It was exactly 365 days after the Era of Fantasy began when the fun was over.
The Halflings who grew to witness the cruelty and deceptions of humanity grew horns, wings, tails, and started emulating tales of demons. Every single one of them were able to slaughter swathes of humans. No matter if they were training with the Connection or not.
Humanity had lazily lived the last year after they adjusted to the alien creatures, ignoring potential problems.
The Gobs in the wild became hazardous to travelers while the ones in the cities drove everyone from there homes.
There were peaceful Gobs, of course, but they were in the minority. Gobs in the first and second stages of evolution are just far too susceptible to emotions and special conditions that directly affect their development. Some pleaded with their family members that they weren't like the others, but mob rule and sham trials lead to the deaths of many.
Humanity and the the peaceful Enlightened never had a chance to get along. The ones that weren't tried or killed were usually ethereal beauties and slavery was re-instituted throughout most of the world.
When the world was crumbling around them, humanity couldn't resist mermaids, nymphs, and dark skinned elves to abuse.
-Exert from "Chronicle of the Gob," by the Avalon Institute of the former UK, 842 FE.
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[Observe] activated
Name: Zarathor
Titles: [Cripclaw Tribe Small Boss], [Dragonblood]
Race: Green Dracogoblin, T3
Race details: A Green Goblin that further strayed from the Enlightened races by following the 'greed' and 'wild,' evolutionary paths. They have an incredibly powerful bodies and strong souls.
[Stats: That [Body] would end you in one punch and you'll never be able to harm it through its [Soul]. Its [Mind], however, is laughably low compared to you. It has a pitifully weak [Strength Affinity].]
And then Odd felt IT.
Intellectually, he knew that tier 3's could and would have a powerful presence, but the blood lust from the monster stalled him on the tree branches.
It stalled the charging Goblins as well.
"What do you think you maggots are doing, its just one of bag of flesh. Charge, NOW!" Roark yelled and began roaring.
The roars shook the group forward as waves of battle lust could almost be felt in the air.
"Roark! You bastard!" the enemy leader yelled over the noise of the chaotic charge. Odd jumped through the limbs and waited near the rear of the enemy group. Personally, he had no desire to join the fray, but he had to make a show to get his boss off his back. Maybe, the Dracogoblin could even kill him.
Zarathor lifted an ax the size of a small Goblin and raised it, leading his sides' charge. One of the enemy Goblins was behind the others, so in the noise and the commencement of combat, Odd dropped on his shoulders, and shoved his dagger directly into his throat. He jump on the shoulders of his larger enemies with his [Canopy Grace] perk and safely retreat, so Odd wasn't worried when he struck.
[Unnatural Sponge] activated
[Lethal Points] skill learned. Use a small amount of mana and find lethal spots on your target that glow red.
[Body] rose from 0.4 to 0.5
He lept back to the trees and safety as the clash began in earnest. Zarathor cleaved heads with every swing. Roark ripped an enemy Goblin's spine from its body barehanded while Glette formed a spear of ice that came out the other side of the final hostile Goblin. Both tier 2 Elites stayed back as the other members of Odd's war party were cleaved one by one.
The carnage stalled as the remaining six T2, friendly Goblins and the Elites stood back. The field stilled and the random chirps of bugs were the only sounds during the deadly standoff.
The Green Dracogoblin was dripping blood from numerous wounds, but none of them were leaking enough to be close to fatal. He was breathing hard from swinging his oversized ax, but he still had plenty of energy left. The slaves stood as far as they could but knew escape was futile while they wore the Connection Blocking Chains this deep in the wilds.
"Roark. Even if I die, you will go down with me!" Zarathor roared as he charged at Odd's boss like a man possessed, ignoring the other Green Goblins that stabbed him with their crude spears along the way.
"Mage Odd, attack or I kill you," he yelled in return before he jumped out of the way of the first swing of Zarathor's ax and Glette shot ice spears from several yards away from him.
