Chapter 4: Different experiences

"3..."

"2.."

"1."

The timer disappeared from my sight and I looked up at Dan. He was still trying to lure a goblin over to me.

"Watch out! A goblins coming."

I look back at the opening and once again. There was a goblin. Almost the same reaction like the last goblin but this one didn't run in without fear. It was almost like he was hesitating. My guess was that he saw the first goblin I killed and contemplated whether or not to actually charge in like a fool.

Didn't matter in the end though. The goblin decided to start charging at me just like the first goblin. I made myself ready. I waited. And just when the goblin was about tackle me, I swung my sword and sliced halfway through his neck. The goblin gurgled and slowly fell to the ground and its head, still intact on its body, bounced on the ground landing right next to my left foot.

A ghastly orb rose from the goblin's body as the goblins heavy breathing mixed with gurgling stopped. I wasn't even nervous that time. It felt a lot more natural and I think I was just too excited to try out my new ability.

"Nice hit!"

A welcomed comment from Dan made realize once again that I wasn't alone. This was something I had to get better at or it could mean danger in real combat. I didn't know what would happen if I just let the orb float there so made sure that Dan looked away and hurried to command.

"𝐻𝒶𝓇𝓋𝑒𝓈𝓉"

The soul got sucked in to me and I felt energy rush through my body. It was exhilarating! I didn't feel tired but I wanted to use my ability to check if I could kill another goblin. The problem was that I didn't know if Dan could see my ability or if it was just me that could.

"Dan?"

"Yeah?"

Good. He looked at me. Fuck it. Lets just hope for the best.

"Menu. How many goblins are there left?"

The panel appeared in front if me again but he didn't really seem to notice. He looked away to look at the goblins.

"Are you sure you have the energy for one more? You don't have to push it."

While Dan was talking. I was deciding on what to spend my one soul on. This was my first ever soul. I thought out a lot of different scenarios in my head. Almost every single one of them ended up with me being too slow to either run away or not able to dodge with my build. I pretty quickly decided that I'd put it in Agility. When I upgraded my Agility by one, I also gained 5 Stamina.

"Don't worry. I have more than enough for one more."

Dan looked back at me. He seemed a little frustrated over how cocky I was. I decided it was time to rid of the corpses so I dragged them aside in to one of the closest bushes. Because of my lack of strength, some of the stamina I had left was used up because of that.

"Alright."

Dan started throwing things again. I didn't know what it was but it was definitely irritating the goblins somehow. Taking my place at the already pretty blood covered position, a goblin came through the opening.

"Here's one a little more difficult."

As I raised my bloody sword, I saw how the offender this time had a club made out of wood and the goblin had it raised above its head as it came running towards me. I decided that I might as well use this as practice before I rest since my Stamina is almost at the halfway point.

As the goblin rushed towards me, I readied my blade and just when I felt that the goblin was within my range, I leapt forward slicing in to the little goblins arms. The goblins left arm was cut of but because of my lacking strength, the blade had gotten stuck in its right arm muscle. The goblin had completely lost its grip on the club and was writhing in pain as I tried to dislodge my sword from the muscle. After some struggle I managed to get it free. Retaking my balance, I plunge in to its chest. The goblin fell almost instantly to the ground. I must have hit its heart.

Once again, a soul orb appeared floating over the dead goblins body.

"𝐻𝒶𝓇𝓋𝑒𝓈𝓉"

"What?"

Dan was walking up to me.

"I'm getting ready to rest. I'm pretty tired from all this fighting."

"Yeah, no kidding. You're an F rank. How do you have this much energy?"

Dan started searching for something in his bag while he spoke.

I wondered how long it would take for my Stamina to refill to full completely. I wanted to continue increasing my stats but I really didn't want to faint since it would be both embarrassing and dangerous.

"Here."

Dan handed me a water bottle.

"Thank you."

We walked away a bit from where the slaughtering of little goblins had taken place. Sat down and drank. Dan never sat down. He stayed standing and after a while he said.

"I'll scout our surrounding so don't go anywhere until I'm back."

"Okay!"

Dan left which meant I had time to distribute points.

"Menu"

I have put one point in to Agility which meant I'm probably just that little bit more agile. I put one more point in to Agility which again increased my Stamina by 5. Since I'm still F rank and will probably be for a long time, I'll try to focus on upgrading my speed.

I looked at my stamina. Stamina: 26/60. I watched how the numbers slowly rose, 27, 28, 29.

"Okay I'm back."

Dan had returned. My stamina was only at 30/60 so I decided that I'd kill a goblin and then leave it at that for today.

"You ready?"

Dan asked.

"Yup."

I stood up, grabbed my sword and started moving back to where I had killed the goblins. Dan was just a few steps behind me the entire time. He really took this work seriously.

"Okay take your position, I'll lure one out for you."

Once again for the fourth time, I took my stance and readied myself for the last time. It didn't take long before Dan had successfully lured a goblin in my direction. Just like before, the small goblin noticed me and started running. I had come to the conclusion that these are the dumbest breed of goblins since they had no fear for death.

This time, more relaxed, I wanted to try and start the encounter by piercing the goblin's chest so I took a step back. I lifted the sword in a manner where I could easily use most of my muscle strength. Just as the goblin was about to crash in to me, I lunged forward with first a step to the left, then to the right to position myself best to avoid the flailing arms.

The goblin didn't struggle at all. It must've been a critical hit because the goblin hit the ground faster than the previous three.

"𝐻𝒶𝓇𝓋𝑒𝓈𝓉"

I collected the soul and signaled to Dan that I was ready to leave. He nodded and started walking my way.

"How was it fighting monster for the first time?"

He asked.

"I loved it! It felt so exhilarating."

