Beneath the Goblin Gate

Originally written from January 6, 2023 to January 14, 2023


Expansive 16:9 digital painting of a slightly run-down fantasy province viewed from a low hill at moody twilight. Cobblestone streets wind between tightly packed timber-framed houses and simple stone buildings with few lights visible. A prominent, ancient, weathered stone archway or defensive wall section marks an entrance/exit point in the middle distance, hinting at a boundary. Dark, gnarled forests with thick undergrowth press close to the town edges under a brewing, deep blue and purple stormy sky. Eerie, atmospheric lighting, desolate feel. No people visible. Fantasy illustration style.

Chapter 1
A young man stepped outside a small inn, carrying a pouch with cups inside. He sat down on the side of the road as a carriage passed by. He raised his head, beret hat, and hand. The carriage stopped, and a couple of soldiers jumped out and pushed him because he was blocking the carriage door.

He chuckled when the carriage had left.

The young man left, entering a crowd of passersby.

He bumped into a group of women and children dressed in purple and yellow.

He left through the crowd and entered a small house where a tall, strict-faced woman paced around the room. Despite his rough travel home, the charisma and confidence in his demeanor persisted.

He smiled. “Amanda!” He placed down his pouch on a table.

The tall woman named “Amanda” showed him a small bed where her and the young man’s son lay and hugged a toy.

The young man named “John” picked up the toy and placed it on his son’s forehead.

He turned to Amanda. “How did they cancel the event so early? Is it just that way for them all the time?”

Amanda shrugged. “‘Keep it slow,’ they said. If only Jared had published the books without getting caught, he would’ve been fine.”

The young man cursed. “I see now. It has to go this way or another. Anyways, since you went out there and saw the soldiers’ new armbands for yourself, how did the adventurers do?” John ravenously ate a delicious meal, afraid that he might forget to eat later.

Amanda gave him a smile that reached the eyes. “In trouble.” She chuckled.

John raised his brows. “‘Trouble trouble?’”

“The good king of trouble. They’re collecting the Remnants right now.” Amanda gave him a suspicious but pleasant expression with a smirk.”

“Heh, is it that unbelievable that they’re doing well? ‘Something trouble something’?”

“They could be grazing the fields right now looking for the golden goose they said they found.” Amanda laughed.

John frowned. “They’re not kids anymore, Amanda.”

“I know.” Amanda gave him a knowing look.

“No, I’m serious.” John looked half-serious.

“John! I’m just joking!” Amanda sounded half-exasperated and half-joking.

John kissed her and saluted as a goodbye.

Amanda gave him a quick, succinct nod.

John left, but he returned. “Did you get the cups?”

Amanda nodded. “It was right here the whole time.” She shook the waist pouch that contained the cups.

John turned to leave, but he noticed the scratch on her shoes. He fell on his knees and lowered his head. “I’ll fix it.”

Amanda’s expression became tender toward John. She loved him.

John gave her a quick smile. “I’ll pass by Mr. Sick.”

Amanda handed him a tiny pouch of coins from a different country.

John grinned. “I told him about you, and I also told him about the Dog Bandits. He was so surprised. He thought you were a ghost.”

Amanda sat down and tapped the chair as John and her son left his room. Their son pressed against her elbow and hugged it.

Amanda and John hugged the boy’s head.

John left and entered a small town corner where a store-owner greeted him. “Hi, how’s the limelight, John?”

“It’s sickening, Mr. Sick.” John’s voice was candid, and his demeanor was polite. He strode around.

The store-owner named “Sick” giggled sneakily like a little child. “‘Sickening’? Really?”

John pretended to laugh nervously. “‘Wouldn’t you have loved it if you had a child?’” He imitated a friend.

“‘Me, oh, John. I can’t believe it. He was beside me the whole time!’” Sick joined him.

A group of a couple of women and three children emerged from the corner of Sick’s store. One of the women raised a hand that held a small orb.

The women greeted him as the children raced to the store and jumped up and down, crying for chocolate candies.

The child who held an orb handed it to John.

John showed it to Sick, his expression becoming hostile. “See? Lavender purple like the rest of his works.” He removed the hostility of his voice. “What do you think about Charter’s ‘enterprise’?”

Sick laughed. “You can’t be jealous when your wife is the same woman he had coveted since he was young.”

John furrowed his brows. “A little touchy, but...” He feigned a grin and a laugh. “But seriously though, how about his two sons? Can he seriously put them in a tournament at five years old?”

Sick turned left and right and pulled down the wooden cover for his store. He exited the store. He sprinted up to John, grabbed his shoulder with his left hand, and shook his hand with his other hand.

The couple of women gestured as they spoke. “The death cart can’t be that old, right? It should’ve spoiled by then!”

Sick handed the three children the chocolate candies which he had promised a few days ago.

He gave John a secretive smile. “John, I can monitor them like I usually did.”

John frowned. “You can, but your spell is only good at ‘invading others’ privacy.’”

“But like all things, there are always exceptions. I make it a point to divulge the information that I believe should be public.”

John’s frown reached his neck.

Sick returned the orb which John had given him. “See to it that your wife doesn’t have her usual outbursts again, alright?”

He left.

John watched him leave, and his mouth was wide open.

Sick forgot to remove his apron, and it was bright-pink.

A guard reprimanded Sick and fined him for wearing the apron out in the streets.

John shifted between his legs and guessed the distance of the sun now in view of several seconds ago.

When night came, John returned home where Amanda and her friend waved their hands around.

John grabbed a bunch of bananas and split it in half. He handed one half to Amanda’s friend.

Amanda’s friend taught Amanda magic related to basket strengthening.

When John and Amanda’s son entered the room, Amanda’s friend bowed and said: “Just test the barrier. Don’t let it reach too deep. Treat it like a lamb. It needs to be calm when you’re shearing it.”

The child raised his hand, willed a portal to appear, and grabbed a different wooden toy from last time.

John and Amanda clapped.

The child leapt, clapped, and tripped. He created a portal to stop his leg from hitting the ground.

The child had created two portals between their hands when they clapped their hands.

Their hands disappeared and appeared, but when John noticed it, he stopped his hands and Amanda’s.

Amanda’s friend covered her mouth elegantly and nodded. “Woohoo! Nonetheless, he won’t hurt you.”

Amanda dropped her jaw. “Can he take care of himself now?”

Amanda’s friend nodded.

Amanda fell to her knees and cried, grinning behind her hands.

John tapped her on the shoulder and told her to stand up.

Amanda stood up.

John prompted Amanda to tell her friend to leave.

After Amanda’s friend left, John told her about Sick’s leaving out of the province.

Amanda covered her mouth. “He got ordered to!” She sounded offended.

John stared for a few seconds with a pleading expression.

Amanda composed herself and relaxed her shoulders.

John took a deep breath and sighed. “They hoisted him away from here for the War God Game.”

“That’s the one where the king tells you you’re not good enough?”

John chuckled. “Exactly.” He stood up and invited her outside.

They included their son and left, stopping beside a store where hundreds of tiny toy monkeys screamed and cried.

“They really don’t want to turn those things off.”

“They really want to, but people like it when there’s some noise beside the human booms.”

Amanda nodded. “Right, as a person who had grown up far away from all that, might I ask what it’s like?” She sounded matter-of-factly.

John pressed his lips together. “Imagine a small boat—”

“No, I mean, specifically.”

“I’m getting there, I’m getting there.”

“‘Kay...”

“Imagine a small boat where hundreds of people row. That’s that.”

“That’s it?”

“Their rowing somehow creates these loud booms, and it’s a human sound since the rowers are the ones generating all that noise by transmitting their mana. In reality, it’s their souls’ screaming that gets ‘boomed out.’”

A human boom sounded and reached John and Amanda’s ears.

John chewed and swallowed. “Like that?”

Their son, whom they placed inside a tall, wooden basket, cried, but a nanny emerged and cast a spell that calmed him.

“Right,” John said. “Doesn’t it sound a little different?”

Amanda nodded. “I don’t know.” She was so focused on listening and showing that she was listening that she nodded out of habit.

John opened his mouth. “Either way, let’s eat.”

They grabbed a bowl and asked for mushroom soup.

The store-owners handed him a change of seven copper coins, two silver coins, and one gold coin.

John praised the soup’s taste, but Amanda chewed it with a dissatisfied expression.

When they left, Amanda greeted one of the two women from a while ago and showed them John’s new clothes.

John struck several, sexy poses and raised his leg even.

The women nodded several times and praised him in simple words.

Amanda laughed, but she also whispered to them a warning not to go too wild.

John laughed, jokingly asking the two women for forgiveness with hands of prayer.

John handed them the orb which he had gotten back from Sick. “Tournaments?” He gestured with his implication with his eyes.

The two women danced a little, imitating their children.

“The children haven’t forgotten it!” said one of the women. “They were so ingrained in that. I haven’t forgotten!”

“Same thing with Adrian,” said the other. “He was utmost voracious about the whole contentment part of the event where you slash and swing your legs like some peacock!”

They both sounded energetic, getting a glanced from onlookers.

John turned his chair around. “Is Shiela coming?”

Amanda’s eyes were open and staring at the table. She was slouching.

John massaged her where her knee was. Amanda wore exquisitely colorful, tight clothes.

Amanda glanced at him, and her face lit up.

John forced a smile after he had heard the violent imagery that the two women described.

The two women paused to breathe.

They continued talking, but it was about pet dogs.

When John’s posture became tense and his expression became bored, the two women said that someone was calling them.

John raised a cup of water as they said their goodbyes.

Amanda had been chewing when the two women danced.

She faced the store-owners. “What time do you close?”

“No comment.”

“What time do you go outside at morning night to buy food?”

“No comment.”

“Where do you go to find inspiration?”

“No comment.”

“How long does this stay open on average?”

“No comment.”

John and Amanda left.

They walked up to a set of gates. The gates looked desolate, and the etchings on them were only vulgar and offensive. A long circular rim at the top part of the gates carried hundreds of sleeping goblins. Each of them wore colorful, distinct clothes.

John, Amanda, and their son observed the goblins’ breathing and the shades of their clothes.

Hundreds of goblins teenagers emerged from a cave near the gates and ruined the trees and vegetation. They screamed and threw their rage at nature, grabbing leaves and tearing them apart. Their voices were devilish and piercing.

John and Amanda’s son cried as hundreds of bats flew and passed the goblins.

The goblins rejoiced and cheered. “Woohoo! Yahoo! Yaho!”

Their voices became calm and pleasant.

