CH3.3

Approaching a town wasn't really my plan at first, but when the latest care basket of potions was gone, I needed supplies. Unfortunately, I had no money, not even a few pennies. They were destroyed with my house.

I looked at the sleeve of my training gear; it was torn and mending slowly. That was the same for all of my gear while it was damaged; with time, it would eventually fully head. A hunk of metal did the deed. My hand was cut wide open, spilling blood on my training gear and the sandy ground. I was standing on my feet for the first time in three weeks and felt woozy. My training gear had increased in weight but that was ok. I planned to use it until I couldn't handle it anymore. Standing was a big help, and my already improved stats helped me along the way.

Every step was a struggle, and stumbles from tripping over roots sent me into a cussing fit for minutes at a time. I was slow going at 3x the weight of normal but getting the hang of it. The important thing was the bit of metal in my hand. I quickly added it to my inventory. It was the only metal I found capable of cutting into my training gear. While I couldn't get out of it myself if I found someone trustworthy, I was certain they could help me get out of it.

"Stop right there, boy; we will take no more refugees, scram." A man with a beer gut, a spear in hand with an iron tip, and old, worn leather boots said.

"You aren't that far off the yellow line; you'll be refugees soon enough," I said.

"Take care of your words, or I'll drive my spear up your ass. I reckon you're an adventurer but not a strong one, or you wouldn't bother coming here." He spat on the ground. "There are some goblins causing trouble and raiding merchants. Find their cave and kill them all; the last count was 20; bring their left ears, and you'll earn your entry." The guard said.

My first thought was how easy it would be to blast that man with lightning. One lightning bolt would get the job done. Killing goblins wouldn't be any harder than killing off his own village.

Quest 

20 Goblin Ears 

Reward 

Magnolia Town Entry

20 copper pennies

…

Someone lied that was the only explanation from what he was seeing. There wasn't a goblin hole in the ground where he needed to collect 20 ears. He hadn't made it halfway down the road when a fire spell exploded in the air, and suddenly, wolf-riding goblins had him surrounded.

"An adventurer, we haven't seen one of those in a while." A goblin wearing mirrored spectacles on his face said. I stared between the two who wore studded leather armor, were saddled, and clearly had steel weapons on their hips. "What are we going to do with him? He doesn't look like much, but they have been keeping us down for years."

"I'm not an adventurer; I was just trained by two of them," I said.

Honesty might get me through the day where lying wouldn't.

"I don't like the look of him. I say let's cut his throat and leave him for dead as a warning to those savages." The goblin said.

"Human, did you meet the lady of that town, a ripe cunt by the name of Julia Roberts. She butchered our envoys and sent their heads back to us on the steel platters we sent with the food. Give me a good reason why we shouldn't kill you here and now." The goblin rider said.

"I am a Lightning Elementalist with an empty profession. That means I can learn anything and be of use to you fully accessible by the system." I said.

"You aren't an adventurer, but you can use their system, which means if you pick up a hammer, you'll gain the smithing profession. We can hook you up with raw materials, and you'll level that profession and hand us better gear, or we can give you some herbs to beat up with a rock, and you'll become an alchemist. Why didn't the town snap you up?" The goblin asked.

"They pointed a spear at me and said either give them 20 goblin ears or I wasn't getting in."

"Cunts, big pus-filled cunts, the lot of them. I don't know if I buy your story, but if it's true, then you might have a place here." The goblin said.

"What's your name, human?"

"Atom," I said.

"Atom, if you're telling the truth, then welcome to the town; we have grog, meat, and all the horny goblin galls a man could want." The goblin said.

That was right goblins were born female twice as often as male.