That was the natural evolution with no interference from adventurers and their items. While all goblin variants were still goblins in nature, hobgoblin was a catch-all term. Goblin lords were technically between hobgoblin and orc. Articles also said that special or unique types existed. Items given to goblins to spur their evolution increased their stats overall, and their levels reflected that. Hobgoblins started at lvl15 but could be in the high 80s. Every extra step taken between the evolutions like ogre, oni, and bugbear greatly increased their stats for their next evolution. After giving the charts, stat growth, and skills they could learn a look over, I made my decision.
“Mos, I think you should start working out with me.”
“I’m not fat.”
“Did I call you fat?”
“I’m your bride, the mother of your gobs.”
“I can’t have sex.”
“I’m pregnant; it's yours in spirit.” I stared at the goblin girl, who tried desperately not to crack a grin. “Are you going to pay me if I work out with you?” Mos asked.
“You’re about to evolve into a hob.”
“I thought you were getting shorter.”
I rolled my eyes. “I want to give you some not cursed armbands that will help you get stronger faster. After I gave you the scrolls and maybe some potions, all we need to do is get your strength over 20 before you evolve.”
“No idea what that means,” Mos said.
I had a good look at her current stats, thanks to my system.
Name: Mos lvl8
Species: Goblin
Status: Wife
Perks: Goblin Nation
HP 800/800
MP 720/720
Stats
STR 7
DEX 11
VIT 10
INT 9
WIS 8
CHA 15
LUK 20
There were still six levels before she evolved. We had time.
“How long until your abstinence gear wears off?” Mos asked.
She had taken to calling it that after she started living with me in my workshop. Behind closed doors, all the timidness washed away as we spent more time together. She wasn’t completely crossing my bottom line, but she came close a few times.
I flexed, showing off what little of my body could be seen through my weighted skintight suit. All the body weight training had transformed my body into what I would tentatively call physical perfection. Only time, with a better diet of pills, potions, and items called natural treasures, would see me improve further.
Her sigh and casual spreading of her toned green legs brought me back to reality. “We’ll have to wait to have sex until my strength stat equals 1000 at least,” I said.
Mos nodded slowly. “Adventurers grow stronger by killing things. While at the market, I heard from the town crier that the army was recruiting mages for the catacombs. Mages that fill out an L28 form are allowed to keep one-fifth of every treasure found.” She handed me the form. “I know what you’re trying to do.”
I suddenly felt very nervous but didn’t know why. “Listen, I’m not trying to manipulate you.”
“Since when is giving gifts to make me stronger manipulation. My father gave me to you. I’m your property, and all I do is eat and sleep in your comfy bed. I would be bored out of my mind if not for those videos.” That brought up some interesting facts about this society and society as a whole.
Mos was property given to me by her father. That’s why she was here at all, but once given, she couldn’t go back. No, that wasn’t where my insight came from; societies like this one were the most successful. They had families with the father as the head of the household, a wife, and children. Together, they made up the building blocks of society. That was something to keep in mind.
“Ok, you know I want to help you become a hobgoblin. The higher your stats are before you evolve, the stronger you will be and the better class you’ll end up with.”
That was probably the reason for the stringent rules about theft. The leaders didn’t want common goblins becoming hobs and potentially overthrowing them. Wealth was a tool of upward mobility through evolution. The wealthier a goblin, the more powerful form they will evolve into. The wealthier a goblin society, the stronger the base goblin. Personal wealth was the key to their evolution, but societal wealth governed their base stats.
I felt like, for the first time, I understood goblin society at least a little bit and the reason for the shunning. They were tools to further limit the growth of goblins trying to gather their own wealth and evolve beyond the need for the goblin nation.
What would happen if I introduced ideas of gender equality and anarchic capitalism? How long before their societies evaporated?
Calling for a dungeon delve was bait to lure me in to further increase the wealth of the nation, raising the goblin stat line. When Blonca heard I had adventurer-like abilities he wanted to use me to further increase his personal wealth and raise the wealth of his nation.
Everything felt like it was falling into place. A bite on my hand alerted me to Mos currently stabbing her canines through my hand.
