Chapter 23: Cultists

Sigh...

All this battle made me feel exhausted. So in the end I decided to rest on a nearby rock to rest for some minutes.

After seeing the disaster that I caused, and the horrible state the corpse of the goblin ended after my magic, I realized how much I've changed since I arrived to this world.

Never even on my craziest dreams could I have imagined that I could butcher another living being alive, and even enjoy it.

"This world really has begun to change me..." 

I looked at my hands, and the nostalgic feeling of the pacific life I used to live came to my memory.

In contrast with what I have just done...

Sigh...

I'm nowhere near of what I was...

Not that I repent of killing him.

If I was given the opportunity to kill that fucking goblin again I could do it without batting an eye.

Heck, I could repeat this for a hundred times over and still fully enjoy it.

However, It was still not something pleasant to see myself transformed from a young man full of dreams and ambitions into a murderer that enjoys killing.

Maybe I'm overreacting a bit. However, I will still try my best to conserve my humanity in this horrible world that does not allow me to do so.

"Alright, time to go"

I got up and continued walking towards Balroc city.

This time though I drank a Hunter Potion so that I could see any nearby goblins or enemies before they could see me. 

...

---

It didn't take that long before I reached the city.

During these few hours of walking I came across a few more goblins. I avoided the Warrior goblins and attacked the weaker ones like archers or peon goblins, It was not so hard thanks to the help of the little birds and Neo.

The potion worked a little different from the game as here it not only allowed me to see the red aura of enemies from anywhere, it also allowed me to sense the direction of nearby enemy

It was like there was a sixth sense that alerted me every time when a nearby enemy entered the surrounding area.

So I was able to ambush them without much trouble before attacking them along with Neo and the other little birds 

I brought the corpses of every goblin I killed so that I could show them to the military. The fact that there were goblins wandering nearby the capital couldn't mean anything good.

Maybe a war was coming.

And I could make sure to win it at any costs.

...

*step*

*step*

*step*

I soon reached the entrance of the city and was received by a group of guards that pointed their spears at me as soon as they saw me.

However, when one of them looked at my face and noticed my identity he stopped his companions from showing any hostility.

"Sir Aspen is back! Go and tell our superiors" The one who seemed to be the leader said.

"Yes sir!

---

 

We walked through the streets of Balroc in the direction of the Militia's main building.

While walking and appreciating the place that has been my home for six years, I noticed that the looks of hostility I got from the people reduced, though not that much.

But there was one thing that amazed me.

The Hunter Potion was still active. That was because the time flow here was a lot slower than in the game. The potions in the game usually lasted for at least a few minutes. However, in this world they actually lasted hours.

This meant more time for potions. However, it also meant a slower regeneration for my body.

What could take me a few minutes to restore my full life in the game actually took me a whole day in real life.

Not that I complain though...

I could regenerate from any injury unless my HP reached 0.

So it was still pretty OP.

The fact that amazed me was not that the potion was still active, it was that the people that were looking at me with clear hostility still had a green aura around them

Red aura meant enemy

Green aura meant pacific entity.

This meant that even if they were hostile towards me, they weren't considered as enemies.

Then... what was considered as an enemy?

However, before I could ponder more about this matter, we arrived in front of the building.

I was led to a secret room at the highest floor of the place.

The room was illuminated by a few candles, but it was dark enough to give a feeling of absolute seriousness around the place. At the center of it there was an enormous round table with at least ten people seated around it and one empty seat next to the old man Easton. (The one who recommended him for the expedition.)

I took what seemed to be my seat and shook hands with Easton.

I inspected everyone around this room, and although almost everyone here were old, me included, there was a certain individual that stood out a lot.

It was an old man like everyone in this room, a serious face that seemed to show complete concentration on the topic this meeting was about, and he even acted like he didn't even notice me.

But the thing that made him stand out was his aura.

It was red.

But before I could pay more attention to that guy the discussion began.

"Alright sir Aspen, we could like to know everything that happened on your trip and what was the reason for your disappearance for a complete month"

"Alright"

I proceeded to explain to everything that happened in the expedition, excluding a certain thing regarding my powers, and soon after some discussion they reached a conclusion.

"Following your descriptions about those people... we suspect that the ones that attacked you at the mountains were cultists"

Wow... I could never have imagined such a thing.

"However, what's strange is their motives for gathering every shiver thorn in the area. As far as we know they idolize the Ancient demon Cthulhu and seek to bring him to our world once again to spread chaos. So gathering Shiverthorn herbs means they are preparing something, and it's probably not good"

"Yeah, However I don't think we are in a position to worry about them right now" I said in a serious tone before taking out one of the corpses of the goblins from my backpack "These guys were wandering around a few kilometers away from the city"

Everyone gasped at the sight of a death goblin, and for one second I saw a dangerous light in the eyes of the suspicious guy.

"You killed it?" One of them asked me.

"Yeah"

...

The room went into silence for a few seconds, like trying to swallow what I just said.

"This must probably mean that the goblins are finally acting" I said, which soon brought back to reality the people in this room.

"The war for our survival has finally begun huh?" The one who seemed to be the leader of the militia said with a somber expression.

"We must prepare, Humanity won't fall without a fight!" One of the guys here said while hitting the table heavily.

"That's right, those damn goblins are gonna taste what means to corner us!"

"If one of them died at the hands of a human, then we can win this!" 

...

The conversation continued, and soon a lot of plans to deal with the goblins were raised. However, the suspicious guy just stayed silent for the rest of the meeting.

When the conversation ended, he was the first one to leave. 

So I followed him.

Better to prevent than cure. There must be a reason why the potion detects him as an enemy, and I will follow him until I know what reason is that, or until I get tired of following him.

...

---

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

I followed him through the whole city as stealthy as possible, and Holy Macaroni, he was suspicious as hell.

First he put a hood over his head to prevent being recognized, and then he started walking through countless alleys while always looking behind him to make sure no one was following him.

Maybe I was being too suspicious, and he was just going to satiate his necessities as a man at the nearby brothel before the horrendous war.

Even I could try to avoid being recognized while entering that place...

However, my doubts soon were cleared when he entered a shabby and old building that seemed to be at the verge of collapsing.

*Knock*

*Knock*

Two eyes appeared from a nearby hole in the walls.

"Password"

"Cthulhu R'lyeh Ph'nglui mglw'nafh wgah'nagl fhtagn" The suspicious old man said in a strangely intimidating accent.

It was like hearing the wishers of the devil himself.

Holy shit, what does that even mean?

However, I heard the word Cthulhu there, so I think that explains pretty much everything.

That guy is a cultist.

Soon he was allowed to enter and the door was closed once again. However, my improved physique allowed me to hear things from a larger distance easily.

So hearing their conversation was a piece of cake.

...

"The alchemist survived. And he also revealed part of our plans to the militia" 

"Shit, those bastards failed! Our lord won't be happy" 

"I know, however we must tell him before the militia investigates more"

"Fuck!" One of them said while punching a nearby wall "We are so near to completing the ritual, why did that bastard had to survive"

"We must send assassins against him" one of the silent cultist said.

"It won't work. Neither of the assassins that his competitors had sent him has succeeded in killing him. What's more... He actually managed to kill a goblin" The old man from the militia said.

"""What?!"""

"Then we need to kill him immediately, he is too dangerous to be kept alive!"

*BOOOOOOOOOM!!*

Soon a lot of debris went flying and the wall crumbled when I kicked it.

*Shiiiing*

*Step*

*Step*

I took out my sword and entered the building.

I think I've heard enough of their conversation.

"Sup"

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