ã€ŠI was Reborn as a Background Characterã€‹


 Prologue: Day 1

    I was Reborn as a Background Character

    Day 1:

    As hard as it is to believe it seems I, Kobayakawa Kogitsune, have been reincarnated.

    If you ask me why I think that, it¡¯s because I can clearly remember my death but after the darkness descended I was still able to think.

    You may tell me I¡¯m being to blas¨¦ about the whole thing but in the world I came from espers and things like that existed, to such an extent that they were considered a part of every day life. Even if they were only one in every thousand people.

    For the population of Earth that''s quite a few running around.

    Espers, creatures of mass destruction, evil doing espers and even weapons to kill thee afore mentioned existed and could be easily encountered during the course of one¡¯s life time. After realising this simple truth isn¡¯t it any wonder that I haven¡¯t been leaving the house in the last few years. The world is a scary place for a normal person you know.

    I mean apart from my name there¡¯s nothing interesting about me.

    It¡¯s typical then that the one day I decide to go out of the apartment is the same day I die.

    Don¡¯t get me wrong I have mapped out my escape routes and I can find the nearest police box from anywhere in the city because I make sure my route always takes me in there direction but tonight it seems my luck was just a little bad.

    I had pretty much just left the apartment, it was late at night but statistically even evil WMD Espers sleep around this time, at least according to a forum I read, and was heading to my destination. Thankfully the local convenience store is 24/7.

    I turned a corner to come across I very graphic scene.

    The slender from of a young girl riding a top a mangled body, the blood soaked girl just kept stabbing again and again but even I could tell the poor victim was dead. Or at least any normal human would have died from such an onslaught but the pile of flesh let out a groan as I was watching.

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    Don¡¯t  get me wrong I¡¯m not one of those guys who likes the yandere bad ending and even if I lived in a world of super humans, being confronted by such a sight was too much and I was frozen. My body rooted to the spot.

    After the victim let out another groan the bloody maiden stopped working his torso and with one swift motion jammed the wicked looking crackling blade into his brain through his eye.

    As the body spasmed and then went limp a small high pitch squeak escaped my lips but I immediately realised and clamped two hands across my mouth to try to stop anymore leaking out.

    But it was too late. The red dyed figure looked up in my direction and our eyes met.

    At that moment my legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground. She slowly drew herself off of the now dead body of her victim and began to shuffle towards me. With that vicious weapon, still dripping blood and brain, gripped in both hands.

    As she loomed closer I realised I had seen her around the neighbourhood before. She must have been around twenty or so, it was just a shame her pretty face was now distorted by that icy dead eyed stare and the slightly crooked smile.

    I can honestly say I didn¡¯t last even a fraction of the time that guy had. I died very quickly and quite shamefully.

    It was a strange experience. I remember vividly the sensations I felt at that time before they just melted away, fading slowly, but my consciousness still carried on after that. The darkness of my own mind changed as I realised I had slowly opened my eyes. Even if they were very heavy I somehow managed.

    Only to be greeted by the ugliest, wrinkled green face I had ever seen.

    ¡°And lastly this one shall be Gobuiro. Now sleep child.¡±

 Chapter 1: Day 2 - 5

    Day 2:

    With that he put an old weathered hand across my brow and closed my eyes, I didn¡¯t want to but this body rebelled and soon enough I was in a heavy sleep.

    I didn¡¯t wake up very well.

    The tattered blanket was itchy and clearly a well-used hand me down, I¡¯m also not used to sleeping on the ground. It¡¯s too cold and hard for my liking.

    Groggy and in a bad mood I stared around me, seems I¡¯m not strong enough to get up yet which is fine because I didn¡¯t really want to anyway. There are about 30 figures in this small cavern room. Ten of them look like children but they seem to be adults.

    A couple are diligently checking on the pile of roughly twenty squirming, naked babies. Although they have green skin, pointed ears and the start of several small fangs poking out of their under bite.

    One of these babies is looking around frantically and studying his small arms. He looks similar to those around him, guess I also look the same, but his eyes are alive. Like he¡¯s searching for information.

    Noticing I was awake one of the child sized adults took a thick grub from a bask he was carrying, its probably a male right, and rammed it into my mouth. I chewed the squishy mass over for a while before it burst a little in my mouth.

    Its juices spilled down my throat but it wasn¡¯t that bad. I thought I would have been revolted but the strange three inch maggot tastes oddly like chicken. It¡¯s not unpleasant. My body feels full and my eyelids are heavy again. Guess this is my limit.

    I scratch myself with one of my own stubby black nailed hands and turn over.

    ¡®I¡¯ll think about it in the morning.¡¯

    Day 3:

    Another restless night was rudely interrupted by the sounds of running and active movement. For a moment I forgot where I was and wondered how id fallen asleep in a dojo but when I final opened my eyes I was greeted by the small dank rock ceiling of the small cave that I saw yesterday.

    The only difference is that the squirming babies of yesterday have spectacularly grown into adults and by that I mean now the cave is full of thirty elementary school kid sized green skinned people.

    One of whom is currently doing laps of the perimeter.

    Guess it¡¯s him I have to thank for my wake you this morning.

    I¡¯d trip him but its more interesting just watching, especially while snacking on another of these grubs. It¡¯s not quite the three square meals a day I¡¯m used to but it¡¯s better than instant ramen.

    By the way my own body is no exception. It¡¯s grown to the size of a small child but the increase in power and control I feel I have over it is quite strange compared to how helpless I felt just yesterday.

    I¡¯m pretty sure that weird goblin is doing kata??

    Where¡¯d he get that rusty sword from, I only stopped watching him for like a minute!!?

    Me and the rest of those new born can¡¯t help but watch the strange antics but the grownups just shake their heads and get on with their business.

    The day passes quickly and I have to admit that guy sure has some stamina. He¡¯s been ¡®training¡¯ since early morning. Heck I¡¯m tired just watching him, this is why high spec¡¯d people are a hassle.

    Surprisingly I seem to be accepting the situation quite easily as well. Is that normal?

    I¡¯ll have another grub while I ponder that. Oh! He¡¯s just collapsed.

    I¡¯m impressed he can even eat a grub while panting like that.

    He pulled a dirty, soiled blanket around him and fell asleep grumbling about the quality of his bed.

    Eat and sleep. Seems this new life won¡¯t be that bad.

    Day 4:

    Of course it couldn¡¯t be that simple.

    One of the older goblins, because that¡¯s all they could be, woke me roughly this morning and pointing at a tunnel in the cave wall and said.

    ¡°Those who don¡¯t hunt. Don¡¯t eat.¡±

    Nope not even those oddly tasty grubs.

    As a four day old I guess I¡¯m considered old enough to fend from myself. Thinking about the sort of environment creatures like goblins from RPG¡¯s usually live in I guess it makes sense that they grow faster than human children. Out of necessity.

    It¡¯s that whole survival of the fittest thing.

    A little frustrated I begrudgingly move around the cave. It¡¯s a good thing my blanket can double as a crude lion cloth. In one corner that strange hyperactive goblin from yesterday is coercing another goblin into coming hunting with him. It¡¯s just the way he¡¯s smiling and the words he¡¯s using remind me of greasy salesmen.

    Ah! The other one got up and followed him while beaming like an idiot.

    Looking around I wonder if all goblins are so simple. No it seems he got the dullest¡­best candidate for a minion. Should I try to do that as well?

    No, even before I wasn¡¯t good at speaking to people and wasn¡¯t very charismatic. I doubt that being a goblin has improved that at all. In fact it¡¯s probably made it worse but I can¡¯t be sure.

    I asked the older goblins, who might be our parents, where to hunt. They all just kept pointing to the tunnel entrance at the end of the cave. Several other young goblins also seem to be heading in that direction

    I headed out, the tunnel gave way to a long passage but near its start there was another tunnel branching off to the right. I decided to see where it led but I really wish I hadn¡¯t.

    I followed it to a small room, passing several older goblins on the way who all seemed to be quite exhausted. It ended in a smaller cave than the one I had woken in but it was completely taken up by piles of garbage. It was a hoarder¡¯s paradise.

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    Boxes of rags and barrels of half rusted weapons, unfortunately my eyes drifted to a pile on the floor by the farthest wall. When I understood what it was I also realised what the strong smell in the room was. It was the deep musk of sex. Being a single confirmed bachelor I can only say it smelt a thousand times stronger than my room after a particularly lonely night.

    Several women, barely wearing rags, were drenched in the fluid of life. Most of them were also heavily pregnant. They just lay there motionless and defiled.

    There¡¯s some things you can¡¯t un-see.

    As I was leaving I passed one of the older goblins on my way out. He patted me on the shoulder as I passed.

    ¡°Maybe when you¡¯re older.¡±

    I was a little disturbed by the low grunting I heard as I hurried away from there but it doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure out what was going on. I mean it¡¯s a staple of fantasy genres to have human woman captured by monsters for breeding purposes. I guess it has something to do with humankind as always being lorded for their ability to procreate with other races.

    Standard tropes like elves having nature; dwarves having metal work; demons having magic, orcs having strength and humans having superior numbers and adaptability.

    Before I knew it I was outside.

    The first thing I noticed was the subtle shift in my vision.

    When stepped fully out of the darkness of the cave and into the brightness of the outside my vision suddenly grew a little clearer. When I wondered why a strange voice in my head chime.

    [Ability [Dark Vison] Active]

    Do you know how freaky it is to have something suddenly speak in your head?

    As I was panicking about finally losing my mind the wrinkly elder approached me. In a kind grandfatherly manner he informed me that it was the [Voice of the World] and that everyone heard it but only monster and demi humans heard it more frequently than the human race.

    Even if we don¡¯t always realise or understand what it¡¯s saying.

    Having calmed down a bit he patted my shoulders and hobbled back into the cave, we won¡¯t mention the tent he was pitching because it ruins the dependable image he created.

    In the scrub bush before the cave some of my kin are frolicking about enjoying their first trip out doors. While others are catching flying bugs and hurriedly stuffing them into their mouths. I can¡¯t see that weird one or his sidekick.

    I guess for starters I¡¯ll just gather up some nuts and berries, I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯ll feel if I see a tasty looking bug crawling around?

    I head in the direction two goblins nibbling on some large blackberry like fruit just came from.

    After I ate my fill of the ripe looking ones I headed back, the sun was just beginning to set and we had been told to get back before dark.

    There sleeping in the cave was that weird goblin.

    Near him a group of goblins sat listening to the very animated story of the idiot minion.

    With nothing better to do I joined the circle just as he was describing how they were hunting today.

    ¡°Then I went GRRRAH and the meat ran away but Goburou jumped on it with a DOKAN and it was squashed flat so I went to eat it but it hit me over the head and then he hit me and hit me and hit me. It was really sore but I got some of the meat and it was SUPER tasty.¡±

    He finished his story by rubbing both his full belly and his bruised head at the same time. Really he has such hidden talents.

    Several of the goblins around were drooling.

    ¡°W-what ¡­ what did it taste like?¡±

    The goblin just made a very satisfied face and squeezed himself tightly.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way you ate Horned Rabbit Gobukichi, I saw one kill two other Goblins.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a lie! Look there¡¯s proof.¡±

    Defiantly he pointed to the slumbering figure of his hunting buddy.

    He was right, there clutched tightly in Gobrou¡¯s hand was a single spiral horn of no more than twenty centimetres in length.

    The circle talked a bit more about what they had done and where they had gone today, sharing information about hunting grounds and good forage spots but I was miles away still wondering what the meat tasted like.

    Day 5:

    I left the cave late on today, those berries not really agreed with me, and emerged just in time to see Gobukichi disappearing into the underbrush with a thick stick in hand.

    He was following behind another goblin.

    I could only see the back of its head but I¡¯m pretty sure that was Goburou. Especially when he pointed at something with a blood stained horn and Gobukichi immediately broke into a run in the direction he pointed.

    I¡¯m a little envious by how well he¡¯s adapted to hunting, guess that¡¯s just natural instincts.

    I did a little foraging around the cave.

    Mostly I picked up nuts and berries but I did find a small clump of trees bearing a strange pear like fruit, I ate a couple of the ones that had fallen to the ground. They were ok, its just the bugs that got mixed in gave it an interesting flavour.

    After a slow day I headed home to find the same small circle of goblins from my generation had grown to include most of the other Goblins as well.

    Once again Gobukichi was retelling the days escapades while Goburou was sound asleep.

    Most of the group was rejecting his claims that today he ate this many Horned Rabbits. Three sharp black nailed fingers were held aloft proudly. The same thick stick I had seen him carry this morning was gripped in his other hand.

 Chapter 2: Day 6 - 8

    Day 6:

    I had thought what Goburou was able to do was natural but over hearing a conversation that was going on this morning I guess he¡¯s really incredible.

    I mean I had heard that some goblins had died when hunting horned rabbits but it wasn¡¯t until an apparently female goblin called Gobumi was telling him about it that I realised just how high above normal goblins he was.

    Seems many of them had lost their lives in frontal confrontations with these devious beast.

    ¡°Eh? Seriously?¡±

    When he suddenly shouted that I had to agree.

    However lately, or rather after Gobukichi kept showing his strength, a few of those born at the same time as us have been carrying around sticks of all sizes and thicknesses. All the way from twig to branch.

    When he asked Gobumi to tag along I could only cringe at how easily he had said those lines but with their new member in tow the strongest hunters set out again. Seems some of the naturally gifted already left the cave.

    I took a look around the cave; judging from the stories I¡¯ve heard it seems only the wise and lucky survive while the weak and stupid die quickly. I wonder which one am I.

    Pondering this I headed out for another day of fruit and nuts, I¡¯m kind of starting to want to taste some meat though. As if answering my prayers or cursing my fate, from a bush near where I was collecting nuts, a small brown bunny hopped out. It was a little bit smaller than a Japanese rabbit that one of my neighbours kept but from the spiral horn on its head I knew this was a Horned Rabbit.

    I was still watching it without any real intent when I noticed its tiny jet black eyes.

    There was nothing in them but pure evil and hatred.

    As I recoiled in surprise it gave a small charge and lunged forward using its powerful hind legs. It thrust its small horn towards me, my own small frame meant it would pierce my abdomen. Impaling me.

    Somehow I was able to dodge but it clipped my shoulder and sent me rolling. By the time I was back up it had come around, readying for another charge. Unlike the others I hadn¡¯t taken up carrying a stick or even a rock.

    All I could do was punch and kick and hope it died before I did.

    At that moment I answered my earlier question. Up until now I had just been very lucky.

    I did the only thing I could do in such a situation. I ran. I dived through the nearest bush and took off like a shot through the foliage unfortunately I heard it hot on my heels.

    After a few minutes I crossed a dry river bed ahead of it and managed to shimmy my way up a tree.

    The beast, having lost my trail, slowed its pace slightly.

    Suddenly a single stone hit the ground near its flank catching it by surprise, another hit it dead on and as it reared in agony two goblins rushed from the nearest cover.

    One placed a heavy blow on the poor critters back while the other speared it with a sharp weapon that resembled the rabbits own deadly piercer. Goburou withdrew his rabbit horn as Gobumi appeared next to them.

    Gobukichi was vigilantly watching the perimeter.

    Goburou began to dismantle the fresh kill before passing it out to his companions. From my perch in the tree all I could do was watch and think ¡®Strong¡¯.

    Exhausted I limped back to the cave.

    Not bothering to hear today¡¯s tales. It had been too much of a reality check for me to take.

    Day 7:

    Not sure if the erratic striking of stone on stone woke me or if it was the vibration of rhythmic drumming I could feel through the earth.

    Either way hunting was off as the rain was coming down hard and I was to awake to go back to sleep. I made my way stiffly back to the main cave. My body was still aching from yesterday¡¯s figh¡­beating.

    Somehow I managed to scrounge a couple of those grubs but it hurts just trying to chew them. Guess I took more of a hit then I realised. While letting my saliva soften it up, using my tongue to roll it around, I leaned against the wall for support as I watched Goburou.

    He has a bunch of materials around him.

    Several looted horns taken from Horned Rabbits, a couple of thick and sturdy looking sticks and a length of rope.

    Currently he¡¯s chapping away at a lustrous black stone using another smaller rock.

    I¡¯m not the only one interested, many of the kids from our generation are drawn in by the noise while most of  the adults that pass by just shake their heads and carry on. Some nod approvingly and some shake their heads as though they don¡¯t know what to do with him.

    I swallow a little of the juicy bug just as he finishes knapping the black blade.

    Affixing a simple cloth grip handle to the narrowest part and ¡­Done! He had finished his crude knife. It was fascinating to watch but I quickly lost interest after he made another two or three stone knives from other flat rocks.

    His two accomplices however didn¡¯t seem to grow bored.

    After that they started what I can only call a small strategy meeting, Gobukichi was just nodding along, but I was busy watching the other goblins moving around the cave in small groups of two.

    Lately the buddy system seems to have been adopted and unlike me they¡¯re all carrying simple stick weapons.

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    Tomorrow I will definitely get myself a weapon.

    Maybe even a partner.

    I only stopped day dreaming when I heard Gobujii¡¯s voice. He¡¯s the oldest, wrinklest elder here and it¡¯s also his face I have as my first memory here.

    I was even more surprised to learn that the venerable elder was only a ripe old age of 20 years.

    Guess we have a short life span as a species then. It¡¯s a little depressing but I guess I¡¯d be happy if I could live that long. I listened intently as he imparted his words of wisdom to the trio, even if one of them looked like he had no idea what the elder was talking about. Yes drooling Gobukichi I¡¯m talking about you.

    Goburou listened intently as he was told about this worlds [Rank Up] system and even more so when he found out that the generation before us, guess that would be our parent¡¯s generation, were out beyond the forest earning a living; raiding and pillaging.

    I wanted to hear more but Goburou stopped asking questions suddenly and then the elder got up awkwardly and left in the direction of the treasure room.

    Seemingly satisfied with what he¡¯d heard he set about crafting a few other items.

    I however was a little worried by what I¡¯d heard.

    There are things way stronger than horned rabbits beyond the forest and [Rank Up] could only occur once a monster has reached level 100. Its not as cool as it sounds as a lvl. 100 goblin is still just small fry by this world standards.

    I shivered as I thought that.

    When I thought what level I was the number [Lvl. 1] floated to the forefront of my mind. If this was a game then its true that I haven¡¯t really done anything to gain EXP.

    Day 8:

    This morning I saw the trio leave the main cave dressed and carrying the results of yesterdays craft project.

    Goburou is now wearing armour made by tying his collection of looted horns together around him, its really rustic chain mail. He¡¯s also carrying two of the largest horns from his spoils. So he¡¯s now dual wielding.

    Gobukich¡¯s torso is protected by a curais of solid wood.

    It took them ages to hollow out the stump they found and fit it to him but he seems comfortable wearing it and it certainly would offer great protection against those Horned Rabbit lunges. In his hands is a heavy club. Its about as thick as he is.

    One ends been carved to allow a better grip but he¡¯s seriously going to use it with one hand?

    No. looks like its does require two hands to wield properly.

