Ogre Tyrant

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 01 – Slave to circumstance – Part Two {Rewrite}

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 01 - Slave to circumstance - Part Two {Rewrite}

Contrary to my expectations, hunting the Vrabbits was something of a misconception. Feeling a tug on my finger, I looked down and nearly fell over in shock. There was a large rabbit clamped down and hanging off of my index finger. I could feel it working its surprisingly powerful jaws as it tried to bite down harder.

Emelia wheeled about on the spot, as if she had eyes on the back of her head, “Hey look! Tim caught one already!” She cried happily and pointed to the carnivorous rodent gnawing on my finger.

I honestly felt like if I could detach my hand to be free of the Vrabbit, I would. It was obviously trying to harm me, but I just couldn’t work up the nerve to do anything about it. I was just too frightened.

“Tim, what are you waiting for?!” Emelia demanded, “Kill it!”

[ Your master has commanded you to kill {Vrabbit: 2 (x1) } ]

Emelia’s command reverberated through my mind, and I felt a sharp twinge of pain in my head. Dropping the club Nadine had given me, I clutch at my head and groan in pain. While it was no more intense than a light headache, the pain seemed to be growing with each passing moment. Unlike the status window and previous information panels, this one did not disappear no matter how many times I blinked.

*Crunch*

[ You have completed your master’s command. ]

[ You have slain {Vrabbit: 2 } +0 Exp. ]

Looking down at my hand in horror, I could see the mangled remains of the rodent in my tightly clenched fist. The sight truly made me feel sick.

“Eh, that was a rank two Vrabbit?” Clarice commented happily, “Even with three people to split it with we still got so much exp!”

“The mana stone is probably reasonably valuable too,” Nadine added, “The hide also seems to be fully intact. The Guild will very likely pay a nice price for it.”

Clarice looked like she was about to say something else, but her attention suddenly shifted to the grass nearby, and she raised her sword instead.

Emelia noticed as well, “Tim, kill the Vrabbits!” She ordered eagerly, pointing to the section of disturbed grass.

[ Your master has given you a standing order to kill {Vrabbit: - (x-) } ]

Bracing myself for the pain, I was surprised when it didn’t come. Had it simply been a coincidence?

“Tim, what are you doing?!” Emelia asked angrily, “Go over there and kill the Vrabbits!”

[Your master has given you a standing order to kill {Vrabbit: - (x-) } in the designated location.]

Just like before, the pain began welling up inside my head. Releasing the carcass of the Vrabbit I had already mangled, I felt an immediate wave of relief as I picked up my club and slowly made my way over towards where Emelia had pointed.

Is this what it meant to be Enslaved?

Moving closer to the tall grass, three sharp-toothed rabbits leapt out at me and bit down on my left arm as I tried to shield my body.

I hesitated, horrified by the thought of these monsters chewing on my flesh and I wanted to run away. Before I could even take a single step, the pain flashed inside of my head and only abated when I began thinking of how to kill the Vrabbits.

They were too close for me to swing the club at them effectively and I had no other weapons. Feeling the flash of pain again as I briefly considered swatting them away and running, I felt like I had no other choice. Dropping the club, I tentatively reached for one of the Vrabbits and tried pinching its neck to remove it in a similar method to remove a leech.

*Crunch*

[ You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp. ]

The rodent fell limp almost immediately and fell off my arm.

I stared at the crumpled body of the Vrabbit on the ground.

Were these monsters really that weak?

Still feeling conflicted and more than a little squeamish, I pinched the neck of the second Vrabbit in the same way as the first.

*Crunch*

[ You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp. ]

Knowing that the only way to stop the pain was to kill all of them, I took a deep breath, hardened my heart and pinched the neck of the last Vrabbit.

*Crunch*

[ You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp. ]

Looking down at the dead bodies of the Vrabbits, I felt a little broken inside. If I hadn’t been forced to, I probably wouldn't have been able to fight back at all. I had always been a coward. In spite of my size and how poorly I was treated, I just didn’t want to hurt people.

“Easy exp!” Emelia declared triumphantly.

“Emelia...” Nadine let out an exasperated sigh, “We were going to ease Tim into it, remember? Can’t you see how upset he is?”

“Pfft,” Clarice snorted, “Why bother? Clearly, the commands are working just fine.”

“And what about when they stop working?” Nadine demanded, “What do you think will happen when the broken mess of its mind no longer fears pain and enjoys killing? You hate Jacky, but you seem hellbent on making a monster just like her!” She pointed out viciously.

“I...Fuck!” Clarice cursed and took a wild swing at the grass in frustration.

“We should just call it a day,” Nadine suggested, “The mana stone from the level 2 Vrabbit should cover a night at the inn anyway.”

“Fine...” Emelia agreed reluctantly.

“Whatever,” Clarice snorted.

Nadine sighed, “Alright, let’s stow the Vrabbits into a couple of sacks and head back,” she withdrew a pair of sacks from her backpack and handed one to each of them.

As Emelia and Clarice went about the business of stowing the Vrabbit corpses into the sacks, the air was quickly filled with the strong smell of licorice.

