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CHAPTER 2 HAD UNDERGONE THE REPARATION PROGRAM: BATCH ONE

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“Huff, huff, huff” Chase gasped for air, his previous pace slowing down to a crawl. ‘Damn, my stamina isn’t as good as I thought’ He clutched his chest, face reddened by lack of air. The dull pain throbbing in his hips caused him to grimace.

For someone who spent the majority of his life cooped up in the house, running for a whole fifteen minutes was already an admirable feat of its own. Sadly, in a world where humans could crush boulders and flatten mountains, it couldn't count as something impressive.

‘Better sit down somewhere and recover, I’d be caught dead if a monster comes out right now’ He observed the landscape, eyes searching for cool shade.

The vast grassy fields expanding into the horizon registered in his sights. Lushly leaved trees sparsely dotted the green panorama, like finely placed decorations.

'There' Chase perked up, spotting a tree on slightly higher ground. The bright rays of sunlight filtered through its leaves, creating bright dappled spots on the ground.

‘This seems to be a good spot' He thought as he leaned his back against the tree. 'If anything comes I’d be able to see it from miles away’ Chase noted after making sure there was nothing blocking his line of sight.

There were barely any places to hide within the open fields of Armitage. Banditry was not a very profitable line of work on this continent but they do thrive in the mountainous regions of Bosco.

While resting, Chase started to do some mental revision on the characteristics of the outermost layer of the Millennium Forest. ‘The largest ring out of the eight layers’ He brings up the illustration of an artist’s impression of the Forest in his mind.

‘Level of difficulty, E’ He thought of the level given by the Adventurer’s Guild. ‘Goblins and wolves, tricky ones..’ Even though the creatures were relatively weak, they have the tendency to band up into small packs although there were rare occasions of deviants which wandered alone.

'It would be easier if I could find one of those..' For a complete novice like him, even a goblin could be deadly. Their scrawny short bodies were not to be underestimated. They were known to be deceptively agile. One well-placed blow on the head would kill anyone.

Wolves were far more intelligent and dangerous compared to goblins. Luckily, their numbers were greatly less than the latter due to frequent hunting and inferior reproductive rate.

‘It’s not like I’d find one of those in the goblin territories anyway’ Chase thought. The goblins and wolves have their respective territories and they rarely fight over them. The area had yet to be overrun by legions of goblins due to the occasional goblin extermination jobs posted by the Adventurer’s Guild.

Chase had memorized the locations of all goblin and wolf territories inside The Forest as well as the safe zones. He was confident that he could take on one or two goblins. The problem was the rarity of lone goblins. They usually marched in groups of at least five.

‘I can’t really make any strategies if I don’t see the surroundings there..’ For someone as laughably weak as him, strategy was an invaluable weapon, even more important than the daggers on his waist belt.

‘The basics should be to separate them into smaller numbers, I’d probably have to use something for that..’ Chase racked his brains, but did not manage to hatch any plans.

Without realising it, he had already spent enough time to fully recuperate. The dull throbs in his hips and legs have already been taken away by his short rest.

‘Alright I’m good to go now’ Chase got up on his feet and started to move again, this time he took his time and walked. ‘I’d probably need some items to distract and break up those goblin formations later’

Searching for something here was difficult though, given the scarcity of materials.

He paused, noticing his fingers that were resting on the knife hilts.

'These daggers, maybe I shouldn't solely depend on them for combat ’

Chase realised that given his age, his height and the length of his arms are short. The reach of his weapon would be less than a grown man.

The techniques his father used might not work well with him. Instead of trying to imitate Aaron, Chase should try to develop a combat style which suited him more.

He spotted a long straight branch of a tree on the ground. It was about twice the length of his arm and a bit thicker than his thumb. He picked it up, weighed it in his hand and tried jabbing it forward.

‘The weight seems nice, the wood is quite sturdy, this would make a good weapon’

Chase took his dagger out and cut off the jutting parts of the branch, making a crude staff. Taking out a roll of bandage out of his bag, Chase attached a dagger at the end of the staff to make a makeshift spear. He swung it around a little bit and tried thrusting it several times.

Satisfied, Chase walked on with half of the spear poking out of his bag while gathering up some good sticks on the way. He did not know what he would do with them, but he gathered them up just in case he figures something out later.

Finally, he reached the edge of the Forest. The sun stood at its peak, yet even its bright rays could not dispel the foreboding gloom. From the edge of the forest, Chase could see a dirt path leading inside which were not blocked by trees or any foliage.