    Gobumi, unlike the two boys, is still dressed in the light rag dress like some of the other females but what she¡¯s carrying is a stick with a scraps of fur and plant vines but I heard her enthuesastically thank Goburou for her new sling staff, so who am I to judge.

    Instead with the rain off it¡¯s time I got myself out hunting.

    The grounds a little wet and muddy in places but I don¡¯t think that will hinder me.

    The first problem is breakfast. The nuts and berries I usually eat to start my day are covered in mud. Eating the ones that are on the ground seemed safer because I reasoned they were ripe enough to fall from the plant.

    I pick up a few of the better looking ones and head off. The dry river bed had a small stream trickling through it, just enough to wash my nuts in.

    After a light meal it¡¯s onto the more pressing concern of arming myself.

    Luckily at this stage a couple of other goblins pass me carrying sticks.

    They disappear into another bush only for one of them to come running out. Followed by the other one a second later.

    The second goblin gets a few steps out of the undergrowth and then collapse.

    The first doesn¡¯t even look back.

    After a few minutes of staring apprehensively at the bush, ready to run for my own life, I creep slowly towards the downed goblin. As I draw closer I can see that he¡¯s not breathing. Taking his stick weapon, which had fallen from his grasp when he collapsed, I gave him a couple of pokes.

    He was well and truly dead.

    A little blood dribbled from two small holes in his calf as I said a quick prayer and backed out slowly, still holding his weapon.

    I tried hunting horned rabbits but every time I leapt at them they bounded away in fright. None seem as blood thirsty as that first one I met.

    Defeated and a little deflated I returned to the cave to rustle up some grubs for tea.

    The familiar scene of Gobukichi regaling a group of goblins with his tales of the hunt greeted me. Seems I came in just as he was finishing.

    ¡°¡­ Even though we caught 3 Night Vipers, 1 Seven Coloured Bat and 2 Armoured Tanuki. I went and hunted a Horned Rabbit by myself.¡±

    He puffed out his chest with pride.

    ¡°Yeah, well we also caught a horned rabbit.¡± ¡°Us to.¡± ¡°They¡¯re seriously delicious.¡±

    The circle erupted with statements like that, I slipped past and curled up in my blanket. Goburou was sitting squeezing what looked like a snake head over his horn dagger. The acrid smell  of the venom drifted my way.

    I guess that¡¯s what killed that goblin.

 Chapter 3: Day 9 - 13

    Day 9:

    Once more it¡¯s a torrential downpour outside.

    I can just imagine the small dry river bed stream swelling under this deluge. Several of goblins are pacing around nervously. Are they that restless to go out and hunt or is there a real danger from flooding. You would tell us wouldn¡¯t you Gobujii?

    Gobukichi is one of those moving restlessly, he¡¯s got that hungry look in his eye and is drooling slightly.

    That reminds me its about time I ate.

    I grab a quick grub from the back of the cave before heading back to the area I sleep most nights. I guess compared to me those that have tasted actual meat get the craving for more.

    The older goblins are busying themselves with tidying the cave, the elders have disappeared again and only Goburou and Gobumi seem to not care about hunting. They¡¯re both sitting cross legged sewing.

    ¡°We not going hunting today?¡±

    ¡°Look how hard its rainy. Just go eat some bugs or something.¡±

    Sorry gobukichi you can¡¯t have any of mine. Nope not even if you look at me like that.

    Ok fine, they''re over there.

    I point to where I found my meal and he lumbers off, Gobumi gives a little chuckle at the whole scene causing Goburou to look up but it was over already so he goes back to his needle point.

    Some of the older goblins told us about some of the basic plants and things around here that can be useful, especially the medicinal ones. The thing he¡¯s currently holding is one of them; [Steel Grass]. We were warned to be careful not to step on it as although it looks like grass it is very hard and sharp.

    Perfect to use like a needle.

    The other thing he¡¯s got is some more of the vines from last time; [Slender Ivy].

    Not the best thing probably to use as thread but its sturdy enough to hold and if you use the inner core of it then it becomes thin enough to do delecate needle work.

    Currently he¡¯s sewing some of the spoils of yesterday¡¯s hunt onto his original horn mail shirt.

    With the shell pelt and the horn the improvements are quickly finished, it did seem to take some trial and error to get the pieces to sit right though. He has created an interesting example of lamellar armour, given how the shell is layered. After an hour or two the remaining loose shells have been tacked to a rough square-ish hewn board of wood with a simple strap on the back.

    The shield, which is apparently what it is, is given to Gobukichi who after returning from digging up some grub ecstatically accepts. He spent the rest of the day having other goblins take turns hitting it until Goburou told him to stop.

    I heard that he¡¯s now able to swing that club from before with one hand. What sort of muscle brain is he!

    Not to be left out Gobumi was gifted with a fine dress of snake skin. It also shimmers with a prismatic shine when she moves. Gobrou also gave her a necklace of small fangs. So theres even types like that in other worlds eh?

    She was delighted and spent the rest of the day giggling to herself while doing small piroets.

    So they¡¯ve all upgraded their equipment successfully. Just makes me realise how incredible that Goburou guy is. Guess I¡¯m a little jealous.

    As he and the others munch on some bugs I slip off to another room to practice with my stick a little.

    Day 10:

    The weather cleared up so everyone was able to rush out to hunt again.

    When it rains even the prey is drive away so if they had gone out yesterday they would have found nothing and would''ve just ended coming back wet and cold.

    The super armour trio headed off immediately.

    The rest watched them go with sparkling eyes. I guess their armour is kind of cool in a barbarian kind of way.

    One of the other goblins wondered how to become as strong as they were and the always on hand, fountain of wisdom, Gobujii told us.

    ¡°Goburou has probably the highest level out of all of you and by that I mean he¡¯s the strongest. Maybe one day he will even have the potential to [Rank Up] but there are many strong creatures in the forest that can easily kill a goblin.¡±

    He went on to explain that point to those that missed his earlier lecture before adding in some new facts.

    ¡°Once you reach lvl.100 most goblins who can [Rank Up] become hobgoblins and then maybe even ogres but both of those can become other things. If you become accomplished you can evolve into a stronger race.¡±

    Leaving us to ponder that he headed back into the cave.

    Most of the others nodded quietly to themselves and then headed off to hunt however I¡¯m a bit worried though.

    For two reasons. First Gobujii said that rank up ony happens if you have the potential to continue growing and can show acomplishemtnes. I haven¡¯t really done anything of note since I was reborn thought. The second is that when I think about my level the same [Lvl. 1] floats in my mind.

    I definetly have a long way to go before I reach 100.

    I headed home after another failed day of hunting.

    It¡¯s not all doom and gloom though, I think I may be getting more proficient with my stick or at least I¡¯m not dropping it as much when I swing it.

    The rest of the den seems to have done ok though.

    Each day the top three keep bringing back more and more food and even some of the other team¡¯s end the day with an extra rabbit carcass to eat.

    I¡¯ll try my hardest again tomorrow.

    Day 11:

    I spent the day trying, unsuccessfully, to sneak up on a horned rabbit.

    I can see why doing something like this is better done as a pair as every time I think I¡¯m getting near enough to strike it. It senses me and darts off.

    I would love to go hunting with some of the others but they¡¯ve all pretty much settled into effective partnerships. I tried in the afternoon tagging along with one of the other pairs but I kept throwing off their timing.

    I left before it became too awkward.

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    When I wondered back to the den Goburou and the other two were looking a little worse for wear and their armour was a bit scratched but still grinning merrily. Or at least gobukichi and gobumi were. Apparently they had defeated a colonies worth of seven-coloured Bats in a cave not too far from our own

    Apart from those three and a couple of others there was a strange atmosphere in the cave this evening. I ate a couple of bugs and watched as some of the goblins from my generation grumbled while eating bugs.

    Gobujii was chastising a late comer, explaining to him about the dangers of being out past sundown.

    Words like Hind Bear, Triple Horned Horse and Slime were emphasised and echoed in the chamber.

    A larger than usual group were huddled in the corner talking to a couple of the better hunter teams while casting furtive glances at the sleeping trio.

    I drew myself closer to the wall and wrapped the blanket around loosely.

    Day 12:

    I had just drifted off when a commotion ripped me from a pleasant sleep.

    I gathered with the rest of the goblins to find Gobrou standing over the defeated bodies of six other goblins. Weapons were scattered about the floor and the one Goburou held was slick with a thick liquid. It was thicker than blood so I guessed maybe it was poison.

    Because one of the attackers lay there with a nasty hole in his side and foam on his lips.

    No one said anything until a green blur jumped on one of the assaulted goblins. Gobrou had just finished some form of treatment when it discended upon its head.

    The image of Gobumi clawing at that poor goblin I will never forget.

    Even Gobrou seemed slightly apologetic as he tried to pull her off.

    He covered her face with his hand and after a few moments her body went limp, a couple of the ones beside me grew a bit nervous until we saw her chest rise and fall.

    He put her to bed surprisingly gently, then without a fuss dragged off the dead goblin.

    There was a look in his eyes that caused us to make way for him.

    After he left the crowd dispersed, from the palpable fear there would be no other action tonight. I made my way back to where I slept only to almost trip over the still sleeping form of Gobukichi. He seriously slept through it all.

    Day 13:

    No one said much after last night.

    Only pretending to wake up after the trio left.

    I headed out again on my own, even though we¡¯ve lost two more members I still can¡¯t find a partner. It¡¯s strange but some of the others also look like they''re thinner than I remember.

    My usual berry bushes have been picked clean as have all the nuts and easy to reach fruit.

    After a little searching I managed to find a beetle looking thing under a rotting log. By this stage I can¡¯t be a fussy eater so it became lunch. After which I got as close to a horned rabbit as I¡¯ve come in the last few days.

    It still escaped but I¡¯m looking forward to next time o'' noble prey.

    I had just returned to the den when Goburou, Gobukichi and Gobumi strode in and dumped a large haul of animal carcasses on the ground at everyone¡¯s feet. I didn¡¯t know what to think until Goburou commanded.

    ¡°Eat!¡±

    Hesitantly at first the surrounding goblins moved slowly but after the smell of fresh meat got to them they descended like ravanish beasts.

    I managed to help myself to several legs of rabbit and a few sour berries.

    I don¡¯t know why but Gobukichi smells like pork.

    What had happened last night seems to be the culmination of a few days brought to a head by them bringing back another successful hunt yesterday. Because by now all the strong and smart goblins have left the den, guess its just instinct at work, leaving only those to slow and stupid to hunt.

    There are a few capable bodies left but they¡¯re little better than the rest.

    I listened to the sobbing explainations of several goblins as I tucked into another carcass. Meat is justice. The juices, the flavours. How did I ever think I could live on bugs. Now that I¡¯ve tasted this theres no way I could go back.

    It¡¯d be impossible.

    Anyway to force Goburou and party to secure food for them they thought to use their superior numbers to threaten him. He¡¯s got a look on his face that seems to say, ¡®Only this time¡¯ but he¡¯s surrounded by teary eyed goblins earnestly thanking him so I don¡¯t know what¡¯ll happen.

    Even I got swept you in the moment and with streaming tears and a mucus face gave him a hug.

    Once all the food had gone he sat us down and started to explain how to effectively hunt horned rabbits.

    There were still a few hours of light left as we eagerly dashed out of the cave after his lesson, somehow waving my stick wildly above my head I was in the middle of the pack which split off in all different directions as soon as we hit the bushes.

    Goburou also taught us what signs we should be looking for when hunting; tracks, game trails, scat etc. his method also relies on distraction, surprise and ambush tactics. To think this all came from the mind of a being no more than two weeks old

    With what I already knew of the forest surroundings and what he taught us tonight the best I can do is this:

    - Wait up a tree on a known route and pounce on anything that comes along.

    As the sun slipped over the horizon I returned to the cave, broken stick in hand, completely defeated.

    Unlike me however most of the others had a fresh rabbit kill clutched tightly next to their chests, one even had a rabbit in each hand but when they presented them to Goburou as tribute.

    ¡°Ah, today I don¡¯t need them any so distribute them amongst everybody.¡±

    He said it all with a straight face, I noticed a small smile but nothing more. This is definitely the ¡®carrot¡¯ but who am I to complain after having awoken to the joys of meat.

 Chapter 4: Day 14 - 17

    Day 14:

    Commotion this morning as two strange creatures appeared right in the middle of our sleeping area.

    They were about the size of the average teenager, one had the same shade of green skin as we goblins while the others was black. They both had a full head of hair and looked very human like.

    Some of the older goblins were inching towards the treasure room, hopefully they were going for some of the weapons stored there, myself and the rest of the awake goblins made a move to slowly grab our weapons as well.

    We were all almost ready to go when

    ¡°Are you really Goburou??¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah, more or less ¡­?¡±

    The green asked the black one.

    As soon as they heard that the tension in the room eased, I can sort of see it now. The na?ve look on the green ones face. Yup, if you squint you can tell its Gobukichi. So this is the result of [Rank Up].

    We had calmed down a bit but Gobujii almost had a heart attack when he saw the two.

    Still stunned he started to rattle off explanations to all of Goburou¡¯s questions but most of it was just him babbling. The basics of it seemed to be that the two of them had cleared the conditions to become Hobgoblins and because they look so close to humans, many choose to live in human settlements though most end up there as slaves.

    The differences in skin tone is probably because Goburou is a Blessed variant species.

    There seems to be some special types of [Rank Up]¡¯s and sometimes you can gain the Blessing of one or more of this worlds Gods.

    The last interesting thing the elder said before he went for a rest was that out of our parent¡¯s generation only three goblins became hobgoblins and it usually takes a lot longer to do so.

    He left still shaking his head in disbelief.

    Most of the others goblins had gotten over the initial shock and headed out to hunt while me and Gobumi stayed to listen in. She looks a little saddened to have been left behind.

    I left myself just as Gobukichi gave a wide grin.

    The sound of the two sparring echoed down the cavern, Gobumi was sitting quietly stitching some new clothes.

    The first thing I had to do was get myself a new weapon after a failed ambush yesterday cost me my last one.

    I was surprised to find how long it took in the forest till I found a decent branch. I was just getting a feel for it when a bush to my right shook violently and out leapt a Horned Rabbit.

    Unfortunately I was already in a good position just to knock it out of the park.

    My branch caught it in the side of the head and I felt the subtle caving of its skull a moment after impact. I punted the poor creature into the thick trunk of a nearby tree which ended it with a satisfying squelch.

    I held down the urge to fist pump just long enough to collect my trophy: my first kill.

    Playing back the image in my mind it occurred to me that the critter wasn¡¯t lunging at me but rather leaping away from something.

    Prize in one hand, stick in the other I moved some of the obscuring leaves out of the road a little. My heart froze as I caught a glimpse of those smooth black scales. There was a slight hiss as I slowly lowered the leaf curtain and fled for my life.

    When I stopped running and my heart beat had returned to normal I found myself back at the cave.

    As I was already here I decided I may as well call it a day.

    Like the others I offered part of my kill to Goburou, everyone was doing it so... peer pressure, before eating the rest.

    He seemed a little dissatisfied that all they were bringing him was Horned Rabbit. Meats meat don¡¯t be picky. As a Hobgoblin and the most powerful person in the cave he has been granted the right to use anything in the treasure room.

    Anything!

    After hitting the skull with a rock a few times finally I had a horn knife of my own.

    [Gobuiro has acquired [Medium Animal Horn]]

    But it would definitely be my back up weapon, everyone else seems to be developing their own habits and styles. I passed the afternoon savioring the flavour and watching the two Hobgoblins model the upgraded armour they had made. Even Gobumi got a slightly gaudy top of seven coloured bat wing leather.

    I definetly need to get myself some protection.

    Day 15:

    The horn knife hanging from my ragged loincloth seems to be a symbol, like a rite of passage, as today I got invited to accompany a couple other Goblins from my generation on their hunt.

    They each only had one horn knife and are similarly dressed in rags.

    I guess we are the weakest of the group.

    But when I checked my level it was at least sitting at [Lvl. 13]. Just goes to show you how weak I was before if a single lowly rabbit could boost me 12 levels. No wonder those two who have been eating Horned Rabbits since day 4 were able to rank up so quickly.

    The other Goblins in the group are all male but I¡¯ve seen them around and they''re all decent guys.

    Our bachelor circle passed the trio on their way to hunt as well. Decked out in their new improved armour. Goburou had a face of focused determination, Gobukichi looked like he was about to explode with a big grin across his face and Gobumi gave us a polite smile and nod as they disappeared deeper into the forest then I¡¯d even thought to go.

    The guys and I tightened our resolve and after a couple hours, several failed ambushes and a few minor scraps we were rewarded with two horned rabbits. We shared one and kept the other as we decided to go after a third.

    That evening we gave Goburou a whole horned rabbit, the other we ate amongst ourselves.

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    One of the other groups even managed to take down an armoured tanuki. There was the promise of armour to motivate us as the cave filled with the delightful smell of cooked meat.

    I noticed Goburou was using a flame at the end of his finger to grill some of the meat. When did he learn magic!

    It¡¯s impossible to catch up to that guy by now isn¡¯t it?

    Near him Gobumi was nibbling on a freshly charred rabbit¡¯s foot and Gobukichi was arm wrestling several goblins at once. They seem in high spirits but apparently today Gobukichi pulverised something called a Kobold. His ridiculous strength is scary. The wooden club has menacing looking dry blood stains on it. Scary!

    After they went to sleep the rest of us gathered together to have a meeting.

    They have their own private area away from us goblins so we wouldn¡¯t disturb them with our chatter.

    Day 16:

    The results of our meeting last night was this.

    We prostrated ourselves at Goburou¡¯s feet and begged him to teach us more about the Art of Killing. While I¡¯m not against it as there is a correct time and place for a sincere dogeza. Thankfully one of the few female goblins was chosen to represent us.

    Us your feminine charms.

    After a few moments of face down silence I heard him speak. Truly it was only to set the terms but that was a huge step forward.

    Good job Gobue, good job.

    With negotiations complete he gathered us round and began something that can only be called Spartan Style Hell Training. He asked if we were ready and when we nodded he leapt at the nearest goblin and gave him a light judo throw. Seeing the smile on his face I suddenly realised that this was the long awaited ¡®stick¡¯ and tried to back away as a barrage of punches and kicks were dished out at an Goblin in range.

    A heavy hand landed on my shoulder and I turned in horror to see Gobukichi, who just gave me a look that said ¡®you ate the meat too¡¯ before giving me a small shove. Unfortunately he still doesn¡¯t seem to be able to control his new strength well as I practically flew into Goburou.

    I was quickly put into a camel clutch and could do nothing but tap out.

    Every time I did he would loosen his hold until the moment I relaxed before tightening it again.

    After several minutes of this he let me down and I watched from a heap on the floor as he continued his assault. Any that tried to escape he hit from behind, some got well placed mid kicks and the few brave or foolish enough to try to attack were easily countered.

    But he didn¡¯t discriminate and soon enough male and female Goblins, as well as both Gobumi and Gobukichi were groaning on the floor.

    The demon gave a triumphant look and headed off.

