CHAPTER 17

The adventurer's guild was busy, in borderline distress, as the people discussed what to do of their current predicament. Many formed parties and were planning their own strategies and plans. Some of the higher ranking adventurers were helping the newer ones to get a suitable and slightly safer spot, to increase their chances of survival.

No one noticed as the door of the hall opened, being far too stressed to pay any mind to it. Someone entered the guild and made their way to the reception, leaving behind bloody footprints. The receptionist was far too busy trying to contact other guilds and requesting help to notice.

Everyone only noticed when that person tossed a bag onto the table of the reception. And when they noticed they all wore a look of disbelief at their faces, because the bag unwrapped itself when thrown at the table, revealing a small purple crystal barely the size of a small stone.

She was bleeding from many cuts on her arms and legs, and even her head, though her head was covered by her hat, the bleeding was still very visible. Her breathing was loud and rapid, and she looked to be on the brink of collapsing.

"No way," An adventurer in silver armor with a red-golden halberd gasped.

"What can I use this crystal for?" Sapphire questioned, her legs slightly wobbly.

Dragon Crystals are mythical crystals that form inside the heart of the strongest and oldest of dragons, killing a dragon which contains one is a feat even some of the strongest adventuring parties to ever exist haven't achieved. And yet, a little girl achieved that feat all by herself, though she appeared to be a little worse for wear.

The receptionist silently stared at her in shock, not even moving. Sapphire slammed her fist on the table, cracking it, snapping the receptionist and everyone else back to attention.

"Uh, um, you... I think you should maybe... maybe ask an alchemist? Alchemists are more knowledgeable about items related to monsters, and since we have no commission for that we have no idea what you can do with it." The receptionist answered, returning to her normal tone after a moment of being shaken.

"I see," Sapphire sighed. "Fine then, I will take my leave now." Sapphire said retrieving her crystal and turning around.

"Wait!" The receptionist requested just as Sapphire took a step away from the reception.

She turned back to the receptionist and tilted her head.

"Can you please help dealing with the goblin horde? It is a request, and you will be rewarded accordingly," The receptionist offered.

"A goblin horde?" Sapphire echoed.

"Yes, it is estimated a horde of over a few thousand goblins will attack tonight. We need as much help as we can get," The receptionist requested.

Sapphire could tell many adventurers wanted to say something but didn't from fear. She already defeated that guy in golden armor with ease today, and if she killed a dragon that contained a dragon crystal as well then no one would want to go against her.

"Consider them dealt with, where is their den estimated to be?" Sapphire said pulling her hat lower.

"Shouldn't you rest first? You seem quite badly wounded already," The receptionist pointed out.

"It's just goblins, I can easily make quick work of them." Sapphire scoffed.

"Don't underestimate them, a horde that large of them might even be able to take out a dragon with ease. They lay traps and use poisons on their weapons. If you were to get caught, trust me, you would wish you were rather dead," A guy in silver armor warned.

Are they really that strong? Maybe they are if I think about it. Even against those sixty-eight it was fairly troublesome, five hundred could be nightmarish, and a few thousands might just be able to win. What does Appraisal say about me though?

"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 28. HP: 2/1180, MP: 570/1800, Stamina: 24/2060, Strength: 370, Defense: 256, Speed: 821, Hunger: 58%, Skill points: 1300. List of skills: <Howl > level 7, <Blessing of the Moon> level 8, <Child of the Dark> level 2, <Child of Destruction> level 1, <Transformation > level 10, <Leap > level 10, <Evasion > level 4, <Bite > level 11, <Olfactory Enhancement> level 10, <Arbitrary Enhancement> level 10, <Endurance > level 13, <Claw Slash> level 10, <Vision enhancement> level 3, <Breathing Mastery> level 8, <Dual Sword Mastery> level 8, <Sword Mastery> level 12, <Fist Mastery> level 9, <Throwing Weapon Mastery> level 7, <Enhanced Poison Resistance> level 3, <Arithmetic Processing> level 8, <Appraisal > level 6, <Elemental resistance> level 4, <Draconic Power> level 5, <Pain resistance> level 3, <Thermal resistance> level 5, <Dragon Slayer> level 6, <Shadow movement> level 4, <Dark Slash> level 9, <Dark magic> level 3, <Sneak > level 4, <HP Regeneration> level 2, <MP Regeneration> level 1, <MP Drain Reduction> level 1, <Stamina Regeneration> level 4, <Stamina Drain Reduction> level 3, <Dark Attack> level 1, <Thought Acceleration> level 1, <Impact Resistance> level 1, <Faint Resistance> level 1, <Shadow Pulse> level 1."

Do you think I can win against a horde of a thousand goblins? Sapphire asked Appraisal as she sat on a chair close to the reception, waiting for a healer to arrive.

