"Shouldn't we be worried about that group of goblins? They have already attacked us once, what is stopping them from attacking again?" Elana fiddled with her knife.

"That is a good point, maybe we should let the professor and the Patrol Team know," Darius said while handing out water to everyone. "It would be bad if they got the jump on us."

"I will go and talk with him and the Patrol Team." X walked off to find the professor.

"So what is next for this mission? We know where to go, and we know our roles. What do we need now?" Norman was looking at Darius expectantly.

"Well for the most part we are waiting for Adriana to build our gear, and for us to get a better handle on learning to use our skills. Once we can do that and synergize well as a team, then we will be ready to go and find the Fruit of the Tree," Zack said as he went to rub Elana's shoulders. "You did amazing out there. You were even able to say a cool line before kicking that thing's ass!"

Elana snapped out of her daze. "You really think so?"

"Well, shouldn't we start running some drills or something? Back when I started football we would all practice together to build teamwork and skills at the same time." Norman stood up and started walking off before he got too many steps away he turned back to them. "If I have to be stuck with trash like you all I want to make sure you are at least good enough to not get left behind. We start your off-season training in the morning." With that, he left.

"Who does this guy think he is? Off-season training? He is not our team leader!" Zack glared at Norman as he walked away. "You'd think the guy would be more grateful after you save his skin."

"You know, in his own way, I think this is positive. He went from calling us trash to wanting to make us stronger while still calling us trash." Darius chuckles. "I am sure one day he will invite us to his wedding."

"He can keep that one." Elana gagged at the idea.

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"Professor while our group was out gathering the materials you requested we ran into a pack of goblins," X word vomited.

"Is everyone okay?" The professor looked genuinely concerned.

"We came out mostly unscathed. One of them attacked us and we killed it. The issue is that the other four didn't attack us. The one that looked like the leader did a bunch of gestures and angry noises before they all left."

The Professor stroked his chin. His expression changed as he contemplated the situation. "So you are telling me this because you believe the camp will come under attack again. If that is the case then we need to prepare the Patrol Team and the camp."

"That's actually where I was headed next.," replied X.

"You seem capable so I will leave that matter in your hands. I will inform the rest of the team leads, and get everyone ready in the event of an attack." The Professor nodded and went about his way.

Walking to the training yard for the Patrol Team only took a few minutes. They were centralized for quick deployment to any of the walls in the event of an attack. When X arrived the really tall woman from the Professor's speech was demonstrating something for a group of new Patrol Team members.

X walked over to the side of the space they were using to practice the technique to wait for them to finish. Once it was over she made eye contact with him and made her way over.

"Are you waiting for me?" The words flowed out of her aggressively.

This made X anxious. "Y-yes!" he replied with a yelp.

"Are you a new recruit? No need to be so nervous, this isn't the military." She relaxed her demeanor.

"No, I am here to inform you of what happened to my team while we were out doing a food run for the professor." X paused to gather himself before continuing. "When we finished the last task we encountered a goblin and had to fight it. After we killed it, 4 more goblins sprung out and were about to attack as well. For some reason, they chose not to."

"Isn't that a good thing?" She asked confused as to why she needed to be told this.

"Normally I would agree, however when they were falling back they made what looked to be a threat. That shows that they have some intelligence. The four of them didn't charge us like the first one did." X crossed his arms. "When I discussed with the professor earlier, he came to a similar conclusion.

"Well, I will keep the patrol team vigilant. The fact that none of you were injured is impressive. I saw those little things fight. They fight desperately and aggressively to make up for their size. If it goes like you think it is going to go, it may be good to have you guys in the fight too." She tossed him one of the training sticks she was holding. "Show me your moves."

X caught the stick and held it awkwardly. "I only know some of the basics, but I will try my best."

She rushed him with a flurry of attacks making the staff attacks a fluid array of movements. One flowing into the next. The years of experience could be felt with every strike.

Crack!

The sound reverberated as her staff slammed into X's Guard sending the weapon sailing away. Up until this point he was dodging and blocking most of the attacks using the basics Darius taught him. It was clear that her skills dwarfed his, and before X could respond to being disarmed his legs were slapped out from under his body.

"Your basics aren't bad. What's your name?" She offered him a hand up off the ground.

"I am X," he said accepting her help up. "And you?"

"Layla. I will pass your message on to Mike and the rest of the Patrol Team, and hopefully, we don't have to kick goblin butt." She walked over to where X's training stick was and proceeded to put both of them away.

'I need to invite her to the party!' X thought to himself as a notification popped up from the system.

*System Alert*

Skill Point increase

You have trained in a dexterity-based skill twice and as such you have been awarded a skill point. This becomes harder to do achieve in skills with higher ranks.

After reading this message X was excited. ' I can make up for my weak stats with physical training!' satisfied with this new discovery he walked back to meet up with the rest of his party to inform them of the good news.