Based on what he had read before, the road branched off deeper inside. It leads to the monster territories or other layers of the forest. Humans and goblins alike used these paths to move around in the Forest.

‘I’d have to stay out of those if I want to avoid detection’

Chase slowly and carefully made his way in between the trees to the side of the road. He had read a book about tracking before, this was his first time applying it though. He tried his best to walk without stepping on dried leaves or branches on the ground to avoid making any sound.

Once in a while he would stop to look at the set of footprints on the path. ‘These are quite fresh, probably been a couple of hours at most but why are there so many...?’ The footprints were numerous and split out into four directions, which meant the goblins were heavily patrolling the area.

'What could cause them to be on such high alert?'

Goblins were not diligent creatures. If given the chance to laze about, they would do so. As such, having such a large group patrolling together was highly bizarre.

Chase glanced back and gauged the distance to the Forest exit. ‘Hmmmmm….. I'd better not go in too deep so I could retreat later’ Chase took heed of the far away pinprick sized light behind him, telling how far in he was.

Planting his foot and clawing his hands on the rough bark of a tree, Chase climbed up with relative difficulty. He grabbed hold of the thickest branch in sight and tried to hoist himself up but unfortunately slipped.

‘Crap!’ The sensation of falling welled up in his stomach as he lost his hold on the trunk. His body tilted back, succumbing to the cruel force of gravity.

He frantically threw his hands forward, trying to grab on for dear life. Luckily, his fingers found a small protruding part, allowing him the minimal leverage he needed. Gripping on that small bump, he grunted and pulled his body forward to hug the tree like a long separated lover.

*Gasp* *Gasp*

Chase breathed raggedly. He peeked at the ground below and gulped, thinking how bad of a fall it would have been if he fell.

‘Best case scenario is being paralysed for life’ He tightly embraced the tree, so tight that it actually hurt to have the gritty wood pressing against his face.

For a minute or two, Chase completely disregarded the idea of moving. His heart thumped rapidly, blasting its rhythm into his eardrums. If he did not know any better, he would have thought his heartbeat was loud enough to attract the beasts.

‘Better move on…’ Noticing how sore his arms were starting to feel, Chase made it a point to reattempt the climb. With fervent flames of determination burning within his eyes, he seized the branch once more.

Chase gritted his teeth and furrowed his brow while struggling to heave himself up. ‘Got to do this in one go…’ He breathed in deeply. In one swift exhalation, he summoned a burst of energy and lifted himself onto the branch.

Sprawled on the limb of the tree, he could feel nothing but the bulging bag which was uncomfortably poking his back and his pulsating, overworked arms. Righting himself up, he crawled closer to the edge of the branch, where the leaves were more spread out.

He patiently waited there for his targets to appear.

‘Right, so here’s the plan’ He thoughtfully rubbed his chin. ‘When the goblin pack walks by, throw a stick from above’ He paused. ‘Might need two… The goblins might be too stupid to determine the direction it came from’ It always pays to have insurance.

‘When they come over, they’d try to climb up the tree and get me’ At least, that is how he imagined the event will unfold. ‘Even if they choose to throw their sticks at me, I’m too high up’ Any projectiles the goblins hurl at him would slow down before they could even reach him.

‘I’d use my spear and stab them while they’re climbing’ He firmly clasped the handle of the spear. ‘Given their cowardly nature they would probably retreat after a couple of them are dead, that’s when I come down and take something from the corpse as proof to bring back home’

'It'll be bad if they call for reinforcements though... but let's be positive. The bestiary stated that they'd rather run away in front of a dangerous opponent than band together'

The plan was simple, but logical. Chase was satisfied with the plan and he mentally visualised the process while waiting so he would not make mistakes later.

"So, what're you up to, nyaa~? " a childish voice said.

Chase's eyes widened and he almost jumped off the tree out of shock. Who? What? He turned his head around in the direction of the voice. He was absolutely positive nobody was on the tree when he climbed up just now.

And he saw...

A snowy white cat licking its paw. A silver necklace fashioned in the shape of a small sword hung over its furry neck. Its tail moved left and right in a very relaxed manner.

'....' Chase stared at it, at a loss for words. Did he perhaps misheard things? Was it his nervousness that translated a simple meow into a full sentence? 'That aside, who left their pet cat here. Don't they know the forest is dangerous?'

