Chapter 69: The Pursuers.

Drake swiftly navigated through the forest, backtracking to the last known location of the named Goblin he had come into contact with.

While running Drake glanced at his stats, not sure where to put the points, and also looking over the many quests he had still to complete.

[Drake Wallen]

[Race: Human] [F Rank]

[Profession: Miner P2(7%) [F Rank], Empty]

Tutorial Alias [Shot]

[Elemental Miller] [Unique] Level 13

[Vitality] 244 (15%)

[Strength] 290 (20 +10%)

[Dexterity] 200 (40 + 20%) +(40)

[Intelligence] 460 (15+15%)

[Wisdom] 246 (15%)

[Endurance] 130 (20 + 15%)

[Free Points] 86

His Intelligence was by far his highest stat at the moment, and with good reason. With the loss of his arm he was reliant on his magic more than ever to carry him through fights. He even had to constantly maintain an elemental arm, which helped quite a lot of his magic manipulation but also used up most of his passive and active regeneration benefits all on its own.

There were still glaring holes in Drake's skill set even with his large amount of skills, and absurd amount of stat points. He could see now why the tutorial encouraged groups. Each individual truly did have to specialize lest they be a worse jack of all trades.

Even with skills that may boost their stats, without a high ranked class Drake couldn't see someone having enough stat points to do much in ways of being an all rounder like him. And even then with his own Unique ranked class, a combination of two rare classes, it was a stretch to say he was an all rounder anymore.

His stats leaned more towards magic at the moment because of circumstances and skills but he didn't want to neglect his physical stats for much longer. Drake would have to put forth more work yet again to increase his level.

With the sheer number of Goblins that were gathering, he couldn't rely on just his magic if he was to stand against them without help. His regeneration was extraordinary but it was not endless. At least not yet. Maybe once the tutorial was over and he had a look at the shop Natto spoke of he would be able to complete his skill set, filling up the holes that were only getting larger.

Looking now at the Subjugation quests he still needed to complete, he frowned at a particular quest.

[Subjugated 3 of 15 Goblin Treasure Hoarders [F Rank]

[Reward: Goblin King's Hoard Key.]

[Quest Time Limit: 115 Hours, 45 Minutes, 28 seconds.]

[Subjugated 12 of 50 Red Cap Goblin Assassin [F Rank]

[Reward Experience. Communication Crystal [Common][F Rank]

[Subjugated 5 of 100 Goblin Riders [F Rank]

[Reward: Experience. Set of [F Rank] Potions.]

[Subjugated 5 of 20 Iron Tusk Boars [F Rank]

[Reward: Experience.]

[Subjugated 23 of 100 Goblin Shamans [F Rank]

[Reward: Experience. Set of [F Rank] Potions]

[Subjugated 12 of 50 Goblin Squad Commanders [F Rank]

[Reward: Experience. Large Dimensional Bag 50x10]

[Subjugated 0 of 20 Goblin Lieutenants [F Rank]

[Reward: Experience. Random Rare Quality Equipment]

Drake wasn't happy he hadn't made much progress on the Goblin Treasure Hoarder Quest, but two quests he hadn't noticed before had also popped up, and he was surprised he had made some headway in one of them, the other even more jarring considering the implication.

That's a big bag, that's what? Double my largest right now? Drake thought.

"... Quest completions are the least of your worries. Would you not agree, Drake?" Natto chided.

Drake clicked his tongue, his aura picking up some movement behind a tree a few meters away, his Magic Sight confirming a distortion of mana in the air around the tree.

Yeah I know, but my boyish excitement still gets me all giddy when I see a quest… And those rewards are nothing to turn your nose up at. Drake thought, summoning a magic circle for lightning and firing at the invisible figure behind the tree, the lightning bolt going straight through it.

[You have defeated Goblin Scout Level 15 [F Rank] [Experience Earned and 1,600 TP rewarded]

[New Quest! Subjugate 100 Goblin Scouts [F Rank]

[Reward Experience. Communication Crystal [Common][F Rank]

"How many types of Goblins are there, holy shit. That's like nearly the 10th one so far," Drake murmured.

