《Weak Kobold Wants to Conquer [Monster Lead LitRPG Fantasy]》 Conquest 1 – New World I opened my eyes, my body lying flat on the ground. My body felt stiff from laying on a solid surface for who knew how long as I pulled myself up. But as I stood up, I felt a throbbing sensation coming from my head. The world felt like it was spinning around me. Damn headachewhere am I? Still feeling a bit disoriented it took me a bit of time to get my bearings before I started to check my surroundings, the location I was at was unfamiliar to me. It was dark and rocky; from what I can tell I was in some sort of cavern. It was unusual, the last thing that I could remember was lying in my bed, and I knew our town was nowhere near any caverns. Heck there shouldnt even be any rocky terrain for miles. I was worried over what had exactly happened to me, I mean it doesnt look like I was kidnapped or anything. If anything, this scenario felt vaguely familiar, it was almost like one of tho- Wait! It cant be! A sudden realization had hit him. Ive read many stories about this scenario; you could even say Im an expert in this kind of stuff. Upon this revelation I quickly tried something, beginning to speak, hoping it would work. Status It was the usual way to do this but also for some strange reason I felt like this was supposed to be what I was supposed to say. Once the word was spoken a blue screen suddenly appeared in front of me. It took me a bit of surprised, I mean it was hard to believe it had worked. I started to jump for joy, finally my day has come! Ive been sent to another world!! Ive dreamed of this happening for so long and now its happened. The long-awaited dream I thought I could never achieve World domination!!! I started to chuckle. then I started to laugh. My laugh became harder and louder. I couldnt help myself after all. The idea of world conquest wasnt exactly something most people would consider. many would even be appalled over the idea. But not me, to me I was quite fascinated with the idea. Conquering lands, having others submit, and making everything I see before me mine! There was no greater feeling than that. But even I knew it would be impossible in my old world, with all those laws and lack of power, but here, who knows what kind of possibilities there were. After a bit of time, I started to calm down. Its important that I assess my situation and figure out what I can do. And the first thing to do was to understand my own skills, so I finally took a look at my status screen.
Unnamed
Race Red Kobold
Attributes
[Health] F [Spirit] E
[Strength] F [Dexterity] E
Abilities
[Game Screen] (Rank G) (Progression: 00.00%) [Dimensional Box] (Rank F) (Progression: 00.00%)
[Kobold Adaptability] (Rank E) (Progression: 00.00%)
Skills
N/A
I was a bit stunned at what I was seeing, my mouth gaping at the information presented before me. I mean it cant be trueRight?? It was then that I realized that my hands were different than before, I mean how could I possibly not have noticed this already? For one thing I had only four fingers in each hand and the most notable change about me was I had scales! Deep dark red scales all over my body with golden pupils on my eyes! I had claws and my teeth felt sharper than I remember. But the change I was mad about the most of all was that I was SHORT!!!!!! Yesit regrettably seems I had transformed into a weak little Kobold!!! Even my stats seemed to reflect on it. From what I can tell they go based off a letter system to determine the power level. So, to have mine to be merely E and F only, I dont know how low it can go but I imagine this wasnt too far off ugghh so pitiful I was frustrated, without even starting my dreams of conquest had already hit a huge snag. But before being able to contemplate on it more there was a voice calling out. Hey what are you doing here? Hurry up and help us out here! It came from another kobold; one whose scales were colored brown. He was holding a pickaxe, and his body was covered in rock dust. He was clearly mining recently. But before I could respond he shoved the pickaxe in my hand. Dont think I remember seeing you before, but dont care. About time someone else took over, I need a break He immediately pushed me towards the next tunnel where I could hear a bunch of KLANG noises. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. When I entered what I saw was various other kobolds, many where busy mining. Some seemed to be tinkering with some tools as well as inspecting the minerals we were gathering. It seemed I was transported in a kobold community within a cavern. I was a bit surprised at first, I could see so well despite there being very little lighting. Though I simply chalked it up to my species traits. For the moment though I figured it would be best to play along, with how I am now there was no way I could conquer anything let alone the entire world. So, I began the boring task of mining, though I had difficulty with my weak strength. It took me several tries just to get a good swing on the rocks. Now he just needs to get a few more. * Many hours passed uurrgghhfinally I dropped to the ground, managing to get a break after all that mining. It was exhausting and back breaking, I wasnt sure if it was going to end... Gives me more appreciation for all those miners on my old world Well at least it wasnt a total waste of time. During that dull task of gathering a bunch of rocks all day, I did manage to learn a few things. For one it doesnt seem like anyone else could see the screen appear. I tested it out by opening my status window up and no one seemed to react to it. So, I took the opportunity to figure out some stuff out. Most of the details were straightforward and easy to figure out. What I was curious about was my skills, though the only thing I had was a few listed as abilities with one I obtained in the middle of mining. I wanted to get more details out of it so I assumed Id need to interact with the screen, though it would look suspicious if I started to motion my claws around. So, I figured maybe trying to work through it by thought and it seemed to have worked as a new screen appeared and showed the details of my abilities.
[Game Screen] (Rank G)
Able to conjure game interface screens only seen by user to help navigate through the world (Progression: 10%)
[Dimensional Box] (Rank F)
Able to store items in a pocket dimension only available by user (Storage Size: 0/5) (Progression: 00%)
[Kobold Adaptability] (Rank E)
At the cost of reduced Growth speed, able to freely control how Skills and Abilities will progress (Progression: 20%)
[Mining Mastery] (Rank E)
Higher rate of mining materials and better chance of gathering rarer materials (Progression: 00.20%)
At least I can confirm why Im seeing a screen in the first place, theres a chance Im the only one with this kind of ability. My knowledge of these kinds of stories tells me that this might be useful down the road. It was also useful to find I have my own personal storage, so I decided to test it out with some of the rocks I gathered. I tried thinking about using the [Dimensional Box] ability which caused a translucent box to appear before me with no one noticing once again. I then tossed the rocks into the box, and they disappeared like I suspected. I tried testing to see if I could move the box mentally and sure enough it did. Not only was it able to move but I could also change its size and even rotate it. I even managed to pull up the storage screen and checked to confirm that the rocks were inside. The [Mining Mastery] ability was self-explanatory which just left [Kobold Adaptability] I felt a little dread when I read about the slow growth speed It effectively meant that it was going to take a lllooonnngg time for me to see any real progress for strength. This being tied to kobolds meant this was a species problem, no wonder we looked all weak... Stillthe fact it lets me control the way my skills and abilities can progress may prove to be useful, depending on what that really means. I would have to experiment on this later though as it seemed like itd be a while before I would be able to see any results. And last but not least it seemed like I dont have a name registered. Hmm makes sense, a new body and a new life meant this is truly a fresh start for me. If thats the case, then I should give myself a new name as well. One that will scream to the world that it will belong to me! Yes, an intimidating name that will strike fear in my enemies and show the resolve of my world conquest!! Thats right from now on, in this new world I shall be named Vladimir!! At that moment, a new screen appeared in response to my new name.
New name registered
Unnamed has been updated to Vladimir
Seeing the information on the screen before me, I couldnt help but let out a laughter of excitement. My body moving on its own, unable to contain its own joy. Placing on foot on top of a rock, my arms stretched out up in the air as my body shakes in anticipation and laughter. The whole cavern could hear the echoes of my anticipation. Veehahahahaha!!!! It seemed like I had caught the attention of my newly fellow kobolds as they stared at me on display. Hmm I should start by making them my subordinates in the future. If the world is going to be mine, then that should mean everyone here as well. No sooner than when I had these thoughts my body had gave out, stiffening and dropping to the ground. The full exhaustion kicked in soon after. But before my body fell asleep, I could have sworn I heard the other kobolds whispered to themselves. What a weirdo I feel ashamed of myself just being near him Conquest 2 - Bend to My Will I had plans for world conquest since I first came to this new world, ready to take the lands before me as mine and everything in it. But well theres been a delay three months delay in fact... Being a kobold is such a difficult life. Ever since the first day I came here all Ive done was mine and inspect all the supplies we had. It was honestly exhausting both physically and mentally... and to make matters worse... Oh, look who it is its the great Vladimir~ Hey, plan to grace us with another one of your epic poses? ~ Why not make us bow before you with your intimidating laugh? ~ A few of my fellow kobolds, all of whom of the brown scale, began to mock me. Since that first day when I let out such an exciting laugh. Well, I didnt exactly help my case. Even when they started to openly mock me, I didnt stop letting my intent known. After all I wasnt going to hold back any more in this new life. With a dramatic motion of my claw, I pointed down at the group of kobolds that were mocking me Listen here plebians, one day youll regret mocking me! And once you do, youll beg to be mine! Veehahahahaha!! With my declaration I ended it with the sound of my laughter I was becoming more known for. There was a moment pause of silence that lasted for a few seconds. It was soon followed by a burst of laughter, the volume together almost comparable to my own. The mocking group couldnt contain their laughter. It was as I expected, like all the other times they found my mannerisms and declarations amusing. Yeah, good luck with that! Hahahaha Pfft yeah, youll sure make us regret it. The mocking kobolds left leaving me to my own accord, these days the others learned to take a certain distance from me. This worked out well enough for me. It makes it easier for me to experiment. After all, its not like I was doing nothing at all these last three months! Whenever I had the time to myself, I did everything I could to improve my abilities and learn what I can do with them. First off, my [Mining Mastery] was steadily growing with the daily mining activity. I also found that the ability would grow through proper inspection of the minerals I harvested. It may not seem like an impressive ability but in my experience with these kinds of stories the most underrated skills can prove to be the most powerful. [Game Screen] and [Dimensional Box] I was surprised to learn had progression scaling as well. Its possible with [Dimensional Box] the growth would mean a larger storage space. Oddly enough, the ability seems to categorize each space through different types of items rather than how many. Right now, I have a large number of [Rock] stored, taking only one storage space. Definitely good to know, Ill have to try improving this ability as soon as I can. As for [Game Screen] I am curious how this would grow if its even possible. Overall, my abilities growth since these last three months are as follows.
[Game Screen] (Rank G)
(Progression: 55.54%)
[Dimensional Box] (Rank F)
(Storage Size: 2/5) (Progression: 22%)
[Kobold Adaptability] (Rank E)
(Progression: 40.21%)
[Mining Mastery] (Rank E)
(Progression: 99.50%)
I sighed to myself; the [Kobold Adaptability] really did slow my progress down. I have nothing to base this on, but it really felt like I was taking too long to grow these abilities. Even my most grown ability [Mining Mastery] hasnt ranked up yet. So today Im aiming to rank up that ability and hopefully to test out if [Kobold Adaptability] will work as I expected. With that in mind I began my usual routine of mining. Being as close to rank up as I could be I put my all on it. Over and over, Ill keep at it till it happens until my exhaustion kicks in. And thats what happened after a long time, my body caved, aching all over as I lay on the ground when a screen popped up.
[Mining Mastery] has Ranked up to Rank D You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
I was exhausted but happy, after all these months I finally ranked up an ability! And now for the moment of truth. Seeing as I was too tired to move my arms at the moment, I mentally interacted with the screen. I smiled as what I was hoping for had come to fruition.
With improve skills in [Mining Mastery] you have unlocked a new skill or ability.
With [Kobold Adaptability] you are able to select from a list of available options.
As soon as I saw that I was quick to look through the list, though to my disappointment they all seem rather lackluster. I mean it mostly involved an upgraded version of [Mining Mastery] or simply better pickaxe skills or less stamina usage. I was on the cusp of giving up and just selecting a random skill when I noticed something else at the bottom of the screen.
Alternatively with use of [Kobold Adaptability] and [Game Screen] you are able to forge an entirely new skill or ability based off [Mining Mastery]
And there it is! When I read about this I immediately got started! The chance to create a new skill was too good an opportunity to pass up. And damn do I desperately need some kind of advantage to conquer in this world. As I started on creating a new skill, I pondered on what I could make from [Mining Mastery]. I had thought maybe, since mining is all about manipulating the land, I could create a skill that lets me freely control the lands before me but when I thought that I ended up getting an ERROR message. Tch, guess that was asking for too much. I would have to scale it back, so I tried to consider the core aspect of mining. When I consider it, mining is essentially about breaking down the raw materials to be used to recreate into something new. It seems [Game Screen] picked up on that as a new message appeared.
New Skill creation option identified.
[Material Forge] (Rank G)
Cost Extremely Low Mana
Freely reshape nonliving materials as desired within range of user. (Range: 10 Meters)
Would you like to create new Skill?
Yes No
Hmm interesting, based on the description it feels more like a tamed version of the skill I previously wanted. Still, with this I could possibly create objects with the materials I have on hand. I could make some weapons on the fly or with more practice even make something more complex. Though the limited range means I wont be popping out large scale buildings anytime soon. With that in mind, this will definitely be a good start for me, and I had many ideas I could use this for my quest for conquest. Veehahahahaha~ So, without further ado I clicked yes to the prompt. The screen disappeared and I could feel a new power envelope within me. Afterwards, I could tell that it had worked and that I gained a new skill. I was so excited! It was my first skill, and I didnt waste time trying it out! I dipped into my [Dimensional Box] and took out a big hunk of the large quantity of [Rock] I had stored over the last few months. I then put my focus on activating the skill. Material Forge!! When I had that thought the rock in my hand had suddenly broken into a pile of dust! It took me a bit of a surprise at first with the instant change, but I calmed down as I put my next thought, thinking of having the crushed rock to reshape into a ball. The dust had responded in kind as it started to move on its own, even the ones that had fallen off into the floor near my feet. It barely took a second before it had changed into the shape of a ball just as I had thought! I tested out the texture of the rock ball and while I can still feel the same hardness of the material it was surprisingly as smooth as I had envisioned it to be. It seems [Material Forge] perfectly captures what I picture in my head. Then it will be good for me to practice imaging in my head with as much detail as possible. I still had free time to myself so I continued to practice and study what I could do with [Material Forge]. After some time, I decided to take a break, I was feeling exhausted and could feel my mana supply running on low. After catching my breath, I decided to review what I learned about the skill. First, I had a limited range, like the description said it was 10 meters away from any part of my body. Though interestingly enough it only applies to objects as a whole, which means that if I were to say have a long rod then my skill can reshape the entire rod so long as it stays within range at the edge. Second, I am able to make as many objects as possible and as quickly as possible, it all seems determined from how much focus and mana I put into the skill. I put a mental note for myself to try to improve either my mana recovery rate or maximum capacity, Im still struggling figuring out how these stats work. Lastly, I had some understanding of what the description meant by nonliving materials. So, my guess would be that I wouldnt be able to use my skill on living creatures, I found not even plants would work after I had tried it on some cave mushrooms. Though, I tried testing out a theory by using some [Giant Rat Fur] I had stored and found that I was able to use my skill on it, despite coming out of a living creature. My hunch was right, it seems that the skill would count anything that isnt attached to a living being, plant or creature, as nonliving which opens a lot more possibilities for me to utilize. With all that in mind I decided on my next course of action. With my new power to bend the land before me to my will, there was a lot of preparation work in store for me~ Veehahahaha! I couldnt contain my own joy as the empty cavern echoed my unfiltered laughter. Meanwhile, from across a tunnel nearby the echoes of my laughter can be heard by my kobold brethren. Some reacted with their own laughter, some shaking their head in annoyance, and others felt a bit of cringe over another of his antics. Conquest 3 - You are Mine! It has been two months since I first acquired [Material Forge]. Since then, Ive been taking the time to develop my use of it. I had requested myself to help with hunting food for my fellow kobolds and for some reason they were quick to allow me to. Though I could swear I could hear some of their whispers. Good, thatll keep him further away from us... Now we wont have to deal with his excessive laughter~ How much do you want to bet for how long hell survive there? ~ Basically, the overall stuff they whispered. But I didnt pay them any mind, there was work to be done and it would be a waste to worry about the opinions of those who were going to be mine anyway. They provided me with a [Wooden Club] and a large sack made of [Giant Rat Fur] and had left me to go on my own. With each venture delving into the caves, I hunted other monsters for food, starting off not too far from our dwelling and fighting smaller creatures. I had figured it would at least be important to learn to fight with just the club for now, after all it wouldnt do me good if I were to be stuck with my one skill to use. As time went on, I had become more used to basic combat, and I soon started to practice learning to fight with [Material Forge]. Each day, I delved deeper into the unknown and even started to hunt monsters closer to my size. The others seemed a bit surprised but not by much as I can tell, I can still hear their mocking whispers but as always, I had ignored them all. Which led to today, I was off to another venture, and if you were wondering what my current stats were, well as you can see.
Vladimir
Race Red Kobold
Attributes
[Health] F [Spirit] E
[Strength] F [Dexterity] E
Abilities
[Game Screen] (Rank G > F) (Progression: 05%) [Dimensional Box] (Rank F) (Storage Size: 2/5) (Progression: 57.32%)
[Kobold Adaptability] (Rank E) (Progression: 48.59%) [Mining Mastery] (Rank D) (Progression: 00.20%)
Skills
[Material Forge] (Rank G) (Progression: 97.87%)
I sighed at my overall stats; it hasnt changed at all since the five months I came to this world! Im starting to worry if its even possible to increase my stats at all! For some reason, I cant even see if theres any progression going on like with my abilities and skills After taking a moment to let out my frustration to myself I started on to my latest venture. At the very least, I was able to make significant progress on my only skill. I was actually quite surprised considering the rest were progressing much slower in comparison, though when I think about it, I had put a lot of focus on [Material Forge] and it probably showed. I was curious how Ill be able to improve that skill once it ranks up. Though I wonder if that applies to every rank up. Though I quickly shrug at the thought, I wont find out until it happens, so it was best I move on. For now, I need to focus cause today was the day I would go even deeper into the caves, Im bound to find better resources. With that I was off to see how far deep I could go and after some time, I had reached the furthest I had gone. After many trips it has gotten a lot easier to traverse around. Though I couldnt say the same afterwards! Compared to before, where it was mainly Giant Rats and Goblins, the place was filled with some strong monsters! At least compared to a kobold There were mainly Wolves that were grouped together, I could probably handle one maybe two but a whole group of them was not likely. At rare moments I would spot the occasional Orc prowling around, I doubted I could handle one unless it was seriously damaged. Despite the dangers I had wanted to go deep here for a reason, from the whispers of the other kobolds it seems this large cavern was well known by adventurers. We were lucky our community was settled in the furthest parts of the cavern, otherwise we would have been hunted more often. Apparently, a lot of tough monsters can be found not too far from the entrance so I can imagine many confident adventurers would have tried to conquer this place with mixed results. Many leaving behind some goods I could use. I still have some spare room in my [Dimensional Box] and a sack for some valuables but still, I shouldnt get too ahead of myself. Not long afterwards, I was starting to get exhausted. It was getting increasingly harder to move around because for some reason they were getting really aggressive. Just as well, I managed to get a few useful items. I took a look at [Game Screen], during my previous skirmishes I had managed to rank up and had decided how to upgrade it. During all this time I had noticed since coming to this world that I didnt have one of the most essential skills, appraisal skills. It would help in understanding various stuff in this new world and help avoid dangerous outcomes. So, with that I figured I could upgrade [Game Screen] to allow such ability. It was a good call as it indeed added the new feature, and I wasted no time using it. Using the new feature, I pulled up [Game Screen] and inspected the items I gathered and then thought. Inspect
[Silver Dagger] (Rank F)
A basic dagger with a silver blade. More effective against monster type creatures. It is said that the pure property of silver is what drives out the evil threats.
[Robe of the Night] (Rank E)
A furred black robe made from nocturnal creatures. Allows a better chance of lowering visibility in the shadows and small boost in [Strength].
[Mana Recovery Ring] (Rank E)
A small, enchanted metal ring. Slightly increases mana recovery rate.
All three of these items would be useful for me. While the [Wooden Club] is easier to use, the [Silver Dagger] would give me the edge I need to help finish some enemies off and the [Robe of the Night] would give me better opportunities to sneak past them or even sneak attack them, though I needed to use my skill to have it fit to my size. But the most useful of them all is the [Mana Recovery Ring]. With how much I rely on my [Material Forge] the extra mana recovery would provide me more time to use my skill. With that in mind I decided to equip them all if only to better improve my survival, and Im glad I did because I dont think I would otherwise! Though I shouldnt push my luck any further than I already have, it was time I should come back. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Thinking that, it was just as difficult as delving in, if not more so! The other monsters were a lot more agitated than when I came in. Something was definitely going on here and I needed to get out of here before I found out! Panic was setting in as it got more and more dangerous, I was even caught at one point by a stray wolf. I was lucky it was severely injured so I managed to fend it off rather quickly before it could harm me. Without much time I quickly put the corpse in my [Dimensional Box] and hurried off. I started to sprint as I got near the entrance to the safer areas of the cavern. My kobold body was beginning to tingle, as if warning me that danger was looming very close to me. I began to be hopeful as the exit out of this danger zone was right in sight but as I neared the pathway, a loud crash could be heard as a looming large figure stood before me. There was a long pause before I was able to process the sight before me and realized my predicament. . crap was all I was able to say. The figure before me moved as its eyes stared at me, giving me a good look at who I was facing. Standing tall at an enormous size being almost six times as big as me, looking down at me I felt like a small bug in comparison. Its upper body was massive, covered in brown fur and large muscles with large hooves for feet. Within its massive hands it was carrying a large ax almost as huge as itself. I could tell easily that what I was staring at was a Minotaur! There was no hope for me to survive fighting one, let alone winning! Thats what my kobold instincts were trying to tell me. And it was extremely hard to ignore it. I even found my own body trying to hide on its own, but I knew it would be pointless. The damn Minotaur had almost blocked both the exits when it came crashing here! The only opening left was too small for me to fit properly and its not like its going to let me widen the hole! I had no choice but to fight! I brandished my [Silver Dagger] and jumped back, and I noticed that it had sustained several injuries. It had many fresh scars, possibly from the other fights it was in. I felt a sense of relief at this observation and started to feel a bit more confident I could do this!! Without a moment to lose, I began to hide in the cover of the shadows. Though the Minotaur catches me fleeing and chases after me, with axe in hand. With one swift move it brings its axe down, breaking apart the rocky terrain with ease. I managed to barely avoid as I entered the shadows, and making sure I wasnt spotted I took a moment to breathe. I analyzed the terrain, hoping to see if there was anything for me to take advantage of. There were many large stalagmites around, perfect for hiding spots. And the area we were in was rather round though I could see some rock formations poking out at the walls. Could be used for climbing to have a height advantage if need be. All that was left was the ceilings, there were a few large stalactites and they looked like they were ready to fall at any second, thanks to that last crash just now. Finally, I used my [Game Screen] skill to inspect the Minotaurs stats to get a better gauge of what I was dealing with.
Unnamed
Race Minotaur
Attributes
[Health] B [Spirit] G
[Strength] B [Dexterity] F
Abilities
???
Skills
???
Unfortunately, it seems it would not provide me with many details, probably because I had just encountered it. At the very least it did tell me about its stats, hopefully its more than enough information for me to work with. Based on that, its safe to assume that I should avoid getting hit by it as much as I possibly can! Its [Health] and [Strength] far outclass my own and cues me that even with all those injuries it occurred, it is far from close to being brought down so it will be a battle of stamina. The only thing I have over him is a bit on [Dexterity] and a big step ahead on [Spirit], though I imagine that with those huge biceps going for it, it doesnt necessarily mean itll need to use much mana if at all! It looked like it can just crush me with its bare hands! With all that in mind, it seems my best strategy would be a hit and run tactic. I would need to focus on those scars he sustained for maximum damage if I had any hope of victory. But first things first, using [Material Forge] I created a needle like item using the [Rock] and took aim and threw it. Lucky for me I seemed to have enough [Strength] and [Dexterity] to throw the [Rock Needle] at my destination. As it speeds through the air it flies right past the Minotaur, instead of going for the intended target, the stalagmite above it! With a cracking sound, the needle hits its target. At first nothing else seemed to have happened, the noise just getting the Minotaur to stop for a second to search where it came from only to look up. At that moment more cracking sounds can be heard as the stalagmite begins to break until suddenly it drops! Gravity pulling it downwards and straight at the creature! With barely a moment to react the Minotaur stretches out its arm in front of it and use it to block out the falling debris as best he could. Taking advantage of that momentary distraction, I sprinted hoping that my one rank higher in [Dexterity] would be enough for me to be fast enough before it could react as I prepare my dagger. With a swift swing of my blade, I slashed from below at its legs, one after the other at the same time the debris crashes on it from above. The beast reacted in surprise, only expecting the falling rocks. It never occurred to it that there would be an attack towards its hooves. It winces in pain for only just a moment, but it was just enough! Using that momentary distraction, I quickly sprinted for the nearest stalactite cover before it could notice me, but not before leaving a quick surprise. Once in cover I managed to catch my breath, my whole body was shaking like mad. As if it was in retaliation for ignoring the danger it had warned me, though I didnt have long to process it. The Minotaur shakes his head off from the debris, the look on its face shows how pissed it was getting. Despite my best efforts, it still managed to trace my hidden location and sprinted right at me, about to crash right towards the rock formation. Sensing the danger mere inches away my kobold instincts took control, and my body quickly ran from my hiding spot, wanting to get clear away as possible. It was like I was fighting my own body at the same time as the Minotaur! I was getting fed up with this and I had enough of it! If I cant even conquer my own body, then I have no hope of conquering this world!! I refused to give up, not when I had just started! I forced my body to stop with all my might and turned to face the towering enemy before me who was clearly still enraged. I pointed my dagger in front of it and made my declaration! By the end of this fight, you will submit before me!!! The Minotaur didnt slow down as it went full stampede straight towards me, but still I refused to move an inch and instead I managed to sprint right towards it, weapon at the ready!! Once I was within striking distance it pulled its ax up in the air, ready to strike me down before I had any hope of my blade reaching close to its hide. As it swings down its axe down ready take me down, at that moment I couldnt help but to give a small smile. Before the weapon could touch me, the Minotaur suddenly lost its balance. The land beneath one of its hooves had collapsed, making it lose its footing. It had fallen for the trap I had set. Before I had taken cover, I managed to use my [Material Forge] to reshape a spot in the ground into something less stable that was ready to collapse at any moment and stored the excess [Rock] into my [Dimensional Box] to hide any evidence of tampering. I didnt dare waste this moment as it tumbled, I jumped and stabbed my blade with all my might at the nearest open wound, the left side of his stomach!! The Minotaur winced in pained, I had managed to do some major damage! Not willing to stop now I pulled out my [Wooden Club] as it completely loses its balance and falls face first onto the ground, letting go of its axe. I then immediately hopped on its back and began to recklessly swing both weapons at the various scars close to me, its body wincing with each strike, it wouldnt be long before I could finish this. But as the adrenaline was rushing to my head, my thoughts being clouded over my onslaught, I failed to realize the looming shadow that was quickly shrouding over me. Before I knew it, my body was suddenly sent flying straight to a wall. A wave of agony dominated my entire body, it was the most pain I had ever experienced since coming to this world! I landed hard on the ground, my entire body shaking from the experience. This Minotaur was tough, a lot tougher than I gave it credit for. I didnt have much time to think about it though because it was already getting back up weapon in hand, I could tell from how it was moving that it was done with this fight and was ready to finish this! Without much time I tried my best to get up, but it was proving extremely difficult! I was barely able to get up, there was no way I could even take a step right now. I had to think of something quick while that Minotaur was charging right at me!! But at the last moment I had an idea and quickly acted on it before I could start to doubt it. I activated my [Material Forge] skill on the ground below me, putting in a burst of mana into it to increase the size of reshaping and the ground before me quickly changed into a higher platform. The sudden transformation of the ground had the added effect of pushing me high up in the air, saving me just in time before the Minotaurs blade could reach my head! I managed to just barely grab onto the nearest rock formation on the wall, my body dangling limply. I had dropped the [Silver Dagger] after that last hit, and I was barely keeping a grip on the [Wooden Club] on my free claw. I could barely keep myself conscious let alone keep myself hanging for even a few seconds. I needed to end this now or its over! I decided to risk it all and let go as gravity started to force me down, right towards the angry beast! All the same, the Minotaur was ready, weapon at hand and ready to strike when I came within striking distance. With my own weapon at hand, I put all my energy to ready my own stance in the air, ready to strike down as I fall towards danger. With both weapons ready to clash, I knew my [Wooden Club] wouldnt withstand the metal ax, but I had one more trick up my sleeve! I pulled out all my crushed [Rock] from my [Dimensional Box] all at once and at the same time activated my [Material Forge] to the max, putting as much of the rest of my mana I had left on it to reshape my club to a massive giant rock hammer! The sudden added weight plus my own falling speed added extra force to my swing as our weapons clashed. The added force was proving to even give the Minotaur a struggle to keep its grip on its weapon with its scars also adding to the struggle, but it still charged through with its attack in full force! My improvised hammer was starting to chip and crack, it was going to break if I didnt do something now, but I could feel all my mana was spent. I ignored it though; I just needed a bit more mana so I had to push my body to squeeze as much mana out of me as I could. My vision was starting to blur, I was about to pass out at any second now, though I can just barely see the cracks on my hammer repairing itself and slams down at the beast! The Minotaur was hit full force in the head by the hammer as it began to fall back and crash to the ground! The hammer couldnt take it anymore as it broke apart the second it landed a hit. Everything falls silent as the dust settles, and the Minotaur was down on the ground. I was standing on top of it, weapon pointed at it in full triumph, my foe was defeated by my hands at last!! Now. You. Are. Mine!!! I declared with all my might, but before I could celebrate my victory any further my consciousness started to slip. And as I started to faint, I can vaguely see the [Game Screen] appear with a notification asking for a yes or no input. Without thinking I instinctively selected yes as everything goes black.
