(I guess this can be considered the beginning of a new arc? Well, word count wise, book may be more accurate but whatever. Politics essentially - which is not my thing.

Next few will likely be considered delving in other characters and whatnot. Anyways, tell me your thoughts as this is something I actually never fully considered until reaching this chapter.)

In a quaint village surrounded by the warm embrace of nature moved a shadow. Blurring past the villagers until it cleared their line of sight completely. As the villagers commented on the strange occurrence, it moved further and faster and in no time at all left the village’s boundaries.

With no sense of time, direction or distance he kept going as the buildings blurred into trees, trees into meadows. Each landmark passed by at a breakneck speed as the shadow ran until he saw a lake. Not bothering to stop, he jumped headfirst into the small lake swimming further under its surface as its cool waters surrounded the man.

Carrying a large ax in his hands, he half swam and half sunk to the bottom where the waters stubbornly resisted the fading afternoon sun. Finally feeling his hands touch to soft silt of the lake’s floor, his pained face began to wash away.

As a satisfied expression came forth, he leisurely paddled the water around to turn his body. His feet now touching the ground, he sighed inwardly as he complained, ‘damn, what the hell did she do to her body? It felt like I was being drenched in a pool of magma. There is no way in hell anyone can deal with that. No wonder she’s a lonely, old hag. Ah, anyways, this feels nice, so cool and almost...?’

After about three minutes in the lake’s embrace he began to feel slightly unwell. With tightness in his chest and a slight headache coming forward, he decided it was time to leave the cool waters. Casually raising his body with a slight push off of the floor bed, he ascended into the water. Lightly kicking with his feet, he deposited his ax to inventory and took a look around.

Seeing schools of strange fish that he all but ignored earlier, all of which bearing unique shades of colors, tones and features that he wouldn’t have seen if he hadn't taken this leap. Some had an extra pair of fins running parallel or perpendicular with their standard set at their side. Another with a retractable long spike from its head chasing after the other schools, barreling through the groups only to come out with a few smaller ones still pierced unto his spike. The spike slowly grew smaller until they were pushed off and the fish merely floated into the barracuda-like creature’s mouth.

While it did eye up Andrew, the creature simply turned away to go after more conventional prey.

It was an interesting mix of new and old, simple fish he had once seen in aquariums with striking modifications done unto their bodies. Some grew fairly large, however, Andrew never felt threatened by the schools of fish that would scurry around him.

‘Ah, I suppose I should at least be on the lookout for other people - other ‘Players’ rather,’ mused Andrew as he continued his long ascent. Thinking about his small trip to an aquarium in the past, he reminisced the few good moments of his previous life.

A few curious fish swam up to his face, gently brushing their smooth scales across his face and torso breaking his thought. In the end, with a few stares from the more wary ones, Andrew resurfaced seeing a slowly darkening sky, overlapping with the water’s surface he was now treading.

Taking a few short breaths, Andrew leisurely swam to the shore. As he hit dry land, Andrew ran his fingers down his body, trying to flick off as much of the extra water on him as much as possible.

Feeling the fading sunlight on his cool back, he was conflicted as he was reminded of the woman. With a bitter frown he thought, ‘should I just call it a day? Damn, even the bloody sun reminds me of that woman. Can you not hug someone when your body’s temperature is over 700? Reasonable, right? Ah, whatever if I go back I’ll just get angry. Three days, should she hold her word, so what till then. There can be an elf family reunion without a third party so I’m sure Lisia will be content. Anyways, I’m done with today.’

No longer caring about drying off his body, he laid on the beach, half submerging himself once more in the cool waters of the lake and peacefully resting in the fading sun.

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

While Andrew was in the midst of relaxing for the first time in a long time, Lisia had finally given up her search.

“How the hell can he run so fast?! He isn’t in the village which can be considered to be a good thing, but where is he?” Spoke Lisia to herself as she paced back and forth around the market place.

Seeing Kai and the old blacksmith, Edward, waiting at the smithy’s terrace she reluctantly called off her search. As Lisia was walking over to the two, Kai nervously asked, “are you okay? What were you so worried about…?”

