Chapter Thirteen: Bath

After distributing the +1% to Agility it gained 0.75 of a point to reach 159. [Honorable Prey] wasn’t currently doing much for me, but eventually I would kick so many Hunter asses that Agility would always remain a good bit ahead of my other Attributes.

“You’re possibly the dumbest—“

A small hand of water and wood Chi coalesced to slap Gayhn.

“Ignore him, Niko Tess. Although it is quite unfortunate that the System continues seeing fit to pair you against members of the longer-established Races because sparing them might result in backlash produced by humiliation, it is not an issue in the short term. Only if you survive long enough for your Race’s protections to run out or you willingly give them up will someone like that Dryad be capable of seeking revenge. Chances are that you will face no consequences from letting them live.”

“But why—“

The same water hand gripped Gayhn’s lips between two fingers, and to my surprise the bulky Goblin simply pouted instead of destroying the Speck manifestation in anger like I expected him to.

“These children have not lived long enough to remember the Hunts like I do, Niko Tess, so forgive them their ignorance. They are unaware that forsaking the prize from killing the Hunter results in a different Title that grants a percentage bonus,” KarriSah explained while pointedly staring at her grandson. “Looking back I wish I had the opportunity to take that Title instead, because while I’ve outgrown the prizes I earned from my victories, more points are always more points,” she sighed.

I nodded while stretching my arms and legs, and resurfaced the topic I’d tried introducing before being interrupted by the Hunt.

“So, since you guys seem okay with being my first allies in this world—“

“I think my grandma is okay with adopting you, but to be an ally there has to be something you bring to the table,” Gayhn snorted.

I gave him a flat look while judging the others’ reactions to what he said. Abra didn’t seem to care, the cook frowned, Gildemer was still staring at the spot the Dryad had disappeared from, and KarriSah…just kept smiling.

“As much of an oaf as he is,” the Matriarch began, “he is correct in this instance. It is one thing to assist you on your Quest to find Sahndo Bedri before you prance away on your adventure in the hopes that you someday return the favor, but it is quite another to throw around the term ‘ally’. There is more meaning in it than you might have considered. Please be direct with me, Niko Tess. What do you want from my Clan beside directions and what can you offer in return?”

I realized that the way we stood was exactly like when we were first met—two opposing forces assessing each other, unlike when we’d been chilling on the couch three minutes ago. By trying to ask for more than I already had, I inadvertently pushed myself away from them a bit. We still seemed on fine terms, but now that I’d opened this can of worms the Matriarch clearly wasn’t satisfied with talking around the subject any longer.

I sighed, resigning myself to thinking like an ambassador…an arrogant one.

“Okay, let’s lay everything out flat on the metaphorical table, shall we?” I said, straightening my back and donning as serious an expression as possible. “You guys have seen most of what I’m capable of after just the first Tutorial session. I’m not nearly as skilled, but I have far more Attribute Points than either of your talented youths here and I’ll only get more the longer I survive in this new world—which has only been five days until now, mind you.

“That means I have a lot to offer. By the time I complete the Tutorial I bet I’ll be more powerful than even you, Matriarch of the Gilliam Clan. You have, what, 250 points in Intelligence? I can have almost as many in Agility if I want to and I haven’t even found a good Cycling Technique, yet. In less than a year’s time I’ll be leading my entire Race. Don’t you want to be the one who helped me reach those heights? Don’t you want to be able to call up the Human leader whenever you want because he’s eternally grateful for your early assistance?”

Gayhn remained mercifully silent while I spoke.

“The least of what I want is basic assistance—finding anyone in your Hamlet who knows anything about Sahndo Bedri. In exchange for that I will do what anyone else would—very little, because I asked for very little.”

The Matriarch remained impassive, simply listening. Everyone else seemed smart enough to know that my conversation with their head honcho was none of their business and stayed out of it.

“However, grant me more support than that and you’ll find that while those who wrong me are quickly disposed of, my friends are repaid tenfold what they’ve done for me! If you contribute to my rise to greatness, I will never forget it. I heard you have some kind of problem with the rest of your Race. If you ask me to when I have the power, I’ll depose whoever’s in charge and put you in their place.”

KarriSah laughed at that, unable to contain her surprise.

“Hohohoh, well, that is quite the advertisement, Niko Tess. Offering your future power in such a way that sounds like you would serve my bidding. Not the strongest start to a negotiation, but you are correct in that your potential cannot be denied. But what specifically do you want from the Gilliam Clan?” She took a few step forwards until there was just half a meter between us, and she looked up at me dead in the eye. “Because no matter how powerful you might become you need to survive that long first, and if what you want from me is outrageous I can make it so you never reach those heights.”

I gulped, thinking, ‘Well, to start with, I want your niece,’ before brushing my dirty thoughts away.

“There are two things I desire from your Clan, Matriarch KarriSah,” I began, intending to test the waters because I had the feeling that something was…off. “The first request is rather simple compared to the second—I simply want access to your techniques and your knowledge of them.”

Maintaining her stare, KarriSah rose an eyebrow and lowered the pitch of her voice, sounding dangerous.

“If that is your first request I can scarcely imagine what the second is. Niko Tess, you are aware that a Clan’s library of techniques is their foundation of power, yes? That without the techniques I and my peers fought for during the Tutorial and created or bought after it, we would have little to build the next generation with? That entrusting them to an outsider is akin to risking revealing ourselves bare as we were born to our enemies? My Gilliam Clan may be far from the Ogres, but you are already aware that there is a reason we set up a distance from the rest of our people. If you sold what you knew or were captured and tortured, what would my Clan’s secrets be then?”

