Chapter 26: [Day 8] – “Experiments” (1/2)
∼ Day 8 ∼
Readapting my previous strategy of infiltrating a goblin den, I move towards my target.
While I could easily slaughter my way in, I wanted to first see the situation and maybe try a few things out before doing anything rash.
Moving through the cave, I definitely see that it's somewhat bigger than the previous one.
This den had one more sleeping chambers, and the place was generally more populated by goblins.
This time around, this place didn't have any sort of special holy stone or anything weird like the last one.
It just smelled like a concoction of anything the body can produce, just like you would expect a goblin den to smell like.
Scrunching my face in disgust my thoughts wandered to why the other goblins would even have such a precious item like a crimson core in the first place.
Knowing goblins, they probably found it some random place they shouldn't have been.
Pulled out of my wandering thoughts, as I spot my target.
Here we go.
Even though goblins looked pretty much exactly the same, only slight differences in genders. But I definitely could recognize this ugly fucker's face in an instant.
In a chamber where goblins were mostly sleeping, the green little bastard was taking another goblin from behind.
My god, it's like seeing the most awkward teens having sex while trying to do it like how pornstars do it in pornos.
Even normal animals are more graceful than this.
Jesus christ...
Well, now is as good a time as any.
Inspecting the goblin, I don't see any effect from the sanguine plague that it has been afflicted with.
Hmm, weird.
It's pretty safe to say that the plague doesn't harm them, or at least unless I make it do somehow.
Wanting to be sure, I appraise it.
-Appraisal!-
[Appraisal - Goblin]
Name: ”???”
Race: Goblin
Sex: Male
Rank: H-
Level: 5/10
Health: 30/30
Stamina: 8/13
Mana: 0/0
[Attributes]
STR - 5
VIT - 4
AGI - 5
DEX - 4
INT - 5
CHR - 1
WILL - 2
MAG - 0.01
[Trait, Titles, and Skills].
Skills - 4
Traits - 2
Titles - 0
[Resistances]
Phy. Resistance - 3
Mag. Resistance - 0.084
Men. Resistance - 1
[Afflicted]
Hmm, nope.
Nothing that I can remember has changed, and it doesn't seem like he's harmed or anything.
Done with inspecting him, I take action.
Seeing that he currently has his guard lowered quite a bit, as he's nailing that ugly goblin, I begin to slowly try and bridge the connection of our minds again.
Feeling an immense mental strain, I push through.
Slowly the goblin began to act weird, seemingly confused as to what's happening.
Feeling I only needed one last push, I flooded my mental pressure into the goblin.
Clutching its head in pain, the goblin slowly lost strength in its arm and let hang to his sides.
Mentally exhausted and spent, I inspect first my remaining mana and then the goblin.
-Status!-
[Status]
Name: ”???”
Race: Azde (Blood Fiend)
Sex: Male
Rank: F
Level: 1/35
Health: 82/82
Stamina: 31/32
Mana: 2/3 (5)
[Attributes]
STR - 10
VIT - 20
AGI - 35
DEX - 20
INT - 20
CHR - 5
WILL - 18
MAG - 15
[Trait, Titles, and Skills].
Skills - 19
Traits - 5
Titles - 2
Skillpoints - 5
[Resistances]
Phy. Resistance - 10
Mag. Resistance - 5
Men. Resistance - 8
Huh?
Why does my maximum mana say 3 now?
And what does it mean by 5 in parenthesis?
Looking back the goblin who was just looking out into nothing with a blank expression on its face, or at least more blank than usual for a goblin.
Did I manage to take full control?
Commanding with my mind, I will the goblin to lift its hand.
Without delay, it did as I willed.
Fuck yeah!
Noticing that the goblin had stopped fucking it, the other goblin on all fours looked back to the goblin and yelled incoherently, seemingly very mad that he'd stopped.
[Language - Rathian/Goblin Dialect, has been learned 25%]
After that abrupt prompt, I suddenly started to understand some of the foul words spewing from the female goblin.
Not wanting to currently hear any more of the ragged language I offhandedly willed the goblin to continue while I inspected my status again, just to by some time while I figure things out.
Immediately shutting up, the dumb goblin didn't notice any further change.
Looking back at the 5 points of mana in parenthesis, I think I've figured out what is happening.
This the most reasonable answer to this, and it's that taking control over this goblin reserves 2 points of my maximum mana. So the parenthesis is just showing my actual maximum mana when not reserved.
I guess it does make sense that has to reserve some of my mana pool to mind control creatures, or I could pretty easily just amass a giant army in no time with no real cost.