    He said something about making us armour or getting us dinner, maybe both but I couldn¡¯t tell as the blood was pumping in my ears and my sight was blurry.

    Near us Gobumi was proudly show off her cute clothes and necklace, the other females were praising it as she blushed with pride to which they all started to giggle. Ah, that innocence I can feel it healing my soul.

    I think I blacked out because when I came to there were several piles of meat near us. Some of those awake were already trying to crawl towards it. Inch by inch I joined them, every part of my body hurt like hell and the delicious meat is so far away. Goburou you demon!!

    Day 17:

    I was woken by the mournful cries of something in an incredible amount of pain. Surprisingly my joints didn¡¯t hurt as much. Is this the curing power of meat or cuteness?

    When I eventually joined everyone else we found Gobujii cradling one of the corpses in the treasure room. It seems all of them passed away in the course of the night. Guess until we find more this will be the last generation. Calmly Goburou took charge of the deceased, he directed those of us awake to collect as much fire wood as possible. Looks like he¡¯ll be cremating the bodies.

    It was a sombre mood in the cave, death is always a difficult thing but most of the males my age seemed more despondent about never getting to use them. My bachelor circle colleagues especially so. A couple of the older female Goblins tried to comfort Gobujii but he just wept,

    ¡°N-not the same, not the s-same.¡±

    He was really broken up about it.

    When Goburou passed me in tunnel he had a serene expression on his face. The next thing I heard was a loud cry of surprise.

    ¡°Ehhhhhhhhhh!!!¡±

    I guess he just caught a glimpse of Gobumi.

    Seems during the night she also ranked up into a regular Hobgoblin. When I passed her this morning she was trying to find some clothes that still fit.

    She has the maturing body of a JK.

    Gobukichi didn¡¯t seem nearly as shocked but I wonder how much gets passed that muscle brain.

    To take their minds off of our lose I gathered the guys and we hit the forest. It was a rewarding day and we returned that evening with three Horned Rabbits and even an Armoured Tanuki. During the day we managed to knock a couple of small birds out the sky and they served as lunch.

    When we placed the spoils down to ask if Goburou could skin them from us I noticed that his latest craftwork was of a surprisingly high quality.

    I¡¯ll settle for just a decent set though.

    He tossed what we brought him onto the pile of other kills next to what looked like a half finished shell sword.

    Or long stick with shells tied to its length. He caught me looking and scowled at it so I guess it was a failed project.

 Chapter 5: Day 18 - 20

    Day 18:

    This morning¡¯s Spartan training was even tougher, I guess because we missed yesterday¡¯s daily practice.

    Still sore after our own hunt I watched the ¡®Boss¡¯ bring back quite the haul. I mean before he¡¯s taken in the odd pick axe or rusty short sword but today they came in with several full pouches, a couple of long swords and several decent pieces of actual leather armour.

    The jewel in the crown however is the short bow that Gobumi is hugging.

    I cast a glance at my own inadequate weapons; a cracking stick and a blunted horn.

    Don¡¯t get me wrong they¡¯ve served me well and I¡¯ve been more confident during my hunts because of them but I¡¯m just a little jealous. He¡¯s already experienced a [Rank Up], he can use magic and we wields one of the better swords I¡¯ve seen. It¡¯s like he¡¯s the protagonist or something.

    All I can do is work harder tomorrow and hope it pays off; [Lvl. 38] so it has been so far.

    Day 19:

    After today¡¯s training was over I tried to catch him in his room before he headed out.

    Instead he was in the treasure room meticulously sorting one pile of trash into two piles of trash. After steeling myself I asked him if there was any weapon I could have. It was a little presumptuous but hopefully my eagerness would pay off. After thinking a moment he tossed the remains of his shell sword experiment at me.

    All that was left was the stick used as the central core since he had salvaged all the shell from it to complete some of the other armour he was tinkering with but even that was a most welcomed gift.

    I¡¯ll make sure to hunt something worthy as thanks.

    I headed back to the main cave and found a suitable rock to sharpen my horn knife against. When I was done it was honed to an extremely sharp but brittle point.

    One of the guys from our small group wants to go out and try to improve his tracking skills.

    My day was mostly filled with following tacks and sign in the dirt while he examined scat and broken branches for any sign of recent activity. Around midday we lucked out and found the trail of a horned rabbit.

    The litter of small circular pellet droppings and nibbled grass stalks were still fresh. Another large indicator was the still running sap on the truck of the tree where it had scrapped its horn to mark its territory or possibly to sharpen its horn.

    With new purpose we silently moved along following its sign.

    Eventually coming to a glade in which we found the largest Horned Rabbit we had ever seen.

    It wasn¡¯t ridiculously sized like a large dog or person, no in fact it was more just like a larger version of the usual ones we find. If I had to I¡¯d guess it was around two and a half feet in length from head to fluffy tail.

    It was fairly heavy set and we were salivating just watching it.

    What deterred us from rushing it straight was the imposing 60cm spiral horn.

    ¡°Gobuiro you go that way while I sneak round from behind.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Is it weird I don¡¯t know his name? In fact I don¡¯t know the names of most of the goblins back at the cave den, that¡¯s definetly weird, right?

    Carefully I pick my way round the gargantuan pest to the left while Gobu(??) creeps up on it from behind. I don¡¯t exactly know what went wrong but as I leap out all of a sudden, he¡¯s flying backward into the bushes, leaving me exposed and vulnerable.

    The big bunny levels its horn my way and makes a charge.

    Unlike what we normally face this one has the size and mass to be a threat even if I avoid its pointy part. Gripping my new stick in two hands I slap the horn sideways, with a very poor excuse for a parry.

    As you may expect the rabbits head also snapped sideways, throwing off its charge long enough for me to barely dodge. Thanks to the training I rolled out of the way and was quickly in a position to defend myself.

    The brute shook its head and lined up for another run, the menacing horn pointed straight at me. From the bush behind it a green blur jumped on its back and clamped down. My compatriot had evidently found his second wind. As he was struggling on the bucking beast I realised he had no weapon.

    His horn knives and stick had been knocked from him during flight and even if he still had them it was taking both hands just to stay on and he wouldn¡¯t last much longer. The actual killing blow was up to me.

    I discard my stick, it¡¯s insufficient for landing that sort of hit unless I had Gobukichi¡¯s stupid strength, and draw my freshly sharpened horn knife from my waist band. Gripping it with whitening knuckles I circle around the beast, jabbing at it while looking for an opening, but it keeps me away with a swing of its own horn or a pitch of its body.

    The hold of its rider loosens a little more with each violent action.

    Unexpectedly it rears up onto its hind legs, throwing my hunting buddy off in the process, and with a powerful kick of those muscly limbs it makes a lunge at me. Easily clearing the distance with a good foot of air under it.

    At first it looks like it over shot but the realisation that it doesn¡¯t want to impale me sets in. The brute wants to crush me with a flying body press.

    In trying to take an evasive step back I end up on my backside just as the fluffy mass descends.

    I feel the air forced out of my lunges as it impacts, its body tenses and a moment later the mass pining me down slackens.

    ¡°You alive?¡±

    ¡°Barely. You?¡±

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    He was little more than bruised, a couple of his ribs hurt but that was about it.

    With considerable effort he managed to get himself under the lump and lever it up enough for me to drag myself out. It took the two of us just to flip it over.

    There sticking out of its chest was my horn knife.

    When it landed on me the point had gone straight up into its heart. A clean hit.

    Somehow between us we managed to crate our kill back to the den, going through the dense forest with something of that size and not being attacked was a miracle. It took both hands so I carried my stick between my teeth.

    Unfortunately even after all our hard work.

    ¡°The gesture alone is enough.¡±

    ¡°You sure?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Rejected. It was a little disappointing. After snagging one of the legs each I removed its horn and put the rest in the new communal pile.

    [Gobuiro has acquired [Medium Animal Horn]]

    When I tried to remove the one in its heart I found that it had cracked and snapped.

    Seems I wasn¡¯t the only one with who got an upgrade today

    With his heavy wooden club strapped to his back and his head crammed into a shell reinforced helmet Gobukichi was now sporting a proper breast plate on top of light leather clothes. The iron round shield strapped to his arm didn¡¯t seem to hinder him as he cleaned the blood of off a rustic battle axe.

    The epitome of a tank.

    Gobumi as well boasted an impressive upgrade to her arsenal from what I could see as she diligently skinned another carcass with the crude black knapped blade, the unlatched sheath of an actual forged blade lay near her and from the deft way she was handling the work I can say I definitely don¡¯t want to upset her.

    Propped against the wall by her side were two crossbows.

    This must be spoil from the treasure room, isn¡¯t it nice to have privilege.

    Which reminds me Goburou was wearing proper leather armour today. It had a belt and everything. Looking down at my ratty lion cloth I felt a pang of jealousy.

    Actually this seems more like a meritocracy.

    Day 20:

    ¡°Hah!¡± ¡°Hah!¡±

    The cave echos with the unified chorse of our morning training.

    It¡¯s pretty intimidating to see all the goblins of my generation lined up in rows doing sets of punches and kicks. It¡¯s more like a monster dojo. The two Hobgoblins are at the front training with us and Goburou is stalking the aisles correcting stances, demonstrating proper technique and punishing slackers.

    If I had known my reincarnation was going to be this tough I would have definitely come prepared.

    He¡¯s smiling contently while giving the occasional ¡®Hm hm.¡¯ Guess that face means that by his standards we should be at least up to this point. The expressions on the surrounding Goblins are all serious and focused thanks to his policy of: Adapt or Die.

    Not that he would ever out rightly kill us for being weak, he doesn¡¯t strike me as that type but as they say it takes pressure to make diamonds.

    After a light spar, in which he was the only one left standing, they suited up and left.

    Gobukichi the tank, Gobumi the sniper and, sporting a wrought iron gauntlet; small buckler and a pair of sturdy estocs, Goburou the swordsman.

    I can¡¯t help but think from my position on the floor that the difference between us and them is like heaven and earth, a few of those that have already recovered get right back to sparring. I lay there panting while staring at the ceiling.

    Like this I¡¯m no good huh?

    Once I could feel my limbs again I found a quiet corner of the cave and spent the rest of the day swinging my stick and doing a bit of self-training. I tried not to do too much in case I picked up any weird habits that I¡¯m sure Goburou would delight in fixing. I shuddered at the thought.

    Food wise I still had a bit of yesterdays tucked away in my bed roll, the trick is to stay near it to deter thieves.

    From my corner I watched the trio return from several trips and by my count they brought back; 10 Night Vipers, 14 Armoured Tanukis, 5 Kobolds plus equipment and an assortment of small game and flora.

    Just shows what a proper weapon can do in the right hands.

    Because they had brought back so much they took a break in the afternoon. While Gobukichi polished his shield and punched out any small dent, Goburou buried himself in a book but I couldn¡¯t even read the title so I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s about.

    He just kept furrowing his brow and looking frustrated.

    It must be nice to have that kind of free time. Some of the Goblins are helping Gobumi prepare the meat, most of the females are there. They look like gossiping housewives.

    After I finished my last bit of jumbo bunny I grabbed my stick and headed out.

    That night I brought back an armoured tanuki.

    It was less trouble then the large horned rabbit but its tough shell covered hide can really take a beating, especially from a simple hick stick. It also has some powerful endurance. In the end I had to use the stick to flip it over before driving my short horn sword (large horn knife) through the area of its underbelly where the shells met.

    Unfortunately as it wasn¡¯t a fully encompassing shell trying to turtle it provide difficult, it could self-right with very little effort.

    It took me five flips to get the timing down to stab at it.

 Chapter 6: Day 21 - 25

    Day 21:

    All around me the Goblins of my generation have gotten stronger and faster over the past few days, even me. I put it down to the intense training regime we¡¯re undertaking.

    That damn Goburou is too amazing.

    Even most of the older goblins look up to him, full of fear and awe. It¡¯s like he¡¯s truly become the reliable leader of our little community and with the results and his astounding growth who could blame them.

    The training session today was short but the individual spar went on longer due to the marked improvement in the endurance and technique of us Goblins. We¡¯re still no match for Gobumi (to fast) or Gobukichi (to strong) and thankfully Goburou doesn¡¯t assault us every day.

    So it¡¯s nice to see the improvement.

    While it¡¯s not official the general consensus seems to be you can only leave that days training if you win a spar. Some of the Goblins that won earlier are already coming back from a successful hunt.

    I was watching from the side lines, waiting for my turn, when a badly wounded Goblin staggered in. He was bleeding from several small cuts on his body but had a massive grin plastered on his face.

    When he made it in far enough he suddenly shouted.

    ¡°Goburou. I did it!¡±

    He held his arms a loft and we all saw the characteristic sleek shiny scales of a Night Viper as he presented his trophy. The match stopped amidst hushed whispers as Goburou took the dead snake from him by the head and checked the Goblins wounds. Satisfied there was nothing serious and that he wasn¡¯t poisoned he ripped the head off and handed the Goblin back the snake¡¯s body.

    He didn¡¯t say anything just watched the teary Goblin devour the snake, a proud look on his face.

    Unfortunately this must have motivated him because he jumped straight at us who were left and gave us some personal coaching. Returning Goblins were added in as they appeared. It was his complete victory: 38 straight wins.

    Afterwards he singled out one of the other Goblins.

    It was Gobue, who we relied on before; a dependable big sis, she seems to be coping better than some of the males with this Spartan training. They equipped her in old armour and gave her some spare weapons.

    She was also loaded with a large backpack and a small field pack.

    Several of the Goblins moaned in anguish as they watched her leave; some were jealous she got to go hunting with them and some were jealous he got to hunt with two females.

    She has quite the fan base.

    I scrapped myself off the ground in time to go out and bag myself another Armoured Tanuki and two Horned Rabbits. I got back in time to see Gobue lugging a overflowing backpack into the cave.

    Seems they had a very successful day.

    Another couple of Goblins came back with Night Vipers and a group even brought back a Seven Coloured Bat.

    Day 22:

    When I heard a couple of the Goblins bragging about their strength I had a bad premonition and made sure to steer clear. It came true. I said a quick prayer as the screams of the victims of the re-education and discipline session ran through the cave. It¡¯s better to keep your head down in these sorts of circumstances.

    I split an Armoured Tanuki with Gobujii while I asked him more about this world.

    What really fascinates me is magic, it''s another world romance, but he couldn¡¯t really tell me too much. Sometimes a Goblin is born with the ability to use magic but it¡¯s very rare, even rarer than a Kobold mage apparently.

    Initially it¡¯s not something that can be taught. I didn''t understand what he meant.

    I had thought that with this weak body of mine maybe I was better suited to being a backline caster, thoughts of slinging mighty spells and decimating armies filled my dreams.

    Day 23:

    The rain kept us indoors today but we had enough food stockpiled to keep us fed for a few days so Goburou declared we would be holding a tournament.

    So began the Rainy-day Ranking Round Robin.

    Presided over by the Hobgoblin himself. Sometimes it was one on one, sometimes it was a small group and sometimes it was winner stays on either way by the end of it we all had a rough idea of everyone¡¯s strength and although the top four spots were pretty obvious, Gobue has gotten stronger while hunting with them, I was just proud of my own small accomplishment.

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    I¡¯m at least not dead last.

    I wonder if all my time eating bugs stunted my growth.

    It was a close match but my last ditch tenacity and desire to win pushed me slightly above my opponent. I was too tired to continue though and lost the next match very quickly. I¡¯ll have to put in the effort now to maintain my place in the peaking order.

    Because after our rankings were established we were sat down and were given a very comprehensive explanation of hierarchy and the new changes it would bring to the den.

    Goburous capability never ceases to surprise me, or Gobujii either for that matter.

    We spent the rest of the day getting used to the new layered structure; listen to the orders from above, 5 man squad leaders having 4 subordinates while 10 man squad leaders have 9.

    Also instead of Boss or Chief he has decided to go by Colonel.

    Gobukichi is the Lieutenant Colonel, Gobumi is the Major, while Gobue is to be the Captain. The fifth ranked is Sergeant. The squad leading Lance Corporals have yet to be decided so the rest of us are just common soldiers (Privates) at the moment. Does this world have these sorts of things??

    Day 24:

    I was distracted in my hunt by a large plume of smoke rising from the forest but my attention was too focused on my current advisory to go investigate.

    In my momentary distraction the Night Viper I had cornered lunged at me fangs baring.

    I had just enough time to twirl my stick entangling it and flicking it off to the side. It hit the ground with a dull thud but was dazed long enough for me to close the distance and bring my stick down on its skull.

    With a satisfying crack I backed off, still alert.

    After a few guarded moments I relaxed. Most of the training we receive focuses on being prepared and being able to fight defensively.

    If there had been more than one opponent in hiding it could have used my moment of triumph to strike, probably killing me without me knowing it. I followed advice we had previously been given and feeling safe I drove my horn through the serpents brain just to be sure.

    If I didn¡¯t aim carefully I could puncture its venom glands and taint the meat, we had been told to bring the dead snake back to base if we weren¡¯t sure.

    Just for peace of mind I started eating it from the tail down. The skin was a little chewy but the flesh had an outstanding texture. Looking back I can no longer understand the allure of those grubs.

    I wanted to eat more but not wanting to chance my luck I made do with some other prey.

    Tonight when we sat around listening to Gobue, this time, recount her day I felt like I could finally understand and empathise with their struggles.

    Before when I listened I felt disconnected for the community.

    Day 25:

    ¡°That was pretty good¡±

    **Huff** ¡°Really.¡± **Huff**

    I had put everything I had into throwing that last punch but he took it so easily. Seems before I wasn¡¯t putting my hips into it properly but that last one felt stronger, more powerful. The Colonel gave me a few pointers to correct my weakness but his methods are too extreme, my muscles ache and my lungs are on fire.

    I¡¯m not the only one he ¡®helps¡¯ but most of us don¡¯t need it.

    Compared to before no one has died on a hunt in a while and even if they come back injure it¡¯s generally minor and rarely life threatening.

    After catching another Armoured Tanuki and pinning it a tree trunk using my short sword I turned it into a punching bag. Its softer shelled underbelly and generous fatty meat make an excellent cushiony material to throw my fists against.

    I lowered it down to practice some kicks as well.

    By the time I was exhausted my tasty meal had got a bit wrecked but don¡¯t get me wrong I still ate heartily. It¡¯s just the presentation was a little lacking. Even as a Goblin aesthetics matter.

    I don¡¯t know what happened today but when he got back you could tell something was different. Maybe his aura or the air of authority he exuded.

    The glint in his eye told me he had something planned.

 Chapter 7: Day 26

    Day 26:

    We woke this morning to find Gobue had also ranked up. I scowled at a flummoxed Gobujii. His information about the difficulty of [Rank Up]¡¯s seems to be off.

    Either that or this generation is exceptionally talented!

    I pondered this as we were brought together. She was fidgeting with a necklace of small fangs and the rest of the Hobgoblins were already dressed in full armour, which wasn¡¯t usual but they were also already equipped with their weapons.

    As soon as we were all assembled he began splitting us into the five and ten man squads he had previously mentioned. From there we were then armoured.

