The camp came into view, and what they saw set them all in motion. The party charged forward, preparing for battle. Korgrith roared in anger, lumbering ahead of the group, and activated his [Charge] skill on the closest enemy. They all followed closely behind, picking their own targets.

  This shouldn’t have happened. Where did they come from? How did they get here without us seeing them?

  A large group of goblins had attacked their camp. Alex could see the butchered bodies of the people he promised to help keep safe. The people that he vowed to protect. The people who were his.

  No one touches what's mine.

  He ignored his stupid progenitor possessiveness. He had known these people for only a few days, but he didn’t care, nor could he control his new personality quirks even if he wanted to.

  Alex channeled fire into his sword as the weapon was drawn from its sheath. The blade, bathed in fire, radiated heat that made the air around it shimmer. He dashed forward and struck the nearest goblin with a downward strike, cleanly slicing the creature in two while cauterizing the wound at the same time.

  Looking around for his next target, Alex checked all the goblins he could see. He wanted to know their levels, capabilities, and most of all, if there were any commanders or other Bronze ranks.

  It seemed to be a wide mix, from what he could tell. Mostly the same kinds he had seen before, but he noticed some extra types sprinkled in. Goblins he had never seen before.

  Korgrith was engaging a massive one, one wider than he was.

  Goblin Brute (Level 8)

  Goblins are a race considered to be the scourge of any planet. Basic goblins are aggressive and not intelligent. They only care about killing, looting, and breeding. This goblin variant is a Brute. They are slow, but sturdy. Commonly used for attacking defensive formations or walls.

  That's a big boyyyyy. He’s twice as wide as Korgrith, and almost as tall. But it looks like he can handle it himself.

  Alex noticed another new type, near the walls, trying to hide from direct confrontation with the people in the camp.

  Goblin Sapper (Level 6)

  Goblins are a race considered to be the scourge of any planet. Basic goblins are aggressive and not intelligent. They only care about killing, looting, and breeding. This goblin variant is a Sapper. They are intelligent and try to avoid direct confrontation if they can. They prefer to just blow things up. Commonly used in conjunction with Goblin Brutes, because when paired together, they are very effective at breaking down structural defenses.

  That explains why the walls look like they were smashed apart. Explosives or explosive magic, and brute force.

  He quickly went for the Sapper, not wanting to risk it getting free to cause more havoc on their base. It only took a moment for him to close the distance, still wrapped in his wind enhancement. The sapper was weak and tried to run. But it was easily killed with a quick stab to its back when it turned around.

  Next, Alex ran for the cave. He needed to make sure no goblins were inside. There were people inside. Luckily, they had arrived soon after the goblins' attack, so it didn't look like they got inside it yet.

  But that didn’t save the people who died outside.

  Anger boiled up inside him, thinking of the dead people under his protection. Briefly checking inside the cave, he confirmed no one was hurt or fighting. They were safe. Some of the earth mages had even created some defences.

  Fucking goblins. Fucking tutorial. Fucking system. Killing all these innocents for no damn reason. More deaths. Always more.

  He channeled his earth magic, adding an extra layer of defense at the cave entrance. Then he went back out, planning to butcher every goblin he could find to relieve his anger.

  I can feel what Archy meant when he said Progenitors always sought vengeance. I can feel it raging inside me, threatening to boil over. I both want it and need it.

  And I plan to get it.

  Outside, he went to work and slaughtered every goblin he could find. He swapped his sword to wind magic, and he cut through them all like paper. He also saw his friends doing their part against the goblins, while Sarah was healing the few who were still alive outside the cave. There weren’t many.

  There had to have been over 40 of them.

  “Where is th–”, stopping mid-sentence, as he saw what he was looking for. A commander. Alex had a feeling one would be here with so many goblins.

  He yelled out to his team, “Everyone, gather up! You're all killing this Bronze rank for the achievement. I’m not helping. I’ll take care of the regular goblins.”

  “Achievement?” Sam asked, coming up beside him, eyeballing the commander.

  “Yep. You guys will get a percentage stat boost for killing a monster one rank above your own. I don’t know if it will be different from mine, since I did it solo, though.”

  “Hmm, fair enough. Looks like everyone's almost here. We’ll handle the big guy. You go play with the little ones.” Sam said with a grin, raising his eyebrows, clearly understanding his innuendo.

  “How can you make goblin slaying sound dirty?” Alex shook his head and walked off to kill some goblins. While he moved to the closest goblin, he considered a few things.

  They all feel too weak now that I’m Bronze. I want a challenge. Even the level 9 shamans have been easy as hell. Evolution really is a huge step up. I need to get the others there too, so I don’t always need to be there with them. They would be able to handle the goblins fine, even a commander. I’m worried about other humans and species, too. Archy’s warning bothers me.