Minotaur has now joined you as a loyal Henchman
Conquest 4 - Obey Me Henchman! I began to open my eyes, my head throbbing. Everything in my body was screaming in pain and I could barely move. I struggled to remember what had happened then realized that I had fainted after my victory over the Minotaur. I quickly started to look at my surroundings, ignoring my bodys soreness, trying to find the monster. When I looked in front of me my body shook, my irritating kobold instincts kicking in trying to flee when I saw said creature in front of me, towering above me. But then something interesting happened. With its large frame the beast lowered its body, one knee to the ground and an arm placed over its chest and its head lowered to the ground with its eyes closed. I couldnt believe it; the Minotaur was bowing before me! Before I could process what was happening, it suddenly spoke for the first time From this day forth I pledge my body to you! I am at your service boss!!~ The beast opened its eyes, which were filled with a glimmer of admiration and a flame of passion. Even with its ragged body it was practically blinding in its adoration over me diddid he get brain damage when I hit him in the head earlier?? Uhm. Can you help me up? I cant move right now... I weakly asked, trying to test its loyalty to me. Its body quickly sprang up in excitement with a determined Of course! as it scooped me up with its large hands, being surprisingly gentle laying me beside a rock. It took me about a minute to recover myself and let my mind process what was going on. Meanwhile the Minotaur was bending down staring right at me, it was rather intimidating in a whole different way. Something was up and I needed to get to the bottom of it. Exactly why are you pledging yourself to me?? I started questioning it and it responded with overwhelming enthusiasm Dont you remember boss? After your glorious triumph over me you had declared me yours and I knew from that instant I wanted to serve that strength of yours!! I could only nod in response, damn how did this creature turned from trying to kill me to becoming my most fervent admirer. I then remembered that there was a message that had appeared before I fainted. I quickly used [Game Screen] and noticed a new tab. I looked into it and found it was a follower list. Looking closely at it there were two sections; henchmen, and minions, which seems to indicate different types of followers and below the henchmen list had Unnamed Minotaur marked below. Interesting, it seems you really did become my henchman A small smile formed from my lips. I extended my arm and pointed at my new follower as I stated Then from now on you will obey me, henchman!! Veehahahahaha!! ~ My laugh echoed across the room as my new henchman looked at me in awe, but I was soon interrupted by a bolt of pain. Argh...first order for you carry me while I recover. The Minotaur stood up and puffed his chest in full confidence Of course boss! He proceeded to lift me up and put me on his shoulders, with his big frame and my tiny body it was surprisingly easy for me to get comfy. I made sure I had him pick up my items and stash what I needed in my [Dimensional Box]. For extra measure I repaired my new henchmans axe using its chipped pieces scattered around the field, got to have the best weapons available for my henchmen after all! I pointed in the direction back at the base; it was time to introduce my fellow kobolds my new henchman! But first things first, It seems you dont have a name; you dont mind if I give you one myself? ~ It is the greatest honor to receive a name from you, boss! ~ With the Minotaurs approval I proceeded to start to think of a name for my henchman. Just to avoid a possible naming mishap I asked for its gender, which turned out to be male as I had guess. I gave it some thought, wanting to give him a super cool name that could intimidate my enemies! And I thought of just the name~ From now on your name will be Mordred! ~ there was a moment of silence, I was worried that he wouldnt like his name but then he started to pump his fist, a huge grin plastered on his face. An excellent name, boss! And a powerful one as well I like it!! To further prove his approval of the name I received a notification.
New name registered
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Henchman Minotaur name has been updated to Mordred
With name in hand, we continued back to the base, my henchman carrying me on his shoulder all the while taking care of any stragglers and picking up any materials I requested, storing them either in my sack or in my [Dimensional Box]. I thought to myself how useful he would be and how real lucky I was that he was mostly injured when I faced him, otherwise I doubt I would have been able to survive that fight. For now, hes on my side; whether its because he was added in my henchmen list, getting some kind of brain damage, or something else entirely he seems to have this high opinion of my strength. So, Ill have to keep him thinking that not wanting to see what would happen otherwise. It didnt take too long for us to reach our destination. When we got near the entrance, I could hear my fellow kobolds acting franticly, probably because of the uninvited guest I brought in. Everyone, hide! theres a huge beast coming our way!! Why is it coming here?! I thought we were far away from all the dangerous monsters!! Lets just surrender already! Maybe itll just leave us alone!! I could see that everyone was panicking, clearly intimidated by our presence, so I decided to try to calm everyones nerves. I jumped down, feeling my stamina coming back as I began to explain. Im back everyone and I brought back a huge find Veehahahahaha~ Unfortunately it seemed I only made them confused instead, oh well at least that got their attention. Now listen up you plebians, this Minotaur has pledged his loyalty to my service! Now I ask, who else wants to join him?! I asked, a claw extended in front of me in an offering stance. Mordred stood proudly behind me, towering over the rest of us. It didnt take long till everyone was bowing before me, some visibly shaking from anxiety for what was about to happen. I could even hear some of them whispering to each other about how it was going to suck. Oh well, Ill just have to show them that they made the right decision. I took my extended claw and brought it close to me, forming a fist as I announced to them all Now come join me and become my minions! ~
Kobold x 12 has joined you as your minions
Seeing the notification pop up, I instinctively checked the follower lists and checked to see that they had all indeed been added to the minion section. I would have to make a mental note to figure out the difference between the two sections later. For now, I have taken the first real steps into my goal for world domination! ~ With my new position of power, I concluded there was no need to hide my abilities from them. I began to show them, and their reaction was rather amusing. They knew of some abilities with the power for storing items though they are rather rare. They never even heard of [Game Screen] and [Material Forge]. It was even more unheard of for a mere kobold to have any rare skills, let alone this many, though I didnt pay that much mind. To my surprise during my demonstration, I noticed my [Material Forge] skill had ranked up, so I decided to upgrade it by letting me change the state of the chosen material for more versatility. With the upgraded skill I decided to use it to help improve our weapons. Many of them were in rather poor states, I still had spare [Iron] and my mana had mostly recovered so it was a rather easy fix. And while I was working, I peeked at the others looking at me with curious glares. It was definitely a different type of glare I was used to, but not an unpleasant one I had to admit. Afterwards I distributed the loot I gathered to everyone. They seemed a little worried, probably because they thought I was going to just hoard most of it, but I wasnt planning to do that. While I am planning to keep the gear I had equipped on me, Im going to make sure everyone has an equal share of everything else, including the meat. I needed them all to be healthy and in top shape if they were going to follow me, though for Mordreds sake he might need double or even triple what we kobolds eat. It sure is interesting how only a few days ago I was the laughingstock of my kobold brethren and now I was the one in charge. Then again, as I found out, our species seem to be naturally timid and cowardly. I still remember how much willpower it took me just to go against my own bodys instincts and even then, I still had trouble with it. I will have to work on it otherwise itll really cause me problems in the future on my conquest. As Im pondering on it three of the kobolds approach me, who I recognize as the ones who would regularly pick on me for how I acted. They were really nervous, almost like if they were to give me the wrong look, Id kill them or something. It definitely felt satisfying seeing them like this and it took them a minute before one finally spoke up, their heads bowing down. W-we apologize for picking on you before!! Y-yeah so please dont send your beast after us We s-swear well make it up to you! The area was quiet, the others looked at us, some also showing signs of worry as some of them had some hand on picking on me though not as much as these three. Though I already had my answer. A big smile appeared on my face showing off my fangs, with claws at my hip as I began to speak. Fear not! You have accepted to being my minions so from now on I shall keep you safe! After all everything of mine should be in pristine condition! They fell silent for a bit, processing what I said. Suddenly they started to cheer, seemingly ignoring the last bit I said. The three before looked at me with interest, losing the feelings of worry from before and nodded in agreement. Starting tomorrow things are going to change around here. ~ Conquest 5 – The Alpha Will Be Me! Its been a few weeks since I took over the Kobold settlement. Most have gotten to their usual routine despite the change in leadership. I didnt think it would be a good idea to suddenly make a lot of unnecessary changes and was pretty content with simply conquering our settlement for now anyway. The main focus for the time was to secure our survivability with stable nourishment. Thanks to my loyal henchman and my [Dimensional Box] that proved quite easy, with daily runs of hunting and storing the meat. As a bonus I found that my storage ability had the extra effect of stopping time as well so there was no worry of spoiling. During that time, I decided to check my overall stats. I try not to make it a habit to constantly check it but its still good to check every now and again.
Vladimir
Race Red Kobold
Attributes
[Health] F [Spirit] D
[Strength] F [Dexterity] E
Abilities
[Game Screen] (Rank F) (Progression: 15.5%) [Dimensional Box] (Rank E) (Storage Size: 5/5) (Progression: 02.96%)
[Kobold Adaptability] (Rank E) (Progression: 59.94%) [Mining Mastery] (Rank D) (Progression: 00.20%)
Skills
[Material Forge] (Rank G > F) (Progression: 10.00%)
I was quite satisfied with my progress; it seems the constant use of [Dimensional Box] had drastically increased its progress and had just recently ranked up. Now that I noticed, it was strange I didnt get a notification this time or for my other rank up for it compared to when I got it for [Mining Mastery]. Im still trying to figure out how my [Game Screen] works so there may be some conditions I would need to fulfill to receive a pop up. I assume maybe for the first rank up the pop up appeared because I was concentrating on that, thats the only difference I could think of. For now, I put it to the back of my mind as there was something else on the screen that I had noticed that really surprised me. One of my attributes had finally ranked up!! I was worried it would be impossible to ever rank up those stats since it didnt show any progression. Even with all the work I had put in all this time it didnt yield any results. There must be different conditions to meet to increase attributes compared to skills and abilities. Thinking back on it, it must have been during my fight with Mordred! It was all still a bit of a blur at the end of it, but I think I remember pushing past my mana limit. Maybe thats what I would need to do, though I kept it at that. Even if it turns out that was the condition its not like I could easily recreate it. Instead, it was time to start on the next step of my conquest, its time to expand my territory! ~ One step closer and the world is mine! Veehahahahaha!!" Welp there goes the chief again Still cant believe were taking orders from this guy I cant believe that Minotaur willingly follows him. I mean look hes worshipping him right now! Indeed, right behind me Mordred was also sharing in my enthusiasm. Oh, is it time to make the rest of this cavern yours, boss!? I cant wait to see you in action!! Mordred pounds his chest in excitement, his tail swaying along side to side. The three kobolds could do nothing but nervously laugh, they really didnt want to get too much attention but were too cowardly to defy them. Noticing their worry, I chuckled Dont worry, I dont plan to have anyone who doesnt want to join in my territory expansion. After all, if I did make you, you would just run away Veehahahahaha~ The three stayed silent, trying to avoid saying anything as I continued my preparations with the first thing to do being to increase the [Dimensional Box] storage limit to 10. Ill probably be grabbing additional materials so it was definitely a must. Next was equipment, luckily for me my own wasnt too worn out so I did some quick repairs to it. For the few kobolds who decided to join us I made some [Iron Daggers] using the extra [Iron] I had stored to make the blades and used the materials from the [Wooden Club] to help make the handles. As for Mordred, I used the [Wolf Fur] to create some clothing to cover the essentials as well as a nice fur wrap to go around his shoulders as I plan to ride on there more often and would like a comfier seat and used the [Wolf Hide] to create some leather harness to help sheathe his ax as well as a belt. All that equipment gives Mordred an awesome barbarian look which seems fitting for him. I also took the chance to take a look at Mordreds stats as well. Stolen story; please report.
Mordred
[Race] Minotaur
[Attributes]
[Health] B [Spirit] G
[Strength] B [Dexterity] F
[Abilities]
Minotaurs Pride (Rank D) (Progression: 20%) Bloodthirsty Loyalty (Rank F) (Progression: 00.15%)
[Skills]
Bull Stampede (Rank D) (Progression: 52%) Bloody Rage (Rank D) (Progression: 61%)
His stats had stayed the same as before, as to be expected since he seems the strongest one in these caverns. Though now I can see his abilities and skills, probably because he became my henchman. Ill have to make sure to take the time later to learn what they all do. For now, I checked on everyone and how they felt about their new gear. Everyone seemed to enjoy the new equipment and after making sure everything was in order, we set off for my territory expansion. The immediate area was a breeze as it only consisted of Giant Rats and Goblins, just one look from Mordred was enough for them to run off. So, the next target was the deeper parts of the cavern where I had faced off Mordred. As is before there were packs of Wolves prowling around only this time we were tailing them, with multiple packs prowling around I had a suspicion that there was some kind of Alpha leading them all. It was proving kind of challenging to follow them as their sense of smell meant we had to keep a certain distance. We had actually failed a few times and were forced to fight themwell it was mainly Mordred but well he works for me, so it was the same. We did finally succeed and found ourselves in the wolfs den strictly speaking. We took a peek inside their den and found many Wolves resting and relaxing only to react to our presence. They gave off a menacing glare towards us as we intruded their home. Among them was a rugged and slightly larger wolf with some scars on its body, it was clear it was the alpha wolf. It got up and slowly approached us as we entered their space. It growled at the others to back off and then at us, it was clearly challenging us to a fight. I was ready to send out Mordred to fight for me, feeling confident in his success in my name. But just as I was thinking that I found myself suddenly grabbed from behind and lifted up. Ill leave this up to you, boss! Without even a moment to respond I found myself suddenly tossed towards the alpha wolf. My body landed on the ground before the wolf, who looked ready to fight me. Damn that Minotaur, I was ready to chew out Mordred for his actions and opened my mouth to argue with him whenI saw those look of admirations. fuck alright seems I dont have a choice... I brandished my [Silver Dagger] ready in a battle stance as the alpha wolf approached me. Everyone else has given us some space, providing us with a battlefield as they all watch. I took the moment to inspect the wolfs stats before we started.
Unnamed
[Race] Wolf
[Attributes]
[Health] E [Spirit] F
[Strength] E [Dexterity] C
[Abilities]
???
[Skills]
???
As I expected Im unable to see its abilities and skills just like with Mordred. As for its [Attributes] they almost all outrank mine, so it definitely wasnt going to be an easy fight, especially its [Dexterity] which was 2 higher ranks than mine. So, avoiding his attacks will be next to impossible and Ill have to rely on my [Material Forge] to keep up. The second I was done inspecting him the wolf had already started to pounce with claws at the ready, I just barely dodged but it still managed to graze at my shoulder. Even just that was enough to hurt like hell! Blood trinkled at my shoulder as I held the wound down with my other claw. It didnt give me much time as it went in for another attack, this time with its fangs. I barely had time to react and used [Material Forge] to make a rock wall as a shield. Its fangs dont reach me, instead ending up gnawing at the rough, rocky surface. That gave me the moment I needed as I pulled out my dagger and sliced it at its front leg, the silver material adding an extra edge to the attack. I know this was the same tactic I used on Mordred, but it was effective before, and I needed to do something to reduce its speed if I hope to have a chance. Though it seems I only gave it surface damage as it faces me once more and continued its pursuit. It charges at me once more and I was ready to conjure another rock wall when I noticed that its movements were a bit different. Sensing this I took the chance to run knowing I wouldnt be able to outrun it, despite the fact that it kept its distance as if gauging what I would do next. Not feeling up to disappointing I forged some [Rock Needle] in my hand and tossed it. It of course managed to dodge that though not before I created rock spike right where it landed. The sudden appearance of a spike as it springs in creation upward was enough to pierce through the beast, but not by much as it immediately jumped back. The look on its face was of fury, it must have felt humiliated. It went after me once more, its speed seemingly increased. Going for another lunge at me I prepared my next creation but right when I was ready to activate it the wolf had disappeared before me. Before I could process its disappearance, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my cut arm, I had managed to ignore the pain earlier but there was a new stingy feel coming at it. As I looked at my arm, I saw the familiar set of fangs sinking into it; the alpha wolf had managed to gnaw its teeth into me when I was distracted for the moment. I screamed in pain; it was hard to keep my focus as more blood trinkled into its fangs. It had a look in its face, confident that it had won But I refused to give up! With one last plan in mind, I lunged my dagger toward its body, seeing this it added more pressure to its bite. I howled more in pain, the reach of my dagger too short to reach in time, but I used [Dimensional Box] to pull out the grinded up [Iron] that I had stored then used [Material Forge] to reshape my dagger to extend the blade right towards the wolfs chest, piercing it with the tip coated in silver. It yelps in pain, but I could tell it wasnt done yet. With another use of my mana the tip of the blade changes shape, growing new sharp edges at the base like the stem of a rose. With the last of its breath the wolf falls limp, its fangs grip loosens off my arm as we both lay on the ground. At that moment I knew I had won. Conquest 6 – My Growing Community! I had managed to defeat the wolves pack leader; with my victory I was able to make them all my minions, the updated list had informed me as such. As I expected my show of dominion over their alpha had assured them that I was in charge, though not without a cost. As I managed to pull myself up, I took a look at my defeated opponent as it lay limp on the ground motionlessly. I had wanted to recruit it as a henchman, but I had proved to be too weak to be able to do so. I pondered on the mistake I made as I got up and established my rule. With the addition of new followers, I would have to establish a new order with them all. But before that, I had them set up a place of burial for their previous pack leader. Once they do, I then used my skill to have its body sink into the ground and have it properly buried, so that no one could disturb its corpse. I could have used it for materials for my own use, but I had found that disrespectful after our clash. We didnt fight for survival after all but for our territory and our packs. I closed my eyes and paid my respect to my adversary; silence was in the air. My new wolf followers seemed to be confused by my gesture, probably never seeing something like this. But they seemed to somewhat understand the meaning a bit. They seemed more willing to listen to me after that.
Wolf x 10 has joined you as your minions.
Two weeks passed since then, I needed time to recover so I had us return to my kobold base, the wolves following behind me. My fellow kobolds were of course surprised and scared to see a whole group of them appear, but I quickly reassured them that they were on my side. The wolves follow him too am I seeing things? No no I see it too He might actually take over this cavern at this point As usual I chose to ignore their comments, for now I needed to figure out how to handle my growing community. I had them get acquainted with each other, the kobolds still feeling nervous while the wolves were simply curious and sniffed them to recognize their scent. Once the introductions were done, I then began the first order of business was to improve our living situation. The kobold hideout proved to be too small for the wolves so I thought it would be best to move them all to the wolves den, maybe even expand on the surrounding areas. The kobolds didnt seem to mind too much, they have been wanting a better resource vein for a while now. I had found out during my first month in this world that the caverns ore veins had a unique quality of regenerating their minerals after a certain time so there was never any worry of them drying out. But the current settlement only provided [Rock] and [Iron] so they desperately wanted a new location to mine their resources. As I remembered I had found that the wolves den had a few mineral veins nearby, some with a color I didnt recognize. There was even a pond as well, so it was perfect for us. We proceeded to move all my fellow kobolds to their new homes, the wolves providing protection and even helped with some of their packaging. Once things were settled, we searched for the mineral veins I had spotted earlier. When we did, I mined the ores myself so I could inspect them. What I found was that there not only were there a few [Iron] veins but even [Copper] veins as well, I even managed to find one for [Silver] though it was definitely smaller than the others. I would have to keep this one for myself, though I doubt anyone would argue against that. It took a lot of effort, but we managed to make a good set up for ourselves. Most of my fellow kobolds have opted to focus on mining and day to day care while the wolves focused on hunting for food and for defense. Meanwhile, Mordred focused more on being my bodyguard, I rarely find moments where he isnt near me. I know I should be concerned but I must admit I am enjoying the power trip he was giving me. It makes sense though, no self-respecting future ruler of the world should be without a personal bodyguard, Veehahahahaha~. I had tried to check on my attributes to see if that fight had helped me rank up but unfortunately, I didnt see any change. I guess I didnt push myself hard enough for that, even though it was a very difficult fight. At least, all the material gathered had provided me with a decent haul for my [Dimensional Box].
Dimensional Box (Rank E) This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Able to store items in a pocket dimension only available by user (Storage Size: 7/10) (Progression: 10.03%)
Storage (Rock, Iron, Wolf Hide, Wolf Fur, Wolf Meat, Copper, Silver)
With the new material stored I decided I should try to craft and upgrade my equipment. After some time experimenting this is what my new equipment looks like.
[Silver Short Sword] (Rank E)
A basic short sword with a silver blade. More effective against monster type creatures. It is said that the pure property of silver is what drives out the evil threats.
[Copper Short Sword] (Rank D)
A basic short sword made from copper. Sharper and more durable than iron, a common material used for many weaponries and tools.
[Garments of the Night] (Rank E)
Garments made from nocturnal creatures. Increased chance of lowering visibility in the shadows and small boost in [Strength].
[Wolves Trench Coat] (Rank D)
A coat forged from Wolf Hide and Wolf Fur and adds a boost in [Dexterity]. There are many hidden pockets underneath the coat.
[Mana Recovery Ring] (Rank E)
A small, enchanted iron ring. Slightly increases mana recovery rate.