    The newly chosen squad leaders were given proper leather armour and actual metal weapons. While the more numerous privates were each equipped with a simple shell reinforced board shield and a rabbit horn lashed to a stick.

    This just goes to show the difference in treatment you get if you have some talent.

    It was a simple upgrade but one I couldn¡¯t believe I hadn¡¯t thought of before; a spear. It was too obvious and would make a huge difference in combat due to its reach.

    The shield would also stand up to a few hits, I don¡¯t know how well I¡¯ll be able to utilise it but it all helps. A few of the others were given the new weight on their arm looks of concern and a few were already swinging it around trying to get a feel for it.

    We went over a basic equipment check the top brass obviously were our heavy hitters, all we had to do was follow orders and focus on staying alive. Our Colonel didn¡¯t give any rallying speeches or pep talks he just told us that history was written by the victor. Some Goblin began to bang their spear handle against their shield and soon it was picked up by all the rest.

    I could feel my blood boil, I was pumped. Mob mentality, bloodlust and adrenaline will do that to you.

    We marched from the cave in tense silence, an Orc mine on almost the other side of the forest our destination. Having never seen an Orc I can only go by my memories of them from my old life regardless of what they look they were always described as being strong. Can we really win?

    Needing to quickly crush that little seed of doubt I frantically stared around the green army looking for any sign of hope.

    I found it in the giant grin and quivering shoulders of Gobukichi. The battle junkie looked so excited by the prospect of it all, his attitude was spread to the group of Goblins assigned under him.

    In fact most of the Goblins assigned under a Hobgoblin looked confident.

    My rational mind reminded me how OP our Colonel Goburou was and that seemed to be enough. My body relaxed a little and my pre-battle jitters were dispelled.

    We didn¡¯t send out scouts but every so often Goburou would halt us and direct us around another way or have us clear something. After another stop we at the back were handed a few fresh snacks. Night Viper meat was just the perfect accompaniment to a long march.

    I guess he has some way of knowing where enemies are; no wonder they always seemed to have an easier time hunting.

    After a few hours the trees began to thin out. The ground descended gently and staggering our units we slowly picked our way down the mountain side.

    We re-gathered at the base of the mountain, there were still enough trees and bushes to provide good cover. By the time our squad arrived Gobumi and Gobue had already taken positions on branches in two tree crossbows at the ready. Goburou was surveying the area and Gobukichi was resting on a knee but still alert with his axe and shield at the ready. The rest of the Goblins were milling about but quietly attentive.

    They knew something was about to happen.

    He gave a hand signal.

    What a twang of taught string both girls loosed a single bolt into their targets before deftly reloading and drawing another bead. We were all on our feet ready and waiting, watching this unfurl. From the bush I was behind I watched as several green figures scurried out of the scrub on either side of the clearing ahead, picked up two heavy objects and half lifted half dragged them back under cover and out of sight.

    After a few moments we began our advance, stealthily through the treeline.

    As we drew level with the edge of the clearing the body of a rough skinned pig faced monster came into view; an Orc. It looked as I had imagined minus the arrow lodged in its throat and the multitude of stab wounds to its torso but it smelled worse than I could have dreamed of.

    When we met with the advanced party Goburou gave another signal and the two snipers and the few goblins posted as rear guard moved forward to join us.

    Given the recovered spear by its side and the crude leather armour it¡¯s safe to assume that it was some sort of guard and that from here on out is the Orcs territory. Its body was about the size of a Hobgoblin, around twice my size both tall and wide but surprisingly that seemed to be more muscle than fat.

    With a nod he led us into battle.

    We broke cover as one large mass, a green spearhead ready to fight.

    Goburou marched in front with Gobukichi behind and slightly to the left, Gobumi was on his right and Gobue was shielded behind Gobukichi. Followed by our rabble.

    Their mountain hold slowly came into view, half the hillside was terraced like an open cast mine but I could also see the entranceway to a mine shaft presumably leading deeper into the hillside. There were three Orcs on the hillside, the sound of their picks on stone slowly died away as our force approached. They were dressed in slightly better rags than I was wearing but it didn¡¯t do any good as the furthest and the middle one were taken out. Effortlessly.

    As Gobumi and Gobue were reloading the third made an attempt to take them out.

    There was a moment where his beady eyes drifted between which of the girls to choose. The one shielded by the wall of armour or the other one. Decision reached, his eyes darted to Gobumi and he ran a wide arc but Goburou didn¡¯t even flinch. He knew he didn¡¯t have to, as soon as the Orc drew close he was assailed by a barrage of spear thrusts from the Goblin flank that moved to cover her.

    That was all the resistance we encountered on the way to the entrance to the tunnel.

    In an instant we were engaging the enemy. The four man squad under Gobumi and the four man squad under Gobue set up. One set dropped to a knee and formed a straight line shield wall while the others levelled their spears over the shields creating an arcing kill zone

    Secure behind them the two Hobgoblins began to unload as many shots as fast as possible into the onslaught before helping any Goblin in trouble with a well-placed strike.

    The Goblins under Gobukichi raised a fierce cry and barrelled into the enemy like their leader.

    The ten men squads that were left spread out to engage the oncoming orcs, Goburou was like a reaper on the battlefield. He was commanding us while at the same time battling individuals, skilfully warding and harassing them with his now blood slickened estocs.

    Sparks flew every time his gauntlet deflected a blade.

    A bellow from deep in the cavern froze my blood, from the deeper darkness emerged a large orc in sturdy half plate armour. He was charging forward with his intimidating halberd at the head of another wave of pig faced men wielding picks and an assortment of other weapons.

    With a rallying high pithed squeal he galvanised the orcs.

    Gobukichi took up the challenge and dashed to intercept but with a heavy swing of the halberd he was swatted out of the way as the flat of the head slammed into his iron shield.

    Before I had to deal with my first orc I saw Goburou leaping at the Orc leader with a devious grin.

    The first Orc to reach me was dressed in sweat stained ragged clothes, he came in swinging his pick wildly from side to side. It took all my focus just to dodge his mad pitches.

    While he was focused on me he missed the two spears that stuck him from either side.

    With a squeal he dropped to his knees. An arrow to the head dropped him.

    My associates moved onto other targets while I took a moment to catch my breath, I almost missed the short sword swung at my head.

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    After my first new world hair cut I rolled away and got my  shield raised in time to block another couple of strikes, my spear harried the leather armoured Orc¡¯s shins long enough to allow me to get back on my feet.

    He snorted at me defiantly as I raised my shield defensively.

    I¡¯ve never tried swing a spear one handed but I need the other just for my blocker. Block; parry; dodge; block. He¡¯s got more experience than I do against opponents. I¡¯ve yet to try stabbing this guy but my arms are getting heavy, my breathing ragged and my movements slower. Killing an animal and killing something vaguely human are two different thing entirely but its survival of the fittest; kill or be killed.

    I know this but I just can¡¯t do it!

    Sensing my resolve weaken he pressed forward, meaty fingers grasped the edge of my shield board, I could feel his hot acrid breath. With a grunt he tried to wrench the meagre defence free. It was a gamble but the brute was too focused on crushing the annoyance then on thinking.

    My shield arm was thrown wide opening up my guard and exposing my chest, as it raised up its sword my mind went blank.

    Instinct, or maybe all that training, took over and I executed a thrust of my spear faster than he could swing his sword. It was shallow but the horn digging into his opposite shoulder caused the blade in his left hand to falter.

    He responded with a heavy kick that knocked me away.

    Tumbling over and over on the rough dirt ground, my head was spinning and my world was in chaos. I had lost the grip on my spear and the arm strap on my shield had broken in the exchange.

    With a sharp motion and a small spurt of blood he yanked it out and tossed it to the ground as he calmly walked to where I had rolled to. Taking his sword in both hands he heaved it back to set up a powerful horizontal slash.

    He gave a heavy grunt as he swung the imposing honed blade at my small figure

    My back against the tunnel wall all I could do was grip the two ripped halves of the arm strap with each hand and hunkered down behind it. I shut my eyes tight, half from fear and half from acceptance.

    Waiting for death the world grew distant and silent.

    I felt the impact of the sword hitting the shield, then the blade digging itself in. I was forced to open my eyes as the pain I felt exploded in my mind. The grip of my right hand loosened. Slowly I made hesitant eye contact with my killer.

    My pathetic form was reflected in his eyes, he could smell my fear and it aroused him.

    As he tried to pull his weapon free something landed on his back, I felt the collision transmitted through the shield, and a moment later there was a sickening gush of something splashing against my haggard shield. I felt a hot liquid splatter on my head like light raindrops.

    The force tugging at my shield disappeared as the Orc slumped to the ground.

    On his back, in worn and scratched leather armour, was a single Goblin. His short sword was as blood soaked as the orcs throat. With one hand clutching the back of the orcs leather armour he rode it into the dirt.

    ¡°S-squad Leader?¡±

    The words barely escaped my mouth.

    Gently in took the shield from me as the adrenaline started to fade only to be replaced by another wave of pain, I clutched at my arm in excruciating agony as he cradled me.

    ¡°Goburou, Sir! His arm is barely still attached!¡±

    Don¡¯t say things like that squad leader! Really, how bad could it be?

    Through teary half scrunched eyes I peeked at the damage.

    It was horrendous. The orc¡¯s blow had cut deep into the shield meaning it had bite into my arm a fair bit but it seemed a combination of bone and wood had stopped it from completely severing the limb. The shields only had shells on the front so a slash from the side was completely unhindered.

    My body was shaking, going into shock from the horrific blood loss.

    My vision grew dark as my consciousness was fading, instead of that black pull of death what gripped my mind was a gentle, soothing warmth.

    Slowly I opened my eyes to find the larger than life face of the Colonel before me. One of his hands was wreathed in a pale glowing light. The aura of which was bathing my wound in the same pale green hue.

    The healing magic stopped the bleeding, slowly closing the gap and once he was finished he looked mildly fatigued but nodded his head with satisfaction, it was reattached securely enough that he called over some other Goblins. They bound it tightly in cloth scraps.

    The pain eased enough for me to look around.

    The tunnel was littered with the bodies of orcs, some looked like pin cushions, and broken spears. There were no Goblin bodies among them as far as I could make out.

    A few were using their spears to steady themselves but most were busying themselves with other tasks; treating the wounded with [Healing Grass] infused bandages, looting Orc equipment and transporting their stripped bodies to one pile. Even the ones from outside were added to the growing pile.

    Resting against the wall I watched a couple Goblins present Goburou with the halberd the big orc warrior had used.  After a moments contemplation he accepted it with a wry smile.

    I looked to my own weapon.

    The sturdy shell reinforced shield board lay in tatters near me. Shells were missing in places and hanging loose in others. A sizeable V shaped notch was cut deep into it, that single strike had almost split us both in two.

    My horn tipped spear on the other hand was gone.

    It had been completely broken in the scuffle that ensued around us after he had removed it from his shoulder and cast it away.

    By now most of everything had been collected into several piles in front of mine entrance, near them a strange structure of fresh branches had been constructed. Under which the ragged sweat stained clothes of the orc and most of the broken arrow and spear shafts were dumped.

    Gobukichi and his squad returned with several logs and larger sticks. Closely followed by Gobue and her subordinates carrying armfuls of small and medium branches.

    With a flick of his wrist Goburou set the pile under the green wood grill on fire with a stream of flames that jetted forth from his fingertips. Once it had all caught the first few bodies parts, curtesy of Gobumi and her squad preparing the bodies, were tossed on to the primitive barbeque.

    While commenting about hoping the smell from the cloth didn¡¯t contaminate the meat Goburou rotated the hocks slowly. The smell of pork roasting filled the air as the celebration began.

    Around me goblins were comparing their wounds, cavorting merrily and generally blowing off steam.

    We were told the meat would be divided based on rank as the first large leg went to Gobukichi, it was only half cooked but it looked like he didn¡¯t mind. Goburou was overseeing the cooking but he had secured the large orc leader and several hearts for himself.

    Next Gobumi and Gobue were served, followed by the squad leaders. We who remained got what was left of the first orc divided amongst us.

    In the end I still hadn¡¯t managed to kill anything and the delicious pork tasted a bit salty and bitter.

    While I ate Goblins were dancing around intoxicated by the taste. I even saw Gobukichi splitting some of his with Gobue. Goburou polished off the whole Orc by the time we were on our fifth and every so often he would take a few shiny rocks and crunched them like hard candies. By comparison i may have only been awarded a small portion but with how many orcs there were by the end of the feast even I was full.

    With the celebration feast over we were each presented with a spoil of war as recognition of our victory.

    I, like the others of my rank, got a decent short sword.

    Some of the squad leaders got an upgrade to their weapons and those in tattered armour even got some new pieces. Their old armour was added back into the general pile. We collected it all up and began our journey home.

    On our return we split the remaining Orc meat and war stories with the older Goblins.

 Chapter 8: Day 27 - 29

    Day 27:

    Please kill me!!

    Even if the exhaustion from yesterday¡¯s battle was gone after a good night¡¯s rest and a full belly, forcing us up as soon as the sun rose to run laps on the open space by the cave is just too much Colonel.

    ¡°Aaaah~ another ten more laps.¡±

    He yawned! He seriously yawned!

    My lungs are on fire and I can¡¯t feel my arms or legs. At this stage it¡¯s just auto pilot.

    The sound of footsteps from a small group of people and some shaking bushes stopped everyone in their tracks. Gobukichi stops swinging his axe, Gobumi stops her target practice and Gobue at the head of the runners even slows her pace. Seems after yesterday everyone''s on alert.

    The Colonel looks wide awake now, drawing his estocs with a bloodthirsty grin on his face.

    Will I have time to run back and grab my weapon or will we attack unarmed?

    I was thinking just as a burly Hobgoblin wearing blood smeared good quality leather armour pushes his way casually through the undergrowth. Behind him around two dozen or so armed and armoured Goblins. I was surprised by the two other Hobgoblins in the group but the biggest surprise came from seeing the treasure they had brought back.

    Five human girls.

    Over the whispers of the others I heard Gobujii¡¯s voice

    ¡°Calm down. Those are just your parents generation back from raiding.¡±

    Then he and Goburou went off to meet the new group.

    The tension on our side was still high and the tension among the older Goblins lower halves seemed to be increasing.

    ¡°What did you say!!?¡±

    Don¡¯t know what I missed but that leader looking new Hobgoblin is gripping the Colonel by the collar roughly while Gobujii his standing between them shaking his head in a ¡®yare, yare¡¯ like fashion.

    Why¡¯s he drawing his sword?!?

    Like a match to a powder keg the tension on both sides exploded; Gobukichi is backing up Goburou with his axe out up front while the girls are covering them from further back. On the other side most of the new Goblins have drawn their own weapons and are glaring menacingly at us.

    So far it¡¯s just a pissing contest between the leaders and a staring contest between the grunts. Won¡¯t anybody stop this before it gets too far??

    ¡°Oi! Don¡¯t involve us in your personal war. To bothersome.¡±

    ¡°Seriously Annoying~¡±

    Thank you my Goddesses.

    The one who spoke up was the Hobgoblin wearing the robe and carrying a gnarled wooden staff. She¡¯s looks like a magical girl or at least the tribal Hobgoblin equivalent of one. The other Hobgoblin, also a female, chimed in behind her. As I was lost in my adoration she sorted out the mess, calming the scene and making it a one on one duel to decide the leadership of the Goblin community.

    ¡°Ahahaha, as expected of Hobusei.¡±

    The other Hobgoblin had an athletic build compared to the more indoor type vibe of the first. Their contrasting personalities actually go together quite well.

    With a well-toned, battle scarred physique of a veteran who looked like he could snap the lithe body of our boss in half, the Hobgoblin leader had stripped off his armour and was limbering up in just a dirty tank top and pants.

    Meanwhile Goburou seemed unconcerned, even as his opponent dropped into a low stance. It was evident from it that he¡¯d start with a tackle and let his superior strength finish it off.

    The rabble of new Goblins had broken out and were leisurely sitting around.

    They were taking small objects out of worn pouches. I was stunned to hear they were actually betting, they were given some good odds and if I had had the means I might have been tempted myself. On the other side our lot were quietly waiting patiently for the match to begin. The two Hobgoblins were standing near the trophy women, while Gobumi was holding Goburou¡¯s weapons.

    Gobujii, who was refereeing, signalled a start and now sooner than he did so was it over.

    Even before the other leader could start his charge, Goburous mouth opened and an ear splitting howl erupted for it. I felt the air quiver around me. That and the fierce glare in his eyes stopped Hobuken, the new leaders name going by the cheers of support from his goblins, in his tracks.

    He was quickly ensnared by some strange white fibre that poured from Goburou¡¯s fingertips before being trussed upside down from the nearest tree.

    ¡°Well then, care to give up?¡±

    Hobukens defiance was quickly silenced by another string shot before he became the Colonels personal punching bag and he wasn¡¯t pulling punches. We all watched on in stunned silence.

    Only after the body bag went limp and stopped moaning did he stop.

    Unfortunately that only happened after several large cracking sounds emerged from the cocoon. Everyone¡¯s a little shaken by the scene especially by the devilish grin he was sporting while pummelling the clearly defenceless victim.

    What a scary boss we¡¯ve got. Crap he looked this way! Of course I don¡¯t want to challenge you!!

    Satisfied he took the head of the challenger and forced a strange liquid into his mouth, Hobuken gagged because he was still upside down.

    After declaring the women off limits he left with them in tow for the deepest part of the cave.

    We cut down the ex-leader and set about rubbing a salve of [Healing Grass] into his wounds. It works better like this then as infused cloth wraps just because of the type of injury.

    That didn¡¯t take all of us so while some patched him up most everyone else returned to training and our three Hobgoblins showed the new guys around. It took several of his underlings to carry Hobuken into the cave.

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    That evening in the low flickering of torchlight I fell asleep to the sounds of women sobbing whole heartedly.

    Day 28:

    It seems after a long chat Goburou has some plans for the five captured woman but he hasn¡¯t told us yet and watching some of the older generation loitering around the treasure room is getting pathetic.

    When he did return we were told to gather up everything we could and prepare to travel

    A few goblins grabbed their weapons eagerly but he said today we¡¯re just moving house to accommodate the returners and their treasures.

    He chose ten suitable goblins and assigned them under Gobukichi. The advanced party were to travel ahead and secure the Orc mine for us to use as our new home base. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m happy or sad about not being picked as part of the vanguard.

    Those that were left weren¡¯t just waiting idly.

    Oh, no as soon as the vanguard set off me a few other lower rankers like me were fitted with backpacks and loaded up by the other goblins. When we were full the group at the next stage up from us were loaded in a similar fashion.

    In this production line like method everything in the cave was stowed away and ready to carry within the hour. My pack was cramped full of hide pelts, dried meats and herbs. Still dressed in just my dirty lion cloth but I have my ragged blanket slung over my shoulder and draped around my body.

    My new short sword is snuggly strapped to me waist and I¡¯ve been given an old shell shield and horn spear to carry, as much for convenience as practicality.

    It¡¯s a more spirited march then when we made the trip the first time.

