After two whole days of marching, I finally see Roheb again. Looking back, a dozen hobs fall to the ground in exhaustion.

“Come on! The town is in sight. Pull the carts!”

Two hours later, we are near the town. Adam goes out of town with several guards. I only took with me Axi, Asaru, and around twenty hobs to pull the cart. If the town’s defenders decide to attack me, that should be enough to hold them back until I’m safe back in the forest.

“Lord Smag! It’s been over four months. How’s your tribe? I don’t see Lady Axi with you, nor do other leaders of your tribe.” He seems to be probing me with the last question.

“Axi had to stay in the tribe. She is busy. As for the rest, let’s say they had an unfortunate accident.” While Axi is near me, she is only a regular goblin. I don’t want to advertise that fact. Any abnormality means magic, and monsters can only use magic through cores. That’s making me a target for greedy adventurers.

Adam laughs. “I see. What a coincidence! My friend John also had an accident not long ago. Let me welcome you as a guest, though. What’s inside the carts?”

“Merchandise. Furs, scales and some bones.”

“You should talk with the Guildmaster. He takes care of such things.”

“Merchant Guild?” I never heard of them.

“Hm? No. Adventurer’s Guild. They care about such trades. I will introduce you. Come inside.” He waves for me to enter the town.

“We will stay here. After all, we are monsters. I don’t want to create a commotion in the town.” Inside the town’s walls, I will be trapped. There’s no way I’m entering willingly unless I have a clear way out.

“Nonsense! Our citizens know that you are out benefactor.”

I chuckle. Which citizens? The ones you evicted, or those who conquered and settled here? “Still, it’s best that I won’t enter. How’s the situation, though? Did my advice help?" I quickly change the topic.

“Ha! Yes, it did. That lightening magic worked. We isolated the wires with wool. It works for now, but the material is going to rot soon. We found that some resins from trees can do the work too, but our supply is too low to take care of the whole system. Anyway, raiders only came once, and we were properly warned. There has been a small scale battle. After killing a few of them, bastards escaped.” He sighs at the end.

I shrug. “That’s the way of riding. You need robust and expensive defenses to never use them. What about the kingdom and war in general? Any chance the front will move here?”

“I heard another force attack our poor kingdom, but they were allowed to take land with barely any resistance. Just a few local nobles mustered some force. They stopped after conquering a duchy. Merchants said that they just want to consolidate. Regardless, our Terava Kingdom seems to be losing on all fronts right now.”

I hope war will keep its distance. Armies marching into the 2nd-tier zone to destroy a new threat from Smag the Warlock is the last thing I need.

“As for my position, I’m going to send a letter explaining changes here together with the tax. Money changes minds, and all that. The harvest season is in full swing now. We won’t have as much grain as I would like, but more than enough to survive the next winter. Oh! Here he is!” Adam looks back at the town's gate. A rather young warrior walks in our direction. “Rish, our Guildmaster. Smag, the famous warlock.”

He welcomes me with a smile. “Hello! It’s nice to meet you.”

I’m a bit apprehensive. “I thought adventurers hated monsters.”

“Was it like that back in your place? I assure you, Adventurers’ Guild is quite different here.”

“Oh?”

“Like nearly all endeavors, our guild’s primary goal is profit. While it’s true that we somehow carter to needs of adventurers, it’s because that allows us to buy their gains and resell them for profit in big cities. Ultimately, we are a trading organization which also provides certain services.”

“That’s very utilitarian. Don’t you want to fight for the enlightened?"

The man scoffs. “Let priests take care of that stuff! We care for money. I heard that you do have merchandise, so let’s talk business.”

“Sure. By the way, what kind of stuff your guild is trading?”

“All kind. Here, it’s mostly stuff from monsters. There are all kind of adventurers, though. Some explore dungeons, some explore ruins. Some, like here, are looking for rare monsters. Least able take various commissions and act as mercenaries.”

I nod. “How’s the prices?”

“You shouldn’t ask that. I’m going to lower the prices as much as possible.”

I smile. “You don’t even know what I’m selling.” There are only some furs visible on the surface. “Besides, I can always ask Adam for the prices or sell them to someone else.”

