I decided to take some risks and move around the enemy’s base to have a good idea of what was ahead of me. Thanks to that, I was able to see thirty goblin archers and a base that was two hundred meters wide and five hundred meters long. Our fortress was two times bigger than that and I couldn’t help but be astonished by it.

  ‘We don’t have much of a numerical advantage. Given this, it makes perfect sense that every month, one hundred prisoners like us have to come here so often.’

  Cannon fodder was the only thing that could describe us. We were supposed to decrease the numbers of the enemies and then the real warriors of the fortress would come to finish the job that we started and suffer as few casualties as possible.

  Matilda’s face came to mind. She looked pretty caring and tried to answer my questions as much as possible, and she wasn’t the lying type. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if all that had been an act. The redhead’s face and her words also came to mind.

  “We are at war against many types of enemies. Monsters, demons, demi-humans, elves, and so on. This is a world where only the strong can survive, if you prove your worth, we will reward you, but if you can’t even fend for yourself, you will suffer a fate worse than death at the hands of the enemies… that is what she said, was that true or just lies to make us work harder?”

  Objectively speaking, a force of 1200 warriors used every year didn’t seem that impressive, but it was better than nothing and if the people of this place didn’t have to sacrifice their own people to weaken the enemies, I couldn’t imagine them not doing that.

  While those thoughts kept bothering me, I saw a group of three goblins leaving the fortress… I let out a sigh and then decided to ambush them. Nothing good would come if I keep worrying about things endlessly. For now, the best thing that I could do was to fight and get stronger.

  Once we were further away from the fortress, I readied myself to kill them, but soon I changed my mind and kept following them. The paths that they followed were the safest and easiest to move as well… not only that, I was able to see the spots where they checked their traps and confirmed if some random animals had activated them.

  The goblins, clever in their own way, had an innate understanding of their environment, and they made full use of the resources the forest provided to craft a variety of traps. These traps weren’t the simple, crude designs that one might expect from such primitive creatures, but rather well-thought-out mechanisms that took advantage of the natural surroundings to create obstacles for anyone who wandered into their territory. Pitfalls, snare traps, spike traps, walls filled with spikes… they were very cunning.

  Altogether, these traps were not just crude methods of defense, they were intelligent, adaptable, and made with the knowledge of the land, using the surrounding resources in every possible way. The forest, with its dense trees, winding paths, and natural elements, became a deadly maze under the goblins’ hands. Anyone foolish enough to enter their territory would find themselves at the mercy of the cunning forest traps.

  They only checked the traps toward the human fortress, and soon they began to return to their base… at that point in time, I decided to finish them off from behind. Since I targeted the ones closest to me first, they never realized what had happened.

  ‘It is already past noon… I guess this is enough for today. I am thirsty and I need to rest for a bit. I should rest as much as possible before coming here tomorrow. I want to come even before sunrise, but I am not that familiar with the terrain yet. I might end up falling for some traps.’

  While returning, I didn’t drop my guard since there was a chance that the monsters would find my traces, but around four in the afternoon, I was back at the fortress without sustaining any damage. Maybe it was because of that. The guards looked at me head from toe, as if they were trying to imagine how well I did against the monsters. I just ignored them and headed to the crystal.

  It was still not very late, but I was surprised to see that not many people had returned from their hunts. I would have imagined that they started late, thanks probably because they were tired or something like that, but it didn’t matter, anyway. Before long, I reached the crystal, and it began to react to my approach.

  Sean

  Primary Classes: Archer Lv 02

  Health: 80/80

  Mana: 100/100

  Stamina: 120/120

  Strength: 11

  Dexterity: 12

  Magic: 06

  Vitality: 08

  Spirit: 10

  Endurance: 12

  Luck: 05

  Free Points: 03

  Techniques: Power Shot Lv 01

  Spells:

  Effects: Archery Lv 01

  ‘So, it works like that, huh? Interesting.’