The bats formed and transformed into a man with silver hair and black clothes. A large spear five times taller than he was flew above him, lying down.

Several groups of hooded travelers behind John and Amanda ran past the gates and disappeared.

John and Amanda ran too, but they stopped before they passed, seeing the strange silver-haired man turn his head toward them.

They yelped.

A tall piston pushed John, Amanda, and their son’s dead bodies into a vertical shaft.

By reason of the natural process of the gates’ magic, their bodies became alive again, and they breathed.

They stood up, and Amanda frowned, almost crying.

John placed his hand over her head and pointed toward the shadow his hand made. “That’s me. I’m still here.”

Amanda calmed down and hugged John’s arm as they walked toward a tall statue with etchings of hundreds of offensive symbols.

Some of them John knew, but Amanda knew all of them.

The statue turned into a small boy that pointed toward a wall of darkness.

John and Amanda entered, patting their sleeping son on the side of the head.

Amanda grabbed a scroll from her pouch and a small compass from John’s pouch.

John tied a rope which he had brought out before they disappeared. “One, two, three.” He whispered. He turned the rope into a hitch, fastening it onto another rope and around his pouch’s opening. He fastened the other rope around a small, red orb. When he pushed it away by accident, the red orb floated through the air.

Amanda leapt and hit her chin on the ground, but she grabbed the orb.

John and Amanda put the orb on the ground, and when he whispered an incantation, the orb turned stiff and heavy.

John and Amanda entered a portal through the wall of darkness and disappeared.

Their bodies shook and flew about.

They hit the walls and the ground in the darkness.

Their bodies scraped against the walls, but it regenerated magically.

John and Amanda appeared, their clothes returning to what they were before they entered.

The orb exploded, and its pieces slammed against the statue.

John and Amanda each held a broken rope, but they smiled.

Amanda reached inside a basket she and John carried and patted John and her son.

John joined her.

John bumped into a branch, and his feet scraped against vegetation.

A warty pig fell from a tree and hit the ground, but it stood up and walked well.

Amanda pointed at a group of finches that cut a branch off and carried it away.

John and Amanda grabbed a small toy in the middle of a glade and left.

They returned home, and John lounged near a pile of boxes where a giant, bulky man picked it up litter of shreds of books.

The man pointed toward a two-seat table. He walked up to it, sat down, and plucked the armband around its symbol.

John squinted for a split-second when he saw the symbol. Yet, he accepted the man’s invitation and opened his mouth: “The chocolate candies are here, and Jared too published his book.” His tone suggested teasing.

“It’s not just ‘chocolate candy’ anymore.”

“Semantics?”

The bulky man stared at him for a few seconds, shaking John’s hand with a strong grip.

“Hmm?” John raised a brow.

John and the bulky man turned around and noticed the purple and white clothes of a passerby.

The bulky man’s tone changed, and he chuckled. "No, not semantics. I've been experimenting with different flavors and ingredients. I call them 'gourmet chocolate candies'."

John smiled. "Sounds delicious. Can't wait to try them."

The bulky man handed him a small box of the candies. "Here, try these. Tell me what you think."

John opened the box and took one of the candies out. He took a bite and closed his eyes, savoring the taste. "Wow, this is amazing. The flavor is so complex and rich. I can taste hints of coffee and nuts. Great job."

The bulky man beamed with pride. "I'm glad you like them. I've been working on perfecting the recipe for months."

John nodded. "It shows. These candies are something special. I'm sure they'll be a hit with the locals."

The bulky man nodded. "I hope so. I'm planning on selling them at the market next week. I'd appreciate your help in promoting them."

John smiled. "Of course, I'll help spread the word. These candies are something special, people need to know about them."

The bulky man nodded, grateful for John's support. "Thanks, I appreciate it." He chortled.

The passerby whom they had noticed went out of earshot.

The bulky man’s tone returned to normal. “Dang near twice dead. I avoided that arrow you and your friends pulled. That small, little drake was for me.”

John jokingly scoffed. “I’d like to hear about that when Sick’s gonna be holding the group accountable.”

“Sick? That’s the son of a man who tried to chase my goslings.”

“Oh, your goslings, pitiful, isn’t it?” His tone was disbelieving.

The bulky man smiled and shrugged. “Can’t be jealous when you have three wives in one.”

John pursed his lips. “Up above, there’s a world where you and Sick can be friends.”

“Closer than grapes? We can... All he has to is...”

John continued what he was saying, “... eat a bunch of grapes and die.”

The bulky man frowned for the first time during their conversation.

John showed an open hand. “The man is not dead yet. Take it from me. Believe that he’s not yet dead at this moment.”

“You think I’m that heartful? I’ve already pressed against his family time and time again. If I had a choice, I’d mock it and slice.”

John closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them. “Can’t have dogs if you can’t have...”

He craned his head and showed him an expectant stare.

The bulky man wrinkled his nose. “What?”

John raised his brows.

The bulky man laughed at John’s candid expression. “What? No, what? Seriously?”

John compressed his lips. “You... Whatever. You’re still fine anyway since you and Sick share a plantation.”

The bulky man cried and laughed at the same time.

John left in a hurry, but he left a long letter Amanda wrote in John’s words.

When the sun set, a couple of ogres had inspected a dead horse. “What’s up with that?” One of them rubbed his fingers against a horse tail, feeling its softness.

The other ogre said: “Pretentious like that.”

The ogres greeted the running John.

“They got the mage-casters on the ceiling about to pounce,” said the second ogre.

John handed them the bulky man’s letter. “It’s that serious?”

The ogres forced a smile and nodded, the flaps of their chin making squeaky noise.

John handed them another letter. “This is Amanda’s.”

The ogres nodded again.

John handed them another letter. “This is Thomas’.”

The second ogre’s expression became disappointed. This ogre turned around, handing it to the first ogre. “See, like this, he puts that all the time.”He snickered, his overbite causing whistle to seep into his voice.

The first ogre joined him as he handed John a sack of books.

John left and returned to the bulky man, handing him the sack.

The bulky man thanked him, and John received a sack of packed, cold food.

John left and returned home. He handed Amanda the sack and pointed toward a thunderstorm in the distance outside.

Amanda tied the broken rope which she and John had used at the gates around her arm.

John’s son created two portals. The compass which they had also used at the gates fell continuously through these portals.

John showed his son a sack and opened it, and its smell flew around the room.

His son created a portal between John’s neck and head.

John grabbed his neck and pretended he was dead.

Amanda screamed.

After a whole minute of his son laughing, he reached toward the portal.

He tossed it down, treating it like a piece of paper and stepping on it.

“Muahahaha!”

Amanda hugged John.

John chuckled, but he stopped when his shoulder became wet. “My clothes... Ey.”

Amanda continued hugging him and rubbing her head against his neck.

John’s chuckle became nervous. “Did I not tell you he’s fine?”

The thunderstorm stopped, and a horde of goblins emerged, fell down, and landed perfectly fine. They charged toward the province Amanda and John were in.

Amanda left.

John bent over and gestured as he spoke. “Make it stronger and harder by practicing with heavier objects, okay?”

Chapter 2
The goblins who had fallen from the sky emerged from the trees onto a road. They sprinted past the corner of a cottage, trampling all over a farmer’s field. Hundreds of them looted food and drank. They cheered and stole baskets where they put their valuables. They covered these baskets with stolen cloth, wearing hoods and imitating a child’s walk. They looked like a horde of children when they ran up to a line of houses.

Hundreds of people hid inside these houses. Some of them covered themselves in multiple cloths and clothes to hide.

The goblins squeaked when they spoke. “I crave after happy tunes!”

“I crave after red baskets!”

“I crave after ceilings too.”

“The ceilings where mages loom!”

“They asked us, Parry! They asked us, Marty! They asked us, Cecillia! They did ask us!”

They gathered, leapt, and hugged one another. Some of them choked.

“And we’re here now.”

They let those who choked breathe again and scattered.

The people sighed in relief.

John said “hi” and opened a door.

Some of the people froze, but most of them greeted John one after another, shaking his hand and saying his name.

John gave them a smile that reached the eyes and maintained that smile until he left and looked inside the other houses.

The three children whom John had handed an orb greeted John.

John held their hands and guided them toward a small well. “Do you want water?”

The children nodded, rubbing their eyes.

“Please don’t rub your eyes!” John sounded tender.

The water fell on the children’ legs.

“Okay.” John tiptoed away, avoiding making too much noise. He turned around. “Raise your leg and wash it under and don’t use all the bucket!”

The kids laughed as they poured water over themselves.

John left with a surprised smile, joining Amanda.

Hundreds of dogs ran toward the goblins and joined their march.

John fell to the ground. Bones that belonged to another creature emerged from his back and exited out of his skin.

Amanda grabbed him and pulled the strange bones out of his back.

John grabbed Amanda’s hand and rubbed it against his face. “Heal me. Quick.”

Amanda nodded like a woodpecker. She cast a healing spell that failed.

John shouted. “No!”

Amanda opened her mouth, but she was speechless. She cast the healing spell again and again, but it failed.

John tightened his grasp on her hand. “Stop, stop!”

Amanda furrowed her brows.

John let her hand go. “I should be fine. I was hoping I could join you in the fight, but go without me.”

Amanda sat down.

John gave a tired smile. “Go.”

Amanda ignored him.

John lay down.

They stared in different directions and glanced around for danger.

Amanda pressed her hand against John’s thigh and massaged it.

John closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Amanda became half-asleep too.

When the sun set, two goblins had passed by her, inspected her body, and sprinted away.

When Amanda got up, she opened a compass and watched it go southward. She threw it away, and it exploded.

The three children were watching, their jaws dropped.

John got up. “Stop looking. Go, go, go.”

The children joined the rest of those who fled from the goblins.

A group of a couple of ogres and a bulky man whom John had met guarded those who fled.

A carriage trundled up to John, and the two soldiers whom John had met jumped off and strangled John.

John fell to the ground and wiggled his body, coughing.

The soldiers removed their hands, letting him recover.

John stood awkwardly, pushing himself off the ground with one hand. “You can’t be serious.”

The soldiers pointed elsewhere. “You shouldn’t told them to leave earlier,” one of them said, a man with a snarky face and a clean haircut.

“What?” John imagined Amanda as he rubbed his clothes to remove any dust.

“They died! You should’ve told them to leave earlier!”

“Who! Who?” John’s imagination became disturbed, and tears dripped down the imaginary Amanda’s face.

“The three kids. You were here, weren’t you? Why were they late? They came from here, and you’re the only one with the responsibility to get this done! Son, either go somewhere safe or help us and atone for what you did directly.” The snarky-faced soldier handed John a potion and gestured him to drink fast.

