Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Vahn continued to scout the area around the marker for the goblins' village/nest. Over the course of three days, he had killed a total of 18 goblins in various different camps causing an increase in their security. Camps began hosting groups of 5-7 goblins instead of the original three. Vahn began to worry as he hadn't expected such a large goblin presence and his strategy to slowly whittle them down began to seem unfeasible&nbsp; Once, when he tried to penetrate through the outer perimeter and scout the location of the Chief he ended up nearly getting killed by a group of patrolling goblins. Though he had avoided several groups up till that point, he was caught off-guard by sentries stationed in various elevated positions. When they had spotted him they raised a cry that caused the patrolling goblins in the vicinity to congregate towards his position.&nbsp; He managed to fight his way out of the encirclement, but it wasn't without a cost. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was forced to eat both of his senzu beans during his retreat. Fortunately, he had acquired several crystals from slaying other goblins which allowed him to purchase an additional three as well as two new pieces of equipment.&nbsp; 'Handloomed Shadowsilk Tunic'&nbsp; Rank:(D)&nbsp; Slots:2&nbsp; P.Def: 1&nbsp; M.Def: 30&nbsp; A tunic that was caringly woven using the silk produced by a special variant of silkworms nurtured in darkness among strong sources of Yin energy. Though it provides little defense, it greatly enhances stealth capabilities. It carries with it the creators' desire that the protector is kept from harm.&nbsp; 'Scout's Ghillie Mantle'&nbsp; Rank:(F)&nbsp; Slots:0&nbsp; P.Def: 2&nbsp; M.Def: 0&nbsp; A special mantle constructed to emulate the varying types of foliage found within the different forested terrains. When the user remains idle they are almost indiscernible from their surroundings.&nbsp; After recouping his supplies, Vahn made his way into the forest using his new equipment. As a means of countering the goblin patrols, he had purchased several anti-personnel mines which he had scattered along their patrol routes. After triggering many of the mines, the goblins ceased their patrolling and began to consolidate their forces towards the river. They had even begun to dig into the area near the treeline exposing the dirt and ground below.&nbsp; Seeing the actions they had taken, Vahn was surprised at the intelligent actions they displayed. Compared to many of the monsters he had seen in the manga, which were mindless creatures that charged endlessly at the protagonist, these goblins displayed caution and tactics. They proved they were capable of adapting to different situations.&nbsp; Vahn ended up refunding some of the mines, though he still buried the majority along the treeline for future use. The main reason he hadn't refunded them all was due to the fact the refund only gave 30% of the spent resources which caused him to abandon the idea.&nbsp; It was on the eve of the fifth day that Vahn finally spotted the Chief. Unlike the majority of goblins who stood less than a meter in height, the Chief was nearly 1.5 meters and had the build of an average adult. The leathery skin of his torso had scale-like protrusions embedded along the epidermal tissue. It had several horns studding its head with two much larger ones above both temples. It's lower body had bristle-like fur compared to the normal thick coat of other goblins. It's two most notable features, however, were its eyes and the staff he wielded...&nbsp; Unlike the ferocious red eyes of normal goblins, the Chief possessed pale yellow eyes that showed signs of rationality and intelligence. He almost had a look of contempt as he ordered the other goblins in the area. Within its right hand, he held a staff that looked to be rigged back together after having been broken. Vahn could see the periodic glow of runes along the body of the staff, and the occasional spark coming from the crack near the top of the staff.&nbsp; Vahn assumed the staff had been taken from an adventurer which implied the Chief was either able to cast magic or was strong enough on its own to fight against mages...&nbsp; The 'village' which the Chief lived in was more of an encampment than anything. They had erected small huts almost as a mockery to humanity and civilized culture. Within the encampment were more than 100 normal goblins, as well as three larger ones which seemed to take turns guarding the Chief and enforcing its order. They were each wielding long flexible clubs which they used to periodically whip the smaller goblins to action.