Chapter 1:
Six months had passed since Arthur started to train me. Currently, Arthur tasked me with a mission; eliminate the goblin scouts in the area. Arthur noticed how the goblins have been making a lot of commotion and he concluded that they are planning on expanding their territory. Normally this wouldn't be an issue since goblins are seen as one of the weakest monsters, but the problem is these are Northern goblins. There are Northern and Southern goblins, the Southern ones are smaller and weaker than humans but they have tricky intelligence. The Northern is the exact opposite, they are the same size as an adult male and are much stronger than the average human. One weakness is that they aren't intelligent.
On the outskirts of the forest Arthur and I live in, there are multiple villages. I've visited them before and they aren't capable of stopping the goblins if they were to attack. Hence I'm going to hunt the goblins myself. There are two objectives to completing this mission, eliminate the scouts and eliminate the leader. I've already tracked where the scouts are, but I haven't been able to gauge my strength. I'm not sure if I'm capable of defeating them.
I stand on a tree branch, watching the scouts. From the direction they are going, they'll run into a village soon. I'll have to stop them here. There are three goblins, one in the front who seems to be the leader, one in the middle, and one in the back. Based on the information Arthur gave me about these goblins and my own. I think I'll be able to take out two of them at the same time and I'll have to take a direct duel against the last one. I pulled out a small rock I collected from the ground prior, enhanced it with wind, and threw it at the goblin in the back. As I threw the rock I dropped onto the ground and boosted myself at the second goblin, my sword ready. The last goblin was hit directly with the rock and fell to the ground, but the second one noticed quicker than I anticipated and it readied itself for my attack. I swung my sword at the goblin but it blocked and leaped back, alerting the one in the front. "Crap, this doesn't look good." I might have to retreat. The second goblin screams out and leaps at me. I managed to dodge to the side and attempt to kick it away, but the first goblin went to my right, swinging his crude sword. I blocked the attack and pushed it away. The second goblin follows up and relentlessly swings its ax at me. I dodge the onslaught narrowly avoiding any hits and land a slash at the goblin's chest. Screeching, it falls to the ground. The first goblin hesitates to make a move before it finally decides to run away. "I won't let you get away!" I hold my hand concentrating magic on my palm. Imagine the magic twirling around my hand, imagine it bursting out with intense speed in a single line. A burst of wind shoots out of my hand twirling until it hits the goblin's neck killing it. I sigh… This was my first time fighting monsters. But I can tell I'm much stronger now. Maybe not so much in magic but my swordplay has improved. I'll ask Arthur for more magic lessons. I trace back to the direction the goblins went from and discovered a cave, the goblin lair. Something I learned from Arthur is principle magic. Principle magic is magic that enhances your senses, enhances your bodily functions, and makes them more durable, etc. The most important thing I learned about principle magic was "magic sense". It enables me to sense magos and magic essence floating around in the area, meaning I can detect life signals as well. Unfortunately, at this point, I have a weak radar so I can't sense too many things at once. But it will be enough to tell how many goblins are in the cave. "Magic sense." My vision turned gray and white except for the flowing mist of colors around me. Those colors are the goblin's flow of magic. I concentrated my focus on the cave, "1, 2, 3… 17?" There are about seventeen goblins, although there is one with a greater mana aura which I can tell is the pack leader. If this were a game I could take risks, but this isn't so I'll have to proceed carefully.
Chapter 2:
I slowly creep towards the entrance to the cave, ensuring every step is as silent as possible. Northern goblins have a heightened sense of smell and hearing so they'll easily be able to detect my presence if I'm not careful. When I fought the three scouts I hid my mana by slightly emitting a small amount of wind magic throughout the area to keep the thin layer of magic around myself undetectable. The same can't apply here because I'll be inside a cave with little natural air circulation. Despite the goblins being dumb as rocks they are very perceptive and will notice me. Sunlight waning as I entered the cave, I found it hard to see any further. "I can't use any light source, and I haven't learned any magic that could help me see." Luckily, I know that where there is no light there are no goblins. Goblins enjoy being in the light and can freak out when they cannot see. So I'll be safe to move forward until I notice any form of light. It is strange why the goblins would choose to inhabit this cave. The cave was difficult to travel through, being unable to see, but I stuck to the cave's walls and traced them to the center. A small glow shot through a corner. The goblins must be close. I slowly unsheathe my blade, walking toward the light. As I leaned against the wall right before the opening of light I peaked to the side. Through this opening was a large space, and in the middle was a large fire with many goblins surrounding it. Behind them, I could see a large bundle of fern and grass which looked to be a sort of throne, but there didn't seem to be anything sitting on it. I counted about 16 goblins in the room and they all seemed to be asleep. One of the goblins was missing. A loud shake appeared right behind me. As I turned around I saw a large goblin standing before me. "Ah, so that's where you were."
The large goblin roared and swung his hand at me, pushing me into the large room. I fell onto the green pile sinking into it. When I slowly got up I saw all the other goblins waking up. I now know I can handle a few goblins at a time, but having the entire group attack me at the same time? I might die here.
