After the battle had ended, the group dug a small pit at the side of the road and threw the corpses of the monsters in it. Even though Roy had little medical knowledge, he knew from listening to Jacob that diseases grow rampant in places where with lots of filth and death. The last thing he wanted was for an outbreak to spread among the villagers while they had to fight monsters at the same time.
Once they finished burying the goblins, Roy asked the group of four volunteers, “Tell me, how many kills each of you has? Give me the number that those words show you.”
Peter, being the youngest only killed one. Gerald killed two, Godwin three, and Clark five.
“Okay, to be more efficient, we will focus on getting each of you awakened first. We will start with Clark since he has the most kills already. We will then go by order of kills until everyone is awakened. Understood?”
“Understood!”
The group marched under the guidance of their two leaders toward their next hunt. After a few minutes of walking in silence, Roy looked at Marth and asked him, “So, what do you think of this group?”
The knight captain hummed for a few seconds while thinking before he answered, “They’re not bad. They lack the same military discipline and they’re not strong enough yet, but they did show good character and a willingness to listen.” He then paused for a few seconds in hesitation before continuing. “The problem is that we have not seen them in a true battle scenario, yet. That is when a man’s true self is shown to the world.”
Roy nodded his head in agreement with Marth’s words. “You’re totally right. As expected of the knight captain, your analysis is always thoughtful and insightful.”
Marth laughed heartily at Roy’s praise. “Well, you learn a thing or two when you serve for more than a decade. It’s a shame that rather than protecting the civilians of the empire I swore my life to, most of my time was spent being a high noble’s watchdog.”
Marth let out a self-deprecating laugh as he spoke about his career. His eyes were filled with a mixture of regret and anger as he recalled events from the past.
“Have you served in any war?” Seeing Marth reminiscent of his past, Roy slightly changed the subject.
“Yeah, I did. Five years ago, I fought in the war against the Balerian kingdom. I was a ten-man commander at the time. I cumulated enough merits there to be promoted to a knight. And after working under the Kasper family for five years, I eventually became a knight captain.”
For some reason, Marth’s facial expressions brightened up at the mention of war. Noticing that fact, Roy couldn’t help but comment, “You must have liked those ten men you fought with in the war.”
“Best people I ever met,” Marth replied with a smile. “Serious, hard-working, and they would take no bullshit from anyone. They’re as real as you can get.”
Listening to Marth, Roy smiled and thought of his own group of friends. He would sacrifice anything for them, and he was sure that they would do the same for him too.
As Roy and Marth continued to talk about their pasts, they finally encountered a group of goblins. There were six in total: two tall variants, and four small ones.
“Good, a perfect fight to warm up,” Roy confidently stated. He then looked at the young blond and said, “Clark, I need you to be sharp. Whenever we incapacitate one of the goblins, you come and finish it quickly. But keep an eye on your surrounding, don’t let them randomly sneak up on you.”
“Understood. I will make sure to do my job properly,” Clark replied with a confident and resolute voice.
Roy nodded his head before walking towards the goblins along with Marth.
“You take the left guys, I take the right ones,” Roy quickly spat out his directives.
“You got it,” Marth replied.
Roy dashed towards two of the small goblins from the right flank. Using the longer range of his blade and his superior speed, he overwhelmed the creatures with quick stabs to the torso and the shoulders. Roy had to control his strength so as not to pierce their flesh too deeply. Their small bodies were frail and if Roy pushed too hard, he would end up claiming the kills for himself.
After the two small monsters fell to the ground in pain, Roy kicked their daggers and knives away from their reach. Clark, who was on the ready, immediately rushed over and stabbed the two goblins through the heart.
Marth, on the other hand, blocked the tall goblin’s strikes with precise and trained movements. He used feints and fake movements to bait it forwards, before slashing its thigh open. The monster screamed in pain, but Marth did not falter. He quickly swiped its sword from its hand before stabbing it through the shoulder.
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While Clark was busy finishing off the monster Marth had just defeated, Roy rushed towards the other tall goblin. He sidestepped its slow overhead slash with ease and cut its arm open in one fluid motion. The goblin flailed and screamed in pain after its injury, but Roy did not hesitate. He immediately slashed the monster’s thigh, bringing it to its knee. He swiped away the monster’s weapon before focusing on his next enemy.