I had decided to increase the length of my [Silver Dagger] and turned it into the [Silver Short Sword] giving me a longer reach while still making it easy for me to wield. I also decided to forge a [Copper Short Sword] guessing that it would be more effective against non-monster enemies. I also decided to remake my [Robe of the Night] into the [Garments of the Night] to make room for a different set of gear, the [Wolves Trench Coat]. This black trench coat has been designed to fit my size and I had some deep pockets made to give me more room with my storage issue. But most importantly It just makes me look badass! ~ I put my foot down and unsheathe my blade to my side as I strike a pose. The other kobolds nervously laughed as they clapped before me, probably because I was too intimidating for them. ~ The wolves meanwhile tilted their head in confusion, not understanding what I was doing. Mordred on the other hand was clapping proudly, of course in awe of my new look. ~ But that was enough of that, we had our area properly settled in, my arm was mostly healed, and our equipment upgraded. Now it was time for the next phase, there was one more group I had to conquer before this cavern is mine! ~ It was time to conquer the orcs! I proudly announced! Everyone had a strong reaction to my proclamation, mostly shock and fear over my decision, except for Mordred of course who was brimming with excitement. Though I can understand why they were against the idea. I was told that orcs were one of the strongest races around this cavern, just right behind a Minotaur in fact. Thankfully there was only a small handful of them that roam around here but even one was enough to instill fear in my subordinates. Do not worry, I wont make anyone participate in this endeavor if they do not wish to. Though you may come to watch if you want to. ~ I figured watching me in action would inspire them in my future conquests. The wolves would probably be easier to convince with their pack mentality and recognizing me as their alpha, my fellow kobolds on the other hand by their cowardly nature will be more difficult. To my pleasant surprise most of them have decided to come to watch. Mordred on the other hand, seemed rather frustrated. He was under the impression that they all would want to support my conquest. He was practically steaming, and it was scaring the others. Rather insulting not wanting to support the boss! Be grateful that he is nice enough to give you the choice on the matter!! Before he could go further, I gave him a light backhanded slap to his leg, which was as high as I could reach. Stop, I already made my decision on the matter. As soon as I told him to stop, he quickly calmed down. Its great he has such strong loyalty to me, but I swear it can be a bit troublesome sometimes, I still think about that incident with what he did with me with the wolves. With only my wolves and Mordred to help me out it was time to plan out my conquest! This cavern territory will soon be mine!! Veehahahahaha!!! Conquest 7 – Battle for the Caverns We spent another week completing preparations. We had the location of the orcs den, and I took the time to scout them in the shadows. Thanks to my [Garments of the Night] it was easy to get around and I managed to learn a few things about them. Being this close I got a proper look at them, to my surprise they looked more like humanoid pigs, with bodies of large frames and muscular arms and legs and large bellies. There seemed to be around maybe 5 of them in total, each of them seems closer to Mordreds size though he still towered over them in comparison. It was a bit difficult to understand their hierarchy at first, but I did happen to figure out that they would regularly engage in a sort of tussle within themselves with only one winning on top, I surprised when I found that they had some strong regenerative ability as one had lost a hand only for it to recover in a minute! It seems they, like all the other monsters Ive encountered follow the Strong leads the weak mentality. So, it seemed to be best to face them head on like I did with the wolves. Just remembering that fight made me feel exhausted, especially the fact on how Mordred tossed me towards their leader. Ill have to find a way to convince him to help me this time, since Ill need to rely on a more group effort. I used the excuse that my arm hasnt fully recovered so I wouldnt be able to fight on my full strength which wasnt a lie, while I had full use over my arm it still felt a little strained with enough force on it. That seemed to work, as he gave me a thumbs up. I guess we should count our enemies lucky then! Im sure you would have dominated them otherwise. At least that means I can get into the fight myself! ~ Mordred was laughing loudly, enough to surprise everyone within earshot. I had to bring up something crucial to him though before it was too late, so I pointed right at him. With the height difference I had to point high up Now remember... we are not going to kill them; were just going to subjugate them. The huge minotaur pounded his fist at his chest, a dangerous smile formed across his face. Of course, boss! Theyll recognize your authority soon enough!! In the meantime, while I was busy finishing my preparations, three familiar kobolds were conversing with each other. Now that I think about it, this will be the first time we get to see what he can do. I still doubt hes that strong, I mean come on, its already ridiculous to think a kobold could conquer any strong monsters. Well he did something to make that minotaur follow him thats a fact... As usual I decided to ignore the three stooges. Soon enough they will get to see for themselves what Im capable of. Veehahahahaha~ We then set off, Mordred on vanguard with me riding on his shoulders as always, the wolves behind us with the kobolds riding on them. I figured it was easier for everyone if they did as they would have a hard time keeping up with us and it also makes it easier to keep them safe. It took some time, but we managed to make it to their den without any incidents. We took formations as the kobolds kept their distance to watch from afar, not wanting to join in the fight as usual. We went inside and the first things we saw were all the orcs holding their weapons in their hands. It seems they had noticed us and were prepared for battle. Not being intimidated by the sight before me I hopped off Mordreds shoulder as I brandished my trusty blade and pointed it at our adversaries and proudly proclaimed. Orcs!! Today is a special day today for this will be the day you will all join me!! If any of you have doubts about me then I challenge you to resist my dominance!! The area was quiet for a bit, Mordred was looking at me with awe over my statement while the wolves looked nervous, clearly showing their reluctance to go along with this but still staying to not leave their pack leader behind. The kobolds. Well, they were all panicking probably thinking I was crazy. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. To my surprise my own body was shaking as well, I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I had thought I had conquered my own instincts, but I guess they still want to fight with me. No matter, I will get through with this in the end. I did my best to ignore those feelings of running away as I waited for their reaction. The orcs finally responded and how they reacted was rather annoying They had started to chuckle. Soon... the echoes of their laughter started to boom across the area! They were mocking me!! I was extremely pissed, so angry that it canceled out my instincts as I ready my blade for battle, but before I could Mordred had already leapt past me, axe at hand and slammed it at the ground, just barely missing the orcs. The shockwave of the impact shook the entire cavern, the tremor causing many of us, friend or foe, to lose our balance. I barely managed to keep my footing having to use [Material Forge] to keep the ground beneath me elevated. In front of me I could see Mordred, it didnt take long for me to realize what was happening. His body language alone said it all. He was panting heavily, his eyes were bloodshot, he was beyond pissed! Dare to laugh at the boss huh!? Ill make you pay!! With weapon at hand the enraged minotaur went on a rampage. At the same time, I suddenly got a notification from my [Game Screen].
Mordreds [Bloody Rage] has been activated
[Bloody Rage]?? I quickly took a look at Mordreds status and found the skill mentioned. I pulled out its details and a look a dread was made in my face as I realized what was going on
Bloody Rage (Rank: D)
Cost Medium Stamina
Enter Rage state, temporarily increase Strength while raging towards chosen target(s) until end of skill. At end of duration Strength and Dexterity temporarily decreases.
Seeing the danger of this skill I had to act quickly in order to stop him! Hey Mordred calm down! Remember we dont want to kill them!! But it was no use, at this state I doubt he could even hear me! Damn Ill have to do my best to navigate myself through this situation, making sure to defeat the orcs while at the same time keeping Mordred from going too far. Thisll make the fight harder, but I still dont plan to give up!! Lets go everyone!! At my command the wolves began their hunt, baring their fangs as they sprinted at their prey! While my fellow kobolds stayed behind, cowardly hiding behind some rocks at a distant Well just stay right here Yeah well cheer for you for your success chief Go get them I lead the charge as I aimed at the closest orc, activating [Material Forge] I reshaped the ground before me in a tilted direction and used the sudden momentum to have it launch me quickly towards my opponent. My [Silver Short Sword] was ready for action as it aimed towards him. The orc must have been ready as it pulled its arms up to defend itself as my blade pierced through the flesh of his arm! It wasnt enough though as I found my weapon stuck inside his arm, seeing the opportunity the orc used its free arm to pommel me! Its towering fist looming over me and at the next second it slams me to the ground, blood splattered at the ground! Meanwhile the wolves were handling their own orc, they were having an easier time dodging the swings of the orcs large club! They chomped and clawed at its flesh, but it was never deep enough. Whats worse the wounds they inflicted were starting to recover, the orcs natural regeneration taking effect. While they were in a stalemate, it wouldnt take long for exhaustion to slow down their speed. As for Mordred, the last three orcs were ganging up over the minotaur. With their strength and numbers, even the large beast was starting to struggle. It didnt help that he was still enraged and wasnt thinking straight. His strikes were powerful but sloppy, making it easy for them to dodge and any that did make contact would while devastating recover not long after. Meanwhile while the orcs tactic of rushing at him was reckless it proved to be surprisingly effective as while one or two would be caught up in his attacks at least one was able to land a blow themselves! At a distance, the kobolds were looking on with fear This is bad Like really bad What should we do?! Shouldnt this be the moment we run for our lives right now?!! R-right!! We should do that n- Suddenly one of the orcs started to look at the kobolds directions, without an opponent to face its eyes were focused on new targets. . oh shit Conquest 8 – This Territory is Mine!! Things were looking grim for everyone. The orcs had the advantage despite being outnumbered. They were stronger than us, with our only combatant that could match and even outpower them currently not in his right state of mind. Sensing how bad things were getting, my fellow kobolds had decided to retreat from the danger. Unfortunately, the orc that I was just facing had its eyes on them. It readied its fists with the intent to pummel them, the damage on its arm that I inflicted already healing up. Run now!! one of the kobolds yelled in a panic, the little lizards tried to scatter and get away from the danger, but the orc was proving to be surprisingly fast and was already catching up with them. It wouldnt be long before it would catch up to them. Seeing their impending doom the three stooges began to yell in tears. DAMN IT DAMN IT!!! WE SHOULDNT HAVE FOLLOWED THAT FUCKING LUNATIC!! NOW WERE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!!! Its large fist was ready to flatten the nearest kobold, its shadow looming over him as the poor lizard could only covered his head for the inevitable. Suddenly a large pillar of rock pierced through its arm from the ground, the sudden jolt of pain stopping the orc in its attack. A voice echoes through the cavern walls, stopping everyone in their tracks. DONT YOU DARE!!! .... HARM MY MINIONS!!! The source of the voice came from me, the look of surprise was plastered over everyones faces. Before them I stood, my body dripping in blood and barely standing up. My arm that had just recovered stood limp while the other one was barely keeping a grip on my weapon. There was an intense glare coming from my eyes as they were only focused on my prey. My legs were shaking, barely able to keep themselves up, but they started to move on their own. Rushing towards the orc as it recovers and removes his arm off the pillar, I barely managed to lift up my armed weapon and aimed it towards my opponent. The orc managed to free its arm as it changes its focus on me, ignoring the fleeing kobolds entirely. As he closes the distance, chunks of [Iron] start to suddenly fall around me from my [Dimensional Box]. They start to move on their own and towards my weapon, absorbing into it as the blade reforges with the base of it made of iron and the edge silver as it rapidly extends, piercing right at the same arm that was attacked earlier right through its flesh! Afterwards the tip of the blade starts to split and curve back, hooking itself to its arm. I retracted the blade back but because of our weight difference I was instead pulled by it, bringing me closer to the orc. Not letting me have my way, the orc readied its fist and tried to slam at me while I was in midair. I anticipated that and had reforged the ground near me to create a rock wall to guard me, taking the force of the impact. But it was too strong, as it crumbled easily, though not before managing to slow down its attack just enough to have it barely miss me. I managed to latch on to its arm and begin to swing around it before it could react, my weapon still being hooked on it starting to twist and turn inside its flesh before fully retracting back to its original sword shape. Having missed its target, it ended up punching its own cut up arm, which was enough to dismember it! It roared in pain having lost an arm but despite that, it was already starting to slowly heal. The orc looked to be out of breath, barely able to keep itself standing. I took that moment to aim my blade using the same trick to extend and pierce his other arm! And before giving it another moment I focused on causing various spikes to forge through its arm only to suddenly stretch and thin towards each other forming a circular blade, cleanly slicing its remaining arm! The loss of its extra arm must have been too much for the orc as after one more painful wail it fell to the ground. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. That was one down, four more to go. I took a glance at the other fighters to see how they were doing, and it wasnt looking good. The wolves were still deep in facing just one of the orcs and while they had started off at a standstill it was clear they were getting exhausted and might lose soon. Meanwhile Mordred had started to slow down, there were many fresh scars on his body and his armor was in shreds. It seemed like that he was finally starting to come out of his rage state as his attacks seemed more focused and less sloppy. But it was too late as at this point, he had suffered more damage than the three orcs. I had to act quickly but there was one order of business to take care of. I faced the shivering kobolds and gave them an order. If you dont desire to fight then get out of here!! Its gotten too dangerous here and I cant secure your safety!! Not taking the moment to see their response I immediately run towards to the wolves, my legs were practically giving out, but I had to endure it a bit more and gave them their orders Focus all your attacks on one limb at a time and dismember them!! They understood their alphas orders and proceeded to attack the legs, starting with its right leg. They bite, gnaw, and claw at its feet. Flesh was exposed as it slowly starts to regenerate, but the constant onslaught was too much for it to keep up. I wanted to help them, but both my arms had already given out, I was barely able to lift even one of them and I was forced to sheath my weapon. The best I could do was protect them from the furious counterattacks of the monster, forging cover from the rocks around them and shielding them from each of its attacks, either slowing or stopping its advance each time. My mana reserves were barely keeping up and I had to be a bit more creative on my shields to conserve my use. They had just managed to cut up one of their legs and had proceeded to focus on the next one. They proved to be much more efficient this time around as it didnt take long to cut off its other leg! Having lost both its legs the orc fell to the ground, unable to get itself up but still struggling to fight us back out of anger. It was clear that it would be futile even as his legs were slowly beginning to regenerate, as his body was clearly fatigued from doing so. All that was left now was Mordred who was still struggling with the last three enemies. He seemed to have finally come out of his rage state, but unfortunately, he was completely exhausted. His movements were a lot slower and there was less of impact from his swings. I wasnt the only one who noticed as the orcs took the opportunity to take aggressive action. Their attacks were relentless, they stopped focusing on just attacking his blind spot and instead just attacking every opportunity they could. Even if Mordred managed to land a hit, it was too shallow and barely slowed their assault. Mordred!! I had to help my henchman now and was already ready to run to him! But my legs had completely given out and I fell to my knees. I couldnt even muster enough mana to shield him, I was completely spent! I had thought to call in the wolves, but they were exhausted from their own fight as well It seemed like there was nothing I could do. Dammit!! No, I cant give up now!! I mustered all my strength, trying to force my body to move!! My body was in pained but I didnt care right now!! My whole body was shaking as I managed to get up and took a step forward. My body was raring to go as I struggled to take another step- But then suddenly something unexpected happened A flurry of kobolds had appeared and pile drive at the orcs, [Iron Daggers] at hand as they proceeded to repeatedly to stab at the backs of their adversaries, though it was easy for me to tell that their whole bodies were shaking like crazy. It was clear that they were scared out of their minds! Shit Shit Shit!! Why are we doing this?!! I dont know I dont know!! My body just moved on their own!! Mine too!! Fuck, the chief must be rubbing off on us!! Even the three stooges were joining in on the fight I wanted to help them, but everything started to get blurry the last thing I could see was the wicked smile coming off of Mordreds face As I regained consciousness, I slowly opened my eyes; I was feeling rather dizzy though it only took me a moment to remember. I tried to move but my body was throbbing in pain and refused to obey me. I only managed to move my head and I looked around frantically, wanting to know what had happened! It didnt take too long for me to see the results. The sight before was of amazement, before me I saw the exhaustion of all my followers, they seemed battered but alive! Surrounded by the unconscious bodies of our enemies. The outcome was clear we had won!!! And now. The territory was now mine!!! Veehahahahaha!!~ Conquest 9 – The Next Step is… We had done it! Before me were the defeated orcs at the ground, with my minions and henchman standing triumph above! Even if they were battered and bruised, no one has suffered any lasting damage! What was even more impressive was that they managed to defeat their enemies without killing them. Sure, theyre missing some limbs, but they were already in the middle of regrowing them. Upon closer inspection I could see that they were stitching up like threads, bit by bit. At the very least I wont have to worry about them being handicapped. They will prove far more useful with all their limbs. The hard part will be convincing them to follow me. I was ready to inspect the situation more but unfortunately, I found myself unable to move. It figures, I had pushed past my limits at that fight, and I would be more surprised if I could move. It looks like I wasnt the only one, everyone else looked exhausted. Some of the wolves had laid down to rest and all the kobolds were trying to catch their breaths, their bodies still shaking from the experience. Even Mordred wasnt looking very energetic. I doubt Im going to be able get their help, hopefully they can recover fast enough before the orcs do. In the meantime, I figure I should try to check on my attributes and see if I had any improvements.
Vladimir
Race Red Kobold
Attributes
[Health] F > E [Spirit] D
[Strength] F [Dexterity] E
Abilities
[Game Screen] (Rank F) (Progression: 22.18%) [Dimensional Box] (Rank E) (Storage Size: 4/10) (Progression: 12.29%)
[Kobold Adaptability] (Rank E) (Progression: 63.57%) [Mining Mastery] (Rank D) (Progression: 35.19%)
Skills
[Material Forge] (Rank F) (Progression: 52.75%)
That was amazing, I had managed to finally rank up my [Health] for the first time! Thinking back, it must have been because I managed to survive that last attack. Hopefully this means Ill be able to endure attacks a bit more, I DEFINITELY need that. As for my abilities and skills, theyre small but steady progress. I looked over my storage for an inventory check and it seems I used up all my wolf materials, probably from outfitting everyone. I doubt Ill be restocking on them soon considering my wolf minions, so Ill have to find something else to replace them later. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. And just as I was finishing checking my status, I started to hear the orcs stirring from their unconscious state. Damn it, I wanted to restrain them before they began waking up! Luckily, it seems they havent fully recovered yet. Their limbs havent fully regenerated, but they still could pose a threat. None of us were in good condition to fight but even still Mordred forced himself up, ready to defend us, . well mainly me, probably. He was still battered and bruised and couldnt even hold his weapon so resorted to using his fists showing obvious signs he wouldnt be able to last long. The orcs pull themselves up the best they can, raising their arms or stumps for arms they let out a booming screech, loud enough to hurt our eardrums! But as their screams continued, I noticed it was strangely not one of hostility but of praise? . They were cheering. That was amazing Ive never had a fight like that my entire life!! one of the orcs yelled. It had a look of pure delight, a stark contrast to its menacing glare before. Another one responded to it I know right?! Especially this guy here, he managed to hold his own against three of us for so long! it preceded to wrap whats left of its arm around Mordred, who looked rather confused over the development at first. Though he was quick to return the favor and joined arms with him, smiling from the compliment. This was definitely an . interesting development, I was getting the sense these orcs have the same type of mindset as Mordred, considering how well they were already getting along. They were gladly chatting it up about the bloodshed they had participated in. It was a bit weird seeing them treating that fight like a casual event and it seemed like I wasnt the only one. The wolves were on the defensive but couldnt hide their confused expression meanwhile my fellow kobolds were cowering behind the wolves. The conversation then started to go to an interesting turn, So for you to be this strong then you must be the leader of this group, right? one orc asked Mordred expectedly. The rest joined in as well, giving him an unusually beaming expression. I could barely keep myself from chuckling over the sight before me. It was like seeing a bunch of kids fawning over a superhero. ~ Mordred looked rather offended from that question, like he couldnt even fathom the idea of anyone else besides me being in charge. He was quick to deny them and pointed at my direction No way! Im just a henchman, the boss over there is the one in charge!! When the orcs saw who the minotaur was pointing at, they had a look of bewilderment. It was to be expected, the idea of a large powerful monster like the Minotaur serving under a weak looking tiny kobold was just too unbelievable! One of them even started to nervously laugh. Eh eh eh youre joking right? Theres no way youd take orders from a little weakling like this right? Mordred was quick to defend his point Im serious, the boss was actually the first one to defeat me on combat, and all by himself as well! The orcs were rather surprised to hear his explanation and quickly looked at me, with a new look of amazement but a little linger of doubt. Though one started to gasp in surprise. Wait I remember you; I faced you one on one! Damn you were a scrappy little fella! I coulda sworn I pummeled you after one hit, ha was I proven wrong! Youre a lot tougher than you look! The orc that I had faced before had a look of acknowledgement, seemingly satisfied from the fight, with a hint of caution towards me. The others couldnt believe it, to have such a weak-looking creature be that strong is unheard of to them. Though they couldnt deny that they both were telling the truth. At the next moment a notification appeared in front of me as I was hoping.
Orc x 5 has joined you as your minions.
And with that my goal was achieved! As of this moment the caverns were completely mine!! Veehahahahaha!!! My joyful laughter was heard throughout my minions and henchman. Im sure the others were also excited about this development. Though in truth they were all looking at me with annoyance, awkwardness, or confusion. The orcs, being my newest minions, had to be caught up over my unique behavior. Though they were rather quick to accept this and in fact were joining with Mordred over being in awe over it. Oh, great what we need Like having one crazy fanatic wasnt enough. Were never going to have a peaceful day, are we? ... The three stooges could only give a sigh of acceptance over their predicament. At the very least with everyones injuries, theyll need to take time to recover. Unfortunately for them I had something else in mind. Alright everyone after we rest for today and can move again, well be returning back to base. Now that we got new minions, we got a lot of work to do! All the kobolds groaned in exhaustion but didnt dare voice their complaint, though I offer to let them ride on the wolves or orcs back which they were more than happy to agree to. After a day or rest we returned back to base, I made sure for us to take our time as I didnt want to push them too hard, less their efficiency would drop. Once we returned the rest of the kobolds that had stayed behind were a little surprised to see the orcs following along, though the ones who followed us quickly informed them what happened as well as my skill in battle. The orcs themselves were quick to get comfy with the group, though they seemed to prefer to hang with Mordred. So, I decided to let my minotaur henchman take charge of them and they all seemed happy with that decision. After that we took the time to quickly grow and expand my territory. With my new orcs joining, our hunting capabilities increased, providing us enough food to feed us though I couldnt find any useful materials from them. Things were proving to be quite stable now, and soon it would be time for the next phase of my conquest! Once we have everything settled with the caverns, my next goal will be to venture outside the caves and expand my influence further!! I cant wait for the day Veehahahahaha!! Conquest 10 – Conquest Outside the Caverns Some time had passed after acquiring the orcs. Once everyone had fully recovered, we took full advantage of the extra muscle I had suddenly gained which allowed us to focus on ore resource gathering. With plans to venture outside the caverns coming soon, it was best to take full advantage of the nearby veins. So, we took the time to mine like crazy. I even joined in as well as I wanted to see how far I could fill up my [Dimensional Box] of the same types of items, with the bonus of progressing my [Mining Mastery] ability as well. In the end I found the numbers go to the 1000s to around 1900 overall though with the [Silver] being rarer I only got around 800 instead. I was actually curious about what size my ability counts as 1 piece, and I found it various with the ores sizing around the palm of my hand even when grounded up. In the end I managed to increase my [Mining Mastery] progression to 74.38%. With the kobolds, they just seemed happy not to have to join in anything dangerous right now. Though I did find more were willing to fight if needed which was good, unfortunately I ran out of materials for handles so they would need to take turns on using the [Iron Daggers] I had already made till then. The wolves decided to help with scouting around, seeing if they could find anything else useful. Occasionally they would train with some of the kobolds in learning how to ride together, having some potential kobold wolf riders may prove useful in the future so I encouraged them on their training. And finally, the orcs were hard at work with their hunting. On the times that they werent they had their own fun, which mainly involved some roughhousing with Mordred joining every now and again. Though he did make sure to keep things from going too far. Overall, it was a nice time for us, but it wont last long. Soon enough it was time to leave the cavern. It didnt take long for us to find where the exit was and once, I made sure everyone had everything they needed packed up, using the hides of our hunts as packs, it was time to venture out! We set our eyes towards the light that was passing through the exit. Many of us were excited while some of us, mainly my fellow kobolds, were nervous about what was going to happen. This was going to be the first time any of us had seen the outside world, but in order to achieve my ultimate goal of world domination, this was necessary. We all pass through the exit, with me taking the first step forward. The light blinded our eyes, as we were quite used to the darkness of the caverns. It took us some time for us to adjust our eyes to our surroundings. Once we did what we saw was a vast forest, with many trees crowded together. We were in awe of our new surroundings as everything was new to us. The sight before only further fueled my desire to conquer this world. ~ Once we were done basking over the sights, I got us started on establishing my domain. I figured it was best to utilize the vast number of trees in the vicinity to help in constructing some facilities and housing. Luckily it seems my [Material Forge] works on the trees to make them into [Lumber], though I needed them chopped down first, probably since they would still be considered to be alive not to count as materials. With the amount of wood we would need, I had the orcs and Mordred chop us some trees, while the wolves went out to scout for any good hunting grounds as well as any possible spots of interest. As they gathered the wood before me, I used my [Material Forge] to reshape them into more [Log] of various sizes. Not wanting my fellow kobolds to be left out I instructed them to help me carry them around. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. For the exact location I figure having the base near the entrance to the cave was best. The others may feel comfortable having the familiar caverns nearby, so I wanted them to have easy access to it. With materials on hand, I then proceeded to use my skill to forge everyones living quarters. I asked everyone how they would want it and they all had their own preferences. The orcs decided to stay back at the cave entrance, feeling the most comfortable of the rocky interior though they made sure to keep one of them posted within earshot in case I would need to call upon them. For the wolves they only seemed concerned with having a roof over their heads, so I proceeded to create a few sheds with enough space around. As for the kobolds, they were actually curious to try some new housing and wanted something that would be comfy to rest at. With that idea in mind, I thought simple housing would suffice for them. Luckily, I do have some basic knowledge of architecture as I thought it would be useful for this kind of situation. Hopefully that will be enough for my skills ability to base off my imagination as I forged the buildings. They each wanted to have their own living quarters though strangely 3 familiar ones wanted to share one so that would mean I would need to make about 9 homes. Lucky for our small statures they wouldnt have to be too large. Using [Material Forge] I began with the first house. I took the time to start with the foundation, I drew a line around the area to give me an idea how large the building would be and laid out the groundwork. I then began to work on the walls making sure they were properly set in and did the same for the roof. Overall, the design of the building was as basic as it can be. It practically looked like a large wooden block, not the most impressive looking design but at least it was functional. As for the door, I used some [Log] for the whole door and some [Iron] to make the handle and clasp to attach it to the house. Not exactly the most good-looking designs but overall, itll serve its function. I presented it to one of the kobolds and they at least seemed to enjoy it at least. With that in mind it took the time to make the rest of the kobolds housing. It definitely was exhausting though; it seems more complicated designs can be a bit more draining on my mana. Once I was done, I took the time to take a break while the kobolds started to enjoy their new homes. Since I was exhausted, I told them they would need to make their own bed, and they seemed to agree. As for Mordred. I request to stay in the same living space as you, boss!! I gotta protect you at all times after all!! He states with a wink and a flex of his arm, as if stating it as a matter of fact. I sigh to myself as if I was expecting that answer. Well either way Ill still need to rest up for a bit more before I can make my house. I decided to rest on top of Mordreds shoulder as I directed him where to put the [Log] at and to lay out the foundation. To save on my energy I had him hold them up as I use my skill to set them in place. After some time, I managed to finish. It was a lot larger than any of the other houses I built as I needed to account for Mordreds large frame. I made sure he would have plenty of room for him to walk around him, which had the added benefit of making everything spacious to me as well as two separate rooms for each of us to sleep in. With the extra wood in hand, I decided to make a few pieces of furniture for us from some beds in our separate rooms, fitted with cushions made from some feathers from any leftover bird prey the wolves managed to hunt, and tables and chairs with our sizes in mind for when we need to eat. Not a bad start overall though I definitely have plans to upgrade in the future. With everything settled it was time to get to the usual routine of resource gathering and living management. Now that we were out in the open, I had a few ideas I wanted to implement, though just as I was beginning to let the gears in my head turn one of my wolf scouts had returned and he was carrying something of interest in his mouth. Holding in his mouth as an interesting small creature dressed in simple cloth, covering the bare essentials. With skin colored green and large pointed ears with some messy green hair, it was easy to tell what kind of species it was. Before me I was facing the first goblin I have ever seen. Conquest 11 – The Young Goblin Fan The goblin was hanging loosely at my wolf scouts mouth. There was fear in its eyes, as it nervously checked its surroundings, seeing the various species before it and realizing right away it was outmatched. It folded its hands together as a sign that it was harmless as it spoke. P-please spare me, Im no threat!! The sound of its plea honestly sounding rather pathetic as it continued I-I was just passing by. I dont mean any harm!! Just the sight of his begging was draining any sense of caution from us, even from my fellow kobolds who are usually cowardly seem brave by comparison. Though after the initial first impression I started to realize a potential from this encounter. I approached the goblin who didnt notice me at first, so I had to clear my throat to get its attention. It looked at me with confusion as I presented myself and extended my hand with extra motion. Greetings and welcome to my domain. I am quite curious if there were more of you that live in this area~ The goblin could only give a confused look, an expression I was getting quite used to at this point. Rather I puff up my chest with my arms at my shoulders, doing my best to intimidate it. Meanwhile, Mordred stood behind me, axe at his shoulder as he glares at the goblin in silence as if to say Answer the question Feeling the pressure, the goblin was quick to answer. Y-yes yes there are!! Theyre not too far from here! I can show you if you want just, please let me go!! I nodded to the wolf, he understood and let him go. The goblin was dropped down to the ground. It definitely looked like it was ready to escape but unfortunately for it I had already considered it and had it surrounded. Seeing its situation, it laughed nervously with its arm over its head. I-its not what you think! I was just. Leading the way yeah thats it!! Just follow me!! The goblin immediately turned in a different direction. It was clear it was lying but so long as it didnt hinder me, I chose to ignore it. As we let the three stooges talk among themselves. Welp there he goes again. How long till you think he recruits them I give it three maybe two days. My guts saying one. I cant believe how used to it were getting to this For this operation I thought it best to go small. So, I decided only to bring Mordred, one orc, and two wolves with me. If I bring my whole group, it will only scare them to death, and I cant recruit them dead. And this time I made sure to hammer in it hard to Mordred he must not under any circumstance take any hostile action unless I order it! After all those blunders, I realized Ive been too lenient with my henchman, and I needed to remind him who was in charge. Y-yes boss The towering minotaur nervously replies, his body standing upright and slightly shaking. It must have been an interesting sight to see such a huge and powerful creature like him intimidated by a small creature like me. It certainly got the goblins attention, probably thinking the same things as everyone else, wondering how I could possibly be in charge. It didnt take too long before we reached our destination. What we saw before us a bit different than what I expected. I was assuming I would see a small settlement, but it turned out it was larger in size than anticipated. There were so many little huts made from branches and at the center a bunch of stones neatly placed in a large circle with multiple burnt branches scattered at the middle. I imagine it was their campfire centerpiece. There were multiple goblins of different ages and gender scattered around. They were all doing various menial tasks with the few younger ones playing with one another. It was an actually pleasant sight, after all the depressing and dangerous things I saw within the cavern it was a nice change of pace. It didnt take long though till they noticed us and immediately froze in fear. I nudged at the goblin with us, and it quickly went over to the others, waving its hands to them to prevent them from doing something too hasty, it began informing them of what happened, and I decided to let them chat. What the Inferno have you done?! Why did you bring all these deadly creatures back here?! one of them yelled at the goblin we encountered, while nervously eyeing us. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. What else was I supposed to do?! Theres a lot more of them surrounding me and they demanded me to take them to the settlement! Whats crazier was the one in charge was that weird kobold over there!! I- eehhh!!! the little goblin was going to continue to talk when a loud growl could be heard, The growl was coming off of Mordred, whose muscles were tensing up and his arm was inching to grab his weapon, only stopping after I angrily spoke up. Mordred That was enough to get him to stop, his body jumping from hearing me call him out as he managed to calm himself down. S-see?! He has that crazy beast under a strict leash! I dont know what kind of demands they have but Id rather not piss them off by saying no! The other goblins started to join in the argument while giving a safe distance away from us. Their conversations started to bore me a bit as they drone on, I was partially tempted to just stop it right there and declare my dominance before I suddenly felt a tug at my garments, trying to get my attention. I checked to see and found that it was one of the smaller goblins. It seemed slightly smaller to even my size, so I imagine it was a bit younger than the others, unlike the others who had fears in their eyes this one instead was giving a curious expression instead. The others noticed, with the goblins panicking seeing one of their kind approaching me while my own followers were on the defensive. I quickly signaled them to stop as I looked down and started to speak with the young goblin. Is there something you wanted to ask me? I asked curiously, wanting to know what it wanted. The little goblin took a moment as if wanting to figure out what it wanted to say until it finally spoke Are you really the strongest one here mister? Before I could even speak Mordred suddenly came into view in lightning speed, his eyes beaming with excitement You bet the boss is the strongest one here!! He even managed to beat me!! I should reprimand him for that but that admiring look he gives always makes it hard for me to deny. Surprisingly, the goblin responded in the same reaction, almost mirroring the Minotaurs expression. Really?! Thats sooo cool!! I never knew a kobold could become so strong!! I thought they were supposed to be as weak as us!! Are you special or something?! Mordred didnt seem to notice that as he continued to join with the goblin in praising me. Honestly it kind of felt a little embarrassing to hear all that. The other goblins were a little dumbstruck, seeing one of their own casually chatting it up with the ferocious Minotaur. They chatted for a bit more, almost losing themselves in their conversations when the little goblin began to speak with me. Do you think I could also become as cool as you mister? It asked, eyes gazing full of unbridled hope that it practically was piercing right through me. It was starting to dawn on me how cute this little fella was. To be honest, they were starting to grow on me a little, so I decided to answer their question. Im sure youre capable of that. I look forward to seeing that happened. The little goblin smiled in response to my answer. They were practically giddy with excitement, and I couldnt help but watch. I so invested in watching them that I almost didnt notice a notification appear.
