I easily extracted the zvart's heart as proof I'd slain it. One pair of zvart's hearts is equivalent to fifty silver coins, which is more than my daily wages. Adventuring was dangerous, but the money was great. I tucked the heart in a burlap bag I'd brought with me. It was time for my next target.
"You're greedy right now, Roxy."
"Oh you tell me to shut up."
Because of the heat signatures that were clearly seen from my vision, I can see them through the dark. Like a built-in thermostat that was embedded through my eyes. The body heat was killing me.
I cautiously continued through the field until I found two goblins in a clearing. I could tell one of them was a goblin fighter, based on the sword he carried, but the other held only a large shield. Fortunately, I didn't need to stand around guessing what that meant. I had inspected.
Goblin Guard
Skills: Vitality Boost (Level 1), Shield Boost
Vitality: 270
Strength: 120
Defense: 370
Agility: 120
Mana: 100
The goblin guard had a touch more health than the goblin fighter and, to go with it, a low-vitality-boost skill. But I figured that, as long as I could avoid letting my attacks bounce off the shield, this battle was mine.
And I noticed one of its two skills, one vitality boost and one shield boost. I decided to use my appraisal skill to view its usage.
Vitality Boost (Level 1) - slightly increases the vitality stat
Shield Boost- deflect any projectiles, including magic arrows
The vitality boost was no threat but the shield boost was a big no for me. It can deflect any projectiles whatsoever ,even my blood arrow doesn't work on the goblin shield. It was a risk using my blood bow easily, so I morphed it into a blood sword to counter his skill.
I watched the two goblins from the shadows of the boulders below, deciding which to take first. At a glance, it looked like the sword-wielding goblin fighter was the better option. But if my first attack failed, or the goblins noticed me coming, that shield carrying guard would be a problem while I took on the fighter.
Though I suspected I could have overwhelmed the two goblins by force, I was used to battling monsters, I wanted to be certain of my attack plan, so I decided to start with the guard.
I waited for the goblins to separate and put a little distance between themselves. Then Plasma signaled me to attack.
"Roxy, now!"
I dove out of hiding while the guard faced the other way, but his reflexes were sharp. It sensed me coming and turned with its shield at the ready. My blood sword was already flying through the air, my sword was going to bounce off the goblins shield.
Or so I thought.
"Augh!"
In a split second, I imbued my sword with defense reduction. As it did, the guard let out a scream as the blood sword carved through the goblin and the shield as if through paper. It seemed my defense reduction was far sharper than it appeared. If that was the case, these goblins had no chance of stopping my attacks.
As I killed the goblin guard. The other goblin swung its sword wildly in an attempt to intimidate me, but it made no difference. I cut both it and its sword clean in half and watched as the goblin fell, its eyes rolling back into its head.
As it did, blood spewed down my dress. The once clean and white dress suddenly became a bloody mess. Then the goblin's blood suddenly landed through my mouth, I tasted it and it was delicious.
"Oh, delicious."
"Ugh… Pathetic, Roxy."
I slowly drank their blood with my newly customized fangs. It was delicious. Because of my new fangs, it's like water in a bathtub when the plug is drained. Completely sucking it all.
[Drain Activated Extraction Completed consumed six liters of blood]
"This is supposed to be the season for goblins, they come through the ravine and into the Town's water supply. But there's not nearly enough of them." I said
"My hunch is they're playing cautiously. Every year, a capital knight drives them away, so they send the goblins to scout ahead. They're probably biding their time and waiting for the opportunity to shine."
As our conversation ended, I extracted their hearts with ease. With two zvarts and two goblins killed, I've likely earned enough money to eat a fancy meal.
I morphed my blood sword into a bow for better stability and a sager distance. The lantern is still illuminated its path, still wrapped through my thigh. Then I proceeded to investigate.
"Plasma." I said
"What is it, Roxy? Another question?"
"Oh, don't be rude, Plasma. Come to think of it, how much evolution does my blood curse have?"
"I dunno, come see it for yourself. Drink blood as usual. I'm your assistant though."
"You mean Plasma, did Roxanne program you in this cocky attitude?"
"No. I was a human back then. Worse, I was trapped inside of your body."
So Plasma admits himself as a former human, much as I can see in his temporal form. I doubt that his attitude was based on his original personality, not an AI assistant, but a real human soul that was trapped inside of my body.
After our busy talk with Plasma, we happened to stumble on something unusual at the bottomless ravine. It was a sewage system, an underground system that was connected to Town Allure. Then, Plasma spoke up.
"Roxy, this is the source of the infection."
"Plasma!?"
"There's a dead goblin inside of that sewage system. You need to remove it in order to remove the reservoir of the disease."
And true to Plasma's words, there was indeed a dead goblin inside of that waterway. Only its severed leg was present, I pulled out the leg as usual, revealing a dead goblin with its face being decayed. As well as the odor reeks through my scent.
"Eww, since when has this goblin ever been here?"
"Roxy, it's been dead for a long time. The rotting corpses leek out the water supply of Town Allure, that's why Luke cannot control it properly. It was blocked."
"And?!"
"Its blood was mixed at the Town's water supply, the rotten blood was poisonous to humans. So the rotting corpse's blood dilated through the drainage system. Completely spreading to the townsfolk."
After I yanked out the dead goblin in the water system. I suddenly detected a monster's presence behind the dark ravine. I backed out a little and hid at a nearby boulder.
"They're here."
I squinted and spied two blue-scaled goblins sneaking down the ravine. They were zvart archers, much more like shit slingers at least. They both wield a bow and sharp claws. If I killed them now, the other goblins wouldn't show. I slowed my breath and hid and waited. After checking the area, the two archers disappeared back up the ravine.
"And now the pack comes?" I said to Plasma
"There is no doubt. They will come"
Just as Plasma predicted, the flowed down at the ravine like a river of shuffling blue scales. There were at least twenty. Most were goblin fighters, but five looked much bigger. One with silver fur instead of blue, was even larger than those.
Plasma sensed its danger immediately.
"Something wicked this way comes. That there is a peak-level beast"
"A peak-level beast?"
"Yes, it'll be the quickest just to identify and see for yourself."
I did as Plasma suggested. I used inspect
Goblin King
Skills: Decimation, Corrosive Decay
Vitality: 10000
Strength: 12000
Defense: 15000
Agility: 15000
Mana: 16000
"What?! This thing's stats are… five digits."
It was a goblin king, but it stood more than a cut above the rest. The name also differentiated it. So that was what Plasma meant by a peak-level beast.
The stats are slightly stronger than both the spider queen and the chimera. Making indeed a boss battle.
"Roxy, if that monster ventures onto the town's walls, expect terrible things. See how it's flanked by four ordinary goblin warriors? Against them, a young capital knight on its own would be like a lamb in the slaughterhouse."
"You mean…"
"Yes. If you don't hold them back here, they'll wreak havoc."
I took a deep breath and reviewed my own stats.
Eirene Rynd
Skill: Inspect, Blood Curse, Blood Sword, Defense Reduction, Blood Bow, Pain Manipulation
Vitality:4000
Strength: 6500
Defense: 4500
Agility: 3800
Mana: 9100
My stats were no match from the goblin king, but it was too late. The townspeople of the Town Allure deserved protection. I gripped my blood bow tight and made up my mind.
I would devour all of them, and I would leave no survivors.