From that day forward Jason and Hanshi fought with each other continuously. They only took breaks to hunt, prepare food, sleep, and other such necessities of life, but even then it was an unspoken rule that Jason was to remain vigilant to any attack that Hanshi targeted at him at time and in any place. He understood the need for this and so when she attacked him suddenly while he was hunting he didn’t flinch, but there were other times and ways that he really had to question her motives. Her attacks were not just physical but psychological as well. How else would he describe a beautiful giant woman lingering above him laughing while he was attempting to relieve himself other than pure mental cruelty.

The training lasted for two weeks. This wasn’t enough to become a master fighter, but that wasn’t their goal. Jason only had to become competent enough that he could survive the dungeons and fights in the arena. And he had to do it before Gael became out of his reach. Two weeks for this might have been cutting it close, but Hanshi ensured him that he should be able to handle himself and his weapons far better than before. It was time for them to put themselves to the test.

They turned to the town and to the Tik’r’s inn. They ordered food and drink and rented a room for the night so that they could get a good sleep, rather than out under the stars on rough and rocky terrain. Jason had grown a beard in the interim time since the last time he’d been back. The Tik’r’s were surprised. All the species around them either didn’t grow fur or grew fur to certain extent and then stopped. They’d never even heard of anything like a barber. Rina, having shaved her father in the past, had the idea to ask if there was anything like shaving cream. They thought about it and after a while they were certain that a soap could be used for the purposes she explained to them.

There was a bathing house nearby that had plenty of what she needed. Rina was going to run over to the bath house, but Hanshi overheard what she was up to and proposed that the three of them go over to the bathing house together. Rina thought it was a brilliant idea. Jason, on the other hand, was cautious due to it being Hanshi, but he relented and agreed to it.

The bathhouse, as was to be expected, was unisex, but semi-segregated by species and sex as each had their own grooming behavior. Jason insisted on wearing a towel around is waste and that Hanshi should wear a bathing suit or towel or she should stay away from them. After poking fun at him for a bit she agreed. Hanshi wanted to observe Rina in her attempts to shave Jason. The Rucono had such clothing and shaving customs in their history too, but their culture had become much more nudist in their clothing choices and they had cosmetic procedures that could be implemented that could do the job without the crudeness of a razor. Despite his demands and the segregation Jason could not escape being embarrassed. There were women and men of all species and none seemed to care to cover up and when they saw that the group of humans were wearing clothing into the bathe they took note. Then Rina began shaving Jason.

Many around them came over and watched what was going on. They were intrigued by the idea of shaving the fur off one’s face. Several sat as close as they could and watched. a couple even came up behind them and looked over Jason’s shoulder, brushing their bodies against his back. Everywhere he looked there were catgirls to drool over and gorilla women with magnificent mammaries. They weren’t Human he thought, but that didn’t really help him keep his head on straight. Luckily for him, however, the catgirls, had fur from head to toe and he could imagine that they were wearing clothes while the Eaugr’n weren’t his type. Unfortunately, Hanshi’s bathing suit was the skimpiest thing she could come up with and it was hard to not stare, even though her usual clothes were so tight fitting that it left little to the imagination, he had gotten used to that. Now she was showing off carnal flesh that not many Humans could resist. Thankfully, the blush of his face was hidden by Rina’s shaving with what they had available, the soap in the bathhouse lathered to a foam and the Jason’s Dagger.

By the time that Rina was finished there was talk of grooming styles that could implement this new idea between the women that had gathered around them. The men too had begun discussing the potential of them shaving, but their talk quickly turned to how the women might look. To say the least it was interesting conversations that were had all around. Jason for his part imagined both the good and horrendous results that could result from them deciding to start shaving. One the one hand he thought of the catgirls of popular fiction, but on the other shaved cats came to mind making him shudder. The trio cleaned up and said their goodbyes. They had made a few new friends that were particularly interested in the concept of a barber and shaving that wanted to talk with them more, but that would have to be another time.

For the rest of the day, Jason caught up with Rina and the Tik’rs. A big meal was prepared for them and preparation for setting out to dungeon again were made. Awlrek expressed concern that Humans didn’t seem to be living in town. To his knowledge they were all living outside the town’s walls, left to explore, or were dead. Su on the other hand thought that it was amazing that there were people like Jason and Rina among Humans and that they were so young and most of the conversation leaned towards positive things which brought no the night quickly. In the morning they ate breakfast and once again set out on the journey to a dungeon. The same dungeon as before, to be specific.

