Let us fast forward a little, shall we? After—
"Ehhhhhhh?? What happened to your first quest?!" asked my daughter with wimpy eyes.
"Ah that, nah, nobody wants to hear about that, let's just skip it, alright?" I comfort her.
"But I wanted to hear about your first adventure," she pouted.
Sorry kid, but I will be bringing that story into the grave. I petted her head which cheered her up a little.
"In exchange, daddy will be telling you about the story on how he found his precious item that carved the path for him to be stronger than other adventurers. Don't you want to hear about that?" I asked her while petting her head.
"Oh, I do! You met mommy after that, right?" she asked me with a smirk.
"Whert? No, no, noo— I didn't meet mommy. I just met my little sister. Let's not jump too far ahead. Got to keep the audience interested," I smiled at her.
"What— audience? There is only me here. Are you ok daddy?" she tilted her head with a question mark on her head.
Ah, right. She doesn't know about people potentially peeking into my life. Call it a hunch or as I call it, breaking the fourth wall.
Enough stalling, it's story time~
***
As I was saying, after a couple more mundane quests, I finally entered the rank of Fighter. The Dark Lord was surprisingly happy with my performance that he deemed me worthy of skipping the rank of Swordsman. Although, when I say happy, I certainly just assumed on that. I did not see him making any smile or any hint of happiness in his eyes when he promoted me.
I am at the age of 12 now. Surprisingly uncommon for someone this young to achieve Fighter rank but according to Rick, it is probably due to the Dark Lord seeing my true potential being wasted in doing mundane quests. I did almost kicked Rick's butt during the sparring test. By right, my power level is sort of hovering at the rank of Shadow Knight now. Sadly, I guess I will still need to prove myself further before I can finally attain that rank.
My current goal is to at least achieve the rank of Shadow Knight before I meet the Elementalist in the Elemental guild. From what I gathered so far, he seems to be the guildmaster of that guild. By attaining the rank of Shadow Knight, I should have some name to myself and if things get ugly during the meet-up, I can at least maybe fight my way to safety. Not that I was hoping for something bad to happen but— y'know, just in case.
I "could" technically ask Lily for help but it's been months since I last saw her. For the first few months after we successfully joined our respective guilds, we still met often at our favourite tavern to share our stories and have a meal together. But when Lily had to go somewhere else for her special training, it was just me and John that.
John was ranking up as fast as me. He was already at the rank of Great Axeman which is similar to my Fighter rank. His remarkable strength pushed him further than all the other candidates. I won't be surprised that he might end up becoming the Viking Lord one day.
As of now, my current goal is to get promoted before officially meeting the Elementalist.
Main Objective: Attain the rank of Shadow Knight and request an audience with the Elementalist.
Sounds easy enough, I hope. Just need to continue doing more quest until the Dark Lord deemed me worthy of getting another promotion. My current room is way bigger than what I had during my Warrior ranking days. A queen-sized bed, a bathtub, and a small kitchen among other things. In terms of size, it was doubled which I am more than thrilled to enjoy the large empty spaces.
I certainly was not expecting that it would take me two years before I finally attain the rank of Shadow Knight. There were a lot of quests and a tournament involved which I lost before I attained that rank.
But let's not get too carried away. I did promise to tell you the story about how I obtained my little precious. No, it's not a golden ring, mind you. It is something else that helped shaped my path throughout my journey.
I was 13 at this point. Quests for Fighter are much more interesting as I get to hunt low level class monsters albeit in a group of 4. The group is usually a mix of members from the other guilds. As this world does not have spell-casters or healers, we make up for our weaknesses by having other guild members to fill that role. Aside from the Elemental guild, which is the more secluded one, all the other guilds will send over a member to make up the group of four. This was why I had never met Lily for the past year or two. I won't lie, I do start to miss her. Not in a romantic way but as a friend.
***
"W— why are you looking at me like that? What is with that look? Are you judging me?" I asked my daughter.
"Daddy is such a playboy," she said with no hesitation.
"Excuse me? I was not in a relationship at that point. Don't go judging me when I was still a lonely kid thinking about a little romance," I pouted at her.
