I went on so much earlier about handling the situation diplomatically, but in the end preparations for a fight were being made. No promises were made to settle things peacefully, and they were a criminal organization; so even if I had changed my mind I didn’t think it would count against my existence as a Hero.

Honestly, taking 90% damage meant I should have rested a bit longer. After delaying for half an hour and regaining about 40%, waiting became unbearable. A little on the low side for my usual exchange tactics, but with an increase in Stamina and Strength, it might not be necessary. {Negative Energy}, although unpracticed, could prove to be a trump card as well.

Moving towards the woods, nothing seemed amiss at first. It was not an overreaction to be suspicious, Tomas’ attitude definitely indicated they were on the move. If the Jester detected an ambush, then it was there. Too many scrubs ganked to not be able to tell when a new character was trying to get me back.

“”

With Intelligence and Wisdom came a slight increase to sensitivity and distance. The spell also grew easier to use, though that may have been the result of practice; I kept it on constantly while hunting for goblins. Casting my sight into the trees, I didn’t see anything. Feeling confident in my guess, I pressed on, still expecting them to pop out of the trees. ’s fallibility had already been thoroughly impressed upon me.

10 minutes of moving unhindered through the trees passed, and my wounds were healing. I started to doubt my suspicions, but remained alert. A half hour passed, and I tried thinking of just how clever they thought me to be. They could know I would stay alert longer than usual, and shift back farther. If they evaluated me a step higher, they would think me aware for even longer. The question soon became did they assume I would lower my guard deep in the forest, or did they think I would be constantly alert and their plan didn't relate to the forest at all?

No, they didn't witness any grand feats of deduction on my part. My actions over the few days were repetitive as well, if they paid any attention at all they would have confirmed my route through the forest. I never rushed either, if they couldn't get information about the monster core from me diplomatically, then they would have planned an ambush for more forceful interrogation. The way my wounds disappeared may have given them initial shock, but there was time to set up countermeasures. They were definitely lying in wait.

Over halfway to the goblin territory, finally picked something up. A much brighter red in the distance, compared to the goblin weapons it would be like a candle compared to a glow-in-the-dark sticker. Not incredibly impressive, but far above the latter. I spotted two clumps of red, both a bit forward and to either side of me, about 30m away.

Just two, which meant the third remained out of range, or had weapons not detectable by . Without signs of having noticed, I kept walking. Passing between them and preparing for their assault, nothing happened. Even as I continued and my back was to them, they didn't make their move. Then as I began to get farther and farther away from them, they started following me from a distance behind.

Crap.

This was a tactic for cutting off my avenue of retreat. That would do them no good unless I was overwhelmed and surrounded, forcing me to back out in that direction. You couldn't hem someone in the forest with only three people, that necessitated other operatives of theirs working in the shadows.

Underestimating opponents is a real theme of mine. So much for CONSTANT VIGILANCE.

Underestimated or not, if needed I could tank one or two hits while breaking the encirclement and expend a ton of Stamina to get out of there. In fact, moving deeper into the forest, that was a great idea. Ever so slightly my footfalls grew louder and faster.

Padding along the dirt only marginally quicker, I eventually raised my speed into a power walk. With , a few more points of red appeared. Adjusting course left, I didn't pass between them, but instead cut close to one, letting the other shift out of range.

Of the three I could still sense, a momentary discord affected their movement and formation. I decided that was my cue to start running.

Trees flew by, and all of a sudden a few shouts of pursuit filled the air. Not wanting to be caught, or to lose them, I paced myself with a nice jog after the initial sprint. Deeper in the forest it took a bit of effort to avoid the thicker trees and occasional shrub, and the amount of leafy detritus increased. The plains-people of Derriad were at a significant disadvantage in comparison.

Even so, maintaining the distance between us didn't go as easily as I liked. I had endurance and long legs, but lacked Agility. Strength allowed my muscles to make powerful movements, not quick ones. The rogue types behind me definitely possessed the physical advantage. At least, if my absurd Stamina wasn't taken into consideration; with it, the chase started to extend into a marathon.

Settling into a pace, I tried keeping them on the edge of my vision, but a few dipped in and out of range. Whether they could no longer pursue, or were trying to fan out again I couldn't tell. Either way, we were able to keep at a steady jog for quite a while. The surroundings were growing dark, and the animal noises seemed distorted. Clacking from creatures that weren't quite birds, trills from not exactly mammals. And of course, on occasion, a warbling squawk would call through the trees.

“Give it up! You can’t run forever!” A hoarse voice barked from behind. Taking a moment to look ahead first, I then spared a glance behind. While only two points remained in there were four following me. Obviously breathing roughly, it didn't look like they were at their limit, but if I kept running I could outdistance them. Expending extra Stamina, I could probably even lose them after a short distance through the trees.

After all, even if the Necromancer is a caster, they all started at a low level like myself. And after getting caught red-handed robbing graves, there isn't much left to do but run.

Not that I would be undertaking the boring route, they would have eaten the dust a long time ago if that were the case.

“I just have to run longer than you!” With gradual expenditure, I was able to call out easily to them. To irk them a little more, a few presents were sent back. “” Every two or three strides another spell shot back. I didn't really worry about the accuracy, even though the shots went wild, it was enough to grab their attention. A few coughed and gasped as they ran, not hit, but in dodging what they felt were close calls they upset their breathing and stride.

“Hahaha, you guys thought you could catch me?” Taunting, the chase had gone on for just about an hour. Not all of it had been jogging, but they were beginning to experience mental fatigue. You just can't build a tolerance to enduring stimuli if your whole day is 14 hours, it's something cultivated through long periods of activities that were both repetitive yet required attention. Like grinding for XP.

