Syl

Chapter 41: Tests and Preparations

As I sat in my abode, I began thinking of ways to test the [Sub-Core]. I was currently in my elf form to train my mimicry skills and [Mana Sight]. Since Beta was at capacity, continuously withdrawing slime mass, I'd only be using Alpha for these experiments. I pulled a rock from my storage and held it in my hand.

"Okay, Alpha. If something is going to hit me, I want you to catch it with a [Pseudopod]."

I threw the rock upwards and let gravity do its job. Before the rock could hit my head, a small tendril emerged from the back of my head to catch it.

"Perfect. Override that order, and now, if a threat is going to hit me, then use a [Pseudopod] to catch or deflect it."

I repeated the rock toss and this time, there was no tendril to catch it, and the rock harmlessly bounced off my head. To test the boundaries of the order, I formed a dagger in one hand and used it to stab my other hand. There was no defensive reaction, so I upgraded the dagger to a sword and aimed it at my core. This time, a tendril emerged and grabbed my wrist.

"Good job, Alpha. So you're smart enough to know what a real threat is."

I'd definitely be setting an order to defend from any real threats. But first, I had to spend my [Defy Death] before bed. Either I was growing used to harming myself, or the extra level of [Enhanced Willpower] was helping me go against my emotions.

Still not enough for level up, unfortunately, I dragged myself to bed feeling the pain in my core.

I woke up to an unexpected amount of notifications. I had figured [Mana Circulation] would level up soon since it came with [Mana Reinforcement], but it seemed to have slowed down recently since I was struggling to expend large amounts of mana. [Mana Well] took forever to level up, and I was unsure what method would improve its experience gain. Most surprising was Beta gaining a level already, truly showing the power of receiving donated experience from Alpha.

I used my entire allocation of [Slime Conversion] immediately, which was enough to offset my daily slime loss but not enough for the repairs on my core. Hopefully, that will be resolved in the next level or two. I visited Yuzz to fetch my repaired goblin outfit. Sadly, my secret request wasn't ready yet, and as I predicted, they had the badger carcasses from the farm waiting for me to harvest. At least it was extra food.

I wasn't sure what to do with my badger parts yet. I'd likely trade them for something useful, but at the moment, it seemed like they had more parts than crafters. I was going to head to the training ground when I ran into Garz. It looked like it was time to hunt the bear matriarch.

We assembled outside Krutz's hut, where already the goblins were discussing the plans. We would form an elite party to take on the matriarch, while other smaller parties would avoid her and deal with any other bears. We would be setting up an ambush outside of her lair and luring her out or waiting for her to return.

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'Yes'

Krutz, Borz, Nez, Caz, Garz, Syl.>

I finally discovered the name of the bodyguard, Borz. Nez was one of the goblins I frequently sparred with, and he was one of the few goblins who knew how to use a shield. Caz was one of my bow tutors, and she would be joining Garz as our ranged support. I wasn't sure what Krutz would be fighting with, but he returned from his hut holding a small scepter topped with a skull. I gave it a peek with [Mana Sight], and it had a black aura of mana.

Even a few builders were coming with us, and they would set up some traps for us to trigger if we got the opportunity and run away when the fighting started. The battle plan seemed for Nez and Borz to keep the matriarch occupied while Caz and Garz peppered it with arrows. Garz mentioned my stealth skills, and when I brought up my [Sneak Attack], they rapidly agreed for me to attack from behind and then behave somewhat as a free agent. When I asked what Krutz would be doing, he mentioned being able to weaken enemies, and his best ability would be to slow everything about the bear. I wasn't sure what that meant, but it filled the other goblins with a lot of confidence, so it must have been good.

Unfortunately, Krutz had been too busy to have given much thought on my skill choices, so I was browsing through my profiles to see if I could find anything. The profiles were great, but they only showed me naturally occurring skills without outside influence. This meant that the human, goblin, and elf profiles were horrible compared to monster profiles in terms of skills, as monsters would gain skills from their evolution, which was considered natural.

The Blade Wolf still held another interesting skill, [Sever Strike], which was an active use skill allowing me to focus intense cutting energy into a single powerful blow and even project that cut outwards at higher levels. The skill sounded useful, but at first level, it would only add some extra cutting power, so it felt more like a long-term investment.

The Venom Barbed Badger had an active skill called [Rage], which would let me ignore all pain and gain strength at the cost of losing thought and reason. It sounded too risky for me.

I decided to hold back on my skill points. Nothing screamed at me like [Evasion] had, and I was confident I could unlock skills like [Burrowing] myself. Hilariously, the only skill from the blue slime profile was [Jumping]. Perhaps the bear would have some interesting skills, or Krutz would give me a suggestion.

As the default sneaking expert, it was my job to check the cave out. I snuck in carefully and spotted one cub currently sleeping. I exited the cave and informed the goblins. They quickly got to work setting up some spikes made from wood and other various traps. Crafting traps wasn't my thing, so I just chatted with Caz and Nez.

One of the scout groups came running in a panic. The matriarch had been spotted and was returning. I wondered what an evolved bear would look like, as the wolf and badger were quite distinct, whereas the boar had seemed simple by comparison.

The goblins positioned behind the various spikes and traps on the ground, bows drawn and ready. I snuck off to the side, readying my ambush once the conflict had begun, hopefully landing a good [Sneak Attack].

"Too bad I can't drop down with four greatswords this time," I muttered.

I planned on using a spear with paralysis and a dagger with Bloodrot. I hoped detonating a few spearheads inside of the bear would distribute the paralysis poison, while I knew the Bloodrot worked better with cuts and open wounds.

As if announcing her arrival, I could feel tremors in the ground. How big was this damn bear? The goblins tensed. The bear that emerged seemed to want to mock my previous assessment of the badger as the biggest creature I'd seen. She was perhaps three or even four times larger than the bears I had fought in the cave. Unlike other evolved monsters, there wasn't a unique tail, oversized fangs, or poisonous claws. Instead, she had what looked like rocky protrusions growing amongst her fur and forming almost a shell of rock over her limbs.

"She's evolved again!" I heard Krutz shout.

The announcement shook through the goblins, but with their Chief to guide them, they seemed to have a determined resolve.

'So this will be my first double-evolved monster. I can't wait to taste the profile.'

As if answering my thoughts, my mind tickled.

Worthy.