The camp for the subjugation force was right outside the walls of Crale and it was massive. In the camp were a few thousand NPC's and a couple dozen players. When they arrived at the camp they were asked for their papers, Powell had given Ren his on the way there, and directed to their units, meaning they were all split up. Powell went to the 3rd unit of the 1st brigade, they specialized in front-line combat. Lixiss went to the 1st unit of the 2nd brigade, the ranged specialists. Azriel went to the 5th unit of the 3rd brigade, the scouts. Ren made his way to the 2nd unit of the 4th brigade. This was the support unit. It held all of the tradesmen need to keep the force running.

Ren found his way to the blacksmith’s tent to report for duty. It wasn't that hard to find, all he had to do was follow the sound of metal striking metal. Ren arrived at the tent and saw that the place was bustling. People were rushing in and out of the tent carrying arm-loads of weapons and armor. In the middle of the chaos was a rather large man yelling out orders to anybody nearby. Ren made his way over to him. The large man spotted Ren making his way through all of the people and equipment and called out.

"This isn’t a place kid’s brat, get out."

Ren ignored him and continued walking until he was next to the large man, who looked like he was about to order some on to throw Ren out, and held out his papers. The large man took the papers and read them quickly before throwing them back at Ren and laughing.

"Ha, these are some pretty good fakes." He said, "But I told you before this isn't a place for kids. Erol!" he yelled out. A short, stocky, and very strong looking man appeared, "Get this kid out of here."

Erol reached out to grab him but Ren deftly evaded. Erol frowned and tried again to get the same result. Erol chased Ren around the tent. Ren was dodging in between people and plies of equipment and materials. The chase was disrupting the other people’s work and causing even more chaos, though really most of it was Erol's fault. This had been going on for a few minutes when a man dress as a guard captain walked into the tent and yelled out,

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over at the new arrival. Erol tried to take this chance to catch Ren but failed once more.

"That kid is disrupting every ones work." The large man said, pointing at Ren.

"Kid?" the newcomer said, looking where the large man was point and spotting Ren. "What are you doing in here?" He asked Ren.

Ren made his way through the crowd and handed his paper to the newcomer, who scanned them before handing them back to Ren.

"BERNARD! He called out, "GET OVER HERE."

The large man from before walked thought the crowed and over to the newcomer.

"Why was he," the newcomer said, point at Erol, "Chasing him?" he finished, pointing at Ren.

"He was trying to get the kid out of here Captain" The large man, Bernard, said, looking a little confused.

“Why was he trying to kick him out?" The captain askes.

"Because he obviously doesn't belong here." Bernard replied

"Did you look at his papers Bernard?" The captain said.

"Well...yeah." Was Bernard's reply

"So why doesn't the kid belong here?" The captain asked

"Well... He's a kid, he can't possibly be a qualified to work on weapons and armor. He's probably still making nails!" Bernard said.

“So you, with all of your experience and wisdom, decided that you know exactly the boy is what he's capable off without see him work?" Bernard was silent so the captain continued. "If you actually read his papers you would know that he is a student at Medonia Academy who is currently studying blacksmithing. You should know that the Academy only pick the best for their instructors so why shouldn't he be here?"

"He's only a first year! He can't be that much past making nail right now! While I mean no disrespect to the Captain the academies instructor, the boy'll only hinder us." Bernard said.

"Well than why don't you test him? Have him make the best piece he can and if it's not good enough than you can kick him out. Is that good with you Krono, Bernard?" The captain said

"Yes." the both said

"Good. Any questions?" the captain asked Ren.

"Is there a limit to the material I can use and can I start now?" Ren asked.

"I don't think there needs to be one and sure, if you want." the captain replied, slightly confused.

Ren nodded and walked over to the material stock pile and pick out a few of the higher quality steel ingots. Behind him Bernard was about to complain but the captain stopped him, curious about what Ren was going to do with them. Ren stuck the ingots in a nearby forge that wasn't being used and begun. After the ingot were heated up Ren forge-welded them together and started to make the shape of a sword. Other people noticed Ren working and stopped to watch, commenting to each other about his mistakes or what impressed them. Pretty soon the entire tent had stopped working and was watch Ren work, though he didn't notice. One hour past, then two. Ren finished shaping the sword and moved on to sharpening and polishing it. After about three hours Ren was finished and he examined the sword.

