Chapter Twelve: Beaten by a Child

[https://i.imgur.com/NqwScr0.png]

After passing through the gate of a large stone wall presumably designed to keep spirit beasts out, Gayhn and the copper-haired pugilist whose name was Abra led me past a dozen beautiful buildings that gave off pleasant communal housing vibes while KarriSah went one way and the cook and Gildemer went another. My guides said not a word as we made straight for the Hamlet’s center, where a single round building stood so large it looked like it could hold the entire Hamlet’s population. When we entered, it became clear that I’d accidentally guessed its purpose, as the first floor was occupied by hundreds of chairs, tables, couches, and sitting mats. The ceiling was high, and like a fancy theater, the second floor wrapped around the walls while being empty in the middle, presumably so people up top could be a part of whatever went on down below. From where I stood I could see more seating arrangements up there. It was called a mezzanine floor, if I remembered correctly.

“Props to whoever did the decor,” I said idly, taking in the interior decorations that reminded me of an expensive hotel with a rustic theme.

Upon our entering, some Goblins that were part of a group already present and occupying a couple tables with board games near the door turned to see who’d arrived. Their curious expressions morphing into shock, horror, then back to a mix of fear and curiosity were amusing.

“W-who do you have there, Abra?” one of the youngest members of the group asked. I could see his throat bob from a gulp of fear.

“So that’s what the commotion was about…” another person mumbled so faintly I almost didn’t hear them.

“Welcome to our Gilliam Hamlet, Hoom…Human,” a third Goblin greeted me directly with unsurety, to my pleasant surprise. “Unless your people have been hanging around on the opposite side of the planet, your presence means the next integration has begun, right?” She dryly chuckled with an obvious lack of joy, before more softly whispering, “Damn it.”

“I was hoping we and those blasted Ogres would be the last ones…” the oldest person at the table groaned with very real and deep anxiety in her voice that was hard to ignore. Her statement was followed by grunts and nods of agreement.

Half of the rest of the group seemed at a loss for words while the rest looked at me not with fear, but straight up animosity, which made me very uncomfortable. This was different from my encounter with Gayhn, whose initial hatred no doubt eclipsed any that these people seemed to hold. However, I had antagonized the hatchet warrior by appearing to be a threat to Gildemer and then taking her hostage, so his hostility to me was completely justified. Unless these new people had gotten word of how I scared Gildemer shitless—which they couldn’t have or they’d have known about me prior to my arrival and wouldn’t have been surprised when I passed through the doors—those particular Goblins were…Racist.

‘They should be able to tell from how I’m being led by Gayhn and Abra that I’m not an enemy, but…their feelings are understandable. I represent competition for resources that occurs between populations whose interests conflict. Unless we tie ourselves closely as allies with the Goblins, there will always be some level of distrust and friction. Under these circumstances it’d be really stupid not to expect people of different Races to be, let’s say, unhappy with me for just what I am… Doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.’

“This is Niko Tess, a representative of the Human community that was placed just a day’s run west of here, or so he says. He was Quested by the System to find a Shadow-Speck-wielding man named Sahndo Bedri whom he’d encountered before,” Abra almost boredly droned. “A Goblin man working in our people’s military, I should specify,” she added after glancing at me. “If anyone knows of the man he seeks, please speak up.”

Abra scanned everyone with a piercing gaze but received only shakes of the head and verbal denials, until one girl mumbled, “They’re not our people’s military…”

“Our Race’s military, then,” Abra corrected. “And keep those thoughts to yourself. With two new Races on Yorgefan we must remain as unified as possible, regardless of how we might disagree with how the nation is run.”

The girl who’d spoken out closed her mouth and looked down at her feet, clearly holding back an argument.

‘Wow. If that wasn’t a conversation loaded with foreshadowing…’ I shivered in excitement and curiosity, wondering what those words meant for the future.

“C’mon, boy. Sit down.”

Gayhn plopped himself down on a couch right next to the building’s entrance and against the wall before propping his boots up on the coffee table in front of him, earning a glare from Abra, who sat down on a couch opposite the hatchet man.

‘I wonder if there’s already coffee in this world. If not, some lucky Ethiopian is gonna start a beverage empire,’ I mused, before sitting down a respectful distance from Abra on the same couch.

“We’ll wait for Grandmother here, and in the meantime, project your aura toward me as fiercely as possible,” Gayhn instructed with a scowl. “I gotta teach you this basic Chi shit.”

“You don’t seem to want to do this, so maybe Abra could?” I asked while directing a smile to the copper-haired beauty to my right, who turned out to be cultivating with her eyes closed. After waiting a moment I came to the conclusion that the Goblin woman had heard but was purposefully ignoring me. It stung a little.

