[Anastasia’s POV]

We move through the forest. It’s been a month since the battle against the wolves. Well… another pack moved in, so the tribe is in a worse situation, compared to before. At least I got a lot of Experience. At this point, I may cap my skills soon.

Enlightened races have classes, but these don’t level on their own. Classes give stats, but their levels are tied to primary skills. For example, my Archer class levels up with my Archery skill. I also have Tracker leveling out of Tracking.

I have Novice Arcanist, which is based on the Rune Basics skill. This class is at a dead end for me. After failing to attune to any mana type, I abandoned my mage skills. I also have a Farmer class, but it’s the same.

I still have another slot, which I should fill in, but I want to wait to merge Sneaking and Hiding. I could have picked a class based on one of these, but I waited while still with humans, and I can wait a bit more.

You can get rid of a class to pick another one, but you need help from a priest. They charge quite a bit for it. Simply put, I don’t have that kind of money to spare.

I spot tracks of ants. They are always good for more Experience. I led the party, with Axi just behind me.

“What?”

“Ants.”

She groans. “I hoped for something more interesting,”

“Like wolves? Smag is right. You are too reckless.”

“I have you watching my back, so I can be a bit more reckless.”

“I thought Smag is your partner. You know… You hunted a lot together.”

She chuckles. “Not only that. You should try it sometime. He is great in bed.”

“Aren’t you going to be…” I want to say jealous, but I don’t know the correct word. “Angry at me for that? He is your man.”

“Why? Isn’t it normal for a chieftain to breed every female? Hm… Actually, I’m the chieftain. It’s strange and confusing.”

Now I chuckle. “I mean, I thought you wanted him only for yourself, so you don’t need to share.”

Axi shrugs. “Sure. As long as I don’t need to share and wait for my turn I don’t care.”

I sigh. I got close to Axi, and I sometimes forget she’s not a human. “Whatever. So, back to partners in hunting. Won’t you rather have Smag here?”

“He is smart, but he can’t track like you. I would rather fight more. Besides, I’m fine as long as I fight with either you or him. Actually, I’m hyped for his next evolution. He will be as strong as me, maybe even stronger. We could hunt really strong monsters then." I look back, and she is in her dreams. I snap my fingers. “Ants are close. Let’s prepare.”

The actual fight is rather uneventful. Just the routine. Axi and the rest of the goblins start to eat, while I start a fire to cook my food. It’s annoying. I have some jerky, but I prefer fresh food. Anyway, I usually don’t tire much by shooting from the back, so goblins can rest in that time.

We rest for a time, and I eat my dinner. Ants’ meat is rather bland, which isn’t that bad, as long as I can eat something else from time to time. We prepare to leave, just as I hear something.

“Something there,” I say, and I nock an arrow. Axi picks up her axe, and the rest of the goblins are tense. I expect some predators, not those.

“Shit. It’s a human.” Someone in the distance shouts. They are humans. Adventurers. I feel cold terror. It’s now. What do I do? Do I pretend to be a victim? Well… I was. Just no more.

“I heard tales but never thought I would see something like that. Are you a witch?” Their leader asks with a mocking tone. There are four of them. They leave their hiding place, now that I spotted them. What do I say to that? Stories tell how Witches and Warlock are often using monsters. I could maybe pretend to be a Tamer, but goblins are not docile enough for it.

“I’m not really..."

“Well, it seems your pets are obedient enough.” Goblins are not attacking, waiting for me.

“What did he say?” Axi asks.

“Can you stay silent for a while?” I ask her with a whisper. She huffs in annoyance.

“What do you want?” I ask them.

“We are looking for a monster to kill. Maybe you know a bunch?”

I shrug. “There are plenty of ants around.”

“I thought about your goblins, though.”

Now I’m angry, It’s not even about killing Axi. It’s that the fucker thinks he can use me and take what he thinks is mine.

“Well… I could also use some experience.” I reply.

“You bitch!” Another guy curses.

