Just as one would expect, there was pretty much everything to be sold in the fortress. Items to clean weapons, to make them, to repair them, and ready-made weapons as well. I also found some other types of arrows aside from the iron arrowheads. It made sense, since Matilda had the ones made of obsidian.

  Steel arrows cost one silver coin each, so it was a bit expensive for the current me, but I could tell just by glance how sharp it was and how powerful it was as well. I had to buy them at some point. Perhaps that would be less expensive than buying a new bow early on.

  It might have been a bit early, but I ended up buying a copy of my knife. I wasn’t going to learn dual wielding immediately, but after the previous fight that turned into melee, I realized that I couldn’t keep a single hand free doing nothing with it.

  ‘If I keep it well hidden, I could surprise my enemies with this. I just need to get used to it as well.’

  At the moment of the fight, there was no room for second-guessing. The goblin had been an immediate threat, and I had acted on instinct. My heart had pounded, adrenaline coursing through me as I aimed to survive, to overcome the danger. In the heat of the moment, the act of cutting down the goblin hadn’t fazed me that much. It was either him or me. I had been focused on the necessity of the action, not the morality of it. The efficiency of my blade had been the only thing on my mind, and in that way, it had felt almost like a simple task, one that could be justified by the fact that it was a battle for my life.

  But now, away from the chaos, the reality of what I had done began to settle in. The image of the goblin’s blood on my knife, the way it had fallen after my strike, it was all replaying in my mind, vivid and unsettling. It wasn’t like shooting them from a distance, where the kill felt impersonal, disconnected. With a bow, I could pretend there was less involvement, that it was simply an arrow finding its target. But with a blade in my hand, there was a rawness to it. I had felt the weight of the weapon, the way the blade sliced through the goblin’s flesh. The closeness of it, the physicality, made the violence feel more real, and for the first time, I couldn’t shake the uncomfortable truth that I had taken a life up close. It was a feeling I hadn’t expected, and one that I wasn’t sure how to process yet.

  I decided not to dwell too much on it and then I went to rent the same room in the same inn and, after cleaning myself, I went to the same restaurant. It was still early, but it was still better than being bothered by others. I wondered if this part of my nature was also what made me become a hunter.

  “Hey, I finally found you.”

  I fought hard not to let out a sigh escape my mouth once I recognized that voice. I was in the corner of the restaurant, sitting on the side of the table to have a clear view of the place, but since it was empty, I kept my head down as I waited for my food. Still, I was raised when I recognized Carlos’ voice. As if that was the most natural thing in the world, he approached. He was alone this time around for some reason.

  “Can I sit here and talk with you for a moment?”

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks. I heard a report from one of the scouting parties and they told me what you found. They said that you seemed a bit on edge, but that nothing happened.”

  “What about it?”

  “We are still mapping the area, and we already found another fortress in the North, but the one in the south has a lot fewer enemies and it is smaller too, so we were thinking of attacking that. Naturally, we would need your cooperation.”

  It wasn’t surprising at all to hear that Carlos was moving quickly with their plans. From what I knew about the group, they had the numbers, the equipment, and probably the experience of taking on goblins without much trouble, even if it was a bit too soon. There was a certain level of confidence in his voice when he spoke about the smaller fortress to the south, and it was clear they expected to handle it with ease. Given their capabilities, I had no doubt that they would be successful, but what caught my attention was their intention to move on to a larger fortress afterward. That wasn’t something that would come without preparation, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to this strategy than just a straightforward attack.

  A bigger fortress was a serious challenge, and I began to suspect that they might be using the southern one as a sort of warm-up. It seemed too convenient, almost like a stepping stone for something more important. If they really planned to challenge a larger, more heavily defended fortress, they would need every advantage they could get, more experience, stronger weapons. The fact that they were eyeing the smaller one first made me think they were looking to build up their strength before taking on something truly difficult. They probably needed the resources and the experience that fortress could offer, not to mention the chance to gauge their abilities before going up against a bigger challenge.

  “There are some monsters further west in this place that roam around, but it is hard to level up and we can’t go far without enough resources. We heard that we can get extra materials and weapons in the goblins camps and we will be rewarded more by the crystal as well if we destroy it. So, we were considering that. However, we won’t get into your territory. I understand that you prefer to work solo since you don't have the chance to team up with anyone, but in exchange for working with us, I can guarantee you that we will allow you to choose the best three pieces of gear that we find in that fortress.”

  That wasn’t a bad offer. Actually, it sounded too good to be true. Still, by imagining Carlos’ perspective, I imagined that his group would stick together more if they keep this kind of thing as a goal and if they succeed, then most of them will feel more prone to follow his lead. They all would get stronger together and then they would be able to explore more of the land.

  I couldn’t care less about his goals and methods, but this could be a good chance for me as well. I was a back liner and those guys would draw all the attention of the monsters while I attacked them. Adding that to all the items that I could choose from the monsters, this was a golden chance for me to get stronger and faster. It would be more efficient to just take my time killing the goblins by myself, but did I really have the time to take things slowly?

  “Sure, I don’t mind working with you all. As long as the attack happens soon and while I wait, no one goes there to mess up with my hunting spot.”

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  “We can use tomorrow to check the base, but the scouts won’t get in your way. We will also plan how we will attack in the next day based on that. Is that alright with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Alright, let’s do this.”

  Carlos offered a handshake. I stared at him for a moment and then accepted his hand. Eventually, he left the restaurant and I finally could enjoy my meal in peace. Without considering what I could earn from this, it was clear that this agreement was a waste of time for me. I would show my skill and I would allow others to do what they wanted as well. For all intentions and purposes, that was bad news.