Nadine picked up the discarded club and held it out for me to take with an apologetic expression, “I am sorry. Things didn't go as I had planned. Once we return to the inn, we can talk about what happened. I am sure you must have questions.”

I accepted the club more out of reflex than anything else. My thoughts were a mess, and I felt like I was going to be sick. I could only manage a faint nod in response to Nadine’s offer. While I really wanted someone to talk to, Nadine was one of the people holding me captive. I had no guarantees that this was anything more than an act to gain my trust. I could still remember just how Nadine greedily explained her motives for sparing my life.

I felt like I was imprisoned inside my own body. Even my own mind could not be trusted.

What if they forced me to kill someone?

I couldn’t help but shiver at the thought.

Since I had no choice, I followed them back into the small town. Perhaps it was the strong smell of licorice, but we weren’t attacked by Vrabbits on the return trip despite the blood staining the fabric of the sacks.

Upon reentering the small town, Emelia and Clarice began heading off towards a large building in the middle of the town. Nadine motioned for me to follow and entered the inn we visited earlier.

“Two meals please,” Nadine requested politely and deposited two copper coins on the bar.

The innkeeper nodded and swept the coins off the bar and into his pocket before briefly disappearing into the back room. When he returned, the innkeeper deposited two wooden bowls of stew on the counter. A curiously quiet man, the middle-aged innkeeper had not spoken a word throughout the entire transaction. He simply nodded and did as Nadine asked. It was strange, but honestly, I didn’t really care.

Following Nadine up to the room, I sat down on the bed and dropped the club onto the floor. The thought had briefly entered my mind to knock Nadine unconscious with it and run away. But honestly, I felt like overpowering Nadine would be more difficult than it seemed. Furthermore, even if I managed it, any number of the weapon-wielding young men and women around the town would cut me down without a second glance.

“You should try eating the stew,” Nadine suggested softly, offering me one of the wooden bowls, “A warm meal should help take the edge off and help you unwind.”

Even though I didn’t feel hungry, I accepted the offered bowl of stew out of reflex. Composed of a thin gravy, a myriad of vegetables I could not identify, and small chunks of browned meat, the stew actually appeared rather appetising. Of course, that was my initial thought. Raising the bowl to my lips, I stopped as I realised where the meat in the stew must have come from.

It was almost certainly Vrabbit meat. There was no way a rural community such as this would throw away a possible food source like that. I had overheard stories from other students in secondary school about hunting rabbits with their relatives out in the country during holidays. Apparently, their relatives made a point of not just getting them to kill the rabbits themselves but also to skin and gut them too.

None of those students had seemed particularly traumatised by the activities at the time, and none of them gave off the vibe of a bloodthirsty killer either. Come to think of it, I had never really considered where the meat I bought from the supermarket came from either. Objectively, I knew that abattoirs existed and employed men and women to kill animals. Then there were butchers who carved and dissected meat for a living as well. Surely all these people were not deranged psychos, right? They were just people doing a necessary service so someone like me could enjoy a more balanced diet.

Taking another look at the bowl of stew, I sighed and began gulping it down. Even though I didn’t feel hungry a moment ago, the moment the stew began sliding down my throat, I suddenly felt ravenous. Before I realised it, I had already finished off the stew and even licked clean the bowl. I very nearly took a bite of the bowl itself before managing to regain control of myself.

“Ah, it appears you were indeed quite hungry,” Nadine observed with a smile, “I thought that might be the case. Here,” she offered me the second bowl of stew in exchange for the empty bowl I was holding.

I gratefully accepted the second bowl of stew and immediately gulped it all down. After licking the bowl clean, I sheepishly handed it back to Nadine. Ugh, why was I being such a glutton?

“Thank you for the meal,” I mumbled self-consciously.

“You’re welcome,” Nadine smiled warmly and set both the bowls aside on the small nightstand and took a seat on the chair. “I want to apologise for what happened earlier. Please understand that Emelia, Clarice and myself are all quite new to all of this as well. I don’t think Emelia intended to force you into fighting as she did, not at first anyway. I think she just got excited after seeing the Exp reward from the rank two Vrabbit,” she grimaced and shook her head, “Tim, I want to reassure you that I will be having a lengthy talk with Emelia about using her Class Abilities more appropriately, okay?”

I felt a sudden wave of relief and nodded. Truthfully, after giving it some thought, I felt like I could get used to hunting and killing Vrabbits. There didn’t seem to be any danger, so I only had to overcome my squeamishness. So long as I don’t have to skin or butcher them, I think I should be able to do it.

“Do you have any questions for me? I will answer if I can,” Nadine offered kindly.

I nodded but honestly couldn’t think of what to ask.

“Hrm, you are probably a bit overwhelmed and can’t decide what to ask right?” Nadine observed understandingly, “That’s alright. I will try and explain some things that at least I think you will need to know if we are going to work together, alright?”

“Okay,” I agreed thankfully. At least listening to Nadine would give me to think about what I needed to ask later.

