Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Goblin Sl*yer Not
When the adorable fluffball pointed northeast and told me there were goblins, I realized how screwed I was. I was just a healer with almost no close combat experience. I'm not meant to fight, just heal people. Then I remembered.
"Little cub, can you use [Stealth]?"
It nodded its head then barked.
Yes! Lady Luck is with me today. How fortunate. I fist-pumped to the sky no longer able to contain my excitement.
[Stealth] is an ability most predators are born with in order to hunt prey. However, this ability can also be learned by assassins to do the same. For contacted monsters, ones that swear an oath to protect the one who forms a contract, bond, with them, [Stealth] can be used to cloak both the monster and the contractor. With the little cub's [Stealth], getting the Red Ginseng will be a piece of cake!
"Let's go," I pat its head, "once we get back, I buy a wild boar cutlet sandwich just for you."
The little cub barked in reply happy that it was rewarded from helping me. Thinking of the sandwich, the little cub drooled. Then it came to me since this adorable cub was now my contracted monster, I should give it a name. While running deeper into the forest, I thought about what name I should give it.
White. Fluffy. Nah, to normal...I've got it.
"Little cub," I declared, "I'll name you Hatsu!"
The little cub seemed happy with its name and let out two happy barks. Then it licked my face.
"Hey, that tickles." I laughed.
Realizing that we were almost at the Red Ginseng, Hatsu barked and pointed its paw at a tree to the right about a hundred meters away. Transferring my mana to my feet, I took a hung leap to the tree landing right in front of the trunk. The tree was rotting, its leaves have fallen to the ground and its bark crumbled in my hands like paper. Every step I took, the leaves crunched under my foot. It was satisfying but it may attract the attention of nearby monsters. Hatsu gave me a cute punch to my cheek and pointed down at the foot of the trunk. Squatting down, I brush the leaves aside. Underneath the pile, I saw a faint red hue emitting from the soil. I found it! The Red Ginseng.
"You're the best Hatsu!" I said.
Patting its head, I pluck the root out of the ground. It smelled sweet almost like mangosteen but I remembered Rishi's description:
The scent of the Red Ginseng is highly intoxicating but if used correctly, it can increase one's mana capacity exponentially over a month. Nobles are willing to pay a high price for such a treasure but be careful, the scent also attracts demons and other monsters.
As I recalled his message, a horde of small, green, long-nosed creatures appeared out of the shadows sauntering in a half-drunk state.
I knew the Red Ginseng scent was strong but I didn't think it was this strong.
The goblins were armed with blunt weapons, some even broken. The goblins were closing in on me fast, eyes red with hunger. Some even frothing at the mouth. Since I had virtually no combat ability at the time, my only instinct was to run as fast as my legs could take me. Hastily, I placed the Red Ginseng in my storage space and transferred half of my remaining mana to my legs and sprinted through a tiny opening in the goblins' disorganized enclosure. Before the goblins had a chance to react, I was already two hundred meters away.
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Transferring mana to anywhere in the body is a prerequisite in order to become an Adventurer, someone who takes quests and completes them for a living. It is a basic survival skill, everyone learns it when they are toddlers or worse come to worse, in the Magic Academy. Even if one's mana does not have properties: wind, earth, fire, water, etc, they are still able to use some extent of mana because everyone is born with at least one mana meridian. A mana meridian is a pathway in the body that leads to the mana core, the source of any beings mana. The bigger the mana core, the more mana one has and the more times one can use spells or incantations.
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Even though I was two hundred meters away from the goblins, I did not stop running. Because I picked up the Red Ginseng with my bare hands, the sweet scent of the Ginseng remained on my hands and since monsters have stronger senses than the average humanoid, they could track me to the end of the earth in order to get the Ginseng. Despite now being three kilometers away from the horde, I did not feel safe. Seeing light ahead, I use the last of my stored mana, pushing myself to the goal ahead. Out I was from the dark forest but was greeted me was a nice cliff with a view of the city some kilometers away. I checked my surroundings to make sure no one was tailing me then I checked if Hatsu was still on my shoulder. Hatsu was still there but its fur was all brushed back from the wind.
"Sorry Hatsu," I apologized to Hatsu taking the little cub off my shoulder, "I ran too fast. Are you okay?"
On the ground, the little cub wagged its tail and barked signifying that it was okay while brushing its fur.
"That's great!" I smiled.
Hatsu nodded and hopped back onto my shoulder, letting its tail hang off my back.
"Listen Hatsu," I spoke, "we'll have to stay here for an hour, I need to recover my mana before head back. I hope that doesn't bother you?"
Hatsu barked in response telling me that it was fine.
"Alright! Well then, Hatsu want some berries?" I asked pointing to a bush with fresh blackberries.
Hatsu panted sticking its little pink tongue out as it waited to try some. I walked over to the bush and pick a handful of them. I gave a few to Hatsu who sniffed them with its tiny nose, then took a nibble out of one letting the juice explode all over its mouth. Hatsu's face lit up with delight licking the juice on the ground and around its face.
Patting Hatsu on the head I let out a small laugh.
"You sure like them. Hahahaha."
"Arf!" Hatsu nodded in agreement.
Forgetting about the goblins, I sat at the edge of the cliff snacking on blackberries. Looking out into the distance, the city's wall protruded from the endless forest, piercing the endless blue sky. Below, the lush green forest was all that could be seen with the occasional flock of birds flying from the canopy. Time passed and my mana was almost replenished but what I saw next, would change my life forever.
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