Chapter 7 – Goblins? Where?

Leaving the village was easy, leaving undetected, a tad more difficult. But his maxed out Stealth skill helped. But the surreal scene outside the gate gave him a pause. A few dozen feet outside the south gate lay a vast open grassland. Nothing unexpected since he had reviewed the map in detail while walking.

What he was not expecting were the inhabitants - rabbits, thousands of them. Cute little balls of fur just roaming about munching on grass. The only feature distinguishing them from their cousins from Earth was the tiny needle like horn on their foreheads. He stared in wonder for a minute before chuckling to himself.

“Can you get any more clichéd? Horned murder bunnies outside the starter village.”

Well, it’s called a cliché for a reason. The goal here is to hammer in the point that looks can be deceiving. Most players will start to hunt these for food. A few hours of being poked and smacked around by these furballs and even the most girly girl would end up hating cute things.

Not me though, I still think they are adorable. Can we keep one?

Aenon scoffed at the idea but didn’t dismiss it outright. “We can think about it later. For now, let’s navigate around them and head into the forest. Anything I need to know before entering it?”

Oh yes. First things first, don’t kill anything. Your first kill is important. Depending on how difficult it is to kill, and the level difference, the rewards will get better. But, ummm, you don’t have a weapon. I was going to suggest you visit the armory before heading out, but you were in a weird head space. Wanna head back to grab a weapon?

“Nah, that won’t be necessary. I hate starter gear with passion. If not for basic decency, I would have already stripped myself out of these rags. I am sure we can think of something,” and with that he started his march across the plain towards the familiar call of the forest.

To him it was like a second home. Especially now that he had the Stealth Skill, he would be impossible to detect, unless of course magic was involved. He expertly blended into the grass as he neared the looming trees. They were much taller than the ones he was used to. At least double the height with thick foliage. There was a dirt road that went deeper in, so he decided to stick close to it.

He was picking up smells and sounds he was not familiar with. Despite all this, he smiled. This reminded him of the first time he ran away into the wilds back on Earth. Just as intimidating and unfamiliar as it was now. At the forest’s edge, he turned back towards the village one last time. It would be a while before he went back. Even though there was nothing in there that called him, some people had shown him kindness. That was worth going back to. He steeled his resolve and disappeared into the thick canopy of trees.

Despite the mental itch, he drove his stealth skill hard. He stalked various creatures from the fantastical books and games of Earth. Boars the size of cars, tiny, winged creatures that looked like pixies, etc. Avoiding them was a pain, but he trudged on. They were not his prey today.

As he observed the various habitats of the numerous creatures, something clicked in his mind and a window popped up in his vision.

System Notification

Identify Skill obtained. Please observe a creature or object to pull up more details about it. Higher level Skill grants more details.

“Huh? I thought I only had 2 Skill slots. Why do I get a third?” he asked curiously.

Oh, that is because Identify is an essential utility skill and it doesn’t put much load on your soul space. Everyone gets it eventually. Although, it merely displays the creature’s species and level. Nothing else. For detailed information, you will have to study the creature yourself, like a bestiary.

Aenon turned towards Harley and tried casting it on her.

No other information popped up which meant it wasn’t helpful in any way, except showing an opponent’s threat level. “Is there a way to get more information?” he asked.

There’s three ways to get more information. First is through your own observation. If the System judges that you have learned enough about a certain creature, it will give you a detailed description for it. There is no description for me, since I am a unique entity, and the System has no information on me. Whatever you observe will update the database of the System.

Second, is through quest logs. Certain quest givers may give out the information in advance, so it gets easier to finish it in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, you need to be part of the guild for access to this.

And lastly, you can buy the information. For this planet’s creatures, you could buy a compendium of all known monsters and items for 50 silvers. It would take you months to just go over the list. Alternatively, you could buy an information crystal with all the information for 500 gold and upload it to your interface like your map.

For galaxy level info, the cost goes to 50g, and 50000g for the compendium and crystal, respectively.

