Chapter 30: Checkmate!

I absorbed 30% of Gyuk’s stats and invested all towards the new stat called DEF. His DEF numbered around 40, whereas I don’t even have that stat displayed. The contrast was too much. So now, I have got a DEF attribute which was numbered at 12. I don’t know if the number was more or less, but at least it wasn’t zero like before.

Only the strength remained at 5, but I knew it wouldn’t stay like that for long. With the skill Nightmare Seed at my hands, I could absorb as many stat points as I can from a target. Although I don’t know if this skill could affect others with higher INT and WIS. It was yet another thing I left for the time when I would meet Cathie again.

For the time being, I focussed all my attention on this war which was on its climax phase. I already had my pawns all over the enemy base, there was no way the Goblin Lord could win this match anymore. Defeat was imminent for him. However, I was a bit at loss on how to deal with him. My earlier plan of making him my subordinate was no longer seem feasible at this moment. Two tigers couldn’t stay in one mountain. I couldn’t let such a dangerous element hang around my backyard.

What’s more, Urt said he used forbidden magic to transfer his soul, then what other forbidden magic he may know? I couldn’t keep calm when I thought about it. The conclusion I reached was that the enemy was too dangerous to get close to. But I don’t need to get close to him anymore. As I thought about this, an idea formed in my head.

I saw Logier sitting alone on a makeshift chair made of tree barks, looking lonely while clutching his stump where his arm used to be. No one dared to get close to him, not even his comrade in arms. I went near him and perched beside him as I tried to start a conversation.

“That place is bleeding, big guy.” Not the best thing to say at that time, but I didn’t know what to say anything either. At my reminder he pulled his hand out the huge bandaged stump and looked at his palm, only to find red splotches. I sighed and remained silent, not knowing how to proceed anymore. I wanted to tell him about the plan I just made. However, both Logier and the orcs needed rest. I could see the fatigue in their eyes, physical and emotional. Driven out of their natural home, then betrayed by one of their pillars. They couldn’t get a break from all this.

“I hoped to achieve the same height as my old man one day and protect my people like how he did.” Logier’s large eyes widened. I even saw tear marks on his cheeks. However, I remained silent and allowed him to continue, “Not only did my brother backstabbed me… I lost my only hope to ever Enhance to a higher stage.” He clutched his hand to a fist and slammed it hard against the tree bark, turning them to dust upon impact.

I gulped silently at the display of strength. Even with my 12 points of DEF, I would probably die from that punch. He looked at his own hand and rubbed it against his chest and continued, “Little guy, I think after this war is over, I will give up as the leader. With only one hand, I am no longer fit for the role. Crippled orcs have no place in the leader’s den.”

“And, what will you do?” I asked him while looking at his face, to his eyes. If Logier no longer wants to sit on the throne, then whoever comes next might or might not have the same sentiments towards me. If such a thing happens, then I would have to use my Nightmare Seed on him to put him under my control. After all, I don’t want to give up on these orcs just yet. They were my future army. They were a valuable asset in my quest to revenge.

“I will work as a guard. I will be guarding this new place against all the external threats.” He sounds determined and also defeated. Orcs were too much of a stickler to the rule of strength. They do not tolerate weakness and Logier’s now crippled.

This counted as a weakness as well.

“I see.” A quiet sigh left from my lips as I leaned on the wooden seat and rested my back on the backrest made from another tree bark buried vertically. I looked away from him and gazed at the horizon beyond the purple fumes covering our final destination. “I came here to tell you about the new plan I have made which could end this fight once and for all.” I stopped and looked at his reaction.

“Really?” His jaws dropped and eyes widened at this. He turned around and grabbed my shoulders, “Are you telling the truth, little friend?” My 12 points of DEF did nothing to resist the violent shaking as I soon felt nauseous. Resisting the urge to vomit, which I didn't know I was capable of, I patted his hand which was bigger than my full height.

“Ah, sorry. I got too excited!” Realizing that he was hurting me, he let go as I breathed in a sigh of relief. I even lost a few points of HP there. These orcs were way too strong for their own good. I should keep a little distance from now on, or else, I would be shaken to death someday by them.

“It's alright.” I croaked before rubbing my head to clear away the cobwebs of dizziness. “I just made up the plan and it also has nothing to do with fighting for now,” I said while clicking my fingers together. It’s a habit I developed when I was a human.

“No fighting? Then how are we going to win this war?” Logier only knew how to fight. As an orc, he believed that any trouble could be solved by swinging fists. He had done so all these years, and so did everyone before him.