  He remembered word for word what he had told him, “Alex, I will be blunt. What is about to happen to your planet will not be good. Many will die. Some from wild monsters, dungeons, and other normal things. But most deaths… will probably be from fellow denizens of the planet. Most people are not naturally kind; this is a hard lesson you will soon see.”

  It bothered him to think normal people would cause so many problems, but he wasn’t naive enough to disregard that warning. Even before the integration, humans were capable of monstrous acts of cruelty.

  ***

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  While watching Alex walk away to kill more of the goblins, the smile left Sam’s face. He was actually nervous to fight this commander. He’d seen Alex's struggle against one and knew his magic wouldn’t be overly effective.

  Luckily, he had help, though, unlike Alex. It should make things much easier for him. Taking a big deep breath, he started preparing his fire magic. He felt quite adept with it and really enjoyed it.

  That first day of the integration, he hadn’t been too fond of being a fire mage. It was cool. But he really wanted something more unique, or maybe just a profession to grind out. Maybe alchemy? He always loved the science behind cultivating herbs for recreational use and their effects on humans.

  It would be pretty fun just to sit in a lab and make potions or grow plants. He thought.

  ***

  Korgrith was angry. Some of his people had been butchered while they were away.

  I should have been here for them. WE should have been here. I know Rykos feels the same as I do. And I can even see the anger in Alex’s eyes. He's not very good at hiding his emotions.

  He heard Alex call out to them to fight the commander, so he was making his way there. The large goblin standing over there was waiting for them. It knew they were challenging it.

  He was excited to bash something, needing to let out more of his anger and rage, and this commander would be that release. But he wouldn’t be foolish and try to challenge this Bronze rank alone. He had seen how strong it was. So he waited for the others to gather.

  ***

  Rykos wanted to rend and tear anything he could get near his claws or fangs. Seeing what had been done to his people left him in a rage. He tore goblin bodies limb from limb, satiating his bloodlust on them.

  So much had happened in the last week, and his life had changed. Life before the integration had been relatively peaceful, aside from occasional squabbles with other beastkin. They had good lives. Rykos hunted for his people and helped Korgrith look after them. They were his family. It didn’t matter what kind of beastkin they were.

  And now, seeing their corpses mutilated and thrown all over, broke his heart. He wanted to howl into the sky and lament their passing. But that was only after he avenged them with Korgrith. He would tear out this commander's heart and feast upon it.

  ***

  It took all Sarah's willpower not to let tears roll down her face. She was barely holding them back. Each body she went to was worse than the last. Rarely were they found alive to heal.

  This isn’t how she expected her life to go. She was a nurse before the integration, who just liked to help people, and then went home to her quiet life. But this… It's like a warzone she’d seen only on TV or in movies.

  I need to be strong. I need to be a better healer to save more people. Some of these people didn’t need to die… I could have saved them if I were stronger.

  She gritted her teeth in frustration. She hated to be a burden and felt so useless.

  I need better healing, she thought as she joined her friends to attack the commander.

  ***

  Derek was ready. He stood before the commander, giving the others a moment. He was the shield, and he would do his best to protect them.

  I wasn’t here to protect these people, but I will be for my team. And after the tutorial, I will protect my family. I need to get to rank up. That power boost will help me keep everyone safe.

  He was close to level 9 and hoped this commander would help him reach it. He had his shield and sword in hand, looking behind him to make sure everyone was there, and then stepped forward to meet the commander.

  ***

  Alex was quickly killing off all the goblins he could find. He was still angry and wanted them all dead, but he was moving quickly so he could watch his team fight the commander. He knew it would be interesting to watch, plus he could easily intervene if he needed to help them, which he doubted.

  The commander was strong, but not enough to stand against all 5 of them. They’re tough.

  Quickly cutting down the last goblin, he moved back to watch the fight. With his new strength, he butchered all the goblins in seconds. As he turned to watch, Derek used his [Charge] skill to get in the commander's face.

  This commander was different from the last. Instead of having shield, it used a large two-handed sword.

  I’m not sure if Derek could handle a hit from that thing.

  Immediately after the charge, the commander brought its knee up, trying to make contact with Derek. But he leaned left and used his shield to push the knee away from him. The goblin, now off balance, was stabbed with his sword. The tip of his blade plunged into the goblin's hip joint, where it was unprotected.

  Roaring in pain, the monster didn’t have time to respond before the other warriors were on him. Both Rykos and Korgrith had used their [Charge] skills right after Derek and attacked when in range. The minotaur brought his hammer around, attempting to cave in the goblin's ribcage, but the blow was deflected by the commander's sword.

