I felt awful. I wanted to go back to the village but the more I thought about it... The less I realized I can do. Going back now would just be a waste since even if the bandits were still around. I wouldn't be able to fight against them. From how it sounded, far to many to fight against. The only thing I can do now is bide my time and get stronger. So strong they will rue the day they attacked my village! Killed my family! I will make them pay!

My mother was a high leveled warrior, no way she'd have died easily. As clumsy as my father was. Near the end of my time at the manor. He leveled up from thief to assassin. Both could put up a good fight… No, there was no way I could do anything… I can't do anything right now... I need to get stronger... No, just me being strong wont be enough. I need numbers to fight numbers...

I learned synthesis sometime this month… I think it has been a month... I can't tell how long it has been since I got the letter. Time seems meaningless right now. I feel helpless, there is nothing I can do right now. It will take years for the bandits to see any ramifications... I feel, I feel awful, truly awful at my lack of power. At my inability to do anything about what has happened. I've stopped crying every night, the bullies must have heard what happened and have stopped picking on me... I don't care about them though, I just want my revenge. I harden my heart for now. I need to stay focused on avenging them. I spend every minute I don't have classes fighting in the forest. I managed to get to level 9 but with how much I've been fighting I should be getting close to 10.

My animals and familiars both are afraid of me. Or don't trust me like they would before my village was attacked. They can probably sense I only see them as pawns right now to help me get stronger. Even so they all do their jobs accordingly. I stopped playing around and only aim for kill shots with my arrows. Straight through the eyes of enemies. Dual edge is an extremely risky skill to have activated but the less time I spend on fights the faster I can level. Fights normally end before the enemies even know I'm there.

Every day I kill at least 1 or 2 goblin guards now. They stopped guarding the outside and have moved into the inside. I went into the fortress entrance once. As soon as I did, I was overwhelmed by them and had to retreat immediately. I'll keep whittling their numbers down until they're gone.

I've been experimenting with synthesizing. I combined all the enchanted paper that had similar spells on them down into the strongest of each spell. It takes 8 scrolls of 1 type to make a tier 3 rank of that scroll. I also learned how to make magic paper. Its so easily stupid it makes me mad at how much money I've wasted on it already. The only thing you need to do is pour mana into a normal piece of paper to make it hold mana. The only thing I can do now is regret my lack of knowledge and grow from it.

I tested out the tier 3 magic, flare isn't much stronger. Same with all the other spells. The biggest difference is with the wind magic. If I use the metal tube to fire a rock out with tier 3 wind magic its strong enough to pierce into trees. It will be another trump card since it takes 10 minutes to enchant something. Around an hour to regenerate my mana or 20 minutes at night or 30 minutes in the forest. It also takes 30 minutes to do each synthesis. Altogether it takes an entire days worth of magic just to make a single tier 3 scroll. My next goal is to take that fortress.

It's been a few months since I started my hit and run tactics. I've managed to kill roughly 60% of the goblins. They keep retreating further into their fortress. They now exclusively hide in the cave at the back end of their fortress. My teachers are starting to become afraid of me. I'm still one of the weakest people in the class but I guess it's the look in my eyes. Keep it up, just keep getting stronger I think to myself. One of the bullies decided it has been long enough he can continue to pick on me. I cut him across the chest, the look of fear in his eyes was enough to bring me back to my senses... I don't think I'll be bullied again after this. No ramifications from my attack, I guess the year of me being bullied was enough to consider it self defense.

While going on my morning jog before I make it into the forest. I see something burning a little ways off of the forest. It's a buggy, turned over and set on fire. There is a few guards, all dead but the merchant is still struggling for breath. I run to him and cast healing magic. I also use a tier 3 healing scroll. He starts to look better, then he says.

“Please *cough* goblins have taken my daughter. You must save her!”

I tell him to go back to the gate and ask for backup. I make my way towards the fortress I've been to many times before. This has pushed my plans forward a few weeks... Goblins were outside the fortress cave this time. I haven't seen any outside the cave for a few weeks now. I handle the goblins like normal. There are more than usual but I manage to kill the 7 on the outside easily enough. 1 had a key on him, the rest weren't carrying anything of value.

I burn their corpses with a flare before I head inside. 20 feet into the cave I see a door. The key I just got manages to open it. Once it does I see a few unsuspecting goblins, I get an arrow in both before they can call for help. Pushing further into the cave, it splits into 2 paths. 1 going straight, 1 heading off to the right. I go right first.

The path to the right looks like a dungeon. As I push further in a few more goblins fight but they're easily killed. I've become extremely skilled at murdering them. Once I get to the end, I'm disgusted with what I see. The merchants daughter is stripped completely naked in the corner crying, she was possibly raped already but she still looks sane. There are a few other women in the room as well... Most have completely dead eyes, like they'd given up on life.

With no threats in here, I free them all and send them to the entrance of the cave. If they try to make it back to Shienta without me some might die to spider attacks. I head back with them to the fork in the paths and head the only direction I haven't went yet.

About half a dozen more goblins killed before I make it to the biggest room the goblins have in the cave. I see around 8 goblins still and a hobgoblin king sitting on a throne. He's easily the size of a normal human but ugly as shit. With a shoddily constructed crown on his head. They are all looking at the entrance where I am but they haven't spotted me yet since I'm sneaking.

I break sneak with a stealth focus shot at the hobgoblin's heart. He must have sensed it because he moves and it only hits his arm. I fire another bolt at 1 of the goblins while they still struggle to realize what just happened. Head shot! The 7 remaining start to rush the door, I manage to kill 3 before they get close enough to be a threat. Dropping my crossbow and pulling out my wooden sword I make it as big as I possibly can with control nature and still have it useable.

