A Plant’s Life - Chapter 24 tying the knot!

Suddenly the plant grew very tall, with long vines and a giant flower the shape of a mouth. The enormous flower opened, showing small razor sharp teeth inside, then it swallowed the poor goblin within a second. The act had happened with such speed, that Kala was unable to even understand what had transpired. Before he could celebrate the arrival of his new life of joy, he had been swallowed whole by a strange plant.

Then came pain, so strong that he wanted to die many times over. Kala deeply regretted his choice in dealing with the voice, but it had been too late!

While Kala’s soul was being tormented by high pain, John started to finalize the details of his short-term plan. He would stabilize his body by controlling its molecular structure, then use the remainder of stolen power to upgrade himself. Thus, began the restructuring process, where he would personally oversee each cell in the body, changing their structure. Doing so had many benefits, such as more understanding of the process of DNA upgrades done by the system. It was indeed full of flaws as he previously had estimated, yet the approach concerned mana, upon closer inspection traces of soul, could also be witnessed. This new finding led John the reason for his previous vessel’s failure in further modification to be limitations of their spirit. Once he arrived at the heart, some strange form of energy appeared, so faint that it could be missed if one had not been extremely careful. Instead of inhaling this strange phenomenon, he simply observed its behavior. The strange force protected the heart from any invasion, more precisely it protected the center of the heart. Since hobgoblins had a different style of heart, he had to slowly unbind this energy cloth to find what was inside. After some time, the knot was opened, showing what it covered, it had been nothing! It seemed the transformation process had not been as smooth as first evaluated. This energy particle could have caused hyperactivity and cancerous features in surrounding cells, which later would move inside the body wreaking havoc. After this incident was discovered, John scanned the entire body checking the specific energy waves found before. The results had him frown; 11 twists were found; due to their sensitive built, direct absorption had the chance to set them off. They were similar to small time-bombs, located all over the body.

Clearing this obstacle took a considerable amount of time and power from John. Originally, he had more than sufficient reserves to upgrade the body by a few more levels and reinforce his core. However, after this episode he had only a small amount left; the consumption for the untying of these swarms was astounding. He concluded: “No wonder the more advanced class does not multiply out of proportion, this issue will destroy most of their offspring, crippling others, only a selected few will survive. It also shortens the lifespan of advanced monsters, reduces their chance for another breakthrough. This world is cruel indeed, in order to survive one must be more ruthless. For now, observing without acting would be the ideal strategy, only foolish one’s act without backing. One wrong step can end many lives, all morality and consideration have lost its value, even if I had any compassion, now would be the time to end it! After some rest, I have to conduct a mass genocide of goblins, much more energy needed. I should be able to increase my core’s effect by two times and maximize this body’s potential. Since the monsters are weak at this level, it should be the ground or beginning of the dungeon. A maximized hobgoblin should be able to travel with less difficulty until another suitable vessel is found. The most important goal is to boost my core” John had reached a conclusion that his vision had not been deep enough to penetrate the mysterious veil of the soul, thus more cultivation was in order.

He whispered: “Let the massacre begin” this sentence was said with cold piercing eyes and indifferent tone; it would have given chills to even the strongest warrior.

He sneaked to another village near to his location, used darkness to stalk his target, an entire village of 400 goblins!

After solving the issue with tumors inside his body, his stats received a boost, as a major issue had been resolved. An issue that the system did not find! Another sign of bad faith.

He scanned his stats, comparing it to the village guards.

[Name: Kala

Race: Hobgoblin

Class: Archer

Level: 1

HP (Health Point): 74/74 (CON*8+10)

MP (Mana Point): 42/42 (INT*12+6)

SP (Stamina Point): 85/85(CON*10+DEX/2)

Attributes:

Strength – 7

Dexterity – 10

Constitution – 8

Intelligence – 3

Wisdom –4

Charisma – 5

Luck – 3

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

Good shot (Basic): higher chance of success in shooting a target

Condition: Healthy, stable

Mana imprint: 20% connection to the soul

XP (Experience Point): 0/130]

[Name: Rez

Race: Goblin

Class: Warrior

Level: 1

HP (Health Point): 20/20 (CON*8+4)

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

SP (Stamina Point): 20.5/20.5(CON*10+DEX/2)

Attributes:

Strength – 2

Dexterity – 1

Constitution – 2

Intelligence – 0.5

Wisdom –0.5

Charisma – 4

Luck – 4

Skills: Lucky boy(basic): can increase luck twice a day, cost 4 mana

Condition: Healthy, bored

Mana imprint: 4% connection to the soul

XP (Experience Point): 0/15]

[Name: Lulu

Race: Goblin

Class: Warrior

Level: 2

HP (Health Point): 20/20 (CON*8+4)

MP (Mana Point): 22/22 (INT*12+4)

SP (Stamina Point): 20.5/20.5(CON*10+DEX/2)

Attributes:

Strength – 1

Dexterity – 1

Constitution – 2

Intelligence – 1.5

Wisdom –1.5

Charisma – 2

Luck – 1

Skills: Screamer(basic): can scream very loud, alarming nearby guards

Condition: Healthy, bored

Mana imprint: 5% connection to the soul

XP (Experience Point): 2/30]

John threw two spears made from goblin bones, toward the guards with all his strength.

Thud, Thud

The poor goblins flew before falling to ground sleeping soundly forever. He then used the rope made of goblin skin to collect the corpses, eating one and putting the other on the ground near the destroyed village. He then walked confidently inside the village, strolling around as if nothing had happened. Due to being much taller and sturdy than all goblins, he was questioned very fast. A goblin asked: “Who are you? How did you get in? Where are the damn guards?”

John simply replied: “I am Rez, just found a magical flower, after eating it I evolved”

John had learned based on goblin stories that they were familiar with race transformations, yet it had been a rare sight, most never saw it in their lifetime. But this did not mean they did not strive for such thing, rather they would do anything for such an opportunity.

Blinded by greed, a member attacked him, which was responded with a sharp knife made of bone to pierce the monster’s heart, dark green blood flowed on the ground. John asked with a raspy voice: “Anyone else?” The crowd was stupefied, when did Raz take the knife out to stab? The actions were so fast that they could not register.

Another asked: “What happened to Lulu? Where is she? She should be able to vouge for your story”

Another reply came, leaving the crowd stunned: “I killed her for the flower”

Backstabbing for benefits had been a culture of these thieving monsters yet confessing to murder and killing in front of them would raise anger from them. John did not bother with them anymore, shouting loudly: “Chief, you bloody skunk get out here, I am ending your reign today”

An old goblin with a beard appeared, he had been the best fighter for a very long time. However, now he had no confidence in defeating this hobgoblin. He commanded: “Soldiers, bring me his head, so I can piss on it!”

A group of scared monsters surrounded the challenger while feeling truly scared.

John looked around, scanning all who were present, their secrets were revealed to him.