still don''t get why did they fight? Was it for that big mana stone? Was it related to dungeon?
Your tribe has conquered F rank dungeon + 25% battle power against the dungeon creatures when led by chief
Ah, could it have been a dungeon core? I expected more of a reward, but oh well, it''s fine, there''s nothing to see here, I better use this opportunity and hunt some worms, since dungeon no longer exists chief should not have access to our stats right?
Due to losing dungeon miasma all dungeon creatures that were infused with miasma have reverted to their previous form
... So they don''t have cores anymore? Ah, what a pity, and here I thought I would get rich all of a sudden So these assholes no longer exist, who will take their position? Not me, most likely, so I don''t care, I will still go and check whether these worms have left some mana stones ... They did not Chapter 28 Unknown danger Two adventurers traveled together with white horse as a mount, they were strong enough to defend themselves against dire or even alpha wolves that could threaten the lives of many people, one of them was Roy and another one was Silicia, Silicia was on the back, barely stretching her arms to wrap around the bear-like man - You are so large She pouted Roy smiled wryly and sighed - We are already running out of dry rations, is your village near? - Stop grumbling, you ate just an hour ago didn''t you? - But... - It''s alright, we will be here soon ... Journey continued, after passing the forest they could walk on the ground that was compressed by passerby merchants over time The horse was running down the hill, appreciating the scenery of approaching down Silicia felt especiallyexhilarated, she was going to visit her village soon - Look, that''s my village, there you see that watermill? Grandpa Quelvin used to take us here, the river was so cold, I miss that place, oh and there, there used to be healthy crops growing... Silicia said excitedly but by the end her voice got weaker, Roy did not notice this, as he was not really paying the attention - Yeah, yeah~ - Hurry! - Huh? - Please hurry, these fields... they are no more, the village... Her voice got weaker and weaker, Roy lifted his head up and his expression turned into frown, from afar village looked fine, but if looked from closer, you could notice that this place was almost devoid of people, some houses were destroyed and crops were decayed, seems the village has been through disaster Silicia''s expression paled and two tears slid down her cheeks, she tried to surpress her whimpering but her weak voice could still be heard - It''s ok, we''ll do what we can Roy said reassuringly ... They entered the village, there was nobody guarding it, it was almost devoid of people and broken houses and butchered pets were even more apparent Once they were about to approach certain house that used to be her grandma''s house, two man exited that house, holding the plebeian working tools in hands and their stance was vigilant and threatening - Hold on! Said the man with ragged farmer clothing and beard - Where is my grandma? Let me see her Shouted Silicia disregarding them and she pushed them aside - W, wait, where are you... halt! But their voices were not heardLove this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. She entered the house which was the biggest in the whole village, her grandma used to be a village chief Now she was resting on the chair, she seemed to be sleeping, wounded and bloodied villagers which mostly consisted of old man and couple of children were helping each other, once she entered everyone stopped what they were doing - Grandma! She screamed and tried approaching the old woman, villagers exclaimed in surprise, seems they recognized her Old woman slowly opened her eyes and once she saw her, her weak eyes lit up and weak smile plastered on her face Roy also entered at that time - Who are you? Said some villagers vigilantly - A friend of hers Roy pointed to Silicia and went quiet - What happened here, grandma who did this? Silicia asked resolutely - Dear, you can''t go - I have to know, please, now I am stronger than ever, I want to protect the village She said resolutely - Sigh, fine, but something is fishy, goblins and kobolds never liked each other, this time, they joined hands to raid our village, it was not a long ago, merely 12 hours should have passed, they cooperated, I am afraid something bad is going on, Silicia, my dear, please don''t risk your life, we will preserve and stay strong, get up and continue living, even with our loses we... Until she could finish her words a little boy ran out from the crowd while weeping and hugged Silicia''s knees - You, ah, Rowan, you have grown up, what happened? Silicia asked kindly, she knew him, once she was child she used to play with Liana, Rowan was his little brother that was born later - Where is Liana? - She... she was abducted, big sister, can you help? I want to see my big sister again The boy wept as he said, Silicia''s heart sank - We can''t lose time, they should not be too far away, we should pursue now! Boy do you know the direction they went to? Roy slowly explained approached the boy and patted his head, his huge back seemed dependable for Rowan - They passed the river, but... they destroyed the bridge and went straight to the hills, going up the mountain - That''s not the problem, alright, I''ll be going, Silicia you stay, help them heal, with your help they will be fine -So the old man is... - Yes, he was killed 2 months ago, he died fending off bandits Someone said gloomily Silicia clenched her firsts due to helplessness, if only she was faster this disaster might not have happened - It can be dangerous - Does not matter, I have to make sure my childhood friend is fine, even if a single strand of hair is missing on her head I will burn them all down to the last one! '' Ah, angered Silicia, I would not go against her in this state '' - Fine then, let''s go They hopped on the horse after saying goodbye to everyone and grabbing some dried rations until departing - Don''t worry, we''ll make it in time Surely they were more than capable of eradicating goblins and kobolds but they did not know the true threat was not them, they were up against something more dangerous and terrifying POV change The fat man with top quality silk clothes was sitting in the carriage, his eyes were tiny and he was reading a book on the way, his eyes were... dismissive as if he was none caring He wore a small moustache, his cheeks were chubby and he wore a hat which looked like compressed turban, he looked like a merchant, but in truth he was a noble The carriage was hitting rocks on the way, making his hobby of reading unenjoyable, despite being pissed off no emotion was written on his face as he closed the book, even the glances that were thrown at scenery was dismissive as if everything was particular in his small eyes Despite being fat and having to go through steining and long path, his clothes were devoid of speck of dust, he looked really neat, even the clothes he wore were secretly generating constant cooling cold to refresh his body, he was not sweating at all, instead he felt somewhat comfortable, if we don''t count the path that made him unable to sleep and read - Stop the carriage He said in nonchalant voice and it was stopped He personally exited the carriage, it was quiet, the sun was shining and surrounding trees shook with wind * Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh Three arrows flew from nearby trees, but one was caught by him directly in fast motion, his hand movement seemed fast yet slow, he predicted the angle of arrow with impossible precision, but it was not enough to get rid of other 2 arrows His ring shined in silver light and small barrier of wind rose, tearing the arrow apart, the third arrow flew a bit later once barrier deactivated, it hit his clothes, the arrow head was seeping with poison but it harmlessly bounced off his clothes His none caring expression did not change as he said calmly and slowly, even coolly - Assassins? Is my brother Luke this desperate for my future position? There was no answer The meatball did not move, he seemingly merely waited for another attack to come, but it did not, because the enemies that hid behind trees were... already