by E C Chii
As usual time seemed to slow as his mind and body rushed forward faster than any would be swordsman could possibly move. As he passed the first goblin he struck at the neck of the first goblin nearly decapitating it in the process. The side of the next goblin exposed he thrust his sword through the gap between the chest and back piece. A savage twist and pull it came jerking out as it scraped and caught on the goblin’s ribs. Hoisting the blade into the ‘jodan’ position he took several steps forward bringing it down slicing clean through an exposed head of a goblin. With a sidestep he moved forward while extending his sword with his right hand to pierce another goblin through the chest.
Everything began to speed up again he heard the hissing of the sword as the tar like blood cooked and sizzled. As he pulled the sword out, the blade broke leaving almost twenty centimeters still inside the goblin as it fell. Dropping the broken sword, he turned to see the goblin with the broken nose stab at him with its retrieved spear, scoring a solid hit through his leather vambraces and piercing his left forearm. Grunting in pain he grabbed the spear with his right yanking it out of its hand and smashed it in the nose with the butt of the spear.
Facing off with the three remaining goblins his hand went to the shorter sword preparing for another attack. Warily they edged forward with various clubs and daggers fashioned from pieces of Plains Stalker body parts. His breath was coming in heavier and mind becoming foggy from the continuous use of stamina and magic. The lack of sleep was getting to him, making focusing difficult. Gazing at the largest and ugliest goblin he had seen so far with deep green skin in front of him he used ‘Nukitsuke’ while pushing psychic mana into it.
The goblin whom he now called ‘Fugly’ attempted to block the lightning quick draw of the blade but was over powered by Wolf. The blade sliced through the goblin’s leg armor, while the psychic effect burst out. The psychic infusion created a faint purple haze that stunned all the surrounding goblins briefly.
Nukitsuke with psychic magic infused triggers ‘Psyburst’, all enemies within a five-meter radius are stunned for three seconds
Goblin Leader AKA ‘Fugly’ takes 42 Damage (8 damage mitigate)
‘Psyburst’ inflicts the Goblin Leader AKA ‘Fugly’ with the debuff ‘Stunned’ for 10 minutes
Taking the moment of advantage Wolf managed to kill two of the remaining four goblins before they recovered from the stun leaving Fugly and the one with a broken nose. It was still rolling around grasping his injured face. A quick thrust into its chest ended its life.
Wearily walking up to the Fugly, a funny idea popped into his head. If he could use his psychic magic, like he did on the elder. What else could he do if he didn’t care if they lived or not. Pulling out his last mana potion he downed it and looked the smelly goblin in its eyes with his palms on Fugly’s temples.
“You lost ‘Fugly’, now I am going to rat fuck your mind. Just so you know, I will probably enjoy making you suffer.”
Chapter 23 – Tea and Cake or Death
Pushing his magic into the goblin’s mind started as simple as opening a door, but as he delved past the initial thoughts of hatred and fear he ran into a much more challenging part. Fugly’s memories were difficult to understand and gaining access to as it continuously screamed at him in its crude language. Closing his eyes, he searched around looking for information that would help him break Fugly’s will. Digging around to the mental screams of the goblin he found the area that held skills, language, and abilities. First and foremost, he looked for language, if he was going to hear the goblin shouting at him, might as well know what it was saying. A notification appeared in his vision despite having his eyes closed
Would you like to take the Language Proficiency in the Ghukliak from the Goblin Leader AKA Fugly? There is a 50% chance that the Goblin Leader AKA Fugly will perish during the transfer. Do you still wish to continue?
YN
Honestly not caring if the goblin lived or died he selected yes. Instantly a spike of searing pain shot through his skull as information about the goblin language entered his mind. His mind, muddled as it was wondered if the screams were his or the goblin’s. When the whole thing was over he sat there on his knees reeling from the pain that had just coursed through his brain. Taking a moment to try and sort through all of information into a coherent way he struggled and warred with it until finally it settled.
Congratulations! You have learned the unique technique ‘Skill Theft’
Congratulations! You have learned the unique technique ‘Skill Dump’
Skill Theft Level N/A (Active, Unique) – Using your Psychic aptitude you can forcibly absorb information, skills, and abilities of the common grade from sentient creatures. 25% success rate of learning the desired skill and 50% chance the target will perish during the transfer. Cost 1000 EXP, 100 MP, 100 STA
Skill Dump Level N/A (Active, Unique) – Using your Psychic aptitude you can pass information, skills, and abilities that you have attained the master rank in to willing participants. Cost: 10000 EXP. Cooldown – 1 Year
By unlocking two Unique abilities you are awarded +4 INT.
Muttering to himself in Ghukliak, he patted Fugly on the chest, “I hope it was as good for you as it was for me.”
Pulling up the prompts he had ignored until now as the other goblins were moaning in pain and made no movement to come toward him.
Congratulations! You have learned the Goblin language, Ghukliak in the Plains Goblin dialect. You may now speak with them in their native language.
