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  When Rolfun and Alesin had revealed the truth to him, they had also told him a little about how others might learn what he had just revealed to them. Essentially, so long as he didn’t put the points into anything, there was no way they could see how many free points he possessed. With how slowly he appeared to level in pensation for these gains, it would further obscure the situation. When he had asked why, both had simply shrugged and said it was a quirk of the System. They had then impressed iro ossible of his o keep this secret from everyo sworn to him. Krion had immediately asked for some time alone.

  While Rolfun and Alesin looted the bodies of the dead Forest Goblins, Krion put his back firmly against the ree, slid down to his knees, and sunk his head into his hands. It was ohing to think you were special but quite ao have it firmed by something like the System. For the first time since he learned about what was going to happen to Earth, he felt like he had been given a break. That he truly might be able to make a difference. Perhaps he would even be able to save not only those he cared about but possibly many, many more than that.

  With all those positive feelings and hope, however, another more rational part of his mind was already looking ahead. To what would be ing even before he was ready and able to return to Earth. That other part of him still resisted the feeling of excitement that was welling up within him. Yes, he had monstrous potential if that rarity of his free points per level was truly so far apart from the vast majority of those within the system. But if there was ohing he knew from his awareness of politis, actors, businessmen, well, anyone famous really ba Earth, it was those who stood out that not only attracted the most attention but also the most animosity from others.

  In this new world that he was gradually settling into, full of magid nobility, every bit as power-hungry as those that had lived oh for so mauries if it became known just how far he stood apart...

  Krion lifted his head aally called up his character sheet. He stared at those thirty free points. His weeks-long training with Rolfun and Alesin had led te increase in stats, but it would be nothing pared to if he just dropped all thirty of those points into a siat. He mentally hovered over Strength. What guy who grew up watg movies about superheroes did not dream about being able to suddenly punch through crete? His attention flickered to Vitality. That might be an eveer stat for him. Putting the points there might allow him the ability to finally push aside his secret fear that he might one day repse into his sied state. While he stared at that stat longer, he ultimately decided against allog any of his free points.

  Given what Rolfun and Alesin had told him about free points, it would probably be a good idea to save them until he had enough levels that he could begin trig them in here and there to shore up any of his stats that were gging behind. Besides, until he khe css he would be getting, it would also be better to save the free points until he knew if he o pce them where they might have the greatest impact. For now, he would keep saving them.

  Deade, Krion stood up and made his way back over to Rolfun and Alesin. They were already done looting, as none of the Forest Goblins they had killed had mu the way of possessions. Alesin dropped the st metal dagger into her spatial ring, probably to sell ter was Krion’s guess. Rolfun hadn’t bothered looting anything, though he saw that he had sliced off the left ear of each of the corpses. As Krion moved closer, he heard the half-ogre muttering about a bounty posted in the froown they were headed to. This was the first time he had heard anything said about the destination they were esc him to.

  “Could you tell me a bit more about the town?” Krion asked as he rejoihem.

  “Not much to say, really,” Rolfun said, slipping the st ear into his spatial ring. “Thorn’s Reach is much like alement you might expee across on an Imperial Frontier World like Verdant VI.”

  Krion gave him a long, steady look.

  “…But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you,” said Rolfun, scratg his head sheepishly.

  “No, Rolfun, no, I wouldn’t. Would you mind expining?”

  “Well, Thorn’s Reach is led he edge of the ied Imperial territory on this world. It is built into a narrow valley, surrounded by t jagged cliffs and the dense forest that we have been traveling through. It has been around for a little more than a decade now, so it has a det-sized popution and a oint that goes directly to the Capital on this world. From there you will take the Portal on to the Imperial Academy of this Sector.”

  “We should get going,” Alesin interjected. “We have a bit less than a day to get there and we should be able to get close by tonight if we keep moving.”

  While Krion was all for making it to the first real site of Imperial civilization, he gnced back towards the discarded arm that the initial Forest Goblin had been gnawing on. Alesin followed his gaze, eyes ing to rest on it as well.

  “As someone sworn to House Bcksword, what would the protocol be for finding the remains of an Imperial subject like this?” Krion was not so sure about what the situation would require, but despite his still real fears about being at risk due to his inexperien fighting, he still hoped there would be something they could do.

