I watched my father and sister enter a brown simple-looking wagon. Its color varied but I knew it would lead him somewhere to the capital.

Feeling down from the separation, I left the tools on top of my table. I'd return to it but not until I got rid of these annoying feelings. Like a cavity on a tooth, this tiny black hole within me tortured my sensitive emotional self.

'I knew I wasn't worthy of you, but to be abandoned this easily...' hastily, I changed my clothes, placed a belt around my waist, got my mother's sword stuck on it, and moved to the guild hall.

The blood within me boiled. Unfairness, disappointment with myself, everything that contradicted what an adventurer was supposed to be. Without wanting to ever go through an unhinged clash of emotions, my legs didn't stop till my hand removed a quest from the bulletin board.

Quest

Rank: F

A group of goblins has been sighted to the southeast village of Astia. They have been causing trouble to passerby villagers.

Reward: 5 points and 10 mana coins per kill.

"I'll be taking this one," I showed it to the clerk man who took note.

"Just a reminder that a killing quest can be done by multiple parties."

"That's fine."

He extended the paper back and I folded it, saving it within my pocket.

"Also, we've received a complain that your party stole a slime kill."

I was pissed, truly so. But after hearing what he said, and remembering the guy who was having a hard time with them. It made me tremble further, almost willing to strangle the guy with my own hands. Luckily for him, he was not in the guild today, otherwise, I don't think I'd be able to hold myself from at least punching him. 'The nerve!'

"Since it was the first time, you won't receive a penalty."

"Right. Next time I'll let him die instead," in a twirl, I left my back to the clerk man, no longer giving a fuck about anything he had to say, nor willing to stay another second inside the guild hall. Aurora had wounded me more than I figured possible, and the tard's behavior annoyed me to an intricate extent.

A hint of madness waltzed in my heart like a vicious lunatic whose goal was pure and raw violence.

It wasn't anything like me.

Not a familiar sensation nor a reflection that would categorize me. Whatever this sentiment was, I wanted it gone.

And fast.

My heart raced; the world jolted as if it vibrated with each step I took. Balance crumbled and everything felt aberrant. The sunlight tired me, I wanted the bright sun to turn black, for the night to spread around me, to cover the shame I had just gone through.

I remembered the vision, how the shadows plundered the space and made things move, how elastic and smoothly they worked, and propagated without a care in the world. And then the way it had negated the light, consuming it, which led to my sister awakening.

'That power...' it belonged to me. However, my sister stated it was too early for me as I hadn't mastered my ice element. She wasn't wrong but man did I wish to use both right away. To have the mastery to excel and even go as far as to combine them in combat. But first I knew she had to acknowledge my achievements and my willingness.

'I'll need tons of mana,' one element exhausted me to no end, two would certainly be the end of me. Even though the dark element was so unique that from my trips to the library I didn't find a single mention of its existence. It was the same for anything related to demonology.

'Thanks to the censorship, perhaps?' I tilted my head to the side, there was certainly the possibility that was the case. After all, the Saintess' element was an energy closer to the light one.

'Would that make me the opposite?' The topic on how alchemist was meant to be learned in order to create potions with good attributes like healing specific symptoms, injuries, and even health loss. Therefore, if I could become something grandiose like her but with a different perspective holding another prospect, a more wicked one to the eyes of the goddess. Something like an apostate? A heretic? Were those things even possibilities? What would I need to do to achieve such particularities?

Aurora was likely the key to all of this.

My annoyance returned leading me to frown. She had become a sour temporary theme. I loved her. With all my heart even.

But unlike her, I couldn't see the whole picture of whichever plans she had in mind.

It taunted me as much as it tainted me.

My hand gripped the pummel of my mother's sword, had it been made of a fragile material it would've snapped in irregular halves.

With the fluttering breeze, I carried my weight throughout the long path to the South, stopping by my home for some water and food. 

'Goblins...' they posed an imminent threat to humanity. One of the beasts who served a distinct god. Intellectually superior to most monsters, but only by a bit. My father had once told me a bit about them, cowardly, ugly, and green creatures. Usually smaller than humans. Their bodies skinny and frail, but if underestimated, deadly. Unlike me, they have fangs to bite on raw meat, ripping it apart with some ease.

Younglings were usually sighted near our border, usually unable to cross it for a long time. The blessed power nauseated them, turning their minds feeble, and bodies heavy.

I moved closer to one of the relics, Aurora had told me to abuse the power it emanated. The experience and achievements from killing monsters shouldn't differ.

And I could very well use some help, especially because of being solo. The closer I got to the source, the more my body felt a certain warmth. It was a familiar sensation, reminding me of the day I threw a rose in the blessed one direction. Even now, that memory was vivid in my mind, colorful, inhuman. An experience of a lifetime. Perhaps, it would be stuck till my last day on Artana. It had been the best experience I've ever had.

And Aurora had reacted to her presence, to her almighty power.

'The god of light...' the information my sister shared with me made it sound like the people from this religion weren't so different from that higher being. Did divine entities have friends and family? A curious question that sparked some willingness to find out. Would I be able to speak with Aria one day?