    The five girls are huddled together in the centre of the convoy with the Hobgoblin girls guarding four points around them.

    Their hands aren¡¯t bound and they don¡¯t look submissive but still they¡¯re following us obediently.

    The small Red headed warrior looking one keeps glancing around inquisitively. Definitely not the look you¡¯d expect from someone who will be ending their days as a baby making machine.

    When we make it to the mine site we are greeted by Gobukichi, the rest of the advanced party are busy striping the bodies of several orcs, seems there was some trouble at the mine. After accepting the hearts Goburou allows the members of the advance to claim an orc each.

    To the victor goes the spoils.

    The grumbles I hear at unfairness of not being picked show just how well established this meritocratic culture is becoming. Just do your best in the future.

    Goburou left Gobujii in charge with establishing our new home and led the five girls deeper into the mine.

    While most of the others are sorting out the weaponry and sleeping arrangements, Hobgoblins and Goblins were in different places and even the Goblins were split between two rooms, Gobujii sent me to the back of the mine. I was joined by several other Goblins who were carrying the same type of supplies as me.

    I was just in time to see Goburou alter the layout of the cave with nothing more than a wave of his hand.

    Add earth magic or earth control to his list of powers. Seriously!!?

    What he¡¯s built here is the domain of the captured women. This area is the smithy, this areas the kitchen and over there is going to be an alchemy station. Further back will be there sleeping quarters but he shooed us away quickly after we dropped off our packs.

    I moved my things around till this place felt like home.

    Compared to our old one this one has quite the modern innovations. Small glowing red rocks are set into the walls to provide adequate lighting in the girl¡¯s area and some blue rocks can mysteriously produce water. The fabled magic stones.

    A larger collection of red rocks are brought together in both the kitchen and the forge sections.

    We now even have toilets, a simple pit toilet but it¡¯s still better than before. Go in a corner and cover it with sand or dig a hole outside.

    Also while being served a very tasty stew like dish, under Goburou¡¯s watchful gaze, I snuck a peek at the girls living quarters. They had simple beds; wooden framed and what looked like a mattress. Is this discrimination!

    I thought it would be difficult to sleep somewhere new but I was out before I knew it.

    Day 29:

    Training this morning was tough as usual

    I shiver ran down my spine when I heard the older generation being told they would be joining in from now on. Too bad the smile of Goburou¡¯s face didn¡¯t match his tone.

    We ran circuits to improve endurance and practiced simple drills.

    He took special joy in fixing any rebellious behaviour.

    Those that fell behind got an extra helping of push-ups while being berated. It pains me to admit it but some of them are better than I am and I got my share of added exercises.

    It didn¡¯t stop there though because that demon drill sergeant made sure to thoroughly spar with each and every one of us, most of the old generation are passed out at his feet while those of the same generation are just worn out. There are even some gazing at them with pitying looks.

    It didn¡¯t take long for them all to get back on their feet though so he got them straight back to training, there was some grumbling but they just did it anyway.

    Somehow I¡¯ve got myself running behind a lightly dressed Hobusei so it¡¯s not all bad, is it.

    No one went hunting but there was a decent meal prepared when we got back. Seems the captured twins have the [Cook] job.

    I don¡¯t quite understand but it makes me curious to know what the other have.

 Chapter 9: Day 30 - 32

    Day 30:

    With the down pour today we got the second; Rainy-day Ranking Round Robin.

    This time it was split into two sections; one of Hobgoblins and the other one purely for the Goblins. The highlights of the first section was the match between Gobukichi vs Hobuken, which determined the 2nd and 3rd seats, and the match up of Gobue vs Hobusato.

    As no weapons or magic were allowed the battle between the two pure physical type brutes was incredible. In the end it came down to a slug fest before Hobuken collapsed.

    More from exhaustion than damage.

    Gobumi took the fourth ranked spot and Hobusei ended in sixth place, since magic was banned.

    We eagerly watched the spirited cat fight between the last two Hobgoblins but in the end it was called a draw. Hobusato I usually see carrying a sword but it seems her physical abilities aren¡¯t lacking as she gave Gobue quite the run for her money, her attacks are very fluid.

    After he finished re-organising the top Goburou oversaw the re-shuffle of our group.

    You could tell everyone was earnestly training as there was quite the movement both up and down of both the Goblins of my generation and the old one.

    This time I ended up in the bottom slot.

    I did ok in the beginning but there was a wall I couldn¡¯t overcome. I wonder if my lack of achievements in the Orc war and the level of prey I hunt, I¡¯ve stagnated at Armoured Tanuki, has anything to do with it.

    It probably does.

    The oldest Goblins and Gobujii contently enjoyed the tournament.

    When the final matches concluded and the new rankings had been set we split up. Some of those unsatisfied with their positions followed the axe touting Gobukichi who wanted to continue training, others followed Gobue.  Lately she has taken up a passion for mining, pick in hand she led them deeper into the mine.

    Their already bearing fruit. All ore and spirit stones are taken straight to the human girl¡¯s area, by trusted personnel only but as Goburou spent most of his time in there then nobody would have dared try anything.

    The last group, myself included, sat around Gobumi as she taught us things like the rankings and what they meant, the rules that Goburou had decided upon and some parts of the continental alphabet.

    If you ask why I decided to join this group. It¡¯s because my knowledge of this world is too limited. I haven¡¯t even left the forest, not that I know how big it is anyways.

    During the lesson Hobusei joined us, thank you gods. Hobusato was training with Gobukichi and Hobuken was around somewhere. She didn¡¯t ask many question but you could tell at a glance she was absorbing it all like a sponge. By the way, Gobumi has the perfect disposition for being a teacher. Not to strict and helps us reach the answer ourselves with a little gentle guidance.

    Seems among the human girls there is a [Tailor], [Blacksmith], [Alchemist] and [Farmer].

    Day 31:

    This morning we were treated to quite the display.

    Goburou and Gobukichi had decided upon a full contact spar and we all gathered in the large cave near the entrance. It¡¯s affectionately known as the Large Practice Hall.

    Most of the time you can find several Goblins using it long after morning trainings finished.

    We took positions around the wall and waited for them to arrive. It didn¡¯t take long for the light armoured Colonel to appear clutching his new halberd and a small sturdy shield. Closely followed by a heavily armoured Gobukichi. Donning plate armour and carrying a solid tower shield he¡¯s become even more tank like.

    Even his favourite axe has been upgraded, it¡¯s one of the first weapons from our new smithy. It¡¯s augmented by a fire spirit stone set into the head.

    He was proudly boasting about it yesterday.

    We were silent as they stepped into the arena, the atmosphere between them was charged with competitive spirit more than outright bloodlust, but at the first clash of their exchange we erupted into frantic cheers.

    Goburou was using a full range of techniques and abilities I¡¯d never seen before but the straight forward powerhouse Gobukichi dealt with them spectacularly.

    His blows were fast and heavy.

    He blocked blades of wind, stone bullets and balls of water with his shield. Cut through blasts of fire with his own flaming axe and even used its burning head to parry the entangling thread webs shot at him.

    He shook off the electricity that zapped him and even avoided that piercing glare but even his mighty blows did very little against Goburou¡¯s armour. They both weren¡¯t holding back.

    It was becoming a war of attrition. Both grinning like true battle junkies.

    So caught up in it all were we that when Goburou called time we couldn¡¯t believe it but it seems the new fire axe is a double edged sword as Gobukichis palms were scorched from holding the searing handle and even Goburou looked to be in some discomfort from holding his own superheated metal weapons.

    Every parry, every block you could see the shield and halberd glowing steadily redder.

    He called that the end of the first round and they used the break to rehydrate, heal and assess any damage. Like that the day progressed with several rounds interspersed with longer breaks during which there were more lessons and training for those spectating. Even found time to grab a Horned Rabbit during the interval.

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    In the end Goburou won through skilful use of his abilities but Gobukichi held out to the last.

    Even though I was just watching I was mentally drained and the high tension of the match physically exhausted me. Sleep came easy that night.

    It didn¡¯t last for long however as for the second time in my life I awoke with the ugly green face of a Goblin staring down at me.

    Still half asleep I followed a procession of Goblins out of the sleeping quarters, others were rousing those still sleeping. I zombie walked to the Practice hall, I was going to complain that they were still going at it when I saw what was there. Seven figures were bound and gagged, kneeling before Goburou. A tiny redheaded figure was cowering behind him clinging to his leg.

    A little behind them the other four human girls were huddled together, looking a little dishevelled and fearful. He started to explain in a cold calm manner why we had been brought here and what had happened.

    Still being groggy I missed most of it.

    That quickly passed when the first muffled shriek reached me. He had started their punishment or should I say he had started their torture. He picked one and made the others watch as he severed and reattached fingers, toes and ears. Cauterizing wounds and healing them as he went.

    When he finished with one he picked another and repeated the horrific process all the way down the line. Those around me were recoiling in shock, some physically backing away.

    I wanted to hurl but I couldn¡¯t look away, some strange fear was compelling me to watch.

    The worst came when he reached the other end of the line. There the shaking figure of Hobuken cowered. His eyes were pleading for his life but the only response he got was a sigh of disappointment.

    His treatment, as the clear instigator, was far more cruel and usual.

    For him Goburou had reserved the special privilege of having his abilities used on. He gently touched the Hobgoblins forearm. Before long the acrid smell of charred flesh assaulted us as the ex-leader let out silent screams. Fire wasn¡¯t the only tool used.

    He sealed his head in a globe of water and drowned him slowly; propped him in a kneeling position and set a large rock on his thighs to crush his legs and on the exposed back lashed him with whips of wind.

    Death didn¡¯t come as he was repeatedly healed only to allow more suffering.

    I could feel my mind about to break but I still couldn¡¯t turn away.

    Day 32:

    ¡°Have I made myself clear?¡±

    I don¡¯t know how long the farce continued but he ended it simply with that one statement. We were too scared to even answer properly. I found my head nodding excessively before I knew it.

    A few of us, the lucky ones, had fainted early on.

    We were dismissed and ordered to sleep, the sun was just coming up, but after seeing all that how could I. When I closed my eyes I could still see their bodies writhing. Slowly I staggered back down the tunnel. He passed me a couple of times princess carrying the terrified human girls back to their rooms.

    There were whiffs of urine but I honestly wasn¡¯t sure by that stage if it was from them or my own sodden rags.

    I got back to the blanket I had left hours ago, I returned a different person and wrapped it tightly around me. Just sitting there huddled in the darkness. I must have blacked out because when I came to I was face down and drooling. The images were still fresh in my mind.

    Some of the others were up and active, although still very skittish, but most were still asleep

    Back on earth they¡¯d prescribe some heavy meds for this kind of trauma. Remembering there was an alchemist in the community I took a trip to the Production room.

    In front of the entrance to the kitchen/smithy/apothecary were several of the oldest Goblins and a couple of the squad captains. They blocked my path. I tried to get by but they gave me looks that begged for me not to cause trouble and repeat last night¡¯s event.

    The area in the back, the passage way leading to the girls sleeping area was closed off by a woven thread screen, I guess there still asleep as well.

    I left quietly.

    The sombre mood in the cave meant no one had the motivation for training and we passed the day just milling about.

    Goburou and the other three returned in the evening laden with the results of a good hunt but the food tasted off and I had trouble keeping it down.

    Watching some of the others tucking into fresh meat, the blood splattering over their mouths, I realised this is the way we¡¯ve always been. To survive you have to eat, to eat you have to hunt, to hunt you have to be strong and to be strong you have to be resolved.

    Its kill or be killed.

    I can¡¯t keeping sticking to the principles of my old life as a human, I¡¯m not human any more. I¡¯m a Goblin.

    It didn¡¯t completely cure me but that notion did help the food stay down a little easier.

 Chapter 10: Day 33 - 35

    Day 33:

    Training started later today.

    The reason. The mighty Colonel was trapped as an arm pillow under two bodies, completely defenceless. When I passed with a group of other goblins I could only give him a thumbs up; I¡¯m quite jealous of how quickly he¡¯s advancing but it¡¯s nice to see there is a vulnerable side to the invincible Goburou.

    He shot us a look like we had betrayed him so we left quickly.

    I guess as a consequence the training today was very heated. As it¡¯s the quickest to adapt that survives it seems we Goblins excel at adapting because the fear of yesterday had been channelled into strength to grab the vacant spot left by the ex-leader.

    And while I wasn¡¯t as enthused as the rest of them I still poured myself into my training, if only to loss myself a little and not have to think about what had happened.

    Because everyone was earnestly trying to overcome their limits he looked very pleased.

    That smile is still a little scary though.

    Near the end we were gathered together. It seems because there are so many of us, 59 apparently, that Goburou has decided to split us into units that can be used more effectively. There wasn¡¯t a problem with the squads before it¡¯s just we¡¯ve out grown what they can handle.

    We are to be put under the command of one of the five Hobgoblins, who will report directly to Goburou. This is definitely now more like a military structure.

    As expected Gobukichi will lead the heavy assault corps: Anger. Hatred, a light skirmishing unit, will be commanded by Hobusato and Gobumi will lead the artillery unit: Regret. The last two leaders would be overseeing the non-combat group: Pleasure (Gobue) and the currently lacking magic wielding unit: Agony. Hobusei being the only magic user other than the Colonel himself.

    The leaders of the new squad stood spaced out at one side of the training hall while we lined up in our ranking order at the other. Goburou walked down our line and with his expert eye picked the squad we would be assigned to. It was like picking teams at a sports day, I could hear ¡°Anger, Anger, Regret, Hatred, Pleasure, and Anger¡± as he counted off down the line.

    I was placed in Pleasure.

    The new logistics group under Gobue and the decision to do so didn¡¯t even take a second for him to consider. I was a disappointed at how quickly he managed to assessed me.

    What my duties now entailed would be handling the resources of the community. In short fetching, gathering, maintenance and cleaning. Once todays training concluded we all set about getting used to what our new positions meant.

    Goburou nodded in satisfaction, grabbed his gear and left to hunt.

    The eager Goblins under Gobukichi set about sparring with him while Hobusato took her section on a run. For a guerrilla unit stamina is important. Gobumi focused on finishing the education of those goblins having a hard time learning and at the same time instructing some of her unit in the proper way to use and maintain a bow or crossbow.

    Hobusei looked a little lonely but she just pulled out a book from her robe and toddled off to find a quiet place to read. We followed Gobue away from the front training halls.

    Our first stop was the Workshop. The Goblin guards were gone and the thread screen had been changed into a curtain partition. We were introduced one at a time to the four girls there, they looked a little scared and the Redhead seemed on guard but after Gobue stepped forward they calmed down a little.

    Although I couldn¡¯t understand human speech, even Gobue was only communicating in simple gestures, we met and greeted; Redhead, Alchemist, Blacksmith, Little Sister and Big Sister. I think they had said their own names but Gobue just interpreted it like this.

    It seemed easier to remember them like this somehow.

    She waved goodbye after that and lead us further into the mines, down tunnels that showed signs of fresh excavation, where we were handed a pick-axe each.

    Since this had been an Orc mine there were more than enough to go around.

    We also met a couple of the other female members of the ¡°Spirit Stone Mining Circle¡± but they didn¡¯t stay long before disappearing further down the tunnel. Soon the sounds of active mining could be heard.

    We passed most of the rest of the day learning to identify various things like Spirit stones (Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning and Earth) and several types of ores that couple be dig up.

    When the combat troops and those that went hunting returned we were tasked with processing there catch. Gobumi assisted in demonstrating the correct way to dismantle what they brought back, hides and most meat were taken to the workshop and in return we were given food to distribute out.

    That night Goburou didn¡¯t return.

    Day 34:

    Gobumi was worried.

    The Colonel didn¡¯t return yesterday or this morning. She¡¯s frantically asking anyone if they¡¯ve seen him but nobody has. He left by himself to hunt but he¡¯s strong so I doubt anything¡¯s happened to him, right?!?

    She¡¯s decided to take her unit out on a half scouting training exercise half rescue mission.

    Hobusato¡¯s squad will do a sweep of the nearby forest in the opposite direction while Gobukichi will keep his troops training near the entrance just in case.

    It¡¯s impressive to see the loyalty he has inspired among us. It¡¯s a little frustrating but there¡¯s nothing I can do to help. The best people for the job are already out doing what they can, all that¡¯s left is to have faith and carry on.

    Gobue has shown us how to use the pick properly and what to watch out for. The last thing we want is to cause a cave in so she¡¯s also showing us how to do some maintenance on the support beams.

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    I never realised swinging a pick and striking solid stone repetitively could be so tiring.

    Some of the group are struggling with the pick but Gobue swings it like a veteran. She gave up the crossbow and sling staff to those of Regret so lately she¡¯s taken to carrying the pick with her where ever she goes.

    Late on both squads returned with no news.

    Hobusato had to return after one of her squad received a nasty wound from a Kobold, it was brought down and his wound stabilised but barely. They brought back a dog headed humanoid for us to process. Gobumi turned back before it became too dark.

    We prepared what they had brought back.

    Day 35:

    Most of Pleasure are getting the hang of mining, some even uncovered a couple of spirit stones but none are as quick as Gobue at cleaving the earth.

    I was just getting into the rhythm of it when a cry of distress echoed down the tunnel. We tightened our grip on our picks and followed Gobue back up toward the entrance. When we reached the entrance what stood before us was death itself. It carried the Colonels halberd, although badly mangled, and I knew if anything could have killed him it would have been this demon.

    Black skin and long shoulder length grey hair, it was at least two and a half meters tall covered in rippling muscle and strange red tattoo like markings. Two sharp horns protruded from its forehead and it sported a loincloth of some exotic red hide.

    It was looking down at us with a creepy smile.

    ¡°Kill it before it kills us!!¡±

    Everyone was shouting, the fear was palable as I took the pick in both hands and even though they were shaking I tightened my grip, resolving to at the very least go down swinging.

    ¡°I-is ¡­ isn¡¯t that Goburou!!?¡±

    The shout of Gobumi stopped us, she was staring at the intruder, and in stunned silence we looked back and forth between the two. He responded by gingerly raising one large hand with a ¡°Yo¡±.

    It was a bit surreal to see the Hobgoblin chastise the large brute while in seiza.

    Everyone seeing this scene calmed down, most were shocked by his appearance but a few took it upon themselves to take the tattered bag he had been carrying and process it as normal.

    We brought Blacksmith a pile of worn and broken equipment; the remains of the Colonels shield and estoc. She frowned as she looked over there sorry state. When we informed Redhead he was back she went off to meet him.

    We were all curious to hear what had happened but he chased us out.

    An executive meeting was called and we tried to busy ourselves with daily tasks and training but the current topic was too interesting and some ended up trying to snoop.

    Even if you weren¡¯t close the surprised shouts Gobujii echoing around the tunnels was unmistakeable. I can understand why. In the evening we were finally told what had happened. Our ridiculous Boss has only gone and killed the Lord of the Mountain.

    Gobujii still looks stressed.

    We, of the Pleasure unit (it sounds wrong saying it as a male), were ordered to collect several ingredients. Seems tonight the Sisters are making a Bear stew, a couple of our female members will be staying to assist them with the preparation. Some of the things on the list require going outside. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve gone hunting.