She continued with her judgmental face. Just you wait until you're older, kiddo. I will not hesitate in looking for any opportunity to judge you when the time comes. Ah well, back to the story.
***
And so here we are travelling on a guild quest in a team of four. A Lancer, a Crusader, a Great Axeman and finally me as a Fighter. Sadly, it was not John who followed me on this quest but I am glad somehow. Otherwise he would not had stopped asking me about my weird behaviour after this quest. You would think that a party of four teenager males would result in high testosterone arrogant behaviour between one another that you would come to expect but thankfully, we were civilised people. The stereotypical comparison between guilds had long passed us by now.
We came to a stop outside the cave that we will be exploring, but not before a quick lunch. Fighting with an empty stomach is a curse.
"Sae, what age ar ye? Ye looked verra young," asked the axeman.
"I'm 13," I replied him.
All of them gave me a surprised look. What's wrong with me being 13?
"Is something wrong?" I asked them.
"Just surprised that you were able to attained the rank of Fighter at that age. All of us here are either 15 or 16 before we could even attain that rank. You must be something else, huh?" asked the lancer.
The crusader kept quiet. It was well-known that the Light and Dark guild having some sort of bitter rivalry over the other. I favour none of that as that kind of typical drama does not help me in reaching my goal whatsoever.
"Shall we heid in? I'mma itching te swing ma axe," asked the great axeman. Always hungry for combat. I just hope his hunger doesn't extend to eating monsters in the midst of battle.
"Let's us head in," I gestured to the cave.
"Make sure you stay at the back and let us seniors handle it," said the crusader.
Ok, guess I was wrong. This guy had not matured a bit. Oh well, take it in the positive way. More meat-shields between me and my enemies.
We headed in while the lancer and I held a torch each. I stayed all the way at the back as I did not mind being the support. I would also like to avoid trouble with that crusader any further. The three of them took point and walked in front of me as I guarded the back. The cave was wide enough for the three of them to walk side by side. Seeing that things were relatively quiet now, I should take this opportunity to update my quest log.
Side Objective Unlocked: Hunt the goblin paladin.
Goblins are opportunist creatures that prey on the weak. Despite their relatively small size, they are actually quite intelligent and cunning. A single goblin is relatively easy to defeat. But in packs, they are absolutely dangerous. They are most certainly capable of defeating adventurers that underestimate them with their cunning and surprise attacks. A goblin paladin is probably their way of imitating the Light guild ranking system to make themselves similar to humans.
What's that you say? Sounds awfully familiar to something you read before? Nahh— the goblin's in this world does not kidnap female adventurers and do weird stuffs to them. At least, that is what I hope so. Otherwise I'll gladly turn into the slayer myself.
After a couple of minutes of walking, some chattering noises could be heard up ahead. All of us stopped dead in our tracks upon hearing it. The crusader took the lead to check on the commotion. He peeked his head out of the corner to see where the noises were coming from.
"What is it? Goblins?" asked the lancer.
"Not good, they have riders. We will be in a huge disadvantage if we engage them here. We might need to lure them out of the cave," whispered the crusader.
"My axe will not be effective ere. It wad be better te fight outside," said the axeman.
"Any ideas? Should we smoke them out or something? Or do we let someone be the bait?" asked the crusader.
I took a peek out of the corner myself to see what they were looking at. From where we were, on our left was a straight line that led further into the cave. We have a clear line of sight of where the goblins and their wulvettes were kept. The goblins are camping in a larger area of the cave where they were lights shining from above.
The intersection that we were peeking from has a dead end on the right. We can fight here with our backs facing a wall. All we have to do is focus solely on the front. We need to make sure that it is not hollow though. Let's see, no paladin in sight from what I can see. He must be hiding somewhere deeper into the cave.
Our main priority is to defeat the paladin. We do not need to defeat all of them to complete this quest. I passed my torch to the great axeman and walked towards the dead end on our right.
"H— hey! Where are you going? You are going to attract all of them!" shouted the crusader softly but I ignored him. It was extremely dark inside the cave and the goblins were busy chatting among themselves while having fun. It is highly unlikely that any of them would be able to see me in this darkness.
