Yet again, he had managed to exhaust his muscles until the morning. This would be his second day of training. This maddening desire to grow stronger kept him going. Without the limitations of the previous day, he was able to continue his training.
By morning fall, he had already done 2000 more than the previous day. He sat down, focusing on controlling his breathing.
Yet again, as the morning fell, Ashkan, sure enough, stumbled through. It was still very early and he was yet again the first person here.
As his eyes met with Rhys he stopped. "Ahh, don't worry. I'll be careful around you, scared one." He kept his voice to a hush.
"What might you be doing here again...." He observed the lad with his sword resting right beside him and his leather armor wreaking of sweat.
"I'm training." He wasn't afraid of Ashkan anymore. Though the man did look intimidating, the fear- real fear, only takes over when he shouts. It is a disgustingly broken racial trait.
The tiger confusedly scratched the back of his head and glanced around everywhere. "Eh...I- don't see any training materials?"
"I'm not training on a dummy or anything like that, I'm just practicing swinging my sword."
.....
"BAHAHAHAHA-" He covered his mouth with his paws to prevent him from laughing too loud. For whatever it was worth, his laughter didn't invoke a feeling of fear, rather just the feeling of being looked down upon.
"You can't possibly hope to gain anything by just swinging your sword. You may very well get more efficient with it, but that will take years. The best way would be to actually experience combat."
"experience combat... I see. I can't. I tried to fight a pair of goblins and got knocked out by them. I'm not quite ready yet."
"Ehh? What did you say?"
"I got defeated by a go-"
He yawned exaggeratedly. Licking his paws. "I'm sorry, I couldn't quite hear you."
This was a perplexing statement. Literally, the beast with top-grade ears couldn't hear someone right in front of him.
"Oi. Are you trying to joke with me?"
"I'm sorry, you see my hearing dwindles when people are being cowardly. If you truly fear goblins, then it is a wonder why you were the first to faint from the Predator skill."
"I heard about you prior. You fainted in combat during the tutorial. If you want to grow stronger, instead of fighting with allies, corner yourself. Force yourself to choose life. Knowing you have a safety net allows you to be careless."
He scratched his chin then growled lightly. "Anyways, I've had enough of talking to cowards. They soil your prowess."
The tiger promptly left, entering the guildhall.
The sound of a loud growl filled his ears and for a second he was prepared for the tiger to have returned. It was only to realize, however, that he hadn't eaten at all since he had woken up.
The potion he drank earlier was a good substitute as it did reinvigorate him, but his stomach still yearned for food.
He walked into the guildhall. For the first time since visiting this world, he was now within the main hall. It was a lot different than the hall they were ushered into the very first day.
There were 6 huge stands as well as various bulletin boards all throughout the hall. It could fit probably around 600 people within it.
Within the halls, there was no one there except Ashkan and several of the crew and attendants. Ashkan's ears twitched when he heard him come in, but aside from that, he didn't react much.
In his hands were stacks of papers each from the bulletin boards. "This should conclude them all."
23 sheets total. Each of them were Diamond rank advised.
So that's why he's always so early.. to secure the most challenging.
I suppose I can begin by looking for adventurers work. There must be a mission out there to exterminate goblins or anything like that.
He walked up to one of the counters and politely asked the lady behind it. "um..excuse me, but would you happen to know any Goblin slaying jobs posted or anything else of that level?"
The lady stroked her chin "Hm...Goblin slaying jobs huh... you must be one of the new adventurers.
There are a couple of quests in the bulletin boards there. He pointed to the one closest to the entrance.
It was a giant board about 16x16 ft, fully plated in porcelain. "Ahh...the ranks." He had read about it in the book.
The Adventurers are divided between different rankings. Ranking from lowest to highest are Porcelain, Iron, Steel, Gold, Diamond, and Platinum.
Diamond and Platinum would have to be the highest-ranking adventurers, you can tell their ranks based off of their pendants.
Though most adventurers keep it tucked away when not on a mission. It is a sign of humbleness.
Hmm...That tiger must be a diamond rank adventurer. At the very least he is gold. So, let's see what kind of mission I have available.
He looked through the list of quests, but there were none for goblin exterminations. The list went from bandit exterminations to escorting and finding missing persons. However, not one was for goblins.
He walked back to the girl and placed one on the counter. It was for the extermination of a bandit group known as the 8 Realms. Apparently, the job posting had been there for a good several months.
The reward was merely 5 silver coins, so most people ignored it entirely. It's been steadily rising up in price every month.