    I equipped my chipped short sword and one of the new knives Blacksmith made, they make skinning and slicing the things we have to prepare so much easier, and head out. I also took a horn spear just in case and my pick strapped to the backpack I was assigned.

    The easiest things to gather are the herbs the trouble is trying to find them but unlike animals they don¡¯t move so knowing roughly where they like to grow is a good start.

    With some gentle digging I can even pull up potato like tubers.

    On the way back I spotted the marking of a Night Viper and forcing myself to go out of my comfort zone, I actively began to track it down. It didn¡¯t take long to encounter it, it slid out from under some bushes on the trail to hiss at me menacingly.

    With the spear in one hand and my short sword drawn in the other I slowly harassed it with the long pole while manoeuvring myself into a better position to strike at it.

    Sensing no threat from the spear it turned towards the main body of its aggressor.

    My blade came down deftly and severed its head.

    Letting out a long breath I realised how nervous I had been but somehow I had managed to focus enough to be rewarded.

    I tied the snake¡¯s body round my waist like a belt and mounted the snakes head on my spear, so as not to contaminate the produce, before me and my bountiful harvest headed back.

    After handing over my laden pack I found a quiet corner to skin and eat my kill.

    The head I presented to Alchemist while the body I secured around my pick, with help from Blacksmith, to give it a better handle.

    Sleep came easier that night, for the first time I felt like I had gotten stronger.

    [Lvl. 58]

    <hr />

    AN: - took some liberties to use the manga names not the novel translations. As I personally didn¡¯t think that after calling your main attacking forces Revolution and Red surge that naming your spellcasting division simply Magician really fit. However in keeping with the above nomenclature I will be altering the medical units name from Priere/Prayer to Salvation. I apologise if this ruffles a few feathers.

 Chapter 11: Day 36 - 40

    Day 36:

    He was a wreck.

    His equipment was tattered and dented. He looked more exhausted then usual and they had barely started their usual morning spar; Gobukichi and the new Ogarou.

    Gobujii says this is what he¡¯s called now that he¡¯s no longer a Goblin or a Hobgoblin.

    I thought it would be weird to make such a change now but it seemed completely natural and my brain has already switched over to thinking of him as such.

    Ogarou looked a little sad and Gobukichi looked quite frustrated when they finished even worse were the few Goblins he¡¯d almost splattered against the wall. Please be more considerate Boss. Gobukichi left in a huff.

    It was a bad end to a morning that started off so well, as three Goblins achieved a [Rank Up] into normal Hobgoblins. They were each given a congratulatory gift which sparked competition amongst the rest.

    Ogarou declared that we would now start having one on one matches were the loser had to listen to one request by the winner.

    Most were just simple things, nothing too humiliating.

    Still, I lost to one of the Goblins from Hatred and as loser I was ordered to be a living practice dummy for the remainder of the day. Luckily I was given a loan of some leather armour and two reinforced shell shields.

    After the second time I buckled under the barrage of assaults we decided to call it even, that and the fact Hatred and Regret were going on a joint excursion.

    Redhead has taken to coming in and sparring with some of those from Anger.

    It may just be training but they''re all fired up.

    I headed into the mines to join Gobue and some of the squad, shes already feverishly smacking away at the rock wall. I don¡¯t think I can match her enthusasim but I am starting to feel stronger and I can swing the pick easier and with less effort.

    Day 37:

    Another two Goblins had ranked up when we awoke this morning. Even Gobujii has stopped being shocked, I guess with Ogarou around his common sense was broken.

    I asked them what it felt like as they tested out their gifts and they said it was a little strange.

    They felt light headed but in a good way and very powerful at the same time. I asked how they had ranked up and they just shrugged and said a voice in their dreams had told them they had cleared the conditions.

    Well the five that changed recently were some of the higher ranked members so it comes back to being level 100 and showing potential.

    My own [Rank Up] seems a long way off then.

    Because of that I was absentmindedly digging half-heartedly when I heard Gobue let out a cry. I looked over to see something small and red hanging from the end of her pick. Blood was dripping and light was pouring through the hole in the wall.

    The little creatures breathing was shallow and laboured.

    ¡°Waah! You take over here! I¡¯ll bring it to Ogarou.¡±

    She hurried off down the tunnel clutching the small creature as another Goblin stepped forward.

    ¡°You heard her. Shore up that tunnel. I don¡¯t want it collapsing. The rest of you lets clear and stabilise this hole. Move it!¡±

    We worked hard moving dirt, wedging supports and excavating the small hole into something the size of a Goblins head. Through it I could just make out columns and a carpet of some sort. Eventually Gobue returned but she brought with her the fully armed leaders and Ogarou himself, carrying the small creature; Returner the Carbuncle she called it.

    Seems like this was some sort of Dungeon Raid.

    Under her guidance the hole was quickly expanded to allow even someone of his size to pass through. We were told to head to the main cave and several members of all three combat divisions replaced us in securing the hole.

    The leaders exited through the tunnel into the beyond.

    The rest seemed to be on high alert at the entrance of the mine. Even the human girls seemed concerned.

    I ventured back down the mine just close enough to the hole to hear the sound of fighting; swords clashing and people crying out, but not too close to interfere with those guarding it. They had all tensed up at the noise. It grew louder and more intense.

    I spun the pick in my hand, the head rotating like a propeller, would whatever come through that hole be friend or foe?

    The violence died down and for several tense minutes there was silence.

    The minutes stretched on, you could feel the sweat forming on the backs of the Goblins necks, my own included.

    Suddenly someone entered but we were so high strung the reaction was a second to slow, the person would have got an arrow to the knee had we not recognised the face of the Boss closely followed by the rest of the top brass. With a flick of his awesome looking new silver arm he closed the entrance to the dungeon and the collapsed part of the tunnel behind us as we moved away.

    ¡°Alright you guys, prepare some food and gather everyone! We¡¯re having a feast!¡±

    And with that it was over.

    That night we prepared a banquet but many of us didn¡¯t quite understand the reason to celebrate. Still a parties a party right.

    Unfortunately alcohol was only giving out to the top ranks.

    I was never a big drinker but after so long even I¡¯d like a beer, a nice cold frothy beer. Guess this is just another thing to strive for. The human girls seem a bit down maybe its just that a party of rowdy Goblins is not to their taste.

    Day 38:

    I lost todays spar as well, to a different Goblin, and was made to be lackey for a day.

    Basically that just involved me carrying everything while that we hunted. I really had no problems with that because it¡¯ll be nice to go hunting with a partner for a change.

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    I took my knife, short sword and one of the storages biggest bags. While the other Goblin equipped his actual metal spear and iron shield. A short sword strapped to his waist.

    He was dressed in a decent amount of hide armour.

    On my way out I saw Blacksmith and Ogarou sorting a pile of treasure.

    I didn¡¯t have time to dawdle as my partner for today was impatiently waiting for me to get a move on. Those guys from the combat sections really know how to handle themselves. His movements reminded me of a Roman centurion or Spartan warrior.

    It was a great display of how to use a shield and spear properly.

    We hunted a crazy amount of creatures today, I think I¡¯ve never been forced to use my tracking skills so much. He got a bit peeved when I tried to help so I apologised.

    I¡¯m really just here to carry the bags it seems.

    On the way back I saw tracks that looked like a big dog mixed in with small hoof prints.

    We didn¡¯t find their owners but did almost run into a beast called a Triple Horned Horse. I can see exactly why it¡¯s named that. We hid until it passed. It¡¯s not something we can handle ourselves. He killed a couple of Night Vipers and as we headed back in the early twilight he even managed to swat down a stray Seven Coloured Bat with the spears reach.

    When we returned he took what he wanted from the bag and consented to giving me an Armoured Tanuki in return for dismantling everything and delivering it all to the Workshop.

    Day 39:

    After todays practice I ended up with some new leather armour of my very own. Leather armour and a new shell reinforced wooden board shield.

    Why you ask.

    Simple the guys at the top got a super upgrade from that pile of treasure I glimpsed yesterday, I think it¡¯s from that Dungeon that was raided. All their old equipment was passed down the ranks and so on until it trickled down to me.

    The short sword I¡¯ve got now is also new.

    My old one was apparently of [Inferior] quality this one is [Normal] ranked but no matter how you look at it those items they got are defenitly giving off the magical item vibe.

    Even Ogarou is sporting an epic looking blood red long spear.

    I wouldn¡¯t normally look a gift horse in the mouth but I have a bad history with this type of shields, I just can¡¯t put my faith in it.

    The results of the spar was a draw so we decided to have a rematch tomorrow.

    I have plenty of time now.

    I headed to the armoury to see if I could exchange my shield for something else. I don¡¯t want to appear too arrogant or above may rank so I¡¯ll settle from anything else.

    After some bartering I managed to swap the shield for a sword. I had to throw in both my short swords as well but this regular sized [Normal] sword should hopefully be worth it. In my goblin hands its almost big enough to be a long sword. It¡¯s about 90cm long and has to be carried on my back but if I can master it I should do ok given my size and the reach it has.

    It takes two hands to lift and I can¡¯t hold it up for long.

    I wrap it in my bed roll and tie it to my back before grabbing my pick and going off to do some strength training and swing practice. On the way down I pass Redhead, she¡¯s tagging along as the Hobgoblins go out hunting.

    She¡¯s smiling carefree but I think she should be a bit more anxious. Those guys are monsters after all. Can she keep up?

    Gobue left us some instructions; avoid that tunnel and collect any finds in the pouch provided.

    With that I was handed a hide field pack, which fit snuggly round my waist. It was several pouches attached to a belt.

    I take up my pick and join those already hard at it. My swords a little cumbersome but not in the way.

    I had a decent haul today, one of each type of spirit stone and a couple ores. My pack is still pretty empty but I decided to call it a day. Its bear stew for tea and there¡¯s enough that even I get a decent portion.

    The Hobgoblins are sitting around polishing their new weapons but Redhead looks a little sad sitting there poking at her stew.

    Day 40:

    The third Rainy-day Ranking Round Robin: Begin.

    This was done to officially fill the spot left by the ex-leader and there were three weight classes; Ogre, Hobgoblin and Goblin.

    Obviously Ogarou won by default.

    The Hobgoblin matches were as entertaining as they had been the last time if not more so due to the increase in participants.

    Gobukichi still stubbornly holds that top spot with Gobumi regaining the third seat. Shes just slightly faster than Hobusato and Gobue, who took fourth and fifth respectively. Their match was so close only a hairs breathed separates those ranks.

    Then came the other new Hobgoblins, in no particular order and Hobusei ranked last.

    She¡¯s a pure caster type and the others just came from more physical backgrounds so their specs are a little higher. Simply put they¡¯ve been training longer.

    In our matches there was a lot of fluctuation up and down between the new and old Goblins. The difference isn¡¯t so clear cut anymore. If you put in the effort you get rewarded and can clearly see the results.

    I gave it my all and although I¡¯ve improved a little, so has everyone else. The last place is mine again.

    Redhead watched all the matches excitedly.

    I spent the rest of the day hard at work mining, I¡¯ll need to train hard for the next tournament. I managed to fill the bag three quarters of the way full but as most of it was just shiny rocks Gobue punished me by having me carry heavy stones from the mine to the outside, by myself.

    Today Ogarou looked a little bored.

 Chapter 12: Day 41 - 46

    Day 41:

    Gobukichi led the training today.

    He¡¯s not at Ogarou¡¯s level but we can still spar with him and not get too hurt. He still beat me easily but it¡¯s all experience I need to pile up.

    After that was over we were all gifted with a set of simple clothes and a sleeping bag made from Ogarou¡¯s thread. The sleeping bags were reinforced with shell in the head area. For the first time I am not wearing my ragged loin cloth.

    I washed it thoroughly and added it to the pile of cloth for the sisters to use. They gave me sceptic looks but said nothing. Gobue seemed pleased with the progress I¡¯m making, my swing has gone better and I¡¯m getting the hang of repetitively striking solid stone. Today I even managed to fill my bag with actual ores and spirit stones.

    Blacksmith let me keep a few of the smaller shards; I can now light fires myself, there¡¯s any easily transported source of fresh clean water and I have a decent taser should I find myself in a pinch.

    She¡¯s nice like that.

    Tonight we all dined on some high grade beef. My bowl may have been mostly stock but it was rich and delicious so I had no complaints.

    Day 42:

    Two of the newest Hobgoblins can use magic.

    They¡¯ve been ushered into Hobusei¡¯s room, which houses the largest collection of books I¡¯ve seen since coming to this world, and are transferred to her Agony unit.

    I¡¯d have loved nothing more than to join in and read those books but it¡¯s another day of training, mining, skinning and more training for me. It¡¯s all showing results though; my mining proficiency has increased, I can now disassemble most creatures with relative ease and I can also hold my sword up for a little longer.

    Most of morning spars end in either a draw or a very hard fought victory for my opponent.

    So far I¡¯ve mostly just been made their sparring partner till early afternoon when the individual squads go out to train. The combat divisions are becoming tighter and more cohesive as a unit. We won¡¯t be left behind either. Each one of us in the logistics corps can carry out all the necessary grunt work that goes into making sure this place keeps running smoothly.

    We aren¡¯t too shabby in combat either; personally I''d never like to face a pick wielding Gobue.

    After a successful haul I managed to get a wind stone and an earth stone to myself, Blacksmith says they are too small for practical use.

    That suits me fine thought. I even managed to get a small pouch for them from the Sisters. They made it from my old loin cloth and now I wear it round my neck.

    There was a strange atmosphere in there today so I left as soon as I had what I needed.

    When I was in the Training hall trying to swing my sword I messed up and the momentum knocked me off my feet. Hobusato came over and gave me a few pointers but in her hands it¡¯s just a normal sized sword.

    Her movements were fluid and surprisingly graceful and when she finished a large crowd had gathered. She encouraged me to keep practicing.

    Ogarou or Gobukichi as a goal is to high but lowering it to her feels about right.

    I practiced long into the night before I fell sleep.

    Day 43:

    The strange atmosphere continued today, most of the women are pouting.

    I don¡¯t get it, maybe it¡¯s just that time of the month?

    Today during the morning spar I manged to overcome my opponent. It was Goblin from Hatred and my victory condition was to let me train with them in the afternoon.

    I got through my quota for the day in record time, its amazing what you can achieve when properly motivated. When I joined their squad in the afternoon Hobusato was surprised to see me but the other Goblin explained. She just laughed and told me to try to keep up.

    It was intense.

    We left the mine after a few warm up laps of the Training Hall and headed out over the mountain trails they¡¯ve been using recently before cutting through the forest.

    I never did like cross country at school. At several points they would break into a sprint, dashing uphill or slaloming through the treeline. Their stamina was bottomless and I found myself lagging further and further behind. I persevered and finished the course with a slap on the back for effort from Hobusato.

    While they went on to a group hunt, I stayed in the grass staring at the sky recuperating. After contemplating the vastness of the sky and looking at cloud animals I got my sword and went hunting myself.

    I headed back through the forest toward the area around our old home.

    I didn¡¯t go to near but it was a good place to start looking for Horned Rabbit. I was going back to hunting the lowest thing in the forest until I got the hang of my sword. It was a risky strategy.

    I crawled back home empty handed.

    I couldn¡¯t find the Sisters anywhere, I wanted to see if there was anything to eat and they oversee all the food preparation and the larder, none of the human girls were around.

    I found Gobukichi staring perplexed at a thick string wall erected in front of Ogarou¡¯s room. There was no sound but every so often the wall shuddered. Gobue ended up dragging him away while shaking her head.

    One of the others shared some meat with me, I¡¯ll repay him later though.

    Day 44:

    It was a nice day so Gobukichi had us sparing outside when three figures appeared from out of the undergrowth.

    Everyone was on edge because of them but I was wide eyed. Elves goodness to gracious tree hugging long eared elves. They were as pretty as all the fantasy books described. The one in the middle however lost some appeal when it opened its mouth.

    [¡°We demand an audience.¡±]

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    Because he shouted something in gibberish at his, I didn''t understand but I knew the tone sounded condescending. Gobukichi told us to watch them as he and a couple others hurried back into the cave to get Ogarou.

    The middle one looked like he was getting impatient when Ogarou casually strolled out of the mine.

    [¡°Who do you think you are to keep me waiting!?¡±]

    They talked but it was complete gibberish, should I add language to my ever growing list of things to do, the middle elf made gestures at the armour the Boss was wearing and then indicated the two companions at either side, they looked a little sheepish because of whatever was said.

    Ogarou contemplated for a while then dismissed the offer with a casual flick of his silver wrist.

    This caused the middle elf to stand there stupefied for a moment, his face slowly grew more scarlet and he furled his brow angrily.

    Those around me felt the change in the air. We may not have understood the words but that boiling anger is clear in any language. Too bad for them they decided to approach us when the majority were in the middle of training. We readied our weapons openly while the two elves on either side made subtle movements to their own slender rapiers. Ogarou did nothing but focus his gaze on the middle elf.

    Who crumpled to the ground while foaming at the mouth.

    I was so stunned by this I missed what happened next but Ogarou held the elf in front of himself before plucking an arrow out of the air with his teeth.

    He ate it whole and glared at the elf escorts, they looked like they were suffering under a huge pressure. When he pulled his vermillion spear from somewhere I thought I would have a heart attack. He plunged it into the ground and all around more grew until there was a forest of blood red spears.

    All growing by a panicked elf. Seems there were more than three.

    He returned the elf, throwing him to the ground in front of the escorts, and watched them all leave in a hurry. We gave a cheer at our OP leader but a few looked disappointed they didn¡¯t get to fight.

    So much had happened and it was only late morning. I threw myself into work and training but even in the late afternoon I couldn¡¯t calm down.

    Hunting in that state of mind is difficult but I eventually cornered a Horned Rabbit.

    We fought for a while before I killed it, by crushing it with the flat of my blade when I messed up an overhead strike. It still counts as my win. I wanted to find more but it was getting dark and the night forest is still extremely dangerous for a lone Goblin.

    Day 45:

    Training continues.

    I lost to another Goblin from Pleasure and was made to mine a double set but I don¡¯t think he quite grasped the concept of making other people do your work as he was right there next to me all day mining merrily.

    No one else ranked up today but the Hobgoblins how have recently seem to be comfortable with their new strength and even those under Hobusei are showing improvement.

    Since we sealed off the tunnel leading to that Dungeon we have been expanding our mine in the opposite direction under Gobue¡¯s direction. Seems more spirit stones are unearthed nearer the Dungeon so we¡¯ve been using that as a rough guide to skirt the edges.

    This evening I was assigned to help Blacksmith in simple weapon maintenance.

    Because I don¡¯t have any sort of crafting ability or skill I was given light jobs; tighten the lashing affixing the Horn spears, prepare suitable shells to be used in replacing or repairing damaged shields and armour. It may just be our old [Inferior] equipment but it¡¯s still better than nothing, so keeping it in working order is vital. Its foresight for the next generation I guess.

    Sometimes she lets me watch her upgrading weapons with spirit stones or forging new ones.