turned into mist of blood With his state unshaken he sat in his carriage and said calmly -Let''s go It''s as if nothing happened Chapter 29 Caught We''ve been running after goblins and kobolds nonstop, yet there was no sign of them yet, just couple of footsteps that they have left after departure * Hunter sense I activated my skill and in radius of 1 kilometers every living being was revealed - I''ve found them, about 800 meters ahead... but something''s not right, I sense the strong presence and it''s not alone... we should be careful - No matter how strong they are I can''t abandon Liana, let''s go! ... There was sound of trees shaking, then shattering, something is approaching... and I failed to sense it, it should have concealed its presence We were running up the hill, it''s coming after us, I can''t let her be caught I pushed her down, her face revealed disbelief, but there''s no other way Tree shattering sound got closer and I was covered by a huge shadow, something huge has jumped and was about land on me and my horse, I should distract this thing - Oh, another human, probably it was fortune for us to get banished from that place, after all Said the giant as he landed My horse turned into bloody meat, my heart bled from regret, but I had to worry about myself even more, I was caught by some two headed giant and... I could not lift a finger against it, at least I should know what it is
Ettin
Level 8 / Level 8
My heart sank, this is a monster with two cores, I have no chance to beat it at all, I hope she made it out - Roy, I''ll save you I heard a voice... - YOU IDIOT! RUN, we can''t deal with this thing, forget about me - I can''t do that, you dumb bear! Ah, it''s no use POV change What is this thing? It''s so large and it''s the strongest monster I have ever faced so far, as far as I know, there should be nothing but kobolds orcs and goblins here, when did it change? Was that thing a reason why these monster cooperated to raid a village? But... no matter how strong it is, even if I am merely level 13, I can''t abandon Roy, what can I do without him? I ignored the bruises that I got from the fall, abandoned the idea of fighting it with a dagger and took out a whip, that''s the only thing that might work against it Jumping from tree to tree I approached the giant, which had Roy caught in its hand and its two heads looked at me... with amused look, you bastard, wait until I will make you roll down the hill, I don''t believe you can survive this, I hope you brake your bone or two, or even your headEnjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The wind cutting sound was heard as giant hand was approaching, I dodged by dropping from branch to lower one, the trees were obstructing my way, I saw its giant legs ahead, I threw my whip like lasso and it wrapped around its leg, now how do I overweight such brute? I can''t, so I''ll make sure to make it lose its balance I started running around the monster, but unexpectedly it did not turn around Don''t want to get caught in my trap? Humph, than taste this! I took out a black dagger and tried piercing its skin... it bounced off, right, the difference in levels is big, so most of my attacks will be ineffective It lifted its leg Oh no I tried fleeing but it was too late * Stomp The earth shattering sound echoed as dust, debris and rock flew around, some of them even managed to hit me and the impact threw me back, I fell, I can''t fall here While shaking I tried to stand up, the giant was approaching - Run, forget about me! You idiot, you know that it won''t work right? And I was also caught, the struggle was futile, the giant held us two in each hands like wingless chicken Now what? - Interesting, you were planning to sacrifice yourself for another human? - Yeah, look at them, the only one I would sacrifice myself for would be you my fellow head And the two heads burst into laughing I don''t know how this thing works, do they have different thoughts or are they the same? But most importantly what fate is waiting for us? - Alright, let''s bring them back, boss will be delighted Roy had an ashen face, I am sorry, I could not just leave you here, if we are fated to die here I prefer to be buried alongside you... it''s been a short life, things we have been striving for... now they are lost, it''s all been for naught, maybe you wereright, we should have worked for some noble, with our power we would get a good treatment and we would avoid living a dangerous life, I should have brought my village to the city, it would be hard for them to get a foothold but with our connections they could become merchants... now it''s all gone Monster''s stomping sound echoed, it leisurely strolled through the forest, bringing us along with it - Silicia, I am sorry... If only I was stronger... Roy had an ashen face, this is the first time I saw his expression sunken so much, his eyes werefull of regret - Idiot, it''s not your fault... I said as glistening tears were about to drop from my eyes, but I held them in, I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it seems it had the opposite effect as he shrunk his shoulders even more It''s the fate of the weak to be devoured, I thought we worked hard enough to get here, who knew... that we would end up like that, I am sorry Liana, seems I can''t save you... POV change - A human? Kuhahaha, my first time seeing one, and he''s also very beautiful - Yeah, listen up maggots, this human is my toy, anybody dares to touch him and we''ll slaughter without hesitation Two heads ordered threateningly - Yes boss, merely... it''s not he... it''s she ... - Oh, so humans also have a gender? Wonderful! I wonder how they breed, what would happens if we bred? * You''ll brake her Thought some experienced goblins to themselves while giving wry smile but they did not dare refute * Stomp, stomp - Oh, you are back, did something happen? Asked the highest level etiin, which was level 17 in total Approaching giant was level 16 in total, the one that has caught humans - Look, what we brought, I found another two humans, these things are amusing, you can''t beleive it, they tried sacrificing themselves for each other - Yeah, it sure was unexpected, if we sacrifice ourselves for fellow head that''s normal, but to get ourselves killed for another? That''s hilarious 5 ettins burst in laughter Goblins and kobolds that stood like children who have done something wrong mimicked them to not get on their bad side - Today is the great day, we''ll have a great feast - Yeah, and main ingredients will be humans, kuhahahaha Said the level 17 ettin but level 16 one seemed displeased and grumbled - But.. is not that a waste? They are interesting, why don''t we play around with them for a while? - That''s right, we can''t eat our toys yet, they might have other uses ... - You guys are right, let''s do that ... - Do you guys hear it? - The sound of something approaching, it smells like humans - Let''s give them a ''''warm'''' welcome The monsters hid behind trees, waiting for approaching carriage to get closer - ROAR! They talked to each other, they would scare off the approaching humans, they wanted to see their cowardly faces and ettins were curious if they were capable of having such an emotion Ettins, goblins and kobolds blocked approaching carriage roaring in menacing way But carriage did not even stop, it kept on going as if nothing was up ahead - Are they so scared that they think we aren''t real? - They pissed their pants? - What can you expect boss? Humans are cowards, we have raided their villages countless times, we know of their nature - But this one seems different - Let''s find out! Said the strongest ettin and he walked out from the crowd, with his towering physique the carriage was covered in its shadow Chapter 30 The man full of treasures The carriage stopped, relatively fat yet luxuriously dressed man with weird hat walked out, staring at the monster obstructing his way with unyielding... no, uncaring expression - Human, kuhahaha, look how fat he is, I wonder is he as delicious as he looks? The monsters laughed in glee The leading ettin tried inspecting him but was met with couple of question marks, it hesitated, the human was strong enough that they could not appraise him, or he possessed some tool that concealed his