“I’ll say it again, boy,” Gayhn said forcefully. “Don’t presume to act so chummy. We are Gayhn and Abra Gilliam. There will never be a day you can call us like we’re friends.”

I would like to say that I took the continued hostility in stride, but the muscular Goblin was definitely getting on my nerves. I considered very many different methods to approach his attitude—most of which involving giving him a demonstration of how much higher most of my Attributes were than his—but ultimately chose to be the bigger man…hoping Abra would like that, since she seemed to be someone who enjoyed peace and quiet.

“My apologies, Sir Gayhn Gilliam,” I said in my best British accent, hoping it would be translated by the System somehow. “I will remember to address Goblins by their first and last names, both. I did not until now simply because that is not a practice my people partake in. Even with strangers, most Humans only call each other by their first names, while last names are used if only there are multiple people with the same first.”

For a moment, Gayhn looked rather pleased. I didn’t know if it was because I had capitulated, I had used a British accent, I’d called him sir, or any combination of the above.

Then I added, “Of course, I expect the same treatment. Please, refer to me only as Sir Niko Tess.”

The man’s scowl returned, and his fists clenched harder around the handles of his hatchets, which he still held onto. “Don’t push your luck, Human.”

I chose that moment to follow the man’s instructions, and I released my aura to its fullest, minus the power of my Early Dao Specks, focusing it on him as much as I could.

“Urggh,” he groaned, eyes wide with both surprise and anger, not having expected my aura to be thick with three “c”s.

“You—“ Gayhn began while rising to his feet, before being interrupted by Abra’s aura exploding outwards in an attempt to push our auras away from each other. But when it couldn’t manage the task, she changed tactic and displayed a level of control over her aura that I currently lacked by condensing it into a wall that separated mine and Gayhn’s auras.

“Enough,” she said simply.

I could tell from the noises behind us that the apparent civilians playing board games were rushing to their feet and putting space between themselves and us, expecting a fight to break out.

“Listen here you peach-pale freak: just because you got a bunch of points in the Tutorial—“

“ENOUGH!”

Gayhn glared at me for another tense second before dropping back down onto the couch and nodding to Abra.

“You,” she said, pointedly looking at the larger Goblin, “and Matriarch KarriSah both mentioned his Attribute Points coming from the Tutorial in a dismissive manner, but while your grandmother did so in order to gauge his reaction in the heated moments while we were determining his intentions, you seem to be willfully ignoring the fact that he is a Level 1 cultivator who will some day far surpass us, assuming he lives long enough. Having enough points to rival us right now means he will have double that if he reaches our Levels—more so, actually, when you include Specks—and instead of accepting that the Matriarch has decided it more beneficial for our Clan to let him live than strike him down now, you continue to provoke him, like a buffoon!”

The woman’s chest rapidly rose and fell as she took half a dozen calming breaths, before turning to me.

“I respect how you do not seem to see us for our Race, which is quite something for someone who likely came from a planet with only one type of person, but you, Niko Tess, are just as brainless for rising to his challenges when you sit surrounded by hundreds who would not for a second think to take your side if it was decided you were an enemy after all! You could easily lose your life here if you do not behave, and yet you rile up the man who is too eager to test the durability of your flesh with his axes! Perhaps you are a child, regardless of how Humans age!”

The woman’s mouth remained open to continue criticizing me, but with what looked like a great measure of restraint forced herself not to say any more.

‘And here I thought I was being reasonable,’ I complained in my head, not enjoying the feeling of being yelled at by the attractive Goblin.

Abra took some more calming breaths as we all ceased cycling Chi and dropped our auras.

“I think what Gayhn was leading up to by asking you to show us your aura…” She paused, gathering her thoughts for a little longer. “Are you aware of your aura’s effective reach? How far it can be felt before it’s just another aura in the distance, and then not sensed at all?” she finally asked.

I shook my head. I knew that my people’s auras didn’t reach very far—just a couple dozen meters or less—and that the distance increased the higher one’s Level was by how Sahndo’s and Rahesh’s had expanded, but I hadn’t thought it important to recruit someone to help me measure the radius of mine.

“Take a guess.”

Shrugging, I looked around the large building. “From anywhere in here?”

“Wrong,” she said, shaking her head.

“From…farther away?”

“The reach of your aura is the same as any other Level 1 cultivator’s. Those guys previously playing games tens of paces away before they fled probably only sensed a quarter of your power, or less.”

My eyes narrowed. “But, there was a time I projected my aura to scare people away in the Tutorial when they were outside this range, and most of them listened to me.”

“Well, were you doing something else at the time? Killing powerful beasts, perhaps?”

