The next day, in the dark before dawn.

Servants, workers, and children carried water and supplies through the streets, and shop owners set up shop. Shops open after dawn breaks, so they need to do ample preparation before that.

A group of armed soldiers and children was walking through the waking streets of Lamaria, and among them was me.

I was woken up early this morning by Cispia and Livia to go to the training camp outside the city walls. With me went all the kids from yesterday, including Livia and Cispia.

The armed soldiers with us were Cnaeus leading two eight-man squads from the mansion, armed to the teeth in heavy legionary armor. The way to the training camp was dangerous for kids like us, especially before dawn broke, so we needed soldiers to protect us on the way. These soldiers were also going to train there, so it was out of convenience that we joined them.

"So, why are both of you coming? Shouldn't one of you be attending the mistress?" - I asked the two girls curiously.

Livia shrugged, "The mistress dismissed us. She is currently still occupied with making that difficult potion, and she doesn't need to eat or bathe due to potions and magic, and she is skipping sleep too with energy potions, and there are other servants too, so we have nothing to do to aid her."

"Yeah. Something like this happens once every few months. During times like this, we get to train all day." - Cispia added.

"Well, it is more productive to have them train instead of just staying outside her alchemy room all day doing nothing." - I mused to myself as we kept walking.

Soon, we reached the magnificent 33ft tall city stone walls of the city, its gate guarded by over a dozen guards wearing Lorica Segmentata, including arm guards, shin guards, a helmet, and a cape. All of them were holding a pilum and a scutum, their back ramrod straight, and they looked menacing.

These are the praetorian guards guarding the proud city of Lamaria, each of them a seasoned veteran from the legions, with several battles under their belts. Although the praetorian guard has its fair share of corruption, no rookies were allowed to guard the city gates of Lamaria before dawn breaks.

It is because the city walls are the only thing separating the citizens of Lamaria from the outside. Hostile monsters and raiders roamed the world outside, especially during the night, and the city walls needed level-headed and strong guards to prevent them from entering and causing a slaughter.

Because of this, there was a zero-tolerance policy in gate guard duty during the night, and even the corrupt officials didn't object since there were no benefits. However, the day-guards were more pliable and with some of them being downright corrupt.

At least, that is what I learned from my father.

Because it was currently before dawn, the massive gates were still closed. During the night, only soldiers were allowed through a small and magically reinforced door by the side of the gate.

Before long, our group arrived in front of the small door, where an old and grizzled soldier stopped us.

"Hail, Cnaeus. A' see you are bringing dem' fresh blood for hazin' again?" - The soldier saluted and greeted Cnaeus while speaking with a heavy countryside accent.

"Hail, Jarvo. Yes, as always, I am taking them to train. How was your duty tonight? Any monsters?" - Cnaeus saluted and asked back.

"Eh, a bit of brushin'. There was a hob' leading a raid party tryin' to be smart and scale the wall. Dey' dead now, waitin' for dem corpse collectors. Dem weak disgustin' things are gettin' more ballsy by the day, a' swear. Dem needs a good culling again."

"Haha! Well, at least you weren't bored."

"True, true. Always beats a quiet an' borin' night. Well, I won't hold y'all here anymore. Go on through." 

After they finished chatting, the soldier opened the magically locked door, letting us through. There were two layers to the door, one inside the city and one outside. It is for double protection.

As I stepped outside the gates, I became nervous. It was the first time I exited the city's periphery.

"Mog, are you ok? Your hands are shaking." - Cispia asked me by the side.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself to the best of my ability and then said with a forced smile, "I'm fine. It's just my first time out of the city, so I got nervous."

"Oh, it should pass soon enough. We were the same a year ago." - Said Livia.

I gave her a wary smile and nodded, "Thanks."

I then looked at the outside. Although it was currently before dawn, I still had some vision. There was wide a paved road outside, the roads of Lamaria, leading to all parts of the Lamarian empire. Beside the road were lush grass, a few trees, and wildflowers. In the distance, about a ten-minute walk from here, I could spot the dimly lit walled training camp.

After walking for a bit, I noticed around 25 short and green humanoid monster corpses, with one as large as a human, sprawled beside the road, coagulated black-red blood and guts spilling all over, with the putrid smell of rotting cadavers filling the air. It was apparent that they were all very much dead, and it was at least over an hour ago.

Father taught me about some creatures, and this is one of them. These are goblins. A disgusting monster that is considered a pest.

They reproduce quickly, are cunning, can use tools and traps, and most of all, are annoying. The natural bullies of this world, fearing the strong while bullying the weak, a blight. Father gave me some advice on them. 

"If you see a male goblin and you can safely kill it, then kill it. Show no mercy, for it won't show it to you. If you can't, run and get help to kill it. If it is a female, and you are lucky or unlucky enough for her to challenge you to a duel unless you feel confident in your strength, run as fast as your legs can take you! If you somehow win that duel, enjoy yourself. Oh right, and never kill or capture her, that's taboo." - Is what he told me.