level, either way, someone like that would undoubtedly be dangerous The monster had second thoughts but its pride would not allow to back down when he was the one leading thecrowd - Human, give up your possessions and I''ll think about sparing your pitiful life - That''s right human, I''ve heard your species are intelligent, show us your wisdom and take a step back wisely The man had his hands behind his back, even though they barely met each other - Done? Move Seems the man was of few words, his dismissive attitude offended monsters that gathered such huge army to scare off a human, instead they received the response they did not like - Are you tired of living? I''ll show you who is the boss here!!! The leading ettin yelled and prepared his club, he wanted to smash him to bloody meat, despite his reckless attitude he was fully vigilant as he thought that human was not simple at all, but it doubted, would he be able to withstand his brute force? He thought it was impossible With wind whistling sound a huge club bashed on the place where human stood, the carriage was blown away from impact, the monster smiled in delight, seems he was worrying for nothing - Hmm? The monster was shocked as he realized that attack never really hurt the human, his club was stopped by bare hands - Strength? Useless The meatball said from under the club and chilly aura swept across monsters The monsters sensing the change screeched in discomfort but did not flee The ice was spreading on club that hit the human Ettin seeing this quickly tried taking the club away, but seems it was connected to the human in some way, the ice spread on the club as human''s clothes emitted silver light, seems he was full of treasures - Break! A small almost unnoticeable sound was heard as ice that covered the club in thin layer merged into club and with wood breaking sounds it turned into icy peaces of useless wood - You!!! Angered by outcome the monster did not care about face anymore and growled in anger - Everyone attack, bring the mischievous human down, the one that kills him will receive one of his possessions The monsters roared in greed and surrounded the man, his expression did not change a bit, even his eyebrow did not even lift by a millimeterThis story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. - Not cool He said and he spread his two hands in opposite direction, each of his fingers were bejeweled by some kind of ring, even his neck, clothes, he was a walking treasure himself The green small ring that had gem on top of it glowed in green light and sharp wind blades were created out of thin air, the monsters that were too close got a huge wounds, some low leveled ones were even split in half It did not stop here, the wind gathered around the man, creating mini whirlwind and monsters near him became disoriented, their balance was shaken, of course ettins were not included due to their huge bodies, they did not want to risk fighting, they wanted to test the human and if he used up his trump cards they could easily kill him They were not afraid of him, they were afraid of his possessions but if they succeeded his possessions would belong to them, so they did not show a single bit of regret as their ''''soldiers'''' were butchered by wind Another ring lit up in dim black light and a creature came out of monster''s shadows, creatures had the body that mimicked their structure, merely, these creatures born from monster''s bodies rose and merged in them, in an instant their shadows disappeared and everyone blanked out This time the brown ring lit up, the earth deformed under their feet and a huge crater was created, entrapping the monsters inside, another green ring lit up and he was lifted in the air, after red ring lit up the fire was created out of thin air, another green light, the nearby tree fell in the crater, the tree caught fire, fire started burning monsters, the pitiful whimpering and screeching sounds were created and burnt smell of roasted monsters permeated through air Ettins watched with stupefied expressions The man who coolly stepped on air a seconds ago started dropping down in the fire ungufled pit that he had created Ettins were delighted, they thought his luck has run out Unfortunately the man had his black ring lit up and he disappeared, appearing between two heads of nearby level 15 ettin Man did not utter a single word and his silk clothes showed a silver light, before ettins could react and the one in trouble himself lifted his hands to get rid of annoying human, the ice already spread around both of his heads and froze them, the ettin had his expression frozen and his reaction speed reached zero, it dropped down lifelessly, ice did not dissolve around its head, it merely started merging in his head and eating away at both of his faces Ettins no longer possessed any fighting will and started running after level 17 one ordered them to flee in frightened tone The man looked at them with same expression, not caring about pursuing them and before dropping in his own carriage that was thrown away he said calmly without looking back - You''re free now 3 people dropped on the ground, they seemed to be held in the air for quite some time, they dropped on their knees, they did not dare believe what happened Liana mustered her courage and asked him - Sire, who might you be? Thanks for saving us, we will always remember and will do anything to repay i... - No need The man cut her words short and was about to walk away when he stopped his steps, his necklace lit up and for the first time his expression changed into surprised one, he turned around and looked at Liana directly - What''s your name? '' It''s rude to ask someone''s name when you haven''t introduced yourself yet '' Silicia thought silently but did not refute since he was their savior, their fate would be wretched if they did not encounter him by lucky chance, she was happy that her friend and Roy were fine, she was also curious about the man but did not know what to say Looking at the fatty whose face was devoid of facial hair, she had a complicated feeling, she knew that man was some kind of royalty, he was full of treasures, most likely what he displayed was not his true power at all, she hated them, but somehow the man seemed different, he was even more mysterious and greatly differed from the nobles she have seen He was not haughty and he did not seem stuck up, she did not know what other expressions was this man capable of but she knew that they were insignificant for someone like him, and there should not be many that got his attention, it seemed to be his nature, but surprisingly now he seemed curious? She was doubtful, why the change of attitude before departure? Did he need something from them? - My name is Liana, forgive me for lacking ettiqquete, I am a commoner and... She was about to prostrate herself but voice interrupted him - No need And there was silence The atmosphere turned awkward, the man was not willing to talk and merely stared at her for unknown reason, Roy and Silicia also wanted to express their gratitude but they did not want to interrupt man, they thought it would be rude - How curious The man mumbled and his expression turned into amiable smile, his next words greatly surprised everyone - Want to work under me? Another awkward silence and weak wind howling, the screeching of monsters have already dyed down, seems the fire created from ring was a lot stronger than usual fire ... Chapter 31 Departing '' Now that I''ve become stronger than ever, this place will just hold me down Only weaklings are left, they fed my guardsman while their hunted was consumed by me, since mana stones 5 level lower than I don''t increase my progress. They can no longer provide any help, now they are all useless I no longer have any use for them, except for him '' Chief visited the old hunchback goblin and that night they both disappeared in night Without notifying anybody the tribe was left without the powerhouse The goblins were left defenseless, without chief they would be easily devoured by the cruel forest, their reactions were of utter despair, while some higher level ones such as level 6 goblins showed their greed to take the lead Since the chief who guaranteed their safety and unworried sleep was now gone, they were anxious, they