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Don't ignore me and stare like an idiot" The cat said.

"Holy sh--!!" Chase cupped his mouth in his hands. He almost screamed at the top of his lungs. It would be idiotic if he lured unwanted threats to his location right now.

"A.. a talking cat"

"Yes, so?" The cat tilted its head. "Are you discriminating against my species?"

"What-- no, that's not what I-- no, it's just... very... str-- rare" Chase replied, carefully choosing his words.

"Rare is an understatement nyaaa~ I'm probably one of a kind" The cat stood up on two legs and crossed its front paws in front of its puffed chest.

'Then why are you acting like all cats can talk?!' Chase thought to himself.

"Back to my question, what are you doing here boy?"

Chase peeked at the ground below, checking if any goblins are close before replying. "I'm hunting goblins"

'That's right. A talking cat might be very bizarre, but it doesn't seem to mean me any harm. I need to focus on the hunt at the moment'

"Ooooh, you're an adventurer?" The cat asked.

"Yes, well... no, but I will be one some day"

The cat padded next to him and sat down on all fours. It looked at Chase's bag with interest.

'What does it want? Wait, did it just smirk...? Hey, hey it just smirked at my spear didn't it?'

*pfft* The cat turned its head away with suppressed mirth.

"Boy, what level are you as a *pfft* warrior?"

"I'm a... an early Beginner level" Chase said.

'I've actually never had any training... but I should qualify as an early Beginner at least... right?' Chase felt depressed as the cat continued to giggle.

"So, you're just an untrained kid dreaming to become an adventurer nyaaaa~"

Chase felt like the cat had hit him on the face. Its deduction was spot on.

"It's not just a dream! I'll really be an adventurer. I'd be one of the greatest adventurers in the history of Armus" Chase retorted, while making sure his voice was hushed.

"Oho~~ I see, I see, Nyaaa~~ Well then, why don't you start by handling those goblins there" The cat pointed with its paw.

Chase mechanically turned his head in the direction shown and saw a group of goblins staring at him from down below.

'Shit.'

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Just as stated in the bestiary, they had slightly hunched backs and green bumpy skins.

However, the goblins down below were taller than described, and appeared to be more muscular. But that was not the main problem.

‘They’re…. fully equipped!’ Chase gasped in horror.

‘Eight, nine, ten! Ten goblins in a group, all armed!’

Goosebumps rose on his skin as he tensed up. He swallowed nervously as he observed the goblins’ equipment.

The armour they were wearing looked like scrap iron at best, and their weapons were rusty. But it still meant that these goblins had a higher intelligence than they were credited for. The most worrisome of all was a goblin at the back of the group that held a wooden bow.

The goblins communicated with each other in harsh, guttural tones. They pointed their fingers in his direction from time to time. The goblin in the back unslung its bow and notched an arrow.

Chase ducked his head low and used the thick branch he was on as cover. He breathed heavily as his mind worked as fast as it could on a solution.

‘Can I still retreat? No, they’re too close. They’ll catch up with me in no time if I descend’

‘Can I still fight? No, they don’t have a reason to approach as long as they can shoot at me from afar’

‘Can I take out the archer? No, I don’t have the skills to throw a weapon accurately over this distance. Even if I get a lucky hit, another one would pick up the bow’

*Swoosh*

An arrow flew by, just a few feet away from Chase’s position. The goblin stamped its feet in frustration while the others jeered at it. It then notched another arrow and aimed again. There was a quiver still filled with dozens of arrows on its back.

A huge wave of regret washed over Chase as he realised his complete and utter helplessness.

“Uh, oh. In a tight spot, aren’t you?” The cat commented.

“Thanks for reminding me” Chase sniffed.

“There’s no need to carry that attitude with me, nyaaaa~”

“They wouldn’t have noticed me if you hadn’t made me talk!” Chase snapped.

“Pssshhh, excuses. Well, fine… it’s understandable since you’re up against goblin core members” The cat replied, looking as relaxed as it had been. “I suppose I can give you some assistance”

“Core members? What core members? And what do you mean assist?”

Another arrow flew nearby, but this time it was closer to his actual position.

“They’re elites, stronger members. They usually stay in the village and only get involved with territorial battles with other clans. Something got them riled up though, that’s why they’re outside nyaaa” The cat explained. “As for how I’ll assist…”

The cat jumped off the tree, and landed flawlessly on the ground. It dashed underneath the goblins’ legs and avoided their panicked swings. None of the goblins’ attacks hit the mark, and the cat slipped by all of them to arrive at the goblin archer.

