Chapter 19 - Shanking Goblins

Spruce did his best to conceal his large body behind the watch stand as Elena approached him menacingly. Though his feeble attempt at concealment was in vain, he persisted nonetheless. The early morning light revealed three new additions to the market, mysteriously installed overnight. First, a robotic vendor caught Trev's attention as it engaged in the buying and selling of creature parts. Perhaps this could serve as a potential source of income for Trev and their group. Second, was a large holographic screen mounted at one end of the market, on the wall. It was currently inactive but was possibly intended to broadcast Evolution TV. Lastly, a flyer had materialised on a newly erected noticeboard, announcing a grand opening ceremony for Earth following its transformation. The ceremony would include a tournament to crown a champion, who would be granted the opportunity to meet the board member responsible for earth. Maybe this was their chance to act and possibly negotiate leniency on earth since most people didn't know the evolution games were coming. Nevertheless, Trev doubted their ability to sway someone of such immense power, considering their own insignificance, but it was worth a try.

"Spruce, I can see you. We need to talk," demanded Elena.

"What did you want to know?" cowered the Ent, as if she wanted to use him for firewood.

"You were aboard that colossal ship, correct? Tell me about the inside," Elena interrogated.

"Unfortunately, I was confined within this dome and kept in stasis. So, I didn't get the chance to witness much," replied Spruce.

"So, you know nothing at all?" Elena questioned, her annoyance palpable.

"I never said that. However, I am willing to share what I know if you do something for me, you will quickly learn nothing comes for free in this game," Spruce responded, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Oh? A quest?" Queried Elena, apprehensive with him.

"Exactly! Could you please retrieve three goblin shanks for me? I intend to sell them as starting weapons for players," requested Spruce, his voice carrying a sense of anticipation.

"Well, we have two already, so this should be somewhat easy. Therefore, we accept," replied Elena without consulting the others.

"Brilliant! In return, As well as the information, I shall additionally grant you some experience and a small token of my appreciation," Spruce remarked, accompanied by a sly wink.

"We'll be back."

With the quest underway, a new tab materialised in the HUD below the information tab, labelled as "quests." Whilst Trev had been looking at the pinnacle systems to come last night, he noticed that at level six, one of the rewards was the ability to give out quests. However, there was a catch—the experience rewarded would be deducted from the quest givers experience pool, meaning there was a theoretical way to de-level oneself.

Prior to embarking on the quest, Trev paid for another night's accommodation, which further depleted their already meagre funds. Additionally, Trev made the decision to visit the newly appeared vendor. After approaching the humanoid form of the vendor, Trev placed the previously acquired goblin arm on the scale before it. The vendor, equipped with scanning capabilities, assessed the arm through its laser scanning eyes. After a momentary pause, the screen on the vendor's chest illuminated, displaying the scanned object and its corresponding vendor price, which was a disappointing two copper coins. Feeling ripped off, Trev reluctantly pressed the green flashing accept button, prompting the swift retraction of the scale and the dispensation of the coins through a chute beside the vendor. Next, Trev placed the goblin heart in a jar on the scale. Although it held potential value for future use, the group was in dire need of immediate funds. After a brief pause, the vendor offered five silver coins for the heart, much to Trev's delight. Eagerly accepting the offer, he collected their newfound wealth and rejoined the awaiting ladies outside.

Trev and Emilee had decided to hold off on utilising their second item point, as the information tab had informed them that points could only be refunded by paying a fee. Thus, it seemed wise to reserve their points until they had a clear purpose for them. Elena, on the other hand, had dumped another point into her blade making it longer again, and darkened the handle further to a forest green.

Today, there were more people out killing creatures than previously. Some formed large groups of over twenty people, employing the strategy of safety in numbers. Others preferred solitary endeavours to increase their loot and earnings. Surprisingly, there were no reports of intergroup fights or muggings, likely due to a rumoured punishment system. A woman who had come from another rest stop had shared a story, claiming that she had been targeted by a group of individuals attempting to rob her while she was alone. Apparently when the group tried attacking her, their strikes, although they landed, would reflect the same damage back with interest. As a result, the man who slapped her across the face ended up with five broken fingers and a fractured cheekbone. Then when they tried to rob her of her money, it electrocuted them, causing them to flee. Of course these were just rumours, but if it was disinformation, it was very successful, as there was no infighting among groups.

In their quest to encounter creatures, particularly goblins, Trev and the group ventured further from the rest stop than usual. Eventually, they stumbled upon a pocket of goblins. But, to their surprise, every time Elena came into view, the goblins fled in fear.

"Why are they running?" Elena inquired, growing frustrated with the lack of combat she had experienced thus far.

"It only started happening after we killed the chieftain, right?" Questioned Trev, attempting to piece together the puzzle.

"Yes, Maybe my prowess has spread far and wide," Elena chuckled, proud of herself.

Suddenly, everything clicked for Trev—the goblin chieftain's skull was still impaled on Elena's blade. She didn't want to remove it, as it showcased her prowess, but could this be the source of the goblin's fear? With the HUD up, Trev scanned the skull, and surprisingly, the scanner box didn't appear above his watch. Instead, it focused on the middle of his vision, which would be very useful in future for scanning things in his hands.

[Trinket - Goblin Chieftain Skull]

[Rare - None - Basic]

[Requires Level 2]

[Wards off goblins not influenced by a Goblin Chieftain]

[Protection Rating: 0]

[Damage Rating: 2]

"It's the skull, I just scanned it. It's a goblin ward," commented Trev, revealing the answer to their conundrum.

Elena's face was filled with disappointment. She begrudgingly removed the Chieftain Skull from her blade and handed it to Trev, who promptly stowed it away in his bag. Immediately, the goblins ceased their flight and charged toward them. From that point forward, Trev's role became relegated to that of a looter, while Emilee expertly knocked out the goblins with her precise sniping, and Elena finished them off, finding creative ways to kill them. Though efficient, it was quite boring for Trev.

As they continued to dispatch goblins, hoping for a shank to drop, they ventured farther away from the rest stop until they found themselves in complete isolation. After vanquishing a group of goblins and finally acquiring a shank, a thunderous explosion shook a nearby building. The ground trembled as the building blasted dust from inside, through the window and door frames. As they were still in a residential area, this was formerly someone's house. Then suddenly, out from the upstairs window that overlooked where they stood, the window smashed, showering them with glass. Moments later, an ominous dark figure landed in front of them on the road.