Staring unflinchingly back at the Matriarch, I searched for but failed to find clues of deceit. She was either good at pretending to be offended, or genuinely so. I suspected the former. There was no way I would be so warmly received by this woman if she didn’t intend on using me, so I figured that what we were doing right now was her attempt to manipulate me. To convince me that when our “negotiations” were complete she would be doing a big favor by helping me.

“I do not ask for all your secrets. Just those that would help me survive, such as whatever technique Gildemer used to hide from my senses. Surely putting such a stealth skill in my repertoire would be a worthy investment in keeping me alive so I could pass through the Tutorial faster and with greater rewards.” I smiled. “Rewards that I would not hesitate to share with your Clan, if possible.”

The Matriarch brought her eyebrow back down.

“Promise of Tutorial rewards from someone ahead of their entire Race is far more appealing than vague suggestions of servitude, Niko Tess. You should have led with that.”

I chuckled. “Well, I didn’t think of it until now. I’m new to this.”

She nodded. “Nevertheless, our techniques for those you find in the Tutorial is a fine trade. However, you have not addressed my earlier concern about you running off with what we gave you, and potentially handing it to our enemies.”

I hit her with my best unamused expression. “Not only is your Clan the closest Goblin community to the population I was transported to Yorgefan with—allowing you to easily enact revenge—but if you assume my word is no good then there should logically be no trade between us at all. My word is all I have.”

“You have a spatial storage bag,” Gayhn coughed from the side with a smile.

“That is quite true, Niko Tess. Your word is not exactly all you have,” KarriSah also smiled.

“If I didn’t have a spatial storage tool, what would I carry my stuff around with, Matriarch? Am I to shove it all up my ass?” I asked testily. “The bag is my most valuable possession. I can’t imagine that anything within it would interest you as collateral.”

Before she could respond, I removed the bag from my pocket and tossed it to her. We stood very close to each other but she reacted quickly and managed to catch it without much effort.

“Oh, you are quite right. Though the Sedokeit who gifted you this must have been from a wealthy family to have been given these healing pills, camping formations, and other supplies, he truly was not carrying valuables. Presuming you didn’t remove them at some point prior.”

She tossed the bag back without taking any items out, for which I was grateful. Not much I could have done if she wanted to steal from me.

“Now that the matter of my bag is done with, if you have some kind of technique for detecting lies or something I’m all for being tested, Matriarch. I take my word very seriously,” I lied.

She shook her head. “My Clan is not blessed enough to count a mentalist amongst our community, nor the techniques required to train one. Mentalist aptitudes and their techniques are among the rarest of any.”

“Then we can continue without assuming my word is no good?”

“… Correct.”

“Uhh, before that,” Gildemer sheepishly interrupted from beside the cook, “it’s getting dark.”

Both the Matriarch and I looked up at the sky.

“True.”

“So it is. Let us talk as we move.”

“Okay.”

KarriSah and I walked side by side back toward the Hamlet as the other Goblins parted for us to pass through before following a few steps behind.

“Now, Niko Tess, I dread to ask, but what is the second request?”

I paused for a moment, realizing that this was my last chance to back out and ask something more predictable…before ultimately choosing it was for the best to go ahead with the idea.

“Would you consider taking in a lot of Human refugees?”

The Matriarch’s mask seemed to crack as she grunted in confusion and looked at me as though trying to puzzle through my thoughts. Judging by the sounds they made, the Goblins behind us were equally perplexed. Except Abra. I turned back to see her expression as impassive as ever.

“He really is the dumbest—“

Gayhn was yet again interrupted by a magical slap.

“Boy, I require some explanations,” KarriSah said seriously, her walk seeming more like a march. “You want what are ostensibly enemy peoples to live side by side? What happens if friction between the rest of our Races causes us to war? And are you really suggesting to dilute my power within my own Hamlet?”

“Firstly, it’s just two hundred Humans, compared to the several thousands I estimate your Hamlet has. Secondly, I mentioned before that I can force my people into doing whatever I want them to do because they’re all very weak. I haven’t abused that power, but I will if they think they’re too good to be ruled by a Goblin. I will gladly and publicly execute any Humans who step out of line. Thirdly, as mentioned before, your Clan has problems with the rest of your people, so I don’t see how it would matter to you if they began warring with Humans, which is unlikely, since I’m gonna rule them before that can even be possible. Fourthly…if there comes a time when the population of Humans nears or surpasses that of the Goblins, I guess there would be reason to worry about the dilution of power, but same as the second point, I’m gonna keep everyone in line at the threat of death.”

KarriSah took in how casually I asked that she rule over members of my Race with an iron fist, and her expression softened.

“You would place that much trust in people of a different Race whom you didn’t even know of until recently?”

I shrugged. “There don’t seem to be any meaningful differences between Humans and Goblins outside of what we look like, and even that is pretty similar. You guys can’t be worse than a lot of the Humans I’ve met and some I’ve killed.”

The Matriarch nodded seriously. “Then what about payment? You must continue to think of what we are discussing through the lens of a merchant. What are you offering in exchange for my Clan taking in two hundred, and possibly more, Humans and all the trouble that brings?”

