Dido the Goblin’s POV
Dido walk through the forest with fellow groupmates. Dido hunt for tribe and kill to prove to symbols in head that Dido the best. Stupid humans make symbols in head most happy!
Dido heard from chief that he count us and he think we getting smaller. Dido no care, leave stupid counting to stupid chief and stupid shaman. Chief say someone kill us, chief stupid. No one kill goblins! We too strong!
Dido the real smart one, Dido understand what truly important.
Dido look around and notice less goblin than before. Whatever. Dido not do stupid counting like stupid chief.
Dido continue to hunt. After long time of walking, Dido do it! Dido found a yummy rabbit! Dido run at yummy rabbit and kill it with spear. Dido strong! Dido provide for tribe!
Dido look back to show other goblin his prize, but all other goblins are gone. How dare they run away! How dare they be scared of small yummy rabbit! Dido not scared.
Suddenly Dido feel weird. Why Dido flying? Why Dido see body? Where Dido head? Why Dido seeing black? Weird.
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Rowan’s POV
‘And with that last kill, that’ll mark number… let’s see… one-hundred-seventy-six?’ I think to myself.
‘But man I don’t think I’ll be able to keep doing this if the groups get any larger. I already had quite a few close calls in that last group.’
It’s been about three and a half days since the start of the ‘Great Goblin Culling’ as I like to call it.
My plan thus far has been pretty simple. Wait for a hunt party to split of from the horde, follow them about a mile or two, then slowly pick off the goblins in the very back.
My Sword of Silence trait has been doing wonders for this type of job, making it almost impossible to hear when I slit a goblin or two’s throat, or cut their head off. Though when I do the latter I have to make sure I catch the head before it hits the floor and makes a noise.
All this killing has given my status a not insignificant upgrade, though each level is becoming longer and longer than the last, which is to be expected I suppose. Each level is supposed to take almost double the amount of effort to gain. That combined with the quickly dwindling challenge of my goblin slaughter campaign, and you get levels that take ages to get through.
I look at my status briefly to admire my gains.
Name
Rowan Attain
Level
3 → 6
Class
Race
Human/Janin
Attributes
Strength – 10 → 11 (+2)
Agility – 15 → 16 (+2)
Dexterity – 19 → 21 (+2)
Endurance – 7 (+2)
Perception – 12 → 14 (+2)
Intelligence – 10 (+2)
Willpower – 20 → 22 (+2)
(7 AP Remaining)
Masteries
Swords – 16 →18
Temperance – 13 → 14
Stealth – 7 → 10
Sprinting – 6 → 7
Exercise – 5 → 6
Thievery – 3
Deception – 3
Killing – 4
Blending In – 1
Misdirection – 1 → 3
Monster Hunting – 0 → 5
Skills
(6 SP Remaining)
Feats
Early Killer - The deadliest killers started young, and once you've killed once, what's another? Kill a sentient being before level 1. Very slight increased progression towards your Killing Mastery.
Swords Prodigy - You've trained and begun your path of sword mastery strong. Get Swords Mastery to level 10 before level 1. Slight increased progression towards your Swords Mastery. +1 to all Stats.
Temperance Prodigy - You've tempered your mind to be as solid as stone. Get Temperance Mastery to level 10 before level 1. Slight increased progression towards your Temperance Mastery. +1 to all Stats.
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Early Enlightenment - Form your core before level 1. One trait can be chosen related to your core.
Core
Sword – Your sword resonates with omnipresence.
Traits
Indomitable Swordsman - Your will remains steadfast and unbroken while holding a sword. Receive a slight boost to perception when in a tough situation. Scales based on willpower.
Meager Swordsman - A true swordsman needs nothing but himself and the sword. Increased progression towards your Swords Mastery while living humbly.
Sword of Silence - Your sword is silent until it strikes true. Harder for enemies to detect your sword coming. Very slight increased progression towards Stealth.
Dedication to the Sword – When without a sword, even the smallest of foes may slay you, but with a sword, giants bow to your might. +2 to all stats when holding a sword, -2 to all stats when not. Increased progression towards Swords Mastery, decreased progression towards all other weapon and combat masteries.