“You want to fight or not?” I challenge. “Axi,” I whisper, "can you add a bunch of earth mana to my arrow so it looks like I did it?” I said it in goblin’s language. There's no point in giving away Axi’s high stats, including Intelligence. Earth Mana gathers around my arrow, to the point where it’s even visible to people without Sense Mana skills.

“Tsk. Fine. There’s no point in us fighting. Good luck, witch.” Their leader says so, and they start to leave.

“Let’s go, too.”

“What did he say?”

“I will tell you in a moment.”

Both I and their group are somehow afraid of an unexpected attack (though at this point it would be a totally expected one), so we both move slowly. After a few minutes, both groups are far enough so I explain the situation to Axi while trying to come to terms with it myself.

My reputation is probably completely ruined. Actually, it’s not as bad, but I never expected to be called a witch. Like, ever. I’m annoyed and angry.

“Were they members of your previous tribe?”

“No. None of them were from my village.”

“Don’t worry, Anas. You have a new tribe now, and us. We will help you out.”

I shake my head. It’s not exactly the help I want, but I can stop myself from smiling.

[Smag’s POV]

Three months passed since the battle with the wolves. I spend most of my time in the village, grinning skills and performing daily sacrifices. That gave me a lot of Experience. I was sacrificing several monsters a day. The tribe become smaller after the battle, which resulted in more effort for quality. Injuries were more often, but less lethal.

I’m also surprised Anastasia didn’t run away yet. I guess she likes the Experience. Our relationship improved somehow, but it’s still rather cold. After she told Axi about preventing pregnancy, I joked that she should take responsibility and help repopulate the tribe. I only got a cold stare. It was really just a joke. I may be a goblin, but I’m not a rapist.

I decided to prank her in a different way.

“Axi, you really don’t want to have sex today?”

“No. I don’t want to be pregnant!”

“Sure” I chuckle. “Then, why don’t have sex with Anastasia? You are both close.”

“What? But we are both women.”

“Sure, which means you can’t get pregnant. She can always do that, what I’m doing with my mouth, right?”

She thinks for a moment and then smiles.

“You are right! I’m going to find her right away!” I laugh. I hope Anastasia isn’t lesbian. That would ruin all my fun. I sneak after Axi.

[Axi's POV]

I find Anastasia working on more arrows. My ax breaks from time to time, too, but she losses most of her arrows. It's just too bothersome. I would never have patience for archery.

"Hey! You need to help me!"

"What happened?"

"Nothing, and that's the problem. You see, I told Smag that I can't mate with him today since I don't want to get pregnant all the time, just like you taught me. Smag then had a great idea! I should just mate with you since we can't have children together."

"What? Sorry, Axi, but I'm not into women."

"Obviously. That's not about child-making! It's about pleasure! Just think about it!"

Anastasia groans. "That's my point. I don't like to mate with women."

I turn my head. "So you actually want to mate with Smag?"

"No!" She shouts. "I only like human males, ok?"

"Oh. Sorry. I will do better next time."

"There's no need... Wait! What do you mean by next time?"

"I mean, when we will find more humans. I will capture a few for you. It's not right. I can feel so good, and you are all alone here." I tell her with care. After all, we are friends!

I hear a laugh from a distance, but I ignore it, probably some stupid goblins.

Anastasia sighs. "There's really no need to. I'm fine." She hesitates. "You know you can do everything you want to do with me with Smag as well, right?"

"Yes? But I will get pregnant."

"No, you won't. Let me advise you more."

Anastasia starts telling me about various ways to get pleasure. Humans are a bit scary. I give up. Anastasia is a bit weird, but I still like her.

[Smag's POV]

I walk away content. I suppose I can settle for blowjobs from Axi for the next few days. Hm... Actually, I can teach her more. I smile. It may be even nicer this way.

Anyway, I sacrificed a lot of monsters in the last three months.

You have killed 637 1st tier monsters. You have earned 21040 Experience Points.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

You have killed 23 2nd-tier monsters. You have earned 12600 Experience Points.