&nbsp; The entire village seemed to have come alive as the goblins scuttled about building soil embankments as a makeshift wall around the encampment. Vahn could tell that the longer he waited, the more difficult it would be to engage the Chief. He knew going head-on would be impossible due to the large disparity in numbers, and there was a high chance even if he tried to attack from a distance the Chief would deploy it's troops while staying in the back.&nbsp; The distance between the treeline and encampment was around 130m, but there was absolutely no cover in that entire gap. Though the open space would provide him an advantage in picking off any goblins within the area, he wouldn't be able to guarantee his accuracy without getting closer which would leave him exposed. The goblins seemed incapable of using bows, but it didn't stop them from throwing small stones with enough force to cause physical harm if they hit the right spot. It had been one of the more annoying things when dealing with the sentries mounted in trees.&nbsp; He began toying with the idea of firing random arrows into the encampment and try to lure out small groups. Kiting them into the forest would give him the terrain advantage making it easy to secure some simple kills. Even if the goblins stopped their pursuit after triggering the mines he would be able to take advantage of their retreat. If he had more time he could slowly whittle them down and turn the engagement into a war of attrition.&nbsp; He looked at the time remaining for the quest: 2D03H17M&nbsp; Two days wasn't enough time to force them out of the encampment. There was also the chance they could start to cannibalize the weaker goblins, as they wouldn't disperse into dust unless a lethal strike was performed.&nbsp; "Sis, do you have any ideas? I can't think of anything that would allow me to fight a group of one-hundred-plus goblins and survive. Not to mention I haven't even identified how strong the Chief himself is..."&nbsp; (*I'm sorry Vahn, all present data indicates you will be unable to break into the encampment with your current status and equipment. If you had more Origin Points there may be a solution in the shop, but your current OP value is only 43. It would be difficult to acquire enough points within the next 50 hours that would give a meaningful advantage in the current situation.*)&nbsp; "It's okay Sis," sighed Vahn. "I suppose I'll have to rely on myself to come up with a solution...please let me know if you think of anything though. At this point, anything could prove helpful."&nbsp; (*Understood. I'll keep running simulations to try and find a solution as you take further action.*)&nbsp; Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn began to withdraw towards a secondary base camp he had established near the goblin encampment. It was in the same hollowed rotting tree where he engaged the first group of goblins. After the events of the first day, it had become an area the goblins proactively avoided.&nbsp; Blocking off the area near the stumps entrance, Vahn began to rest while trying to come up with a solution to breaking the encampments defense and drawing the Chief out...&nbsp; He began to mull over various ideas and strategies, even revisiting the idea of firing random shots just to reduce their numbers. Anything to change the status quo of the current situation would give him more options to make further plans. He also thought about trying to sneak near the encampment at night to bury some mines, but upon remembering the goblins possessed some degree of night vision he scrapped the idea.&nbsp; As the light began to fade, Vahn started nodding off due to the excessive thoughts plaguing his mind. He was unable to find the solution and figured tackling the idea with a fresh mind would be the most optimal choice.&nbsp; "First thing tomorrow morning I'll try to draw some of the goblins out of the encampment. If I'm lucky I'll be able to reduce their numbers below one-hundred..." he sighed at the thought there would still be more than eighty, including the Chief himself, remaining.&nbsp; As he began to finally slip into unconsciousness, the last thought that passed through Vahn's mind was a method on how to break the embankments the goblins had been building up. As sleep claimed him, he released a small expectant smile.

