Although the colour of the earth, the shape of the land, and the colour of the sun changed on each planet, stars always shinned at night. And each night, when the temperature dropped, and gales kicked up, and the stars flickered in the night sky. It always reminded me of home, the first colony ship.

Even though they had wiped clean my memory, I had still spent a century in a cell with a fist-sized porthole next to my bed. There one could see the grandest nebulas, the brightest stars, and the greenest planets. Yes, even the smallest, dirtiest room on that ship was better than the grandest palace.

But now, to support the war effort, and to pay my dues, I was stuck in a foreign planet in a foreign dimension, where not even the laws of time and space could comfort me. “Ten more years,” I whispered to myself. In that time the war will come to a close, and I will have served my time. And then, when a new war will wash up on the solar winds I will reenlist to fight for my nation. There is nothing else to strive for. I missed my home too much, I missed the solemn atmosphere of space, and I missed my memories. I didn’t remember my father, my mother, nor if I had siblings or children. If I could at least know their names it would put my heart at ease, however, they could not even grant me that.

Nineteen dimensions were too much, one hundred and ninety years took its toll on the mind and body, even with all the modifications, both genetic and mechanical.

But for today I had to sleep. I told my brain implant to knock me out and the next thing I knew the morning dew tickled my lips.

I stretched out my arms, took my walking stick which had been dyed a brownish red and left my makeshift residence. On my way towards the sea, I managed to kill a few birds. Some were orange, other blue or green. They sang their tunes and flew high above the tree canopy. It seemed that I had approached a more inhabited area. Hopefully, I would find a humanoid village where I could gather information and get a good night’s rest.

Unfortunately, the first sapiens creatures I encountered weren’t humans, nor elves, or beast kin but the infamous goblins. Yet, what caught my eye wasn’t their presence but the broken iron swords they wielded. Evidently, I wasn’t far from a more advanced settlement. If they were the ones manufacturing these weapons, they wouldn’t equip their scouts with broken swords.

Although, the first time I saw goblins more than a century ago I marvelled at their long and pointed nose, their elongated arms, and harsh facial features. Now when I saw them my mind switched work mode.

Using my corneal implant, I set a marker on a goblin and followed it to a small village. Their huts were made of wood and straw, glued together with mud. The village had two entrances which were each guarded by two goblins with wooden spears. With the rest of the perimeter being enclosed by a low wooden fence.

I decided to wait for another patrol to make their rounds. An hour later two goblins, each with broken iron swords exited the village. They headed in my general location. Unsure if they had a way to detect me, I moved a few dozen meters to the right. However, they didn’t seem to change their path.

For five kilometres I tailed them. When we had travelled a sufficient distance from the village, I readied my wooden stick and ran towards them at full speed. The stick pierced through a goblin’s chest and lungs. I let go of my old weapon stick, snatched away his broken one-handed sword, and quickly jumped back with the aid of my quick step skill to avoid the second goblin’s blade.

The goblin came up to my stomach, his pale brown skin resembled the earth. His face, full of rage contorted in a demonic grin, and he let out a loud shriek. I had given him too much time. I took a quick step forward while swinging my sword in a downwards motion. The goblin parried it and aimed at my leg with a large diagonal swing. I took a step backwards and once again jumped forward to stab it. My stick pierced his neck. Blood gushed out while the goblin tried to hold on to dear life. Unfortunately for him, it was all in vain.

Although my powers weren’t great, I didn’t lack in experience. This was my third rodeo in a type-M/22 world after all.

I opened my status screen. Two goblins alone had given me five hundred experience points and a sword.

I returned to the goblin tribe, however, this time they sent three goblin scouts instead of two. These scouts also seemed more vigilant as they followed the same path as their late companions. Ever so often stopping to inspect the area.

Although dealing with three goblins might be a bit more challenging, it wasn’t an impossible mission. Especially if you were patient.

When the goblins were about to arrive at the location of their comrade’s death, I once again ran towards them. However, this time I didn’t drive my sword into the goblin grazed his shoulder. Since I had applied the numbing spell, he lost control of his muscles and stumbled to the ground. Since I didn’t meet any resistance when cutting into him, I was able to deliver a second blow to another goblin. This time cutting into his jugular. The other goblins screamed, no doubt as a distress signal.

The birds in the surrounding flew away and what sounded like cats or lynxes ran away. The other goblins would surely hear his call; however, that wouldn’t necessarily be for the worst. I charged at the goblins, but he parried all my strikes with girthed teeth. The brute force method wouldn’t work. I was still too weak. I took a step back to recover my stamina while the goblins went on the offensive.

He tried to come at me directly. By using diversion such as sand, or shouts, and finally by brute strength as he delivered several large and powerful swings. I either deviated the strikes or stepped back to avoid the blows. That’s when I saw an opening. He went for a large vertical swing. I used my quick step to move aside and then quickly clobbered his head with the flat side of my blade. That’s when the once-paralyzed goblin stood back up. Before it could get its bearings, I used my last bit of mana to run towards it and stab his chest.

Although my strength, and endurance skill points might not be the same as goblins, being six-two helped a bit.

Level 1 --> Level 3

Do you want the job: Warrior

Yes/No

Orion Dandillon, Grade 1, Lvl. 3/10

Exp (480/600)

Grade 1/10 lightning mage

Intelligence

Resistance

Endurance

Strength

Agility

Perception

Charisma

Mana

30

17 (+2)

17 (+2)

20 (+2)

19 (+1)

21 (+1)

32 (+2)

102 (+2)

What made a world type M was the presence of magic, and the absence of ether. Now what made a type/22 world was the presence of a system. This, on the other hand, didn’t tell you what kind of magic, nor what kind of system would be present. After all, all worlds were unique.

In this case it seems that to increase your classes grade you needed to level up ten times. For the gain of a new job, I still wasn’t certain what were the conditions. However, what I did know was that warrior wasn’t the job I needed. If I wanted to increase my strength, it would be better to hyperspecialize. However, I could still wait a bit before doing so. A good base was always needed; no one wanted to be a glass spaceship nor a glass canon. And even though I was a mage I would probably need an assassin or thief class. Finally, the third class I would choose based on current world’s situation. But all of that could wait. Now I needed to increase my level.