The archer fearfully held its bow in front to shield itself. But that was exactly what the cat wanted.

It leapt at the bow and slashed at the bowstring with its claws. A loud twang resounded as the cat rendered the bow useless. The cat then hastily scurried away and climbed up the tree to sit beside Chase once again.

“Phew, that wasn’t so tough nyaaa~”

Chase gaped as he stared at the cat.

“That was amazing!”

“Heh heh heh, why thank you. That is to be expected from the great Rie” said Rie the cat as it puffed out its chest. “Oh, by the way… they’re coming over to this tree. And they look extra pissed too, I wonder why?” The cat added with a smirk.

Chase shifted his gaze towards the tree trunk. The goblin warriors’ rapid climb alarmed him of the threat he was still facing. Beads of sweat rolled down his back. He was nervous, but at least the situation wasn’t hopeless.

“Thanks cat. Now watch me handle the rest” Chase stated confidently as he grabbed his makeshift spear.

The cat yawned in reply.

‘Finally, it’s going according to plan’

Chase wielded his spear while keeping balance on the branch. It was not sheer luck that the branch was thick and wide enough for him to stand on, he had specifically chose it out of the numerous branches on the tree after careful observation.

Like grotesque green children, the bald headed creatures quickly crawled up the trunk with their weapons slung on their backs. The topmost goblin leapt onto the tree limb, showing its nimbleness.

It drew its rusty sword and grinned widely while brandishing the weapon. The sight of its small opponent must have brought no end of joy to it.

Chase thrust his spear at it but the goblin ducked low, avoiding the tip of the blade. It knocked the spear to the side with its forearm and threw Chase off balance. Not wasting the opportunity, it broke off into a sprint as it maniacally yapped in excitement.

That was the last thing it ever did.

Chase stepped forward and stabilised himself. With a loud cry, he brought the spear about and slammed the goblin from the side. The goblin’s eyes bulged in shock as the force knocked it off its feet and hurled it away from the branch.

It screamed in fear, flailing wildly for something to grab on but obviously failed to find anything. The goblin continued its futile attempt up until the moment it fell onto a thick tree root jutting out of the ground.

“Not bad~” Rie commented.

Chase heard a loud cracking sound but he did not bother to look, because another assailant had already made its way up, demanding his full attention.

The next goblin acted more cautiously, perhaps shocked by the death of its comrade. It carefully inched forward, keeping watch of the spear at all times. Under normal circumstances, that would have been a clever move but in this situation, it was a grave mistake.

Chase feigned an attack and jabbed at the bewildered goblin, causing it to flinch back. Unaware of its immediate surroundings, it accidentally hit its comrade that had just hauled itself up. The two goblins stumbled and almost lost their balance.

Seeing the chance to strike, Chase charged in and performed a low sweep with the spear. The blade sheared through the goblins’ unguarded calves like butter, drawing a spray of purplish blood and pained screams. With nothing but half-mangled legs supporting their weight, the goblins collapsed and dropped off the branch.

The remaining six enemies climbing up sensed their disadvantage and hastily tried to retreat but they were too late. Far too late to avoid their impending dooms. Chase held the spear horizontally across his chest like a balancing rod and ran towards the trunk.

He opened his bag and emptied the sharp sticks he had collected onto the base of the trunk. None of them hit the goblins, and they laughed as they jeered at him. Chase only smirked in response.

Steeling his heart, he leapt onto the topmost goblin with the blade of his spear pointing down. The goblin saw the jumping figure and screamed in terror. Chase drove the sharp spear into its eye socket, tearing through its brain in one strike and puncturing a hole at the back of its skull.

The goblin’s hand fell limp as it died, releasing its bony grip from the bark of the tree. The combined weight of Chase’s body and the constant pull of gravity sent all of them tumbling down. The goblins below fell one-by-one like well-arranged dominoes.

A loud crunch resounded as the goblins fell onto the pile of sticks below. Many of the sticks had splintered and embedded themselves into the goblins’ body.

Chase however, had been safely cushioned by the goblins. Just as he planned it. Stepping on the dead goblin’s shoulder, he tugged out the spear with both of his hands. A sticky greyish substance dangled off the spear’s blade but Chase paid it no heed.