“Oof. Crystals are that expensive, huh? Well, it’s going to be a long-term goal I guess,” he admitted defeat.

Actually, why don’t you try to pull up your quest log right now.

And so Aenon tried to mentally pull up his quest log. He had not noticed it last time, but it was a separate tab in his status window. He could click on a quest in the left column and have its description appear in the right. He only had 1 active quest and zero completed, but he could see how important this could be when he had a bunch of quests to keep track of.

Active Quests (1/1)

1. Goblin Hunt

Goblin Hunt:

The Adventurer’s Guild is seeking information about the goblin camps in the forest to the south. Reward based on accuracy of information. Additional reward if you bring proof of killing a goblin (left ear).

Reward

For Information: Variable

For Kills:

· Goblin – 2 C

· Goblin Scout – 1 S

· Goblin Warrior – 5 S

· Goblin Shaman – 50 S

· Goblin Leader – 2 G

· Hobgoblin – 20 G

Completed Quests (0/0)

He closed the window and started exploring again. It had been six hours since he entered the forest, and he had not seen any signs of goblins. He was starting to think that this was just a ploy of some sort to keep new adventurers from drifting too far from the village. Nothing keeps people in line better than an unknown threat of indeterminate level.

After another two hours, he came to a clearing in the forest. There was a stone pillar in the middle of it with some weird hieroglyphics. He cautiously approached it. It was about 12 feet high with a diameter of two feet. The entire clearing was devoid of life, not even insects. Even the sound ceased the moment he got within 5 feet of the pillar.

I’d stop here and get back if I were you. That is a dungeon node, and you are not ready for it yet. You would need to be level 30 with at least one class to even survive it.

Harley’s tone and words were uncharacteristically serious. He decided to heed her warning but wanted to cast identify on the node first.

Dungeon Interface

Dungeon monster type: Treant

Dungeon state: Stable

Recommended level: 35-40

Recommended party size: 4

It would probably be suicidal to attempt the dungeon without any class or preparation. But he did want to eventually come back to it. He pulled up his map to see where he was. It had updated based on the areas he had been through. The rest of the area was covered in fog like a typical MMORPG. He saw the road curving east, and so that’s where he went. He was about 60 km (37 mi) south of the village, and surprisingly not tired at all. His boosted stats were showing their worth.

image [https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aviy3RdNwwXJhfojSzqeTRld7YLzBw?embed=1&width=1920&height=1080]

As he closed his map and started east from the dungeon node, he had a sudden thought, “Can I even level up without a class?”

Nope. All experience points are wasted unless a player gets a class.

“Then why are we here? Wasting XP is also not something I look forward to doing,” he said flatly.

Well, you are not just a player, are you? You are The Player who is bonded to me. Till you get your classes, all the XP goes to me. After you have your class, we can decide how to divide the XP between us.

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“I see…,” before he could finish the thought, the mental itch suddenly increased several folds. The feeling was pointing him towards the stone pillar.

When he got out of its line of sight, the feeling reduced but didn’t disappear entirely. Each time he came within view of the pillar, the itch got worse. He had started associating the feeling with being watched. And if the reaction was anything to go by, that pillar or something connected to the pillar was watching the area. He decided to get as much distance from it as possible. And so, his hunt continued. Deeper into the woods, away from all the chaos that was about to happen in the village.

………………..

Erwin

Erwin was ecstatic. He was built for this new reality. He might not know which stock options gave the maximum profit like his father, but he knew how to beat any game. The icing on the cake was watching the bozo, Mike, get dragged away to the dungeon. Plus, all it took were a few words of comfort to the damsel in distress for her to fall into his arms. She even agreed to share a house with him.

Although it did take him almost two hours to console the girl who was sobbing hysterically. He really wanted to get this show on the road and start leveling up. If the village head was right, they had two days to sort things out and become independent.