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  A bunch of coins appeared in front of me and then I grabbed them just like that. It didn’t seem much, but it was the result of a day’s work. A very tense one, so I felt proud. There were things that I could have done better, I am sure, but I did the best that I could, given the knowledge that I had.

  Before it got dark, I went to check the inns and how they worked… They asked for ten copper coins for the night. They had an open bath that we could use as much as we wanted as long as we followed some rules, but they didn’t offer food. After walking around a bit more, I was able to tell that few places offered the same products and services. The whole fortress had been clearly designated that each person that wasn’t us, the cannon fodder, would be able to do their job equally and be paid equally for it as well.

  I was thinking about that while I was cleaning myself in the open bath. That was essentially a hot spring. There was one for males and another for females, and they were on the opposite sides of the building. As I felt the exhaustion leaving my body, I couldn’t help but sigh.

  ‘It feels like I became a cog… I chose to fight, but my options were still limited. Anyway, why do crafters and a special guild exist when the people of the fortress can do the same job and they were chosen to do so as well?’

  I could only imagine that it was in order to use those people to build other bases deeper in the territory of this place… island, continent, or whatever. After thinking a bit more about it, I realized that the crystal was also something that the people brought here. There was no way that they chose this place at random.

  ‘I don’t like to keep going like this, walking in the dark while others force me to fight, but for now, I don’t have any room to do anything else aside from focusing on my own survival.’

  I felt that my body was starting to get too warm, so I decided to leave the open bath and then I went to grab my clothes from the box that I left them in. While I was putting them on, a group of guys entered the place and then frowned while looking at me. It couldn’t be helped that we had to change there, but it felt annoying to have them staring at me while I was putting my clothes and with my back against them.

  “Hey, aren’t you the first guy that the captain told you to use the crystal before?”

  I looked over my shoulder and saw that a tall and muscular guy was leading the group of six men. He seemed like the leader of the group, but I felt that a group of six warriors would be quite weird under the circumstances. Still, given that they didn’t have any visible wounds, maybe their group had more than six people and a healer somewhere.

  The tall man had light brown hair and green eyes. He also had the face of someone who was good at talking with people, or so I felt given his light smile. I would rather not have him smile at me like that while I was putting my clothes on.

  “Yes, can I help you?”

  “No, I was just asking because you were one of those from the first day that I didn’t see at the meeting today.”

  “Meeting?”

  “All the people that received training reunited this morning to exchange information and form their parties.”

  I didn’t hear about that, obviously, but I doubted that they learned or knew that much. Unless Matilda was an exception and the other guild masters were a bunch of chatterboxes. Still, I could congratulate him for managing to make ninety people follow his lead and do exactly that. Not to mention, they left the fortress and made some money too, otherwise, they wouldn’t be here.

  “I see. I went to hunt earlier and the other guys were those who didn’t want to fight. They tried to live outside, but they were killed by goblins. I saw their bodies.”

  “Goblins… I didn’t think of this world until now, but the image of the monster suddenly appeared in my head.”

  The other guys also nodded with a serious expression. This place was truly such an odd place, so it wasn’t surprising to me that they felt like that or reacted like that. Regardless, I finished putting my clothes on and decided to move.

  “Hey, my name is Carlos. Can I meet with you somewhere to exchange information?”

  For a moment, I considered agreeing to Carlos’ request. Exchanging information could be useful, and staying connected with others might have its advantages. However, the thought of sitting down and talking about what little I knew felt like a bother. I had barely scratched the surface of this place’s dangers, and sharing anything too soon could lead to troubling consequences. It wasn’t just about keeping information to myself, I had to consider how others would act on it. If they made reckless decisions based on half-baked knowledge, it could create more problems than solutions. Besides, I wasn’t entirely sure if Carlos and his group had the same priorities as me. Trust wasn’t something I was willing to hand out freely just yet.

