The next day, we go in the south direction. There was actually a boar in a trap, but I gave it to the children. The south is the same as everywhere, just an endless forest. We find some animals here and there, but they escape after spotting us. I’m eager to try my new magic skills, but I don’t want to use them needlessly and deplete my mental stamina.
After an hour, we find a spider. I jump behind a tree and observe. It’s not as big as the previous one. Can we kill it? Yes. Can we kill it without dying? Hard to say. The spider has not noticed us yet. I sneak in its direction and prepare Mana Orb, the rest of the band following behind me. I shot it. Mana Orb is invisible to the eyes, and I can only see it thanks to my mana sense, so after it leaves my range, I can’t say for sure if I hit or missed.
The spider sways to the side, so it seems I hit it. I prepare a second shot and order the rest of the goblins to attack. The spider hisses at us and runs. Damn! It’s quite fast! No acidic spit, though. It tries to attack one of the goblins, but they keep it at a distance. I shot another Mana Orb and hit again. One of the goblins stabs the spider, and the rest follow. Spider dies, but I get no notification. I stab it a few more times for good measure, but nothing.
It seems I didn’t deliver the last hit or something. I don’t know how the system handles group fights, but I have never received a notification about group combat. I guess one of the goblins got the notification, which sucks a bit.
We butcher the spider. I think it’s the first-tier version of the spider that got itself caught in our trap. Our new prey has a venom sack, but probably no spitting option. We should still watch out for bites. I also notice it has sharp claws on its front legs. We divide the spider and eat it while walking. I don’t want to march into spider territory, so we move west. There is no point in scouting too far ahead when I still have to completely scout our surroundings.
We find more spiders. We kill them all with minimal problems. One time, it sliced through the skin of a goblin. That was because I didn’t immediately hit it with the Mana Orb. Actually, I think the debuffing abilities of Mana Orb are even more useful to us than the damaging aspects of it. We eat our fill and take two spiders home. We were lucky that we didn’t encounter two spiders at once.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get any notifications. No Experience for me. I wonder, does the system have a grudge against mages or something? It seems I will need to kill some enemies in the future with a spear or kill them with my magic only.
In the cave, I practice for Mana Strike. It should be a version of Mana Orb that uses a medium. I channel mana into my spear, but I keep it normal. I guess that success would depend on converting it at the right time. I try to hit with it while changing mana proprieties, but it fails. I’m not good enough to transform so much mana at once.
I change my approach and transform only part of mana. I can’t transform all of it, or it would weaken my spear. I keep that half contained in normal mana. I stab with the spear and released the contained insular mana into the cave’s wall.
You have learned Mana Strike skill!
I smile. Just as planned. I drop the skill. I already have the Mana Orb which has a greater range. I think it’s time to upgrade Mana Infusion. With the Inward Perfection perk, I noticed there are minor flows in this Life Mana, but also some inherent rhythm to them. I think the upgrade would involve adjusting them. I don’t drop the skill, but concentrate on it and on wanting it to upgrade, which I learned earlier is possible with the system's help. I push mana into my flow using that rhythm, but sometimes I also try to speed it up or slow it down.
I check the effect, and it’s more powerful, but not that much. The skill is still the same. The greatest improvement is in finesse. I can now concentrate on improvements on specific body parts or just stats. I would probably get the most from strength. I do that and check my status. No visible change, though I feel the buff is slightly stronger now.
I still need to upgrade the skill, but I have achieved all the rest of my short-term goals for my magic, and I need to think about what to do next. I should probably aim for elemental spells, but I have no idea how to go about them. Directly controlling elemental mana doesn’t work. I would need some help.
I think I would just concentrate on Mana Manipulation and making Mana Orb bigger and more deadly. I could also try to reverse Mana Infusion and directly control insular mana inside enemies to kill them. My mana control range is not that great, only around a meter, so it would be dangerous to me. Hm… I can always train on rabbits, I suppose. I go to sleep. I’m tired. I’m leaving more experiments for tomorrow.
We go hunt spiders again. They are relatively weak and aggressive, so we don’t need to chase after them. I use both spear and Mana Orb spell. I want to earn EXP, so I need to do mundane damage. I tried to kill a spider with only Mana Orbs. It took me seven hits. I’m pretty sure damage is progressive, and each next hit does more damage. It isn’t a combo or anything like that. It’s just that it’s easier to interrupt a system that is already malfunctioning.
I also decided to drop the Marksmanship skill. I have Mana Orb now, and I suck at shooting.
You have killed 3 1st tier monsters. You have earned 150 Experience Points.
