I came across two more groups of goblins, all dead. I hadn’t tried eating anymore of them since my experiment with them was done and I still couldn’t get over the idea of eating a humanoid creature. I continued down the path but made sure to note a small hidden cubby off to the side. I’d been out on this expedition for a decent while now and the idea of rest is calling out to me. I’ll need all the energy I can get for the next few days seeing as how the adventurers may not be the friendliest bunch. After making myself fairly comfortable I practice some magic levelling up Illumination in the process before quietly dozing off.

Late into the next day I was met with success as I peered into a small encampment up ahead. There were a few figures I could see surrounding a small fire, I suppose without a coat or thick flesh to keep out the cold you wouldn’t be overly comfortable down here. There were 3 figures whose figures I could see more clearly, all men. The first was a staunch looking man, he was far larger than me and looked like he’d seen his fair share of battles, he had a gruff dark red beard and what appeared to be a shield on hand, which I suppose makes sense seeing as I don’t think anything is going to be breaking down his defense. The second was a sly looking man, he had a needle thin mustache and oily skin, his sat down similar to how I’d picture a more human like goblin would and had a crossbow strewn across his back. The final man that I could see surprised me a little, he was currently talking to the other two men but he held a very different aura compared to them. His hair was cleanly cut and his armor practically glistened, you could see a look of arrogance from his eyes and it became easily apparent that this man had barely fought a battle in his life.

Curious I decided to wait and watch, all the while maintaining my stealth from a safe distance.

“Why are we stopping again?’ The arrogant youth asked angrily yet again… I’d had all but enough of him and if he wasn’t paying so well I’d be of half a mind to leave him here.

“Sir, we are stopping to ensure the safety of ourselves and the rest of the camp, if we are unrested and something surprises us how are we supposed to take care of everyone while exhausted?” I calmly responded but seeing as how he hadn’t bothered to listen to my previous remarks I could already see how this conversation would end.

“Do you think I can’t handle myself soldier?! I am a proud noble of the Harrenhaus family, we are born warriors. YOU may not be able to handle yourself but I certainly can. Once we get home I will bring this matter up with my father. Your lack of skill and arrogance is obvious to everyone; I have no idea why father would hire someone like you for this expedition but I will not stand for it.”

A quiet chuckle could be heard to my side as the weasel-like man commented, “My liege, we have already been paid so let’s just get this expedition done without any more problems okay?”

The youth’s eyes bulged and I swear the vein on his head was about to pop before he managed to hold himself back and stormed back to his tent. “Let’s just get this over with so I can get out of this miserable place.” He muttered under his breath before the fold to his tent closed off.

Myself alongside a few other soldiers had been hired to escort the child while he searched for a monster to tame. While he may be a brat he does come from a family with renowned for their taming skills and its tradition for the heir to go off into a dungeon and comeback with a higher tier monster tamed and obedient to their will. This supposedly proves their worth as the heir of the house but that’s where we come in. We’re too “escort” this child but that just means we have to get him a tame regardless of his lack of skill or we may as well be dead men walking.

I’ve been working for this family for a good time now and its definitely going to the shitter. This overgrown man-child is the heir to a house that supports all of our livelihoods and the only other child is essentially an arrogant princess. Unfortunately for her she isn’t a princess so her arrogance is just seen as unsightly. She’s still young so maybe there’s hope…

What does it matter what I think though, I just have to lift my shield and swing my sword like I’ve always done. Time passes and the rest of the camp falls asleep while I take first watch before something catches my eye. I move my head over but nothings there, I could’ve sworn I saw something but there’s no way there’d be something able to hide from me at this level.

We continue for the next few days and every once in a while I swear I can feel a presence following us but when I turn to look there’s always nothing there. Nobody else seems to have felt anything so It seems I’m just a bit on edge. We eventually come across a particularly fierce looking snake, it stands a head above me and aside from its pitch black scales a visible purple pattern marks its back. It’s probably got some form of shadow magic judging by the purple coloring of its scales and it definitely won’t go down easy. Sadly, this is the one the young master has decided on so we are left with little choice, the small group of soldiers smile wryly before charging into battle.

The last few days have been an eye opener, that big guy with the shield is insanely strong. There have been monsters more than 3 times my size but he has held them all back while managing to kill a few with apparent ease. There were even a few moments where he seemed to notice me, fortunately I’d managed to level up my stealth again and now all that I would need is more skill points. I’ve also managed to gather a whole 4 trait points by following them, I’ve only been able to get a point with the first of a species I’ve killed so that part of the theory seems solid but I’m still unsure how broadly the species link will apply.

On one of the days I saw the group take down a monstrous snake before the arrogant youth stood forward and cast a strange magic. The snake attempted to resist but it was already beaten down by the soldiers and couldn’t hold out for long before giving in. After giving in the snake seemed a lot more docile and the soldiers even healed it with what looked like potions.

Following this the soldiers seemed a lot more relaxed and eventually made their way back to what I’d assume was the surface after a few days. I’d wanted to follow them but I was quite shaken by the changes in the snake, it seemed to have completely flipped its attitude. What was once an apex predator was now a lap dog for this arrogant youth, it followed him everywhere and on a few occasions I saw it fiercely protect him. I could vaguely link this with what I’d known as a tamer or summoner, the difference being that I always saw tamers as being loving towards their familiars and winning them over with affection. But this snake was clearly forced into servitude… This would definitely affect my future relations with them and I for one did not like what this could spell for me.