Day 24
*******
10 Goblins have lined up in front of me for inspection. Until today I've just let them do whatever as long as they contribute to gathering. Their contributions made it possible to purchase 3 extra goblins.
By now they have formed a loosely organized community. Gob-1 successfully defended his position as head chef.
Gob-2, 3 and 4 all fought for the position of chief but Gob-5 suppresses them all as soon as he arrived. That little guy was tall and buff compared to the others and preferred using his fists to deal with things. The 3 others naturally followed him as fighters.
Gobs 6 and 7 were sneaky and made up the position of scout and tracker so as to not get bossed around.
Gobs 8 and 9 were also muscle-heads but came too late to fight for authority so they got put to manual labor. Gob-5 had already gotten too strong through sparring and a mana infused diet.
Gob-10 was a runt, newly recruited he was lucky that the others didn't have a chance to bully him before I summoned them all for inspection.
"Alright! It's been a week since Gob-1 first joined, and while the rest of you have been for various amounts of time I think it's time to get things rolling."
The goblins all salute sloppily and wait for instruction.
"Well first off, I've noticed you have organized yourself and claimed yourself some positions and roles in your community. That's good, and I think it's time you choose yourself some proper names. Let's go by numerical order, Gob-1, any ideas?"
"Stew'bag" The chef proudly announces his name.
"Lovely... next!" I should have expected it to turn out like this.
The 3 henchmen wait for their chief to speak first.
"Stron'kest" Gob-5 takes a step forward.
"Smash'gut"
"Stab'gut"
"Slash'gut"
The three henchmen follow their leader in reporting for duty. Their violent names revealing their desire to fight.
"Creative..." I sigh internally.
"Trip'nut and Trap'rat reporting sir!" The two sneaks salute.
"Alright..." a promising duo.
"Lift'ton"
"Chuck'ton"
The meatheads reply with names I think other must have given them. Turning to the last goblin, Gob-10, I wait for this be over with.
"Um, this one requests the name Berry'wart"
Gasps from the other goblins can be heard. The nerve! To request a name based on that of the Master!
"Granted!" Haha, smart little feller this one. Using me as a shield to make up for his small size.
"Good! You all did well. As the first to join my cause I will remember your names. This will not be the case for others that join later unless they can distinguish themselves somehow."
Excited, the goblins look at each other and confirm that the others are just as elated.
"Now then. I need a couple goblins to check out what's deeper in the cave so we can prepare to expand. Trip, Trap that's for you two."
The 2 sneaks disappear silently to fulfill their task.
"Stronk, take your 3 warriors and hunt the creatures in the forest. I don't want any losses, so don't bite off more than you can handle."
"Got it!" The fighters head out.
"Chuck and Lift, I want you working on chopping down a tree. Make yourselves some tools as needed."
"Ok! We chop!" with a grin the 2 head out.
That leaves the chef and the runt. Hmm.
"Stew, I want to see some nutrient rich food for the others by the time they return. Go wild, use anything you can find in the dungeon. I want you all to grow as strong as possible."
Nodding eagerly, the chef grabs a basket he made during the first few days and his cleaver then he's off.
Sorry critters, it's time to serve the dungeon in a different capacity...
"Berry'wart!" The runt looks nervous. "If you want to live yo to your name, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the berries we have available. Eat Gem Berries until you can't take it anymore, gather and process blueberries and strawberries. I'll even create a new berry for only you to eat. Off you go."
The runt nods excitedly. He's lucky I'm in a good mood. I see the runt grab a half burnt stick from the firepit, and test the charred part by scrawling on the ground.
This gob... is he capable of writing? All his stats must have been allocated to his brain!! What a valuable asset!
I quickly buy and edit a managrass plant. Why use mundane grass when you have the fancy stuff?
First I pump more mana into the plant to speed up its growth. That increases the stats I can play with. Then I reduce the number of strands per plant but increase their size. I change the shape of a few strands to resemble a simple rectangular piece of paper. I reduce their growth rate and propagation rate in exchange for being able to regrow harvested pages, the pages being stronger and tougher, and pages having a regular size when fully grown.
The result, what I call Paper-Grass, looks like a small clump of pale green grass with a few sheets of greenish paper rolled up in the center. It's rather pricy for a plant, so I won't be buying too many of these.
I get the runt to pick a few pages to use for his note-taking.
While I'm at it, I figure I should work on that new berry.
Considering the long term benefits Batson has shown after starting his Gem Berry diet, my previous creation can be considered quite successful.
Hmm, I find one of my earliest Gem Berry plants and get to work. As the new plant will be specifically to boost the runt's growth, it doesn't need any bells and whistles.
Glow, scrapped. Flavor, scrapped. Color, scrapped. Smell, scrapped. Size of plant, further reduced but changed to allow it to grow slowly over time. Size of berry, reduced. Shape of berry and visual appeal, ruined.
Now, with all the freed up potential I stuff it into the berry. Max mana content, max mana concentration, mana gathering capabilities, nutritional value, all increased as much as the little plant can handle. As the plant grows, it's capacity will too, so the berries will only get better and more potent over time.
This small pill-sized nasty tasting grey berry shall be called the Pill Berry.
I call over Berry'wart and present him with the berry plant.
"I'd recommend washing this berry down with a jar of water, don't bite it or you might barf."
The goblin nervously picks the berry and jots down its appearance in his notes. Sniffing it, he makes another note. Pausing, he hesitates for a little, then gives it a lick. Gagging, the runt stuffs a few blueberries in his mouth to mask the flavor before recording the experience.
Quite the dutiful little researcher!
Finally, the goblin is prepare to swallow the berry. Preparing a jar of water and a handful of other berries he reaffirms his resolve. This is the cost of choosing his name.
He pops the grey berry into his mouth and chugs the jar of water, before desperately stuffing blueberries into his mouth and chewing like mad. His eyes watering, Berry'wart manages a sad smile.
"Good, well done." I give him some encouragement. Did minimizing the flavor attribute really result in such a nasty result? I almost feel bad. "The pill-berry will grow back each morning and I'll buy you another 2 plants, so I want you to eat it at least once a day. Feel free to experiment with other ways of consuming it, and the effects the Berry has on other creatures."
The goblin starts grinning, and I can almost see the cruel fate of numerous critters being force fed these nasty berries.