  “Normally we would required to iigate at the least,” Alesin said, clearly sympathetic. “But this is not a normal situation. You, Krion, are a s of one of the most important noble houses in this sector of the Empire. Your safety takes prece.”

  Krion frow her response. Unfortunately, it made sense from what he had been gradually learning about the Empire. He was beginning to draw some unfortable parallels with the gover of Volksturm ba Earth. The politis there had spoken of the o take care of the popution as well. But for all the speeches and initiatives, it only ever seemed they were taking care of their own first and foremost. He hoped that wouldn’t be the case here, but he wasn’t holding his breath either.

  “And if I instead asked for this to take priority first?” Krion asked. “Perhaps there will be nothing, but I feel that if there is a ce of helping someone, we should take it.”

  Alesin and Rolfun looked at each other, and the half-ogre shrugged abruptly.

  “The Legioat at Thorn’s Reach is clearly not doing proper patrols if someo caught by Forest Goblins this close to the walls,” Rolfun said, his to and angry. His gaze shifted to Krion. “While his safety takes priority, I think it would be safe to take a quick look without having to it fully.”

  Seeing from Alesin’s expression that she was starting to be swayed, Krion was quite to chime in a promise that he hoped would bring her fully on board. “I promise to stay back, away from any danger.”

  “Fine,” Alesin agreed. Clearly she wao intervene as well, but was struggling to bahe o protect him. His promise to stay back arently enough. “But we will o hurry. There is no telling how long ago the attack would have occurred.”

  Getting Alesin’s agreement, Rolfun was quick to lead them again. Rushing along, the half-ogre made goress through the trees, but he never went so fast that Krion would struggle to keep up. A few minutes in, Rolfun paused oo look at something on the ground. When Krion ko see what he was looking at, Rolfun pointed out the faint imprints of tracks that he said were Forest Goblin. They maintained a good pace, following the dire the tracks had e from, pausing now and again to verify they were still heading in the right dire. Both his escressively mrim as it increasingly looked like the ambush had taken pear to the area of the settlement that they were taking him.

  Rolfun slowed his pace to a gradual halt aured backward for silehey had e to the edge of the forest, and Krion could just make out an open area beyond the trees.

  Alesin hissed in anger, pulling both Rolfun and him up short. He spun around, initially worried that they had been spotted, but his sun elf escort hadn’t summoned any of her fire magistead, she stared at the roots of a nearby tree.

  Looking closer, Krion gradually made out the reason for Alesin’s outburst. Parly blending in with the shadows on the grouhe tree was a young elf boy covered in blood. Missing an arm and not moving, the elf was clearly dead.

  “I’ve got movement.”

  Rolfun’s words brought their attention ba. The half-ogre had pulled his greatsword and was leaning against a tree, looking beyond the edge of the forest. Alesin gnced around to make sure she hadn’t missed anything; then, she stepped up o her husband to get a view of what he was looking at. While he was curious himself, Krion decided to stay bad under cover.

  “There,” Rolfuured past what Krion could make out. “Looks like a small mert family was caught returning to Thorn’s Reach. Two covered wagons. Probably around a dozen people including escorts,” Rolfun said grimly. “The Forest Goblin’s probably set an ambush and waited for them. It looks like it happened yesterday, given how few stragglers remain.”

  Alesin stared a long moment more, then nodded. She turned back to Krion, a deep frown on her face. “We came to look like you… like we wanted, but it doesn’t look like there are any survivors.” His face must have shown a flicker of his angry thoughts because Alesin tinued. “If you step slowly, you e o us here to see the truth for yourself.”

  Taking the invitation, Krio closer. As soon as he drew even with his escorts, Alesiured for him to look through the now sparse cover to what he now saw as being a dirt road that defiantly struck straight through the forest. A good hundred feet of trees and foliage had been cut ba either side, likely to make maintaining the simple road a bit easier, as well as decrease the odds of an ambush on any travelers.

  Not that it had worked this time.

  Half on and half off the road were two overturned wagons, clothing and small boxes scattered around them. A number had been torn open or smashed apart, spilling their tents over the ground. Apparently, the merts had been transp some sort of ore when they had been ambushed. Here and there were bloody stains that had pooled in the grass and dirt. He could smell the dried blood from where he stood.

  But no bodies remained in sight.

