It was a hilly area with a slight slope, filled with trees. The area was quite high up in terms of area, but it wasn't high enough for mocc to be found in.
Mocc were known as the 'kings of the mountain' and although a mountain was nearby, mocc usually did not leave high altitudes. So, why was there a mocc so low to the ground right now? That thought raced through Elin's mind as he reasoned out a half-believable logic. As he was about to come out of his hiding, he saw the reason, goblins.
Goblins were monsters which usually used Guerrilla tactics. One would lure the victim and the rest would whale on the victim until they were killed. And, it seemed the mocc had become the victim this time. 15 goblins had surrounded the mocc and were ready to strike.
The mocc was quickly knocked out by one of the goblins as it charged at the mocc, while the mocc was facing the other way.
"Aren't I lucky?" Elin remarked to himself as he pulled out his broad sword and readied his aura slash. He rested the blade behind his hips before slowly raising it above his shoulders. Then he gathered his spirit. He drew a straight line in the air, slowly and masterfully.
.
.
.
Swing.
.
.
.
Nothing happened. Well, something did happen; Elin got the attention of the goblins which were targeting the mocc.
"Ugh, I knew it…I've lost the ability to use aura…I wish it was just a whim, or at least I should've checked beforehand" Elin said as he tried once more, once more just hoping he hadn't lost his touch.
A vertical slash, a horizontal one, a diagonal one, a piercing attack; nothing came out, not even a spec of aura.
He had felt this while he was training with Alex, but he wanted to reject this possibility. He wanted to wish that it wasn't true. But, alas it was.
Elin was too busy being sad about not being able to use aura, when one goblin stealthily came up behind him with a club. He quickly unsheathed the spear and slashed at the goblin's neck. The goblin's neck was cut and blood splattered all over the place, but, it had already begun swinging. Elin without skipping a beat, slashed with his sword cutting the goblin's wrists.
Thud!
The goblin fell besides him. He was still confused why he couldn't use aura, but it was not the time for that. There was about 30 meter distance between him and the other goblins. The other goblins were alarmed by the swift death of one of their comrades, so all of them were taking a defensive position.
Elin swung his ground towards the ground, and shook off all the blood on his swords as he glared towards his prey.
"Ugh fine, I'll kill you the old-fashioned way." Elin said giving up on his aura.
He held his broadsword in his right hand and the spear head in his left as he began running towards the remaining 14 goblins. As the distance between them shortened, Elin threw the spear at one of them. The spear flew through the air and hit one on the head. The goblin was pinned to a tree. The goblins were struck with fear, but that didn't last long.
Elin quickly covered the remaining distance between them and took a wide swing at one of their necks. The sound of flesh tearing reached the goblins' ears as they went into frenzy, the blood splattered all over Elin's armor and the other goblins close by. Some were knocked off their feet, while some chose wrongly, to fight back.
Crack!!!
Before the other 12 could react Elin grabbed his spear and stabbed another one, right through the chest. One of the goblins had already readied its attack which was aimed at Elin's head. He quickly blocked it using his sword trying to retaliate but, he slipped.
Elin had slipped. Not only that, he slipped and fell over. Elin had fallen over. Elin was stunned. He didn't realize what had occurred. He had slipped and fallen over. Suddenly, a new emotion he had not felt in a while resurfaced. SHAME! He felt shame. The goblin which managed to make the ex-grand master fall over, who had a more or less proud emotion behind its disgusting face was now too scared to even stand.
Another goblin which wanted to take the opportunity to attack the downed Elin suddenly fell to ground.
Crack!!! Crack!!!
That was the sound of the goblin's legs being crushed as Elin had lost all reason and clasped his hand on the goblin's ankle. The goblin's ankles were shattered and he was also struck with the fear of god because of Elin's bloodlust spilling over. Elin slowly stood up, he was no longer playing.
Slice! Slice! Slice!
Elin cut off the all but one limb off the goblin which made him fall over.
"You're the last one." Elin pointed his spear at the goblin, as he pinned the goblin to the tree using his spear and his last remaining limb.
9 goblins left. The goblins were scared, and they wanted to run.
"No, you don't." Elin shouted at them. He ran towards one of them and slashed diagonally. The goblin tried to block the sword but, instead his club was cut off and his body followed soon. The goblin's feet were planted on the ground but, his parts of his upper body fell besides Elin with a dull sound since the ground was soaked with blood.
Elin's pride as a grand master had just been hurt so, he was quite angry at the moment.
"I won't let you die peacefully, now." Elin pointed his sword at the remaining 8 goblins. A sudden chill came over the goblins spine when suddenly one of them was vertically cut in half. The goblin closest to it tried to run away but suddenly it fell. Its legs were cut off.
Splat!
Elin raised his feet up in the air, and SLAM!!! Like stepping on an insect, the goblin's skull splattered all over the ground, as bits and chunks of the goblin's brain dirtied Elin's leg guards.
The goblins were scared. But, they knew they couldn't run away because Elin would eventually find them and kill them off in a worse way. So, they chose the better of the two evils, they chose to attack.