I smiled. “Fifthly, what would you think about trading your Hamlet core for a City core?”

Before she could ask for me to clarify, I displayed a Title.

[Titles]

Path to Sovereignty: City Lord System privileges are unlocked to you. +5 to all Attributes.

Once again, the mask she’d put in place slipped, and I could see greed in the Matriarch’s eyes. The City core was very valuable to her--who had already established a community--but I could do without it if need be. I only saw it as a trading resource because I did not have a gigantic sum of System Coins to spend, yet. Apparently those only became prizes later in the Tutorial, and they required a lot of people's energy to make.

“I don’t know much about System-sanctioned communities outside of the few things the Lord shared with us four days ago, but I imagine that a City core has a lot more stuff available than a Hamlet core even if you don’t have the population to match.”

To my surprise, Matriarch KarriSah turned away from me, simply looking forward toward the Hamlet walls in silence after nodding. She walked like that for longer than a minute, expressionless, attention completely to herself. Bored, I turned around to find everyone else looking the same. Gayhn glanced at me, but everyone including Abra had distant looks in their eyes, lost in their thoughts.

‘I guess this means I’m getting everything I want from them. Except Abra. She doesn’t seem at all interested. Oh well.’

Contrary to my expectations, KarriSah didn’t say another word to me even after we passed through the still-open gate.

“Do you guys ever close this?” I asked in hopes of pulling someone, anyone out of their musing.

“The gate?” the cook asked. “No. So long as even one person guards it, it’s safe. The rest of the walls are what really give citizens protection from random woodland critters. Also if we closed the gates for nighttime, anyone entering would be forced to climb the walls or yell for someone to lift the gate. A good amount of active cultivators and game hunters work or train themselves after dark.”

I looked between the cook and the three-meter-tall stone walls.

“Umm, how safe is it really behind walls like these? Normal animals and weaker beasts, sure, they’ll have a hard time getting over them, but…”

The cook made an “o” face.

“Ohh, yeah, it slipped my mind that someone so powerful could lack common knowledge. You see, inscribed on the top and inner base of the entire wall are thousands and thousands of Chi circuits. At its lowest power expenditure it does what it’s doing right now—emitting the barest amount of an aura required to spook most spirit beasts when they draw close.”

“Why can’t I feel it?” I asked. “And what about winged spirit beasts? Can those come and go as they please?”

“The aura emitted is closer to a mentalist technique designed to target base creatures than a real cultivation aura, we just call it that for convenience. Being a person, your soul has to be stronger to detect it—around Level 20. Also, no. Flying beasts are intercepted by automated defenses on the tops of some buildings that do the same thing as the wall, but more focused, because they’re only activated by motion above them. Of course, flying beasts still slip through, but given the power average of spirit beasts around here, it is fine.”

“Huh. That’s awesome. And you guys built all of it?”

She shook her head. “The wall, yes, but the wall inscriptions and rooftop arrays, no. Those we bought from the Hamlet core. They were our most expensive purchases. A few of us here, including me, are educated in the basics of Chi circuitry and more specifically the study of meridians, but our breadth of knowledge doesn’t extend far enough to accomplish something on this scale in the realm of defenses. For that kind of knowledge we’d have to either purchase it directly or attend a student course, but given that the government controls almost all academia, there’s little chance anyone of our Clan will be accepted.”

The urge to ask about what happened between them and the government almost ripped its way out of my chest, but I successfully kept it locked up tight. Had I cared enough ten minutes ago in the building that I presumed was used for large gatherings, I would have freely asked. But as things were now I didn’t want to try starting another long conversation until the Matriarch was done considering what our relationship would be like moving forward.

“Matriarch KarriSah! Niko Tess!”

The familiar voice seemed to bring everyone out of their own minds, and I turned to see Prropo approaching from a side street.

“I do not yet know of what the other Elders learned, but none of my family or our neighbors have knowledge of Sahndo Bedri. My apologies, Niko,” he said with a sad smile. “Perhaps someone else is acquainted with him. There is still hope.”

To him, I shrugged. “It’s fine. My expectations weren’t high even before I knew you had trouble with the Goblin leadership.”

“Thank you for your assistance, Prropo,” said the Matriarch. “Niko Tess, please follow me. Children, you are dismissed.”

“Not a child anymore,” Gayhn grumbled before walking away.

“Exactly what a child would say,” Abra replied emotionlessly, heading in the same direction.

“Children also pick on each other needlessly,” the burly man countered.

“I recall a certain someone treating a certain Human poorly.”

“Being a little older and my aunt doesn’t change the fact…”

They walked out of earshot and I missed whatever else they said.

“Good night, Grandmother,” said Gildemer as she followed Gayhn and Abra.

“What she said,” said the cook, before turning to me. “By the way, I was cross with you earlier, but not anymore now that you seem not to be a terrible person. You may call me Nagorn.”

‘Finally, a name. Since she didn’t introduce herself for so long I thought she didn’t want me to know.’

When it was just me and KarriSah she said, “Follow me to my office so we may finalize the terms of our agreement.”

I blinked at that, imagining the Matriarch writing up a contract or something, which puzzled me because I’d already asked Sahndo about whether there were System features like that, to which he’d said no. Regardless, I followed her.

The elderly woman led me through side streets past more picturesque buildings, and unlike the last time we walked through the Hamlet, this time I saw Goblins going about their business, and they saw me.

