Battlefield- Evolution

by Daniel Dragon

  He’d grown up in a third-class city, which was reserved specifically for third born and fourth born. He’d seen this site of bowing goblins many times as hobgoblins walked into town, and tried to emulate it as best as he could.

  If they are able to tell I’m human, I’ll surely be killed! Hobgoblins on average are level 10! I literally must not make any mistakes or they’ll kill me where I stand!

  Dracon’s face touched the ground as the two hobgoblins walked up to him and kicked him in the jaw. He rolled into the river as the hobgoblins laughed, finding the tide pulling him down stream.

  The hobgoblins merely laughed as he fought and struggled to move his hands and feet… Goblins were not known for being strong swimmers, and he found out this was true more and more as the tide sucked him underneath.

  He could hear the hobgoblins laughing as he went further and further towards whatever was pulling him down the river… He began to hear the sound of water bursting off a cliff, and got pulled under water over and over again as an arrow shot into the stream.

  He held tightly onto his sword, and felt his leg scrape into rocks before he held his breath as the sound only got stronger. A second later, his body shot off the edge of the waterfall, causing him to see the sky before his back crashed into the tide below.

  “Idiot… Deactivate the transformation so you can swim again… Once you make it to the shore, you can worry about being killed later…”

  I… I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, Dracon thought before he held onto the sword and tried to channel his mana to activate the spell…

  He could see his instructor’s face, Creston, as he stood over him, forcing him to meditate for 48 hours at a time… He did exactly as he instructed at the time – to channel his energy - and soon somehow managed to activate the transformation spell…

  His body soon returned to its more pudgy state, allowing him to move his arms and force himself to the shore line. He climbed up onto the shore and pulled himself out, noticing a tower to his left and right.

  He instantly reactivated the goblin transformation spell – still unsure of its name – as he spit out water on the river’s edge. He could barely remain conscious as he heard footsteps approaching again.

  This time, he didn’t want to stick around to find out what the hobgoblins, or their orc leaders would do. He ran into the forest as quick as he could, seeing the brambles turn to thick trees as he made it into the woods. Luckily, when he turned back, no one had followed him.

  I have to be careful… If someone saw a human, I’d probably be killed instantly and then eaten for their supper… I have to take advantage of this opportunity for humanity… Only by killing all the demons will we ever stand a chance at piece!

  Dracon spit out a little bit of blood from his mouth before he looked at his hands and then up at the trees above him. Goblins had thick fingernails that supposedly made them master climbers. He stabbed his hands into the bark, pulling himself up to the top of the tree a hundred feet above.

  He looked down at his hands, a second later, and noticed his green skin and black hair running down his sides. He could only imagine that his brown eyes had turned the darkest black, which all the nefarious members of the darkness had. He sighed and kicked back on the tree as he stared down at the sword…

  “Bob… since you can’t get in trouble anyway… Do you mind telling me what this sword can do?”

  “You mean give it an appraisal,” His AI said somewhat domineeringly, turning his head from side to side. “I would… However, I’d rather tell you the good news… You know how much experience you got from killing that goblin?”

  “How much?” Dracon said, waddling his brow as the blade shimmered in the sun. “Status…”

  “Ah… Not showing you that right now… The light from the display box might attract attention. Remember, humans have red display boxes while demons have black… You want to get caught, idiot?”

  “Tell me, Bob… You’ve been with me since I was 5…” Dracon crossed his arms, looking down at a small hobgoblin walking by in the woods. It had a strange look in his eye, had he been followed?

  “Hey… idiot… There is no way you saw a human this far down the river…” A deep voice said, coming out of the shadows towards the hobgoblin… “The two upriver said they kicked a goblin… He’s probably hiding in the trees around here…”

  “I know that look…” The goblin replied, slamming his hand into the tree… “That was a human! I’m going to eat that bastard if I find him!”

