Whether Master Ronin's words were true or not didn't matter, Arthur's goal was still the same. It was to get stronger than anyone so that he would fend for himself and stop hiding from the world. He would live his life without fearing it might end because someone powerful wished for it.
"Aldo!" Joe turned with surprise as Arthur entered the pub. It was understandable as Arthur didn't show his face around these parts for a while.
"Good to see you again, Joe." Arthur nodded with a smile. Joe was the proxy he used to avoid selling his artifacts directly and the two shared a good relationship.
"Same goes for you, haven't seen you around for a while." Joe placed the frame he was holding from his hands. "What have you been up to? Hopefully not dragged to the recent war?"
"No, I haven't participated. The mercenaries…" Arthur looked around the bar as he saw their dwindling number. Joe sighed and shook his head regretfully.
"Most of them took part in the way that happened a few days ago. From what I heard; half were injured. Most of the rest were okay except for a few. They…" Joe shook his head again and Arthur figured out the rest. They died.
"These are?" Arthur looked at the several frames Joe had. Stealing a closer peek, they were portraits of people.
"A memorial for the deceased." Joe stacked the frames as he picked them up. "Want to help me put them up?"
Arthur nodded and the two walked toward an empty wall that looked to be cleaned recently. Joe began handing Arthur frames as Arthur hammered a nail into the wooden walls.
"Urivel Jaman, 28. A good father and a husband." Arthur read the caption placed on the bottom of the first portrait as he looked at the young man with a scar on his chin.
He hung the frame and hammered another nail. The portraits weren't many, but they each signified a life taken because of a foolish prophecy. On the other side of Ilios, Arthur was sure the same scene was playing in different parts.
"War is a cruel thing." Joe sighed as the two looked at the portraits now filling the wall. "No matter what reason they start with, it means so little at the end."
Arthur remembered Zas's words when they were discussing the way. 'How many more lives would be ruined because of their whims?' He was referring to the seven families who cared so little for the common folk. Did the lives of Urivel and the others matter so little in comparison?
"Well, they died honorably." Joe clapped his back as he saw Arthur's eyes lingering on the wall. "I'm sure you miss your wolf." Arthur did indeed.
He took one last glance at the wall as he thought to himself: Did the dead feel honor or glory?
Arthur found Kira sleeping beside the pub, a bit bigger than he last saw him. Without calling for Kira, its ears perked up as he sniffed and shot up. He looked at Arthur for a few moments blankly making him fear that Kira had forgotten about him. However, Kira barked before it sprung toward Arthur and started licking his face.
"Haha, I missed you too buddy." Arthur laughed as he rubbed Kira around the neck making it chirp in happiness. He played with it for a while as Joe watched to the side.
"I've tamed Loya for seven years," Joe said as he patted the giant wolf next to him. "Yet yours seem to be more affectionate than it's supposed to be."
"Well, we shared certain circumstances." Arthur smiled as Kira rubbed itself to Arthur. It seems to have missed him greatly. "One of life and death."
"Wolves are loyal, that's for sure. They know how to repay gratitude." Joe nodded.
Arthur and Kira sprinted toward the location of the goblin's village. Luckily, they found it unharmed after crossing the stream. They entered the illusion easily since they knew the location and Arthur had the Dispel rune on him. As he walked into the village that consisted of wooden huts and working monsters, all eyes turned his way.
"Kakan! Kakan!" A cry of ecstasy came from a dazed goblin before the whole village buzzed. Before he could realize it, they surrounded him as they started kneeling and touching his sleeved shirt.
"Yeah, yeah. I missed you guys too. Now move out of my way." Arthur grinned as the goblins split to let him walk toward the chief's hut. When he reached there, he found a few more huts constructed. His hut was also further enhanced as it now looked bigger and the walls were thicker using the trunks of several trees.
"Kakan!" Mero came running with his oval face filled with Joy. Arthur could sense how much they have been worried because he didn't visit them recently. His heart ached as he remembered the loss of Nero.
He felt happy again with the death of Alfred who was responsible for the death of his followers. Several others have reached the middle-mid-tier while he was gone, increasing the village's combat force.
"Where are my blacksmiths?" Arthur asked as he nodded to Mero. Understanding his words, the three goblins came tottering their way through the crowd. He realized that he hadn't named them because of how busy he was, so he made a note to do that later.
They brought the work they have done with the skills he gave them, compress. However, calling them a skill was rather inaccurate. Even though his runes would give abilities, they were no different from skills if they were ranked I, since they have yet to evolve into their more efficient forms.
They had made many weapons, mostly swords. Some of them were still crude, but they got better at it until they became like unsharpened swords. Arthur shook his head and sighed; they were still not ripe enough.
"You need to do better," Arthur demanded as he made a note to buy them some blacksmithing tools so they can sharpen these weapons. "However, good job." He patted their heads hurriedly as he saw their faces morph to horror.
The three blacksmiths tried to kneel before Arthur stopped them. He then thought of several names and chose the simplest. Ven, Ben, and Ken. He had no reason to name the but the fact that he treasured them.
After sending the trio away, Arthur started to headcount his goblins village. Right now, He had almost a hundred. Counting the number in each tier as they stood in front of him, he realized he had 21 middle-mid-tier goblins and 83 goblins. They all shared his bond, so he could feel them instinctively.
His perception picked up some noise from one of the huts and he frowned. A female goblin hurriedly ran toward the hut as she brought over a tiny creature in her hands. It was a toddler goblin. She offered it toward Arthur as if she was asking for his blessings.
'This is a baby goblin?' Arthur was filled with awe as he looked at the pointy-eared green creature in front of him. It had mellower features than the goblins with their ferocious eyes and fangs, but it was most definitely a goblin judging by its green skin. 'Was it born when I was away?' Arthur wondered and tried to use his Goblin's Bond unique skill.
He felt a new bond form and a weak life source was connected to him. Judging by how weak it was, Arthur had no doubt it could be extinguished at any second. Without thinking, he took out a primitive core from his subspace and strengthened the baby goblin.
The life force grew steadier as the baby's mother started whimpering and calling him Kakan. Arthur saw how she held her baby and wondered how can these be monsters.
He realized that the term monster was subjective. Didn't the goblins think of humans as monsters themselves? For every species, a monster was anything different and capable of harming it.
He looked around and saw that everyone was kneeling in silence again. Two more baby goblins were presented in front of him as their mothers pleaded. It seems that goblins rarely made it out of their infancy because of their weak constitution and the parasite in the meat they used to eat.
Arthur strengthened them as well and felt their lifeforce stabilize. A low hum like prayers started at one point as the goblins echoed each other. Arthur gazed at the hundred so goblin as they kneeled in front of him.
"Kakan. Kakan. Kakan." They were worshiping him. In their eyes, Arthur was the prophet sent to give them strength and protect them. He also gave them food and hid them away from dangers. Their loyalty transcended the bond and took place in their hearts.
Arthur suddenly imagined a certain image in his head. An army of high-tiered goblins, or whatever they evolved to after standing behind him. He can shake the world with this army of his.