Their awareness of their surroundings dim, I veered right towards a thicket increasing my speed. Making use of my enhanced strength, I vaulted upwards, using the head of the approaching goblin party as a stepping stone to boost myself further.

“Goblins!” With a smile, I heard them shout, trying to coordinate in their exhausted state. Chuckling, my speed redoubled again, and I found a somewhat more isolated patch of forest to rest.

We were deep in goblin territory now. let me avoid any patrols of significant size, and a lone goblin was a cowardly creature. Irritating the pursuers kept them from paying as much attention to the surroundings. The noise of it all attracted a few larger parties, and though left behind, some would eventually catch up.

I didn't want to kill them, and this way would force them to rethink their options if they escaped. You might say leading them to the goblins was as good as smashing them to itty bits myself, but I feel there’s a sufficient difference. If I straight up fought with them, it would be either my death or theirs. This way, it was merely a pursuit through dangerous territory. It was a test of our abilities, I ran into the goblins’ territory as well. We might both survive, we might both die; it didn't have to resolve in one of our deaths. This was the option that let us both survive, the most heroic option I could conjure up.

Well, even if they did die it would be no skin off my back. This just gave them a chance.

Relaxing to recover Stamina and a bit of Mana, one of those split trees provided a good spot to climb into and wait. Keeping up, I remained alert, which ended up being a wiser move than anticipated.

Clashing metal, and shouts, both human and goblin grew in volume. More and more of the faint red aura of goblin weaponry passed through even my relatively small range of detection. Multiple warcries sounded from the goblin, which then echoed from goblins positioned farther away in the forest. From the woodwork the green creatures appeared in vast quantities.

Sensing danger, I abandoned waiting to see the results of the Poran members. Goblins were attracted to the noise, then made more noise, and chaos built on itself. Ducking through the trees, I spotted a group of goblins fighting each other.

Did leading those guys back here start this? Not my problem, but jeez, I'm like a bull in a china shop. Can't run away from danger without starting a civil war.

Fights ranged from duels(usually ended by one of the participants being backstabbed, wit the assailant replacing them), to two coordinated forces smashing into each other, to free-for-alls, where the participants were just as confused as I was on the manner of alliances. Where possible, I’d throw several s into the crowd for easy experience, before running.

Staying a bit longer after a few times, I realized that just being human didn't make me a priority target. While if a swarm descended on me, all that could be done was run away, the goblin forces were too fragmented. Those that did charge at me came in groups of four at the most, and even those were picked off by the surrounding fighters.

Growing a bit audacious, I picked off members from winning sides, trying to keep a victor from emerging. While the experience was great, the larger scale fights were heaven. Two or three groups would clash, retreat, and repeat before dispersing or being disrupted by the surrounding groups, leaving a wake of corpses.

It’s Goblin Christmas! Magma furnaces not necessary to enjoy, so long as you're a Necromancer!

Inventory was a gaping maw that greedily devoured corpses with my aid. So many materials to use, this was definitely the best possible result.

“*Oh, one body, two body, three body, four,

Goblins line up at death’s door.

You don't need your flesh, anymore.

A massive battle, I adore!*”

Singing, I scavenged the battlefield, making sure to watch my back. Taking the last of one small skirmish, I looked up to find my next corpse. Searching the area, four bodies lay scattered near two particularly close-set trees and a leafless bramble. Or rather, three and a half bodies.

At first it appeared to be a goblin grasper, but looking even closer, there were further differences. Its appearance looked both smoother and more gaunt than the usual goblin, thinner and taller, almost five feet. Instead of one of the mottled greens its kin wore, its skin also had a slight grey and fleshy pink tint. Looking at the razor sharp claws on slender hands, there was no doubt it was another variant. Using those much sharper appendages and jagged teeth, it munched away at a corpse, one large mouthful at a time.

As I observed it, it happened to look up from its meal, and saw me. Since it did not look immediately hostile, I would not be either.

Sure I want that corpse you're eating, but hey, as long as you aren't wasting it, it’s all yours buddy. We’re on a battlefield, there are plenty of other dead goblins to grab.

You're still looking at me man.

Not ignoring me, I decided to let the variant make a move first. 15 meters were between us, and if its speed was enough to close that gap in a moment, my take and give tactic would be my only way to fight it. Uneasy instants passed and it opened its mouth, revealing a bloody maw of jagged teeth.

“Rrrkoi...hyu-mran. Hyumran. Greet hyumran.” Nails on a chalkboard came out of its mouth, but I could understand it. Hah! The bloody thingamajig spoke, how neat. I decided to humor it; realizing that whatever was going on here could easily have ramifications beyond the deeper woods.

“This human greets you. Peace? No fight? No fighting? Alliance?” Putting away the spear I had in hand in a show of good faith, I turned my palms upward in front of me. A white flag of sorts among races with claws; at least according to one game I played. No reason not to try.

Not likely a result of my hand gesture, the variant looked ecstatic, opening its mouth and black eyes wider. That or it wanted to eat me, but considering it didn't try to eat me, that left the first.

“Good! Hyumran khill Uhkhjk goblin. Hrelp, fhkllow me.” The variant stuffed its face into the bowels of the corpse, tearing out a good chunk before gesturing its claws for me to follow.

Because it seemed interesting, I went along with it.

A/N:AARRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

ROYAL ROAD.

ROYAL ROAD, I AM NOT AMUSED BY YOUR MOBILE SITE.

Hemophobe JJJ don't worry, the chapter I thought was bloody was the last chapter. You're in the clear for now. Though I guess you've already taken the plunge if you're reading this.

I lost track because this is terrible on mobile.