Congratulation! The progressive swordsmanship style ‘Iaijutsu’ has progressed to Beginner Level 3
Congratulation! The progressive spell tree ‘Elemental Manipulation’ has progressed to Beginner Level 4
Congratulations! The progressive spell tree ‘Magical Infusion’ has progressed to Beginner level 3
Iaijutsu Level 3 (Passive, Progressive) – Exotic swords like the Uchigatana, Katana, Wakizashi deal 3 more damage and 3% more critical damage. Requires: 10 STR, 10 DEX, and 6 AGI.
Elemental Manipulation Level 4 (Channel, Progressive) – Channel various elements by fueling them with MP to change your surroundings. Effects are 15% faster and more complex changes are capable. Requirements, causing a desired effect will increase the cost per second: Elemental usage is variable, 2MP per second. Channeled direct damage is 8:1 ratio
Magical Infusion Level 3 (Active, Progressive) – Infuse an object with a concentration of elemental magical energy. Infusion is a 1:1 damage ratio maxing at 20 MP. Every point of MP infused afterwards will increase the likelihood of the item taking durability damage. Every 10 additional MP increases breaking chance by 5%. Infusing your body will cause 1 point of damage per second until the energy is released
Through hard work you increase of your core attribute points. +2 STR, +3 AGI, +1 DEX, +1 WIS, +4 INT, +2 CON, +1 LCK.
You have killed 5 level 8 Goblin Fighter, 755EXP gained
You have killed 4 level 6 Goblin Scouts, 420EXP gained
You have killed a level 9 Goblin Leader, 260EXP gained
Satisfied he closed all the windows. He checked on Fugly only to find him dead, which confirmed why he got experience from him. His legs were still shaky and some of the Fugly’s memories still made him a bit nauseous, but he managed to get to his feet and start toward the remaining wounded goblins.
As he got closer he shouted in Ghukliak, “Do not attack me and I will not kill you.”
Walking closer, he continued, “Remain laying on the ground until I get to you. Any hostile actions will be met with swift and brutal force.”
The first of the goblins he saw started crying and mewling pitifully. Doing a quick triage, there was nothing he could do to save the goblin but give it a swift death. If he did nothing the bleeding debuff and poison would kill it, but it would take a long time and be excessively painful.
“Do you know that there is no way I can save you? I give you a choice. A quick and painless death now, or a long and excruciating one with a
very small chance of life. Make you choice now.” Wolf said coldly.
The goblin to his credit stared at him with a mixture of shock, fear, and hatred. It spat with venom and distaste, “Now, I will not be a slave to your kind.”
Replying, Wolf said, “Very well. May you have peace in your next life.” As he plunged his sword into the goblin’s heart.
You have killed a level 8 Goblin Warrior, 160EXP gained
Moving on to the next one which answered in a fairly similar way.
You have killed a level 8 Goblin Warrior, 160EXP gained
Next, he came upon a strange goblin even by goblin standards, a feminine goblin that was a half meter taller than the short squat goblins he had seen before. Despite her being a goblin, he found her strangely attractive. Although to look better than a goblin was not a high bar to set. To be fair though, less than an hour ago found all goblins repulsive. ‘Analysis’ showed that it was a female goblin shadow by the name of Dinish. Doing a quick triage, he saw that her wounds were not life threatening. Some time on her back mending would fix that up quickly enough.
Asking, “Your wounds are not life threatening. I really want to let you all live, but I cannot let enemies stay at my back. So, I leave you with a choice, die quick and painlessly or slowly?” Wolf said pulling one of his pilfered knives and waited for her answer.
“You could have us swear to not attack you and serve you to our gods. We would be unable to take hostile actions against you.” The wounded goblin offered with fear and pain quivering in her voice.
Wolf thought about it for a second, when he threatened the village a little over two weeks ago that changed their bearing and to some, seemed to put fear in them. Originally, when he made the threat, he simply thought that it was something to cool to say. Now that he really considered it, with gods and goddesses being a real force on this world it seemed more than just an empty threat. He would need to be more careful in the future of using their names and oaths just to be safe.
“Okay say I do this; I don’t want to push it on them against their will. I do believe that it should be their own choices. I will let you make your decision while I tend to the others.” Wolf said as he walked to the next wounded goblin.
Twenty minutes passed and another fifteen goblins who could be saved were told the ultimatum, all but five chose death outright.
You have killed 10 level 8 Goblin Warrior, 1600EXP gained
Going back to Dinish, he said, “Have you made your choice?”
“Yes, I will become your slave.” She said through gritted teeth and tears in her eyes. He couldn’t tell if it was from pain or from the idea that she thought she would be a slave. Wolf decided not to contradict this thought just yet.
“Okay, but you will be as a subordinate and not a slave, I am not this Empire that seems so reviled. In truth they are actively hunting me right this moment so yeah, I think I will come into conflict with them sooner rather than later. Let’s get this oath sworn and do what we need.”
