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Hiroshi’s eyes slowly parted. Sounds of birds chirping and the wind rustling leaves reached his ears.
With a groan, he flipped to his side. Gobu sat up against a tree stump, snoring. Feodra lay between his legs, also sleeping.
His eyes shifted to the horizon. A golden semicircle was rising above the horizon.
It’s… morning…
He tried to get up, but his arm gave out instantly.
Damn… it still hurts.
The noise of Hiroshi collapsing back down awoke Gobu.
“Boss!” he shouted, getting up and running over to his side.
“You. Alive!” he leaned in, squeezing Hiroshi tightly, who began to choke.
“Gob- Gobu…” he comically gasped for air.
He let out a nervous laugh, letting go of Hiroshi.
“Where… where are we, Gobu?”
“Nearby. Old. Camp,” he smiled at the vampire.
“I see.”
“How long was I out? After… after the fight with the chimera?”
“Four. Da—”
“FOUR DAYS!?” his body sprung upwards, letting out a groan from the sudden movement.
“That’s too long. The goblin camp. What if we’re too late? We—”
“It’s. Okay. Boss.” Gobu put his hands on Hiroshi’s shoulder.
“Need. Strength. For. The journey,” he turned away from him and pulled out a captured rabbit, offering it to Hiroshi.
His eyes glanced down at the white creature, staring back at him.
I have no choice… I need to recover.
Hiroshi took it reluctantly and sank his fangs into its body, his body washing over a color. Moments later, the rabbit was lifeless and dried up.
He tossed the carcass aside, wiping some blood from his mouth. He clenched his fist a couple of times.
Alright. I’ve got some strength back. It’ll take a few of those to be back to full.
“Gobu, can you catch some more small animals?”
He turned his head and nodded.
“Wait. Explain what happened afterwards… after the chimera,” he demanded.
Gobu sat down before Hiroshi, stroking Feodra’s fur.
“Pull. Boss. Out,” his eyes looked up, recalling what happened.
“Lesser. Monster. Gather.”
I guess monsters were drawn towards the noise. It’s free food after all.
“Feodra. Scare. Away. Pull. Boss. Away.”
Hiroshi glanced down at Feodra sleeping tightly.
Ah, so you helped as well huh? Good wolf.
He smiled softly at Feodra.
“Build. Camp. Here.”
“I se—”
“Feodra. Light. Fire.”
Hiroshi’s eyes widened.
“Feodra lit the fire? How!?” he looked down, Gobu’s hand pointed at the small horn sticking out of her forehead.
“A… horn?” he squinted his eyes.
Feodra’s mother didn’t have a horn. Is it because she’s a tier above her?
“Yes. Shoot. Fire. Ball.” Gobu responded.
“That’s quite amazing, Feodra,” his hand grazed her fur.
“Thank you for recalling the events, Gobu.”
Gobu grunted happily, then walked off into the bushes to bring more small game to Hiroshi.
Alright, let’s see how many levels I’ve gained from the chimera. Status, open.
The window appeared suddenly before him.
I should’ve gotten quite a f—
His body froze.
What? But… I killed it…
His level hasn’t changed. It remained forty-one.
With a clenched fist, he smashed it down into the ground. Then let out a short laugh.
Damn chimera. Got the last laugh on me even in death, huh?
Well, it wasn’t a total waste. It forced me to grow stronger… should I be thanking it?
He shook his head.
What’s done is done. I need to look forward. Status, close.
His eyes trailed to Feodra once more as he laid back.
Grow big… Feodra.
Stars slowly became more visible as shadows crept in, the sun taking its rest once again. Gobu and Hiroshi kicked dirt over the campfire.
Feodra finally woke up, stretching out her body.
“Alright Gobu. Let’s head through the valley. We’ve lost too many days already.”
Gobu grunted in agreement, his face serious.
After a while of walking, Hiroshi turned his head up to scan the mountainside, a vision flashed through his mind of being dragged across the mountainside by the gryphon.
His body shuddered.
Never doing THAT again…
Gobu noticed Hiroshi shiver.
“Boss. Okay?” he asked curiously.
“Uh, yes. I just had an unpleasant memory, is all.”
“Past. Now. No. Worry.”
Hiroshi turned back to see Gobu smiling.
“Mhmm. It’s in the past now.”
Rocks crunched beneath them as the grass almost disappeared entirely.
Hiroshi suddenly flung out his arm, fingers spread. Everyone stopped.
What happened here… scavengers?
Ahead of them laid the Greater Stone Gryphon, half eaten, it’s ribs visible. A few wolves laid on the floor lifelessly, with some green and crimson goblins on the ground.
This seems suspicious. I should scout ahead.
“Wait here. Do not move,” he ordered.
Before Gobu could respond, Hiroshi leaped forward.
Going past the remains, he noticed bloodied footsteps trailing down deeper into the narrow mountain pass.
His eyes darted around everywhere, the ground, the horizon, the mountainside. Nothing.
Seems clear for now. We should move while it stays this way. I could use those goblins as an extra fighting force.
Hiroshi went back where his companions were waiting, his hand beckoning them.
Gobu and Feodra cautiously walked onward, observing the corpses.
Suddenly, a dark green color washed over the goblins and wolves. Their eyes shot open, a dark green haze filled them.
