I decide to take a break for a day and check what happens to a soul after death. Axi is training with mana to the side. We uncovered three more tunnels with spiders in the past four days. Unfortunately, trapped spiders start to die from hunger and dehydration. It’s time to leave. We didn’t find any exits, so Axi is regularly spending all her earth mana to dig us out.
You have killed 122 1st tier monsters. You have earned 6100 Experience Points.
You have advanced to level 7!
You have advanced to level 8!
Your Fortification Construction skill has advanced to level 11!
Your Soul Perception skill has advanced to level 9!
Your Transfer Vitality skill has advanced to level 12!
Your Spear Fighting skill has advanced to level 18!
Your Tactics skill has advanced to level 35!
Your Mana Sense skill has advanced to level 28!
Your Mana Manipulation skill has advanced to level 26!
Your Mana Infusion skill has advanced to level 11!
Your Mana Orb skill has advanced to level 18!
Your Leadership skill has advanced to level 9!
In the meantime, I mostly practice soul sensing and inscribing. Also, it’s time to pick my three new perks: Fortification Construction, Transfer Vitality, and Mana Infusion.
I start with Mana Infusion.
Sacrificial Strike I
Learn how to further improve your strength for a moment, at the cost of some vitality.
Localized Infusion
Infuse only part of your body for a better effect.
These two are the same as with Weak Mana Infusion, but there are two more.
Regeneration
Strengthen your vitality flow, to speed up your regeneration.
Hibernation I
Reduce the flow of your vitality to require less sustenance.
Regeneration is tempting, but I already have means of healing. Sure, redundancy is great, but I bet this regeneration would still take days of healing. Also, I think I may be able to mimic both Regeneration and Hibernation manually. I think about picking Affinity I again, but I change my mind. I already know how to use Localized Infusion, but I don’t know how to mimic Sacrifice Strike. Also, I now have the means to restore my vitality.
I get the knowledge, and it's about forcefully increasing vitality in muscles. I need to use isolating mana in a precise strike to partially block vitality flow. Then, release it in a small explosion. Technically, I can do so without perks now; now I know how. Should I reset the skill and take something else next time? I hesitate and drop the skill. Why? I think I need more Affinity. Some evolutions require high stats, and I want a powerful one based on magic.
Next, Fortification Construction.
Wood Fortifications I
Learn how to create better fortifications from wood.
Earth Fortifications I
Learn how to create better fortifications from soil and stones.
Defensive positions I
Learn how to pick a better position for your fortifications.
Nothing interesting, which is disappointing. On the other hand, stat perks give +10 bonuses. I pick the intelligence perk, as there’s no Affinity.
The last one is Vitality Transfer. Similarly, stat perks give +10
Total Drain I
Place more marks on sacrifice to ensure all vitality will be drained.
Fast Healing
Increase the speed of vitality transfer.
Blood Buff
Place more marks on the target to temporarily grant more vitality than normal.
Fast Healing seems like trash. The active part is already pretty fast—maybe a dozen seconds. Certainly way faster than preparations. I want more runes, so I’m not picking a stat perk. Blood Buff it is.
I continue to observe the trapped soul the whole day. I can spot some deterioration. Axi trains magic, and at some point, she shouts.
“I got it!”
“What?”
“Weak Mana Infusion! Let me check… Now my Strength is 83!” I taught her numbers, but she doesn't know much about mathematics besides numbers and simple additions. She unlocked skill, though. We both decided it’s not worth keeping, but maybe I will, just as a placeholder for more stats.
At the end of the day, the soul looks worse, but that’s it. I can’t keep it contained during sleep, so I let go. To my surprise, the soul immediately burst apart. Did my containment help it survive? I shake my head. I will need to do more experiments.
The next day, Axi continues to spend her earth mana digging. I help with removing stones. Around midday, we finally dig out our way, just to notice it’s actually night. It seems we are going to have a long day before us. We find some spiders on the surface, but they don’t attack us. I bet they try to rebuild their society or something, or maybe Axi looks too threatening.