  Dracon gulped, and quieted his breath as he sat above them in the tree, shielded by the leaves that matched his verdant skin. A second later, he found out that he’d gotten 870 experience from killing that one goblin, bringing him almost to level 3 as he shivered in the tree…

  “Let’s get out of here… Just a damn goblin… Arta… Now… if you don’t hurt back I’ll eat your food…” the other hobgoblin said, turning back and looking at the river… “If you want to be crazy, I’ll leave you here to look…”

  “I’m going to find that human and eat him…” Arta replied, grinding his hand into a fist as he walked in the opposite direction… “Save me some food for when I get back… I’ll be bringing some fresh food to eat…”

  The two goblins separated as Dracon turned around and watched the hobgoblin head deeper into the forest. Part of him wanted to try and kill him, thinking about the massive experience boost he’d gotten.

  Imagine what would happen if he killed a level 10 hobgoblin?! He might jump all the way to level 5 and be able to enter one of the second-tier cities!

  He sighed and jumped to the tree to his right, acting like a squirrel as he followed the hobgoblin towards the river. Funnily enough, he somehow felt comfortable in the trees… Was this weapon better than he thought?

  It’s… it’s probably a tier one weapon, meaning it came from a tier one city! If that is the case, then it means it’s an extremely rare weapon! Does it have any other abilities embued inside of it?

  “Bob… does this sword have one or two abilities?”

  “I’d tell you if you leveled up… I’m limited without the mana of the mainframe… Unless you want me to suck you dry of course?”

  “No… however, I have to ask you… Why haven’t you sucked me dry? Wouldn’t you get a reward when they discovered my dead body?”

  “What, and get put in a tier 2 human only to live a life of drudgery?” His AI laughed, showing that it had developed a unique personality of its own. “Nah, thanks… I’ve come to like you humans even though it wasn’t in my fundamental code…”

  “I forgot… My AI is a freak,” Dracon said, stopping above the hobgoblin as he slammed his blade into a tree…

  “Ah… damn it! I was sure that I saw a human!” The hobgoblin turned around and sat with his back against the tree, crossing his arms as he turned around and sat. “If you’re out there human! I’m going to find you and eat you alive!”

  Dracon gulped and pulled out his blade, looking at the hobgoblin with a killing intent radiating out of his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to decapitate it and suck up all the experience such a kill would net him…

  “I wouldn’t risk it, Dracon… If your first attack doesn’t work, then he’ll instantly kill you… You got to remember that demon’s are all about hierarchies… If you attack someone above your hierarchy, it means they can kill you without blinking…”

  “So what?” Dracon climbed down the back of the tree… “How much experience will a level 10 kill get me? Why would I not take the risk?”

  “You… you’re an idiot, but he looks like one too,” Bob said, snidely as Dracon landed on the floor. He put his back to the large oak tree separating him from the hobgoblin.

  “Ah! Damn it! I just heard something!” The hobgoblin got up, pulling out his blade and slashing it into the tree. ‘Damn it! What skill are you using human? How dare you cross into the demon’s territory and think you’ll survive…”

  The hobgoblin ke
pt slashing into the tree, causing the leaves and branches to fall off of it before he began to sweat heavily and heave. With his level 10 strength, he almost completely gutted the tree, leaving it nearly falling over as Dracon remained silent.

  The hobgoblin, luckily, began to walk off after getting out his rage. He started to whistle a second later, showing just how temperamental hobgoblins were at their core.

  They were said to always be angry because of their small stature but big strength. Because of that, they were always underestimated in the other world – the world humans knew nothing about but all demons came from.

  Now is my chance… Hopefully, with that idiot singing, he won’t notice my approach.

  Dracon slowly ambled over towards the hobgoblin, running from tree to tree as his little feet hardly made any noise. Goblins were really thin, and thus had the highest stealth stat at low levels. He made it closer and closer to the river’s edge before the hobgoblin finally opened a canteen. A red juice poured onto his lips as Dracon tried to remain calm.