You have advanced to level 10!

Your Iron Stomach trait has advanced to level 16!

Your Spear Fighting skill has advanced to level 22!

Your Sneaking skill has advanced to level 21!

Your Hiding skill has advanced to level 22!

Your Tracking skill has advanced to level 12!

Your Tactics skill has advanced to level 44!

Your Mana Sense skill has advanced to level 40!

Your Mana Manipulation skill has advanced to level 39!

Your Mana Infusion skill has advanced to level 23!

Your Mana Orb skill has advanced to level 31!

Your Transfer Vitality skill has advanced to level 24!

Your Soul Perception skill has advanced to level 18!

Your Move Soul skill has advanced to level 9!

Your Rune Basics skill has advanced to level 23!

Your Wood Working skill has advanced to level 20!

Your Fortification Construction skill has advanced to level 11!

Your Leadership skill has advanced to level 16!

Your Trap Making skill has advanced to level 20!

Your Rune Scribbling skill has advanced to level 25!

Your Plotting skill has advanced to level 16!

You have learned Mana Reinforcement(Uncommon) skill!

Your Mana Reinforcement skill has advanced to level 16!

You have learned Bone Working(Common) skill!

Your Bone Working skill has advanced to level 12!

Most of my skills gained a lot of levels. Some of them, like Tracking or Fortification Construction, barely gained one level. That’s because I never tried to improve them, so my actual skills stagnated. I reached the cap a month ago, so I picked two more skills for stat perks.

I reached the max level, so I can evolve at any time. I still want to upgrade my skills. Axi told me she is level 11. She still has quite some time before evolving another time. I’m sure 2nd tiers needs more experience per level. I won’t be surprised if it takes Axi a few years to fill her race levels. Given that, I don’t mind waiting a few more months.

I also picked a lot of perks.

First, Spear Fighting. I have two more basic styles to pick from. I considered this, but I still have a lot to research. I don’t have time for training. I just picked Strength II. It’s just the same as Strength I, adding +3 more Strength.

Next – Sneaking.

Silent Walk II

Learn how to move even more silently.

Cover

Learn how to better use covers while sneaking

Both options were boring, but I picked Silent Walk II. Hiding next.

Temperate Forest Monster Lore II

Learn how to hide even better from temperate forest monsters.

Hidden in the Crowd

Learn how to be inconspicuous among your kind.

I picked Silent Breathing from the previous list. Both new options don’t interest me very much. Now, Tactics skill is way more interesting, maybe because the skill is already in the forties.

Mark of Guidance

While releasing your mark, send short order for the recipient.

Lieutenants I

Upgrade one mark among your followers. That being will also enter a Moment of Clarity when you do.

Both perks were great. Especially since both perks were going to teach me new runes. I decided to pick Mark of Guidance, mostly because Moment of Clarity is not rune-based, so it should be harder for me to figure out Lieutenant's perk. Unfortunately for me, there are no new runes. The system seems to carry order on its own. That’s actually unexpected for the lazy system.

Mana Sense was next.

Master of Own Body

Become better at sensing all processes in your body.

Sense Vitality Based Life

Become better at sensing Vitality mana of others

Both perks were very interesting, but I picked Master of Own Body, mostly because I hoped it would help me with Soul Perception. It actually helped. Mana Infusion got only one new option, probably because I picked stats before.

Infuse Allies

Learn how to better use Infuse Mana on your allies.

Once again, it's not something I can’t do. My efficiency is terrible, but I thought about it. Ultimately, Axi and even Anastasia can do it on their own, and I’m not interested in providing help to random goblins. I picked Affinity II.

Mana Orb is my main attack spell, so I was super hyped for it.

Delayed Orb

Learn how to further increase the stability of your orbs, allowing you to keep them without much effort

Shielded Orb

Create a weak mana shield around your orb, shielding it from most weak interfering spells

Boring, but somehow useful. For the level 20 perk, I chose Delayed Orb. I could use tricks for more stability. It also increases my burst power since I can now attack with a few Mana Orbs at the same time. I got two more options for another threshold of Mana Orb skill.

