Chương 29: Chapter 26

Leveling up was a mystery to Sobelle, she did not know what it did nor what kind of effects it had on her. She knew what the word level meant, as according to her father, that was what the different floors of a wizard tower were called. However, she wasn't a wizard nor did she have a capacity to cast magic. And even if she did, she'd chosen to be a knight already! Casting spells sounded so boring and dull that Sobelle did not think she'd enjoy doing any of it at all.

Her current tests were hard enough already, she did not think she'd last long if she had to learn all the things a wizard did. Maybe if she was a sorcerer she'd do it, as those guys did not need to learn anything beyond practicing the magic they already possessed. Sadly, sorcerers were rare and unless her mother hid some kind of magical background no one knew about, then Sobelle's chances of being one were low to none. Flying with magic did sound fun though.

She hoped that one day she'd be able to do something similar.

'Maybe I can own my own Endla one day?" [+3 Strength!] [+2 Endurance!] [+2 Dexterity!] On top of her reaching level 6, she had also gotten her set of weekly stats much earlier. Sobelle believed that it had something to do with the constant physical work she'd put in the last few days, as not only did she dedicatedly keep up with the routine the Gods gave her every morning, she also pushed herself even further by killing Goblins.

Her kill count had also increased considerably, she hadn't expected the Gods to count the greenskins killed by the Palisades to be counted as her own but they did it and now her meager 37 had gone up to a staggering amount. [Goblins Killed: 88] 88 Goblins. Just how many came to the village for her kill count to go up this much? She did not dare count for the time being. She knew it was a lot, and that was the only thing that mattered. Sobelle closed her quest tab and opened her stats....

[Stats] [Strength: 17] [Endurance: 17] [Dexterity: 13] [Intelligence: 10] [Wisdom: 8] [LeveL: 6] [Stat Points: 18]... There were so many numbers that she did not understand what they did anymore. Just what did 17 [Strength] mean anyway? She knew that it made her stronger, of course. That was what the System was designed to do and it was made clear to her the first time she got it. But just how strong did it make her? Could she overpower her own father? Was that it?

She'd killed a Pudge just now but that was because she used her agility and intellect, she hadn't overpowered the goblin in terms of strength. Sobelle decided to think about this for another day and closed her system. She was strong enough to kill a Pudge all on her own, and that was the only thing she should take away from all this. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The chief greeted her with a nod after she came back.

"You killed that Pudge pretty well, I hadn't expected you to be so skillful, where did you learn to move like that? You looked like a seasoned adventurer."

"I just did what I thought was appropriate." Which was the thing that actually happened. Her thoughts were solely focused on fighting when under [Flow State] and her mind came up with various things that allowed her to win.

"I crippled the Pudge because it was the only thing that would allow me to win."

"Of course, but crippling a Pudge was one thing, hurting it enough to do so is another." The chief looked at Sobelle's axe for a moment. He then raised his hand in a gesture that asked if he could borrow it. Sobelle gave it to him.

"As I thought, this thing is now unusable. The blade is chipped and the head is loose. One more swing and this thing is going to break." Sobelle overdid her swing? She eyed the axe and personally confirmed the chief's words with her own observations. She really did break the weapon when she used it.

"But this is normal, axes can break and the bones of a Pudge might as well be a more durable tree. Of course it'd get destroyed if you used it to hit something like a Pudge. Breaking the skin with the blade probably did most of the damage." The chief threw the weapon aside.

"But what happened to your spear?"

"I threw it at the Nogg, I thought that crippling one of its arms would be a good idea." And it was, Sobelle had an easy fight with the Pudge because the Nogg that rode it couldn't think properly thanks to her spear.

"I almost killed it but the Pudge pushed me, I only managed to cut off its right arm. It then ran off with the spear."

"What?" Horror dawned on the chief's face.

"You threw a spear at it and it lived?"

"Yeah, it also ran away with my weapon..." Sobelle stopped herself. The chief rarely looked panicked but his expression right now was straight up terrified.

"Is there anything wrong with what I did? I thought we won?"

"I..." The chief sighed.

"I think you need some rest, Sobelle. I'll talk to your father for a while then we'll call you after we're done okay? Take a bath like you always do. Get some rest. You need to get ready to search for their tribe and then wipe out the remaining greenskins."

"Okay." Sobelle knew something was wrong yet the chief refused to explain anything to her. What happened that made him panic so much? They won didn't they? Everyone moved aside to let her pass when she headed for the gates. They all looked at her like she was a monster. Sobelle had gotten used to the way they stared by this point but even then, she couldn't help but feel hurt. She had saved their village from a goblin attack and they all repaid her by treating her like an enemy.

"You are simply heartless." Somie said as she passed. Sobelle wanted to learn what made her say this since it may shed light to her current treatment. She turned to her eldest sister.

"You chose to sacrifice our own women? You were the one who planned it?"

"It worked out in the end, didn't it?" Sobelle figured this was what they all had problems with.

"We won." Somie flinched when Sobelle moved but visibly calmed down when she saw that her sister just started walking again. She stared at Sobelle's back for a good few seconds before she went to the chief.

"That was an amazing fight, Sobelle." Chael was the only one who complimented her for her success.

"The way you avoided that Pudge's attacks was like something I'd never seen before. And my family has hired mercenaries to protect us in the past."

"Thank you." Sobelle weakly muttered. She did not have the time to feel happy about words.

"Thank you for all the stuff you gave me as well, I wouldn't have killed the Pudge without them."

"Of course, and thank you for saving the village. You were the only one we could have counted on." Sobelle grunted at that. Was she? Anyone in the village could have gone out of their way to kill the greenskins. But they had gotten scared because of Okkor, who had gotten infected from a single bite. The villagers were simply cowards who chose to send out a young girl instead of taking the risk themselves. She retreated back to her house and was glad to do so.

The village still stank from the goblins' prelude of the raid and she really did not want to stay out there for long periods of time. Somie eventually came to provide her with hot water and all the things she usually needed. Her eldest sister's eyes were still red and she refused to look at Sobelle even as she readied her bath.

"You don't have to do this anymore since the goblins are all dead." Sobelle said as she stripped herself of her bandages. The scabs had grown nicely.

"I'll be fine on my own from now on."

"Just let me do this one last time then." Somie argued and Sobelle let her. Silence descended upon the two of them until her sister continued talking.

"Were you scared? Fighting something so dangerous... I can't even imagine how it must feel."

"I'm used to it." Sobelle was scared at first, but she focused on nothing but the kill after she entered [Flow State] and things were history after that.

"You shouldn't get used to it. You are a woman, we need to be protected, not the other way around."

"How about you? Were you scared?" Sobelle changed the subject instead of continuing with the topic. No one would accept her as is, and she didn't think they'd ever accept her after today. Women were simply never seen as warriors.

"Yes. Standing in front of all of them as they..." Somie wept.

"I'm sorry then." They had no other choice. She knew that right? But did that ease the pain and fear Somie felt? Probably not.