Civilization #33 Chapter 33 - Read Civilization 33 Chapter 33 Online - All Page - Novel Usb

It was a cold night on this mountainside but still, I was happy. I felt like going out and finding new things so when I come back mum, dad and even Ian will praise me. I am lucky that Luke is coming along too. He is a great guy. Although he does not speak much, his actions tell a hundred words. It was like that time when we were going to fight the goblins in the encampment. Ian had initially told us we would both hide on a ledge and then appear when he was in trouble but Luke told Ian that I should stay back. He knew I was too scared to fight. He knew that I could not do it. I felt relief that I did not go to fight those goblins then but in the back of my mind I felt guilty. Since then whenever I went out to the forest with Luke I would ask him to help me train myself. Playing a serious game of tag and running through the forest. It helped me in my instantaneous decision making, where to place my feet, where to turn, how to cover my tracks. Luke helped me get better.

Now, we were all in a bind. I heard Luke stand up but decided to be quiet hoping to fall asleep again. The goblins were resting peacefully, one of them was even snoring but I noticed Luke did not move. I would have heard the sound of rocks being kicked or dust flying away in the wind but I heard nothing. I choose to keep my eyes closed I felt like I was just paranoid.

Until.

"Hello, there...boy."

That deep rugged tone sent shivers down my spine. I open my left eye ever so slowly. I see something huge next to Luke. Something twice his size bending down. A red monster covered in tattoos and wearing reflective armor. It held a log in one of his hands dangling it near its waist right above my head. My mouth became dry, my hands started to sweat and I could see Luke with a distressed expression. He was looking at the monster, staring into it. I could see Luke swallow and as he shakily opens his mouth. The monster moves his free and onto Luke's shoulder.

Luke's eyes widen and he stops his mouth half-open. I grit my teeth and stare at the scene. Scared. Scared. Scared. I have not changed. I am still scared. Those days running around with Luke training my speed and my determination all went with the wind. I am scared. I am so scared.

All of a sudden the monster's face appear in front of me. It moved its head from next to Luke right in front of me. I can see its pores, the small fine hair on its face, the fangs as big as my head, eyes like the crescent moon and its creepy grin.

My scream stayed in my throat refusing to come out. My eyes stay fixated on its eyes. Sweat drip down the side of my face.

It squints its eyes even further as it looks at me.

"Are you...afraid?"

Its smile grew even larger. It starts to stand up straight slowly. My mind is blank. I do not know what to do. What do I do? What can I do?

"RUN!"

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I hear Luke scream at the top of his lungs. In the corner of my eye, I see him swing his knife at the neck of the monster. The goblins wake up, confused and distraught. They notice the enemy and scream. Scrambling for anything to toss at the fiend while looking like clowns. I could not move. I was worse than the goblins that were aimlessly moving around. I sat there frozen in place.

"RUN!"

I hear Luke scream again. This time I turn towards him. I see the knife break the moment it touched the monster's neck. The monster's face still wearing the creepy smile. It stood up straight and looked down on us. It starts to chuckle. My skin crawls and my throat becomes dry. It feels like someone is gripping my stomach. My hands go back behind me reaching further away while I push my feet slowly. I back off bit by bit. My eyes were wide and my breathing was unstable.

"RUN OSCAR! GOBLINS ATTACK!"

Luke's scream pierces through my brain. My body starts to move before my mind. I turn around and scramble on the ground. My hands and knees desperately pushing my body forward until I stand up. I start to run. Towards the forest. Towards HavenFall. Away from that monster. Away from...Luke.

I step away, a few steps only to turn back. I regret turning back. The joy, laughter from its face vanished. Instead, anger. Its eyes were wide. There was no smile. The log gripped above its head. The goblins were stabbing the monster's feet with broken knives and rocks. Luke stood there motionless gripping his necklace.

"SUMMON GOLDEN WOLF!"

He jumps backward while a golden wolf leaps forward towards the monster. Shooting forward like lightning and bearing its fangs at the monster's neck. Luke turns around without waiting to see the result and sprints down the mountain towards the forest.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OSCAR? RUN! RUN! RUN!"

Luke sprints past me grabbing onto my arm. I run. I run with him. Right behind him. I do not stop. Behind me, I hear the howling of the golden wolf and the screams of the goblins.

We enter the forest. Our domain for the past weeks. We knew most of the forest's layout. Where exposed roots are, where there are low branches, dead logs and random pits. We run further and further away.n0๐‘ฃ๐žฎ๐“ต๐“ค๐—Œ๐.๐’ธ0๐“‚

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"Why...run?"

Like a bolt of red lightning, it appears in front of us crashing into the trees. Its eyes shine yellow and a roar escapes its mouth.

"OSCAR! RUN BACK TO HAVENFALL. I'LL DIVERT ITS ATTENTION."

Luke pushes me to the right while tossing his knife at the monster's face. The knife is easily repelled by the 2 large fangs. Luke runs fast towards the direction of the wolf den but as if lady luck had forsaken him he trips. His feet catch an exposed tree root and he falls straight on his face.

The monster's angry expression returns to the playful grin. He laughs again and slowly trods towards Luke.

Luke is going to die. Luke is going to die. LUKE IS GOING TO DIE.

"HHAAAAAHHH!!!!!"

I run towards the monster smashing a random tree branch across his face. Of course, I do no damage at most all I do is irritate and annoy him. But that is enough.

"THIS WAY YOU UGLY PIECE OF CRAP!!!!"

I yell at the top of my lungs and toss anything my hands can grab at the monster while running weaving through the dense forest.

"NO OSCAR!"

Its eyes filled with bloodlust and anger. It screams and charges towards me.

"RUN LUKE! RUN!"

I run desperately. Jumping behind thick trees as it catches up to me. I could not even tell which way I was going anymore. I just had to run. Further, further away. Dodge everything that comes towards me.

Just survive.

"Huh...? Why is the ground above me?"

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I watch Luke, Oscar and the 6 goblins walk into the forest to scout out the surrounding areas around HaveFall. While they were gone HavenFall was still busy. With the construction of the moat finished there now needs to be a way for us to attack over the wall. There are two solutions. One is to create some sort of platform right behind the wall, something like a step. The other option is to create watchtowers. I personally prefer creating watchtowers because we can make two to four watchtowers near the front while having two at the back. They will provide a better cover for us when met with other ranged opponents since the people in the watchtowers will have a height advantage. Aiming at an enemy from the top of a watchtower is easier than aiming at them from the wall since the wall will not provide as much cover. The only problem is how to make the watchtower.

I consulted Howard, old man Hus and Robin on their opinions in making a watchtower. Since Robin is our best archer I wanted her opinion on the idea of a watchtower. To my liking, she agrees and proposes the tower to be at least twice the height of the wall but to keep it at two towers at the front, both near the mountainside. She suggests this because it would be easier to construct the tower next to the wall as we can chip away into the mountainside and secure the tower both at the ground and at the mountain. It would make it less likely to fall from its own weight as well as making a second option on getting down in the case of the tower being destroyed from the bottom.

Howard suggests we cut down the trees further from the edge of the first as they were more thick and sturdy. Old man Hus was fine with the idea but needed time to understand how to create the watchtower. With that, most of the planning for the watchtower was down and Howard and David was to set off for the forest tomorrow morning.

Owen comes back from the river with his catch of the day and everyone ate a hearty dinner. Gobi was a little bit sad since most of his goblin friends were in the forest but despite this, he told me he was ok. He just needed to wait until the next day and another friend will appear from the Goblin Hut. I went to rest in the mudhouse and prepare my body for tomorrow.

It was the middle of the night, I felt a little thirsty so I woke up and planned to go towards the river with the water sack. I step out of the house and look around. The silver moon shining in the black sky surrounded by sparkling stars smile down on me. The sound of the water rushing down from the waterfall is like music to my ears. I have heard it every day, every hour, every minute and every second. A calm breeze flutters my hair and brushes against my skin. It's so peaceful. There were no sounds of cars honking each other, no smell of gas or petrol, no yelling of neighbors, it was just a quiet night in Settlement.

All of a sudden a blue screen appears in front of me.

[ Gomi has died. ]

[ Gori has died. ]

[ Gopu has died ]

[ Gotu has died ]

[ Goki has died ]

[ Gowu has died ]

A string of messages appeared before me.

"Whatโ€ฆ? They died. "

The goblins that were sent out as a scouting party with Luke and Oscar had died. I drop the water sack and run towards the gate. I look into the dark forest and I see nothing. The darkness looks back at me.

"What happenedโ€ฆ?"

I start to sweat, Luke and Oscar are still ok. There were no messages saying they died yet so it was safe to assume that they were still alive. In fact, this is the first time I have seen this message since no one had died yet. I panic, I look around aimlessly at the gate. I do not know what to do. Should I go into the forest? Should I arrange another scouting party? Do I just wait until the morning?

Terror sinks into my heart. I start to breathe quickly. I run back to the house.

"HOWARD!"

I wake Howard up with my shout but by doing so I woke up everyone else.

"Ah...Sorry, everyone. Howard come with me."

I grab the sleepy Howard's wrist and pull him away from the mudhouse. After going a good distance away I turn back to him. He looked like he woke up a bit after the initial wake-up call but he was still a little groggy.

"I think something bad happened in the forest."

Upon hearing my bad news he snapped out of his sleepiness.

"What's wrong?"

"You know how I am somewhat connected to the goblins since I placed the Goblin Hut. Well, not too long ago I felt that each goblin had died."

Howard's face contorts in distress.

"Wh-What about Luke? And Oscar? Are they ok?"

"I am not sure just yet. I have not felt anything from them."

Howard's eyes shake and he starts to pace around on the spot. He walk back and forth for a moment before he stands in front of me with a determined expression.

"I am going."

I give him a confused face.

"Going? Going where? Into the forest? We do not even know what is in there. Only Oscar or Luke can lead us in the direction. How do we even know which way they took?"

"Ian, it's not we. I am going."

Howard runs to the storage and takes out an ax and a shield before running towards the gate. I click my tongue and grab a spear and shield of my own before chasing after Howard.

"WAIT HOWARD! YOU CAN'T JUST GO OFF ON YOUR OWN."

"IAN! They are in danger. I cannot just stay back."

"No, what I am saying is I will go with you. I might not be the best fighter but I can at least do something when we meet the enemy."n0๐—๐“ฎ๐“๐‘ข๐—Œ๐“‘.๐—ฐ0๐—†

"Are you sure?"

Howard gives an unsure expression to me. He knows that I am not the strongest nor the fastest person in our group.

"Yea, I'm not the best guy here but I am the luckiest right?"

With a smile on my face, I convince Howard to move with me.

But even that simile did not last long.

[ Oscar has died ]

"Oh noโ€ฆ"

I stand there staring at the blue screen. I can't believe it.

"IAN! HEY! IAN are you ok?"

"Huh. Whatโ€ฆI."

Howard grabs my shoulder and shakes me.

"What's wrong?"

"Oscar...He..Heโ€ฆ"

I can tell I look distraught. I can't even speak properly. Howard stops shaking me and dashes into the forest. I grit my teeth and run after him. The only thoughts left in my head were, why did I send them out? I could have just asked only the goblins to go searching for things? What if Luke dies too? How can I explain this to Robin and Owen? Why did this happen?n0๐—๐‘’๐“๐“Š๐ฌ๐—ฏ.๐—ฐ0๐“‚

I can barely keep up with Howard he seemed to be running faster and faster into the abyss. Neither of us knew where Luke and Oscar went, we just kept running. Keeping the mountainside to our left we run through the forest hoping to catch a glimpse of Luke or Oscar.

I see Howard stop in front of me. I couldn't catch my breath. I bent down breathing in and out heavily, with my hands on my knees.

"H-Howard what is it?"

I could barely speak. My voice was cracked and my throat was dry. I look up slightly and my eyes widen. Large trees shattered in half spread across the ground. There was a large gaping hole in the canopy, moonlight shining down on the destruction of the forest. What could have done this?

"It looked like some beast went on a rampage and knocked everything down. Could that be what Oscar and Luke encountered?"

Howard and I crouched down and followed the trail. Away from the mountain and deeper into the forest. So many unknown factors were piling up on top of each other. What made this trail? Where is it going? Where is Luke? Are we even safe right now?

Each step felt like a million years. I hear my heart pounding against my chest. Whenever a sound occurs I snap my head towards it. I was filled with fear and anxiety. My palms were sweaty and my throat was constantly dry. My head felt like it is being squeezed under the pressure. I wonder if Howard felt the same? He looked calmer. Cautiously surveying the surroundings in front and each step quiet and confident.

The forest was filled with dangers one cannot even imagine. We already knew about the den of golden wolves but this destruction could not be thor doing. They are intelligent, agile and crafty. What split these trees in half and plowed through them can only be something bigger.

"RRRRRRROOAAAARRRR!!"

A head-splitting scream occurs in front of us. Followed by the sound of trees falling to the ground. It was still on a rampage. Howard leaps up from his crouching position and starts to sprint towards the sound. I watch him as he runs further away. I pick myself up slowly and start to run after Howard too. Watching his back blend into the darkness.

It was not long until I see our culprit. Twice the size of Howard. Scarlet red skin with jet black tattoos covered in some sort of armor. It swings its huge log around like its paper smashing it into other trees. Each time it exhales I can see the miss coming from out of its mouth. Surrounding the monster were 10 golden wolves and the alpha golden wolf. The wolves growled and howled at the monster.

"Lukeโ€ฆ"

I hear Howard say Luke's name but I could not see him. I search in front of me looking at every corner until I focus near the alpha golden wolf. There was a small golden wolf showing the most aggression. Its body almost touching the ground, with its fangs exposed and paws digging into the dirt. It looked ready to pounce on anything. Right behind it was Luke.

His face was covered in dirt and blood. His head swaying back and forth, eyes unfocused and his mouth slightly open. His chest was covered in bruises and scratches. He slouches down against the tree and looks in the direction of the monster. His mouth slowly forms a smirk and silent laughter escapes his lips.

I see Howard stepping forward but luckily I grab his shoulder in time before he exposes himself. I whisper to him as silently as I could.

"Stop Howard. You cannot go there."

"Why not Ian? Luke is right there. He is hurt, in pain and he might even die."

"Because what can we do if we were to walk there? That red giant thing will kill us and if that doesn't kill us I am sure the golden wolves will. The only upside is that the golden wolf next to Luke is the one from the necklace. I am not sure what happened but for now, the rest of the golden wolves seem to be on Luke's side. We cannot change that or else Luke, you and I will die in seconds."

Howard grits his teeth and looks at me with his worried and angry expression.

"SO what? You expect me to stay here? Stand here looking at Luke? I treat him like a son Ian. I do not know if you know how that feels but I cannot just stand here."

"Yes, I know. I know Howard. You, Lucina and Luke have a very special relationship and I cannot understand that. But if you go out there and attract the attention of those monsters and die what then?"

A sense of realization passes through Howard.

"Ok, Ian how do you suggest we do this?"

"The wolves are currently engaged in a fight with the red monster. We should detour around them all and come to the back of Luke."

"Ok...I understand. Luke...Wait for us."

"And Howard. I am sorry for before. I was not thinking clearly."

Howard pats my shoulder and shows a forced smile.

"It's fine, I understand. It's hard. Let's save Luke. Ok, Ian?"

"Ok let's move."

Run.

Run.

Run.

Run.

RUN!

RUN!

RUN!n0๐—๐”ข๐—…๐‘ˆ๐“ˆ๐‘.๐” 0๐“‚

RUN!

Don't stop.

Don't stop.

Don't stop.

Don't stop!

I'm sorry Oscarโ€ฆ

I can't get that scene out of my head. Oscar running after hitting that monster. His stomach smashed in half. Blood and guts splattered across the ground and his face was full of disbelief. The maniacal laugh in between the crunching of bones resonated in my head. My eyes blurry from tears, my skin scratched by random branches, my arms and legs bruised from tripping and falling. But I don't stop moving.

There is no way of killing that monster. It is in a league of its own but now where do I go? HavenFall is out of the option and I do not even know left from right. I'm lost. That tree looks the same as the tree I passed by seconds ago. I keep running aimlessly trying to increase the gap between me and that monster.

I step around a large grey boulder in my path and I see the turquoise-blue stream. Its crystal clear water babbles and burbles as it jumps over protruding rocks in its path.

"The river...THE GOLDEN WOLVES!"

A wave of relief flashes through me as I desperately search for the golden wolves. The sense of death looming over me vanished and I slowly wade myself through the stream. All of a sudden I hear the sound of trees collapsing on top of one another behind me. A dust cloud reaching higher than the canopy creeps closer.

"It's coming. It's coming."

I desperately move my legs faster and faster. Pushing with my arms and grasped the air desperately going moving closer to the other side. Then I stood still. In the vegetation, I could see the large amber eyes peeking at me. It wasn't just one pair but four pairs of eyes locked on me. I gulp down some saliva and could not move. All of a sudden, all four wolves spring up from their location and dash towards me. I bring my arms in front of me bracing myself but all four wolves leap over me and into the forest behind me. Not long after another group of wolves appears. Six golden wolves jump over me and follow their kin. I relax a bit thinking it might be over and I turn my head back towards the direction away from the monster.

"Little one, why are you here?"

In front of me, a large wolf head appears. Its two large amber eyes stare at me and its silver and gold fur dance in the breeze. Did it just speak? My mouth moves to reply but nothing comes out.

"Little one, I do not have much patience. Speak why are you here?"

"Umm...I am running awayโ€ฆ?"

I was dumbfounded. What was I meant to say in that position?

The wolf moves its head into the river and lifts me into the air. I let out a surprised gasp and flail my arms in the air helplessly before landing on the wolf's back.

"Little one, I know you saw me and my kin before. Why have you come back? You, say you are running from something? Is it the Blood Ogre?"

The wolf leaps over the river and starts to move slowly into the forest while speaking to me. I can only answer back its questions but even then I do not know much.

"I ran from a red monster. M-my friend was killed by it. I remember that there was a den of wolves near. I could not bear to bring the monster back to my family so I took a gamble. If I died to the wolves so be it. At least the wolves might kill the red monster for me."

"Interesting thought little one, you are mistaken about something though. We would not harm you. Around your neck is a symbol of the Golden Wolf Tribe. An amulet that allows our ancestors and past brethren to appear once again in this world. Little one, may I see the wolf which is imbued in this amulet of yours?"

I hesitate for a second. All this information is coming in too fast. The necklace Ian gave me is an amulet that brings a golden wolf from the dead? Golden wolves are a tribe in this world? Are they not monster's themselves? Are they similar to goblins? I look at the necklace and see there are only two fangs left on it. I grasp one of them and think about that golden wolf that appeared at HavenFall.

"SUMMON GOLDEN WOLF."

Next to the silver and gold wolf appears the wolf which has protected and fought alongside me.

"I see little one. This is the wolf that resides in the amulet. Please take good care of the amulet as there is only one more use. For now, let us go towards the Blood Ogre."

The silver and gold wolf leads the way while my golden wolf follows after closely. I can hear the destruction of the forest and the howls of wolves as I get closer. My palms start to sweat and the fear wells up inside me. We reach the clearing where the monster or what the wolf calls it Blood Ogre was surrounded by ten golden wolves.

The Blood Ogre looks in my direction and smirks.

"Welcome back...Boy. Your friend was...delicious."

It licks its lips after speaking and my spine runs cold, the hairs on the back of my neck stand tall.

"LEAVE THIS PLACE BLOOD OGRE!"

"Oh...You're here...Dumb mutt. Just...DIE!"

The Blood Ogre pushes off the ground leaving a small crater dashing towards the wolf and me. With a shake of its back, I get flung away hitting my back against a tree. The golden wolf runs next to me and stands in front of me.

The silver and gold wolf leaps forward dodging the log and swiping at the Blood Ogre's face. Missing narrowly the Blood Ogre leans back and punches forward with its free arm hitting the wolf on its side. All the wolves growl baring their teeth at the monster slowly approaching it from all sides.