Nadine spent the next few hours explaining all manner of things about this world to me, specifically regarding the Labyrinth. Apparently, the reasons Nadine believed Emelia became overexcited was because the three of them could only manage to safely hunt a couple of dozen Vrabbits each day before needing to retreat back to the small town to recover. Half of that number was usually accomplished by Clarice on her own since she was the most formidable combatant amongst them. Which explained why Emelia became so excited after I killed so many with apparent ease.

There were two primary reasons why Emelia had become so excited. An adventurer’s progression in strength was described as being accumulated through wealth and by slaying monsters.

The accumulation of wealth was pretty straightforward to understand, or at least I thought so. More money means access to better equipment. It was Exp that I had trouble getting a grip on. Apparently, adventurers would gain this Exp when they or one of their minions, either a Summoned or tamed monster like himself, killed a wild monster. Accumulating enough Exp would make the adventurers stronger. Nadine had said it would become more obvious after witnessing them ‘level up’.

Apparently, most adventurers started their prospective careers by registering with the adventurer’s Guild. The adventurer’s Guild was sort of a catch-all organisation in regards to the Labyrinths. They provided training to prospective adventurers, and bought and sold equipment as well as other items including the magic stones from monsters.

The Guild also served as an intermediary between powerful governments and adventuring groups. They even issued requests for specific tasks in the Labyrinth, like retrieving specific resources or culling particular monsters.

The adventurer’s Guild has small towns called footholds on each layer of the known Labyrinths. Special artifacts are used to establish these safe zones and drive away wild monsters. However, it seems like the Labyrinths don’t let the footholds off that easily and periodically send armies of monsters to attack them.

Part of the contract with the adventurer’s Guild required members to defend the foothold on their level of the Labyrinth if it came under attack. There were certain exemptions such as mitigating circumstances from injury or the like, but basically, any adventurer found to have abandoned a foothold would be blacklisted from the Guild.

Interestingly, you did not have to be registered with the Guild to enter the Labyrinths. Although there was an entrance fee that varied depending on whether you were a member of the adventurer’s Guild or the associated merchants Guild, mercenary Guild or just unaffiliated. Being blacklisted cut you off from all of the adventurer’s Guild services, discounts and protections. It did not seem like a particularly big deal until Nadine made a point of explaining one specific service offered by the Guild.

The way-stones.

Each Labyrinth had hundreds of floors, Each floor of the Labyrinths had two portals scattered randomly somewhere on the floor. The footholds were always established at the return portal, making it easy to leave so long as you didn’t become lost. Maps with varying degrees of detail were often available from the Guild for a small fee as well. However, the portals that allowed movement between floors in the Labyrinth changed their exit point to their designated floor every few minutes. Even though you can see through the portal before entering, there was a strong possibility of immediately encountering danger.

This was why way-stones were so important.

So long as you had a Guild way-stone on your person, you would arrive at a Guild foothold on the prospective floor of the Labyrinth. Way-stones could also be used to send distress signals to the Guild and had a function similar to a compass that allowed you to find your way back to the foothold if you were to become lost.

Nadine had shown me her way-stone while explaining how important they were. It honestly didn’t seem like much to me. It was just a small round stone with a single arrow carved into the top face of it. Apparently, if I had mana, I would be able to inject it into the stone, and the arrow would glow to varying degrees of brightness when directed towards the centre of the foothold. Nadine said they would have to requisition one for me when they were ready to move deeper into the Labyrinth. But they weren’t free and I still didn’t have any real equipment yet, so it probably wouldn't be for a while.

Most of the other things Nadine told me were rather uninteresting in comparison. I had already sort of guessed most of it. This world was more or less at the feudal level of technology but also had weird unexpected magical conveniences similar to modern-day inventions but powered by the magic stones retrieved from monsters.

Settling into sleep, even though the bed was somewhat uncomfortable, I was genuinely surprised at how well I was adapting to these sudden changes. I mean, I am an actual literal monster and now living in a world I certainly would never have dreamt of.

Maybe I was just in shock, and this would all catch up to me tomorrow?

*****

Nadine locked the door to Tim’s room. Even though she knew Tim’s strength was more than sufficient to burst through the wall if he wanted to, it wasn’t actually to lock Tim in so much as keep others out. Nadine needed time for her enchantment to do its work and couldn’t afford for Tim to be put into a state of wariness again. Recasting her enchantment had been draining enough after the previous disaster.

Letting out a deep sigh, Nadine opened the door to the room on the opposite side of the hallway and quietly entered. Emelia and Clarice had already been waiting for her, chatting idly while cleaning their armour and weapons.

“So?” Emelia asked eagerly, “Did it work?”

Nadine nodded, “Tim seems to be taking everything in stride now. So long as I have enough mana, I don’t think Tim will have any problems doing what we want.”

Despite her earlier arrogance, Clarice now had a hungry and almost predatory look in her eyes, “Good. I can’t wait to get some better equipment and level up so we can leave this floor.”

Emelia nodded in agreement, “Can you even imagine being stuck on this floor for six months while we grind to level five?!” She exclaimed incredulously.

