[Divine Protection] Goddess of the Underworld, Altesia
[Attributes] Darkness, Death
âTurn me into a blade (Enchant).â
At that chant, the darkness wrapped around me moved itself to the sword.
Iâm hidden amongst thickets, watching my preys. When the magic finished casting, I immediately jumped out, and pursued the preys before me. My target, the herd of Eirel Deer.
These preys were found by my goblin subordinates after I ordered them to look for some. And as for my target, itâs the biggest one amongst the ones spotted today.
Right now, there are around 30 deer drinking water from the lake and feeding on the grass. And these are all going to serve as my practice partners. With that thought, I took a step.
But as soon as I stepped out of the thickets, they noticed my presence. Was it because of their instincts as beasts who grew up in the wild? Or was it just because my killing intent leaked out? I donât know, but as their ears perked up, all of their gazes focused onto me.
Without flinching, I proudly took another step
Then they turned their back to me, and they began to run.
But as soon as I took that step, I had already prepped myself to sprint at maximum speed. And in the blink of an eye, the running preysâ back was before me.
But then all of the sudden, the Eirel deer stopped, and then turned right.
The force of having sprinted at maximum speed weighed heavily on me. Enduring that, I paused, and then turned, continuing to chase after my prey.
As soon as it entered my range, I swung my enchanted Iron Second down. And in an instant, the deer was cut down. It was so fast that the deer wasnât even given a moment to utter a cry. Seeing that, I couldnât help but find myself dumbfounded.
The resistance was so thin it was as if Iâd just cut butter with knife.
âAmazingâŚâ
While I was caught up in my fascination over the prowess of magic, the goblins seems to have already gotten used to hunting the Eirel deer. Looks like the three man cellâs been more effective than expected.
As soon as the larvae grow up, theyâre put in with experienced teams and instructed how to use traps. Because of this, itâs become possible to acquire preys without hurting their quality.
As a result, the efficiency of our hunts have increased, and the food situationâs gotten better. Leading to an increase in the survival rate of the birthed goblins which then consequentiallly leads up to an increase in war potential.
Ahh⌠but even without that, Iâd still want to have our bellies filled. After all, you canât fight with an empty stomach, right?
All the more so since we get our provisions from hunting and not from vegetation. So I want to get some now while we can.
Itâs a pity thought that smokingâs the most we could do when it comes to preserving food, but I guess itâll all work out somehow.
While I was up there in my own little world, thinking of all sorts of random things, I suddenly heard the death throes of a deer.
âGuruuUu!â
Oh?
And as my eyes moved towards the direction of that scream, I saw the goblin who killed it, transforming as it sat there on the ground with vapors coming out of its body. Heâs evolving?
As I continued to watch the goblinâs evolution, its skin turned red, and its muscles grew bigger. Its stiff expression also changed into a fiendish one. And as its evolution finished, its cries changed to that of a goblin rare.
It might be because itâs my first time seeing someone evolve that I couldnât help but stare at the new goblin rare. But then as I continued to stare at it, some texts suddenly appeared within my mind.
[Race] Goblin
[Level] 1
[Class] Rare
[Possessed Skills] <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
[Divine Protection] None
[Attributes] None
Huh?
Looks like the [Skill] <> has activated. Moreover, from the looks of things, apparently it doesnât work on just my enemies, but also on my allies. Thatâs unexpected. But really⌠I shouldnât have assumed it to be so in the first place. Sigh⌠I just feel like hitting myself with a stone right now for thinking it could only work on my opponents without even confirming it.
That aside, I wonder if I should end the hunt right here and now, and start a meeting. Itâs that âstriking while the ironâs hot.â But, wait⌠My level right now is only 11, and [Skill] <> activates based on level conditions.
HmmâŚ
No, I shouldnât be impatient. Right now the focus should be on hunting for provisions. Right, I shouldnât change the order and focus on gathering food first.
âChiefâ
Hearing a voice call out to me, I snap out of my thoughts.
Oh, come to think of it, someoneâs managed to evolve. I need to give it a name.
âI name you Gi Gi.â
When I granted the kneeling goblin a name, it bowed to me deeply several times as if it had just received something divine. Incidentally, I took the chance to take a look at Gi Giâs skill.
Beast tamer.
When it was still a goblin, the most it could manage were a few dogs. Now that itâs evolved into a goblin rare, its ability to control beasts should have increased an appropriate amount. Iâm looking forward to see just how much it can bolster our war potential.
After that, time passed, and when we got two Eirel deer and three armor rabbits, we ended the dayâs hunt, and returned to the village.
âââ
When I returned to the village, I made my subordinate goblins sit in order.
Right now, Iâm going to interview them.
What I want to get from this is each and every goblinâs aptitudes, as well as the skills that can be used to increase our war potential. Once I know what useful skills they have, Iâm going to train it by having them use it more frequently.