I smirk at the scene.

"An enemy of my enemy is my friend. You told me that before didn't you Oscarโ€ฆ"

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"Ian, hurry up and keep moving we need to get to Luke as fast as we can."

Howard whispers behind me lowering his voice as much as possible. There were no movements from either the wolves or the monster so we weren't sure if they noticed us yet. To be safe we were further away from the edge of the clearing and proceeding slowly and quietly. Each step as though three or four steps in advance to reduce the amount of noise while increasing the distance as quickly as possible. I look over to the monsters and observe their movements every so often through the gaps in the leaves. The red monster was surrounded but it looked calm and dare I say happy. Whereas the wolves all had an agitated expression baring their fangs. The alpha wolf with the silver fur around its head looked anxious about the situation, constantly glancing in Luke's direction.

"I know Howard. We need to get Luke out of that situation. The longer he is there the higher the chances of him dying."

It was the crack of dawn and a golden wave creeps over the tips of the trees washing over the forest of darkness. The sun peeking over the canopy momentarily blinds the alpha wolf making it close its eyes. At that moment, the red monster makes its move. Stomping off the ground and dashing forwards towards the alpha wolf with a grin reachings its ears. It raises the log in its hands and slams down at the ground. Swiftly and gracefully the alpha wolf dodges to the side while howling to the other wolves signaling the attack. The surrounding golden wolves dash at the monster swiping with their paws or baring their fangs to bite. Uninterested the monster swings its log around it making the wolves stop in their tracks. Unfortunately, one of the wolves was hit by the log and is launched far into the forest slamming and breaking a tree.

Howard and I hasten our steps while the monsters were battling they will pay less attention to the environment further away from them. We were behind Luke now and only needed to approach him but a loud howl stops us from moving.

The alpha wolf howls towards the sky and a golden light fall on it. The light gathers around its body making its fur shine a brighter color and its amber eyes are replaced with golden ones. It dashes forwards leaving behind a trail of golden energy and dodges the incoming log swiping at the monster's chest. The sound of screeching metal invades the surroundings and then a loud thud as the monster starts to slam the log on the ground around it shattering the log into large splinters. It roars and spreads its arms wide charging at the alpha wolf with big strides. The golden wolf blinks behind the monster like lightning and leaps forward opening its jaws wide.

Straight out of a comic book the monster leans towards its side and jumps sidewards. Kicking upwards at the unsuspected wolf slamming its legs on the wolf's head. The alpha wolf is sent flying into the forest crashing into multiple trees along the way. While another yell and banging on its chest like a gorilla the monster charges after the alpha wolf followed by the other golden wolves.

An opportunity arises, Howard and I rush towards Luke.

"LUKE! Are you ok?"

Howard, obviously faster, reaches Luke before I do and quickly checks Luke's injuries.

"I-I'm fine. How are you here?"

Luke had a blank surprised expression as he sees Howard and me emerge from the forest behind him.

"We ran. From HavenFall to a trail of destruction and then to here."

Luke seemed to take a minute to process what happened and then all of a sudden burst into tears. Like a newborn baby, Luke cried his eyes out.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry. *hic* Oscar *hic* Oscar *hic* H-he is d-dead."

Through the torrent of tears streaming down Luke's face, he was able to make out those words. An apology was all he could say. My chest tightens as I know, I too was at fault for sending them. I couldn't make out any words either as I look at Luke crying.

"Luke, Luke it's not your fault. Let's go home ok?"

Howard tries his best to comfort Luke. He wraps his arms around the fragile boy and pats his head and back as Luke cries into his chest. Howard lifts Luke up and starts to move away from the clearing and back into the forest. I turn my back away from the clearing about to follow Howard but suddenly a blast of winds hits my back.

"More...Humans...Boy, where are you...Going?"

I turn around and see the towering monster. Its red skin is covered in a glossy scarlet liquid as it licks the same liquid off its fingers. Its grin is wider than ever as it looks at Howard, Luke and me. I could only gulp nervously as I stare back at it. My palms start to sweat and I could only hear my heartbeat ever so faster with each passing second.

The monster leans forward while reaching out with its hand placing it on my shoulder.

"STOP BLOOD OGRE!"

The smile disappears from its face, replaced with a face of disgust and annoyance. It looks back to see the alpha wolf bloodied and limping. The monster clicks its tongue and starts to walk back towards the alpha wolf.

"Howard, run."

I whisper as quietly as I can while motioning Howard to run away. I don't hear any reply from Howard so I turn around to see what was wrong.

It was another one. Another monster.

It looked human at first but then you notice the large horns on its head and scaly wings on its back. It is wearing black pants and leather shoes accompanied by a white button-up shirt, black tie and suit. At the same time, it had white gloves and thin black-framed glasses. The new had an uninterested expression as it looks at us. Howard and I were frozen like statues while Luke had already stopped crying and was motionless staring at the new monster with his red eyes.

It starts to walk towards us with slowly steps looking at us uninterestingly and then glancing away before pushing off the ground towards the Blood Ogre.

"Rautt. Stop. Do you want the master to be upset at you?"

The new monster placed its hand on the Blood Ogre's shoulder stopping it from punching the alpha wolf.

"Casper...Master...Waiting?"n0๐‘ฝ๐—ฒ๐—…๐”ฒ๐“ˆ๐—ฏ.๐•”0๐—†

"Yes. He is waiting for all of us. Now let's move. Leave this mutt."

The Blood Ogre looks at the wolf and then at us.

"Boy...I...Will be...Back."

The pair of monsters jump into the sky and the one with wings shines a bright blue. Its body expands, the wings stretch across the sky, its body is replaced by a lizard and the head emerges out from the light breathing fire at the sun. The glistening jet-black scales cover its back, head, arms and legs while its stomach is covered in pearl white scales. Two large black horns sit on the top of its head and between them is the Blood Ogre.

"Ian...Did I just see a dragon?"

"Howard. I just saw some monster ogre, a wolf bigger than the both of us combined and a dragon. Do you think I can think right now?"

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With the departure of the two monsters, I slump down to the ground, leaning against the nearest tree. Howard comes near me and places Luke down next to me making sure to not injure Luke. I look to my side and I see the alpha wolf struggling to move as it limps closer to us.

"You can understand me right? Do you have a name?"

The wolf slowly leans its body against the tree in front of me and then falls down, resting its head between its front two paws.

"Little one's friend, I am Aur, leader of the Golden Wolf Tribe. Or at least what is left of it. Only my battered body and the young ones are left."

"I did notice that only you came back from the red monster's attack. Did you call it Blood Ogre? Why that name?"

"Little one's friend, it is impolite to not give back one's name after asking another for thiers."

"Ah, my bad Aur. I am Ian, this is Howard and the little one you are referring to is Luke."

"The Blood Ogre is a subordinate of the Horde, one of the four kings of our land. The Horde is a tyrant, he steals, attacks and destroys whenever and wherever. The only logical being in his army is Casper, the yin-yang dragon. You have seen both of them already. As for why the Blood Ogre is named the Blood Ogre it is simple. It evolved after consuming large amounts of blood."n0๐‘ฃ๐–Š๐ฅ๐”ฒ๐‘ ๐’ท.๐“’0๐—†

"I see...Does the Horde live near here?"

Aur shakes their head and looks me in the eyes.

"The Horde does not simply live in an area. Why the Horde has a castle he merely goes wherever he pleases. Even invade other kings' territory. We are currently in the middle of the Dark Forest which is a territory in the middle of all four territories. It is a no-mans land which is surrounded by many different monsters who have not pledged loyalty to a king."

Aur slowly stands upon four legs and moves away from us towards the river.

"I must go back to my children. Little one, take care."

"Wait, Aur. I have a suggestion. Why don't we join together? Eventually, the kings might pass through here and you by yourself cannot defeat the Blood Ogre so we should band together and protect each other."

"Little Ian, I admire your thinking but do you think you can even touch the Blood Ogre? He is not even one of the top fighters under the Horde. The Blood Ogre is merely a lowly general in his army. Nothing you nor I can do to stop them."

Aur takes a few steps away and I rack my brain to figure out a reply. I could not lose the chance to gain a powerful ally and there might be a chance we could get some rewards from the wolf den, maybe even another ancient ruin if I was lucky.

"Aur! Please help us."

I look in the direction of the voice and see Luke. Gasping for breath and in slight pain, he looks at Aur with determined eyes.

"I know we humans might have nothing that you might see as useful in the fight against the Blood Ogre but we can change. Ian has thought of many different ways to improve our survival and I know he will think of more things in due time. So please give us a chance. Be our ally and let us be someone you can rely on in your time of need."

Aur looks back at Luke and gazes at the necklace around Luke's neck. Seconds felt like minutes before Aur turns away and looks forward. My heart sinks, I hoped deep inside that Luke's words would change Aur's mind.

"Little one and his friends please follow me towards my dwelling."

My eyes brighten up and I quickly get to my feet. Howard and I helped Luke get up as well and the three of us followed Aur.

...

We got to the wolf den after a couple of hours due to Aur collapsing on the side of the river nearly drowning himself. With the help of Howard's insane strength, we were able to push Aur out of the river where he recovered a bit of his strength to move on. There were ten wolf pups and three female adult wolves at the den that ran toward to greet Aur. Aur smiled and licked some of the pups giving off a gentle and happy atmosphere while the three of us waited on the side giving them some space.

However, the happiness did not last long. Aur collapses again on the ground and his breathing becomes more rapid. The pups sense the danger and start to whine and whimper while the female wolves dash towards the cave bringing back various leaves and small pails of water. Aur shakes his head and looks at Luke.

"Little one, you have our ancestry following you. My father and the previous pack leader is the golden wolf that resides in your necklace. While he does not look like a proper pack leader since he never had a chance to evolve as I did, he lead our tribe and helped us survive for years. I can feel death coming and I would like you to come towards me."

Luke slowly walks towards Aur and bends down placing his hand on Aur's head. Brushing his hand against his fur and looking at Aur's eyes. Aur closes his eyes and places his head against Luke's forehead.

A bright golden light shines around Aur and it starts to collect at Luke's forehead. I watch the spectacle unfold before me in awe. The light slowly envelops Luke's body and while this happens Aur's body starts to fade. A brighter light surrounds Luke and on his forehead, a golden symbol of a wolf's head appears and as if it was a vacuum it sucks in light around Luke.

"Little one, may my gift to you help you find a way for my tribe and for your tribe to survive."

Aur's body fades away but the symbol on Luke's forehead shines even brighter than the sun. The golden wolves start to howl into the sky before bowing their heads to Luke, pressing them down on the ground and closing their eyes.

The light starts to fade and the symbol slowly disappears. Luke opens his eyes and I could see his eyes had become an amber color while his hair had a long golden clump of hair on his left side much like the color of the golden wolves.

"Ian, Howard it seems like Aur left me with the gift of being the pack leader."

Howard just stood there motionless and silent trying to process everything that had just happened. I sigh and look at Luke asking him the obvious question.

"Do you want to give us an idea of what was given to you?"

"I have been given the highest position by Aur and now command the wolves but they are mostly pups so I cannot expect too much from them. They need to group up first. There are some treasures in the wolf den how about you go inside and check it out, Ian?"

I nod my head and left Luke to deal with Howard. I walk up the slope and into the cave. It was not very deep and I could already see something near the back of the cave. On top of a rock-like pedestal was a wolf fang. It was larger than Aur's fangs and was embedded into the rock. I look around the cave in case I missed anything and lo and behold in the corner of the cave between some rocks was something golden. I grin and quickly run towards the golden object digging into the rocks and removing them to reveal the golden box.

It was exactly the same shape and size as the first ancient ruin I had found back in the goblin encampment. I held onto it and went back to the wolf fang. I reach out with my head and grabbed it when a blue screen appeared in front of me.

[ Golden Wolf Den Core

Spawns a pup 1 every 5 days

Needs to be placed in a cave or in an enclosed space ]

I let out a small scream of joy and I held onto the Golden Wolf Den Core. I look at the fang in amazement and spoke to myself.

"HavenFall has just gotten even stronger."

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I walk out of the cave with the ancient ruin and the core in my hands. I see Luke playing with the pups grinning happily while Howard is standing against a tree watching over him. I take this chance to see Luke's status.

Name: Luke

Race: Human

Health Points (HP): 24/24

Mana Points (MP): 10/10

Strength: 10

Vitality: 12

Intelligence: 20

Dexterity: 6

Agility: 20

Luck: 1

Skill: Pack Leader ( Passive ), Golden Ascension ( Active ) - ( 50% Hp and 50% MP) ,

Moonlight Renewal ( Active ) - 2 MP

Luke's status had gone through leaps and bounds, skyrocketing past David and Howard's stats. With the addition of new skills, he is currently the strongest resident of HavenFall. Since there was no way of getting a description of the skills I could only interpret them.

Moonlight Renewal is the skill that the golden wolf knew to restore HP. Pack leader must relate to his position in the golden wolf tribe and allow him to control and command the remaining golden wolves. However, Golden Ascension puzzled me. I think it had to do with the golden wolf mark that appeared on Luke's forehead when Aur vanished but what it does I have no idea.n0๐—๐šŽ๐‘ณ๐‘ข๐ฌ๐’ƒ.๐’ธ0๐•ž

"Luke, Howard shall we head home?"

I get their attention and after a quick nod from them, we started to head back to HavenFall. Luke leads the way with the golden wolves following behind him closely. The small pups would trip and fall randomly since they were not used to the environment making the return journey a little slow until Luke came up with an ingenious idea of placing them on the female wolves back. The three female wolves each had three pups while Luke carried the remaining pup in his hand. I was amazed at Luke's ability to communicate with the wolves. Each time he talked to them they would carry out the order to the smallest detail at the same time his previous colder attitude to people slowly disappeared after interacting with the troublesome pups. He had to manage them carefully making sure to teach them not to wonder or jump off the backs of their mothers. He had to constantly correct them and sometimes scold them. Every so often though I could see a dark sad expression on his face. The weight of Oscar's death still hangs over Luke's head and as we get closer to HavenFall his expression slowly gets worse.

I could see HavenFall's wall through the gaps of the trees but Luke suddenly stops in front of me prompting the wolves to stop as well. He turns around and looks at both Howard and me. "I-I don't how I should face Robin and Owen. Oscar...He was with me...I-I."

I could see Luke's eyes start to tear up. He hangs his head low and the tears rolled down his cheeks. I forget despite what he has done he is still a child. His life is like a rollercoaster constantly going up and down. I see Howard walk towards Luke, stepping in between the wolves and then wrapping his arms around Luke. He pushes Luke closer to his chest and pats his head.

"Luke, I know it will be hard. It was hard when you were in the situation with the Blood Ogre. It was hard running from it and it will continue to be hard. There is no easy way out in life. Both Robin and Owen know this, they are not young people. They have gone through their fair share of death as well. Oscar...Oscar will be tough on them. It won't be easy for them to overcome it but they will. You will make it up to them. You have this new power inside you. Protect them. Don't let anything bad happen to them anymore and when you see them. Tell them how you feel. Tell them everything."

Luke cries while nodding his head up and down. The guilt in my heart was not any smaller than Luke's. I sent them off to scout the surroundings knowing that there was going to be dangerous.

After Luke's waterworks, we continued onwards towards HaveFall. The sun was high in the sky already and I could see Gobi pacing back and forth at the gate while David was holding a spear and shield nervously watching the forest. Luke steps out of the forest followed by the wolves, Howard and then me. I could see David's tense expression loosen. He turns around and shouts towards the back.

"EVERYONE! THEY ARE BACK!!"

Everyone except for old man Hus ran towards the gate while Luke, Howard and I slowly walked towards them. Luke's expression was still tense and dark while Howard was trying to keep a straight face.

I see Robin and Owen's heads peek out behind David and immediately I tense up. Luke puts the pup in his arms down on the ground while telling the wolves to move towards the side. He then lets out a deep sigh and walks towards Robin and Owen.

"Where is Oscar?"

Owen expresses his concern while asking us the important question. Luke stands in front of them, looking into their eyes while he delivers the sad news.

"Robin, Owen. I am sorry. Oscar...Passed away last night."

Owen's eyes shook and he started to blink rapidly while trying to say something but nothing comes out of his mouth. Robin reacted a bit later before covering her mouth with her palm and turning away.

Both Howard and I were silent. Standing motionless behind Luke. I could see their hearts sink at the same time the moment Luke finished his sentence. It wasn't just them. David and Lucina who were nearby were speechless as well.

"I would like to speak to the both of you...About Oscar. Can we talk inside the house?"

"O-Of course. Luke, I-I-Let's go."

Owen could barely make out words and while looking at his wife quietly sobbing with tears running down her face he could only accept it and move on. He leads the way to the house while holding onto Robin's shoulder, patting her back every couple of steps.

Even the toughest woman, like Robin, becomes a small fragile mother when it concerns this topic. I watch their backs as the three of them walk away to the house. All that was left was a sad atmosphere at the gate. Lucina said she was going to go foraging in the forest but I told her to just get some rest and relax today. She ends up going to the river and I ask David to accompany her in case anything happens. Gobi could tell that the rest of the goblins had passed away too since there were no goblins with us when we returned. Gobi went back to the goblin house and rested up taking in the series of deaths that just happened. Howard went to old man Hus in order to tell him what had happened and I was left with the wolves.

Since there were no caves I could not place the core down just yet so instead I motioned for the wolves to come into HavenFall closing the gate behind them and like that my day in Settlement was completed and I wake up in my bed.

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I took off the VR helmet and I noticed that my face was a little wet around my eyes. I went to touch it when my eyes started to fill up with tears. I did not cry inside the game but now that I was out I guess the sadness and the guilt finally came out. I was different, I never cried when a character I knew in a game died but this time was different. I felt like I knew Oscar personally. He was a timid character at the start but slowly he was changing, trying to be more confident with his actions. He liked the fish his dad caught and hated vegetables. He would annoy Howard and then run off into the forest with Luke. He was a friend of all and he was still a child but now he is gone.

I sobbed a bit in my bed before picking myself up. I go to wash my face and start my daily routine. Since the start of the game I had exercised every day and now I am doing better for myself. I feel less tired at the end of my jog and started to implement push-ups, sit-ups and squats into my routine before having a light breakfast. I then went to my job at the convenience store before finally returning home at night.

I hop on my computer and went to the game page. On the home page, there was a message clearly labeled.

[ Server Maintenance

It has been an eventful month since we, Lotus, have released our new game Settlement. Hundreds of thousands of players have created their small village in the world and have touched the start of civilization but now we intend to spice up the gameplay. A player has interacted with the hidden main storyline of our game and has activated the next phase. The world as you know it will be changing drastically from now on. Civilization never rests!n0๐”ณ๐—ฒ๐—…๐—Ž๐“ˆ๐‘ฉ.๐“’0๐“‚

Patch Highlights 1.1

Removal of Loyalty System - Replaced with Happiness System

We have found that the loyalty system has not been working according to the community since some players have too many NPCs and as one would slowly expand their power they would continue gathering more NPCs. Thus we have changed the loyalty system to a happiness system. Instead of each NPCs' loyalty, it will be the overall happiness of all the NPCs.

Negative Happiness will lead to revolt and rebellion.

Neutral Happiness will give no benefits.

Positive Happiness will boost production, stat gain and work ethic.

Increased monsters

We have found that most players are living a carefree life, building their village slowly with the resources around them. However, this defeats the purpose of being rewarded with no challenges, thus we have increased monster activities. There will be more monsters throughout the world and increasing attacks on players.

Travelers instead of Leaders

Some players do not like starting civilization so we have decided to give the players an option. Travelers or Leaders. Travelers can stay with NPCs and travel the world and eventually settle in other Leaders' villages. They will be under a different system where there is no happiness with the NPCs. The NPCs they are traveling with can decide to leave the Traveler at any point and live at another Leader's village. They are the solo players of Settlement.