Nadine’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance and she yanked the blanket from off the bed and threw it at the door. Only once she was satisfied that her words wouldn’t carry into the hallway outside did she begin to speak, “Could you at least try and remember where we are?!” Nadine hissed, “Half the adventurers in the foothold will know by now that we have an Ogre on our team, and I would very much prefer it that the other half don’t find out until tomorrow at the earliest!”

Emelia gingerly scratched at the back of her head, “Ah, you're right, sorry. I just got a little excited, forgive me, okay?”

“Hrmph,” Nadine huffed irritably, “Fine. Just be more careful.”

Their initial team-up had been arranged by the Guild. Since they were both, strictly speaking, support classes, it was strongly encouraged for them to never fight monsters alone due to their relatively poor combat abilities.

As a first-level Enchanter, Nadine didn’t have any of the powerful charms or status effects yet. It would be at least another four levels until she had the opportunity to learn Sleep. Even then, she probably wouldn’t have the mana to just cast it willy nilly either. When Nadine’s affinity for the Enchanter class had been determined, she understood that it meant she would always need to adventure as part of a team. Emelia on the other hand...She didn’t seem to understand much of anything.

Reckless, impetuous and often quite forgetful, Emelia had caused no small amount of problems for Nadine up to this point. Their first outing into the Vrabbit meadow had very nearly been a disaster when Emelia tripped on a rock and shattered the lure they had bought from the Guild, covering herself in the blood inside the vial. They had no choice but to retreat back to the foothold after a small horde of Vrabbits began swarming towards them. The only upside to that encounter was when they had met Clarice while buying a fresh lure.

However, even Clarice was almost more work than she was worth. Stubborn and irritable, she had the gift of rubbing people just the wrong way. If Nadine hadn’t been so desperate for a team member with actual combat ability, she honestly wouldn't have had anything to do with Clarice at all. Just associating with Clarice made it harder to have future relationships with the other adventurers on this floor of the Labyrinth and their associated charters.

Before the miracle of discovering Tim, Nadine’s plan had been to grind to level five, save up a few silver and move to a different Labyrinth. Clarice’s notoriety was honestly that bad. It was not an understatement to assume that no one would willingly team up with her more than once. That is unless they were as desperate as Nadine.

But now that they had Tim, that changed everything. Nadine now had no plans on ending her partnership with either of her teammates, since both of them had now become essential.

Emelia and Tim were a package deal, so there was no way around that. Clarice knew she had nowhere else to go and frankly, Nadine knew that just because they had Tim did not make them invincible. It would be a great deal more reassuring to have another willing body between herself and the monsters.

“Um, but...Nadine? How have you been convincing the monster to help us anyway?” Emelia asked with a confused expression on her face.

“Talking mostly,” Nadine admitted. She had been raised by the church and had learned from the clergy that one of the simplest ways to calm people down was to talk things out and listen to them.

“I’ll bet your Enchanter spells had nothing to do with it,” Clarice grunted with a grin.

Nadine forced herself to smile, “As I am sure you know, Clarice, my Soothe spell can only do so much. Forgive me for being crass. To use it on an Ogre is like pissing in the wind!”

Clarice didn’t back down, “But you did, didn’t you?” She needled.

Nadine’s eye twitched as she struggled to remain civil, “Of course I did! It’s an Ogre. An aberrant Ogre even! With you two seemingly going out of your way to upset it, what choice did I have?!”

“Sheesh, you're a bit high-strung,” Clarice grinned, having gotten a rise out of her was seemingly what she had wanted, “You need to chill out and relax.”

Nadine snatched a straw-filled pillow off the bed and proceeded to mercilessly beat Clarice over the head with it.

*****

I felt much better today, a good night's sleep really seemed to have done the trick. While I was not looking forward to breaking fluffy murder-rabbit necks, I felt I could at least tolerate it.

Finding the door was locked, I spent a couple of hours watching other early risers go through their morning routines from the vantage afforded by the window. I was still used to waking up to get ready for my part-time job before going to university, but I supposed this was likely to become part of my new routine.

After another couple of hours of waiting, Nadine unlocked the door and brought me two bowls of warm stew for breakfast, “How are you feeling this morning?” She asked brightly, depositing the two bowls on the table and motioning for me to eat up, "Do you think you can manage to help us out today?"

“I think so,” I agreed, “I mean, you just want me to put down those vampire rabbits, right?”

Nadine’s eyes twinkled a little with excitement, “Yes, it would be a big help.”

Her reaction was about what I had expected. It was why they were keeping me around, after all.

All the same, I had decided to test the waters a little to reassure myself of their motives, “I might need a minute to regain my nerve, is that alright?”

Without batting an eye, Nadine nodded with an empathetic expression, “It will most likely take some getting used to. Only a deranged person would be able to look forward to such a thing and enjoy it. If you need a moment to collect yourself, just let me know, and I will make sure you get it.”

Despite her near-constant reassurances and support up to this point, I actually had not expected Nadine to go so far. Still, realised that it could be an act as well, but at this point, I doubted it made much of a real difference.

“Alright,” I agreed and began slurping down the bowls of stew.

