Walking through the clan, though it was leaning towards a more barbarous style, the order in the chaos was apparent. The more I observed, I began to notice Goblins that tapped the blood. The goblin world was mysterious and interesting.
After our first few steps in, we encounter the slave traders. I had to stop and examine. It was the reason for my business, at least that's what I told the guards. After I looked at the goods of the slaves, a guard told me that Shaman Nox will be escorting me to the slave market himself. Shaman Nox turned out to be the old goblin that granted me entry to the clan.
With that, we made our way to the Shaman's dig - a home underground. There were many goods but none of them interested me enough to buy them, let alone stop and look. I can't really call myself a scholar but between my time in the Hero Alliance and the knowledge from the system, I learned enough to snatch seven out of ten treasures if they were presented to me like garbage.
Arriving at the Shaman's dig, my slaves were kept in near the entrance as I waited for Shaman Nox further in.
"So you're another bastard of Uhnok? When did Gor Uhn become so cunning?" a familiar voice spoke.
Shaman Nox arrived, slowly moving to his seat. "I asked you a question. You can't hide certain things from shamans as old as I. Both of your parents are goblins. Kor Uhn liked demi-humans. You can't be his son."
'It seemed the shaman knew the chief's brother, how troublesome'
"Don't be shy. Little Gniqee is my niece. The schemes of her mate are mine because they are hers. That's how family works! Goblins tend to forget that because we love to breed. So many children, so many mothers, the concept of family becomes deluded especially when the parents hold titles!" Shaman Nox explained.
"Never had a family, so I can't really relate. But I think I understand." I told him.
"That's a start," he grumbled. "So you're here for slaves?"
"Yes."
"Three days' time is an auction. You can join me and my son," said Shaman Nox.
"That may not be possible," I replied, thinking of my laundry list of future tasks.
The shaman raised an eyebrow.
"I have five days to perform level 1 goblin magic and eight days to make a level 1 potion. I should get what I'm here for then return to teacher Gniqee." I explain.
"Nonsense. Level one spells are easy once you understand the mana transformation process of Goblin magic. It's against nature, borderline chaos. Stay and I'll show you, for price." said the shaman.
"Name it."
"Gniqee. My sons have chosen the path of warlords. If I pass, I want Gniqee to succeed me but she refuses to leave Gor Uhn. You seem important enough to make that stubborn and upright mule deceive the goblin world, so you might have enough sway to succeed where I failed."
[Quest Alert: Master Shaman's Successor]
'Haiz! This seems to be an important task. I'll check it out later.' I thought.
"Deal...And maybe you can help me get a few things…"
Shaman Nox and I talk about the trade for a while. And then we drifted into a magical conversation about theory, proven methods of conversion, and exercises to succeed in goblin magic.
When Shaman Nox became tired, I returned to my beauties and rested properly for a night,
While in bed, I looked over the system. Not really my stats and skills as they level up naturally, but my quests.
Opening the screen, the first two quests were the two hidden quests -Ancient History and Inherentoce. Long-term quests that would take time completely. Though I'm hoping to get inheritance finished within the year as the task aligns with my requirements to enter the Dragon Hunt --the only time the people of the Continent could hunt or tame dragons in a pocket realm.
The next quest was 'Fake Teacher, Real Results, and shady schemes'. After completing the first task and becoming a student of the Shaman and Chief, the next object generated was to achieve First Apprentice. According to Gniqee, all I has to do was master Goblin Magic as none of her apprentices could use elemental magic yet.
Then came the new quest, 'High Stakes'. The bet placed with Phele, Prax, and Gigsa were recorded. I had one week to achieve level 1 goblin magic or Gigsa and Prax would have their way with me for a week. In addition, I would owe Gigsa two squares and have to escort her to the trade festival.
I then have a week and a half to achieve level 1 goblin magic and a potion or I forfeited the chieftain and became Phele's slave. Naturally if I one all losing stakes will be my winning stakes. As I said, they reap what they sow, and they choose the stakes without consideration.