I knocked on the walls of the dead end and pressed my ears to it. Sounds solid to me. Extremely low chance for it to break unless some ogre or troll smashed through. We can certainly fight here. I walked back to the group to discuss our tactics.
"The dead end is covered in solid walls. We can fight here as all we need is to put all of our focus at the front with low chance of ambush from behind. The path ahead is narrow and by my estimation, only two riders can come through at a time," I explained to them.
"Too risky. We have two combatants here that requires space for combat. Both of them will be less effective if we fight here," answered the crusader.
"I beg your pardon but I am fully aware that we'll be fighting in tight spaces. I had brought some short spears that can be thrown or used for stabbing in these tight spaces. My main spear can also be retracted to be used effectively in here. You do not need to worry about me," answered the lancer. Well prepared with a backup plan, that is good to hear.
"I can just use my fist ere. Nae complaints, eh?" said the great axeman. As I expected from the Viking's guild.
"Alright then, seems like we are all prepared for close quarters combat. Are there any in favour of fighting here instead of outside?" asked the crusader.
"If we were to fight outside, we are going to get surrounded by riders from all sides. My vote is to fight here as we have a higher chance of protecting one another when our main focus is only the front," I casted my vote.
"My vote is to fight here too. Seems like our Fighter has great insights. Pretty remarkable for a 13 year old," said the lancer.
"Verra smart fer yer age. I vote te fight ere. My fists ar itching for blood nou," replied the axeman.
"Very well, we shall fight here then. I volunteer to be the one to attract their attentions while the rest of you wait here. Any questions?" asked the crusader.
We gave none. You want to be the bait? Be my guest as it's none of my business. The three of us proceeded to the right to hide while the crusader went to attract the attention of the goblins. He took out some sort of throwables and threw them at the goblins. It looked like some black powder. Is it perhaps— pepper? He rushed back towards our position after making sure he had attracted the goblin's attention.
A couple of them started to sneeze but a few of them charged towards the crusader while a few others attempted to release the wulvettes. It was then we heard something flying at high speed.
Fuulp!
The crusader fell face forward to the ground clutching his left knee. What was that? It sounded like an arrow. Where did it even came from?
I rushed towards the crusader leaving the other two behind. I was right, an arrow had pierced his knee. Is he going to end up as a city soldier after this? Sucks to be him.
Goblins were approaching closer now and the crusader is in no fighting shape at all. We have to make our stand here while he patched himself up. Sadly though, there is no health potion in this world. As of now, we only have medicine to staunch the bleeding and good ol bandages to wrap the wounds. There are potions that gives you stamina like adrenaline rush but those are fairly uncommon and expensive. Bandages are still the adventurer's best lifeline in keeping themselves alive.
Two goblins ran towards me. Time for me to test out my guild's specialty. I used Fear on the incoming goblins. They immediately halted their advances and started shivering to their knees. Nice, I should take this opportunity to—
RAWR!!!
A loud roar resounded throughout the cave. The two goblins snapped out of my Fear spell upon hearing it. Good, he took the bait. Now, where are you, Mister Paladin? There you are, I see you now. Hiding in the shadows, huh? It was indeed him that shot the arrow seeing that he was the only one holding a bow.
I rushed forward and decapitated both goblins cleanly with a swing from my dagger. Now, how should I play this? Hang back with the others to fight the smaller goblins while giving the paladin plenty of chances to take potshots at us? Or should I rush in to kill it immediately? It is certainly no easy task fighting against the paladin with so many smaller goblins around. Not to mention someone will need to protect the crusader while he patched himself up.
The other two came to my side. I took a quick peek behind and saw that the crusader was in the process of patching himself after removing the arrow. He will have difficulty in moving so he won't be effective in combat.
"Any brilliant idea on what we should do? We are exposed to that paladin's arrow if we fight out here in the open," asked the lancer.
"Aye, we ar sitting ducks ere," said the axeman.
"I have a plan but I need both of your help," I started whispering the plan to both of them.
"Are you sure? It won't be easy fighting the paladin one-on-one," said the lancer.