The housing was threadbare and lacked any creature comfort, but that was to be expected in any MMORPG of this kind. He was currently shirtless in his room, admiring his new physique in the small and dirty mirror on the wall. He had left his bedroom door unlocked and ajar, hoping that Jenny would go past and sneak in a look at his now chiseled body.

He could hear her crying from the neighboring room still. But he was getting impatient now. He needed to head out ASAP. He pulled on his itchy shirt and went to her room.

“Jenny. We need to talk. Could you please come out to the living room?” he announced after knocking hard enough to make her gasp. There was silence from the other side of the door for almost a minute. Thinking maybe she fell asleep or something, he decided to knock again. Right before his knuckles contacted the door, it swung open. She stared at him with puffy eyes and snot running down her nose.

“What? Did you figure out a way to go back home?” she demanded in the irritating nasal voice that made his skin crawl.

Even after hours of talking with her, she was still reluctant to accept their new life. He had to do something, and he was sure there was no way he could convince her. So, he decided to do what any sane individual would do while dealing with such a person. He lied.

“Actually yes, I did. I sneaked around the village while you were ummm…. busy. There is a way for us to get back. But it’s very hush hush and I only heard bits of it. The villagers know the method but don’t want us to find it. This is all some kind of experiment they are doing. We need to play along with their game for a while till we gather the information. But we cannot let them find out, or I am not sure what they will do.”

He gave the most genuine, albeit nervous smile he could, hoping beyond hope that she would play along. She was the hottest girl with whom he ever had a conversation this long. Her demeanor changed the moment he mentioned the supposed experiment. No idea how or why she bought the lie, but if it could make her stop sulking and waste the precious time they had left, he would lie till the day he died.

“Hah! I knew it. That is all my good for nothing brother is capable of. He wants me to approve of his wasted life, so he does something like this. Let me get my hands on him. I am going to…”

She started venting about things that made absolutely no sense to him, but he just kept nodding. After five minutes of this, he tried to direct the conversation a bit.

“Shall we go in the living room and have some food. You must be starving, I know I am,” he said tentatively.

Her stomach growled at that exact moment, and she scowled at him. Like he was somehow to blame for her bodily functions. But she didn’t throw another tantrum like she used to back on Earth. There was some progress at least.

They made their way to the living room where she immediately collapsed on the two-person couch, stretching her legs to cover the entire thing. He gritted his teeth to control his anger and sat down on the ground next to the couch. He mentally selected his inventory and pulled out his free bread, seemingly out of thin air.

Her eyes widened at the scene, and she jumped like she had seen a ghost.

“How did you do that? Is this also part of the prank you guys are pulling on me? Cheap parlor tricks to get me to accept whatever nonsense that guy was spouting. Where are the cameras? Very funny James. You can come out now,” she started screaming at the walls. She knocked the bread out of his hand as she started flailing around. He had had enough. He snapped.

“SHUT UP YOU DAMN WITCH. I HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT PATIENT WITH YOU FOR THE LAST THREE HOURS. BUT THAT DOES IT. SIT YOUR ASS DOWN THIS INSTANT BEFORE I TAKE THIS BREAD AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT.”

She stared at him dumbfounded and frozen in place. Frustrated, he grabbed the couch and flung it across the room towards her. Lucky for him, it barely missed her, or else it might have registered as an attack.

She screamed and backed away into the wall, next to the now ruined couch. Still not appeased, he took two steps towards her while screaming, “I SAID. SIT. DOWN.”

Her knees gave up and she collapsed to the floor barely holding back her tears. For some reason, looking at the terror in her eyes made him feel good. All the taunts, all the snide remarks, it all came flooding from his memories.

He walked towards her with as much menace in his eyes as he could, which was not difficult in hindsight. He couldn’t believe he was ever enamored by this cowering thing before him. That he was ever afraid of her and Mike. He picked up the dirtied bread from the ground and kneeled in front of her. He thrust the bread in her hands.

“Take a bite and just listen. One more word comes out of your mouth, I will rip your tongue out and toss it across the room, like I did the couch,” he whispered in her ear.