Somewhat aware of the price for my room and the two meals, I resolved myself to at least kill enough of the Vrabbits to pay my own way. That way, the Exp would serve as a perceived ‘bonus’ so I wouldn’t be pressured to do any more than was needed.

After I finished both bowls of stew, Nadine collected the bowls and motioned for me to retrieve my club and follow her downstairs.

Clarice and Emelia were already waiting for us by the front door to the inn.

“You don’t think it’s a little weird that you are the one taking care of the monster and not Emelia?” Clarice asked with a baiting tone.

Not realising the question was not directed at her, Emelia shrugged, “It’s fine though, isn’t it? Besides giving orders, isn’t Nadine’s Class better for this sort of thing?”

That somewhat got my attention as I realised that I did not know what Class Nadine had. I had already learned that Emelia was obviously a Monster Tamer. Similarly, I had overheard the group mention that Clarice’s class was a Swordsman.

Why did they think that Nadine’s class would be better suited?

Nadine just glowered at Clarice for a brief moment before heading off towards the gate out of town.

“No fun,” Clarice grumbled quietly and began following after her.

Half expecting Emelia to give me a command, I quickly followed as well. There was no way I wanted to experience that pain inside my head again. So far as Nadine had explained it to me, medicine was prohibitively expensive and medical care was even more so.

When we arrived at the open gate, Nadine seemed to already have a place in mind and led us quite far away from town. Apparently, since the Vrabbits would be drawn to the smell of blood, it was quite safe to walk through the plain as long as other adventurers were already hunting. .

That was the theory anyway.

Nadine led us around to the plains on the rearmost side of town before pulling out a small glass vial from a special wooden box inside her backpack. “I think this area should be good for hunting today. What do you guys think?” Nadine asked in a way that made it clear she had already made up her mind.

“Fine, whatever,” Clarice grumbled and drew her sword.

“Looks good!” Emelia agreed enthusiastically.

Nadine looked at me expectantly.

“Ah, it’s fine, I guess,” I add quickly. I didn’t really know much about what would make a good hunting spot, but from what I could tell, being so close to town would probably limit the Vrabbits angle of approach. Or that’s what I thought anyway.

“Alright then,” Nadine found a small rock and dribbled some of the blood onto it before recorking the vial and stowing it away in the special small wooden box alongside another vial with strange yellow liquid inside it. Carefully placing the stone on the ground, making sure not to get any of the blood on herself, Nadine backed away and looked at me expectantly, “Are you sure you are okay with doing this?” She asked, giving me one last chance to back out.

I sighed and nodded. I wasn’t looking forward to this, but I was prepared to start pulling my own considerable weight. Knowing how useless the club had been yesterday, I slipped it through my belt and moved forward so I was standing over the blood-marked stone.

“You can do this Mister Tim!” Emelia cheered, her words providing a surprising level of reassurance.

“Pfft, we’ll see,” Clarice grumbled as she limbered up with a few practice swings.

It took less than a minute for the long grass nearby to begin rustling, really making me wonder just how close it must have been to get here so quickly.

Perhaps they had tunnels all over the plains?

“Tim!” Nadine’s voice snapped me out of it.

Distracted by considering a warren that spanned the plain around the town filled with carnivorous rabbits, I didn’t notice the Vrabbit biting down on my foot. “Sorry,” I apologised and reached down to grab the voracious little bugger worrying at my big toe.

*Crunch*

[You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp]

Only intending to get a hold of it so I could cleanly snap its neck, I was surprised that the minor tightening of my grip as I straightened my back was enough to kill it. The Vrabbit looked much the same as it had in life, just still...and floppy... starting to feel a little weird, I looked at Nadine, “What do you want me to do with it?” I asked awkwardly, trying my best not to give away how weirded out I was.

“Just throw it over here. We will store it in one of the special sacks,” Nadine answered, “You’re doing good, just let me know when you need a break, alright? There are always more monsters out and about early in the morning, so don’t hesitate to ask.”

I nodded, tossed the dead Vrabbit over to them and returned my attention to the grass ahead of me. There were already a number of Vrabbits moving through the grass a short distance away. “She isn’t kidding,'' I muttered and waited for them to show themselves.

[You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp], [You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp], [You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp]...

With each Vrabbit I killed, I really began to wonder just why I had been so against this in the first place. I didn’t enjoy it. I really found it rather annoying and boring at the same time. I tried to keep a count originally, but I had lost count at around forty. Most Vrabbits would be too preoccupied gnawing at my skin to react and were dispatched quickly, but every so often, there was a troublemaker.

The troublemakers were what broke the monotony, clambering over my body as a squirrel would. It was borderline maddening. Thankfully, thus far, none of them had managed to work their way inside of my pants or tunic, although some had come close.

“Alright, I take it back...” Clarice admitted grudgingly, “Tim is definitely not a waste of space.”

“I have at least twenty Vrabbits in my sack, and a couple are rank two’s as well. How about you two!” Emelia asked excitedly.