  However, sooner or later, I would need to confirm several things. The first was if those guys would see me as a nuisance and then they would do something against me. Even if they don’t do that, if they don’t keep their word, then that would mean that I wouldn’t have to waste time dealing with them as well. Wasting some levels and coins to confirm if those guys weren’t worth my time seemed like a cheap investment.

  Just like Carlos and his group were using this as a way to assess their strength and build cohesion, I could do the same. This was a perfect opportunity to observe and categorize the surrounding people, those who could become a nuisance, those who could be a real problem, and those who might already be stronger than me. The nuisances were the ones who would get in my way, either by interfering with my hunting grounds, trying to boss me around, or just causing trouble for no good reason. While they weren’t an immediate threat, they could slow me down or make things more annoying than they needed to be. Then there were the real problems, the people who had their own agendas and weren’t above using others to get what they wanted. They were the ones I had to be most careful around because they wouldn’t hesitate to throw me under the bus if it benefited them.

  As for those who were stronger than me, they were the biggest variable. If they had no reason to care about me, that was fine, but if they saw me as a competition or a potential threat, that could lead to problems. I needed to be mindful of how they interacted with others, how they fought, and how they handled themselves in a group. Were they the type to follow orders, or were they more independent? Did they respect agreements, or did they only care about their own gain? Understanding these things would be just as important as getting stronger myself. I couldn’t afford to be blindsided by someone simply because I underestimated them. If I played this right, I could learn a lot without drawing too much attention to myself, and that kind of information would be invaluable in the long run.

  ‘I guess they might consider their plans for a few more days if they see that bigger goblin… if they are smart. Considering my parameters alone, I have gotten two times stronger than I was three days ago, but I wonder if that is accurate. I also wonder how many times the big one is stronger than the ordinary ones. Regardless, I need to work hard to make sure that I won’t fall behind anyone in this group, then I will have to work hard to catch up with the others…’

  It goes without saying that I wanted to kill that one, but how many arrows in the head would kill that beast? The chances of hitting them are supposed to be lower than well. I returned to my room while thinking of what I could do to make the most out of that attack. The best option would always be to look for hurt or busy enemies and then kill them while they are fighting someone else, but that felt cowardly and stupid since I only had a limited amount of arrows with me.

  Going back on my word was out of the question as well, and I couldn’t learn any new skills in such a short window of time that could help me in that regard. The best option seemed to be to buy more arrows. Another idea came to my mind, but I soon shook my head. That was definitely impossible…

  ‘That wouldn’t have to rely on me, but if those guys are stupid, then it isn’t completely out of the question. It is annoying because it is something beyond my control.’

  With those thoughts in mind, I went to sleep and, just like before, I woke up when the sun was rising and then left the fortress. I made sure to disarm the traps instead of destroying them in order to get more experience and gold out of the goblins, but nothing says that they would set the traps in the same spots. Still, finding them wasn’t hard… because some goblins were lying low near them.

  ‘I guess they don’t think that their smell is that bad… Regardless, disarming all the traps and killing so many of them came with some demerits, apparently.’

  The goblins also remained in the tall grass, but finding their location was easy, since the traps were in the original places. Given that, I just had to stay away from the areas that they would most likely set them up.

  With that in mind, I ambushed those groups the entire morning. They underestimated me since they only came in groups of three. Still, while I broke my record of slaying as many of them in a single day, I couldn’t help but frown since I didn’t find the scouts that Carlos told that they would come.

  ‘Well, this is weird, but certainly not my problem… they aren’t on this side, but they should have come through the beach, I would guess.’

  Going through the beach would have been a smart way to avoid the traps, but it came with its own risks. The sea breeze would carry their scent inland, making it easier for the goblins to pick up on their presence. Unlike me, who had been carefully managing my approach and staying aware of how my scent could give me away, they probably weren’t considering that. Warriors, priests, and mages were skilled in their own ways, but when it came to hunting and stealth, they were lacking. It wasn’t exactly surprising. Most of them were probably used to fighting head-on rather than setting ambushes or tracking enemies.

  If they were already committed to scouting that way, then it wouldn’t make much difference now without saying anything. Besides, if they couldn’t figure out something that basic, then it wasn’t really my problem. At most, it just meant I had to be prepared in case their mistakes ended up affecting my own plans. Whether that meant more goblins showing up in response to their scent or them getting into trouble and needing backup, I’d have to wait and see. For now, I’d focus on my own hunt.

  Just when I thought of that, in the distance, I could see the gates of the goblin fortress opening and a bunch of them leaving at the same time…they all began to head east, toward the beach.

  ‘Oh boy… they are worse than I thought.’

  Despite saying that, I couldn’t help but smile a bit. I soon corrected that, though. That was what I had imagined before, that the scouts would mess up and then draw a lot of the goblins out of the fortress to look for them. I decided not to plan my actions based on their stupidity, but I decided to be mindful of it and use it to my advantage. If they die, it wouldn’t be my problem since I didn’t exactly use them as bait.

  ‘I guess I can only accept the fact that I am a bit cold? Ruthless, or uncaring about others? This isn’t good, but in a situation like this, what are exactly my options? Team up with retards and try to mend their ways at the cost of my life? No, thanks.’

  I carefully advanced toward the fortress while trying to remain hidden in the grass. I was only able to get around thirty meters away from the gate, but I could see the interior since they left those open. The goblin fortress wasn’t much different from ours, sure it was a lot more dirty and unorganized, but they had buildings for pretty much everything and a lot of houses as well. In a hurry, I could see a bunch of female goblins approaching the gates with bows in hand since the guys who are supposed to guard them left and before long, I was able to see even smaller goblins with stone knives in their hands… These were children of the goblins.

  ‘This is going to be tough in more ways than one.’