One was bad enough, but being kissed by two goddesses is more than my poor brain can handle. Part of me wants to avoid calling them again, the other part wants to call them back right now. Worried about which part might win, I quickly invite all the kids as a distraction.

Luckily, it works and the kids distract me completely before I can do anything crazy. Playing with the kids helps my mind settle down and recover some balance. In the end, I decide to only contact the goddesses if I really need to, for my sake.

When the kids leave, after a few hours of playing, I return to the other plane. The cave I found last time is probably a goblin nest, but I don't want to go into it. I would much rather fight them in the open where it is easier to ambush them.

So, I leave the clearing and head in the opposite direction with my mana spread out. It would be nice to find something else besides goblins, but whatever gets me to the next level is fine. Then again, I don't want to find something too dangerous since I can't take any damage.

Having to be careful not to take even a single hit does limit what I can handle. Outside I can be fairly reckless, but in here I have to be really careful. It is honestly really hard, I have gotten too used to being able to just throw myself into situations.

Having to be careful constantly is really hard on me, it is contrary to my basic nature. It might actually be less stressful to go after the Origin Energy, even if it is more dangerous. Just as I am thinking of leaving I spot a group of goblins ahead, so I throw a fireball.

8 Goblins defeated! 160 Soul Exp gained!

Then again, I am already close to leveling, I should just stop second guessing. I will stick to safely hunting goblins for now, no need to risk running into the maker. Once I see what leveling up my soul actually does I can rethink things if I need to.

For now I will just keep hunting the goblins, as carefully as I can until I level up. Keeping my mana spread out around me ends up saving me from getting ambushed. As I am fireballing another group of ten goblins a single goblin tries to come up behind me.

11 Goblins defeated! 220 Soul Exp gained!

That last goblin almost got to me, only a quick firebolt kept me from taking a hit. Now I only need six more kills to get to level one, so one decent group should do it. As soon as I spot a group I throw a fireball, but I get a little carried away and make it too powerful.

7 Goblins defeated! 140 Soul Exp gained!

*DING*

Congratulations! Your Soul is now Level 1!

Soul Form: Ash

Soul Level: 1

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Soul Exp: 1020/5000

Soul Hp: 111/200

MP: 1025/6216

It looks like all that leveling up did was double the hit points of my soul. Not that that is a small thing, it at least means I won't die in a single hit from a goblin. Still, until I find a way to heal damage to my soul it is better to keep playing it safe.

Since I am low on mana I start heading back to the gate, but I still spread my mana out. After all, that last fireball blew up a good chunk of forest, so I may have attracted some attention. After all this, it would really suck to get killed because I was being impatient.

As I expected, there is a lot of movement in the forest between me and the gate. Luckily, thanks to my mana detection I am able to avoid most of the goblins headed to the area. Only one goblin is unlucky enough to practically run right into me and it dies to my firebolt.

1 Goblin defeated! 10 Soul Exp gained!

Only ten exp, that means it is halved from what it was before I leveled up. In other words, I would need to kill almost four hundred goblins in order to level up again. That would require far more patience than I am able to muster, time for a new plan.

Maybe it is time for me to try another door, maybe find something a bit stronger to hunt. I make it to the gate without running into any more goblins and return to the hall. Then I leave the hall and recover my mana, once it is recovered I exit my meditation.

However, when I see that it is still dark and a few hours till dawn I decide to take a nap. I sleep longer than planned and I would have kept on sleeping if it wasn't for a tongue licking my face. When I open my eyes I get a really close up look at Nala who is the one licking me.

She quickly backs off once she realizes I am awake, but she paws at the food pouch. Taking the hint I pull out food for her and Albion after seeing his excited look. Then I take out food for myself and eat breakfast with the two of them.

As soon as I am done eating I get back to work on shaping the hull of the ship. Nala and Albion play close by, but other than them I don't see anyone else. The elves are not out working like they normally would be, something must be up.

Stillwater and Silverstream might be talking to them, but I would think they would do so in small groups. However they want to go about it is fine by me, as long as I don't have to try and preach. That was the whole point of having them meet the goddesses after all.

So, I ignore it and keep working on the ship until lunch time, then I stop and eat with the kids. After lunch I go back to working on the ship, but there is still no sign of the elves. They must be having one hell of a discussion, wherever they are.

A few hours later they finally show up, coming from the direction of the old village. When I take a look at them, they all seem to be in good moods, none seem angry. So, whatever the conversation was it looks like it went well, Stillwater heads over to talk to me.

"Stillwater, how'd it go?"

Stillwater says "After a lot of discussion, the elves have decided unanimously to convert."

"Everyone? No holdouts? That's impressive!"

Stillwater says "It took some doing, but eventually everyone agreed. You played a big role in the conversation."

"I did? How?"

Stillwater says "You are the goddesses' champion, and you have done a lot for our people. That had bearing on some of their decisions."

"That was not my intention. But if everyone is in agreement I will keep my mouth shut."

Stillwater says "Yes, please don't stir things up. I have had enough talking for a few days at least."

"Well, I guess now I can tell you why I wanted everyone to convert."

Stillwater says "There was another reason?"

"Seronia, at some point soon, will be able to grant the ability to level to her followers."

Stillwater says "You mean like Brightfire?!"

"Well, yes, but that was my doing, not Seronia's."

Stillwater says "I know, she told me all about it. A lot of my people are jealous of her."

"Well, now they won't need to be. And once the elves can gain levels, your strength will increase by leaps and bounds."