When they arrived at the mine Jason entered without hesitation. Hanshi followed in after him, but on the way there she had told him that she would back him up if needed, but she wanted to see how much he had improved since last time. To do so, she kept back far enough that if a Goblin caught Jason they were unlikely to spot her. Jason wanted to mostly retrace his steps, but first he checked down the left path that he didn’t take the last time. It wasn’t anything worthwhile. Just a few piece of equipments and carts that were either prepped to be repaired or fixed and ready to replace a cart that broke down. Jason took all that he could, which wasn’t much, and quickly moved on.

Jason didn’t bother using a torch this time which save him time. His training with Hanshi had gotten him used to being able to see in the dark and he knew what was ahead so there wasn’t much point in using one. He repeated his water trick on the firepit of the Goblins eliminating the far one by throwing his dagger into its skull, killing it instantly. He used the momentum from running down the mineshaft to make slicing the head off the left most Goblin. This time he was able to control his blade much more effectively and this all took place in the span of time that it took for the fire to be put out and the center Goblin to stand and turn towards his comrade. This put it at the perfect position for Jason plunge his sword in its throat, severing its spine. The 3 Goblins’ bodies dropped to the ground. He sheathed his weapons and gathered their belongings, before going into the room with several ARMS units. Knowing that they’d disappear when he selected one he just picked one up, collected the crystals, and stored them before moving on to the village.

Jason took a new tact to deal with the village. He laid on his belly and looked over the edge of the cliff, trying to keep from revealing himself. He looked out over the village, watching for an opportunity to move. When no Goblins were looking toward the cavern’s entrance Jason went over the edge of the cliff and used his dagger to slow his descent down, dropping the down into the crops to hide him. He moved towards the closest Goblin. He didn’t feel right about what he was about to do, but this was necessary. He grabbed the Goblin and slit its throat too quick for it to make a noise. The Goblin fell to the ground dead. Jason took its belongs and continued on. One by one he killed each of the Goblins in the crops, hidden from view from the others. By the time he was finished he had slain more than 50. It wasn’t hard, but it was emotionally torturous. These were just creatures trying to make a living. They weren’t hurting anyone, but here he was treating them like vermin. He shook the thoughts with every kill and moved on.

Once he left the protect of the crops he had to rely on the small houses to cover his progression. There were about 100 more Goblins left in the mine and his intent was to take them all out. He investigated each house he came across and took anything he found useful. Every Goblin that was in the village he lured behind a house, a barn, or any other large object that would block his massacre from being easily discovered. It was a rather easy task to eliminate so many when he did it this way and when they were spread out. As the Goblins were cleared out he became sloppier, but he never got caught and when he finished he had to 3 choices; Head into the church, head to the mansion, or head into the mines. His first thought was to go for the church, but since he didn’t explore it last time there was no telling what was waiting inside and the mines were a lot more advantageous for him as there was likely a lot more spread out in the darkness. He decided to clear the mines first, before dealing with whatever may be in there.

In the mines he found several shafts leading off in different directions like he had expected. The sound of metal smacking against rock could be heard all around. Jason chose a shaft and slowly moved down it. Soon he came across a Goblin and dispatched it. It went much like clearing out the crops. They weren’t expecting be attacked in their home, at least not this far into it, so they weren’t prepared to fight and even if they were they weren’t soldiers. They were just miners digging for resources to help their village thrive and give a better life to their now dead families. It took time, but Jason cleared the mines of every Goblin. Each one that he slayed reduced the clanking of metal on stone. When he reached the last one, it had grown concerned and started searching the mines for others. It found none, but it was close to doing so. Instead it came across Jason, became scared, and began running away only to trip over the stripped body of one what must have been its friends. Jason was numb to it all at this point and mercilessly killed it, stripped it, and left as though nothing at all had happened.

Coming back out into the light of the cavern, Jason was covered in Goblin blood as if he had bathed in it. He ignored it and went straight for the church. He was drained from all that he had done. There were only a few Goblins left and he wanted to be done with this. He opened the doors to the large church and entered. He didn’t bother to hide himself. There was no point. He had killed so many Goblins that however few there were left he was sure that he could handle them. The inside of the church was similar to what you’d find in a normal Christian church. It was a hall filled with pews lined from the back to a podium which stood in front of an altar. The altar was at the foot of 2 statues of creatures that stood 8 feet tall and had many feature of a goblin but they was more bulky. They wore armor and one carried a two headed axe while the other what was effectively a large flat chunk of steel that was edged, but otherwise highly unrefined attached to a hilt. The axe wielder was obviously male while the sword wielder was female. Both wore loincloths and armored boots, but neither wore tops save for straps for any pieces of armor that needed it. Jason recognized them as similar to a type of Orc. That statues began to crack and shards flaked away.

“Fuck my life,” Jason said without thinking.