Sighing lightly with a bitter smile, she spoke, “oh, just mass murder, assault, and generally causing destruction. From what Taryk was saying, Andrew isn’t a person to be taken lightly of when he’s angry, but… it didn’t seem that way...”

“How can that be?! He stabbed our Holine- ahem, the grandmaster! Repeatedly! He should be killed on the spot!” Fumed Edward as furiously waved Andrew’s short sword around threatening no one in particular - drawing quite a few wandering eyes.

With a wry smile, she began “good luck with that, but the Forge Mother seemed to alright with it for some reason, whatever it is I don’t really want to know.” With two other nodding their heads in approval she smiled awkwardly.

“Anyways, he isn’t here.” With the old blacksmith now calming down somewhat, she held a self-deprecating smile as she looked into the man’s eyes. Seeing his eyes sink down, turning from anger to criticism, she forced the next words out, “just deal with the request as even that woman seemed to happily start the process... and stop looking at my chest!”

Having enough of his blatant stare, another fist was thrown Edward’s way who tried to dodge the small blow. With his vision on something else, however, he was a bit too slow to react. Sending him flying across the terrace into the now bare soil.

As he rolled and cried out, the wandering eyes merely shook their heads and kept walking.

Evidently, as her body began to change under the effects of the system, she herself began to feel torn with her new body image. While she could easily say it was an improvement in quite a few areas, in others she did feel a small longing to have what she had lost.

Disregarding the man who struggled to stand, Lisia turned past the gawking Kai and walked towards her home.

As the small elf tried to follow at her heels, she bitterly smiled at the boy, “don’t you have to tell your parents you’re safe? I’m sure they’d love to hear it. Especially after you ran off without telling anyone.”

Kai’s face was dyed with a small amount of guilt as he spoke, “Y-yeah, I guess you right. Are you… okay? You seemed to be pretty shaken up with his disappearance - no, that’s not the right word, worried?”

Lisia spoke as a wry smile crept up, “about the town, yes. About the individual himself, no.” Shaking her head to clear any unnecessary thoughts, she continued, “quoting from what he told me last night, ‘I can take care of an small army of statues - likely that applies to people too - so don’t worry about me in the future. If you wanna do your own thing in the future; all the power to you.’ Anyways, he isn’t in any danger himself, it’s the people around him with which could annoy or outright vex him for whatever reason.”

“Then why are you with him? Like, you could have just as easily left him as soon as we got back home, unless I’m missing something,” questioned Kai with a perplexed look, seemingly begging for an answer.

“Progress,” started Lisia before she stopped to think. “He has a lot of potential to be a definite driving force to this village, her people, and the creatures around it. However, he still will have a few trials to overcome and I want to be there so I can guide him our way. Whether or not he becomes a burden - time will tell. But I have faith that he can be… taught? No not that, moved away from some of his less than desirable tendencies - like sending untrained, wait are they trained now? Whatever, sending untrained goblins to clear a mine that almost killed him in the beginning.”

Hearing just one of the plans Andrew brought into effect, Kai was once again stunned. Staring intently at Lisia, as if to tell her to speak more of it, he received only silence as a response.

“Go on little one,“ Lisia waved her hand gently and walked off into the sunset with Kai awkwardly standing in the middle of the road, not sure if he should follow or not..

A couple minutes of casual greetings, shopping for a skin of wine to drink on the way, and listlessly wandering around to delay for the inevitable. She made it to her house.

A small two story cabin, decorated with roses lining the doorway, that span 15 metres wide and deep. Once it stood tall and proud but the hands of time had worn the outer appearance to a near decrepit degree. Cracks, splinters, all other manners of damage happened to the wooden cabin and was all but ignored.

Standing awkwardly on the small porch, Lisia calmed her fraying nerves, ‘I can do this, he isn’t here anymore. I don’t ever, ever have to deal with him again. I might be true that to my parents what I did was wrong… but even so! I’m their daughter. I’m their daughter…’

As she reached for the door, a deep growl came from the interior, “who is that! If you’re gonna come in - come in! If not; go home!”

In a loudest voice she could muster - which didn’t amount to much - she squeaked, “I’m home…”

“Who’s that? Hell if I know what you’re saying with that mumbling, get in here if you wanna talk,” barked the voice from inside once more.