One of the goblins attacked Elin from the front and was deflected by the blade. Both of them were pushed back a bit, when he noticed the goblin behind him trying to attack. Elin spun around, swinging his blade and cutting the goblin in half, and as he faced the first goblin, he threw his sword at it.
Thud!
Again with a dull sound, the goblin had no chance to counter attack. His head was gone; Elin picked up his sword and faced the remaining ones.
4 goblins left. They had decided to run away but, they were too late. By the time they had made the decision to run away, Elin was already in-between them.
[Sword slash: Type 9]
Before they could even react to him, all of their heads were on the ground.
CRASH!!!
A tree fell behind him. A tree was cut cleanly, and fortunately it landed near a clay deposit. He found the last patch of silent lilies he needed for the quest.
"Phew! That was embarrassing...I knew it. I did feel it when I was training with Alex but, this body of mine can't use aura...Maybe it's like that because currently I am too young? Or is it because I lack training?" Elin contemplated his battle and then focused on the task at hand.
He moved closer towards the goblin which he had pinned to the tree. He grabbed the handle of his spear and slightly rotated it upwards. The unconscious goblin woke up from the excruciating pain.
"You may not know your sins, but you have brought me, a grand master extreme shame. So, you shall suffer today." Elin said with a calm voice.
His voice may have been clam but, his mental state was anything but that; frustration, anger, and more importantly shame. An emotion he had forgotten, or the one he wished he'd never have to feel again, he felt it again. He hated it; he hated the thing which made him feel that cursed feeling even more.
He made a small 'X' shaped incision on the goblin's chest and then...
CRACK!!!
The goblin felt his entire rib crack at the same time as, Elin's hand was forcefully inserted into the goblin's chest. Elin moved his hand around to make sure the goblin wouldn't pass out as; he searched for the Goblin's heart.
Elin looked at the goblin's eyes, through its soul. Its red irises still sparkled of life. Its scream resonated throughout the forest but, no one was close witness its final moment.
SQUIRT!!! SQUIRT!!!
Elin clasped his hand as the goblin's heart was crushed under incredible force. Blood splattered over Elin's clothes again, but it didn't matter. It was already bloody from the fight.
Elin looked at the Goblin's eyes once more, it no longer shone. It was dead. He sat on the ground, contemplating the battle and all the mistakes he had made. The footwork, strength, strikes, all of it was off. It frustrated him greatly.
"SHIT!" he cursed trying to release his anger.
Something was off about his personality, no their personality. Eleanor would never get so angry about such trivial things, something was very wrong about this entire situation. But, this was no time to be concerned; he still had tasks to be completed.
The mocc, which had been knocked out by the goblins, at some point had woken up and now it looked straight into death's eyes and attempted an escape.
.
.
It failed.
.
.
***
Rip. Rip.
"Ugh, why would anyone ask this many goblin hearts for a quest completion criteria?" Elin asked as he tore up the torso of the goblins. He needed at least 5 hearts to complete the mission and if he got more than 8, he would be rewarded twice as much. Of the 14 he killed and 1 he tortured, fortunately 10 had intact hearts, while the rest of the hearts were destroyed.
Goblin hearts could be used for tonics which boosted strength but, they were quite bad and inefficient. It wasn't worth the effort for killing goblins just for the tonics, and the tonics made were very low quality, thus many alchemists ignored goblin hearts. Well, if you were an expert alchemist there was one more use, but Elin dismissed that thought as he realized no one in this world could make that.
"Ok, this much should be enough." Elin said as he packed all of the hearts, the boar, and the silent lilies nearby. It was just evening, and Elin was happy that he could complete all the requests that day.
***
Titan's canyon, the state managed by the Russel family was a very big barony but due to recent events has a small population. It was a district encased in a valley, which used to be breaming with life once. But, as the Russel family slowly lost its glory, people slowly began migrating outside, even more so once the dramatic rise of taxes. However, many still lived there but, because of the recent downfall of the Russel family, the population of the district had further decreased, and today the entire district only had one town named Brookshire. That name was rarely used because; "Brookshire" was synonymous with "Titan's canyon".
But, the district was very big in terms of area. The biggest problem of the district was the population, there was only one town remaining which had one prominent inn, which managed the trade, and there weren't many stores that were profitable within the estate, so most of the state's income were based on trade. Aside from the district's history, there weren't any attractions within the district either.
The only reason the district was standing was because it was a neighboring state to 'Vivaldi', which had growing tension as it seemed a war was about to occur with the country down south. Many mercenaries would stay in the state was they made their way south-ward facilitating the trade within the district, and would sometimes help the monster problem in the hills around the district which had become worse after the slow downfall of the Russel family.
The town didn't even have any guilds, so the town hall was the place which managed the tasks of the guild instead. The entire district was in a sorry state at the moment but, Elin would fix everything. He had to fix it; it was a responsibility he had to take, for his brother and his future. This was the whole point of his fake identity as Elin, and as that mysterious traveler. He was determined to do whatever it took to promote his estate and make sure those living there wouldn't have to suffer.
***
At the town hall.
