I was asked once by a curious child what the most dangerous beast in the world was. I answered at once, "other Sapients". He was unsatisfied with the answer. "Sapients aren't beasts! That's not a real answer!" Rather than argue, I decided to give an answer more in line with what he meant. "Then, the most dangerous beast is the Goblin." He seemed little more satisfied with that answer than the first. "Goblins aren't dangerous. Any adult can beat one easily," he said. "That's true," I replied. "Yet more people die every year from Goblin attacks than any other monster. Sure, a dragon could wipe out an entire city if it wanted, but that rarely ever happens. Goblins, on the other hand, attack hundreds of people every day, all over the world." The kid, of course, was not convinced. He went on to explain to me in detail how the strongest monster was actually a Nephilim.
This story is just an example, but I find this sort of thinking to be widespread among all walks of life. It's easy to underestimate a danger that is persistent and minor, and easy to overestimate a danger that is rare and extreme. A typical civilian will be more scared of a Titan than of slimes, even though they're much more likely to die of the latter suddenly spawning nearby. This is one of the curious aspects of the Sapient mind I doubt I'll ever truly understand.
-Excerpt from Memoires of Thagi Ghul
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Once out of the slums and hidden behind the trees, the demon Jabrax regrew her wings and lifted Mud. With the golem firmly gripping her torso, she flew rapidly through between the conifers, their grocery bag hanging below. After dropping their luggage off at the mansion, the duo traveled farther east into the mountain foothills.
A short time later, they spotted their first prey. Five goblins patrolling the woods with simple wooden weapons.
Immediately upon spotting them, Jabrax swooped directly towards their position and blasted them all with reddish-purple smoke. An instant later, the group collapsed to the group, snoring peacefully. Stopping directly above their sleeping forms, Jabrax peeled her passenger off of her body and dropped him in the middle of their group with a wet plop.
"Hurry up and kill them all so we can keep hunting."
Mud thought back to the book on human anatomy it had read some time ago. Goblins resembled humans in general structure, so it seemed likely they would share similar weak points. To test this theory, Mud extended its dagger from the end of one of its tentacles. With a rapid swipe, it slit open the Goblin's throat. A river of red sprayed out of the wound, soaking the surrounding ferns.
[Hidden Weapon Skill increased to level 2]
[Sneak Attack Skill increased to level 5]
After a short delay, a third notification appeared.
[Experience Gained: 11]
Satisfied that the method was suitably efficient, Mud rapidly slashed the necks of the remaining four sleeping Goblins, gaining forty-two Experience and another level in Hidden Weapon Skill. After the third attack Mud realized that it could manipulate its tentacles with the methods of String Manipulation, and gained a level in that skill as well.
Climbing back onto Jabrax, the pair continued towards the mountains. "Things are only going to get harder as you approach the wall. We'll probably need to kill hundreds of those disgusting things for you to reach the tier one limit." Scrunching her face in thought, Jabrax suddenly stopped and began ascending rapidly. "I've got an idea."
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A few moments later, they were above the treetops. "Hopefully we're far enough from town that I won't draw any unwanted attention." Moving higher still, Jabrax scanned the treetops and rocky outcroppings nearby. After a moment, she displayed her characteristic shark-toothed smile and pointed a clawed finger towards a distant patch of woods. "There, that looks like the place."
Looking in the direction she indicated, Mud noticed a section of the mountain that appeared to be missing trees, thin pillars of smoke rising from the gaps. In the clearing of trees, a cave opening in the nearby hillside was visible. Movement was also apparent, although at the great distance it was impossible to make out detail.
"Goblins are stupid but they're clever enough to start fires. That's probably their nest." Flying low to the treetops, the demon flew towards the camp. "Or it could be weirdo Sapients. I'll take them if that's the case." Mud hoped that wasn't the case.
As the pair crested the last treetop at the periphery of the camp and came to a stop, it became clear that this was indeed a Goblin nest. Outside of the cave entrance countless numbers of the disgusting green monsters ate, fought, slept, and fornicated. The entire area was filthy, with rotting corpses and questionable fluids marring every surface within reach of the tiny monsters.
"Ugh, you're lucky you don't have a nose, Mud." The demon gags slightly and pulled her head back from the edge. "These are one of the few things I hate more than Sapients. Glad we're going to be wiping them out. The thought of these filthy little things living so close to where I'm staying..." Jabrax let out a shiver.
Collecting herself with a deep breath, followed by a slight gag, she continued. "Alright, here's the plan. I'll channel all the tainted mana I can handle to knock them out, then stay out here where it doesn't stink too badly while you go in and slaughter them all. Sound good?"
"I accept this plan."
"Good." Jabrax sat cross-legged on a wide branch, placing a hand on each knee. "It's convenient to have a teammate that doesn't need to breathe. No need to worry about friendly fire." Closing her eyes and lowering her head, Jabrax's breathing slowed greatly. Not wanting to disturb whatever the demon was doing, Mud silently lowered itself towards the Goblin camp. Hiding behind a branch, it waited for the opportunity to begin the slaughter.
[Stealth Skill increased to level 5]
Several minutes later, the opportunity arrived. A massive, billowing cloud of reddish-purple floated lazily down from the treetops towards the Goblin camp. A few of the magical beasts noticed it and began to shriek and point at the sky, but with the chaos and noise of the camp none of the others noticed. When the cloud finally fell atop the churning green masses there was a moment of panic and flailing, then silence but for the light rhythmic breathing of sleep.
Dropping from its perch like a shadow, Mud advanced with a single glistening blade tipped tentacle. Methodically, it proceeded through the pile, slitting each throat it passed. After its fifth kill, a box it had never seen before appeared.
Gained Level Strengthen Soul Refine Soul
The previously consistent leveling had changed, perhaps as a result of gaining a level. Not wanting to waste time at the moment, Mud quickly selected Strengthen Soul.
[Mud Golem Species increased to Level 6]
Quickly checking its record, the usual changes had taken place. One more health, twenty more mana capacity, and a Skill Point. Statistics hadn't changed at all.
Without pausing, Mud continued slitting throats of sleeping Goblins with increasing proficiency. After the most recent level, the experience had been reduced to an average of only eight per kill. Along the way, it gained another level in Hidden Weapons and String Manipulation. After another twelve Goblins died, the new box appeared again. This time, Mud chose Refine Soul.
[Master Butler ® Class increased to Level 2]
Immediately, Mud felt its movements sharpen as its statistics increased. Checking the record, there was no increase in health or mana, and, worst of all, no skill point. It seemed that it would need to make a choice each time it leveled to either increase it's class or its species, with each giving different benefits. For the time being, the golem decided to focus on increasing its class level. While skill points and health were important, the increases in attributes were just too important right now.
Deciding its course of action, Mud refocused on the slaughter.