"Chances of victory in current condition: 0.0048%. Chances of victory after recovery: 97.689%."

Guess I will just wait here then, Sapphire thought as she rested her head on the chair's headrest.

As she sat on the chair she appraised all the other adventurers, and figured out they were all actually very weak, as compared to her. And by human standards, the guy she defeated earlier was actually pretty strong. She also noticed that the stats of the humans varied greatly, it was easy to tell from their stat what they were good at.

Most mages possessed very high MP while their other stats were fairly low. Archers possessed high speed and strength, warriors possessed high stamina and attack, and the shield users possessed high defense and HP. Most of them possessed a large number of skills, much more than hers. It was fairly evident that most humans relied on their skills rather than stats.

Many skills were fairly weak sounding, while some sounded like the strongest skills there could be. This was also when she realized that names can be deceiving. Many of the strong sounding skills were actually quite weak, and some of the weak sounding ones seemed completely broken.

As Sapphire waited for the healer to arrive, two guys who were in much worse condition than even her walked in. They supported each other and even used their weapons to walk. Both wore similar metal armor and looked similar, brothers most likely.

One of them collapsed on the floor right by Sapphire's feet, startling her. She quickly pulled her feet up and hugged them close to her on the chair. The other guy barely gave her a cursory glance as he staggered forward

"What happened?" The receptionist questioned worriedly.

Many of the adventurers gathered around to help them, some offered them healing elixirs while others used lower level healing spells.

Wonder why they couldn't do that for me.

Regardless, as the people casted spells Sapphire appraised each and every rune, so maybe one day she would be able to use her Dark Magic.

"We were attacked by goblins on our way here, hundreds of them. They took our sister, who is a healer, and left the two of us badly wounded. It won't be long before they are on their way here," The wounded man explained.

So much for being healed, Appraisal?

"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 28. HP: 124/1180, MP: 686/1420, Stamina: 1365/2060, Strength: 370, Defense: 256, Speed: 821, Hunger: 61%, Skill points: 1300."

What can I use my skill points for?

"Skills that can be acquired with available skills points: <Pain Mitigation> (100), <Probability Correction> (100), <Heatless > (100), <Odorless > (100), <Intimidation > (500), <Healing Magic> (300), <Fire Magic> (200), <Lightning Magic> (200), <Wind Magic> (200), <Earth Magic> (200), <Poison Magic> (200), <Parallel Thinking> (300), <Prediction > (200), <Motion Perception> (50), <Heat Perception> (50), <Danger Perception> (50), <Presence Perception> (50), <Spatial Maneuvering> (500), <Energy Attack> (100), <Magic Power Attack> (100), <Fire Attack> (100), <Lightning Attack> (100), <Wind Attack> (100), <Earth Attack> (100), <Poison Attack> (100), <Acid Attack> (100), <Paralysis Attack> (100), <Destruction Attack> (100)."

A lot of them sound like I should take them, but my skill points won't let me take all. I should take the ones which would be the most useful right now, Sapphire thought, Alright, I have decided. I would like Intimidation, Danger Perception, Motion Perception, Healing Magic, Fire Attack and Paralysis Attack. These will prove useful even after this battle.

"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 28, has spent 1100 skill points to acquire the skills: <Intimidation > level 1, <Danger Perception> level 1, <Motion Perception> level 1, <Healing Magic> level 1, <Fire Attack> level 1, and <Paralysis Attack> level 1. Proficiency-based skill levels have been gained: <Evasion > has risen from level 4 to level 5, <Sneak > has risen from level 4 to level 5."

Sounds good, all that is left is to go the last two levels, then I think I will evolve, again. Time to kill some goblins.

"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 28. HP: 1174/1180, MP: 1376/1800, Stamina: 1890/2060, Strength: 370, Defense: 256, Speed: 821, Hunger: 42%, Skill points: 200." 

Healing magic helped quite a lot to regenerate my HP, Sapphire smiled to herself, Why am I stationed here though, they really want me to die first don't they. Well the joke is on you, because this is exactly what I wanted.

Sapphire's position was at the very front on the northern side, since she was the strongest of them, everyone figured it would be the right choice. Since Sapphire said nothing they went along with that plan. All of them stood not very far behind, but not very far from the village either.

The village was surrounded by tree cover on all sides, a fairly large area of plain grasslands between the trees and village on all sides however. Fighting the goblins in the woods could prove to be dangerous, so the battle was to be fought on the grasslands.

Goblins were known to be strategic, and so there was a high chance they will send a small unit as distraction here and then attack from other directions. Metallic bells were placed on every side of the village so the adventurers can strike it to let the others know the goblins are attacking from which side.

This was very useful for Sapphire as now she could easily clear her side and rush to the other side to kill more. For her, this was nothing more than a way to level faster, and she planned to use it to the fullest.