They took a completely different way back, this time heading along the streets. He was lost in his thoughts, when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked behind, surprised, and saw Viper’s grim expression. He returned to the front again, and he let out a little squeak at the band of Goblins in front of him. Their expressions were twisted, and their eyes filled with something unpleasant. “Rotting Hills,” A tall Goblin at the front spat. “You don’t deserve the new lands. Take your traitorous asses out of here, along with your human.”

Jason swallowed as Viper spoke up. “No.”

The band stilled, before their expressions became wicked. “We gave you a chance! No more,” and then they withdrew their weapons: pitted swords, rusty spears, and thick stone warhammers. Jason’s eyes widened and [Identify] went crazy.

‘Ding’ [Deep Marsh Armsman Lv 40]

‘Ding’ [Deep Marsh Swordsman Lv 50]

‘Ding’ [Shifting Sands Warrior Lv 42]

‘Ding’ [Icy Caverns…

I’m so fucking screwed.

Viper and the warrior drew their weapons, and Jason looked at them in panic. “Give me a weapon!” He hissed, but was ignored. The group began to envelop them, and his thoughts started spiralling until it all just became static. All he was aware of was his panting, the shuffling around him, the creak of them gripping their weapons, the scrape and then- BANG. His head whipped around to see that one of the attackers had gone for the warrior, their hammer striking at the ground instead of his guardswoman’s chest. The woman snarled and swung her own hammer smacking into the skull and pulping it in a violent explosion. Jason’s eyes felt as wide as saucers, and he flinched when the rest of the band roared and charged as one. He immediately activated [Phantom State] and the cold flooded him. The wind disappeared, and he could barely feel the ground with his feet. The Viper started slashing with their daggers, their arms blurring occasionally to pull out a bow and fire it, causing a Goblin to go down without fail. Their were too many of them however, and he began to struggle. Jason watched the entire thing wide-eyed, and he felt a peculiar sensation in his chest, a hollow prodding that came from his heart. He looked down and blinked. Or it was coming from the shitty sword repeatedly stabbing through his breast. He turned around to see one of the paler Goblins, frustratedly trying to fill him with holes. He gaped at it, and flinched when its sword entered him again, but nothing happened. An urge rose within him, alien whispers, providing images telling him to move. Without much thought, he followed them, dropping his State, and sidestepping the lunge. His hand moved as if guided by another, reaching down and grasping the wrist of the Goblin, before twisting and sending its sword free, allowing him to catch it. Still in a daze, his arm came around, leaving distorted air in its wake, and cut into the Goblin's slackened face. It collapsed. He felt another whisper, and his head swiftly moved up to evaluate his surroundings. His display had drawn attention, meaning some of the pressure was taken off the guards, but now he had six different people to deal with. Another whisper arose in his brain, but it was too complicated to understand, so he just stepped forward and wildly slashed in front of him with another surge of magic. He was just as surprised as the Goblins when his blade cut through their weapons, leaving them standing there, gawking. The whispers paused, and then pushed against his mind, the pressure mounting until – something crumbled, and then they were gone. He blinked, and shook his head, suddenly clear. One of the Goblins growled, and pulled out a knife, before launching itself at him. Instinct now guided him, his muscles moving as if he’d done this for years, and he spun and slashed into its face with [Spacial Strike]. It split, and gurgled on its blood, but he was already dealing with more enemies. He paced to the forward, twisting to avoid their broken swords, and flicked his own upwards. Spacial magic rippled and two more fell. The three that were left regarded him warily, and he crouched down, his hand trailing to the floor, and as fast as he could, he flung one of the broken blades towards a Deep Marsh Goblin to his right. The Goblin snorted and smacked it down, but that gave him just enough time to get close. He gritted his teeth, and used [Spacial Strike] again, and he succeeded in getting a deep cut into its arm. Unfortunately, the others had taken the opportunity to attack him. His eyes widened as he watched a hammer come arching down towards his head, and he immediately activated [Phantom State]. It swung and hit the ground, while he stumbled back. He grimaced as he tried to grip his missing sword, spotting it on the ground a few metres away. The three Goblins advanced…and were simultaneously taken out by lances of jagged black. He blinked, and whirled around to see Gomorra striding towards them, her expression furious. Her hands swept like she was dealing a deck of cards, gracefully firing more lances which took out the rest of the band within seconds. He panted, shivering as he came out of the State, and gagging at the sudden influx of smells.

‘Ding’ You have defeated…

He ignored the notification, and collapsed to his knees, the weight of his actions pressing him down. He felt someone grip his shoulder, and he looked up to see Gomorra looking at him with a grim expression. “I should have known better than just to leave you with two guards…come on.” Her hand shifted to underneath his arm, and she pulled him up easily. She examined him in surprise. “Not wounded…good, you can help me carry the others back.” She let him go and walked over to Viper who, Jason realised with a jolt, was wounded. He had a dagger sticking out of his gut, and he was covered in cuts. His eyes lingered for a moment, before he tore them away, and looked over at the warrior. She looked surprisingly okay, mainly exhausted. He hurried over, and extended a hand for her to grasp. She blinked at it, before grabbing it, and he strained his enhanced muscles to haul her up. He managed it, with her help, and with her arm draped around his shoulder, they set off back to the house again. His thoughts kept wandering back to the fight, not particularly focusing on anything, just replaying it. He grunted, as the woman's weight shifted. It occurred to him then, that this may be his best chance to escape, but one look at the Black Witch and he rethought that.

They eventually got back to the house, and Gomorra hollered a name he hadn’t heard before. She muttered to the archer. “Just you wait, we’ll get you all fixed up Domas.”