John’s imagination disappeared, and his senses became sharp. The pain he felt stung despite the healing effects of the potion.

“Blood for blood?” he said.

“No! Of course not! No one’s getting their blood spilled because someone they cared about died! You dumbie!”

“Blood for no reason then?” John sounded derisive.

The snarky-faced soldier pointed toward the grave of the three children. “Just do the right thing, John!”

John fell to his knees and slowly nodded.

“Yes?” said the other soldier, a pale-faced young recruit. “Are you going to come?”

John nodded hard, and he pushed himself off the ground and got up. “I... I will join you.”

The other soldier cheered with an innocent smile.

John slowly smiled as Amanda tapped his shoulder. She was sitting beside him during his confrontation with the snarky-faced soldier.

A older man with weak joints emerged from the carriage. He greeted Amanda and John, waving a hand.

Amanda, the older man, and the soldiers imitated John’s infectious smile.

Amanda raised a small hand. “Where have the goblins gone?”

“Far north near the trees,” said the snarky-faced soldier.

“Seven of them probably contacted some sort of disease if they’re hiding in a cave somewhere.” John rested his chin on the palm of his hand.

“Closer to us than we think.” Amanda climbed a tree and sat on a low branch. “They’re most likely deep inside the province.”

“North?” The older man stretched his hands and back, whimpering when he made a bad twist. “Why north?”

The snarky-faced soldier squatted. “It’s faster that way and more effective since they can climb well.”

The older man strode toward John until he was face-to-face with him. “Why the disease, John?”

“They could be manipulating the diseases too well that one of them caught it.” John tapped and plucked around his back. “I got the bones.”

“The bones?” The older man grew tense as he strode around. “What’s the bones?”

“The bones spell is one where hundreds of goblins sacrifice a body part.” John sat on the ground, dirtied his hands, and rubbed most of the dirt off them. He took a joking tone. “And hundreds of people get bones on their backs. It’s horrible. I’ve tried it myself.”

Amanda tapped him with a half-disappointed, half-amused look.

The snarky-faced soldier raised his hands and tilted his head toward a tiny pool of water. “They could be hiding near the river north.”

The older man struggled to squat and tripped. “Okay, James, before that, how about what John said?”

The soldiers helped him up.

“It’s the bones spell.” The snarky-faced soldier named “James” gestured toward the carriage. “I’ve only heard it as much as I’ve seen it myself. No one talks about it because it’s unprecedented.”

The soldiers brought the older man to the carriage and handed him a pouch of water.

The older man sat down and drank from this pouch. “Half of those who lived here died.” He sounded depressed.

He dropped the pouch by mistake.

James caught the pouch and returned it. “This situation calls for it to be a problem, but history likes to get the best and the worst.”

The older man leaned over toward the soldier and whispered.

The soldier nodded and turned his head toward Amanda. “Might I please know your name?”

Amanda nodded. “I am Amanda Lee.”

“How did you get your name?”

Amanda stared at the pool of water where James tilted his head.

She took a long, deep breath for over ten seconds.

“From my birth-father, and my stepfather agreed to keep the name despite a tradition in his family to change names regarding his faith.” Her tender voice carried hints of repulsion and admiration.

The older man joked. “I did not need that. Too long. Did not expect that.”

The soldiers dropped their jaws.

Amanda and James showed easy, polite smiles.

The older man covered his head and eyes, glancing in the soldiers’ direction. “Either way, since we’re up here, we should go down the mountain.” He coughed, blinking hard. “You guys go do what you need to do. I will be with you shortly.”

James whispered to the younger soldier, and the younger soldier scurried up to Amanda and James.

Amanda and John stared at the older man, furrowing their brows in concern.

The younger soldier slapped his hips to get their attention. “Morning.”

Amanda turned toward John, and John turned toward Amanda.

“What?” John stretched his arm behind himself.

“They’re coming. The team.”

“Who?” Amanda yawned.

The younger soldier wrinkled his nose. “They’ll take care of the fighting with you.”

John smiled. “Fighters, alright.”

The soldiers joined the older man, and their group left.

John and Amanda left and visited the grave of the three children.

Amanda broke into tears.

John’s voice was weak.

They grieved for them.

When the sun reached its peak, a group of teenagers had emerged from the trees and sprinted up to John and Amanda.

These teenagers separated themselves and adopted elegant poses. “We’ve been sent to fight with you.”

John and Amanda shook each of their hands with tender smiles and introduced themselves.

The teenagers lowered their heads somewhat.

“Let’s discuss how we’re going to fight them, shall we?” John said.

The teenagers trembled with excitement. “Yes, John and Amanda!”

John and Amanda glanced between one another and the teenagers, waiting for them to introduce themselves. Their glances showed obvious prompting.

One of the teenage boys swallowed.

Another teenage boy stepped forward. “I’m Handsome.”

John pretended he misunderstood, covering his mouth. “Apparently!”

Amanda grinned. “He’s kidding. Hi, Handsome.”

The teenager named “Handsome” widened his eyes for a whole second, making himself terribly obvious.

Amanda gave John a knowing look.

John imitated Amanda’s grin. “My son would like to meet some of you if he knew.”

The teenagers glanced at one another with half-scolding, half-amused looks.

Amanda sounded serious. “Excuse me, John, might I please ask if we are heading toward the gates?” She preferred sounding polite in front of the teenagers.

The teenagers turned their heads toward John.

John posed and gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, opposing Amanda’s seriousness.

Amanda rubbed her forehead as her sweat slip down the tip of her nose.

The goblins slept inside a small camp where hundreds of ants traveled across their bodies.

“Yo! I’m sleeping here. Get me a pillow.”

“We have no pillows. Want to sing a song?”

“No! I’m tired!”

“Yeah, we’re tired!”

“Me too!”

‘Alright, then, I’ll be leaving.”

A goblin trudged outside of the camp and spotted Amanda giving John a massage.

“Yo, guys, little ones out here doing some bondage.”

“Those guys are not little, but hey, they’re a tad bigger than normal.”

“What’s up with them?”

“Killing them?”

“No, I mean ‘What’s ‘up up’ with them?’”

“Strange people that’s for sure. Let’s kill them, alright?”

“Right.”

“Alright!”

Amanda and John handed the teenagers handkerchiefs for their sweat.

The teenagers thanked them as the goblins sprinted up behind them.

John leapt and blocked the way.

The goblins slammed into John.

John jumped away and tripped.

The group of teenagers, around 60 in number, pulled their crossbows and aimed.

Amanda helped John up.

The goblins, around 5,000 in number, retreated to avoid the arrows, preferring self-preservation over an easy victory.

The teenagers relaxed their bows and sprinted away alongside Amanda and John.

The goblins charged. They had increased their speed twicefold when their targets ran the short 100 meters in the very long 20 seconds.

John grabbed a rock, whispered an incantation, and shot it.

The rock exploded, and its tiny pellets slammed into the goblins.

The goblins stopped and rubbed themselves, bleeding.

John and Amanda sprinted away away from a hill.

The teenagers ran behind this hill and climbed it, raising their bows.

They shot their arrows, and a goblin at the front caught all the arrows.

One of the goblin men cursed. “Olato got made.”

They marched away.

John and Amanda sat on their haunches.

John rubbed his nose. “Do they have something else to do?”

Amanda grabbed her pouch and grabbed packaged food. She handed it to John.

John grabbed it.

Amanda handed the teenagers some packaged food.

They ate and drank.

When darkness came, they had left, rested somewhere hidden, and left again.

They walked up to the gates which John, Amanda, and their son had visited.

The goblins pitched camp there for the night.

John, Amanda, and the group of teenagers joined a large group of people that surrounded the goblins.

“What in the world are they doing?”

John and Amanda stared for several minutes.

John sounded nice. “They look normal. Should we bother them?”

A group of goblins among the mass of goblins waved balls of light toward John and Amanda. One of the goblin men dropped a painting depicting the dead goblin named “Olato” with his hands outstretched in front of his favorite food. Their faces looked forlorn and wasted.

However, as John stared, their lost expressions shifted to rage.

They ran, waking up their goblins and sending a grandiose message.

“They’re here!”

“The hateful!”

“The tyrannical!”

“The monstrous!”

“We should remove them! Break their tendons!”

Their voices were musical.

The goblins who had moved on from Olato’s death in a blink of an eye woke up, grasping weapons and protective gear. They stood, joined the singing, and entered into formation.

John’s face changed.

He covered his disgusted expression. “This is hypocrisy. They killed children.” His voice contained venom.

Amanda raised her hand and adopted a thinking pose. “A talk. A talk will gain something.”

A group beside Amanda heard her and nodded. “Let’s tell whoever’s in charge.” They bounded away alongside Amanda and John.

“Stop the plans to fight!”

“Don’t fight!”

“No fighting!”

“We are against fighting!”

“Please don’t fight!”

The shouting in favor of pursuing peace talks with the goblin group soared as John and Amanda spread the message.

A tall woman gave a tender smile toward John and Amanda and greeted them with a bow. She gestured to the onlookers of people crowding toward her. “I’m Sophia, the mover of these people.” She pointed to a group of men beside her. “And these men are my husbands.”

Amanda hid her surprise, glancing at John.

John gave a composed smile. “We are against fighting the goblins. Can we give them what they really want?”

Amanda widened her eyes, failing to hide her surprise.

The tall woman named “Sophia” noticed and gave a couple of big nods. “No, too dangerous I think. I’m not the one deciding ‘that that,’ but right now, do tell me why fighting them won’t end up in a win-win in the long run. They carry bombs that’ll destroy the kingdoms from the inside out.”

Amanda raised a closed fist. “What are you guys talking about? Bombs?”

“Conceptual.”

Amanda squinted as her expression grew tense.

“Not the actual.”

Amanda raised a brow, widened her eyes, and compressed her lips.

“Metaphorical.” John sounded serious and somewhat guilty.

Sophia and the group of men giggled.

Amanda grabbed John’s arm with a tender smile.

John clasped his forehead, covering his eyes, looking somewhat embarrassed.

The group of men showed Sophia expectant glances, and Sophia nodded.

The men handed Amanda and John some cheesecake.

John and Amanda thanked them, and they ate.

She gestured, raising a packaged cheesecake. “We can end it today, but only if they accept this meal. I can do it myself, but you can try since I’m open to either war and peace.”

John and Amanda showed their surprised smiles, turned around, and finished their food.

Sophia rested her chin on the palm of her hand. “Hello?”

