Goblin Arc Chapter 2: Chapter 45 Goblin Training

The group rested until they recovered their stamina and then began hunting again until it began getting dark. As the light began to fade Hiro led the goblins out of the forest and then cooked them some food. The goblins all enjoyed the food and shortly after they ate all of them were sleeping soundly. Once they fell asleep, Hiro increased the weight of his cuffs to 60 times their weight and began doing his daily exercises. He began with jumping jacks followed by inverted push-ups, and sit ups. Once that was completed he went through all 5 katas for his lightning blade style, 20 times each. Once he finished he took a deep breath and saw one of the goblins, Ash was awake and staring with wide eyes.

“What’s wrong Ash?”

Ash paused for a moment then began to speak. “I couldn’t really follow what I was seeing because you were moving so fast. I just want to know how you got that strong and can you teach me?”

Hiro smiled and said, “I got this strong through training hard every day. I will teach everything I know accept my sword skill as I do not feel like I can teach it to someone else yet.”

Ash bowed down to Hiro, “Please teach me. I want to be strong!”

Hiro patted him on the head and he rose from the ground.

“I am not a king so you don't have to bow to me. Get some sleep. Your training really begins tomorrow.”

They both laid down on the ground and fell asleep. The night passed and soon the sun began to creep over the horizon. Hiro quickly awoke and stretched. Hiro stood up and stretched his arms. Then he let out a loud yawn. He looked at the goblins and took a deep breath.

In the loudest voice he could muster, “GET UP YOU MAGGOTS!!! ON YOUR FEET IN FORMATION ON THE DOUBLE!!”

The goblins nearly jumped out of their skins scrambling to follow Hiro’s commands. Once they got in line and settled down Hiro began walking back and forth.

“From now on you guys will eat, sleep, and breathe combat. You will show other goblins that hard work and proper training will make you better in every way. Now lay down on your stomachs with you hands near your chest.”

Hiro demonstrated showing them the pushup position. The group followed.

“When I say up, you push yourself up by straightening your arms. When I say down you bend your arms and return to the starting position. Is that clear!

“Yes”, grumbled the goblins

“Yes what!?”barked Hiro doing his best impression of Snow

“Yes sir!” yelled Ash at the top of his lungs.

“That’s the spirit Ash! Yes What!?”

“Yes Sir!” said the goblins in unison

Hiro had them do push ups until their little short arms could no longer move. Blackrock lasted the longest doing nearly 100 pushups. Ash was second followed by Argus and bringing up the rear was Sheera. The goblins could barely moved as their small bodies were covered in sweat.

“On your feet, we don’t lay down for anyone ever!”

The goblins moved as quickly as they could in order to comply with Hiro’s order. Once they fell in Hiro had them space out and he explained that now he would be teaching them some hand-to-hand combat skills. It looked like a scene from one of those old kung-fu movies with the master watching over his disciples. As he continued to correct them as they practice throwing punches and kicks as well as blocking each others attacs. The goblins poured sweat as the practice but their desire for strength would not let them quit. Hiro worked them as hard as he could until they absolutely collapsed. When they could no longer movie Hiro began preparing breakfast from the animal meat that they had killed.

Once the food was ready the goblins got up and at quickly. Once they finished Hiro had them return to the forest once again.They battled over and over again. Hiro was pleased that in one single day the small band of goblins who could barely were able to slay forest rats were now killing black wolves 2 at a time. This was a great development.

The growth of these goblins is amazing! To think that in 2 days they grew this much. Hmmm… Pretty soon they will be able to fight some of those scorpions after I help them get some better equipment from the dwarves. Well let’s spend a few more days out here.

“I want to try to kill one on my own” said Blackrock

“Me too” said Ash.

“By all means go ahead” said Hiro like a proud father.

Ash was up first. The small goblin moved up to the front as another wolf jumped out in front of the group. It showed its shiny white teeth and growled menacingly but the small goblin was unphased. Ash moved forward quickly and slashed at the wolf. His movement was similar to Hiro’s dashing slash technique. Ash drew first blood. The wolf swiped at Ash with his paw but Ash’s footwork was too good. He easily ducked, dodged, and rolled away from each of the wolf’s attacks.

Ash’s attacks were quick but not heavy enough to do any real damage. The battle waged on and little by little the wolf’s health was whittled down into the critical stage. Hiro continued to observe as Ash battled the wolf. The wolf jumped at Ash and swiped at him. This time Ash was unable to avoid the attack. He tried to block with his shield but the force of the blade knocked him into a nearby tree. His body fell to the ground in a heep. The wolf growled and began moving closer. This situation was dangerous so Hiro moved to intervene.