did not believe at first, but chief and hunchback wordlessly disappeared The most of the goblins that stayed in cave differed from level 2 to 6, they did not know that neither could they devour mana stones 5 level higher than them and nor 5 level lower than them, they were never told that, because they never had any need to know, since they were destined to be weaklings Even the ones that reached level 7 were too old to lead the tribe, they could use their brains and lead them as an elder, but still, the tribe has become an easy prey, goblins were in uproar, they did not know the reason why this happened, only some elders could guess correctly, which made most of them despaired and disheartened They were anxious about ettins too, so they decided to hole themselves up inside this cave and restrict their movements They did not know that chief would dispose of arrogant ettins since he has already gained the qualifications to do so POV change I was confused, why would he leave the tribe? Was not it his easy source of income? The goblins were aggressively curious, I did not want to stand out and just listened to them, but still could not understand the reason Once elders gathered they deducted the reason, I believed it, because it was plausible, but why did sovereign never mention that consuming 5 levels lower or higher mana stones does not have any effect? That bastard should have forgotten or left it out intentionally, wanting me to suffer, huh, good to know at least, also I have a reason to scold him, haha, I''m sure he''ll just laugh it off Now what...should I stay or go? It''s temporarily safe here...or not, anyway I have learnt a lot from the leader, I am sure that if I am utterly careful I can live somehow if my luck is not too rotten Now chief is gone, so protection disappeared along with his departure, I don''t blame him though, he got too strong for us, we were just useless luggage, even if he kills us off we are not worth a single strand of mana since his level is too high now I was contemplating whether to depart alone or not, if I''ve learnt something from leader it would be that hunting alone is a big no, everyone will go for a single prey, because it''s an easy kill While I got stronger I am still level 3 with progress of 14/20 mana stones, I wanted my consumed mana stones to be of good quality so I''m somewhat left behind That bastard also brought hunchback along with him, leaving me with no choice but to eat lower quality mana stones... that sucks Let''s forget about it, I can''t do anything aboit it, so I might as well accept... but there are still some things that are harder to accept ... WHY am I unable to understand mana? I''ve been a good boy, meditating all day, every day in my free time, which is surprisingly big in this cave, I have almost nothing to do, I want to learn magic, I also want to be as cool as chief, I know it should be rare, but... hard work should pay off no? While I don''t like fire and its destructiveness that can bring really nasty results, I would like to master other elements, healing would also be good for support... man can dream right? I silently cursed lucky protagonists of many stories that had cheat powers yet grumbled, what about me then... sigh - Reckless one, do you remember me? The goblin approached me as I was resting my back to the cold surface of the cave, I felt my head start to ache as I recognized the pervert from the last time, I''ve not seen her until now Then I had a brilliant idea, I know of the rule of a loner, if I go alone everyone will aim for me but if I were to have a party, the chances of attracting enemies will slightly decrease, she offered herself as a slave right? Good, then I''ll make full use of her... not in that way, idiot!This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. - What have you been doing up until now? I asked while avoiding an eye contact - Umm, I had a conflict with other goblins, they did not like that I raised in power and I fled for some time but kept an eye on them from nearby, once I knew that chief has left, I knew that nobody would care about me again, the fact has not spread so fast yet because you know... the things that happened were much more intense, I think it''s safe now, what are your orders master? - You still want to follow me? I teased her in mockingtone - Yes, absolutely, my life belongs to you... forever Right, right, alright, cliche, so cliche, I want to bang my head on the wall and... no, that''ll hurt, no, but no thanks - I accept then - Really? I saw her eyes widen, tch, not cute, stop acting like that, you are harming my health yet again - Ahem I awkwardly coughed and told her my rules - I am planning to leave this place, if you are going to follow me, there are rules that you have to follow, first - avoid horny rabbits from now on, you are not allowed to... hunt them again, second - you are not allowed to make decisions without discussing it with me, the third - uhh, let''s leave it at 2 rules for now She nodded, I looked at her once again, how exactly can she be useful except for her rather hurriedly improved level of 4? She''s inexperienced in battles, sigh, it''s going to take a lot of time to mold her into acannon fod... I mean a warrior What, I have a thick skin, I am completely fine with being protected by an opposite sex, you can''t even differentiate our race''s gender easily anyway, males, females, they look almost identical so all is good, all is within calculations We did not immediately leave, I stayed that night, meditating like always, although in vain, it has become my habit to do so, while I did not sense the speck of mana or whatever ( Not that I am sure that I am doing things the right way ) my mind still managed to become more tranquil, which is surprisingly addictive, sloth is getting me After eating to our heart''s content we left without notifying anyone The fresh air, dim sunlight that barely gets through thick trees, I felt revitalized, thrill and excitement were also there Knowing that danger always lurks in surroundings, it makes me vigilant and sharpens my senses ... We took the different routefrom the one that we came from This place should be farther from the human villages For now, I want to avoid any kind of contact with them I learnt from leader that I should always scout ahead before going onwards, that helped us perceive danger I did not have far sight, perception or something like cheat abiliies that I found protagonists had in manga and anime, am I proud of it? Kind of, knowing that I am managing myself without cheat abilities is fun feeling to have, close to being a narcissist, yet self pity is mixed in it Calling her '''' You '''' would be inconvenient so I started calling her Henna, I know, pretty humane name for such monstrosity but I can''t help it, I don''t want to call her something complicated, further reminding myself of my o'' pitiful life She did not object, I even felt a faint happiness from her tone, is christening something to be happy about? Well, I don''t remember as a baby so I would not know... it''s weird now that I think about it As I''ve heard only strong ones were gifted names, was that the reason she was happy? That''s more like it As she returned from her scouting job, she reported - There''s a small hidden cave up ahead, it''s covered in massive plants and vines, I would not have noticed it if I was not careful Hmm, could be a lair of some monsters, could also be empty, but let''s go with the vigilant attitude ... We''ve been going for quite some time, we avoided danger, I wanted to find a little place of my own if possible, sleeping on the tree branches... I don''t want that to become my habit, who knows, I might roll a bit too much and well... I don''t want to meet a laughing sovereign, telling me that I died in sleep Most importantly the nightmares still bother me to the point of anxiety, meditation helps dissipate a feeling a bit, but it''s still bothering me, I can absolutely never sleep on tree branches, it''s a suicide, sleeping on the ground is the same, I need home, I am homeless hobo and I look like one... - We hide and watch over that place, let''s see what goes in and comes out, once we know our enemy and if it even exists or not, we''ll make our move accordingly, if it''s a high level