“This is bullshit.” Eve said vehemently, “Who sticks a massive desert in the direction of civilization.” She stared at her Map in annoyance before turning her attention to another partially built mechanical sparrow. Learning the airspeed velocity of a laden swallow had been the death of several earlier works. Somewhere in the surrounding Wilderness were the shattered remains of silver sparrows who hadn’t learned such knowledge. On the other hand, as each sparrow generation had grown more effective through Craft, they managed to limp back home to report to Eve.

Better fake birds that Kudzu seems fascinated by die, than I reveal my existence to some strolling high Tier busybody. Eve thought, watching another bird depart after being completed. At least I know why Jeffery needed an entire hover steam train to traverse around here.

The most problematic issue for travel was the swamp, and the surrounding mini-forest was the tip of a thin sliver of green. Like clock hands at midnight, her territory viewed from above had a massive amount of one singular thing.

Sand.

So. Much. Sand. Which generally might have been recognized earlier, except dragon magic was screwing with things. Best guess the current swamp had been an oasis at some point. With the advent of a dragon taking up residence, the landscape altered. It probably took decades before the plants in the area managed to reconnect with the massive grass ocean opposite the desert. Test flights into the grasslands revealed they were home to a common species in fantasy, the ubiquitous goblins.

These goblins were pathetically low Tier.

It also made them almost worthless to murder. Eve had sat down to calculate the number of goblins required to hit Tier Five in a strange fit of mathematical madness. She stopped after reaching twelve zeros because it was clear unless she wanted to become Goblin Slayer V for the experience boost, down that path of grinding lay only the corpse of her sanity.

The absolute casual disregard for her Witch’s Dust spoke to a Race with a severe lack of survival instincts. Eve was still trying to understand because her brother harped about goblin survival traits to her. He had entire tables built to their evolutions, excel folders listing all the possible routes to power, and Eve wasn’t blind to how goblins got much better as they grew. Some of the pictures Matt kept in his private stash revealed that goblin females could be just as hot as elves given enough murder.

Yet the first time she encountered the vile creatures, they demonstrated a complete lack of understanding regarding the power gap. Eve only let them get close to continue experimenting. For instance, Witch’s Dust took an entire twenty seconds to kill the first goblin she had ever met. Then her weapon of choice started learning. Twenty seconds was enough to kill the whole Horde now.

Learning machines were terrifying; Eve would be willing to admit.

However, the goblins did serve a purpose. They were the reason this area wasn’t awash in desert creatures. Goblins, as Eve's brother loved to harp, ate everything that their enemies didn’t nail down. As a result, the desert creatures had a most likely genetic understanding that green was not good. After seeing a giant sandworm passing in the distance, Eve decided that a few million green pests nearby were fair trade. If one of the desert worms cut through her Ritual runes, it would be years of work down the drain. On the other hand, goblins had almost no way to destroy the fingernail-sized runes created by Craft.

Well, they had shamans, but those were priority kill targets simply by being Tier Four. She hadn’t found many after the first five got killed entering her territory, which to Eve meant the message of goblin skulls staked on her part got through, eventually. Since she had no interest in traveling deep into Green Horde territory, she had turned her attention to the desert. Since goblins didn’t give decent experience, and the amount required to Sacrifice for Power to get anything worthwhile reached obscene levels, she decided to look elsewhere.

It had to end. No desert spread forever, right?

After three months of exploration, Eve was willing to admit leaving through the desert might be challenging. But there had to be a path through. She was confident because that was the direction Jeffery T. Wellington left in. So far, she had mapped several oases in the current time of waiting for her power leveling supplies to arrive. Each of these precious water sources had a different species. The common theme among all the mini-civilizations seen was they seemed to be leftovers from some mad mage experiment. The top half was invariably a human form with bronzed skin, while the bottom was a variation on a scorpion, spider, or centipede.

Eve had wanted to roll out and harvest the oasis tribes for her Talisman of Dust runes. That was until she managed to kludge together a mana reader that could fit inside a silver sparrow. The device cleared her confusion as to why none of the oasis was fighting blatantly with each other. It also explained why the goblins didn’t enter the desert and attempt to overrun the oasis. No leader of a Green Horde was going to push their troops through a hostile environment to fight well-entrenched Tier Six powerhouses. Because the other oasis didn’t invade the grasslands, Eve was more than willing to bet that the deeper plains were more powerful Goblins.