She tensed up for a moment before taking a big bite, dirt, and all. He patted her cheek, not enough to hurt her, but enough to sting.

“Now, say the word inventory. A holographic display will appear in front of your face. Select the bread.”

She hesitated for a fraction of a second before looking at his face. She complied and there was a fresh piece of bread in her hands. Her eyes went wide before he snatched the bread from her hands and rose up.

He dragged the pieces of the now ruined couch back to its original location and sat down while giving her a death stare. The moment he took a bite, he gagged. The taste was horrible. It was like trying to eat charcoal. He swallowed it nonetheless before turning back to his companion who had still not swallowed her bite.

“Do you need an invitation, princess? Or maybe you don’t need that tongue anymore?” his threat made her swallow the bread, almost choking on it. He gave her a savage smile before continuing.

“Now, repeat these words after me. I am no longer on Earth.”

Looking at her hesitation, he grabbed a splintered piece of wood and tossed it next to her face with enough force to completely shatter it.

“Aaaaaah. I am no longer on Earth,” she screamed and repeated the words in a panic.

“I need to live here from now on. This is my new home.”

“I… need to… live her… here from now on. This… is my… new… ho… home,” she stuttered.

He felt a pang of guilt doing this, but he squashed it immediately. The rage from earlier was still bubbling under the surface. If she refused to open her eyes, he would peel them open and staple them. He decided to drive in the last nail.

“I am never going back to Earth and if I don’t listen to everything that Erwin says, I will die a slow and painful death, starving on the streets or being torn apart by monsters.”

She stared at him with tears freely flowing down her cheeks, unable to say the words coherently. After a few more smashed pieces of wood, she finally said the words. As she said the last word, he realized. She was not thinking of the creatures in this new world. She was thinking of him. He was the monster. And he liked it.

………………..

Aenon

The sun had begun to set as he soundlessly navigated the forest. He had finished eating the ash-tasting bread and drank some water from a pond he came across a while ago, while also refilling his water skin. One entire day and still no signs of anything resembling green-skinned humanoid creatures wearing loin cloths.

At first, he thought maybe they looked different in this world, but Harley had assured him they did not. He was undeterred though. His hunts back on Earth rarely went as planned. He was used to surviving days with no wild game while subsisting on the occasional berries or worms.

About an hour ago, he spied on a bunch of apelike creatures eating fruits from a tree. They looked like the ones from back on Earth. Except these were green in color and blended well with the leaves. He cast identify on the closest one.

They were in a group of 6 and were a rumbunctious bunch. Howling at the top of their lungs as they swung from tree to tree. He waited patiently for them to leave before plucking the fist-sized fruits and filling up three slots in his inventory. They stacked 5 times in each slot, giving him enough for the next day or two.

He marched for another thirty minutes before climbing a tree and wedging himself into some branches. With heightened awareness, he scanned his surroundings and camouflaged himself with leaves till the mental itch was gone. Harley floated near his head as he admired the view from his perch. A vast foreign sky filled with stars and constellations he didn’t recognize filled his vision. Add in the occasionally vividly colored planet or moon, the sight took his breath away.

“Say what you will about this new world, but the view is exquisite. Are those moons or planets? Never seen anything in the sky except our moon. That green one almost looks like Jupiter. And that red one looks like it has oceans on its surface,” he mentally spoke with Harley.

Well, this planet has no moons. Every celestial body you see in the sky is revolving around this solar system’s sun. And before you ask, yes, all of them have life on it. This entire planetary system is created and maintained by the System.

Imagine it like a nursery of sorts. The System places newly integrated planets here. Since yours was not suitable for the survival of your native population, you were relocated to this planet, which has been fine tuned to have a similar day-night cycle as your old world. When you have grown enough, you will be released into the galaxy beyond.

But let’s not get into the intergalactic politics for now. Like you said, the view is spectacular.