enemy, we don''t disturb them, got it? I asked in low voice, still was not used to my new sounds that I was making, my vocal chords should be differently constructed compared to human''s, my anatomy should also be different, I wonder if humans have high technology in this world? She nodded wordlessly, she acted rather obedient, she did not talk much and did everything I asked her to wordlessly, ate whatever plants we encountered without complaint and basically I was content with her performance... I remember her being a bit enthusiastic at the start of the journey... did I order her to be silent? Don''t remember, that should be the case, who cares, it''s better this way We hid behind a huge branch and spied on the cave entrance which was covered in vines, bushes and many plants, the cave was rather wide and about 5 meters in height, on top of the cave was a small hole covered in vines, I guess small sunlight would be able to get through, making perfect night light, I want to make it my home even more urgently The dawn was approaching, the sun was about to set, soon the world would be engufled in darkness, I won''t absolutely make my move at night, that''s plain death sentence At that time I heard rustling sounds Small pack of wolves were about to enter the cave, I should have fucking guessed ... They were about to enter, but one of them did not enter, it looked around and growled vigilantly for a while, I even stopped my breathing, does it sense me? That''s ridiculous, no, I should be fine here After growling for a while it stopped and slowly entered the cave too I huffed the sigh of relief as silently as possible, Henna did not move a single bit I could not appraise the wolf from this far, if I want to measure their strength I will have to get near, but it''s tricky, they''ll definitely notice me if I go near, I should at least be able to flee, but I can''t guarantee it... that''s it, I''ll order Henna to be a cannon fodder, distraction to let me flee, will I feel remorse? Hell no, it''s an ugly pervert goblin, If I feel bad if such creature died then what can I ever kill, how can I get stronger? While it''s true that it would be a pity that such dedicated subordinate to die and could not be used in future, well... if it''s for the sake of saving my skin, then it''s all good I saved her life and I might as well be the one to take it, I talk like a villain no? Told you, I am not an angel, never was... I tried to change, but showing weak side to monsters? This is different world, forest is full of predators and humanity and morality does not apply here, not unless I see an innocent human being bullied, which makes me pissed off since I was one previously, that aside... what should I do now? I can''t wait until tomorrow, I can''t wait for darkness to come since wolves would have a clear adventage at night It''s time to act Chapter 32 Not a monster What should I do in this kind of situation... the next step, can anybody tell me? Sovereign? God? Inner me? No? ... I fixed my gaze at the cave ... It''s obvious, I should just drop from here, land above the cave, that is covered in vines and bushes, crawl my way to the hole that will let me take a peek inside the cave, appraise wolves and according to their power either engage them or flee The problem is how do I do that sneakily, without making a sound? Easy - Henna, listen... And I explained to her what she should do, if she gets busted then I won''t help her, being a villain is so cool... no, stop it, inner me is not feeling guilt, deal with it, look I know you don''t like it oh my inner consciousness but how else do I act? '' Acting coward, just because you can... '' That voice, it''s sovereign! I missed his annoying voice Heya, I thought you were asleep ''Well, little Dylan, I used to sleep when I was a mortal, if you could call me that, once I grew stronger I could slumber for millennium and now, I can''t sleep, I miss old times, I can forcefully shut myself down, but I don''t want to miss how you take your first toddler steps and considering my voice I can''t wait for you to call me papa, puahahahaha... oh hey, Don''t change the subject, I heard what you thought earlier, my annoying voice? What''s wrong with my voice? You don''t like it? I can change it you know? '' Please leave your voice alone, just please... '' Do you want me to sound like a cute loli? Onii chan... '' STOOOOP, IF YOU DO THAT AGAIN I WILL SUICIDE RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!!! His voice really changed into a kid''s voice in the end, it was done so perfectly but as he changed his voice from kind middle aged father like figure to little sister and knowing it was the same person...it sent chills down my spine '' Tch, no fun, fine then, let''s leave it at that, I wonder how you''ll handle the current situation, I won''t meddle and take your time since the night is approaching and you don''t want to fight wolves at night, just a friendly advice '' I already knew that, moron I grumbled in my heart but there was no answer I sighed in relief Once again I stared at the cave and I thought SHIT! I forgot that I gave her a tough job She was hanging on the vine miserably, she was trying to climb on it, she should not have a problem with her strength but her foot was stuck, I did not have time to imagine weird hentai and dismiss the idea as fast, because something has already noticed the intruder and it was the gray wolf, it left its cave and growled in low voice, he was not alone Well, you''ve done a good job Henna, I will always remember you, goodbye! I turned around and was about to sneakily flee but I heard the putt sound, she fell, I turned around, watching as she miserably and barely free her entangled foot and stood up, grabbing small dagger, god knows where she got that, oh wait they''re dead, but still... 3 gray wolves approached and surrounded her It won''t hurt to watch the show right? Guilt can wait Oh wait... I can help and play safe at the same time, the fact that only 3 wolves left the cave means that there''s all of their ''''army'''', while I don''t know their levels I can observe and interfere if Henna lasts for couple of seconds after engaging in fight, meaning that their levels should not be so highEnsure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. There''s also another possibility... that others are hunting and have not returned, knowing my poor luck they might return at bad time and I don''t want my bones to be chewed by wild dogs I won''t directly enter the fight, but if their level is low enough I might as well act as an aerial support I should get down from this branch first, I can''t hit them with my throwing daggers from this far I jumped down and rejoiced once I found a footing, I was not really scared of heights, at least not tree heights because I used to climb on trees in my early childhood, with higher physical abilities in this world which barely surpassed my past self it was easier to act and I felt more confident, while my poor height of 1 meter was a problem, it did not really get in my way, in contrast I found it comfortable, I was already getting used to my body, the most troubling trait was the round belly that I could not get rid of, I hope I evolve fast... which is impossible, well, dreams don''t hurt unless they are nightmares like ones that I have After getting comfty in my position I grinned, Henna has covered herself in thick vines and these old vines obstructed the sharp fangs of the wolves, she was barely holding on, her limbs were bleeding but they were not too serious, they can be healed Now, I always wanted to try this '' Surprise motherfucker! '' Damn sovereign, reading my thoughts, well.. * Whoosh The dagger hit an ass hole of the monster My dagger miraculously dodged the tail and hit the right mark in right angle, I would have failed if that was my intention, it was an accident, that was welcome wholeheartedly Holding in my laughter I went for appraisal That was not intentional, but ok... ignoring sovereign''s laughter that resounded in my head, I appraised the wolves, they were indeed low leveled, well not really, but at least I could rid of them, one was level 4 while another two was level 3 Once their comrade started whimpering pitifully they were distracted and looked around vigilantly for