I don't know what father meant by enjoying myself and that taboo thing, but I got the gist of it.

"Kill the males, run from females."

It isn't that hard to understand.

While I was thinking about it, Cnaeus began lecturing about the goblin corpses.

"See this, kids? It's a goblin raid party, 25-strong, led by a hobgoblin. This raid party size is still considered small, but it is the first sign of a goblin colony going out of control. If left unchecked for another few months, we may be facing a Goblintide, a large-scale invasion of goblins wreaking havoc everywhere, causing many casualties and death. That is why, if you see something like this, report to the nearest town. It is part of your duty as a fellow person and your family. Also, you can get a decent reward of 100 gold coins from the adventurers guild or local governor. In this case, the goblins were stupid enough to attack the most well-guarded city in the Lamarian empire, so you can expect the goblins to be taken care of within a week."

"Alright, let's move. And remember, stay within the encirclement. Dawn has not broken yet, and some hungry or desperate nocturnal monsters might be roaming about, so I need you to stay close so we can protect you." - He said as the soldiers surrounded us from all sides.

We then started walking towards the training camp. Nobody spoke along the way, afraid to attract predators. As we reached the halfway point, I suddenly heard a voice from the left.

"HooHoo* HooHoo* HooHoo*."

Thud* Thud* Thud*

It sounded like the voice of an owl. However, it was quite a bit louder than an owl. Also, there were the sounds of heavy steps, as if something was charging at us.

Everyone looked over and saw the thing charging at us. Although dawn has yet to break, I still managed to see it.

The creature ran on all four, being around five-foot-tall, nine-foot-long, and bulky. It has a bearlike body with owl-like features. It has a mixture of feathers and fur, an owl-like head, and a serrated beak. On its bulky arms were sharp talon-like claws, able to rip prey to shreds.

By the looks of it, the creature looked hungry, almost starving. And we are its designated prey.

"O-Owlbear! It's actually an owlbear! W-Why is it here?!" - Spurius, the bookworm, screamed in horror and confusion.

The Owlbear. It is an infamous C-rank nocturnal creature and the nightmare of many who are unlucky enough to meet them. To be honest, I am scared. However, I knew that I wasn't alone here. I had the protection of the soldiers around me, soldiers that didn't look fazed.

"I'll handle this." - Cnaeus ordered as he calmly changed the grip on his pilum to a backhanded grip. The tip of the pilum shined with yellowish light.

"HooHoo* HOOHOO* SCREECH*."

The owlbear hooted and screeched in excitement as it approached, saliva dripping from the edges of its beaked mouth, its owl-like eyes reflected its hunger.

When it reached 30m away, it was then that Cnaeus took a few steps forward and tossed his pilum at the beast.

Swish* Puck*

"SCRRREEEECHHHH*."

Bam* Drururu*

The pilum hit the eye of the monster, piercing its skull and into its fragile brain. It could only screech one last time before its charging strides stopped. The momentum it built up caused it to fall heavily on the ground and roll a few times before it finally stopped, dead as a doornail.

I gasped in shock as I looked at the now-dead mighty beast. The owlbear, a C-rank monster, was killed by a single spear throw.

Cnaeus calmly walked to the owlbear, unsheathed his gladius, and slashed the owlbears neck a few times before its head was decapitated. Only then did he turn to us.

"Ok, kids. Lesson time. This is an owlbear. A strong nocturnal monster that is native to forests."

He then pointed at the pale and shaking Spurius, "As for you, spurious, although you are panicked more than the girls here, you are right. This monster shouldn't be here next to the city and in the grassy planes. It is a forest monster, and it is territorial. If you see it out here, then that means that something drove it away from its habitat."

"If you add the goblins from earlier, then it is easy to guess that a large tribe over 1,000 strong has emerged in the forests and drove all the strong predators away, leaving them uncontested. Also, it looks like it is starving, so it should have happened at least a few days ago. This is one of the main first signs of an impending Goblintide, so keep that in mind. It will take another few months for them to reach 10,000 strong, become a mega tribe, and consequently, a Goblintide."

Cnaeus then took his sword and stabbed it into the skull of the owlbear, cutting it open. I could hear the sound of Spurius puking near me. He really should have just become a scholar.

Soon enough, Cnaeus managed to open the skull of the owlbear and fished out a nut-sized object. After that, he cleaned it with a handkerchief from his pocket, revealing a gleaming stone.

"See this, kids? A mana core is what this is. It is usually the most expensive part of a monster, so if you have the leisure, do take it out after killing a monster." - He said while pointing at the stone.

"Now then, men, four of you drag this monster with us to the camp. Its blood will deter other predators, and we can eat owlbear at lunch." - He said and pointed at four of the soldiers.

"Yes, sir!" - Four soldiers complied and dragged the large body of the bear with them.

"Alright, we wasted enough time. Let's continue."

We then continued following on the paved path until we reached the camp.