“Okay…” spoke Lisia quietly as she pushed open the door with a loud creak, he a forced smile she spoke, “hey Dad, how are you doing?”

With a man sitting arrogantly at the kitchen table, three empty casks of wine at his side, he spoke, “ah, it’s you. Where’s the other one? Raine? Wasn’t he with you a few day’s back?” Inquired greying elf. With two faded scars coming up from his chin to his ears - one of which was cut in half - he abruptly asked Lisia.

“Y-you see, he - we got captured by goblins… and -” started Lisia as tears appeared in the corner of her eyes.

With a small snort the man interrogated, “Raine? By Goblins? You’re kidding, don’t pull that shit on me. What really happened brat.”

As the man’s unforgiving glare, she stuttered, “I-It’s true! I swear it to you! He -we were ambushed as night when we went to take our pilgrimage!”

“No, he couldn’t have died. Not by them at least. One last chance,” spoke the man menacingly through gritted teeth.

“I know you’re still upset about Mom, but -” as she was speaking a small wine cask was thrown at her head.

Taking a small step back, it soared past her. The wine slowly dripped down the door as the smell of alcohol floated through the room, or well, more so than before. Standing atop a small scarlet puddle was Lisia who nervously tried to hide her face from her roaring father.

Looking down, not daring to meet the venomous glare she knew she would be getting, she waited in silence.

“I swear to you I’m DONE with her! Don’t bring it up, damn stray! If it weren’t for her, you’d be dead in some damnable forest by now - yet you disgrace her name! Disrespect me!?” Fumed the man as he approached Lisia.

With every approaching step Lisia tried to retreat further and further back. As her back hit the wine soaked door, she began to tremble. Even seeing the wrinkling palm coming, she didn’t turn away. In fear of disappointing her father any further she stood still to take the blow.

With an echoing crack Lisia turned her head downwards, silently brooding it all over in head. In comparison, her father began another tirade.

“Who the hell do you’re speaking to?! I raised you, I have every damn right to tell you what you’ll be doing for me. No ifs, ands, or buts. You are my property as much as you are that brat’s now,” scoffed the man as he turned back to grab more wine to drink.

“But Father…” began Lisia, before being cut off once more.

Merely glancing over his shoulder, he spoke out, “Do you listen to anything? Is it really that hard to get through that thick skull yours? Hell, for a whore-born child in the bush you really are self-important, aren’t you? At least my son, Raine, was good, no whoring around, no fucking drama, only needing a bit of wine to go through the day. But you, you’re no different than that little brat - I got a helluva lotta gold just to sign your ass away, don’t know why someone would need a useless twit as this stray, but money’s money.”

“Raine,” spoke Lisia through gritted teeth, “good? You say? How?”

Laughing gruffly Lisia’s father spoke, “how wasn’t he? Anything he did was infinitely better than what a mere orphan like you could accomplish, I’d even go far as to say he was one of the most influential guards this village has had in the last five years. You, on the other hand, merely picked some fruits or berries from the orchard to make your way through life. Running around, testing some new recipe or another all in some vain hope you could replace her.” As he took a long drink, he stared venomously at Lisia.

“But, you can’t. And you never will be able to. So just do what I tell you and maybe you’ll still be considered family - or what that even amounts to for your position. Where is my son? I won’t take another lie.”

‘He’s dead; dead and gone,’ thought Lisia with a strained face as she tried to put to it into words, “he died saving me… I was running away - “

With a reverberating crack, Lisia instinctively put her hand to her face. As the red mark slowly dyed her cheek, she became terrified - and then furious.

“Why!? Why do I have to tell you anything? After she passed away all he did was abuse me - more. Tying me to a tree and then running off for hours on end. If I was lucky, I’d only have a few well hidden bites from the vicious little bastards we supposably are meant to protect. If not, then I’d limp home to the temple to get some senile priest groping me while he did the, ‘ritual’ for his magic. Why did I learn magic, you might ask? To hide the damn scars, bruises, and whatever the hell he did to me from you and mom. Let’s just say that there were more ‘rituals’ were expected of me. You know what made it worse? I was eleven years old.”

