I currently sit in an absolutely crowded bar. There are dozens of men and woman of different races all drinking. The shock and novelty had worn off after a week here. I had managed to find the bar with the least potent beer. I just sip on it gently while staring at the wall in front of me in thought. My combat rank has already increased to E after practicing with the spear for a few days. I had been too afraid to go out unless I could teleport away, so I stayed in the town for a few days practicing when someone from the guild asked me to clear out a shit slime nest.

You heard that right, a shit slime nest. Apparently, slimes evolve off of what they eat, and one had gotten into the sewage system and multiplied like crazy. No one wanted to do it since essentially you were fighting monsters made of shit. They were pretty easy since they were only basic slime and died when the membrane was popped. Spear to the win.

I had practiced a few of the techniques from the scroll and that was most likely the reason for my combat boost to E. So, I was at least above a random farmer with a spear in lethality. Back to the technique. It is very vague in how to execute any of the moves and there was a bit about making specialized moves for yourself.

This seems exactly like the magic system you’d get in one of those shitty soft magic ones from Otome games that basically meant anyone could win as long as the author deemed it so. ‘Shit’ no I shouldn’t take it out on this world. I should take it out on the writer. ‘Cunt.’

I take another sip only to realize it’s empty. I push it forward on the bar to signal that I need a refill. A girl who looks to be in her late twenties grabs it and pours another cup and then turns back to me and speaks. “There you go.”

I just smile lightly at her a lift it up as I nod my head. I then go back to staring blankly at the wall while taking occasional sips. Tomorrow, I will go out of the town and hunt something. Now that I’m ranked E, I’m not too scared. E is the minimum to become Brass Rank in the guild, but I don’t really need to do that yet.

I’ll probably only do that after I get to C or something. I could feel myself getting stronger every day. I could probably already demolish my previous self through strength easily. It would take months for me to actually be competent with a blade, but magic seemed to make my reaction speed and strength easier. Also, I made sure to stretch as much as possible. I had noticed that most of the C rank adventurers where either scrawny mages or bulking berserkers with only a few being more unique in there fighting style.

I had an idea what I was going for, but it would take time to come to fruition. I noticed the bar girl giving me the side eye and sighed to myself. It really seems like I’m the protagonist.

…

Was it stalking if you’re just following a bunch of goblins as quietly as possible. It gives me the feeling that I’m a stalker looking for one of them to split off with so I can do naughty things to them. Not that I’m a person who would even think of doing that.

The group I was following contained about five of them. If I killed them, it would be about a silver and five copper. Since a goblin was worth three copper if I brought both their ears back. I managed to walk silently thanks to remembering a video I saw of how to walk silently in the brush and the fact they seemed to be taking their time meandering through the woods. It was really risky. They each were somewhere between E and F rank in strength and could easily overpower me if they worked together.

Two had makeshift spears and the other three had clubs. The two with spears would have to be dealt with first. ‘Fuck.’ I screamed in my head as a sharp rock dug into the skin of my bare foot. A tear came down my eye as I continued to walk through the searing pain. Then I saw the chance. The group had followed a natural trail to a point where it forked around a large shrub growth and split into two. A spear and two clubs went one way. With a club and a spear behind him going the other way.

The green buggers were about three foot tall and made a lanky pale green frame with nothing on. There shriveled up genitals looked like they were rotting and would fall off at any second. There smell was so strong that it had scared off any animal that was in the surrounding area. I skulked closer and closer following the two who were by themselves.

I drew my short sword which I had coated in mud to take away the shine and sneaked right up to the rear goblin. Thankfully the path was mostly mudding soaked leaves from constant use, so I made next to no noise. Just as I approached the goblin, I saw him tense up as if his instincts had warned him of my arrival. I acted quickly as I put my right arm around his forehead and pulled back his head allowing me free access to his throat which was now clear and sliced it cleanly with the short sword.

Following the moves, I saw from a video debunking the fancy knife moves in video games as a SAS guy explained that this was the best way to take out a target. The goblin didn’t even fight and just dropped like a puppet with the strings cut. The thud seemed to draw the attention of the goblin in front of it.

I had already taken the spear from my back and thrust it forward. Unfortunately, my inexperience got me as in a rush I just pierced straight through his shoulder as he turned around. He let out an ear-piercing cry as I heard the other goblins begin to run along the trail to find their injured brethren.

