My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 6: Gathering Storm

The goblin groaned as Kace shook him vigorously.

"Get aff ya daft fuck. Ken ye no see I'm injur'd."

Shagrats complaint sounded like music to his ears. The mad little idiot had given him quite the fright.

"What should we do now." Kace said looking at the corpses of their comrades.

"Ah nothing much fer it wi oor sorry states. Jist hiv tae get 'em hame fer the noo. It's no like we can take the queen either wi the way that one could handle us." He replied jabbing a finger at the boss. "Durz, yi shuld get tae skinnin' 'em. The lad here will help me get back."

"Sure thing." Durz casually replied shrugging his shoulders. He pulled a knife from his belt and stalked over to the spiders.

"Let's go lad, he'll be fine oan his own."

"Yeah, sure." He said in response, feeling down. If only he had been stronger he would not feel like he had let the others down.

[Notification: Experience has been calculated. Experience will now be divided by the remaining party members based on member contribution.]

[Congratulations you have levelled up!]

[Entered Level 2. Attributes adjusted. New Ability Unlocked!]

Kace found himself gobsmacked for the moment. If it had been under better circumstances he would have been excited about it.

'Status' he thought solemnly.

Name: Kace

Title: Glutton

Level: 2

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Race: Chimera (Monster)

Legendary Feats: 1

HP 115/115

AP 105/105

MP 0/0

Exp 125/300

Strength: 4

Endurance: 3

Intelligence: 2

Willpower: 2

Agility: 7

Speed: 5

Charm: 3

Luck: 1

Skills:

Racial: Digestion (Passive)

Description: Able to eat the meat of any living thing absorbing a portion of its Experience for your own. Slight chance to trigger Assimilation.

Racial: Assimilation (Passive)

Description: A racial ability of the Chimera. When triggered randomly increases HP, AP or MP as a percentage of subjects Max Value. Slight chance to randomly gain an ability or knowledge possessed by the subject.

Tracking (Active)

Cost: (None)

Description: Heightens users sense of hearing and smell allowing them to 'see' recent paths of passing lives.

Night Eye (Active)

Cost: (None)

Description: Allows user to see in the dark.

Kinetic Vision (Active)

Cost: (1 AP/ per Second)

Description: Heightens the users ability to track fast movements resulting in faster reaction speeds.

Instinct (Passive) (New)

Cost (None)

Description: 70% chance to detect a stealth attack aimed at the user. 30% chance to automatically react to what would be a lethal blow preventing a killing strike.

Spider Thread (Active) (New)

Cost: (3 MP)

Description: This is the innate skill of soldier level spider monsters. Able to secrete a mana enriched spider thread. Can be made tough like steel or extremely sticky. Highly versatile.

Kace let out a heavy sight, 'Still no mana. Do I have to eat something to gain it first before it will grow? Or will it naturally gain on its own?'

He fell into a deep thought considering the next steps he should take. 'Forget it. We just need to get back for now.'

***

In a clearing in the centre of a village fortified with wooden walls and towers an Orc stood before his tribe. Glaring at them he began his speech.

"You all know of the Goblin rebellion, lead by Vaskra of the Short Tooth Tribe!" he yelled passionately.

"Aaaargh!" angry roars chorused in response.

"You all know what must be done!"

"KILL THEM!"

"That's RIGHT! Kill them we SHALL! Sound the horns! Send out the riders! All tribes shall gather to bare witness! This is MY domain! It is OUR domain! And NONE shall take it from US!"

"OHHH!"

***

"Urgent report my lady!" yelled a man wearing intricately engraved armour as he burst into the room.

The room in question was a large, spacious study. A rug made from an unknown creature sprawled across the large floor. A testament to its sheer size when it was still alive. Bookcases lined the walls, stuffed full with parchment, journals, magic tomes, historic and military records. A true treasure trove of knowledge.

In front of the large triple windows, that looked out over the city, there was a gorgeous desk. Made from from the finest dark oak. It was the kind of desk that radiated authority. As though the one who would be seated behind it would hold your entire life in their hands.

So who exactly was seated behind it? Amy Fellblade. The current branch master of the heroes guild in the city of Haden. She was a tall and powerful individual. Wielding both blade and magic she had never failed a single mission. Her long blonde hair was tied in a professional manner, reaching down to her slender waist. Her blue eyes were sharp and piercing but at the same time calm and tranquil.

What was the heroes guild exactly? Well it was an institution that had been founded five individuals more than one hundred and fifty years ago. It was built to track the movements of reincarnates and bring them together under one banner. Here they would be trained and provided with the resources they would need for a successful career. Nobody but the Grandmaster was aware of just how many members the organisation had.

Amy glanced at the new recruit, setting her quill aside along with the report she had been working on. She gestured for him to continue.

"The mission to subjugate the Orc Warlord Kharja has been confirmed to be a failure. The scouts report that there were no survivors. The town of Stonefall requests reinforcements. That is all."

Amy kept a straight face throughout the recruits recital as befitting her position. She clasped her hands on the desk and thought for a moment.

"Gather a raid group. This situation has now gone beyond mere party level. Heroes rank D and above may take part." She stated in clear, beautifully sounding militaristic way. "You may go now."

"Yes M'am. I'll get on it right away."

As he closed the door on his way out Amy very slowly rose from behind the desk. Taking a few short strides she gazed out upon the city that was so full of life. Complex feelings created a storm within her heart. Amongst the group had been a young man named John. She had personally found and recruited him to the guild. Going so far as to train him and providing his armaments. In part this was the reason she knew how out of hand the situation had become. After all she had refused to skimp on the expenses and the equipment she had provided him had been of the best quality available in the region.

She felt angry and sad at his loss. He had been the first that she had even considered grooming. She had high expectations of him. At the same time she also felt an indescribable sense of excitement. Her pupils failure also brought to light the existence of a potential opponent for herself. It had been a number of years since she had last fought with everything on the line. This had left her feeling dull like a rusty sword.

A knock resounding in the room. Followed by the entrance of another man. This man was a hero of the B rank. Still far from the doorstep to Amy's level.

"Sorry for listening in, just couldn't help myself."

"What do you want Phillip?"

"I was just wondering if you had anyone in mind for the position of raid leader? I would be willing to volunteer." He said with a serene smile. His red mage robes fluttering slightly.

"Do tell, why would you want such a mission? A mage such as yourself usually despises working in groups. Never mind leading them."

"Hahaha, you got me. Sure, I have a more pressing problem of a personal nature. I've run into a bit of a wall with my research. Unfortunately what I need to help move it along is only available if I increase my rank." He said casually, shrugging his shoulders as if it were no big deal. " I'm still a large number of points away from promotion which would require me completing several mundane and boring tasks. It would take too much time. However a successful raid as the leader? Well that shit right there will net me all I need in one big swoop. Like shooting fish in a barrel."

Amy considered his offer in silence. After all she had been planning on setting off with the group to lead it. Desk work just did not suit her. She considered how her peers and the Grandmaster would react if she were to leave the city to deal with such a matter. 'Ah forget it, it's not worth the aggro. And I certainly don't want another beating off the old geezer. Took two months to recover from the last one.'

With a look of resignation she surrendered her own desires and thoughts of revenge for John.

"Do as you will, just don't fuck it up 'kay?"