A massacre, I had decided on a massacre. I could see it in the shock of both parties' faces. I mean we were planning on fighting in the end but was it because I was quite decisive on the matter? Was it because they thought warriors of light or whatever what pure and innocent? I’m not a warrior of light in the first place so why would that concern me?

 

“You don’t agree Lieruz? I can see you are a man of character, one with ability. To take a path of glory and honor then you have to earn those feats! Now tell me are you going to let these evildoers get away? Are you going to let them have their way? Or are you going to join me in cleansing the filth that stains our society?!”

 

I was moved by my speech, I felt like if I was this type of idiot who put his honor and pride on the line before everything then this would be like a war cry echoing through his soul.

 

[Your affinity with Lieruz has increased!]

[You have learnt Eloquent Speech]

 

“I, Lieruz Valdarhart, hereby swear to never turn a blind eye to evildoers. My sword is just and will have no mercy. I will protect those who cannot protect themselves. Come! Let us join together to defeat the enemy!”

 

[Lieruz’s fate has changed]

 

Wait what? Those few lines somehow changed this dude’s fate, what the heck?

 

[Your Calamity Rating is rising]

 

What!? What is it rising to? I don’t even know what this calamity rating is!?

 

“Chaaaaaaaaarge! Wipe them out!”

 

[Lieruz has learned Fearless Charge]

[Lieruz has gained the attribute ‘Endeavour to Protect’]

[Lieruz STR and DEF have risen by 2]

 

Whoa whoa whoa. This guy just got a bunch of stat buffs like crazy. It’s really hard to get stat buffs and here he is. He was an average character at first but he could really have some potential for growth in the future. 

 

“Well, I guess I gotta join in on the fun as well.”

 

…

 

It’s like I’ve unleashed a whole new kind of beast, this humble defender has become a fearless attacker. He originally meant to walk the path of a shield warrior or tanker but he’s now an all rounder type captain class.

 

As for the bandits, they’re most dead. I didn’t get much exp since they were shared between us. In fact I didn’t get much exp at all. I looked towards the bandit leader. I kinda pitied him, he played his hand well but he had no chance. It’s like playing poker and having a straight only to be beaten by a flush. Truly pitiful.

 

“Hahahhaa, I’ve been beaten today! But there will be a day where you too shall be looked down upon and perish.”

 

“Needless talk for a villain. Die and begone from this mortal coil.”

 

“Unfortunately that won’t be today. Disappear and forever be forgotten.”

 

And just like that, the bandit leader, the enemy threat that could’ve spelled disaster for both of us disappeared. Both us had grown from this battle and become different kinds of monsters in comparison to before.

 

[The enemy party has been defeated. 147 EXP has been earned]

 

It’s unfortunate but this is gonna be shared and dispersed with differing amounts per user.

 

[Lieruz and you have defeated an enemy together. Those who are tied by fate will gain additional rewards]

 

Being tied by fate with another guy kinda irks me, but the additional rewards part sounds pretty good.

 

[You have earned 53 EXP and gained a memory shard of the bandit leader]

 

Ohh? Is this like assimilating without assimilating? How intriguing.

 

[Lieruz has leveled up]

[+ 17 HP / + 6 MP / +3 STR/ + 4 END/ +2 AGI / + 2 INT/ + 1 RES/ + 3 LCK]

 

I don’t think I should be seeing this. And I don’t think these stat gains are normal either.

[Lieruz has gained additional stats after increasing his fate]

 

What about my fate though, don’t tell me my stats have all hit max growth rate cap.

I glanced at him once more.

 

[Name: Lieruz]

[Title: Awakened Protector] 

[Race: Human]

[Physical Age: 23] [Level: 6]

[Disposition: Steadfast Warrior]

[Class: Warrior]

[Stats]

[Health: 63/102] [Mana:10/10]

[Strength: 29] [Endurance: 30] [Agility: 22]

[Intellect: 17] [Resistance: 20] [Luck: 17]

 

[State: Fated]

[Skills: Sword Proficiency 1 | Shield Proficiency 2| Recovery 1| Fearless Charge 1]

[Attributes: Stand Guard (DEF↑| GRD ↑) | Endeavour to Protect (Stat↑ /party member)]

 

[Fated]

 

The user will gain an increase to events that unfold around their daily lives. They will all grow a quicker pace.