    Spirit stones are also apparently used in the making of magic staffs or other mystic foci.

    I wondered if the ones around my neck would allow me to cast magic but when she saw me gripping the pouch she shook her head. Guess these are [Inferior] quality stones.

    The Hatred section brought back a Triple Horned Horse and Anger took in three Black Wolves.

    So it was all hands on deck for the dismantling.

    Day 46:

    When I passed by his private cave, Ogarou was spinning some beautiful thread into lengths of woven fabric. Next to him were several glittering golden spools. I knew he could produce thread somehow but to think it could be this pretty.

    He¡¯s very dexterous especially with that silver arm.

    I couldn¡¯t spend all day admiring though, those rocks won¡¯t mine themselves you know.

    When I had my shift in the Workshop today all the human girls seemed in high spirits. The Sisters were humming merrily and even the usual cool beauty Alchemist had a pleasant atmosphere about her. Took me a while to notice they all had new cloths.

    Not armour or anything but actual dresses that were elegant in a rustic sense.

    Even Gobumi and Redhead were happily toying with the edge of the fabric or smoothing it down lovingly. Some of their movements were a little more animated, just to make the dress swish.

    They even had small accessories; broches and bangles, made of a lovely pink gem or polished carapace.

    Some of the Goblins have even been going around wearing simple necklaces of fangs or claws, trophies from successful hunts. Especially the females.

    It¡¯s the advent of GoBling fashion.

    <hr />

    AN: - as he¡¯s using the orc language to cobble together a translation I am going to assume the reverse is true. Using some orc words to communicate till he ea¡­learns the elf language. Hence our goblin couldn''t understand anything that either of them said.

 Chapter 13: Day 47 - 49

    Day 47:

    This morning after training I was assigned to assist Blacksmith, me and a couple others from Pleasure. We¡¯ll be helping her make some new cooking tools for the Sisters.

    They already had the ones that were looted the same time they were captured but it seems with our unit helping during food preparation we¡¯re in need of some more. At the same time we¡¯ll be helping Blacksmith make some more tools for herself, for similar reasons.

    We were to stoke the forge and using that arm strength, we had gained from mining every day, hammer the metal into shape.

    The forge is mostly a large collection of fire spirit stones in a thick earth housing and we use wind spirit stones as bellows so it¡¯s a fairly straight forward and simple process. Under Blacksmith¡¯s expert direction we struck the red hot metal held by tongs where she indicated with a poker.

    She was just quenching another blade in a bucket lined with several water spirit stones. When all of us were summoned to the Training Hall. The other leaders, most Goblins and Redhead were already there. By their sweaty faces and the fact they were all armed it was easy to that they had been in the middle of training.

    The last to join us was Gobue and those that had been in the deepest parts mining.

    ¡°Haa! Alright everyone Attention please.¡±

    Ogarou looked quite annoyed. Seems we¡¯re about to be raided and by those elves from a few days ago no less. With his ability to move earth he dug out several trenches around the training hall then split our forces up into them.

    Anger and Hatred will engage the enemy first with Regret and Agony providing covering fire and support. Hobusei¡¯s unit¡¯s first proper battle as the spell-caster corps.

    Meanwhile we of Pleasure have the most crucial role of all.

    We were ordered to go wait in back and continue mining as normal. That¡¯s right we¡¯re the distraction. The whole operation hinges on how well we preform our role.

    It¡¯s a little saddening that we won¡¯t be taking part in the fighting but he sure sugar coats things nicely.

    We trudged back into the mines following Gobue, we passed an armed Redhead guarding the entrance way to the sleeping quarters in the back of the Workshop looking nervous, and started hitting rocks almost immediately. I strained my ears to hear anything but the din of our whole unit mining made it impossible.

    Above the clamour I thought I heard a roar or a neigh but it died away quickly and as no one else seemed to even acknowledge it I just went right back to work. I did find a nice large lightning spirit stone, about the size of my fist, so it¡¯s not a complete waste.

    Eventually someone came to get us.

    We returned to the main hall to find no scene of carnage, no injuryed Goblins not even a nose bleed, only 25 lightly armoured elves bound and gagged by that golden thread with Ogarou standing over them looking intimidating.

    He smiled wickedly and started talking to them.

    Some hung their heads but they all seemed to have understood what he was saying. He cut most of them loose but one elf made a lunge for him, the air grew tense as everybody in the cave tighten their grip on whatever weapon they were holding.

    Should have known it wouldn¡¯t be necessary as with deadly efficiency the elf was neutralised and consumed.

    The fire in their eyes, that look of defiance died out quickly after that. That¡¯s one hell of a psychological warfare tactic. If I was in his place I may have left it at that but he said something to instil courage back into them.

    Keeping the leader Elf, it¡¯s the irate one from before, hostage Ogarou picked several people from our ranks. They stepped forward while the rest of us took up seats around the Training Hall.

    23 vs 23. One on one battles. Wish I had some popcorn.

    The elves that took on a fully armoured and armed Gobukichi, Gobumi and Hobusato didn¡¯t stand a chance but their matches were interspersed between the bouts against regular Goblins and a couple of other Hobgobilns.

    Neither side were allowed to kill but that doesn¡¯t mean the fights were tame, on the contrary the elves seemed to be even more determined to win. A hope that was snatched away when Gobukichi crushed one guy unconscious with a bear hug or when Hobusato broke one guys arm after he poorly blocked one of her strikes.

    Even Gobumi, still in her new dress, was ruthlessly merciless to the guy she faced.

    Final score:

    Us: Wins (6) Draws (0) Losses (17)

    Elves: Wins (17) Draws (0) Losses (6)

    The defeated?

    Well Ogarou relished the taste of male elves with every bite.

    The victors?

    Stripped of weapons and armour, down to their under cloths, before being rebound in golden thread. Ogarou held them by the chin with his silver arm and forced them to drink some liquid he squeezed from his hand. Is that his sweat??!

    There re-gagged before they pass out.

    Seems they thought they¡¯d be released if they won their match.

    There¡¯s a repressed joy and a devilously lustful grin on some of the older Goblins when we¡¯re told these are now our possessions and are to be used like the woman in the treasure room of the old home.

    Pretty elves are the replacements for those human girls for 50 odd goblins, for breeding and stress relief (sex slave). I take it back what I said before that¡¯s more ruthless than I ever could have been but as they are now ¡®resources¡¯ it falls to us of the now aptly named Pleasure unit to maintain them. Was this his plan for us all along? Gobujii keeps staring at the body of a female Elf, laying out cold on the ground, in a very base manner.

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    We picked up our new toys and carried them as gently as possible to a cave I¡¯ve never seen before.

    While no one was looking he built a very impressively sturdy jail from natural rock.

    Our job now includes feeding and watering them and keeping horny Goblins away until Ogarou tells us otherwise. He gave us a small reminder about what happened the last time someone tried to go against his commands and I had just stopped seeing that before I went to sleep as well.

    While we finished dealing with the prisoner Ogarou gave the combat sections a crash course in how to kill a humanoids using the Elf leader as a test dummy.

    Thankfully we don¡¯t have to try to stop him from using them, not because he¡¯s the Boss and the prisoners were his but because he has all the human girls and Gobumi to satisfy him. The privileged of being the strongest I guess.

    Mou! Gobujii stop pointing that thing at me and leave already.

    Day 48:

    The prisoners are given a bowl of water and a bowl of a porridge like substance both are laced with some of the liquid we got for Ogarou.

    It¡¯s in a vial and we were given strict instructions not to drink it.

    Even the wooden bowls that are used are coated in it, both insides and out. I wonder if it¡¯s a poison or some sort of drug either way the bowls are filled by scooping gruel or water from wooden buckets with a ladle like utensil that the Sisters let us borrow.

    Full bowls are then slide through the bars of the cells made from stalagmites and stalactites.

    As its one Elf to a cell, feeding all ten males and seven females takes a while.

    Gobue has assigned us shifts. Apart from those on permeant kitchen duty the rest will be rotating between mining, helping in the Workshop and guarding the prisoners. Guarding us from them is easy(stopping breakouts), it¡¯s guarding them from us(other Goblins) that¡¯s the difficult part.

    Because of that there are even night shifts planned.

    Anyone one that wants a little Yobai gets a date with the short staff I was given instead. I feel like a Gatekeeper.

    You wouldn¡¯t think I¡¯d get much achieved just mining, crafting and doing odd jobs instead of being out there training and hunting but me and my fellow guards were able to ward off a couple of Goblins from the old generation who were lacking in discipline.

    Why am I telling you this, well that¡¯s because you¡¯re not allowed in yet so stop asking already!

    Day 49:

    Today we are all outside in the open space in front of the mine entrance watching quite the spectacle.

    The Colonel is fighting a frightening opponent even bigger than he is, with dark red skin and bulging muscles this behemoth is none other than Gobukichi ¡­ or should I say Ogakichi. Last night he brought back the remnants of a Hind Bear he¡¯d taken down himself.

    If the Lord of the Mountain is like an Ogre then a Hind Bear is like the Hobgoblin equivalent.

    Is it any wonder he achieved a [Rank Up].

    Before it took all the Hobgoblins, the full 10 of them, to hunt several of them. Then number two is certainly a monster in his own right. Sunlight glinting off the metallic like sheen of his skin.

    We¡¯re cheering wildly as the two, dressed only in their skivvies, wail on each other.

    Every time Ogarou strikes against Ogakichi¡¯s skin there¡¯s a metallic clang, Gobujii was saying something about him being Blessed by a Deity or two or something like that but I couldn¡¯t turn away from this carnage.

    He¡¯s gotten ridiculously powerful and was even warding away Ogarou by spitting gouts of flame occasionally. Guess this means we lost our training coach.

    However the Colonel isn¡¯t to be underestimated and he dealt with each strike, trick and tactic with feints, footwork and combinations. This battle is not on a level any of us can interfere with and even if you look that worried Gobumi, and you Human girls, how can we stop it.

    This is the happiest I¡¯ve seen Ogakichi in days, Gobue can¡¯t take her eyes off him.

    Even Ogarou looks like he¡¯s enjoying himself.

    The spar concluded, I don¡¯t think you can say there was a winner after going at it like that, with the birth of an earnest rivalry.

    To celebrate Ogakichi was awarded with an imposing tower shield; it was literally a wall of black iron. Lately he hadn¡¯t been using a shield because the upgrade in his weapon required two hands to wield. That changed today as he¡¯s swinging that huge double headed battle axe with one hand, like it was a toy.

    As Ogarou sat on one sit, crafting something and chatting to others, Ogakichi was testing his new shield. By having the members of Anger and Hatred assault it.

    The thing barely moved even after several powerful strikes, not even a scratch.

    I had wanted to stay and watch but it was time for me to guard the prisoners and when I next saw him he was wearing an armour of Hind Bear hard leather and half plate, he looked incredibly fierce.

 Chapter 14: Day 50 - 55

    Day 50:

    The Ogres wrestled outside so that we could train inside.

    If they didn¡¯t there may not have been enough space even in the Training Hall for all of us. Plus their actions would more than likely have changed the landscape if they did.

    After that I took up my normal shifts.

    Ogarou came to check on us during the day. He seems pleased with how we are progressing in learning from the Sisters and Blacksmith. Lately we¡¯ve even been helping Alchemist mash up and grind down various plants.

    Recently she¡¯s become a lot less wary of us when we¡¯re in the Workshop.

    After that I pulled a quick shift in the mine, stopping once I¡¯d filled one pouch, before it was off to the jail. I was honestly wondering if this was what my life would be like from now on.

    There was some heavy breathing from the prisoners but they seemed fine when we went to check on them.

    The shift passed quietly enough.

    Day 51:

    When we went to feed the prisoners this morning there was some heavy grunting. So we rushed off to get Ogarou. This it seems is what he¡¯s been waiting for.

    The liquid we kept dosing them with is apparently an aphrodisiac of his own creation and without further a-do he opened the stone cell of the panting female elf and began to break her in. Out of embarrassment I turned around and hurried out the room to give them some privacy.

    There were several minutes of moaning before she evidently passed out from it.

    He didn¡¯t stop there though as he also gently coerced the three elven men, who also couldn¡¯t withstand it for very long. Afterwards he brought in a one of the newly ranked up Hobgoblins. I thought it was to let him have a go but instead he had him heal them of the fatigue and any wounds he had caused. He gave them some more of his love drug and left the cells open.

    It¡¯s surprising how quickly word spreads in our community.

    It didn¡¯t take long for me to hear that another 4 Goblins had ranked up and that Hobusei had also done so but for everyone to hear that the prisoners were ready took even less time than that.

    They were clamouring outside the cells before Ogarou and the healer, who is now the leader of the medical corps: Salvation, came out.

    He issued a few commands and most left down hearted. It¡¯s a meritocracy after all so only the top gets to play first. Our job also now included monitoring conjugal visits to ensure they were begging treated fairly.

    Looks like my work load has increased.

    Pleasure will also be aiding Salvation during conflict with the administering of bandages, salves, basic first aid and the transportation of patients through triage.

    Later when I caught a glimpse of Hobusei I was surprised. She didn¡¯t look like an Ogre, unless female Ogres are different to males, with bluish white skin just visible under a silver and gold robe. She was gesturing with a red gem studded gnarled staff to her disciples, who had increased by one.

    The lesson today seemed to be about the grading of spells.

    I wanted to ask Gobujii but he was¡­ busy.

    Lately my own training has suffered because of my duties, hopefully this won¡¯t stunt my growth.

    Day 52:

    There was some grumbling this morning as we turned back a few guys who weren¡¯t allowed to use the elves.

    They are ranked just above me so it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand were they''re coming from or how they feel but still I don¡¯t want to get beaten because I let you guys in. Your beatings are a lot less severe and creative compared to the Boss¡¯s. When Ogarou returned from his hunt he was carrying an incomparable beauty of an elf, some asked if she would be added to the cells but he didn¡¯t say anything.

    Behind him Ogakichi was laden with 12 golden thread wrapped packages but he hardly seemed to notice the weight. The outer layer was unwrapped, collected and they were tossed into another cave of cells. Unlike before some of the combat troops were stationed to guard them.

    These guys are definitely for a different purpose.

    They also gave us all the equipment they had taken from the men, some they had taken from dead elves and some they had taken from some Goblins.

    I found out later that some of the guys from this morning had left.

    They were some of the older generation, specifically those that had remained in the cave when we were born, and the lowest ranked.

    I guess I should be happy. I mean my rank just jumped six places but that¡¯s only because the rankings now ends at around fifty.

    Ogarou entered the new prisoner¡¯s cell.

    Day 53:

    Ogarou emerged around noon.

    I can only imagine what went on because as I passed some of the guards were pale.

    The ruckus started in the Workshop because that Elf maiden woke up and while blinking took in her surroundings. She was terrified and screaming something I didn¡¯t understand but to wake up surrounded by Goblins, yeah that be rough.

    Ogarou chased us out before having a chat with her, she was sobbing as we left.

    For the first time in a while I took up my sword and asked to spar with some of the others who looked like they had nothing to do. I¡¯m going to train hard and try to distinguish myself or [Rank Up] and get stronger.

    All for some elven booty.

    I was also more determined to hold my new rank, it was still the highest I¡¯d been yet.

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    Day 54:

    We were put in a state of alert.

    Our powerhouse Ogre duo are off to escort the Elf Maiden back to the Village of the Elves, I wish I could go, and there might be trouble. After what happened the last time. He doubts it, and I don¡¯t think they could take both of them, but it¡¯s possible.

    The Hobgoblin who now leads us in the morning training, Ogakichis second in command, has been left in charge of Anger till there back.

    We close down the cells and increase our guards at the entrance but apart from that carry on as normal. It does give me more time to spar though. I¡¯ve finally gotten the hang of using this bigger sword.

    I even fought Redhead to a draw.

    She¡¯s strong. The typical sword and board type. I think she has the job [Warrior] which means she¡¯s had at least some form of proper combat training.

    The other Goblins win against her pretty much all the time but you can tell how much efforts she¡¯s putting into seriously training. Her movements aren¡¯t too bad, by Goblin standards, and the execution of her techniques are very well timed. If I still had my shield I may have won against her but since I traded it away I¡¯ve got to rely on my sword for defence as well. If I was a bit like more like Hobusato I think I could have done better.

    I can¡¯t power through or dance around her defences. So I took a [Shield Bash] or two.

    Not only that when I¡¯m recovering from the [Knock Back] effect of the manoeuvre she¡¯ll use a [Slash] to keep me off balance or as she blocks with the shield, I¡¯ll have to watch out for a quick [Stab] of her sword.

    She makes a great training partner while I hone my new style.

    We¡¯re both weak, winning against us means nothing to those above us but for us it¡¯s a stepping stone. The first step on the long road to becoming strong. We went another couple of rounds.

    When she honestly thanked me for sparring I felt a little embarrassed.

    It¡¯s taken a while but I¡¯m slowly beginning to understand what the human girls are saying when they speak. It¡¯s just simple repetition; that particular word linked to that specific action and you can infer what they meant.

    The afternoon passed as normal; shift down the mine and a shift in the Workshop. Since the cells were still off limits I filled the time I would normally be guarding prisoners and pimping sex slaves by doing a little self-study.

    It was a rare opportunity to look at the books in Hobusei¡¯s library.

    Of course I asked if I could read them first, she gave me a sceptical look but conscented with a small nod anyway.

    Thanks to Gobumi¡¯s lessons on the [Continental Alphabet] I thought it would be fairly straightforward to read any of the books. Oh how wrong I was. The content was mostly full of jargon that only someone who understood the principles of spell casting would understand and the language was very difficult to read.

    Like those books written in ye olde tongue.

    After watching me struggle for a while Hobusei sighed and handed me another couple of books, ¡°World Wandering Journal: First Volume¡± and ¡°Recommended Guide to Erietta Continent¡¯s Alphabet¡±.

    This was the teaching aid Gobumi used during her lessons.

    With it I was able to translate enough of the Journal to understand it was an account of an adventures travels between Imperial Palaces and Unexplored lands. I had it open like a dictionary and was slowly translating words and clarifying their meanings. Before trying to sort the jumbled sentence structure in my head so it at least made sense and read better grammatically.

    We were still on edge when the Colonel returned to us just as it was getting dark.

    He distributed some alcohol he had received to the higher ranks and opened the pleasure cells again. Fuelled by drink it was a long guard shift but I spent some of it reviewing what I had learned until.

    [Successfully Learned the [Continental Alphabet]]

    Day 55:

    The party atmosphere of last night was washed away this morning when before training we were all gathered in the Training Hall.

    Ogarou told us that if any of us wished to leave, because they couldn¡¯t live under his rule, then he would allow it. To make this point clear he side stepped from in front of the tunnel entrance he had previously been blocking.

    As though to sweeten the deal he took out a small knife made of a strange bluish metal.

    This would be presented as a parting gift, in exchange for any current equipment, to any who chose to leave. It was a beautifully crafted blade and I was tempted to leave just to obtain it but thoughts of trying to survive out there alone, madness.

    Others were captivated by the new weapon but no one moved.

