Day 50:

The Ogres wrestled outside so that we could train inside.

If they didn’t there may not have been enough space even in the Training Hall for all of us. Plus their actions would more than likely have changed the landscape if they did.

After that I took up my normal shifts.

Ogarou came to check on us during the day. He seems pleased with how we are progressing in learning from the Sisters and Blacksmith. Lately we’ve even been helping Alchemist mash up and grind down various plants.

Recently she’s become a lot less wary of us when we’re in the Workshop.

After that I pulled a quick shift in the mine, stopping once I’d filled one pouch, before it was off to the jail. I was honestly wondering if this was what my life would be like from now on.

There was some heavy breathing from the prisoners but they seemed fine when we went to check on them.

The shift passed quietly enough.

Day 51:

When we went to feed the prisoners this morning there was some heavy grunting. So we rushed off to get Ogarou. This it seems is what he’s been waiting for.

The liquid we kept dosing them with is apparently an aphrodisiac of his own creation and without further a-do he opened the stone cell of the panting female elf and began to break her in. Out of embarrassment I turned around and hurried out the room to give them some privacy.

There were several minutes of moaning before she evidently passed out from it.

He didn’t stop there though as he also gently coerced the three elven men, who also couldn’t withstand it for very long. Afterwards he brought in a one of the newly ranked up Hobgoblins. I thought it was to let him have a go but instead he had him heal them of the fatigue and any wounds he had caused. He gave them some more of his love drug and left the cells open.

It’s surprising how quickly word spreads in our community.

It didn’t take long for me to hear that another 4 Goblins had ranked up and that Hobusei had also done so but for everyone to hear that the prisoners were ready took even less time than that.

They were clamouring outside the cells before Ogarou and the healer, who is now the leader of the medical corps: Salvation, came out.

He issued a few commands and most left down hearted. It’s a meritocracy after all so only the top gets to play first. Our job also now included monitoring conjugal visits to ensure they were begging treated fairly.

Looks like my work load has increased.

Pleasure will also be aiding Salvation during conflict with the administering of bandages, salves, basic first aid and the transportation of patients through triage.

Later when I caught a glimpse of Hobusei I was surprised. She didn’t look like an Ogre, unless female Ogres are different to males, with bluish white skin just visible under a silver and gold robe. She was gesturing with a red gem studded gnarled staff to her disciples, who had increased by one.

The lesson today seemed to be about the grading of spells.

I wanted to ask Gobujii but he was… busy.

Lately my own training has suffered because of my duties, hopefully this won’t stunt my growth.

Day 52:

There was some grumbling this morning as we turned back a few guys who weren’t allowed to use the elves.

They are ranked just above me so it’s not like I don’t understand were they're coming from or how they feel but still I don’t want to get beaten because I let you guys in. Your beatings are a lot less severe and creative compared to the Boss’s. When Ogarou returned from his hunt he was carrying an incomparable beauty of an elf, some asked if she would be added to the cells but he didn’t say anything.

Behind him Ogakichi was laden with 12 golden thread wrapped packages but he hardly seemed to notice the weight. The outer layer was unwrapped, collected and they were tossed into another cave of cells. Unlike before some of the combat troops were stationed to guard them.

These guys are definitely for a different purpose.

They also gave us all the equipment they had taken from the men, some they had taken from dead elves and some they had taken from some Goblins.

I found out later that some of the guys from this morning had left.

They were some of the older generation, specifically those that had remained in the cave when we were born, and the lowest ranked.

I guess I should be happy. I mean my rank just jumped six places but that’s only because the rankings now ends at around fifty.

Ogarou entered the new prisoner’s cell.

Day 53:

Ogarou emerged around noon.

I can only imagine what went on because as I passed some of the guards were pale.

The ruckus started in the Workshop because that Elf maiden woke up and while blinking took in her surroundings. She was terrified and screaming something I didn’t understand but to wake up surrounded by Goblins, yeah that be rough.

Ogarou chased us out before having a chat with her, she was sobbing as we left.

For the first time in a while I took up my sword and asked to spar with some of the others who looked like they had nothing to do. I’m going to train hard and try to distinguish myself or [Rank Up] and get stronger.

All for some elven booty.

I was also more determined to hold my new rank, it was still the highest I’d been yet.

Day 54:

We were put in a state of alert.