I’m quite proud of the gains I’ve made in the past few days. So many mastery levels in Monster Hunting isn’t surprising, and I expect it to only go up.
The reason Monster Hunting increases and not killing is that goblins were originally spawned from a dungeon at some point, and therefore are classified as monsters, though somewhat smart monsters I will say.
It’s hard to feel bad for the buggers though, considering the horror stories I often hear of the deplorable things they partake and take pleasure in.
I’ve even heard of planet that are now ruled by the things due to a horde getting out of control early in a planet’s integration.
A few of my other masteries received a nice boost too, though I’m most proud of my increased swords mastery, as always.
For my attributes, I decided to much the same as I’ve been doing, that being increasing dexterity and willpower the most and shoring up a few weaknesses. Though I increased perception a bit more, as it never hurts to be able to detect and react to ambushes faster.
Once I’m done checking over my status, I decide to head back to camp for the day. Eighty in one day is a pretty good pace if I do say so myself.
I begin to walk back to camp at a mild pace, taking my time to enjoy the surroundings greenery. The small birds chirping in the distance. The fresh, brisk air that seems to energize me with every breath. The sun setting in the distance turning the sky various shades of purple and orange.
‘Man this is great, and best of all, I got you right alongside me.’ I think looking at the sword in my hand and feel the worn steel brush against my fingers.
While I continue to take in the scenery, I hear leaves rustle above me. I look up to see a one hundred and twenty pound green mass of muscle quickly descending at me. I do my best to move out of the way and bring my sword up in an attempt to block.
I manage to deflect the worst of it, preventing myself from losing a limb, but I still take a large gash down the side of my leg that is spurting out blood quick.
I take a large step backwards, and take a look at my attacker.
He’s definitely a goblin, but instead of the small, thin goblins I’ve been preying upon until now, this one looks like he’s been taking steroids his whole life, with arms the size of my legs and barrel like chest.
His height is the same as the rest of the goblin’s though, and instead of crude wooden spears, this one sports a large battle-axe held in both hands. That, alongside the big green hooked nose, that’s so common among goblins, makes for an intimidating character.
‘Fucking damnit! Just had to ruin a good moment didn’t you.’
I look down at my still bleeding leg and begin to think of a plan to take care of this little muscled freak.
‘Ok think, this little fuck is obviously tier 2, so I won’t be overpowering him anytime soon and with my legs like this running isn’t an option. By the looks of it, he’s willing to wait me out too, so I won’t be using any reckless charges to my advantage any time soon either.’ I think while the goblin and I continue to stare each other down.
“Stupid human thought he could kill goblin and live.” The goblin says scornfully.
“Oh shut up you disgusting green mass of muscle.”
“I will take pleasure in watching you bleed out, stupid human!”
‘Fuck, what the hell do I do. Wait… maybe that would work…’ I think to myself as a stupid idea hits my brain.
‘Well I’m not coming up with much better, so let’s try it.’
Then I exaggeratedly pull my arm back and chuck my sword at the goblin.
Clearly surprised at the move, the goblin throws his axe up into the path of the sword. My sword hit the ground with a thud, and the goblin looks up from the sword on the floor to see me charging straight at him.
“Hahaha stupid human! You will die for your stupidness!” He says arrogantly, while raising his axe in preparation to swing at me.
Then, just as he is about to bring his axe towards my side, I gather spiritual energy from my core and begin to channel it yet again. I will, with every ounce of spiritual energy I can muster, my sword back into my raised hand and bring that same hand downward, not even processing whether my last ditch move worked or not.
A feel a short resistance before my hand stops and I realize quickly that my sword is lodged in this guy’s skull.
Less than a second later, being unable to stifle the axes momentum, I feel a sharp pain on my hip. That fine though, as I’d rather an axe in my hip than my organs.
I fall backwards to the ground and feel the edges of my vision darkening. Through sheer force of will, I manage to stay awake long enough to see three familiar figures coming towards me.
The last thing I manage to hear before I fully pass out is,
“Man, this kid really needs to quit passing out so much.”