“It is because we received a distress signal from Gildemer after you threatened her with your fire Speck, specifying the presence of enemy cultivators,” she explained. “Our militia took their stations along the gates and walls, the citizens hid in their houses or cellars, and the closest of us came running. Gayhn was felling trees nearby as a front to guard Gildemer, Abra was on guard duty, and Nagorn was in the slaughterhouse near the west gate. Now that we’ve confirmed the lack of danger they came out of hiding.”

Goblins left and right saw me as I passed and they all stared into space for a bit while reading the prompt that appeared regarding my being a Human who opted out of the System’s protection from them. Most of the people, regardless of age, understood what it meant—that Yorgefan had expanded once again with the added mass of two more planets and their denizens. Some of those people fell to their knees and held their faces, misty eyes threatening tears, while others just grimaced and moved on, and a few stared daggers at me. Seldom was there a Goblin that read the prompt and just went on with their night, uncaring of my presence and what I represented. Most of their reactions left me a bit sad.

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However, it did warm my heart when a Goblin mother with a child in her arms approached me with a smile, greeted the Matriarch, and thanked me for approaching their Hamlet with kindness in my heart and wished me luck in establishing peace between our peoples.

“How did she know?” I asked KarriSah.

“Perhaps she didn’t,” KarriSah replied. “Perhaps she merely hoped.”

After some time we arrived at a building that was simultaneously smaller than most of the other buildings and yet more grandiose.

The Matriarch seemed to read my expression because she sighed and said, “I know. I asked that our stone shapers not be dramatic, but alas, they did not oblige.”

‘Stone shapers, huh? That makes sense.’

The building in front of us, like all others in this Hamlet, had a foundation of stone that made up the entire first floor’s walls. However, this one’s was special in how closely it resembled…gothic architecture with barely any wood used elsewhere in the construction. If anything, wood was used the same way the tall arched windows were—as accents only.

‘Goblins don’t need windows that tall,’ I thought with a chuckle, before remembering that they were probably only a little shorter than Humans on average and yet my Race also loved ostentatious windows.

“Please, do enter.”

I followed the Matriarch into her house, unsurprised to find the inside furnishing just as over the top as the architecture, with deep blue rugs covered in mesmerizing designs that resembled tie-dye swirls, dark-colored curtains, a mural spanning the entire ceiling depicting a rainstorm, and a number of strange spirit beast skulls hanging from the walls. One was even as large as my torso, clearly the remains of some giant, horned snake.

“Quite the…arresting office,” I said with a small laugh.

“To quote the lead stone shaper who is also an interior designer, ‘An imposing figure requires an imposing domain’. Usually he is quite the bore, but never when it comes to his passions.”

Situated facing the entrance at the other end of the house was basically a stone, cushioned throne behind a long, well varnished desk. It sat at a higher elevation than the rest of the room, whose seats all faced it.

“Again, dramatic,” the Matriarch chuckled, before sitting down in the closest chair. “I won’t bother with the political theatre by seating myself behind the desk. Now sit, so we may conclude this alliance.”

I did so, saying, “I don’t remember if I thanked you for entertaining me and my interests, Matriarch KarriSah, so I will now: thank you.”

She waved her hand dismissively.

“Nonsense; you are aware that we will benefit from each other. You gain resources now while I gain your cooperation in the future. However, we must settle the details now to prevent confusion later. After some consideration I’ve decided that our techniques are your techniques, but only yours. We will not disseminate our skills to anyone else, be they your friends or family. Additionally, except for our more common ones, you will only learn those you are talented in. We saw you have a fire Speck, so you will have access to our fire techniques, etcetera. Do you agree?”

I thought over her wording for a few seconds, finding nothing out of place. “Yes.”

“Very well. Allow me a moment to put this first part of our deal in writing.” From a pocket in her robes she removed what I guessed to be her own bag of holding. My speculations were proven correct when she retrieved paper, pencil, and a clipboard from it.

“Done. Please read over your copy. If it is written to your satisfaction, keep it with you,” she said after a couple minutes, handing me the paper.

‘This looks like Arabic. Neat.’

The written Goblin language included the many curves and dots of Arabic combined with English punctuation, and I found the similarities to Earth languages fascinating. At the bottom of the paper was what looked like her signature, and from it I felt a tiny, tiny smidgen of her aura.

“This has exactly what we agreed on, so I am satisfied. Now, on a different note, how did you imbue your aura into this signature? And this paper and pencil, did your Hamlet make it?”

KarriSah shook her head.

“The signature is only something you can begin to do around my Level, due to the soul’s power. The paper and pencil we buy from the city, where they’re made, because we do not have the required machinery—or expertise to build the machinery—for such items. Was your world not the same? A few places manufactured everything that was then exported to where it was bought?”

“Uhh, you’re right, that’s how things worked for the most part. I guess I asked because I was wondering…I don’t know, if magic was involved? I mean, I bet magic helps your people live more comfortably than would be possible without it, right? Like indoor heating and cooling, or plumbing and stuff.”

“Good point. Countless devices and forms of infrastructure function off of Chi circuits to provide us with very many luxuries and conveniences such as all those you listed that we did not even have in our old world. I suppose your question had merit to it.”

She brought out two new sheets of paper.

“Moving on to your second, much more shocking request, you want my Hamlet to provide a new home for two hundred of your people. Humans, living beside Goblins.”