Leaders are what the players are currently doing.

That is all for now and more will be added in the near future.

The player that interacted with the main storyline will be rewarded.

Have fun players! :) ]

I read through the patch notes and I could tell it was me that interacted with the main story. The main story will have to do with the Horde and the other three Kings. If their territory gets taken into account then every player will have to fight against one King at a minimum. The increased monsters will most likely relate to the King's army indirectly or directly and it will allow players to gain item drops as well as potential allies. They also changed the loyalty system which I can agree with. After maxing out the loyalty points of my NPCs there wasn't much left to do with the system becoming almost irrelevant. However, the happiness system has greater potential. It can signal the player that his NPCs are feeling happy or unhappy about their current living conditions.

The most interesting new feature is the Travelers. It can allow players that prefer a solo role to finally be allowed to just travel the world with a group of NPCs and see what the world has to offer rather than stay at a location slowly building their village. I prefer my current playstyle since I have invested quite a bit into it already. HavenFall is looking good with the wall, the moat and with the addition of the golden wolves the attacking power of HavenFall has risen significantly. Luke will also be actively performing in the upcoming battles since he has gotten a lot stronger after Aur has passed on the pack leader role.

What do I need to do next though? Creating an enclosed space for the wolf core takes priority since it takes 5 days for a wolf pup to spawn but then what is next?

Watchtowers to secure a higher ground for archers, the farm and finding new technology is just the start. The major problem is our lack of population, with six goblins killed and Oscar dying as well HavenFall's population took a hit. While the goblins will come back over time Oscar will never be coming back.

"Hopefully, there will be some encampments where humans were captured or maybe some travelers will come nearby and I can steal their NPCs."

I message Evan and Sabrina about the patch notes and to get their opinions.

"Hopefully, this patch allows me to see elves." - Evan

"Shut up, you waste of air." - Sabrina

"HAH! You can't kick me through a screen. Stupid Gorilla!" - Evan

"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU PILE OF HORSE SHIT!!!" - Sabrina

"Guys...How about we talk about the patch notes rather than yelling at each other?" - Ian

"See Sabrina, you need to calm down just like Ian." - Evan.

"OHHHHHH THAT'S ITS WAIT UNTIL I SEE YOU! YOU GONNA WISH YOU WERE BORN A GIRL CUZ YOU ARE IN A WORLD OF HURT!" - Sabrina

"IAN! HELP ME!" - Evan

"Like I said the patch notesโ€ฆ" - Ian

"Right! Some of the players I know are going to be travelers since their village was destroyed in the second event, they had a hard time recovering from that event." - Evan

"I think the monsters being increased will help me out. I have a lack of resources in my location. Monster drops might end up helping me a lot." - Sabrina

"Yea agreed, with the travelers going around maybe we could get some sort of world map going in the forum too." - Evan

"I do like the changes as well. By the way, the one who triggered the storyline was me." - Ian

"OH! Nice job! What is it?" - Evan

"The world is divided into 5 parts. 4 of them are in a territory of a 'King' and the last part is in the middle where its called a no-mans land. I can only assume the main story will have to do with either taking over their territory or fighting against them or something like that." - Ian

"Do you know which territory is which king?" - Sabrina

,m "No. I don't have that information. I do know that one of them is called Horde and two of the subordinates are called Blood Ogre and Casper. Blood Ogre is a massive red ogre with black tattoos on its body wearing some sorta shiny armor. Casper is a dragon that can turn into a human. His human form looks like a butler and his dragon form is black scales and wings with a white body." - Ian

"Wait...Did you fight them?" - Sabrina

"No...I just watched them attack a monster and almost kill me." - Ian

"I was about to say there was no way you fought one of those monsters and lived to tell the tale." - Evan

"Well if that is all then I will talk to guys another time." - Sabrina

"Before you go, just make sure to be careful the Blood Ogre was considered just a normal general of the Horde's army which means there are monster stronger than it and the Blood Ogre was a powerhouse." - Ian

"I will take your advice seriously and prepare my defenses." - Sabrina

"Me too. Gotta make sure everyone is safe." - Evan

I turn off my phone and have a light dinner before going back into the game.

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I open my eyes to the bright golden sun above my head raining down sunlight on HavenFall. The wolves were still next to me and I could see Gobi sitting at the door of the Goblin Hut staring at the curtain. I see Luke, Robin and Owen enter the mud house together with a worried Lucina walking past.

A blue screen pops up in front of me as I was observing everyone.

[ Congratulation Player Ian.

You have managed to interact with the main storyline. As the first player to interact with the main storyline you have been given a gift from Ariel, our goddess. ]

[ 1 x Ariel Statue ]n0๐—๐šŽ๐‘ณ๐‘ข๐ฌ๐’ƒ.๐’ธ0๐•ž

After reading the message, a ball of light appears in front of me. Dispersing into smaller bubbles of light and floating up into the sky, revealing a small stone statue. A girl with long hair dressed in a straight long ball gown with her angelic wings wrapping to the front. Her eyes were closed and her face was pressed downward towards her hands which she held together interlocking her fingers and above her head floating magically was a halo. I reach out and carefully grab the statue.

[ Ariel Statue

Faith 5 per day

A statue of the goddess Ariel, praying for your wellbeing.

Placing the statue on the ground will cause the statue to enlargen to the size of an average human being. The statue cannot be moved after being placed. ]

The statue radiates warmth even though it is made of stone. It looks and feels like the NPC I met at the start of the game, it radiates warmth like a heartbeat. Another message appears soon after I picked up the statue.

[ World Main Storyline Mission (1)

Objective: ???

Reward: ???

A player has interacted with a King and 'they' have started to move. All players will be faced with their own trials and dangers. Wars and alliances will become necessary and the world the players know will start to become known to each other. Expand your power and your might and either defend or attack.

Have Fun!! ]

The main storyline mission had started and it was time to expand HavenFall. The last expansion helped with defense and now we need to focus on our offense. David, Lucina, Robin, Owen and old man Hus will have to stay back and focus on developing HavenFall while Howard, Luke, the goblins, the wolves and I will have to focus on scouting and figuring out the terrain. Hopefully, find more residents for HavenFall and clear any encampments.

For now, I need to figure out a way for the wolves to get some proper rest and a place for the statue. I saw that Luke had finished his talk with Robin and Owen and the couple had walked off towards the river leaving Luke sitting by the fire staring at the crackling embers.

"Luke...Are you ok?"

Luke smiles weakly at me and breathes out a deep sigh.

"I..I told Robin and Owen about what happened in the forest without skipping any detail. From when I woke up and noticed the Blood Ogre to when Oscar passed away. I told them about...about when I froze up and didn't move. About Oscar attacking the monster despite being scared and saving me. About me running...Running awayโ€ฆ"

Luke covers his face with his hands and I could hear the soft sniffles coming from him. The wolves notice his change and walk over towards him whimpering with him. Rubbing their heads against Luke's body it was like seeing man and beast coming together and helping each other. I kneel next to him softly pushing the pups to the side to get closer to Luke and I place my hand on his shoulder.

"Luke listen. I know it is tough. I know this feeling does not go away. When you lose someone it's like a rope gets tied around your heart. Every time it beats a constricting feeling occurs. It gets heavy to breathe and tears form within seconds. I know how it feels but you cannot beat yourself over this. Oscar would not want you to constantly torture yourself over his death. He would move on and search for a goal and strive to achieve that goal. You...You can do the same."

I look into Luke's eyes as I say this staring into his amber eyes without faltering. I could see his eyes shaking a little. They were lost. Like he was looking into the abyss even though I was right in front of him. The Luke that received Aur's power disappeared and all that was left was a shaking child. It was depressing looking at him.

"Luke. I have a mission for you. You can choose to do this and you can choose to not do this. I want you to go around the forest and map it all out in your mind. Figure out where every turn will take you. What is behind every tree? What is next to each rock? Where it ends and where it begins. You however cannot come back to HavenFall until you have seen the whole forest and memorize everything that is there. You have until the sun sets to tell me your answer otherwise you will stay in HavenFall. You will not be able to exit HavenFall no matter what you do or what happens ok? I am going to figure out a place for the wolves now so take your time and decide."

I stand up and left Luke before he could say anything. I walk towards the cliff and next to the path down to the canyon I place the Ariel Statue. It expanded to a human-sized statue and with the golden sun positioned right behind the statue it looked like a goddess had descended in front of me.

[ You have acquired Faith ]

[ You are currently in Negative Happiness ]

[ Ariel Statue has radiated warmth into the residents of HavenFall ]

[ You are currently in Neutral Happiness ]

[ To check Happiness look at Status ]

I got bombarded with a series of messages from the system and after carefully reading them I open up my status.

Name: Ian

Race: Human

Faith: 5/100 ( Reach 100 to pick a Pantheon )

Happiness: 0 ( Neutral )

Health Points (HP): 10/10

Mana Points (MP): 0/0

Strength: 5

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 5

Dexterity: 5

Agility: 5

Luck: 10

Equipment: Lucky Goblin Totem Necklace

The Ariel Statue had helped me come out of the Negative Happiness which most likely occurred from the collective feelings of everyone after knowing Oscar had passed away. I can only hope that everyone will eventually pick themselves up from this ordeal and come back stronger than before.

I notice next to the Faith was Pantheon. I was unsure of this terminology however, I do remember that the Pantheon was a temple for the gods. Assuming this means that once I reach 100 Faith I would then get to choose a god?

I decided to bench the thought for now since I need to wait for 20 days before collecting enough Faith. Looking over the cliff I could see Robin and Owen sitting on a rock by the waterfall. Robin was resting her head on Owen's shoulders and they were both just staring into the distance. Further away, near the mud kiln was David and Lucina. They were placing wood into the kiln and talking to each other.

The sun was slowly descending towards the horizon and with the limited light left, I walked down the path towards Robin and Owen. It was time to talk to them and find out about their thoughts.

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"Robin, Owen are you ok?"

I sit on the ground next to them looking in the direction they are looking. Feeling the small water droplets splashing onto my face as the golden glow of the sun wash over me.

"Ian...We...I do not know what to say to that."

Owen speaks to me sighing after he finished his sentence. The somber atmosphere of the pair loomed over. I glance over towards the two and I could see Robin curling up into a ball placing her head between her thighs while Owen grabs onto her shoulder holding her tightly. I could see their bloodshot eyes and could hear the occasional sniffle.

"Oscar...Oscar was a great son. More than a father could ever ask for. He was scared of a lot of things. Moving into the wilderness was not easy and he was scared of almost everything around him. However, after coming here I could see him change. He was happy in a different way. He made a friend. He ran around. He played an important role in an attack. He...He...He was my son."

Owen started to choke up near the end as tears rolled down his face. He looked up into the sky and let the waterworks flow crying out loudly. Robin let out all her pretenses clinging onto Owen tightly as she cried into his chest.

I look up into the sky but my vision started to blur. Tears well up in my eyes and once I closed them the tears kept coming out. I cried alongside the pair letting out all my emotions. I could only feel the tight grip around my chest.

...

"Ian. I want to thank you for allowing us to live here. I know I said this before but even if it was short I could see my son have a happy life."

Robin approached me soon after the sun had fallen. I had cried next to them, alongside them before entering a state of emptiness. I could only hear the sound of the waterfall and could only see the sun falling below the horizon. It felt like I had emptied my mind and soul and just embraced the environment around me shutting out everything else.

"Robin, it's fine. Thank you for being here. How about we all go up and eat some dinner?"

She nodded and helped Owen up before walking up the path. I followed them slowly. My mind was still thinking about what would happen the next time a fearsome enemy appears. What if they appeared at HavenFall? What would happen to everyone? Would we even survive if a monster like the Blood Ogre appeared?

Everyone was already gathered by the fire leaving just the three of us coming last.

"Come eat Robin, Owen and Ian. It's a nice warm hearty soup."

"Thanks, Lucina."

The meal was eaten quietly with the sounds of slurping and sipping filling the atmosphere.n0๐”ณ๐—ฒ๐—…๐—Ž๐“ˆ๐‘ฉ.๐“’0๐“‚

"Robin, Owen. Old man Hus, David and I made something for the two of you."

Lucina went to the mud house and came back out with a small block of wood. On the wood, carved out nicely was a small portrait of Oscar. A little rough around the edges but if one was to look at it they would recognize the cowardly energetic young man.

"We hope you like it. Tomorrow when the sun rises we were hoping to do a small prayer by the Ariel Statue. To pray for Oscar's safe ascent."

"Thank you. Thank you, everyone."

Owen bursts into another crying fit. Lucina walked over and hugged both the crying Owen and Robin.

"It will be ok. We are all here for you."

Bit by bit, Howard, David, old man Hus, Gobi and Luke went over and hug them forming a big ball of people. A warm sight of the community helping each other, loving each other.

After a long hug, everyone slowly packed away their things and went to rest for the night. I pulled Luke to the side and asked him where we should let the wolves rest. After a brief communication with the female wolves, they went to search for a location. Running around HavenFall and then down towards the canyon. Surprising, there was a small gap behind the waterfall. Neither Luke nor I knew about this and we followed one of the female wolves into this gap. The rest of the wolves followed behind us closely. The gap was small only able to fit one maybe two people side by side but enough for the wolves to walk through casually.

Darkness was all that greeted us for about twenty steps until the walls started to widen and there was a soft blue light coming in front of us.

"Wow."

A single word came out of Luke's mouth while mine was speechless. Like someone had pierced through the mountain straight down without moving slightly to the left or right. A perfectly carved out hole straight to the top where the moon was looking down on us. The first female wolf stood in the middle closing her eyes and embracing the moonlight. Her fur glitters and glows. The 'room' or 'hole' or whatever you want to call it was outstanding. A perfect hideaway. I take out the wolf den core and move towards the middle of the room. The wolf sensing my movement opens her eyes and moves away making a small noise to the rest of her kin to move into the room. The wolves sit along the edges of the room while Luke stands at the entrance. I place the core into the ground pressing slightly allowing the fang to dig into the ground a bit.

Once I let go of the fang, it starts to radiate a soft golden glow, pulsating brighter and brighter. The golden wolves all bring their head upwards, howling to the moon. The moon responds back to them illuminating the room with a silver light.

Once the howling ended the light from the moon and the fang disappears. The wolves lay down on their bellies and fall asleep. I touch the core and I see the familiar blue screen.

[ Golden Wolf Den Core

The core of the golden wolves, blessed by the moon it has a chance of spawning a Silver Moon Wolf.

1 Golden Wolf / 5 Day ( No Limit )

Cannot be removed. ]

I walk out of the wolf den with Luke and the both of us were tired and exhausted. Agreeing to rest up we return to the mudhouse and retire for the night.

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Before the break of dawn, I woke up remembering that I had forgotten to ask Luke for his answer. I look around the house but I was unable to see him so I walk outside. With a woven basket on his back and two adult golden wolves following him carrying a pup each on their back was Luke. He had a determined expression on his face as he looked at the Ariel Statue.

"I heard from Lucina that you are a goddess. I have never believed in gods and goddesses after what I saw at the encampment. I always wondered why did we end up like this? But now I believe it was fate that I ended up in that encampment and that I met Ian through it. I want to wish that Oscar has safe travels to the upper realms. I want to tell him, thank you for saving me. Let his soul rest in peace."

"So this is your decision?"

Luke jumps from surprise as he looks behind him to see me standing there watching him.

"Yes. I had thought about it before and throughout the night I talked to the golden wolves. They agreed to help me in my mission and at the same time help guide me through the forest."

"Then go."

Luke looks at me for a while gauging my expression before nodding and silently walking past me with his new companions. I watch him walk further and further away until he got to the gate. As he opens the gate I shout at him.

"STAY SAFE LUKE! COME BACK TO US! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS OUT THERE YOU NEED TO SURVIVE AND COME BACK!"

My shout wakes up the other residents and I could see the surprised Howard as he exits the house and looks at me. Without a second thought, he sprints for Luke only to not even catch a glance at him. He storms back with an angry expression grabbing my clothes by the neck.

"Why? Why did you send him out again?"

"Howard. Luke is not the same Luke you knew before. I'm sure you are smart enough to know this. Ever since he gained something from Aur he was changing. He was accepting the loss of Oscar, accepting the blame of his death, accepting his own weakness. He cried and cried. He felt lost and alone even when we are next to him. However, this gives him a goal. Something to aim for and a way to atone."

"IAN! He is just a kid."

"I know. However, I need him to grow into a man. All of us do. Every second we are here we are under an unknown threat. What is to say the next day a monster shows up on our doorstep and starts to wreak havoc. We need to become stronger than yesterday. This is a path for Luke to gain strength."

I look dead into Howard's shaking eyes. His hands tremble in anger and confusion before letting me go and walking towards our armory. He picks up an ax and walks towards the forest.

"We need wood for the watchtower right? I'll go get someโ€ฆ"n0๐—๐„๐‹๐“ค๐“ˆ๐‘.๐’ธ0๐‘€

Howard's soft lonely voice travels into my ears. He was depressed, sad about Luke's departure. Maybe even sadder that Luke did not even consult him or speak to him before leaving. Lucina, on the other hand just stood still watching the forest as the leaves dance side by side in the gentle breeze.

"Everyone, let's go to the Ariel Statue and pray for Oscar."

Lucina slowly turned to everyone signaling them to walk towards the statue. She turns around once more watching Howard's back become smaller as he walks past the gate.

...โ€ฆ.

After the prayer, I checked my status. I had a hunch that praying would increase my faith but I wanted to confirm it after everyone had prayed to the Ariel Statue.

Name: Ian

Race: Human

Faith: 17/100 ( Reach 100 to pick a Pantheon )

Happiness: 0 ( Neutral )

Health Points (HP): 10/10

Mana Points (MP): 0/0

Strength: 5

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 5

Dexterity: 5

Agility: 5

Luck: 10

Equipment: Lucky Goblin Totem Necklace

I was right, the Faith had increased to 17. It went up by 5 since it was a new day and then further increased another 7 which represented each resident including Gobi. This meant that every time someone was to pray to the statue then I would get Faith points. Reaching 100 Faith points and picking a Pantheon seemed like an even closer goal.

I let Robin and Owen relax for the day telling them they could go for a walk around the area or sleep in the mud house. While Lucina would be busy tending to the farm, watering the crops and pulling out any weeds. Howard was chopping down trees at the edge of the forest while Gobi and the new goblins were chopping the logs into smaller logs. Old man Hus was practicing making different shaped cups and bowls using the primitive manual pottery wheel. All that was left was David and me.

"David, come with me I want to search along the river."

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David nods to me and we both walk along the bank of the river. Each step was slow and steady as we were trying not to slip on the muddy ground. It was the first time going down the canyon, the first time we reached this spot was the initial journey from the small cave after the first event. Speechless from the waterfall and exhausted from the journey we founded HaveFall but barely searched the surroundings. Afterwards, the only places we travelled to was the forest. Now it was time to search deeper into the canyon and find out if there are any enemies or resources in this area.

Tall umber cliffs surround me and David, enclosing the winding river. The river slithers between the cliffs like a snake. It is calmly traveling further and further into the horizon. On the banks grew patches of small shrubs and young skinny trees. They housed bright olive green leaves, swaying in the gentle breeze. It was like walking into a new world. If walking into the forest felt like I was being trapped in its dark green embrace, then this was like walking down an aquamarine runway with a green crowd following you every step of the way.

A truly different experience, I felt relaxed and refreshed even if my feet were getting water and slightly muddy but that's just part of the experience I guess. I look behind me and saw David admiring the view as well his mouth slightly agape, his eyes wandering around inspecting every nook and cranny. Like a child seeing a new toy for the first time, his slightly excited expression could be seen as he followed me.

"David, you seem like you are enjoying yourself."

I chuckle as I talk to him, amused at his surprised and slightly embarrassed red face as if he was caught doing something he should.

"It's not like that. The view was just amazing."