"Inter-tribe bullshit, I hate you all," Odd muttered as he activated [Lethal Points].
He saw red, as multiple points showed what angle he needed stab at to get under Zarathor's protective scales.
He waited for the monster to swing his ax downward and he jumped on his shoulder.
Quick, clean, precise. The knife was lodged in the back of the Dracogoblin's spine for good measure. Knowing that the enemy had a strong vitality for a Goblin, he decided to add magic for good measure as he stabbed a finger into Zarathor's eyes and channeled his Yin Lightning.
He was knobackhaned by a fist and blacked out.
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Odd knew he hadn't been out for long, because when he came to, leaned against a tree, the Dracogoblin was still thrashing, slaying some of the few Goblins left.
It was Roark, with his rival's ax, that ended his life. One downward swing to the middle of the skull.
Now, all was left of the war party was the Glette, Roark, two other Goblin extras, and Odd who was still resting against a tree.
"You." Roark said calmly. "You wait too long lazy mage." He slapped Odd in the face, causing him to be flung on his back. He looked down at the upstart Proto-Gob and stepped on his right hand, severely crushing it.
Odd gritted his teeth through the crippling pain. He refused to make a sound towards this bastard. Why hurt others just because you can?
"You just lucky mage. Stay in your place and you'll get far, Odd," the large, horned Goblin spit on the floor and went to collect the slaves. "I want that one, take the time to play with the male, Glette, and we will bring the two to leader for tribute."
Odd barely noticed the words as he brought his crushed hand to his torso, and used the bandoleer that held his knife as a makeshift sling. The wound would heal in a few hours with a Proto-Gobs' unique constitution, but it didn't make it any less painful.
It just increased Odd's sense of pride. Like his mother, no matter how much he was tortured, he would not bend. Thinking of murdering the horned bastard brought a smile to his ear that was quickly pushed down as the survivors regrouped and started back to the cave. It was dangerous to stay by fresh kills in the wild.
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Murder on his mind, Odd sat by his mother as Roark was having his way with his newest breeding sow.
"Oh, you want to help the poor little nymph, brat?" came the mocking voice of his mother.
"She doesn't want to do that," Odd replied simply.
Melisandra scoffed, "Like you even care." The other captives were proof of that. He didn't care that some people got enslaved and abused. It was how Gobs were programmed.
"Oh, you just want the girl for yourself, don't you my little son?" the elf giggled sickeningly. "If you want to get your rocks off, pick up a Goblin. You have enough power that they will let you take them despite your small... stature."
"I..." Odd did want the slightly blue skinned and light green haired fairy. The webbed feet and small fins on the side of her arms didn't detract from her beauty, but more importantly to Odd, the woman wasn't showing sorrow and pain, but anger. Even in such a position, she was thinking of nothing more than murdering her assailant.
"I will kill him," he whispered to himself in anger. Roark kept pushing it with the Proto-Gob.
"Pfft," Melisandra cackled a little, "Maybe your mermaid friend will get you off if you save her."
"I don't care about that," Odd said unconvincingly. "But, on an unrelated note, what about dryads, the big Goblin pointed at one and told us it was certain death, but I can't trust what he says."
The Abyssal Elf curled up in laughter, giggling. "Your dick will be the death of you like any other man. Some Yin Lightning won't save you from the draining of a fully grown dryad!"
Odd ignored the woman, looked at his stat changes over the last day and eventually fell asleep clutching onto her.
Name: Odd
Titles: Empathetic Anomaly
Race: Proto-Gob
[Evolution in 3d, 11h, 7m.]
Body: 0.5
Mind: 1.4
Soul: 0.4
[Magic:]
Mana: 11/11
Yin Lighting Affinity: 0.5
[Perks:]
Unnatural Sponge
Absolute Gob Linguist
Canopy Grace
[Skills]
Observe
Lethal Points