The Matriarch seemed to stare into my soul, evidently awaiting confirmation.

“That’s right. Our civilization was probably more advanced than yours in a lot of ways, producing softer and softer generations from a cultivator’s perspective—if more educated. An abundance of delicious but unhealthy foods caused half of my country to fatten, combined with amenities that made life much more comfortable, and the countless leisure activities invented that could leave anyone entertained for hours without having to move at all…we Humans are not used to surviving on the edge of a knife. At least, those from wealthy, developed nations like where I and my tiny community came from. I’m sure there are many millions of Humans that will readily adapt to Yorgefan, but I wasn’t transported here alongside those. Of the two hundred I’d like you to take in, many are too out of shape and impatient or old for this world.”

“Why do you not expect your people to acclimatize like you have? Not performing as well as you is one thing, but it sounds like you hold no expectations for a large percentage of your people, which is a bit surprising to me,” the old woman said, contrary to my expectations. I expected questions regarding what my people could offer her community. “Do you dislike your own Race?”

“My circumstances are due entirely to luck, Matriarch KarriSah, because it just so happened that we had some fictional stories that took place in worlds that functioned quite similarly to this new reality, and I happened to read many of them for entertainment. Not only that, but I was in a good position to acquire some early Titles, and since no one else around me had read the same books or opposed me in any way, I lacked competition. And that is all without mentioning that I was physically and mentally fit enough to enact the plans that allowed me to acquire the early Titles. Now that I think about it, what would I have done if the System had transmigrated us while it was nighttime in my region and I was asleep? Or if I had been in the middle of the ocean on a boat, or deep underground, or at the top of a skyscraper? Oh, those are buildings so tall they look like they’re ‘scraping the sky’. I wouldn’t have been able to be among the very first to kill spirit beasts in those situations.”

The Matriarch nodded.

“All good points. However, if I recall correctly, the time of day matters not at all because the System wakes everyone up refreshed upon assimilation.”

“Ah, that’s good to know. Thanks.”

She nodded. “Back to the topic we are here to discuss—is it simply the case that you do not want to bother dealing with those who are not up to adapting to Yorgefan, and wish to drop them on me? Two hundred people my Hamlet can manage, but you suggested bringing others that you might find nearby. Such a vague promise to take them all in might not even be worth it for the City core if they become spoiled, unruly masses.”

I shook my head. “Trust me, many Humans will not bother with cultivating, so they can be part of your…lower class, for lack of better words. Oh! Your menial work force—that’s a good term. So that your cultivators can spend more time cultivating. All that my people require are the basics of food, shelter, work, and entertainment. Provide them those and I’m sure everything’ll be fine.”

The Matriarch rested her chin on her fist and went silent, seemingly pondering over my assessment of my people, and again, I studied her, searching for signs of deception. I didn’t have some profound ability to read body language—if such a thing existed—but I did have intuition that led me this far in just five days, so I trusted my gut when it told me that the elderly woman…was leading me on. Despite her claims of forgoing political theatre and just being direct with me, she was definitely still trying to manipulate me.

I had been wrong earlier when I thought her mask had cracked. She’d only convinced me of that, even if for a little bit.

How was I so sure? Because after some thinking I remembered that she was 83 Yorgefan years old and a political leader as much as a powerful one. There was no way I was going to lead her by the nose so that I could get as favorable a deal as possible! Which truly wasn’t even necessary, because our goals already aligned. She was giving me everything I wanted, and her only actions that could be described as “scheming” were how she pretended that my requests were big deals so that I would be grateful when she accepted them, and then I’d be more likely to repay her when I grew more powerful.

After what felt like forever the woman returned her attention to me.

“It is still too soon to agree on something of this scale, Niko Tess. I lean toward trusting your word, but at the very least I must hear a report of your people from one of my own. Do you have objections to a team being sent to spectate your people whom you say are a day’s run to the west?”

‘Unsurprising.’

“No objections; I’m okay with that. However, it might take your people a bit longer than a day. As you saw during the fight, I misled you all when I demonstrated high Intelligence. I mean, it is high, but all my stats are pretty high. I focus Agility.”

“And yet with such high Attributes you still have enough points left over that the System chose to threaten taking them away with that Hunt’s penalty.”

“Don’t forget the random Title. I like my Titles where they are.”

I wondered what would have happened if the Dryad had been given my Tutorial Title. Would they have gained +65% to all Attributes and 130 Attribute Points, or just the percentage bonus because most of the points had been spent? Good thing I didn’t find out.

“Anyway,” I continued, “I only asked for access to your Clan’s techniques and whether you would be willing to take in my people, so, are we done?”

“Normally we would discuss payment for giving you access to our resources, but…not today. What do you think about continuing tomorrow after a night of fair rest, because although there is a single task you could help my Clan with right now, I alone cannot decide whether we should proceed with it.”

I grimaced. “Actually, I was hoping I could get my pick of your Clan’s techniques right now and continue my journey to the next Goblin community in the dark. I did not intend to stay the night.”

“Even after finding my Hamlet you still wish to camp out in the forest? Our immediate territories might be relatively safe compared to the wilds farther out where no Races were transplanted, but you are still vulnerable in your sleep to even the weakest Level 20 beasts. The camping formations you are lucky enough to have thanks to your Sedokeit Hunter are not infallible.”