We walk back to our previous cave. After an hour of walking, we find familiar terrain. Sometime later, we find it, or rather, what remains. There’s not much even resembling a cave. All of it caved in, and now there’s only a pile of stones. We march back to the tunnels. We don’t want to explore at night. After returning, we wait for the morning.
In the morning, we look around. Quickly, we find the remains of a camp. Humans. I freeze instinctively but recover quickly. The camp is a few days old. Humans most likely came here to investigate the commotion. The question remains. What now? I could try to rebuild the tribe here using tunnels. It’s not a bad option, but I’m afraid of humans.
I don’t know their language. They will slay me on sight. The east is death. Actually, I’m not sure humans are to the east. I only know that the last humans I saw went there. We could go north, but there has been the snake. Maybe it’s a high-level zone? The south is now uncharted, and there’s always the west direction.
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“Let’s go west,” Axi says.
“Why? We could stay here.”
“You told me humans are bad. So, we should create a tribe far from them.”
I shrug. It doesn’t matter that much. Actually, Axi should be strong enough to tackle most threats. I’m way stronger too, but I’m eclipsed by Axi.
“Fine. Let’s go”
We march west. Soon, we find a familiar river. We march south for a while, looking for a brood. After a few hours, we find it. I’m a bit afraid of walking by a river, as Axi can’t control the mud. We checked. After crossing the river, we get away from the river and continue west. There are more animals here. Most of them are 1st tier monsters. We spot rodents, squirrels, deer, hedgehogs, beavers, and bears. I bet wolves are somewhere, too.
Around the middle of the day, we encounter a group of insects. There are six smaller, half-meter-long insects and two slightly bigger ones. They look similar to ants, but smaller insects are eating grass and have big stomachs. The bigger insects look more like guards. Axi wants to fight them, and I don’t mind.
We both attack. Smaller monsters move behind their protectors, which attack us. Axi kills them quickly, and we both kill smaller insects.
You have killed 3 1st tier monsters. You have earned 90 Experience Points.
Axi told me the bigger ones give 50 Experience Points per kill, and they are also 1st tier monsters. They don’t have many combat abilities, mostly biting. I’m going to call them soldier ants and worker ants. Soldier ants were somewhat dangerous. I could kill them, but a few more of them would force me to flee. Worker ants are slower and weaker, but they could also be dangerous as a swarm. They are good enough for a few meals, though.
We move forward and find another group of ants. This one has dozens of members, so I advise Axi to preserve our strength. At the end of the day, we find tracks. There has been a fight there between ants and something else. There are some remains of ants, but most must have been eaten. Axi creates a small pit with her magic, leaving only a small passage for air. We spend the night there.
In the morning, we check tracks. We find traces of feet, so I think about humans, but they are too small. Could it be? Goblins? Our race is a social one, so we both want to check. We follow the tracks. A few hours later, we find a village on a hill. Goblins' village.
The village looks poor; there are some trees on the outskirts, along with some spikes forming a poor palisade. I think it’s to prevent the monster’s attack at night. This wall, if it could be named so, is too weak to stop anything. Honestly, I think a determined predator can also cross. It’s probably more of a psychological deterrent.
Axi wants to meet the tribe, but I’m more cautious. I know nothing about diplomacy between goblin tribes. Would they be friendly? Ultimately, we decide to approach. If we are to stay in the area, we will meet some goblins sooner or later. We can leave, but then there may be the same issue. We can encounter another tribe, or worse, humans.
We walk to the tribe. There are some goblins around, playing guards. I say playing, because it’s just there’s usually one of two goblins on the outskirts, but they change constantly. There are no professional guards. Those goblins spot us, but there’s no reaction. We walk into the village.
The village is primitive. There are a few shacks made from branches and sticks. The rest of the goblins move around. Some goblins in the corner are doing something with wood and bones, probably crafting. Regular goblins have simple weapons; some of them can’t even be named as such. The few hobgoblins we see have better weapons and even some metal. Stolen? Most likely, honestly.
I expected some commotion, but everyone is cool. There are some curious glances, mostly for Axi, but nothing else. We mingle for some time until a group leaves, probably for a hunt. We want to join.