‘People, actually,’ I thought darkly, unhappy with the memories that in hindsight seemed a little…psychopathic. “Yeah.”

“Then that was it. They felt that your aura existed, but in all likelihood they couldn’t sense its depth and heeded your warning because of the power they saw you demonstrate.”

I nodded. “Okay. And the reason you guys brought up my aura in relation to my questions about not sensing Gildemer is because the answer is our difference in Levels? Even though my points are higher due to Titles, Gildemer still has advantages over me?”

“Some advantages, yes,” Gayhn spoke up, garnering a look from Abra but nothing more before she turned back to me.

“Correct, Niko Tess. You catch on quickly. Intelligence and Wisdom are misnomers. They do not affect our minds outside of how we interact with our techniques. Wisdom condenses your techniques, and Intelligence increases the distance from which you can control them and how far they can expand. That’s all they do, but leveling up strengthens both our Chi and souls. Thus stealth techniques are more effective on cultivators and spirit beasts whose Levels are lower, as their weaker magical senses aren’t equipped to pierce through the veils. If a Level 100 cultivator didn’t train at all and had only 100 Attribute Points between all their stats, they would still be capable of easily sensing your Level 1 Chi concealing you, because their soul is stronger. Or hiding from you.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Gayhn said before I could ask any questions.

“Yes, Gayhn, but I’m building up to that, since Niko Tess knows almost nothing.”

“No, please, go on,” I said to Gayhn teasingly. “I’m a big boy.”

Both Abra and Gayhn frowned at that, but nothing more.

“Abra was explaining how stealth, your Level, and aura are connected, but there are other factors, to include Dao-specialized scouting techniques.”

Before he continued explaining I asked the first thing that came to mind when he mentioned the Dao. “What does it mean that I could vaguely sense something was wrong when I met Sahndo Bedri, who had been controlling darkness Chi around me with his Shadow Speck. He said that my senses were sharp but didn’t explain any further as if it wasn’t important.”

Gayhn clearly didn’t appreciate being interrupted, but with a glare from Abra, he schooled his expression. “He meant that your Dao senses specifically, are sharp. The parts of our souls we use to connect with the Dao are not exactly the same as the ones we use to interact with Chi. Related, but not the same, which is why you can pull on the ambient Chi all day to cultivate but your mind tires when you use your Speck for too long. Dao energy is different.”

‘Although I’ve noticed how my abilities cost more and more Chi as I get stronger because I’m packing more energy into them, I haven’t actually been in such a situation where I run out of Dao energy, yet. My fights end too quickly,’ I thought, but said nothing aloud. I would find out on my own time how long I could comfortably wield my Specks.

“And because of that, techniques that require Dao comprehension to function are capable of affecting cultivators whose souls are stronger than yours—the Dao makes up the difference in soul quality. Whether that be a weaker cultivator using a Dao-infused stealth technique to hide, or them using a Dao-infused scouting technique to uncover the location of someone higher-leveled. Of course, a normal scouting technique will suffice if your Levels are close to each other.”

“But my Dao Speck has to be sufficiently advanced enough to bridge large gaps in Level, right?” I asked as my hand idly stroked my chin.

“Yes, but it also depends on the technique. When your Dao Speck advances enough it may become powerful ammunition, but it still requires a suitable weapon to fire it from—the technique must also be advanced enough to be powered by a high Speck,” Abra answered.

I nodded. “So, what’s the general conversion rule for Speck rank to Level difference, if there is one—WAIT!” I half shouted, startling the Goblins acting as my parole officers. “You guys have firearms? Are they effective against cultivators and spirit beasts?!”

“Not now,” Abra admonished with a frown. “Stay focused. Level, aura, Dao, and stealth.”

With a sigh, I nodded. “Yeah, good point. So, general conversion?”

Gayhn shrugged. “Dunno if there is one, and my personal experiences aren’t valid here since my Speck isn’t suited for scouting, but I’ve seen a cultivator flush out higher-Level spirit beasts with an Early Speck. There was a difference of around 15 Levels, I think.”

“Since your Speck isn’t good for scouting, are there Dao types particularly good at that?”

“Anything more physical than conceptual is better at both being stealthy and scouting, with exceptions for Daos related to stealth and scouting, like the Shadow Speck you mentioned the Goblin you met having. Though in darkness Chi’s case, it’s good for hiding but not finding,” Abra said. “Any Dao related to something you’ll find in nature is good for such things, but of course they’ll be more limited in places without the thing they signify or just skew a bit in one direction. Water, wood, earth, fire, and air, for example. Water and earth are great for hiding and searching in places of those respective elements. Fire and air can be good in certain circumstances. Anywhere with more fire Chi like a desert, active volcano, or some place actively on fire is a great place for hiding, while everywhere is good for searching with a fire Dao if you don’t mind causing damage because that damage is what draws enemies out. Then there is air, which would allow hiding and scouting everywhere except underwater, and through solid obstructions.”

