Day 3

Since I had gotten myself into some trouble, it is now time for some battle preparations. The only questions are: How and what? I mean, I'm just a blue crystal. Okay, I agree, I look magnificent. But I'm not capable of actual combat.

My doors help a lot in hiding, but if someone smarter than those two goblins, is investigating the tunnel. Then maybe he could sense the mana coming and going in my core room. And if you search long enough or carefully enough, you might even be able to find the hidden door.

Although I'm sure, my pitfall can kill any intruder that falls into it. If there is a group of enemies, someone will surely survive this trap. And simply adding more traps in a row is hardly an improvement.

At least I was able to raise my level of [Claim Territory]. Level 2 seems to increase the rate of capture by 50% and cut the mana cost by half. I am curious if these benefits are linear, and what is the maximum level of this ability? If the benefits are linear, there will probably be an early level cap. Otherwise, there must be some kind of diminishing returns, or it takes a very long time to raise the level further...

Okay, enough rambling, more concentration. I'm in the process of expanding my territory towards the left corridor, where the goblins came from. But I haven't been able to find anything interesting yet. I wish I had played more Dungeon Crawler in my past life; it would probably help me now. But I have become more and more interested in RTS and simulation games. Nothing that helps me much with my current minimal resources.

Since I am not able to think about something better or even unique, I decided to create something classic. A pendulum blade trap, you just have to create a pile of blades that swing down on your opponents and split them apart.

To do this, I must first prepare the location of the new trap. So I make some slits in the walls and ceiling. A total of six blades, evenly distributed over a length of three meters, so I can probably take out a small group at once. Next, I cover the slits again with a weak layer of stone so that my trap becomes invisible. But the blades won't be slowed down much. A thick stone bolt combined with stone rings serves as a bearing so that the pendulum can work properly.

Lastly, I make six long stone blades that are connected to the rings and secure them with small bolts. In this way, I have to release the trap manually, which helps me to hide my existence. And maybe I don't want to attack everyone who comes down the tunnel.

After finishing my newest and not very innovative trap, I was once again rewarded by the good old blue window.

"New Blueprints acquired! Pendulum Blade Trap added to [Trap Creation]."

To make things even more deadly than they already are, I placed a slightly modified pitfall trap right in front of it. This time the unfortunate enemy will not simply break through the floor. But I cover the pit with a large stone slab and secure it with bolts, just like the pendulum blade trap. In the case of a larger group of enemies, I can trigger both traps separately to maximise the damage inflicted.

Well, that should be sufficient for now. Okay, it's not like I have enough mana to build any more traps...

So, let's get back to occupying more territory. Since I can't see anything outside my boundaries. Hopefully, this will change as soon as I can breed some monsters, but I have to find a way to include them to my blueprints first. If I have to make an educated guess, I'll probably have to absorb a monster first to get the blueprint. In that case, the only available candidate at the moment would be goblins, not the best prospect for my future.

It took me a few more hours to reach the end of the corridor. This time I found a large cave that was more impressive than my core room, and it was full of goblins. Okay, no, it wasn't. There were only a couple of goblins in there, five in all. But if I count all the bunks, there must be at least 20 to 25 goblins living in the cave. 

It's bad, if all these goblins attack me, I'll be in serious trouble. The only good thing about this situation is that most of them are gone. They are probably hunting; I hope I didn't let those goblins go too soon just because I plundered their food. Yeah, who am I kidding? They're probably doing just that right now.

In that case, it's probably a bad idea if I start stealing her stuff right now. Instead, let's observe the situation a little, while I get some of my mana back. I can see the sunlight shining into the cave from another tunnel, so the exit of the cave system must be nearby. I also hear some water dripping, ah yes, there seems to be a small spring with crystal clear water. The amount of running water is not enough to wash your clothes, but it's sufficient if you just want to drink it.

The equipment of the goblins and their camp itself is rather primitive. Most of the bunks are a simple bundle of rags and skins stacked on top of each other. In the middle of the camp, I see the remains of an extinct campfire. And some spare weapons lying around, nothing remarkable, just more coarse spears and wooden cubs. 

After a little more searching and observing, I found a bunk that arouses my interest. The skins and furs seem to be of higher quality, and there is even a tattered leather backpack. Are these the chief's belongings? I am tempted to [Absorb] the backpack for further investigation, but that seems like a terrible idea. These are most likely the spoils of a successful attack on a traveller, and the new owner will quickly notice if they are missing.

While I was still thinking about my findings, I could hear a commotion from outside the cave. It sounded as if the remaining inhabitants had returned. I hope they're all goblins that come back. Because many of them were wounded, and I could only count 12.

What was quite worrying was the game they brought back from their hunt. It seems they've successfully captured two human girls. Both were tied by hands and feet to a long stick and carried by two goblins each. I don't know if they're still alive, but one of the girls has a nasty wound on her head...