Chapter 403 – Goblins
Hearing the name of his home being associated with the ruins he had landed in startled Damion. But he quickly steadied himself. He was not on Nerotath, of that, he was sure. Too many moons, rings, not to mention the sun moved too slowly across the sky. Those things would not explain that city being his Atlantis, not even if he factored in being sent through time with Exile.
He had chosen the name Atlantis because of the legend from Earth. Having lived two lives, he knew there were humans on more than one world or realm and here he was on a third. Where there humans here too?
“I think I come from somewhere else,” Damion said, answering the young goblin’s question. “My name is Damion. What is yours?”
“Mirslak,”
“Well, Mirslak, is there a place where I can find shelter and maybe figure out where I am?”
“Don’t know. Overseer won’t like a human in crèche.”
“What if I wait outside while you go in and explain that I am just trying to find my way home and seek only information?”
“Can try. Follow.”
Mirslak took off quickly, despite his small size he could move rather fast, and Damion had to rush after him. While they were running, Damion began to focus on the young goblin’s magic aura. As far as he could tell, all of his spells were working, it was just that the Magic System was missing in action. This meant he should have access to True Sight, but he was not seeing the typical label of someone’s Rank or affinity. What he did have was a strong feeling that Mirslak was F Rank.
As the pair continued to travel, Damion was becoming more and more aware of his surroundings, almost as if his aura detection was expanding to fill in the gap left by not getting System tags for things identified by True Sight. Or perhaps the two abilities were merging together. He really was not sure. What he did know, was that he could sense everything around them for quite a distance and even estimate their strength and affinity. It was not as simple as True Sight, but it was quickly becoming second nature.
“You wait here,” Mirslak said, suddenly stopping.
Damion did as instructed. He guessed that the young goblin’s village was somewhere up ahead. Since he did not know how long the wait was going to be, and because he did not want to appear to be a threat when they returned, he took a seat on the ground and waited.
After waiting for close to an hour Damion sensed a group of goblins coming towards him. Given the size of the group he guessed that Mirslak was not able to convince them that he meant no harm. Still, as the group approached, Damion remained calm and waited. If he wanted to figure out where he was and how to get home, he needed answers and answers were easier to get from living beings. Despite not presenting himself as a threat, the goblins seemed to have made up their mind already.
Several spells were cast at Damion as soon as the goblins had surrounded him. No word of warning. No asking him to leave. Looking around, Damion could tell all the goblins were D Rank or under, which begged the question of how strong they thought he was, he supposed that if all his spells were working properly, it meant that Concealed Aura was still active as well, telling him that these goblins had no idea they would not be able to harm him.
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The first few spells splashed harmlessly against Damion’s armor. He did not even need to cast a defensive spell to block them. After those spells failed, earth spikes rose up out of the ground, trying to impale him. With a wave of his hand, Damion cast Manipulate Earth and the earth spikes crumbled, causing the goblins to rush in with swords.
Since he did not want to fight, Damion decided it would be best if he demonstrated to the goblins that they could not hurt him. Closing his eyes for brief moment, he focused on the magic seal for Concealed Aura and consciously cut off the small trickle of mana that flowed to it. The instant he did so, his B Rank aura flooded the area.
The goblins rushing at Damion froze in their tracks. The closest two fell to the ground trembling. Seeing how effective releasing his aura was, Damion reactivated Concealed Aura and then looked to the goblin that appeared to be in charge.
“I have no wish to fight. I am simply wanting to know where I am. I am just trying to learn how I can get home.”
“Since it is clear you could have slaughtered us, but stayed your hand, I will accept you at your word,” the leader spoke.
“Thank you. May I know where I am?”
“You are in the forbidden lands. The names of most places here have been forgotten to time. Mirslak said you claimed to have come from the ruined city. The name of that place still survives, Atlantis, but it the only place that has a name for many days travel in all directions.”
“Why did you attack me?” Damion asked. If this was a forbidden land, he felt he should know why, but he did not want to appear too ignorant.
“You are human. The humans were exiled many ages ago. Only evil humans ever appear now.”
“Really?” Damion questioned as he tried to piece together information. Were all people that went through Exile sent to this place? “How often do humans appear?”
“Very rarely. You are the first my tribe has ever met.”
“If I am the first, then why do you say only evil humans ever appear?”
“Many stories passed between tribes and from the Alfar. That only evil humans will ever appear now and that they should all be killed before they can cause more destruction.”
“More destruction?”
“You saw the ruined city. Humans did that to themselves and worse to others. You go now.”
“I have just a few more questions.”
“Ask.”
“Do you know where I might find the Iblis?”
“Many weeks of travel, back the way you came.”
“Thank you. I have one last question, feel free not to answer if it is too personal. I was once in a Realm Breach and encountered goblins racing young there before returning to where they came from. Do you know if it possible for me to return to where I came from through a Realm Breach?”
“Realm Breaches are strange places. We moved here because the mana of this land is weaker, and we can still raise young without having to use the Breaches like many of the larger tribes. I do not know if what you ask is possible. But I do know the Realm Breaches connect to many places. I do not know if your home is among them.”
“Thank you for answering. I will be going then. Maybe now you can tell your people that not all humans are evil.”
The goblin leader nodded to Damion and then began to retreat with his people, but they did not go far, apparently waiting for Damion to leave the area before returning to their village. That was fine with him. He got a few answers he had been looking for. Wherever this was, it seemed to be the home of the goblins, the Alfar and the Iblis.
Unfortunately, it was not clear if it was possible to use Realm Breaches to return to Nerotath or not. If Breaches connected this place to many other worlds, he could easily end up on some other planet and not know it for years, or worse, end up in a barren wasteland. He had supplies for now, but they would not last forever. Better to seek out a sure way home.
The one Iblis he had encountered had at least not tried to murder his team when they met him. He hoped that if he could find another Iblis, the same might be true.