Dinish swore her oath to their god Toutatis, cementing her as an ally if only a temporary one. One by one they agreed to his terms and he set about swearing an oath to their gods, to care for them and fight by their sides pending they do the same. He felt uneasy about them going from his enemies to allies so quickly but remembering the stories of how vengeful these same gods and goddesses were on Earth made him keep that to himself.
He returned to Dinish, as she seemed to be one of the only unique ones alive to ask a few questions.
“Dinish, could you tell me more about you and your clan? Why did you chase me?”
“You invaded our territory and upset the balance of the plains. You killed so many stalkers, ants, and our hunters we had to respond.” Dinish responded derisively.
Looking away sheepishly, he replied “My apologies, I didn’t mean to upset the balance. I was simply seeking out a means of progressing. If it’s any consolation, I was usually attacked first.”
“That is because you move like a blind ogre. It’s a wonder you were not attacked more.” Dinish reprimanded him.
“Come on I don’t think I was that bad. I was able to sneak up on a century of Imperial Conscripts and wipe them out.” Wolf defended himself.
“Bah, those Imperial assholes are worse than you only due to the complete lack of subtlety. My nieces are better than you.”
“Oh, come on now that is just mean. If I was in my original body from my home world I would be nothing more than a ghost to you.” he insisted.
“Sure, sure, though that brings up several questions of my own. Before we get in to that I think we who still draw breath should be moved to a better location before we all get a diseased from the corpses. Once we are recovered enough we can give our own a proper burial, and being closer to each other will put their minds at ease.”
“You got it. Would you also like me to draw you a bath?” Wolf asked.
“No, it isn’t my time of flow yet. I still have a few more weeks before that is necessary.”
“No, that was not a choice. You all reek of piss, shit, death, and all other manners of stink. You will bathe and bathe regularly otherwise I will end up losing my mind from your stench.”
Dinish didn’t respond, but the frown on her face was evident of her displeasure. Taking that as her consent he gently picked her up as best he could and carried her to the top of the steps. Repeating the same thing to each goblin, he was surprised to find that two of the other goblins were also female as well. Once everyone was at the top of the stairs, and just to the left of the now broken gate entrance he gathered several dozen spears to build a quick campfire with their wooden shafts. Pulling out a small pot from his backpack he began to make a stew. As he was about to add several of the medicinal plants, one of the female goblins named Xen stopped him.
“What are you doing? Are you trying to poison us?” Xen asked fearfully
“Goodness no. I picked these plants because they were edible. They make the stew a bit spicy when you add it to the water before adding the other ingredients.”
“But, that is thorn leaf. It is often used to make a nasty blood poison. If you grind it up and mix it with hibiscus petals it turns into a greasy substance you could coat your weapons with.” Xen lectured
“You seem to be knowledgeable about these things. What are your specialties?” Wolf asked
“I am anything my tribe needs me to be, for the past several moons they had me foraging for plants and herbs. Well, was a forager, today I was a soldier, now I am whatever you need me to be since I swore an oath.” Xen said with a grimace
“You don’t like the idea of being separated from your tribe?” Wolf asked
“No, we do not. We prefer to be with our own, being separated does not agree with us. I already feel it in the back of my mind. It’s like a screaming to be reunited with my kin. It is the same with all of us. Well, except for the Shadow, though she doesn’t feel it like the rest of us for an entirely different reason.”
“Would you mind telling me about that?” Wolf inquired as he began to place chunks of various vegetables in the now boiling pot.
“That is not really my place. Besides, it is her story to tell. Shadows are fundamentally different from the rest of us since they are generally considered outsiders and only used when needed.”
“Hmm, okay I suppose I should get such a story directly from her, and if she chooses to refrain from telling then I guess that is her choice.” Wolf said with a shrug
Wolf then noticed that the other goblins were listening intently to the conversation but holding their tongues for reasons of their own. Several minutes passed in silence as the pot boiled occasionally being stirred, when the vegetables were cooked he added the smoked monitor lizard.
One of the male goblins named Thrak spoke up, “Did you kill the lizard?”
Answering, Wolf said, “Yes, I almost died in the process. My tribe sees it as a massive insult to waste good food, most of all an animal that you kill. So, I need t
o thank your tribe for eating all that meat. Otherwise it would have gone to waste, and I would have felt bad.”
“Yes, it is good. That meat will feed the next generation for many nights.”
“I have been meaning to ask. Why did you agree to join with me?” Wolf asked.
All the goblins laughed mirthlessly, Dinish spoke this time, “We are those who are too old to properly serve the tribe anymore. For us this was a one-way trip.”
Befuddled, he asked, “How old are you all?”
“We are all between twenty to thirty years old.” Dinish answered
“Okay that’s not too bad. How long is your lifespan?”
“No one knows. Though the oldest goblin in our tribe’s history was 35 years. We normally never live past 25 years, since our territory is extremely hazardous. It is not uncommon for us to lose one hundred to one hundred and fifty goblins a day to the stalkers. We learned early enough that if they are fed regularly enough they get slow, clumsy and easy to kill, so it works out.”