Except I can't give up,
I can't die here just yet.
I gathered mana around me and shot out a large burst of wind, blowing out the large campfire. Immediately, I heard screams constantly reverberating across the area. The goblins look to be even more scared of the dark than I thought. Using this chance I activate my magic sense. It's still difficult to see the location of the goblins with just magic, but as long as I know their general location I can deal with them. Two goblins near the left of me. I gather magic into my hand and throw a 'wind blade' at the two. I hear a loud yelp, One down. I concentrated on my mana again, about to use magic, but a bright light suddenly appeared in the distance. All the goblins go towards the light. Confused, I look at the source. The larger goblin held a magic item, a large ax encased in fire. The goblin slams the ax into the ground causing cracks and a glow, then bursting into flames. With the ax, the goblin did one final swing into the ground but this time, the ground started to shake, until a large burst of fire came out of the ground shaking the entire cave. This made things easy, I'll just have to retreat and wait for the cave to collapse. I concentrate mana into my legs and stride forward. The exit was easy to find and quickly went through. As I left the cave I turned to see if the cave was going to fall. I could see the cave quaking until the entrance collapsed on itself. The goblins are hopefully dead now. I turned around and went back, but before I could leave, the cave started to shake once more. The entrance was now covered by large broken rocks, and the cracks in between the rocks started to glow orange until a large boom was expelled from the cave. I covered my face as a massive amount of dust poured out. I heard loud thuds getting louder until within all the dust I saw a faint orange glow. I immediately jumped up instinctively. A large blast of fire shot from where my original position was, removing all the dust until I could see the large goblin unscathed. I fell back on the ground. "This must be a goblin warlock." There are 5 goblin ranks, where the warlock is the third strongest. Well, I cannot let this beast of a goblin roam free especially when it has a fire ax. I clench my sword, but how exactly can I beat this thing?
Chapter 3:
Engaging with the goblin warlock I noticed two things, first the goblin is extremely quick. I swing my sword feinting the attack to dash behind the goblin aiming for the back, but the goblin quickly blocks the attack and blasts me away with its ax. No matter where or how I attacked the goblin, it easily blocked or countered the attack. Second; "This guy is crazy strong!" Trying to take its slashes head-on would end my second life. The weapon the warlock held is a magic artifact. Which, if not already obvious, summons fire from the pits of hell. My magic is wind-based, and in this world, fire is weak against wind, except when the flames are too intense, where in that case the wind will either disperse or strengthen the flames. Also known as "The Synergy Effect ''.
"And this guy's ax far surpasses my current level of wind magic!" I moved behind a tree, covering a large blast of fire. I need to block his field of vision to land any sort of damage, fortunately, we're outside. If I gather a bundle of dirt and dust, creating a smoke screen will be simple. Staying by the tree, my hands clasped together to concentrate my focus. A small breeze slowly formed around me, shrinking into the palm of my hand. It's ready. I scale a tall tree and jump from above throwing the vortex of wind onto the ground next to the warlock. It disperses and creates massive wind currents, picking up dirt and dust. The goblin tries swatting the dust away but it keeps formulating into a large cloud. I fell while continuing my plan. With the leftover concentrate of mana in hand, I propel myself upward right above the goblin except this time it couldn't notice me. Leaving its neck exposed, I waste no time. "Wind blade!" The beast's neck was too thick for me to cut it cleanly in half, so I improvised using its ax against it.
I gathered magic into my hands and flung the ax into the goblin warlock. The ax easily pierced through its skin, and into its chest. It meekly groaned then collapsed.
Landing on my feet, I collapse, exhausted. I've beaten a strong monster, one with a magical item to boot. In only six months I've grown exponentially stronger. Raising a fist to the sky, I smiled widely, then forced myself up. I wonder how much stronger I'll get…
Two years have passed since Arthur decided to train me. There's nothing much else for me to learn from him or that's what he told me. The rest is up to me, he said. He set up an admission to a fancy school he wanted me to attend. "It's the most prestigious magic school in the continent!" was what he kept saying. Either way, it was about time I left to travel more of the world. I stand by the wooden door, the one that I kept seeing after a long day of work. "Hey, Arthur, are you sure I need all this?" He walked over, "Of course you do, I've only given you the bare minimum anyways." Inside the medium-sized satchel he handed me was a pouch of coins, a few days' worth of food and water, a pass to the Kingdom of Souren, and a recommendation letter for the magic academy. Arthur placed his hand on my shoulder. "We probably won't see each other often once you leave here, but know that if you have any problems you can ask me for help." We've been through a lot together, mostly me, but Arthur has truly saved me. I'm grateful to him for not only saving my life but also training me. I open the door stepping outside. "I'm truly grateful for everything." I looked back one last time. "We'll meet again."
I wave and turn away, taking confident steps, further and further away from home. A few hours later, I came across a road. Arthur told me to keep going south until I found one, I guess this is it. I lower myself putting a hand on my feet. Wind surrounded my feet and when I moved, the wind pushed me forward. When I ran, the speed that the wind propelled me was close to 40mph. Dashing through the rocky road, I heard constant clanging. There was a battle nearby. I stop running and duck into the bushes, following the source of the sounds.