Roy dashed towards the small goblin who was frozen in its place. It was flabbergasted. It could not understand how the prey that they so easily hunted and killed before became so strong and ferocious.
Roy stabbed the frozen goblin in the shoulder before kicking its knee. Whether it be because the small goblin was frail, or because of Roy’s increased strength, he felt the bones of the monster break as he hit it. The small goblin screamed and fell to the ground on its face, not being able to move at all.
Seeing the beast screaming and shrieking in pain, Roy could not smile. However, he did not feel any pity or sympathy toward it. They were monsters; ones that delighted in the suffering of humans when they were weak. They invaded the village and slaughtered its people with no shred of sympathy in their hearts.
Roy kicked away the dagger from the goblin’s reach before turning to look at Clark. The latter was killing the defeated monsters one after the next. However, just as he finished off the tall goblin that Roy had defeated, the final small goblin rushed towards him with blood-crazed eyes.
Whether it be instincts or reason, the goblin understood that Clark was the weakest out of the three humans that massacred its pack. There was only revenge on its mind. And if it could take with it one of the humans at the cost of its life, it would gladly do it.
Clark, who saw the incoming danger, rolled out of the way of the goblin’s attack. He then dashed towards it and stabbed it through its stomach. The monster had a look of hate in its eyes as it stared at Clark. The life in its eyes slowly dimmed before it slumped over and fell to the ground.
Words appeared in front of Clark’s eyes. After the green light covered his body and the pain came and stopped, he could finally see his status screen.
Stats Attributes Rank Level Strength Initiate S Constitution Initiate B Agility Initiate A Mana Initiate C
Seeing that Clark had awakened, Roy finished off the last small goblin he had defeated. He then walked towards the young man and congratulated him.
“Good job, you are now an awakened.”
“Thank you, sir,” Clark replied promptly. He then paused for a few seconds with an uncertain look on his face before asking. “Excuse me, sir. If you don’t mind me asking, do you think goblins have emotions?”
Roy understood what Clark was thinking and feeling. He sighed and answered. “Yes, they probably do.”
“Doesn’t that make them similar to humans?”
“Maybe it does,” Roy replied. “But humans aren’t all that good either.”
Looking at Clark’s somber expression, Roy scratched his head and sighed. “Listen, I have killed many goblins this last night, and I have seen all kinds of expressions on their faces—anger, rage, fear. But I have only seen those emotions when I have become strong. When I was weak, I only saw contempt, malice, and hunger. To them, we are prey. It was only once we have awakened that they started seeing us as predators.”
Clark’s eyes regained their sharp resolution after Roy’s talk. He looked the latter in the eyes, “Thank you. I understand now.”
“Good,” Roy patted Clark’s shoulder. “Now let’s get going. Your friends can’t wait to awaken too.”
With Clark’s awakening, Roy’s group was able to easily hunt one pack of goblins after the next. Soon, Godwin and Gerald followed after the young man and awakened too. It was then Peter’s turn.
He was hesitant at first, but with each goblin’s life he claimed, his grip became stronger and his eyes more resolute. When he finally awakened, Godwin tapped his shoulder and looked at him proudly.
“Brave men are not ones who do things without being scared. Brave men do them despite being scared. You were brave, my boy.”
Peter smiled warmly at the middle-aged man before he muttered inwardly, “Thank you, mister.”
“Stop calling me, mister. It makes me feel like a stranger.” Godwin laughed wildly. “You can call me Godwin, or uncle Godwin if you want.”
“Okay, uncle,” Peter replied.
“I guess uncle is good too.” Godwin scratched the back of his head while smiling from ear to ear.
Looking at the happy atmosphere after everyone had awakened in the group, Roy felt a warmness in his chest. It was as if he was a parent seeing his kids become successful in life.
“Congratulation to you all of you. You are now a proud awakened, with the power to protect both yourselves and your family. Now, I’m sure that most of you are tired. Let’s go back to rest for an hour before we continue the hunt. This time, you’ll get to fight for real.”
After Roy’s little speech, the group made their way back toward Roger’s house. However, just as they were about to enter, one of the volunteers from Alfonse’s group came rushing toward them.
“Please-please go and save them—Alfonse and the rest. The Ogre is chasing them!”