"Hahaha, I know. I get that too but we have to be careful. Neither of us know what is down this path, it could be paradise or it could be hell. "

David nods and tries to assume a straight face but despite his efforts sparks of joy can be seen every time we turn a corner. We followed the river slowly, twisting and turning until I had to leave but after an uneventful day I returned and continued the journey with David. I talk to him about how his life as been in HavenFall as his past.

"It has been good here. Old man Hus and Lucina have been taking care of me well and I help them whenever they need it. Sometimes, I see old man Hus try to spin the pottery wheel really fast and I get scared he is going to hurt himself so I rush over and help him. Sometimes, Lucina brings back a heavy load of fruits and vegetables s I rush over and carry it for her. I like it here. It is better than before."

"What is before if you do not mind me asking."

"Before...Was bad. Robin and Owen fought the leaders of a goblin and orc encampment barefly breaking Oscar and me free from that place. However, the rest of the slaves were either captured or killed in the escape. That as about a week before we met with you guys. During that week, we ran and we ran. Over a mountain, through rivers and finally into the forest where we were met with the lone golden wolf. At that point, I thought I was just destined to die. No matter how much I ran I was going to die. That thought came to me when we were getting attacked by the goblins as well. But you were here, Howard and Luke as well. You guys were brave and had so much strength. I want to be like you."

"David, you can be better than me. Look at me, I'm small, skinny and not that agile either. You are big and strong. You are just a little bit timid of new things and tough challenges but one day you will be faced with a task and you will grow from it."

I end up talking to David more and more, trying to boost his ego and change his way of thinking. With his stats he could be a big asset in the near future. A tank, just like in MMORPGs, he had high vitality and high strength and with his huge stature he could easily overwhelm other humans. While he is still smaller than Blood Ogre, he was reaching that size only being a head shorter and his body being less muscular.

As we talked I was still trying to pay as much attention to the surroundings as I could in case there was something in front of us. We were reaching a bend and a large bush was blocking the sight around the corner so I felt a little anxious. In fact, every time there was a big tree or boulder I felt anxious that there would be a monster hiding there waiting for easy prey. It seemed this time though my gut feeling was right. As I turned the corner, at the edge of my peripheral I saw something move. Quickly, I pull my head back and signal David to be quiet. I crouch and slowly edge myself around the corner hoping to catch a glimpse of what was moving.n0๐ฏ๐—ฒ๐‘™๐šž๐“ˆ๐‘ฉ.๐’ธ0๐•ž

My lips were dry and my palms started to sweat as I moved my head around the bush. I could finally see the culprit of my anxiety. There were two goblins standing next to each other. They had brown tattered bandanas swung around their necks and an animal skin wrapped around their waist and were holding a goblin knife each. Behind them was a larger monster. It had a lighter colored green skin with a rounder face and body, smaller less pointy ears and a stout like nose. At the same time, two small fangs protruding out of a wide mouth and droopy red eyes. With only a tattered animal skin covering its lower regions it was about the same size of a fat teenager. It was also holding onto a small wooden club in one hand while the other was scratching its belly. It yawned loudly, scaring the two goblins next to it before speaking to them in a low, lazy tone.

"Should we head back now? I'm bored of standing here."

The goblin on its left snapped back at him quicker than usain bolt. While the other goblin joined in the jeering.

"No, you lazy pig. Do you want to die to the chief's ax?"

"Yeah, yeah you pig. Although, you are right, it is boring here."

The orc hit the left goblin on his head with his club, causing the goblin to show an angry expression.

"I'm bored! Maybe, I'll go play with those humans the chief just found."

"HA! You play with the humans? You have about as much chance as we do. You are just another grunt. If you were as strong as the left and right guardians maybe but you are not."

This time it was the orc's turn to turn mad.

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD."

The orc consumed with rage swings his club at the goblin, repeatedly smashing the goblin until it was just a pile of mushy guts and green skin.

"Ian...We should leave bef-"

David's quiet shaky voice snaps my attention away from the angry orc but suddenly a low shout cuts David's sentence in half

"WHO IS THERE?!"

Silence.

"WHO IS THERE?"

The orc shouts in our direction again but this time starts to move towards us. He grasps the club tightly and slowly moves close to the bush. Edging closer and closer, the goblin behind the orc nonchalantly held its knife with a cheeky expression. Stupid me forgot to take any weapons with us and now we are faced with a dangerous situation. How do we get out? Simply hit the orc first figure it out later.

The round pig head emerges around the corner slowly but luckily for us, we could see its stout-like nose first before the eyes. I pick up a nearby rock smash it into the orc's nose. David follows up quickly by jumping around the side and pulling the club out of its unsuspecting hands. The goblin blinks a few times registering the turn of events before slicing forward with its knife. I pull David back allowing him to dodge the knife but by that time the orc had recovered and looks angrily at us.

"Stupid humans, give me back my club and I'll let you leave."

I look at the orc dumbfounded. Does he think we are stupid? But I guess I had too much expectation in David.

"Will you really let us go?"

"David? Are you really believe that orc?"

"Umm, noโ€ฆ?"

I felt like facepalming myself. I guess David isn't the sharpest tool in the shed but all well.

"Hrmp, then die."

The orc grunts loudly before charging at David. His fat jiggles with each step but at the same time, each step creates a deeper impression on the ground the closer it gets to David. David hesitantly steps back bracing for impact and as I was about to tell him to dodge the attack the goblin leaps at me slashing at my face. Without much time to react, I awkwardly dodge to the side, resulting in me falling to the ground. I grab a hand full of dirt and toss it at the goblin's face blinding it temporarily before grabbing another rock and getting back onto my feet.

Off to my side, I see the orc slamming his fat body into David pushing David into the river. Unfortunately for David, there was something protruding out of the ground causing him to fall backward and since the orc was mindlessly pushing forward without David resisting its push it also falls into the river. It was like watching two children wrestling in the water. David desperately swinging the club in front of him after getting up and the orc swinging its arms around splashing water everywhere.

But there was not enough time to watch them flail about, the goblin had recovered from my dirt attack and it was poised to strike. It runs towards me slashing the knife near my leg which I easily dodge by walking back. I toss the rock I was holding in my hand at the goblin hitting it in the eye and quickly leaped forward wrestling the knife out of its hand. Before stabbing the goblin multiple times in its chest. Lots of green blood splash onto me and I could hear the goblin's screaming each time I stab into it, its long green fingers desperately scratch at my legs trying to push me off but to little effect. I get off the bloody corpse and look towards David who had just swung the club hitting the orc on the side of its head. Concussing the orc and giving time to David to smash the club into the top of its head. Collapsing from the hit the orc falls into the water.

A very surprised David remains standing with the club in his hands staring at the floating orc. I wade into the river and stab the knife into the orc's head making sure to finish the job but asking David if he was ok.

"I'm fine. This is just a bit much. I always thought orcs were stronger. They beat down so many of us back in the encampment before and they always seemed to get their way. It's...It's just unthinkable that he just died."

"David, before you were scared. Scared to do anything but look at you now. You took away its weapon and used it against it. Be proud, plus you were fighting goblins before during their attack. Anyways, what do we do now? "

As I was talking the two monsters we had just killed burst into purple smoke revealing the loot.

[ Goblin Knife

Attack: 1

A short stick tied to a sharp stone]

Disappointingly, it was just another goblin knife but I guess that in itself is still lucky as we had no weapons.

"Ian, do we go back to HavenFall, or do we keep going?"

"We should move on right? It seems like the three monsters were at a far lookout. There was so much noise from the goblin and when you two were splashing about in the river but even then there has been no response. No other monster had been attracted which means that their encampment is still quite far from here. "

"Okay, whatever you say."

I hold onto both knives while David held onto the orc's club. I was able to inspect it after the battle and I was surprised that it was even better than the average weapon. I was regretting not bringing the Hobgoblin's Club of Rage since it would have helped with any fighting but I had left it in the house next to old man Hus forgetting about it since there was no need to fight anything for a while.

[ Orc Club

Attack: 3

A thick stick with animal skin wrapped at the bottom to make it easier to hold ]

We carefully moved onwards, sticking close to the walls and moving as silently as possible. It was mainly a straight line before another bend where the river curves to the right. I signal David to cross the river with me so we were both in a position to fight if needed. As we get closer to the bend I start to hear some sounds.

Shuffling of feet, clanks of stones and the occasional cry. Curiosity got the better of me and I look around the corner with David close to me.n0๐—๐„๐‹๐“ค๐“ˆ๐‘.๐’ธ0๐‘€

There were 10 humans, both male and female, children and adults, half were on the ground with their back facing the sky and their hands on top of their heads. Dirt covered their body and I can see the tears rolling down their faces. The other half had a small stone pickaxe and they were mining into the wall. It was too far away for me to see what they were digging. They were each accompanied by either an orc holding onto a club or two scarf goblins.

Suddenly, one of the orcs slammed his club into one of the male adults on the ground. Splattering his brains and blood all over the ground and onto the female adult next to him. Unable to bear the horror she lets out a high-pitched scream and gets up to run away from the orc. She could not even take two steps before getting hit by another orc on her waist. Sending her flying into the wall and breathing her last breath. Now enters a new orc, clad in some sort of leather chest piece and pants and holding onto a large stone ax.

"You maggots, don't deserve to live. You tried to run. Escape. But you got caught. HAHAHA! IDIOTS! DO YOU THINK YOU COULD RUN?"

The ax-wielding orc walks around the adult stomping on the adults on the ground and kicking the children. It was painful watching. Tears stream down their faces and I could see the children holding onto their screams and biting down on their lips. The adult closes their eyes to the violence and look away.

"So Ian...Retreat? Or-"

"We stay and we find a way to help them."

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n0๐“ฅ๐“ฎ๐“ต๐—Ž๐‘ ๐›.๐” 0๐“‚

"Child, are you scared?"

I look away from David and see the ax-orc crouching down, lifting the head of a girl by their hair. He sets the knob of the ax on the ground next to the girl and holds the ax by the shoulder. The girl looks at the orc and trembles at the sight. She slowly opens her mouth and in a low squeaky voice she replies.

"N-n-no, I am not s-s-scared."

"GOOD! Child, who am I?"

"Y-y-you are, Balta the M-Mighty."

"GOOD! You have learned well during the past two days. BUT not well enough. Tell me why you and everyone else tried to run and tell me who's plan it was. If you tell me I will let you go to the other humans over there and mine for me. IF you lie. I. Will. Kill. You. So? Speak child."

Her eyes dart around looking at different adults one after the other, trembling as Balta stares at her.

"I-I do not know."

"You don't know. You don't know? YOU DO NOT KNOW HUH?"

Balta releases the girl, stands up and kicks the ax with his foot making it swing upward before grabbing the handle of the ax with both hands above his head. He stops ax raised and looks at the girl in contempt.

"Then die."

Balta grips the ax tighter and goes to swing his ax down.

"WAIT!"

The blade of the ax stops right on the girl's forehead and a slight cut appears. A trickle of blood flows down her blank face and her eyes roll back before she collapses on the ground. A man that was holding a pickax had knocked out two goblins and had yelled at Balta to get his attention.

"Balta. I made the plan to escape. Please stop hurting them."

"So, you are the human who thinks he is smarter than me. Who thinks he can make a ruckus in my territory. Kill him. Whoever kills him I will give them a human toy."

"Ah shit."

The man runs past the goblins near him pushing them away. The only option of escape was towards the bend near David and me.

"Ian, what do we do? We can't fight that Balta orc."

"We don't need to. David follow me."

The man was fiercely pushing and swinging his pickax at nearby monsters desperately weaving and dodging any attacks from them. Balta smiled at the scene and moved away from the people lying on the ground, slowly walking over a rock bridge towards a cave on the other side of the river. Once Balta entered the cave, there were only two monsters guarding the people while the rest of the monsters were running around trying to catch the slippery man. He had climbed up onto a ledge and was busy hitting any hands that tried to get on top of the ledge.

David and I had snuck around two orc guards. They were holding stone spears and had a very lazy expression as they watch the horde of monsters pushing on top of each other to get to the man. Slowly and quietly we approached the orcs and positioned ourselves to kill them with one strike. I stab both goblin knives into the orc's neck one on each side before slicing through the neck as deep as I can. Unable to even squeal the orc bends around, his wide-eyed expression tells it all. At the same time, David smashes the club onto the orc's head knocking the orc out. I went over and finished the orc by stabbing a knife through the head.

I look up and see the supposed faces of 3 people, 2 adults and a child. The other child was still unconscious. I spoke softly while keeping an eye on the monsters that were trying to kill the man.

"Are you okay?"

A girl with brunette hair and a curvaceous body spoke up for the rest of the people.

"W-Who are you two?"

"Umm...Just your friendly neighborhood...Orc and goblin killer? We were walking along the river we found this place. I'm sorry I was not able to save the man that got his head uhh smashed. My name is Ian and the big guy is called David."

"I am Melody, this is Frank and Celine and the girl that is passed out is Lime. Please help Noah, he is the man that's being attacked by all the monsters. He tried to help us escape but we ended up being found out by Balta's left and right-hand men, Tog and Kog."

"Melody, it will be difficult. Do you see the number of monsters there? Plus the only other people with weapons were already ushered away before Balta commanded the monsters to attack Noah. For now, I want you guys to escape, I'm sure Noah would want it too."

"I..But..Okayโ€ฆ"

"Thank you, David lead the way for Melody and the others. Go fast and then prepare in case we need to attack them."

"What about you Ian?"

"I got something I need to do."

David kneels down and pulls Lime over his shoulder holding onto her waist and legs. He nods at me and starts to move back towards HavenFall.

"Everyone we need to fast but please be careful. The ground along the way is slippery."

After warning everyone David moves quickly. Celine and Frank follow David but Melody stays behind.

"Let me help you. I can tell you are going to help Noah somehow."

"Are you sure Melody? It might be dangerous."

"I've been through worse and I need to pay back my debt to Noah for at least trying to help."

"Okay then, the plan is to attack the outliers first, any monster that is hanging in the back and kind of isolated we kill if we get noticed though we run. Simple as that, if we end up killing enough we can save Noah but if they notice us and there are too many of them I am running. Whether you can follow me is entirely up to your own fitness. Okay?"

"Okay...Give me that knife."

Both me and Melody crept as quickly but quietly as possible to the nearest goblin, silencing it forever with a stab to its neck. I make sure to hold the mouth of the goblin to make sure there was no sound coming from it. The crazed monsters were pushing, climbing on top of one another, grunting, yelling and shouting at each other to get higher. Noah had seen us move towards him quietly and slowly eliminating threats and without us telling him he already knew his role.

"COME HERE, YOU UGLY BASTARDS! DO YOU THINK YOU SCARE ME?"

At the top of his lungs, he screams at the monsters and starts to be more aggressive in his assault. He slams the pickax down on the orcs' hands and pushes off goblins with his feet. Beads of sweat roll down the side of his face and each time he sees a monster about to turn around he screams at him, trying his best to get their attention.

Melody was trying her best as well. Although, unskilled with the knife against unsuspecting goblins even she can kill them. After watching me kill goblins from behind she did her best to replicate the result. Stabbing as hard as she can in the neck and then slicing it forward. Grasping the head of the goblin before it can make any noise and then stabbing it again in the eye or cheek. The green blood splatter across her face, body and arms but that didn't stop her from moving onto the next target and killing them as swiftly as possible.

We can collectively kill 10 goblins and 2 orcs but there were still about 8 orcs and 10 goblins left but all good things must come to an end. With screaming, yelling and swinging the pickax over and over again, eventually, Noah slipped up. He did not notice a goblin had climbed up the ledge from behind him as he was busy focusing on the enemies in front. The goblin approached him with a wide grin and thrust forward with its knife. Without much time to think or react, I called out to him after slicing the neck of a goblin.

"NOAH! Jump towards us. NOW!"

The moment my words flowed out of my mouth and reached Noah's ears he started to move. Without even knowing that an enemy was so close to hurting him, he stepped forward and leaped forward. Stepping off a grinning orc's face and propelling himself over the crowd before landing on the ground and rolling forward.

The jigs up and all the monsters turned around to see not 1, not 2 but 3 humans. Noah quickly picked himself up and stood beside me and Melody. He whispered to me from the side.

"What's the plan?"

I gulp nervously and glanced towards both of them.

"RUN! FOLLOW ME!"

I turn to the side as quickly as possible and started to sprint towards the bend. Noah reacted as fast as he could and followed behind me. Melody was a split second late but since she was closer to the bend she was running beside Noah.

Not long after I could hear the stampede of monsters rushing behind me. Like a tsunami of crazed beasts rushing at us with no intention of stopping. Any unlucky goblins that tripped or slipped got swallowed under the stampede coming out as a pile of mush. I felt the hair's on the back of my neck stand tall.

"Across the river, as quickly as possible."

I got to the river bank and jumped as far as I could into the river, pushing off the riverbed and wading through the rest of the river. Seeing my stunt, Noah and Melody copied me. Their success surprised me, they were both very fit and athletic people and that made me want to keep them alive more. The stronger my NPCs are the more chances I will survive.

Once we made it across the river I glanced behind us. It was a mess of green flesh piling on top of one another. Their eyes were full of hunger and greed, desperate for human flesh. So desperate I could see orcs pushing each other down, drowning them and stepping over their kin's body. I shook my head at the scene from hell and kept running away with Noah and Melody. n0๐ฏ๐—ฒ๐‘™๐šž๐“ˆ๐‘ฉ.๐’ธ0๐•ž

Melody started to slow down and her breath become more haggard. I slow down and look at her. Surprisingly, I was not tired even though I had lower stats than other NPCs. Does that mean all the jogging I had done in real life has affected the virtual game a bit?

I see Melody grip her chest while leaning forward and holding onto my shoulder.

"Are you ok Melody?"

I kneel a bit in order to get to the same eye level as Melody.

"I...hah hah...Fine."

She licks the bottom of her lips and smiles at me, giving a thumbs up with the hand that was on her chest.

"How much further do we need to go? Umm sorry, I don't even know your name."

Noah placed a hand on my shoulder as he looked down at me a little embarrassed. His other hand brushes the top of his head as he gives me a nervous smile.

"My name is Ian and the initial journey was about half a day walking slowly. I think it would take us about a quarter of the day and looking at where the sun is, we might just make it as it sets."

Both of their expressions brighten at the good news but it was short-lived happiness. I could see the monsters catching up but there are significantly fewer. Only about 3 orcs and 2 goblins remain. Which meant the rest had died to each other rushing forward not caring about the other's life. If Howard and David were here it would have been possible to fight them and kill them or if I had brought the Hobgoblin club with me it would have been an easier fight but alas it was just us three with 2 knives and a pickax. Not the best situation and gritting our teeth we kept running.

We were going at a slower pace since Melody was having difficulty running. She was desperately gasping for air and each step took a lot out of her. I urge her to keep going up we go around a bend. That way if we were to fight we can ambush them and take them by surprise.

The monsters were screaming and yelling more energetically as if they can smell and taste the victory within their hands. They weren't too far away now with the goblin taking the lead and the fatter, heavier orc slowly stomping behind them. Their wide grins and eyes seem to show little exhaustion as if they were running on energy drinks. Quickly, we pass the bend and I could see the waterfall in the distance.

"Almost there. That waterfall, right next to it is our home."

I put on a brave face but even I was tired and exhausted. My legs were wobbly and it burns every time I took a step. I was breathing heavily and sweat was dripping from all over my body but still, I keep going. I look forward and see David in the distance, a smile grew on my face and I push myself to the limit until...

"AHHHHHH!"

I turn around quickly and I saw Melody's ankle getting grabbed by an orc. It licked its lips and gazed at Melody's leg like it was a chicken wing. I grit my teeth and tossed the knife in my hands at the orc. Not noticing the knife flying towards it, it opens its mouth wide and grips Melody's leg hard preventing her from moving it. No matter how much she screamed or kicked with her other foot the orc was not letting her go.