  Krion could just make out what looked to be a single bloody track that went bato the trees on the opposite side from where the three of them hid from view. Remembering the first Forest Goblen he had fought and what it had beeing, Krion gnced over at Alesin to firm his suspis.

  “Yes,” she said, still grim, before he could ask. “The bodies were likely taken back to the main tribe to be eaten.”

  “There is nothing we do?”

  “The ces of any survivors is now zero. We are too te to do anything.”

  “So we should just tio Thorn’s Reach?”

  Rolfun reached out aly pulled him back to stand closer to Alesin. “Not quite yet. There is something we o do first.” He turo Alesin. “Do you mind watg over him?”

  “No,” she g Krion. He knew he looked fused at the dire the versation was going. “Wait until they fully it to go all out. No survivors.”

  “No survivors,” Rolfun agreed with a nod.

  In a surge, the half-ogre charged betweerees toward the wagons. He was barely halfway there when Krion heard a series of shrieking cries from the dire the bodies had apparently been taken. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as the number tio increase.

  “What is going on?”

  Alesin had shifted from looking after Rolfun to gng at the trees that were hem. She answered him without pullitention away from their surroundings. “Forest Goblins are sgers that take anything that might be of use to their tribes. They also are ambush attackers.” Alesiured in the dire of Rolfun, who had taken a wide stance, greatsword in a guard position. “With the wagons and trade goods still scattered around, it would make sehat some of them were still lying in wait.” She frowned, “Given the number of cries we are hearing, there are a fair few more than I expected.”

  As if her words were the signal to start their charge, a mob of Forest Goblins came rushing out of the trees at Rolfun. Most wore little and rushed forward with cwed haended and fanged mouths bared in hate at the half-ogre. Here and there were a few that had slightly better clothing and wielded a range of bded ons. A single Forest Goblin, rger than the rest and wielding a massive axe, brought up the rear of the charging mob.

  “Should you help him?”

  “There are too few to give him more than a ,” Alesin reassured Krion. “No, it’s better I stay here, given the ce that there might be others still irees waiting for a ce to attack. Pay close attention,” she tinued in a heavier tohis is the reality of life for those that live on the frontier of the Empire.”

  “What do you mean?” Krion asked, fused. He kept his eyes on the impending fight, but made sure he spared some attention for what Alesin was saying. He had a feeling it was important.

  “Life here, as everywhere on the borders of the Empire, is unfiving. Out here, many of our people are not shielded by high walls uarded by armies. There simply is not enough resources for the Empire to secure everything in the face of the rger threats. Other empires. A monsters. Threats from the unknown. Horrors from beyond the System itself. All these and more threaten us,” she tinued grimly, “Those seeking to push outward the boundaries of the Empire face stant threats that test every ounce of strength they possess. People learn fast, or they don’t survive.” Her hand emerged in his vision to point at the bloodstained ground. “Farmers and merts train with ons, children learn to hide, and everyorains to defend themselves. There is no room for weakness or hesitation, Krion. To possess those fatal fws is to experience what happened here. You o remember that.”

  “But I thought I would be at the Imperial Academy?”

  “You will be, for a time. Years certainly, until you graduate. But where do you think you will be going from there?”

  Krion did not respond. He could guess the answer. And the Forest Goblins were almost to Rolfun.

  “That is right. More likely than not, your initial service to the Empire will likely be in a pce like this. The bions demand resiliend strength. You’ll o harden yourself if you want to make it. Especially if yoal is to save the p you grew up on.” Her tone ged, carrying an undercurrent of excitement. “Now pay attention to how Rolfun fights. I expect his style will be closer to what you will gradually develop at the Imperial Academy pared to mine, given your sele of the greatsword.”

  Following what Alesin directed him to do, Krion focused his attention on Rolfun. The half-ogre tio stand still, waiting until the charging mass was three-quarters of the way to him where he stood by the overturned wagons. As soon as they crossed that line, Rolfu out a howl of his own. Grey skin now glowing a bright red, he raised his greatsword, its edge now shimmering with the blue of frost. With a surge, he threw himself into the mass of Forest Goblins.

  pared to Rolfun, the Forest Goblins were small, wiry creatures. His arrival in their midst smashed six from their feet. Before they could adjust to his abrupt arrival, Rolfun’s greatsword was already slig through them with long, sweeping strikes. Each blow cleaved heads and limbs from bodies, the cuts of where he carved flesh free, covered in jagged lines of ice. Frozen shards burst and swirled around him, driving into the goblins that still stood. Howls of ag out, but for all that they were being killed so quickly by the skilled Berserker, every Forest Goblin still fought to get within range of the half-ogre.

