For the fourth time in his life, Zeek was embarrassed to be a part of his tribe. The first time came when the former chieftain he was studying the sword under chose that bitch Hazeel to be his successor instead of him.

They had both studied under the same person, a snow elf whose sterling white hair was always the talk amongst gossiping housewives and single goblins. Both Hazeel and Zeek were his star prodigies, and even competed in the villages’ yearly contest of strength, both making it to the finals.

That’s where he soundly defeated the soon-to-be chief in a stunning display of his own power! However, instead of showering him with praise and lofty social positions for his victory, the female forest elf usurped his position as the next chief due to her knowledge and ease of blending in with society that Zeek had lacked.

At the time, he thought it was stupid of the tribe’s chief to not elect the strongest individual as the new leader of the tribe, but as he grew older and experienced human society for himself, he saw how much other species looked down on goblins for their stature and lack of military presence, and could then appreciate how the much taller Hazeel commanded respect just by her stature alone.

However, he was still frustrated. Frustrated by the situation he had been birthed into, and the fact that his victory had been completely overshadowed by the announcement that Hazeel would succeed the former chief.

The second time would come only months later, when Hazeel rejected his proposal. Hazeel, 16 at the time, was busy learning from the former chief every day, and thus had no time to spar with Zeek any longer.

As much as he liked to complain about Hazeel, Zeek wanted to be acknowledged by the new chief, and wanted to spend time with her as well. After consulting the former chieftain about his conflicting feelings, the snow elf notified him that although he might not like her personality-wise, he could be attracted to her as a member of the opposite sex.

Zeek, not being the sharpest tool in the shed, decided not to think his feelings through and instead take the snow elf’s advice at face value. What ensued was several situations which resulted in Zeek presenting Hazeel with multiple severed plateau boar heads as a marriage proposal, which she promptly ran away from.

The clear rejection of his intentions left Zeek with a bitter taste in his mouth, and his attraction turned into a savage and warped thing, only wishing to see Hazeel breaking down before him as he impregnated her. A warped smile started to appear on his face that day, and hasn’t left since.

The third time occurred when Hazeel refused Zeek’s offer to raise arms against the human cities after the King’s decree was made public. Hazeel had infiltrated the capital of Songrande and had served under the king as one of his finest Generals.

However, that era of productivity that Hazeel had built up during her time away from the tribe quickly crumbled as she was unable use any of the currency she had amassed to trade with humans. Infuriated, and now Champion of the village due to his ambition to make Hazeel his, Zeek pleaded with the chief to march their warriors into nearby towns and pillage until the king reconsidered, but Hazeel had countered by pointing out that the pillaging would have the opposite effect and make the laws even stricter. Enraged, Zeek challenged her for control of the tribe on the spot, which she accepted.

The easy victory which Zeek was anticipating due to his greater power was soon brought to ruin due to her usage of magic. Humiliated by the quick fashion by which he was defeated, he scuttled back to his barracks, with the hunters that were loyal to him. After Blood Tusk rampaged through the settlement and destroyed a good portion of the village, Zeek thought and formulated a plan to both make Hazeel his and by proxy usurp power from her using the achievement of killing the beast to raise him into a status to challenge her once more.

Which brings him to the fourth time he’s been humiliated. It wasn’t bad enough that this scrawny kid had killed the beast he was destined to slay. No, even Hazeel had to call him out in front of the entire tribe and implicate to them that he was weaker than this oversized dwarf, which drove Zeek to the point of insanity.

Leon Ashwood? Hah! As if such a pitiful being had the right to name himself in front of a species champion such as Zeek. Looking at the kid, he was no more than 1 megard taller than Zeek himself, and yet he was considered a citizen in human society when Zeek wasn’t? It disgusted him.

After a moment staring down Leon, Zeek tossed a ceremonial knife to the boy which landed at his feet. “Take that and use it to kill yourself, and you will spare your dignity in the afterlife.” The offer itself was genuine, as Zeek had enough respect for anyone who could end Blood Tusk’s life to retain their dignity and not lose it in a battle against him.

