Preparing for the ambush

As Wain returned to the goblin village, the sun was rising once again. The goblins had already begun their activities, be it repairing their humble abodes or hunting for food, but all motion came to a standstill when they caught sight of Wain.

They remained uncertain about their new leader and his intentions. Since they had surrendered to him, Wain hadn't issued any orders, simply departing and leaving them to continue their daily routines as if nothing had changed.

Residents 21/43

Upon entering the village, Wain noticed that the goblin population had grown since he left.

However, no matter if new or old, it was clear that all the goblins held a deep fear of him as they didn't dare to meet his gaze.

"This is going to be a problem." Wain recognized the issue, when he realized that he had no way of communicating with the goblins.

He planned to bring the goblins with him to fight with the bandits, but if they couldn't understand his commands, it would be difficult to lead them effectively, regardless of their efforts.

"There must be something." He thought, browsing through the Chaos Shop, until he found the item he wanted.

[Goblin Language Scroll] (Consumable)

Description: Allows you to understand and speak by goblin's language.

Price: 5 Chaos Points

After killing the bandits and hunting for the whole night, he had enough Chaos Points to spare and understanding the goblins' language was definitely worth the investment.

"Old Potato, come here," he spoke and based on the reaction of the goblins, they understood him.

"What, boss need?" The old goblin approached him, speaking, though it was a little hard to understand.

With the ability to communicate, Wain now pondered about the message to say to the goblins. Although they surrendered to him, he wasn't sure whether they would listen to him.

"I have a task for you, gather the goblins." He commanded, his cold emotionless voice sent shivers down the spines of the goblin.

They still clearly remembered the Horror they felt from Wain, when he attacked their village. It would take someone even more terrifying in order to not listen to his commands.

"I do." The trembling old goblin replied.

Confirming that the goblin understood his commands, he dropped several iron weapons he stole from the bandits. "Use this." He said before retreating into the wooden house where he had rested earlier. He didn't know whom the house belonged to, but it was his now.

Thanks to the notepad he took from the bandits, he learned about the location of the ambush and everything that remained was to prepare sufficiently for it.

He currently had 153 Chaos Points, so he could afford quite a lot of cheap things, but what he needed the most was a powerful spell, one that could harm even the leader of the bandits.

He browsed through the items until he found what he needed.

[Spears of Flames] (activatable, 2nd-grade)

Description: Unleash a barrage of fiery spears.

Range 35 meters.

Cost 28 Mp

Cooldown 12 seconds

Price 60 Chaos Points

Although the mana cost limited him for three uses only, Wain possessed required proficiency in manipulating mana, so he could cast the spell, despite being of higher grade then he was.

However his grade would soon become a limiting factor as on his way back, he reached level 10 and any further progress was extremely hard.

He needed to break through.

Unfortunately, Octader ate the only mana core he found, but he still had another chance, using mana crystals from the Chaos Shop.

Although the mana crystals were nowhere near as abundant in mana as the mana core, they were relatively cheap, with each crystal costing 2 Chaos Points, and they should allow him to break through according to their description.

Wain decided to buy ten crystals at first, and sat into a comfortable position, before he began slowly absorbing the mana from them.

First crystal

Second crystal

Third crystal

…

Wain absorbed one crystal after another in a quick pace, guiding their mana into his mana core, feeling stronger after each of them.

However, even with his high mana control, the process was still exhausting and after a few minutes, Wain was already drenched in sweat. He even began to wonder whenever he would really be able to make it, when a notification appeared in front of him.

"Did I break through?" He opened his eyes, after absorbing the eighth crystal, only to end up disappointed.

"System: Congratulations, you have reached level 11."

At least I leveled up. He thought, acknowledging that the process was quite costly, but it was a relatively fast and safe way to level up for him, who possessed high mana control.

The sun had now ascended high into the sky, and Wain understood that he couldn't waste too much time. He didn't know the exact time of the ambush after all and he also needed some time to get to the location.

Moreover, he left Octader in the forest, since it was too heavy and slow. So he should search for his familiar as well. While Octader was strong enough to defend against most monsters, there was still a possibility that he might encounter a powerful enemy and considering how sluggish he was, Wain was convinced the Octopus wouldn't be able to escape

"Let's absorb the remaining two crystals and depart." Wain decided as he saw the goblins were still in the midst of their preparations.

However, after he absorbed the ninth crystal, something suddenly happened. His mana core cracked and he felt an insane pain from his chest.

"Am I dead?" Wain panicked, fearing that he had absorbed too much mana too rapidly. Nevertheless, he had no intention of giving up so easily. He calmed his mind and focused on mending the damaged mana core, using the mana from the last crystal.

…

"System: Congratulations, you have reached the middle realm of 1st-grade!"

After a few minutes and buying a few more crystals, a notification finally appeared in front of him, marking his success.

"Finally," Wain looked at the notification, feeling full of strength once again. He didn't expect it would be so difficult to break through. Perhaps it was related to the fact that his mana core was twice the size of the one he had seen from the bandit.

Wain wondered about the case, but he had already spent too much time, and he couldn't afford any further delays. He walked out of the house and commanded the goblins to follow him, departing into the forest.