Jackie had chosen to step in close to the old jacked goblin. The jagged massive sword had been dropped to the side as a pair of green worn hands clenched into fists and assumed a fighting position.

  They were in close enough distance that Jackie could have stepped forward and thrown a few punches but he adopted a fairly neutral pose while keeping his own guard up with both hands.

  He wasn’t out to start a fight but starting out defenceless wasn’t a good plan and the old goblin had come prepared for one. Jackie would give him a chance to express himself a little and if he was knocked around a little then he could manage that.

  Around the young man and the old goblin was the same loose semi-circle of goblins

  ‘Still want to fight even after I tried to act all nicely….Grucs?’ said Jackie as he stretched out his own body a little.

  He’d learnt to fight bare handed for the most part from his trainer Riko Zero when she’d spared the time running her private military company but the real rights of his life, past the age of forty had all been in the boardroom or with competitors. He’d learnt then to read both body language and eyes to pick up on the true attitude of a person.

  Besides, after leaving his thirties the reality was that his body had begun to slow down and even with the occasional sparring session. His body and mind had been fully rejuvenated he knew.

  Physically, mentally and emotionally he was even better than his prime. He knew combat training, he knew how to fight dirty and how to inflict physical damage but there was no way he was going to fight an old man who wanted meaning in his old age. Or goblin.

  He was wearing good quality clothing, even though fashionable it was made of strong enough fabric to stop a few blows and his heavy laced up combat boots could cause damage if he got in a few good kicks.

  ‘Grucs. I’m Jackie. I need to tell you something. No, keep that stance, it shows how hard you worked to get and keep that body. I’ll tell you that for an old...goblin you look pretty decent. Maybe packing even more underneath that clothing eh? A shame for both of us that you’re not my type. Nobody is though so don’t take offence with it. You’re not my type. Nobody is. Not that I don’t work that way but I’m just not interested. Unless you, uh, happen to be all old beneath that..’ said Jackie.

  The jacked old goblin was hearing cheers of encouragement and more than a few whistles and words which Jackie heard but didn’t clearly understand. Obviously from his view the [Gift of Tongues] meant that he while he could understand the language of the goblin tribe it didn’t automatically translate meaning. Or his brain was presently playing catch up and he needed a broader range of vocabulary rather than what he assumed were rude words accompanying cat calls.

  Something for him to work out later, along with any other blessings he might receive. They had strict limits. Or they could be influenced by other gods and their avatars.

  Useful to find that out before an incident broke out. Oh, wait, it already did. You’re going to pay for this Linas. In hard work. Hard, hard work. Best to keep the young busy. I’m going to make you work hard for your coffee.

  ‘Grucs, we’re done here. Hey, I’m thoroughly surprised at the behaviour of your tribe though. Did they make you fight? Is this how it works? A random stranger turns up and the oldest is expected to fight him and get injured? Yeah, nothing changes. The young truly lack respect for their elders. Well, I’m done here. Unless you have something to say to me. Again.’ said Jackie as he dropped his arms to his side and looked around the loose semi-circle of goblins for the one who had taken his heavy blue furred puff jacket.

  Jackie gave a random wink and a few waves just in case they had been watching him. There was a definite difference between the male and female goblins but attributed his lack of knowledge regarding them as belonging to the blessing [Gift of Tongues].

  From personal experience, he knew that picking up bits of a language here and there wasn’t a substitute for spending time in a culture to pick up those differences.

  He liked his fresh clothing style and he’d like to hang on to it as long as possible. He’d pushed enough buttons and made himself a sufficient target combined with his physical youth so he’d see what was going to happen next.

  Time to see how cultural values work here. Despite their appearance or in spite of it I’m not dealing with monsters. Just different types of people. Luckily I know people.

  A blur came into the side of his vision as a clenched green fist pushed against his cheek as Jackie observed the movement of the jacked goblin. He managed to keep his footing and avoid falling straight back onto his posterior.

  The one called Grucs was clearly far faster than he was capable of moving. Could be dangerous but this wasn’t a hostile intent to hurt him, Jackie knew if he could move that fast than he was an easy target.

  Not going straight for damage? That one punch could have sent me flying if he wanted. Still need a little more time to get used to this young body.