“Fine, I won’t fleece you anyway. How about a standard rate for adventurers? You are not one, but given the bulk, it won’t be a loss for me.”

“Sure.” I nod. I just plan to buy ores and get some advice from Nicolas anyway. I explain what I brought.

“I can give you a good price for furs. Those are always in demand around here. Leather, scales, and stuff are less expensive. Those are still useful in all kinds of armor. Bones are the least useful. Again, you can make weapons and maybe add those to armor to make them stronger, but it’s a bit of a pain to do. Unless they are from strong 2nd and 3rd tier monsters, metal is usually better.”

“Is there something else that’s in demand? Maybe some alchemical ingredients?”

“I can give you a list, but you won’t get good price for most of them. We don’t have an alchemist in Roheb and preservation is also expensive. The best stuff are magical, whatever they are treasures of some kind, or organs of monsters.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

That makes me think about my experiments. I managed to create a rat that can cast wind blades through its tail. That tail is somehow filled with wind mana. I just started with experiments for granting traits, though. Most other rats didn’t get anything. I still need to experiment to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.

“How much can I get from such things?”

“Depends on the mana type in question. I can give you around thirty to fifty bronze coins for most of your furs. A silver for that fur from a 3rd-tier cat. For a magical organ, I can give you a few silvers, depending on a few things. That’s for the basic elements. If you can bring me something filled with two-merged mana, I can pay you up to fifty silver, based on rarity. Anything three-merged will easily pay out in gold.”

I think back about my experiments. It’s impossible that only I figured it out. If there’s a demand, then I bet there are farms that specialize in rearing monsters with magical traits. I sigh. I can only make a good profit if I’m efficient enough.

My main goal remains the same, though. Rat’s tail is filled with wind mana, but vitality flow is still pure. I think the rat should be able to attune to a mana type by eating a core. If I can streamline that, I could give every goblin a trait or even a few. Elemental mana based traits should be the weakest, but they're still upgrades. High potential goblins, like Axi, can reincarnate to get rid of the traits if there’s a need.

“I will keep a lookout for those.” After I research the tail, I may as well sell it. I negotiate for a bit with Rish, and we make a deal. I’m getting fifteen silver for everything, while I will pay six silver for two carts of iron ore.

An hour later, Nicolas comes out. “Lord Smag! I am sorry, I have been busy. I come to greet you just as my useless servant informed me!”

I smile at his antics. “Don’t worry. It’s already getting dark. I’m going to stay the night here.” I wave dismissively. “I’m currently researching something. I encountered a roadblock, and I thought about you.”

“Lord Smag, you are overestimating me.”

“Truth be told, I lack systematic education. For example, I don’t know all two-merged mana types.”

“Really?” He seems genuinely surprised.

“Yes. One man can only research so much. Even for those I’m aware of, I lack all the runes. So, I hope you can help me. I need a way to join two things together. Magic must at least know where the second part is; ideally, try to join together.”

“That’s… It’s not that hard of a problem. Three-merged entanglement mana can do it, but I don’t know runes. At best, I can help you design an enchantment based on symmetry magic.”

“Sure. How much for that?”

He eyes my carts. Adventurer’s Guild employers are still transporting merchandise. I sigh. Did he grow balls? Should I castrate him? “Looking at my carts? Do you need something? We can easily kill 3rd tier monsters if you need materials. Maybe even a 4th tier.”

“No, I… five silver coins. It’s two-merged mana. I can't just give it for half-free, or my contract will kill me.”

“Fine.”

Nicolas draws runes on paper, then briefly explains. “Symmetry is not only about two objects matching but also being in a certain configuration toward each other. You can enforce symmetry with those runes.”

“I frown. Will this enchantment bring two pieces together?”

“No, only adjust their orientation. You can use another enchantment, for example, using air mana, to bring them to each other.”

I grimace. “I will need a lot of symmetry mana to power it up. Sell me the gathering array for symmetry mana as well.”

“That’s… how much silver do you have?”

“Four coins.”

“I suppose I can give you a discount. That should work, since you have already hired me for something else. Here.” Nicolas writes down the gathering array. I give him my remaining silver and go back to our temporary camp. Hobs will keep guard over the night, so I can lay down without much worry.