No Longer an Orb

Learn how to change the shape of your orbs

Barrage

Create a fast barrage of your delayed orbs

This time I picked No Longer an Orb. I have been able to change shape, but the problem has laid in Orb's stability. This perk helped with it.

Vitality Transfer was next. There was only one new perk. I could spot a pattern. Transfer Vitality is a very specific skill with very narrow use. It’s obvious such skill can only be modified and upgraded in limited ways, unlike more board Sense Mana, for example. Practically, the whole skill is about using runes correctly.

Vitality Seal

Seal part of stolen vitality in the recipient's mark. The stolen vitality will seep out of it, providing weak regeneration power.

I picked it. Next, Soul Perception.

Soul Spotting I

Become better at finding souls at a distance

Power Sensing

Learn to determine the approximate strength of a creature by its soul

Soul Recognizing

Learn to recognize different souls

Decay Sense

Learn to spot the decay of dead souls

My goal is to weaponize soul skills. Moreover, with such interesting perks, I wanted them all. I picked Power Sensing, roughly figured out how it works, and dropped the skill. I lost most of the ability, but not all. In the second iteration, I picked Soul Recognizing. After familiarizing myself with it, I repeated the cycle. I settled on Decay Sense, which I hope will unlock something suiting me with the next perk.

Rune Basics perks were also very interesting for me.

Foundational Runes

Learn most basic runes

Mana Control

Learn runes for controlling ambient mana

Marks

Learn how to mark creatures with runes

Simply put, I picked them all by cycling the skill. After that, I got new picks. Given that the perks are educational in nature, I was able to keep all the knowledge, or at least I hope so.

Basic Runes

Learn basic runes

Runic Shields

Learn how to create mana shields by using runes

Once again, I picked them both. There weren’t any more perks after that, so I settled with Basic Runes. Later on, the skill reached level 20.

Basic Earth Runes

Learn basic runes for controlling Earth Mana

Transfer Runes

Learn basic runes capable of moving and gathering mana from short distances.

I picked Earth Runes. I probably got it offered because of Axi’s influence. I want Transfer Runes too, but I don’t want to spend years leveling one skill. I may reset it for more knowledge after I reach level 40 or 50 in it. Skills seem to follow the same pattern as race levels. The higher the skill level, the more experience is required to level it up.

Next, Mana Reinforcement. I picked the skill for more Affinity, but I decided I may reset the skill for some juicy perks.

Wood Specialist

Learn how to reinforce wood beyond what’s normally possible

That was probably a synergy with my Wood Working perk.

Stability

Learn how to reinforce materials with less effort.

Reinforcing Weapons

Become better at reinforcing weapons

Mage Robes

Become better at instantly reinforcing your clothes.

I decided to check Stability, and then reset the skill for Affinity I.

The last perks are for crafting skills, Wood Working, Trap Making, Plotting, and Bone Working, which I picked recently.

Mana Wood Reinforcement I

When carving, learn to permanently infuse mana into the wood to make it even stronger.

Rune Carving I

When carving runes on wood, do so with 30 percent more Dexterity.

I picked Rune Carving. You can never have too much Dexterity when carving runes.

Poisonous Traps

Learn how to find simple poisons and apply them to your traps.

Hidden Traps

Learn how to better hide your traps

I just picked Will II. For Bone Working, I just picked Dexterity I. It’s actually the only reason I picked that skill—for more stats. Plotting next.

Recognize Emotions

Learn how to better recognize emotions from faces of your race

Expression Mastery

Learn how to control your face to project your emotions

Acting I

Learn how to lie more effectively.

I picked Acting I, it could be useful later on. Then, a perk for Rune Scribbling.

Rune Scribbling Specialist II

When scribbling runes, do so with 30% more Dexterity.

Check Material

Learn more about materials' mana conductivity for stronger magic items

I picked Rune Scribbling Specialist II because I can already check the material with my Mana Sense. The perk would probably be better, but it's not something I can’t live without. I'm yet to make any permanent enchantments anyway.