Goblin has now joined you as a loyal Henchman.
Now that was certainly a surprise, not only for the fact of already getting one of the goblins to join me, but as a henchman at that. The only other one that was registered as my henchman was Mordred and I hadnt been able to acquire another since. So, I had to wonder what was the condition that was needed to register as my henchman, I doubt it was because of personal strength as this goblin probably wasnt much of a fighter. As I was pondering this the young goblin got my attention. Mister, did something happen just now? I feel different somehow, though I dont know what though. Well, it seems you decided you wanted to become my henchman and my skill recognized that. It even lets me give you a name, so what do you say would you like a new name? Im willing to let you pick it out. I asked sincerely, even if they arent going to be that strong, I was already looking forward to working with the little goblin. Their eyes were beaming with excitement, Really, I get to be your henchman and I get a new name?! Thats so cool, uhm can I ask what your name is mister? Its Vladimir why, think it would help you decide on a name? I asked, curious on their response. The goblin was struggling to pronounce my name V-vladi uhm Mr. Vlad. Then I think my new name should be V!!
New name registered
Henchman Goblin name has been updated to V
As the new notification appeared I noticed that they seemed rather happy with their new name, and I couldnt help but smile. On the other side the goblins could only look in confusion, seeing the weird young goblin of their settlement apparently joining the even weirder kobolds group, still wondering what I wanted. Conquest 12 – The Young Goblin Henchman With the newest addition to my group, I still had work to do on recruiting the rest of the goblins. They still seemed rather scared and worried, especially since I essentially converted one of the younger of their kind to my own cause. It didnt help matters when my newest recruit V started to try to convince them. Hey guys, we should all join Mr. Vlad. Hes really cool!! They enthusiastically stated. I continued with what I was starting and raised my arms up in the air. Goblins, I came here today because I wish to recruit as my minions!! If you agree I will do my utmost to ensure your safety!! I stated my proclamation. It wasnt like I was lying after all, I wanted to make sure everything of mine was in good shape. Though it seemed the others werent exactly convinced, even though they can see I have some powerful minions at my beck and call. Still, I wasnt deterred before, and I wasnt going to be now. I just needed to figure out what Ill need to do to convince them. Normally I could convince them to join by expressing force and dominance. Though in this case I can see they already acknowledge my strength, and yet still reluctant to join me. I guess the strong leading the weak mindset wont work with these monsters like it normally does. Maybe unlike us, the goblins have to constantly face overwhelming force compared to us kobolds who could at least hide out. For now, I decided we should go back and motioned everyone to follow me I can see I cant convince you all to join me for the moment. So, we shall leave you all for now, I do hope I can change your mind in the future. I then began to leave, my followers right behind me, though I had to quickly convince Mordred to return as well. I could already tell he was steaming in anger, and I needed to calm him down. Now wasnt the time for a fight, the goal after all was total conquest and not annihilation. Besides, seeing how my fellow kobolds acted that day, I wouldnt want to risk a flight or fight response from even a weakling race. As we were leaving though a voice was calling out for me. Mr. Vlad! Mr. Vlad! Wait!! I want to come with you too!!! Young V had stated. They clearly wanted to come join me and I wouldnt have minded that they would, though the other goblins had a different idea in mind. W-wait! I dont think its a good idea little one one of them tried to say, probably not wanting to leave one of their own with me. But the young goblin refused to hear them out. Its V now, its the name I chose for myself. Mr. Vlad doesnt seem like a bad guy, Ill be fine. ~ V was trying to assure them, and the goblins were trying to discuss it to themselves. They were reluctant but finally accepted, probably because they didnt want to anger us. I wasnt going to force them though, as I understand their worry about having one of their own goes with a complete stranger. I wasnt about to deny their decisions though since I was curious about my new henchman and what they can do and the potential they would have. I did try to quell their worry a bit and inform them I wasnt too far off. That seemed to give them the opposite effect, making them more worried instead. I decided to quicken our leave before things got worse, with V tagging along. Due to their small stature, I figured it was best that V rode upon one of Mordreds shoulders while I took my usual spot on the other side. Mordred himself doesnt seem to mind too much and in fact was quite happy to oblige. V was quite happy with the idea of riding on top of Mordred and quickly climbing on top. Soooooo cooooollll!!! Im so high up, I can see everything up here!! It was cute seeing the bundle of energy enjoying their ride back to my base and it didnt take too long before we returned back. As my minions greeted us, I took the time to introduce them all to my new henchman. Luckily it didnt take long for V to get along with everyone. Their positive attitude was rather infectious to them. Since it was their first time here, I left them to go play with the others, making sure they understood not to bother them if they were busy with work. They nodded in understanding and left to go play. While they were occupied, I began to do some of my own work. With the new addition, I figure I should expand the housing a bit. Using my skill, I created an extra bedroom to the house, with enough room for the young goblin to feel comfortable in. It took no small amount of my mana, but I thought it would be worth it. I could have made additional housing for V but considering they were a bit young I thought it best they had some supervision to make it easier to manage their potential. Plus, its less time and mana Id have to use. Once I was done, I showed V their new room and they were really excited. I get my own room, and in the same house as you Mr. Vlad?! Thank you so much!!! They suddenly jumped at me and hugged me tight. It caught me a bit off guard and it was hard to admit but I was feeling a bit embarrassed by it. I didnt stop them though; I didnt mind the hug too much which was weird as I normally dont like my personal space being invaded. Though Ill have to make a note to remind them to be more mindful next time. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Y-youre welcome since I got you here, I wanted to get to know what kind of skills you could possibly have. I have this skill that would let me examine your status, do you mind if I take a look? I normally dont open up about my abilities so freely to someone, but my instincts were telling me it would be alright. V seemed a bit confused over my question but quickly nodded, I dont know what youre saying Mr. Vlad but if you think its a good idea than Im okay with it!! They answered so quickly and honestly seriously though why is this one goblin so cute?! I shook my head before I got myself distracted and began my examination. Inspect
V
Race Goblin
Attributes
[Health] F [Spirit] F
[Strength] G [Dexterity] C
Abilities
Map (Rank E) (Progression: 32%)
Skills
Search (Rank E) (Progression: 03%)
From what I can gather Vs stats werent even any better than mine, in fact they were a bit weaker than me. The only thing they have going over me was their [Dexterity] which at least means they will have a better chance to run to safety compared to me. In fact, they have the same rank as the previous wolf alpha I faced, which was definitely impressive! What definitely got my interest was their one skill and ability. [Map] and [Search] the name of those two definitely sounds promising. I decided to ask the young goblin Hey V does the words [Map] or [Search] sound familiar? But V could only tilt their head in confusion as their answer. I dont know Mr. Vlad, thats the first time Ive ever heard either of those words. In response I decided to ask something else instead, Well then have you ever noticed anything that caught your attention, or maybe something that you did that surprised you? V closed their eyes, deep in thought for a few seconds when they suddenly opened their eyes in realization. They answered quickly, barely able to calm their excitement. Oh oh! Sometimes I would get an image in my head that helps me get around the settlement more easily! And and there was this one time where I lost my favorite toy, and I was searching really hard when I suddenly noticed this glowy light and when I went to check it out my missing toy was right there!! Huh, now that is interesting. From what they are describing they definitely sounded like skills and abilities! Not taking a second longer I inspected the details of [Map] and [Search].
[Map] (Rank E)
Able to conjure a mental detailed map of his current surroundings, providing locations of allies and enemies (Range: 100 Meters) (Progression: 32%)
[Search] (Rank E)
Cost Low Mana
Target user is searching for gives off a low glowing aura identifiable to user only (Range: 10 Meters) (Progression: 03%)
Now this is definitely impressive! With these kinds of abilities, while they dont have any combat skills, the skill they do have can be quite useful for navigation and resource gathering. I decided we should try to test them and see what they can do. Hey V, think you can try to find your settlement in your head? Maybe even see if you can search for your fellow goblins as you do? V seemed very eager to please and was quick to comply. Ok Mr. Vlad! Ill see what I can do!! V then closed their eyes and concentrated. They seemed to be struggling for a moment but then smiled Oh Oh I can see it! I can see where the settlement is! I can even see where everyone is exactly!! V continued to smile as they were enjoying their new abilities. Afterwards though something was wrong. Their smile suddenly changed to a frown, making a confused expression. The confusion suddenly into fear as they opened their eyes and began to suddenly grab and shook me like crazy. Mr. Vlad! Mr. Vlad! We need to hurry!! V was panicking and could barely speak. Something was clearly upsetting them! And I took the next thing they said seriously. My settlement, my home is under attack!!! Conquest 13 – Goblin Settlement Invasion There was no time to lose! After getting Vs warning I quickly gathered Mordred and had both me and V ride his shoulders, barely giving him time to process what was going on. No time to explain Mordred! We need to return to the goblin settlement now!!! Mordred quickly understood and began to rush through the forest. With no sign of slowing down he slammed through the one tree after another, using his hands to shield both of us from the debris. I decided not to ask V for details on why we were rushing back to the settlement. They seemed to be panicking with too much occupying their mind at the moment. Whatever it was Ill have to make sure to handle it quickly and carefully. The moment seemed to move by in a flash with the goblin settlement coming into view. What we saw was shocking to say the least. All the housing that they had built had been destroyed and burned down! There were goblins littered at the ground, many had bruises and cuts on their bodies. Luckily, they all seemed to still be alive. As soon as we saw this, V immediately jumped down to help, with tears forming in their eyes. I-I dont know what to do! Mr. Vlad what should I do?!! V started to plead, wanting to help I rushed in to help them. No sooner did we move in than I noticed a few figures at the edge of the settlement. Taking a look at them I was shocked at what I saw, it was a species I havent seen in a long time Humans Living breathing humans I should feel ecstatic, maybe even nostalgic to find a species that I used to be. But there was nothing. no familiarity no joy there was only one emotion I was feeling at that moment... Rage. Pure unadulterated anger!! How dare they make my young henchman cry!! My claw started to move on its own to unsheathe my weapon, not the trusty [Silver Short Sword] I had been using up till now but instead my [Copper Short Sword]. The sword has never been to a battle before, I never had a reason to before as the [Silver Short Sword] was more than enough when it came to facing other fellow monsters. But first, there was something to take care of first. V I need you to do something, think you can find some plants with healing properties? Gather as much as you can. Mordred, I need you to carry all the injured safely out of here. As I gave the order, Mordred quickly understood and immediately moved to carry it out while it took a bit for V to stop themselves from crying. I tossed them a leather bag made from the skin of our latest hunt, so they would be able to carry more. They managed to calm down enough and proceeded to go back to the woods to complete their tasks. Once they were out of sight I began to hide in the shadows, I had found it strange they didnt immediately come in, but I could only assume they probably kept their distance after seeing Mordred appear. I was quickly proven right when I overheard their conversation. Man, thank the goddess that crazy beast is gone! Who would have thought we would find a Minotaur out here!! I know right?! And what was it doing carrying all those goblins off for. Were the ones who fought them, we didnt even have a chance to finish them off! Who knows maybe it plans to eat them later or something. Too bad but at least we dont have to worry about facing that monster. But I could have sworn I saw a kobold as nearby as well. Must have run off then, I dont blame it. Kobolds are so weak its ridiculous! There were four humans, one of which was just laughing off after their comments about kobolds. I could only grit my teeth in frustrations, trying my best not to reveal myself yet. From what I can gather they seemed to be the typical adventure party. If I didnt believe this was a fantasy world like in those stories, then seeing something as clich as this certainly does. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The group consisted of a young female dressed in a green robe while holding some ordinary looking stick in hand which I will assume was a conduit for some kind of magic if it exists in this world, another was a skinny male dressed in a hunter looking gear with a bow in stow, an older gruff looking man garbed in heavy metal armor and wielding a large sword at his back. And finally, the one who was laughing from his own comment was a young man with a distinctly long sword at his side. I continued to keep my distance as I circled around the group. They seemed to be investigating the area, probably to find any potential loot. They seemed rather distracted too, fools. What a na?ve move to make, you would think at least the heavy armored human would know better. The humans began to scatter to gather their loot. Not wanting to miss this opportunity I began my work and eyed my first target, the human female with the cane. As soon as her companions werent looking, I used [Material Forge] to hollow out the ground beneath her and gathered the excess [Soil] into my [Dimensional Box]. The weakened foundation caused the woman to fall inside the hole as I quickly seal it back up. The sudden fall caused her to yell, quickly alerting her companions. But they were too late and lost track of where she was. With everyone on the defensive I doubted I would be able to use the same trick again. But I didnt mind, I believe I utilized the element of surprise well enough to my advantage, taking out what I will assume as their magic caster. This should cripple their formation and lower their firepower. Sensing the danger, the rest of the humans drew out their weapons and prepared for a fight. Without waiting for a moment, I then proceeded to handle the archer. While he had his bow drawn and the bowstring pulled, ready to fire the arrow, I forged an [Iron Needle] the size of my palm and took aim. From the moment I threw my weapon I began to have it reshape into a thin blade while keeping the momentum. The blade quickly connected to its target, the archers bowstring as it slices through causing the weapon to become unusable before crumbling into a small pile of minerals. Ah what the inferno?! My bowstrings been cut how?!! the inexperienced archer panics. His body shook with nerves as it was clear it was his only means to fight. Not knowing what to do he began to run away. The young man called out for him in anger as the distance grows. Hey where are you going?! Forget this, I cant fight without a bow you two are on your own!! You coward!! As the archer disappears from sight it is only left that last two humans. There was a look of frustration on their faces as they grip tightly on their weapons. Whoever you are you better show yourself!! Feeling the echoes of their challenge, I couldnt help but comply with their request. I leave my hiding spot and reveal myself to them. Unlike before my pose was simple and direct, body straight and with my gaze fully focused on him. Once I come into view of the humans, their expression soon changed to one of confusion and disbelief. The one with the long sword was the first to ask a question, his grip on his weapon beginning to relax. A kobold. are you serious?? So what? A monsters a monster!! Shaking off his initial confusion the human in heavy armor began to rush at me swinging his large sword. It was laughably easy for me to dodge though, his movements looked slow and predictable to me. No sooner after I dodge I begin to twist and spin my body, brandishing my [Copper Short Sword] and used the momentum to slash at his armor, focusing specifically on the exposed joints as I recall them usually being a weak point in most fantasy stories. It proved to be effective as it managed to pierce through his skin as the sudden pain forced the man to momentarily to drop his weapon. I took advantage of that slip-up and used my [Material Forge] to instantly force the sword to disintegrate into dust. ARGG!! My sword!! The man screams as he clenches his fists in anger and readies to pummel me to dust, just like his sword. Choosing to ignore him I then go after the young man as he grips his long sword tighter, probably worried about losing his own weapon after what I did. Putting his might into his swing at me, my small stature proved to be a boon as I avoided the hit and used my own sword to parry back. The other man not happy in being ignored by a kobold continued to go after me with his fist in anger, but as I still have the other mans sword locked, I parried its movement and forced him to aim his blade at his ally, slicing cuts at his fingers. The sudden change in motion caused the young man to lose his footing which I took the opportunity to jump at his back, humiliating him. What is with this kobold, shouldnt it be weak!!?? After landing on my feet I paused for a second feeling, annoyed by that statement but not exactly denying it either. With a flourish of his body and sword, I took my stand blade nearing the neck of the young man. My name is Vladimir, the kobold who will conquer this world!! Conquest 14 – Medicinal Power The two humans upon hearing my statement were bewildered by my supposed outrageous statement. A chuckle escaped the young mans lips as if he had already forgotten the embarrassment that I had just put him through a moment ago. What, you joking or something!? As if a weak kobold like you could do something so crazy! The young man was already gripping his weapon tightly, ready to go on the offense. I just wanted to end this farce already and had caused the ground near him to suddenly transform into a small pillar, the sudden change had knocked the weapon off his hand as a ping of pain crossed his face. The weapon flies off and lands near my direction. I raised my hand and began to use my skill. Noticing this the young man had an idea of what I was doing, panicking he reached out to try to stop me. No Don- But it was too late, within a second the metal blade began to crack and then started to shake, taking only mere moments before the momentum became more violent. The crack begins to expand and spread until it suddenly breaks apart, the once singular metal weapon was now split into two. Seeing his poor weapon torn into a state it couldnt be fixed the young man could only respond in anger. Damn you fucking scaly bastard, that weapon wasnt cheap you know! Youre going to pay for this!! Both men rushed towards me, ready to turn this into a fist fight but not a moment too soon as a hulking shadow had started to loom over us forcing them to stop in their tracks. The large creature started to speak, his voice capturing everyones attention. Hey boss! Everyone is safely evacuated just like you ordered so now I can support you in your fight! Mordred came into view, ax at hand and ready for a tussle. As the massive creature inches closer to us all the anger over the humans faces drains away and is quickly replaced with dread. So full of fear, the humans could only nervously muster a singular word. R-Run!!!! Both men panicked and dashed to the other direction, clearly wanting to get as far away as possible. But in their haste, they had forgotten one tiny little detail. Dont forget your little package! Here Ill deliver it to you!! After my statement the ground nearby shook as a pillar of dirt was suddenly formed and with it the young woman that I trapped popped out and landed on the ground. She was groaning in pain from the sudden fall but before she could even open her eyes the larger man in the armor quickly scoops her up and dashed away without giving her an explanation. A few seconds passed and the humans were long past my line of sight, after making sure they were completely gone I took a deep sigh of relief as I gave my attention to Mordred. Ill have to deal with the humans issue later, right now there are more immediate problems to deal with. Take me to the injured now Mordred. I gave the stated command and without a moment sooner the giant minotaur nodded with a serious expression. Right away boss! I jumped on my usual seat on top of Mordred as he took a mad dash to our location. It didnt even take a minute before we reached the injured goblins. To my relief everyone seemed to still be in a stable condition while those who were able to move continued to frantically work on caring for the injured. They suddenly jolted into a pause the moment we came into view, as if they were still afraid of what I was going to do with them. Dont worry, I scared off the humans myself. That comment confused them as they quickly looked at Mordred who quickly nodded in confirmation. Their expression changed from fear to a mix of amazement and relief, while I normally would want to soak it in right now there was something more important to take care of. Mr. Vlad Mr. Vlad youre back!!! out of nowhere V jumps at me in a hug. Tears were running over their eyes as they clung tight to me. Instinctively I gently pet the young goblins head. There there now, everything is alright. Now tell me did you get what I asked? Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. When V eventually let go of the hug they sniffled and wiped their tears, nodding their head as they pointed towards the pile of plants. Alright you did good job V, now let me take care of it, you can trust me. I began examining the various plants before me, with my [Game Screen] it was easy to tell the beneficial effects. After glancing through them I concluded the majority of them were [Healing Herbs], which was exactly what we needed so I began my work. I was lucky that my [Material Forge] definition of nonliving material counts towards plucked plants as well. Ill have to put more research on the limits of this skill once I get some free time but for now. I took a piece of the herbs at the palm of my hand as I began to reforge them into crushed material, turning them into [Healing Powder]. I had to make sure of their potency so Inspect
[Healing Powder] (Rank D)
Crushed up powder of Healing Herbs. Applies healing effects to the designated wound. Effects increase with each rank.
Looks like this will do, hopefully Rank D will prove enough for these poor goblins. I took the [Healing Powder] at hand and went over the most critically wounded goblin. There was a small hole at the edge of their stomach, they were holding on to it while grunting in pain. They seemed uncomfortable at first when I came to provide the medicine but quickly let their arm go so I could apply the medicine. After applying the powder, I made sure to watch its effectiveness and to my relief I could see the wound beginning to regenerate. The process on its healing reminded me of the orcs own regenerative abilities albeit at a slower rate, so I doubt this will help in any future lethal wounds which luckily none of them seem to have. After some time, they managed to recover enough that their breathing steadied. Once I verified how much it worked, I then began to put my focus on creating more [Healing Powder] as I instructed both V and Mordred to begin to distribute them to the other goblins and to help the other injured recover. It took some time and I had to make sure to maintain my mana capacity and not let it go down too far but after what felt like half an hour I was finally done. All of the goblins were now safely recovering as I sighed with both relief and exhaustion. The constant mana usage really took it out of me, though not as much as those intense fights so all I would need was a short rest. Stepping towards the nearest tree, I laid back on it and let my body recover. As I do though, I began to hear multiple tiny steps approach towards me. I didnt sense any danger from them, so I wasnt too worried. But as I looked to see what it was, I was surprised to see it was all the goblins. They all surrounded me and at the side I could see Mordred readying his ax, I quickly motioned him to stand down and he complied. Alright now was there something you wish to say to me? I began to ask them. Responding to my question they all suddenly kneeled before me, both knees and hands on the ground as one of them at the front nervously spoke. A-ah yes we all were discussing about your earlier proposal, a-about recruiting us to your group Intriguing, I honestly had forgotten about my recruitment proposal. The only thing I was thinking at the time was my anger over how those coward humans were making poor V cry And have you all reached a conclusion? I asked ready to hear their answer, though based on what I was seeing I believe I knew the answer already. ~ A-and after driving away those scary humans and helping our own recover, I-I believe wed all be honored to serve you Mr. Vlad sir After hearing those words, it felt like all my exhaustion had suddenly left me as I suddenly jumped up, surprising everyone. This was just too much good news to sit down on. With one foot forward I pointed towards the group of goblins, who seemed rather confused over the spectacle stance I was doing while Mordred was clapping in awe and V was acting cutely in admiration. Very well then! From this day forth you all shall now become my minions!! With my proclamation the familiar floating screen appeared before me and provided the notice I was expecting.