 

Yeah this guy is pretty decent now, he gained some more shield proficiency while he was at it.

 

“Young master, I apologize. I had eyes but failed to recognise the majesty before me.”

 

It’s true, you’ve failed to recognise Mount Tai, but you’re actually miles stronger than me at the moment. I just have a lot of HP and MP which is hard for you to fight against.

 

“What is there to recognise? I’m just a humble wanderer observing the happenings of this forest.”

 

I put my arms about in a shrugging fashion, I clearly exaggerated the motions so noone would actually believe me.

 

“I see, you must have decided to come here after hearing about the rewards for joining in the goblin extermination that is happening in the adventurers guilds.”

 

I dunno where you got that from but any information is good information to me.

 

“You must have misunderstood. I have merely gotten lost in these parts after playing too long, so I may need assistance finding a path towards civilization again.”

The party looked at each other, clearly my <<Deceit>> skill level was too low to proc on my nonsense.

 

“You must have a reason to hide out here in the woods then. I will not pry, the path leading in that direction will lead you to Naira, the way that we originally came will lead to a fork, one which will lead to Emerston Village and the other fork will point far out to the wilderness plains where barbarians tend to live.”

 

I played with the new information and the memories in my thoughts. It is more or less like he has said.

 

“Young hero, I would like you to come along with us to Naira Village, as a merchant having an extra party member along the way greatly increases safety as well as the number of bandits that have been defeated, you can surely earn a decent reward at the adventurer guild.”

 

“On top of that I would like to repay you for the grace of saving us, but I still do not know your name hero?”

 

“I too wish to learn the name of my benefactor! Surely one day I will repay the favor or serve you my liege. Hahaha.”

 

“Lieruz! You’re having weird dreams of becoming a knight again! We’re out in the sticks!”

 

“A name huh? I don’t know?”

 

“Shirimasen?”

 

I choked at this point. The translator must have dealt with too many Japanese transmigrators at this point. But I’m not japanese! I speak english!

 

“It must be cut in two right? You must be part of the Shiri household, but I haven’t heard of this household before… maybe they were long lost descendants of the heroes of old?”

 

You’re overthinking it pal. It has nothing to do with it.

 

“It must be! I must be right! A hero of light is born once again but is a descendant of one of the great heroes of old.”

 

It’s getting dark here guys. I kinda wanna return home…

 

“Sir Masen Shiri, will you return with us to Naira?”

 

Oh no, I’ve become known as Masen Shiri at this point, and a ‘sir’ at that.

 

“It has piqued my interest but I don’t think now is the right time for me to leave for Naira.”

 

“Then at least let me repay by buying the loot left over from today's battle that you do not need.”

 

This worked out well for me. There was nothing of importance for me here. So I left all the good earned with the merchant and made 800 Nel, which was the continent’s currency. Most of the weapons sold for 40-50 Nel. While the clothes and such were sold for 10-20 Nel.

It didn’t seem like much but it added up. The bandit leader had better goods and a weak but ok sword which was priced higher so it's not bad.

 

“Thank you for your business Sir Masen. If you ever decide to visit Naira, show the guards this token and they should let you in.”

 

The merchant provided me with her token and I gratefully took it. Finally I had a means to enter humanity and mingle between it’s people.

 

“Please stay and have a hearty meal with us.”

 

A meal. I haven’t had one of those since I came here. I slightly moved. I thought it was a bit ridiculous but a meal could move me to such an extent. I’ve been trying to find a way to grow and improve that I never had time to really think about comfort.

 

“A warm meal sounds good to me too.”

 

…

 

[The name Masen has been registered]

 

Wait, where am I? I could've sworn I had fallen asleep…

 

[The user Masen has survived in Altreia to the ‘7th Day’]

 

That name has really stuck huh? Now that I think about it, It’s actually been a week, well it would be if I made it through another day. Not too bad.

