Andrew glared down at the unconscious elf, his expression twisting as he considered what to do. His first instinct was to help her somehow, patch up her wounds, get her to her people, something. It was an elf! They were the good guys! Helping out a fragile, desperate elf girl was exactly the sort of thing the hero in one of the books Andrew read growing up would do. However… At the moment, Andrew wasn't one of those heroes. He was a goblin. A goblin from the tribe this elf just attacked, murdering his friends in the process! By all rights, he should kill her. No, what he should do was drag her back to the tribe and hand her over so she could replace the lives she stole! That's what any true goblin would do. Andrew let out a weary sigh. Unfortunately, the fact remained that he wasn't a true goblin. He was Andrew. And Andrew couldn't willingly hand over another living creature to go through something like that. No matter how much he thought she deserved it.
That left his only option as killing the poor girl. Which… well, he'd probably do it, he just wasn't happy about it. It was objectively the shittiest option. His human side was telling him to save the girl, take her to her home, join the elf society, become a hero like a freaking isekai MC or something. His goblin side was begging him to take her back to the tribe, or better yet take her himself. The tribe needed to grow and apparently that first Class Advancement was when goblins hit puberty. Which, he supposed, would make him a different sort of isekai protagonist… However, if he just killed her, he wouldn't be doing anyone any good. Her death wouldn't bring any of the goblins back to life. He supposed he could just leave her… those wounds didn't look pretty, so she'd probably die on her own at some point. Killing her himself would be more of a mercy than anything. Plus it'd get him a few levels at least… probably a bit more than a few. Shit, if she could fight the Shaman and the Chief, she'd probably get him close to a hundred, right?
Andrew froze as he realized something else. If he was going to kill her anyway… well, it kinda sucked she was female, but he could definitely use a core from one of the noble races, couldn't he? Andrew rolled the idea around in his mind, slowly nodding as it appealed to him more and more. An elf form would mean he could go pretty much anywhere. Goblins were… Well, they were monsters. Even the Shaman admitted that. Even if he found someplace with humans or elves, it wouldn't do him any good, because they'd sooner see a goblin dead than trade with one. Understandably so, but still. He could probably find other monster races to trade with, like kobolds or orcs or whatever, but for Andrew, it wasn't just about trade. He'd even say trade was more of an afterthought. His goal was to explore, and that'd be a lot more difficult if he had to worry about people hunting him down all the time.
That just left the question of whether it was worth giving up the experience to take the core. Unless… Andrew narrowed his eyes. Was it possible to do both? There was only one way to find out, now wasn't there? First things first, Andrew withdrew the aura from his goblin core. Getting a fuckton of levels would waste so much potential it wasn't even funny. This would be for his… whatever his rabbit folk core had turned into after its Advancement. Odds were it was about to get another one, so he wasn't too concerned with figuring it out. Next, Andrew stretched out his aura, wrapping it around the elf's core, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice. Then it was a simple matter of gripping the elf's head with his fancy new claws, and squeezing. The elf didn't even wake up before she died.
As soon as Andrew killed the elf, her aura began to dissipate, flowing out of her core and into the surroundings. Just like when he grabbed the ant core from his other self, as the elf's aura flowed out, Andrew's aura flowed in, replacing it until it was full of his aura. Briefly, as his aura took over the elf's core, Andrew felt as if he was two places at once, but only for an instant before he yanked the core out and into himself. "Huh…" Andrew paused, wondering at the sensation before something else took his attention.
[Noble race slain! Intellect unlocked!]
[Intellect has surpassed ten! Evolution in progress!]
A glowing cocoon suddenly enveloped Andrew before he could even react.
[Analyzing traits…]
[Error! Multiple statuses detected!]
[Resolving…]
Andrew's eyes- well, they would have widened if he wasn't currently a glowing mass of nothing as he watched his cores merge, a foreign force picking them apart and putting them back together in a unified whole.
[Unknown ability detected! Analyzing…]
Andrew felt something tug and prod, not at his cores, but at his aura.
[Essence manipulation detected. Essence consumption detected. Essence consciousness detected.]
[Incorporating findings into Evolution…]
[Race set as Essence Changeling!]
[Essence Changeling: Consume the Essence of other beings to gain their form and traits.]
[Base stats:
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Will: 10
Intellect: 10
Energy: 10
Sensitivity: 10]
[Categorizing race… Race is self sufficient! Categorizing as Noble race! Establishing Noble status…]
A new page flickered into being in Andrew's vision.
[Race: Essence Changeling - 1
Class: N/A [+]
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Will: 10
Intellect: 10
Energy: 10
Sensitivity: 1-]
The page flickered for a moment.
[Sensitivity: 444]
Andrew would have rolled his eyes if he had them. Even whatever this strange process was couldn't erase the skill he'd been training since childhood.
[Calculating race rank… Changeling race, rank set at the rank of Changeling's highest form: Wood Elf - rank four.]