Finally, the newest quest is 'Master Shaman's Successor'. I had to get Gniqee to agree to take her uncle's position. I figure it was easier said than done. But the rewards were much to my liking. 250 Exp, if conditions are meet, Head Shaman of the Yordal, Shaman Heart Stone formula, and the stone of Claxus.
Like the Orc Nectar, I had never heard of the Stone of Claxus. Before the hard reset, I could look up the rewards in the shop and read up on them. Of course, quest items were usually an astronomical price until they're earned. But the shop and exchange function isn't enabled until level 20.
Releasing a big yawn, I turned over and drifted into a sound sleep. In the middle of the night, a voice entered my head.
When I was lucid enough to understand, I could hear Dahlia telling me that they found the bleeding rocks, and in the canyon where the blood rocks were found, was a blood pool that smells of sesame with crimson flowers on the bank.
I was excited to hear about the blood pool and extremely curious about the crimson flowers. "Good. Sleep there and don't come out until I call for you. Kill anything that enters the canyon." I replied.
"Yes, Master."
Morning came swiftly and I slipped away with my girls. I leisurely moved through the clan to the far east edge which bordered the bottom of a cliff. Looking up at the ancient wall I released a cold breath as the aura was slight but awe-inspiring to those who wished to connect with it.
'Such a place really exists." I gasped.
"Master, have you heard of this place before?" Nyx asked.
"Hmm, the Hero alliance. It's not as famous because it's only effective for level 25 and below. And it's in goblin territory so Heros don't think it's worth it." I explained, "The world has many divisions. Before us, came the world, everything we are, in some way came from it. Like the kingdoms, the sources of the world are divided."
"Sources?" Rema, a shorted haired gouhl slave with middle eastern features asked. She held fourth place for the highest potential, the reason I chose her out of many.
"They're called veins. On our low-ranking continent. The primary elements are active and intense. But special veins are few and far in between. The blood pull comes from a 50,000-year-old bloodline vein… Come on, Dahlia should be waiting on us…"
Moving along the wall, we came upon a crack where two chunks of earth failed to join. Looking through the crack, Dahlia wore a big smile waiting for our arrival. It was a tight squeeze but we managed. We traveled nearly five miles in before we reached an opening that made the secret canyon.
"Raider? What do you think?" Throx's woman asked.
"Everything I expected and more," I replied, moving closer to the edge of the blood pool. "Crimson Orchards."
I picked up the red flower that grew at the edge of the blood pool. " This is at least a 2000-year-old pool. Blood Orchids only grow after 1500 years. They then become deeper in color every on 100 years."
I inspected the flower that was a step beyond blood red. According to the text, the crimson orchid grows pink, and every cycle of growth, its color changes.
"Raider, what good is a flower?" Throx asked.
"This here refines the constitution and increases your attributes by ten percent. But that pool. That pool detoxifies the body, heals scars, and strengthens you three times." My words were almost unbelievable as the looks I felt were incredulous.
"Everyone strip," I spoke aloud.
Through my connection with my slaves, I showed them a memory of my day in the library as a hero. Once they managed to get over my human appearance, they looked at the time in my hand.
'Master, will this really work?" Dahlia asked.
'Yes. You didn't think it would be as easy as jumping in. We're about to experience unimaginable pain. If you lose consciousness you die. If you don't take in the energy properly, you die.'
'What about Throx?" Nyx asked.
'This pool is for me and my people now. Throx is good, but I wouldn't choose him. Look over the memory again and then join me.' with that last transmission, I walked into the thick fiery pool and sank to the bottom.
Throx was about to jump in when Nyx stopped him. "After the slaves, Throx. We're his women. We go first. Raider's orders."
Throx gave her a nod.
Nyx was the first to enter after me. It wasn't a common thing to take in external energy. However, Nyx was accustomed to using Ahng to strengthen her body as a warrior. As for my adventure slaves, they were used to practicing and natural leveling through life and death. Besides elemental energy and mana, this world didn't cultivate a particular kind of energy.