Awakening before dawn, Vahn began to put his plan into action. After putting a filter on the shop, he was able to find the item he was looking for.&nbsp; 'Small Explosive Charge' (10 OP)&nbsp; Rank:(E)&nbsp; A component used in the making of anti-personnel mines developed by Russian Scientist Neil Vankhov. The explosive yield is equivalent to 10MJ (10 sticks of dynamite).&nbsp; Dissatisfied with the idea of simply kiting a few goblins out of the encampment, Vahn had come up with the idea of pestering them thoroughly over the course of the entire day. Once the goblins retreated further into the camp he would be able to attach the explosives to magically charged arrows and bombard the largest concentration of goblins. If he was lucky, he would even be able to deal large amounts of collateral and potentially injure or kill the Chief.&nbsp; He slowly made his way towards the encampment and dug up several of the mines along the treeline. It was a very dangerous and harrowing experience given the sensitivity of the mines, but he managed to finish without triggering any of them.&nbsp; After replanting them in a funnel-like fashion with only a few safe paths of retreat, Vahn ate breakfast. He didn't know if he would have any opportunities to eat while harassing the goblins, so he made sure to enjoy a full meal.&nbsp; Starting a fire near his secondary campsite using firestones he managed to roast a rabbit he had hunted previously. Though his inventory kept items from spoiling, he enjoyed the process of cooking and eating as it was very therapeutic to him.&nbsp; Noting the sun had risen above the horizon Vahn checked the remaining quest time: 1D17H12M.&nbsp; He now had less than two days remaining, but with luck, he would be able to finish the quest before the days' end. Though he assumed the goblin Chief was much stronger than normal goblins, he did not believe it would be able to tank ten sticks of dynamite to the face.&nbsp; Returning to the treeline near the encampment, Vahn finished his final preparations by setting up several tripwires crisscrossing the areas around the landmines. Satisfied with his setup, he skulked just behind the trees closest to the clearing. Given the 130m distance between the encampment and the goblins speed, it would take them more than twenty seconds to close the gap towards his position. With his maximum firing rate, he was confident in being able to eliminate up to one goblin every second. Hopefully, they would send a large group to try and attack him which he would then be able to kite into the mine-infested woods while retreating.&nbsp; Vahn spent several minutes observing the goblins as they went about their construction. He noticed that they had erected a large structure within the night, presumably to house the Chief and his cronies.&nbsp; At present, the Chief couldn't be seen, but the presence of two of his henchmen indicated that he was within the building. Vahn contemplated trying to bombard it immediately but decided it would be beneficial to wait until he dwindled down the number of smaller goblins.&nbsp; Before determining if the Chief was inside the larger hut, it would be a mistake to use the explosive arrows. The goblins had shown an ability to adapt to new situations, so they would likely spread their forces out after his initial attack with the explosives. He wanted them to try to fortify and group together, or at least wait until he had eyes on the Chief's location.&nbsp; Drawing his bow to a full arc, Vahn held his breath trying to bring his focus to the limits. He took aim at one of the Chief's cronies as he began channeling energy into the arrow. Though he had practice hitting targets at 50m consistently, it was the first time he would be trying to hit a moving target at more than 130m. He was hoping the increased flight distance and penetrative power of the magic arrows would make up for the lack of skill...&nbsp; After twenty seconds had passed Vahn loosed the arrow. It flew with a terrifying velocity as it drew a golden line through the air. Within moments the arrow smashed into the leg of the large goblin severing the limb from the thigh down. Though it hadn't hit the head as intended, Vahn was still satisfied with the result as the shout from the larger goblin drew the attention of the entire camp, including the Chief.&nbsp; (A/N: I know it's been a while since the MC doesn't talk to anyone, so note that the following is a perspective shift!)&nbsp; The goblin Chief exited his tent and began to look around at the chaos and disorder that had taken over his minions. A grim expression appeared on his face when he saw his chief executor laying on the ground howling at this loss of his leg. Angered at the incident, the goblin Chief looked towards nearby goblins and used a language unique to their species to inquire about what happened.&nbsp; The small goblin looked in fear at its mighty leader and explained that a beam of light had come from the forest and cut off the leg of the executor. Seeing the dissatisfied and grim expression that appeared on the face of the Chief, he quickly bowed down and continued to affirm what he had seen.&nbsp; The Chief looked between the groveling minion, his wailing executor, and finally, the forest where the bush demon had been attacking his tribe for the last six days. It seemed as though no matter how far they retreated from the forest, the demon was not satisfied. It continued to pursue them further and further and even incorporated a strange magic that caused the earth to erupt beneath his minions as they patrolled the forest.