“Well, I only have six days including tomorrow left until the next Tutorial session and thus the end of my Quest to find Sahndo Bedri, so I plan to run until I’m too tired to continue. Can your ‘payment’ wait until after the Quest is complete? You saw that penalty. I can’t afford to lose 20% to all Attributes.”

“Hmm, that is indeed a steep penalty for failure. However, the payment cannot wait, and you will know the reason tomorrow,” the Matriarch said with finality. “Please, visit our bathhouse for a soak before finding a bedroom and resting. You can browse our techniques in the morning when our library is open.”

“I ask again that you reconsider, Matriarch KarriSah,” I intoned with warning in my voice. “The penalty is far too high to waste my time here bathing and sleeping. I don’t mind forgoing the techniques until after I’m done with the Quest, either, so that is no issue. But what would be an issue is if I fail, because I’ll remember everyone who stood in the way of completing it.”

To my surprise, the old water and wood mage took my thinly veiled threat in stride.

With a smile she replied, “Oh I’m sure, Niko Tess. But please, do trust that the task my Clan has in store for you will in no way be considered a waste of time. In fact, I can guarantee that you will come out stronger for it.”

I narrowed my eyebrows, mind racing with speculations, but before I could ask any questions she continued speaking.

“Now off you go!” She clapped her hands and cycled her energy a bit before a bird of water and wood formed in front of me. “Follow the bird to the bathhouse, dear. Negotiations have ended, and unless you want to leave without any kind of deal at all, you will stay the night.”

The Matriarch flashed her aura—for intimidation purposes, I imagined—which was doubtless backed by fewer Attribute Points than mine, yet still contained such dense power. She’d never revealed her Level, but considering that she was a full-on mage who specced into Intelligence and Wisdom with perhaps a 2.5 to 1 ratio, and judging by what I’d felt when she erased my comparatively pitiful field of fire Chi with her water technique, she was definitely between Levels 60 and 75.

‘I guess even if I stockpile as many points as possible while a Tier 1 Human, so long as I remain Level 1 the difference in Chi density and soul quality will have more and more of an impact in my battles. I’m starting to doubt that I can even escape KarriSah regardless of whether I put the last 30 points into Agility, much less defeat someone like that in battle.’

Remembering how Gayhn laughed at my inquiry of the Level 100 difference slayer Title, I started to really comprehend the difficulty of the task, like staring at the Grand Canyon of Arizona and imagining leaping across it with only a mortal’s power.

‘But then again, aren’t most spirit beasts weaker than cultivators of the same Level because their points are randomly distributed? So shouldn’t getting these Titles be easier than they’re making it out to be? I must be missing information.’

“Well? Is there a reason you dally?”

I looked up to find KarriSah smiling with narrowed eyes, daring me to disobey her orders.

“I was just idly thinking, Matriarch. I’ll be off. See you tomorrow, I guess.”

‘I’ll ask later.’

……

When I followed the water bird into the bathhouse alongside a dozen Goblins looking to bathe I prepped myself for being social because I anticipated some awkward conversations with the locals. After all, most people were quite unhappy that new Races had joined them on Yorgefan, even if more land and resources had appeared alongside them. However, my fears had been assuaged when the bird led me not to the men’s section of the bathhouse, but instead a third, smaller room labeled “Elders and Guests”.

The main fear of characters transmigrated from Earth in progression fantasy novels was simply having to get used to the lack of modern amenities, but thankfully for me I only had to put up with that for a few days. Now I was relaxing in a warm bath big enough to fit seven people courtesy of the Gilliam Goblins, happy to scrub away at all the dirt, blood, and sweat that had since alluded my attempts at washing with wet cleaning wipes.

Then I heard the door to the room open, and a man grunted as he disrobed. I could not see him because the room was separated into two parts—one with cubbies for holding clothes, soaps, and towels, and the other with the actual bath.

“Oh, you’re here,” Gayhn grumbled as he stepped into the water. “Could have done without seeing you again before I retired for the night.”

“Are you either an Elder or guest, Gayhn?” I asked, ignoring his attitude.

“Grandson of the Matriarch is enough,” he said while beginning to scrub his armpits with soap.

“Somehow I doubt that.” Considering how I’d run into three grandchildren and a young niece of the Matriarch before even entering the Hamlet, the Matriarch probably had a lot of young family—too many to allow them all to use this bath. That combined with Gayhn’s personality led me to believe that he just wanted the bath all to himself.

“Doubt me all you want, Human. What matters is that you can’t remove me from here,” he smirked.

Thinking back to when I’d seen him run towards me at near full speed I judged his Agility to be between 70 and 100, while his Strength was probably a good bit higher by the way he wielded his axes. Maybe as high as my highest Attribute.

“You’re right,” I conceded. “You favor Strength, I favor Agility. Without spending my last points to bring either my Strength or Wisdom higher than your highest Attribute, you could easily throw me around in this tiny space.”

His smile slowly disappeared as I changed my tune from admitting his superiority in this particular setting to claiming I could defeat him if I really wanted to with just the allocation of a few points.

He snorted. “There’s no way you have that many points just laying around. Probably 10 at most.”

I chuckled. “Did you forget what my Quest’s penalty is? Perhaps I do only have 10 points. Or I have many more.” ‘Three times more,’ I thought to myself.

