Part Twenty-Two

Pennsylvania. North American Disaster Zone……

Status

Race: Weregoblin ( Goblin )

Class: Predator

Age: 3

State: Healthy

Titles: Daemon, Murderer, Razor’s Edge, Predator. Not Prey, Conqueror of Trials,

Rank: B-

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze, Claw Aura Rank C, Intimidate Rank D, Survival Instinct, Heightened Senses, Accelerate Rank D, Shockwave Rank E, Slaughter Aura Rank E,

Class Skills: Predator’s Instinct, Predator’s Hunger, Predator’s Aura,

Special Skills: Bloodthirst Rank F,

Equipment: Ring of the Bloodhound,

“Growl?”

Perhaps this was a sign of progress? What had once been meaningless nonsense now held actual meaning to her, though she wasn’t sure why. She knew what each of the words meant, what they represented, but she didn’t know how she knew. All she knew was that she kept getting stronger, and that she understood more and more as she grew. Hopefully, she’d understand all of it one day.

What she didn’t know, what she couldn’t know, was that this cognitive growth was a result of the Daemon Title she held. Under normal circumstances, the World System’s strengthening effect wouldn’t raise one's intelligence or cognition. The Daemon title existed to counteract this, allowing monsters with relatively low awareness to function just as well as the mortal races.

As a result, monsters like Weregoblins and Cyclopes, which possessed very little cognitive ability to begin with, could eventually come to learn how to more efficiently manipulate their mana. This was more important than it seemed, as one would never be able to master a skill without fully understanding it. Even the wild intuition possessed by monsters couldn’t overcome that gap.

After deciding that this new understanding was probably a good thing, the Weregoblin went back to eating the monster she’d just finished hunting. Hunting had become almost too easy after completing the Trial, as the abilities she’d gotten were too perfect. And while she hadn’t fully explored their effects, what she already knew was enough to make that hellish experience worth it.

Predator’s Instinct was essentially an upgrade to Survival Instinct. Not only would it warn her of danger, but it also made finding and tracking prey a hundred times easier. And since it was a passive Skill, it was always on and didn’t consume any mana.

Predator’s Hunger still functioned the same as before, though now she internalized the abilities it absorbed, allowing her to eventually learn to use them herself. Most of the Skills she now possessed had actually been acquired this way, though she’d honed further them as she went.

It should also be noted that while this Skill was similar to Feast on the Dead, a racial ability held by certain kinds of high-level Undead, it was fundamentally different. Feast on the Dead allowed the Undead to absorb the memories of those they ate, so the ability could be used to not only learn a Skill, but to also enhance it. It was far better, but there was also a chance for other memories to influence the Undead, so it was a bit of a double-edged sword.

The final Skill, Predator’s Aura, was the easiest for her to use. It basically empowered her whenever she was “on the hunt", though she’d yet to figure out the limits of what that meant. Did its effects end when she killed her target? When she ate them? What if they got away but she kept pursuing? How far would they have to get before she was no longer “on the hunt"? There were a number of factors that made this Skill unreliable, but it seemed that for now, she’d be able to use it safely.

*Chew chew chew che-!*

Something caught at the edge of her mind, causing her to interrupt her meal and look up. And what she saw caused her breath to catch in her throat.

***

So, this is the Weregoblin? The High Seeker was right. They do have a Class already. Hm, based on the way they tracked that Behemoth, I’m guessing Scout or Hunter? Though something stronger shouldn’t be ruled out. Perhaps Predator. That would make sense.

Asantos stood on a rooftop, watching the Weregoblin eat. This assignment Tesandros dropped on him was rather annoying, but saving the lives of Daemons was one of their duties. The same had been done for him, and he wasn’t the kind of person to forsake someone in the same position he’d once been in.

Long ago, Asantos had been the leader of a particular Kobold tribe. As a superior variant of Kobold, regular Kobolds would swear allegiance to him with a single meeting. He’d used that to his advantage, taking control of the tribe and absorbing other nearby groups to fortify their position. They’d then gone to war with the neighboring tribes of Demi-Humans, conquering them and carving out the beginnings of an empire.

Unfortunately, they’d been too successful, and had gathered the wrong kind of attention. An extermination force had been dispatched to eliminate them. And while his tribe had tried to fight them off, the force was led by a group of mortals that had passed the second threshold, making them S-Ranks. They’d never stood a chance.