He immediately rolled off the mound and put some distance between him and the pile of goblins. It was to avoid being caught off guard by struggling survivors.

A few goblins here and there moved, feebly trying to get out of the pile. Needless to say, none of them managed to land unscathed considering how heavy they were.

Without putting himself in a vulnerable position, Chase stabbed at the spots not covered by their armour. He stabbed, again and again, taking no joy in the gruesome task.

‘It must be done’ He thought.

In the wilderness, it was either kill or be killed. Leaving these goblins alive might endanger others, if not himself.

“Urk!”

“Uwak”

“Gyarrhhh!”

The goblins yelled out in pain and died one by one under Chase’s merciless culling.

‘That should be all of them’ Chase stopped attacking and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He froze. ‘No, wait…. There’s one more’ He had only taken care of nine.

Sure enough, the goblin archer without a bow stood at a distance. It stared at the scene, mouth agape with incredulity. It looked back and forth between the dead bodies and the boy wielding the spear. Finally snapping back into reality, it broke into a run for its life.

‘Crap, I’d be in trouble if it brings help!’ Gathering items from the goblins would take some time. If reinforcements appeared, he would undoubtedly die. There’s no guarantee the same strategy could work twice.

Chase dropped his spear in favour of speed and chased down the goblin. His heartbeat quickened with each step he took. Perhaps because the goblin was an archer and not a warrior, it was not very quick on its feet. Chase steadily gained up on it.

He wildly reached for the dagger on his belt as he kept up his speed. Finding the familiar hilt, he unsheathed the dagger. Holding the knife above his head, he brought it down onto the neck of the fleeing goblin.

*Gurgle gurgle*

The blade sunk into goblin’s flesh and its terrified sprint trailed off into a deathly creep. It collapsed on the ground with Chase pressing hard on its back. Blood pooled up in the goblin’s throat and its eyes glazed over as it died.

‘That was a close call….’ Chase wiped the bloody dagger on some fallen leaves and returned it to its scabbard.

‘Got to be quick now and collect proof’ Even though he had bought some time by fully eliminating the goblin pack, there was no telling when another patrol would come to check on the missing team.

The goblin’s weapons would pierce through his bag, and Chase did not want to mutilate the corpses and take home some body parts. It was distasteful in his opinion. As such, he decided to grab the nicest set of goblin armour among them. He hurriedly wiped off the purple blood and packed the armour into his bag.

He searched around for Rie the talking cat, but couldn’t find it. Although he felt bad for leaving it in the Forest alone, he had no choice but to vacate the vicinity as fast as he could.

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“Huff…. Huff…”

The extra load he carried along burdened his battle-worn body. Regardless of the fatigue, he needed to make it out of the Forest, to safety. He hobbled and tottered over the tree roots, making sure not to trip over. The distant shine of sunlight gradually grew bigger, revealing a magnificent green vista.

“Hahahahaha! I did it! I did it! Things went better than I expected!”

Never had he been more delighted to see grass and sunlight. It had barely been an hour since he entered the Forest, and he already dearly missed his home. He would have jumped out of happiness if it was not for the extra weight he got.

“Heh heh heh, that was better than what I expected too, Nyaaa~”

Chase froze and looked behind.

“In here, nyaaa~”

Chase hastily took off his bag and saw a snowy white cat’s head poking out of the top. The cat smiled at him and purred in a satisfied manner.

“Thanks for the ride~”

“Why, you… no wonder my bag was extra heavy!” Chase said while chortling. He was quite glad that the cat got out of the forest. Even though it had given him some trouble, it had played an important role in saving his life.

“How rude. You do not tell a girl that she is heavy. Besides, I barely weigh anything compared to this stinky armour you’re lugging around” Rie responded, her front paws crossed.

“Girl? You mean female? Well I didn’t realise” Chase blurted out.

“Well now you do. Anyway, what are you going to do next?”

“I guess I’m heading home… wait, why are you asking me like you’re going to follow along?” Chase asked, worried that his father might shoo the cat away if he brought her home.

‘Come to think of it, why was the ca—Rie in the forest in the first place?’

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

The sudden sound of someone clapping caused Chase to sharply turn about. He regarded the figure standing a few feet away from him. Dressed in a travel worn brown cloak, and sporting an unevenly shaved beard, the man could be described as being at the height of vagabond fashion.

Chase’s violet eyes met with his electric blue ones.

Displaying a set of pearly whites, the man grinned widely.