 

[Classifying the achievements and gains real time]

[Amount slain - Mediocre]

[Assimilation rate - 2% - External Assimilation - Low]

[Calamity Rating - Low]

[Achievement earned - Few]

[Growth - Level 1 → Level 2 - Rating: Abysmal]

 

“Alright that’s enough! You can stop bashing on me now! It’s not easy gaining levels when you’re chained by Almora. I still have no idea what Assimilation Rate and Calamity Rating are. I’ve only gone on my rampage starting today because I’ve been micromanaging as a dungeon master. I can’t assimilate willy nilly because i’ve got a 72 hour timer and I can’t just use it like I want in front of everyone now ok? I can’t gain a ton of achievements like other heroes because I’ve got more things tying me down than raising me up!

 

[Masen’s concerns are being factored into the calculations]

[The system has evaluated Masen’s micromanaging ability to be high]

[A diverse growth supplement has been assigned]

[The judgement has deemed the ‘Calamity’ tier user passable in measure]

 

“Passable. So it’s deemed me as a flawed character with strengths and weaknesses. All these previous characters are all freaks who have insane growth rates and easily affect the world on a whim I’m guessing."

 

[A penalty has been assigned to Masen]

[A goblin lord will be born within Naira-Valsien Forest Expanse]

 

“Arrrrrrgh noooo! I’m still level 2. How can I deal with a goblin lord?!”

 

[The goblin lord will be born at an indeterminate date. Please try your best]

 

[Balancing will begin]

[You will be rewarded with Barrier 1 | Quickstep 1 | Blind 1 ]

[Synthesis and Evolution success rate will improve - Luck to stay same]

 

“Oh finally some rewards. I think”

 

[The process will undertake 4 days - Entering metamorphosis state]

 

“Hey will I really be ok for 4 days? Will somebody think of the children?”

 

…

 

Enduring the dark in these ninety plus hours, I can’t say I’m bothered since I have a lot of experience already but I feel like it’s a bit strange when You’ve lived for six days only to sleep the next four.

 

[First milestone bonus: +5 HP/ +5/MP + 1 STR/ + 1END/ +1 AGI/ +1 INT/ +1RES]

[30 experience has been earned while metamorphosing]

[Memory Shard of Bandit leader has been forcefully used]

[Nimble fingers skill has been learned. Sense has been learned, converted to detection]

[A series of ambush range areas have been added into your knowledge]

 

[Name: Masen]

[Title: Otherworld Transmigrator | Reborn Calamity] 

[Race: Pseudo-Human] [Calamity Rating: ???]

[Physical Age: 19] [Level: 2 - EXP: 193/2000]

[Disposition: Power-Hungry Gambler ]

[Class: Regulator | Fate Alterer]

[Stats]

[Health: 140/149] [Mana: 197/197]

[Strength: 21] [Endurance: 19] [Agility: 24]

[Intellect: 30] [Resistance: 29] [Luck: 8]

 

[State: Altered Fate | Debuff: Chained by Almora]

 

[Unique Skills]

Sphere of Influence | Dominion’s Eye| Telepathy| Assimilation| Synthesis and Evolution

 

[Skills]

Stone bullet 2| Sword Proficiency 2| Concealment 1 | Deceit 1 | Command 3| Primary Crafting 1| Haste 1 | Eloquent Speech 1 | Barrier 1 | Quickstep 1 | Blind 1| Detection 1| Nimble fingers 1 

[Attributes: Core Protector (VIT↑) ]

 

---

Author Note:

Hi Guys, sorry for not posting recently, I'm feeling really unwell at the moment and haven't been great for a while. Chapters have been a bit delayed with creation but I should be able to load up a few on the weekend.

I haven't fully explored and written out the goblin lord plots and ideas yet since its an 'intermediary arc' but i have a lot of random plots points for future endeavours. I'll try to factor in the poll responses into determining the difficulty of this boss and arc and will adjust character growth and ability creation as well.

Anyways, stay safe and don't end up like me.