I belatedly realized that I had writing implements on me and hurriedly pulled out a notebook from the bag of holding gifted to me by Rahesh, which I was keeping in my pocket. As I began frantically scribbling, Gayhn narrowed his eyes at me.

“There aren’t any spatial storage tools available in the first Tutorial session…right?”

“None that I found,” I replied absently.

“Did you get that from a Quest? It looks to be of good quality.”

“Nope.”

“Then where did it come from?”

“Someone gave it to me.”

I could hear Gayhn’s patience waning as he asked, “Who?”

The change in his tone struck a realization as to what he was getting at, but I played dumb and turned to Abra, because I wanted to annoy Gayhn but not too obviously; I’d have preferred telling him it wasn’t his business.

“Are spatial storage tools restricted amongst your people? Should I not have this bag?”

Gayhn grumbled with annoyance as I ignored his question.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“No,” Abra replied flatly. “I think Gayhn is simply concerned that you may have exploited the Goblin you met to obtain that.”

“But I chose the peaceful Quest option,” I continued, even scratching my head in apparent confusion and then wondering if that gesture meant anything to Goblins. “Robbing him doesn’t sound very peaceful?”

“The options were kill, capture, and let go, correct?” Abra asked, to which I nodded. “If you’d have taken everything the man had and let him go, the System would have only cared about the specific wording of the Quest.”

“Ohhhhhhhh,” I drawled with a slightly higher pitch than usual. “I didn’t know the System was so heartless! But even if that’s allowed by the rules I would never do such a thing!”

Abra frowned while Gayhn scowled.

“You’re mocking us,” the muscular man growled, causing Abra to shake her head in disappointment of us both, I assumed.

“Nohhh, I would never,” I said in the same voice, before my expression cracked and a smile peeked through. “Because it was only directed at you, dude. Don’t you think that if I’d strong-armed this from Sahndo I would just lie about where I got it from? Avoid trouble altogether?”

“Just answer the damned question! Where’d it come from!?”

I dropped my amusement and the facade of civility. “What’s it matter to you? Even if I took it from Sahndo that’s none of your business unless he was from here, which I doubt, considering what I heard about your Hamlet’s dislike of the Goblin leadership, and by extension their military that he works for. He would probably be given another one anyway, right? Since I imagine reporting a peaceful encounter with the strongest member of the newest nearby Race would be considered performing his duty well.”

I hadn’t even finished speaking when Gayhn rose to his feet again with murder in his eyes, only kept in check by Abra’s glowing gauntlet, which she casually held up as her aura returned.

Then the doors we’d entered from flew open and KarriSah stepped through.

“Why are you youngsters at each other’s throats? It’s only been a couple fucking minutes!”

To that, I gawked, not having expected to hear the f-bomb dropped by an old Goblin lady.

“These two keep butting heads,” Abra said simply, ceasing circulating her Chi and dropping the technique that was making her gauntlet glow. I was honestly disappointed, curious of what she would have done.

“Well, stop.” KarriSah shook her head with a wry smile as she approached us, followed by several old Goblins, the cook, and Gildemer—who was clinging onto the cook. Though, the cook was no longer wearing the apron or wielding a knife. “Here is the thing.”

The Gilliam Matriarch dropped a device that looked suspiciously like a video game console—complete with two hand-held controllers connected to the box with cords—on the table as Gildemer nervously sat next to Gayhn to sit directly across from me.

“This is what I was referring to earlier when I mentioned a demonstration that would assist your comprehension of why you couldn’t sense Gildemer.”

I looked between the console, Gildemer, and KarriSah.

“Thank you. Gayhn and Abra already explained to me how cultivating Levels improves the soul’s quality and how that affects our senses and stealth capabilities, but I imagine whatever you have in store will be useful for better visualizing the difference in power.”

“Not just visualization, Niko Tess, but it can wait another few moments.” KarriSah gestured toward the old men and women standing respectfully behind her, who exuded confidence and health, presumably because they were also cultivators, even if not as powerful as their Matriarch. “These fine people are the other leaders of our Gilliam Clan. Our Elders, you could say, although we do not really have strict hierarchy outside of my position at the top, because I am our strongest.”

I stood from the couch and formally bowed to the Gilliam Elders, left fist in right palm. When I looked up, the newcomers seemed surprised at my politeness, until the oldest man in the middle stepped forward and performed the same gesture.

“We Goblins do not use the same social etiquette as the Races who came before us, but it is not unwelcome,” he said. “Where did you learn it? Or did your people have such a custom before the transmigration?”

