Thankfully, there were no children in the garage, even if I needed to gut, rip and kill some of the goblins that were sitting on a stockpile of supplies, of which at least two chests said I needed to defeat the leader to unlock. Go figure, event based loot boxes. But no children that I had to kill. No matter the sharp fangs, the little claws and screaming children that would grow up into brutal and cruel monsters. But still, they were children, and something inside me, something that resonated with my humanity, mourned and wept for the deaths of children, no matter what they would grow into.
Was I a grumpy and reclusive asshole? Everyone who interacted with me for any length of time generally ended up telling me that. Plus, I was at my happiest when I just didn't need to deal with people. But I was good enough. I wasn't a total dick and doing things to kids, killing them... it crossed a line. I was allowed to have some angst and regrets. I didn't want killing kids to be something easy or normal. I was hardly a leftist after all!
I chuckled, at that... political joke that even I could tell was in poor taste. But, it was something I needed to keep in mind, as I entered into the house via the back porch, mind seeking out the minds inside... and noting that none of the minds had shifted from their previous positions. Which made things easier, as I moved around, snapping necks and sinking blades into eyes of sleeping goblins. I needed to make sure that as many were dealt with as possible before...
Well, before the crushing wave of despair and self loathing crashed into me as all my doubts and insecurities rose to the forefront. For a moment, it felt like I was being pressed under a stone of my inner bitching and moaning. Who knew that self reflection was good for fighting off mental attacks? Or was it just that it was not that much different from my usual state of mind? No way to really know, as the ugly thing leapt at me, eyes glowing orange as its mouth drooled and claws twitched.
So what was a guy to do, right fist coming up in a haymaker as I laughed, the war drums pounding. This creature reeked of the dark, of hate and evil and greed, so what need did I have to hold back? To relent or restrain myself in the face of soul devouring evil? That would gleefully torment and devour me and my kin? There was none, as claws clashed and jaws snapped at each other. It was short, it was brutal, there was no finesse or elegance as we clawed, bit and grappled at each other.
No words were exchanged beyond snarls, each set of claws looking to dig into the other, to dig and rend and maim as they pulled deeper, small snatches of time earned by throwing the other away, only to rush back in. Blood dripped from wounds, shallow cuts that built up as metallic claws gouged into hell-meat, deeper on my part as infernal claws burned. A brief moment, as we pulled away, circling each other, weighing our chances of success in the trashed remains of what was once someone's living room. My furnace roared, flesh closing as I healed, something not missed by the wary fiend.
Of course, why should I fight the spirit before me? Surely, it was only the foolishness of my humanity that was creating misunderstandings, but it didn't matter how charming it was, how reasonable it seemed in the moment, as the rage burned and the hate roared in time with my own exhalations! Did it seem surprised, as I rushed it, claws digging into it as it yipped and yowled, as claws stabbing like knives as I tried my best to gut the thing, not really seeing too much other than shades of KILL and NOT-KILL.
It was a liberation that came when everything was poured into a single focus, as I closed again, the barghest uttering a word that seemed to make my ears itch, nose shrivel and stomach flip... before old righty slammed into its jaw and that word was transformed into a yowl of pain, teeth sounding like breaking glass as fear bloomed in its eyes. I roared hate and hunger, as it twisted, claws burying themselves in its kidneys as it screamed and howled and twisted again, claws biting into my face, nose and cheek burning in a thin line.
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But what was pain, compared to victory? As it tried again to escape, as it spat words of filth and darkness, as claws descended and ravaged it while it screamed and tried to enact its magic, mauling it and the spells it was trying to weave. This was one of the reasons why I was looking less at being a conventional mage, who needed to be worried about closing into melee, and rather gaining mystical enhancements for the most part to my arsenal. But first, as I looked at the creature?
As it lay on its back, bleeding and lifted its arms, exposing its throat and mewling pathetically? There was only one way to respond to a eater of souls. My claws flashed downwards, and it screamed, before its lupine head rolled onto the carpet.
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Now, the downside of the fight being as loud as it was? The remaining goblins heard and they did the smart thing and fled. It was annoying as heck, even as I searched the place for loot. Look, the world was getting to be like a D&D game, a reverse Isekei. That meant loot. As it was, up in the master bedroom, that had been made into something like a nest, there were a few things. Mostly non magical jewelry, a wand of magic lesser fire orb (28 charges), three potions of vigor, a small plaque informing me that I gained 2000 mythos points and what seemed to be a flat token with the word 'merchant' on it.
[Behold, a Merchants Token! Use this at the location of your choosing to add a traveling NPC merchant! As your location grows in power, infulence and prestige, the wares the traveling merchant can offer will also increase!]
Well, that seemed handy... and something to consider, as I moved out towards the garage, to check out the contents of those chests. Mostly as I was wondering... what would the system give for clearing a goblin warren? Well, the gleam of silver, five thousand silver coins spoke of part of it. The platinum earrings, an Amphora of rosewood and a totem of a silver barghest in mid charge were great mundane gifts.
But, my eyes were on the other two items. One was a set of bracers, gleaming and with scale like reliefs and motifs, yet carved in such a way to almost be armor. The other was a spartan shield, with an inscription in Greek... 'then we shall fight in the shade'. Between the fact that I could actually see magical auras and the words? A heavy shield of arrow catching. Not my cup of tea, but something to share with the folks.
The second chest however? That had some good shit. Mostly because it allowed me to choose between Personal Power and Community upgrades. Fun thing, personal power got me the ability to enhance the community. That, and I had plans! Plans for which I needed some personal power.
[For soloing a goblin warren under level ten, you gain 1000 mythos points and a herd of 10d10 cattle! Cattle have been adjusted to use the d20 Avalanche Celtic Age statistics]
From outside, there is the lowing of cattle, and I begin to laugh. This? This was pure freaking gold. Mostly because goblins were worth barely anything as far as graft points went. Cattle? Those I could harvest, as I checked the herd, which was ambling about.... and marked with something that informed me they would not be worth any experience points. But, as I checked my mythos point total and allowable EXP expenditures? I pressed on those manifestations.
Sure, I was delaying picking up Monster Making Beast-Lord. But... Bounty of Flesh to up the d4's to d6's for harvesting? Stable Implement of Empowerment opened up mutations for the grafts, which would allow me to boost them even further. Meat Reprocessing would let me render down a graft into its graft points, allowing me to recover the material for new projects and upgrades.
Curing-Surgeons-Blade allowed me to heal poison and disease. Weakness-Salving Flesh-Restoration let me cure ability score damage, and its advanced counterpart Power-Restoring-Touch let me cure ability score drain. And finally, with a Curse-breaking hand I may be able to lift curses via fleshwarping surgery. With these four manifestations, I would be a literal miracle doctor, able to cure my family of anything that ravaged their flesh and souls.
And with the first set of three, as I felt the power burn away, knowledge and power rushed into me, as I checked over the herd. Sixty two cattle. Thirty one hours of harvesting. Which meant... I probably shouldn't start just yet and maybe let people know what I'll be doing? Yeah, that was probably a good idea.