Up ahead, there was a large group of people fighting, bandits and perhaps soldiers or bodyguards. The bandits had the advantage, since from my perspective they seemed to have landed a strategic surprise attack. Not only that the bandits had more numbers. At the center of the commotion, there was an expensive-looking carriage. I could sense someone inside. This is the road leading directly to the main entrance into the Kingdom of Souren, and with that carriage looking so gaudy. There's probably a high-ranking person inside. Normally I might have stepped in, to help; mainly to see how strong I'd gotten, but I could tell that one of the guards was especially capable, in fact, most definitely stronger than myself. After a quick decision, I continued to watch from the shadows. The one I mentioned earlier was wearing a large cloak, with a ginormous ax attached to their back. How strong would you have to be to wield an ax that big? The goblin warlock I fought before was twice this person's size so it made sense that he could swing around a large weapon. The cloaked individual pulled out the ax and instantly overcame the numeral disadvantage. With single strokes, the ax-wielder killed groups of people at a time. Like some sick festival, the ground oozed blood, and instead of cheers and smiles, faces of horror and screams etched across the forest. The only one disapproving of those expressions was the maniac causing the destruction. "Stop right there." The ax-wielder stopped before what I assumed was the bandit leader. "You have slaughtered many of my men and I will not stand for this." He unsheathes his blade. "Fight me." The man leaps forward, slashing vertically. The ax-wielder easily fended off the attacks and swung their ax effortlessly. The ax-wielder was dancing, each weave was perfect, with a sort of gleeful finish. With one swing the bandit leader was dead. I look at the mysterious ax-wielder. Who exactly is that person? The ax-wielder looks in my direction, and I quickly duck down, hiding my mana. Footsteps move around. "What's the matter?" more footsteps. "Nothing, nothing at all. All who can move, help clean the trash. I'll personally bring the princess to the gates." Princess? So that's what this was all about. I'd rather not run into this group later so I'll get a headstart. I move away from the road and dash off.
Chapter 4:
A large wall gets closer as I sprint down the road. There's the gate. The Kingdom of Elenguad where I am now, is known as the birthing place of three famous heroes. Off of the gate was a long line, probably where they do check-ins. I slow down and walk to the line. I see two lines. One for caravans and one for people. The people in front of me seemed to be a group of warriors. "Pass," The person in the front pulled out a small silver tablet. "Welcome back adventurers." Oh, there are adventurers in this world. Adventures are people who clear dungeons, explore uncharted territory, and help with many odd jobs… at least, that's what everything in my world says. I stood in front of an armored man. "Pass." I hand him a piece of paper. His eyes widened, but as soon as it came his expression returned to normal. "You may go through." The man seemed surprised but why? Arthur told me not to lose any papers he gave me since they allowed me to go anywhere in the country. I guess the papers must be really important. I shrugged it off, got the paperback from the guard, and walked through the entryway. "Finally I've made it to my first large town."
The scenery was awe-inspiring, the medieval look made everything feel, truly fantasy. The cluttered buildings, the stone roads, and the sidewalks. Those old-looking signs above buildings. In the center of the area, stood a large stone statue. There were three people etched in the stone. Arthur? In the middle was someone I recognized. Memories started to click together. "I had a feeling." Arthur was a hero. One of the great heroes who slayed the demon king. Tilting my head back, the sky made a fusion of colors. It's getting late, so I'll look for the school tomorrow.
I silently follow a group of adventurers, the ones that I had seen earlier. They must've felt uncomfortable because they stopped abruptly and turned around. "Good evening, you need something?" Yeah, they feel alarmed for sure. "Excuse me, but do you know where the closest inn is?" They took turns looking at each other. "You followed us to ask that question?" I shook my head, "I guess? I am From a distant land and I'm not familiar with the stuff here." They pointed to my left. I turned and saw the sign for inns above a small building. A small drop of sweat dripped down. I chuckled, there was nothing else I could do. "Thank you, have a good night." I quickly cross the road to the inn. "Welcome!" A middle-aged woman stood behind a wooden desk. "One night stay please." I slid a coin to her. "Sir, a night's stay is only four copper coins. I can't possibly accept this." Confused, I looked at the coin, it was yellow, with a golden glow. I had forgotten that Arthur never taught me the currency systems of this world. I mistakenly assumed gold coins were the common currency, especially when Arthur handed me a whole bag of them. "You can keep the change." She immediately bowed profusely, "Thank you very much!" Taking a key from the deck, I scaled the stairs leading to the guest rooms. It was a single hallway with 6 doors on each side. I heard the woman talking to someone downstairs and she sounded very excited. I guess gold coins must be worth a lot. Anyway, I've got the room on the far left. Continuing forward I reach my room and put in the key, opening the door. Inside was a tight space, a single bed and two feet away a closet. The door itself almost hit the bed frame. Well, I couldn't expect much anyway. I closed, locked the door, and lay in bed. "Tomorrow there's a decent bit of work to do." I'll need some rest.