I chuckled at the question.

“Actually, the person who taught me that is also the person who gifted me this spatial storage bag,” I sat down and lifted the treasure. “The System sent a very talented young catman to kill me in a Hunt a couple days ago. I defeated him, spared his life because he was very civil, and he gave me this. Gayhn and I were butting heads because he thought I’d stolen this from the Goblin man I’m searching for.”

The Elders exchanged looks and glanced at Gayhn disapprovingly before the man who’d returned the cultivator greeting smiled brightly.

“A young ‘catman’ you say? People who look quite similar to yourself, but with cat features, such as ears, tails, fur, and a variety of skin tones?”

“Well, I only met one and his skin was orange, but yes. He never told me what his Race is called, but it was clear he was some kind of scion. He was wealthy with good equipment, two Dao Specks, and maybe even younger than me. The Mohorioka Clan, I think he said he was from, or something like that.”

I expected the Goblin Elders to react upon hearing the name, but they gave no indication of knowing it.

“Well, the particular Clan the young man was from matters not, since their Race is a continent away and their politics don’t affect us, but it is still quite surprising that a Sedokeit was tasked to the Hunt. It is supposed to be more likely that a Goblin or Ogre be given the Quest, but I suppose that you might be powerful enough for the System to judge a talented Sedokeit more worthy,” the old man said flatteringly as he stroked his beard thoughtfully.

‘A continent away? That explains why they don’t care. And judging by how they’re treating me…I hope this means I found Humanity’s first allies,’ I thought silently, before asking, “So what’s your name? I’m Niko Tess, as you know, but you haven’t introduced yourself.”

The man in front of the other Elders smiled sheepishly. “My apologies, Niko Tess. I am Prropo Dedeswan. You may call me Prropo, if I may call you Niko.”

“Of course, Prropo. Though, you’re not a Gilliam?”

He shook his head. “No, my family is unrelated to our Matriarch’s. As a matter of fact, all the Elders have their own lines. We simply chose to unify under KarriSah and come out here away from the rest of our Race due to our shared…political ideology. Though, all four youngsters you met are of her or her siblings’ blood.”

I nodded. “Okay Prropo. So, about why I’m here… None of you know who Sahndo Bedri is?”

The Elders shook their heads and the one to Prropo’s right said, “We neither know him or of him. KarriSah has rounded us up to help with the search for anyone who does, however. We came here first to get a look at a member of the newest Race for ourselves. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, you are very similar to what our culture depicted. Now, we will begin asking around the Hamlet for anyone aware of a Sahndo Bedri.”

Eyes wide, I stuttered, “Wait, w-what? Cultural depiction?”

The Elders began leaving through the door they came from, and before he departed Prropo gestured toward KarriSah with his chin. “Matriarch KarriSah can explain. Until later, Niko.”

“Uh, yeah. Until later, Prropo…”

Upon the Elders’ egress the Matriarch gestured for me to sit back down and pick up the video-game-like device’s controller.

“I will elucidate this matter while you experiment with the Spirit Station. It is quite intuitive. Simply channel a trickle of neutral Chi into the controller. Do not be afraid of what you feel afterward.”

Internally laughing at the visual parallels between the Spirit Station and a video game console I played on pretty frequently before I got a computer, I did as the Matriarch instructed, picking up the flat, metallic rectangle with both hands. I channeled a few slivers of energy into it just like she said to, and I sensed some Chi circuits within the device activate.

Immediately a foreign force invaded my mind and latched onto my…my…

I dropped the metal rectangle and shot to my feet, cycling Chi as my chest rose and fell with heaves. Before I could say anything, Gayhn snorted.

“Relax, bucko. It won’t hurt you,” he grinned mockingly.

Without a word, Abra picked up the controller and channeled her Chi into it for a few moments, causing the Spirit Station—whose shape was a flat box laid down like a chess board—to light up in my magical senses. There was no real light coming off of it, nor any sound. Just…auras? It felt very much like a cultivator’s aura rather than a treasure aura like those from my defensive treasures, but projected so delicately with such astounding detail that I was almost convinced it was a hologram.

Atop the flat box stood a small humanoid figure as tall as two of my pinkie fingers stacked on top of each other. Besides its articulated joints and gauntlets, it looked like a simple doll a child might possess. The figure took a martial arts stance and punched the air once before disappearing as Abra dropped the controller on my lap.

“Okaayyy, I see how it works now.”

I picked up the controller again and activated the circuits within the box with my Chi. Just like before a foreign force seemed to invade my mind, but this time I didn’t panic, allowing it to latch onto my soul, causing…a new awareness to sprout.