They slowly began to rise to their feet and joined their ranks.
Gobu’s brows were furrowed.
“Gobu? Explain what’s on your mind.”
Crimson goblins stood there, controlled by Hiroshi’s raise undead spell.
Gobu pointed at them.
“This. Wrong.”
Hiroshi glanced over at the crimson goblins, standing there like zombies.
Right… I did raise his kind…
“It’s okay Gobu. They will hel—”
“Not. Okay. Goblins. Race. Should. Rest,” he was almost shouting, his body trembling.
Hiroshi sighed and dismissed the raised goblins. For the rest of the journey, none of them spoke.
After a while of walking, Hiroshi suddenly turned back. A rock tumbled down the cliff-side. Nothing was there.
I thought I felt something. I might just be tired.
He squinted, looking closer. The large rock formation almost resembled a giant closed eye. He rubbed his eyes. The formation looked like regular stone.
I need some sleep…
Gobu turned to see what Hiroshi was looking at and after a few seconds he turned back, shrugging.
Guess he didn’t see anything either. Let’s move on.
The sounds of vultures overhead reached them. They circled above, almost as if waiting.
Bones had become more common. They crunched as they snapped beneath their feet. Feodra happily nibbled on one as they traveled.
As Hiroshi and his companions disappeared around the bend, the formation Hiroshi saw slowly opened, revealing a large orange eye, a dark cat-like iris narrowing as it focused.
The path continued to narrow until Hiroshi found himself slowly taking steps sideways, head turned to one side. The mountain’s walls pressed against his back.
So tight… I can’t even check if they’re behind me…
“Feodra? Gobu? You better be right behind me.”
Feodra barked out in response, happily strolling through the narrow path, perfect for her.
Gobu had stayed silent.
Guess they’re still there. I can see it opening up ahead. We’re almost through.
Hiroshi eventually stepped out of the narrow passage, moving his head around in freedom. with Gobu and Feodra coming out right behind him.
He turned his head straight, the path trailed downwards and slowly returned to grass.
Large, wide hills dotted the horizon. Lush fields of grass and flowers covered the entire field. An occasional tree could be seen.
The distant field of flowers glowed a bright blue color, shining blue particles levitated around them.
Wow… It’s beautiful.
His eyes trailed up higher to the horizon. A faint plume of smoke was in the air.
I’m guessing that’s the camp. We’re close now.
Moonlight embraced the landscape, not a single cloud present.
With a motion of his hand, he continued to walk, his companions treading behind him.
They began to descend. Rocks tumbled down. Feodra hopped atop of Gobu’s head, closing her eyes for a nap.
After a while of descending, grass finally started to dominate the ground. They had reached the grasslands.
The first thing Hiroshi did was remove his footwraps. His toes curled on the soft, cold grass.
Aaaaaaaah, it feels so good to finally be in touch with the ground. The grass is nice and cool as well. This is the best.
Hiroshi’s ear twitched. With a turn of his head, a monster was a couple of paces away.
Enemies…
His claws shot out.
More appeared over the small hill. Blue balls of jelly-like material hopped around.
A rock flew past Hiroshi’s head toward the creature, connecting with it. It burst and stopped moving.
Huh? What’s going on?
As he turned his head back, another rock flew by. Gobu was flinging rocks at them.
Oh, I see. They’re so weak even Gobu can defeat them. I should check out what it is.
Focusing on one, the command crossed his mind and the window popped up.
Lesser Blue Slime.
Level: 1
HP: 10/10
MP: 1/1
Skills: None
Finally, something that’s not a complete threat to my existence here.
The rocks stopped flying and they carried on, arriving at a dirt path.
Looks like this leads somewhere. I should investigate this another time, but usually roads connect to settlements. Perfect chance to test my human form.
Anyway, let’s move on.
The plume of smoke was much larger now. A large single tree dominated the field atop of a raised hill.
Hiroshi crouched down, motioning behind him towards Gobu, who also crouched down.
They snuck forward to the tree, laying down.
A massive camp was surrounded by tall wooden stakes. Watchtowers littered its perimeter.
A few watch towers were outside of the walls. Green goblins slept in them.
At one of the side gates stood two hulking green goblins. They had crude leather clothes, with massive clubs.
Hiroshi’s eyes scanned them.
Well… at least they’re like half the size of the king I fought.
His eyes scanned the camp. Large cages were scattered about, full of crimson goblins.
There they are. Gobu was right. Huh? What’s that?
He noticed a group of large green goblins with smaller ones in a circle. In the middle, a crimson goblin stood before a larger green one.
They’re making them fight!? That’s not even fair. That one’s much bigger than him.
His teeth clenched.
Stay cool. We’ll rescue them soon.
Hiroshi’s eyes trailed further up the camp. Two more large goblins stood on either side of a gate. The path led up a small hill with a huge crude hut.
That must be where their general is.
That’s a solid amount of information for now. We should make camp and prepare before we strike.
Hiroshi looked around from the hilltop, looking for an ideal spot to make camp.
Gobu’s hand pointed to the forest treeline near the camp.
There? Well… it does have the cover of trees and it’s close enough to the camp.
Hiroshi nodded.
They got up and began to circle around, heading to the treeline.
It was time to prepare.
It was time, to set them free.