Good Steel Sword Type Blade Quality Good Damage 40-50 Durability 200/200A steel sword of decent quality

It wasn't his best but he wasn't trying all that hard either. Ren handed the blade to the captain. The captain examined the sword than handed it to an astonished Bernard. Bernard took his time examining the sword but he couldn't find any major flaws in it and handed it back to the captain.

"I think he should be able to keep it." Said the captain, pointing at Ren

Bernard didn't argue and handed the sword to Ren.

"I believe there is something you should be saying to him Bernard." the captain said.

Bernard looked like he swallowed something rotten He took a deep breath and looked at Ren.

"I apologize for my actions earlier." Bernard said.

Ren didn't answer but held out his hand to Bernard, who took it in his own gigantic hand, and shook. The captain beamed at them and slapped both of their shoulders.

"Good. Now that we're all friends let get back to work shall we?" said the captain, gazing around at the crowd.

Everyone dispersed and went back to their jobs and soon the tent was bustling again.

"Alright everyone, we have a lot to do and little time to do it!" Yelled Bernard, "We need all of these weapons and armor repaired and ready to go by tonight so we aren't late packing up tomorrow! Let's get it done people!" Bernard turned to Ren, "You'll be sharpening swords over there." he said, pointing to a section of the tent that had grinding wheels set up. "I want them done fast and I want them done right. One of your sword you save a life got it?" Ren nodded, "Good now get to work." Bernard walked off to go supervise the rest of the workers.

Ren made his way over to a sharpening wheel and got to work.

Ren lost count of all of the sword he worked on by the end of the day. His hands hurt and he was tired. They work in the blacksmith’s tent was completed a little earlier than anticipated so they had packed up the forge that night to be ready for the march in the morning. Ren made his way through the camp to the circle of tents where He and his friends had been assigned. He and Powell were sharing one tent while Lixiss and Azriel were in a tent next to them. When Ren arrived he found his friends sitting around the fire with a few other solders. Lixiss spotted him and waved him over. One of the solders past Ren a bowl of soup, which he accepted, and started chatting with everyone. It seemed that everyone there, except for Ren, was assigned to combat units. They had spent most of their day doing drill and being briefed on what to expect. It seemed that what they were facing was worse than had been originally thought. At first it was believed that a goblin tribe was trying to expand their territory but new Intel this afternoon suggested that a goblin boos was trying to become a goblin king. Ren had no idea what they were talking about so they explained it to him.

There were a few types of goblins in the world. First was the normal Goblin. Goblins were weak by themselves and any novice fighter could kill one but if they grew in number they could ransack villages, which they did on occasion. The next type was the Goblin Boss. A goblin boss was the leader of a goblin tribe and was either smarter of stronger than the rest. They usually rose to power after killing the previous goblin boss. A reasonably skill fighter cold kill one by themselves but the hard part lay with their guards. Above the goblin boss was the Goblin King. Goblin king didn't show up all that often because it required a goblin boss to have conquered at least nine other goblin tribes. When a goblin king appeared all of the surrounding kingdoms and empires would immediately drop what they were doing and move to wipe it out, even if they were at war with someone else. The reason was that a Goblin King controlled at least one Goblin General which controlled ten Goblin Captains which controlled ten Goblin Commanders which control 100 goblins. In total a single goblin general controlled 10,110 goblins. In the past there was a goblin king that controlled 5 generals. That means the king controlled over 50.000 goblins. It took the full might of three kingdoms to eradicate them. If the goblin boss became a king they were in big trouble.

Ren was stunned at what he heard. 10,000 goblins! That was more than twice their number! If they ran into that amount the force would wave to retreat and request help from the surrounding nations. Ren shuddered at the thought of the amount of devastation a goblin army could cause. Apparently the commander of the force was expected to make a formal announcement tomorrow morning before the marched. They all talked for a little while longer before everyone, except Ren, headed off to sleep. Ren put out the fire and gazed at the stars. It was a clear night and Ren marveled at the amount of detail that was put into every aspect of the game. Looking at the star always gave him a sense of peace and calmness and that didn't change inside of Second Awakening.