    After a few minutes of silence he let out a sigh and dismissed us with a wave of his hand before he left to hunt. Training this morning was fierce. The Goblins that had chosen not to leave now fought with renewed vigour to prove that they deserved to stay.

    I was no exception

    I swung that sword with wild abandon trying to crush shields, parry blades or deflect spears. I did ok for a while until the weight of the thing grew too much, it¡¯s different to swinging an axe around, and I ended up running punishment laps.

    The crowd around the cells has also quietened down after this morning¡¯s speech. I don¡¯t mean volume of patrons, I mean how rowdy they were. We only had to sort out a single repeat offender.

 Chapter 15: Day 56 - 59

    Day 56:

    Today¡¯s training was postponed when Ogrou gave us all strange blue bands with deep crimson stones set into them. He took his time explaining to us that these are special cuffs that allow communication over long distances. This will allow him to give orders regardless of whether he¡¯s there or not.

    The efficiency of his army has just increased tenfold. Seriously!!?

    Another thing about the bracers is that they are also enchanted, by him, to have certain properties. They contain magic for [Regeneration], [Lesser Strength] and [Lesser Dexterity].

    These however are only set to trigger in specific circumstances.

    As evident when the torn skin around the bracer, from when it bite into the flesh of my forearm as it was being fitted, began to heal its self. I also felt a surge of power flow through me quickly followed by a wave of exhaustion.

    The regeneration ability only enhances our natural healing ability by supercharging it but this comes at the cost of burning through our energy.

    Thankfully the other two enchants are also triggered at the same time so that while we heal we are given a boost in combat ability. It¡¯s the so called O¡¯shi button. Although minor wounds like cuts and scrapes close in a short time I doubt it has enough power to regrow limbs.

    For something like that we have the medical corp. These bracers just allow us to survive long enough to get better treatment.

    It took all morning for him to customise the bracers to each individual person¡¯s tastes.

    He was persevering when I last saw him.

    With my own simple design completed I headed out, morning training was cancelled due to the time we had lost and many wanted to test out their new gifts in actual combat. After tracking down and slaying a couple of Horned Rabbits I decided to try to cook the meat. After having so much cooked eat lately it is hard to settle for the taste of it raw.

    I don¡¯t have any way to instantly cook it like with fire magic but I do have my fire spirit stone shard.

    I¡¯ve been curious as to how to use them since I got them but as they¡¯re all just inferior quality stones I have to use them sparingly or they¡¯ll be exhausted before I know it, so I¡¯ve been reticent to start experimenting with them.

    Taking the small blue water spirit stone from the pouch on my waist, once I got decent armour I somehow got the Sisters to sew the neck pouch onto my clothes using the neck cord as a crude belt of sorts, and gripping it tightly in my hand. After a few moments of squeezing a small trickling of water drips steadily from the crevices in my fist, Blacksmith showed us this so we could assist her.

    Satisfied I replaced it and drew from the pouch a green and a brown stone. I held them in either hand and slowly tightened my grip. A little gust of wind escaped by squeaking through the gaps while the balled fist of the other hand grew heavier and felt more solid.

    The small green wind spirit stone and the small brown earth spirit stone were also relatively straight forward and easy to handle. The last two untested stones in the pouch, the yellow and the red one, would require a more cautious approach. Fire and Thunder spirit stones could potentially do damage to me that¡¯s why I left the dangerous ones till last.

    I took the red shard and gripped it in my hand, as I slowly increased my grip on it the heat I felt it give off increased. Until fully clenched I felt like I was holding a smouldering lump of coal.

    After a few moments I released it from my grasp.

    Looking at the black burn covered hand I could already see the edges beginning to heal.

    When it had finished I had wanted to test out the thunder spirit stone but due to using up so much energy to heal my charred flesh, I was more than ready to eat. Setting up a quick pile of twigs and sticks I took a ball of dry grass and pressed the red shard into it.

    After a moment of gentle squeezing thin tendrils of smoke slipped through my grip.

    I placed the newly lit bundle into my awaiting structure and, using as much control as I could, coaxed the glowing embers into life using the wind spirit stone to fan the flames. Thankfully the fire spirit stone had fallen out of the bundle when id set it down and was easily retrieved.

    With a roaring fire going I could cook what I had killed. The taste of cooked meat is far superior even to the rich flavour of blood oozing from raw meat.

    After I was full and ensuring the fire was contained, I took out the last shard. The yellow thunder spirit stone. Not knowing how powerful it was likely to be meant nothing where electricity was concerned especially magical electricity did it even have a volt/amperage scale???

    I started to squeeze it in my left hand.

    My left hand has taken some abuse today but it¡¯s not my dominant hand so I figured it could be easier to sacrifice should things go wrong. There was a tingly sensation in the half closed fist before the muscles twitched and clamped shut on the stone. Pain shot up my arm and the convulsions in the muscles of my hand and forearm continued.

    I tried to pry my grip free with the other hand but a small jolt of electricity arched at it as I drew it closer.

    It crackled between my fingers and I had to resort to using a stick to smack at my hand trying to knock the stone free and end its control of my arms basic motor functions.

    I only stopped hitting myself when something small hit the ground with a tinkle.

    The arm was still twitching but I managed to uncurl most of my fingers, most of the skin was blistered red raw and peeling in some areas. Another wave of exhaustion swept over me as it began healing.

    Out of the five these two are definitely the most dangerous.

    Thankfully the effects from stones this size are weak or else I could have shocked and burned myself seriously.

    Water and wind didn¡¯t really have the strength to do any real damage. I took out the earth shard again wanting to test is true capabilities. A bush next to me rustled and I hastily drew my sword. Unfortunately as I¡¯m standing there sword lowered in my right hand and gem clutched in left the Night Viper slithered out, rises up and glares at me.

    I meet its evil eyed glare dead on and felt my body stiffen with fear.

    Sensing my moment of hesitation it shot forward with its mouth open, poisonous fangs bared and clamped down on the closest body part. My left hand.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Or it would have if not for the earth spirit stone held tight within the trembling fist, the deadly fangs couldn¡¯t puncture the skin and beads of poison dribbled off harmlessly. I still felt the pain and the pressure from the bite, enough to jar me from the effects of its gaze, but nothing else.

    While it was still fastened onto my left hand I somehow managed to raise the sword in my right. It was still too heavy to for me to use one handed but I could at the very least lift it up and swing it down, thanks to gravity. The blade fell like a guillotine severing the dangling length behind the restrained head.

    The jaw of the snake had locked up with its last death spasm and I couldn¡¯t pry to off which meant that I couldn¡¯t unclench my fist. Taking advantage of this, and wanting to see the result, I slammed my fist into the ground as hard as I could.

    I heard the breaking of a couple of things; the snakes jaw and a few bones in my hand.

    Gratifyingly enough I did leave a nice fist sized crater, a few inches deep, in the dirty.

    Dousing the remains of the fire with the water stone I decided to call it a day. Hungry once again from the use of regeneration I took the remains of the Night Viper and headed home, catching a few Horned Rabbits along the way.

    My night shift was uneventful but a few of the stubborn hold out elves are starting to gently moan frequently.

    Day 57:

    Seems everyone tested their new bracers to the fullest yesterday as there were a lot more higher level beasts brought back to eat.

    We got a quick reprimand about being reckless before the hypocrisy of an even more intensely brutal than usual training started. Which I actually didn¡¯t mind too much, lately I¡¯ve realised that being at the bottom actually means I have the most to grow¡­ if I can stay motivated enough to do so.

    Thanks to the strenuous exercise regeneration kicked in. I can almost feel my torn muscles recovering.

    The rest of the day passed fairly uneventfully.

    I pull my shift at the cells, the moaning has gotten louder no doubt the 3 males and 2 females will be looked after properly this evening. Spent some time helping in the Workshop and even working on the first of our expansion projects within the mine.

    My lazy day was destroyed when the alarm was raised and all able bodied residents (basically 90% of the caves inhabitants) grabbed their arms and raced to the entrance of the mine. What I saw was beyond belief.

    A procession of animals were making their way towards our cave.

    Several Triple Horned Horses and Hind Bears marching in file but the strangest sight of all was the pair of massive Ogres riding the giant bears. Hobusei was also riding on a Hind Bear while the rest of the horses and bears came trotting into the cave as if it was natural but these are some of the forests strongest creatures.

    We could only watch in awe as they paraded their new pets and mounts.

    Day 58:

    After yesterday¡¯s upset I didn¡¯t think I could be so surprised anymore but that changed when I was in the Workshop. Blacksmith and Redhead were lovingly scratching the belly of a Hind Bear, which seems to have become the pet of Ogarou, like it was an oversize dog. When into the area prowled a large Black Wolf.

    It padded across and put its head on Alchemists lap.

    Before she knew it she was absentmindedly stroking its ears and petting it with a content smile.

    This new addition is Ogarou¡¯s pet dog; the big pack leader of the Black Wolves he brought back today. If you want to know where the rest of the pack is, that¡¯s simple. They¡¯re outside on the external training field being riden around by their partners.

    No longer will Hatred be involved in Light armoured hit and run guerrilla tactics, no now they have actually become something akin to a cavalry section.

    Each member got a Black Wolf companion/mount and Hobusato is trying her best to ride a Triple Horned Horse. Just like the Hobgoblin second in command of Anger. Ogakichi is steadyily getting the hang of riding his bear as are the others with mounts.

    Of course the reins and saddles that Ogarou custom made for each rider has made staying on at least marginally easier.

    After he brought back the new wolf mounts Ogarou spent a little time walking them around the field, he looked like a horse trainer breaking in a new foal but once they got the hang of it he left them to it.

    My shift in the cells was also full of surprises as the last two Elves final succumbed to their desires.

    They were gently comforted by the Colonel.

    Tomorrow we move all the elves out of the prison cells and into the new area we¡¯ve been working on. Simply put; the red light district.

    Day 59:

    Since we no longer have to guard the elves that have totally given in to their desires, all the residents have also accepted the rules, I had more time to myself. Or so I thought but instead I was already assigned another couple of shifts in the Workshop and the other expansion projects.

    It did however give me time to myself in the evening to train.

    I took the opportunity to consult Blacksmith about the use of Spirit Stones.

    She uses them so much so her knowledge on the subject is superior to anything I could have read about in Hobusei''s libarary.

    It was a little tough going as I still haven¡¯t mastered the language yet but what I got was that like the things she makes Spirit Stones are used by magic users as aids to help cast spells but the way she incorporates them into weapons means that anyone can use them.

    This intriguing conversation continued for several hours.

    Although the shards I have aren¡¯t very powerful or will last very long I had thought of trying to get them in a more reasonable form. I don¡¯t want to give myself third degree burns just to boil water.

    In games and things like that I¡¯d need some sort of magic conducting material like mithril to squeeze 100% out of them but here and with Blacksmiths skill it seems any old ordinary metal will do as a base. There are a few scraps lying around but I can¡¯t take these as they¡¯re destined to be re-forged.

    Mulling over the problem of materials and performance I head to bed.

 Chapter 16: Day 60

    Day 60:

    I was roused from sleep by several of my comrades, they had serious expressions tinged with excitement, it put me in mind of the time the elves raided us.

    We armed and headed to the Training Hall.

    Ogarou and the rest of the commanders were also geared up and focusing on the entrance of the mine intently. Guess our guest are coming soon.

    With a wave of his hand the sleek mounted riders of Hatred and the heavier armoured soldiers of Anger began the march to the exit; weapons drawn. Following behind them are the artilary sections; Regret and Agony. While us in the Pleasure unit are tasked with the rear as well as assisting Salvation (Hobuji) with his healing as the med-corps.

    I gripped my sword tightly in both hands. At my waist I had my pick strapped as a spare.

    It¡¯s not as heavy and I can swing it around with greater ease.

    Plus its not just me, all those in Pleasure are clutching or carrying their mining equipment. I guess we got influenced by our capable Boss. Gobue is currently next to Ogakichi and the others spinning the pick casually. I¡¯ve witnessed her part boulders like they were butter with the thing so I can only imagine how deadly it¡¯ll be against a softer target.

    With our formations set and all of us out of the mine we finally got our first glimpse of the enemy: Kobolds.

    It¡¯s pitch black outside but thanks to the great eye sight of the Goblin race even I could easily make out those dog like faces racing towards us. What struck me as odd was none of the rabble had weapons or showed hostility. Instead apart from the few leading them the rest look like elders, woman and children!!?

    I didn¡¯t have to wait long for the situation to clear up as from the darkness of the tree line shambled a single skeleton. It was quickly followed by another and another, like a wave flowing out of the forest.

    We watched a few of the armed Kobolds in the back got cut down, while bravely trying to hold off the advancing forces, before orders came through on the cuffs.

    A volley of arrows and bolts shot off into the dark starry sky.

    Unfortunately against our undead foe things like arrows are ineffective.

    The rain of arrows and crossbow bolts littered the ground but the real measure of damage they caused was minimal. The slowly advancing wave of skeletal warriors barely even faltered as the assault hit them. A couple of lucky shots punched holes in their tattered armour or embedded themselves in rotten buckler shields but little more.

    Seeing the lack of definitive damage Regret was withdraw to the back and Pleasure were tasked with escorting and securing the Kobolds within the mine complex. Hobuji was hot on our heels and in no time had one of the new areas set up as a tirage clinic.

    We did our best to herd them in and try to control the situation.

    The sounds of intense fighting reached us but we were already fighting on a different battlefield.

    Those from Regret were stationed around the room both as a first line of defence and as a suppressive force in case the Kobolds tried anything but with four fifths of them currently groaning and moaning on the floor I doubt that will happen. Hobuji is frankly amazing.

    I don¡¯t know if this is knowledge he got intrinsically or from books or even from being taught by Ogarou but he¡¯s one of the most competent healers I¡¯ve ever seen. That¡¯s comparing him to doctors in my old world and players in an online raiding guild I was in.

    The patients were split into three categories; Life Threatening, Severe and Minor injuries.

    Each was tagged with a different coloured scrap of cloth, using the traffic light system, to determine priority. Red was those with life threatening wounds; Yellow were those with severe wounds and Green was those with minor wounds.

    The first thing to be done was to stabalize those with life threatening wounds.

    Thankfully there were only a few of them and they were mostly warriors who could endure for longer than say the elderly or children.

    Once this was complete those with the yellow tags were assessed.

    If the treatment required was some simple first aid than it was undertaken but us but if they required something more than Hobuji and his healing magic would step in; while we assisted.

    Once everyone was reduced to green tags an assessment of minor injuries was undertaken.

    I was binding the leg of an elderly male Kobold when Ogarou popped his head in to the small field hospital. I hadn¡¯t noticed before but the sound of fighting had gotten quieter but closer.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    He began to heal and sedate the Kobolds.

    Evidently he had come to see how we were getting on, as none of our lot had been brought in yet he only had a limited grasp on the situation thanks to the cuffs, and satisfied he told us to rotate out with some of those playing in the killing field.

    We were instructed on what had been learned and how the battle had progressed since we were withdrawn. I sheathed my sword and pulled out my pick. Classic solution to skeletons who have resistance to slashing and piercing damage; smash them into a million billion tiny pieces. Or at least that¡¯s how Ogarou put it as he grinned wickedly.

    When I got to the front the scene that I witnessed was carnage.

    The corpses of hundreds of skeleton warriors were littering the battlefield and here and there small pockets of resistance was being met with pure brutal strength. Hind Bears, Triple Horned Horses and Black Wolves were running dashing all over the place stomping and smashing. Herding the wandering undead towards the jaws of death that had been set up at the enterance.

    Members of all squads were lining the walls and spread out ready to bash and crush any skeleton that staggered their way. A couple were even relaxing against the cave wall snacking on bones or looting corpses.

    Even the human girls were outside, guarded faithfully by Ogarous Hind Bear, looking like they were having a picnic. Their sleepy expressions were wonderful.

    Caught up in the festive atmosphere we rushed in with our picks held high.

    I don¡¯t know how many hours passed with me just hacking at any skeleton in range, occasionally swapping out with someone else just to rest a little before getting right back to killing, the number of small cuts and scrap¡¯s on my body increasing but the combat experience was whole heartedly welcomed.

    As the sun was starting to peek out over the horizon Ogarou strode from the enterance way where he had been observing. He marched confident to the edge of the forest and speared a lone skeleton with his silver arm. The skeleton in question was slightly bigger and better armoured then those we were fighting and no new skeletons emerged from the darkness of the forest after it was destroyed.

    So I guess it¡¯s like ending the event by killing the Boss.

    We mopped up the remaining stragglers and began the long process of cleaninig up. The skeletons were stripped of their armour and weapons before being separated. Those not eaten or taken by the Colonel and others were sent to Alchemist and Blacksmith

    Once this was completed we headed back inside just as the sun was rising.

    It was around this time that a wave of exhaustion swept over me, I guess the lack of sleep, regeneration fatigue and the adrenaline rush finally waring off was a devastating combo.

    Sleep has never come easier.

    The whole community slept like a log till early evening, near as I can tell, I was gently woken by the soft murmur of people going about their business. Showing I wasn¡¯t first awake. We gathered again as Ogarou requested and brought the Kobold refugees forward. Calling them prisoners didn¡¯t feel right, but that could change, and neither did referring to them as patients, we¡¯re not a charity you know.

    He woke them all and settled down to hear their story.

    The story of why they tried to MPK us.

    Seems they¡¯d had some troubles and decided to give their lives to the Colonel, I can¡¯t understand their Kobold language but the site of over 30 of them prostrating themselves at his feet in pretty universal.

    Seeing this Ogarou just nodded before taking several leather collar looking things and began chewing them.

    By the face he¡¯s making they must really taste bad.

    He said something to them and they jumped up, their tails wagging happily like real dogs, he turned to us and had us lead them to the newly unoccupied cells, before rubbing his temples.

    Looks like there fate will be decided later.

    Since it was already this late in the day I, like many others, just headed back to bed.

    <hr />

    AN:- So that''s the first volume done, I managed to crack it out so quickly due to the great frame work both the manga and the light novel provides. After this updates will be sporadic as with the foundation almost finished being laid soon the two stories should start to diverge.

    Thank you for giving this FanFic a try and hopefully see you in Vol: 2.

 Update

    Hello. It¡¯s me ShamelessLeech.

    Been awhile.

    Thank you for all your support, I appreciate all the feedback and support. I was always giddily waited for comments on new chapters. To see if you liked the last chapter, thought the direction I was taking was wrong or adamantly refused to believe that character would act like that.

    Some of that was, of course, related to the plot or twists further down the road but some of it made me stop and consider my fiction again from a new perspective.

    It allowed the world I had crafted to deepen.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Unfortunately, as is often the case, [REAL LIFE] has gotten in the way.

    My creative juices have been sapped completely and I was truthfully always someone who enjoyed reading more than writing.

    So with this new year upon us, I¡¯ve decided to prune back my fictions in an attempt to finish one, or any, of them.

    As such I will be removing and heavily editing the fictions found on this site.

    *Bows Deeply*

    Thank you for all the hard work and I look forward to working with you again.