I honestly didn't know how the people of the world manage to become so strong and I really didn't care. After all, I had a system the cultivated experience points.
Rema followed soon after Nyx, then Ingrid, Dahlia, Unis, Astoria, Sahyia, Missal, Clarissa, Nana, Lorena, and Kenya, twelve slaves each with their own special traits. But getting in the people is just the first hurdle.
Once my slaves were in, Throx and his woman followed. Two breaths after submerging in the blood pool, their bodies were put in an invisible vice before the power of the blood pool crushed them. Throx and his woman were fated to never walk the continent again.
My slaves are mine. Unphased by the death of strangers, they continued to pull the energy in, store it, and release it in pulses from the heart.
I silently praised them and like an arrow in the dark, I never saw it coming. The excruciating pain that I only read about and quite frankly its 100 times worse as my skin was the first to go. My muscles tore and veins ruptured. My bones snapped and my organs were traumatized.
But oddly enough, mine and the hearts of my slaves shined with crimson radiance as it continued to pulse. It was the first part of us to get stronger.
I cried out and gritted my teeth. My mind tittered on the edge of the abyss with nothing but my nails sheathed in stone as an anchor. Pain, I rediscovered and redefined the sensation that the blood pool taught me.
To make it worse, the psychological torture of constant dinging from the system was threatening to kick me over the ledge. A day passed, then hours. Slowly but surely the pain subsided.
Opening my eyes, I felt reborn. Looking at my women, only five survived. What a sad sight. Climbing out of the pool, my skin was deeper grey and black hair grew on my head. I had grown a foot taller and become slightly more handsome as a goblin.
'Status open.'
-Status-
Name: Kane Forrest
Classification: Raider Goblin Mage LVL 7
Bloodline: Goblin
Mana: 700/700
Exp: x/7000(level up)
STR:258
DEX:216
INT:240
WIS:246
CON:252
CHA:246
-Skills-
Iron Body Lvl 5/10
Martial Arts Lvl 5/10
Knife Hand Lvl 3/10
Telekinesis Lvl 1/20
Orc Nectar Lvl 3/20
Flash Step Lvl 3
Shadow Drift Lvl 2
Devil's Snare Lvl 1
White Brilliance Lvl 1
Radiant Lance Lvl 1
Alchemy Lvl 1
Slave Seal
Appraisal
Pain Tolerance (Passive) Lvl 15
Focused Mind (Passive) Lvl 20
Overactive Warrior (Passive) Lvl 6
Magic Immunity (Passive) Lvl 5
Night Vision (Passive)
[Would you like to level up one or max?]
'What do you mean max?' I asked.
[Notification 1: Host has absorbed Low-quality Xue Energy.]
[Notification 2: Xue Energy is strengthening host.]
[Notification 3: Excess Xue Energy has been Converted to Exp]
'Holy shit. System, what is Xue Energy?'
[Blood Energy is used to strengthen the body. Middle-grade Xue energy awakens dormant bloodlines. High-grade Xue energy bestows baptisms of the bloodline.]
[Notification 4: Host no longer able absorb low-grade Xue energy for the next five years. If the Host wishes to undergo strengthening again, the Host must find a midgrade blood pool.]
[Quest Alert: Master of Xue]
[Task 1: Locate Mid Grade Blood Pool]
[Task 2: Locate High-Grade Blood Pool]
[Final Task: Extract source of Blood Vein on the Atoria Contienent]
[Rewards: High-Grade Superior-Tier Spatial Treasure. 25,000 Exp]
I was about to lose my mind. This world actually had an energy that could advance leveling. And the reward of my newest mission is a superior spatial treasure A treasure only mentioned in ancient text.
Every material and external creation from elixirs, weapons, armor, and so on is graded by the tier scale. Even the Hero systems are graded by tiers. There are four brackets and sub-grades to judge a tier.
