After teleporting, we ended up in the familiar location of the forest surrounding the Goblin outpost.

“Wow…it’s pitch black outside but in here it’s still bright and sunny.”

She was right, and due to that it took a second for our eyes to get adjusted to the sudden exposure of the sun.

Eventually I focused my eyes on the Outpost as I thought about my plan from this point on. I didn’t plan to slow down my training too much for the sake of someone else and I had a tight schedule to keep, but at the same time helping her grow a bit is helpful to me as well. Even though she’s still at the 1st Cycle, she could still be of some assistance. Assistance I didn’t really need, but it will serve as good practice for her.

“I’m going to destroy the gate. Once the fighting starts, I’d like for you to hit or kill as many targets as possible. I’ll be moving around the battlefield, so please do not hit me.”

She looked slightly worried for a second before she nodded with conviction.

Good enough I guess.

And with that I took off towards the gate of the Outpost.

I wasn’t worried about the guard towers as I was far too fast for their arrows at this point, so I barely paid them any attention. Until I hear the pop of a bowstring snapping, and the sound of an arrow meeting flesh.

I peeked towards the left tower and an arrow was lodged into the neck of the Goblin present within. A few moments later than the sound of flesh being punctured could be heard again and the Goblin in the right tower met the same fate.

She is taking this seriously it seems.

Good.

A moment after that and the gate was destroyed thoroughly. My original plan was just to run in and burn everything to ashes, but I took a few steps back to allow them to rush out. She needed a few targets after all.

Though this is also a good opportunity to practice my proficiency with the spear.

I was faster and stronger than them by leaps and bounds, but like the Outpost Leader, I could lower my speed a bit with the intention to use the skill of my spear to win the fight.

The Hobgoblins rushed out, and so too did their squads of Goblins behind them. I didn’t wait for them to form up and immediately took off running to the Hobgoblins before me. They didn’t have time to bark out orders of any sort, as I placed them under a great deal of pressure from the get-go and the fighting was in full swing.

Despite focusing on the battle at hand, I didn’t stop paying a little attention to Irene to my rear to ensure the other Goblins didn’t rush at her. Even if they didn’t see her initially it wouldn’t have taken long to find her presence as she was out in the open but more than that she was sitting idle.

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Every now and then I would hear the sound of her bow and an arrow would soon be zipping through the commotion and meeting the body of an unsuspecting Goblin.

For my battle with the three Hobgoblins, my aim was to try and improve my raw skill with the spear, but it wasn’t really beneficial at the moment. I tried to slow myself down and move to their speed, but it wasn’t very successful. They were simply just that much slower than me. They weren’t able to provide the type of intensity I needed to improve in the way I was looking for. A few more arrows whistled out as I thought about this, and none of them came close to me.

Hm, this is pointless.

“No more arrows!”

After yelling that out so Irene could stop shooting, I let my flames claim the lives of the Hobgoblins and all the Goblins that weren’t yet targeted by Irene.

Things got quiet pretty quickly after that. Well until Irene walked up alongside of me while staring at the last embers of my flames.

“They are beautiful.”

That was surprising. I mean, I knew they looked beautiful, but it felt slightly odd to hear someone else say that.

“Thank you.”

We both stared at the ground around us in silence for a few moments before I went to collect our rewards and left the Dungeon. I handed her the necklace, and a small portion of the coins for efforts.

Eventually we began our journey back home and we didn’t talk much after that. It didn’t feel awkward though, just somewhat of a tacit understanding to travel in relative silence.

Once we made it back home, I essentially dropped her off at the gate as I wanted to run by the Green Den as well.

“Are you heading back out?”

“Yes.”

“I see…”

She showed some reluctance but eventually she seemed to reach a decision internally.

“I understand, I’ll see you in the morning.”

And with that I nodded and made my way to the Green Den, where I ran through it faster than the time it took to get there. I simply did it for money. There wasn’t anything really needed in terms of training from the Dungeon, but the Bronze Coins and the Rock Iron was worth it.

Anyway, before long I was home once again and after a quick bath and putting on a fresh pair of underwear. I sat down on my bed and reflected on today.

There was a lot.

I am tall.

I had plenty of time to compare myself to others and I’m pretty sure I sit somewhere between 6’3 and 6’6. It was kind of hard to verify because people tend to get defensive about their heights. I get it. Anyway, I’ll have to ask the Blacksmith for a longer spear. My current one is fine, but I think one that fits my new frame will be better.

It was kind of hard to get used to seeing the world from a higher viewpoint, but it wasn’t a problem worth complaining about. Though honestly, I don’t think I want to grow any taller. Irene is about 5’10. Not that it matters.

Anyway, the attack on the Outpost was a big surprise. The Hobgoblins wore armor and were the equivalent to 3rd Cycle Cultivators. While thousands of other Goblins came in full force. It was another reason for me to continue to get stronger. I never want to have to depend on others to protect me. I’m not dumb enough to think I’ll be to fight everything on my own right away, but I’ll do my best to reach that point.

Going forward, the defense of the Outpost will rest on my shoulders until they can provide some real help. I have a couple ideas to make sure that goes cleanly. I don’t plan on letting them even get close to touching the gate, let alone breaking through it.

My only question would be if the group is stronger than the one, we faced this morning. Though I won’t let that thought worry me too much. I’ll be ready.

Probably the hardest part of the day was talk with Richard and the others. It went a lot smoother than I expected but I guess seeing both metal and green people, and even killing Goblins of their own, probably helped cushion that information.

We decided that anyone outside of the core group who asked would be told its some ability I learned in the Dungeon.

I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Moving on, I still need to consider breaking into the 6th Cycle sooner rather than later. I know the Outpost Leader will likely be there to help me, but I’d still be risking my life.

I have no problem with that type of risk, but is it worth it at this point? That’s something I need to decide on.

Ah this is tiring.