"I won't be. The both of you will be supporting me from the side and I hope the crusader will be supporting us with some buffs after he had patched up. Are you two ready? The paladin is not about to wait for us any longer," I told them as the paladin drew his bow.
The both of them nodded and followed the plan.
The paladin released his arrow and the three of us dodged it. The lancer stood his position while both the great axeman and I rushed ahead towards the paladin. The lancer will be protecting the crusader while he uses his short spears as ranged weapons. The wulvettes were now out of their cages and charged towards both of us. How many are they? One, two, three… alright, thank goodness there were not too many of them. I certainly hope the great axeman can hold his own against them.
Slice!
There goes one of the wulvette's head along with the goblin riding it.
"Haha! I can swing my axe ere! Come ere ye little twerts an have a taste of me axe!" laughed the great axeman. He is certainly enjoying himself alright.
My battle, on the other hand, is going to be a lot more serious and dangerous as I come face-to-face with the paladin. I must have looked like a hobbit in front of him. I sheathed my dagger and unsheathed Inazuma. This is not a battle that I am taking any chances with. The paladin threw his bow aside and unsheathed his two-handed sword behind his back. Now where did you get such a large sword from? Even with my chained cloak, I might still be sliced in half if I get hit by it. The paladin was wearing heavy armour but not everywhere. His elbows, knees and neck are still exposed. This will certainly affect his speed and mobility which is what I am aiming for. I activated Fear on him. Damn, seems like there is little to no effect. I guess it is back to the good ol sword-fight then.
The paladin roared and the smaller goblins started converging on my position. One goblin came in close and leaped at me, but a short spear pierced his skull and sent him flying. Glad the lancer is accurate in his throwing skills. I pulled the short spear from the goblins skull and threw it at the paladin. He blocked it with his armour and rushed towards me with his two-handed sword. From the looks of it, the armour seems to be iron.
Now this is going to be a tough fight. I took a quick glance behind me. The great axeman was fending off the other goblins along with the lancer. But it won't be long until he runs out of spears eventually. I cannot drag this fight for long.
I placed all of my attention on the paladin. He swung his sword horizontally which I dodged by crouching underneath the swing and immediately dashed forward. I slit the paladin's left knee and maintained some distance away from him. The paladin then turned his body and swung his sword vertically which I dodged to the side and slit his other knee. Great, he should not be able to stand properly now that both of his knees were slit.
How wrong was I. Seemingly ignoring the pain, the paladin rushed towards me once again with his giant sword in his hand. Out of nowhere, a goblin grabbed one of my foot. I quickly stabbed the little bugger and kicked his hand away. The paladin was right in front of me now attempting to swing his sword. Shit, I might not be able to dodge it in time!
"Accelerate!" shouted someone.
I felt my speed doubling and was able to dodge his overhead swing in the nick of time. Talk about close call indeed. Finally, the damned crusader got back up. Time for you to pull your weight damn it. I noticed the great axeman were throwing some of the short spears back to the lancer to restock.
But I am done playing games. Enough is enough. I am not planning to die today.
"Oi, goblin," I glared at him. He glared back and grinned. He must had thought he still had a chance at winning since he almost killed me earlier.
"Now I'm mad!" I casted Fear on him again and apparently it worked now. The paladin appears to be shaking and was hesitating to attack me. I quickly took the opportunity and rushed towards him to begin my assault. With my speed doubled, it took me less than a second to reach him. He held out his two-handed sword in an attempt to block my incoming attack but I had never intended to attack him from the front in the first place. Changing the course of my path to his side, lobbed off his right arm from his exposed elbow and quickly leaped behind him. He roared in pain as he held his bleeding right arm. I threw my dagger with precision and it pierced through the back of his neck. He started choking and gagging from his own blood. I rushed in to deliver the coup de grâce but instead of just accepting his fate, he did the unthinkable.
He pulled out my dagger and threw it at me with his left hand. Talk about foolish. He will be bleeding to death even faster now. I swiped my dagger aside with Inazuma and caught it mid-air; the paladin took the opportunity to start running away. Seems like he is running deeper into the cave for some reason but I admire his tenacity for wanting to stay alive. I thought of chasing after him but stopped midway upon noticing something. Where the paladin was running to, the crusader was awaiting for him with his sword at the ready.