The knife lands handle first on the orc's face, making him look around for the culprit. I dash forward and punch the orc's face as hard as I can, hitting square on the nose. I notice Noah coming to help me too swinging the pickax at the orc's feet. A loud displeased angered yell came from the orc as he lets go of Melody's leg. It glares at us angrily and the other orcs and goblins rush towards us. I had lost my weapon and Melody's knife was nowhere to be seen, it must have dropped when she was attacked by the orc.

Noah fends off the attack by doing large wide swings with his pickax. Unfortunately, the attacks had little effect to damage or even scare the monsters. They rush forward without a care in the world, punching scratching and kicking. Noah gets hit in the stomach by an orc launching him off the ground slightly before getting kicked in the face by a goblin causing him to fall to the ground.

I pick up a rock from the ground and hit the approaching goblin causing it to stagger back a bit before grinning and rushing towards me again. I stood in front of Melody bearing the full force of the goblins attacking me. In the corner of my eye, I could see Noah getting kicked over and over by the orcs, blood splattering from his mouth and bruises forming all over his body and arms.

"IAN CATCH!"

I turn my head slightly to the voice of Howard rushing towards me. He tosses the Hobgoblin Club high into the air while he charges forward trying to come to my aid as fast as he could. Besides him were the golden wolves and David not too far behind them. Howard roars at the orcs and goblins causing them to stagger for a bit giving me time to catch the Hobgoblin's Club. Grasping the handle I feel anger and rage well up inside me. I spit out blood and saliva from my mouth and clench my teeth as I slam the club down on the nearest goblin, crushing the head.

I breathe out slowly before crying out and swinging the club at the remaining goblins. Killing them one by one before standing in front of the dazed orcs. Their faces fill up with anger and hatred and they squeal as loud as they can at me. I feel myself smiling as I look at them. Green blood drips on the ground from the head of the club and I step forward towards Noah confidently. I could see he was only barely awake as his eyes blink slowly. I feel my rage building inside me as I look at his weak body and turn towards the orcs.

I hear the growling of the wolves as they rush past me pouncing on the orcs. The adult wolf tore the orc's face off while the pup helped by bitting and scratching at the legs. Even though it was just a pup it was trying its best to help out. They eliminate the first orc quickly and pounced on the next. Not before long, the adult wolf had eliminated all three orcs with the pup standing proudly next to it as if it had done all the work.

The adult wolf picks up the pup by its neck and slowly moves to the river to wash off the orc's blood. Howard stands next to me resting his hand on my shoulder.

"Looks like the wolves had finished the job before I even got here. Are you ok Ian?"

I look at Howard and the longer I looked at him the more I felt like hitting him. Rage was swelling up inside me and my mind was getting invaded by dark thoughts. I grip the club in my hand tighter and turn towards Howard. Suddenly, the club gets yanked out of my hand by the adult wolf. It grabbed the head of the club with its jaw and tossed it on the ground. I look into its amber eyes speechless. Slowly it turns away and goes back into the river to play with the pup.

"Ian?"

I snap my attention back to Howard. He had a concerned look on his face as he glances between the club and me.

"I'm fine. Thank you for rushing to our aid. Shit, we need to get Noah back to HavenFall. He was hurt very badly during the fight just now."

I quickly go to Noah and kneel down checking his condition. Noah's eyes were closed but I could feel a slow flow of air coming from his nose meaning he was just unconscious. Howard walks over to the other side of Noah and I slowly lift his upper body making sure to not move his head too much.

I hear Noah inhale sharply and his face showed a pained expression.

"His ribs might be cracked we can't just lift him, we need a stretcher."

I tell Howard about Noah's condition but he was unsure of what a stretcher is and instead was about to move Noah again. I stop Howard from making any unnecessary movements and turned around to see David huffing and puffing next to Melody.

"David, take Melody back to HavenFall and find 2 long branches, lots of small sticks and vines. Come back as soon as possible."

David nods and looks at Melody. She hesitates to leave but decides to follow my instructions. After they both left, I collapse on the ground next to Noah. I took deep breaths and close my eyes letting my overworked body rest on the cool reddish-brown dirt.n0๐“ฅ๐“ฎ๐“ต๐—Ž๐‘ ๐›.๐” 0๐“‚

"Ian, do you want to tell me what happened today?"

Howard sat down next to me, placing his ax down to him.

"Howard, if we follow the river for half a day we reach an encampment. A mix of orcs, goblins and human slaves ruled by a larger orc with a big stone ax. After David and I found it, we stayed around to try and save them. Then they made it back with David while I tried to save Noah with Melody. There are still humans back there, Howard will you help me try to save them?"

After I asked Howard the question there was a small pause. The sound of the river and the crashing waterfall was all I heard for a while until Howard finally answered.

"Ian, what is your goal in creating HavenFall and saving the people in other encampments?"

"My goal? Originally it was to save you, Lucina, Luke and old man Hus. After Oscar's death, I realized that no matter where we settled down we would have faced a monster stronger than us one day. Now, I want to create a place where would be safe and to do that I need more people. HavenFall right now is no more than just two houses and walls. We have about 7 people living there, its not even to the point of calling it a village let alone a town. We have nothing, so we need to make something and with more people, we slowly become stronger. Howard, have you ever heard there is safety in numbers? I think that line is perfect for this place and perfect for HavenFall."

I push myself up from the ground and look at Howard. I place my hand on his shoulder and smile at him.

"Will you help me make HavenFall into a place where its residents feel safe? It does not matter whether it is humans, goblins or animals. I want to make HavenFall a true safe haven."

Howard smiles at me and nods his head.

"Of course I will."

After confirming Howard's resolve to help me I collapsed back on the ground. I observe the streaky white clouds as they move slowly across the sky. The dark blue of night mixes with the pink and orange sunset as the moon rises and the sun falls. The splashing of the wolves in the slow current and the crashing of the waterfall echo in the canyon with an occasional breeze picking up the water droplets and spraying them on the river bank. I close my eyes and embrace the sounds around me, my heart beats loudly in my ear and each breath I take moves my whole body up and down. It felt calm, too calm. As if the fight between the orcs, goblins and us didn't happen. The monsters burst into purple smoke however there was no loot from them this time.

I lay there until the sky turned dark slowly regaining my strength and recovering from the fight. During the fight, I did not lose that much HP since I was able to dodge most of the goblin's blows due to their small arms and legs but I felt like my body was made out of stone. My arms and legs were heavy and each movement I had to do needed lots of energy.

I heard the quick footsteps coming from HavenFall and turned my head in the direction. Howard stood up and walked towards the footsteps.

"Howard, here I got all the stuff Ian asked for."

Lucina had accompanied David and Melody carrying a bundle of sticks. I got up with great difficulty, my whole body felt heavy and sore. Seeing my struggle Melody placed down the vines she was holding and came over to help me up. Grabbing my arm and placed it around the back of her neck while holding my waist with her other hand.

"Thanks for the help Melody."

Even speaking was a bit difficult, my voice was soft and hoarse. I coughed slightly at the end and the sudden jerky movements caused pain in my already weak legs. Standing up was hard, my legs felt like jelly and I was in a half-bent state.

"Ian, what do you want us to do?"

I took a deep breath and told them the steps slowly.

"Howard set down the 2 larger sticks next to each other with a gap large enough that Noah can fit on top of it. Since we don't have enough vines to make the whole thing just out of vines I need you to place the smaller sticks in between the 2 large ones...Yeah just like that. Place it so it's a bit more apart...Good job, Lucina I need you to tie all the small sticks to the large one and after you are done wrap the rest of the vines between the middle."

Lucina, went to work after Howard finishes his part. Slowly the stretcher came together and once it was finished it was ready for Noah to get on top. David and Howard moved the stretcher so it was right next to Noah. Since it wasn't good to move Noah's body too much they slowly lifted his head and arm shifting the stretcher under his body bit by bit. It took a while but eventually, Noah's body was on the stretcher and it was time to lift him up.

David and Howard slowly lifted the stretcher off the ground stopping for a bit once it was off the ground completely. Since the stretcher didn't break and fall apart they got more confident and lifted it up higher until it was at waist height. They both nodded at me confirming that they were good to start moving. I nod back and start to move back to HavenFall with Melody helping me move along the way. The wolves stopped playing around and start to follow behind us as well with the pup riding on top of the adult wolf.

It was a long slow journey home but as we got closer I could see the worried expressions of our new and old friends. Owen and Frank rushed down the path to relieve Howard and David, letting them rest their arms. I heard the two breath sighs of relief and saw that their arms were trembling slightly.

"David, Howard get some rest and try not to carry anything for the rest of the night. Let your arms recover."

They both smiled weakly, slightly embarrassed that I noticed their time of weakness. We got up the path and Owen and Frank moved Noah into the mud house. Everyone else gathered around the fire as we waited for Owen and Frank to come back.

"Now that everyone is here let me introduce myself. I am Ian and welcome to HavenFall. Melody, Frank, Lime and Celine this place houses humans, goblins and golden wolves and we live in harmony. It might be a bit tight in one house but we will build another one so please bear with me on that. Any questions by the way?"

"I have one."

"Yes, Celine?"

"What do we have to do here? Are we...Slaves here?"

"No. Of course not Celine. Ideally, I would like all of you to stay here and help HavenFall grow however, if you want to leave feel free I will not stop you. If you do decide to stay I would like you to help either build new architecture, forage for food, farm, fish gather resources there are just too many things that can be done. We are all starting from zero."

Celine nods slightly at me and looks at Melody.

"I think we should stay here Celine. Ian and David helped us out of that hell and we should live freely from now on. Ian, I have a question too. Are you going back to the Balta and killing him?"

I look at Melody and nod.

"Everyone, I have an announcement. We are going to prepare an attack on Balta and the encampment. From what I heard there are more humans stuck there slaving away and I wish to free them as well as eliminate the threat that is Balta. We will not be attacking straightway but once everyone has recovered and we prepared the equipment I want to attack as soon as possible."n0๐“ฅ๐“ฎ๐“ต๐—Ž๐‘ ๐›.๐” 0๐“‚

I saw the grim expressions on the new residents but at the same time next to them I could see the smiling Howard.

"EVERYONE! WE CAN DO THIS!. Get some rest, tomorrow we start the preparations."

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"Hot! It's so HOT! LUKE! Can we jump into a river or something?"

"Quiet Sylvia!"

"Hrmp!"

I look to my left to see Sylvia moving her shoulder-length wavy jet-black hair with blue highlights away from the front of her face. Revealing her slightly tanned rose cheeks, sapphire eyes and pink lips. Her eyes move away from the front and went towards me, she slightly cooks her head, raising an eyebrow while looking at me. I blink a few times before moving my line of vision away from her and to the front.

Chest-high wooden fences surround a small village. Three wooden houses are forming a triangle and two smaller wooden houses on the outer edges of the triangle. In the village I could see goblins pace back and forth moving from house to house, patrolling the perimeter, speaking with each other and sharpening their stone tools. Above them on a small hill hidden in the bushes were me and Sylvia.

"You said that you escaped from here a few days ago right?"

"Yep! Don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you. I just...Find it hard to believe that you escaped an encampment alone."

"Well, I did and after running away for two whole days, TWO! I ran into a psychopath that jumped me with again TWO knives pressed to my neck."

"I said I was sorry for that alreadyโ€ฆ"

"Yea, okay whatever Luke. The same psychopath dragged me through the forest and made me lie on my stomach under some bushes, under that blazing hot sun for what? To see some goblins walk around?"

"I said I need to watch their movements. I want to save as many people and/or monsters if I can. That's what he would have doneโ€ฆSylvia, quiet something is happening."

I signal with my hands to be quiet and then point towards the village. The goblins were gathering at the center of the village and I could see two hobgoblins coming out of the top house while dragging two humans. One of them had platinum blonde hair, pointy ears and emerald eyes while the other had dark skin ash gray hair, amethyst eyes and similarly pointy ears. Both of them had hourglass bodies and were covered in a sheer white cloth and through it, I could see bruises and cuts.

"Oh no...Those poor girls."

"Were they not here when you left Sylvia?"

"No...There were only adult men when I was here, in fact, I don't even see any of them left were they killedโ€ฆ?"

I did not reply to Sylvia and instead, I focused on what was happening. The hobgoblins drag the girls to the center while the rest of the goblins moved to the side letting them pass. Their eyes are full of hunger and noticing the surroundings the girls start to retaliate violently. They swing their arms, kick their legs and scream at the top of their lungs but are unable to break free from the hobgoblins' clutches.

"We need to get down there and save them."

I couldn't watch them anymore. I slowly crawl backward and nod at the wolves that were lazing on their stomachs under the shade of a tree. They perk their ears up and start to move towards a path down the hill.

"Luke! How are we going to do that? Look how many goblins there plus there are 2 hobgoblins."

"I don't care. I'm going down there, thank you for leading me to this encampment. You can leave if you want I won't force you to come with me."

"Wait! What about me? I can't survive in the forest by myself. Leave them and come with me."

I look at Sylvia and took out my goblin knives.

"Like I said. I'm going down there."

I quickly follow the wolves down the path leaving Sylvia at the top of the hill. I step as quietly but quickly as I can and I reach the bottom of the hill in a blink of an eye. I nod at the adult wolves and in response, they howl as loud as they can before dashing towards the encampment. The pups stick close to my legs and I wait for the signal from the adult wolves.

"Luke. I...I'll help too."

Sylvia places her hand on my shoulder as she reached the bottom of the hill as well. I pass her one of my knives and places my finger on my lips. The howl of the wolves reaches my ears and I quickly turn around and dash towards the encampment. The wolves had distracted a good portion of the goblins, running away from them and dragging them further from the encampment.

Only the two hobgoblins plus ten more goblins were still in the encampment. The two girls were lying on the ground trembling, their faces full of disgust and anger. I could see new additions to their bruises and ropes tied around their wrists and ankles. I grit my teeth and dash behind a house but it was all in vain as the hobgoblins noticed Sylvia's presence. Her slow and clumsy movements caused her to trip slightly letting out a small cry but that was enough the hobgoblins have seen her and ordered the goblins to attack.

The signal the pups to go back to Sylvia and protect her. I look at her and it's surprising seeing her expression. Full of confidence even though she had just slipped up and made a mistake. She glanced at me and nodded while smiling at me. I nod back and lean over the side to catch a glimpse of the hobgoblins.

They were looking at the goblins that were rushing at Sylvia and due to that, they did not notice me moving from house to house until I was positioned behind them. I hold the knife tightly and crouch. Slowly, slowly moving one foot in front of the other. I keep an eye on the peripheral just in case something sees me and once I was close enough to slice the head of a hobgoblin.n0๐“ฅ๐ž๐—…๐”๐šœ๐’ท.๐’ธ0๐Œ

I took the opportunity. A swift slice into the neck cut flesh and bone. Decapitating it without a second's thought and once I finished the deed I turn to the next hobgoblin but it had noticed its friend dying. It awkwardly stepped back to dodge my quick strike but unfortunately tripping over the two girls. Seeing their chance they move their bodies ontop of the hobgoblin trying to pin it in place while looking at me with desperate expressions. Acknowleding their help I leap on the hobgoblin and stabbing its eye. It howls in pain and stratches my arm but to no help. I twist the blade in his eye socket causing greater pain until it finally goes quiet.

I let out a sigh of relief but suddenly I remember, Sylvia. I turn around in her direction and got surprised when I saw her face so close to mine.

"What? Why do you look so surprised? Do I have something on my face? Is it goblin blood?"

"No...Nothing. Don't worry about it. Thank you for the help."

"Whatever. You just need to stay with me now ok?"

"Okay, but first let's release the girls and kill the remaining goblins."

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I kneel next to the two girls and cut off the ropes bounding them and removed their gags.

"BEHIND YOU!"

My back concaves forward and I feel the air leaving my lungs. I see darkness for a split second and the next thing I knew I was under a pile of wooden rubble. I cough out blood and I could feel the splinters digging into my skin. I slowly push the wooden planks off my back, waving my arm around to get a grip on my surroundings but everything was spinning. I try to reach for a wooden pole but for some reason, I kept missing it, my hand would seem like it was grabbing the pole until the last second where the pole dodges me.

I place my hand on my head and feel a hot liquid dripping down my face. Slowly, I look at my hand. A deep crimson liquid covers it and then the pain comes in all at once.

I scream. Like someone was opening my head. I start to pant, my breath becoming more ragged as time went on.

,m Questions pop into my head one after another.

What hit me? How do I get out of this mess?

It hurts.

Was it wrong for me to try and help? What about Sylvia?

Ah, it hurts!

It hurts!

It hurts!

IT HURTS!

"LUKE!"

I hear my name somewhere.

All I feel is my head splitting open and the hot blood running down my cheek pooling around my waist.

"LUKE!

Stop. I'm. I'm tired. I should have stayed at HavenFall. I should have been the one to die. Not Oscar.

"GRAB MY HAND, YOU IDIOT!"

I see something. Light? Heaven? Was this what Oscar saw?

I reach out with my hand to grab it.

I feel, warmth around my hand. Like an angel holding onto me. I start to see clearer.

My angel. Shoulder-length black hair with blue highlights. Her sapphire blue eyes were, red with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Sylviaโ€ฆ?"

"Come on! You said you were going to help them right? This is the best time to do it!"

My head felt heavier than my body as I sway slightly as I get to my feet. I look around hoping to find something. I see Sylvia pointing towards a direction and my eyes slowly follow her fingertips.

I see it, the blond girl struggling for air as a goblin even larger than the hobgoblin holds onto her neck. It had moss green skin with hands larger than its face, two large dirty yellow eyes with black slits in the middle and a long red tongue poking out of its mouth.

"What is thatโ€ฆ?"

It was so different from normal goblins and even the Blood Ogre looked more normal than that. Some sort of weird mix between goblins, snake eyes, tongue and gorilla hands.n0๐‘ฝ๐—ฒ๐—…๐‘ˆ๐’ฎ๐”….๐’ธ0๐Œ

"It's a failed evolution from hobgoblin to goblin general."

"A monster can fail an evolution?"

I look at Sylvia with a newfound curiosity. Not only did she help bring me out from the depths of the abyss but it looks like she has a lot of hidden knowledge.

"Normally they can't but this monster has been forced to evolve. See the neck? It has a black hourglass with a diagonal line through it that's the mark of one of the Kings, Kronos. A king that is more of a mad scientist than anything. He creates monsters by attaching parts together or experiments on them and forces them to evolve forming those hideous things."

"Whatever it is, Sylvia help me save them."

"Of course! Why do you think I went and saved you?"

I rush towards the monster and howl at the top of my lungs, signally the adult golden wolves to come back and help me. At the same time, the pups came out from their little hideaway and growled at the monster bearing their little fangs.

I see the blonde girl start to struggle less, her movements becoming more sluggish. I grit my teeth and toss my knife at the monster hoping to distract it in any way possible. By sheer luck, the knife hits the monster in the eye making it release its grip on the blonde girl. Grabbing the blonde girl by the waist, the silver-haired tanned girl moved out of the way allowing me to pass by her. With a nod of my head at the girl, I turn towards the monster.

The monster growls lowly at me, I was so close to it I could see its saliva drool out of its mouth, forming puddles on the ground. Its scent makes me nauseous and I could feel the small breakfast I had forcing its way up my throat.

Its eyes stare at me and I stare back. Luckily for me, I was stalling for time. Waiting for the wolves to come back, each second it spends doing nothing is a win for me.

My knife is planted on the ground near its foot, while the other was held by Sylvia. I had instructed her to move around the encampment slowly while I did my best to distract it. I can only hope she can get into a position to attack the monster as soon as possible.

Suddenly, it screamed at me. Its loud high pitch scream pierces through my eardrums. I grip my head tightly, the head-splitting pain coming back to me. Barely keeping one eye open, I try to move my feet away but I can't move.

