[Quest: Goblin Transformation Ritual (0/3)
General: You have been ambushed by a group of goblins and have learned of an unholy ritual that threatens the very existence of Dunul. As one of their temporary guards, it is your duty to fight this evil.
1: Go to the goblin camp!
The goblin camp is located on the slopes of the eight northeastern peaks, so make your way through the valleys and get there alive.
Grade: D
Rewards: 100 XP, 1 reputation
2: ?
3: ?]
Arthur woke up to a notification from the system and slowly opened his eyes, letting a sleepy yawn escape his mouth.
The sun had risen a few minutes ago, and while most of the camp was still asleep, a few were already awake, breaking down their tents and preparing for the journey ahead.
One of them was Robert, who was still mourning the death of his two friends and was preparing breakfast.
Arthur only glanced at the new mission he had received from the system before getting up, without paying much attention to it.
He said a casual good morning to Robert before looking at the morning appearance of the forest and walking towards a small stream next to the camp.
A heavy mist fell over the tops of the trees and slowly descended through the lower regions of the forest, reducing visibility to no more than a few dozen paces in front of him.
Arthur knelt at the edge of the small stream of crystal clear, icy water and washed his hands. He had already cleaned himself of the hobgoblin blood the night before, but he could still smell traces of the repulsive odor.
"Ah..." Arthur sighed and used his cupped hands to pick up the water and splash it on his face, trying to wash away not only the dirt, but also the tiredness.
When he was done, Arthur stood up and looked around. The forest was morbid, much more so than he had expected. The dense mist had obscured the forest's original magical vibrancy, turning everything gray.
The birds weren't singing, the insects weren't crawling on the damp forest floor, and even the little noise Arthur could hear from the camp had stopped,
For a brief second, he felt alone in the forest, hearing only the sound of his own breathing, his pounding heart, and the running water in the stream.
Just then, a caw broke the silence and Arthur's heart raced even faster as he looked up to hear the faint sound of wings flapping as three ravens landed in a tree.
One of the ravens was black with a single red eye, one was silver with a single blue eye, and one was red with a single purple eye.
Mana beasts? Arthur wondered in his mind, he had never seen a mana beast in person, apart from the monster he had encountered in the dungeon, which he didn't even know what it was. However, he had heard some stories from hunters that described them as legendary creatures with unique appearances.
The three ravens stood there looking at Arthur curiously for long seconds, their eyes were strange and made Arthur slightly uncomfortable, but they still held a certain attraction, not so different from the attraction Arthur felt when he heard Hel's voice.
"Are you all right?" Arthur felt Lugh's strong hands fall on his shoulders and turned to face the man, who was also gazing into the branches of the trees, trying to figure out what Arthur was looking at.
"What..." Arthur turned suddenly to find that the ravens were gone, the mist had cleared, and the forest had returned to its usual vibrancy. The noise of the camp filled his ears again and the melody of the birds caressed his eardrums once more.
"Hm..." Lugh sighed, "Breakfast is ready, let's eat." Lugh patted Arthur on the back and walked back to the camp.
Arthur stood still for a few long seconds, staring at the same empty branch, before turning and following Lugh's path.
By the time the young man reached the camp, everyone was awake and quietly eating breakfast. The mood was somber, and their faces wore grief.
"Take this," Lugh, who had arrived just before Arthur, already had two bowls in his hands and handed one to Arthur.
"Thank you," Arthur thanked him before sitting down in a corner not far from Lugh and starting to eat. The taste wasn't the best, it was sweet on the first bite but soon took on a bitter and even slightly disgusting taste.
"Do you know what we'll find in the valleys leading up to the goblin camp?" Lugh asked Arthur, trying to break the heavy silence.
"No..." Arthur shook his head in denial as he struggled to swallow the last spoonful of porridge.
"Beasts of mana... more than the eye can see. That's why the goblins rarely patrol this area. But don't worry, they usually only come out at night. As long as we travel during the day, we'll be safe." Lugh said as he stood up.
"Have you ever fought a mana beast?" Arthur asked as Lugh got his full attention.
"No... but I've seen some from afar on my travels, and I've even seen a third-level warrior fight one, it's terrifying," Lugh shuddered as old memories surfaced in his mind.
"I fought one!" One of the hunters shouted, he was a bald man in his 48th year, he was 1.90 meters tall and had a large body that Arthur assumed was pure muscle mass and not fat. At level 42, he was only below Lugh in power on the group.
"Yes Conri, I was the stones that witnessed your battle! hahahaa" One of the guards laughed and looked at Arthur, "That old man has been telling the same story for 19 years, and he's never presented any proof that it's true.
"I'll show your mother the proof when I get to the village!" Conri cursed, but the guard didn't even spare a glance in his direction.
"Now listen, you bastards." Conri stood up and made his way to the center of the camp, all eyes falling on him, their faces a little more animated as they prepared to listen to his story.
"It was more than 20 years ago, before the Albrid pigs came and destroyed our village." Conri's eyes fell on Lugh before he continued. "I was hunting in these surroundings and had wounded a boar, which fled desperately into the valleys.
Like a great hunter in the prime of his youth, I followed him, bow in hand and dagger at my waist. It took two long nights before I finally found the bastard and cut his throat." The man spoke while imitating a slashing motion with his hands.
"But there was one thing I didn't realize... I had entered the territory of another beast, one that was hungry." Conri raised the intonation in his voice even more and paused for a moment in suspense. "A wolf... as big as a house, beautiful blue eyes that seemed to see right into my soul, and overwhelming power."
"So, he killed you and then you came back to life?" The same guard as before asked with a sneer in his voice, making Conri cast an annoyed glance in his direction before continuing, "So we fought, the son of a bitch sunk his claws into my skin and I barely escaped, but not before I took one of his eyes with me!"
"Prove it, old man, you've said the same words many times, but you've never proved anything," another guard said with a smile on his face.
"You want proof? I'll show you the damn proof!" Conri finally exploded and started to take off his pants.
"No! No!" Everyone shouted and turned their faces away, not wanting to see Conri's naked, hairy form, but it was too late, the man had already taken off his pants and the upper part of his armor, revealing his powerful, but not at all handsome body.
At that moment, Arthur's eyes twitched, not because of the man's nakedness or the great manhood on display, but because of what he saw on the man's back; a large claw scar stretching from one end of the man's back to the other, completely covered by four large marks similar to those left by a creature's claws after tearing the flesh from its victims.
"Come on, you bastards! Call me a liar now!" Conri shouted as he spun around without a shred of shame for his nakedness.
No one answered, their faces showing a mixture of shock that his stories were true and disgust at the man's nakedness.