  Rykos went for a lower target. Using his speed, he got around behind and dug his claws into its unarmored knee. His claws didn’t go as deep as he expected, though, which he assumed was because the commander was of a higher tier.

  Both ranged casters had started to help, too. Sam was funneling mana into his fireballs and was trying to get them to burn hotter. Alex could see it with his [Eyes of the Cosmos]. The three fireballs were much stronger than his usual ones, and he seemed to be holding them back for now, waiting for a good opportunity.

  Sarah hadn’t done much. She just shot a [Mana Bolt], which didn’t do anything to the commander. So she was conserving mana and waiting for when her shield was needed, or some healing.

  The commander, only slightly injured, turned his body and swung his massive sword. He whirled the blade around his body, pushing back the three warriors he was against. Korgrith took a small cut on his shoulder. Keeping the momentum on his sword swing, he brought it up over his head and slammed it down onto the ground, activating a skill right before impact.

  The skill unleashed a mana shockwave into the ground. It was similar to the stomp skill Alex had seen other warriors do, but this was on a much larger scale. When his sword made contact with the earth it caused a catastrophic explosion, throwing earth and stone in all directions. The wave of stone also sent the party flying away from the commander. The stone debris peppered the party with rocks. Rykos and Korgrith took several hits from them, while Derek hid behind his shield.

  Quickly after the impact, the commander used his own [Charge] skill and dashed right beside Korgrith. Trying to end the minotaur quickly, it used another skill, causing its sword to glow, and raised the weapon above its head.

  Before the goblin could bring the sword down on Korgrith, likely killing him, three fireballs hit. Two in the back, one in the head. The commander staggered from the impacts and failed to keep its skill active. The creature's blade then returned to normal.

  The fireballs that hit him in the back caused bad scorch marks along his armor, though they didn’t cause much damage to the commander himself. But the fireball that hit it in the head caused severe burns.

  At least we aren’t on Elm Street. Alex thought as he chuckled to himself, seeing the burns all over its head and face. That would be a nightmare.

  He smiled again at his stupid joke.

  While the fireballs hadn’t done anything to slow down the commander, they had definitely saved Korgrith and given them a distraction. Following up his first three fireballs, Sam sent a barrage of them at the goblin. These attacks were nowhere near as strong, but he was buying his friends time to get back into the fight.

  The commander turned on Sam, glaring menacingly, but before he could reach the fire mage, the team’s warriors reengaged. With Derek back in front of him, he wasn’t able to get past. He was an immovable wall. While he was much smaller than the goblin commander, he was a formidable tank who wouldn’t relent. He kept pressure on the commander. preventing him from attacking the others.

  He had no choice but to take out Derek first. A large sword in one hand, the commander reached out with his other and grabbed Derek’s shield, planning to rip it from his arm.

  As the goblin started to pull the shield, Korgrith brought a [Power Strike] infused two-handed hammer down onto its arm, breaking the bone at the elbow.

  The commander reflexively let go of the shield. Derek then used the opening to step forward again and bashed the goblin with his shield in the damaged hip, knocking it off balance.

  Rykos took advantage of its moment of weakness and dashed in behind the boss again. He tore into the same knee with his claws. He wanted to disable the leg completely, drastically reducing the goblin's mobility.

  Having trouble doing a lot of damage to the Bronze rank, Rykos clamped onto the knee with his jaws and violently shook his head, digging his fangs deeper and ripping flesh. Quickly releasing, he jammed his claws like a spear into the back of the knee, digging into the new, mangled flesh, and this time they sank deep. He backed off afterwards to dodge what was coming.

  Arm broken and knee heavily damaged, the commander was struggling. He began to get desperate and swung his sword in wide arcs, trying to push everyone away. One of the wide strikes cut through Derek's thigh, bringing him to the ground on one knee. Luckily, he brought his shield up to block the follow-up blows.

  Before anyone else got hit, three high-powered fireballs hit the goblin again. Two went straight for the knee that Rykos had mangled. Upon impact, they obliterated it, sending the lower half of his left flying across the camp. The third went straight for the commander's face, and it devastated his ugly mug.

  That might actually be an improvement. Alex thought, still watching the fight take place. They’re destroying this thing with ease. It's kind of mind-blowing. Killing a higher tier, while only taking a few wounds in return.

  With only one leg, the commander fell to the ground. Panicking, it used any skill it could. It couldn’t use [Charge], since it couldn’t stand, and it couldn’t get the momentum or leverage to use that ground-shattering again. And its [Power Strike], just simply wasn’t connecting since no one was stupid enough to stand near a Bronze rank who couldn’t walk.

  It only took them a few more minutes to whittle it down. They took their time and attacked it one at a time at different angles, so it couldn’t fight back against them.

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