Not before long, I stopped hearing it in fact, I could not hear anything. Not even the sound of my heart beating. I look around trying to access the situation and I could only see Sylvia's mouth moving in the far distance and her pointing towards me.

Once again, I got knocked into the air. My feet left the ground and my body was temporarily suspended in the air but I did not hear the monster move.

I finally realise that it took away my ability to hear. That scream must have ruptured my eardrums or something. Relying only on my sight now is difficult. After getting punched again I focused more on the fight trying to collect as much information on the monster as it punches, kicks and uses its long tongue to attack me.

Bruises start to form on my stomach, chest, arms and legs but I don't give up. The wolves have arrived to help and while I can't hear them I could see them tearing the monster's flesh off its bones.

The wolves were angry and they were ready to destroy.

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Damn...

Thisโ€ฆ

This monster is strongโ€ฆ

My body feels so sore.

The wolves were on the ground breathing slowly, blood flowing out of their wounds.

The two girls were knocked out and sprawled on the ground.

I grip my knife and clench my teeth. I whisper, without looking back and only staring forwards.

"Just a bit more Sylvia. The sun is setting..."

...

It happened in a blink of an eye.

The wolves had arrived and it was looking good. Bite marks along its arms and legs, torn flesh everywhere and green blood oozing out of its body.

But then it happened.

I picked up a corpse of a goblin and ate it.

No.

Swallowed it.

It opened its jaws and dropped the goblin in its mouth. The goblin body could be seen as it traveled down its throat and then with a plop, into its stomach.

The crazy thing was that its wounds started to heal.

Green smoke enveloped the wounds. Sharp hissing sounds came from it and once the smoke dispersed a new layer of green skin could be seen.

Its long red tongue licks its lips and it reveals a disgusting smile.

If the Blood Ogre's smile was terrifyingly creepy then this was absolutely horrific. It would have made Lucina faint with just its smile.

"Uhh, what's the plan, Luke?"

Sylvia approached me slowly whispering into my ear as we both stare at the monster as it regenerates its wounds faster than a wolf would leap on a defenseless rabbit.

"Kill it before it regenerates anymore. Just keep piling on the damage...I think."

"Okay sounds good! Go Luke I believe in you!!"

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I roll my eyes at Sylvia as I see her pointing at the monster with her knife but expressing that I should be the one to deal with it.

I should have run at this point. Leaving the monster to its own devices and leaving with everyone including the two girls. It was clear they were the only survivors left since no other human or humanoid had approached us even after all the fighting and destruction.

But I fought it.

I ran at it with my knife slicing here and there while the wolves coordinated with me swiping their paws at the monster with the occasional bite.

Its arms swung around, picking up dirt and dust. It growled and howled at us and its inability to retaliate.

It was going well.

Too well.

Because I let my guard down at this moment.

I did not learn my lesson.

After slicing the monster's back with my knife I felt the air leaving my lungs.

The pain sunk in and I was blasted through the air, landing on the ground and coughing up blood.

I wince at the pain and grab my stomach.

That monster...After failing around unable to hit me or the wolves just started to beat us down.

After punching me, it went on to grab one of the wolf's hind legs in mid-air and swing it down smashing its body against the earth.

Followed up with a kick against the side of the other wolf launching the wolf further away crashing into the pile of wooden rubble.

I picked myself up and rush in front of the monster as it started to approach Sylvia.

I was panting hard, desperately getting air into my lungs as I watch it slowly approach me.

So many questions run through my head but now was just not the time for that.

"Sylvia, walk back slowly and when I give you the signal run away as fast as you can."

"What but-"

"NO BUTS! Just run, please."

The monster did not even consider me as an opponent.

I was not even in the same league like it.

All it took was a punch and I was practically sent flying out of the fight.

Any wounds heal after it cannibalizes a goblin.

It had abnormal strength.

Long reach.

Powerful legs.

And a sinister gaze as it leans forward.

It cooks its head in front of me. Its eyes staring right into mine. I swallow my saliva before stabbing the monster in the eye with my knife.

"RUN SYLVIA!"

After stabbing it I rush forward grabbing its body and pushing it back but to no avail. I could not move it but that's fine I just need to distract...it.

Like a frog hunting flies, it launched its long tongue at Sylvia's back. Piercing through her body and out the other side.

"Oh no. Oh no no no. SYLVIA!"

I let go of the monster's body and sliced the elongated tongue. A blood-curdling cry fills my ears but I wasn't bothered by that I ran towards Sylvia's falling body. Catching it just before it falls.

"S-Sylvia are you ok?"

Her weak voice escapes her mouth as she looks at me.

"Y-you idiot. Finish the job won't you? I-I'm going to rest here."

Her eyes close and her breathing slows.

I stand up.

With the sun setting on my back I face the monster.

I can see the hatred in its eyes.

I howl at the sky and I could feel it.

The moon looking down upon me.

My body starts to glow a soft yellow.

"I can feel you, Aur. Lend me your strength. GOLDEN ASCENSION!"

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I can feel another heartbeat pumping alongside mine.

A slow and steady heartbeat.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

A warm sensation flows throughout my body. It felt like I was being held in my mother's arms again. At the same time, it felt like time had stopped.

Neither the monster nor I moved. I stood there enveloped in a slow yellow glow gripping my knife tightly in my hand.

Kill it.

Kill it and find a way to help Sylvia.

The only thoughts running through my mind were ways to attack the monster but I couldn't move.

Something felt off.

Looking at how the fight panned out we should have died to one or two strikes from the monster but I am still here. Albeit bruised, exhausted and slightly out of breath I didn't feel like I was about to die.

The only deadly strike it did was against Sylvia where it was able to pierce her body with its tongue but since I cut that off it lost one of its weapons.

I can do this. Its punches and kicks hurt but they aren't to the point where it is deadly so long it doesn't hit my face.

Time to start the fight again.

One step at a...time?

I only took one step but I'm already right in front of the monster. I can practically hold him. Snapping out of my thought I quickly slice upwards towards its throat. Realizing the danger it swung its head back dodging the knife by a hair. It leaped backward gaining some distance from me.

Did going activating Golden Ascension increase my speed by that much?

It really only felt like I took a single step but I had moved close to the monster in that one step. It also felt like I was attacking faster so how did the monster get out of the way so fast? Was it just Instinct?

No, it does not matter.

I am faster. I am stronger. I can do this.

Again!

Just try again.

Stab forward at the chest. Slice upwards for the throat. Slice at the legs. Stab its arms.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Don't let it have a chance to move.

Don't give it a chance to retaliate.

Don't stop moving.

Green blood sprayed and splattered everywhere. Pools of green blood start to form everywhere.

I cut its limbs off one by one until It was just the head and torso. Its eyes, full of confusion and hatred remain staring at me.

I breathe out heavily.

Stabbing the knife into its head.

My hands tremble on the knife's handle. Shaking uncontrollably. My breath becomes ragged. I can't feel the air entering my lungs.

What is happening?

A side effect from using Golden Ascension?

I should have known it was going to be bad.

My eyes start to get heavy.

My knees give out first landing in a pool of green blood next to the monster's corpse.

I feel the world spinning around. The ground and the sky flip sides.

The warm green blood splashes over my body as I collapse into it.

I let out loud coughs as I grip my chest.

I try to stand back up only to fall again into the blood covering myself in it.

Is this it?

I kill one monster and try to destroy an encampment. At the cost of my life?

No. I can't let it end here.

I slow my breathing, taking deep long breaths.

Closing my eyes and only focused on my breathing.

Once my breathing slowed to a nice rhythm I took a deep breath.

I open my eyes and see the shining moon in the middle of the dark night sky and I let out a loud howl.

Like always it responds back.n0๐‘ฃ๐‘ฌ๐‘™๐šž๐ฌ๐“‘.๐’ธ0๐‘š

Washing the pain away with its soft silver moonlight.

While I'm not completely healed it was enough to slowly get to my knees and then my feet.

The two girls on the side were staring at me in a daze. Next to them was Sylvia.

She was still unconscious but it seemed like the girls had bandaged her up, wrapping the wound in cloth.

"What are your names? And what do you plan to do now?"

The girls look at each other and gulp nervously before looking at me again. The blonde girl took the initiative to introduce themselves.

"I am Solar and this is Stellar. We were captured by Kronos's minions and then brought here as food for the monster. We were going to die...But then you came. I would like to follow you. There is nothing else for me to do. My home is likely destroyed by Kronos alreadyโ€ฆ"

"Me too...Both of us are elves, although I am a dark elf. Let us come with you. We can help heal the girl. It will be slow but slowly she will get better."

"Okay. My name is Luke. Please heal Sylvia as well as the wolves. Let me tell you my plan. I decided this not too long ago but I feel like I need to get stronger. Without strength, the people I care about will die. I plan to destroy every encampment around and inside the forest. Will you two join me?"

"We will."

Ian, do you think I'm on the right track?

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n0๐‘ฝ๐—ฒ๐—…๐‘ˆ๐’ฎ๐”….๐’ธ0๐Œ

5 days. It has been 5 days since I was at the Ax-Orc encampment. During this time I have been busy getting to know the new residents of HavenFall.

Frank turned out to be an out-going person. Constantly moving around seeing if anyone needed help. One day he would be helping Howard construct the new house the next day he would be with Lucina tending to the fields. Having him constantly help out with everyone has lifted their spirits and allowed everyone to get closer. After looking at his stats I can see that he is very balanced which allows him to be able to complete a lot of different tasks. Surprisingly, he already had a skill and when I asked him about it he dodged the question. Looking at the skill though, it would be a defensive skill most likely boosting his defense in battle.

Name: Frank

Race: Human

Health Points (HP): 14/14

Mana Points (MP): 2/2

Strength: 8

Vitality: 7

Intelligence:7

Dexterity: 7

Agility: 8

Luck: 1

Skill: Bronze Skin ( Passive )

[ Bronze Skin ( Passive ) - The user's skin is as hard as bronze. Increase defense 5%]

Moving on to Celine, I found out after interacting with her that she is an animal lover. At first, she was afraid of the wolves but once she overcame her fears I don't think I have ever seen her by herself. Especially when the wolf den summoned a new wolf. After 5 days had passed from when I placed the wolf den in the cave, a small wolf pup appeared. Celine happened to be the first person it saw and after much love from Celine, the wolf pup has never left her side.

Name: Celine

Race: Human

Health Points (HP): 10/10

Mana Points (MP): 5/5

Strength: 4

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 10

Dexterity: 4

Agility: 4

Luck: 1

Skill: Animal Lover ( Passive )

[ Animal Lover ( Passive ) - Allows animals of all kinds to feel safe and secure next to the user. Aggressive animals will slowly become more passive as the user interacts with the animal ]

Even Lime surprised me after she woke up. She was the youngest resident of HavenFall but that didn't stop her from helping out. Being light on her feet, she helped old man Hus gather any material he needed as well as forage for food in the outskirts of the forest. Through her help gathering, food had become a lot easier especially since the population had increased. I also found out she was incredibly quick skilled with her hands as well. After, old man Hus showed her how to make clay cups she was able to create a very intricate cup design. It had a snake-like body as the handle and the body of the cup was shaped like a flower bud. She called it the Flower Snake and deemed it as her cup.

Name: Lime

Race: Human

Health Points (HP): 10/10

Mana Points (MP): 5/5

Strength: 5

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 10

Dexterity: 10

Agility: 10

Luck: 1

Skill: Dash ( Active ) - 2 MP

[ Dash ( Active ) - Allow the user to move forward at high speed for a very brief time ]

Noah had been getting along well with Owen. Both of them had been fishing and setting up traps down the river in order to catch fish. At the same time, they dug out a small hole on the side of the river, connecting it back with a small stream. They made the hole a place for the fish they catch to grow. Placing the smaller fish in the pond and then feeding them crushed fruits and vegetables. After much talk, they decided to create the pond in order for the fish to grow and then get big enough to breed and they lay eggs in order to create more fish. I think these NPC's have found a very primitive way to farm fish and only time will tell if they are successful.

Name: Noah

Race: Human

Health Points (HP): 16/16

Mana Points (MP): 0/0

Strength: 10

Vitality: 8

Intelligence: 5

Dexterity: 5

Agility: 7

Luck: 1

Lastly is Melody. I spoke with her the most since she has come to HavenFall. From her, I got to understand the common living standards of humans. Due to our weak strength but high population, humans were regarded as slaves or even livestock. Any human city or village has long since been wiped from the territories of the Kings and any stray humans were captured and sent to whether manpower was needed. Most humans were born and bred in encampments living the lives to be sold to other encampments or used as a tool until death. Recently there have been reports from other encampments that humans are rebelling and escaping the clutches of the encampment leader. That would relate to the players releasing humans or attacking the monsters.

Other than interacting with me, Melody was learning archery with Robin and the goblins. The goblins were learning archery because Gobi mentioned to me that we had very little range troops. While learning how to master archery is hard after 5 days of constant training they were just barely passable. Hitting a still target is more than enough for now.

Melody was trying her best to learn new skills such as swing swords, archery, construction and foraging. Watching her take in all these new skills was fun at it also sparked my own interest in learning how to properly fight. Having Howard teach David, Melody, the goblins and me was a wise choice.

Name: Melody

Race: Human

Health Points (HP): 10/10

Mana Points (MP): 0/0

Strength: 7

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 8

Dexterity: 5

Agility: 7

Luck: 1

The rest of the days went by with David, Howard and me building 2 new houses. One made out of long branches and piles of leaves and the other made out of mud. The additional houses were able to comfortably accommodate all the new residents as well as allow the original residents more room to sleep. Bed, pillows and blankets were made out of wood fiber and vines. Lucina and Celine slowly weaved them together making enough for everyone after a couple of days. Furthermore, during this time old man Hus increased the armory. Creating more spears, arrows and armor for the upcoming battle.

The only adult wolf has been keeping an eye on the encampment watching from afar and only coming back for food. Since the encampment isn't going to us then we must bring the battle to them.

On the sixth day after midday was time for us to attack. Everyone except old man Hus, Lime, Lucina and Celine armed themselves. The troops for this battel consisted of 7 goblins, 3 wolves ( 1 adult and 2 pups ) and 9 humans.

We were ready to fight.

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Name: Ian

Race: Human

Faith: 59/100 ( Reach 100 to pick a Pantheon )

Happiness: 0 ( Neutral )

Health Points (HP): 10/10

Mana Points (MP): 0/0n0๐šŸ๐‘’๐ฅ๐“Š๐—Œ๐”….๐—ฐ0๐‘€

Strength: 5

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 5

Dexterity: 5

Agility: 5

Luck: 10

Equipment: Lucky Goblin Totem Necklace, Improved Stone Spear, Stone Chest Plate, Stone Knife, Stone Shield

I grip my spear and shield tightly, taking deep long breaths. I calm my nervous heart down and look behind me. Our formation was not exactly the best but it had to make do since the river takes up most of the space in the canyon.

The entrance of the encampment is on the left side of the river, inside a cave big enough to fit two orcs side by side. On the other side of the river was the place Noah was stuck at with the ledge. The area was mainly used to mine a certain bronze-like material but since none of the people that were enslaved there knew about the material I couldn't be certain.

The plan is to attack at night and have the goblins near the ledge side with bows attack any orcs/goblins that might be patrolling the area. Since they have night vision it will be easier for them to potentially snipe a few enemies before the fight.

Next to them will be the wolves, since the goblins are weaker than everyone else I placed our best attackers with them to protect them. Even the pups can fight the goblins one on one.

On the side with the cave will be the rest of us. Howard and David will be at the front with a stone shield, chest plate and ax and right behind them will be me. I will help direct the battle and with the equipment old man Hus made I felt comfortable even if I am in the front lines.

Right behind me will be Owen, Noah and Frank. I made the three of them use spears like myself since they would be able to attack from a longer range. Stabbing and probing an enemy with the tip of the spear is more than enough. It can potentially do damage or in the worst case just cause a distraction for the enemy.

Robin and Melody will be using a bow. Attacking from a distance is the role of archers and with Robin's excellent archery I felt safe with her at the rear.

We were ready for the attack.

I could feel the tension in the air. It felt different compared to every other fight that has happened. Maybe it's because this time I am on the offensive rather than the defensive. The first time I am initiating a fight rather than reacting to a fight.

My palms are sweating and I can feel my heart slowly beat faster. I take deep breaths again.

"Ian, we should stop here and wait for the sun to set."

Howard stops me midstep. I didn't even realize how close we were to the encampment. With only one more bend I would have arrived.

"Yeah, good thinking Howard. Let's eat something light and rest our bodies. I'll have the wolf stand guard."

With that, we sat down on the ground huddled around each other. The chilling winds blow against our bodies. Being inside the canyon at night would only get colder and I could see my breath forming mist each time I breathed out. We placed the shields in the direction of the wind to redirect the wind as much as possible and then stayed close to each other to preserve as much heat as possible. Taking out some fruits to munch on we waited for the sun to set and night to roll in.

...

Darkness all around us, without a moon or star in the night sky. I didn't notice it before but it seems like this game has moon cycles as well and tonight happens to be a new moon. I lean my head against the canyon wall and stare at the sky. Quiet whispers between the residents and the running river fill my ears.

In the corner of my eye, I see the adult wolf's ears stand up. She slowly gets off the ground and emits a low growl. I tap Howard and David's bodies and signal everyone to be quiet. We all quietly stand up and hold our weapons doing our best to stay as quiet as possible. The somewhat peaceful atmosphere shatters and is replaced with tension. I nod to everyone and Howard sneaks forward to get a look at the situation.

I follow him and crouch down looking around the bend as well. Two goblins chatting with each other were approaching us. They had left the encampment and with a knife, in their hands, they were walking towards us unsuspected of any danger.

I pull Howard back and signal the wolf to move back closer to the goblins that were on that side of the river. As quietly as I can I whisper to Howard our plan.

"The moment they show themselves around the corner we kill them."

With a nod, he acknowledges the plan as now we wait.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds pass by but each second feels longer than the last. My heart is racing and my breathing is quickening. I grip my spear tightly and look in front of me. Both Howard and David standing like statues. They were tense may be too tense.

I place a hand on their shoulder and with a small jolt, they look at me. I smile at them and nod my head.

"I will be fine, relax."

I might have been talking to them but really I was talking to myself. They nod back to me and relax their bodies a bit.

The goblins turn the corner and with a flash, their heads roll on the ground. Swiftly and cleanly they were taken care of by our two tanks. David surprised me with his decisiveness, killing the goblin as fast if not faster than Howard.

"Let's go, we push forward!"

With that begins our fight.

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With Howard and David standing side by side leading the way we slowly crept closer to the entrance of the cave. I look towards the other side and I could see the wolves leading the goblins. They got to the bend first, the palace where David and I first saw the inhabitants of the encampment.

Gobi was in the lead next to the adult wolf as they quickly went around the corner. His bow was raised and arrow nocked ready to fire at any enemies. I stand there watching with bated breath. His hands slow come closer and the bow is lowered. Gobi turns towards me and shakes his head.

No enemies.

I nod my head back towards him and tap Howard's back signaling them to continue moving forward. The goblins got into position on the other side of the river, three on the ledge and four on the bottom next to the wolf and the pups.

The closer we get to the entrance of the cave the more my heart thumps against my chest. A loud beating sound resonates in my ear alongside my slow deep breaths. I constantly have to wipe my palm against my chest plate or else I wouldn't be able to grip my spear properly.

Strange. We had just gotten to the entrance of the cave but it was quiet.

Howard peeks into it but with the limited light, all he saw was darkness. Deep in the cave however was a small flickering light. A tiny flame dancing in the dark. Enticing us, teasing us, watching us from afar.

I could hear Howard gulping his saliva and David's teeth slightly chattering.

"We move in, shield up and walk slowly making sure to check the sides in case of an ambush."n0๐‘ฝ๐“ฎ๐—…๐—Ž๐—Œ๐‘.๐’ธ0๐‘š

I sent out my orders quietly and with a nod in response from Howard and David, they slowly grip their shield tightly bringing them up in front of their chests.

Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot.

A slow advance but a careful one.

Only the sound of our steps against the cold rocky ground can be heard. A quiet echo in the distance. The slight stench of body odor and rotten flesh waft over us. I wrinkle my nose at the unpleasant scent.

The torch gets closer with each step, the flame illuminating the small area around it. The torch was a simple wooden branch wrapped in a cloth and then set alight. It was placed at a bend in the cave. The entrance only led us in one direction, with no turns until the light. Beyond it is a mystery, one left turn and there could be nothing or there could be a horde of orcs and goblins.

I tap Howard's and David's shoulders signally them to stop. Just shy of the area where the torch illuminates we stop.

I listen as carefully as I can.

What do I hear?

The breeze from the entrance, my heart pounding in my chest and our breaths.

But nothing from our enemies.

Was it just deeper inside?

Were they sleeping in other parts of the cave?

I couldn't shake this bad feeling I had.

Where were they?

Hesitantly, I tap Howard's and David's shoulders again making them advance into the light.

More tense and more careful steps ahead as they walk into the light and around the bend.

Half expecting an orc or a goblin to appear Howard lifts his ax above his head as he turns.

But nothing.

Just more darkness and at the end of it another torch.

My heart nearly jumped as I turned the corner with them. It's a rush. Not a good kind of rush.

Howard slowly lowers his ax and licks his lips before nodding his head towards David. They both start to move forward again slowly, step by step.

I look behind me and I could see their tense expressions in the flickering light. I smile the best I can and nod towards them hoping to bring their morale up. In return, I only got half-smiles and worried expressions. I can't blame them though, the situation is like being on a rollercoaster. You can see each bend but when you get to it your heart will drop each time. We can only push on.

Holding my spear and shield I advance behind Howard and David. Onwards towards the next torch.

After doing it the first time it seemed like we had gotten used to the tense atmosphere. We got to the second light faster and once again we stop just shy of the light.

This time, I stopped them from moving onwards because I heard a sound.

Slow rhythmic breathing coming from the right of the torch. Around the bend is our first enemy. Occasional grunts and snorts could be heard from that direction as well. It wasn't just one enemy it was multiple. The number is currently unknown but they were close.

David looks at me with a worried and confused expression. I know what he wants to ask but I signal him to be silent. I look on the ground and saw a pebble. Letting Frank hold my spear I pick up the pebble and went to toss it, low and slow.

Each bounce echos deeper into the cave and like dominos the grunting stops and small light steps were heard.

Goblins. These steps cannot belong to the larger monsters which meant it was goblins. I take back the spear from Frank and at the edge of the light, we prepare for them to turn the corner.

I can hear it.

Soft.

Light.

Footsteps.

With each step brings them closer.

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A small green foot emerges in the light and an unsuspecting character walks forward. Unbeknownst to it that an ax was swinging down on its head. Slicing through the green flesh and spraying green blood in all directions.

A war cry is heard.

Loud and full of anger.

A stampede of feet.

A tsunami of green bodies.

Small and nimble but fragile and weak.

Constant screeches and constant shrieks echo into the abyss, bouncing off the rocky surface.

A response to the war cry.

A single united yell from the two men at the front.

Full of courage and bravery.

Without an ounce of hesitation or cowardice.

"FIGHT! TOGETHER!"

Clanks of weapons on weapons.

Knives on shields.

Spears on flesh.

Whistles of arrows.

Screams and shouts.

"STAY LOW ON THE GROUND, HOWARD, DAVID!"

Dropping onto one knee and holding the shield to protect the face while behind the synchronized stabbing occurred.

A step forward.

A lunge forward.

Stone piercing flesh.

Screams of pain and horror.

Splattering of green blood along the walls and ground.

"STEP FORWARD AND PUSH WITH YOUR SHIELDS!"

Like an immovable wall, they push forward into the flickering light.

Slamming their shields against the bodies of their enemies. Pushing past the corpses and stepping into the pools of blood.

Hearts pumping against our chests.

Blood pumping fast through our veins.

Chop.

Hack.

Slice.

Stab.

Slow deep breaths follow afterward.

A rare calm.

Waves of fear spread.

The once energetic goblins, quiet.

Trembling in their shoes and hesitantly moving back and forth.

A quick step forward causes them to fall on their bottoms.

An opportunity!

"ATTACK! NOW!"

Quick successions of hacking and slashing, murdering the goblins as fast as possible while they are unable to react.

Their terrified screams echo down the cave causing an uproar.

A booming voice commands them to stop.

"ALL THOSE THAT FLEE SHALL DIE!"

In the darkness, outside the light of the torch, screams and disgruntled shouts occur.

A terrified goblin stumbles against Howard. Looking more afraid of the dark than of us.

"Retreat! We need to get out of here!"

Looking at the situation, it was time to go.

Staying any longer would just result in potential death and injuries.

The girls in the back turn around dashing through the dark cave as fast as possible. Followed by the spearmen and then the tanks.

"RUNNING? ARE YOU RUNNING? GET BACK HERE YOU BASTARDS!!"

As we turn away and start to run out of the cave a booming voice echoing in the cave reaches us. To make matters worse, loud deafening footsteps can be heard.

Each step brings it closer and closer.

"RUN! FASTER! ONCE YOU MAKE IT OUT, GET ACROSS THE RIVER!"

I shout at the top of my lungs and pray that the voice does not reach us.

"COME BACK HERE YOU BASTARDS!"

In the distance, I can see it, the night sky. Even without the moon, it is still brighter than the cave.n0๐‘ฃ๐žฎ๐ฟ๐“Š๐’๐’ท.๐—ฐ0๐—†

We were almost there.

The huffing and the puffing were worth it.

Robin and Melody, exits the cave and dash into the river, wading across as fast as possible while signaling to the goblins to be ready to fire their arrows.

Frank, Owen and I come out next jumping into the river and as fast as possible get to the other side.

David comes next with a worried expression. Waving his arms in the air and desperately shouted at us.

"IT CAUGHT UP! IT CAUGHT UP! HOWARD HE-HE-ARGH!."

Blown out of the cave and crashing into David was Howard.

Shattered remains of the shield in his hand.

Blood ran down the corner of his mouth as he slowly opens his eyes.

"David get across the river now!"

He stands up weakly.

"NO! Get back, Howard. I can do it."

David stands in front of Howard in a defensive position. Staring intently at the cave, waiting.

Clad in a bronze chest plate and leggings. Holding a double-headed stone ax with a bronze handle. An orc larger than its other kin steps out of the cave slowly. Eyeing us from left to right. An annoyed expression appears on its face as it looks at us.

"So...It's you, bastards. You came before. Now you are back. I am Balta. A proud orc general. FEAR ME!"

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Balta's bellowing shook the air and created waves in the river. With bloodshot eyes and bulging muscles, he charges at David raising his ax high into the air. I turn to Gobi and the goblins and yelled my orders.

"SHOOT! Keep shooting your arrows!"

At the same time, I leaped into the river wading across the river towards David. Following me were the wolves, Owen and Frank.

The ax comes crashing down on David's shield cracking and shattering it to pieces. The excess force pushes David and Howard back a few steps. David's hand trembles from the hit and he fail to hold his weapon.

"DAVID MOVE!"

Howard pushes David to the right while leaping to the left narrowly dodging the incoming blade. Grunting at the failed strike Balta kicks Howard in the chest sending him rolling towards the river and near us.

The arrows whistle through the air, some lucky shots hit Balta in the chest and thighs but were unable to pierce through his armor, while others land on the ground near him.

"Howard are you ok?"

I kneel next to him and check out his body. Owen and Frank push forward getting near Balta with their spears in hand thrusting and stabbing while rolling and dodging to the best of their abilities. The adult wolf harasses Balta with her constant hit and run technique while the pups growl and howl at Balta.

Howard grips his chest and coughs up blood. His eyes are disorientated and he fails to make up words.

"Stop trying to speak Howard. Stay here. Rest up. Thank you for the good work."

I pat his shoulder and look at the situation.

David is defenseless and is currently focused on dodging however looking at the beads of sweat pouring down his face I can tell he was nearing his limits. Owen and Frank were trying their best to do damage with their spears but due to their lack of experience Balta manages to dodge or block their attempts.

The only reason Balta has not killed them all yet was due to the adult wolf. Her timely attacks prevented Balta from making a lethal blow on anyone but even then we can't rely on just that.

I need to find a way to win.

A way to beat Balta.

A weakness.

"ARGHHH!!!"

There it was a weakness.

Robin's arrow lands dead on Balta's right eye.

Green blood sprays from his eye like a fountain, he drops his weapon and pulls the arrow out. Resulting in pulling his own eye out of its socket. He screams and shouts gripping his face in pain.

A chance!

Owen and Frank step forward confidently stabbing at Balta's right arm. Since they knew they would be unable to puncture the chest plate, they opted for an easier target. The exposed right arm and with the blindspot from losing his eye he would be defenseless against the strike. And like planned his right arm now had two new holes.

Following up on the opportunity the wolf pounces on Balta's head clawing and scratching the top of his head creating deep crimson marks.

"RRRRAAAARRRRR!!!!"n0๐—๐”ข๐ฅ๐“Š๐—Œ๐“ซ.๐’ธ0๐“‚

Enraged at the attack Balta bellows at the top of his lungs. Sending Owen and Frank flying landing on their bottoms. The wolf noticing the danger retreats first and lands gracefully behind Balta.

I haven't even done anything yet but it seems like they were doing fine.

But it looks like we were celebrating too soon.

Balta's skin changes from the green orc skin to a blood-red color. Similar to the Blood Ogre skin however Balta's body started to glow a soft red. He removes his hand from his face revealing a river of blood coming from his right eye socket as well as a face as black as thunder.

His eyes staring daggers at us and his mouth was half closed with a white mist coming from it each time he exhaled.

"Little bastards dare hurt me the great Balta. You think just because I lost an eye you win? WRONG! You have only made it worse. Now. DIE!"

Blasting off the ground Balta punches David in the chest, breaking the stone chest plate as easily as breaking a twig. David gets launched into the air and lands in the river with a big splash. Trying to avenge David, Robin, Melody, Gobi and the goblins fire their remaining arrows at Balta.

With a snort in their direction, Balta leaps off the ground and dashes towards them. The moment he enters the water I attack. Tossing a rock at Balta's right side, landing it square on his face. Stopping with one foot in the river he turns his head towards me.

"Did you just throw a rock at me? DIE!"

Drawing his attention might not have been part of my plan but now it is, I prepare for the engagement and position my spear pointed at Balta's head whiling holding my shield in front of me.

Balta draws his fist back ready to punch me when an attack on his right side occurs. Melody's arrow finds its mark piercing his old wound, the right eye.

Squealing in pain and distracted in front of my I take my chances and stab at his left eye with my spear. Seemingly more conscious of the attack Balta sways his head back allowing himself to be sliced on his cheek.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire they say because Balta's swaying causes him to be unbalanced. Frank had picked up David's ax and swung it at the back of Balta's knee causing the orc to fall to his knees.

In this sticky situation, Balta swings his arms around rolling off to the side out of the immediate danger. However, where he rolls too was not in his favor. Owen's lucky positioning stabs Balta in his shoulder with a goblin knife causing the orc great pain.

"ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK! WE CAN DO THIS!"

I scream at the top of my lungs as I dash forward holding my spear. I toss a knife at Balta's face missing it narrowly but the shock of the knife causes him to delay his retaliation. Owen moves away and the wolves come in to clean up. Biting the defenseless rolling orc and scratching him with their claws.

The red glow wanes and Balta's war cries instead become cries of pain and horror. It didn't matter where we attacked, face, eye, hand, arm, feet or legs we sliced, hacked and stabbed Balta with anything in our hands. From knives to spears to even rocks on the ground.

It was like a scene out of hell, green blood splattering everywhere on our bodies and the ground while a single monster was betting beaten up by humans, goblins and wolves.

[ Defeated Boss Monster - Orc General Balta ]

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Owen, covered in green blood, popped his head out of the crowd and looked at me.

"We killed him? Wasn't he meant to be an orc general? How? How did we kill him already?"

I shrug my shoulder and smile at him. The rest stopped their assault and the once-proud orc general was reduced to a pile of meat and bones.

"I guess even a general can be beaten down with numbersโ€ฆ"

I quietly mumbled my thoughts while Balta's body disperses. Everyone rested against the canyon wall exhausted from the fighting inside and outside the cave. Owen closed his eyes while leaning on Robin's shoulder and in a minute he was already asleep garnering laughs from the rest.

Eventually, the body disappears into purple smoke drifting away with the wind, replacing it is the same double-headed ax.

[ Stone Headed Ax

Attack: 15n0๐‘ฃ๐žฎ๐ฟ๐“Š๐’๐’ท.๐—ฐ0๐—†

Agility: - 5

Sharp-bladed double-sided ax with a copper handle, its heavyweight makes it less than ideal in a battle.]

I bent down to pick it up only to only be able to lift the handle. The head of the ax barely lifted off the ground and after trying I gave up and let it drop. A small cloud of dust and dirt spread from underneath the ax once I let it fall to the ground.

While we had defeated Balta unexpectedly there is still a chance of more enemies deeper in the cave. I went with Gobi and the goblins alongside the wolves, Frank and Melody to search the rest of the cave. Leaving Robin, Owen, Howard and David at the cave entrance to rest.

Having Gobi and the goblins in the front made traversing the cave a lot easier. Their natural night vision made looking in the cave as bright as day.

Gobi stopped us at the second torch and spoke in a sad tone.

"Ian, in front of us is a pile of dead bodies. They seem to be chopped up with their guts spread across the ground. Most likely the orc with the ax did this to them."

"Were there any survivors, Gobi?"

Gobi hangs his head low and shakes it. He sighs a little before getting the goblins to move the bodies to the side of the cave to make space for us to keep moving. As we move forward through the thick pool of blood our footsteps create disturbing squelching sounds. I could feel something soft and solid below my feet but due to the darkness, I could not make out what it was. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise because do I really want to know what I was stepping on?

The cave goes further down reaching the third bend and then a fourth being the last corner. There was more light coming from the fourth bend and curious as I was I quicken my steps overtaking Gobi in the lead.

"Ian, be careful!"

Melody calls out to me but I choose to ignore it as I turn the corner.

Glittering reddish-brown minerals snake along the walls, reflecting the light from multiple standing torches planted across the wide cavern floor. My jaw nearly hit the floor, the amount of harvestable copper was out of this world and next to the entrance was a pile of already mined copper ore as well as a group of goblins huddled in a corner with their hands over their heads.

"Gobi go over there and talk to the goblins and try to make them feel safe. I won't hurt them and I would prefer to take them in as part of HavenFall."

After instructing Gobi I told the wolves to search the other side of the cavern while I lead Frank and Melody to inspect the walls.

I pull out a standing torch and bring it closer to the walls of the cavern. I inhale sharply as I gaze at the walls slowly moving from the entrance to the left, completely entranced by the sight.

I look and I see, sandwiched in between grey stones is an aquamarine river with reddish-brown banks. The river snakes from throughout the wall diverging and converging at different points creating a web spanning the whole wall.

"It's beautiful...I-I don't even know what it is but it's beautiful."

Melody's said what was on Frank and my mind.

"It's a mineral called copper. It was used in weaponry, jewelry and many more things."

Frank points towards the wall with an interested expression.

"How do we get it out of the rock?"

"Just like how Balta was doing it before, mine it slowly and eventually we would be able to mine all the copper that is in this cavern. Balta had already started the job but unfortunately for him, he was never able to finish it."

"Mining it and then transporting it back towards HavenFall will take a lot of time though?"

"Yea, it would Frank, but you are forgetting something. With more goblins coming everyday and with new inventions like the wheelbarrow we have in HavenFall, transporting the copper will be easier than you think. Plus it will help you gain some muscle right?"

"I think you need the muscle more than me Ian."

After some light banter, we continue looking at the copper vein as it runs along the wall.

Eventually, it ends near the other side of the cavern where the wolves were lazily lying on the ground near a small golden box. Another ancient ruin, buried in the depths of a cave. Nearby in the back corner were small makeshift shelters made out of wood and stones, presumably where the residents of this encampment lived before being executed by Balta.

I pick up the ancient ruin and motioned everyone to come back up to the surface.

Gobi was able to convince the group of 10 goblins to follow us back to the surface. These goblins were used by Balta to mine the copper and since they were busy with their task they did not even notice that Balta had stormed off to kill the invaders. Only after one of the goblins noticed it was very quiet did they see the pile of dead bodies further up the cave. Frightened and scared for their lives they huddled together hoping everything would pass by and they would be safe.

Once we reached the surface again, I told Howard, David and Robin about our findings as well as introduced our new goblin friends. Finally, it was time to head home. Back to HavenFall.

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Slowly we drag our feet back to HavenFall, our tired bodies and mind preventing us from moving quickly. Only the wolves and the goblins that was in the lead looked okay as they moved along.

David was being helped along by Frank, after the battle, his chest started to hurt and after removing his chest plate there were small bruises here and there. After the adrenaline during the fight wore off the pain started to kick in making it hard for him to move.

Howard, being beaten down by Balta, was being helped along by me. With his arm swung around my neck we proceed step by step slowly.

The sun had risen over the horizon and its golden rays beam down on us. The water glistens as the sun shines over it and a gentle breeze brush against our skin. The sound of the waterfall slowly gets louder as we get closer.

During the travel home, everyone was quiet. Too tired to make conversation but once the waterfall was in sight, sighs of relief came. Happiness wash over everyone's expressions and with newfound energy we start to jog, then run.

Small cries of joy came from everyone the moment we got home. Lucina, Lime, Celine and old man Hus met everyone at the top of the path. Waving at us from the top all the way until we got to them. A round of hugs and tears of joy came afterward. Celine hugged everyone while crying, her face only showing how relieved she was that we all came back safely.

"I'm so glad everyone is safe!!"

I pat her head once it got to my turn for the hug. After the pat, she wraps her arms around me placing her hands at my back and held me tight.

"Thank you for bringing Melody and Frank home safe."

"It's fine, they both did a great job over at the encampment. I should be thanking them for a job well done."

After the hugging session and a quick bite to eat courtesy of Lucina, everyone that went to the encampment fell asleep. Lime was helping old man Hus repair the equipment while Celine was grooming the wolves as they relaxed and Lucina was tending to the budding crops.

I took this time to find out what the ancient ruin will give me. Holding the golden box I open it and after the box disperse into the air a small ring appears.

[ Tin Ring

Follow the arrow on the ring to find a Tin deposit.

Only works once. Will disappear once the deposit is found.]

"THIS IS IT!!!"

I cry with joy and pump my fist into the air. With copper and tin, I can make bronze. With bronze, I can make better armor, better weapons and maybe even some jewelry. I can start an economy if I wanted to with just bronze coins as well. So many possibilities!

I slip the ring onto my ring straight away and I see that the arrow was pointing in the direction of the encampment. While the encampment was still far away at least tin might be found somewhere near it. If it was next to the encampment it would be the best since there wouldn't be much distance between the two when it comes to mining them. Without worrying too much about what happens now I went to relax with Celine and the wolves.

Gobi came towards me not long after with the new goblins and asked for some advice on what they needed to do in HavenFall.

"Gobi, I will eventually need the new goblins to teach other goblins the ways to mine copper however I want them to relax for now. If Howard and David were awake I would have ask them to co-operate with you to build your house but since they are injured and resting I would have to trouble you to build it yourself."

"Don't worry Ian, I got it sorted!"

"Great! Also, I want you to teach them how to fight. Archery is a good start but using other weapons would be great too. Most goblins only know how to use a knife or a club I would prefer if they are able to use shields and spears. They would be more effective in a fight and allow for more strategic positioning and formations. Think you can do that?"

