I was glad that Matthew seemed to have a newfound motivation now, so I decided it was time to head out and go back home. We decided to take out the squads of goblins and kobolds that were popping out here and there on our way. However, when we were about 200 metres away from home, we heard the sound of heavy battle.

I used navigation and found 1 entity surrounded by around 5 goblins. They were quite closeby, only 50 metres or so from where we were. In case it was a trap I decided it was best to wait and told Mathew the same thing, and he readily agreed.

As we observed, I spotted the “entity” in the middle. It was a human being holding quite the sharp blade. They had tanned skin with ear-length hair, dark brown hair. They seemed to have small cuts here and there. What really caught my interest though, was how they moved.

Although there were a couple wasted movements here and there, they seemed to know where each attack was coming from. This allowed them to fight on equal footing with the five goblins. Yet, it seemed that they didn’t account for an ambush during the battle, because in the next instant, a 6th goblin showed themselves. It was much more different to the other goblin soldiers. It wore a dark cloak and had two knives in its hands. What was even more surprising though, was that it was actually BLENDING in with the surrounding shadows.

I decided to use analysis in a hurry to figure out what it was before I moved out.

[Analysis Activated]

{Goblin Assassin Lv 19:

Strength: 27

Stamina: 10

Agility: 35

Endurance: 3

Intelligence: 15

Skills: Cloak of Darkness, Bloodlust

Just like humans, goblins have different ranks and jobs in tribes. The goblin assassins are some of the strongest yet most fragile fighters. They tend to ambush their targets by sending out the weaker goblins and then going in for a swift kill. Goblin assassins tend to lead small squads of goblins to hunt for the tribe}

That goblin was going to pose a problem for Matthew, so I decided it would be best if I dealt with it.

“This will serve as a great warm up, we’ll move out right now!”

✶✶✶

Renei POV

I was screwed, reaaaallllly screwed. As I fought against the 5 goblins, I kept sensing some unknown danger nearby. This really took my focus away from battling with my full strength, leading to getting a few cuts here and there from missteps. Thanks to my Scribe ability, I was able to tell where they would strike next, letting me dodge them. However, my ability started ringing really loudly in my head. This could only mean one thing, I was very close to encountering my death.

Before I could do anything though, I felt myself freeze. My body started shaking uncontrollably with nothing I could do about it. The 5 goblins gave me a nasty grin and readied their wooden clubs and rusted swords. I closed my eyes, wishing for a swift death…

Yet it never came.

Instead, I heard screams coming from my surroundings, followed by an instant silence. When I opened my eyes, a youth carrying a blade the colour of darkness with a few white specks here and there was standing a short distance away from me. Unlike my simple kevlar vest, he looked like a dark knight with the suit of armour he was wearing. He took off the helmet and gave me a disinterested look, before turning around to watch something else.

That was when I realised that another youth was standing in the distance, fighting a cloaked goblin. The goblin moved fast, too fast. I could barely keep up with its movement, but somehow the other youth was fighting it on equal ground.

In fact, he was overpowering it.

The goblin stopped for less than a second, then proceeded to disappear into its shadow. The only reason I knew it was still there was due to the repeated sounds of blades striking each other. The youth grinned as the sound of clashing sped up. He kept taking careful steps to the right and left, as if avoiding the surrounding air.

After a few minutes it seemed he’d gotten bored, because instead of dodging this time, he brought his blade above his head.

Then swung downwards.

BOOM

I felt my scalp go numb as the sword disappeared, being replaced by the two halves of the goblin. The weirdest thing though, was that in the next moment the goblin had turned into particles of light, leaving behind its cloak.

At that moment I knew…this town had a hope for survival…yet for some reason, the itch didn’t disappear

✶✶✶

James POV

[Goblin Assassin Eliminated]

[Experience Gained]

[Acquired Item: Assassins Cloak]

I checked the item using Analysis but wasn’t very impressed. Granted, for something that came from a goblin it did provide some good bonuses to stealth and agility, but I could supplement those with magic.

I walked towards Matthew who didn’t seem too impressed with my display.

“...Show off”

….Alright I’ll admit I was having some fun there. I turned my attention from him to the man sitting behind. After getting a good look at him, he seemed to be somewhere in his mid 20s. Anyway, I decided to greet him with a friendly “Hello” to which he replied with a blank stare.

“....Who are you?” He asked, still bearing the same expression.

“Whoops, seems I was a bit rude. My name is James, and this dude over here is Matthew. While we’re on the subject, mind giving us your name?”

“I’m called Renei, I have to thank you though, you saved me from quite the crappy situation.”

“Yeah…about that, why were you out here on your own?”

“I can’t reveal too much but let’s just say I was looking for somethin’ and had to leave my teammates behind to be able to search efficiently.”

[Mission Triggered!]

{The Quest for Survival:

Type: Main Mission

Difficulty: ???

Requirements: Interact with 3 Awakened

Victory and defeat are mere expressions, survival is a way of life. Now that you’ve met others with power, you need to do your best to survive in this arduous world, and what better way to do that than absolute strength!}

[First Quest Received!]

{Quest 1: Strength in Numbers

Difficulty: Baby Goblin

Description: Who said you had to face adversity alone? When quality fails you, quantity is always an option!

Requirements: Create a team of awakened that works for you

Progress: (2/30)

Duration: 3 days

Reward: Rare Weapon, 10 Skill Tokens

Penalty: -10 Levels, Regress to Human, Become a virgin for life}

I had received my first mission!.....but why did I feel that the system was both pissed and making fun of me? Either way, this just gave me a path to take, one that I didn’t plan to stray from in the first place…

“”Hey..are you ok?””

“Oh! My bad, it seems I zoned out for a second there. Anyway, do you mind taking us to meet your teammates?”

It seemed the two dudes were slightly worried when they saw me staring blankly at the air (at least that’s what it looked like to them). Since I needed to get “teammates'' I might as well check out Renei’s squad. That way, I could scout out their intentions and if they turn out to be “good guys,” then it’s a win-win for me.

Meanwhile, Renei seemed to be pondering for a few seconds before deciding to give us the OK because he “trusted us.” I didn’t know what he based his trust on, but when I activated analysis on him, it all came together…

[Analysis Activated]

{Renei Renard

Health 5500 Mana 200

Race: Human

Job: Diviner Lv 13 Exp 82%

Base Status

Strength: 14

Stamina: 20

Agility: 22

Endurance: 16

Active Skills: Prediction Lv 2

Passive Skills: Path of Fate}

{Prediction: Predict the effect of any action 1 second in the future}

{Path of Fate: A passive sense belonging to diviners. It has one job, leading them to their destined fate}