Chapter 26
As I walked through the woods that the [[Odyssey]] map identified as the [[Eldritch Woods]], I bumped into plenty of monsters. Most of them submitted and fled at the passive fear effect from [[Haki]], since they were weaker than I was. A few nutcases pushed through anyway, only to feel the wrath of [[Greed]] and [[Gluttony]]: [[Gluttony]] devoured their souls while [[Greed]] consumed their bodies, erasing the monsters that attacked me from the face of the planet.
Of course, I had [[Subordinate Control]] place my subordinates’ souls into my shadow, creating the same chaotic feeling I’d had when I first used [[Parallel Minds]] and [[Multi-Tasker]]. Ultima stayed with me as well; she was permanently bound to my soul and mind, so it only made sense to have her there for tactical advice.
After a while of walking and cutting down slimes, direwolves, greater goblins, and even a small wyvern with ease, I stumbled across a clearing. It held a small village—very basic, with the fifty or so houses looking more like tents. The moment I saw the little green-skinned, pointy-eared people, maybe one hundred to three hundred of them, I froze, ready for an attack. But they seemed docile enough, going about their own business. They even looked more human than my goblins in the dungeon.
Ultima told me these were surface goblins, a humanoid race with feraloid origins.
One of the little children in the settlement came up to me... riding on a slime.
“What’cha doin’?” asked the little boy.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuum...” I could not believe my eyes. I really was in a fantasy world, something I had dismissed for the past year while I was in the dungeon. And a little goblin was asking me questions as if I weren’t a stranger, but an old friend or uncle.
“I’m gonna have to take you with me to the chief if you don’t mind!” he squeaked solemnly. He quickly grabbed my wrist and made his slime speed off in the direction of the biggest hut in the village. As I was dragged along face-first through the dirt, I saw all kinds of things. At least a third of the children I saw were riding slimes, and even some adults sat with them on their laps like lap dogs. Every family had a primitive kitchen and a room with three or more beds, probably a bedroom. There was also a beautiful lake, and many goblins sat at its edge or swam in it, catching fish. It looked like a happy community, but every adult wore a distinct look of anxiety.
When we finally reached the big house, the little boy hopped off his slime and rushed to hug a very old and decrepit goblin sitting in a chair.
“Hi, Grampa!” he squealed excitedly.
“Awwww, that’s so cute!” Ultima squealed in equally high tones at what she clearly deemed cute. Just then, I noticed that none of the goblins in the room seemed to hear her, but I pushed that thought aside.
“Who is this...” the elderly goblin began, then fell into a coughing fit before recovering just as quickly. “...rather strange man?” he asked the little boy.
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“I found him at the edge of the village. I don’t think he has anywhere to go, do you?” He looked back and forth between me and the old chief. The chief looked at me, and his gaze lingered on my passive [[Haki]] with visible apprehension. I quickly deactivated it. He seemed to relax after that, and he began talking to me, asking his questions. Eventually, I was given a place to stay in one of the spare huts.
The next day, I woke up to find the village in panic, shouting about a swarm of redcaps attacking the settlement. I quickly ran to the chief’s hut.
“What’s going on?” I yelled over the uproar of screams.
“We don’t know!” he replied. “A swarm of around twenty redcaps and fourteen redcap riders is storming the village!”
I instantly knew what to do. I used [[Physical Synthesis]] to create a human teenage male—older than I was—with relatively long red hair and black eyes. I stuffed Kuroe’s dormant soul into the body, told him to summon some clothes, and sent him into battle.
“Problem solved!” I called out to the chief, but he seemed unconvinced. Please don’t burn down the village, Kuroe... I pleaded in my head. ([[request]] granted — you have gained the SKILL [[mind link]].) That was a relief.
Kuroe, don’t destroy the village, PLEASE.
Unexpectedly, a reply came.
I won’t, master, although I may need some assistance; there are so many that I can’t handle them all on my own.
I ran out into the village, using my [[Odyssey]] skill to blink to where Kuroe was. When I arrived, I drew my [[Greed and Gluttony]] daggers and started slicing through the redcaps, while my [[Haki]] paralyzed them and Kuroe and I beat them into the mud. The only things we didn’t kill were the lesser worgs they were riding, since Ultima said they would be useful to the village. The battle lasted about fifteen minutes. We killed the redcaps, captured the worgs, and amazed the goblins. All in all, we did a good job.
“Oh my,” exclaimed the chief. “You are very powerful!”
I blushed at the unusual, non-sycophantic praise.
“It wasn’t much...”
“It WAS, my lord!” shouted Kuroe, sycophantically.
I gave him a witheringly dry smile, which he seemed to cherish like a god-given gift.
“Sir, we have just had a short discussion,” whispered the elder in pious tones. “We would like it if... if you gave us names.”
I looked at him in disbelief. Naming someone was a random and very important thing, especially when it meant naming hundreds of people.
“Okay?” I replied uncertainly. The entire village fell silent, as if for a funeral or a religious event.
“Grace,
Gabriel,
Gemma,
George,
Gabriela,
Gavin,
Giselle,
Graham,
Georgia,
Garrett,
Giovanna,
Gideon,
Genevieve,
Giovanni,
Greta,
Gregory,
Gloria,
Grant,
Gwen,
Guillermo,
Gianna,
Grayson,
Gina,
Giancarlo,
Gabrielle,
Gennaro,
Graciela,
Gunner,
Guadalupe,
Gael…” were just a sixteenth of the names I gave out.