Swinging as hard as I can, it knocks 2 of the 4 goblins to the ground. I dropped the sword in the process. The other 2 both rush in trying to attack me. My familiars and pets come to my defense. I desummoned the bird and I summoned a skeleton once I entered the cave so I have him, Socks, Pokodo and the archer familiar with me right now. “I should have summoned more.” I think to myself as the skeleton takes 2 hits and is destroyed.

The goblins who were knocked down are getting up now. Before they get up I spit poison in 1 of the standing goblins eyes. He starts screaming uncontrollably. I aim at the only other one standing and cover him in string shot. Both are out of the fight. The goblin knocked down closest to me stabs with his tiny dagger. I take a step back but it still connects. Through 2 layers of protection, it doesn't pierce my armor but I still feel the blow.

He's close enough that I couldn't miss him. I spit poison into his face as well. Only 1 left, while I was spitting poison my wolf had started attacking him. The archer familiar ran out of arrows during the fight so he threw his bow to the side and was on the goblins back choking him. Pokodo was at his eye biting it out of his face. He was screaming uncontrollably like the 2 with spit in their eyes.

I take out my family sword, cleanly stabbing through the defenseless goblin's neck with an opportune strike. I stab the rest of the goblins through the throat as well. The only one left is the hobgoblin.

He had waited for me to finish. That would be the only explanation of why he didn't attack with them. If he attacked as well I might have been in trouble and had to temporarily retreat. I rearmed myself before approaching him. He began to speak in goblin. I only knew parts but from what it sounded like he was mad I had been attacking their fortress.

They hadn't attacked people in over 3 years. Since I started dropping their numbers and feeling threatened they had to get more women to breed with to increase their numbers. Disgusted with what he was saying, I point my crossbow at him and fire. He blocks it with the club in his hand. The fight begins.

He rushes towards me, I drop my crossbow and manage to pull out my sword and shield before he makes it to me. Going into defensive stance I blocked the first attack with my shield, with the power from his swing, it feels like my arm is breaking but even so I repel it.

Sock is firmly attached to his leg at this point. Pokodo is crawling up him, my archer familiar managed to get 2 arrows out of the goblins from the last fight. He fires an arrow which is easily blocked again by the hobgoblin.

I stab at him, he doesn't even bother blocking. It hits him but doesn't even cut through his skin. We're all attacking him but not much damage is being done. He attacks me again. This time my shields smashed to pieces. Enough to slow the blow but not completely stop it. It hits me in the face. I can taste blood, 1 attack that I partially blocked hit me for 20% of my health.

I switch to pure defense and drop my sword and pull out my wooden sword. He smirks at the wooden sword as he swings again. This time with both hands I stop him. It being harder to break than he thought must have confused him. I use a new attack I thought up. A control nature uppercut opportune strike! An earth fist appears out of the ground underneath him and smashes into his chin. Knocking him backwards enough for me to cast a few more spells.

I chant an ignite onto him, the skin that has been injured starts to smoke and burn off. He attacks again. I stop it another time this time when repelling him I kick him in his balls. “critical hit!” He hunches over in pain. I think I found his weak spot. Using any means to win a fight and knowing that to some it would seem unfair or cowardly. I don't care as long as I'm the 1 left alive I'll do anything to win.

Poison spit is shot at his eyes. He manages to raise his hand to stop it and it isn't effective unless it pierces through his skin. I pull out my trump card and fire the rock cannon at him. Direct hit on his right arm, easily breaking it. He kick's Sock off him knocking him down. He grabs Pokodo and flings her across the room. With his other hand now picking up the club he crushes the familiar in 1 strike.

I rush forward pulling out my next weapon, the metal training sword. While his back is turned to me crushing the familiar. I drop the sword down as hard as I can. Feeling bones crush in his shoulder blade the rock cannon hit. He falls to the ground face forwards in pain.

While he's getting up, I pull out an arrow and jump on his back, stabbing it in his eye. It was a flare arrow, he easily knocks me off him. We both slowly get up looking at 1 another I have no options left. I have to use my last trump card. If this doesn't work, I don't know what will kill him.

Channeling chi into a chi wave 10%! 20%! 30%! He starts rushing towards me, 40%! He's swinging his weapon at me. 50%! I fire it at 50%. His weapon, inches from dealing a killing strike to me. His weapon is repelled out of his hands, the hob goblin's arm is the first thing to be hit by the wave. The chi wave twists and shatters his closest arm. It's crumpled to a mess and thrown like a sack of meat behind his body.

The chi wave hits him next. The face he makes is 1 of sheer terror. Parts of his skin start to bubble blood underneath them from the pressure, he's thrown back. He smashes into a wall 20 feet behind him with enough pressure to shatter every remaining in tact bone in his body to pieces. The wall breaks and he goes through it. The force is so strong I'm knocked 10 feet back from my own attack. Slamming into the ground so hard that I'm knocked unconscious.

Blue mage passive skill gained Leadership- Able to lead groups more effectively as you level

Blue mage passive skill upgraded Leadership --> Kings Leadership- Even more effective leadership skills

Goblin language mastered

Goblin Alchemy recipes learned

Thief skill upgraded Stealth strike--> Assassinate- Attack that deals eight times normal damage if the target hasn't noticed you yet, completely silent

Title Goblin slayer- Killed enough goblins that you can do it naturally, 10% extra damage to goblins

Title Regicide- You managed to kill the king of a group, able to more easily kill kings more likely to be seen as a king

Title Against the odds- Survive a fight you weren't weren't meant to, increased chances of surviving deadly encounters

Pokodo “ferret” evolved into Shadow ferret

Master of learning 9 to 10

Master of Learning level 10 boost to classes and jobs experience gained