"I am in a lot of pain now thanks to you. Perhaps you can just— die!" Shouted the crusader as he rushed in and lobbed off the paladin's knee. The paladin tried to dodge the attack but his slitted knees made him less nimble than what he hoped for. His right leg fell off and he roared in pain, echoing the entire cave. I really hoped that there are no more goblins inside this cave to help him. The crusader walked closer to the paladin and decapitated his head without hesitation.
The sudden complete silence was eerie but fortunately, that marked the completion of our quest. Some close calls but all of us are alive. The crusader looted the head of the paladin as a trophy to prove that we had indeed completed our quest. Much easier for a head than the thick ass leg that he sliced off earlier.
The four of us made our way back outside. No time to celebrate until we are out of here; who knows whether there are more goblins deeper inside the cave. As we were heading out, I saw a sparkle at the dead end of the intersection earlier.
Huh? What was that? Did no one else saw that? I glanced at the other three and it would seemed that none of them had noticed it at all as they were just talking among themselves. I lowered my pace and allowed them proceed head until there was some gap between us. Making sure they were nowhere in sight, I quickly rushed towards the dead end to inspect what it was. What made that sparkle? I searched all around but don't see anything at all. Without a torch, I can barely see anything that resembled a jewellery or something.
Twink!
There is it again. I looked closer where the sparkle was. Hm— is that— the edge of a chest? You can barely see the chest as it was completely covered in thick solid rubble and what made the sparkle was perhaps the one of two millimetres from the chest's edge. But it is gold, a golden chest. Hell yeah! This is an excellent opportunity for me as I rubbed my hands together with a grin.
I always brought along some small tools to help me pry or dig objects. But sadly, there is no way for me to open the chest from this angle. I will need a pickaxe to break all these solid stones covering the top of the chest. This Is going to take some time. I quickly headed back out to avoid suspicion and kept the secret all to myself. This loot will be mine and mine alone. Heh heh.
As we headed back out, I was praised for my quick thinking and combat abilities by all three of them. Facing the paladin in a one-on-one was no easy task as a Fighter. We don't have many spells at our disposal with our current rank. I apologised to the crusader for what had happened to him but he admitted that it was his own fault for being careless. None of us were expecting goblins to be using a bow. He will probably be limping his way back to the city until he receives a more proper treatment. The three of them carried along their conversation all the way back to the city but I remained quiet as my mind was fully occupied by the golden chest that was left behind. I must find out what is hidden inside that chest!
You would think that I will rushing back to dig it out the following day. Indeed I did. However— bloody hell, it took me ONE YEAR to dig out that stupid ridiculous chest! Bringing one pickaxe alone was a huge mistake. The stones surrounding the chest was so incredibly hard and solid which broke my one and only pickaxe after a couple of swings.
The first time I came back here, my pickaxe broke after about five swings which made me completely speechless. Not only did it took time for me to return to this cave, my damn pickaxe broke after a couple of seconds of using it. This will not do. Is it going to be economical for me to continuously purchase more pickaxes just to dig out this bloody chest? No, money is not important right now. I must persevere! Whatever is in that chest is going to be mine!
6 months into digging, I contemplated on whether it was wise to continue. I was burning through pickaxes faster than I was drinking water. Sure, a pickaxe is about a copper or two but is the reward for all this hard work worth it at the end? Not to mention I was juggling between quests and all my available free time just to dig this chest out. Damn it, I've come this far, I must not give up and until the very end.
While I was not exactly losing a lot of money since the rewards from doing quests were mostly enough to cover the costs of the pickaxes, it was more towards the effort of digging it up. I still have grandfather's secret stashed money which had a lot in it. I only took about a quarter of the total gold coins that he had buried. And that was about 50 gold coins! Grandfather had about 200 gold coins hidden underground! Man was he loaded! And yet he decided to live in the forbidden forest and survive on bread and stews.
There will come a day when I finally dig out that bloody gold chest which would coincide with my promotion, a meeting with the Elementalist, and also the day I finally met her. My little sister, Rose.