"I have told you as much. Goblins have a surprisingly long standing history in the multiverse," Natto explained.

Drake walked over to the corpse, the Goblin was wearing a half mask that reminded him of the people who tried to kill him with Stewart, leaving a bad taste in Drake's mouth.

He waited for the mote of light to disappear before scooping up the Goblin's equipment with the stone. Unsurprisingly the skill stone was an Illusion stone. He would have to give it to Theodore when they met up again.

"What's bothering me is the second quest that I somehow didn't notice. When did we come in contact with a Lieutenant? It can't be that it's that named mob right? I thought it was another General with its getup," Drake said, crossing his arms as he surveyed his surroundings looking for the rest of the Goblin's group.

"I am uncertain. I have the knowledge that many beasts once they get to a certain position in the hierarchy of their groups can be named by elite monsters, but so many would require a very strong leader, which does not foresee a very pleasant future for us…" Natto explained, "But as far as their strength or what constitutes their ability to give names, I have not the slightest idea at my Rank. We will need to gather E Grade Cores once the tutorial is over if we are to fill our gaps in knowledge, the F Grade ones simply won't be enough no matter how much we gather within this limited space."

Before Drake could ask more, movement registered faintly on the edge of his aura, garnering his attention, as he moved in the direction a few meters he spotted the group from before. The same hulking mass of Metal and large Tower Shield Goblin at the forefront of the now larger group.

There's at least double the amount now.. Drake thought, grinning slightly.

"Cease your smiling dolt. You are quickly becoming a battle maniac… Lest you not forget that you are here to fight only to protect the group so that they may escape to the outpost," Natto reminded.

Yeah yeah… But no one said I can't give them the run around while picking them off. Drake thought, ideas forming.

Drake gave a full smile behind his mask, running ahead of the group ready to put his plan into action.

First Drake canceled his Water Endowment, finding a good spot within the line of trees and began soaking the forest floor, until it was a muddy puddle, and he could visibly see some of the ground concave in on itself.

Then Drake snapped his fingers again, conjuring a large slab of earth covering it. The large surface and the mana to maintain it made for a small dip in his mana but nothing enough to be a detriment to his mana pool.

Now all Drake had to do was wait and lead them here. He snapped his fingers again, forcing himself to keep the made up habit, a ball of fire and a ball of air forming next to his hand.

Drake willed them upwards with a flourish of his arm and they shot up into the sky, eventually colliding with each other in a fiery explosion that rang with a loud bang.

Drake positioned himself on the edge of the earthen slab he had created and summoned another ball of air smothering it to gain his Wind Endowment.

A few minutes later the rumbling of the Goblin troops reverberated through the forest near Drake.

"Took them long enough," Drake said, pointing his earthen hand out in the direction of the rumbling.

The large mass of the group ran through the forest, the lunking Goblin covered in armor, with a tower shield leading the charge. Shrieks and cries rang out as they bolstered their weapons high in the air.

A brown magic circle formed on Drake's earthen shoulder as he spread his fingers wide and pointed them at the oncoming horde.

"Weapon's Left!"

A cacophony of earthen spikes fired from Drake's fingertips and replaced themselves instantly after firing. A barrage of earth bullets striking the mass of Goblins charging forward.

"That was from your right arm… Not your left…" Natto pointed out.

Don't sweat the details! Drake thought, but raised a brow in surprise as he noticed the large Goblin raise his shield and a red sheen covered not only itself but several other Goblins to its left and right. Protecting them from the peppering of stone shards.

"Oh? It has a defensive skill," Drake whistled.

The line of Goblins began to fall, forcing the exposed part of the charging ranks to withdraw behind the larger Goblin and its protective skill.

Drake grinned behind his mask.

Perfect! He shouted internally.

The thin rows of Goblins charged forward at Drake, the forefront column of Monsters shrieking louder as they closed in.

Drake continued to pour out stone bullets from his arm as they grew ever closer, until they were almost on top of him, and also right on top of the earthen slab that he had made.