“Female. No hunt. Breeding.” One of the hobgoblins says, but a bit of Axi flexing solves the dispute.
“Smag, these goblins are very stupid.” I nod to her.
The hunting party looks for a group of ants and then engages. To my surprise, ants have better strategies and are fighting more tactically. We join too, but I stay behind and observe. Our group had eleven goblins and three hobgoblins, counting me and Axi. There were seven soldier ants and twelve workers. We won, but one goblin died and two others are injured. Without Axi, at least one more goblin would have died.
We take the ants back but leave the goblin’s corpse behind. I know goblins practice cannibalism, but mostly when out of food. This group seems fine.
Hobs did the most damage, so goblins work as luggers. In the camp, hobgoblins eat first and leave the remains to the rest. One goblin, me, and Axi killed our food on our own, so we eat it.
More groups leave the camp for hunting. I think there are around fifty goblins here and at least four hobgoblins. In the evening, hobgoblins go to sleep in the shacks, while goblins sleep on the ground. I don’t want to, so I wonder how to change it as another hobgoblin comes out of the biggest shack. He has some metal gear on. I guess it’s the chieftain
“Female. I’m the chieftain. Come. Breeding time.” Axi frowns
“You should just duel him for the chieftain position.” I add.
I frown. It seems my undermining Axi's position bites me back. We came here as another tribe, but right now we have practically assimilated into this one. Axi just gave up her position.
“Me strongest goblin. You breed with me.” Chieftain adds. Axi nods and goes with him, but I smile under my nose. It's a bit scary how much goblins' instincts rule us. I don't like this logically, but emotionally, I know this is just the way of the goblins. The chieftain has reproductive rights. Axi has the same instincts. It's just that Axi is too smart to rely on them alone.
I don’t have to wait even a minute before I hear fighting sounds from the shack. I smirk. Goblins are not gentle lovers. I may not be the best lover on the planet, probably far from it, but compared to a regular goblin, I may be the god of sex. Obviously, the chieftain tried to manhandle Axi. She complained, so the chieftain tried to force her to obey, probably with force.
This would have worked normally; a chieftain is the strongest goblin. Here, I doubt any of those goblins have advanced classes. Simply put, after another second, Axi walks out of the shack with an angry expression and the severed head of the previous chieftain in her hand.
“Chieftain is dead! New chieftain, Axi” I shout. More goblins look over. Axi is surprised as well; I guess she really didn’t plan to take over this tribe.
“Female. Female no chieftain!” One of the hobgoblins shouts. It’s annoying to listen to them. Just like I made out a bunch of new words to fill up goblin’s language, this tribe did the same. This means many of their words are completely foreign to me, and I have to figure them out of context.
"The strongest goblin is the chieftain. Axi is the strongest.” I shout.
“Stupid goblin. Female weak. Fight!” One of the hobgoblins challenges Axi. She still doesn’t want to take over, but she can’t just back down due to her pride. The fight is quick. Axi kills the hobgoblin with two strikes.
“Chieftain Axi! Chieftain Axi!” I shout. The rest give up. Axi is the next chieftain of the tribe, and I’m going to be its shaman, that is, the real leader. I need to evolve fast, though. I'm not planning to be ntr'ed.
Axi collects two pieces of equipment from fallen hobgoblins. Arm guards and a helmet.
“Smag, since I’m the chieftain, who should I mate with?” She asks me genuinely for advice. I want to just tell her—me.
“With who you want. You are the chieftain. How about me? I’m the smartest, after all.”
She just nods and takes me to her new house. Inside, I learn how goblins have metal equipment. There are three women inside. Two of them are naked, with vacant-looking eyes, lying in the corned. The last one still has some scraps of clothing, and there is some life in her eyes. Also, her hands are bound by rope, unlike the others. She still looks raped, but I notice she tried to escape her bindings. Interesting.