  A rock was by his side that he picked up and put in his right hand. He tossed it to the tree to the right, causing the branches to shake and the hobgoblin to scream once again.

  “Human! I knew you were up there!” The hobgoblin said, pointing his hilt up at the tree. “I’m coming up! I may not be as good as climbing as a dumb goblin, but I’ll get you…”

  Swoosh!

  Dracon ran swiftly and then cut with his blade, causing blood to gush out of the hobgoblin’s neck as his body fell down from the tree…

  Instantly, his body glowed like a bright light, causing all the birds above him in the branches and boughs of the trees to fly off in various directions.

  Dracon could only hope that no one had noticed the odd occurrence, smelling a pleasant scent wafting from the river’s edge. It was probably lunch time, he extrapolated, from what the hobgoblins had said, and he could only smile as he looked down at the dead body beneath his feet.

  “Congratulations kid… You just did what no other third tier human has ever done before… You reached level 4 in a day from level 2… In fact, how long has it been, three hours?”

  Level 4… That means if I can almost make it to a tier 2 city, I’ll be able to download three skills now right? I… I have to find somewhere to hide to check my status…”

  “Arta! Arta! Where are you?” A voice came from the trees, making Dracon instantly shiver with fear and panic. He didn’t have time to pull Arta’s body away, and rushed up the trees as that same hobgoblin from earlier came back to the area.

  He instantly broke down with tears as he saw Arta’s corpse on the floor, screaming for reinforcements as Dracon remained up in the tree…

  What was he going to do?

  All his instincts went into overdrive, and he jumped down from the tree, slashing his blade through the hobgoblins arm. Instantly, the hobgoblins arm went flying off as he landed, and he sliced out three more times missing on every successive slash.

  “You… you’re the goblin they kicked into the river… You… you’re the one who killed Arta…”

  The hobgoblin wiped the tears off his eyes, looking back at his arm flailing on the floor as he smiled nefariously. “Heh… you must have thought you could kill us to level up… However, after I kill you, I’m going to reattach my arm, and then drag your corpse to the sharks…”

  The hobgoblin pulled out a long double-edged blade from his back and spun it around several times with just his single hand. Draco could barely remain calm as sweat started to pour down from his forehead.

  “I… I made a mistake, Arta tried to kill me so I killed him instead…”

  “So… you should’ve just died,” The hobgoblin said, ignoring the hand behind Dracon’s back as he clutched tightly onto his dagger. “You… you’re just as bad as that human I ate for dinner last night… Complaining and complaining even as you wait at death’s door…”

  “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Dracon said, bowing his head as the hobgoblin put the blade against his neck… “Please… please forgive me! I didn’t mean too!”

  “Heh…. Die!” The hobgoblin smiled, picking up his blade as Dracon spun to cover his head. He closed his eyes as he spun, causing the hobgoblin to smile with satisfaction.

  Unfortunately, as he spun, he tossed the dagger out of his back hand, sending it deep into the hobgoblin’s skull. He opened his eyes once again and slashed out, causing the second hobgoblin to die from the slash…

  Instantly, a red box appeared in front of him, causing him to smile as he looked at the notification he’d received.

  You’ve reached level 5, and have gained the title of second class human! Your mana has increased by + 15… You now have just enough mana to activate the appraisal skill… Unfortunately, you still need a mainframe to upgrade your skills…

  “Please… please appraise the weapon.” Dracon said, smiling as he looked down at the blade, which had just cut through the arm of that hobgoblin like it was nothing.

  Truthfully, he shouldn’t have been able to pierce the armor of the hobgoblin due to their level difference, however, he was almost sure this was a tier one weapon! If it was, that would mean it could pierce through tier two and three armor!

  There was tier zero armor, after that, and that was the extent of his knowledge. A second later, he noticed a small box had appeared hovering above the blade…

  Great Demon Decapitator

  Tier Zero

  Type: Upgradeable

  Force: 50 – 8,000

  Weight: 15 kgs

  Durability: 1195 / 1200

  Skills: Blood absorption, Goblin Transformation.