Will it work? Theoretically, yes, but the whole system is very complicated. I will need a massive amount of symmetrical objects to drain them of symmetry mana as well. I can order goblins to do that, but I can't move with those items. I can't carry a few metric tons of stuff. This means my new skill will only work around our village. The range will be dependent on the amount of symmetry mana, so ideally, I should demolish buildings and rebuild our village to be ideally symmetrical in all possible ways. That should give me a range of at least several kilometers, but any damage to the village will decrease symmetry mana production.

The next day, we march back to the village. Asaru is working as a scout, while Axi is walking by the cart and trying to melt ore by manipulating fire from a torch. She is failing miserably.

I go back to thinking about my next skill. Entanglement mana would probably increase my range significantly. It’s the same problem, though. I lack entanglement mana core. I would need to create a real entanglement. Wait!

Axi and I are married. Isn’t it entanglement? I could use our status to produce entanglement mana to power up entanglement runes. That’s feasible, actually. I sigh. Where do I find runes for three-merged mana types?

I looted a few books from Fikeral about two-merged mana-type runes. Now, including symmetry, I have some basic runes for six two-merged mana types. Symmetry, Mud, Ice, Mist, Steam, and Lava. I can maybe trade for more runes for two-merged mana types, but not three-merged. At least, not here. Nobles in the heartlands of the human kingdom probably have them, but they are unlikely to trade them.

I need an army strong enough to either loot them or to be treated seriously and be hired as a mercenary. Given the current state of war, both options are possible, but my tribe is too weak. Even Roheb is a bit too much for us. To matter, the tribe needs to be either at least ten times bigger, or we need to be an orc tribe.

The next day, we are finally back in our village. Axi will probably take an apprentice or two as well and teach them smiting. Given how much ore we have right now, it makes sense.

I think while lying in bed. It seems the skill creation process is my only way out. Even if I fail, I don’t mind experimenting in peace for a few years while gathering EXP. The tribe will grow stronger as well, so I will earn EXP faster.

I can also ask Prisham for Invitar’s blessing. I’m apprehensive about dealing with gods, but the blessing is just too great. If I can manually assign EXP, I can evolve first. This will give me another skill, which can help a lot.

The next day, I take a last look at my status screen before my attempt. Should I sacrifice skills that don’t add anything to the final outcome? I’m not sure they won’t add anything, though. My specialty is vitality and vitality mana. If I could use them for modifying souls, that would be for the best.

OK! Let’s start. Mana Sense. Mana Manipulation. Soul Perception. Move Soul. Vitality Buff. Vitality Clot. Vitality Bank. Rune Basics. Transplant Soul. Vitality Mana Control. That’s all my magic skills. It seems I will sacrifice all those levels. I also sacrifice Rune Scribbling levels.

Go!

Where am I? Who is this? I look around, but I can see only myself and a giant sitting on a giant throne. Everything else looks blue, with some indistinct shapes moving lazily in the distance.

What happened? I remember trying to create a new skill. Did something wrong happen? Is this a god? Invitar? It’s not like I know any other Dark God… Maybe a Bright God?

“Hello, Smag.” He says. Any notion that this is a mistake disappears. Fears overcome me, but I force myself to calm down.

“Hello. How can I help you, sir?” I reply politely. Tell me what you want, and let me go.

The man chuckles. “I want to help myself by helping you. No need to worry. I’m Delahar, god of defense, protection, and castles.” A god of protection? It smells like a Bright God. Damn. Why would such a figure want from the poor little me? He moves his hand, and a number appears near him.

964133

“This is the number of Experience Points you have sacrificed to create your new skill. There are a few rules to our conversation here. Every time I give you information, this will cost you, and this number will lower.”

964064

Indeed. It’s lower now.

“Therefore, let me explain a few things first that won’t cost you much. You will only be charged for me giving you specific information. Depending on its importance, information is charged differently. You can ask questions later. I can freely tell you that you are completely wrong, as this isn’t specific information. If I don’t tell you anything, this means your statement is at least partially true.”

What? That’s… strange. Why such a complication? Can’t gods do whatever they like?

“We can start. First, I’m the one who brought you here from Earth.”