In this world, the adventurers guild does not automatically solve everything. Nor do adventurers work for free. In order to deal with problems plaguing an entire village, they'd all pool in necessary resources in order to hire an adventurer.
Rhys however, didn't seem to care much about the reward, rather, that he gains experience into the fight and catches up to his comrades.
The attendant looked over the quest cautiously then activated Insight. Her eyes shone light purple. It was only an instant, but she quickly deactivated.
She promptly bowed. "I'm sorry for checking your stats without asking, however, I'd heavily advise against such a mission."
"Hm? Are they that much of a threat?"
She neatly took the ad and placed it behind the counter. "No, I did find it strange that goblins were your frame of reference when searching for quests earlier, but as it lies now, you are much too weak."
"I'd recommend you reach at least level 10 before attempting any of the quests here. There aren't any goblin slaying quests, but the guild does pay you for each goblin corpse you turn in."
Oh, that's right... It's like hunting.
Goblins are an invasive species that populate extremely rapid, if left unchecked, they could amass great power and decimate entire eco-systems. Thus, they are routinely encouraged for training, practicing moves, and regular extermination.
"How do you turn in the number of goblins you kill?"
"You'd leave a marking on them. Your insignia per se. Every week or so we have a cleanup crew round up most of the corpses. They'll handle the rest from there and make sure you're paid adequately."
"I see. Thank you, lady."
She smiled and waved him off.
Rhys walked past the tiger on his way there. The man ignored him entirely and continued to pack his belongings. It seemed the mission he was to start with was the furthest away from the headquarters.
Rhys looked away and left the building promptly. "Alright... the first step, level up."
The Forest of Truths was much more silent than before.-And that's kind of a harsh feat to beat, given that it was dead silent before. Perhaps its the lack of people.
The area was entirely vacant. He activated Insight, allowing his eyes to peer into every aspect of his surroundings.
His eyes radiated a warm yellow light from them as he scanned the area.
The numbers were almost overwhelming. The size of the blades of grass, their durability in the decimals, the speed at which the wind traveled and pushed them.
The numbers could very well be overwhelming if one does not know how to regulate Insight and control it to see only what is necessary.
He closed his eyes and focused his breathing. Focus on only 2 things, the direction in which the wind is blowing, the speed it's blowing at, and the direction everything around him is moving.
As he walked deeper and deeper into the forest, he began to notice exactly what he was looking for.
The speeds dwindled from certain directions. And there was an unusual increase in speed heading towards his direction.
BOOM! Flying through the foliage was a single goblin armed with a wooden spear. He hopped back several feet to create distance between them.
His breathing became heavy and his anxiety was increasing steadily.
Focus....breathe...breathe.. remember the first part of the lesson.
10. When in Combat, Avoid Losing Focus. If You Can Maintain Focus, You Can Make Clear and Concise Decisions. -It's always important as a warrior to maintain your focus and do not lose your nerve. Your opponent does not believe he will lose, you shouldn't either.
Particularly regarding Goblins, they dash in headfirst. They are usually mindless in their offense and much more instinctual. Watch them closely, and you may begin to understand their predictability.
However, even amongst goblins, be wary of the gifted.
His eyes observed the goblin blaring out with its sharp teeth gnashing. Drool came down from its mouth and the eyes only focused on one thing. Their prey. He could see his reflection from the glowing green pupils.
No... I must focus on what's important. The numbers.
He stopped himself before he got too drawn into the ferocity of the creature. His eyes tried to follow the speed at which it moved.
The weapon he's using... a spear. I must watch out for its most effective usage, piercing.
As he backed up the goblin advanced, jumping to the left and immediately changed its course moving in a zigzag pattern to his right.
Goblin: LVL 3
Health: 4/5
Mana: 2/2
His heart rate picked up for a second, but he had to remind himself.
Calm down...only keep watch of his spear. No matter how his body moves, he will still attack in the same fashion.
In just one instant before it changed course again, it thrust the spear forward.
Perfect, very linear. He put up his shield at that moment and the spear collided against it. It was enough strength to vibrate his entire shield.
The goblin was definitely much faster than him, moving at 30mps. He could only follow the blur of movements with his eyes.
When he put the shield up to block, the goblin had already regained composure and changed locations. By the time he put it down, it was already out of sight.
He quickly scanned the surrounding, only to feel a sharp pain collide against his calf. He turned around instantly, swinging the sword overhead only to be met with the goblin's foot burrowing into his belly.