There was a minimal chance of either higher Tier forces attacking the swamp due to the Matriarch. At least, that was the prevailing theory between Eve and Kudzu. The plant had pointed out that predators generally respected territory claims as long as the food supply didn’t diminish. There was not a predator in existence that would fight for something meaningless like pride or territory.

I know fuck all about the animal or plant kingdoms, so I might as well take advice from a sentient shrub. Eve thought as she sat in front of her, slowly filling Map with an impatient expression. Waiting here is starting to get on my nerves, though. I can only experiment so much before the combat itch starts ramping up.

Battle-mad might be a more accurate term if Eve was honest with herself. It was the reason she made excursions into the outer edge of the grasslands to kill goblins. The sensation of killing countless green murder midgets let her blunt the bloodthirst of her nature. According to the few messages exchanged between her drow merchant, she could expect delivery within the next few months. The tides of bloodlust she experienced were one of the milder side effects of unlocking the box. At least she wasn’t cackling in strange tongues while gleefully ripping choice pieces off corpses to eat. That wouldn’t happen.

Probably.

Eve rose and started pacing back and forth while looking at her Map. There were many restrictions in place, yet she still needed to gain access to Slots. Sacrifice for Power could give her everything required, except only those from the oasis, would work. Goblins just didn’t have the oomph she needed unless she was willing to gamble. No, a sucker bet wasn’t the play here.

Bait. Eve thought, leaning over the table. I need bait.

Her eyes fell to the grasslands, at which point a tremendous and terrible smile lit her face. Goblins hated the desert creatures. Desert creatures had no qualms with picking off goblins. It was time to play offshore balancer. The move was more than familiar. Many times, disparate force levels required unethical tactics to equalize. It wouldn’t be the first rodeo, and the real trick had an almost mathematical quality.

Eve scribbled a simple note before nodding.

Step one, kidnap goblins.

Step two, throw goblins against superior oasis force.

Step three, assist goblins in committing atrocities to enrage oasis forces.

Step four, help goblins escape back towards grasslands while pursued.

Step five, lead a more significant force of goblins to intercept pursuit.

Step six, kill them all, Devour and Craft the mana gained.

It can work. Eve thought. I just need to use KISS principles to stay on track.

With a plan decided, the itch of combat faded to a dull sensation. Eve quickly used Craft to create a second silver sparrow and sent it in search of decent-sized force to kidnap for her nefarious scheme. Goblins, by and large, were separated into two distinct units. Raiders were almost exclusively on the move looking for food, anything with meat mostly. After that, it could be animals or even other goblins if times were tough. Campers were the non-raiding units who handled everything from food preparation to crafting and even magic if a shaman was attached to the tribe.

Eve gave the silver sparrow strict instructions when she sent it off. First, any tribe with a shaman was off the table. It would be too easy for some tribal magic hocus pocus to screw the pooch. Second, she needed a raiding unit without a shaman attached to the tribe, and they needed to be young. Older goblins meant craftier goblins who would ask far too many questions. No, the best murder midgets to employ were the young goblins, who didn’t have exceptional achievements or a standardized crew of cutthroats.

When her second silver sparrow pinged, Eve spent a little mana to look through the construct’s eyes. This trick had taken more than a few weeks to master. She still couldn’t put her mind into her Witch’s Dust, although it was a work in progress. The view that arrived before her showed a group of thirty-seven green midgets settling to rest after a day of hunting. Eve rounded the number up to a solid forty after finding the three sentries. She sent the silver sparrow for a final loop to ensure there were no other groups nearby. Satisfied, she fixed the location in mind while the silver cloud around her grew immense through the application of Multiply.

Teleporting to each sentry in a flash allowed her to drop Witch’s Dust on them, paralyzing each. The bound goblins only had a moment to see the dark cloud shielding Eve from view before they were frozen stiff. In the same manner, moving into the middle of the sleeping group gave the same results. She spent a few moments carving runes into the bodies of her victims before stacking them together. A third teleport shifted the goblins into the closest oasis, while the fourth sent Eve back to her Hut.