Goblin x 21 has joined you as your minions.
ehehehe. Veehahahahaha!! My familiar laughter bursts out and roars across the forest trees. I couldnt help it, I could never get tired of seeing my influence grow after all! ~ One of the goblins whispered to another as I continued to laugh, clearly confused. What is happening right now? ... I dont know just stay quiet and let him continue for now Meanwhile, at the home base, the three stooges heard my laughter from afar and immediately knew what that meant. The look of resignation all over their faces. . Yup there he goes laughing again. Yeah. guess that means I won the bet Better get ready, its going to get busy again soon Conquest 15 – Goblin Integration My laughter continued as Mordred gave his praise for me by clapping. After all it was something to celebrate, my personal army was really starting to grow into something significant. I should be more careful though; its a fine line between growing my numbers and maintaining it. With that thought crossing my mind I stopped laughing. Alright with that settled its time we get started. I hopped on my usual spot within the top of Mordreds shoulder with V on the other side. Uhm get started with what sir? one of the goblins asked, confused over my statement. So, I decided to clarify on what I meant You see after the human incident I figured its important to integrate you with the rest of my minions. Itll also be a good opportunity to get to know everyone. I-if you say so sir I had everyone pack the essentials theyd need while assuring them that well return soon enough, after all got to retrieve what is mine after all Veehahahahaha~ We soon returned to my home base, everything seemed to have been running smoothly despite me suddenly rushing off and had greeted us once they noticed our return. Oh, look the chief is back, seems everything went well and Im assuming those are the latest minions? You assume correctly, was there any doubt? Veehahahahaha~ But enough of that for now. We should have you all acquainted so they can get comfortable. Considering the day is going to end soon well need some of them to share in your living quarters for the night. W-wait wha- I-I mean sure whatever you say chief!! one of my fellow kobolds managed to stop themselves, before pissing either me or Mordred off. After making sure to have the word spread of my new minions, I had the three of us retire to my housing for the rest of the day. The days exhaustion was starting to creep up to me and I needed proper rest before I could even think of my next plans of action. I was ready to lie in the comfort of my own bed but there were two more things I would need to take care of first. So, what do you want us to do boss? Yeah yeah, maybe something fun?!~ I take a deep sigh as I gave out my orders to the two, just something else to add to the list of things to do later V, why dont you make sure the other goblins settle in smoothly, and Mordred try to make sure everyone else helps them feel welcome, nonviolently I might add. Mordred gave me the thumbs up to let me know he understood, hopefully he does. While precious V jumped in excitement over their task. You got it Mr. Vlad; Ill make sure everyone gets to know our new friends!! As they left, I finally sighed in relief as I dragged myself towards the bed. Honestly, Im surprised how tired I am. I was never this exhausted even with the fight with Mordred and the others, though I probably shouldnt compare exhaustion to just plain fainting. Oh well, Im sure Ill feel much better after getting a good nights rest. I let my body drop into the bed as my mind begins to drift into darkness and my body relaxes. * When I woke up, I suddenly felt like something was wrong, I immediately got up from my bed only to find the room I was in vastly different than when I went to bed. Not only that it was rather familiar to me, too familiar. I never thought I would ever see this room again. My old room from my world But why am I back here again?! Panick starts to set in, mixed with confusion. I quickly got up and took a closer look at everything. It just cant be my room, right? After frantically examining everything, I concluded it was indeed my old room but why?......Why Why Why Why?!! This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Why am I here of all places?!?! I couldnt stand it, I needed to get out of here and fast! Without another thought I immediately rushed towards the door! I quickly grabbed the knob and opened the door as I rushed through, not caring whats on the other side. All I cared about was getting out of here! But as I passed through the door, what I saw beyond the door was nothing but a black void with some group marching in a line. I could almost see who they were but. as I focused on them, I noticed that they looked like... * I suddenly opened my eyes, sweat flowing through my entire body. My breathing was short and fast, as I tried to process what had happened. But it was pointless, the memory of the dream was already starting to fade from my mind. I noticed that the sun was up and realized I must have slept through the night. I was still trying to ponder about the dream the best I can when there was a sudden knock on the door. A voice was heard behind the door Uhm Lord Vladimir sir? May I come in? I quickly got out of bed and tried to compose myself, wiping off all the sweat off my body. It would be rather embarrassing if any of my minions saw me with such an undignified look after all. Once I was sure I had myself looking proper I answered You may come in As soon as I give my approval, the door opens to reveal one of the goblins. He was shaking nervously while bowing slightly at me. Uh yes, I was ordered to escort you sir. All your subjects ask for your presence. But um are you alright sir.... there seems to be a tear coming out of your eye What?... I quickly wiped the tear off of my face. But why was it there one there in the first place, was I actually crying from that dream? Wha- what was that dream about I quickly shook that thought off of my head. It was something Ill have to deal with later, right now it seems my minions need me for something. Never mind that, take me to the others. Im sure the others needed me for something so lets not let them wait any longer. Oh, and lets forget what you saw here ok? ~ I asked with a tone sounding more like I was genuinely asking him. O-oh yes of course sir. The goblin quickly agreed as he escorted me out of my house. He made sure to lead me to the designation and as we drew closer, I started to hear some noise. It only got louder the closer I got, and I soon realized it was an aggressive argument! A fight was about to happen! Why the Inferno are you lot invading our space?! Not like we have much choice at the moment! It seemed there was a group of kobolds and goblins arguing with one another, meanwhile V and Mordred were trying their best trying to calm the situation down. Though Mordreds method was rather violent, fighting off the orcs from joining into the fight and V desperately trying to stop the other weaker races from arguing further. I could only emit a long breath of annoyance, I figured leading such a diverse group of creatures wasnt going to be easy, but I wasnt planning to give up soon. As the arguments began to grow louder, I cleared my throat and made a loud coughing sound. At the same time multiple walls of dirt were conjured between the space of all the arguing parties. All of which caught everyones attention as everyone grew silent as I took control of the situation and began to speak, my voice mixed with authority and frustration. Alright now what is the problem here? Both the kobolds and goblins shivered in nervousness, and they found themselves unable to answer. Knowing I wouldnt be able to get a word off of them I continued. Because it seems like there are issues with my temporary living arrangements, I hope you all understand the urgency of the situation and I plan to fix it today. As I stated, I repeatedly tapped my clawed foot on the ground. Or do you all have something else to say to me. Everyone nodded no, not wanting to cause my annoyance from surging further. With that matter settled, I then started to forge the goblins new more sturdy homes. I figure after that incident it would be better to have their homes be located at their original location, with some extra fortifications surrounding my territory with a wooden spike fence. I ordered the orcs to set up the fence while I reshaped them for their needs. It was also important with the distance between the goblins and kobolds Ill have to relocate my own home at the center between the two. Luckily for me Mordred was all willing to help, even managing to push it all the way thereGeez how strong is this monster. Anyway, seems the adjustments to my territory were settling in. Now there was just one other thing to deal with before I could feel more confident about its safety. I called the kobolds and goblins together, who all still feel nervous about what could happen. Once I got their attention, I stared at them all with a serious expression and made my declaration. Now everything is settling nicely with my territory, there is one thing we will need to handle right now involving you all. At that statement, I pulled out my sword, making them all shake with nervousness. Not helping the fact was the wide grin that was plastered over my face. Its time I start to train you all! Veehahahahaha!!~ Conquest 16 – Weakling Training Time! Everyone was in utter shock from my declaration. After all, for a weak race like them it sounded ridiculous in their ears. But seeing me brimming with confidence, they started to believe that maybe it didnt sound too impossible to achieve. After contemplating on what they should do, some of them started to speak up with the three stooges going first. I admit the idea of getting stronger does sound appealing I would feel safe knowing I could at least fend for myself . If the weirdo of our group could grow so str- One of them covers his mouth before finishing their comment, hoping I wouldnt notice which I did but I decided to ignore it. Next one of the goblins spoke up, sounding unsure in their voice. D-do you think it will be possible for even us to grow strong sir? I smirked in response, standing proudly in front of the goblin as I answered his question, Wouldnt it be exciting to find out minion? To push yourself to new heights of power?!~ I then adjusted my gaze at the rest of them, both kobolds and goblins. That applies to all of you, dont you want to gain more power and to no longer be regarded as a helpless prey?!~ The way I voiced my question made it come off as genuine and it seemed they all picked up on that as the familiar looks of awe was slowly building across their faces. Soon enough everyone started to cheer for me, motivated by my words they were definitely ready to begin. To start off with in preparations for their training, the first step would be to find out what types of weapons they should use. To help solve that problem I used some extra materials to make some [Wooden Sword], [Wooden Spear], [Wooden Dagger], and [Wooden Bow] which came equipped with some basic [Wooden Arrow]. I had everyone try out each of the weapons and help determine which ones felt the most natural to them. Some managed to find a weapon or two that seemed to suit them, while others still struggled to figure theirs out, so Ill have to help them practice each of them till they find out. Afterwards I created some [Wooden Dummy] to give them a target to practice on. Itll be important to first give them some time to get used to the feeling of holding and using their weapon. And after the first session it was. rather pathetic to say the least. Their swings had such a weak force behind them, their thrusts were barely able to stay straight let alone hit their targets, and their aim was just terrible. There was a lot of work in store for us, but I wasnt planning to give up any time soon. These were MY minions after all, and I plan to improve their usefulness. ~ So, I put all of my attention on training them, though my lack of experience as a trainer does hinder me but thats just going to be an obstacle Ill have to overcome, Im sure Ill be up for the challenge. * For the next few days, I started them off by a repetition of swings, thrusts, and shots. The idea was to have them familiarize themselves with their chosen weapons until it becomes second nature to them. There were some complaints from some of them here and there, mostly about feeling sore and exhausted from the constant practice though I was sure I gave them some decent breaks. Still, I needed to change tactics a bit. So, I started to rotate them between several groups of both training and resting. While it did help calm them down a bit, it only lowered the number of complaints by bit. There was just no getting around it I guess; we are known as one of the weakest species after all. At the very least none of them seemed to show any signs of giving up. They must really wish to gain strength, and I am all for encouraging them. The new rotations seemed to happily be working, as their training was starting to look less well. pathetic. It definitely was going to take a long time before theyll be ready for a fight but at least I know it would be possible. And you might be asking why I didnt ask the orcs or Mordred to help me in the training. Well. I had multiple reasons why that wasnt going to be an option. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. First off, they were all rather intimidated by them. I get it though, having faced them myself. I still remember how much willpower it took just to quell my own instincts to run from them when I first faced them. Second, I need them to act as defenders to the place and the wolves are already busy hunting for meat to provide for everyone. While there was plenty of prey to hunt back in the caves, that was more for our big eaters. The rest of us still needed our own supplies of meat on top of the other fruits and vegetables that the forest around us provides. And finally. They are just too damn aggressive to be even considered as trainers! I mean seriously, its crazy what those orcs find as entertainment is to violently spar with their bare fists without an ounce of restraint! Which always leave them a bloody mess afterwards! Theyre lucky they have a good regeneration to keep up with it. As for Mordred. I tried getting him to train them on the second day as a test run but not only had he had all those problems I listed, he was like some crazy task manager! He actually wanted to give them less breaks, thinking that toughing it out would be a good idea. I think he was trying to impress me, that look in his eyes as further evidence, to show quick results to get the desired strength I had wanted. Its becoming increasingly apparent each day that fierce loyalty of his towards me is becoming more of a liability for me rather than a boon Well at least hes still useful for a fight, and I honestly cant stay mad at him. After all, hes still mine and everything he does seems to be toward my benefit, and I cant fault him for trying. Though I must make sure to remind myself of his strong desire for a rematch, even I must admit I still wouldnt have a chance to beat Mordred in a straight up fight. Then after a few more days of training, I finally started to see real progress. The goblins were showing significant increase on the power and speed of their swings and shots on their chosen weapons. In comparison my fellow kobolds, while not as strong compared to their goblin brethren, showed a lot more adaptability by practicing more proficiency for multiple weapons. With that I figure it would be time to move on from the basics and on to real techniques. To do so I had them switch from facing the [Wooden Dummy] to face each other instead. I had made sure their weapons were more dulled out so as not to cause too much harm for them all. It was there where I saw their familiar nervousness of getting hurt like ever the weaklings Ive come to get used to. To try to alleviate their worry I took the initiative by taking a [Wooden Sword] and took a battle stance, facing them with intent in my eyes. If you have any sense of worry of receiving pain then come at me with all you got if you can! I shall not strike back!! They were all surprised over my declaration, even one of the goblins started to question my decision. B-but Mr. Vlad sir I dont think its a good idea. I mean if we all go after you at once without you fighting back wont we risk hurting you too much? Upon hearing their statement I couldnt help but laugh loudly, while giving a large smile. VEEHAHAHAHA, I like that you think you can cause real harm to me but dont worry. I am still quite prepared to endure whatever you got~ One of the kobolds responded, remembering about an earlier event. I mean. He did endure quite a lot from that crazy fight with the orcs Y-yeah that was insane. Im still surprised he survived all that. As the kobolds fall silent reliving that event, the goblins were shaken in surprise. R-really? Thats amazing With that confirmation they all became a bit more motivated, readying their wooden weapons and beginning their attack. With my own weapon at the ready, I began to defend myself as two of the kobolds began to charge at me. One clashed their sword with mine, locking us both in place which one of them thought to take advantage of by thrusting their spear in my blind spot, not a bad strategy if I say so myself but nonetheless easy to predict so with little effort I jumped back, dodging the thrust and causing the one with the spear to fumble and accidentally crash into the other. Next came a small group of the goblins, they decided to outnumber me, circling around me each with a sword at the ready. They all closed in on me, intending to limit my movement. But unfortunately for them they were out of sync, running and swinging at different speeds, that left multiple openings which I quickly took advantage of to maneuver around most of their attacks. Though to my surprise a few of them managed to get a few nicks at me. It seemed to be just what they needed as more of them; kobolds and goblins both began joining in on the mock fight, which ended up limiting not only my movement but theirs as well, making it difficult for them to use their weapons properly, I applaud their enthusiasm. I cant deny that, but there is still so much to work with. Afterwards, everyone was on the ground exhausted while I was only slightly bruised. Alright everyone, thats enough training for today, Good job. That seemed to have perked them up a little as they tried to catch their breath. With enough time they should be able to fight on their own. But after this there was one glaring problem that I noticed that I would need to rectify as soon as possible. Ill have to find a professional trainer because I clearly am not good at this!! Conquest 17 – Town Infiltration So now the question is, how am I going to find a professional to train my minions. Considering the current issues, I was forced to postpone their training for now, but I made sure to encourage them to practice in their free time. They seemed rather relieved to be taking a break deciding to just rest up for the first day. In the meantime, I decided to gather some info from the goblins about the humans we had encountered. It was of course to help me better understand any potential countermeasures we would need to implement but more importantly there was the potential of gathering new minions for me. My goblins understandably were rather against the idea though. I-I dont think thats a good idea sir those humans are savages. They just see monsters like us as creatures that need to be eliminated. I recalled back to the incident I had with the human party from before which further confirmed their statement so I cant say it was something I could deny. Seeing how nervous they were about the subject I decided to change the topic a bit Regardless it is important to know if there are any towns or other human dwellings nearby. It didnt sound like those humans from before travelled too far off from here. Y-yes sir, there is a small town not too far from here. We usually try to avoid their attention, since that would only increase their aggression towards us So, with the information in hand, I pondered for a moment on what I should do. It was then I thought of a brilliant idea. My lips began to curl into a wicked smile, revealing the fangs underneath. My eyes began to squint in anticipation as a familiar sound was coming out of my mouth. Veehahahahaha, then I think its time I infiltrated this human town. Learn more about the humans ~ Those within earshot gasped in surprise, probably stunned by my brilliant idea. One of the goblins cleared his throat, trying to recompose himself as he began to question me. S-Sir what youre proposing is just impossible! I mean you dont even look human, the second they see you theyre going to hunt you down relentlessly In response I wagged my finger towards him and clicked my tongue, expecting such a response. Tsk tsk, I already have a plan in mind of that. I gathered some left-over [Hide] and [Log] and began to use my trusty [Material Forge] skill to reforge them into [Leather Gloves], [Leather Boots], and [Wooden Dragon Mask]. I decided to do a quick Inspect on them before deciding to put them on.
Leather Gloves
Basic gloves made by the hide of animals, offer mild protection on the hands. Note that the pinky finger has been stuffed with leather, making it unusable for five finger hands.
Leather Boots
Basic footwear made by the hide of animals, offer mild protection for feet.
Wooden Dragon Mask
A wooden mask designed off the likeness of a dragons head. Offers mild protection to the entire head.
As I finished Inspecting my new additional gear, I made sure to see if there were any adjustments needed to hide any parts of my scales like tying leather straps over the sleeves and inside the [Leather Boots]. I also made sure that the snout of the [Wooden Dragon Mask] had plenty of empty space inside so that I could still speak inside of it. Afterwords I looked at my minions to gather their opinions on my disguise, expecting some praise over my ingenuity. Soo, what do you think? ~ Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. They all glanced at each other, their expressions showing that they were trying to figure out what to say to me. I-its uh very unique sir Im sure theyll never tell the difference chief I snorted, satisfied with their response, and began asking for directions for the human town. As we were discussing on the details Mordred came by, probably doing his daily guard routine with V on his shoulders. It seems the little goblin finds his shoulder as a comfortable spot, not that I blame them, it IS a nice spot to sit on. Strangely though, the second he looked in my direction his expression suddenly changed to rage, the intensity of it managed to kick start my unreliable kobold instincts. It was difficult to keep my own shaking body from fleeing in terror from my own henchman as he angrily stomped towards me. Poor V themself wondering what was going on as Mordred stood tall above me, his ax pointing directly at me. WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE BOSSS TERRITORY?! I was dumbfounded, it seems my disguise was a little too effective in fooling the minotaur. Not wanting to escalate the problem, I immediately tried to take off my mask. That proved to be difficult as I had designed some sections of it to slide so as to give my head more room to put it on and right now it was stuck. This was starting to make Mordred impatient; he was ready to use his ax and started to wind up his arm to swing his ax, making me move frantically as I continued to struggle to remove my mask. 3. He tightened his grip on the handle as the panicked minions were trying to move out of the way. 2. His eyes were fully locked on me, making sure not to lose sight of me as I continued to struggle with my mask. Before things got ugly, I finally managed to remove my mask at the last second as I quickly yelled out. Wait! Its me Mordred, Im wearing a disguise!! He immediately stopped his attack and I managed to give a large sigh of relief. I noticed everyone else was panicking or hiding from a safe distance, wondering if the danger was over and I had to try to make calm everyone down. B-Boss? S-sorry I couldnt tell it was you, that was a very convincing disguise. Mordred could only rub the back of his head in embarrassment as he put his ax away. Meanwhile, V was eyeing up my mask, clearly interested in it. That looks sooo cool Mr. Vlad! Could I have one please! ~ As usual they were as adorable as ever Mayber later V, for now I need this as I plan to infiltrate the nearby human town. Mordred began to laugh loudly, clearly forgetting how he had almost beheaded me only a few seconds ago. So, its time to conquer the humans now huh boss?! They wont know what hit them! ~ I couldnt agree more. But right now, I am merely going to check out the town and gather some info. You would definitely stick out like a sore thumb, so I need you to stay here for now and guard the place. V, I need you to keep track of my location and make sure to pay attention for anything unusual. Mordred saluted to me, and V nodded in understanding. Though I still have my concerns over how Morded was going to handle things without me keeping him in check. But I decided to trust my instincts for now and hope for the best. As I began to prepare my journey to town, I took one last look at my settlement who all greeted me off on my own. Once I was out of sight, the three familiar kobolds started to comment on something that apparently no one else had noticed. So uhm. is anyone going to tell the chief that he forgot to hide his tail? ... I doubt the chief was going to listen to us Yeah. Lets just see how this goes. After some time, I continued following the directions the goblins gave me. Going through the forests and finally seeing the town not too far from view. I made sure that I had my gear all in order and began to walk towards the town entrance, spotting a group of humans entering, I steel myself as I walked behind them. A few of them noticed me and were talking among themselves, but otherwise didnt really do anything else. Im sure they didnt notice I was a kobold underneath and that the disguise was working. Once I reached the entrance, there were two guards stationed there as they were inspecting everyone that was coming in. Most of them managed to get in just fine, though there was one human who ended up arguing with one of the guards, Im not sure why. I wasnt really paying attention to their conversation. Soon enough it was my turn. As I walked up to the guards, they started to examine me, with a look of confusion in their eyes, only to notice my two swords strapped to my side and began to question me. Are you here to register as an adventurer? the guard asked, still looking confused and I could swear I thought I heard some pity in his tone of voice. Wanting to avoid raising any suspicion, I decided to play along with it. And I admit I was curious to check it out myself. Oh yes I am, Im new here so could you give me directions? The guard agreed and provided the information I needed for the adventures guild and sent me on my way. I thanked the guard and entered within the outskirts of town. Once I was out of earshot of the guards, they started to talk amongst themselves. Are you sure you should have sent that kid there. Yeah, Im sure. He may look young, but he is one of those Beastman, probably of the scaled species. They are known to be physically strong. Besides, I doubt they would have a kid do something dangerous early on. The other guard nodded in agreement Youre right, Im sure hell be fine. I managed to find the Adventures guild, making sure not to get distracted from the other buildings. I figure the guild would prove to be a good place to gather some info. With full confidence I walked inside the building, ready to see what they had to offer. But unknown to me, a large figure was behind me not too far off. Conquest 18 – The B-Ranked “Bear”venturer With full confidence I walked towards the receptionist, all eyes were on me as I walked past them. Though when I went up to the front desk, I noticed a bit of issue I was short too short to reach the top of the desk, just trying to jump and all I could manage to do was barely reach it. So, I was forced to grab a chair so I could use it to stand on, all the while I could hear everyone fail in trying to hold their laughter. Rrrgghh Ill show them. I finally managed to reach the desk, only to find a woman dressed in uniform, with white tanned skin and red colored hair. She too was trying her best not to laugh, and I could swear her cheeks were red. At least she took the effort to try to recompose herself as she greeted me. H-hello sir, is there something I could do for you? Ah yes, I heard I could register as an adventurer here. The receptionist managed to get into business mode as she answered my question Why yes, we accept all those who wish to join no matter the circumstances, so you wont have to worry sir. I was curious about what she meant by that last comment but decided it didnt matter. She opened one of the drawers near her and pulled out a blank card and a sheet of paper, presenting it to me. Now before we begin registering you sir, Ill need you to fill out this form giving me all the basic information you can provide. Dont worry if you cant fill everything out, some adventurers dont wish to reveal some info about themselves. Glad to know, it makes things easier for me. After she provided me with a pen, I began going over the form. I was surprised I was able to read the language, but I chalked it up to an extra bonus for my entrance to another world, probably was a universal language natural to this world. It seems to ask for basic information like name, age, abilities, and skills I had. I definitely couldnt just write my real name so decided to use only part of it, Dimir. It sounded like a real name for sure. As for age, it was hard to say so I decided to skip that section which just left the skills and abilities. I decided to opt out of mentioning my [Game Screen] and [Kobold Adaptability] abilities. [Game Screen] sounded like it would be too foreign to be known here, and [Kobold Adaptability] pretty much answered itself. With all that information written down I handed my form to the receptionist, who happily looked over it. Though after looking over, it she seemed a little confused on some of the information I put down. I m sorry sir but, Id like to ask you about this skill you put in? Im afraid this is the first time I heard of [Material Forge] could you please explain what it does? Oh, so thats what she was worried about. I guess it must be a unique skill or something, but I guess it should be fine to show it a little bit. I took out one of my swords, keeping it within the sheath so as not to worry someone. Well to put it simply, it lets me reshape any nonliving material. To demonstrate I began to use my skill to twist the edge of my blade, pretending to give a look of concentration to get her and the others watching to give them the sense of struggle for me to use it. It took the receptionist by surprise as she watched it move, the other adventurers nearby were also shocked, though some immediately tried to pretend not to care. After finishing my demonstration, I reshaped the sword back to normal as I returned it to my hip. The receptionist seemed impressed as she continued Well I must say that is a most interesting skill, thank you Mr. . Dimir? I could have sworn I heard her snort just now, the nerve some people have. To show my annoyance I repeatedly tapped on the counter, signaling her to continue. She seemed to get the hint as she tried to recompose herself again. She next moved on to having the form and card registered. During the meantime she gave me a pamphlet to look over to give me a better understanding of how the guild works, so I decided to sit down with the chair I brought to the side to read it. It seems that they rank each adventurer through a letter-based system, similar to how [Game Screen] functions. And all new registered adventurers start off as G rank and must participate in a quest at minimum three days after joining. And it seems like we are only allowed to participate in quests that are at most one rank higher than our own, though even that requires permission from the guild. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Overall, it seems like the typical set up of an Adventurer Guild based on the stories I read back in my old world. Once I was done reading, I headed over to the desk, picking up the chair to bring back to the desk. But without looking I accidentally bumped into someone without seeing. It was then that I noticed that the room suddenly fell silent. Knowing how it usually goes, I must have accidentally bumped into someone either high ranked or dangerous to deal with. I was instantly proven right as when I checked to see who I bumped into, to my surprise it looked to be a man with a large build, Id say hes about three times bigger than me give or take. What really caught my eye was that his body seemed to be covered in black fur with a yellow robe-like cloth wrapping around it, leaving room for his arms and part of his chest exposed as well as not wearing any footwear. From my view it was hard to tell what kind of expression he was making, if he was making one at all. His face was more neutral to say the least and his eyes lacked any readable emotion. The others watching this happening were whispering among themselves, I managed to pick up one of their conversations oh man that newbie just bump into that B-ranked adventurer. Isnt that the Quiet Black Beast Damian? That kids toast So, it seems that this guy I bumped into was actually a big deal. No matter, Im sure I can get through this. I looked at this adventurer in the eye, who ended up looking back. His expression is still the same as before. It was then I had a proper look at it and noticed that he had a snout, with ears at the top of his head. In fact, the way his whole head looks with all that fur, as well as his nose makes me think about a bear. Is this those Beastmen species Ive read about in those stories. Though I probably shouldnt be too surprised, after all me being a small lizard walking like a human was strange enough. It makes sense there would be a humanoid bear as well. It was then that I noticed that we were staring at each other for a bit of time, his eyes having not looked away at me before he finally started to speak. His voice sounding deep but strangely gentle as well? . Sorry, I think you were here first? When he spoke, I could feel the tension that was going on quickly disappear. Even the others watching felt that something was off. Before I could respond the receptionist finally returned with card in hand. Sorry it took so long Mr. Dimir! I have your card ready now! I quickly took the opportunity to use the chair and grabbed my Adventurer Card. Without looking at it I put the chair back and proceeded to go through the quest board, wanting to start on a quest immediately and keep that whole exchange out of my mind. Though I wasnt quite sure what I should take first, most of the quest was locked out of my reach with my newly G rank status. The ones I could take were either too simple or related to goblin hunts which I refuse to take. I ended up pondering over this for a while until I suddenly noticed a shadow casting over me only me only to find that same bear man from earlier. His expression hadnt changed from before. Honestly it was a little uncomfortable and I still didnt know what he wanted from me. Uhm was there something you needed from me? He continued to stay silent for a few more seconds, all the while staring at me. I swear if he turns out to be some weirdo. He finally started to speak; his tone unchanging with that same unusual deep gentleness to it. . I got requested to assist you on your first quest. I looked at the front desk, seeing the receptionist awkwardly smile and wave at me. Is she looking down on me or something? Regardless, I decided it would be good for me to take advantage of a veterans help, even if he was a bit unusual. I gave off a smile, seeing if I could get on his good side as I responded. Oh, really thanks a lot. Well, I was hoping to accept an interesting quest, but I dont want to do a goblin quest. Do you have a recommendation I could take? Luckily enough, he seemed to not question my desire to avoid fighting goblins as the bear adventurer gave a simple nod and quietly walked towards the quest board and grabbed a poster before showing the quest to me. The quest seems to be a horned rabbit quest, requesting to hunt five horned rabbits. Sounds like a simple enough quest, and the location is a good distance away from the base. Deciding on the quest I brought it over to the receptionist, who accepted it and the bear adventurer agreed to tag along with me as support if I needed it. Hopefully I can gather some good intel from him and possibly recruit him. The more the merrier after all. He offered to lead the way, to show me a good spot outside of town to hunt these creatures as I followed behind him, the receptionist waving goodbye and wishing me luck. As we left the guild hall though, out of earshot of the others, they started to talk among themselves. A look of confusion and worry across their faces. That Damian. Is it me or is he acting weird? Right? Normally he only comes in to take a quest and leaves, giving no time to interact with anyone. But he seemed rather interested in that lizard kid. Its hard to imagine what that Beastman is thinking. Then again there always is something with Beastmen in general. The receptionist meanwhile continued to smile, seemingly figuring out what was going on with Damian. Having noticed something interesting about him that no one else noticed. As the bear continues to lead the way for me, underneath his dark black fur. His cheeks were strangely heated, as the skin started to pinken almost unnoticeable from all but the most trained eye. Conquest 19 – “Bear”-Fisted Knuckles After managing to lead us to an open field just outside town the veteran, Damian as I recall, pointed in the direction of the forest. Youll find the herd of horned rabbits inside the forest there. He stated, giving the same tone as before. I nodded in understanding as I prepared my [Silver Short Sword] in hand, I strategized in my head how to handle the current situation. I could probably handle hunting these rabbits easily with my [Material Forge] but as of right now I need to hide how effective I could use it, especially with a B- Ranked adventurer watching. Though this would be a perfect time to practice fighting without that skill. Ive become aware that Ive become rather over-reliant on it and I need to prepare for situations where I wouldnt be able to use it. My mana isnt infinite after all, my fight with Mordred bearing in mind. Now the question is how would I find these horned rabbits? Vs [Search] would be quite useful for this situation but unfortunately that wont be an option. Instead, I figure Id take advantage of Damians expertise instead. Do you have any advice for finding horned rabbits? Im afraid Ive never encountered them before. The bear nodded as he walked closer to the trees in the forest, motioning for me to follow him. As we entered, his eyes began to scan around his surroundings. His body barely moved for a few seconds before he started to walk to a certain spot, where more sunlight was coming through the trees, as he bent down to pick up something. He was holding a handful of carrots in his hands as he offered them up to me. Horned Rabbits are attracted to carrots. Careful as they can be quite aggressive despite being small. Ok Ill keep that in mind, thank you. Damian simply nodded, his expression never changing. I guess this is what they meant, calling him the impassive veteran. Quite the professional adventurer indeed. Now I really want to recruit him. Something to remember in the future when the opportunity presents itself. Now what to do with these carrots. I thought for a bit and decided that I could make a trap, using these vegetables as bait. With my skill it would have been easy to simply lay them on top of a hollowed-out ground, but I committed to not using it for this quest. I remember watching an old survival video in my old world that could work so I started to gather some durable looking sticks. Meanwhile the bear adventurer was watching me, curious about what I had in mind. I managed to gather enough sticks, though I had to take several trips. My small stature was proving to be a problem as I couldnt carry as many sticks as I would have liked. Damian offered to help but I refused, I had already asked for his help enough and I needed to prove to them I would be capable as an adventurer. Itd make it that much easier to gather intel if they can see me as more reliable. I began to start setting up the traps, tying the sticks together with some [Rope] I had made before coming to town. Afterwards, I had them elevated with another stick on the ground with it attached to another [Rope] which I had on my gloved hand. After placing a single carrot bait within the trap, I then hid behind a tree not too far off, making sure the [Rope] was hidden within the grass and Damian keeping his distance while watching me at work. A simple trap for sure, but nonetheless should prove to be effective. Now all that would be left is to wait for the prey. It probably would take some time before they will appear, so in the meantime Ill have to take advantage of the wait and try to get some info from the watching veteran, making sure to keep the volume of my voice low as to avoid alerting the creatures. If its alright, could you tell me more about the town? Im new here so theres not much I know of the area. Damian agreed and began to explain, it was easy to follow as he kept his explanation simple and short. Apparently, this town is rather remote, away from the jurisdiction of any kingdom, but still close enough to for them to do business with them. Its mainly populated by humans, but there are the occasional Beastmen who come by, which I would assume is what Damian was. Hearing of this, I concluded this would be a good starting town for my conquest and really leave my mark on this world. The tricky part would be convincing them to follow me, but Im sure Ill find a way. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. It was then we heard some rustle noise nearby, so we kept quiet. Sure enough, a gray colored rabbit jumped in. It had two small horns coming out of its head and red beady eyes. I looked at Damian for confirmation if that was my target and he nodded. I then readied myself, [Rope] in hand as its lured by the carrot laid out before it, slowly inching closer and closer until finally it was within distance as I quickly pulled on the [Rope] setting off the trap. It had worked and the horned rabbit was trapped. I quickly jumped out of my hiding spot and had my short sword ready as I noticed it trying to break free from the trap. Without giving it another thought I began to repeatedly stab at the space between in the trap all while keeping a hand on the trap to prevent it from escaping. I kept at it for a bit longer, some of my hits missing my target as it was scrambling around fast inside until eventually it stopped squirming. Multiple stab wounds exposed on its body as I take a sigh of relief from the successful hunt. Damian, having watched me gave me a thumbs up, his expression unchanging as usual. I have to wonder if he ever has any emotions. I was ready to check on the corpse to make sure if it was still kicking when I suddenly heard more rustling in the bushes. It seems the little rabbit didnt come alone. I ready my blade, eyeing my surroundings for any sense of danger. I noticed the veteran was also preparing to step in if it looked like itd be too much, but I wasnt going to give him a chance. Suddenly three horned rabbits jumped in, ready to pounce at me from all directions. Not willing to let them get the jump on me, I stabbed in the direction one of them was jumping at, piercing through it, and sending it to the ground. Compared to my wolves speed this was nothing to keep track of. Unfortunately, with my focus on one of them the other two rabbits managed to get a bite on my arm and leg. Pain jolted through my body and Damian seemed to jump in a fighting stance, ready to come in to help. But I refused, once my blade was freed from its latest victim, I took advantage of the rabbits helplessness while gnawing on my limbs to stab at their exposed necks, their bodies going limp making it easy for me to tear them off of me. But I wasnt done yet, earlier I could have sworn I heard four different rustles around me. I tried to remember where the last noise came from, all the while trying to ignore the pain. It was then the last one jumped into view, unlike the others it stood in place, clearly weary of me. It was practically challenging me to come after me, something I was happy to comply with. I continued to ignore the pain in my leg as I ran after the horned rabbit who in turn came after me. I slashed at it who in turn jumped to dodged it, its fangs at the ready towards my injured arm but I wasnt about to let it. With my free hand already at the handle I grabbed my [Copper Short Sword] and used it to catch it by the jaw, the pain on my arm though was coursing through my body but I refused to let it get to me. Continuing to use the momentum of unsheathing it, I send the rabbit crashing to the ground, breaking its back and its mouth sliced up. Not giving it a moment longer I used the other blade to jam right at its stomach, its body twitching before going limp. With that I had finished the quest, killing off five horned rabbits. Sensing the danger passing, my grip on my swords loosens as I drop them, and I fall to one knee. My body was finally reacting to the pain inflicted on my limps. I noticed that they had managed to tear through my sleeves so tried to quickly cover it up with my gloved hand. Damian seemed to have noticed as he came by with some cloth in hand. He was offering to help me out, but I had to refuse, otherwise he would notice my scaled skin. I can cover the wound myself but thank you. I took the cloth and began to wrap the wound on my leg and arm, all the while the bear was watching me. Luckily it seemed he didnt notice my skin before I covered it up. But while I was wrapping it up there was a loud roar not too far from us. Damn it, I just finished my fight with the rabbits. I didnt have the energy to face another creature. Dont worry, Ill take care of it. You already finished your quest. The bear adventurer stated, turning in the direction of the loud roar. He readied his stance, waiting for the inevitable beast to come. When out came a large hairy creature, its body reminded one of a bear much like Damian, but much more beast like and with the head of another creature I recognized from my old world, an owl. From recalling from the various stories I read before, I remember the name Owlbear. From what I recall they tend to be rather ferocious creatures. Nonetheless, the bear Beastman seemed undeterred. As the creature came smelling the blood of the horned rabbits, it charged towards our direction. Damian barely moved, simply readying one of his fists as he pulled it back. I could sense a large amount of mana building up around both his hands, concentrating at a single point as the air around begins to tense up. Meanwhile, the speed of the Owlbear begins to increase as he rushes closer towards Damian. Within moments the two met face to face, the beast taking out its claw ready to shred the veteran into ribbons. Damian on the other hand never changed his expression, his focus fulling focused on the task at hand. With swift and precise movement, his fist connects the bird beasts face all the while dodging his claw attack, all with minimal movement. The owlbear seemed to wince in pain and barely had time to react as Damian began to send a flurry of fists all the while pinning the beast to the ground. As Damian continues his onslaught the Owlbear starts to go limp, its body starting to stop reacting to his attack. He noticed this as he immediately stopped, barely any exhaustion was shown on his face, and he hardly broke a sweat dealing with the beast. I was amazed, this B-ranked adventurer was definitely the real deal. Seeing the display, the power and control he had only inspired me more. Veehahahahaha. Now I have to have him more than anything now. ~ Conquered 1 – Heart of a Veteran Adventurer My name. is Damian. Im what you call a Beastman, a species similar to the humans of this world. Similar but different unfortunately, our bodies may be the same but at the same time we share characteristics very nonhuman. We possess features from the various creatures of the world like cats, wolves, lions, falcons, and even lizards. For me, Im classified in the black bear category. We Beastman may be more physically fit than most humans, but we are outnumbered. Our unusual appearance strikes fear in humans. Even if we are accepted as part of the civilized species on the surface, underneath many of them associate us with monsters. My appearance alone causes people to keep their distance from me. Ive been told I have a rather intimidating look on me, scaring not only the other humans but even a lot of my fellow Beastman and creatures. Even as a child many of the creatures of this world would run in fear of me. Ill admit, it was heartbreaking being feared like that. They acted like I was doing this on purpose when all I wanted was to get to know them. The only ones I knew who wasnt fearful of me were my own parents who themselves had to handle the fear associated with them. It was at least comforting knowing that there were some people who understood how it felt to be judged like this. Unfortunately, the feeling didnt last long. Being adventurers they would always go out on dangerous quests, risking their lives for the people who wouldnt accept us. One day they never returned, and I was forced to join in an orphanage, surrounded by people who didnt want me around for years. My only comfort was watching the cute critters from a distance, even if they didnt like coming to me, I find them enjoyable to watch. At a certain point I started to notice I was having a harder time expressing my emotions. But it was fine, it was far easier this way. Once I became of age, I was immediately kicked out of the orphanage. It made sense, they didnt like having me around in the first place so must have been glad to finally get rid of me. In order to survive I had decided to become an adventurer myself, just like my parents did. I only focused on completing the quests handed to me, no point trying to connect with any of the others. It went on like this for years right to the present. Eventually, I found my rank had increased to B rank. It was then they started to see me in a new light, they even started to praise me. Calling me an excellent adventurer that many strive to be. It was nice at first, I had never been praised like that before and I liked the attention even if I didnt know what to do with it. Though it wasnt that long before I began to notice; from the tones of their voice, the expressions on their bodies, and even the way they looked at me. It felt hollow, I could tell they still were fearing me and were keeping their distance. . It was. Disheartening. I decided to just focus on my work from then on, ignoring their comments, their stares. I barely even enjoyed my pastime of admiring the cute critters anymore. It wasnt like any of them would get close to me anyway. Today though was different, I had thought it would just turn out to be another day of work. Just walk in, accept a quest, then get out. Nothing more than that, at least that was the plan. Before I entered the guild hall, I thought I had seen a young child enter inside. Sure enough, once I walked inside, I saw him. From what I can gather, despite his best effort to hide his appearance, it was obvious he was a young lizard Beastman who forgot to hide his tail. It was. Something to be sure. It seemed he was registering to be an adventurer, having mulled over the pamphlet new adventurers are given. Im all for supporting young adventurers but he looked to be a bit too young to join, not like it was any of my business to interfere. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It must have distracted me cause as I was walking towards the receptionist desk ready to get in line before I had accidentally bumped into the little guy. That got me worried, for sure I was going to scare the poor kid away. I could already hear everyone whisper to themselves, about something ridiculous like how I was going to do something bad to the little one. I was bracing myself for the worst when surprisingly, the kid was just staring at me. The most likely reaction was to keep their distance from me, but this one was looking at me in curiosity. It was strange, I didnt sense any of the fear Ive come to be used to from everyone. That only piqued my own curiosity, it didnt even occur to me that I was staring back at myself. Once I noticed, I tried to break the silence and spoke first, wanting to make sure he got to the receptionist first. Though its been so long since I actually talked to someone outside of business, it took me a bit to even say the words. Even the tone of my voice was just barely coming out enough for the little guy to understand, it was rather embarrassing to say the least. Watching him use the chair to reach the desk was. interesting for some reason. Once he received his adventurer card, he was quick to return the chair back and go to the quest board. I couldnt help but watch him go do his business that the receptionist had to call me over. Why was I getting distracted so easily today As I approached the receptionist, I asked for any quests to participate in today. Normally the guild receptionists were professionals, always giving the business smile they provide to all adventurers even me. But today she was giving a rather different smile. Hmm you know that young lizard Beastman you were talking to? He just registered and I thought it might be a good idea if you help him out on his first quest. Ill make it into an official quest so you can get paid. Rather unusual quest, they dont normally provide a training quest though considering how young that Beastman was it makes sense. But I dont understand why she was offering me the job. Wouldnt someone less intimidating be better suited for the job? I thought about it for a bit, there was something about the kid that I wanted to know more about. It felt like something was stirring inside me from long ago that I have no idea about. I decided to accept the quest, the pay she offered seemed decent enough anyway so there was no harm there. The only issue is if the kid would accept my help. I approached the little one from behind and was about to speak but strangely no sound came out of my mouth. It was only when he asked first that I managed to bring up the quest to supervise his that I managed to reply. I still couldnt quite speak properly to him for some reason, but he seemed to understand. After accepting the quest, I helped him find the best location to find his target hunt. The first thing I noticed was that this wasnt his first-time hunting. Most newcomers would just blindly go in with no plan in mind, but this little one was actually gathering info he needed to catch his prey. He ended up with a basic but effective trap for small animals. As we hid waiting for the horned rabbit to appear, he actually started to have small talk with me, wanting to know more about the town. I noticed my heart was starting to beat faster for some reason and I found myself talking more easily, giving the explanation I knew about the area. It was nice being able to socialize like this for once Though we were cut short as the trap was triggered, it was there I got to see the little one in action. He was definitely no stranger to battle, there wasnt a hint of hesitation from him as he sprang into action. He was beaming with focus and confidence that would put a lot of us adults to shame. Even as he was getting attacked by more of the little creatures, even when they gnawed at his limbs, he didnt lose his composure. I had to remind myself not to interfere in his fight, even if I wanted to help. He didnt need it though, having managed to finish his quest, though I couldnt help getting this gut feeling he was holding back for some reason. What was strange was that he was trying to keep me from seeing his wounds, like he was trying to hide his scale skin. I decided not to pry, it wasnt my business after all. Instead, I needed to focus on keeping him safe as a more dangerous creature was approaching, an owlbear. I decided to end it quickly as the kid was already exhausted and I wanted to help him back to recover as soon as I can. Once I was done dealing with the Owlbear, I decided to have us return to town. I would retrieve the beasts body later; my first priority was returning the kid back safe. Overall, I started to get a good grasp over this kid after this quest. He seemed really sure of himself and didnt lack in confidence. Fully focused on what he wanted and willing to put in the hard work to achieve it. Im sure he will become a great adventurer in the future. And for some reason, I feel like I want to hang with the kid more often. It was nice having someone who wasnt instantly afraid of me. More so there was just something about him that I cant quite put my finger on. That small stature and the way he holds himself, he just looks so. So. Conquest 20 – Grasping Magic in my Hands After the completion of my quest, we decided to return to town. It was already starting to set and luckily for me Damian was offering to help me carry the rabbit bodies, which was appreciated. Even if my limbs werent injured, I would still have difficulty carrying them back. As for the Owlbear, he said he would return to retrieve the body once he was done helping me and I officially completed the quest. Once we returned to the guild hall there were fewer patrons inside, probably because it was getting late. Though they saw us holding my prize, they started to give curious looks. Thats right, let them see what I can do! Veehahahahaha~ As we approach the receptionist desk, it seemed to be a different woman manning the station. It made sense, it was getting rather late so they must have changed shifts. Lucky for us she seemed to have been informed about me as she didnt seem too surprised to see me and Damian appear. Mr. Damian, glad to have your return. And am I to assume that this little guy is the new adventurer I heard about. Mister. Dimir, right? I was going to grab a chair to reach the desk when Damian started to speak towards me. Would you like some help up? I gladly accepted, no point in arguing in letting a veteran adventurer lift me up, itd definitely grab more of everyones attention. ~ As I allowed the bear Beastman to carry me up I could have sworn I heard some snickering from the others. No matter, let them think what they want! We placed the rabbit corpses at the designated table as they had someone inspect the bodies. After confirming the completion of both our quests. For my quest I was given 10 [Silver Coin]. Ill have to keep a note to myself to understand the value of each coin is in comparison to my old world. I pocketed the money into a leather pouch I had forged to carry some money around. After that exchange me and Damian decided to split from here, he said he needed to return back to the forest to retrieve the Owlbear and report to the guild. Before he left, I asked for a place to sleep and any other place of interest I could find in this town. He pointed towards a cheap inn nearby, as well as where I could find a smith store if I ever needed to upgrade my gear and interesting enough a magic store, something to look forward to tomorrow. As he waved goodbye and left, I couldnt help but think that I noticed his expression change slightly, though its kind of hard to tell with this wooden mask on. After finding the inn, I managed to rent a room for the night, though not without a bit of difficulty. For some reason, the innkeeper wasnt taking me seriously! It was only after I showed him the [Silver Coins] did he finally offered me a room to stay in for the night which will cost me 2 [Silver Coins]. I dont know if thats a good price or not, but I would have to take it. Once I was given the room, I made sure it was secured. I began inspecting around and it was definitely a cheap room. Both the walls and rooms were not in the best shape and the bed looked like a block of wood with a thin blanket wrapped around it. There wasnt even a locking mechanism on the door, I definitely needed my privacy so I used [Material Forge] to merge the cracks on the door enough that it would be a struggle to open it. Ill make sure to have it return to normal in the morning. After assuring everything was secured, I finally took off my mask, gloves, and boots. With the day being slightly humid and that intense battle, it felt like I was ready to sweat up a storm! Though considering my reptilian body, it didnt seem like I could. I will have to find a way to make the mask more breathable, maybe find some material as an alternative. After taking a few minutes to catch my breath I began processing the information I had gained and what Ill have to do tomorrow. This town is definitely ideal for conquering, being a neutral location from any other kingdom. From what my kobold instincts can tell, there wasnt anyone that riled it up except for Damian. So, I would have to assume that hes the strongest one here. Recruiting him is definitely a top priority, problem is I doubt fighting him would do the trick this time around. Unlike us monsters, he probably isnt under the same mindset of Might makes Right. And I dont know him enough to come up with the right tactics that would work, so instead I will need to take the time to get to know him. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. As for what I should spend my money on, I think Im good on gear at the moment and I still need to figure out how the currency in this world works. That magic store though, it might prove to be an opportunity to help improve on something I currently am lacking in my skills. While [Material Forge] is a very versatile and useful skill, Ive come to over rely on it and there is a limitation on how I could utilize it. Im hoping that that store will provide the skills I need to offset all that. With a plan in mind, I decided to rest for the night. It definitely wont be the most comfortable, but Ill deal with it. Im more worried about how my henchmen and minions are doing without me. Though Im sure they can go one day without me supervising them. * The next day after refueling for the day, I headed off to the magic store. Lucky for me it wasnt too long of a walk there. The building didnt look too different from all the other buildings, the only way I could tell it was the right place was the sign stating it as a Magic store. As I entered inside, I noticed there were shelves of scrolls and books as well as a bunch of random items with interesting shapes. Behind the counter, there was an old man wearing a brown robe, reading a book. He barely noticed my presence, so I decided to check around the merchandise. Unfortunately, many of them were too much above my budget. Lots of them were in the pricing of [Gold Coins]. I was stuck with looking through the scrolls that were within [Silver Coins] pricing. Going through them, it seems these scrolls were used to learn new skills, something I was desperately needing. After sifting through them, mostly finding rather skills that that didnt appeal to me like [Power Swing] or [Magic Shot], I finally managed to find something that caught my interest. As I held the scroll in my hand, my [Game Screen] activated and provided a screen, showing me with details on it.
[Basic Elemental Magic] (Rank G)
Cost: Extremely Low Mana
Conjure one of the four basic elements of Earth, Water, Fire, or Wind from users hand. Amount determined from mana usage.