  One goblin finally got through the mass to lunge forward at Rolfun’s side with a shriek. Rolfun’s backswing was faster. In a brutal arc that left a rail of frost in its wake, he swung his bde across, biseg his attacker at the waist. Spinning with the momentum of the blow, Rolfun brought his greatsword across in another bone-crushing blow against another Forest Goblin that was charging from his right.

  While the Forest Goblins tio press in on him, the shards of ice tio slow them down. Each time a foe came within range, Rolfun simply shifted the flow of his strikes, his fury unyieldiually, the rush began to turn, and it was Rolfun who ressing forward to get to grips with the Forest Goblins. Momentum lost, the few frost-coated ehat remained began to hesitate uhe half-ogre’s tercharge. Increasing the speed of his swings, Rolfun struck all of them down. Only the rge Forest Goblin with the massive axe remained.

  Rolfun faced down the massive Forest Goblin with a menag calm, his frost-encrusted greatsword held in a ready position. His foe, nearly as tall as Rolfun, snarled, gripping its jagged axe. The Forest Goblin began to circle the half-ogre, looking for an opening, but Rolfun simply shifted his stance, always on guard.

  Then Rolfun’s foot slipped.

  The Forest Goblin lunged forward, swinging its axe in a brutal arc. Krion’s heart was in his throat, but then Rolfun sidestepped the blow smoothly, tering with a sweeping strike that caught the side of the Forest Goblin. His bde bit into green flesh, leaving it encrusted with frost. Before the blow could cut too deep, however, the Forest Goblin threw itself bad to the side. Reeling from the cold that came alongside the blow, it struggled to stay ahead of Rolfun’s advance. Every step backut it at a further disadvantage, as Rolfun moved with precise and unyielding steps, like a gcier closing in. With another upward ssh, the half-ogre khe Forest Goblin to its knees.

  But before he could bring his greatsword down in a final blow, the Forest Goblin like out a feral, guttural scream that echoed through the trees, its desperation evident in every savage he cry cut off all at once when Rolfun beheaded it.

  “Blood and Ash!” Alesin swore. She grabbed Krion, spun him, and pressed his back to the tree they had been watg Rolfun from. She then put herself between him and the deeper forest. “Get yreatsword out. That greenskin just called for help.”

  “Are we in trouble?” he asked at Alesin’s worried tone. He readied his greatsword, the on already somewhat fortable in his hands from the past days of w with it.

  “No, we are not in trouble,” she replied to his relief. But then her works brought his worries ba full force. “You, however, might be.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Night Goblins,” she spat, summoning fire to her hands and a cloak of fme around her, banishing the shadows around them. “There should not have been any around here, but that call was clearly for the dark-skinned bastards.” Perhaps sensing how worried Krion was growing behind her, she hurried to reassure him. “They are a bit more of a nuisao Rolfun and I than these Forest Goblins, but we will be able to hahem. Just stay close and keep your eyes up. They have a habit of striking from where you least expect it.”

  She fred her cloak of fme still brighter. A rger ring of shadows was banished, but a few deeper in among the trees stubbornly resisted the light.

  “Rolfu your ass over here!” Alesin yelled. She began to throw small handfuls of fire in the dire of the pools of shadow, which darted and weaved amongst the roots in dodging movements. Alesin simply increased the speed of her casting. Moments ter, the first ball of fme made e with one of the shadows that had been moving closer.

  Bursting free of the shadow came a figure smaller thahe Forest Goblins Krion himself had previously fought. With skin so purple it was almost bck, it wielded jagged pieetal in its fists like knives. As if its appearance was a cue to the others, shadows all around them burst into Night Goblins that began sprinting into melee range.

  Alesin raised her arms, and her cloak of fme fred out around them, catg the charging Night Goblins in the reag fire. Squells e and pain echoed around them, and those as yet untouched by the fire staggered to a halt out of the sun elf’s range.

  Movement pulled Krion’s attention from the surrounding enemies up into the air above him. In that brief gnce he could see several more Night Goblins dropping down on them.

  “Above us!”