John turned around and back several times before he realized.

He gave a thumbs-up for the food. “Yes?”

Sophia glanced at the meal for the goblins on her hand.

John raised his shoulders. “Oh, I’m sorry!” He grabbed it and bowed. “Thanks for the food!” He turned around.

“Chic lavender and mustard.” Sophia paused midway through her return to resting position. Her smile was awkward.

John wore a purple gown layered over yellow trousers. His face outside of Sophia’s view, he raised a brow and left. He took her words as a compliment despite his distaste with the use of the word “mustard.”

Sophia continued her return to resting position and stood at ease. She turned toward the group of men beside her, and the men showed her a map.

The map displayed a couple of balls of light that moved at the same time John and Amanda did. It showed their location.

Sophia stretched her back. She raised her brows, showing her approval.

A goblin connected a couple of his fingers and bit their thick, square-shaped nails from top and below. “What’s up with you guys? You’re mad, but I’m not. Do you really want to fight ‘right right’ now?”

A goblin fell to the ground as arrows struck it.

As the goblins yelled, the group of teenagers alongside whom Sophia and John had expected to fight reloaded their crossbows.

A goblin rubbed her face and covered her mouth. “Stop! Stop! Stop!”

John and Sophia sneezed, paused, and said “Excuse me.”

Amanda handed John his handkerchief from his pouch.

Sophia drew lines on a map as mud walls emerged from the ground where she drew.

These mud walls emerged and formed a enclosure around a group of goblins closest to John and Amanda.

Sophia touched the drips from her nose. “Ugh.”

John and Amanda imitated the goblin shouting “Stop!” John ran toward the teenagers, and Amanda ran toward Sophia.

The teenagers shot a volley of arrows as Sophia drew a line.

A group of seven men, a couple of ogres, and a bulky man whom John had met blocked Amanda’s way.

Amanda widened her eyes, covered her mouth with one arm, and flailed her other one as he ran.

John bit his lip, struggling against cursing.

Chapter 3
Sophia smiled with expectant eyes.

The teenagers gathered together. “Woohoo!”

“Let’s go!”

“Stop holding it like that! I said relax!”

“Alright!”

The goblins marched toward the teenagers, stone-faced with hints of disappointment.

John showed the group of teenagers a package of food. “Guys, stop, you hungry? Let’s eat!”

“We’re fine.” They shot a goblin dead.

John grabbed them by the shoulders. “Stop! Don’t kill them! We don’t need to fight!”

“Fighting is fun!” They walked outside of John’s reach.

John pretended he was sorry, falling on his knees and begging them.

“Stop. Stop doing that. Stop putting yourself down.” The teenagers’ expressions looked disappointed.

Amanda raised her hands and begged Sophia to stop.

Sophia blinked several times for a few seconds before she turned her head toward Amanda. She stared. “What?” She sounded confused.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

Amanda furrowed her brows. “What?” She sounded more confused than Sophia.

Sophia smiled. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

She drew a line.

Amanda’s voice grew hoarse as she said “Stop!” repeatedly. Her voice was weak since she had been awake alongside John for over 24 hours.

The group of goblins who had woken up the rest of the around 5,000 goblins emerged. They stabbed some of the teenagers with one arm, and the teenagers fell to the ground.

“Hail to Olato!” The goblins fled on four legs.

John sounded exasperated. “Oh no!”

Amanda grabbed a sheathed dagger from her pouch, unsheathed it, and aimed it at the bulky man whom John had met. “You... why are you still here?”

The bulky man frowned. “You think I’m a Johnson like Sick is?”

Amanda looked down. “I can’t do this anymore. John is fine, but me, with all this?”

The couple of ogres whom John had met stepped forward and overshadowed her.

Amanda calmed her shaking. “This is wrong, and you know it.”

The ogres grabbed her and tied her against a tree slimmer than her. “She’ll be fine.” They sounded warm and pleasant.

John opened his pouch and put his hand inside. He furrowed his brows when he touched the pouch of coins which Amanda had given him. He took out the pile of cups which he had brought home.

He threw the cups, and the ground turned into slippery ice. The cups disappeared into smoke.

John and the teenagers struggled and fell.

The teenagers cursed. “What is this! What’s going on!”

John grabbed them and tied them up. “Don’t move!”

The teenagers stared at him with grieving expressions.

John moved the bodies of the dead teenagers and placed them face up side by side. “Guys, you’re grieving, and we’re in a war.” He sounded caring and forgiving.

He left and climbed into a mud wall enclosure where a group of goblins ran and avoided crocodiles.

He shook his head and groaned. “Sophia!”

“I’ll help you!” He sprinted toward the goblins.

The goblins shook their head.

John climbed the enclosure and extended his hands. “Grab my hand!”

The goblins grabbed his hands one by one, and he pulled them outside.

John stared at them, and the goblins stared back.

John nodded.

The goblins’ surprised expressions shifted to joy as John clapped.

The goblins shouted, panting. “Yes!”

“Woohoo!”

“Yey!”

John stared at them as their expressions shifted to grief.

“Damian!”

“Matthew!”

“Richard!”

John frowned, and he offered them his dirty handkerchief.

Several goblins accepted and wiped their tears.

John left.

Amanda removed herself from the tree to which the ogres had tied her, falling to the ground.

The ogres chuckled and grabbed her, stopping her from running.

Amanda took out the scroll which she had taken out at the gates. “Do you want to go to the island? Here!”

The bulky man grabbed his hair. “You...” He sounded surprised and suppressed his happiness.

His expression shifted to annoyance as Amanda walked forward.

The bulky man pointed at Amanda. “I did it already. I paid the price.”

Amanda opened her mouth slowly. “W-what price?”

“You know.” The bulky man sounded betrayed.

“Jared, can you tell me what’s wrong? Seriously.”

Jared raised his hands face up and looked at them, his eyes wet. “You didn’t give me the money I needed. I needed it to leave with Sick!”

The ogre bent over and showed Jared their stone-faced expressions. “Be quiet.”

Jared lowered his head and slowly turned away, and the ogres returned to their rest position.

Amanda touched an embroidery design depicting a basket on her pouch. “She’s expecting.”

Jared stopped, his eyes wide. He gave the ogres a secretive glance. He raised his hand from the corner of his legs.

“What are you doing!” Sophia stood and raised a hand.

The ogres collapsed and fell unconscious.

Jared turned toward Sophia, and midway through raising his hand, he collapsed and fell unconscious.

Sophia fell to her knees with a groggy expression.

The crowd watching the fight became noisy.

Amanda dropped her jaw and ran toward Sophia. She grabbed a rope from her pouch.

Sophia let out a weak groan and mouthed “Jared.”

The group of men whom Sophia had married entered into a shield formation in front of Sophia.

Amanda stopped. “What are you doing?” She stuttered, and her head trembled. She blinked fast and shut her mouth, yawning. She collapsed.

The group of men grabbed her and tied her up against a tree slimmer than her.

John collapsed halfway through his sprint to Amanda, and the goblins whom he had helped took care of him.

He became half-awake, and the goblins offered him an energy potion.

John nodded, and the goblins made him drink.

John’s groggy stare wandered. He saw a carriage.

James jumped out of it and sprinted toward him, raising a mace.

John got up, and his tired senses became sharp.

James lowered his weapon and greeted him.

John greeted him back.

James showed him a map. “We found you.”

A group of a younger soldier and an older man whom John had met emerged from behind James. They gestured toward an army of 100 men behind them.

James smiled. “Can you save Amanda with that number?” His voice grew regretful as he spoke because he thought he sounded rude. “The energy potion is kicking in. Apologies.”

The older man handed him a box of potions. “This is enough?”

John chuckled.

“I’m serious. If this saves Amanda, we should be good for the long term right?”

John chuckled nervously.

The older man’s voice deepened his voice. “Hey, John. Do you read me?”

John nodded fast.

A soldier wearing an apron sprinted toward John and greeted him, waving at him.

John took a stance. “Who are you?”

The soldier gestured toward the older man.

The older man nodded, showing his approval for the apron soldier.

John showed a polite smile.

The apron soldier shook John’s hand. “No comment.” His helmet muffled his voice.

John returned to his rest position. “Amanda’s favorite store? You’re the guy with the girl?” He sounded rude.

“I have food if you guys want. I’m only here for that apparently.” The apron soldier sounded polite. He pulled up his visor. He showed a half-bitter and half-amused smile, avoiding John’s questions.

John furrowed his brows, forgetting he had regretted his rudeness.

The older man extended his hand toward John. “Amanda is there, John. Why are you stalling?”

The apron soldier offered John mushroom soup.

John turned his head around and sprinted away. “Amanda!” His voice was a whisper.

The older man, James, the younger soldier, and the apron soldier chortled and marched behind John.

They and the 100-man army sang and blew horns and trumpets, preparing to charge.

John ran up to Amanda and freed her. “You’re okay, Amanda. I’m here. I’m here.”

Amanda was quiet. Tears dripped down her face.

John hugged her.

The 5,000-goblin army emerged and surrounded the group of men whom Sophia had married and the groups of people who had gathered under Sophia’s name. Those under Sophia’s name numbered 3,000.

John and Amanda left them and joined the older man.

The apron soldier handed John a fresh, clean handkerchief, and John wiped Amanda’s tears.

The goblins whom John had helped out of an enclosure spotted John and ran up to him.

John covered his mouth, trembled, and ran.

He tripped. “Stop! Don’t kill them!”

The older man raised his hands. “Don’t touch them, everyone!”

The goblins pointed toward a path behind them and gestured an escape route.

John nodded, but he gestured that he declined.

The goblins left at high speeds.

John frowned and sat down.

Amanda hugged his leg and massaged him.

John smiled.

The goblin army, also referred to as the “Roy Army” and the Sophia army, also referred to as the “Sophian Army” marched toward one another.

The group of teenagers whom John had tied up freed themselves and pumped their fists. “Yeah! Finally!”

“We got them!”

“We were so close to failing, but here we go!”

Amanda and John fell asleep.

Sick emerged. “Everyone, let’s focus on the positives. I want to introduce myself. This is Sick. This fleshbag of a person. I’ve been gone to focus on better things, but since you guys are messing all about, I thought I might come in and give you all a little chat. No more fighting. No more.”

He handed the Sophia army bags of cash and offered to represent the goblins for peace talks in favor of their self-government. He showed his magical, golden rings as proof of his influence.

When Sick and the Roy Army had left and the Sophian Army returned to their camp, Jared, John, Amanda, and Sophia woke up.

