A Plant’s Life - Chapter 21 Death of dreams

He overheard a gibberish language, but with some help in mana manipulation translation became possible. Goblins were chanting a name: “Jiji, Jiji, Jiji, Jiji”. He had avoided focusing on their talks in the midst of battle, as John needed most of his focus in gathering power. Now he had time to translate their discussions, strangely they were chanting the name of his lab rat!

Then a command followed: “Enough is enough fools, bring the dead ones. cleric help the wounded, the rest, take the beast into my residence, we shall feast tonight” and his body was taken to a small cave, where the goblin named Kala resided. John carefully inspected the surrounding, once the time was nigh, he used the giant hand of the bear to strike the back the head of poor goblin. Due to a difference in strength, Kala immediately fainted. John could have used his thin yet unbreakable threads to capture his target; with his expertise in genetics, changing the branches to become extremely durable had been an easy task. He could also release a powerful force attack, but he had chosen the most barbaric yet power efficient method, using a medium.

Then he gently placed his core within the mind of goblin chief, just before his connection was lost with the bear, he devoured every bit of its force.

Within the dream world, an alone bear could be seen, looking ahead with no emotion in eyes, as if he had died from inside. All of a sudden, the plant beside him inhaled all surrounding power, yet instead of growth, it seemed to shrink slowly. Before the dazed slender bear noticed, all was gone but him. Then there was none, he had been devoured as well; released from his pains, at last.

The body of the polar bear on the ground was sucked dry from all life, looking old.

After he was successfully moved, he used this old vessel’s power to push goblin chief towards an evolution. John had planned to use the chaotic environment of the body placing himself close to the mana imprint. This was done to control and experiment on the symbol, without rising any alarms within the system.

The goblin was shaking on the ground, only showing the white part of his eyes. After a while the shaking stopped, the small goblin opened his eyes, there was a flash of indifference within them.

John took complete charge of the body, putting the poor soul in deep sleep. Subsequently, to his most recent experiments, there was no need for permission for such weak souls, the mark could not withstand his invasion either. John scanned the body while asking the system for the status window. In order to compare the data for this specific specimen, checking for abnormalities.

[Name: Chief Kala

Race: Goblin

Class: Chief

Level: 3

HP (Health Point): 16/36 (CON*8+4)

MP (Mana Point): 10/28 (INT*12+4)

SP (Stamina Point): 42/42(CON*10+DEX/2)

Attributes:

Strength – 4

Dexterity – 4

Constitution – 4

Intelligence – 2

Wisdom –3

Charisma – 5

Luck – 2

Skills: Lead (Basic): higher chance of success in rallying troops

Condition: Damaged soul, weakened

XP (Experience Point): 0/45]

After the scan, John commanded: “system, show me stat window”

[Name: Chief Kala

Race: Goblin

Class: Chief

Level: 3

HP (Health Point): 16/36 (CON*8+4)

MP (Mana Point): 10/28 (INT*12+4)

SP (Stamina Point): 42/42(CON*10+DEX/2)

Attributes:

Strength – 4

Dexterity – 4

Constitution – 4

Intelligence – 2

Wisdom –3

Charisma – 5

Luck – 2

Skills: Lead (Basic): higher chance of success in rallying troops

Condition: weakened

XP (Experience Point): 0/45]

“I can see more stats than what the system shares, my existence has not been noticed either, even though I have not covered myself. This means if I am stronger than the imprint, it can be influenced. I would not need to look at limited options either, the evolution can be done manually, serving my purpose. All the arrangements are complete, it is better to leave fast, not raising any alarms would be optimal” John assessed before using the new body to move silently outside. After some time, another goblin came to the cave, looking anxiously for his chief, only to be disappointed, before showing a relieved smile.

John used the opportunity to adjust to his new vessel; since he started his new life, he had not used arms and legs. However, for a genius such as him, this feat came very easy, before long he felt very natural controlling the nerves.

Jiji became the new chief without much objection, takin over the ruling of his small community. This was all he strived for when he led a coup d’état, yet he did not feel satisfied. This might have been due to his circumstances, he had no say in any matter, rather the clerics had all the power behind the scene. Jiji simply gave most of the benefits attained, to appease his backers, this was his mistake. The curse of losing followed ignorant closely, Jiji had done all of the hard work, while his backers only extended limited support. If the mutiny had failed, they would simply renegotiate with old chief, achieving their desired results. But now with minimal investment clerics were able to reap magnificent rewards. This fact drove Jiji the foolish closer to insanity, he would constantly make life hard for the weak, taking advantage of them. He would mistreat his old love interest, the princess of his heart, Gija, beating her constantly, venting the frustration in his heart. If Kala had been present, none of these events would occur, but he was gone on a long journey, accompanied by a parasite in his brain.

Later he would become worst, going against everyone, devastating the community. At such point, the fallen princess of goblins would rise as a new hero, smiting evil Jiji to bring new light. Ending the tale of Jiji the foolish, starting legends of the first female chieftain.

Before any of these events were to occur, John had been far gone. Exploring the caves, he found similar goblin villages, where he would hunt any who dared wander outside. Later he arrived at a crossroad, before making any rash decisions he scanned his body, monitoring his progress.

[Name: Kala

Race: Goblin

Class: Chief

Level: 5

HP (Health Point): 44/44 (CON*8+4)

MP (Mana Point): 40/40 (INT*12+4)

SP (Stamina Point): 42/53(CON*10+DEX/2)

Attributes:

Strength – 6

Dexterity – 6

Constitution – 5

Intelligence – 3

Wisdom –4

Charisma – 5

Luck – 2

Skills: Lead (Basic): higher chance of success in rallying troops

Condition: Healthy

XP (Experience Point): 20/100]

John evaluated: “The required experience points had a sudden jump, this should be a higher evolution path, changing my race to a higher path. It shows the possibility of advancing my body’s species, more data is needed for any definite answer. I should simply hunt more, there may be more villages with lose security, or wandering children” While refining such thoughts, no change in emotional level could be detected from this sly goblin, only indifference.

Since he was not satisfied with his power level, John turned around, moving back towards the goblin communities he had passed. More experience was needed, aside from a new strategy, helping in overcoming future hardships.

While walking around, he had collected many plants wooden and leather tools. They could provide benefits at later stages, amongst his loot was a dead mutated mole, he had hunted by devouring its energy. He walked to the closest village while holding the corpse of his most recent hunt, a strange mole, in one hand.

The guards raised their weapons, warning the intruder against any sudden movements. The intruder simply yelled loudly: “I am a hunter; my team was massacred by a giant white bear, and only I survived. I am lost and it is very dangerous to stay out, I am willing to offer my pray and skills for a simple residence”

The green light of greed flashed in the eyes of guards, if the wanderer’s voice had been any lower, they would attack, killing him and stealing the meat. But this intruder had shouted very loud, alarming the entire community. Soon their chief arrived, noticing the meat he became glad, yet refrained himself from showing his happiness. The chief commanded: “The offer is acceptable; you can stay for one night. Your skills will be tested to determine your permanent situation later”. While scorning the unlucky fellow inside, he was planning to rub him and kill him later, eating the hunter with his pray!

The community walked in, with an apathetic look, the wandering goblin followed behind.