Chapter 74：A Hidden Village (1/2)

After the boy had eaten and calmed down, Arthur uncuffed Dimon and sent him outside the village. The boy thanked him more than once but Arthur simply shooed him away.

This unexpected event took a bit of his time, so Arthur wanted to reinforce the village before going out hunting. He used his skill to turn the soil into rocks, making the village look like a fortress. However, he stopped the building of the rest of the village for now. The reason was simple.

This place was too close to humans. He wanted to relocate this village to the deeper parts of the mountain range, a more isolated place. He didn't want any mercenary or the like killing off his goblins.

Arthur left the village to hunt, and this routine was getting a bit dull. He wanted to challenge himself, but he also wanted to play it safe. Low-mid-tier monsters stopped giving him any stat points, only raising his level percentage a bit. Today, he started hunting middle-mid-tier monsters.

Taking one of them down needed a bit more work, but Arthur managed to kill it without any injuries. It was a poisonous frog that feasted on its victims after their death. Arthur used his protection rune against the poison and dodged what he can. Using his skills as well, Arthur was able to slay the frog in the end and absorbed its essence.

Returning to the village, Arthur found the goblins to be crowded around something. He made them make way and passed them, only to be greeted with a wounded Dimon.

The boy was riddled with claw marks everywhere and his clothes were ripped. He was breathing heavily, struck by a fever. Arthur looked at him for a good few seconds and then turned to the others. They all shrug their shoulders in avoidance as if they were saying 'we have nothing to do with this.'

”Is it that damn hard to take care of yourselves?” Arthur grunted and picked the boy up. Dimon groaned in pain but Arthur was busy complaining how every single person he met needed saving these days.

Arthur closed the hut's door behind him. The goblins looked at the hut fearfully since it was the first time their new lord was this irritated. After a few moments, they heard him shout out.

”Kira, come and spit!”

The wolf who was busy eating on the side carried itself with annoyance and entered the hut after Mero opened the door for it.

Inside, Arthur used his Heal-I rune on Dimon. He also cleaned his wounds and wrapped them in bandages after Kira licked them. Arthur then pondered for a while before he grabbed a bottle of water and used the rune on it. Using a primitive core, he fused the Heal-I rune on it.

[Healing water has been created. This water would double the natural healing of living tissues of whoever drinks it for ten minutes.]

Arthur made a mental note to sell this later on. He went ahead and had Dimon drink the water. His fever lessened greatly after awhile and Arthur left him to rest. He stayed by his side and kept using the Heal-I rune when it stopped working every five minutes. In the meantime, he also practiced moving his mana. It was a tedious and boring training, but he couldn't help it.

The night quietly passed as Arthur watched the boy slowly get better. He sighed again as he remembered himself back in the days when he had to go from one company to the other and beg to be hired. When he finally succeeded, he was thrown into cleared dungeons to look through the dirt for artifacts.

Times are rough. In the end, though, times change.

He made Dimon drink some healing water again before stepping outside. He went around strengthening some goblins that were especially hardworking before making dinner. Kira ate by his side as goblins nibbled on the food.

Arthur retired to his hut only to find Dimon has woken up. The boy was examining his wounds before being startled by Arthur's entrance.

”What happened to you?” Arthur asked behind his mask.

”Bear attack me.”