&nbsp; Ever since the Chief had devoured a dying mage and stole his broken staff, he had been much stronger than his frail kin. He had begun to believe he was special and unique among his kind, and even forcefully took over the various small groups of goblins until he was able to build his village along the river. With time he had intended to destroy the nearby human settlements and expand his village into a Kingdom, and from there continue to spread until it grew into an Empire!&nbsp; However, fate seemed to envy his prestige and glory. Soon after he had picked the area to begin laying the foundation of his plan one of his patrols had disappeared. The Chief had assumed they had met a bear or another more powerful creature and died due to carelessness. His brethren were weak, so a few losses were well within his expectations.&nbsp; He could not imagine that this incident, which he had belittled at the time, would become the prelude to his approaching nightmares. In the days to follow, the bush demon had slowly encroached upon the outer perimeter he had established with great difficulty. It had begun to slowly eliminate each three goblin camp in the area.&nbsp; As it never seemed to attack the larger groups, the Chief had ordered to increase the camp sizes to seven, with two always patrolling between the other camps. He also stationed sentries within the trees as none of his scouts had gotten sight of their invisible killer.&nbsp; His order paid off almost immediately, a testament to his brilliant mind. Unfortunately, his minions were unable to prevent the unknown assailant from escaping. After the engagement, his scouts reported that the creature seemed to be covered in a strange fur similar to the shrubbery that dotted the forest. It was capable of moving quickly between the trees, and even when his men dealt reportedly fatal damage to the monster it seemed to recover almost instantly. By the time of its escape, the creature now known as 'the bush demon' had slain more than ten of his minions before disappearing into the forest like a ghost. His scouts tried to give pursuit, but the ground seemed to come alive beneath them and an additional five lives were lost in the process.&nbsp; Though the Chief was displeased with the result, he was secretly terrified at the existence of such an irrational creature. He could not understand why the bush demon had been targeting his minions, even to the point he had to recall all of his sentries from the forest. He had even ordered for his minions to clear away all of the shrubbery and debris between the village and the treeline to discourage the bush demon from further antagonizing them. This order had seemed to work, as there had been several hours since the last attack of the bush demon. The Chief had foolishly begun to hope that this prolonged nightmare had come to a close.&nbsp; As he stood there contemplating the events of the past week, the Chief weighed his options. He could send his minions into the forest and try to flush out the demon which would likely allow it to claim more lives with its devious magic. Other than that he also considered ordering his minions to begin trying to cross the river and escaping into the wilds further south. He knew there were several small villages in the direction, and he would be able to build a new kingdom in a land far away from this demon.&nbsp; He looked towards the river and began to earnestly consider retreat. Even though the idea of fleeing was something that went against his pride as a superior being, his minions were still weak and he had to ensure their survival in order to build his kingdom.&nbsp; As the Chief continued to hesitate, he became distracted by the continued wailing of his previous executor. In his fury, he turned towards the delirious fool and used the magic provided by his staff to incinerate the weakling.&nbsp; He observed as his previous executor thrashed about in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames. Surrounding him, his minions looked towards the incident with fear and awe which further inflated his ego. With a gruesome smile on his face, he prepared to order his subjects to ford the river so they could seek paradise and security away from this cursed land.&nbsp; The Chief raised his staff towards the sky and readied his command, only for a beam of golden light to fly in his direction. Using his quick reaction time, he managed to intercept the beam using his staff as a contemptuous smirk appeared on his face.&nbsp; *BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!*&nbsp; That was the last sound the Chief ever heard as a searing wave engulfed his body and darkness claimed him.&nbsp; Title: A Single Decisive Arrow