I yanked the spear out and slashed the spear right above its jugular. It seemed to struggle as I stepped over it and charged down the path. I could guess that they might flank me, so I needed to stop myself from being gangbanged. I didn’t know why but I just hated these things. Maybe it was the uncanny valley being triggered or something, but I felt nothing when killing them. There is horrible appearance and dark viscous blood probably helped as well.

I charged and my spear impaled one goblin right in the chest as it rounded the corner in the thick brush. It couched up a huge amount of blood which splattered right onto my clothes. The goblin with the remaining spear was right behind and I used the impaled one as a hammer and shoved the paled one to the side knocking it off its feet.

My still forming battle instincts made me lung at it in its stunned state while it was still getting up. With all my might I slashed at the goblin as my strengthening magic activated even though it usually took me ten seconds to infuse the mana into my muscles. The slash was cut at an angle on the goblin’s back and it was cut into two with its left shoulder and head being lopped off and my sword imbedded itself into the ground.

Before I had even a second to figure out my situation, I felt a large impact on my back which I felt broke a few ribs. I rolled over with adrenaline making me feel almost no pain as I raised the short sword to block another strike from the now deranged-looking goblin. I blocked a few frantic swings of it’s when I realized I couldn’t keep this up forever and would eventually miss one. So, I deliberately missed blocking let the next club hit me square on the chest as my sword thrust forward and straight into the goblins heart, or at least where I guessed it should be.

The goblin froze for a minute and then collapsed dropping the already raised club directly onto my ribs, eliciting another moan of pain from me. I dragged myself up by leaning on a tree and stood against it for a few minutes as I caught my breath and let the adrenaline flow away.

I was covered in a mix of mud and purple blood that was slowly drying out. I decided to walk to the river about a mile away before going back to the town. I walked over to a tree where I had first spotted the goblins and rummaged through it and pulled out a red potion.

I popped the glass cork and gulped down the solution. It tasted like a mix of raw eggs and canned strawberries. I was sure some would enjoy drinking it, but I almost vomited as the sludgy solution slid down my throat. I then re-corked and placed it back in the bottle before slumping against the tree while I waited for my body to digest the potion. It cost silver and the glass bottle cost another two silvers. If I returned the bottle, I’d get the two silvers back. I understood why since glass this pure and perfectly shaped was sure to be expensive.

It took about ten minutes for the potion to kick in as I felt my broken rib begin to reset itself. The potion wasn’t strong enough to heal the bone, but it would heal itself in a few days and it stopped the internal bleeding. Eventually the bruising began to fade. I felt my ribs and realized I had bruised three and broken one. It may have been a stupid decision to take on five goblins when I can’t even use my magic properly. But as much as I’m kicking myself internally there was an exhilarating feeling coming up from within me.

I slowly leant up and slung the bag over my shoulder. I then made my way back to the corpses to grab their ears. I grabbed the short sword from the ground and lopped off the ears of the goblins and chucked them into a leather pouch I had with me. I then grabbed the spear and began to walk to the river.

It took about ten minutes until I got to the river. I went up to the bank and rubbed my hands till the majority of the mud was off. It was stone cold, and I would pay for a bath in the city, but I probably looked deranged at the moment.

I then waited for the water to settle and then stared at my rough reflection. My hair was coated in mud and was messed up. My face was caked in the mud I had put on my face to blend in but was only cursorily coated in the purple glop that had quickly solidified.

My clothes were drenched in sweat, blood and mud was a big problem on the back. There were a few tears as well. I really need some leather armor. But a set that would actually last is about two gold.

After washing myself and the weapons, drying everything off with a towel I kept in my bag, I headed back to the town. I put a spare shirt on but kept the pants which I would have to buy a new pair. I walked past the guards with the spear slung over my other shoulder. I looked up to check the time and realized the guild was closing at sunset and that was pretty soon.

I rushed over and managed to exchange them for my pay just in time. They literally locked up as I left. I was probably going to be cursed by them in whatever tavern they went to. I needed to allow a few days for my ribs to heal. Also, by getting injured and having to use a potion the total profit for the day was a few coppers. The same as if I just did random errands around Jairan.

I would need to be more careful in the future. Things to do in order of importance. Drink. Bath. Sleep. Refill Potion. Think of Strategy to Kill more Goblin Fucker-oos.