With that, he had lost all balance and stumbled across the ground frantically. This goblin was way more advanced than he was. He could do nothing but lose to it.
With one push, it jumped into the sky and brought the spear down upon him. His health was already at 0. Death ominously awaited him. The difference in skill between the two was just much too vast.
No... Like I would give up that easily.
He placed his shield up just as the spear was to collide with him. The pressure the goblin had placed on it allowed the spear to go right through the shield. It got caught right within the leather and refused to dislodge.
This was his chance. He immediately got up and slashed at the goblin right through its chest while it was trying to pick up the spear. It didn't die, but rather its health decreased from 4 to 2.
Feeling the further rush of adrenaline he stomped on the spear, breaking the sharp point into the shield.
It's now or never.
He lurched forward and slashed again at the goblin only for it to dodge by a simple jump back. Another strike. Dodged. Another. Evaded. Another. Avoided.
Each one of those 2000 sword swings he did proved to be for naught. In real combat, all it did was make him have the ability to slash regularly.
After dodging a horizontal swipe by crouching, the goblin leapt upwards straight at him. A complete change from its previous retreat.
Both hands hugged his hips and sent him flying back into the ground. The duo rolled viciously before it finally subdued him and rested over him, choking the life out of his lungs.
Fuck... I'm going to die...
He clawed at the Goblins arms, trying to pry its hands free of his neck. To no avail.
I'm going to die...
Thrashing and scratching wildly at the green arms leading him to death's gate.
I'm going to die... I am really...
His vision began darkening around the edges. His eyes could only peer into those of the goblin's who's green radiance reminded him of the toxic symbol in his homeworld.
why am I thinking of something like that?
Out of desperation, he began clawing at the goblin's face before his hands fell flat down. He was just on the brink of losing consciousness until he touched something. His hand had fallen right beside his shield.
So quick did the surge of hope overtake him, that he picked up the shield with one of his hands and bashed the metal frame against the side of the goblin's head.
This clearly took a toll on the goblin and it was dazed for a second, by the second bash, it had thrown it off entirely and he got up gasping for breath.
Before he could even regain composure he hopped on top of the goblin and began bringing the shield down on it.
It howled out and tried to fight back but failed and got bashed several more times over the head. Its health was down to 0 as well now.
The goblin roared in defiance, realizing how close it was to dying and opened its mouth to bite down on the shield and hold onto it when it came down once more.
This was the deciding moment of battle. He must end it here, or else he will face his end.
He let go of the shield instinctively and began pummeling his fists against the goblin's head. Again, again, and again, and again
and again...
*Huff*....again...*huh.* ...*huh*...again.
Each punch was met with less and less resistance. There was a moment in this calm that they both made eye contact. It was no longer staring at him through insight. It's clear who would win this fight.
However, there was something he couldn't help but notice. Within the eyes of this beast, was sadness. It wasn't just pure sadness at the realization of loss. But something much deeper. Tears streamed from its eyes as if it was pleading with him.
He looked down at its bloated belly, only to see the numbers emanating from it. Just barely in view, he could see the health bar of a child within her. level 1, health 0/0, mana 0/0...
It was pregnant and just due for its birth any hour now.
He couldn't go through with this after all. He dropped his hands down and decided against killing the goblin. He was the one that walked into their territory. He was the one that sought to kill them.
Any more and he would truly be a monster amongst monsters.
But...
It truly was a cruel world.
The moment he lowered down his guard the goblin lurched upwards, baring her sharp set of teeth. her aim was right for Rhys' neck, but Rhys was much faster.
Before he the goblin could even bite down, Rhys' dagger penetrated under her jaw and nestled comfortably into her head.
19. Never Show Mercy- Goblins and many other beasts will play on your weakness. Goblins, in particular, are merciless and will use any means to defeat their opponent. Do not fall victim to mere tricks.
The Goblin's eyes twitched and it convulsed rapidly. The noise it made was that of one choking on an endless supply of water. No matter how much it swallowed, there was always more just filling its throat. It could only lay there on his arms, twitching, and heaving.
Yet again, he could only thank Mae. Even through his tears, he was happy that he had listened to the advice she had written to him.
"I"m sorry....I'm sorry..."
The Goblin continued to gurgle silently before dying. Through his teary eyes, he could see the health of the child within dwindle as well. Without oxygen, it was also due to die.
The only thing he could do was lay there sobbing. This world....was cruel.
Much too cruel.