Elin brought in all the quest items and waited for the receptionist to verify them. The fair skinned receptionist had brunette hair and green eyes; she was a beauty with a voluptuous figure. She seemed to check up on Elin before sighing, this briefly confused Elin.
Elin's whole body was covered with a cloak, and his armor definitely didn't smell great. The receptionist couldn't even see his face, so it seemed she was sighing because she couldn't check his body and also she seemed to hate the smell. This annoyed Elin a bit but he didn't care enough to talk back.
"Oh! Are you a new here, hunter? Seeing as you took the quests without even consulting with Me." the receptionist asked politely but, there was a subtle indignation towards Elin.
"Ah... yes. Sorry, I had no idea." Elin replied unable to understand where the conversation was heading to.
"Well, it doesn't matter anymore hunter. Anyways, do you want to earn a bit more money, hunter?"
"Well, that would be handy....bu-"
"Well, dear hunter, you can register yourself here hunter then, we can give you some bonus interest for your work."
"Can't I do this another time?"
"No! Well, registering yourself not only lets you earn more money, it is also a required procedure in this area. It's something of advertising strategy, y'know. To get more people to become mercenaries and help with the monster population in the mountains. Even though it hasn't really helped for the latter part. But, it's a must, since the baron's family has essentially abandoned us."
"Ah... then shouldn't you have said that first?"
The receptionist gave a helpless smile and said "I am partially a sales-person first so... well dear hunter what is your name?" the receptionist apologized quickly as she took out the registration papers.
"Elin"
"Last name?"
"Nullborn."
"Ah..."
The receptionist quieted down after hearing that reply. Not having a last name usually meant one was a commoner, but a 'Nullborn' meant a free slave which was at the absolute bottom of the social chain. This made it so that the receptionist didn't question Elin much.
"Ok I'll fill out the rest of the registration form, ok?"
"Alright."
"Gender"
"Male"
"Age:...", The receptionist checked Elin up and down, "...around 13"
"Um, actually. I'm around 16..." Elin interjected. At his words, the receptionist became flabbergasted, but she didn't ask any questions. This was exactly what Elin wanted, no questions about his "past".
He didn't really care about lying but, he did not want to dig himself deeper into the ground by lying. Although, it almost seemed that he had already dug himself in a very deep ground. He believed that he would be able to climb out of it.
"Father? Mother?...none I presume."
"Yes."
"Address?"
"The Russel estate."
The receptionist looked quite surprised and apologetic because of her slander moments before, "Oh! They're quite generous." she said with another helpless smile.
"Yes, they offered me and my acquaintance a place to stay for quite a bit. They allowed us to stay for almost 5 years, aren't they fine people? So, I am planning to work as a mercenary for that long."
"At such a young age?"
"...I'm sixteen..."
"Ah...." She didn't question any further.
She looked at the quest item and verified the quest. "Alll-right, your registration has been prepared and congratulations on becoming a mercenary. Here's your first salary."
She put forward 3 gold and 38 silver.
"3 gold coins? Why am I getting paid this much? At most it should've been 2 gold and 60 silver."
Even if he was rewarded twice as much for getting 10 hearts, and along with the other quests and the bonus combined, this was too more.
Elin asked her. "Well, the quest giver changed the price just a few hours ago from 1 gold and 40 silver to 2 gold entirely . It seems they were in a hurry. Well, it's good to get such a good deal on your first job, wouldn't you say? So, that's 2 gold for the goblins, 40 silver for the moccs, and 20 silver for the 5 pounds of silent lilies. With the 30% bonus after registering, you also get 78 silver. That makes 3 gold and 38 silver."
"Ah....yes." Elin agreed. As he took his salary, and made his way back home.
He seemed to have gained the attention of the other incompetent hunters inside the town hall, as they gritted their teeth and watched him take off with a heavy pouch. However, a few of them seemed to be laughing among themselves, grinning. It seemed off to Elin, he felt as if he was going to get robbed.
"Try it if you can" Elin commented to himself.
"Well, if they wanted they should use those weapons instead of flaunting them..." Elin thought to himself as he took those envious eyes.
Along with this, Elin's total assets were 103 gold coins and 38 silver. It was a good deal to say the least.
[100 gold=1 platinum; 1 gold=100 silver; 1 silver=10 copper]
Elin knew he could do more than 3 quests per day and if this was the level of the quests, good things would keep happening in the future. Now the only thing on his mind was to know if the shop owners had agreed to his offers or not. Of course, he wished they would accept as soon as possible and it seemed unlikely that they would reject it.
He returned home and chanted [Armor] again, the armor was then sucked into the necklace. Eleanor sniffed herself a couple of times to make sure she didn't smell off. Making sure that she did not in fact smell off, she put on a whiff of perfume just to be safe.
Eleanor then quickly ran to the gate hoping that someone would've left some letters for her to check. On her way, she saw Alex who seemed to be engrossed in his training, he was doing well.
And, there was, all 5 of them. She was extremely happy.
She ran back to her room and opened all of them and began reading. The bakery accepted, the clothing store accepted, the restaurant accepted, the bar accepted.
The inn...rejected.
.
.
.
"WHAT!!!"