Our powerhouse Ogre duo are off to escort the Elf Maiden back to the Village of the Elves, I wish I could go, and there might be trouble. After what happened the last time. He doubts it, and I don’t think they could take both of them, but it’s possible.

The Hobgoblin who now leads us in the morning training, Ogakichis second in command, has been left in charge of Anger till there back.

We close down the cells and increase our guards at the entrance but apart from that carry on as normal. It does give me more time to spar though. I’ve finally gotten the hang of using this bigger sword.

I even fought Redhead to a draw.

She’s strong. The typical sword and board type. I think she has the job [Warrior] which means she’s had at least some form of proper combat training.

The other Goblins win against her pretty much all the time but you can tell how much efforts she’s putting into seriously training. Her movements aren’t too bad, by Goblin standards, and the execution of her techniques are very well timed. If I still had my shield I may have won against her but since I traded it away I’ve got to rely on my sword for defence as well. If I was a bit like more like Hobusato I think I could have done better.

I can’t power through or dance around her defences. So I took a [Shield Bash] or two.

Not only that when I’m recovering from the [Knock Back] effect of the manoeuvre she’ll use a [Slash] to keep me off balance or as she blocks with the shield, I’ll have to watch out for a quick [Stab] of her sword.

She makes a great training partner while I hone my new style.

We’re both weak, winning against us means nothing to those above us but for us it’s a stepping stone. The first step on the long road to becoming strong. We went another couple of rounds.

When she honestly thanked me for sparring I felt a little embarrassed.

It’s taken a while but I’m slowly beginning to understand what the human girls are saying when they speak. It’s just simple repetition; that particular word linked to that specific action and you can infer what they meant.

The afternoon passed as normal; shift down the mine and a shift in the Workshop. Since the cells were still off limits I filled the time I would normally be guarding prisoners and pimping sex slaves by doing a little self-study.

It was a rare opportunity to look at the books in Hobusei’s library.

Of course I asked if I could read them first, she gave me a sceptical look but conscented with a small nod anyway.

Thanks to Gobumi’s lessons on the [Continental Alphabet] I thought it would be fairly straightforward to read any of the books. Oh how wrong I was. The content was mostly full of jargon that only someone who understood the principles of spell casting would understand and the language was very difficult to read.

Like those books written in ye olde tongue.

After watching me struggle for a while Hobusei sighed and handed me another couple of books, “World Wandering Journal: First Volume” and “Recommended Guide to Erietta Continent’s Alphabet”.

This was the teaching aid Gobumi used during her lessons.

With it I was able to translate enough of the Journal to understand it was an account of an adventures travels between Imperial Palaces and Unexplored lands. I had it open like a dictionary and was slowly translating words and clarifying their meanings. Before trying to sort the jumbled sentence structure in my head so it at least made sense and read better grammatically.

We were still on edge when the Colonel returned to us just as it was getting dark.

He distributed some alcohol he had received to the higher ranks and opened the pleasure cells again. Fuelled by drink it was a long guard shift but I spent some of it reviewing what I had learned until.

[Successfully Learned the [Continental Alphabet]]

Day 55:

The party atmosphere of last night was washed away this morning when before training we were all gathered in the Training Hall.

Ogarou told us that if any of us wished to leave, because they couldn’t live under his rule, then he would allow it. To make this point clear he side stepped from in front of the tunnel entrance he had previously been blocking.

As though to sweeten the deal he took out a small knife made of a strange bluish metal.

This would be presented as a parting gift, in exchange for any current equipment, to any who chose to leave. It was a beautifully crafted blade and I was tempted to leave just to obtain it but thoughts of trying to survive out there alone, madness.

Others were captivated by the new weapon but no one moved.

After a few minutes of silence he let out a sigh and dismissed us with a wave of his hand before he left to hunt. Training this morning was fierce. The Goblins that had chosen not to leave now fought with renewed vigour to prove that they deserved to stay.

I was no exception

I swung that sword with wild abandon trying to crush shields, parry blades or deflect spears. I did ok for a while until the weight of the thing grew too much, it’s different to swinging an axe around, and I ended up running punishment laps.

The crowd around the cells has also quietened down after this morning’s speech. I don’t mean volume of patrons, I mean how rowdy they were. We only had to sort out a single repeat offender.