hidden enemy, losing your focus in midst of battle? Bad idea! Henna did not disappoint me and wrapped one thick vine around the head of distracted wolf, it flailed and thrashed its neck but it was futile, another one regained its mind from stupor and after barking angrily lunged at her right hand, its sharp fangs plunged in Henna''s hand... that should have hurt... But it did not end here, the wolf forcefully threw its head around in attempt to tear off her arm while it was caught in between its teeth With a loud yell Henna had to let go of the choking wolf and fiercely grabbed the dagger from her loincloth with her now free left hand, it hit wolf''s eye but her flury of attacks did not stop there, she sliced wolf''s ear then caught wolf with bloodied hand and sliced off its foot after several tries, the wolf was whimpering and barking in terror as it bled and lay down immobile, yet still thrashed, pain would not go away, it would get worse My second flying dagger pierced suffocating wolf and lay down motionlessly OOh, look at that, headshot! Since when did I become this over powered? I thought I would miss 9/10 in this kind of situation I know the reason, it was because I was calm, not because I am badass, but because I was not really in danger The one that got shot...below tail had run away, leaving the blood trail Henna finished off the vulnerable wolf and slumped down exhausted, full of sweat and blood, lucky her we gathered some herbs on the way out of boredom, I kept some in my leather armor but it won''t be enough, it will stop the bleeding though, somehow these herbs are not as simple as they seem, they are magical, is it because the environment is full of mana? Well, even if it is, I would not know, since I tried meditating yet never felt mana, like a lifeless stone... life sucks - Are you alright? I asked in fake concern, I seriously did not care whether she lived or not, my antagonistic attitude towards her could be explained by her race... and by the fact that I was an asshole in some occasions, I saved some girl, got all the confidence and calmed my soul, then I went off and I am doing some horrible things, to feel better I might as well save another human again, haha... I don''t know whether to laugh or cry She was unconscious, anther cliche scene, I want to look away but I can''t just leave her bleeding when she risked her life for me, life that belongs toME What is happening to me? While I am an asshole I would not think things like that often times '' Your monster nature is taking over, this is your fate Dylan, you are a monster, the fact won''t change and soon... you will lose your humanity '' I heard the voice and I felt thunderstruck I... I am changing? No, no, no, NO, I AM MYSELF, I AM NOT A MONSTER, see, I am saving her, I am kind, I... '' Calm downDylan, there''s a way to control yourself and that is evolution, as you grow your monster nature will grow, but it will be impossible to completely overshadow your humanity, after evolution you will get a trait similar to your second parent, which was coincidentally a human, stop playing a hero, being evil does not make you inhumane, there are many rotten humans '' Wrong, wrong, WRONG, I don''t want to be like them, ones that kill without blinking an eye, ones that do bad deeds and get away with it, I, I... help me, sovereign I was at tearing point, I did not want to be a monster, at least not mentally '' You better treat her first, she''s bleeding out, it''ll be alright Dylan, I won''t let you lose your human side, even if you get corrupted, even if your monster nature will try to take over, I won''t let you, you get it? Now hurry up, the blood will attract other monsters, you are not safe '' I complied without a word, my mind calmed down a bit, I will keep myself in check, that''s for sure, I won''t let myself change too much Thank you... sovereign I murmured in my thoughts '' Hah, don''t thank me, if you are useful you will hate me due to things that I might do to you '' Still... thanks, it helped me a lot '' ... You''re welcome Dylan '' Chapter 33 Anemone (I) My vision has already adapted to darkness, I took Henna inside the cave Interior was full of earth and mud, the walls were naturally made of rock, the cave was not devoid of plants, some old vines were sprawled on the ground, they looked like snakes, I had to anxiously check some of them to make sure it was safe I found the safe place in the depth of the cave, which was dimly lit by moon light that barely got through the hole at the ceiling. After bashing the herbs with rocks and making green liquid flow out, I applied the crushed herb to the wounded areas Henna was unconscious I knew that these herbs would not be enough, I needed more herbs, blood would also attract enemies but there''s no way I am giving up this cave, from today it''s my home, I hope that wolf with dagger in the awkward area which managed to flee won''t come back for revenge while I am gone to collect some herbs I left, I knew that forest had abundance of herbs, not only that, there were couple of flowers with strong scent, I was aiming for both, one for covering the blood scent and another to heal Henna''s injuries It was already getting dark, getting out for a long time would be dangerous, I should not have a need to go too far, but I was still scared of dark forest, no, I should put aside my cowardice I gulped down mouthful of saliva and went deeper into the forest, it was silent, dark and I was about to have hallucinations,I shook my head, that''s not why I came here, besides, I don''t want to live in here in complete solitary, it would be lonely, I have not thought about it until now, but it''s good to have a company. That''s why I can''t let her die yet I was fortunately overreacting, nothing went to attack me in the darkness and as soon as I got what I wanted I ran back Earlier I did not forget to take 2 wolves along with their cores in the cave, but I placed them further from Henna, at least she should be safe for a while Once I returned I quickly spread around flowers with strong scent on blood stains on the ground and directly ran to Henna, she was still unconscious, I applied more herbs and turned around to guard the cave, I could not sleep now, I would throw this duty at her if she lived, but for now, I had to stay awake, if something were to attack at night, we are vulnerable ... Suspiciously nothingattacked at night Still, staying awake while watching the dark forest from ''''home'''' with no door and waiting for something to come out and kill you is mind wrecking, the next day I was utterly exhausted but did not dare to sleep yet, I awkwardly peeled off wolf pelts, I could use this to warm myself up when winter came I had a feeling something was constantly watching me which made me more anxious but I thought it was my imagination and my mind was exaggerating things, so I shrugged this feeling off I ate wolf meat which was as expected delicious for my new tastes, I brought the corpses deeper in the cave so blood won''t disturb creatures that live outside The days passed, Henna did not wake up yet, I was getting worried, I checked her all around but there was not any wounds that I missed, I did not know what was wrong with her at all, her heart was beating, that''s good, probably she needs more restThe story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. If she has some internal bleeding or something then there''s nothing I can do about it Meanwhile, when there was a day I would meditate since I had nothing else to do, I did not want to hunt alone and I had some wolf meat to spare, if I wanted to I could even eat herbs but meat is a delicacy, I prefer meat, it''ll last me for quite some time until it rots, even if it does rotten meat is absolutely not inedible for goblins As always after meditating for a while I opened my eyes and I saw some little human with wings flying in front of me - Hi I heard the voice, ha, I''ve been meditating for so long, that I''ve gone nuts, I rubbed my eyes and got up - Hey, don''t ignore me I heard a sound and I halted, it''s real? I turned around, this creature did not seem to have a gender, she was completely naked and she/he had transparent wings on her back which flapped once in a while, I appraised it
Dungeon pixie [ Nature ]
Level ???