[Finalizing Evolution…]
The glow surrounding Andrew began to dim as his body began to reform, until he dropped to the ground, naked, a spitting image of the dead elf in front of him. As the last of a glow faded, a final message appeared.
[Evolution successful!]
*Well… that was something.* Beast Andrew commented through their connection.
Andrew absently agreed as he studied his new status, frowning. All his levels, all his stats, and all his skills were just gone! The Evolution had completely reset everything! Andrew quickly checked his traits. "Fuck!" They were gone! All his Void traits, just… poof! As if they never existed! Replaced with… Andrew paused, frowning as he examined the new traits. The first was Essence Assimilation, which let him steal the form and racial traits of anything he killed, which seemed to just be the base trait of this new race of his. He wondered if it was automatic, or if he still had to steal cores for it to work. He also got a trait called False Status, which let him create a fake status page, so that people with detection skills like the Shaman wouldn't immediately out him as a Changeling. Definitely helpful.
The next trait was Racial Purity, which… Well, apparently it made sure that any kids he had would have his race, and not his partners. Since he was the only Essence Changeling out there, that was probably a good thing? Maybe? But then the next trait threw him for a loop. Racial Progenitor - All your direct progeny will share your race. Why the fuck would he have two traits that made sure his kids were the same race as him? Unless… Andrew smacked his head as he looked at the rest of the traits. Of course! The trait came from his goblin form!
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Andrew paused, before quickly reading through the rest of the list and letting out a relieved sigh. He got the Racial Purity trait, but nothing that suggested he'd end up killing anyone he procreated with. Not that Andrew was particularly looking to start a family or anything, at least not in this world, but the idea that having sex would result in him killing someone didn't sit well with him. The only other trait from the goblin seemed to be Enhanced Virility, which just increased the odds of him getting someone pregnant, making it almost guaranteed. Andrew paused again. Goblins really did suck, didn't they? Though, he supposed the ease of conception did mean less sex… if you were going to die anyway, it was probably better to get raped less, rather than more, right?
Andrew's expression twisted. He did not like thinking about that topic. Shaking his head to try and clear away the disturbing thoughts, he focused on looking through the rest of his new traits. He got Enhanced Senses, which… enhanced his senses. He briefly looked around, noting that yes, the world did seem a bit clearer. He also got a trait called One with Nature, which gave him the Plant Affinity, increased healing in natural environments, and the ability to speak with any natural being, whatever that meant. The final trait was Apex Predator, which allowed him to give off an aura to intimidate anything weaker than him. Probably from whatever the rabbit folk turned into. He also had a new [Forms] page which listed his goblin, elf (specifically wood elf), ant, rabbitoid (still a dumb name), and… leaping terror? forms.
Andrew sat back against the wall of the hollow, considering his current situation. First, and most importantly, he was back at level one, stuck in the middle of a dangerous forest, surrounded by creatures that could kill him in an instant… Well, he could always turn into an ant and escape, so that wasn't such a big deal. The problem was that he'd lost all his stats, so getting anywhere was going to take forever. Andrew groaned, letting his head fall in frustration, before pausing as he blinked at his own chest. "Well those are new." An unexpectedly feminine voice muttered, causing Andrew to jump in shock, before his expression twisted in grim amusement. "Right. I'm a female elf." He chuckled bitterly. "Let's just hope there aren't any other goblins running around out here."
Andrew shook his head, refocusing on problems he could solve. First, resources. Namely, figuring out what he did have. He obviously had his goblin stuff, which essentially amounted to his clothing and a small knife… not going to help him very much. Other than that… Andrew glanced over at the dead elf, before letting out a sigh. Desperate times, desperate measures. It was time to loot the body. Andrew scrambled over to the corpse and pulled her out of the small depression she'd made for herself, laying her out flat on the ground. Behind her, he found a small bag and… Andrew blinked at the small piece of glass wrapped in a heavy duty case.
"Is- is that a phone?!?" He muttered incredulously, scrambling to pick it up, tapping at the screen to turn it on. It immediately lit up, showing some strange symbols and a notification that was flashing red. Andrew swiped at it, pulling up another screen which gave him the option of putting in a code or using what Andrew assumed was a thumbprint to get in, which after some testing proved that yes, it was a thumbprint as the device opened. Andrew immediately went to the flashing notification, trying to open it or turn it off or something, but it was locked behind another code and this one didn't have any other options.
Andrew frowned at it, wondering how he should handle this. If elf phones worked like the phones back on Earth, then the red flashing notification was some kind of warning. The question was whether it was a warning the elf sent, or a warning the elf received… and Andrew was leaning towards sent. Some kind of emergency beacon that would alert someone to come and save her or something. Which, seeing as Andrew was currently in need of a bit of saving, might be a good thing? But those saviors would be elves… which could be trouble. The next question would be if it's bringing people, or just alerting anyone nearby… the elf had hunkered down, which suggested it was bringing someone, unless she was forced to hunker down by the bear, in which case… Andrew frowned. They were pretty deep in the forest at this point. The elf probably would have hid in a safer area if the beacon could bring someone to her.
