Asher had been doing jobs for quite some time with the assistance of his goblin. It had seemingly limitless stamina, unlike him currently. It could follow simple orders, but it couldn't comprehend anything beyond that. Asher had thought about having it attack monsters on its own, but he feared that it would begin going after people due to its low level of intelligence.
The last thing Asher needed was to have the guild coming after him because of a monster under his command. He found a cave that was secluded in the forest and told the goblin to stay there. After that, Asher went back to the guild. He only had so long before the tournament began and he wanted to be back up to his peak strength.
If he took first place in the tournament, he'd be able to put himself back in good standing with at least one province. Asher knew that the tournament was a fast track to him being promoted as well. As it stood, the only reason he hadn't been promoted after saving Winterhaven from the lich was because he had been weakened severely. He had an idea though.
He had noted that he gained strength from the goblin killing monsters, just as a slower rate than doing it himself. If he could master the skill of subjugation, he could more rapidly increase his strength. He wondered exactly how far he could go with the power he had. Another thought had also crossed his mind, the goblin had gained a significant increase in power from Asher dominating it. He was confident he could bring it into Winterhaven and it likely wouldn't have any issues in that place, even with the higher level monsters.
Asher was still somewhat skeptical of using the power. He was convinced there had to be some form of a drawback. The more powerful bloodlines usually had some form of special rule that would limit them, like Leah's being restricted to dragons. From everything he had learned, the power had been so feared that it was wiped from history. That concerned Asher quite a bit. He wondered if anyone else found out, how long it would be before he was hunted down and killed. That was a bridge he would have to cross eventually, no matter what. He just didn't know when that would be.
Asher took another job in Imperia, facing off against a group of hobgoblins. He took along his follower to fight beside him. As soon as he gave the command to attack the hobgoblins, the goblin sprung into action. It overwhelmed the hobgoblins easily enough. Asher was convinced that the goblin had taken a huge portion of his power. At the same time, he felt surges of power from each kill from the goblin. It was only a fraction of what he would normally gain from killing monsters by himself, but it was an easy way out for him. He could use the goblin to empower himself while he stayed safe. It was at a large cost, but it would pay off over time.
Asher wondered, if a goblin had been boosted in strength so much, what would happen if he tried to dominate a draugr? If he could figure out how to use his power, he could potentially answer that. That was an experiment for after he had recovered, however. He couldn't afford to expend any more energy than he already had, involuntarily due to the shadowy figure. He was less than amused at how it had stolen most of his power in order to subjugate one of the lowest level creatures it possibly could have.
Asher sighed at the circumstances. Even though he had the ability to improve his situation, there always seemed to be something in his way. He didn't figure it would change very much in the future. Asher returned to the guild hall and Colin remarked, "You seem to be doing better, judging by how quickly you returned."
The burly man was leaned over the solid oak slab, staring intently at Asher. Asher nodded in response and said, "A bit. It's slow going, but I don't doubt that I will be strong enough to compete in the tournament by the time it comes around."
"So you aim to try your luck with that, eh?"
"I have uses for the money. It would assist me in several personal tasks."
"Fair enough," Colin replied. The big man crossed his arms and stated, "Just don't get too carried away, if you think an opponent is too much for you, don't be so stubborn that you end up getting killed."
"I thought that killing was illegal during the tournament," Asher exclaimed.
"It is, but accidents happen. And sometimes it just looks like an accident. Be careful out there, my friend."
Asher grasped Colin's hand tightly in his own with a warm smile. "You've done so much for me in my time here, Colin. I don't think I could ever truly repay you."
Colin simply replied, "Don't mention it. Like, actually don't bring it up again. People will claim I'm playing favorites."
Asher chuckled and remarked, "Don't worry, I won't ruin your reputation."
After that, Asher began to sift through jobs until he found one that sounded like he could handle it. It was another group of hobgoblins, larger than the last group. It was at least thirty of them. Asher figured between him and his follower, he could make short work on the job.
He began to make his way through the countryside until he came to a forested area. He decided to test how far he could call his companion from, he was at least a mile away from the goblin where he was at currently. Within a few minutes, the goblin had showed up by his side, awaiting his command. It had ran a considerable distance with no rest and it didn't seem even the slightest bit tired. Asher had also confirmed that it didn't matter the distance he called it from, it would come running.
He advanced through the forest with the goblin in tow. As he approached the hobgoblin camp, Asher commander the goblin to stay in place. He would take on as many of the creatures by himself as he could. He knew by using his follower, he would take much longer gathering his strength.
With that in mind, Asher got to work in the camp. He slit the throat of one hobgoblin from behind. After that, they dropped one by one with Asher stealthily creeping through the group. One of them eventually caught sight of him, but by then there was already fifteen of them dead with Asher feeling freshly energized. As soon as he heard them sound the alarm calls, he commanded his minion to attack.
Between Asher and his minion, they cleaned up the rest of the hobgoblins quickly. Asher felt as though he might be able to go back to Winterhaven for the rank C jobs again with how easily he had completed the job. He would try his luck in that desolate wasteland once again, hopefully without another disaster coming his way.
Asher traveled back to the guild after ordering his minion to return where it came from. It seemed to have gained some form of memory and intelligence from his influence. Usually goblins weren't smart enough to follow any kind of orders, they were practically mindless. The creatures would normally just tunnel through the earth until they found something to kill.
Asher had already made up his mind that he would be attempting to dominate another goblin later on after he had regained all of his power. He had decided on such a weak creature so he wouldn't needlessly put himself in danger when he drained his own strength away. He had no idea how the power worked or what it's limitations were.
When Asher returned to the guild, he bid Colin farewell as he made his way to Winterhaven once again. He was on to higher level quarry. His follower shadowed him from some distance per his orders. He had no doubt that the goblin could handle almost anything in Winterhaven, but he still didn't want the guild to find out he was dominating monsters to use for empowering himself. That could only spell disaster for him as he was currently not only weakened, but also at his height of strength, he was only rank C with the guild. There were some guild members at a SSS tier of strength, almost a godlike level. There were only a couple of them at that level, but Asher didn't want to pick any fights with them unless he had absolutely no choice in the matter.
Each of them were blessed from being born from a divine bloodline, granted incredible strength even from an early age. They had been the lucky ones, easily surpassing everybody on the continent in raw power. Asher wondered how it must feel to have been born with adoring fans fawning over them. They had been birthed into riches and fame. Even with all the work Asher had put in, he still had nothing more than local notoriety. That in itself was still a stretch, he didn't doubt his name would be forgotten within a year for his efforts in Winterhaven.
Asher lamented at the thought for a couple of moments until he realized he would have just as easily let the entire town die had it not been for his friend being afflicted by the sickness given by the lich. He had been granted quite a large reward for his efforts though. His cuirass had been replaced free of charge and there was almost nothing the townspeople would not have given him had he asked for it.
That thought died down as he felt the familiar chill in the air that was associated with Winterhaven. The air became much colder as he advanced farther into the snowy wastes. Asher crossed his arms and bundled himself up tighter in his fur coat. The season was changing to winter, making the cold province even colder than he had ever felt before.
He recalled the fire of the dragonkin and felt warmth flow through his body. It seemed to be becoming easier every time he called on his powers to use them. Asher trudged through the icy wasteland towards the only civilization for miles, Winterhaven. He commanded his goblin to stay in a cave and defend itself if needed before he made his way into town.
When he reached the guild hall, he marched past Connor and went straight to his room. He would announce his return soon, but he needed rest first. He would get in touch with Leah and Willow after getting a good night's sleep.