All brute no brain, this sentence was the best to explain these orcs.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Now listen to what I am going to tell you, you will act according to that when the time comes. Okay?” I looked seriously at the dumb pig. He was vital for my plan to succeed. I wanted to end this war on a peaceful note with no loose ends left untied. If I have to force that goblin lord to a corner, he might use another forbidden magic which could probably kill me or worse, condemn me to some eternal torment.

If I learned something from years of watching television and reading fantasy-themed books, forbidden magics often tend to throw some unexpected surprises. For all I know, this world’s magic might be more horrific than what I read on books!

Therefore, I was trying to avoid all pitfalls that might occur due to carelessness.

I sat down and pulled the system from the corner of my vision. It was there, all the time recording every minute changes with my stats and skills. My full MP was over 110, which might not be enough for this plan to work. Therefore, I am going to buy myself some time with the stunt I am about to pull.

As I concentrated on the link with Urt, the Goblin General, the skill’s effect pulled my consciousness into the purple cloudy space. There, Urt was already waiting for me with his vacant eyes, staring at the horizon. Even though I was standing right before him, his eyes weren’t looking at my form. I didn’t bother with him and just gave an order for him to fulfill.

The skill, Nightmare Seed, was like a factory for making sleeper agents. With just an order from me, they will start to act accordingly, dealing heavy damage to the enemy from within. After I finished with it, I cut off my connection with him and stood up, looking at the purple misty area.

What I did now will buy me a few hours, if not a day. Within this time frame, I will try to increase my MP as much as possible. Depleting MP and then allowing it to refill so that my maximum MP could increase, this was a strategy I adopted since the day I awoke. I knew not if this could be done infinitely, or there was a limit, a cap to this method. But, I will try to milk it for all its worth in the meantime.

On the other hand, I noted the MP cost this time for me was around 10. Which was a lot less than what it had been the first time I used the skill. Another point made clear here, the more I use a skill, the lesser it will cost my MP. But, after a certain point, it won't go down no matter how high the skill’s level reaches. Take my ‘Cast Illusion’ as an example. It had level upped many times, and yet, it still costs me 1 MP per use.

I assumed that with the level increase of each skill, the cost decrease might be capped at 50% at most. Like how Cast illusion hadn’t decreased a single decimal from 1, Nightmare Seed too will be capped at 1 MP, Metamorph will be at 15 and Nightmare Manifest at 20~25 MP respectively. Aside from cost cutoff, each level up brings forth a new understanding of the skill. Like how it happened with Cast Illusion and Infrared Vision.

In their initial stages, Cast Illusion could only make a target ‘dizzy’ for a period of time, and infrared vision could only see the vague outline of a heat source. However, with each level up new things about the skill were unlocked. Infrared Vision could now even see magic itself, and Cast Illusion could make a target brain dead. Although no new things were unlocked for Nightmare Manifest or Nightmare Seed, that’s only because they hadn’t reached their adequate level yet. On the other hand, I gained a deep understanding of Metamorph skill. It hadn’t reached level 1, but I already had a firm grasp on some of its abilities.

One thing I was sure of, Metamorph wasn’t limited to imitating only.

I used a flurry of skills and knocked myself out from fatigue. When I woke up, I had a few orcs bring me food. With my stomach full, I repeated the same process again and again. Each time the INT would increase from anywhere between 2 to 3 points.

Once…

Twice…

Fourth time…

Sixth time…

I continued the process ten times and then stopped. Because, I noticed that after the 6th time of repeating this process if I don’t use a precise skill with appropriate MP cost, the remaining MP would be deducted from my HP. For example, if my maximum MP remaining was 5, and I use a skill whose MP cost was 6, the remaining 1 point would be deducted from the HP.

Pulling myself together from the surprise at this discovery, I opened the system to see my stats.

INT had increased by 27 points max. Influenced by it, WIS had also increased by 5 points. Combining these two, max MP had now become, 170. MP regain rate stayed the same, probably because WIS didn’t increase that much.

But, that’s beside the point because with 170 MP, I am fully confident about the plan I hatched. I stood up and walked towards the purple smog barrier as a smile formed on my lips. I mumbled to no one in particular, “Now, I got you where I wanted, Goblin Lord. It’s checkmate!!”

A checkmate indeed. Surrounded from all sides, whether he goes forward or moves backward, the only thing waiting for him would be my pawns. Now it all depends on him, whether he wants to live or fight to the last breath, it all depends on the decision he takes after what I made Urt do.