However, the offer was met with a scoff from the boy, who picked up the blade and twirled it around in his fingers. “You know, they say hubris is a terrible thing… one that could lead to an early demise. I’d have to agree in this instance. Here, let me repay a kindness with a kindness.”

He threw the knife back at the goblin champion, and it stuck in the ground at his feet. Zeek sneered at the action, “You dare mistake my mercy with a jest, and then turn it around on me!? Zeek trembled in anger and pointed his sword at the young warrior.

However, Leon seemed to take little interest in Zeek’s plight and just laughed in return to the raw emotion that was poured his way. Zeek’s left eye twitched in annoyance, and he decided it was finally time to squash this bug that had trespassed into his territory.

With a grunt, Zeek activated his blessing, “Champion of the War Goddess.” It was a skill he was still reluctant to reveal to Hazeel as he was sure her ego would take being called a goddess in stride, and his muscles bulged and gleamed as his strength condensed and built in his core.

With a loud shout, Zeek dashed forward to the sound of cheering all around him. His stature belying his speed, it was only half a heartbeat before he was inside the boy’s range, and Zeek motioned for a shield bash.

Expecting to hit flesh and bone, Zeek was taken aback when he moved through empty air and staggered while trying to regain his balance. All of a sudden, a cold chill went through his spine and he turned to see the boy looking down on him. Zeek swung his sword, but the boy just leapt back and reset his stance with the scythe.

“My turn now!” Leon yelled as he rushed into Zeek’s waiting guard.

“Hm. Defender of your tribe, huh?” Leon sneered as he rested the black weapon on his shoulder. “Who would ever count on you to protect your tribe? You can’t even defend yourself. No wonder Hazeel refuses to give her bed to you.”

Zeek’s face lit up like a bonfire as he used his second blessing, “Champion of the Goblins,” to increase his perception and agility. At this increased pace, he had never been defeated in one-on-one combat.

Zeek glanced over at his chieftain. Ideally, he would have liked to save this skill for challenging her right to the leadership of the tribe, but he couldn’t afford to be humiliated here in front of his peers.

WIth renewed vigor and a fearsome grimace on his face, Zeek charged into the boy, no, the young man once more.

---

Brago looked on in horror and confusion at the person he had assumed needed his help in the forest merely a few hours ago. He was foolish to have taken Leon as a novice, and even more so to tease the young man with horror stories of the goblins. Stories that no doubt fell far short of any fear the young man had faced prior to entering this forest.

Leon had entered Brago’s life wearing sheep’s clothing, and pretending to be a mild-mannered young man who had episodes of brashness and stubbornness. However, the bold, confident figure blocking Zeek’s attacks and weaving around the goblin champion with ease completely demolished the image Brago held of the amicable boy.

Zeek used a skill Brago recognized as ‘Thick Skin,’ which increased his durability in exchange for a more limited range of movement due to the skin hardening and becoming a tough, leather-like substance. Leon shook his head and muttered something to Zeek, which caused the goblin to attack Leon with a sharp slash of his sword.

Leon dodged Zeek’s blade with inhuman speed and subsequently dodged the following flurry of stabs that came his way. Leon kicked Zeek in the sternum, causing him to be knocked to the edge of the ceremonial ring. Zeek charged forwards once more, but was met with retaliation in the form of someone swinging his scythe, cutting the thick skin in multiple places, but not deep enough to cause any serious injury. However, the Goblin was stunned by the pain itself and just stood shocked, staring at the human across from him.

“What’s wrong, champion?” Contrary to it’s low volume, Leo’s voice pierced through the murmurings of the crowd and silence descended upon the festival. Brago’s fear was almost palpable as the rage of the other goblins in the crowd began to grow, with jeers and food being thrown at the ceremonial ring, only for some field to prevent the foreign objects from entering it’s hallowed ground.

However, one noise broke the anger and hatred of the venue in a single moment. It was a woman’s laugh, and as Brago turned to the noise, he saw it belonged to the smiling face of Hazeel the Conqueror.