Gayhn went silent for a moment, likely remembering how I would lose 20% to all my Attributes if I couldn’t amicably meet up with Sahndo Bedri again before the next Tutorial session.

When he finally opened his mouth, the conversation took a turn I hadn’t expected in the slightest.

“You already know about the 1000 point limit on our Tier 1 Races, right? You probably didn’t choose to spread so many points around, but it hurts you in the long run. Advancing your Race to Tier 2 will be all the harder the closer to the limit you are; especially if your points aren’t primarily focused on a few Attributes.”

‘Is he…giving me advice?’

Gayhn ignored my baffled expression, going on to say, “We both know that you’ll be much more powerful if you survive and continue to thrive in the Tutorial. It’s considered rude to offer unrequested guidance on one’s cultivation journey, but seriously, stick to a couple Attributes from now on and try not to overachieve after the Tutorial. You seem to be at the limit of what is safe for someone with such a low Level. Of what I’ve heard from our Elders, you will soon have chances to acquire Race advancement tonics in the Tutorial. Grab all that you can, advance your Race, then focus on increasing your Level and comprehending the Dao. If possible, the Level-difference Titles and other major Tutorial achievements can wait until after you advance your Race, otherwise it will be incredibly more difficult to do so later.”

Staring at Gayhn with confusion evident on my face, I wondered what could possibly have happened in the man’s head for him to go from antagonizing me to offering cultivation advice.

“Thanks, Gayhn,” I replied, feeling strange that I was even a little grateful to the guy. “However, my plan was always to get what I need from the closest established Race—Goblins, in this case. Whether by force from malevolent people, or from trade with good allies. Do you think… Uhh, is that a realistic option, that you know of?”

The burly Goblin looked toward the ceiling with a contemplative expression for a few seconds before shaking his head.

“Likely not. Regardless of the fact that you made a deal with the Gilliam Clan first and we are at odds with most other Goblins, the rest of our kin are…” He sighed through his nose. “Despite our particular Clan’s isolation and close-knit community, we might be the people most tolerant of outsiders you’ll meet. You couldn’t have known from our reactions alone, but outside of the Gilliam Clan, Goblins are quite nationalistic. In the old world they used to discriminate against other Goblins who looked just a bit too different or were from a country too far away, but now on Yorgefan they have better reasons to hate outsiders. My grandmother and the other Elders didn’t appreciate that aspect of our people. Combined with the misogyny, they chose to split before I was born.”

My eyebrows rose ever higher as Gayhn spoke.

“Sahndo Bedri wasn’t like that.”

“Either an outlier or he was just smart. And if you were close in power, he was likely just smart to not get killed by you.”

“Well, shit. That’s a lot to take in.” I sighed. “So, you think they’ll be more likely to kill me than ally with me?”

“Not necessarily. They may or may not humor you for a while, but they’ll definitely test you. I can imagine them putting you on a guerrilla squad to attack Ogres, and if you treat the enemy poorly enough they’ll think better of you. But I suspect no matter what you do, they will not allow you to get too strong. They’ll want you to be their soldier as long as they can before getting rid of you.”

“That’s not good at all,” I said, silently being skeptical of his knowledge of the government he apparently hadn’t ever even lived under in his lifetime. “If that’s the case, do you think I’d be better off throwing it in with the Ogres?”

Gayhn made a face.

“Definitely not. From what Grandmother says they’re not as aggressive in expanding their territory as the Goblin military, but I hear lots of nasty things every time I visit Yayger. That’s the City closest to us. You see, when my people capture Ogres they’re kept as slaves and put to work, and when they kill Ogres they at least bury them. Yet Ogres don’t show Goblins the same mercy. Goblins slain in battle have their corpses embedded on spikes and put on display. Captured Goblins are never seen again—not even by the best scouts whose only mission was to find them.”

‘Fuck. Placed between a rock and a hard place. Assuming he’s telling the truth.’

“Okay. Ogres probably won’t help me either. I’ll take your advice into consideration and look out for Race advancement opportunities in the Tutorial,” I said, lying a little bit. I’d always planned to search for said opportunities, but there was no way I would stop accumulating Attribute Points.

‘Slowing down my progress until I advance my Race may well be the easier path, but legends didn’t become legends by doing what’s easiest. Plus, I gotta capitalize on my good luck or I’ll forever regret wasting it. I’m going to get as close to that limit as possible.’

The two of us fell into a surprisingly companionable silence, just cleaning ourselves off and relaxing in the warm water. I had fully expected the man to make a comment about how much bigger his dick was or how scrawny I was, but he never did. Eventually when I felt I was clean enough and ready to sleep I figured there was no harm in getting some more questions answered before I left.

“Before I go…”

“Hmm?” Gayhn had laid his head back against the edge of the bath with his eyes closed, apparently trying to sleep, and my voice roused him as he straightened his back to look at me. “What do you want?”

“Can you tell me about guns and the cultural depictions of Humans that Prropo mentioned?”

Gayhn thought to himself for a few moments before pointing a finger at me.

“You’ve been very relaxed with us—more than someone from a world with only Humans should be. Is that because you already had an idea of what we looked like?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Goblins were a fictional kind of creature used in countless novels, though they were often depicted differently according to what the author needed. In some books they were just smaller, green Humans, and in others—”

“Creatures of the night. Monsters, even,” Gayhn finished my sentence for me. “Same with us. The most common interpretation of Humans in our fictions were tall, lanky, malevolent monsters that trudged out of the woods or mountains to eat unguarded children. The ones that came out at night had black skin, and the ones that came out during the day were deathly white. Their arms were long and typically hung low around their knees as they walked, with smiles full of sharp teeth, and eyes that never blinked. They were also said not to have ears.”