“Don’t! I will finish this! I will kill this thing!” screamed Ash.

Hiro smiled and watched intently to see what was going to happen. The goblin willed himself to stand as he saw the wolf began running towards him. Ash’s tiny body readied his spear. As the wolf left his feet Ash fell back causing the wolf to impale itself on his spear. The wolf howled in pain but it was too late Ash pushed the wolf to the ground. He removed his spear and then moved towards the head of the wolf. Ash was visibly in serious pain but he raised his spear and stabbed his enemy through its eye puncturing it brain killing it instantly.The small goblin removed his spear from the wolf and walked slowly towards Hiro. His small body was covered in blood from his own wounds as well as the wolf. After a few steps he stumbled. Hiro quickly cast his healing spell and Ash’s wounds closed up. Ash sat down as his stamina was all but depleted.

“Now I’m next”, said Blackrock

Blackrock led the party as they searched for another wolf. They continued for a while without seeing any wolves but suddenly Hiro saw a status update.

You have entered the territory of a pack of wolves. They take intruders in their territory very seriously. They will hunt you until they have killed all of those in your party for trespassing on their land.

“Be careful guys we have entered the terriotory of a pack of wolves. They will probably come at us and try to surround us. Circle up and don’t let anything get between you.”

“Yes sir” said the goblins in unsion.

Hiro felt the presence of nearly 15 wolves closing in on their position very quickly. Hiro cast his shadow clone spell and he and his 10 clones stopped 1 wolf each so that the goblins could fight the wolves 1 on 1. When the wolves came, the goblins attacked. Blackrock and Argus devasted the wolves with powerful attacks from their clubs but they did take some damage as they could not avoid the attacks nearly as well as Ash and Sheera. It was amazing to see how much power these two little guys could produce. Then Hiro turned his gaze to Sheera and Ash who were making quick and precise movements avoiding all of the wolf’s attacks and piercing the wolf with precise slashes from their sword and spear.

Once they killed the first group, Hiro and the clones let loose the next group and then the next group. By the time they finshed the 3rd group of 4 wolves the goblins were all heavily wounded. They all looked like they were hanging on by a thread. Hiro cast his healing spell on the group and let loose the last 3 wolves. Their wounds were healed but they were all past the limits of their stamina. The wolves attacked relentlessly. The small warriors were doing damage but they were taking it in turn. Blood was flying all over the place but in the end the tactics of the tiny warriors made the difference.

Instead of trying to use brute strength they relied on distracting the enemy while one got into the wolf’s blindspot and struck. 2 of them had to hold off a wolf each while the other 2 dispatched one of them until finally it was all 4 of the goblins against one wolf. Once the last blow landed on the wolf the 4 goblins fell down in exhaustion.

Ding your group has defeated the wolves. You each have gained 10 points towards fame and double the experience for each of the combatants.

Then they felt a warm glow upon their skin. It was Hiro’s healing spell causing their wounds to recover. Then they closed their eyes and fell fast asleep.

Hiro clean up the carnage and skinned all of the wolves. He put all of the usable parts, paws, teeth, fur, and leather into his bag. The meat he began to cook. As the aroma of the meat began to permeate through the air, the goblins began to wake one by one. The food had all of their mouths watering.

“Eat up guys. You earned it!”, yelled Hiro.

The goblins rushed to the large slabs of meat that Hiro had cooked. They ate as if they had never eaten before. Hiro observed all of the goblins. Ash had reached level 98 while the others had reached the mid 90’s.

“I want you guys to battle some more so that you can rank up before we return to Korin.”

“Yes …munch… I want to rank up too!” said Blackrock as he tore apart a piece of meat.

The others nodded. Hiro smiled and ate some of the meat as well. The group finished the meat and then they got up to hunt again. The sun was moving towards the horizon and it was getting dark. The group walked into the forest and began to hunt. They killed any and all monsters that they found as they marched through the forest. The group was now soloing every one of the monsters that they faced. Then they came upon a clearing.

It was a serene scene. The grass was swaying gently as a soft breeze blew. Hiro could feel something coming towards them but he couldn’t tell what it was.

“Step back. Something is coming!” said Hiro

“We want to fight!” yelled Ash.

“DO WHAT I SAID NOW!” yelled Hiro.

The goblins backed away as they could sense the overwhelming pressure Hiro exhibited. Hiro began to move forward.

Whatever is coming is big, really big.