Sophia handed Jared a handkerchief. “Seriously? I was doing this for you, and now, you got all that? What a waste! Why?” She sounded amused.

Jared wiped his tears and returned the handkerchief. “I can tell you’re finished.”

Sophia grinned. “Of course I am.”

John and Amanda screamed. “No!”

“Why!”

The couple of ogres whom John had met chuckled. “Calm down, we didn’t lose the war.”

John and Amanda stared for a few seconds.

John pumped his fists. “Yeah!”

Amanda laughed, tears dripping.

A group of dressed people visited and greeted them wearing purple, yellow, mourning clothes.

John and Amanda frowned.

One of the mourning-dressed men hummed to get their attention. “We visited the grave already. I blame you partly.”

“Thank you.” Another mourning-dressed man offered them a stack of letters.

John and Amanda widened their eyes, but they looked relieved. John accepted the stack of letters.

“But in the end, you didn’t watch them die right?” A mourning-dressed woman plucked the necklace around her wrist.

John and Amanda nodded.

The first mourning-dressed man strode away and gestured the couple of women whom John had met. “If you don’t see them...”

John nodded normally, and Amanda nodded like a woodpecker.

John and Amanda returned home where a boy greeted them.

The boy stood on tiptoe. “They allowed me.”

John and Amanda shook his hands and nodded.

Amanda tensed her lips. “If they allowed you...”

His hands behind his back, the boy followed John and Amanda inside.

He greeted John and Amanda’s son with an enthusiastic howl.

John and Amanda smiled. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

They went into a room to the right and locked the door.

The boy danced and skipped around. “Michael, Michael, look at this.” He slashed at the air and swung his legs like a peacock.

John and Amanda’s son named “Michael” smiled, tilting his head upward. He created a portal behind the boy.

The boy offered Michael chocolate candy from Sick’s store.

Michael ate it, and his portal disappeared.

Sick’s voice emerged inside the room Michael and the boy were in: “Hiya, pass this message to your father Charter, John, and Amanda: ‘“Ennobled and revoked” is caught. All I need to do is discuss land with the lich, and you and I can save the goblins once and for all.’”

When John and Amanda exited their room, the boy told them Sick’s message.

John and Amanda left and entered a small store where a group of adventurers discussed.

“We’re late.” Amanda blinked fast and shut her mouth, yawning.

The adventurers clapped. “Good job, John. I heard you helped Lord Mark and Imperial Secretary Sick.”

“Why the titles?” John touched his forehead, adopting a thinking pose. “Anyways, just tell me what we have to do. I’ve already too much on my hands since... Whatever.” He sounded rude.

“High man now, huh?” One of the adventurer men feigned derisiveness, bounding toward John with an willful, arrogant gait.

John bowed his head. “Are we going to explore the same dungeon? Oh, drake was laughing about Jared. Oh, Jared was laughing about the drake.”

Amanda walked toward the adventurers.

All the adventurers chuckled except for one.

This one adventurer covered her face. “Yeah, we heard. He’s in prison for the...”

The first adventurer crossed her arms. “Book.”

Amanda placed a basket beside each of the adventurers and sat down. “Guys.” She waved her hands. “The baskets are worth 50. Take it or leave it.”

The adventurers crowded into one spot, grabbing their boxes and displaying it to one another. They took out an embroidered handkerchief from each basket and put it on a table.

Amanda smirked. “What do you think?”

One of the adventurer men tapped his handkerchief gift. “Whoa-ho. Very nice. Look at that.”

Wearing trousers, Amanda adopted a relaxed pose. She raised her leg, bent her knees, and rested her elbow on her knee. Her other arm rested on the base of her other leg. “Picked them up from the embroiderers’ yesterday.”

The other adventurers imitated the adventurer who had tapped a handkerchief.

Another adventurer pressed his buttocks against a table. “Good coloring.”

John gave Amanda a simple smile.

Amanda looked at him and imitated his smile.

Their smiles grew intense as the adventurers admired the handkerchiefs which Amanda had bought instead of the baskets which she had crafted.

One of the adventurer men placed the handkerchiefs in one pouch and stacked the baskets. “We were hoping to use the gooselings.”

“Easily, we can access the Dog Bandits’ through the goblins Amanda and I had met. Charter’s also willing to supply us with the food, although...” John remembered the apron soldier who gave him mushroom soup.

Along with the group of adventurers, John and Amanda returned home.

Amanda’s friend and the boy who had played with Michael greeted them inside the home.

“Okay, just sit down there. Amanda and I have prepared—”

“Unlike last time.” The adventurers and Amanda chuckled.

The boy who had played with Michael said “Excuse me” and left.

John left to the gates and bounded toward a mess of leaves. “Where are you? I’m going to need one of you to come down here and meet me.”

Along with ten other large families of goblins, the goblins whom John had saved emerged and greeted John. Human mercenaries and four-wheeled, horse-drawn wagons hid behind them.

John pressed his arm against his hip. “I’m here to ask if any of you have taken a heard of the Dog Bandits.”

“No.”

“Okay.”

John and the goblins went their separate ways.

John returned home and covered his face, regretting leaving in the first place.

Amanda, Amanda’s friend, and the adventurers chuckled and guffawed when John explained what happened.

Amanda touched wine on the ground as hundreds of tiny voices screamed in their ears.

John stood on tiptoe and pointed at the ceiling. “Charter, we got the message! Stop giving us your equivalent of a gift!”

The wine that emerged and dripped from the ceiling stopped coming and disappeared.

One of the adventurer women chuckled. “John, if the goblins have nothing, should we just have Sick handle it? He announced he’s going to the 500-year-old death cart. Maybe, the lich he mentioned could replace the Dog Bandits and become sort of a proxy for Sick.”

John rubbed his palm. “Who knows?”

John and Amanda brought the adventurers outside to the store where they had bought mushroom soup.

They sat down and ate.

“I have Jared’s book—” One of the adventurer men gave a teasing grin.

“Hey!” John’s voice was a whisper. He gave them a scolding look.

The adventurer’s expression became serious. “I think it’s good.”

John’s expression became angry for a split-second, but he composed himself. “You like it when leaders die?” He clasped his hands together, turned his head away, and covered the bottom half of his face. He glanced around the room.

The adventurer raised his voice. “No, this might be one of the best books I’ve seen so far. I feel like it could be better if he just released it. Who knows? People like me might see things differently.”

John pinched the skin above his brow. “Really, Jacob?” He hid his interrogative tone and stared.

Another adventurer pretended he was aiming with an arquebus hand gun, poking another. “It’s funny! Nah, nah, nah. Oh, no! Oh, no!”

Another adventurer ate politely. “It’s impressive! In that story, everyone slept in a tower, and then, everyone woke up. But he was stuck there for years. He became stronger and stronger until he could fight a giant.”

Another adventurer raised several manuscripts. “Yeah, and the funniest part is when the golems start showing they can talk, and he gets so surprised. That made me laugh so much!”

The adventurer named “Jacob” showed surprise and realization. He compressed his lips and quieted down.

When the adventurers had cleaned their plates, they, John, and Amanda walked home.

A couple of teenage girls emerged and asked for John’s signature.

“You were really friends with the Imperial Secretary?” One of the teenage girls shivered. “That’s so cool! Really, I’ve seen him only once, but I’ve already written so many stories about him!”

John imitated their excitement with his gestures and tone. “Yeah! I thought he was weak at first, but he went and did so many things! Makes me feel like I can be like him, but I want to work alongside him!”

The teenagers smiled and ran off. “Thanks John! Thank you, too, Miss! You’re gorgeous!”

John composed himself. He and Amanda gave polite smiles and said “Goodbye,” waving their hands.

They returned home.

When they had slept, woke up, and prepared themselves, they prepared to leave along with Michael. John covered his face and shoulders and exchanged his purple gown and yellow trousers for a typical adventurer outfit. Michael hid in a covered basket. Amanda exchanged her typical adventurer outfit for a pink slouchy, striped bodysuit that coordinated well with her pink leg coverings.

They left and attended a tournament where the boy who had played with Michael had signed up.

John’s tender smile grew wider as he glanced around. “Where is he?”

Amanda covered her mouth. “Right over there.”

Adrian was on the ground as a silver-haired, black-clothed man whom John and Amanda had met beat him.

Chapter 4
A 50-teenager group whom John had tied up emerged. They ran up to the boy who had played with Michael and pulled him away.

The silver-haired man whom John had met pumped his fists. “Alright!”

John, Amanda, and the crowd around them gave a thumbs-down and booed.

John stomped a foot. “Oh come on! The kid was 19 years old, and the man is—what?—70 plus?”

Amanda took a deep inhale for a shout and chuckled halfway.

John and Amanda left and bounded up to the boy who had played with Michael. Behind the boy, a mother whom John and Amanda had met emerged. She gave them a warning stare and trudged away along with the boy.

John walked up to the mother. “Pursue litigation at the royal court.”

The mother chuckled derisively. “For what?”

Amanda walked up beside John and showed a warning frown.

The woman glanced at her and gave her a polite smile. “Amanda, thanks again.” She raised a concealed basket which Amanda had gifted her.

Amanda nodded.

John raised his brows and tilted his head toward the mother. “The person who beat him deserves mutilation at least?”

Amanda and the mother frowned.

John glanced between Amanda and the mother. “It’s the norm for thieves. Some of them are already up for public display.” The mother’s frown grew deeper as John spoke.

John gestured with his hands and nodded, showing his sincerity. “I really think you should at least give the competitor person that.”

Amanda composed herself and only tensed her lips. “John, John, John.”

“That’s like bottom level—” John turned toward Amanda. “Yes?”

“I don’t think she wants it.” Amanda gave him an expectant look.

John opened his mouth and stared at her and the mother.

The boy who had played with Michael tapped his mother’s shoulder. “Food?”

The mother nodded. “You’ll get it, don’t worry.”

John nodded with a resigned expression.

He and Amanda said “Goodbye” and left.

John and Amanda entered an adventurer’s guild and greeted a group of adventurer who had eaten with them.

“Hello, everyone. Hello Jacob.”

Jacob waved at him and looked elsewhere.

John hid his disapproval and followed Jacob’s gaze.

A man entered the guild and paused, furrowing his brows. He ignored Jacob and John’s stares and sat down.

John walked up to Jacob and tilted his head toward his face. “What’s wrong?”

Jacob glanced at John and widened his eyes slightly when he saw John’s happy face. “Isn’t that Charter?”

John gave a flurry of nods.

The man named “Charter” who had ignored Jacob and John glanced at John and gestured him to come.

