The Monster King's Legacy

After the heartfelt discussion with Lina, Lance felt as though he had become closer to these goblins than before. Then again, their rapid acceptance of him did make him wonder if it was because there were no males around, or whether they were approaching their mating season. Then again, Lance remembered a particular aspect of goblin anatomy from several 'works' back on earth.

'These goblins don't produce pheromones and aphrodisiac, right?' He thought to himself as he stepped out of his tent. Even though he was a hot blooded youth yet to experience his first trip, if those goblins all came to him, he would die before he even got to enjoy himself.

Suddenly, the thought caused shivers to run up Lance's spin as he averted his gaze from one of the nearby goblins that noticed and greeted him with a nod.

"Hey, chief!" Rikka said from behind as she seemed to pop out of nowhere. Her sudden appearance conflicted with Lance's thoughts, sending shivers down his entire back as he turned around to see that it was Rikka.

"Hey, calm down, why all the fuzz? I know you're weak, but wow, you're so jumpy…" She teased with a half serious expression.

'Says the one whose tribe was about to get wiped out…' Lance thought to himself, wearing an unimpressed look on his face as there was energy left in him to even muster a smile.

"It was a joke." Rikka explained, seeing as Lance didn't seem to be taking it.

"I know, I was just, surprised by your appearance is all."

"Great! Then you will be coming with me now, right? Rynne's around too!"

Lance had planned to refuse her invitation, even preparing his excuse beforehand, but after she spoke so loudly and dragged the attention of the other goblins who now looked at Lance with expectant eyes, there was no way he could let them down.

With pain in his heart, Lance made his way to the training grounds with Rikka.

Just as Rikka had told him, he met one of the elders there, Rynne. Unlike what a battle hardened goblin would look like following Lance's thoughts, Rynne, very much as much of the female goblins, was not half bad at all, in fact, she was what one would refer to as beautiful. Somehow, the scars on her body didn't blemish her and instead brought out a sort of wild beauty.

'How should I describe this… A perfect gym mummy? Hm, hmm… that is it.' Lance thought to himself. Honestly, he was already restraining himself enough with all these beautiful and sexy female goblins walking around with barely any covering.

"Chief, you came." Rynne said as she spotted Lance walking behind Rikka. She had been told that Lance would come, though, she wasn't expecting him to actually go so.

"I want to test my physical capabilities. The more I train, the more powerful I become, isn't that right?" Lance said with a smile.

"Absolutely. You have the mind and spirit of a true leader. Come on. Don't expect me to go easy on you, though."

"Of course."

…

Lance winced as Rynne drove her wooden spear against his shoulder with a sharp thwack, sending a dull ache radiating down his arm. He stumbled back, barely keeping his balance, as Rynne lowered her weapon with an almost smug grin.

"Come on, chief," she teased, her golden eyes gleaming with amusement. "You're supposed to block, not stand there like a tree waiting to get chopped down."

"I was trying to block," Lance muttered, rubbing his shoulder. "You just move like you've got turbo boosters or something."

"Turbo what?" Rynne tilted her head, her long green braid swinging over her shoulder. "Is that some kind of human magic?"

Lance sighed, realizing yet again that his references from Earth meant nothing here. "Forget it."

Rynne twirled the spear effortlessly in her hand, her toned arms moving with the precision of someone who had spent years perfecting her craft. She was one of the strongest goblins in the tribe after all, and if it came to physicality, she was the strongest.

Her casual confidence was both admirable and, at times, infuriating.

"All right," she said, planting the end of her spear in the dirt. "Let's try again. This time, don't just stare at me, keep your feet moving."

Lance raised his own wooden spear, a weapon that felt more like a glorified stick in his untrained hands and nodded. "Got it. Keep my feet moving."

Rynne lunged forward with a quick jab. Lance's attempt to sidestep turned into an awkward shuffle that nearly sent him sprawling. Her spear whizzed past his ear, close enough that he felt the wind from it. He even felt a little pain, but it turned out to be his mind. He tried to counter with a clumsy swing, but Rynne easily dodged, stepping around him like a cat toying with its prey.

"Wow," Rynne said, her voice dripping with mock admiration. "That was almost… something. I'm not sure what, but it was definitely… something."

Lance groaned, dropping the tip of his spear to the ground. "Do you have to be this sarcastic? I thought teachers were supposed to be encouraging."

"Encouraging?" Rynne snorted, doubling over with laughter. "You don't need encouragement, human. You need a miracle."

Lance couldn't help but chuckle, himself. "Glad to see you've got so much faith in me."

"Faith is for shamans," Rynne said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I'm a warrior. I deal in facts. And the fact is, you're about as coordinated as a drunk ogre."

"Well, let's start with some hangover soup first, then we'll build tolerance later." Lance said as he took a stance. Rynne didn't exactly understand the remark, but she got the message.

Their sparring continued, though the results were much the same.

Rynne's movements were fluid and precise, her spear moving like an extension of her very body. She jabbed, swept, and spun with the grace of a dancer, while Lance fumbled and flailed like he was trying to swat a fly with a broom.

"Okay," Lance panted after narrowly avoiding another strike. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of this." He said, a bit excited.

Rynne raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Lance said, straightening up and wiping the sweat from his brow. "All I have to do is… not die."

"That's the spirit!" Rynne said with a laugh, clapping him on the back hard enough to make him stumble. "You'll never die during this training, so you can only keep going! Brilliant, chief."

Despite his abysmal performance, Lance found himself enjoying the session. Rynne's humor was infectious, her teasing more playful than cruel. She had a way of making him feel like his failures weren't the end of the world, well, in a crude way more or less.

"All right," Rynne said after a particularly humiliating exchange in which Lance tripped over his own feet and landed face-first in the dirt. "Let's take a break before you hurt yourself any more than that."

Lance readjusted himself and sat cross-legged under the shade of a nearby tree, gulping down water from a wooden flask. Rynne plopped down beside him, her spear resting across her lap.

"You're not completely hopeless, you know," she said, her tone softer now.

"Gee, thanks," Lance replied, rolling his eyes.

"No, I mean it," Rynne insisted. "You've got good instincts. You just need to stop thinking so much and let your body do the work. For someone who has never wielded a weapon until recently, you show much promise, terrifyingly so even."

Lance gave her a skeptical look. "A terrifying potential? My body's main skill is tripping over itself. I'm pretty sure it's plotting against me at this point."

Rynne laughed, a genuine, hearty sound that made Lance smile despite himself. "You're not wrong. But you'll get there. Eventually. Pass me the water." She said, extending a hand faintly since they sat beside each other.

Lance watched as she gulped down the water from the flask, using the same mouthpiece he had just used without care. Lance couldn't even blush at such an adorable attitude… mainly because it wasn't. Regardless, if he could get stronger while being taught by such a sexy and beautiful woman… goblin, it wasn't so bad.

As the sun dipped lower in the sky, they returned to the clearing for one final round. This time, Rynne decided to take a different approach.

"Okay, new rule," she said, twirling her spear. "If you can land a single hit on me, just one, I'll do whatever you want to me."