"This..." Athelei poked at the unconscious monster in front of him.
He ran Inspect.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Goblin
Health: 6/9
Mana: 1/1
Energy: 1/2
- Male
- Relatively intelligent.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
"A goblin?" He asked, glancing at Irene who was standing beside him.
Irene shrugged, "That's what Examine told me. They have a camp nearby, and it looks so... human. I wanted to ask if you knew anything about them."
"Ah, well, this is my first time seeing such creatures." Athelei shook his head and then asked, "Can you take me to the camp?"
Irene nodded as she led the way. Her footsteps brought her through a man-made corridor of stone bricks and wooden arches. None of the torches on the walls were lit, but she had no need for weaker lights such as those. Her golden armour was already a blazing bonfire in the dark underground.
Exploring the subterranean kingdoms had been what occupied most of Irene's time these days. She had been promoted to a Tier I User just recently, and she chose the Tier I Skill, Snack. Food and drink weren't too much of a problem for her after that.
And she was thankful that she had received such a timely ability.
After choosing a random entrance from the ruins of Avina, Irene had found herself lost in a labyrinth. It had been nearly three weeks of wandering and she had yet to find an exit. Dead ends, traps, and venomous insects composed a lot of her encounters.
These goblins were the first monsters she found, and the way they operated had persuaded her from slaying them all with a massive blast of Tangible Will. The way the goblins behaved, whether it was during their hunts or when inside their own camps were shockingly human-like.
"Here we are," Irene spoke in a low whisper as she dulled the light of her armour.
In front of her would be the crude camp set up by the goblins. She could only peek at the camp through the cracks in the massive double doors. But for the Angel with her, such a problem would not inhibit its senses.
Grey fog seeped through one of the gaps and bore witness to rickety constructs and busy humanoid monsters.
The constructs were built underneath the high ceiling of a fancy hall that stretched into the darkness. An artificial stream of water coursed through the centre of the camp, following the hall's grand architecture.
A few goblins were fishing from that stream, while many were standing guard near a wall on the far side of the camp. The darkness seemed to house something that made the goblins wary, as they meticulously cared for the torches in their homes.
"Is communication possible?" Athelei asked, rapidly making use of Inspect on everything but the goblins.
Irene shook her head, "Their language has traces of Acivis, but the way they use it is incredibly weird. I don't know how to explain it."
"Does it sound like some garbled code made from Acivis itself?" Athelei was already eavesdropping on the goblins, and he noticed what Irene meant.
"...That's a really accurate description. Yes." Irene said, "So, what do you think now that you've seen all this?"
The deeper that Irene got into the subterranean kingdoms, the more cautious she became. If she had spotted the goblin camp somewhere above ground, a few minutes of stealth and assassinations would be enough for her to decimate the entire camp and forcefully gain information.
Whatever treasures they hid in their crude huts would be hers to scrutinize.
However, the threat of the unknown now loomed over her shoulders. She had journeyed alone for most of her life, reaching the peak of Rank 2 Dictator, and thus she was used to experiencing the unknown in solitude. But not because she was fond of being alone.
It was just hard to find someone who matched her and could accompany her into such dangerous territories. Moreover, sharing the spoils would've been an important part of any companionship she might've had. It would have slowed down her growth if she always had someone she had to share with. Not to mention the possibility of being backstabbed at any moment and whatnot.
That was why Athelei had become one of her first regular companions. All the angel wanted was answers to its questions and some random requests. Her goals aligned well with the winged being, and thus Athelei became a second opinion she could trust.
"I've scanned the entire camp... And I think there are three objects that are quite interesting. Two that you shouldn't touch, and one that might break if we kill the owner." Athelei announced after using Inspect. "Those two objects are connected to something called the Oxhorian Spawn. And what that connotates, well, I'm sure you get the connection."
"Oxhorian Spawn..." Irene murmured, "The legends...?"
"Indeed. Whether they are the demons or the natives... The name recognized by the Cosmic Interface is [Oxhorian Spawn]." Athelei said with ill-concealed excitement.
"Alright," Irene noticed the eager tone in her companion's voice. Her desire to grab ahold of more treasures was also bubbling within her. "Wrap those two dangerous items with your fog. I'll deal with everything else."
"...Okay. Uh, make sure you don't destroy the torches too. Those are important." Athelei shifted through the double doors that led into the hall. He loosely surrounded those two dangerous objects he mentioned.
One was a crest, and the other was some kind of mechanical weapon.
Shortly after he did that, a gold blast tore down those double doors with a resounding boom.
Irene was going in with guns blazing. A smile was on her face as she temporarily shoved safety out the window.
In her mind, only one thought was present and it screamed, 'Treasure!'
After the violent entrance, things turned into a blur. The goblins tried to fight back with crossbows, spears, and even the Mystic Patterns from some kind of Artist holding a staff with a skull. All of it was nullified by Irene's shining armour and bowling balls of Tangible Will.
The green monsters were being knocked down by the sheer density of Irene's greed. Shockwaves rocked the hall as dust and blood were kicked up. Athelei was absorbing their residual consciousness as Irene's Angel of Death. The squeals and cries of a massacred camp rang out but were all swiftly snuffed out.
In the end, disfigured corpses were scattered across the battlefield. Several of the huts had simply collapsed due to the shockwaves, and Athelei held a skull staff in his hands.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Goblin Shaman's Staff
Lethality: 2
Mana: 0/5
- [Active Effect: Bless] In exchange for one point of [Mana], enhances the physical attributes of up to four targets for one minute. A 20% increase is spread across all targets with physical attributes below 50.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
"Twenty percent over four targets?" Athelei was surprised as he used Examine and Appraisal with his fog-body seeping into the staff's many crevices. With the goblins having physical attributes that were just a bit higher than his, a twenty percent increase wasn't so effective. On an Evolver like Apple, though, things would be different if that twenty percent was focused on him alone. Athelei was already trying to do the calculations in his head but he had yet to practice his mathematics to a sufficient degree.
It took him a few seconds to get a good estimation.
"What did you find?" Irene asked as she approached.
"See for yourself," Athelei answered and shared the results of his Analysis Skill.
"...This should be an excellent Mystic Artifact for humans. It's simple and effective." Irene was also quite astounded by the discovery. She had devoured the energies of similar treasures in the past, but those were always protected by stronger beings. This staff had been easy to retrieve and yet was of similar quality.
"A pleasant surprise, isn't it? But wait, we still have three other objects to check out!" Athelei giggled as he poked Irene.
The Goblin Shaman's Staff was actually the one that might've been destroyed after the owner's death. But when Athelei devoured the Goblin Shaman's consciousness, he felt an affinity for the weapon. It was a pleasant surprise because the results of Inspect had basically guaranteed its destruction.
Now, whatever that curse of destruction was, it was gone the moment Athelei had taken a bite.
After getting rid of the debris caused by a few collapsed huts, Irene was able to spot what Athelei had mentioned. She used her Tangible Will to drag the three items towards herself while ignoring the crest and the mechanical weapon for now.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Silver Necklace
Durability: 3/30
- Fitted with an orange Nebula Gem with an Interface Authority Level of 0.65
=o=o=o=o=
Preserved Labyrinth Spider Heart
- Used for a special ceremony
=o=o=o=o=
Crude Ring
Durability: 7/25
- Crafted with [Mana] conducting iron.
- [Passive Effect] Slightly heightens the wearer's [Mana] regeneration.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]