John ran up to him and sat down. “Is it too late now to say your coffee is not coming?”

“Can you ask them please? Thank you.”

Amanda turned toward John and gave him an expectant look.

John bounded up to her and gave her an affirming expression.

John gestured Charter’s want for a cup of coffee.

Amanda pointed toward the counter of a retail kiosk. “Might as well.”

Amanda handed the basket where Michael had hid to John, and John placed it down on a table near the adventurers.

Amanda patted Michael’s head. “Might I please have 32 cups of coffee? And...”

John gestured toward Charter and raised a finger.

Amanda nodded as she spoke. “One more coffee.”

A cashier jotted down and glanced at her. “Thirty-three cups of coffee.”

Amanda touched her own chin and nodded.

She stared at the distant adventurers as the cashier jotted down, calculating.

“Is it really that hard though?” One of the adventurer men laughed.

The cashier showed her an expectant smile. “That’ll be 50 gold coins.”

Amanda nodded, and she and John walked away and sat down.

A woman handed her 32 cups of black coffee and turned around toward a co-worker. “Please keep the cahier somewhere out of the cupboards.”

Amanda ignored her and raised her eyes toward the adventurers.

The adventurer who had laughed clasped another’s shoulders. “Would they really have found it if they were that serious? Like ‘Elevated’ serious. No way right?”

Amanda shifted her eyes to the outside. A man outside carried multiple pouches of bread and milk and hurried along.

John massaged her around her thigh. “Are you okay?”

Amanda blinked many times as she turned her head toward John. “Many people died today.” She sounded quiet.

John widened his eyes. “Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Hmm. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.” His confused voice grew understanding as he spoke, and he rubbed the back of his head toward his nape and shoulder.

John blinked as he looked toward his bouncing legs. Amanda stared at a table, formed a circle with her mouth, and took a deep breath.

John deepened his voice. “Many people lived today.”

Amanda gave a small nod.

An adventurer made wide gestures as he spoke. “‘It can’t be!’ That’s how he said it. ‘No! No! No, no!’ He was so scared, but that was the most exciting part!”

“Dogdogdog is a real man for crying and not holding back his tears,” said another adventurer. “When I read the ending and got to that scene, it actually made me cry.”

A group of people who had dressed in mourning clothes entered the store.

One of the mourning-dressed women walked up in front of Amanda. “Kimberly said, ‘Adrian is in prison.’”

Amanda looked toward John.

John showed her an encouraging, urging smile, nodding his head and raising his brows.

Amanda chuckled out of surprise. Her chuckle grew nervous while the woman who had walked up in front of Amanda stared and raised her brows.

John lowered his head, grinned, and clapped his hands secretively.

Amanda touched above her brow. “Ok, I’ll discuss first with John.”

John frowned.

Amanda gave John a naive, pleading look. “Then, I’ll pass by her and Adrian.”

The woman who had walked up in front of her gave her a disbelieving look.

Amanda gave her a confused look, raising her brow. “Up by 7 tomorrow, so it’s not a problem.”

The adventurers crowded toward John, and one of the adventurer women gestured in front of John.

John turned his head toward the adventurers.

The adventurer who had gestured gave John an expectant look.

John shook his head.

The adventurers nodded.

Jacob took out a notebook and placed it on the table.

The adventurers turned their heads toward the notebook. Their voices were loud. “Is this a hand-copied version of Jared’s?”

Jacob bit his lip and stuttered. “I found evidence of the death of Aliyah. It’s here.”

The adventurers gave Jacob polite smiles. “Jacob is serious. Wow.”

Jacob gave John an expectant look.

Amanda stood and walked toward the counter.

John joined Amanda, ignoring Jacob.

His head turned elsewhere, Jacob followed John with his eyes and balled his fists under the table.

“Aliyah...” Jacob grabbed a cup of water and drank it as the adventurers’ faces grew bored.

John sat down with an enthusiastic voice. “What’s Aliyah?”

Jared struggled to speak, opening his mouth several times as the rest of the adventurers realized John’s enthusiasm.

The adventurers imitated John’s enthusiasm. “Yeah, Jacob, what’s Aliyah? How did you get Jared’s book anyway? Did you go visit him?”

Jacob hesitated to smile, stood up, and turned around toward his pouch on the chair where he had sat. “That’s right.”

Charter faced Jacob and handed him a cup of coffee. “Bad for your throat, but it helps.” His voice was quiet.

Jacob smiled wide for a split-second. He led John, Amanda, Michael, the adventurers, and Charter outside to a remote place. “Jared said that if there was a king, he should be the strongest and most intelligent. He should be the wisest and provide the most benefit to the country. To that end, the country must give all their control and sense of self to him for him to receive faith power and become a god. The major reason is that gods can utilize magic beyond our current means to elevate our society as a whole. The second major reason is that gods, as a result of their power, lose the weakened morality of a desperate human. He will seek after his most difficult wishes alone because he now has the power to accomplish them. After he accomplishes them, he becomes a stoic as his destiny is bound to his fulfilled identity. From what I understand, Jared meant that all a country needs is to force a king candidate through the wishes of the country until he ‘becomes’ it.”

The adventurers nodded at one another with guilty looks.

Charter frowned. “Aliyah?”

“The death of Aliyah is the death of a godless kingdom.”

John spoke fast. “With the joint ruling of Chancellor Sophia, Grand Commandant Andrew ‘Jared’ Miller, and Imperial Secretary Sick, the kingdom fared okay by reason of their magical prowess, but this system failed after Jared alongside Sophia attacked Sick’s new growing forces as a declaration of his ‘godly’ ideals.”

The adventurers became nervously quiet as John and Jacob stared at one another.

John gave Jacob a friendly smile.

Jacob rubbed his fingers together, hoping John would affirm and advice him.

Charter clapped. “Either way, it’s a good study. Jacob, right?”

Jacob nodded, glancing at John.

John raised his brows.

Jacob looked away.

John turned toward Amanda. “Want to go home? I almost forgot. You’re supposed to check Adrian.”

Amanda spoke slowly. “Royal court.”

John gave her an encouraging smile. “I’ll come with you. Mikey might want to come as well. We should bring him.”

Amanda nodded, turning toward the adventurers.

Charter laughed. “Jacob, you should try selling these orbs. If you’re the one at the front, they’ll want to listen to since their bodies are getting drained while you wait.”

“No, I don’t want to.” Jacob sounded relaxed.

Charter furrowed his brows. “I have a lord in line since they want to take up holy magic. Come on.”

John glanced at Amanda, ran up to Jacob and Charter, and grabbed their shoulders. “Holy magic!” His voice sounded funny.

Amanda smiled, and Jacob raised his head and widened his posture. He raised his brows as Charter’s eyes grew bored.

“How would you do it?” Jacob sounded excited.

Charter’s eyes widened, imitating Jacob’s excitement. “Like I said. Just practice your hands to stop them from shaking. You don’t want to drop the orb or shake while you’re doing your hand waving.”

Jacob nodded as he left alongside John, Amanda, Michael, and the adventurers.

Along with the adventurers, John, Amanda, and Michael returned home. Michael stayed behind as the rest left again.

They ran up to the gates which John and Amanda had visited.

A group of adventurers hid their armbands and emerged from a camp nearby.

One of the adventurer men sprinted up to John. “Is that Little John?”

John nodded and shook his hand. “Oh, hi Ryan. It’s good knowing you’re still out here helping the goblin poor.”

The adventurers with Ryan clapped.

One of the adventurer men with Ryan strode up to John. “That’s right! Even without their mage ones, we wouldn’t be so quick to judge. We’ve been giving them gifts lately.”

John and Amanda gave polite smiles.

Amanda strode away.

Ryan furrowed his brows. “Why’s she leaving?”

John covered his mouth. “She needs to go. Body calls!” He sounded funny.

Ryan pointed at John. “My bad! With your new look, I thought you got yourself an impudent group of comrades.”

John gave a polite laugh. “It’s only expected that you would’ve thought that. Now, what are you sitting out here for?”

Ryan gave a thumbs-up. “We’re blocking the gates. It’s our first attempt.”

John closed his eyes. “Blocking it?”

Ryan gave a flurry of nods. “Uh-huh! And we’re doing it for free!” He guffawed.

His group gave him awkward smiles.

John backed away alongside Amanda and the adventurers. “Either way, I think you’re missing something here. We’re not here to do anything much, but Lord Mark—”

Ryan glared. “You lackey for him? John, stronger John, it’s us against you and your John clique.”

He and the adventurers with him showed their symbolic armbands, declaring war against the John, Amanda, and the adventurers with John.

One of the adventurers with John raised his arms against his chest, disgusted and irritated. “The Dogs!”

Ryan swung his hand at John, grabbed his shoulder, and sliced at his neck.

John stopped his dagger and slashed it with a sword.

The steel dagger broke, and John slashed Ryan’s chest.

Ryan dashed backward as a volley of arrows emerged and struck him.

John fell forward, but Amanda grabbed him, saving him from the arrows.

He sprinted and yelped when a volley of arrows hit the ground behind him.

Jacob tripped. “Ugh!” He got up.

The other adventurers with John yelled. “No, no, no!”

“Please, please, please!”

Ten large families of goblins whom John had met and another family whom John had saved emerged. Those among the goblins who had shot each produced a skilled longbow result of 12 arrows in one minute.

Ryan and the most of the adventurers with him lost their lives.

John, Amanda, and the adventurers with them and the 11 families of goblins greeted one another.

“Thank you!”

“Thanks!”

“I love you! Thank you!”

A group of goblin teenagers wearing purple, yellow clothes whom John and Amanda had met emerged in the light in front of John, far away. They gestured for a meeting with someone from the 11 families of goblins.

A goblin woman strode up to them and greeted them.

One of the purple- and yellow-dressed, teenage goblin boys spoke in a different language. “Imperial Secretary Sick is chasing down the lich, but the lich is nearing Enterprise Town. Can we pay you to get them? I don’t need to pay the adventurer residents.”

The goblin woman shook his hand and bowed, accepting his proposal. “No need for the payment.”

The teenage goblin boy stared. “Thank you.” He sounded embarrassed.

The teenage goblins boys joined the families of goblins and marched toward a town named “Enterprise.”

John, Amanda, and the adventurers with them returned home.

John and Amanda paced around their home as their voice grew terrified. “Where’s Michael?”

When it became midnight, John and Amanda had left, met the older man whom they had met, and returned home.

“Where is he?” John covered his face with both hands.