‘If this is an elaborate attempt to steal my soul or something, I think it’s working.’

It was almost like I had grown another limb as the Spirit Station manipulated my soul or something to extend my mind. The box gave me control over its functions now, and with a flex of my will I made it project an aura on my side of the surface.

Gayhn snorted.

I had attempted to form a figurine just like Abra had, but even with all my concentration I could only create a formless mass. The aura behaved like a cloud as I struggled to direct my newfound mental limb to create shapes with the device. I could neither shape the aura nor move it as I desired. It simply existed in a very pitiful state.

Really, it was more akin to a light mist than a cloud.

“Now, dear Gildemer, please show the young man what you are capable of,” Matriarch KarriSah encouraged the girl.

Gildemer nodded and picked up her own controller while avoiding eye contact with me. Her eyes were still a bit puffy from crying earlier and I tried my best to pretend I didn’t notice. The girl channeled some Chi into the device and immediately an aura sprouted up on her side of the Spirit Station, but unlike mine, hers managed to form a shape.

It was just a box, but being able to form defined sides and corners was far more than what I was capable of, so I was impressed.

Then the aura box began floating forward, and it wasn’t long until it moved right through my pathetic cloud, destroying it. I felt a response from the Spirit Station in my soul similar to when my techniques were destroyed by Rahesh—though with much less intensity—as the aura projection was dispersed. I retracted my budding awareness from the Soul Station and placed the controller down on the table.

“Wow, beaten by a child. A difference in Levels means more than I thought.” I looked up at KarriSah, ignoring Gildemer’s affronted expression. “I take it from this demonstration that even if I have the same stats as someone close to Level 100, I won’t really be able to match them in a fight because of the differences between our souls?”

Gayhn grunted.

“Forget Level 100. The increased reaction time and control over their Chi of someone Level 60 will probably be enough for them to kill you if you stay Level 1. Especially if they’re Agility- or Intelligence-focused.”

“Unless I have some good techniques, right?” I asked. “I don’t have any at this moment, but I’ll focus on acquiring them next time I’m in the Tutorial, because I need to stay Level 1 as long as possible so I can kill…”

My eyes widened as I realized what a buffoon I was.

“I forgot to ask Sahndo! I forgot to ask him at what Level differences all the slayer Titles were! Do you guys know?!”

The sudden urgency in my quest for knowledge caused Gildemer to flinch, before she got up and returned to the cook’s side, who still hadn’t said a word.

“That’s right…” Matriarch KarriSah said with a kind smile that didn’t feel kind. “It almost slipped my mind that despite being so powerful, you’ve only been through the Tutorial’s first session. You have a lot of growth left ahead of you, assuming you survive.”

The air between us thickened a little as a chill ran down my spine, and I realized why her smile didn’t put me at ease; there were unspoken words in her eyes, telling me that my potential usefulness was the main reason my reception was so warm.

“5, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, and then every Level above 90 is variable,” Abra answered, since her aunt hadn’t. “The 90-Level-difference Title simply updates with what you want for every higher achievement. Also, it’s not just spirit beasts—you can kill cultivators for those same Titles, too. It is just much more difficult.”

My eyes sparkled.

“Thank you, thank you. I figured the cultivator bit on my own, though. Now, what about…100?”

This time, Gayhn roared with laughter.

“No need to worry about that, chump. But if you want to know so badly, feel free to try!”

KarriSah gave her grandson a flat look.

“Actually, don’t, because the corpse of a rare talent is not useful, and my grandmother will blame me for the lost potential,” he corrected with a glower.

‘Ah, he said it out loud. Just like that.’

“What he means,” KarriSah continued where Abra left off, “is that we do not know. In fact, as far as we are aware, no Goblin or Ogre has slain a spirit beast more than 80 Levels above their own. We only have information on such feats because it was gifted to us by the Dryads a decade ago in preparation for when our Race lost its System-guaranteed protection, which happened with your Race’s arrival a few days ago. From what we can surmise, the Dryads gave this information to every Race that came after them so as to warn of how powerful their leaders are.”

I nodded grimly.

“Gotcha. I guess it’ll be up to me to fill in the blanks after the Tutorial.”

Gayhn stifled a laugh.

“Good…good luck. Don’t die.”

“I’ll get the Title just to spite you,” I replied emotionlessly, before turning back to KarriSah. “So, to summarize some stuff for the sake of my notes… The Level difference between me and Gildemer is the reason I couldn’t see through her stealth technique despite having many more Attribute Points than her in…”

I paused, considering my wording for a moment before shrugging.