Somehow, after countless miracles, Asantos had managed to survive the battle, though he’d been grievously wounded. If not for his vitality as a monster, he likely would’ve died then and there, but Fate had a far crueler fate in store.

The instincts possessed by monsters regulate their emotions, preventing them from experiencing certain levels of feelings like despair or sorrow. Even seeing their own kind slaughtered in front of them usually only results in them becoming enraged. Unfortunately, Asantos was incredibly unlucky, as his grief over losing his tribe went beyond what those instincts were able to suppress, causing him to unintentionally purge the very source of those instincts, what he now knew as Volatile Mana.

Without it, Asantos lost his status as a monster, and was thus connected to the World System, which subsequently caused his own awareness to become clearer. Being a superior variant had come back to bite him, because now that his instincts were no longer interfering, he possessed the intelligence to understand what his life had been like up to this point, and that knowledge broke him. Emotions long gone had flooded him, breaking his will to live. If nothing had happened, he likely would’ve either killed himself or simply wasted away, unwilling to live another day.

Fortunately, a Lore Seeker had heard of the operation, and had been waiting nearby just in case it caused any Daemons to appear. They’d intervened, using powerful magic to help stabilize his emotions. They’d also healed his injuries, and transported him to the Seeker's hidden citadel, where he’d been educated and trained, before eventually being assigned to his current cell. But because he’d been shown such kindness at his lowest point, he felt that it was his duty to extend a hand to others who might wind up in the same position. Even if it was sure to be a massive pain in the ass.

Sighing, he released his Stealth, finally allowing the Weregoblin to notice him. It took them a few seconds, but they eventually looked up before freezing in place. And while Asantos meant them no harm, they didn’t know that. He’d need to earn their trust before he could invite them to join the Seekers, a process that could very well take months.

Haaah, simply trying to talk probably won’t work, so maybe a show of strength would be best to start? If i-.

“Growl!?”

Before Asantos could try anything, the Weregoblin was already rushing away, dashing down an alley and out of sight. Knowing that chasing someone trying to flee a superior enemy would just make them more scared, Asantos decided to let them escape for now. He’d just try again later, once they’d called down.

Of course, if Asantos had been a little more astute, he might've noticed that it wasn’t fear that caused the Weregoblin to flee. He’d been under the assumption that a Daemon Weregoblin would have sensibilities close to that of other Goblins. Most Daemons were Demi-Humans after all, so he’d never think that it would the wolf that made up the core of the Weregoblin’s personality. And so, it would very difficult for him to realize that the Weregoblin had simply been embarrassed to be seen eating so sloppily by someone she considered extremely attractive.

***

Warsaw, Poland. Temporary Headquarters for the Allied Committee of International Defense……

While Asantos was lamenting the difficulty of the task given to him, Tesandros was mentally screaming at the humans before her to hurry the fuck up. They were all reading the documents she’d handed out, but they were taking far too long to read them.

Part of the problem was that they were written in Glyph Script. Even though everyone in the room possessed mana, it wasn’t like they were well-versed in using it. Most had only equalized their internal mana stores through coincidence, or as a consequence of their work. Only two of them actually possessed any Skills, so it was no wonder they were having problems. But even if they hadn’t had any issues with the Glyph Script itself, the documents’ contents were enough to give anyone pause.

One-by-one, the faces of each member of the Executive Board went pale as they deciphered the Glyph Script. It was only natural. After all, the documents confirmed their worst fears. Earth, no, the entire universe was doomed to annihilation.

“This, this can’t possibly be true. There’s just no way. She, she has to be lying!”

One of the Board members began denying everything, panicking at the revelations they’d received. It was an understandable reaction, but not something Tesandros was willing to tolerate right now. She had other duties to see to today, so this taking longer than it needed to would only spoil her mood further. Just as she went to cast a spell to deal with the unruly Board member, Natasha stepped in. She smacked the man across the back of his head, then glanced in Tesandros’s direction, reminding him about their rather dangerous guest.

“I…apologies. I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that.”

“It’s fine~. I know this is a lot to take in. Hehe, I think my reaction when I first heard it was pretty exaggerated as well.”

Seeing that Tesandros had no intent to pursue the matter, the rest of the Board breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing they needed was for this enigmatic individual to become upset with them, not when she represented one of their few remaining hopes.

“Still, I can’t imagine that something could destroy the entire universe. Even if a number of unexplainable phenomena have been occurring lately, it just seems too…out there. Even if the monsters are dangerous, I can’t see them destroying everything.”