Dan's facial expression changed. He looked a bit sad.

"Sadly, you're an F rank which means that these kinds of creatures are the only ones you can fight on your own. You are after all not even supposed to fight."

I smiled and said.

"It is what it is."

Dan seemed to like me more now than before. My guess is that he liked the way I fought.

It took us a while to get to the portal but on our way there, me and Dan had a nice conversation about monsters. Apparently, the goblins I had been fighting were goblin kids or just not fully grown goblins. The parents make their kids go to those kinds of camps for them to develop faster.

Another topic that came up while we were talking was our living situations. He thought I lived very luxurious since I was wearing expensive clothing. I told him that, while I had the money, I hadn't fixed the living situation yet. This conversation moved things around in my priority list which I had orchestrated in my head.

Outside of the portal, Dan told me that he still had some business left inside the portal. We made sure I returned all of the gear that I borrowed. Said our thanks and goodbyes and I left.

…

On my way home, I made a few stops where I could see houses and apartments for sale. I found one especially nice which was close to the center of the city. This would also make sure my parents didn't run into any monsters since the probability of a portal opening near the center of the city is a lot lower than on the outer parts. I got the seller's number and I was on my way.

My money had grown significantly but I was noticing the amount of growth slowing down. I wrote a mental note for myself to check for the next upcoming boom in the market.

When I got home, I was greeted by a crying mother which gave me a massive lump in my chest.

"Why are you crying?"

I asked as I walked up to her.

"Sorry. Your dad- *sob* "

My heart sank. My mothers pause in the sentence made me imagine the worst.

"Your dad lost his job."

This would originally have been a terrible thing. From the looks of it, we were poor. Barely managing to get food on the table. But this was actually a good thing for me. Since I had enough money to pay for all our expenses, I didn't want my dad working. Because of his health that had been deteriorating, I thought it was due time he got some rest.

"Mom, it's okay."

She hugged me while sniffling.

"But how are we going to survive?"

When she finally decided to let me go, I smiled at her.

"You won't have to worry about work from now on."

"What are you talking about?"

She looked confused but still sad.

"I invested the money I got from working at the store for a few months and my money grew. Quite a bit at that."

Her crying had dialed down a bit by now.

"Where is dad right now?"

I asked.

"He is trying to get his position back at work."

"Call and tell him that he can come back home now. I've got something to show you."

I stayed with my mother for some time. I made sure that she called my father and that she wasn't crying anymore. I didn't want to show her the amount of money since you never know what will happen in the future. I then headed upstairs to look at the information I had on the near future. I knew that the hunter Iris will soon make a debut as the new S rank in my country but there was probably nothing I could do to befriend her since she was a part of the scorpion guild.

Something that had completely left my mind was the soul which I had collected earlier.

"Menu."

Name: Ian Leitch

Level: 1

Health: 50/50 Stamina: 41/60

Souls: 1 Mana: 20/20

_____--:Stats:--_____

Strength: 0 Vitality: 0

Mana: 0 Agility: 2

Corruption: 1

What first caught my attention was the fact that I still was level 1. What does my level mean. Since it doesn't change whether I use souls or not to upgrade myself, then that also meant that it wasn't just a simple number for how many souls I had collected. The level must mean something more important. I invested my third soul in to agility. Stamina: 46/65.

I heard a door close in my house. I assumed it was my father that had returned home so I turned off my computer and headed downstairs. I was right. There he stood with a hunched back and a sad look in his eyes. This was a sight I wasn't used to and not one I wanted to get used to either.

"Hi dad!"

I sat us down at the dinner table and waited until I had their full attention. It was clear that my father was feeling down because of work.

"Dad. Do you remember when I told you about my interest in investing?"

"yes."

"When I received my first paycheck, I placed my money in the right places at the right time which led me to build up quite the sum."

"Oh son. I know I was harsh when you stole from us but you don't have to worry. I'll get another job."

This was my father. He was always thinking about others instead of himself.

"Don't worry dad. To give you a picture of how much money I currently have. I could probably buy the factory and hire all of the employees from where you used to work. Twice, and still not have to worry about my future."

I really couldn't think of a better way of explaining to my father. He is the prideful type that wont give in without a fight. It was dead silent. My father's facial expression changed over and over while processing the information I had just given him. My mother just sat there staring at me. The part of all this that I found the most strange is that none of them were smiling.

"Sweetie.."

"It's your money and you don't have to feel forced to help your parents."

It seemed I'd have to explain it to them clearer.

"Listen! I don't actually care about money. What I do care about is my family. If I can spend my money on something I care about, that would make me happy so please rely on me from now on!"

There was once again silence but it didn't take long until both of my parents started crying.

...

I closed my door.

*sigh*

I didn't think I'd also cry but I guess having the two most important people crying in front of you, you can't help but cry with them. My parents, after finally accepting that I would be their bank from now on, wouldn't let me go.

I started up my computer once again to check my mail.

"Two new mails."

The first one was an invitation to a shareholders meeting with Deal Reds. It was held later this week which was the fourth of may. The meeting was going to start at 2 PM. I decided that I'll be partaking in the Deal Reds meeting since it could lead to new contacts which I could use at a later date.

The second mail was from... Chandler. It was an invitation to a class reunion that was held on the fourth of may and it started at 4 PM. It also mentioned that you are allowed a +1. I thought for a while and finally decided that the Deal Reds meeting ended early enough, I'd go to the class reunion. I returned Chandler's message that I will be probably attending.

Today's date was the second of may so I have some time to prepare some things. I first of all logged back on to the Lions guild website to order another portal dive guide. I decided who it was didn't matter this time since I didn't care anymore about anyone's ideas of me. I picked all the same options and got to bed.

This would be an interesting week.