But unfortunately, [Skill] <> wouldnât work for more than half of them. And amongst the goblins Iâve looked into, the only ones that have something that could become a part of our war potential was at most two.
With the exclusion of Gi Gi, the number really was small. How disappointing.
But then again, thereâs no way it would have gone well on the first try. So for now, I should just focus on increasing my level in order to be able to determine the other goblinsâ aptitude as well. And if ever I come to find that they have a useful skill, I should make them use it as much as possible every time we hunt in order to harness it. Right, letâs go with this.
Oh, incidentally, I also couldnât see into the statuses of the other goblin rares, the former leader Gi Gu and the spear wielding Gi Ga.
Iâm quite curious about this twoâs status, but I guess it canât be helped for now. Right, I shouldnât pester for things that I donât have, and just make use of whateverâs available.
âââ
Talking with Reshiaâs almost become a daily thing, but at least now Iâve started to be able to drag information out of her.
The only way for this to happen was to either win her trust or get her used to it, so in a sense itâs partly thanks to the orcsâ attack that my impression with her has gone up so much.
Seriously, who wouldâve thought those orcs attacking would actually do some good. They helped me evolve, they became food for my subordinates, and they became the key to help me to get the information I want.
Fuckers.
Honestly, Iâm not that happy about it, but itâs true, soâŚ
Still⌠even if the loss wasnât that highâŚ
Fuck!
But still⌠Whatâs useable is useable, and I should make use of whatâs available to me. Even if that thing is something that came at the cost of my subordinatesâ lives. Moreover, this is also a form of memorial service for them. No, itâs not just that. If I donât use it, Iâll be wasting their deaths. So in order for that not to happen, I need to do this.
Fuck!
What the fuck am I thinking anyway!?
Theyâre pieces! Mere pieces on a chess board! Theyâre Monsters!
Fuck! What am I thinking!? Even though I should be well aware that careless empathy will only bring with it destruction!
âââAre you listening?â
Reshiaâs voice knocked me awake.
Shit⌠Focus.
âSorry, I was thinking about something.â
âIf youâre not in the mood, then why should we even continue!?â
âNo, thatâll be a bit troubling. Especially since weâre at a good part now.â
â⌠How dare you say something like that, when the one who wasnât listening was you!â
âIâll let you take a bath every two days.â
âOh? Thatâs not bad. But since weâre on the topic, Iâd also like to request permission for Chinos and Mattis to take a bath as well.â
Fine, I thought. Looks like this girlâs talent doesnât end just with her healing alone. With that talent of hers to bargain, she could probably become a formidable merchant.
âFine, but letâs move the time. At the same time, Iâll give you some escorts.â
âVery well. Then, letâs continue.â
What I wanted to learn from Reshia even at the cost of giving in, was geography. How far is the nearest human habitant? What is the population of the nearest human settlement? How many soldiers do they have? Their country? Their literature? Their overall strength? Their relationship with other countries? And what do they know about this forest? Every day, I would come to her and listen to her talk about such things. But of course, I didnât blindly believe everything she told me.
After which, for the first time, I left the hunting grounds to Gi Gu and the rest of the goblin rares while I went out to explore alone.
Come to think of it, Itâs been 10 days since Iâve caught Reshia, so it wouldnât be strange for the humans to start looking for her soon.
By exploring the unexplored areas of the forest alone, I wonât only be exploring, but also increasing my level. So in a sense, Iâll be killing two birds in one stone.
But of course, itâs also quite dangerous.
Even if I have become a goblin duke, at most my status is only comparable to that of a giant spiderâs. The only difference is that my headâs a little better, and I can use skills and magic. But as for whether those three alone can make a huge difference in my fighting potential, I donât know. In fact, thereâs most likely someone amongst the humans in this forest who wouldnât even bother looking at my skills and magic.
For example, if there was a being who had a skill that could kill me in one hit, then my <> wouldnât even have the chance to activate. Or perhaps a strange, powerful weapon that Iâve never seen before. If thereâs such a thing as that, then <> wonât activate either.
If ever I happened upon something like that, thereâs no guarantee of me surviving.
But despite that, despite the feelings of tension running up my back⌠I continued deep into the forest.
Then along the way, I met three orcs. And my mouth twisted into the shape of a crescent moon.
ââAn enemy! Thereâs an enemy!!
âTurn me into a blade (Enchant)!!â
The dread of losing my life hung over me.
The excitement that was no different from trembling, wrapped around me.
As the orcs noticed me, they moved towards me.
Then from the deepest pits of my entrails came a scream, the bellowing excited roar of a maddened soul.
âGURUuuAaAA!â
With my gaze fixed upon the mighty, I took a step.
ââââââââ
Since your attributes are darkness and death, magic casted by you will be black magic.
Since you are using black magic, your mind will be affected.
[Skill] <> acquired.
Because of [Skill] >, you will slowly lose your mind.