As it closer each step caused the ground to rumble. Soon Hiro could see it in the distance. It looked like a man but it was problably 3 to 4 meters tall. As it got closer Hiro could see that it was a Cyclops. It possessed a very heavy looking trident. It looked powerful. The cyclops’s did not wear any armor other than some leather pants, boots, and a sleeveless leather shirt that exposed his massive arms. Hiro observed the enemy.

CyclopsLevel:45Health:15,000Mana:5,000A humanoid creature known for its strength. It is immune to any fire type attack.

Wow I couldn’t see the levels of opponents before. Has my observe skill finally maxed out. Anyway, I’ve finally found a challenge.

Hiro took out his soul blade and dispersed the magic on his cuffs and bracelets while increasing the weight on his blade to 3000 lbs. He took a deep breath and summoned his ki. His muscles bulged and his body became shrouded in pale blue aura. He walked towards the Cyclops.It immediately twirled its trident and pointed it at Hiro. Hiro walked forward with his blade drawn. The battle started immediately. The Cyclops thrusted his trident towards Hiro but it was too large and slow. Hiro dodged it and jumped on the spear and ran towards the Cyclop’s head. He quickly activated his dashing slash and his blade sank deep into the neck of the Cyclops. Hiro jumped off of its shoulder pulling out his blade and did a backwards flip landing gracefully. The Cyclops grabbed its neck as blood was squirting from his wound.

The Cyclops readied his spear with one hand.

“I guess you are ready for round 2?” Hiro smiled and charged.

The Cyclops let out a barraged of one-armed attacks but none of them could hit the mark. Hiro dodged them all and then counter attacked sinking his blade deep into the chest of the monster. With the last ounce of its strength it wrapped its massive arms around Hiro in an effort to squeeze the life out of him. The Cyclops’s strength was great but it was nothing that Hiro couldn’t deal with. Hiro activated his body strengthing tecqunice. Then he dropped his blade and kneed the Cyclops in its solar plexus. It gasped for air and released Hiro.

“Play time is over”, yelled Hiro

Hiro reclaimed his sword and used his weapon strengthening ability. The aura surrounding his body began to flow into his blade. Hiro ran at top speed and began to attack. The Cyclops was overwhelmed it was almost like he was fighting several enemies at once. The goblins looked on in amazement. To them it appeared like the Cyclops was being engulfed by a tornado of death. The Cyclops’s health plummeted quickly. Then Hiro stepped back. It was bleeding heavily and could no longer stand. Hiro had also chopped off both of its arms.

“Come on you guys. I want you to strike the final blow. By killing him you should all reach level 100.”

The goblins nodded and drew their weapons. The group charged in and attacked the Cyclops until it fell back and died. After it died Hiro looked at the goblins who began to glow. Hiro had to avert his eyes. As the light lessened Hiro could see the new forms of his companions. Blackrock and Argus had grown to about 6 1/2 tall. Both were muscular but Blackrock was more muscular. Blackrock had also grown another horn one that protruded from the center of his forehead and then one from either side of his temple. Blackrock’s skin had also gone from green to black while Argus’s skin went from green to a earthy brown.

Sheera had grown to about 5 1/2 feet tall. She had become beautiful, Her green hair now turned pure white and her skin became a royal blue color. Her eyes remained the same color and her figure had a small waist with very large “attributes”. Ash had become almost identical to Hiro’s height about 6 feet tall. His body looked fit but not overly muscular. The lines on his body became some sort of hieroglyphic looking characters that were red in color while the rest of his skin was a silver color. His hair turned jet black.

Hiro whistled, “How do you guys feel?”

“Stronger!”, they all said in unison.

“We all ranked up to hobgoblin. I gained a new skill called taunt which allows me to get and maintain my enemy’s

attention”, said Blackrock

“I learned an attack called power strike”, said Argus

“I learned a spell called, heal” said Sheera

“I learned an attack called, triple stab”said Ash

“You guys have done a great job so far. I think we are ready to go to the town now. There I want to get you some upgraded equipment and some rest.”

“Thank you Hiro. There is no way we would have gotten this strong without you”, said Black rock.

All of the new hobgoblins kneeled down in front of Hiro. This was acknowledgment of Hiro being their leader.

“Stand up. You are embarrassing me. Now you guys can have your own formation without me. Sheera you will be the group’s healer, Blackrock you continue to be the tank, and Ash and Argus are the damage dealers.”

They nodded in agreement.

“Umm… Hiro can we have a rematch with you?” asked Argus

“Oh now that you have gotten stronger you would like to test your new strength? I understand. I will comply but I will not use my sword as I do not have complete control over my new strength and I would hate to hurt one of you too bad.”