  From his perspective he had barely seen the movement before he could have been punched in the face and sent flying, which told that that the old green creature called a goblin was operating at above-human levels of speed or strength.

  There was no sign of cybernetics or electronic enhancements, not even a single robot or Mining Drone in sight. He’d utilised those with minor cybernetics in his own work, but they had been largely due to accidents incurred or injury.

  Not an augmented. Your turn. I’m going to keep my guard up and watch your movements but if you’re hoping for me to attack to make a fool out of me then good luck.

  None of them had been an actual threat to human life and he preferred to employ private security services at Strikker Coffee for protection than in-house protection.

  The semi-circle of goblins stamped feet and clapped hands as the old jacked goblin called Grucs circled Jackie. He came close to throw a few punches but nothing that connected. It appeared that he was truly expecting Jackie to fight back or he had planned for it.

  Jackie was aware of the concept of superhumans, he’d been approached by the creator of CAMPIN Lehua Marijn for a vital solution to worker problems by augmenting them with technology. Not that he’d been that interested.

  Despite his status and wealth back on Belphus and the point where he’d become aware of rumours of a Tourism Board who were able to alter reality at whim and turn it into nightmares beyond comprehension out of boredom.

  This is getting boring. I haven’t had to get in a fight since I was back in school and that too long ago to remember. Combat conditioning doesn’t mean aggression.

  He’d largely put it down to an urban rumour used to scare people and control the masses except the fact that the information had taken him decades to attain and a fortune to pay for.

  Even then he’d needed sufficient levels of security clearance from a few of the major organisations which worked for the Belphus World Government.

  His own status and wealth combined with forming connections in the business, government and social environment had enabled him to be more aware that the average citizen was.

  Jackie ran through a few options in his mind and went for the most realistic one he could work with. He hadn’t entered an arrangement with a young god to turn into a murder hobo.

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  Linas. You enjoying the show? You and me need to have serious words about how I plan to make coffee popular on this fantasy style continent. Gods, magic, blessings and sharp toothed green people who live in a forest.

  Violence wasn’t his line of work, building, running and expanding a business model supplying caffeine and refining it to the planet of Belphus was.

  Am I expected to get physical here? Is that the rules to follow? Culturally wise sounds stupid. They may look different but these people aren’t monsters.

  He’d been chosen for his experience, high position, business ability and the fact he’d built one of the largest and most famous coffee companies on Belphus.

  The crowd of goblins which had been cheering and paying attention were beginning to drift off little by little. Taking his eyes off the jacked old goblin who had dropped his own guard a little and truthfully was beginning to show a look of sheer confusion on his face Jackie saw a goblin wearing his blue furred puffer jacket with the collar popped up.

  As the circle of goblins lost interest and drifted away even more, the initial excitement dropped off. He dropped his arms to his side and held them up after stepping back a few times to give himself a little bit of space. Then he raised his arms above his head and stretched a little.

  The remaining gold jewellery on his body shifted along with him and was surprised how his body remained in top condition despite the amount of physical exertion.

  He knew that actually fighting would burn through energy reserves but there would be adrenalin running through his bloodstream along with other chemicals. In short when when someone was prepared to fight they needed enough time to cool down.

  The old jacked goblin showed little sign of tiredness but Jackie was wondering if that was because he found it harder to read the facial expressions of the goblin species.

  The [Gift of Tongues] was beginning to work it’s god-given magic as the words of Jackie and intent were clearly demonstrated. His own mannerisms had begun to shift a little to match that of the goblins.

  ‘I was out of order. This is your home and I was completely disrespectful. The gold items are an honest gift from the heart though. You have a lovely place here. Clearly, if you wanted you could beat the ten hells out of me and I’m impressed. Also, I’m actually a Granddad turned into a young man. Grucs, how about we talk about this? I’m Jackie. Jackie Imperial. A pleasure to meet you. A real pleasure to meet everyone here!’ said Jackie.

  The bonfire in the centre of the goblin village had been built up and was lighting up a large portion of the area as light globes appeared outside all the village buildings and the main one seen earlier.

  A cheer arose from the goblins as Jackie turned around to wave and keep an eye out for the blue furred puffer jacket as a green skinned fist smashed directly into his abdomen causing him to react.