  More than that, I was particularly concerned about the goblin camp. If too many people found out about it and decided to launch an attack, it would quickly turn into a large-scale battle. That kind of chaos wasn’t something I wanted to be caught up in, at least not yet. Right now, my goal was to grow stronger at my own pace. Rushing into a major fight without the right preparation was just asking for trouble. I needed time to understand the strengths and weaknesses of both my enemies and myself before committing to something that could change the balance of power in this world. Letting Carlos in on what I knew might push things in a direction I wasn’t ready for, and I had no intention of letting someone else dictate the pace of my progress.

  “I don’t know much yet, but I will look for you if I find any piece of useful information.”

  I left the place before Carlos could respond to my words. I wasn’t certain if he was one of the leaders of the ninety remaining people, but it wasn’t a good idea to antagonize him, even more so when he looked pretty easy to talk to. However, if he was the person who truly considered the well-being of everyone over his own, while he would be a good leader, he was also the type who would force others to work together with him. In a situation like this, outlines like me would be in trouble.

  ‘Am I doing the right thing?’

  I wanted to believe that I was doing what was logical for my own well-being. After seeing those bodies, I realized that I didn’t want to die unless I died following what I believed in while doing my best. I couldn’t do that following others. Perhaps becoming a hunter wasn’t so bad and it really agreed with me.

  With those thoughts in mind, I went to eat… an ordinary set of meals was five copper coins, and I asked for three of them since I didn’t eat anything that day so far. The food was simple, but fresh enough to make it tasty. I didn’t know if it was the same type of thing that I ate before, but the meal felt familiar with fish, grains, and a bittersweet juice.

  “What do you think?”

  “This can be a problem. We lost the chance to become the leaders of the group. That guy is good at making people walk at the beat of his drum. We might be able to stand out and become leaders of a smaller group, but as long as he is there, we won’t become the real leaders.”

  I was a bit surprised to overhear that conversation, they were whispering, after all.. It seemed that not everyone who came with us was happy about Carlos taking the lead. Until now, I had assumed most people were just going along with things, trying to survive, but apparently, some were already thinking about power and leadership. It wasn’t too strange. After all, in a situation like this, having influence meant better resources, safety, and control over decisions. Still, I hadn’t expected people to be so openly concerned about it, especially when Carlos hadn’t forced anyone to follow him. He had simply stepped up and managed to get others to listen, which was more than what most had done.

  What struck me as even stranger was how casually these guys were talking about it. Even though they were whispering, it didn’t help much. Anyone paying attention could pick up on their conversation. That level of carelessness felt odd, considering none of us had memories, and we had only known each other for seven days. Normally, you’d expect people in our situation to be more cautious about who they trusted or what they said aloud. Yet, here they were, already scheming and plotting as if they had long-standing grudges or ambitions. It made me wonder just how quickly people adapted to their circumstances, or if some instinct, like the hunger for power, didn’t need memories to resurface.

  ‘Birds of a feather flock together… I guess those who are like this can find others like them.’

  There weren’t others here eating in this restaurant, so they didn’t mind me that much since I wasn’t part of their group. Regardless, I decided to eat my food and move on with my life, since I didn’t have time for trouble when it comes to group politics.

  When I went to my room and managed to lie on my bed, I felt the exhaustion taking over me. Still, I had a bit of time to realize that I needed to be more mindful of my surroundings. If there are people like that group nearby, they probably would keep watching the crystal to see how much each person would make and find the easiest targets too.

  ‘I wonder… the crystal calculated accomplishments, but what about crimes?’

  I grunted in annoyance. I had so little information that was truly vexing. My best option was to try to learn a new skill from Matilda and convince her to give some extra pieces of information. In the end, I put the chair to block the door just in case before I fell asleep. When I woke up, the sky on the horizon was getting brighter, so I decided to hurry up and then get ready to leave. It was better to keep my movements hidden, but I couldn’t escape the eyes of the guards at the gates.