Clarice lifted her sack in her left hand and gave it an experimental shake, “Not sure,” she admitted, “Maybe twenty-five? It’s gonna be interesting finding out the final number at the bounty office,” she chuckled greedily.

“I think the count is around seventy-five. The increased Exp from the rank two’s makes it hard to be sure,” Nadine chimed in happily.

“How did you figure that out?” Emelia asked in surprise.

Nadine gave her a pitying look, “Basic mathematics. I already knew how much Exp I had this morning before we started, and I have seen how much I receive per Vrabbit Tim kills, so it is easy to figure out a rough number of how many have been killed so far.”

Emelia blinked in surprise, “Woah, really? Gah, I wish I had thought of that!” She moaned, “I could probably figure out how long it will take to level up!”

Nadine nodded with a smirk, “It’s okay though, our Exp should be close to the same since we have been partners from the start, remember?”

“Oh yeah!” Emelia cried, immediately bouncing back from her brief disappointment.

A sudden flash of golden light got everyone’s attention, including mine, even though I still had a pair of Vrabbits ripping at the legs of my pants. Clarice was surrounded by a golden corona with a malevolent smile on her face.

“Awww yeah! Suck it bitches! I JUST LEVELLED UP!!!” Clarice cried, dropping the sack and pumping her sword arm up in the sky.

“Awww, lucky!” Emelia pouted.

Nadine patted Emelia’s shoulder, “That’s alright, we will catch up in no time,” she consoled her.

Was that what it looked like when someone ‘levelled up’?

Besides the obvious gloating. It was certainly eye-catching.

Wouldn’t that be a liability in the Labyrinth, though? I wondered while swatting at the Vrabbit that had just now attempted to crawl up and into my pants,

“I think I am ready for a break now,” I called out, feeling a little mentally fatigued by the monotony.

*Crunch*, *Crunch*.

[You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp], [You have slain {Vrabbit: 2 } +0 Exp]

“Alright, bring over the stone and we can store it in the sack,” Nadine called back appreciatively.

As I brought over the dead Vrabbits and bloodied stone, Emelia seemed to be distracted by a new problem, wrinkling her brow in concentration, “Wait, I just realised...”

“Hrm?” Nadine gave her a curious look.

“How awesome I am?!” Clarice demanded arrogantly.

“No,” Emelia replied dismissively, “I mean of course!” She corrected as Clarice glared at her. “What I meant was, who is going to remove all the mana stones?”

Nadine and Clarice looked somewhat shocked for a moment before numbly looking down at the bulging sacks.

“Ah...” Clarice smacked her lips apprehensively.

“Right...” Nadine nodded with equal reluctance. After a short while, Nadine sighed and shrugged, “I suppose we could just agree to pay the Guild processing charge,” she suggested glumly.

Clarice nodded, “I suppose it might be a bit much to make the Og-I mean, to make Tim, do it, huh?..."

“What if we caught another monster?” Emelia suggested.

Nadine and Clarice both immediately shook their heads.

”We have been over this before,” Clarice complained, “You aren’t high enough level yet! Tim was a pure fluke! No way you can manage something like that again.”

Nadine gave Emelia an apologetic smile as she opened the sack and allowed me to deposit the stone and Vrabbits inside. “I am sorry, but Clarice is right, Emelia. A wounded Goblin would be the most you could probably manage without levelling up, and we would have to go into the forest to try and find one of those.”

Emelia seemed undeterred, if somewhat distracted, “So if I found a wounded Goblin, you reckon I could have a shot at taming it?” She asked slyly.

I turned to look in the same direction as Emelia and was not quite sure what I was seeing.

“Emelia-” Nadine sighed in exasperation.

What appeared to be a small child dressed in badly damaged adventurer's armour was sprinting across the plain from the nearby forest. The disturbed grass behind them made it obvious that there were more than a few Vrabbits on their trail.

“Yes or no?” Emelia interrupted insistently.

“I mean if we happened to find one...” Nadine’s voice trailed off as she noticed what Emelia and I were staring at.

“Tim! Bring me that Goblin!” Emelia declared eagerly.

[ Your master has given you a command. ]

I barely had time to register what she had said before the first tingling whisper of pain made itself known inside my head. Desperate to avoid feeling that pain again, I wasn’t really thinking about what I was doing. Before I realised what was happening, I was already running across the open field, giving chase to what I now realised had to be a Goblin.

*Crunch* [You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp]

I nearly slipped as an unfortunate Vrabbit was caught underfoot, and the accompanying message obstructed my sight.

The Goblin’s pace had begun flagging. However, after noticing me sprinting towards it, the Goblin gained fresh vigour and began pumping its arms and legs hard to get away. “NO KILL! NO KILL! NO DIE!” It shrieked in terror.

I could feel the pain building the moment I considered slowing down, so I continued chasing the Goblin. There were more Vrabbits joining the chase with every passing second, the grass rustling in such a way that it made me afraid that tiny raptors would drag me down at any moment.

The Goblin seemed to have noticed as well, “NO BITE, NO BITE!” It howled pitiably, narrowly avoiding a Vrabbit that was waiting in ambush ahead of it.