He snorted. “Haven’t you heard? It’s Viper now.” The Goblin said with a grin, while shooting a look at Jason. His cheeks warmed, and he looked away, while listening to Gomorra’s noises of confusion.

One of the other Rotting Hill tribe women suddenly burst out the door, their frizzy hair bouncing with each step. Her eyes widened as they saw the state of them, and hurried over, their hands glowing with a grey light. She placed them on Viper, or Domas, first, pinching the skin together as if it were clay, and swiftly had him patched up. Then it was the warrior’s turn, and Jason helped steady her as she was fixed. When it was done, they moved inside, the two guards moved on their own to their beds. Jason was exhausted too, but Gomorra grabbed him by the arm. He turned to look at her wearily, and she said, “thank you, you may not realise it, but without you…”

He stared at her, a sudden ball of anger swelling in his throat. His lips pressed together, and he bobbed his head curtly at her. Her eyes narrowed, but she let him go. He briskly turned and went up to his room, opening the door before stepping inside. He spotted the Mink immediately, resting, laying flat on its back like a person. Its head snapped up when the door closed and its eyes quickly found him. It chirped tiredly, and flopped back again. He huffed, and walked over before rolling it aside, despite its protests, and layed down himself. Finally, he mentall allowed the level-up notifications to ring.

‘Ding’ You have levelled up. [Phantom Swordsman Lv 13 – Lv 26]

65 Stat points gained.

‘Ding’ [Spacial Strike Lv 4 – Lv 14]

‘Ding’ [Phantom State Lv 3 – Lv 6]

‘Ding’ [Ghostly Swordsmanship Lv 1 – Lv 5]

He lay there, the fight pushing itself into his thoughts again. The blood spurts and gore dripping weapons, the crumpling, and the screams. His lungs felt tight, and he swallowed. I killed them. He stared blankly at the ceiling, and tried to force his thoughts into motion. I’m not going to pretend that I could have done better. I’m lucky to be alive – Or am I? Maybe If I had just ran… Shit…but wait no, I can’t blame myself for that. I was thinking straight, and then there was that weirdness with the whispers, it almost felt like I was a puppet. He shivered. I don’t know what to do about this… He continued to ruminate about it, before realising that he was getting nowhere, and tried to find a distraction.

He decided to think about where to place his Stat points, and couldn’t really decide where would be best. Maybe intelligence? It made my Mana feel stronger, so maybe it increases its damage? He decided to test it by putting five into it, and see if it made a difference to [Spacial Strike] He grabbed a shard of wood, and swiped it, leaving the familiar trail of rippling, although much smaller than normal. He narrowed his eyes. It could be his imagination, but the wavering seemed more intense. He put another five in, and tried again. Yep, definitely affecting it. He paused to ponder what he should do. The only thing he could think that might be helpful about this, is if it could make sharp objects that weren't swords viable. He was willing to bet that he wouldn’t always have a proper weapon…unless he became a bone manipulator. He shuddered, but his mind still went to swords, and armour made of ivory. He frowned. What he really needed was a second opinion. He sighed. I guess I’ll ask her. He sat up, and swung his legs around, before standing up. The Mink didn’t stir, apparently already asleep again. He walked out and down the stairs, and back into the kitchen. He blinked at the sight of Gomorra washing the dishes. He stared for a moment, the clinking of plates bringing him out of it, and he moved to stand to the left of her. He eyed the somehow functioning sink. He didn’t think they would have plumbing here. Maybe it's magic? He shook the question off. “Hey, I need some advice.”

She paused, and turned to raise an eyebrow at him. She didn’t say anything so he continued. “I’m not sure if Vi- I mean, Damos, and the other warrior told you, but we met a strange Goblin today, one that seemed excited to fight your previous Chieftain. We never got its name, but it was a statue made out of bone. It said it knew you.”

Gomorra’s face quickly became shocked. “Him? Andin…” She shook her head. “...I think I know the one you're talking about, but a statue? He was simply a manipulator, last I saw.”

“So he really turned into that thing?” He asked incredulously.

She shrugged, and continued to slowly scrub the plates of food. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him. But maybe?”

“The others called him a Crazy.”

She winced. “Oh, well then yes, he most likely did.”

He thought about that for a moment, before taking a deep breath. “I have this problem with my Class…” He hesitated. Am I really going to give a weakness just like that?

“You can’t hold metal in your Phantom form right? I saw it.”

His head jerked. “Oh…huh, well I guess you would have done.” He sighed. “Yeah I can’t use swords…and when I saw that…what was his name, Andin? Yeah, when I saw him use some of his abilities, I thought-”

“That it could work with your State? Yes, it would, I’m guessing.”

He blinked. “How do you know?”

She shrugged. “Rotting Hills have always been practitioners of Death Magic, it's part of the reason that we sided with the Grasping Hand. Death magic can only affect things that are or were once alive.”

He nodded. “Okay then…tell me…do you know how to become a bone manipulator?”

She cocked her head. “Hmm, not for bone, no. All I know is that you need to do something with the element and your mana.”

“Right…doesn’t tell me much.”

She stared at him. “No it doesn’t.”

He coughed. “Well, I guess thank you anyway.” He trailed off after that, and they washed the rest of the dishes in silence. He promptly left when finished and went back upstairs. I guess Bone Manipulator is a go. As he walked back to his bed, he suddenly remembered that he didn’t ask about Intelligence. He hesitated, before deciding to ask the Mink instead, and reached over to poke it in the side. Its eyes opened, and he leaned forward. “Hey, does Intelligence increase the damage of magical attacks?”

It blearily nodded and closed its eyes again, sleep sweeping it away.

He decided to put the rest of his points into the section, as he didn’t really need to work on his defences for the moment. Once he had done so, he climbed into bed and quickly fell unconscious.