Goblins are typically very smart, when settled in safer areas, they usually gain a reputation for being quite mischievous. Young Alp however did not have the luxury to spend his time planning pranks, instead he was more often than not running for his life. Today he spent his time doing the latter. Tracking things was something his brother, Amos, usually handled. Alp was always the runner, the decoy, the one who could wiggle his way out of almost any situation.
His parents had met in the forest his father was born in. Both of their families had disowned them for their unique titles, fearing the consequences that might come from them. After deciding to travel together, they slowly fell in love. They hopped from town to town for a while, meeting people and taking in job requests from local adventuring boards. Eventually, they ran into some trouble. They never told Alp what exactly happened. Even after directly asking, his father would not speak about it. It lead to them settling down and starting their own village in this forest though.
Lina, Alp’s mother, used to be an adventurer when she was younger, she would tell Alp and Amos wild tales from the far away lands she visited. She passed her curiosity and strength down to her children. Usually goblins didn't have these traits, never really straying far from their homeland, but Lina happened to meet a traveling orc by the name of Verda when she was young. Sensing Lina’s lust for adventure, he let her tag along. It was during one of these trips she met Alvrin, Alps' father.
Alvrin also had an unusual backstory for a mere goblin, he passed his intellect and humanity down to the boys. He had worked in the first city ever to allow humans and monsters to coexist, Lynrith. The city was eventually destroyed after the Order of Atonement attacked it, labeling their peaceful practices a crime against their deity. While Alvrin lived there, he made great advancements in technology and science. If given the right circumstances, goblins can use their cleverness for far more than just planning pranks. He was one of the leading researchers for a hospital that took in both humans and monsters.
Amos was around three years old when Alp was born. As the children grew, the couple made sure to pass their skills down. Amos took after his father, always tinkering with something. He loved inventing things, whether it be new traps or just mundane items to help around the house.
Goblins were considered easy prey in the forest where his village lay. Close enough to the human’s kingdom to be considered a threat, while simultaneously being hunted by most of the bigger monsters who traveled too close to their village. Amos created a new way of building houses underground, connected to a path of tunnels; anyone who wanted to get to their cave would have to go through a complicated maze.
Goblins were known to be physically weak, so it was a lucky break when Amos discovered the cave structure gave off the appearance that a larger more fearsome animal had burrowed down into it. Most monsters didn't care to explore their little tunnels. He taught the neighboring goblin village how to build the intricate tunnels; it eventually became their preferred way of living.
Alp took after his mother, the heart of an adventurer was beating inside him. Alp did most of the fighting when they went hunting due to him getting a combat skill a few years before his brother had. Since he was still young there were times when Alp needed a little help, though less physically inclined, Amos never let him down. When the two teamed up they felt invincible. Amos being the strategist he was, used Alp as a weapon, coming up with the best, safest strategy to defeat the foe.
As with any other sibling duo, for as often as they fought together, they fought against each other just as much. Even when working together, everything was always a challenge between them. Who could catch the prey the fastest, who could hit the hardest, anything and everything they could possibly argue about. To the untrained eye, the goblin boys seemed to just be goofing around with each other most days. However this was not the case, the more the boys competed, the more skilled they got in return. They still had a long way to go before they would be able to rival their parents though.
Alvrin, their father, usually made Amos the leader for most of their hunts, always encouraging the boys to not be afraid of new things. It was a trap most goblins fell into, being too afraid to actually live life. However, he was overly protective of his children. If the new thing they wanted to try required them leaving their forest or contacting people outside, it was strictly forbidden.
Maybe that was what made him feel so anxious as Alp made his way out of Kilmon forest, the sun rising behind him. He felt a mixture of emotions as he left his home village for a new one. He was officially twenty years old as of a week ago. Far past the age when goblins would usually start trying to find a suitable mate, most finding them before the age of fifteen. He loved his home land, but it wasn’t the place he wanted to be anymore.
It was holding him back. He was a collector at heart, even had the title above his head to prove it. How many things could he possibly have left to collect in the forest? He had already tried everything, and sure he gained a few skills from it, but it wasn’t enough. He was done playing with sticks and mud, the forest creatures could never compare to the feeling of having trustworthy comrades. He had a unique title, meaning the skills he could unlock far surpassed the rarity of a simple common title holder. Who knew maybe one day he could become strong enough to defeat the demon king that plagued the continent one day.
His parents were against him leaving the village, saying he could just find a mate from there. The village was a neutral territory for all races, run by his parents. Normally races would stick to their own kind if possible, but goblins had the unique ability to breed with races outside of their own, so everybody was welcomed in their village.
The women from his home town weren’t bad or unattractive in any way, he had even thought about trying to collect women to unlock a skill, but it didn’t sit right with him. He could have done it, being the next in line for village chief meant girls practically threw themselves at him, but he didn’t want to be that kind of leader.
He wanted to lead the strong. It was like a compulsion he couldn’t overcome. It wasn’t the first time he had felt it either. Growing up Alp would have these overwhelming urges to collect things around himself, like the time he went around gathering these shiny red plants. He came across one one day, and it was like he became addicted. He scoured the region for those plants until he had a mental map of half the mountain he lived on.
Just as suddenly as the urges came, they vanished. After finding a nice haul of these plants one day, Alp unlocked his first skill.
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It wasn’t very powerful, but it was very useful, especially living in a forest. He used the skill as much as the cooldown allowed him to. Everyday he went out to find a new plant to learn about, his skill keeping a mental journal of his research for him to go back and check when needed. It told him many useful things like the best conditions and nutrients to feed plants, or the properties they produce when met with certain chemical changes.