I walk to her and tighten her bindings. I may be sorry for them, but we are enemies now. I’m sure she will try to kill me if I release her. I poke her to grab her attention, point at myself, and say my name. Then point at her. She doesn’t get it. I grab a spear and hit her with the blunt end.
“Smag!” I point at Axi. “Axi!” I point at her. I finally get it.
“Anastasia.”
[Anastasia’s POV]
It surprises me when the goblin chieftain leads a female hobgoblin into the shack. Females are unheard of among goblins and are used entirely for breeding. I heard they only happen in extremely powerful tribes in the center of monsters’ territory when high-tier monsters keep hobgoblins for their armies. A hobgoblin mating with any female results in goblins, but two hobgoblins will have hobgoblin offspring. This way, it’s possible to breed high-tier soldiers.
Regardless, it doesn’t help me. I was raped a few days ago and will give birth in a little more than a week. Honestly, it’s not the worst. Even the deaths of my teammates are not that bad. They weren’t my friends. We didn’t know each other for long. I feel true horror when I look at two women in the corner. Feeder goblin’s milk is not only nutritious, but it also destroys minds.
This is a reason those two women are no longer responsive. I obviously don’t want to drink it, but the death of starvation is worse. My parents are farmers. We starved for a few years when the harvest wasn’t too good. There was some food, but not enough. Now, there’s no food beyond the drug destroying my mind. How long can I last? A bunch of monsters in my womb taking energy from me is not helping.
Being raped is obviously bad too, but it’s not like I never considered it before becoming an adventurer. As a daughter of farmers, I had few choices that could bring me out of relative poverty. Becoming an adventurer is a chance, but also a risk. You can always die, and you can be raped as well. There are more monsters raping people out there, not only goblins, though most would simply kill and eat you. They are also monsters that rape males, so female adventurers don’t have it worse than males. Staying on the farm is not much better, considering the wars and raiding.
All in all, a bad experience, but I will recover given a chance. That’s it, given a chance.
Is this going to be my end? I want to escape. I probably won’t survive traveling through the forest without gear, but there's hope. In the meantime, I observe as the chieftain undresses the female hobgoblin. Female protests, though. The chieftain's rough ways probably hurt her. I think she just tries to undress on her own. The chieftain doesn’t like that. He just wants things to go his way without any protest. They start wrestling. I perk up. This may be interesting.
It ends quickly, though, as the female overpowers the chieftain, who is not planning to back down. He draws a sword, looted from one of my companions' bodies, and threatens the female. She also refuses to back down and picks up her ax. The chieftain growls in anger and attacks, and the female responds back in anger. The chieftain dies. I’m terrified of how simple the fight has been. I’m around chieftain power level and only got captured because of goblins' numerical advantage. The female calms down, picks up the chieftain’s head with a scowl on her face, and leaves the shack. This could be my chance.
I double on loosening my bindings. I hope the female hobgoblin will create enough commotion for me to escape. I wasn’t that long in the capacity. This is the most important for rescuing goblins' prisoners. Women like those in the corner are killed. The only way to bring them back to normal is with a very expensive potion, not something normal people can afford.
Girls who stay for a while but still have their minds are sometimes rescued. They remain dimwits for the rest of their lives, but sometimes an ugly village bastard will marry such a girl, giving her a home and some happiness.
Girls like me are fine to return to society, though sometimes scorned. I’m going to give birth to goblins. That ruins my marriage chances. I’m not that bothered; as an adventurer, I can always move to a different place and start anew.
I hear goblins' cries and more fights. Good! Two goblins appear just as I'm about to free myself. A regular goblin and the previous female. Curse you! I was so close! I still have a chance; maybe they will leave soon. Unfortunately, the goblin notices and comes over. I could maybe kill him with my legs, but the female is too strong. Goblin tightens up my binding and observes me. He says some gibberish. Then he goes for a spear and hits me. Auch! What do you want?!
I pay more attention. I don’t want to be tortured. The goblin points at himself. “Smag”. Then, on the female. “Axi.” Then, at me. How?! How can a goblin be so smart? I see he is preparing to strike again, so I answer.
“Anastasia.”
He repeats.
“Anastasia.”