'She wouldn't go after the Saintess... right?' I didn't know what she meant with keeping humanity out of harm, but one thing was certain, something in this kingdom was about to suffer a change. Like an unknown cog turning the entire motion of the machinery in a different direction. Or so I believed that to be the kind of woman my sister was, someone that had been more talented than even the goddess most beloved follower: blind faith some would call it.

The closer I got to the South border, the more adventurers passed back and forth, some with purple, green, and even red stains on their clothing.

'Fierce,' Such had likely been the fights around this place. Forests were something to be wary of, especially due to surprise attacks. 

Once I got to the enemy territory the nerves got to me. Here the power of the saintess didn't reach with as much intensity, allowing a cold sweat to slip down my back. I gritted my teeth, keeping my sanity intact, willing to not leave this place without obtaining my first goblin kill.

'It'll give me an achievement,' these were quite important. Together they unlocked other ones and sometimes they would give certain rewards which would turn out as a benefit.

'I could use better numbers,' certainly, the values of my status weren't anything special: standard ones, not worth mentioning. Even a child would have around the same thing as me. 

'I need a level up,' a deep breath followed, then another. My body relaxed, attempting to reduce the tension residing in my muscles as much as possible. 

This was it.

I knew there was no way out once I went through the threshold. The dense canopy of the surrounding trees would be equal to a ceiling to be buried alive. This place was a coffin made of nature, with wood and pebbles laid randomly. 

Before fear got hold of me, before the memories of the dead adventures caught my shadow, I took a step further.

Then another.

While staying attentive, I dared not falter. Nothing would get between me and my goal. "Not again," I told myself to reinforce the intent behind my old promise.

Without touching the bushes, my feet managed to go through nature, finding an old and familiar path. This had been the route for my very first adventure. 

The very first casualty, painful memory, barely any leftovers of my old companion. 

"Not again," I scooped my negativity, it extended to an annoying place within my heart. Definitely not according to my will, I hated it. Power, if only I had enough. 

My sword slid off my waist as the first encounter came into sight, a goblin: green and small, his back turned to me begging for me to strike it. A red pool beneath his hands, slightly in front of his crouched self. Defenseless creature, gnawing at a dead young deer. Pitiful animal, prey to this filthy race.

Unlike slimes who were quite resistant to physical blows, these didn't stand a chance against the cold and ruthless metal of human swords. It was one thing we stood superior to these creatures, weapons that surpassed theirs.

With steady small steps I approached it, who gloriously feasted upon its prized meal.

With both hands I held onto the pummel, pointing it at him.

One nervous step after another, breathing circulating harsher. Slight tremble propagating my body allowing the metal to flail up and down.

Treacherous ground, filled with leaves and dry branches, begging for my foot to land on and cause noise. 

A drip of sweat sliding down my forehead lively enough to drop on the land and alert my enemy of my presence.

All the stakes against me, salve for his exposed self.

Within enough reach, I allowed the silvery weapon to slide through the air, causing a flattened yell to follow, the creatures' mouth too stuffed to make sense of a more turbulent and agonizing tone.

"I'm sorry," I blabbered, holding in the tears as the blood gushed out from the wound opened from my ruthless impalement.

The spiteful wretched creature raised its hands removing a piece of meat from its mouth. A nasty sense of danger went through my brain in that instant. My hand landed on its left cheek, "freeze."

Its lips remained split apart, its nose drills closed, and the eyes potentially open.

I didn't know either it would die from my sword or lack of oxygen first. Nonetheless, there was no way out of this, I wouldn't allow it. This was a creature with intellect, similar to me, if given the chance it would turn the tides around and kill me.

With a quick glance as my sister was no longer with me to check the surroundings, I found a clear slime loitering around, eating a bush, and a flower with yellow petals. Something about it was interesting, the way things dissolved within its stomach, returning to nothingness.

'You can have this fellow too, bring him peace,' I pulled my weapon out as I heard the typical message.

Notice: You have received 10 points of experience and 10 fame; Status updated.
System: You have received the title, Goblin Slayer.

My hand took out his soul stone and then pulled his arm closer to the slime. It was best for the traces to disappear in case it wasn't alone.

I turned my back to the grotesque view of the melting of its body. It consumed everything without a care in the world as if it was only another piece of the land. The little ball didn't show a face nor an emotion, it did its thing diligently. Next it would consume the deer but due to the distance between them, there was a chance it would be missed.

I hid underneath the shadows of two trees, waiting for what things the fresh animal corpse would bring its way.

The thoughts of slaying the slime before me kept roaming my mind. 

'Free experience,' that was... before it evolved into something more deadly, capable of killing me.

'If only I could tame one...' the diversity in combat that I would be able to employ. In the end, an extra party member to aid my feeble self. Still, even if that was possible, I don't think Aurora would be happy with it. 

Do your journey solo, the system will not be interested in rewarding someone who receives help, who doesn't take risks. Certainly, gods will surely enjoy rolling the dice.