This was definitely a skill I could utilize! With its low mana cost and versatile potential, I was surprised it only cost five [Silver Coins]! With my mind set, I quickly grabbed the scroll and brought it to the counter. The old man finally noticing me, looked at my purchase simply snickered and accepted the transaction. Happy with what I bought; I left the store. Ready to try out this new skill. Once I was out of sight, the old man started talking to himself. Heh, he bought a skill every inspiring magic user has already huh. Kids will be kids I guess. I made sure to register my new skill, causing the scroll to disappear from my hands. It wouldnt be good to try it out in town plus it would be good to go back to base and check up on everyone. So, I got ready to venture out of town. I plan to go back soon enough so I made a mental note on how to come back. Once I was sure I was a distance away in an open field, I decided to test out my new skill. I took off my disguise, removing my mask and gloves. Feeling refreshed from not having to hide my face for the time being. I held out my claw as I prepared to use [Basic Elemental Magic]. At first nothing seemed to have happened, then I remembered that the skill lets me conjure one of the four elements so instead I began to concentrate on one of them, starting with Earth. As soon as I did, magic started to shape around my claw, transforming into a ball of [Rock]. Interesting, as I stopped using the skill the [Rock] stopped reshaping and dropped on my claw. I had figured that after using the skill it would have disappeared altogether. But this is perfect! Since it doesnt disappear that would mean that theres a lot more I could do with this skill than I had initially thought! I proceeded to try out the other elements, starting with Wind which produced a small gust of air swirling around my claw. I tested it out and tried to throw it in front, it kept its shape for a small distance but scattered after a certain point. Afterwards I tried out Fire, like before a small flame was swirling on my hand. It seems the skill merely produces the element and nothing more, well its not called [Basic Elemental Magic] for nothing. Out of curiosity I tried using [Material Forge] on it and as I guessed it reshaped the Fire as I desired! This confirmed two things to me! First, [Material Forge] can be combined with [Basic Elemental Magic] and second, what [Material Forge] considered as nonliving materials covers a lot more than I had initially thought! With boosted excitement I dispersed the flame and proceeded to use the last element, Water. Just like the other three, a swirling ball of water had formed in my claw. I then began to test changing the state of the water into an Ice Ball as it chillingly landed on the palm of my claw. Satisfied with testing my new skill, I continued on my way back to my base. * Unknown to me back in town, Damian was going over the latest quests posted, finally deciding on an emergency B ranked quest. Minotaur Investigation Quest. Ill take it. Conquest 21 – Base Sweet Base My base wasnt too far off now, I can see it coming into view from the distance. Even if its only been a day, Ill be glad to return to my loyal followers. Hopefully they were able to handle things without me for at least one day. I was excited to share with them what I learned after all, and I didnt want to dea- And just as the thought was crossing my mind a whole tree started to fly through the air and landed nearby me. With a deep sigh I began to sprint back, the urgency of the situation dawning on me. As I returned back to the base, I was taken by surprised by what I saw. All around, I see the unconscious bodies of various of my goblins and kobold minions. They all looked exhausted, like they were recovering from an intense fight. Weapons scattered on the ground with several craters on the ground. I could only wonder over what could possibly happen over here! As I investigated the wreckage one of the kobolds seemed to regain consciousness as he struggled toward me while weakly calling me. Ch-chief youre back. Hey, whats going on!? What exactly happened here while I was gone!? He could only shakily point at an area where I had set as training grounds, with sounds of battle still going. With determination I ran, my claw at the ready on my weapons handle as I expected an intense fight. Once I entered at the source of the battle I stopped, what I saw before me made me lose all motivation as my grip on my weapon loosened. Before me I saw Mordred and the orcs, engaged in a tussle with the rest of my minions, who themselves were looking bruised and were barely keeping themselves standing. Mordred began to bark orders at the weakling minions, acting like some kind of drill sergeants in a military camp. Alright everyone, this is a good warm up for training today. After this we can begin working on your endurance! ~ Part of me was expecting this sort of thing was going to happen while I was gone, but for some reason I was confident he wouldnt do something this ridiculous. Was I proven wrong, I needed to stop this now! Enough everyone!! With the sound of my voice echoing the field everyone halted, finally looking in my direction. I was crossing my arms, my claw foot irritably tapping on the ground while I angrily looked at everyone. Mordred and the orcs looked at me with excitement in their eyes, while my weaker minions had the expression of exhausted relief on finally seeing me back. Mordred was the first to speak, clearly happy to have me return. Boss youre back! I hope your investigation went well! While you were gone, me and the orcs decided to continue the training you started with the little weaklings. Mordred began to laugh loudly, the other orcs joining with him, clearly not realizing the anger building up inside me. I thus began to raise my claw as the ground around them began to shake. It was only then that the big guys stopped laughing, wondering what I was doing. B-boss? .... one of the orcs asked. They began to grow nervous as the ground around them shook more wildly, breaking away from their feet. It was then they finally started to understand how mad I really was, as Mordred tried to calm me down. N-now boss, we can talk about this. We just wanted to help with your training, thats all! We didnt go too hard on them we swear!! But it was too late, in the next second the ground gave away as Mordred and the orcs fell on the newly made hole, falling down only to find they were only half buried to the ground. They were struggling trying to move only to stop after hearing the next words that came from my mouth. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Ill deal with you guys later. Ignoring them completely now I began getting everyone who was exhausted and helping them recover. Luckily it seems Mordred was telling the truth, while it looked bad on the surface no one was showing any signs of serious injuries. Rather though they seemed rather traumatized over what they considered as training. As I was helping everyone out, V appeared yelling in pure joy seeing my return. Mr. Vlad! Mr. Vlad, youre back! I missed you!! They jumped towards me, their arms hugging me tight and pinning me to the ground. It was then that all the anger I had built just now melted away. Theres just something about Vs optimism that always calms me down. Yup Im back and I got lots of things to share with everyone, how was everything while I was away? V let me go as they proceed to recount everything that happened yesterday. Apparently while I was gone, the kobolds and goblins had continued to practice with their weapons like I encouraged them to. Mordred upon seeing this, thought it was a good idea he helped with their training, though one of them had reminded him that I had their training postponed. He laughed it off, saying it would be fine and that I wouldnt mind. Oh, how wrong he was V on the other hand didnt know and thought I was approving it, so I dont blame them. They were wondering why Mordred, and the orcs were stuck in the ground. I told them that I was simply going to be discussing a few things in private later and asked them to let them be. They didnt seem to fully understand but nodded and happily left to help the others out. Now I was left alone with my half-buried minions, and I realized that I was being rather light with them. It was time I properly reminded them who was in charge around here. Mordred and the others could only helplessly whimper for whats to come. * Later, we all returned to the center of my base. Morded and the others silently following behind me, not saying a word. Not even looking at me as they nervously rubbed the back of their heads. They seemed to be physically fine at the very least. Choosing to ignore them I finally got everyone together as I proceeded to inform everyone about everything I learned. As I do, I can hear the usual three kobolds talking amongst themselves. I wonder what the chief did to them. Theyre so docile now I dont know but for once Im glad hes around. Those guys are crazier than even he his. Yeah I think I have more respect for him now after this I continued recapping everything that had happened, for some reason they seemed surprised that it went well for some reason. I dont know why; my disguise was perfect. I then proceeded to show them my new skill I had acquired, some of them seemed curious about that and seemed interested in wanting to learn but unfortunately the scroll had already disappeared. I then decided to make my declaration. So now I have decided that I shall conquer this town!! I was expecting for them to argue against it, just like the other declarations I had made before. But to my surprise my fellow kobolds seemed rather calm to my statement. In fact, they all looked like they were all expecting me to say it. Exactly what we expected from our chief One of them said, seemingly in resignation. The goblins on the other hand seemed to be really nervous, which was the normal reaction I was expecting. One of them even voiced their thoughts. A-are you sure sir? Isnt that a little too risky? One of my fellow kobolds walked to the goblin that was speaking and put his claw over his shoulder and shook his head. The goblin seemed to be understood and also showed the same look of resignation. As for Mordred and the orcs, normally they would cheer over my declaration but this time they stayed silent and nodded in acceptance. It seemed everyone agreed over my decision which was good, having them go along with it makes things a lot easier for me. Another of my fellow kobold began to ask a new question. And how exactly are you planning to conquer the town chief? From what the other goblins have told me therere adventurers like the ones who attacked them before who live there. I answered his question with my signature laugh Veehahahahaha I have a plan minion. You see during my infiltration I came across from what I can gather their strongest adventurer, a black bear Beastman named Damian. I plan to learn what I can about him and see what I can do to recruit him. Hed make a powerful minion and I desire to have him join me. ~ Hearing that statement, dread began to appear in the goblins faces as they began to panic. D-d-d-did you just say Damian? As in the Quiet Black Beast Damian?!! Yeah, thats the one. I dont know why you all are freaking out; he was surprisingly helpful with my first quest and from what I can tell hes really strong so yes, I want to recruit him. They continued to panic, wondering what they should do, and their look of resignation had changed into fear. I was ready to try to calm them down, to ease their worry when V began to speak. Uhm Mr. Vlad. Did you bring a friend along the way here? No, I came back by myself why? V then began to point at the end of my base Because theres a big fuzzy guy I dont recognize standing way over there. It was then that I noticed a familiar figure standing at the edge, his gaze piercing through my direction. The expression on his face was unreadable to me as always. Conquest 22 – “Beary” Nice to See You Standing there was a familiar black bear that I had met back in town, Damian. He seemed to be staring in my direction, as if he recognized me. But that couldnt be right, I was properly disguised after all. He shouldnt be able to tell it was me. The moment he stepped into my territory, the orcs sprang into action, their large weapons ready for battle. I told V to get somewhere safe once things were getting heated and they reluctantly complied. Youre in the bosss territory! Leave now!! Damian only ignored them as he continued to slowly walk deeper within my base and towards me. Feeling angry that they were being ignored they began to attack the black bear Beastman. I tried to call out to them and tried to warn them. Wait don- But it was already too late, as they inched closer within his presence, a sense of pressure started to emanate from Damian. Power was quickly building from his body until they all exploded around him, causing a shockwave of energy to burst and forcing the orcs back. They could barely keep themselves from being sent flying, the advantage of their size helping them. But they all fell to the ground nonetheless as they struggled to get back up. It seems the strength he was displaying with the owlbear was indeed just a light exercise for him. These orcs were no joke after all, thankfully though it seemed they were fine having only light bruises on their bodies. It was then Mordred stepped into the fray. His signature ax was at the ready as he jumped at the Beastman who in turn prepared himself, his fists out and his body in a defensive stance. No sooner did Damian ready himself, Mordred already began his attack starting with a downward cut down, his aim clearly going for his forehead. With little effort, the black bear dodges his choregraphed attack and countered with a lightly powered punch straight to the minotaurs exposed stomach. It was clear Mordred had felt it as the breath inside his body left him as he gasped for air but that didnt deter him, opting to leave his ax behind he began to return the favor with a punch of his own, his aim going for the face. Damian responded in kind as he countered back his attack with his own punch. Both opponents fist connecting as a burst of wind flow through their surroundings. Neither side letting up as they began a barrage of punches, Mordred sending powerful punches with each swing that connected forcing the adventurer back meanwhile Damians punches in comparison were weaker but faster in turn many of which managed to land at Mordreds body all the while the black bear managed to dodge some himself. It was a clear battle between a powerful opponent versus an experienced one. Both sides seemingly on equal footing, the pushback between the two fluctuating like a tug of war. It felt like it could go on forever but unfortunately not that long after it looked like Mordred was beginning to get exhausted. I then remembered that he had just finished his idea of training earlier as well as handling my punishment. He had started the fight already feeling exhausted both physically and mentally. The stagnation of the fight proved that as Mordred found himself being pushed back, soon enough he had lost the fight as he found himself pinned to the ground with Damian standing above him, he was exhausted but still determined as he readied himself for his next attack. It was then I decided to intervene, I knew that Mordreds pride would have been damaged if I had interrupted his fight, so I chose not to until it had concluded. Despite my claim of wanting to recruit the adventurer I wasnt about to let him damage what was mine! With my [Copper Short Sword] at hand I began to call the Beastman out. Hey! Dont you dare harm my henchman!! The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Damian stopped his advancement as he looked in my direction, his eyes squinting as if he was making sure of what he was seeing. His arms relaxed as he began to walk towards me while I prepared for a fight, only to be surprised when he began to speak to me. . Dimir, is that you?? His head was tilting from confusion, it seemed like he did recognize me after all if only a little. Desperate to keep my identity hidden I decided to play ignorant, hoping to steer his suspicions away from me. Dimir? I think you may have confused me for someone else. My names Vladimir. There was a moment of silence as I got to see a rare moment of his expression changing, though I wasnt quite sure what to make of it. His eyes were squinting as his lips began to frown slightly. .no, youre definitely Dimir, youre still wearing the same clothes. . . That was a blunder on my part, a mistake that is costing me right now. With no choice I had to drop the act. Fine you got me, so you plan to report me to the guild?! W-wai- With my sword at hand, I couldnt afford to hesitate now. I began to cause the ground to push me to the air and towards my opponent. I slashed my blade directly at him who could only duck in reaction. Not wanting to let him recover I began to extend the reach of my blade as I thrust it towards him. It seemed to catch the black bear off guard as he used his arms to protect himself, causing one of his arms to bleed. Hah, hope you didnt think what you saw with the rabbits was all I had! I have plenty of tricks up my sleeves! To prove my point, I began to utilize [Basic Elemental Magic] and conjured a [Water Ball] in my free hand as I began to toss it at Damian, the moment it leaves my hand I used [Material Forge] to change its state into an [Ice Ball] which shattered halfway through the air sending a flurry of small shards of ice at my target. Damian continued to guard with his arms, some of the icicle shards managing to pierce his body and keeping him at bay. Seeing this opportunity I then conjured up some flame as I began to have it engulf my sword, causing the blade to heat up and catch on fire. Unfortunately, the flames were immediately starting to disperse so I only had a few seconds to utilize it at most. I closed the distance between us as I intended to cut through the black bear with the searing hot metal. Damian didnt seem to notice as he was still protecting his vitals with his arms, so I continued my advances. Unfortunately, I was proven wrong as another shockwave started to send me back before my blade could connect, causing the flames I produce to completely disappear. But I did notice it wasnt as powerful as the last one, tch he was holding back. Whether it was because he was exhausted from his fight with Mordred or because he didnt want to hurt me for some reason, I dont know. I decided to try something else, I began to reshape the ground behind him into a spike intending for it to pierce him from behind. I had to make it quick before Damian could notice it, so I used some extra mana to increase the speed of my skill. It was going to be risky; I had already used a decent amount of mana already and I can already feel it getting spent. I was so sure he wouldnt be able to react fast enough, but I was once again proven wrong! He immediately jumped towards me just as the spike was fully reshaped. I prepared for another attack, conjuring another Water Ball and using [Material Forge] to change it into another Ice Ball but before I could do so, I noticed a sense of dizziness beginning to form in my head. Damn, now was not the time for me to run out of mana. I began to stagger in place, I needed to move now before Damian could reach me, but my movement slowed. I wasnt going to be able to get away from him now. As Damian inched closer to me, he extended his arms, ready to grab me in his hands. I had no choice but to embrace for the inevitable as I closed my eyes, expecting for the worse. Once he reached me, he began to wrap me around his arms as I felt my body getting squeezed tight. His grip on me was too tight for me to get out of, he must be planning to squeeze me to death! Though for some reason. I suddenly felt something soft rubbing against my cheek it felt like it was something like hair or fur which only confused me more. Curiosity compelled me to open my eyes and what I saw was something I didnt expect at all. It was the sight of Damians face nuzzling against my own! Wwhat?? Is this for real.?? Is he seriously giving me a bear hug right now?!!! And yes, I see the pun here and let me tell you I am not amused!! Damian then began to speak, his tone changing to what I could only describe as a grown man acting cutesy? Which only made it weirder with said man having such deep voice! Oh, you are just the cutest thing in the world!! Im sorry I just couldnt take it anymore!! You were just so adorable the way you exuded such confidence despite your appearance! I have wanted to snuggle with you so much since I first met you and now, I cant stop myself! Youre just soooooo cute!!!!~~ W-what. What is even happening right now?!!!!!!! Conquest 23 – The Dreadful “Bear” Hug So now here I was. currently being snuggled by a big imposing black bear like some plushie doll. I swear this was a sight no one could possibly predict I wish I could get out of this, but he was just too strong to loosen his grip on me. My minions were too afraid to get near us but at the same time I could hear some of them snicker over my predicament. Some of which I can tell was the usual three stooges. Pfft, I guess the chief has a new fan now~ Yeah I think we should let them work it out themselves~ Good idea, Im sure the chief doesnt mind~ Laugh it up, Im going to remember this when I finally get out of here you three, just you wait! For now, I needed to assess the situation and figure out my next move. I figure the best thing would be to see if I could talk to the adventurer. Uhm. Damian. Can we talk? I mean what are you even doing here in the first place? It seemed he didnt hear me as he was too invested in snuggling with me for some reason. I couldnt help but sigh over this embarrassment. Thankfully it didnt take long for Mordred and the orcs to regain consciousness, getting themselves back up as they tried to process what happened. Mordred himself was shaking his head in frustration. Rrgghhh damn! I am going to get that bear if...itsthe last thing I do. what is going on?? The sight of his boss being held like a plushie would definitely be jarring for anyone to process. I mean, I can barely believe it myself and having my loyal henchman see me like this was like a knife to the chest As if it couldnt get any worse V came by as well, wondering if everything is alright now that the noise calmed down. It was bad enough having Mordred see me like this, I didnt want V to as well. I struggled, trying to get out of his grip but it was proving to be difficult, I swear I think it was actually getting stronger. It was too late anyway; V was already seeing me in this sorry state. Mr. Vlad? Whats going on? Why is that guy hugging you like that?? I couldnt bear to look at them in the eyes, I couldnt even utter a single word to explain the situation, especially since I barely understood it myself. V just continued to curiously watch the event unfold before they surprisingly smiled and jumped for joy. Is this a new friend?! Can I join in a hug too?! It was then that Damian finally stopped snuggling against me and noticed V, he just stared at them with a bewildered look before it quickly changing into a happy smile while he offered a free arm. Sure, if you want. The more the merrier. ~ V immediately took him up on his offer and jumped in his arms and happily joined in on the snuggling. He now had me and V on one arm each as he nuzzled both of us in each cheek, a look of euphoria was washing over his face. . And this was supposed to be The Quiet Black Beast?! It didnt seem like I was going to get out of this anytime soon, so I was stuck in this position for a while, I tried to instruct everyone on their tasks for now all while trying to ignore the snide looks they were all giving me. It took a few minutes before Damian finally managed to calm down. His expression started to return back to before as he let me go from his arms. I took the moment to catch my breath while V happily jumped off and turned to face Damian. That was nice, thank you Mr. Bear!! Damian could only blush from the compliment as he replied with the same familiar tone from before. youre welcome. The young goblin then went to check on the others, leaving me alone with Damian. It was a little awkward to say the least. The Beastman managed to get enough sense to realize how unusual the way he acted was and seemed a bit embarrassed with himself. . Sorry. I know that was a lot the way I behaved earlier. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. . I could only sigh there was a lot to unpack, so I decided to get to the point and began to question him. Why are you here exactly? How did you know it was me? Damian replied with the same professional stoicism Ive come to recognize. There was a quest asking for the investigation of a Minotaur sighting on this location. He then turned to face me as he continued. . And I recognized who you were since youre wearing the exact same outfit as yesterday. . Hearing this I could only facepalm myself, shaking my head from overlooking such a simple oversight. Well, whats done is done, Ill make sure to confront this issue later. I continued, going for the more personal question. .so about earlier. Was there a reason for that fixation you suddenly had towards me? He stayed silent for a moment, probably wanting to be careful about how he responds until he finally managed to figure out a response. . You werent afraid of me I raised the equivalent of an eyebrow, my interest piqued from his statement. Really? I didnt really see anything to be afraid of about you. There seemed to be a glint forming in his eyes from my answer. His body looked like he was ready to hug me again, so I thought of changing the subject. A-anyway, since youre here there was actually a proposition I had for you. What do you say in becoming my henchman? I proposed. Yes, even after that recent event I still desired to have Damian as mine. I was planning to get to know him and figure out how to recruit him but now, I can confidently say I got to know more than enough for a lifetime. Besides, now that he knows my secret I have no choice but to recruit him now. Damian was predictably surprised; it was definitely the most unusual offer someone would get. I fully expected him to reject it, and I was subtly inching my claw to my side, preparing for the worst. But that wasnt the case, instead he started to ask me a question. Does that mean I get to hang out with you more often? I meanyeah, Ill be needing your help if I ever going to achieve world conquest after all. ~ For some reason, the black bear started to chuckle to himself. Was there something I said that was funny? He eventually started to answer me . ok Ill gladly be your henchman under one condition. Well, that went a lot better than I thought. I did have to wonder what his condition was, though Im sure it wouldnt be anything too bad. At least, thats what I thought before he started to explain. . I get to cuddle with you as often as possible. He stated, a hint of his earlier tone leaking through. That was. A difficult condition to accept. I shudder at the idea of him hugging me like a plushie all the time. Plus, there was the matter of my dignity I had to consider. But I guess I dont have a real reason to reject it. Alright fine but not in public, I do have a reputation to keep upholding. I said matter a fact. There was no way I was going to budge on this matter. No sooner had I agreed, I suddenly found myself grabbed by his arms once more. Suffocated by the full might of his bear hug. DEAL!! Well. I guess this is my life now. And right on time the familiar screen appeared to notify me of the Beastmans official recruitment.
Damian has now joined as a loyal Henchman.
While I was stuck in my current position, I decided to take the opportunity to check out my new Henchmans stats.
Damian
Race Beastman (Black Bear)
Attributes
[Health] B [Spirit] D
[Strength] C [Dexterity] D
Abilities
[Spatial Sense] (Rank B) (Progression: 12%) [Unarmed Mastery] (Rank B) (Progression: 07%)
Skills
Pulse (Rank C) (Progression: 05%) Shockwave (Rank D) (Progression: 57%)
Based on what I saw, I would say that he was comparably as strong as Mordred. Their fight from before proving that. Now there was the matter of deciding what to do next, with the guild putting in that quest I doubt Damian will be the only one investigating this area. As well Ill need to figure out what Ill have Damian do to help out on the base. Well, he is a veteran adventurer. Maybe he could use his expertise in helping with everyones training. I did need a professional trainer after all so this would be perfect. As I pondered all this, I suddenly felt my body squeeze a bit tighter. Seems he has a lot of energy to spend so Ill just have to endure it for now. After today, I think we can agree we could all use a little break for now. Meanwhile not too far off from view, Mordred was hiding rather poorly, watching as the black bear continued to hug me. A look of jealousy can be seen from his face. Conquered 2 – The First Henchman I am a Minotaur, a monstrous beast of pure power. My sole existence in life is to fight, to engage in intense battle one after the other and nothing more. That is all I know. I have no other memory but the feeling of emotions that are produce in bloody carnage, nothing but rage, thrill, sadness. I walk endlessly to my next fight with no aim in sight, never resting and never stopping, for that is all I know. I have no desire for anything else because I know nothing else. And yet. Yet. I cant help but notice the sense of emptiness within me. It is as if I do not feel whole, but I dont know why that is the case. I dont know how I can stop this feeling. So, I did what I have always been doing. Walking aimlessly, fighting endlessly, over and over again. On and on it continues, the feeling of emptiness only growing as my body continues with no rest in sight. It felt like it would always be like this until the day I could no longer move. At least thats what I thought until the day I met him. It was just another endless march, slaughtering one enemy after the other. Gaining one scar after another, until I confronted a particularly weak looking kobold. It seemed so easy to crush him and move on to the next battle. It looked like its body was ready to run away and hide. Such is the case for weaklings when faced with the strong. This should be over quickly, that was what I was thinking at the time. But then something interesting happened, this weakling started to face me despite the fear in his body. It was like he thought he could win despite it all. So, we began our battle, injured though my body was, it still proved more than enough to handle the little creature with only one hit being enough to send the kobold flying. I had thought that would be it, but the little thing would just not give up. Despite even his own body trying to tell him to give up he pressed on. Determination was fueling him, it was. something to behold. The more our fight continued the more I felt that sense of emptiness starting to shrink, with a new feeling screaming all over my body, excitement. I never had a battle like this before, to face an opponent with such fierceness, such tenacity that I ever had was thrilling to my very core! I just wanted this fight to last forever! ~ I was so indulged in our duel that I barely gave my defeat a second thought. Even when I wanted to continue our fight, my body was giving out on me as I dropped to the ground, signifying the end. I had known that this day would come soon enough, I was prepared. But now, after experiencing this new thrill I didnt want it to end! And so, when I heard the wea- no my worthy opponent uttered those words I knew what I needed to do. Now. You. Are. Mine!!! The kobold spoke, his air of confidence never diminished. And so, I accepted. He had given me the thrill of my life and I had wished to return the favor in full. It was from that day forward I was given a new purpose in life in service to him, my new boss~ The lingering emptiness I had felt for so long had disappeared that day. And with the new name given to me by my new boss I will now be known as Mordred, the creature that would become his weapon to be used in service to his ambition, to be his pillar in support of his desires. And soon I will make sure all would know the strength and glory of my boss, Vladimir! ~ Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. * And so, the days continued on, it was never a dull moment with the boss. With boss Vladimir gaining new followers by the day, his influence continues to grow from his fellow kobolds to the wolves, to even the orcs. Eventually more learned about his glorious strength! It didnt surprise me that he had eventually made the caverns his. But his ambition was too grand for such a feeble location. No, he will continue to grow his influence across the lands beyond! ~ And I was glad when he finally recruited a new henchman to his service, a young goblin in the goblin village named V. I felt a sense of camaraderie in the little green creature as just like me they fully understood the glory of the boss and I found them to be enjoyable to hang around with. Though I will have to admit, I struggle in trying to maintain myself and prove my worth to the boss. Whenever there was someone who would dare mock the boss and question his might, it took all I could to hold back my anger and unleash my full wrath upon them! It has I am reluctant to admit, caused him some issues for him and I have found that that these days I struggle to prove my worth to him. These new feelings of worry have me thinking that if I didnt step up soon, I would lose my precious status as his first henchman. I needed to figure out how to prove myself to him, he was building a community in service to him and all I could do was help protect it. There had to be more I could do to show my worth to him. And then finally, finally my chance had arrived! The boss was planning on infiltrating the human town and was entrusting us in keeping his territory running in his absence. Before he left, he had started a training session with the weakling kobolds and goblins. He had wished for them to also grow in strength like he has, though unfortunately they have proven to be slow in their progress which was upsetting the boss. Surely, if I managed to improve their strength and potential for battle while he was away, he could finally see my worth for him! So, I took the initiative in continuing their training, never mind the fact he postponed it. I gathered them all and used what I knew to help in their training, with extreme fights with me and the other orcs as their opponents! If they were to face an intense fight like the boss had done before, surely their strength would grow as well. We continued the training until the boss returned and I was happy to show them the progress they had already managed to make during his time away. I had thought he would be proud of me in helping his training, but I was sadly mistaken. When I met with his gaze, his eyes were filled with anger. More anger that Ive only seen since the day we had fought. He was completely pissed! Having had us buried on the ground, I couldnt imagine what kind of punishment was waiting for me and the orcs I. rather not talked about what happened. Lets just say that the message was clear and I had messed up badly. I couldnt dare look the boss in the eye after that. Ashamed in failing to prove myself to him. I thought I wouldnt be able to recover from this blunder, that was until an enemy entered his territory. This invaderwas strong, without a second thought I attacked my opponent. I would take care of him before he could interfere with the boss! So, I faced him in battle, it was easy to tell that our strengths were matched. Even if I had more raw power than him, he managed to keep up with me! Countering me blow by blow. But in the end, I lost. my mind losing consciousness as the last thought I had of needing to protect the boss! * I finally managed to wake up, with the first thought was making sure the boss was safe! But what I saw was too surprising to be believable. To see the boss reduced to a hug toy for that damn Beastman was. Bizarre. I was ready to unleash my anger on him for putting the boss in such an embarrassing position, but I remembered the punishment back then and realized I couldnt risk disappointing the boss further. So, all I could do was watch them, making sure the bear didnt try anything. Though it was hard to watch him continuously hug the boss like that. But it was later what the boss suggested that took me by surprise. What do you say in becoming my henchman? He wanted to recruit this bear as an additional henchman!! I couldnt help but worry that he was going to take my place as the bosss weapon and pillar! And to top it all off hell be allowed to hug the boss whenever he wants. How dare he!! I had to do something quickly, or else I might get Conquest 24 – Rivalry Between Henchmen Begins And now begins the first day for my new henchman. I discussed it with Damian yesterday, after he was done with his uhm session with me. He suspected that the investigation would take a few days so decided to stay at my base to get to know the other henchmen and followers more. The next thing we needed to do was to decide where he would be staying at. I was prepared to create another little home building for the Beastman, but he insisted on living at my home as well. I tried to refuse, the idea of having him in close proximity at all times was too much for me. Unfortunately, he brought up a good counter to my refusal . You wanted me to have cuddle time with you in private right? Wouldnt it make it easier for me to live in the same house as you then? damn it he was right. So reluctantly, I agreed as I began adding another extension to my home. I decided to add an additional floor to the building so I could provide Damians room upstairs and further away from my own room. Once I was done, I let Damian check it out and he gave his approval. Next, we began to discuss what we would need to do about the investigation quest the guild posted about Mordred. So how should we handle the guild on this matter Damian? You worked with them for a long time, so I trust you have an idea on how to deal with them? I asked him, wanting the veteran adventurers input. The black bear closed his eyes as he pondered on it, thinking for a bit before giving his answer. I believe simply reporting on not finding any evidence of his presence will be enough for now. As he continued his explanation, he casually began to pick me up and hold me in his arms, giving off a light blush to his face. I sighed to myself as I had no choice but to let it happen as per our agreement. .... itll only be temporary though. Eventually enough people will notice his presence. Damian warned. That will be a problem hopefully we can find a solution in conquering the town before then. I responded. I thought about this matter, all while the bear was snuggling his cheek with mine. Ill have to return to town as soon as I can but that can wait for the next day. Right now, there was one more thing I needed to do with Damian. Now then Damian, as for what Ill have you do here. I was thinking of having you help train my weaker minions. Think you can do it? In response, I felt my body get squeezed tighter as our cheeks pressed closer together. Oh definitely, anything for you Vladdy! ~ I was about to object to the nickname he was giving me, but I could see that he wasnt listening to me at the moment so gave up on that. Well, if he said he could do it Ill have to trust on that. Ill just have to see how well he can do it for myself. Once Damian settled down from snuggling with me, I called all the kobolds and goblins together on the training grounds. Luckily, they seemed to have mostly recovered from Mordreds training and seemed mildly ready to continue. I stood in front of everyone and began to make my announcement. Alright everyone, from today on well be having my new henchman here in charge in your training. Im sure we can all agree his experience in adventuring will prove valuable for us, so I want you all to take his instructions seriously! Understood chief! Yes Sir! I then made a seat for myself with the ground a bit away from them as I sat and continued. For today, Ill be here to observe his work and conclude his skills in training. Damian, you have the floor. The Beastman nodded when he was acknowledged and walked in closer to them. now lets start with some basic exercise. Itll help build up your endurance and strength to make it easier to use your weapons. My minions seemed to sigh in relief, compared to their dastardly training from before, they were happy to comply to a simple exercise. He started with a simple running exercise, concluding that it would be important for them to train them in this aspect in case they would ever need to escape from danger. It seemed he had a good understanding of the mindset of a kobold and goblin. I gave a smirk in satisfaction as his experience was already starting to prove useful. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. I figured that it would be fine to leave them be and decided to take the time to check out my own status, it has been a while since I last checked, and it would be good to check on my own progress.