He hoped to translate the skill into city life by selling low tier restorative potions made from his knowledge of plants. The only problem with that plan was that Alp needed to mimic the plant while it was still in the ground. Buying plants from the market and trying to deduce the properties they contain wouldn’t work. He would need to go forage on his own throughout his travels if he wanted to stay up to date with the other regions' shrubbery.
He was well prepared for foraging though, being raised by his parents it’d almost be harder for him not to be. They put him and his brother through strict training to prepare them for their roles within the village as leaders. Village leaders were in charge of keeping the citizens safe so he had decent combat training, at least enough to protect himself when alone. They also ran team exercises with some of the village's stronger citizens. It was important that Alp and his brother were ready to take charge of a battle and give clear instructions for the villagers to follow.
He felt guilty leaving his brother to lead the village alone, but they talked about it, and his brother fully supported him. He told Alp to see the world for the both of them since he was condemned to the village anyway. Born with the common evil title of, “Killer”, Amos would be immediately persecuted if he were to leave their little village. Due to the rise of a religion led by Zonnon of the demon lord’s army, people with titles deemed “evil” were hunted down for little more than target practice.
While he was sorry for his brother, Amos didn’t seem to think much of it. Being in line for village head, he never got disrespected in their hometown. Sometimes a newly integrated family would move in only to be frightened when told their next leader may be someone evil. They usually got over it though when they saw how he drove the wild beasts away from town.
Common titles would normally give common low grade skills, like the ability to create a certain amount of water from the air, or become instantly proficient in a basic crafting skill. Amos had an evil title though, and even the common evil titles gave out Mid to High grade skills. This is why some people believed they had to be killed at birth, before they became too strong.
He unlocked his first skill at a young age after tending to some of the wheat fields. The harvest was always in danger of being eaten by the pests living in the forest that surrounded the fields. To avoid the harvest being damaged, he would slam the butt of his sickle down on their little bodies, killing them, when he could. If not their populations got out of control and the harvest might be in serious jeopardy. After years of this, he finally unlocked the skill after synchronizing enough with his “killer” title. Gaining instant mastery over sickles, he could suddenly take down a fully grown moose all on his own.
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After that he was upgraded from fieldwork to the hunting party, where he would have more chances to synchronize with his title. He hadn’t unlocked a second skill yet, but he was still only fourteen. There was still plenty of time for him to grow under their parents' protection. He knew he could leave the village in Amos' hands. His parents stayed busy with the maintenance of the region and probably wouldn’t be sending anyone after him either. He was home free at this point.
He was walking towards the guards standing at the entrance of a fairly thick stone wall that circled the town.
“Oi, traveler, state yer business.” The guards looked sharp and focused. He wondered if there was a reason they were on high alert.
“I am here to pick some things up from the market, I am going on a journey to synchronize my title. My village was too small to produce many of the products I can find here, I'll only be staying for a few days at most.”
“What god do you worship?” the same guard asked.
“I’m agnostic, while I believe in God, I don’t believe in any particular one. I guess you could say I worship them all in a way” Alp answered truthy. He knew Zonnon, one of the commanders of the demon army, was a religious zealot leading the Order of Atonement, a group who believed in following the path provided by titles. Unlike other religions, the Order of Atonement did not have lore about the god they followed. There were no records of the entity who created titles, they had just existed from the beginning. Alp was sure his answer would appease them, leaving room to make them think he could be converted.
“You’ll have to keep this on during your duration here then.” The guard handed Alp a orange wristband that shimmered in the light. “This bracelet represents that you are not a completely devoted follower of Oros, the god of titles. Since you do believe in him in some respect, you are still allowed to shop here, but you are barred from gaining official citizenship unless you agree to convert fully. Additionally, some services will be unavailable to you since shop owners reserve the right to refuse service to noncitizens. If you don’t have any further questions please follow Mr. Warrick to his tent to fill out the proper paperwork required for your stay.” Alp slipped the wristband on. Once it touched his skin though, it automatically tightened around his wrist, becoming snug. He attempted to get it off but it wouldn't budge.
“Um, so how can I take this bracelet off?” He asked, a slight panic making its way onto his face.
“They don’t come off until you leave the city. They're just used to differentiate the citizens from the travelers, so don’t worry we won’t be spying on you or anything. One of our local titled scholars was studying enchantments done by an uncommon fine jewelry crafter that traveled through town a few months ago. Apparently they were able to create bracelets with different enchantments tied to them due to their High tier crafting skill. Ever since many scholars, crafters, and other creator classes have been studying the blueprint from one of the bracelets bought here. Eventually he unlocked a low tier enchantment skill which allows him to make simple form changing bracelets. We put them on the criminals that are caught here too, although those are different colors.”
Alp felt slightly reassured but he still thought it was strange. Shortly after the man stopped speaking they made it to the tent where he was supposed to finish his paperwork. They sat down around a thick wooden table, and a couple sheets of paper were set in front of him. He filled out the required information asking things like his name, age, title, and so on. He put down a different town for his place of origin, and also said he didn’t have any remaining living relatives just in case there was something sketchy going on in this place.
“Alright sir, everything seems to be in order, welcome to Figous, the land of Oros. If you go through that gate over there,” the guard pointed to a small path leading to a narrow opening in the wall, “then you'll be entering into the lodging district, you can find an Inn to stay in there. Oh but stay away from that rascal Mark, he'll surely overcharge you.” The guard gave Alp a wink before waving goodbye and heading back to where he came from at the entrance.
Alp felt great about taking the first step onto his path of adulthood finally. He was no longer tied down to a small village in the middle of nowhere. He no longer had to restrain himself from his desires. He was free, and he intended to make the best of it.