“… More points than her in probably all our stats since she feels between Levels 25 and 30. My soul/magical senses just aren’t strong enough to see directly through veils like that without the assistance of some specific stealth-uncovering Dao Speck, or a technique with the same purpose, or a Speck-powered technique with that purpose. And the weakness of my soul was pretty effectively demonstrated by the Spirit Station.”

I recalled the sheer impotence that sullied my confidence when I tried forming a doll on the Spirit Station like Abra had, only to be incapable of even crafting a brick like the one Gildemer destroyed my cloud with. It was almost humiliating, and only the fact that there was no way I was supposed to be able to accomplish what I wanted kept me from actually feeling bad.

“Does that sound right?”

The Matriarch nodded, so I proceeded to spend a minute or two just writing, and at first I was nervous. Several times in school when my teacher had put important notes on the board I had forgotten to write them down and then spent many embarrassing seconds frantically scribbling everything so that they could move on to the next slide, feeling like the entire class was watching me correct my mistake.

Surprisingly, writing down what I’d learned now didn’t feel like that. It did at first, but I quickly realized that the Goblins had more patience than what I was used to. Even Gayhn said and did nothing in the two minutes it took me to write down everything important. I figured it was a difference created by two things: a lack of a tight schedule breathing down everyone’s necks like at school, and the lack of instant gratification that came with living in a world ruled by cultivation without internet, granting them more patience.

I assumed. It was possible something like the internet existed, but I hadn’t gathered any clues that would lead to such a deduction, such as related infrastructure I was familiar with, so I assumed there was no version of the internet here.

I looked up from my completed notes.

“Umm, so now that that’s out of the way…you guys wouldn’t mind sharing techni—“

[New Quest: Survive being hunted by a fellow cultivator of Yorgefan, with the stipulation that you defeat your opponent within one minute or have your available Attribute Points and one random Title seized and given to your opponent.]

“You’ve got to be shitting me.”

Gayhn frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, probably ready to say something about my rudeness, as everyone else gave me quizzical looks. I preempted their questions by sharing the new notification.

The axe warrior’s frown turned upside down.

“This is gonna be good,” he said as I shot to my feet and began moving past everyone, heading for the doors.

No one tried to stop me, though KarriSah said, “There is a dueling arena to the south if you wish to gift our Hamlet with a show.”

I ignored her, running with about 50 Agility’s worth of speed toward the gate that we’d first entered from. It wasn’t the case that I didn’t want to be entertainment for the Hamlet, nor did I care about whether they saw my combative prowess—I simply did not want to accidentally destroy something or hurt someone and turn their goodwill against me. These Goblins were quickly becoming my first non-Human allies in this new world and I was going to do nothing to squander the opportunity.

Infuriating Gayhn did not count as squandering the opportunity, since I doubted KarriSah would care if we came to blows over an argument so long as I pulled my punches and caused no serious damage.

The west gate entered my sight very quickly and it wasn’t long before I was outside the Hamlet’s walls. When I turned around to see who’d been keeping up I was surprised to find no one trailing behind—though Gildemer was being carried by Abra. Gayhn and Abra seemed to be following with Agility alone while KarriSah and the cook were utilizing techniques to keep up. KarriSah’s lower half was enshrouded by a water cyclone while the cook was visibly struggling to maintain her speed even while propelled by an earth technique that caused stones to shoot up beneath her feet and lend her steps more power.

Finally we arrived at the edge of the area heavily-if-not-completely cleared to give guards a better view of the Hamlet’s surroundings, and to my surprise, nobody said a thing as I waited for the timer in my head to run down.

Looking up, I wondered if the darkening sky would be involved in this fight, like if the enemy had a darkness- or light-related Speck.

[Summoning the Hunter]

“Here they come,” I warned while building several Fireballs in the air around me, expecting everyone to back up some more instead of just watch me with amused expressions.

The next instant a shape popped into existence a few meters ahead of me, their entire body obscured by a round wooden shield.

“I do not—“

Unwilling to let the new 1-minute timer run out before I’d clocked the new opponent upside the head, I charged in with all the speed I could muster. To my surprise, it wasn’t just their front side that was protected, because their intricately carved wooden shield somehow expanded all around them in an egg shape. Once I determined there to be no obvious openings for me to attack I randomly chose a side of the wooden egg and began furiously slamming my fists onto it while trying to burn another spot nearby, continuously casting more and more Fireballs as the seconds passed, burning through my Chi very quickly.

Even through the hollow thuds of wood ringing from collisions with my fists, I heard the person inside clear her throat before she began yelling.

“Ahem! I do not know how you angered the Heavens, but for your stupidity I am extremely grateful! A Dao treasure, Attribute Points, and a new Title!” she said very cheerfully. “Please, save yourself the effort of trying to break through my defenses and lay yourself down at my feet so that I may mercifully leave you with an intact corpse after the minute passes!”

