‘Once again, you’re hearing this too, correct?’

  [I am. And once again, Rick, be careful.]

  ‘Well, I’m being as careful as can be, but I don’t think there’s a rulebook for how to handle this type of situation.’

  [Then just continue having a regular conversation. It seems to be all right with that.]

  ‘Well, you’re not wrong, and it’s not like I could do anything to stop it if it wanted to cause problems. Anyway, let’s continue.’

  “I’d love to fight with you. Perhaps I could learn a thing or two from you. How strong do I need to get?”

  “Much stronger. Don’t worry, I will help.”

  “How will you help?”

  “I’ve been helping you already. Just keep fighting the monsters I send, but you are not allowed to leave Mir until you fight me when you are stronger.”

  As Mir said those words, its eyes, which were continuously flicking between colors, settled on red for the briefest of moments before returning to their usual shifting. This caused Rick to tense ever so slightly as he considered the implications of Mir’s words.

  ‘I can’t leave until I’m strong enough to fight this creature. Even at my earliest estimations, it’ll take me years before I reach a level where I could fight it.’ He let out a sigh. ‘Then so be it… especially if it will help me get there. But that’s just me. I wonder how it feels about my people.’

  “All right, I promise to stay here until I am strong enough to fight you, but what about my people? The rest of my goblins—are they allowed to leave?”

  “Don’t care.”

  “Thank you. I understand.”

  And with that, the beast disappeared from Rick’s chest and went off to who knows where. Rick let out a sigh as the pressure of having someone who could decimate not only him but every single Goblin who dwelled in the Dark Lands of Mir sat on his chest. No matter how calm or stoic he might be, that wasn’t the sort of pressure one could just shrug off.

  In fact, there would be nothing Rick could do to remove that weight from his mind. It was natural, something he wouldn’t come to understand until far later.

  ‘All right. Now that that’s over, I need to have a meeting with what remains of my Chiefs and plan out what we’ll be doing in the future.’

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  [Before that, I think you should take a look at your status. I believe I see what the other price you had to pay for additional power and the faster evolution was.”

  Rick took a look at his status, and as he gazed upon the sight that Velora wanted him to see, his expression slowly became solemn.

  ‘Zero? Why does the number next to Essence say zero? I should’ve killed who knows how many humans and Demi-humans, and at least two of which were Tier Seven. It should not say zero.’

  [I believe that is your price to pay, and if I am understanding it correctly, this will likely last a while. This ban on your ability to gather Essence may not be permanent, but it seems to be the case for now.]

  Rick let out another sigh. ‘Fine then. Doesn’t mean I need to let it stress me out. I can’t get any stronger than I am right now, and that’s all right. It’s probably best I focus on making sure my people are stronger anyway. The more of us that can fight and handle ourselves in this type of battle, the better off we’ll be.’

  After making up his mind, Rick got up and walked outside. He had expected someone to be standing guard at his door, but there was no one there. A few moments later, when he stepped outside in full, he saw his entire contingent of Royal Guards surrounding his home as if their lives depended on it.

  It was then that he remembered not only had he been unconscious, but he had no idea how long he had been out. Thankfully, Commander Meegra was right outside the front door when he walked out.

  “What’s the situation, Meegra? Have we been attacked again, and how long have I been out?”

  “Currently, we are facing no attacks apart from the usual skirmishes at the fronts, and you have only been resting for a day, my King.”

  “Ah, that’s good then. Send word to all the Chiefs. If they are able, I need to meet with them. If they are unable, do not force them to come, just send a representative with the relevant information on the state of their Clan and themselves. Also, make sure the Royal Guard gets to rest.”

  Of course, since it was Rick who gave the order, there was no doubt that every single Chief would find the time to report to their king, and they did. The twelve of them who could attend gathered. Chiefess Hugala was still unconscious. She was alive and being tended to but still had not awakened. There was no word on when she might.

  This weighed heavily on Rick’s heart, but he had to push on. They all did.

  The meeting convened between Rick and his Chiefs lasted for hours. Each one that was present went over the situation within their clan, the number of Goblins who had died, those who were gravely injured and could no longer contribute to fighting, and everything else they were dealing with.

  Of course, there was no Chief to represent the Central Clan, but all fourteen clans had great relations with one another, and the state of that clan wasn’t abandoned. A new Chief would take the place of the old one, as it had always been done. In the meantime, the other Chiefs helped to look after them.

  Once the reports were gathered and the numbers were tallied, the situation appeared far more somber once it was read aloud. When Rick first arrived, he had been told there were roughly twenty one thousand Goblins dwelling in the Dark Lands of Mir. That number was nearly halved.

  As of now, it was reported that roughly eight thousand Goblins had lost their lives in the war. That was not a small number, not by a long shot and it would take the Goblins a significant amount of time to recover mentally and emotionally from such a loss.

  To make up those numbers again would take time—time they might not have. Time during which Rick might not be getting stronger.