  “Rolfun!” Alesin urgently yelled as she began thrusting new spears of fire at the Night Goblins that surrouhem on the ground, who were in the process of pressing ba close.

  In that moment, Kriohat she couldn’t spare her attention to the ones dropping down upon them. He raised his greatsword, preparing to defend himself. As the first Night Goblin dropped in close, he swung his sword up.

  To his horror, the Night Goblin seemed almost to flicker to the left, away from his blow. Letting out a fierarl, it extended both daggers towards Krion’s side. He braced for the blow.

  “Gcier Howls!”

  A burst of r wind and shards of ice went bsting over Krion’s head. Up into the group of dropping Night Goblins it rose, bearing their falling forms up and away. The wind battered them through the air, and the ice paihe surrounding trees with purple blood. Most of the Night Gobliearing through brao disappear into the forest.

  Alesin took quick advantage of the shock of the Night Goblins attag her on the ground at Rolfun’s brutal arrival. She raised her hands into the air before her, the tips glowing blue from the heat. Thrusting them in the dire of the Night Goblins that still stood, the fmes that had intensified oips shot forth in a crack of sound.

  “Bzing Darts!”

  Within moments they were only surrounded by the dead and the dying. Rolfun strode past the tree directly to Krion while Alesin finished off those Night Goblins that still drew breath. His half-ogre escave him a quick look over. Finding nothing out of pce, Rolfun cpped him firmly on the shoulder, gd he was safe.

  Finished with the st of the Night Goblins, Alesin came over to Rolfun, a scowl on her face. “Whe to Thorn’s Reach, I am going to have words with the garrison ander. Clearly, they are not dug enough patrols if there are Night Goblins supp the Forest Goblins this close to the settlement.”

  “After we get Krion to the portal,” Rolfun interjected, his own voice upset. “We ’t draw attention to ourselves until the young lord is safe. I’ll have a few words of my own to share as well.”

  “Right,” Alesin agreed, setting aside her anger as best she could. She turo Krion. “Time to get moving. We have already spent more time here than I was expeg.”

  Krion nodded in agreement, but he kept staring in the dire of the Night Goblins that Rolfun had bsted away. While he had e quite a way in his ability to defend himself since beio this world by Franz, he was also sure he would not have been able to defend himself from that many Night Goblins at once. If Rolfun and Alesin hadn’t been here, he would already be dead. He stared down at his hands as they began to shake.

  “Krion.”

  He raised his gaze to look at Alesin, who had stepped in close to him. The sun elf’s eyes were sharp as she stared into his face, but they also had a hint of sympathy.

  “Krion,” she repeated, her voice soft and steady, “you survived and you have learned an important lesson if you were paying attention. Do you want to know what that lesson is?”

  Krion tried to respond, but his mouth was dry and it took a few tries. “What lesson?”

  “Strength matters here on the borders of the Empire. You have now experiehe dangers out here — the goblins, the beasts, the threat of magic that es from both to twist the nd against you.” Her tone sharpened, “But these are only the surface threats. There are far greater horrors that lurk in the darkness, waiting for their ce to strike. Without strength, these forces would tear through every town, vilge, and city out here, leaving only blood and ash behind. Without strength, you will not be able to fulfill your role in the Empire,” she then poi herself and her husband, “but allies are even more important.”

  Rolfun came in close to Krion then, grabbing his shoulder again in reassurance. “You will be trai the Imperial Academy not just to survive, Krion, but to defend the Empire. You will gairength to stand against the darkness, and in time, be called upon to lead others to do the same. Trusted allies and followers will make that task easier,” Rolfun put extra emphasis on the words he was saying, seeking to drive the lesson home. “When your time at the Imperial Academy ends, you will be expected to tribute to the defense of the Empire. And not just in small ways, either. From what Alesin and I have already seen of your potential talent, your potential power, there will be rge demands made of you.”

  “What if I am not ready?” Krion was beginning to calm down, but what Alesin and Rolfuelling him made him more worried about the future. He already had promised himself to get as strong and knowledgeable as he could to have a ce at saving those he cared about ba Earth. But he still had a hard time visualizing himself as a leader, like in all those stories he had read growing up. Would he be able to hahe weight of that responsibility?

  “That is where trusted friends, allies and vassals e into py,” Alesin responded. “The Imperial Academy will provide you the opportunity to gather all three. Make sure you do not waste it.”