I said something needed to be changed but honestly…what would change? There was nothing I could do to handle the influx of Goblins attacking the Outpost other than defending until it all ends, or the others get stronger.
My stamina is definitely a factor but it’s not like I can’t fight for a few days without break. I just wouldn’t be able to use my flames the entire time which will be a problem in and of itself but not insurmountable.
At some point the constant attacks on the Outpost stopped, and I was able to sit Richard and everyone else down to discuss my findings and the results of that conversation was pretty much as I expected.
No one else had any other solutions as to what we should do. It wasn’t like anyone else was strong enough to survive on their own out there. Not even forming a small squad would do us any good. I’m the only one strong enough to venture out into the forest to see if something or someone really is leading the Goblins in attacking us, but at the same time…I’m also the only one capable of defending the Outpost. We did consider that there is a chance I could be fast enough to reach whatever was controlling the Goblins and take it out before the Outpost is attacked again, but Richard had a great counter for that line of thinking.
He said something along the lines of, would that just end the stage? And the answer was no…even if there was something in the forest controlling the Goblins, and I managed to kill it. Would that solve our problem? No. It is highly unlikely to think that the Goblins would stop attacking us at that point. Would I just have to keep repeating the process then? Keep chasing down the potential Goblin leaders in the forest while hoping the Outpost wasn’t attacked during that time I was gone? Not the best idea.
The only solution is the same solution that has always been there from the very beginning.
Get stronger.
Of course, there’s a few darker options at play as well. I could quite literally abandon them. Go explore and fight to my heart’s content. A lot of things would open up and be a lot easier for me if I didn’t have to worry about anyone else’s life. Though…I would be absolutely disgusted with myself If I actually walked down a path like that. I definitely wouldn’t be the man my parents raised, and that was unacceptable to me.
It would be one thing if they just kind of expected to do everything for them just because they knew I was strong. Especially if we had no relation to speak of and they just assumed I would help, but that wasn’t the case at all.
I’m the one who told them that I’d be defending the Outpost, and that they should rely on me. They are only doing what I told them to do, which means I just need to continue doing what I said I would do, and that’s protecting the Outpost and all its inhabitants...well not all its inhabitants, I’m sure Greja and the others don’t need any protection from me.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Anyway, the defense continued for a few days without much difference. The brunt of their forces would come in the morning, and they no longer stood outside to wait for me to arrive. Something we learned almost too late. A 5th Cycle Hobgoblin quite literally ran straight through the gate, but I made it just in time decapitate him and begin the process of cleaning up all the others. It was a good thing I was already up and prepared for their appearance.
Apart from that, everyone including Nate and his group trained like crazy while I worked to defend the Outpost. I did my best to take breaks as much as I could, but I was most like fighting for 15 total hours each day. It was more challenging mentally than physically, but it’s been worth it. Both Greja and the Blacksmith finally had a disciple. Both of whom from Nates’ group. One of them was Nate’s brother, while the other was a woman by the name of Jeanne. Honestly, I didn’t know the details of it all and was too busy focusing on defending the Outpost, but it was good people were learning these professions. Hopefully if it’s possible, everyone agrees to stay together once the Tutorial ends.
After a while, I eventually got word that Miss Beverly finally concocted her first potion without assistance. She managed to make a health potion of the same quality in the Alchemist Shop. So that was cause for celebration, but not just because she was successful. Apparently because of her achievement, higher tier potions became available for purchase. It was only advanced versions of the health and stamina potions, and they were triple the price, but still it was a big deal.
It made me wonder if that was a Tutorial thing, or was it perhaps the Alchemist doing us a favor because of Beverly’s accomplishment? Who knows.
Anyway…time continued to past for all of us. But it felt like it was moving slower for me. My days were filled with the same monotonous activities. Over and over again, I defended the Outpost. Over and over again, I fought against hundreds of Hobgoblins. The mental fatigue of it all was adding up. I rarely had time for anything else since I had to be ready. The fights were not hard, but to continuously do it for days on end with little respite? It was draining.
Was this what war felt like? Maybe a siege type war and we were the defenders…yeah that makes sense. Either way, this is taking a toll on my psyche, I can feel it…the previous stage wasn’t this bad either. After a defense in the morning, i had time to train, spend time with Irene, go on Dungeon runs. Now all of that is gone. But I would hold on till the end. This was something I pledged to do, and I will stick to my word.
This was what I repeated to myself until there were only 5 days left until this stage ended. I didn’t give up at that point, but something major finally happened. Nate, Brandon and Richard. All three of them managed to break through to the 4th Cycle on the exact same day.
A few other people like Irene reached the 3rd Cycle during this time but that really didn’t have any impact on our situation. This though…three new 4th Cycle individuals was massive. I can finally take a much-needed rest.
Or better yet a partial rest. Even though they reached the 4th Cycle, they would still meet a nasty end if they tried to fight the 5th Cycle Hobgoblins. Not even all 3 of them together would be able to handle one. The gap in fighting ability and strength was just that wide. I would still handle those. But all the other ones? They’d be able to handle at least some of them…I hope.