  ~Kill one more hobgoblin in order to be able to earn the skill hobgoblin transformation.

  Dracon nearly puked as he realized this was a tier zero weapon! What exactly had he found on the battlefield? A tier zero weapon meant that only a high-ranking vampire or perhaps even a high class demon could ever receive it?

  What were the chances of him finding it? Not to mention… Since it said upgradeable, that meant it would keep increasing its power output as he leveled up…

  I don’t believe it… A weapon that will level up with me from level 1 to probably a 100…. I can’t imagine the odds of me actually finding this weapon in a battlefield. Had someone placed it there so a human could get it just for this reason?

  Some demons were privy to human’s desire for freedom, however, it didn’t mean that their blacksmiths would make a weapon to help human’s escape! Could it be? The resistance to the demons was still happening, and this weapon was proof of that resistance movement?

  Were there more of these weapons?

  He gulped as his status appeared a second later, making him smile as he stood above the two dead bodies of hobgoblins.

  Dracon

  Level 5

  Race(s) : Human / Goblin

  Age: 18

  Exp: 150 / 5000

  Health: 800 / 800

  Force: 450

  Endurance: 325

  Acceleration: 480

  Trickery: 125

  Stealth: 400

  Skills: None

  ~~You have four skill points, but have to be at a terminal to use the skill points for yourself… However, you’re now a tier 2 human, and should be able to get into a tier 2 city!

  If I go to a tier 2 city, an no one recognizes me, won’t I be killed anyway? Goblins are usually level 5, so if I go to a demon city, it might be safer…

  However, how am I supposed to find the demon’s city? They keep them hidden from humans at all costs… Should I just walk in a random direction and see if I get lucky?

  Dracon tossed the two hobgoblin bodies up into the trees, and then carefully chose a direction to head in. He began to walk and walk and walk, feeling that even his basic pace had increased by a ridiculous amount!

  Chapter 3: Skill Terminal

  Dracon walked for two days before he stumbled into the estuary of another river. He hid behind the bushes a
fter crossing and looked at a cloud of smoke rising in the distance… Had he found a demon city? There was a large stone wall in front of him where wagons were being brought in one after another…

  He grinded his fist… This was probably one of the cities where they took the bodies from the battlefields. He had no choice but to walk to the entrance gate and duck his head as he walked into the city. At the gates, two extremely tall orcs were commanding goblins where to put the wagons…

  “Take that to the butcher’s shop… that’s level 4 meat, right?”

  “Yes, just got it from the battlefield… We even have a couple level 5s who died right as they leveled up…”

  “Bring that personally to my mansion, and here… a little bit of coin for you not telling anyone about that…”

  Dracon walked past the orc, keeping his head down as he kept pace with a wagon. Luckily, goblins with such high level meat usually traveled in packs rather than with just one or two goblins, letting him sneak inside at their snide…

  He made it into the city walls, a moment later, where there were hundreds of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, vampires, kobolds , and other tentacular beings walking on the streets.

  He tried his hardest not to wretch as he walked into the town and saw their pristine city streets with pretty houses, bars, and restaurants at every corner. He kept his head down and just kept walking as higher-class demons shoved past him, and pushed him onto the ground.

  “Kid… you’re in luck…” Bob took Dracon out of his strange melancholy as he pushed himself off the ground. “I sense a terminal nearby where you can learn skills… Since it’s a demon terminal, you’ll get access to skills that normal humans would only dream of acquiring…”

  “How do I know you won’t report me once I learn a skill?” Thanks, but I’d rather just rely on this blade… I’d say the chance of you betraying me are over 90 percent…”

  “Kid… How dare you say that about me,” Bob said, burning with rage as Dracon walked over to the terminal keeper. “Do you think… do you think that I was with you since you were five years old just to betray you at the right time?”