It surprised both Ken and Simm when Surata declared suddenly, "It's time. They are ready to come out. I can sense their impatience."
"But it's only been twelve days," Simm whispered, nervous and unsure.
"Your body can't provide them with enough sustenance anymore. You've already fallen to the early levels of Mutant Rank. The children will have to rely on the world spirit's will from here on."
Ken and Surata got busy. The supplies had already been brought to the underground hideout by him. Simm's entire room had been modified to the best of their abilities to make sure that the delivery was as smooth as possible.
Goblin women's childbirth process was a little different from humans, especially when the children were a mixed breed. Their bodies couldn't handle the direct expulsion of the babies through the birth canal due to the larger size of the babies. Surata's long experience in such matters made a world's difference, making Ken internally thankful that he had chosen the best of the best, despite the associated risks.
Taking advantage of Simm's enhanced physique, Surata cut open her body after realizing that the birthing process must be initiated as soon as possible to avoid causing harm to the children. Numbed by a swathe of spells, Simm became a curious observer of the procedure, making small conversations with Ken with each new development.
Inside her womb, four fully developed ugly little creatures were tightly embracing one another in a circle. Their skin was of a smooth grey color, a common characteristic of human-goblin crossbreeds. The umbilical cords connecting them to Simm for nutrition were, however, equally eye-catching. Tiny, bright patterns had formed on all of them, emanating occasional pulses of deep purple light. The patterns reminded Ken of runic magic, but none of them looked familiar.
Looking at Surata's frozen, reverent expression, he had a feeling that she might know something.
Due to the incision in the womb, the internal fluids were leaking away, leaving the children uncomfortable and panicky by instinct.
Surata broke herself out of the reverie with an emphatic shake of her head and got to work. An hour later, Ken walked out of the underground tunnel carrying two recently fed babies.
"Kids, take a look! This is your home world! Take in this vast expanse, and know that it will not limit you!" Ken knew they could not understand him, but he didn't care. The sleepy babies blinked helplessly under the bright white sunlight, perhaps finding the constant changes in environment disturbing. Their weak lungs burst out with cries, and Ken watched them take in their first fresh breath in the wide-open wild.
There was another reason why he had brought them out, away from Surata's prying eyes. He had noticed something the moment Simm's womb had been cut open.
He could see his children's progression panel, just as clearly as his own. And he could feel a mysterious sense of connection to it. When he focused on the stats, he could even control the display, switching from primary stats to secondary panels as he wished. It was as if these babies were tiny clones of himself, an extension of his body that he could nurture all by himself!
[ Race: Beastmen ]
[ Talent: Totemic Magic Affinity (Bloodline) ]
[ Class: - ]
[ Level: 1 ]
These were the primary stats of his son, Kenshi. While being categorized as a member of the Beastmen Race was an expected outcome, Ken was disappointed at first that his son had not inherited his mother's Racial Talent. Like most goblins, Simm's race Talent was a cultivable ability called Hivemind. Ken knew how useful it was. But more importantly, Kenshi had inherited one of the artificial talents of his mother through the bloodline connection!
[ Level: 1] [ Warrior Class: Locked ]
[ Exp: 04/50 ]
[ Attributes: Strength (0.1); Speed (0.1); Stamina (0.2); Dexterity (0.1) Magic Affinity (1) ]
The boy's physical attributes panel wasn't the same as Ken's. He had inherited an extra stat, Dexterity from his mother. But he had also retained the stat unique to most members of the human race, the magic affinity.
A leveling attribute panel with 5 stats meant he had great potential, but it also would weigh him down heavily. The total number of attribute enhancement points he would receive from level 1 to level 9 as a Beastman would be somewhere between 22 to 30. When these Enhancements are divided between 5 different stats, the average stat for him at the peak of the Ordinary Rank would be around 5. That was far too low when one could invest all of his enhancement points in two or three stats to bring them up near 10, which was the theoretical limit of any stat in the Ordinary Rank.
If his son wanted to be good at anything in particular, he would have to make the choice early in life and invest the points in the relevant type of growth.
Recalling the boy's Bloodline Talent, Ken could estimate that he would be the most successful as a mage.
On the other hand, the other child in his arms, a daughter they had named Mishka, had a much different array of stats. Her primary panel contained the talent Ken was looking for.
[ Race: Beastmen ]
[ Talent: Hivemind (racial) ]
[Class: - ]
[ Level: 1 ]
While going through the motions, Ken examined her talent panel without expecting more surprises, but he got one. Unlike her brother, she had inherited a different talent through her bloodline, a very interesting one too.
[ Bloodline Talent: Aim (1) ]
A talent for aiming meant that she would be fit for the classic Goblin warrior roles like Scouting and Archery. With the right type of guidance, she could even master the modern weapons used by Elves and Dwarves. Although, under the World Spirit's blessings, Archery didn't lose out by much against these complex weapons. The Racial talent, Hivemind, would be of great use... under certain conditions, of course. Ken could only hope for Simm to guide her in developing it.
Mishka's physical attributes were slightly disappointing, but that was because Ken was expecting a surprise. She had only three basic attributes, Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina, which made her an even better fit for roles in the warrior category.
After letting the two brats scream till they grew a bit tired, Ken took them back to the tunnel, and returned with the other two, another pair of a son and a daughter. The distribution of nature was very neat!
His second daughter's specialty was a Bloodline Talent titled [ Motion Awareness (1) ]. It was a very useful Talent for warriors. Ken had personally seen many of his friends and acquaintances use it to survive in close-quarters combat. She also had five different basic stats like her brother Kenshi, including Ken's magic affinity. Her path would be a complex one, for certain.
His second son had inherited no anomalies except a Bloodline Talent from him, [ Mana Affinity (1) ]. It confirmed his suspicion about the working of the Talent Transformation spell. It didn't matter when the children were conceived when it came to inheriting the parents' talents. As long as they were in the womb, developing under the World Spirit's care, they could receive any Bloodline Talent gained by their parents outside. The runic-style patterns on the umbilical cords were definitely the biggest factor in it. Ken could sense the existence of magic in those patterns. They could very well be the source of the connection he felt with his children.
Compiling all of his children's speciality in his mind, Ken couldn't help but wonder...
"Why are the girls better suited for combat compared to the boys? Do I have to sacrifice the joy of pampering a daddy's princess in order to let them reach their full potential?"