The hobgoblins got into their formation, Blackrock led the charge. Shera stayed back and they came at Hiro using a pincer attack. Hiro smiled.

Good tactic but not good enough.

Hiro took his fighting stance and summoned his body strengthening ki again. The pressure he was exuding was stifling. The hobgoblins struggled but they were still able to attack. First came Blackrock. His attacks were much heavier than before. The club was a weak weapon but with something like Caesar’s hammer he could be dangerous. Hiro blocked the club with his forearm. As he was preoccupied with the Blackrock, the two damage dealers went on the offensive. Their attacks were very good but of little effect on Hiro. After taking their attacks Hiro began to counter. He dodged a thrust from Ash, then gave him a roundhouse kick to his temple that sent him flying. Next he stopped Argus’s power strike ability with one hand. Hiro’s hand was red but that was the extent of the damage. Hiro followed his defense up by slamming an elbow into Argus’s solar plexus. Argus let out a gasp and fell to his knees. Hiro Sidekicked him in the head and he flew 20 fet back before rolling on the ground several times.

Hiro could see from the corner of his eye that Sheera had already begun healing her comrades.

Good tactics! Unfortunately she doesn’t have enough mana to keep up with the damage that I will do to all of you.

As Hiro set his eyes on Sheera he sensed an attack coming from behind him it was Ash. Hiro rolled forward just in time as Ash had sent an excellent spear thrust towards his back. Once he rolled out of the way, Hiro leaped into the air backwards and dropped an axe kick on Ash who tried to defend with his spear. Ash successfully blocked the attack but the pressure exerted by Hiro’s attack brought him down to one knee. The force Hiro continued to exert causes Ash’sspear to crack then snap into two pieces. Once his stance broke, Hiro slipped around behind Ash where he grabbed him around his waist and performed a perfect German Suplex dropping Ash on his neck. Ash was completely incapacitated but Hiro could see that Argus and Blackrock had been completely healed and were ready for round 2.

Hiro quickly dashed towards the hobgoblins as they readied their weapons.

This time my target will be Sheera. I don’t know how much mana she has but if she can’t heal them the battle will be over quickly.

Hiro met the attacks of the two club wielding hobgoblins with his forearms.

These attacks are even more powerful than last time. Are they leveling up just by fighting me? If so then I should spar with them more often.

Hiro blocked the attacks and then jumped into the air and kicked both in the face simultaneously. The two goblins flew back and rolled to the ground. Both were injured but they were able to get back to there feet. It was too late though Hiro was already on his way towards their healer.

Hiro rushed towards her and she drew her sword. She slashed at him several times but she hit nothing but air. To her it was as Hiro was a ghost but what she really saw were after images because he moved so fast. After one of her thrusts with the sword, Hiro blocked by striking her wrist then he grabbed and bent her wrist and elbow causing her extreme pain. In her agony she dropped the sword then Hiro hit her at the base of her skull with a chop causing her to lose consciousness. Ash who had been fully healed rushed in but it was to no avail. Hiro quickly dispatched him and the 3 other hobgoblins with very little effort. Once his comrades were all laid out on the ground he cast his healing spell to help them recover from their wounds. Immediately Sheera awoke and the others began to sit up.

“You guys have definitely improved but you have a long way to go before you can fight evenly with me but fighting stronger opponents will have you improve your skills and tactics even if you don’t gain levels.”

“Umm.. Hiro… I gained 5 levels fighting you”, said Sheera sheepishly

“I gained 7” said Blackrock

“I gained 6” said Ash

“I gained 6 too”, said Argus

“You did? That’s great then you will gain multiple benefits from sparring with me. We will do this several times during the week. You will also spar with each other to help you hone your skills against opponents on your level.”

The hobgoblins nodded their heads in agreement.

“Before we go back, I want to apologize Ash for breaking your spear. I would like to give you the spear that I looted from the Cyclops.” Said Hiro

“Seriously? That thing looks extremely heavy. How can I use it?” replied Ash.

“With training” said Hiro

Ash nodded and Hiro gave him the spear. Ash picked the spear up but it was obvious that he could only hold it.

“As we walk back to town carry it on your shoulders. It will be good training for you.”

Ash nodded showing his agreement. Hiro searched the corpse for anything of value. The hulking Cyclops had nothing of value on him other than his clothes but they were suitable for anyone in this group as they were much too big. He wasn’t able to find anything of value other than the spear so he motion for the group to follow him and the group began walking back towards town.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading! Please leave your comments to let me know what you think.

Please rate/review/follow my story.