Your Mana Sense skill has advanced to level 13.
Your Mana Manipulation skill has advanced to level 11.
Your Mana Orb skill has advanced to level 3.
We return to the cave without a problem. I test manipulating mana inside a rabbit today. It’s nearly impossible for me. I hit a rabbit with Mana Orb and try to manipulate the mana to deal as much damage as possible. The mana is malleable, but it slips out of my control quickly. Rabbit dies, though, and I earn 10 EXP. I do the same with regular mana, and the result is the same. Mana is quickly slipping out of my control when inside a rabbit’s body.
Later in bed, I lay with Axi's head on my shoulder after our evening sex. I send some regular mana inside Axi’s body. It’s the same, but it’s even faster. I also can’t control the mana inside of her at all. It seems there’s no instant death strike for me. I think everyone is somehow refining mana for themselves, but that doesn’t make much sense. I have 0/0 mana on the status; I checked, and my body works the same way. I notice that I need a moment to take control of outside mana, while I can control mana in my body instantly.
I don’t know. It’s interesting, though, that insular mana is also automatically refined, and even then, it’s still hurting its owner’s life force.
The next day, we continue our grind. This time, we find, or rather, a wolf pack finds us.
“Shit!” Everyone, form a circle!” I beat them into obedience. A wolf attacks, and one of the goblins braces his spear while I jump forward to stab it! The wolf jumps back. Another wolf attacks from behind, but goblins are good at mimicking. Another goblin helps, and two of them pin the wolf down. Another wolf attacks us to help his comrade. The situation goes back to the beginning. The wolf pack circle around us, not committing to a full-out attack.
“We need to move.” We slowly walk back to the cave, maintaining the formation. Wolves attack a few times, but the situation repeats itself every time. Ultimately, the alpha howls and disengages. I sigh in relief. It seems we are too hard to crack. It’s just that this attack is not going to be the last. We return to the cave for the day and continue the next one.
Routine. Routine. I get levels. Everyone gets levels. Axi gives birth another time. Goblin children grow up and join hunts. Our group grows stronger and more numerous. Axi gets pregnant again.
You have killed 21 1st tier monsters. You have earned 3720 Experience Points.
You have killed 3 2nd tier monsters. You have earned 580 Experience Points.
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You have advanced to level 7!
You have advanced to level 8!
Your Mana Sense skill has advanced to level 18.
Your Mana Manipulation skill has advanced to level 16.
Your Mana Orb skill has advanced to level 9.
Your Spear Fighting skill has advanced to level 10.
Your Sneaking skill has advanced to level 11.
Your Hiding skill has advanced to level 11.
Your Tracking skill has advanced to level 7.
Your Weak Mana Infusion skill has advanced to level 10.
Your Wood Working skill has advanced to level 12.
Your Fortification Construction skill has advanced to level 6.
Your Trap Making skill has advanced to level 11.
Your Iron Stomach trait has advanced to level 14.
My Affinity and Endurance also increased by one point.
You have learned Tactics (Uncommon)!
You have learned Leadership (Uncommon)!
I decided to start leveling these two skills. My tribe now has over thirty members, and guiding them is getting harder and harder. I lose more goblins because of this, but not as many to stop the tribe’s growth.
Name: NA
Age: 0
Race: Goblin
Level:8/10
Strength: 4
Vitality: 6
Endurance: 4
Dexterity: 8
Intelligence: 23
Will: 17
Affinity: 4
Health:21/21
Stamina:26/36
Mana:0/0
Traits
Iron Stomach 9
Combat skills
Spear Fighting 10 (Perk Available!)
Sneaking 11 (Perk Available!)
Hiding 11 (Perk Available!)
Tracking 7
Tactics 1
Magic Skills
Mana Sense 18 - Inward Perfection
Mana Manipulation 16 – Mana Burst
Weak Mana Infusion 10 (Perk Available!)
Mana Orb 9
Crafting Skills
Wood Working 12 (Perk Available!)
Fortification Construction 6
Trap Making 11 (Perk Available!)
Leadership 1
Titles
None
Sitting in the cave, I pick perks. First: Spear Fighting.
The few first perks give +3 to physical stats, like this.
Strength I
Get 3 additional points of Strength.
Uninteresting, but tempting. Three points are a lot for me. It seems common skills give +3 options, while uncommon skills give +5.
Power Thrust I
Use mana to increase your strike’s damage.
Somehow interesting, but I’m skeptical. This can be just the Mana Infusion skill, or rather, its nerfed version. I can already use mana with the Weak Mana Infusion skill to increase my power for stronger strikes.