Level with question marks? She should be strong... but does not seem like one I instinctively made a grabbing motion at her direction, if she''s strong then she should dodge that, I thought but seems she did not expect that and was caught - Put me down smelly She struggled to get free and bit my palm It tickled, I still let her go - Salty She said and started coughing, after she was done she gave me angry glare and started flying away - W, wait... I yelled, I did not even know why I did that, probably I missed the company She turned around with her hands around her flat chest, as expected of genderless one, still let''s call her she, because she has a ponytail Her eyes were green and her transparent wings were also green, she was the size of a human palm, unexpectedly her hair was blonde and her ears were slightly pointy - You dare to disrespect this lady and grab me with your filthy hands, humph, who dares to do that to me?Humph, I will talk to you if you beg meand apologize - Alright, I''m sorry, please don''t go Why did I say that? Am I that lonely? Her level is most likely much higher than mine, she can probably easily kill me... Anyway pixie huh? So she''s like a little fairy - You''re forgiven Well, that was fast She started flying around me for a while like an annoying fly but I did not let myself get angry for such trivial thing, after she made couple of circles around me she stopped in front of me, her wings were flailing to keep her in the air, her green eyes were glowing a little, it was beautiful, when do I get a glowing eyes, why am I like an ugly duckling? Sigh - Say, your aura is a bit different, more intelligent and rational, I''ve never felt something like that from others... what are you? Eh? Her perception should be high, I can''t really tell her the truth, yeah, let''s keep my reincarnation the secret between me and sovereign for my sake - What do you mean? I feigned ignorance and asked curiously She stared at me hard, then she gave up and flew to the nearby white flower which was half a meter tall, if I compare plants in this forest to plants in my previous world, one difference would be the size After she was done sniffing the flower she turned around and with a big smile told me - I like you greenie, you are not the same as others, let''s be friends, my name is Anemone... you should not have a name right? She laughed softly and added - It''s alright, I will give you a na... - It''s Dylan, my name that is ... She seemed disappointed? She pouted and flew away, hey, did I do something wrong? - Hey come back But it was useless, she was unexpectedly fast Chapter 34 Anemone (II) Yet again, I am left with nothing to do But there''s a thing I do when I have nothing to do and that''s meditating, I will go ahead and waste my time like always, my hard work is for naught, I can''t sense mana, but I want to keep going, because I''m sure that hard work will pay off I wonder if that fairy could teach me some magic? Sigh, it''s impossible, somehow I have angered her, seriously what did I do wrong? It''s not worth contemplating over, I know I won''t get it anyway I sat down in lotus pose and calmed my breathing, making inhaling and exhaling rhythmic and even, while flushing out my brain from any kind of thoughts and focusing on sensing surroundings It''s not like my efforts completely go to waste, no, I would not continue wasting my time like an idiot. While meditating my perception raises in certain range, I can hear the sound of wind, the sound of nature, I can even faintly hear the sound of ants crawling nearby, it''s a weird feeling, I did not gain any kind of skill though, that''s just how it is That''s as far as it goes, the reason why I started meditating was not to become a monk but to sense mana and gain insight in magic, nobody has ever told me anything about magic, but it exists, I saw how chief generated fire from thin air with my own eyes, that definitely proves the fact that there exists something that is fuel to magic, the air is full of this revitalizing thing which I call mana and I am trying to sense it, the feeling is faint, I know of its existence but I can never connect it to myself, so I end up failing all the time, that''s why I''ve become hopeless and desperate I sighed as I opened my eyes, another couple of hours lost in vain, that''s depressing Next I went to check on Henna, she was still unconscious, how do I deal with this? While I was contemplating, green light illuminated the dark cave from behind me, while it was not completely dark and hole from the ceiling let some sun light in the cave, the light was still dim as for that green light it was flashy I looked back, as expected it was the pixie from before - You came back I looked back and smiled, I am sure smile on ugly goblin''s face looks creepy but let''s forget that and not make my inner value drop even more, making my thoughts even more depressed Pixie seemed surprised for some reason - Greenie, you... you care for other lives? As expected, you are different She gave me an acknowledging nod while she got closerA case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Seriously, is it weird that I took care of her? - Greenie, give a way, I can heal her Oh, forgot about that, she''s a nature pixie, whatever it means, it smells of healing, nope, that''s called gut feeling She hovered above Henna and her hands let out green light that was channeled to Henna, her wounds started to visibly heal, even though I knew that such things is common for fantasy world, she would be treated as god apostle on earth, reminds me of Jesus, he revived the dead man they said, I wonder can people revive dead in this world? Is it impossible? There should at least be necromancer class that revives dead right? An unorthodox way, who knows, I''ve not even seen the tip of the iceberg in this world I have many more years to explore - Why was she unconscious for so long? I was really curious about that, while I have no medical skills, I believed in herbs that can miraculously heal, I don''t want them to fail on me when I need them, if there''s something wrong with them I should at least know about its efficiency - Who knows, I can just heal her, teehee She smiled playfully and showed me her small tongue... this little! So she''s knows nothing of illnesses and medicine yet can somehow cure wounds... oh how dandy, that''s so cheat, that''s so broken, that''s so dumb... I like it - Soon she''ll wake up, she needs some rest... I guess What''s wrong with your uncertain tone? Sigh, whatever She still gazed at me as if trying to see through me, I felt uncomfortable - Say, why are you following me? Don''t you have anything better to do? Oops, I sounded meaner than I meant to be She put her hand around her chin and pouted as if thinking deeply, then she exclaimed in happy voice - Hmm, ohh, because you are different and because this lady admires you, you worked so hard, all this lady does is sleep, yet you work so hard for something that you can barely ever acquire ... what? Barely ever acquire? Don''t tell me... - Right, greenie you are so dumb, let me enlighten you, your mana affinity is pitifully low, even if you work hundred times as hard as others you are destined to never cast a single spell in your life * Crumble * Shatter My life is over, the only hope I had... was thoroughly trampled and mercilessly crushed So... I''ve become other wordly reincarnated waste who can never cast a single magic spell? Why me? Now what? - Please leave me alone I turned around to walk away, obviously because I did not want this little prick to see my tears and make fun of