The brackets are Low Tier, Middle Tier, High Tier, Superior Tier. Each bracket is divided into grades of the same names. With that being said, Tier 1 to 5 is in the low bracket. Tier 5 to 10 is in the middle bracket. Tier 10 to 15 is the high bracket, and Tier 15 to 30 is the superior and largest bracket.
However, a quest with a reward that great seems hard than my hidden quest, and absorbing a middle-grade pool will surely kill me at my level. So the high-grade pool and vein source has to be a top-level quest. That's one thing I always hated about the system. It never grades quest and it feels like I'm flying blind most of the time.
Tsk. Tsk. Looking at my stats, a new wave of excitement washes over me as my stats finally stepped into the category of noble background. Unlike commoners, nobles cultivate their kinds with the best methods to have strength above their level.
The average level 10 will stats at 100 while a noble-born our gifted person can be twice that if not more. To survive this world, you have to despise average and shot for the top. But places like my Yordal have no choice but to be average.
Closing my system screen, I looked to my left and see a beautiful Nyx standing beside me with crimson liquid rolling down her nude body. She was staring at her hands in amazement. She then ran her finger through her hair and explored her new body.
"M-master. My strength matches that of an average level 45 fighter. Your technique really worked." She exclaimed.
Like the Yordal, Nyx was a few points above average because of the few Ahng she could absorb. But being on the border, having to constantly hunt intruders, and cultivate underlings that can die at any time, it was hard to rank up. It's why clans and Uhmaks are stronger. They are deeper in the Rocklands, more stable, and have a complete heritage.
If it wasn't for King Uhnok, our Yordal would be a clan and our strength vast. But such is the uncertain life of a goblin.
"I told you," I replied. " We can do this every five years as long as we're under level 25."
"And what if we're stronger than that five years from now?" She asked.
" Hmm, naturally your master has just as many solutions as he has secret techniques."
Splash, Splash Splash.
One by one my women came out stronger and more beautiful than when they went in. Even the thirty-five-year-old amazonian, Sahyia, looked twenty and more delectable. Most importantly the five slaves that survived felt differently towards me as their slave collars changed from red to a dull pink.
Unlike the Orc Nectar that made them sex fiends addicted to my cock. The slave seal measured emotional attachment. Looking at Nyx, Sahyia, Dahlia, Rema, and Clarrisa, I was a little surprised.
Clarissa is a human cleric. While Sahyia and Rema were ranked three and four, Clarrisa wasn't the best slave in the slightest as she was only level 5 and was captured a few years ago. But, if she survived the pool, it must be fate. I then noticed that Sahyia, Rema, and Clarissa were consciously looking back at me. When I first received them, they were broken, but in a better condition than the others. Now, thanks to me and the blood pool, they had been reborn.
After enduring my stare, the ladies bowed as they spoke in unison. " This slave worships Master"
I chuckled a bit then gesture for them to dress. After I was dressed, I collected the Crimson Orchids and cursed myself for never learning geomancy. If I had, I could leave the pool protected.
Releasing a sigh, I turned to leave as it was a day and a half left before I had to join the shaman at auction and three and a half days to learn Goblin magic.
Walking to the exit, a group of goblins entered the area with bad expressions. The group then split as a voice echoed from the back.
"That scum Chief Gor Uhn was hiding such a place in my clan! Who would have thought? When I heard you were his nephew, I knew you were up to something. Why come so far inland for slaves if you can catch them yourselves? I'll make this simple. Clan Lord Mil Khan is an impulsive demon that failed to enter the middle stages before twenty-five so he couldn't enter the Royal Palace.
And let me tell you, he likes men, women, and everything in between. He's now level 53 and you'll be cock sleeve by the end of the night with a slave seal around your neck. Unless you share the pull and teach us how to use it."
A tall green goblin with a hooked nose and mighty spear arrived with a cunning smile.
"Mor Dax!" Nyx growled. "Myr said he executed you!"
"Haha, little Nyx. He lied… oh wow, you're a slave." he noticed her slave seal. "How? It doesn't matter. The important things, you leave alive and I get a treasure."