Building Strength

Akira's journey to the city was uneventful but filled with anticipation. The city's gates loomed ahead, bustling with the usual activity. Merchants hawking their wares, children played in the streets, and adventurers strode purposefully towards the Adventurers' Guild. As he stepped into the guild, he was immediately greeted by a wave of applause and admiration from his fellow adventurers and the receptionists.

"Adventurer Fate! You're back!" a receptionist exclaimed, her eyes shining with admiration.

Another receptionist quickly ran off to fetch the guild master. Moments later, Baldwin Armstrong, a towering figure with a booming voice and a presence that commanded respect, descended the stairs.

"Adventurer Fate!" Baldwin's voice echoed through the hall. "Your presence in the battle was invaluable. Without you, we might have faced a much worse outcome."

Akira smiled modestly, shaking his head. "Thank you, Guild Master. I was just doing my part. I'm here for the reward that was promised and to cash in these wyvern cores."

Baldwin nodded approvingly. "Of course. You've earned it."

He instructed a receptionist to handle the transaction. Akira handed over the wyvern cores, watching as they were meticulously inspected. After a few moments, the receptionist returned with a hefty bag of gold coins, rewarding him for his participation in the raid and for the valuable cores.

"Would you join me for a cup of beer, Fate?" Baldwin offered, his voice warm and inviting and loud as usual.

Akira respectfully declined, bowing slightly. "Thank you, Guild Master, but I have other matters to attend to."

Leaving the guild, Akira's thoughts turned to the next task: creating a stock of herbs for potion-making. Without hesitation, he ventured into the forest, his senses attuned to the natural environment around him. He spent the rest of the day meticulously identifying and collecting various herbs. His expertise in herbalism allowed him to find herbs for potions of strength, speed, mana, and healing in good numbers.

The forest was alive with the sounds of birds and the rustle of leaves. Akira moved with practiced ease, his hands deftly plucking the herbs and placing them in his spatial bag. As the sun began to set, he made his way back home, satisfied with his haul.

On his way back, he noticed several wild monsters grazing near his base. They were creatures known for their delicious meat. Akira made a mental note to send his goblins to hunt them, knowing the monsters weren't too dangerous for his summoned goblins.

As Akira approached his home, the goblins opened the main gate, greeting him with eager eyes. Jarvis, ever attentive, welcomed him back with a warm smile.

"Welcome back, Master. Dinner is ready," Jarvis announced, leading Akira to the dining area.

After a hearty meal prepared by Jarvis, Akira retired for the night, the following morning, Akira was awakened by Alfred's voice. "Master, one of the goblins has evolved into a hobgoblin".

Akira rushed downstairs to find the newly evolved hobgoblin standing in front of the shed he had built for the goblins. The other goblins surrounded it, their eyes wide with curiosity and awe. The hobgoblin was noticeably taller and leaner, with more defined muscles.

After inspecting the hobgoblin visually Akira decided to test the hobgoblin's abilities. "Let's spar," he ordered, his tone gentle yet firm.

Initially, the hobgoblin seemed nervous and hesitant. "Don't worry," Akira assured him. "You'll be fine and this is an order."

With renewed determination, the hobgoblin got into a fighting stance and rushed at Akira, throwing punches. Akira dodged effortlessly, analyzing the hobgoblin's speed and strength. Akira dodges its attacks like they were thrown by a kid, well it was not a surprise because speed was Akira's speciality. Despite its lack of speed, the hobgoblin exhibited impressive power and stamina. Satisfied, Akira decided it deserved a better weapon.

"You've done well," Akira praised. "I'll get you a new sword. You have the strength to wield mana-based weapons now." Akira wanted to give the hobgoblin a mana based weapon which was basically a mithril infused weapon with magic inscriptions, because now the hobgoblin can use mana in attacks and can use skills now but still can't use magic skills because it cannot speak. 

The other goblins watched with a mix of awe and anticipation. Akira addressed them, "You will all evolve soon. Keep training and eating well."

Akira then turned his attention to the Treant seedling. It had grown remarkably, he watered it and infused it with mana, marveling at its progress.

As he walked back to the house, he heard a slight noise and turned around. The seedling had transformed further,now sporting a small face and tiny hands, resembling a small wooden doll. Akira inspected it closely, gently touching its tiny hands. The young Treant seemed to recognize Akira as its master, remaining calm under his touch and wiggling its body in happiness. 

"Alfred," Akira called in his mind, "How long until it develops legs?"

"Tomorrow, most likely," Alfred responded. "Its growth is remarkable."

A goblin bent down to inspect the Treant, patting it gently. Akira smiled, "This is your young comrade. Take good care of it."

The goblins gathered around, gently patting the young Treant before returning to their posts.

Determined to strengthen his defenses, Akira decided to summon more goblins. He called for Jarvis to bring him some chalk.

"What are you planning, Master?" Jarvis asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

"You'll see," Akira replied, retrieving the goblin cores from his spatial bag. He placed them in Jarvis's hands before picking one out and drawing a summoning circle on the ground. The nearby goblins watched intently, understanding what was about to happen.

Akira began the summoning ritual. Light filled the area as the circle activated, and eleven more goblins emerged. The new goblins immediately submitted to Akira, just as the original ones had.

Jarvis sees summoning for the first time and still is absorbing the info but Akira calls him and he gains his senses back. Akira took out the wyvern meat from his bag and handed it to Jarvis. "Feed them this meat daily until it runs out."

Jarvis nodded, storing the meat carefully. Akira then headed inside to craft new weapons for his growing army.

As Akira descended from his crafting room, he noticed Jarvis struggling to manage everything on his own. With the addition of new goblins, the workload had increased significantly.

"It was manageable with six mouths, but now we have thirteen," Akira mused. "I need to get someone to help Jarvis."

He decided to build a cauldron for cooking larger meals and dedicated an area for goblin training. He handed out swords, daggers, spears, bows, and arrows to the goblins but still hasn't made the mithril weapon because it will take more time. Next, he ordered two goblins to chop down a tree and bring back the trunk. They returned promptly, and Akira crafted targets, wooden dolls, and wooden weapons, reinforcing them to withstand rigorous training.

He dedicated a small area for the goblins to train. Archers practiced on the targets, while others sparred with wooden weapons. Now the number of goblins was 15 and he should start naming them. Akira then calls out to the hobgoblin to step forward and then he says " From now on you will be called Alphagob. This makes the hobgoblin happy and it then kneels down as if it is showing its respect and thanking his master. Then Akira assigned the newly named Alphagob the responsibility of managing the training, hunting, and guarding duties.

"Alphagob, you will lead. Ensure the goblins are well-trained and prepared for any threats," Akira instructed. Alphagob nodded, understanding the weight of his new responsibilities.

Satisfied with his preparations, Akira decided to head back to the city as he had several things to do and chores never seemed to end.