I got those perks in the last three months. I was most excited about runes, but for now, I haven’t done anything great with them. The most basic uses are things I can already do with Mana Manipulation. The Earth mana perk is nice but also very limited. I still think it’s the way to go. Monsters can only bond to one mana type, so crafting magic items to compensate for that would be great.

I managed to figure out a basic runic pattern, allowing me to move dirt with magic. The problem is that it’s a very crude solution and practically impossible to use in the middle of a battle. I would have to maintain the runes with my mana, keeping mana still and precise in the middle of combat. On top of them, the effect would be very crude. I would love to recreate Axi’s armor spell, but that’s probably extremely complicated to replicate with runes. For now, I haven’t found any practical uses of runes outside of those provided by perks. I intend to use them in fortifications and traps, but I have yet to get around to it.

On the tribe’s progress side, things are slow. We mostly rebuilt the numbers from before the battle. Goblins now use at least some crude tactics, so we have fewer losses. On a less pleasant note, since Axi learned about the menstruation cycle from Anastasia, Axi doesn’t want to have children, and we only have sex in her infertile days. I mean, sure, Axi is happy, but I’m not, and the tribe is growing slower. It’s not bad for now; there are still two women that the tribe originally had. Anastasia is a bit ambivalent about them. I get it. I don't like it either, but the reality is harsh. There's no way someone will help them recover their minds, so in a way, they are already dead.

Today, I work again on runes and train magic and soul skills. I’m interrupted as Anastasia rushes into the shack.

“Smag! Axi wounded.” Damn! I grab my ritual dagger and run outside. I find Axi. She doesn’t look so bad, only with some small wounds, but her vitality is in turmoil. I tell goblins to take her to the husbandry area. We have some animals there for sacrifices.

I create a receiving rune and mark Axi with it. I kill a rabbit. Vitality flows into Axi and helps a bit. Obviously, the rabbit’s vitality is too little for a 2nd tier Axi, but I can kill more. I grab a few 2nd tier ants we captured. They are easy to keep, as we can feed them grass and prevent their escape by cutting their legs.

I kill the first ant and observe as a huge amount of vitality flows into Axi. I kill another 2nd tier for sure, which fills up Axi’s vitality to the brim, and even seals some of it in her mark.

I check her wounds for sure, and indeed, they are closing in. However, I frown while looking at Axi’s vitality. It depletes faster than it should. Soon, all her wounds close, but her vitality is disappearing still.

“What happened? What wounded her?”

“I think it was 2nd tier snake. It bit her and probably used venom. Most likely. It kept biting her for a while.”

Damn! How do I deal with venom? I doubt sucking it out is an option. Aside from the fact that her wounds had already healed, far too much time had passed. Theoretically, her liver should take care of it over time. I kill another rabbit, keeping Axi’s vitality high.

Some time passes like this, but the situation is not getting better. Rather, it’s getting worse. Her vitality is disappearing faster and faster. It’s like the venom is still working. It’s probably that.

“Anastasia. Get me more sacrifices!” I yell as I see our livestock disappearing under my knife. I concentrate on Axi’s vitality to sense it better. There is a bottleneck. It’s similar to me using Mana Orb, but I don’t detect any foreign mana. The reason must be on the other side, then. Venom injured an important organ, so vitality flowing through it is bottlenecked. It should help with restoring that organ, though. I kill the rest of the livestock.

I need more. Well… there is only one remaining lifeform around. I grab a nearby goblin and sacrifice it. I watch as its vitality flows into Axi and then disappears into her damaged vital point like through a hole. I need more sacrifices. Before I can grab another goblin, I observe as Axi’s vitality grows faint. I’m about to kill another goblin, as I observe Axi’s soul splinting from her vitality flow. I kill the goblin, but the spell fails.

I grab Axi’s soul. No panic. Don’t panic. It’s not the end yet. This just means I have to double on my resurrection research.