Sick’s voice emerged. “John? Amanda? Are you guys there? I called you guys, but Michael’s the only one who came. I’m sorry.” He sounded frustrated.

John glared at the door and opened it, sprinting outside.

Amanda joined him, bumping against the door into the streets.

They silently dashed around corners after corners, ignoring the surprised expressions of bystanders nearby. They slowed down due to crowds and the coming and going of a foreign ambassador. They jumped over a small fence, and John injured himself.

John gave a strained chuckle as Amanda picked him up. “Sorry, I became too enamoured by us running like this now that we’re here.” He stared at Michael.

Michael hugged Amanda.

John grabbed him and picked him up, playfully aggressively hugging and kissing him on the head.

He put him down, while Michael hugged onto Amanda’s arm and rubbed his cheek against his elbow.

John, alongside Michael, walked up to Amanda.

Amanda was touching a bunch of flowers. “Oh, sorry, this reminds me of the three kids.”

John nodded with a brow raised.

“Let’s not get complacent, shall we?” Amanda kissed Michael’s head and walked alongside John and Michael toward a tower. She looked stone-faced, but her fingers twisted about in frustration.

Amanda raised her hand, and the sound of glass breaking emerged from her past John and Michael.

Michael stopped, biting his lip.

John furrowed his brows and bounded up to Amanda. “Amanda?” His voice was hurried and stressed.

Amanda closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned her head toward John. “I broke my barrier. I think I’m doing it.”

John forced a smile. “The lich? If that’s your target... sure.”

A group of goblins emerged from a building and sprinted away down the road.

Amanda stopped. “They’re here.”

“They’re really purple from here.” John glanced at Amanda’s angry eye twitches. “I guess it’s the street lights.”

A thunderstorm emerged.

Amanda’s twitches stopped, twisting her torso toward John. “Is that yours?” Her voice sounded tense.

John pointed toward a bunch of bats emerging. “Yes. And those are the...”

Amanda’s voice became calm. “The half-naked bat man.”

The bats transformed into a silver-haired, black-clothed man whom John had seen at the tournament. A spear five times taller than him flew toward him and floated midair, moving alongside the man.

A bunch of adventurers carrying baskets with potions emerged, put down their baskets, and recovered their bearing. “John, Amanda,” said one of the adventurers beside Jacob whom John had helped persuade to join Carter. “Michael. Is Lord Mark here with us?”

Amanda dashed at an absurdly fast speed. “He should be here.” Green particles of magic emerged from under her feet as she dashed, grinned, and grabbed John’s shoulder as a gesture of camaraderie to the adventurers.

John smiled despite his shoulder’s discomfort. “The adventurer guild got us all here, huh.”

The silver-haired man walked up to John. “Not all of us. Greetings. I’m Peter.”

“Greetings.” John’s voice was a mumble.

John, Amanda, Michael, and the adventurers with them stared for several seconds.

The silver-haired man named “Peter” raised his brows and walked away with the same confident gait.

Amanda walked up to two of the adventurers and drunk a potion from their basket. “Thank you, Oliver.”

One of the two adventurers nudged the other, and this other one named “Oliver” observed Amanda’s haughty, climbing gait.

Oliver raised his legs and kicked the air. “Doesn’t Imperial Secretary Sick teach us not to walk like that?”

The other adventurer beside Oliver crossed his arms and leaned forward as he walked alongside Oliver. “Don’t worry. She knows what she’s doing. John taught Sick, and—inadvertently—produced much of his early feats.”

John walked backward and gave them a knowing look. “I heard my name and what you said. That was a lie I said years ago. I forgot to tell you until now.” He awkwardly sprinted away and joined Amanda.

John patted Michael on the head toward the necklace around his neck.

Michael gave John a confused look.

John nodded and gave him a meaningful glance.

Michael opened his mouth and nodded clumsily.

A group of James, the younger soldier the older man, the apron soldier, and the small army whom John had met emerged behind the adventurers. “Good evening, everyone,” they repeated across the adventurers. Their expressions and words were polite.

John smiled and gave a theatrically shy wave as Amanda’s demeanor along with her outfit became grandiose.

James and those along with him walked up to John and Amanda. They greeted them and marched alongside them.

The adventurers recited a poem, joining their march.

John slowed down and made a split-second expression of fear toward Amanda’s back.

Chapter 5
Michael tripped, waved his hands around, and hit his knee.

Amanda gave a fierce chuckle. John gave an excited smirk.

Michael yelped and grabbed his necklace.

Amanda grabbed Michael and picked him up, clasping his cheeks.

John grabbed a potion from Oliver from whom Amanda had grabbed a potion. He handed it to Michael, and Michael drank it.

Michael grinned. “Yummy.”

Amanda grabbed the empty potion and returned it to Oliver, smiling at the potion.

John nodded toward the healing of Michael’s wound, reading “Carter” on the potion.

“Carter, eh, he’s so hairy unlike me, who’s so thin and frail.” He touched above his mouth. His tone carried hints of jealousy.

Amanda gave him a confused look.

Her look became irritated as John chuckled.

John stared as his probing expression became annoyed. “I’m just joking.” His tone sounded half sincere.

Amanda’s irritation extended to her hand on John’s shoulder, and she pressed down.

John yelped, imitating Michael’s yelp.

The adventurers and the older man’s group maintained the distance and spoke in hushed tones.

The older man frowned. “The bright lights. That’s the lich breaking the barrier. He’s declared his position here. Can we get Sick to bring him away from the city somehow? I haven’t heard of Sick’s abilities, but couldn’t he use that throw thing he used on the wraith dragon?”

“He’s using it right now.”

The lich flew and landed beside the older man.

The older man cursed.

A horde of ghouls emerged in the distance, following the lich.

Sick ran and emerged, fighting the ghouls. “Kill him. He’s down.” His voice emerged and sounded behind the older man.

The lich screeched. “Chains of Ice.” His voice was deep and illusory as if it vibrated inside the ear.

Sick cursed and shouted. “No!” His voice emerged from his mouth this time.

The older man dashed and dodged as a bunch of chains of ice emerged from the lich’s body. A ghost emerged and grew bigger as it waved the chains up and down.

The chains struck the older man and created disgusting skin lesions where they hit.

The older man escaped. He drank a potion and gained a portion of his healthy skin back. However, much of the skin lesions persisted.

John and Amanda dodged the chains, recovered, and ran up to the older man alongside James, the apron soldier, and the younger soldier.

They pulled the older man out of the beating of the chains.

The older man’s expression was full of pain.

John and Amanda pointed away. “Back off!” they repeated.

“What!” James and younger soldier’s expressions wrinkled in frustration. “Why!”

“For now only!” John pointed toward Amanda’s glowing hands.

Amanda stretched her hands and shook them back and forth. Her clothes and skin gained a white, ghostly glow. She compressed her lips and took a deep breath. “The Four Seasons!” Four human-sized tornadoes of orange, yellow, blue, and red emerged, sprinting sidelong at the lich.

The lich pressed his hands down, and a door emerged from him, chasing the tornadoes.

The tornadoes dodged the door and hit the lich.

The lich screamed in pain.

The adventurers avoided the chains and struck him.

The lich struggled to turn around since it had become weak.

Amanda raised her hand and gestured the tornadoes back to her.

The tornadoes disappeared, turned into four paintings depicting summer, winter, spring, and fall, and appeared in front of Amanda.

Amanda touched them one by one, and her hands glowed again. She ran up to the lich alongside John.

They struck the lich on the first vertebra at the back of the neck with one-knuckle punches using the middle finger.

The lich fell to the ground backwards and became vulnerable to the adventurers and the small army’s projectiles.

James and the young soldier dashed and landed the last blow on the lich. The lich exploded. Sick emerged behind them and clapped. Sick opened his mouth, and his voice emerged and sounded in many homes in Enterprise Town. He smiled.

Many townspeople dressed in the same clothes ran up to them, greeted Sick, and cleaned up the dead bodies.

One of the townspeople grinned toward another. “With 500 ghouls, I’ll be rich!”

“Purgatory.” The lich emerged from the ground. “I’m so tired, so annoyed with these imbeciles. How could they...” White tears dripped down his face. “My pride, my home, everything... Sick bastards! Let me show what being a villain is like!”

The townspeople turned to dust.

Sick vomited and fell to his knees, the blood on his body becoming lesions.

The lesions on the old man’s body turned into parasites that ate his body up.

Chains flew everywhere and hit everyone.

James, the younger soldier, the apron soldier, the adventurers, the small army, John, Amanda, and Michael panicked and retreated.

“I knew he had some secret power!” Peter whom John had given the cold stare emerged from a corner.

James opened his mouth.

A group of the younger goblins and the 11 goblin families whom John had met emerged with expressions of guilt, glancing at the human piles of dust of the ground. They held handcrafted stakes.

Peter stretched his legs and leapt, striking the lich.

The lich screamed as he clasped his head. “Why...” He grabbed Peter’s neck, but the goblins attacked all at once and broke his arm off.

The lich cried and retreated with its large cape.

The goblins placed a stake one by one.

The lich stopped and tripped, hitting his face.

The goblins collected and purged the lich through weak but collective magic.

The lich’s ghost departed.

Amanda’s expression turned to rage.

John stared at her and remembered Sick’s words. “No.” His voice was weak. He fell to the ground.

Amanda grabbed the ghost and disintegrated it with her glowing hands. She leapt, tossing her tornadoes toward the goblins.

The younger goblins let out devilish and piercing screams and pointed toward numerous piles of felled trees.

All the goblins ran.

The tornadoes swallowed them, as her body glowed. Her magic grew in power as she picked each goblin off.

John cried softly. “Not again.”

James along with the older man, the younger soldier, the apron soldier, the adventurers, and the small army fled and hid behind Amanda.

Amanda nodded toward them.

Peter thrusted at her tornadoes and stabbed them away. He cursed at Amanda, dodging her tornadoes until one of his legs touched. He screamed as the tornadoes swallowed him up along with his spear

Amanda closed her eyes and crouched, sitting down.

John massaged her leg, and Amanda lay down.

The adventurers surrounded them and took care of them.

The ghouls’ bodies reeked.

James, the younger soldier, the apron soldier, the adventurers, and the small army cast some of their magic to destroy the wealth of ghoul bodies.

When the sun rose, John had woken up and apologized to everyone involved with a expression of extreme disappointment.

“3 months?” Oliver and Jacob covered their mouths.

John nodded beside sleeping Amanda, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “I’ll handle the rest. The town was a little over a mining community. We’re a fast-growing people. Sick is glad Amanda grew in power. Charter wants the potions we used to study them. I will be taking care of the rest.”