“Fair enough. Just enjoying the view,” he took a deep breath and let his thoughts just drift along till he finally fell asleep. He dreamed of soaring across clear azure skies, and lush green mountains. When he finally awoke the next morning, he felt refreshed.

He took out another loaf of bread and some fruit to somehow tolerate the flavor. He washed it down with some water and was ready to head out again. After another two hours of trekking, he came across a small, abandoned camp.

The tent had an alien feel to it and was too small for a full-grown human. The canvas felt leathery and had a flap that was ripped apart by something sharp. But the weirdest thing was, there were no traces of blood. He carefully inspected the entire area and found traces of a major struggle but not a spot of blood.

He swapped out his Weapon (Dagger, Unarmed) Skill with Tracking (Woods) Skill. His vision suddenly changed into an overlay of colors, while his other senses picked up clues he would have missed. There was a faint metallic smell in the air, and there were some spots highlighted with red on the surfaces. He even found some faint traces of footsteps leading northeast, away from the dirt road he had been trudging along.

“Wow. If this is what Adept ranked tracking can do when equipped, I wonder what Savant ranked will give me,” he mused to himself. He found 10 different sets of footprints, with 7 of them non-human. The last three looked human but were too small, maybe children.

Looks like halflings, or hobbits as some of you call them. They were ambushed in their sleep. The area was scrubbed of any blood, but in a hurry. Weak magic was involved in the cleanup, which rules out any of the strong monster races.

Harley’s assessment gave him pause. She was right, no doubt. But this was too clean, too methodical. A simple fire would have been a better cover than whatever trace magic Harley detected. This smelled like a trap. Whoever was responsible for this, left breadcrumbs for a reason.

“It doesn’t matter how they did it. This shoddy cleanup was done with a purpose. To lure unsuspecting parties into a trap. Let’s just go around the path they want us to follow. It’s not like we have anything better to do.”

It is your call. I am just the guide here. What do you plan to do anyway? Find a goblin camp, kill a high level one, and escape?

“You are half right. Do you know what my favorite thing to do was when I played rogue builds? Infiltrating, stealing treasure, and assassinating. Hence, you are half correct. I do plan to infiltrate, loot, and escape after the assassination. But not any high-level opponent. We are going for the final boss,” he gave a wicked smile as he revealed his plan.

The final boss? Are you crazy? The strongest monster will probably be a Hobgoblin, who no doubt will have a full retinue of guards, including shamans who can detect magical stealth. Not to mention, even if you managed to sneak all the way in, you will never be able to do enough damage without raising alarm. You cannot fight your way out.

“Well, it’s a good thing we are not using magical stealth then,” he said with a smirk. “And who said anything about fighting our way out. A rogue doesn’t fight his/her way out. A good assassin doesn’t let the camp know about their exploits till they are safely back out.”

Well, that is even more ridicul…

“Shhh,” he ducked under a bush suddenly. He swapped in his Weapon Skill again as he heard a commotion up ahead. Using the System assisted Stealth (Forest, Urban) Skill, he army crawled towards the sound, which was getting louder by the minute.

When he finally reached the edge of a clearing, he found his quarry. And they were exactly as he envisioned them. Ugly, green-skinned creatures armed with sticks and bone clubs, all sitting around a campfire. It was a group of 7 goblins, and by the looks of things, he was too late. There were three sets of gear lying next to the fire, which meant whatever was being cooked, wasn’t exactly kosher.

He lay there on his stomach and cast Identify on the creatures. The only thing that popped up was their levels. They ranged from Level 1 to Level 6. The biggest of them all was sitting on a large boulder and cackling with glee while shouting in a guttural language. He was wielding a humanoid leg in his right arm and was probably recanting some epic tale of his conquest of their latest victims.

The camp dwellers were completely unaware of the danger lurking just a few feet from them. As they were busy reveling in their leader’s tale, a shadow lurked in close before disappearing back into the woods. The only indication of its passing was a missing dagger from their loot pile.