Basic Spear Style I
Learn the basics of spear fighting.
Sting Spear Style
Learn Sting Spear fighting style.
I’m not sure how good these styles are, but probably not much. Basic Spear Style seems very basic, and Sting Spear Style is grouped with it. Basic Style is probably more comprehensive, touching all spear fighting, while Sting Style seems to be some kind of attacking style, seeming more like a technique. I guess the system would grant me muscle memory if I were to choose one of them.
How do I use the spear? I mostly use magic attacks, while using spear only for finishers. I don’t really need a style. So… I pick Strength I. I observe my muscles, and they swell a bit. The Life Mana in me changes somehow too. I also feel a lot stronger.
Now, Sneaking and Hiding skills.
They start with the usual stat perks, but for Endurance, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Will. It seems like perks provide options for stats that are useful for the skill. Starting with Sneaking,
Graceful Feet
While Sneaking, move your legs with 30% more Dexterity.
Interesting, but since my Dexterity is still below 10, taking a direct Dexterity boost would be better for now.
Silent Walk I
Learn how to move silently.
Probably another perk for muscle memory.
Predator I
Rush a foe from an unseen position to get a small boost in stats.
An assassination perk. Let’s check out Hiding's perks.
Silent Breathing
Make your calm breath silent.
I’m not sure there are that many monsters with such powerful hearing that this is a good option.
Stillness I
When trying to stay still, do so with 30% more Dexterity.
Temperate Forest Monster Lore I
Learn how to hide better from temperate forest monsters.
This is a piece of evidence that the perks are influenced by personal experience, at least. Maybe by other things, too. I still don’t know if a higher skill level translates to better perks.
Hm… I use these two skills mostly to hide from stronger predators. I’m picking the Lore and Silent Walk perks. Suddenly, some knowledge rushes into my head. I try to sneak, and I feel some instincts telling me how to walk and to avoid branches and leaves. I hope this will help me level those skills more.
Next, Mana Infusion.
Sacrifice Strike I
Learn how to further improve your strength for a moment, at the cost of some vitality.
A berserking perk?
Localized Infusion I
Infuse only part of your body for a better effect.
Boring. Both options are rather boring. I think I should be able to do both of these soon, anyway. Let’s get Affinity I, then. Wood Working next.
Dexterous Hands I
When working on wood, do so with 30% more Dexterity.
An Eye for Flaws
Learn how to find flaws in the wood.
Mana Wood Reinforcement I
When carving, learn to permanently infuse mana into the wood to make it stronger.
All the options seem great. My hands are not very dexterous, and I think there’s some correlation with Strength. After raising my Strength I noticed I became slightly less dexterous, not stat-wise but in various chores.
Which to choose… I think I will pass on An Eye for Flaws. I can learn it manually with a bit of effort. Mana Reinforcement it is. I want to learn magic, Wood Working is only a mean to survive by getting weapons out of it.
I concentrate on my new perk and start to carve a new spear. I use Mana Reinforcement, just like before. The perk shows me how to anchor mana in the wood. Ambient mana should be changing into wood mana, but my Mana Sense skill seems not to be enough to see it. By using Mana Reinforcement, I should be able to hold more Wood mana in the spear, strengthening it temporarily, as, once the skill ends, balance is restored. My new perk guides me into creating structures within mana. It’s interesting; it practically gives me tips on Mana Reinforcement.
I guide ambient mana and use it to link something, probably Wood Mana, while still carving wood. It ends in a loose mana structure inside the spear, which actually looks like it should fail any time soon. It doesn't. Can I use it on other materials? I pick up a rock and place it inside my mouth to observe it better. I try to repeat the process, but I have no guidance this time.
I pick up a short stick and replace the rock with it. I try again. I’m not carving, so once again, no guidance. This time, however, there is an effect. The structure collapses, though, but that's because I’m not good enough without perk’s guidance. It seems different materials need different structures, and I only know one for wood. It’s something to research, at least.
Now, the last perk – Trap Making.
Enduring Hunter I
When placing traps, do so with 30% more Endurance
Useful for digging.
Dexterous Hunter I
When creating traps, do so with 30% more Dexterity
Hidden Traps in Temperate Forest Lore I
Learn how to better hide your traps in a temperate forest.
Enduring Hunter is tempting me. Dexterous Hunter not much. I’m skeptical about Hidden Traps. I doubt the new perk will give me anything interesting. I’m getting stats from it. Which are available? Endurance, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Will. Will is probably most useful for me, as it boosts my Mana Manipulation abilities.