The man was choosing his words carefully, but there was still a chance that even questioning Tesandros would set her off again. Thankfully, she seemed to take his question in stride, and actually pondered it for a moment before answering.

“I can see how you’d think that, but you’re fundamentally mistaken. It’s not the monsters that’ll destroy your world. They’re just a symptom of the main issue, like finding maggots in rotten meat. No, the main problem is World Decay itself.”

That was confusing. Everyone here had thought that World Decay was what brought the monsters.

“Are…you saying that the monsters aren’t connected to World Decay?”

“Oh no, they are. Hrm, perhaps I haven’t explained it properly.” Tesandros drummed her fingers on the table, trying to find the words to make them understand. “Okay, so I’m going to preface this by saying that no one actually knows what World Decay is. The multiverse's brightest minds have researched it for far longer than your civilization has even existed, and we still don’t understand it fully.”

“What we do understand is that World Decay is not a phenomenon per se, but rather a type of energy. It’s what’s responsible for creating monsters in the first place. It’s warped and twisted, and it corrupts anything it comes into contact with. And when it comes into contact with a dimension, it begins wearing away at the dimensional foundations that world exists on. Over time, this causes the dimension to begin falling apart and eventually collapse in on itself. Monsters appearing is just the first sign of World Decay, that’s all.”

“Now to answer the obvious next question, no, you can’t stop World Decay. I’ve heard of advanced magical civilizations attempting world altering spells to try and subvert its effects, and they’ve all failed. Every last one only made the problem worse, either by hastening the effects of World Decay, or by destroying their homeworld on their own. The worst case even transformed their entire population into Fiends, something that still gives us headaches even to this day.”

“The only safe way to protect your world is to utilize the System’s Endgame Protocol, which only activates whe-. Ack!”

“””””Wait, what!?”””””

Everyone had been patiently listening to Tesandros’s explanation, but the ending had caught them all off-guard. Tesandros had suddenly gone pale, and seemed to be in immense pain. Her face had gone completely pale, and she was practically curling in on herself.

“Uh, s-sorry, but I just realized that I left the oven on! Um, and if I don’t turn it off, I’ll get in major trouble!! So, uh, I’ll come back on two weeks to get your answer. Tata til then~.”

And with that, Tesandros snapped her fingers, using Space Magic to teleport away again. Her exit was so abrupt that several of the Board members had actually been reaching for her in a vain attempt to make her stay longer. Even though she was equally shocked, Natasha quickly adapted to the sudden turn of events.

“Haaaah, fine. I guess we have to play along with her. Hieklin, could you circulate this…proposal to all affected parties? And make sure that there’s no interference?”

“I’ll get right on it.”

“Good. We’ve got work to do. More than I’d like to admit.”

Natasha sighed as several members of the Board began to go over what they’d learned today. And while she didn’t know what this could lead to, she knew that it would mean more work for her.

…I’m going to die of overwork, aren’t I? Can’t someone give an old woman a break?

***

Somewhere along England’s eastern coast. Ixan Isphael’s secret manor……

“I, I don’t know what to say.”

“Thanks would be a good start, but I’m just glad ya like it.”

“’like’? Corgy, I love it.”

Corgan and Clint stood in the workshop, the latter holding the scimitar-like sword the former had just given him. Its blade was a lustrous green that reminded one of spring, and the hilt had several jades and emeralds set into it, though they weren’t there for decorative purposes. This was perhaps the best weapon Corgan had ever forged, and it was the culmination of not only weeks of work, but also the trust their Lord put into the two of them.

“This is made from the Mythril Lord Ixan got, isn’t it? I thought that stuff was ten times more valuable than gold?”

“It is. This is just how much he wants ya to come back ta us. How much we all want ya ta come back. I even went and tried ta make it so ya could keep using it for a long, long time. So don’t you dare think of dying out there.”

“I won’t.”

A tear escaped from Clint's eye, sliding down his face as he tried to hold the others in. The difficulty of the Trial before him was vast, but he thought he’d be able to scale it, so long as he held onto these feelings.

Wind Reaver

Rank: B

Effects: Slight increases to Dexterity, Strength, and Agility, Massive increase to Wind Magic

Equipment Skill: Devour the Wind,

Description: A blade forged with all of one’s heart-and-soul. The blade is made from Mythril, a near-legendary metal with the ability to absorb mana and Magic. Embedded into the hilt are several jewels Enchanted with powerful Wind Magic. Combined together, these two properties allow the blade to not only absorb Wind Magic, but also enhance it.