Having very nearly caught up to the Goblin now, It felt like I was stepping on Vrabbits more often than the ground, and I was barely able to see past all the kill notifications appearing in front of me.

Before I realised it, I had gained enough ground on the Goblin to the point that I might be able to grab it. However, with the Vrabbit death notifications as an ever-present reminder of my brute strength, I hesitated at the thought of carelessly snatching the spindly looking Goblin.

The sudden flash of pain was expected, although it was somewhat weaker than I had anticipated.

Was it perhaps taking into account the reasoning for my hesitation?

I really hoped so.

Emelia had only ordered me to bring her the Goblin. So theoretically, I could accidentally kill it and bring it to her. Unfortunately, I understood her intention to bring it back alive and couldn’t rule out the possibility that Emelia wouldn't punish me for failure. Her happy flighty nature did not mean she had moral qualms over such things, Emelia was obviously fine with the concept of slavery, so why not corporal punishment as well?

With that incentive in mind, and the pain in my head growing worse, I quickly came up with a plan that I hoped would work.

However, just as I was planning on tricking the Goblin into thinking I was going to rescue it from the Vrabbits, the Goblin tripped, and I now had to save it for real.

“AAAAAH!” The Goblin shrieked, tripping and falling into the grass, already set upon by four Vrabbits that had materialised seemingly from nowhere.

Skidding to a halt, I grabbed the back of the wildly thrashing Goblin’s armour and effortlessly lifted it into the air.

A Vrabbit was still savagely biting at the Goblin’s calf and didn’t let go until I crushed its ribcage.

Seeing the Goblin up close, I could now understand what was driving the Vrabbits into a frenzy. The Goblin already had a number of cuts littered over its body, but most prominent was the deep gash on the right side of its face. It was a miracle the Goblin had managed to keep its footing as long as it had, given that it was half-blinded by the sheet of blood coating half its face and had to be in a considerable degree of pain.

Feeling the pain in my mind increasing again and keenly aware of the Vrabbits gnawing at my feet and legs, I began running back towards Emelia. There were two problems though, as far as I could tell. Firstly, the Goblin was not nearly as exhausted as I had thought it would be, thrashing and stabbing at my arm with what looked like a small dirty shiv. Wanting to keep that weapon as far from my eyes as possible, I was forced to hold the Goblin at arms-length. Second, a small horde of carnivorous rabbits were following the scent of the Goblin's fresh blood and was therefore right behind me.

Slowing up just enough that the Vrabbits wouldn't have an easy time latching into my legs, I tried to think of what I should do. With no idea just how badly injured the Goblin was, I couldn’t rule out the possibility of it keeling over dead at any moment. So I couldn’t just stop and try stomping all the Vrabbits to death, more of them would just keep coming. However, I also doubted that Nadine, Clarice and Emelia would appreciate being swarmed by the Vrabbits either. Thankfully, my meandering jog was enough to keep the pain at bay, confirming that intentions played a significant role in the enforcement of a command.

Contrary to my expectation, Nadine was waving at me to get my attention and appeared to be motioning for me to come back.

Feeling the pain in my head slowly building, I quickly shifted back into an awkward run while trying to keep the Goblin and its shiv away from my face. Thankfully, it seemed to have realised that I meant it no immediate harm and reduced its attempts to shank my face considerably in response.

“TIM!” Emelia shouted suddenly, now that I was perhaps a few dozen feet from the group, “STOP!”

[Your master has given you a command.]

The sudden pain nearly caused me to topple down into the grass, and there was no doubt in my mind that if I had been holding the Goblin, it would have been crushed by my suddenly clenched fist. Stopping as quickly as I could, I slipped and only barely managed to fall backwards on my ass through some divine miracle of physics momentary inattention.

[You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp], [You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp], [You have slain {Vrabbit: 1 } +0 Exp]...

The sudden bombardment of notifications made it clear that there had been no shortage of Vrabbits literally right behind me as I fell. Even now, they were swarming over my legs and clambering up my chest, gnawing and biting as they tried to reach the terrified Goblin now firmly wrapped around my raised arm as if it were a tree.

The Goblin had now redirected its shiv towards the Vrabbits, which was of small consolation as I desperately swatted them off my body and did my best to protect my face. I had no plans on testing whether my eyes were as tough as my skin.

Just as I was thinking of how important it was to protect my eyes, I felt something shatter against my face, and my sense of smell was mercilessly obliterated by the invasive stench of licorice. Forced to close my eyes for fear that they would burn from the intensity of the smell, I now had to rely on my sense of touch alone to ward off the Vrabbits. This would have been fine if my thickened skin didn’t also reduce its sensitivity, making it a maddening contest of mental fortitude vs paranoia.

“Tim! Don’t worry, we are coming to help!” Nadine called out, her voice growing closer by the second. “Did you really have to hit him in the face?!”

“Don’t blame me! You just said to hit him with it!” Clarice argued bitterly, apparently the one responsible for pelting my face with whatever was responsible for permanently destroying my sense of smell.

“I said to aim for his chest!’ Nadine growled somewhere nearby.