Awakening the following day, Vahn immediately set about his final preparations for the quest. Since his inventory had long since been filled with miscellaneous items he had stored many of the non-perishable goods near the back of his home.&nbsp; As a means of self-preservation, he was now filling his inventory with the various traps and gadgets he had been using during his hunts. He figured he could lay them along the path and if things got dicey he would be able to safely retreat. There was also the possibility any goblin chasing him could fall victim to the traps, giving him an edge should things go awry.&nbsp; Leaving the cave, Vahn noticed the sun had yet to rise. The morning was cool and he could feel a refreshing breeze blowing in from the north-west. Confirming the time with Sis, he realized it was only 3:40 AM which would give him ample time to make his preparations and scout the goblin camps.&nbsp; He moved towards the range he had established outside his home. There he had placed several targets at varying ranges between 10 and 50 meters. As a means of experimentation, Vahn decided to use the bone arrows with his older bow. He wanted to see how much damage they were able to do without the enhancements of his new bow.&nbsp; After his experience last night he determined he was able to inject 'source' energy that could increase the damage output of his arrows by around 100 points in both physical and magic attack respectively. Nocking an arrow, Vahn pulled the bow to its maximum allowance while simultaneously observing the changing attack value through the system interface. It seemed as though the conversion was taking longer than the previous night which he assumed was a result of actually trying to fire the arrow instead of just holding it.&nbsp; As the arrow began to approach 1000 attack, Vahn released the arrow at the target 10m away. The arrow seemed to have turned into a beam of light as it tore through the air and pierced the target. It continued to travel unhindered for several meters until it disappeared into the treeline in the distance.&nbsp; Vahn was completely shocked at the penetrating power of the arrow and began to commend himself for his selection the previous night. Without searching for the arrow he had just fired, Vahn inquired with Sis about the time it had taken to charge the arrow to its maximum potential. He learned that instead of the 10 seconds recorded the previous night, it had now taken 17, almost twice the previous amount.&nbsp; Moving on with his experiment, he now decided to use his new bow using his old arrows. He didn't know the safety limits of the bow, but since the attack power of bow was typically much lower than the arrows themselves he decided to limit it to 100 points. The new arrow itself was plenty powerful and he was unwilling to risk breaking what could become the key to completing the upcoming quest.&nbsp; He nocked the arrow into the new bow and began channeling 'source' while observing the change in its stats. He noticed that as the attack value increased it became increasingly difficult to keep the bow fully drawn. Given the increased size, it seemed to take much more energy to increase the strength of the bow so Vahn began to worry about the efficacy of its use.&nbsp; After approximately 7 seconds the value finally reached 100 in both physical and magical attack. Loosing the arrow, it flew silently towards the 20m target (the 10m target got destroyed). Upon contacting the wooden support the arrow penetrated about 3/4 it's length into the log. It was significantly weaker than the previous arrow but had the added benefit of flying almost completely silent. Looking down at the bow in his hands, he noticed the runes on its surface were still emitting light which caused him to investigate it through the system. Though the bow took much longer to supply energy to, it appeared to retain the energy for a longer period of time as Vahn noted the attack values slowly decreasing.&nbsp; Pleased with his discovery, he moved on to his final test using both the 'Runic Tempered Yew Shortbow' and 'Runic Tempered Bone Arrows' together. He noticed that it was impossible to split his focus between both the bow and arrow, so he experimented with channeling 'source' energy into each of them and seeing how fast they lost the charge. The arrow lost energy almost instantly since the runes along the shaft seemed to only serve the purpose of funneling the energy into the arrowhead. As soon as the supply stopped the energy would begin to rapidly disperse. As he had expected, it seemed the complexity of the runes on the bow gave it a far greater ability to store energy as compared to the arrows.&nbsp; He charged the bow to around 110 attack power before switching his focus to the arrow. After about twenty seconds the arrow was fully charged and he noticed the bows' attack had only decayed by eight points.&nbsp; Increasing his focus to the limits, Vahn took aim and loosed the arrow towards the target 50m away. Compared to the first experiment which produced an exceptionally loud sound, the arrow now traveled almost silently which Vahn assumed was a hidden property of the magical bow. Almost immediately after that thought crossed his mind, the arrow made contact with the target and easily pierced it through, continuing its journey unabated into the woods beyond.&nbsp; Traveling through the woods with a practiced pace, any observer that had known the boy previously would be shocked with how smoothly he transitioned through the various obstacles. He kept a steady pace and generated very little sound as he moved unhindered, a far cry compared to the many scratches and abrasions he had acquired on his initial treck through the forest.&nbsp; Satisfied with the result of the three tests Vahn decided to rest and eat breakfast. Though he had only fired three arrows it had begun to cause a dull sensation in his mind which Sis informed him was the result of exhausting a large portion of his internal 'mana'.&nbsp; After breakfast, he finalized his preparations and began heading towards the south-western direction where he could see a river indicated on his map. With any luck, he would be able to scout the area and determine the location of the Chief before making preparations to engage.