me, I was really heart broken However annoying mischievous pixie flew close to my face andexclaimed in surprise - Greenie, is this tears? I did not know monsters could cry too Of course I would cry you piece of shit, you just ruined my dreams, you just shat, pissed and spit on my aspiration... you''ve ruined it I still had a hope Now I''m lost - But don''t worry, since I''ve taken a liking to you I can help you She flew in circle and stopped in front of my face - R, really? My pale face brightened up, I looked like a dying man clutching on last strand of straw in order to live - This lady does not need to lie, humph, what do you know? This lady is extremelly capable, I can give you a huge amount of mana, affinity and spells that you can barely digest at this stage I was looking at an fairy, no an angel! But wait, wait, wait... from zero to hero? That''s unbeleiveable, it sounds suspicious no matter how I look at it, why would she help me, a stranger so excessively? - But instead you should help this lady too I fucking knew it... now she looks depressed, oh, this is the situation where i gain the quest or something, right ... There''s no quest, but there comes her request Chapter 35 Gathering of sentinels (I) - Please become the guard of my home ... ... Eh Wat - No thanks, I don''t want to be bound to one place, I want to adventure, I want to explore the world, I love freedom... - That''s not it! She cut in my speech and yelled, that''s rude, but I''ll let it go - You will not be bound to this place, just spiritually connected, if there''s incoming danger you will know and if something like this happens, please save my home Still so blurry, I don''t get it, building a fortress before the enemy is even born, that''s great, but, what do I gain from this? - Look, I''m weak, I can''t even protect myself, how do I protect your home then? She shook her head - Greenie, you are so, so dumb, let this lady explain, ahem... She coughed awkwardly and started chirping in her voice that would be befitting for a singer - I am offering you a sub class of forest sentinel, you will not be bound to this place, but you will be requested to help if it''s in danger, instead you will gain a big benefit, you will like it, unlike other inhabitants of this forest you will have a certain advantages - What advantages? - You will know Ah, come on, I don''t like secrets But... If it''s to graduate from a waste of a reincarnated person who can''t cast a single spell, then it''s all worth it, I don''t understand how I will gain a huge mana capacity as she promised but I will comply, I mean I don''t have a choice - So what happens if I don''t help when forest is in danger? I want to know whether I suffer some kind of backlash or something if I don''t do it, her answer was... eye full of crocodile tears, I can''t bear to look at such expression, makes me feel I did something wrong... hmm, so there''s no backlash, alright, I shall accept it - Alright, I get it, I will help if I have the power, but I won''t sacrifice myself for nothing, got it? - R, really? She stopped sobbing and looked at me pitifully, now that''s cute, unlike certain someone who is a total pervert and super ugly at that Who am I kidding? It''s like pig insulting a pig for being fat - Yeah, leave it to me I pat my chest - You promise? She showed her pinky, I sighed and wrapped my huge green smelly, ugly.... fuck She seemed happy and starting circling around me while cheering, just like a kid - Thank you greenie, you won''t regret this A blue paper started materializing in front of her, there were some weird characters inscribed on it, that looked like an ancient language, there was blue particles hovering around it Before I could ask what that thing was...
Spirit covenant
Dungeon pixie and guardian of the forest Anemone is requesting you to establish connection with the forest and become forest sentinel, guarding its safety in times of danger, you will be spiritually connected to this forest and can telepathically communicate with Anemone and other forest sentinelsThis tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Do you accept? Yes/No
Wow, so dramatic, I accept For the glory of magic!
You have accepted the contract, you have gained an access to the sub class
Sub class: Forest sentinel (I)
Rank: C
You gain 30% increased battle power while in forest for each increased level in forest sentinel sub class
Bonus effects: 10% nature affinity 5% earth affinity
Do you accept? Yes /No
So that''s it? Increased battle power? Then don''t I have a huge advantage over others? I don''t even see disadvantages in this, though I will lose the bonus in other terrain for example desert, that''s not a problem, for now - Thanks Anemone, can you tell me how to promote in levels? She did not answer, I took my sight off blue panel and looked at her, she was blushing? - You re, remembered my name? ... I don''t have a that bad memory, at least I don''t think so - R, right, you can just wish it and quests will appear, regarding this forest, the difficulty is random, you can change one to another if you don''t like previous quest, after completing some quests your level in sub class will also raise, but first accept it... Oh right, I forgot to accept
You have become forest sentinel, you gained 30% increased battle power while in forest
Oh, I feel it, the power, the feeling is faint, but it''s there, I''ve become stronger - So with that I can fight against monsters who have surmountable battle power? I am really confused about that, please enlighten me - No, silly, let''s say, for example a monster that has battle power that surmounts 1 level has 200% battle power, that means he can hit normal monsters of the same level twice as hard, you just received 30% increased battle power, you still can''t fight these formidable ones that have inborn strength Oh, I see, so I have 130% battle power, but it''s not really a big thing, if I want to dominate everyone on the same level I will have to keep promoting in this sub class of forest sentinel to gain 160%, 190% 220% etc battle power So I need to work hard, alright, I will, it''s not like I have many things to do anyway - Say, I gained an affinity right? Now can I finally learn magic? That''s the most important part - No silly, you still don''t have mana ... Oh... - I have not gotten to that part yet, I will offer you another unique sub class that will allow you to borrow a huge amount of mana, it won''t be yours but it will work perfectly fine, just if you lose the source you will be out of mana I don''t get it, but okay - First, let''s meet other sentinels, follow me, they are also good, you will certainly like them - Wait, you did not tell me there were more? I am not really in a mood to meet other sentinels - No, you have to! Don''t be shy, they don''t bite You say that, but I am sure their levels also have question marks I smiled wryly and followed her - Wait, Henna is vulnerable right? I should go back I found an excuse to go but the wind enveloped me, disallowing me to step back - She''s fine, I gave her my blessing Oh, then why do I not get your blessing? Sigh Alright, let''s follow her We entered deep into the forest, this place was full of green grass, butterflies and... oh, WHO''S THAT? - Lomio, look who I''ve brought, a new sentinel, treat him well Anemone screamed and laughed, I followed her like a kid that has done something bad ... I looked at the man, he was domineering, he looked at me with his green eyes and I was frozen, he should be beyond question marks Little did I know, that he was not the only sentinel, I had to meet another one ...