Pausing for a moment, Lisia took a deep breath, “and that was just when I was a child, later? When Mom passed and no one else was there for me, he… he... well, let’s just say he got what was coming to him, but selling me off to some child for money?! I am literally a slave - property of some man I’ve never known before in my life. And guess what, you signed it all off, giving away my everything for gold to pay for your habit. You as a father?” With a fire in her eyes she stared at the man before scoffing loudly.

“Yeah, I’d rather be an orphan any day of the week.”

As soon as she uttered the last words, she turned away from the fuming man, who was completely indifferent to her story - only by his blurred mind did he recognise her tone - her disobedience.

Just as she opened the door, a hand gripped her shoulder. After being hit one too many times by him, she didn’t hold back. With a simple backhanded slap she sent him hurtling through the room.

As the sounds of bones creaking and wood splintering, a small, extraordinarily detailed wooden table lay collapsed under the man. Without turning her head she walked out of the small cabin and never looked back.

Looking closer, it was as if the old wounds had already reopened as even with fury burning through her eyes, pity and sorrow colored her face.

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With Grok’s help, Taryk was given control of the expedition to the mine. Leading fifty goblins who seemed all but skin and bones, Taryk presided over them with a commanding presence shouting:

“ATTENTION! All of you are gathered here today for one purpose. What is it, perhaps? TO KILL!” Roared Taryk as he paced back and forth in front of the small goblin army he gathered.

Even those that didn’t recognise his new features - which amounted to all of them - instinctively fell in line to his commanding voice and fearsome presence. Dyed crimson in the blood he slept in from his afternoon nap, he waited for the first goblin to raise a shout.

As the first did, so to did the second; the third, and so one. Until every last goblin chanted, “Kill, kill, kill,” did he finally continue his speech.

“Now you all may be wondering why we are here right now. Guess what? WE HAVE THE MINE!”

“MINE, KILL, MINE, mine? Kill?” With the goblins getting confused with what to shout towards their new leader, Taryk sighed loudly, muttering “mine.”

“MINE, MINE, MINE, *kill* MINE”

Now that most of them were on the same page, Taryk continued, “me and the human… and elf, I guess? Anyways, me and the human cleared the bandits and the rock army and the mine is now ours! We’ve only need to kill a few rocks and it’ll be all ours! The ore, the weapons, the TREASURE!”

“TREASURE, TREASURE, TREASURE, *kill* *mine* TREASURE!”

Every single goblin licked their lips nearly insync and had greed painting their entire face. Those from afar that heard the word quickly ran to the spot Taryk was inciting his small contingent. Seeing the goblins come from every corner of the village he nodded slightly to the newcomers and continued.

“Some may die, but those who live will be rich! Treasure, weapons, and all manners of things to impress the women when we save them!”

“WOMEN! WOMEN! WOMEN! WOMEN!”

Evidently, the goblins were more interested in certain rewards more than others, but Taryk was unfazed. As each goblin plainly laid out their desires in front of their new commander, Tark inwardly smiling at his predictable brothers - although he wasn’t much better. It was only until he calmed the crowd down with a raised fist that the gluttonous chants finally died out.

With the curiously mumbling to one another about the strange gesture, Taryk walked towards his weapons in the centre of the line. Lifting his spear in one hand and his mace in the other he shouted, “NOW WE WILL FIGHT SO WE DON’T HAVE TO HOLD BACK ANYMORE! FOR DEATH! FOR WEAPONS! FOR TREASURE! FOR WOMEN!”

“FOR WOMEN!” resounded throughout the camp.

At the end of his speech no goblin remained in the camp, opting to join them on their mission to clear the mine - for the implied benefits. With two hundred male goblins, ranging from 3-40 years old that only had one goal in their minds, Taryk set off for the mine.

After some deliberation Grok decided to join, almost entirely based on the fact that otherwise he would be left alone the camp. Riding the wolf cub who happened to grow exponentially to battle with the now four foot tall wolf under his body, Grok sighed in admiration of his once eternal nemesis.

Runt, the wolf cub, and Grok now had become inseparable, his first true best friend. Brought together by the bonds of torturously instructing his fellow kinsmen all in the name of training and the strange human he had once thought to kill.