[Welcome back Challenger Voro Vane]
[Destroy the goblin village in the forest]
[The Tower of ???? goblin wishes you luck]
"Aaahhhh I missed this" Voro cracked his back on the entry to the Tower, as the familiar forest from the 5th floor met his eyes.
It seemed that this is the new theme of the Tower floors, replacing the stone castle from the beginning. Makes sense if it was destroyed on the previous one, it should stay destroyed now.
And it did, since Voro appeared right in front of the broken gate.
However when he tried to get inside the ruins, a very lightly colored transparent blue wall blocked his way.
"Tsk. So we`re back to limited areas....cool" Only other way was into the forest.
It was almost the same as before, only more...foresty.
More leaves, more bushes, more everything. Moss started to cover the rubble, wood was eaten up by insects and the path was slowly disappearing.
Slowly enough that Voro could still follow it. At the end of it, or end of what he could discern from the rest of the forest was a plain circular area - what remained of the village he destroyed. No trees, no large greenery just grass and flowers.
And a few hunting traps for critters and small animals.
"They are still here. Good" Voro smiled lightly, as it made him sure that the goblins were around, and even better, were still somewhat similar with their technology.
So he looked around for more, and then looked around that one, and the next one and so on
--------------------------------------------------
Deep in the thickest parts of the forest, where thorned flowers and spiky fruits grew, a small wooden hut was sitting in silence. Birds often sat on top of it as it was a large plain surface and other animals didn`t go near it.
"I SAID FOCUS" a shrieking voice boomed from the inside
The birds flew away as outside of it an old goblin was trying to teach his pupil.
"Focus Kek" the old seer kept walking around the young goblin who sat with a dry leaf in his hands. "Do not burn it but let it catch fire" while the wooden staff beat the ground around him.
Kek groaned and his forehead wrinkled, he whispered words he did not understand towards the leaf. A small pathetic spark left his throat and landed , creating a nice black spot on the leaf that soon caught fire.
"Ha ... ha...it is...small" He breathed heavily and with bits of smoke coming out of his nose, but smiling through it.
"It is" The old seer smiled too "Well done Kek, you have learned how to sting now"
"Will I learn to burn like you next, master?" Kek crushed the burning leaf with his foot and got up
The seer did not answer as he stood and watched the tree line. He was tense. Very tense
"Master?"
"Kek" The seer lowered his staff and pointed it slowly towards a bush "Go to the village"
"Master?!?! Why??"
"I said" The staff started to smoke "GO" and he shouted out the words he heard from a shaman from his previous village "KHAR-ZUKA" and fire incomparable to Kek`s attempt flew into a tree, making so much smoke that it reached the hut "GO YOU FOOL"
Kek ran. He had no idea why or why his master blew a great fire sphere into a tree, but he did not question that. The old master often did do random things but never like this.
He was scared. Both of them.
Kek did not know what to be scared of, but if the best magician of the forest was, so should he be.
The village was in sight. His house, his beautiful wooden shack his father made with his own hands. Kek rushed inside to call him for help, but he wasn`t inside.
Rushing outside he started shouting loudly "ANYONE??" MASTER SEER NEEDS HELP?!?!?"
But he saw and heard no one. Only if the goblin blood didn`t blend in so well with the grass and leaves, he would have noticed what happened.
Yet he didn`t and kept on shouting.
The whole village was empty and silent.
Bodies were hidden behind shacks and in the forest, Kek did not see any of them.
"Quiet"
He heard a weird voice behind him as a tall dark creature stood behind him.
"It...its....YOU" Kek recognized the creature from tales and drawings in the rubble of the stone forest.
The creature smiled and pulled its knife out.
"The White One" Kek angrily said to its face while his hands grabbed the air and tighten over a non existing ball.
The knife started to come for his throat, while Kek`s hand snapped and shot out towards its face
"DIE YOU MONSTER" and the same technique as the Seer was cast "KAhARR-ZAIIAKAA!!!!!"
But much smaller and slower
"You" the voice was much closer as the face of The White One was right in front of him now "Weak" And the knife finished Kek`s life quickly.
------------------------------
knock knock
"Come in" sips coffee over some non important documents
"Sir, the Hunter have returned from the Tower"
"MMM good. Bring him in"
"About that"
"SUP BITCH" The hunter pushed the guard aside and sat in front.
sighs "I get it you had a good time away from us" Thorne put away the coffee cup.
"Great time. So. How are they?" Voro leaned on the chair and almost fell over.
"Good good. All alive, all really excited.. they are waiting for you"
"Where?"
"Not in a place you know about" Thorne`s tone immediately shifted to really serious
"Hoh, That`s new. Did the government started to act up again or are you just jealous"
Thorne looked at him in the eyes
"Damn" Voro stopped playing with the chair "That bad"
"Yes. You can`t see them or call them for the next week. Hard rules , even I can`t do much about it"
"Aren`t you pretty high up the ladder?"
"Tsk you have no idea. I`m basically the bottom at this point, just a site manager. I have a regional boss, a small senate, 4 departments can tell me what to do and I have to report almost every thing that is happening to even more of them. This is a mess I`m telling you"
"So....a week?"
"Probably. Reports, tests, medical exams etc. Same deal like you had, just ... more"
Voro got up from the chair and head to the exit
"Call me when they get out ,will you?"
"You`ll be the...no wait, the 6th person I call about it"
"Really" he turned around "6th" visibly annoyed
"No of course not, I`m joking" Thorne of course, with a much brighter expression
"You`re 12th"
Voro slammed the on the way out.
Not only were his kids taken away from him, but the Tower wasn`t acting nicely either today. One of the more important parts of climbing the Tower was the rewards, and one of them was missing - the Level Up.
He simply didn`t get it this time.
The annoyance was understandable, as every floor since the 1st had given him one level and floor clear rewards. Now, just one measly Skill upgrade.
'Maybe this was too easy. or I`m just too good. hope its the latter'
He angrily went to the bus stop while all the pedestrians looked at him with disgust over the green liquid on his face and clothes.