After a few seconds of the ranking interface appearing, Shesmu and his friends were teleported out of the Goblin’s Den. However, the scenery they expected wasn’t there. Rather than the lake next to the waterfall, they found themselves in a clearing in the middle of the forest.
Under the moonlight, the party sat and started discussing.
“So, all of you guys heard those notifications? We’re top 10 in the world! This is insane!” Leo exclaimed.
“We sure are,” DepressedRyan added. “We’ll be so famous. No one will dare disrespect us, haha!”
Seeing them being so excited, Shesmu couldn’t help but smile. Well, being top 10 in dungeon ranking isn’t really that good, but I guess I can be happy about it.
There are so many rankings in Ashes of Gods, so many tournaments, so many dungeons, and so many events. The number of times that Shesmu ranked first, with his team or solo, was uncountable. After a while, it became so dull that getting first place in a local tournament felt like eating breakfast, just part of the course.
However, this was the first event in this timeline Shesmu ever ranked in. For some reason, it felt good. Shesmu hasn’t experienced something like this since the last time he won the world championship.
“This is just the first of many wins to come, so don’t feel too excited yet, save that for the big stages. Anyway, we should check out what we got first,” declared Shesmu.
Shesmu opened his notifications and was flooded again with messages. Skimming over all of them, Shesmu found that he got 10 gold overall, 100 magic stones, 2000 Human reputation points, and a title.
New Title Acquired | Goblin Slayer I
Goblin Slayer I
Title acquired after killing 1000 goblins or being the first to conquer a goblin related dungeon.
10% Bonus damage against goblin type creatures.
Upgradable
This title is pretty good. Ogres are an evolution of goblins and those guys can reach level 200. Guess I should consider grinding out goblins some more in the future.
“Guys, what did you get?” Shesmu asked.
“Ten gold, a hundred of those weird magic stones, two thousand reputations, and two titles. The last is pretty sick actually?” DepressedRyan stated.
“Oh, two titles?”
“Yeah, you didn’t get them, Shesmu?” Leo asked.
“Nah, I only got one. Goblin Slayer.”
“Oh, we got that and a Civilian title. It was from the reputation points that we got if I understood the text well,” explained DepressedRyan.
Oh, so it’s because of the noble title. I see.
“Ah, then I understand now. I got a noble title at the reception, so I guess that’s the reason why I didn’t get that.”
“You have a noble title? How?!” asked Leo in shock.
“I think it has to do with my eyes. From what I read, it seems like nobles in this country are born with golden eyes. Don’t really understand why Omega9 would do such a weird thing, but not going to complain,” explained Shesmu.
“Wow, that’s such a stupid system,” complained DepressedRyan.
You bet it is. Even at this point, I’m still weirded out.
“Like, what game rewards you for basically doing nothing. It’s so stupid,” Ryan continued.
“Yeah, I’m with DepressedRyan on this one, Shes. But hey, at least now we know it. In the live game, we’re gonna abuse the heck out of that, haha!” laughed Leo.
“Sure, I don’t see any problem with that. Just remember that you can’t be a red player if you choose to be a noble thought,” warned Shesmu.
“Ah, about that. Yeah, I’m not gonna be a red player. Unless Omega9 trolls too hard and doesn’t even give us an Arena where we could pvp, I see no point in pking.”
“Same as Leo. Don’t really enjoy pking that much, unless someone annoys me real hard.”
“Well, if you guys think that way, then it’s all fine,” Shesmu concluded.
“Now, let’s grind a bit so that I reach the required level for the Cambion Blade. After that, we can continue our way towards the tower.”
With these final words, Shesmu and his party went on the grind again. With their weapon enhanced, the level 5 and 6 goblins were a piece of cake. Seeing that grinding would be too inefficient if they continued farming in these low-level regions, they dived deeper into the forest.
After a few minutes of running, they entered the fox territory.
Fox
HP: 300/300
The foxes that the trio encountered were level 7 and 8. It took around an hour for Shesmu to make that final step from level 9 to 10.
After looting the foxes for their pelt, Shesmu took out the Cambion Blade and equipped it. Dark energy flowed from the weapon to Shesmu’s body. It gathered in his stomach, and Shesmu could feel it changing something inside him.
Well, this effect is only temporary. Though I would need a few days for my ki to go back to normal.
A dark aura surrounded Shesmu’s body for a few seconds before it dissipated. However, Shesmu knew that it was only hiding in his body, waiting for the moment he summons it.
After equipping the sword, the trio continued their journey towards the tower.
It was midnight when the party finally stopped. In the distance, one could hear the sound of roaring and howling intertwining together. A battle was taking place.
Shesmu looked at his mini map and saw that they were at the edge of the red circle. He then looked in front of him and a scene straight out of fantasy unfolded.
Two camps, two armies split the forest. On the right, there were the goblins sharpening their weapons. A quick inspect tells you their level, it was an astonishing 15. In the middle of their camp stood a green humanoid monster, fully clad with black and red armor. It was a Goblin General, and its level was 25.
In the right stood the foxes, baring their claws. Their level didn’t lose out to the goblins one bit, ranging from 14 to 17. In their middle stood a magnificent large Firefox. Its paws and sides were crimson red, while its fur was snow white. A quick inspect told tales about its strength. It was a Fox king, a level 30 monster that evolved into a firefox.