That just left Andrew to decide what he was actually going to do about it. He could try heading back to the tribe, but he'd need to make it all the way back on his own, which without his previous stats, would take him days. Also there was the issue of what he'd do once he got there, since clearly he'd lost all his stats and traits. Would the others believe him when he said he'd lost them when he Evolved or would they think it's more likely that some other creature had killed their little Artek to try and take his place? Particularly when he explained that his new race was a freaking changeling that stole forms by killing people… oh, and it was a damn noble race! Yeah, that sounded like a good way to get an ax to the face. However, would it go down any better with the elves? Some random elf chick who probably looks just like this other elf chick who disappeared, but she's level one and she doesn't know shit about elves. Yeah, that'd go over real well.
"Well, shit, I'm just screwed then, aren't I?" Andrew muttered with a frown. This Evolution shit really fucked him over. He only had the one core now, which meant no OP beast core to give him ridiculous stats. He'd lost all his void traits, which meant no portal back home. And to top it all off, he'd lost all his stats, which meant he was weak as shit! Plus, the biggest issue was the question of how he'd Evolved. Would the goblins believe him if he said it was because he killed the elf? It was true, but also a little convenient, right? Definitely suspicious. But then again, anything he'd do would be suspicious, so maybe he should just risk it? He'd definitely prefer to be with the goblins… as much as they were monsters, they were as close to family as he had in this world.
Suddenly, the world thumped once, then again. "Ha!" A voice cried out. "Noble race! It's mine, Levi!"
"This is bullshit! That trait is as monstrous as they come!" Another voice protested, Levi presumably. Andrew turned to see two men, one a huge orc and the other probably human, standing in the clearing, the small craters under their feet suggesting they'd landed there hard, not that they showed it.
"Not according to the system it isn't." The human retorted smugly.
Levi snorted. "Stupid, arbitrary-" He cut off, waving his hand dismissively. "Fine, the child is yours, as the truce demands. A new little pet to coddle in your precious cities." A portal opened behind him as he turned to leave, pausing to give Andrew one last look. "A pity. We could have made you something truly exceptional."
Andrew blinked as the orc left and the portal closed, turning to look at the chuckling human. "Ah, don't mind him." He waved dismissively at where the portal used to be. "Orcs are a greedy lot and he always gets a stick up his ass when one of you uplifts ends up noble. But where are my manners! My name is Justin Thyme, at your service." He bowed with a flourish. "I assure you I mean you no harm. As what we call an Uplifted, you represent a fresh source of strength for the noble races, and we will do everything we can to give your new race the best foundation to become a powerful new ally in our eternal conflict with the monsters." He smirked. "You cannot imagine how convenient it is that you've picked up that One with Nature perk. Usually it takes forever to convince a new uplift that we aren't trying to harm them and would they please just learn the damn language already!" Justin chuckled, before pausing. "You actually have quite a few interesting traits there… plus that Sensitivity! Or are you faking that with your trait?" He looked her over thoughtfully for a moment, before shrugging. "Ah well, it's no matter. Hardly the strangest thing I've ever come across." He then pulled something that looked like a poncho out of nowhere and tossed it to Andrew. "If you would put your head through that hole there…" Andrew quickly did so, happy to no longer be naked. Justin smiled as he opened a portal of his own, waving for Andrew to follow him. "Now come along, let's get you situated."
Andrew blinked, struggling to process all the new information, sticking on one particular point. "You aren't… mad?" He asked, gesturing towards the corpse of the elf girl.
Justin's expression twisted. "Well, I can't say I'm happy, but this is the way of things. The only way for a beast to Uplift is to kill a creature with Intellect, which means killing a member of either a noble or monstrous race. Of course, they must also be of a higher level and the beast has to be lucky enough to gain the Intellect stat, but… well, the point is, every Uplift is born from death. Typically those who kill a monstrous race become noble, while those who kill a noble race become monstrous, but it isn't a guarantee, and we can't exactly blame you for your behavior when you were mindless, now can we? No one wants to wipe out a potentially powerful race simply due to the tragedy of their birth."
Andrew nodded slowly. That… made sense. It also explained how the world corrected for the beasts that got lucky enough to become way too powerful early on. Inevitably they'd end up killing something smart at a higher level, and then… they'd reset.
"Now please, come along." Justin waved at him more insistently. "We can discuss your situation at greater length after we've returned to civilization. I don't wish to become fodder for some other beast's uplifting, you understand."
Andrew hesitated, before nodding and walking through the portal. He had questions, a lot of questions, but he didn't think they'd be resolved in a simple five minute conversation. He just hoped he wasn't walking into some kind of trap.