Vladimir
Race Red Kobold
Attributes
[Health] E [Spirit] D
[Strength] F [Dexterity] E
Abilities
[Game Screen] (Rank F) (Progression: 34.86%) [Dimensional Box] (Rank E) (Storage Size: 5/10) (Progression: 21.43%)
[Kobold Adaptability] (Rank E) (Progression: 84.31%) [Mining Mastery] (Rank D) (Progression: 35.19%)
Skills
[Material Forge] (Rank F) (Progression: 87.54%) [Basic Elemental Magic] (Rank G) (Progression: 16.23%)
It has been a while for sure, though my attribute remains to be unchanged there has been slow progress overall, except for [Material Forge] and surprisingly [Kobold Adaptability]. The first one I get, since I use it rather regularly, but the last one still puzzles me. I had to wonder what the conditions are to improve [Kobold Adaptability]. I actually have to wonder what kind of upgrade I can do once that ability ranks up. Probably either faster growth speed or more variety in progression. For now though, Ill have to just be happy with the progress. Also noticing [Dimensional Box] I had nearly forgotten that I had stuff in a lot of [Healing Powder] after the incident with the goblins. It doesnt help to have something to help someone recover. I also noticed that my new skill [Basic Elemental Magic] had progressed well too despite just receiving it not too long ago. Id probably chalk it up to it being at Rank G and thus easier to improve. As I continued to go through my overall status, I couldnt help but notice Mordred come by, I had thought he was doing patrol at the moment. Why was he here? The hulking Minotaur walks into the scene, his direction was not to me but to my surprise Damian. I had to wonder what kind of reason he would have with the Beastman. As he approaches the bear, Damian couldnt help but notice, stopping his training session. is there something you need? Damian questioned, while raising an eyebrow in confusion. Yeah, there is. With a swift movement, Mordred pulls the ax out of his back as he points the end of its blade towards Damians face, whos face barely making a reaction as the Minotaur continues. I want you to face me in a fight again. Yesterday was a lucky break, and I rather had face you at my best. The bear merely stared back, his expression still the same as before as he stood their silence. He was processing on the challenge made before him. alright, lets do it after they finish their training. I could only stand there in bewilderment, I had to wonder what made Mordred want to challenge Damian like this. I mean, I know hes usually bloodthirsty for a fight but for some reason the look in his eyes felt different. It had an unusual sense of seriousness I never saw him have before. I decided not to interfere with the challenge and instead I would monitor them to make sure they wouldnt go too far. They both agreed to it and once the kobolds and goblins finished their training, I had us get the fighting area prepared. We gave them plenty of space while I used some extra [Log] to use as the boundary for their fight. All my minions stood by, ready to watch the fight unfold. Yeah, you got this Mordred!! Show him whos the other boss! It looks like the orcs were taking Mordred side, probably still feeling angry from their last fight. As for the others. The kobolds and goblins decided to cheer for Damian instead, it seemed they were already taking a liking to him despite their initial fear of his status. As for the wolves, well they didnt seem to be all that interested in the fight. Many of them continued with their hunting duties while the rest of them decided to take a nap instead. Once everything was ready, they only had to wait for my signal for the match to begin. There was still this feeling of worry about this fight. I wasnt quite sure what it was, but Mordred was acting unusual right now, but I know that it was pointless to try to stop it. I began to raise my claw up, the anticipation filling the air. The two combatants were taking their battle stance, waiting for the signal. Once I was sure both sides were ready, I motioned my claw down. Now begin! Conquest 25 – Rivalry Between Henchmen: Match At the sound of my signal, the fight had begun. I had expected Mordred to throw the first move, to my surprise he stood in defense, waiting for Damian to make the first move. The Beastman noticed this so began by punching a burst of energy towards Mordred. It must have been the [Pulse] skill I saw from his status menu. The energy he sent was rather weak though, he must have sent it more for testing out the Minotaur. Instinctively, Mordred blocked the blast with the flat end of his axe. As he does Damian began to rush in, using the moment to close the distance between them. Mordred expected him to throw a punch so kept his axe up to protect his upper body. Unfortunately for him, that was what Damian wanted. He readied his foot, concentrating some power into it as he delivered a strong kick at his exposed lower body. A small jolt of pain can be seen going through Mordreds body, but he endured. He released his grip on his axe with one of his hands as readies a fist, preparing to counter with a punch. The black bear seemed to have noticed and blocked it with his arm. The force of the punch was strong, staggering Damian, who was forced to back out as he let his arm to recover. Seizing the moment Mordred began to charge back, his speed and power starting to spike. Having gotten to know his abilities the most, I knew he was using his [Bull Stampede] skill, not much could stop him at that moment, but I was curious to see how Damian would handle it. Damian took his stance, showing his desire not to dodge it. Instead, he began to concentrate to help him to quickly build up a collection of energy around his body before releasing it all around him, activating his [Shockwave]. Unfortunately for him, it seemed to only slow him down. His stampede wasnt showing any signs of stopping at all! This took Damian by surprise, but his shocked expression quickly changed into focus as he quickly adapted to it. He decided to use Mordreds slowed stampede to give him time to just barely dodge his charge, and before quickly sending a concentrated punch to his side, slightly altering his direction. Not wanting to let him take control of the fight, Mordred crashed his axe down to the ground. This caused him to stop himself in his tracks while causing the ground to crack and break around him, forcing Damian to lose his footing and stance. As he pulled his weapon from the ground, Mordred decided to try a bold tactic. With all his might he throws his heavy axe toward the bear. The strong momentum of his axe started to cause it to spin, which in turn created a turbulence of wind to pick up and circle the spinning metal. I wasnt quite sure myself, but I think he created a new skill for himself, impressive to say the least. The force of the wind was starting to affect its surroundings, causing us spectators to barely keep our footing. Cheers can be heard from the orcs, impressed by the display of power Mordred was showing. It didnt seem anything could stop the axes assault! Instinctively, Damian began to react by activating [Shockwave]. But having just regained his footing, he was too slow to act and couldnt charge a strong enough force to completely stop the spinning weapon, which had picked up quite the storm, practically making a tornado. The [Shockwave] only managed to reduce the size of the wind. As the ax was still coming towards him, Damian had no choice but to catch it with his bare hands, and just barely so with the sharp edges slicing at his palms, causing blood to drip from it. He tossed the axe to the side, not wanting to let his opponent near his weapon. Blood was still flowing from his hands, but that didnt seem to bother the bear one bit as he returned to his fighting stance, despite the pain of gripping his hands clearly shown through the expression on his face. And just like the last fight it devolved into a fist fight. Both adversaries faced each other as they charged forward, ready to have their fists connected. With Damians experience in using his fisticuffs, he should have the advantage. And Mordred should have known this as well from his last tussle, but yet onward he went. They began to trade blows and just like before, Damian was showing his skills as he avoids many of Mordreds attacks, though Mordreds earlier attack was making it difficult as his concentration was faltering. Each time his attacks connect, there is a show of strong impact on the bears body. Seeing this, Damian began to switch tactics and focused on using kicks instead, putting his focus on the areas he already landed a hit, combined with sending several pulses of energy through his hands weaker than he would usually use. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. This seemed to be enough to push Mordred back, which further angered the Minotaur. Im. not going to. let you win!! Mordreds body starts emanating a burst of power, his expression changing from anger to unbridled rage. .. No, he couldnt be planning to use that! As if to verify my prediction, my [Game Screen] began to give me a familiar notice.
Notice
Mordreds [Bloody Rage] has been activated
Damn it, this was not the time and place to use that skill! Without delay I began to reinforce the log borders with [Rock] and [Iron]. Everyone, out of the way! Mordreds going to go out of control!! I loudly ordered to my minions. The orcs seemed rather confused but complied, while the weaker races had already begun to panic and ran off far away. Meanwhile I came inside the border, damn it I didnt want to interrupt their fight, but it was far too risky to let this continue with [Bloody Rage] activated considering this was supposed to be a simple sparring match! I readied myself to stop Mordred in his place until Damian called out to me. . Hold on. I got this as if to prove his point, Damian began to activate both his skills. Causing a shockwave that starts to push back the enraged Mordred all the while sending one strong pulse of energy after another, never stopping. It seems its all it can do to keep him at bay, who was already beginning to brute forcing through the barrage with his focus purely on his target, his enhanced power proving to be too much for even the Quiet Black Beast. The repeated use of his skills on top of his already exhausted state was starting to show its strain on his body, his breathing shortening and his movements starting to grow sluggish. It didnt take long before Mordred grabbed his hands, squeezing them tightly as he started to push him to his knees. The blood on his hands seemed to have increased and it seemed like Damian had already reached his limit, barely able to hold his own. I decided that was enough and jumped in. Alright Mordred you won!! You can stop!! Pulling out my [Silver Short Sword] I pointed it at his arms and expanded the point of the blade to pierce his arms, forcing Mordred to loosen his grip on Damian. Taking the opportunity, I caused the ground on him to split making him lose his footing and slip. As he falls, I cause the ground to then reshape and wrap itself around his body. I knew it wouldnt be enough to hold him down as he began to thrash around within his restraints, cracking and breaking them apart. I had to repeatedly reforge them to keep their shape, barely keeping up with its damage until Mordred finally started to show signs of his anger calming down. His eyes were still fixated on Damian, who was barely keeping himself conscious. Finally, after what felt like forever, Mordred finally stopped squirming. I was out of breath, it felt like I used nearly all my mana just to keep him at bay He starts to come to his senses, noticing that he was currently restrained as he noticed me looking at him. He seemed to get the message that he went too far again and looked away in shame. I pulled out the extra [Healing Powder] from my [Dimensional Box] and used it on their more critical wounds. As I started off with Damian first, he began to speak to me. Dont be too hard on him. Seems hes going through something. Hearing this, I started to wonder what he meant. But after seeing how that sparring match went it was plain to see he was right. I was planning to call him out on his usual reckless behavior, but it was obvious he already understood it. I took a deep sigh; I can probably let it slide this time. Once I was done, I then went to help Mordred to recover after releasing him from his binds. He looked like he wanted to say something but was struggling to do so. B-boss I- But before he could finish his sentence, I interrupted him. Good job on winning Mordred, you are my first henchman for a reason. I stated, with a melancholy smile. He seemed to be taken aback a bit by my comment and was silent as I continued. Now once you recovered, Ill need you to carry me. I need to check up on the rest of my minions and Im too exhausted to move right now. O-oh ok boss sure! He looked at Damian, who was currently resting on the ground. He looked back and simply nodded, not saying another word. Once Mordred recovered, he put me on his shoulder while I just lay there. I noticed he seemed rather gentler with me than he usually is. That extra energy he usually exhibits was subdued and tamed at the moment as I directed him around to check up on everyone. Conquest 26 – Return to Town: Final Investigation After the disastrous brawl, I decided everyone should take a break for the rest of the day, which they all agreed. Once everything was settled and calmed down everyone started to praise the fight, despite how dangerous it had gotten. They were all in awe of it. That was an incredible brawl! I didnt think there was anyone who could match Mordred in strength besides the boss! one of the orcs stated. Mmhmm, I was really rooting for our new instructor to win. He is a well-known adventurer after all! To think we have such strong allies on our side and they both are willingly serving the chief! Everyone; kobolds, goblins, and even the orcs were happily interacting with each other. It seemed the whole thing wasnt a waste after all. It managed to bring some stronger sense of unity between my minions. And as a bonus they all seemed to have a stronger sense of respect for me. I was glad for that; it makes leading my minions a lot easier. The next day, it was time for me and Damian to return to town. He needs to report on his findings about the minotaur sightings or at least what we planned on telling him. I made sure to give everyone around their instructions, even deciding to trust that Mordred understood what he should do. We plan on convincing them that there were no sightings of him, so hed need to stay in the caves for now and stay hidden until I need him. I even made sure to let V know to keep track of the base for anything weird and to inform Mordred as soon as they suspect anything strange. I was worried he would object to it, but it seems he accepted it without problem. I didnt want him to be bored though so I gave him some additional instructions to follow. Mordred, in the meantime Id like you to train that new skill you learned. It might prove useful to me in the future. ~ I ordered the Minotaur, all the while smirking. To show how serious I was I gave him some new weapons that I had crafted to help him practice with, two [Tomahawk] in the right size to fit in one hand each. Theyre made to be light to make them easier for him to throw, I imagine their power would be weaker compared to his main axe though. I even made sure to provide him with a strap in his size so he could carry it with him. That seemed to lighten up his mood as he gladly took his new weapons and happily responded. Of course boss, Ill make sure its the most powerful skill ever for you!! ~ As if to show how much he meant it, he flexed one of his arms while placing the other one on top as a show of strength. I was glad he seemed to be in a lot better mood now compared to yesterday. After all, a happy henchman makes for a more competent and loyal one Veehahahahaha. ~ With everything prepared we both headed off, promising to come back in a few days. We both decided to go together halfway to town and then split in different directions and time. Though this was mostly an excuse for Damian, who was in the mood for a more affectionate time as his arms started to wrap themselves around me. I sighed to myself, noticing how quickly Im starting to get used to this treatment. Though it didnt mean I was any less annoyed by it. As we trek our way to our location, the bear happily holding me in his arms, I thought of starting to make some small talk, if only to keep my mind off of my affectionate treatment. So, now that you got to know my base after a few days, what do you think of it? He was my first non-monster follower, so I figured his input would be important. As he casually swung me around in his arms, he thought about how to answer me. . Well, I think its certainly something unique situation. There hasnt been any record of a monster community with a variety of different species. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The bear then began to snuggle against my cheek, his soft fur tickling against my scales, as he continued Its especially impressive a monster as cute as you are the one leading them Vladdy~ Despite being a monster species known as one of the weakest races, you managed to gain all their respect and the look on their eyes tells me they all look up to your leadership. ~ In defiance I tried to push his cheek off of mine, though he was still too strong. Ugh ok ok I get it! Dont call me that! But what about the town, whats your thoughts on them following my leadership? He suddenly stopped as the expression on his face changed into a serious one. You will definitely have a lot of difficulty on that. This town has stayed a neutral location for a reason after all. They dont seem too keen on the idea on following any leadership but their own, especially by a kobold. As I thought it would definitely be a challenge for me, but thats fine. I didnt commit to my goal of world domination because I thought it would be easy after all. Veehahahahaha~ Hearing my laugh, Damian couldnt help but to spin me around in joy. Your laugh is sooo adorable! ~ Dont worry Im sure youll think of something, and Ill back you up in whatever you plan of doing Vladdy! ~ Ok Ok I get now stop before you make me puke!! I was losing my grip of my surroundings as the world was spinning around me. Once we reached a certain distance, we decided to split, though Damian seemed reluctant about not being able to hold me in his arms any longer. I had to remind him of what we needed to do. He was to report on his findings while I had to gather more information in town so I can think of some way to recruit them as mine. I donned on my wooden mask, making sure to hide my identity though for some reason Damian was chuckling to himself before leaving. Afterwards I made it back into town, luckily it was the same guards as last time and so they easily let me in. You were gone for a few days now, was everything alright? One of them asked, curious about my absence. Not wanting them to know my whereabouts I had to give them a convincing lie, Everythings fine, I just wanted to resupply myself. That last quest used more of my resources than I had anticipated and being a new adventurer, I wanted to save on coin. They seemed to accept my story and let me in, though not before reminding me to be careful since its dangerous out of town. I dont know why they need to tell me that, it wasnt like I was a child or something. Once in town I decided the first order of business was to check up on the guild. I thought doing an easy non hunting quest would do since it doesnt hurt to have some extra money on hand. As I entered, I was greeted by the same receptionist as before, who seemed relieved to see me. Im glad to see youre back safe Mr. Dimir. I was worried when I didnt see for a few days. I gave the same explanation I gave the guard as I went to business, looking through the latest quests and decided to go for a simple plant gathering quest. Once I accepted it, I decided to explore the town and see if I could come across any rumors that may help me. It was a long shot, but Im still limited in my knowledge of this town, and I cant rely on Damian too much without arousing suspicion. My luck though seemed to be in favor, as I was passing by what looked to be the town square I noticed a few ladies talking among themselves, they had a look of distress across their faces so their discussion must have been serious. I immediately hid in the nearby shadows, my [Garments of the Night] was proving to be useful at the moment as I concentrated on their chat. Ive been hearing that the neighboring kingdom at the east Mivtic, has a small battalion that is going in our direction. You dont think they plan to take over this town, do you? I dont know, were so far off from all the other kingdoms that I dont see the point. One of the other women nervously responded. One of them nervously looked around as she whispered, and even though hes terrifying, we also have that B-Ranked adventurer, you know that bear Beastman. Right? He could easily decimate at least half of them so why take the risk? She started to wonder. It was then one of them started to lean in closer with a bit of worry in her expression. Do you remember that cavern not that far from here? The first lady gave an expression of fear upon hearing that, You mean the one with all those dangerous monsters?! She nodded as she continued Yeah that one, an adventurer told me he met someone crazy enough to explore there. Supposedly they found a lot of those regenerative ore deposits. Really? With that they could have an unlimited resource of ores. No wonder theyre coming here. Are we going to be alright.... Once I gathered the information, I needed I left, making sure not to be seen by them as I return back to the streets as if nothing had happened. I began to gather my thoughts, a wicked smile forming across my face, hidden by the mask. So, theres a possible invasion from a small kingdom? I had to wonder how desperate the townsfolk would be to be saved by them. Veehahahahaha~ Conquest 27 – Preparation for Town Conquest With the information that I had gathered, it was time I finally started on my conquest of this town. The first order of business would be meeting up with Damian, though it would be a problem seeing him earlier than we planned. As I recall we discussed in meeting back up in the inn after today so for now that left me plenty of time to myself. This probably would be a good time to complete the gathering quest I had accepted. According to the quest paper here, I was supposed to gather about five [Herb], and Id be paid 5 [Silver Coin] though it did also say I could be paid additionally if I gathered more, which is something I could use right now. Im a bit tight on money at the moment and even if I plan to take over this town, it doesnt hurt to have some emergency funds on hand. So, I spent half the day searching the fields out of town that I was recommended to. Id have to say, its times like this I wish I had Vs [Search] skill with me. After all that time going through various patches of grass, I only managed to find six [Herb], turns out its rather hard to find a plant that practically blends with the surroundings. After turning in the quest, I was rewarded with 6 [Silver Coin]. With that done I decided to check on some of the other stores that I didnt have time to check last time. I believe I was told by Damian that there was a blacksmith shop nearby, even if I could make my weapons myself with [Material Forge] even I have to admit that what I make is amateur at best and nothing would beat an experts skill. As I entered the shop, I was taken aback by the various types of weapons and armor inside. Not only that but there seems to be many random tools that could be useful for survival as well as everyday life. When I think about it thought, with a small town like this it would make sense to have a more diverse set of tools to suit for everyone here. As I looked around, I could hear the sounds of banging against an anvil in the next room over. It seemed the owner of the place was hard at work on crafting something at the moment. Out of curiosity, I ended up watching him while he works, fascinated by the process. As I did, I managed to get a good look of the guy. The guy was of a stocky build with beige skin. He was going shirtless, probably because of the intense heat of the nearby forge and I noticed that he had several scars around his arms attesting to his years of experience and his wild brown hair pulled back and tied together by a hair tie probably to make it easier for him to concentrate. He didnt seem to notice me, that or he was ignoring me so he could focus on his work. From what I could tell it looked like he was in the final stages as I could tell what he was working on. It seemed to be a simple [Copper Blade] but without the hilt fixed on it. After forging many blades myself I could tell by comparison that what I produced was shoddy. He seemed to finally notice me as he set his tools aside and began to speak to me. Oh, I see youre a customer here, sorry if I held you up what can I do for you? As he wiped the sweat off of his upper body, he walked up to the counter as he got a good look at me before raising an eyebrow. You must be the new adventurer that Damian was helping the other day, what can I do for you? I proceeded to take out my [Silver Short Sword] and [Copper Short Sword] and put them on the counter to let him take a look at them, though with my height I had to jump to reach it. I was wondering if you have something better than these two or if there was some way to improve them. The blacksmith took my two weapons in his hands and began to examine them for a solid minute. Hmm, its good you chose a weapon with a length that matches your size. Im going to choose to ignore that comment. Moving on. This is interesting, I can definitely see that an amateur made this and yet for some reason the metal themselves are of pure quality. Its as if they took off all the impurity off the ore before shaping the blade and there doesnt seem to be any chip on the edges at all. Its as if theyre brand new. He then proceeded to eye at the hilts designs The handles could use more work though, it seemed there was zero thought put on the grip handle with the lack of proper curving to help better handle them. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Harsh but fair words, Ill keep that in mind. Once he was done looking at them, he gave me my weapons back. Now, I could improve these two but what I suggest is that you should have a new one crafted instead. From what I could see, you had both of these made in order to handle both monsters and human situations. While I understand your reasoning, you must have a weight imbalance which would slow you down. Never mind how small you are. I cant exactly argue with that, considering my size having less weight to lug around could help speed me up. Now what I can offer you would be this. The blacksmith then grabbed a sword, [Silver-Tipped Copper Short Sword] With this you could cover both your bases without the additional weight holding you back. Now the price is a bit more expensive but with the techniques needed to carefully meld the silver on the edges of the blade is worth the 13 [Silver Coins] 1-13?! Thats more than what I have at the moment, and its not like I have enough skill with [Material Forge] to do enough delicate work to craft it myself. So instead, I pretended to go through my leather pouch as I secretly pulled out some [Copper] and [Silver]. What if I gave this, would you make something for less? He proceeded to check the material out, a look of surprise crossed his face before it disappeared. Hmm, sure with this I can make you a new sword thatll be more suited for you for 7 [Silver Coins] and hey Ill give you a discount and make it only 5 instead. I didnt want to miss the opportunity and immediately gave him the Coins. Alright kid, Ill have this ready tomorrow so come by then. With that transaction done I returned to the inn and after paying for the night I was left with only 2 [Silver Coins] . It seems I have spent almost as much as I made today. I noticed that Damian was there as well, as I signaled him to meet me up in my room later. Once we were in private, I took off my mask to let my head to cool off. No sooner had I did, I found myself suddenly grabbed tightly by his familiar black furry arms! . Do you have to do that every time? I asked as I grumbled to myself, feeling embarrassed over the situation. I could feel his embrace around me get a bit stronger as he responded Dont worry Vladdy, theres no one nearby to hear us. And I just missed you all day is all~ I dont know if Ill ever get used to this side of him. Once again, I found myself discussing important matters with the black bear while being hugged by him. Now then lets begin talking about what we learned. I proceeded to inform Damian about the possible invasion I heard from the gossiping ladies. This seemed to get his attention as he stopped cuddling me for a second and his expression changed to something more serious. . I see, that matches to what I had learned as well. Apparently, the guild was requesting for Damians assistance for a possible battle in the near future, which we guess is the rumored invasion. They were willing to reward him decently for his efforts. Damian then let me go from his hug as he looked me in the eye with an intense look. . So do you have something in mind? I nodded as began to explain my thoughts, chuckling to myself for whats to come. Of course I plan to take advantage of this. Now how would you think they react if they were saved when desperate? Theyd appreciate it, but I doubt itd be enough to win them over as their leader. Damian responded, raising a furry eyebrow. I then pointed at him, a sinister look forming across my face. Of course that would be too easy now, wouldnt it? No, I have something else in mind though it all hinges on you my furry Henchman~ I proceeded to explain my idea to him, he seemed rather surprised over it but after I was done, he grabbed me around his arms again with a smile across his face. An interesting plan Vladdy, you got my support! ~ He seemed to be hugging me a bit tight, making it hard for me to talk W-well now I just need to gather info around their movements. Ill have to return back to base t-to get Vs help. Their [Search] and [Map] will definitely help the- ok can you loosen your grip on me a little!? Sorry~ he said in an unusually cute tone. Once he loosened his grip on me, I continued Now, after I get my new sword tomorrow, Ill return back in base. Hopefully I can use the same excuse I used before. Meanwhile Ill need you to stay here for now. You know what you need to do once things start right? Damian nodded in understanding, I figured with everything settled wed retire in our own rooms for the rest of the night, but he seemed to have something different in mind. He kept me tight around his arms while pulling us to bed. It seems he wanted to have us sleep together in the bed while snuggling me. Damn it, I am not a plushie Damian!! Unfortunately, I had to let him have his way if I wanted to have his continued support. Well, I guess it wont be too bad. Luckily his furred body is surprisingly comfortable enough to sleep around. I just have to hope sooner or later he starts to cool down on all this affectionate stuff..