“Huh.” I had no words as I imagined such creatures slowly trudging out from between the forest trees to prey on children who’d wandered too far from the safety of their homes.

And then I remembered that Gayhn hadn’t known his past world like I did mine, having just been there a few days ago.

“I take it those stories were still told to you and your siblings as children so that you wouldn’t wander off too far into the forest?”

“Nope. Grandma despises that crap. A lot of our literature survived because after our transmigration here the Ogres made for a very good enemy and pulled most Goblins together. I simply read about what we used to think Humans were a few times. Though, I never expected they’d be a real Race that I’d one day see for myself.”

“Huh,” I repeated, again having no words upon learning that Gayhn was apparently a reader.

“Anyway; guns. Devices for controlled explosions that send small metal projectiles flying very quickly. They were the weapon of choice for our people for a few hundred years, but the System changed everything because using a gun to kill beasts or enemy cultivators doesn’t train any of your Attributes. The military still actively uses them to fight Ogres, but only really by the weaker soldiers because cultivator techniques become the better choice past Level 30 or so. Chi defends well against mundane damage sources. I imagine that something similar will happen with your people.”

‘I doubt it. Our tech is a lot more effective.’

From what Sahndo, KarriSah, and Gayhn told me about their old world, it sounded like their people were somewhere between steampunk and our Earth, technologically. They had many kinds of amenities that drastically increased the average person’s quality of life and allowed companies to expand globally, but they lacked stuff like the internet and intercontinental missiles. Perhaps I could pick up some books on their history before I left.

……

An hour had passed since I parted ways with Gayhn in the bathhouse. Now I sat in a bedroom within a building specifically for housing guests of the Hamlet, led there by the same bird KarriSah made earlier.

‘I didn’t see her sneaking around nearby, so is that what people with high Intelligence can do? My 117.6 Intelligence allows me to control fire and sharpness Chi for a good distance around me, but definitely not from anywhere within the Hamlet. 250 to 300 Intelligence is quite scary. Or maybe it’s a technique.’

I sat on the edge of the bed with my notebook and pencil in my hands, writing down foreseeable possibilities for whatever tomorrow’s “payment” was. I wasn’t deluded enough to think that I could come up with all potential scenarios, but…it was worth a shot. Better to be prepared for certain specific things to happen than none at all.

‘Let’s see here… The first and worst possibility is that this was all an act to lure me into a false sense of security so that they could deliver me to someone, or something like that. Maybe a monster that gets stronger by eating geniuses? I’d have to dump everything into Agility in hopes of escaping, but with how powerful the Matriarch is I’m not sure that’s possible. That’s a scary thought, but my gut says it’s unlikely, so whatever.’

My eyes moved down the list.

‘Second possibility: these people want me to kill a sneaky spirit beast. Maybe it’s really fast and very sensitive to powerful auras, and nobody powerful enough to kill it specializes in sneakiness enough to sneak up on it. So they’ll try throwing me at it, since I only have a Level 1 aura. A very strong Level 1 aura, but it only reaches so far, thus allowing me to get closer than anyone else.’

That scenario was probably best for me in terms of safety, but safety wasn’t what made me strong, so I didn’t hope for it.

‘My favorite possibility, number three: there’s some kind of secret realm that only low-Level people can enter, and instead of sending in their children, they want me to explore and loot it. This is probably the best thing I can ask for. I just hope that if it is this, it doesn’t take too long to complete, or else I’d be forced to abort the mission in favor of my +20% to everything.’

My eyes landed upon the last scenario I’d written.

‘It could be that they want to do something good for me. Like, maybe instead of delivering me to someone bad, they want to introduce me to someone who’ll train me? And thus in exchange for the best disciple anyone could ask for, the ancient badass will give them some kind of reward?’

Those were the most realistic tropes for my particular situation that I could remember, and no more ideas came to me, so I put the notebook and pencil back into my spatial storage bag and laid down.

My eyes drifted to a close and my breaths found a slow, regular pattern. I allowed my thoughts to wander instead of trying to force them still, which would have been wasted effort. I imagined the different scenarios playing out.

How would my abilities assist me in fleeing from KarriSah if she was delivering me to someone evil? They wouldn’t, except for being distractions if I threw them around me randomly, since my abilities seemed to be the most basic things possible. They barely held up to people at my own power level, much less anybody stronger. Thus my strategy would be to run away at full speed without looking back. Nothing special.

If I was tasked with hunting a speedy creature… Still nothing special. I’d lurk while keeping my presence to a minimum, locate it, then explode into action, overpowering it before it realizes that I’m there.

On the off chance that there was really a secret pocket realm that only allowed low-Level cultivators to enter… I shuddered at how awesome that would be. Exploring a new, alien environment full of mysteries and treasures! The treasures would likely not be up to my standard because of how strong I was compared to my Level, but it’d still be a fun adventure.

Someone knocked on my door, interrupting my thoughts.

I tentatively rose to a sitting position and glared at the door suspiciously. Who could possibly want my attention in the middle of the night? And what for?

“Open the door, Niko Tess,” came Abra’s soft voice.