Chapter 7: Chapter 7 Goblin Shaman
The camp, with Anna, Lydia, and the reinforcements that had arrived, soon disappeared behind the trees. No one was following me yet, but I kept running through the forest, trying to get as far away as possible.
Finally, when I thought I had run far enough, I took a step back and examined my trophies. The first thing I did was take my sword out of its scabbard and twirl it around in my hands, taking a few trial swings. It was not that good, so I decided that I needed a skill to use the sword properly. This was immediately confirmed by the system.
Mission received.
Join one of the groups of monsters in the Dead Forest.
Reward: «Mastery of Cold Weapons» skill.
Appreciating the system's businesslike approach, I put the sword back into its sheath and went to examine the contents of the bag. The first thing I did was to check the potion bottles in the bag. In addition to a few medium regeneration potions, there were several mana potions and one intelligence potion.
The latter, according to the label, increased the intelligence of the person who drank it by 5 units. But according to the small print on the label, it could only work once in a lifetime. The previous owner of the potion had probably drunk such potions before, or was hoping to find a better one.
I also found some tortillas and meat in my bag, which I ate on the spot. And finally, I found a scattering of gray crystals like the ones Julia had taken from the orcs when we first met.
The mention of intelligence made me recall my own stats.
Status
Name: Uruk.
Race: Modified Orc
Worldview: Unhuman (Human morality is no longer important to you, so do what you want and be prepared to accept the consequences).
Health: 300/300 (+1/min)
Mana: 78/100 (+1/min)
Vitality and build: 50
Strength: 50
Dexterity: 15
Skills:
- Healing (1). Costs 20 mana. Restores a small amount of health. Heal 10 additional creatures to level up.
- Cleansing (1). Costs 10 mana. Completely cleanses an item, creature, or small area. Use this skill 19 more times to level up.
As I expected, there was still no mention of intelligence. However, it was the one that the potion increased. The answer to this riddle was unexpectedly given to me by the system itself.
Explanation.
The otherworldly beings you belong to have a way of thinking that is alien to this world, and their intelligence cannot be adequately assessed.
Not that the explanation made it any clearer to me what the system meant by intelligence, but now I knew for sure that the potion to increase it was useless to me.
Another hour or so had passed while I dealt with the system and the trophies. However, there was still no sign of pursuit, so I relaxed, realizing that they had decided not to be pursued.
Suddenly, a predatory growl interspersed with guttural screams came from somewhere ahead, drowning out the sounds of the forest. Intrigued, I walked towards the sound and soon saw a small clearing where a huge creature, resembling a wolf the size of a bear, was killing a group of small green dwarves in loincloths. I easily recognized the latter as anime goblins.
Looking around, I found a large stone and immediately threw it at the wolf-bear's head. The monster was not protected by any analog of the sexuality index, and it immediately scattered its brains on the nearest tree.
«Yours to save me. Now mine is to serve you,» the last of the remaining goblins declared to me, and immediately began scavenging the bodies of his fallen kin.
He was the only goblin who wielded a staff instead of a spear. That was probably why he had survived - the wolf-bear had considered him the least dangerous and left him for last.
«Who are you, anyway?» I asked.
«My junior apprentice shaman,» the goblin introduced himself, breaking away from his profession for a moment. And boasted, «Mine can speak with spirits and is very intelligent!»
«And how is that?»
«Mine will show you now,» my companion promised after he had finished with the last corpse. And he crouched down by the tree, covering his eyes.
«When will you show me?» I asked a few minutes later.
All the while, the goblin sat motionless, leaning against the tree.
«My has already spoken to the spirits,» he reported. And suddenly he spoke in a different voice, stopping his twisting of words. «Many delicious men and beautiful women will soon finish their treasure hunting and follow your trail. Among them will be those with tracking abilities, and you won't be able to hide from them.»
The news from the spirits didn't upset me too much - I had already managed to find a common language with one goblin. All that remains is to reach the rest of the tribe through him... And there, if the goblins cannot defeat my pursuers, they will make a lot of trouble and hold them back, giving me a chance to escape.
«...That's what the spirits say,» the goblin summarized, returning to his usual way of speaking. And unexpectedly suggested. «Why don't we wait here for the humans, and when they come, eat the men and fuck the women?»
«Are you out of your mind? We can't even handle one of them in open combat...»
«Your master is a stupid orc,» my new servant waved off condescendingly. «When the spirits used to tell me that men and women were coming, I would inform the chief. Then we would kill the men and fuck the women. Now your chief and I inform you. We wait, they come...»
I tried for a long time to convince the goblin that his plan was doomed to failure. But he kept saying that we should just wait in place, and then some of them would come to kill and then fuck the others. All my objections, even direct orders, were shattered by the categorical «Your Orc, you don't understand».
I was on the verge of killing the little green-skinned idiot and searching for his tribe myself. But then I remembered the potion of intelligence and, interrupting the useless argument, ordered the goblin to drink it.
«Yes, master, now I see the fallacy of my plan,» said the goblin, drinking the potion and sniffing it with his own armpit. Judging by the change in his speech, the potion took effect immediately. «It's strange that I didn't think of this before.»