“Wake up. What do you want me to do while you’re gone?” Mos asked.
I pulled some arm and leg bands out of my inventory. Mos didn’t know it, but she was instrumental if I wanted to follow through with my burgeoning plan to destroy this Republic. Scrapping the plan would also work if I gained enough levels to overthrow Blonca in the dungeon.
…
Once again, I waddled my way into the dungeon, except this time as a member of a goblin mage team. The goblins kept looking at me and whispering to each other. “This guy is a great big target; we’re going to have it easy.” I wanted to roll my eyes. We were heading into catacombs filled the bursting with the undead. All I really needed to do was level up enough to go deeper and leave enough mobs to discourage these guys from following me. Then I just gathered every skill shard I could find and then left.
We were marched up to a massive walled camp surrounding the dungeon. We had our paperwork vetted before we were ushered into the dungeon. A team of burly hobs kept giving me glares as we traveled down to the second floor, where teams of hobs killed or captured kobolds the moment they spawned. Down another level, a massive kobold nearly 9ft from snout to tail leaped from the darkness with a mouth open dripping with poison. I reached out, but before I could make a move, a golden ax cleaved the kobold’s lizard head down the middle.
Brain matter fell out of the skull like yokes from a boiled egg. The warrior-classed hob gave me a satisfied smirk. “Those of you too slow to cast a spell will be ghost shit on the floor. Be quick and stay together, and we won’t have to clean you up after we settle the floor.” The hob said.
Silver and copper coins rolled on the ground only for goblin loot collectors to come in and put them in sacks. A pair of copper-plated boots appeared, sparking with electricity.
We were taken to a set of stairs leading down into the dark depths of the dungeon. I conjured tribulation lightning and let its sparks break away the darkness. The walls were stone-lined with lizard bones etched with runes of some kind. A chill filled the air, and the light from my lighting skill struggled as we descended. Pale white flowers covered the ground up to my knees, rolling in a cold breeze. A goblin sneezed and shook his head.
“They say this is only a beginner dungeon for adventurers. If that is so, we can see why they are so powerful. Did you see that loot that appeared on the kobold’s death?” A goblin said.
I turned to the hob to see him still at the top of the stairs; that wasn’t a good sign. He shut the door, leaving us trapped in the catacombs.
“Every gob for himself.” A green-skinned mage yelled and threw himself into the darkness.
Through the darkness, I saw a massive ethereal kobold lifting its massive neck to let the bitten-in-half goblin slide down its gullet. It shook its head from side to side, swallowing as the goblin’s legs twitched. Half our number froze, and the other half ran down another tunnel.
Alchemic Tier II Quest
Journey into a dungeon and gather ingredients for an xp gain potion.
My foot slammed down as I leaped to the side to dodge a pair of swiping talons. The air chilled where they passed, and I lashed out with my wand, launching shock spell roaches at the ghost.
Strength 150
Kobold Ghost lvl35
I hadn’t bothered looking at my stats in a long time. After so much pain, blood, and sweat, I wasn’t even close to getting where I needed to be. 1000 points was a massive climb, and every point was harder to get than the last. My only real option as to wear my weight and then break into a profession that can help me get stronger. But first, I needed to handle the ghosts.
More Kobold Ghosts rushed out from the walls, grabbing the goblins and ripping them apart. A fireball launched my way and I dodged just in time to see my vision consumed in orange light. I closed my eyes as the heat wave hit me. The explosion knocked me off my feet into a wall dozens of feet away.
I opened my eyes in total darkness. A little tribulation lightning lit my surroundings. Most of the goblins were dead, dying, or being feasted upon by the ghosts when they tried to run away. I watched my roaches, the three I made, turn into six before flying into a ghost.
My wand felt warm in my hand when I waved it for another three roaches. I felt my perk turn them into six, and then I made more. The ghosts turned toward me when I finished my 20th batch as a swarm of lighting roaches flew around me. A smile tugged at my lips as a ghost closed in, only to get zapped by 20 before breaking down into a puddle of ectoplasm. I took out a glass beaker and collected the stuff, but my quest wasn’t complete. Either it couldn’t be used to become an xp potion, or it wouldn’t count until I made one.
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