I didn’t let a single word she yelled through her wooden egg distract me, spending every second madly channeling my Chi into punches backed by 117.6 Strength, and Kindling-Speck-infused Fireballs.

“I can tell that you still think you have a chance of victory!” she continued. “Unfortunately for you, I am a defense specialist with the most advanced techniques afforded to cultivators of my prestige! There is simply, umm, no way that you could possibly… Uhh, that someone so new to the world as yourself…could…”

[https://i.imgur.com/2W0akwZ.png]

I no longer heard her toward the end as my fists combined with my Dao-empowered technique began chewing through her wooden shell. I assumed that she stopped wasting her breath so that she could concentrate on reinforcing her defenses, because although some of the burns and cracks on the expanded shield were closing, my unrelenting attacks were piling more damage than she could sustainably defend against.

Twenty seconds remained on the timer by the time my fist passed through blackened wood, and though the shield tried to close around my arm it was too late. My fingers closed around the neck of my unseen opponent, cutting off a scream, before I pulled her out into the sunlight, dragging her through her own shield. It only took so long because she had some kind of Middle defensive Speck.

Gasps resounded from the audience somewhere behind me but I paid them little mind as I focused on the person I assumed to be a Dryad, given her plant-like exterior. I had expected a living tree, berry bush, or at least someone with bark for skin, but in reality she was a pretty attractive woman with flesh that resembled a plant’s, bright chlorophyll and all, though very different from a Goblin as her height surpassed mine and her frame was wiry. Flowers and leaves grew from her body in random spots, too.

Thankfully, my horniness could not cloud my judgment as I moderately slapped the Dryad once to determine that her points were in Endurance because her flesh did not give. Had I not checked and begun beating her senseless when her points were in another attribute, she would have died and cost me the [Honorable Prey] Title.

“Wai— Ple—“

She couldn’t even get a word out as I held her up by her neck and repeatedly slammed my fist into her belly with all my might, starting the process all over again. Sometimes I missed her belly and struck her somewhere else like her ribs or arm and I felt more resistance, and only then did I notice that bits of wood stuck out of her flesh…which might have been because her bones were wooden.

Had she formed the shield out of her own body instead of using a treasure? Was that how she’d maintained the shield for so long while also having so many points in Endurance? Because as far as I knew, one’s Endurance score meant nothing outside of the body, and if someone planned to be a tank through defensive techniques they’d have to mainly spec into Wisdom.

I shook my head of the speculations. Only 7 seconds remained on the clock, so I dropped the Dryad and brought out Rahesh’s spare sword from the bag of holding and began drawing the pseudo-meridians for Sharpness, prepared to end everything in one strike to the eye so that I would only lose [Honorable Prey] instead of a random Title and my extra points.

The clock stopped at 5 seconds.

I fell to my knees beside the heaving, bleeding, and bruised Dryad as I released a monumental sigh that shook my entire body.

Then I realized that I hadn’t gotten a notification about winning because the extra Quest condition was just to defeat her—not necessarily to make her surrender.

I kicked the Dryad so that she rolled onto her back, facing up. She groaned and held her torso while quivering. Only a tiny part of me felt bad for making the beauty suffer, since she was a cultivator willing to use my life as a stepping stone on her path to power and said the cringe line about leaving me an intact corpse. But most importantly, she hadn’t inspired any sympathy in me like Rahesh had. She neither appeared young nor seemed remorseful about what she’d chosen to do, like the catboy had when I’d turned out not to be some kind of criminal the System was punishing.

Then again, with the 1 minute restriction I didn’t give her much of a chance to prove herself a decent person, but I really didn’t care. I just wasn’t feeling particularly charitable.

The Dryad began angrily groaning something resembling words but I wanted none of it and placed my foot on the side of her head, pressing it into the dirt a little.

“Surrender or die. I defeated you within a minute, but I still don’t have time for this.”

The Dryad stopped groaning and cleared her throat with a hacking cough.

“M… My people won’t…stand for this—“

I ruthlessly sent her flying with a kick to the ribs, eliciting a muffled scream as she spasmed and clutched her side as strange, viscous tears spilled from her eyes.

“SURRENDER NOW!” I shouted at the top of my lungs as I pressed her head deeper into the dirt.

It took another minute and some more broken ribs before the expected message entered my vision and she disappeared from beneath my shoe without fanfare.

[You have bested your Hunter and they have wholeheartedly surrendered. You have the option to accept their surrender, after which they will be returned from whence they came. However, doing so will cost you the prize option.]

“Finally.” I turned to face my Goblin audience. “There won’t be repercussions for letting her go like she implied, right?”