Rain got ready for a fight. He didn't want to kill intelligent species but his morals were second to his survival for now. he mostly pushed everything to the back of his mind for now but it's not like he felt nothing when he took a life, but he had no time for emotions while fighting for his life.
The goblins assumed a defensive stance, spears ready, before one of them spoke. "What do you want here, frogman? We've got nothing to fight for."
Rain took a step back, surprised by their reasonableness. He realized he'd killed that hunting party for no real reason—they likely wouldn't have attacked him, and the stat gains were minimal. Regret washed over him, but it was too late to change what was already done.
"I'm just trying to get stronger. I didn't know you were here," Rain finally said. "I sent the clone to see if you were hostile."
The goblins exchanged glances, lowering their guard slightly. The other goblin then spoke.
"Since you've been wandering the woods, have you seen our hunting party? They were sent out almost a week ago, but they haven't made it back."
Rain realized this was his chance to control the narrative and avoid outright guilt. "Ah, I wondered about that. I travel with two beasts, and while I was doing something else, your hunting party attacked them. I was forced into a fight, and unfortunately, your party didn't make it."
The goblins hung their heads before holstering their weapons. "That's unfortunate, but we can't blame you now, can we? Come inside the base, and we can exchange information."
Rain signaled Aqua and Cascade to follow, and the goblins eyed them with a mix of curiosity and caution.
Brokr, one of the guards, spoke up. "You managed to tame vineclaws? How'd you separate them from Sylthara?"
Rain's tone hardened. "I killed her. Unfortunately, I ran into her after a group of vineclaws had just attacked me. When she showed up, it was a tough fight, but I came out on top."
The goblins looked at him with a mix of fear and respect. Oleg let out a relieved sigh. "I'm glad we didn't ave to scrap. I rather enjoy aving me life, y'know."
Rain smiled, relieved he'd managed to avoid a fight. He was glad these goblins were so reasonable.
As he followed the goblins into their base, he kept his sphere of perception active. While he didn't want a fight and these goblins seemed trustworthy, Rain still dropped runes like any other being. Letting his guard down would be a sure way to end up as someone else's stat points.
Inside the base, Rain got a closer look at the goblins hard at work. Genuine goblin blacksmiths were forging steel, which surprised him. It didn't seem like they got their equipment from the strange man, and it appeared that iron naturally occurred on this island. This place was likely much larger than just your average island if these goblins had the means to mine iron and produce steel, even though not many of them used steel equipment.
Rain wondered if he could have some steel armor made if he managed to get in their good graces. But now, he was curious—why had those humans lied about the size of this place? Or did they simply not know? And how did that man control such a large domain? What was the man's connection to the Trial of Champions? None of it made any sense.
Maybe this wasn't an island at all, but something given to him by a god. That would explain a lot. Rain doubted the man was capable of creating items out of thin air, even in this different world. The laws of physics seemed to work similarly here, and creating matter should be impossible for anyone without cosmic powers—unless the man was a god himself. But that didn't seem to be the case. Rajan had told him that he was hired to kill the man, and Rain doubted jobs to kill gods were readily available.
Rain followed the goblins as they entered a mud-constructed building, surprisingly well-built despite its rustic materials. The structure was dome-shaped, reminiscent of an igloo, and impressively spacious. Inside, the room was adorned with wooden furniture, and a large animal fur rug lay sprawled across the floor. Rain took a seat on one of the chairs, while the goblins sat across from him. Aqua and Cascade stood behind Rain, as Oleg began to speak.
"So, mista frogman, whatcha been findin' on yer journey afore ya came waltzin' inta the Mistwoods?" Oleg asked, his voice gruff with curiosity.
Rain paused, carefully considering what information to share. He guessed they had little to no dealings with the man in question, but he didn't want to make too many enemies. The Trial of Champions didn't guarantee powerful people, but these goblins seemed like they could pass it. Deciding it was worth the risk, he spoke up.
"Well, just outside the Mistwoods, somewhere toward the middle of the forest, there's the Trial of Champions. If you go in there and fight enemies summoned by God Servants, and if you do well, you get free stat points based on your performance. But it isn't easy, so tread carefully."
The goblins exchanged glances before Brokr spoke up this time. "Aye, we heard 'bout it from that man, but we wasn't sure if it were true. Good ta know ye confirmed it."
Rain smiled; at least they had some interaction with the man, which made things simpler. "That's good. Now, I've got a question. Just how many goblins are there here, and why are there so many if that guy takes strong people every year?"
The goblins looked at each other before Oleg answered. "Well, we ain't got an exact count, but there's a few hundred of us. Our numbers grew 'cause the man don't take goblins from this place. In his words, we're just here ta push the real candidates forward."
He paused, staring into the distance before continuing. "He'll give us supplies if we bring 'im corpses, but we don't leave. Luckily, this place is full of resources and food, so we get by."
Rain pondered for a bit and spoke. "Damn, so you're just stuck here until he decides to change his mind?"
The goblins simply nodded, a somber look in their eyes. Rain couldn't help but feel sympathy for them. They were trapped, with no hope of escape. How many of them had never even seen the outside world? Not that he had either.
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A man stood perched outside a large castle, a woman standing beside him. His skin was a pale grey, and his hair was jet black. He wore a long black trench coat, but his face was exposed, revealing a pair of sunglasses. One of his arms was metal, and affixed to his hip was a single large flintlock pistol, with a bag full of bullets hanging next to it.
he finally broke hs silence and a charming voice left his lips. "Let's get this show on the road shall we?"
He jumped from the cliff plummeting rapidly before stopping in the air a safely floating to the ground.
"I'm coming Silas, don't wait too long."