Jumping deftly backwards, Drake snapped his fingers. The slab crumbling into the large puddle of mud below it.

The mass of Goblins reached too high a momentum to stop and cascaded into the large swampy mess.

But the beneficial skill of the larger Goblin still glowed red around the surrounding monsters, raising its shield high as it tried to remove itself from the mud.

Drake was quick to capitalize on the Goblins falling for his trap.

Canceling his Wind Endowment he quickly snapped, conjuring a shard of ice, then broke it in his hands to change to his Ice Endowment for the increased Magic Damage.

Summoning a ball of fire in his left hand with another snap, Drake extended it to an enormously long blade, one that stretched far enough to reach the Goblins trapped within the marsh.

"The Quagmire would be proud if I do say so myself!" Drake shouted, patting himself on the back as he gazed at Tjiruc', the Goblin holding the shield, "Marked!" Drake shouted, increasing his damage further on the monster.

In the next moment Drake flexed his Aura, its special ability devouring the protective skill from the Goblins, a confused look on all of their faces.

Drake laughed, and with a quick swing of the fiery blade he removed their heads from their bodies.

[You have defeated Goblin Lieutenant: Tjiruc' Fuv Jeric Level 20] [Experience Earned and 150,000 TP rewarded]

[1 of 20 Goblin Lieutenants Subjugated]

Drake blinked, "That was really um, anticlimactic… Are we sure this was a Lieutenant? The General was above it, sure but this seems kinda like, I don't know, sad?" the blade of fire still roaring in his hand.

"I… am not sure," Natto agreed.

"Well," Drake shrugged looking at the remaining contingent of Goblins, "Don't look an experience gift horse in the mouth I guess."

Drake raised the blade high into the air, pouring more mana into the large beast of a fire spell, a crimson magic circle forming next to the blade then encompassing the fire in a spiral of intense heat.

Within seconds the blade turned to a beautiful blue hue as the temperature raised.

"Getsuga!" Drake howled, bringing the blade down on the column of Goblins as they looked on in abject horror. "Tenshou!!" the pillar of blue flames flaring in a spurt of increased power, falling down upon them.

Drake looked on as the blue fire consumed some of the forest and most of the Goblins, setting some aflame as they ran around screaming, the kill notifications flooding in.

"I really wish I knew how to make black fire…" Drake grumbled, pursing his lips below the mask, slightly disheartened by the display of the spell.

"It was still very effective. And I will certainly say the blue is not so bad. Maybe next time you can say eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth," Natto giggled.

"Oh! That's a good point…"

Drake snapped his fingers canceling his Ice Endowment, his white hair returning to its natural black, a blue magic circle forming water into a ball above his palm before it was subsumed into it changing his tattoo and hair to a shade of blue.

Snapping his fingers again, a Stone bullet shot from his hand, and formed a long plank crossing the marsh he had made.

Drake casually walked over the marsh picking up the equipment and spawning skill stones, sadly none of them were rare or better quality. Surprisingly even the stone from the Lieutenant had been a common Warrior stone.

Looking at his status he noticed his Weakened debuff appearing again, forcing a click of his tongue. His mana and stamina sitting at around 50%, his health a solid 70% from his custom spell, but they were quickly recovering.

Walking further and past the flames that were starting to die down around him from his spell, Drake picked up much of the same skill stones and equipment from before.

A shout sounded in the echoes of the forest, but it was not in the direction of the group he had left.

"That was oddly well timed…" Drake mused looking in the direction of the scream.

"I am inclined to agree… It seems to be in the opposite direction of the group, I would suggest ignoring it," Natto directed.

"It's probably a trap.. But what if it isn't?" Drake pondered, shaking the mud off one of the skill stones before placing it in his inventory.

"I am wholeheartedly against putting you in any fights until we have figured out what is causing your personality changes. If it is your Tyrant's Aura we must get it under control sooner than later," Natto explained, concern and hesitation dripping from her voice.

Drake bit his lip under his mask.

"We'll just take a look."

Natto gave a mental sigh.

"Come on, what can go wrong?"

"You die moron! That is what!"