“So, this is what you were doing in the fields,” Dokloram says, still on the ground recuperating from the massive drain at your proverbial hands. He watches Fig slowly take you in his hands, ready to wound nervous and sweaty Gilk, who is standing opposite of him.

“Are you really, really sure there isn’t a better way?” Gilk says with his sight fixed on the razor-sharp edge of your blade.

/No. We need Fig back on his feet and fully operational for the training./ You send your speech into Gilk’s mind, as well as into Dokloram’s and Fig’s. /As it is right now it will take Fig all the remaining time just to heal before his big fight. And that simply won’t do./

 “I’m not liking this at all,” Gilk says and shakes his head, but nonetheless takes another step to the wounded Fig, who is still on one knee due to his wounded leg.

/Your concerns are noted and ignored./ you project your thoughts into Gilk’s head. /Don’t worry. Fig has much better compatibility with me than Dokloram or Milty. And even Milty didn’t harm a single goblin… More than was necessary./

With that said apart from the fact that no warning message had appeared in any of the times that Fig took you in his hands, you have no idea what compatibility percentage he has with you. It’s above 50% apparently, but that’s about it. No such warnings ever came up before so you didn’t even consider it to be an issue. Though it’s not like you’ve never heard of such a trope before, so perhaps you should’ve been savvier.

While Fig waits for Gilk to stop shaking so that he doesn’t slice open a major artery by accident, you open up your rather limited in information status bar and search for the required information. Almost instantly find a small tilted square of a tab at the top left corner of the information screen. It has a gray with a silhouette of a goblin’s head. With your mind, you imagine pressing the tab and another small screen pops up.

[Wielder: Fig
Compatibility: 81%]

Great! You didn’t lie to the worried kid.

/Go ahead and slice him open!/ You enthusiastically encourage Fig. Is it because of your renewed faith in the goblin? Or because there hasn’t been a single time that consuming another’s life—even if a small amount—has not been pleasurable. /Just don’t kill him by accident! His arms are too skinny. Try one of his outer thighs—at least he has some more muscle there./

“Sorry, Gilk,” Fig says through heavy breaths. “I promise to make it up to you somehow.”

While they both strengthen their resolve, you recall that no warning message appeared when the old, blind goblin carefully examined you either. Sikglib, was it? Even then he appeared to be no ordinary goblin, but this revelation reignites your interest to speak with him again at some point.

“Ah-aa-ah!” Gilk jolts back when Fig makes a cut in his outer right thigh. You manage to absorb some life essence and pass it to Fig, but it’s clearly not enough.

/Again!/

“For real!?” Gilk almost breaks down to tears. “You nearly sucked Dokloram dry! Can’t you use some of that?”

/I’m not a battery! I have no means to heal others using my own resources. When I use my [Life-leech] skill, I can either keep it for myself or let it through my body to my wielder. If I don’t pass it on, I just consume it./

“You don’t sound all that great as Fig made you out to be!” Gilk yells and grits his teeth, preparing for another ‘donation’.

/Yeah, well, at least that’ll keep you on your toes, and you won’t be as reckless in the future. If you had a healing battery at your disposal you’d get careless and outright die before I could heal you anyway./

“He’s right,” Dokloram says before Fig cuts Gilk again and you transfer another portion of Gilk’s life essence. This time Gilk takes it like a champ. He simply bites into his fist, not letting out a peep.

/Alright that’s enough. I need all three of you functioning and ready to move at a moment’s notice. And this is not a perfect healing method anyway. If we wanted to heal Fig to a hundred percent we would end up killing Gilk without a doubt. I can feel that I’m definitely draining more from my target than I’m able to give my wielder./

Fig is about to stand up, when you shout, /Wait! Don’t move yet! Every second we let your wounds heal is valuable./

“Then what now?” Dokloram asks.

/Now Fig keeps me close by in case there’s trouble and we need to fight, but otherwise he does not move a muscle. Meanwhile, Gilk will go to the fields and fetch Petunia. Together with her he’ll go and get the best food in the village they can find and bring it here. Then we’ll train./

“What!?” Gilk yells out. His eyes open wide in shock. “The old man is going to kill me if I try something like that!”

/Ah, right. I explained this to Fig, but not you two. Look, long story short, either you four eat and drink according to the grueling training you’re about to go through or you, and everyone you know dies.”

Gilk gulps.

/Well? What are you waiting for? Go!/

Gilk runs off, down the same path you and Fig came by to this hill.