“I did! I swear!” Clarice insisted defensively, “I mustn’t have accounted for my level up, is all...”

Cracking my eyes open just a little, I immediately regretted it. The fumes irritated my eyes to the point that I thought they must be burning.

Had Clarice thrown some sort of high proof alcohol at my face?!

Considering how dry my face felt, the only possible explanation I could think of was that Clarice must have pelted my face with some sort of diabolical licorice schnapps.

By the time I could stand to open my eyes, the Vrabbit swarm was no more, its members having died or fled.

“Ahem!” Nadine gave Emelia an angry expectant look.

Emelia cowered somewhat, “Ah, sorry Tim,” she apologized, “I got a little excited. You can stop stopping now,” Emelia said sheepishly.

Until she said those words, I had not realised just how tense I was. Almost every muscle in my body suddenly relaxed all at once.

“At least we got some good Exp out of it,” Clarice commented a little breathlessly, stuffing another Vrabbit into her sack. “Heck, even looks like we might get Emelia that Goblin she was after too!” She said sarcastically, most likely in regards to the Goblin's pitiable condition.

“Oh! I almost forgot! Thanks, Clarice!” Emelia burbled, shifting her attention to the petrified Goblin clinging to my still upraised arm.

“Strange that it is wearing armour though,” Nadine commented curiously, “To be wounded already as well. Did another adventurer or party already attack it?”

“Who cares?!” Emelia insisted, “This Goblin is mine now! Just let me concentrate for a second to use my Ability...”

“Hrm...Emelia, I think you should probably wait a moment. If another party already attacked this Goblin, it could cause problems if they find out you tamed it,” Nadine cautioned worriedly.

“Pffft so what?!” Clarice scoffed, “You know the rules of the Guild. If they couldn’t manage to kill it, it's fair game!”

From what I understood of Clarice’s temperament, Emelia taming this Goblin was definitely a very bad idea.

“Oh no,” Feeling the Goblin suddenly stiffen against my arm, I couldn’t help but groan.

“No hurt! No, eat! I serve!” The Goblin squeaked shrilly, still frightened out of its wits.

Feeling a warm liquid running down my arm, I sincerely hoped it was Goblin blood.

“Woah!” Emelia exclaimed excitedly.

“What?” Clarice asked snidely, “You get another named monster?” She snorted.

Emelia didn’t miss a beat, “Yup.”

Clarice stiffened and abandoned the Vrabbit she was reaching for, instead slowly looking towards Emelia with a shocked and incredulous expression, “That’s a bad joke, Emelia.”

Nadine paled and shifted her attention to the Goblin.

“It’s true!” Emelia insisted, “It already has a name and everything!”

From what I learned from Nadine, I couldn’t imagine avaricious adventurers being happy about losing what had to be a fairly sizable payday.

Clarice had begun to sweat a little, saying nothing and now gathering the dead Vrabbits with renewed vigour.

Nadine did likewise, “Maybe if we discard its equipment?” She muttered quietly.

Seemingly unperturbed by what was going on around her, Emelia was beaming as she took a closer look at her new Goblin, “Why is your name Toofy?” Emelia asked curiously.

The Goblin, Toofy, gave a wide grin, its normally pinched face now slit by a large crescent smile of sharp yellow teeth, “Toofy is Toofy, cuz Toofy has all her teef!” The Goblin declared proudly.

Emelia had a serious expression on her face as she considered this for a moment before nodding sagely, ”That makes sense,” she agreed, apparently convinced. “Oh,” Emelia seemed to realise something, “You can put Toofy down now, Tim.”

More than happy to oblige, I lowered my arm and was glad to find that it had indeed been blood running down my arm from the bite wound in Toofy’s calf, not urine. Unfortunately, even though I let go of Toofy, Toofy did not let go of me.

“Ah! No grass! No biters!” Toofy whimpered in her shrill voice, desperately clinging to my arm for dear life. To be fair, if I was Toofy, I probably would too. The thought of being chased down and eaten by carnivorous rabbits a quarter my size was bloody terrifying.

“We should probably leg it,” Clarice suggested nervously, “Pretty sure we’ve got most of them anyway.”

Nadine nodded, “That would be best,” she agreed, withdrawing another sack from her backpack. “Uh, Toofy, how about you ride inside this sack, so the grass biters don’t find you,” Nadine suggested while handing me the sack.

Toofy blinked and tilted her head to one side like a dog, “Sack safe? No grass biters?” She asked suspiciously.

Nadine nodded, “The sack is magic!” She insisted, “Only dead grass biters can go in the sack.”

Toofy required no further convincing and eagerly hopped into the sack, “Hehe! No grass biters get Toofy!” She cackled quietly from inside the sack.

Giving me an apologetic look, Nadine quickly motioned for the group to head back towards the town gate. “With any luck, we can get back to the Guild and settle up these Vrabbits before any trouble starts," she muttered.

“Hrmph, bloody doubt it,” Clarice moaned ruefully, “Emelia spent all our luck already and then some, we’re screwed.”

Noticing the angry group of adventurers heading in our direction from the forest, I was inclined to agree.

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