By daybreak the field was a butcher shop with toddlers as shopkeepers.
Scorched grass. Splintered carts. One robber, who was still bound to a railing, was snoring through a busted nose.
Sen Zu was drinking piping-hot soup made of turnips out of a chipped bowl his eyelids half-closed in delight. "Mmm. Triumph is root vegetable and ego."
Rin was working on stitching Nne who was struck by the same log he struck in the fight.
Nne mumbled proudly, swaying where she stood, because of loss of blood, "I feel stronger."
"You sound more stupid," Rin corrected.
Sen Zu disregarded them as well as he opened the new award as a child would with a cursed Christmas gift.
.........
[Skill Book: Goblin Rush (Lv. 1)]
Type: Active Skill
Effect: Launches a reckless charge. Increases speed by 70%, lowers defense by 40%.
Cooldown: 15 seconds
Note: High chance of broken limbs if used poorly.
.........
"Oh, this is perfect," Sen Zu whispered.
He assembled those goblins as a football coach holds a huddle. Half of them did not appear. Otto was still chewing a bone. Trois was sleeping upside down on a tree.
Fünf had himself in pursuit.
"We've entered a new era," Sen Zu declared. "The Training Arc."
Uno raised a hand. "Will there be snacks?"
"Only the taste of glory and possibly your own teeth."
They cheered anyway.
.........
The next three hours were chaos, bruises, and screaming.
Uno used Goblin Rush and launched headfirst into a tree. Twice.
Sebun tried it mid-backflip and landed in the latrine pit.
Roku used it correctly, then tripped over Ni, who was too busy taking notes on everyone else's mistakes.
Only Diez executed it without incident. He rushed, crashed into a boulder, and the boulder cracked.
Sen Zu clapped like a proud dad at a violent school play.
Rin stood nearby with a bandage roll in one hand and despair in the other. "Why are we training like this?"
"Because pain builds character," Sen Zu said. "And because I don't trust the next batch of visitors to be dumber than the last."
He wasn't wrong.
Just before sunset, the system chimed again.
[DING!]
.........
[Goblin Unity Level Increased: Lv. 2]
Passive Bonus: Basic Coordination (Goblins no longer rush into battle one by one like idiots)
New Feature Unlocked: Squad Management (Basic)
.........
"Look at that," Sen Zu said, holding up two fingers like horns. "We're evolving."
Diez stared at him like he was planning something that involved sharp objects and silence.
Sen Zu stared back. "We cool?"
Diez slowly nodded.
Uno raised his hand again. "Can we name our squad?"
Sen Zu grinned. "Absolutely. What's the name?"
Uno puffed up his chest. "We are... THE BRICK SMASHERS!"
Rin paused. "Why bricks?"
"Because," Uno said proudly, "we broke like six of them during training."
Sen Zu clapped. "Approved."
Otto, still chewing something, nodded solemnly.
... .........
Sen Zu looked that night around the fire, at his goblins, lumpish and struggling with their bandages, with their bruises, but his.
A strange warmth spread on his chest, Pride? Possibly rabies. difficult to say.
Rin sat beside him, arms crossed. "They're getting stronger."
He leaned a little closer. "Jealous of my leadership, huh?"
She didn't move away. "Jealous of your stupidity, maybe."
Sen Zu smirked. "Hey. You blushed."
"No, I didn't!"
"You totally did."
Rin threw a pebble at him. It hit his forehead with surprising accuracy.
The fire crackled.
The goblins snored.
And from the treeline, something watched, silent, low, and wrong.
But Sen Zu didn't see it yet.
He was too busy planning tomorrow's lesson:
"How Not to Die While Charging."
.........