Oliver frowned. “Goblins? Sick came from the goblins.”

John smiled. “No, no, the goblins are fine.”

Jacob sighed, and Oliver rubbed his hair. “Why?” they repeated.

John rubbed his chin and straightened his posture, looking outside through a window. “Oh, I thought it was obvious. The Amber goblins struck a deal. Don’t worry. This is small. These goblins and families were part of the Elijah goblins anyway.”

Oliver sat down and massaged and shook his leg. “Oh... oh right, the goblins are in an armed conflict... that’s crazy.” He stressed “armed conflict” as if it was some foreign word.

Jacob showed them Jared’s book. “Read this. The goblins and the truths behind them. If you open your mind, you’ll find out.”

John gave him a disappointed look.

Jacob winced out of surprise. He stood up and walked away, his expression hurt.

Oliver watched him. “I’m guessing... Anyways, seriously, I’ll be outside if you’re ready. I’m going to scout the dungeons and check if the dungeons are being occupied by the goblin scouts again...” His voice became anxious as he spoke.

John stared and nodded, pushing himself and sitting up.

Oliver left, mouthing to himself about a plan.

John left through the window. “Alright.”

Michael stared at him outside. “W-what are you doing?” He held his necklace and put it through a portal he created. He looked nervous.

John pointed toward him and almost tripped. “I’m coming. Wear the necklace, too. We’re outside. Oh, people are watching. Either way, good job on your debut Michael. Oh, right, your Mom will be out for three months.”

Michael looked at the ground with a confused stare.

John jumped off a low roof and climbed down. “Why did I do that?” He ran up to Michael and shook his head. “You can do it! I believe in you!” He hugged Michael and pretended to cry.

Michael glanced at John’s back of the head and created a portal.

John disappeared.

Michael created another portal and pulled him out. “I practiced.”

John frowned, gulping. “This is dangerous.” He tapped Michael and ran off alongside him.

Hundreds of bystanders watched them as they ran.

Michael’s necklace fell and hit the ground.

John bought a chocolate candy from a stall. “Here, it should calm your magic.”

Michael nodded and ate it happily.

A group of mourning-dressed people in purple and yellow emerged behind John and Michael. “Your wife? Is she holding up?” One of them struck Michael on the back of the head.

Michael yelped and cried.

The rest of the mourning-dressed people reached out toward John.

A couple of teenage girls whom John had met pointed at them. “Guards! Help! They’re attacking John, the friend of Imperial Secretary Sick!”

A 50-teenager group whom John had tied up emerged beside the girls and ran up to the mourning-dressed people.

The mourning-dressed people fought back and threw a lavender purple orb which John had touched.

A building exploded as hundreds of papers reading “Enterprise Town is occupied by goblin soldiers!” flew.

John dashed and struck them one by one.

He stopped the mourning-dressed people from throwing more lavender purple orbs.

The 50-teenager group greeted John and arrested the mourning-dressed people.

John walked up to them. “Are you busy?”

Some of the teenagers laughed. “Of course!”

“Do you want some mushroom soup sometime? Here’s a card.” He handed them a business card that read “John Lee”.

John joked around Michael as they returned home. Michael’s confused, depressed expression lightened up.

Amanda’s friend waved at them, waiting for them.

John gestured as he spoke. “Amanda, as you know, is not well.” He opened his mouth, but he covered it and entered his home.

Amanda’s friend nodded and followed him and Michael inside.

John turned around. “Since Amanda is gone, I’ll be staying at home most of the time. Please only use the bathroom to the left.” His demeanor was polite, but his voice sounded stressed.

Sick’s voice emerged and sounded in John’s home. “I got the lich’s reason for coming here. The goblins struck a deal with him. There’s something about it having to do with the 500-year-old death cart underground.”

When the sun fell and rose, he and Michael had left toward Amanda.

They passed by posters for political candidates and ads or banners congratulating people on passing certain professional exams or degrees. One of the banners showed Adrian whom John had met.

John smiled, but he frowned. He ran to a prison and greeted Adrian there. “Adrian, how are you?” His voice was hurried.

Adrian raised his hand overhead and rubbed the back of his head. “I can fight him.”

John raised his brows. “Say that again?”

Adrian looked at John in the eyes. “I can fight that man Peter.”

John showed a expression of realization and smiled. “You will.” His smiled disappeared. “Oh no... he’s dead.”

Adrian compressed his lips. “That works too.” He smiled

John and Adrian stared at one another as Adrian’s expression grew confused.

John broke into laughter. “I cannot believe you’re a nice guy.”

Adrian frowned. “Isn’t that a bad thing?”

John raised a brow. “What? 'Nice guy’?”

Adrian adopted a thinking pose. “It means you’re soft, right?”

John looked for a seat and sat down. “No, no, not at all. Well, you got to be a little soft sometimes, or else the people you like will go nuts.” He rubbed his chin. “Oh, wait, maybe not. It’s different for everyone.” He returned his eyes to Adrian and stuttered. “Either way, it’s your journey.”

Adrian nodded.

John opened his cell. “As long as you’re with me though, we’re going places literally.”

Adrian shook John and Michael’s hand and greeted Michael.

Michael chuckled with the same tone John had. “I know someone like you.”

Adrian raised his brow. “Who? Who?”

Michael glanced at John, who gave him a cherishing smirk. “It’s a girl.”

John looked confused and turned around, walking backwards. “Julie?”

Michael looked surprised and nodded. “How did you know?”

John adjusted his clothes. “She’s the only girl you’ve met.”

Michael opened his mouth. “Really?”

John gave him an unsure shake of the head, but he soon raised his brows confidently. “Yeah.”

Adrian stared at the ground as he walked.

John, Michael, and Adrian left and entered Amanda’s room.

James and the younger soldier greeted them.

James’ voice was solemn. “He’s with me because we’re here to say that he’s dead.”

Michael tripped and hit his knee. He yelped, but his knee was fine.

John squatted down and pointed toward a chair. “You can sit down there, both of you.”

Michael and Adrian sat down.

James’ voice became sad. “We have to blame you for this. I hope you can pay us enough gold hopefully to stop Jared from getting out of prison. Imperial Secretary Sick is very lenient, but his ubiquitous voice doesn’t stop ensuring citizens to stay awake and work hard. Petty crimes are plenty, but felonies are nowhere to be found. You can’t have that with Jared. I hope you help Lord Mark achieve it.”

John’s expression became disappointed as James spoke. “I trust Jared to do what he needs to do.”

The younger soldier with James looked scared.

John touched his lips. “Lord Richard, yes. I’m a traitor. It was me all along. I’m John the traitor, and I’m going to traitor all over you!”

The younger soldier named “Richard” with James cringed. “Was that a joke?”

John’s voice was awkward. “Yeah.”

Okay, enough with that.” Richard grabbed John and tripped slightly.

John’s expression became tense, and John remembered Richard beating him up.

“Ah, my joints.” Richard handed him a lavender purple orb with a frustrated look, massaging the back of his legs. “Get Lord Charter to stop ‘dropping’ lavender purple orbs around. We can have you take that ‘traitor’ role of yours.” He took a deep breath and gave him a derisive stare. “You’re not funny.”

James shrugged with a kind, handsome face and a shoulder-length, messy hairstyle.

John’s shock turned into frustration as James and Richard left.

John took deep breaths and calmed himself down. “I’m the bigger person here apparently.” His voice carried bitterness.

He sighed again and again as he, Michael, and Adrian returned homeward.

James waved at Adrian. “Adrian, I’ll call you tomorrow. I’m tired right now.”

A thunderstorm emerged, and John watched it from inside Amanda’s room. “Amanda, do you have an orb?” He took out a cup which he had received from Amanda from Amanda’s pouch. “It was here all along. Anyways, I can use this.” He kissed her and saluted as a goodbye.

John and Michael left and entered their home.

Sick’s voice emerged in John’s home. “I spoke with James and Lord Mark’s son. Don’t worry. I’ll handle it. John, be careful with those cups. You killed a whole town of captives already.”

Amanda’s friend smiled and greeted John.

A group of five bandits whom John had seen with the dead Ryan emerged and greeted John. “Please, help us. We’ve stomped our pride, and we want to join you John somehow. Please, let us help you. That’ll be a great help to our pride as warriors.”

“Dog Bandits. I remember trying to get the lich to replace your place. Now that the lich and the Dog bandits have disbanded, a few others who are a lot messier occupy the underground economy.”

One of the bandits covered his mouth. “The Dog Bandits are not dead. We only need you to convince Sick to make a deal with us against the new gang named after former Grand Commandant Andrew.”

John rubbed his sweaty forehead. “That’s stupid. What are you on? By the way, take a seat or something. I don’t like staying here. It’s colder inside.”

The bandits agreed and sat down. “If you don’t help us, there’s no chance that Ryan will be able to do anything about—”

John raised his hand. “Ryan’s dead.”

The bandits glanced at one another. “He made a deal with the lich.”

John looked at the ceiling. “Charter, tell Sick about this.”

A drop of wine fell and hit the ground as a gesture from Charter.

John nodded and turned his head as the bandits raised their weapons toward him.

The bandits’ expressions were scared. “Was that...?”

John stood up. “I told Sick about your deal.”

The bandits sat down. “Okay, okay, that’s good. Hopefully, Sick agrees to fight Andrew’s new gang.”

John raised a brow. “Andrew is in prison.”

The bandits looked surprised. “Lord Charter broke him out.”

John gave them a polite smile. “Okay. Good night.” He gestured them outside and closed the door.

He returned to his seat, rubbed his head, and made a long, depressed sigh. “Amanda, help me right now. Why you have to be in a coma?” He sounded frivolous.

Sick’s voice emerged. “I can help you with that. Just tell Julie to join hands with you because I’m giving you an opportunity to join the War God Game. Michael, too, if he can contain his ‘portal excitement.’” He giggled sneakily like a little child. “I coined that, okay?”

John broke into laughter, and he cursed and touched his chest. “I needed that.” He smiled. However, as Amanda’s friend and Michael’s voices continued behind him, his expression turned angry, tears dripping. He was quiet, suppressing all noise. “Amanda,” he mouthed. “I will become you if I have to.”

Michael created a large portal that swallowed a chair and guffawed alongside Amanda’s friend named “Julie.”

John wiped his tears and laughed. “No, no, no. That’s a big portal! You’ll swallow our entire house if you let that loose!”

Michael covered his mouth elegantly the same way Julie did. “Really?”