"Hmm...I think I can show them basic spearmanship and how to wield a shield but I'm not an expect either. I used a club before and now I have only kind of learn how to shoot an arrow with a bow but even then I'm not that good."n0๐‘ฃ๐žฎ๐ฟ๐“Š๐’๐’ท.๐—ฐ0๐—†

"That's fine. Basic is enough. How to thrust, poke and swing with a spear. How to raise their shield and how to block a strike. Those are the things I need them to understand. You and the goblins aren't dumb. U need more time and experience in order to be strong. "

"Okay. I understand I will work them hard! First, building a house! Second, get strong! Got it, Ian!"

Gobi sents off with the goblins new and old with a happy expression finding sticks, branches and bundles of leaves and tall grass in order to create a house. Their happy expression hits my heart and a smile forms on my face. I place my head on the adult wolf's side resting in her fluffy coat and watching the clouds roll across the side. Eventually, time passes by with me resting there and the game shuts down and I see the familiar ceiling of my house.

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Waking up and doing my daily exercise has become a routine. Every day after gaming I would run around the block twice, doing some pushups, planks, squats and other body-weight exercises. After working out I would have something to eat for breakfast, usually eggs, toast and the occasional bacon or sausages. It was 0800 when I got a message from Evan in the group chat between him, Sabrina and myself.

"GUYS! Look at the forum. Some players have finally met each other and posted about it." - Evan.

"On it!" - Sabrina

After seeing the text message I go to my computer and turn it on. While waiting for the computer to boot up and I sipped water. I gaze at the screen as it blinks awake. Once, the computer booted up I opened the browser and searched for the forum. The first post's title was "I Met Another Player!!" and since Evan piqued my curiosity about the topic I clicked on the post and read the information.

"I Met Another Player!!" - CrystalWand

Hi everyone my name is CrystalWand!!

I started playing after the patch so I missed out on a lot of things :(. However, because of the changes, I was able to pick Traveler rather than Leader. In doing so when I spawned for the first time I was with a group of 3 NPCs who looked like they had been traveling for a while. In joining them I learned the ways of survival in the game by foraging for food and hunting.

I should probably talk about where I spawn. Somewhere in a mountainous environment with tall bare trees and snow falling onto the ground was the biome I was spawned in and this made life pretty hard. I opt for finding a warmer location so I convinced the NPCs to travel down the mountain and eventually we got to the bottom and it was a forest.

Very little greenery but even so it felt warmer as I traversed through the forest. A couple of days go by and in the distance, I see a trail of smoke. Now, this was not the first time I had seen a trail of smoke in the sky. The first time I saw it I almost died to goblins. Running into an encampment thinking it was going to be other players or NPCs was not the best decision of my gaming career.

So I carefully approached the location and WHAT DO YOU KNOW IT WAS HUMANS AND A PLAYER AT THAT!

I will not mention the player's ign since he/she did not want to reveal it however I did ask if it was okay to post about our interactions after meeting and they allowed it.

So, I will be calling the player I met P. P's NPCs welcomed us and my NPCs and looking at the patch notes I was a little afraid that my NPCs would leave me and stay at P's base. However, it was a very different scenario. Both parties got along well and helped each other but neither wanted to merge with the other party. The NPCs are loyal to whomever they are with first.

Most likely if the player allows them to leave the party will the NPCs decide if they want to stay at another player's base or leave with the original player. We tested this theory and IT WORKS! My NPC who I had told could leave and stay here actually left soon after but none of my other NPCs left. They did not even stop him from leaving. Likewise, P's NPC joined me when P asked the NPC to leave.

This means other players cannot steal NPCs from other players.

Now, I am with P and trying to build their small village into a better and bigger village. Slow progress but we can do it after all 2 heads are better than 1!

After reading the post I collected my thoughts and started to message the other two about it.n0๐‘ฃ๐žฎ๐ฟ๐“Š๐’๐’ท.๐—ฐ0๐—†

"They only tested if the NPC can leave more or less voluntarily. What if the player was killed by the other player would the NPCs rebel or be willing to go to the killer?" - Ian

"I had that thought too and looking at it logically I would think the NPCs that lost their leader would be taken as prisoners first and then slowly their outlook will change and the NPCs will admit to the new leader." - Evan

"Then isn't better to just kill any player?" - Sabrina

"Yes, but what if they come back with a bigger army?" - Evan

"The game is too early to have an army though?" - Ian

"Maybe for you guys. But I rescued more NPCs from nearby encampments and I am currently housing about 25 NPCs in my settlement. I bet Sabrina still has 5 HAHAHA" - Evan

"I DO NOT OK! I recused some NPCs too. I'm around 16 NPCs. What about you Ian?" - Sabrina

"Hmm, counting just humans then I have only 13 NPCs, but if it is all then 13 humans, 17 goblins, and 4 wolves. " - Ian

"WHAT!!! HOW??" - Sabrina

"That's just insane..." - Evan

"HOW ARE GOBLINS PART OF YOUR SETTLEMENT???? AND WOLVES TOO LIKE ARE THEY NOT MONSTERS??" - Sabrina

p "They are monsters but at the same time, they are not. It's uhh complicated. " - Ian

"Ian I want to meet up with you in-game so you can just carry my people around. I'll give them all to you just give me a high position in the soon-to-be city." - Evan

"HRMP! I'll create a massive city here on these plains and then find a route to connect the two of us so we can develop a trade." - Sabrina

"Okay, guys we are getting sidetracked. Has anyone met with any other players yet? I think it will be happening more and more now since more players are joining the game. " - Ian

"Nope seen no one. Not a single elf even though I'm in a god damn forest with big trees and green leaves." - Evan

"Before I left the game I saw in the distance a smoke trail. It came from pretty far away so I was going to check it out the moment I go back into the game." - Sabrina

"Okay keep us updated Sabrina!" - Ian

"Will do." - Sabrina

"Don't die!!!" - Evan

"I would kill you if I died Evan!" - Sabrina

" :O well then." - Evan

With that I turned off the screen and focused on the rest of the day. Work, work, work and then dinner. After all of that, it was finally time to go back into Settlement.

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I open my eyes and the first thing I see is the blue sky. I'm back and I have a game plan. With the new ring, I have a goal and that was to find the tin deposit, mine both tin and copper and then find a way to create bronze.

Since today was mainly a day of rest for most of the residents I instead consulted old man Hus about the future plans. Standing up and leaving Celine and the wolves I slowly walk over towards the first shelter we made. It had been converted into a storage house as well as a workshop near the front of the shelter. Both Lime and old man Hus were at the front sharpening the heads of the stone axes. As I approach them, old man Hus looks up and initiates the conversation.

"Lad, good job on making it back."

"Well, without the armor you made I think Howard and David wouldn't have made it back. Although, I am sorry about breaking them."

"Don't worry about it, lad. Armor is meant to break at some point and if it did it just means it's not strong enough yet."

"Yes, and that leads to why I am here. I think I have a way to acquire better material for both weapons and armor."

Hearing the topic, old man Hus puts down the ax head and focuses on my next words. Lime, noticing the change in atmosphere puts down what she was doing and listens in as well.

"Have you heard of bronze?"

"No lad I have not."

"Not surprising that you have not because it is a mixture of metals or an alloy. It combines copper and tin to create a stronger metal that can be used for weapons and armor. We can also use it for jewelry and create a currency of sorts from using the bronze you just need a hot enough fire so maybe the kiln will work but then I'm not too sure. We would have to test it and-"

"Lad. Lad. LAD! Stop right there. Explain it to me in more simple terms. What is copper? What is tin? What is an alloy? This old man does not understand these words you are saying."

"Oh, sorry old man Hus. I got carried away telling you about some of the plans I have already thought of."

"That is ok, lad. Just tell it to me slowly. I want young Lime to learn as well."

"Okay well for starters I'll explain what is copper, tin and bronze. Copper is a metal that we found in the depths of the encampment we had just come back from. It is a very soft metal that can be hammered into a shape without breaking or cracking. Tin is the same and by melting both of them and then mixing them you can create bronze. By combing these two soft metals you can create a harder and more durable alloy."

"Sounds very very interesting. However, I understand you have found copper but what about tin? You said it requires both of them lad."

Hearing the question I smile and hold out the ring on my finger. With the arrow pointing behind me, I move my hand left and right, making the arrow move slightly.

"This ring can find us a tin deposit. While it might not be a big deposit it should be enough for us. Bronze consists of mainly copper and only about 10-15% tin."

After staying quiet this whole time Lime chimed into the conversation.

"Ian, why are we still here let's go and mine!"

"Lime, I would love to do that but we have just gotten back from a very hard battle. I want to let them rest. Tomorrow I will take some of the goblins with me and scout out the area. Afterward, I will proceed to find a way to mine both the copper and the tin and transport them back to HavenFall."

"Transporting them along the river bank will be hard. Even with the wheelbarrow that old man Hus made. He told me you thought of the idea Ian, good job! "

"Not exactly all my idea...But I'll take the credit. Maybe I should flatten the ground somewhat further from the river and more alongside the canyon walls?"

"YEA! That's a good idea. Then you can place a fence made up of just branches so the person pushing the wheelbarrow knows where exactly where they can move it and the bronze will most likely be made down in the canyon anyways."

"Yep. Old man Hus are you up for the challenge in making bronze equipment?"

"Am I up for it? Lad, I don't know how long I have let to live in these old bones so every day you introduce me to something new it is a treat in itself. Learning new things at my age is a godsend. I thank you for that lad."n0๐’ฑ๐—ฒ๐‹๐‘ข๐ฌ๐•“.๐•”0๐—†

"It's ok old man Hus. I'm going to check up on other people now. I'll get you once I have all the material for the bronze work to begin."

With that comment, I leave old man Hus and Lime to continue with their repairs. I move around HavenFall and talk with some of the other residents.

Lucina's crops have started to sprout and small green stems can be seen poking through the soil. At the same time, Gobi and his team of goblins have created a second house next to the original mud house next to the Goblin Hut. Gobi had started their training already, the moment the house was completed he made all the goblins jog around the perimeter of HavenFall all the way until dinner.

Everyone came out for dinner and with a nice hot fish and vegetable stew inside everyone's stomachs, the day draws to a close.

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Early mornings, with the sun, just peeking over the horizon. Golden rays wash over the landscape and the branches flutter in the wind. The rustling of leaves and the crashing of water are nature's alarm clock.

I open my eyes to another beautiful morning. I walk out of the house and step down to the river. Kneeling by the river, splashing water on her face was Melody. Her black hair was slightly wet on the edges, eyes closed and a satisfied smile on her face. Slowly, I walk down the path glancing between her and the sunrise. I didn't know what was more beautiful.

She flicks her wet hair back over her shoulders and opens her eyes slowly as she turns behind her. Her cheeks were slightly pink in color as our eyes met.

I quickly glance away from her eyes focusing on the waterfall.

"Good morning Ian. How was your sleep?"

"Uhh...It was fine. Yours?"

"Well, my neck is slightly stiff want to help me by massaging it?"

I glance over in her direction to see her slide her shirt slightly off her shoulders. A playful smile on her face.

"Uhh...Iโ€ฆ"

"Just for a bit okay? You just need to rub it until I say stop."

Losing all my reasons I walk over towards her. Pulling her hair to one side and slipping the shirt off her other shoulder to reveal her white skin, she turns her body forward waiting for me to massage her shoulders with her eyes closed.

I stand behind her for a minute, looking at her. Hiding behind her jet-black hair was her unblemished nape and shoulders. Her shirt just loosely hanging above her chest, and a clear valley could be seen between it.n0๐’ฑ๐—ฒ๐‹๐‘ข๐ฌ๐•“.๐•”0๐—†

Noticing my lack of movement she opens her eyes and tilts her head up. Her long black eyelashes bat at me and a cheeky smile welcomes me.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"NO! No, no, no. Sorry...uhh...Turn back forward. I'll help massage your shoulders now."

Her smile reaches her ears as she closes her eyes once again returning back to her previous position.

I place my hands on her shoulders and they instantly sink into her skin. Soft like a marshmallow without a hint of stiffness. A slight moan escapes her lips and realizing her mistakes she moves a hand over her mouth and looks at me with slanted eyes. Turning back around after looking at me and slowly she nods her head signaling for me to continue.

For a while later, the river was filled with small gasps for breath.

"Thank you, Ian, for helping with my stiff shoulder!"

With beaming face Melody waves and thanks me while skipping away. Once she got to the top of the path, I kneel on the ground and cover my red face.

"Dangerous. Women are dangerous."

...

After an eventful morning, I gather 10 goblins at the river telling everyone else that I was going to follow the ring towards a tin deposit. I thought about gathering more forces however, most of my heavy hitters are resting up after the battle. It wouldn't be wise to push them anymore, plus it's best for them to recover so the next time they are needed they will be well-rested and ready for a fight.

Name: Ian

Race: Human

Faith: 71/100 ( Reach 100 to pick a Pantheon )

Happiness: 1 ( Happy )

Health Points (HP): 10/10

Mana Points (MP): 0/0

Strength: 5

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 5

Dexterity: 5

Agility: 5

Luck: 10

Equipment: Lucky Goblin Totem Necklace, Improved Stone Spear, Stone Chest Plate, Stone Knife, Stone Shield

I equipped everything I had from the last time I went to the encampment and made sure the goblins were also properly equipped. 3 archer goblins, 3 spear/shield goblins and 4 knife/shield goblins were the party I took with me. I left Gobi at HavenFall to train the rest of the goblins. I needed the rest of the goblins to be able to cooperate with each other in an orderly manner so that when big battles occur they will be a unified force ready to wreak havoc on the battlefield.

It was the first time I was next to the goblins by myself as it was honestly pretty surreal. Not too long ago I was killing them but now there are some goblins who I consider extremely important to our survival, like Gobi. I spoke to them bit by bit as we travel closer to the encampment and learned that they too had many likes and dislikes with their current living standards.

They love the environment they are currently in, plenty of food and water and no tyrannical leader to boss them around. However, their dislikes were much the same as the other residents. With how little there is to do in HavenFall other than training, foraging or crafting they were bored. I had noticed and talked to some of the other residents and I found that they too were slightly bored.

Forms of entertainment were needed. A group of people/monsters cannot just work, eat and sleep every day, there need to be things they can do leisurely. Which got me thinking, what if I recreate some popular board games or even card games in this world for my NPCs. It would give them something to do now and potentially lead to a casino-like environment in the future for increased revenue and entertainment.

Eventually, there will be an outlet for alcohol as well and that in turn creates a new form of entertainment. Taverns, bars etc there are many different methods to incorporate 'fun' into people's lives and I want HavenFall to eventually be a place of fun and safety.

As I thought about things to potentially add to HavenFall we eventually got back to the encampment. I look at the arrow and it was pointing further down the river and since we have never gone past this point yet it was all uncharted territory.

"Everyone, stay alert. Who knows what we will see from here on. I want knives at the front, then spears and then archers. Walk at a steady pace and carefully observe your surroundings before you proceed and if there is anything potentially unusual, stop and say something...Good! Now then let's follow the arrow!"

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n0๐“‹๐”ข๐—…๐”ฒ๐‘ ๐’ท.๐“ฌ0๐—†

I glance at the ring and kept following the river making sure to observe the surroundings. The goblins in the front had their shields already raised and their knives in their hands. Focusing on the front, they move forward leading the slow charge. Glancing left and right were the spearmen goblins. Following my orders to a T, they make sure to check every potential hiding spot with their spears before telling the shield bearers to move forward.

I was surprised by their coordination and when I asked them how come they were so coordinated they replied that Gobi had helped them.

"Leader Ian, Boss Gobi had told us before we left to make sure you are well protected. Our actions were taught to us the night before. Shield bearers look front, spearmen left and right and finally archers oversee the whole situation in case one of us misses something. Always attack first even if there is nothing there as a precaution."

"Leader Ian? Boss Gobi? Whatโ€ฆ?"

"Yes, we were told by Boss Gobi to call you Leader Ian."

"I see...Wait until I get back Gobi, I'm going to have to talk to you about this."

As we move forward, the arrow slowly vers to the left. Noticing it's movements I stop everyone and observe the ring and the surroundings a bit more.

In front of us is another bend in the canyon, the river flows to the left and around the corner. From our current location, the arrow has moved from 12 o'clock to 11 o'clock meaning that there is a chance the deposit is in the canyon wall or it's behind the corner and further away.

"Everyone, stay alert. We are going around the corner now."

I hold the shield in front of me and grip the middle of my spear tightly as I nod to the rest of the goblins to move forward. We slowly approach the corner and I quickly glance at the ring and see that the arrow has moved to 8 o'clock position. Behind us, around the corner many possible places for tin deposits and while it could be underground I was still afraid of uncertainties, especially in a different environment.

The front goblins turn the corner followed by the spearmen, me and then the archers. Just another carved-out path in the canyon. I let out a sigh of relief and relaxed my shoulders. I notice the only difference in the environment was that the river have gotten more aggressive and that there were some overhangs along the walls.

The canyon was in a slight downward slope with various overhanging ridges in the wall creating long shadows across the canyon floor. The river had multiple protruding rocks in it creating small whirlpool-like pockets behind them. At the same time, the once calm aquamarine river slowly transitions into a choppy white stream as the water crashes into the rocks flowing downwards. The river tumbles and crashes into each other escaping down the canyon, disappearing through a tight passageway with no land to stand on.

I look at the ring and notice that the arrow is pointing to the other side of the river. Looking at how dangerous the river might be, I decided to move upstream before crossing. Undercurrents could potentially sweep all of us as we move through the river so the further away we cross the better. I turn around ready to move upstream when one of the front goblins yelled at all of us.

"ENEMIES AHEAD!"

I snap my body forward and crouch down slightly making sure to cover as much of my body with the shield.

"ON THE LEDGE ABOVE US, ACROSS THE RIVER!"

An arrow lands on my shield, creating small sparks on it before bouncing off.

"Shit! Shields up! Archers peek over the shield and fire at your own will."

Unable to see the situation clearly I could only rely on the goblins to complete the task. All the goblins with shields came close to each other in order to reduce the number of gaps. I could hear the constant rain of arrows hitting our shields, some narrowly missing their targets and our only response to it was defense. Luckily for us, I made sure that not only the front line had shields but also the spearmen. With 7 shields all together we were able to protect ourselves from the initial wave of arrows.

Noticing the opportunity to counterattack, one of the goblin archers peek out with their arrow already nocked aiming at the potential location of our enemies.

"There is no one there!"

"What?!"

I bring down my shield and peek my eyes over and as the archer goblin had just said I saw no one as well. Carefully, I look across the many overhangs making sure to not miss a signal detail but there was no one there. Not a trace of an enemy.

"Walk back. Keep the shields up and ears open. Anything strange then say something immediately. Archers under the shields."

We readopted our defensive formation and carefully walk backward. I make sure to observe behind us in case there are enemies that snuck around.

My heart pounds against my chest as we slowly retreat. Unsure of our enemies and where they might be and the frustration of not reaching our goal despite being so close were all on my mind.

I did not have any of my stronger NPCs and while the goblins were cooperating well their stats are still lower than that of other monsters or NPCs. At the same time, I did not want them to die so I could only make the decision to retreat.

After walking back halfway towards the copper mine there was a second round of arrows. Above us again, but this time various rocks were thrown in the mix. Our shields rattle under the beating but due to its high defense, the shields were still okay.

I peek over again to try and get a glimpse of our enemies and I could see that were not on an overhang but all the way at the top of the canyon looking down on us. With how far away they are I could not see their faces but I could make out their figures.

p 10 skinny, human-like figures with bows and rocks on their hands firing at us from above. Were they NPCs or players?

From this distance, I could not tell but since our shields were not giving way the second round of attacks slowly stopped. The figure disappeared and the sun slowly gets closer to the peak. The game was ending soon. I hurried the goblins to run towards the copper mine and position inside with the same formation right before I had to return to the real world.

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