  His previous combat training back on Belphus when he had been a younger man had largely carried on as he aged but decreased in intensity.

  This time, his body wasn’t the only thing that had been fully refreshed. Having an immortal being calling itself a god which decided to rejuvenate him had a stronger effect than he had originally assumed.

  His arms snapped about without his conscious thinking and grabbed hold of the arm as he leaped up into a semblance of a flying arm as he wrapped both legs around the body of the old goblin.

  With surprisingly flexibility he was slammed into the ground but he released his grip and rolled backwards, almost hitting one of the few goblins still watching. Jackie threw a hand behind him and took a step back before standing up with his guard thrown up again and fists clenched.

  This time it took him an actual conscious effort to throw off his combat grip as a presence tried to take control of his body. Jackie noticed that the old jacked goblin had thrown off his armour and was smiling broadly this time showing a mouth with more than a few sharp teeth.

  A message flared up inside Jackie’s minds eye at the same time he was forcing his hands to unclench from fists. His body was tight and half-stuck in a combat pose as his feet positioned themselves.

  [Congratulations Avatar: You have received – Instinctual Self-Protection.

  -All immediate threats for Human, Demi-Human and Non-Human will be automatically recognised.

  -Your body will remember all previous combat training, basic knight training is provided if lacking.

  -This only applies to sentient beings and not any undead, constructs or demonic beings.]

  Jackie had come to this fantasy style world, when he had been offered an opportunity to introduce a beverage he knew well, having given most of his life towards working on and producing.

  The fact that his own body was operating out of his control wasn’t something he wanted to accept. He knew that this world was safer by comparison to others given the history of the Tourism Board but he wasn’t interested in combat.

  Thankfully, the old goblin had stopped his attempt to punch Jackie any further. He had simply gone back to pick up his discarded armour and the heavy jagged sword before he threw it over his shoulder and walked off past the bonfire in the centre of the village with a casual hand wave.

  As Jackie’s body remained tensed up, the presence which had temporarily taken control of him released him and his youthful body ached marginally as this time he lost control and fell backwards on his backside onto the ground.

  A swaying noise made him look up and he saw a glowing box attached to a village building with a pair of young goblin kids hiding behind their mother judging from her hair who was staring at Jackie.

  He tried his best to smile but the mother gave him a dark look and ushered them back into their village home, closing the door behind them.

  Jackie didn’t know how [Instinctual Self-Protection] kicked in, but it was either when he had just been physically hurt or his body detected danger. This was something else which the young god Linas had failed to lecture him on and Jackie was angry.

  Not at the jacked old goblin who hadn’t actually hurt him, not the poor villagers who had to deal with some random stranger turning up and talking an unknown language and certainly not those poor kids who were scared of him.

  He had been too arrogant and didn’t give himself time to think and thoroughly asked Linas for an exact breakdown of the nature of the tutorial. As goblins began to prepare tables, chairs, cups, pots and bowls around the edges of the bonfire in the centre of the village, others took out the glowing boxes attached to sticks and stuck them in the ground to illuminate the area better.

  The moonlight remained bright as it shone down on Jackie as a hand reached down under his arm and helped to lift him up. His orange t-shirt with tiger stripes hadn’t been ripped or torn when he had been punched.

  It was either the chill of the night, the after-effect of his body being taken over or the adrenalin leaving him but he shivered slightly. He was a little tired, not physically but emotionally and spiritually something had been heavily drained from him.

  A feminine voice called out from behind him as his blue fur collared puff jacket was draped over his shoulders.

  ‘Yeah….so Granddad Grucs sort of believes in the old ways still. He likes to put on a show given he’s the Village Chief. You did a good job not trying to fight him. He liked that, I’m pretty sure he took a liking to you as well or he would have knocked out a few teeth. Ah...we need to begin the ceremony. Do need anything to prepare for your first offering of food or drink as an avatar?’ said the young feminine voice of the female goblin.

  ‘Welcome to the . Please confirm your destination to your chosen Seed world or Variant of the planet Belphus.

  All Visitors please register with your nearest available Tour Guide. The Tourism Board is Above All.’

  [This has been a sponsored message from . The drink of your lifetime.]

  Nicholas A. Ostheimer [Original Founder of the Tourism Board and Creator of Fictional Realities.]