&nbsp; After about twenty minutes of travel, Vahn had covered a distance greater than the 1km perimeter he had set up around the cave he called home. Shortly thereafter he finally reached the border indicated on the map and began to slow his pace to increase the efficacy of his observation. He decided to scout areas on the map that had clearings or other landmarks as his experience with goblins had shown they prefer to loiter around open spaces.&nbsp; He continued his search for several hours without finding a single mark but wasn't disturbed since he had been using the opportunity to increase the detail in his map. As he progressed continuously towards the river which Sis suspected of housing the Chief, he would move in a zig-zag pattern placing traps and tripwires periodically.&nbsp; Eventually, around 500m from his destination, Vahn finally encountered his first group of goblins. They had established a small camp near the remains of a large tree. Judging by their demeanor Vahn assumed they were acting the role of scouts or an advance guard. Their presence indicated that his thoughts of a 'village' or 'nest' being nearby was highly likely&nbsp; Instead of immediately engaging the goblins, Vahn decided to wait for about half an hour as he slowly scouted the perimeter of their camp. His prior experience with the goblin ambush had left a shadow in his heart, and he wanted to make sure there were no unexpected surprises waiting for him if he failed to kill them quickly.&nbsp; His intuition had proven correct as an additional pair of goblins had shown up twenty minutes later to join the previous three. It almost seemed like they were performing a 'change of the guard' as two of the goblins left the way the others just arrived.&nbsp; He contemplated whether or not he should follow the two, but he didn't want to leave a path of escape that was populated by goblins. He waited for ten or so minutes for the newer goblins to settle in and made his final preparations as their guard began to lax.&nbsp; Using his stealth skill he was able to creep within 15m without drawing their attention. As they were simple goblins he had decided to eliminate them using his normal yew short bow instead of its magical big brother. Lining up his first target Vahn loosed an arrow while immediately using a mental command to nock a second while the first was still in flight. With practiced movements, he drew back the bow and took aim as the first arrow penetrated directly through the eye socket of his initial target.&nbsp; The other two goblins turned towards the direction of their companion and in the short period they were both stunned, a second arrow slammed into the neck of the goblin furthest away.&nbsp; The final goblin, as if being startled awake from a nightmare, immediately turned and ran while howling towards the sky. It seemed as though he was trying to call for aid as he fled the scene of carnage. Unfortunately for it, he just so happened to flee in the direction of one of the tripwires Vahn had previously lain. As the goblin fell and tried to scurry back along the path, a third and final arrow pinned him to the ground.&nbsp; Quickly gathering his spoils, Vahn retreated 100m away from the campsite and tried to find a vantage point to observe the response of any approaching goblins. Ten minutes later a squad of nine goblins came running towards the camp where Vahn had just slain three of their brethren. Finding the camp empty they began to rage and disperse around the area trying to find the perpetrator.&nbsp; Because he had set various traps in the area, Vahn was satisfied to observe the two goblins had sustained heavy injuries when their legs got caught in bear traps. Other than that a few others just tripped over the wires he had spread out before the entire group gave up around an hour later. Leaving behind three members, the remaining four carried the two injured goblins back along the path towards where Vahn assumed their main camp was located.&nbsp; "It took around ten minutes for them to respond, and the entire group came running. Sis, can you analyze the distance a group of goblins could run and try to mark the most likely area in the direction they headed on the map?"&nbsp; (*Certainly Vahn. Analyzing data...please confirm the coordinates on the updated coordinate on your map.*)&nbsp; Confirming a new area had been highlighted on the map, Vahn gathered what traps he could before making his way home. The sun had already risen high in the sky, and he wanted to return before darkness arrived as it would be unwise to engage any patrolling goblins during the night as they possessed some degree of night vision.&nbsp; After retreating about 200m, Vahn had a moment of inspiration as he faced towards the direction of the goblin camp...&nbsp; Equipping his magic bow and arrow, Vahn took aim and channeled a fully charged shot at the distant silhouettes. Loosing the arrow, he turned to flee before confirming if it had hit the intended target.&nbsp; On the goblins' end, they were all on high alert waiting for the reappearance of the enemy that had attacked the camp previously. They had spread out a bit and moved around investigating any sounds or suspicious movement that caught their eye. The largest goblin among them had even climbed the rotting tree to try and get a better vantage point. Looking into the distance he saw a golden sheen which seemed to immediately grow larger within his vision. Before he was able to understand what was going on darkness claimed his mind as the golden light penetrated entirely through his brain...&nbsp;

Chapter 14: Difficulties