She sent the silver sparrow winging to the oasis fast enough to arrive before the goblins woke up. Then, utilizing the small bird as a drone spy unit, she watched the drama slowly unfold. Goblins, when presented with a superior force unaware of their arrival, did not immediately retreat. Instead, they instantly learned the direction of the grasslands through some unknown means, and then a debate involving fighting occurred. Once the new leader ended the conflict by cutting the throat of his previous captain, things started to get interesting.

This new goblin leader is uncanny. Eve thought as she watched the goblins split into units of three. Sending scouts out, learning the lay of the land, no hesitation at being teleported. Fishy, very fishy.

Eve’s eyes narrowed as she considered the possibilities. It could be that the slightly intelligent goblin was merely a singular outlier. However, that didn’t explain why the other goblins were acting like elite stealth units suddenly. Identification of the suspicious goblin might blow her current plan out of the water. Patience and time would reveal everything. Even if the strange new leader of the raiding band had plans, it would come to nothing. Goblins couldn’t overcome the overwhelming superiority of the arachnid fighters in the oasis without something extra.

She watched as the goblins scouted the oasis, carefully remaining unseen. They had various strange methods to slip past wards, seemingly unraveling the weaknesses before instantly bypassing them. After locating the food storage, water storage, and guard barracks, the goblins attacked three groups of ten. Meanwhile, the suspicious goblin and eight others goblins spent their time wisely fleeing in the direction of the grasslands. Eve smirked as the thirty goblins sacrificed by the others woke the oasis.

It took a minute for the scorpion forces barely to get everything under control and another five minutes to pursue the fleeing goblin’s tracks. Ten scorpion fighters laden with food, water, and weapons skittered after the fleeing goblins. Eve’s eyes narrowed as she realized the goblins had been traveling in a column merely two goblins wide.

They are hiding the numbers by making it look as if only two goblins fled the battle. Eve thought, impressed. Then that can only mean one thing, counterattack!

Precisely as she suspected, two goblins kept running while the previous seven buried themselves in the sand. It took only minutes to see the result of the desperate gamble, leaving seven dead scorpions lying in the sand moments later. The final three scorpions managed to get into a triangle formation taking four goblins before their demise. The five goblins remaining stripped the bodies completely before something that caused Eve to sit bolt upright happened.

The leader made all the corpses vanish after touching them.

A goblin space mage? Eve thought. Impossible!

She instantly teleported to the five surviving goblins arriving as a cloud of Witch’s Dust. To her immediate surprise, the goblins didn’t even attempt to fight. Instead, four instantly kneeled while the leader approached. Eve used her eyes to identify the leader, and they widened from within the silver cloud.

Rak’noth Silvertooth

Tier Five

Goblin Hero Lv. 1

HP: 100/100

MP: 100/100

Skills:

Small Inventory

Commanding Presence

Spells:

One Unit

One Legion

Now that makes far more sense. Eve thought as the goblin began to speak.

“Greeting, Silver Death.” Rak’noth said, bowing low, “I offer these corpses to sate your hunger.”

Three Tier Five along with seven Tier Four scorpion-men appeared to the left of the goblin. It was a veritable feast Eve could use for Sacrifice for Power, yet her eyes didn’t waver from the Hero in front of her. Instead, his expression was calm, as if taking a stroll in the desert while facing a silver cloud of death was expected. Eve looked past him and identified the four kneeling goblins. Her lips rose in a devious smirk as the truth became revealed by subsequent identification to her eyes in seconds.

Rak’noth Silvertooth (Clone)

Tier Four

Goblin Hero Lv. 1

HP: 100/100

MP: 100/100

Skills:

Small Inventory

Commanding Presence

Spells:

One Unit

One Legion

Eve adjusted her voice to a male tone and said, “Tier Four Clones. No wonder mere goblins can best the Sand’s elite.” Her eyes didn’t miss the slight flinch the Goblin Hero in front of her had. She suspected her form of identification showed things that were not normally visible. Crafting a silver sparrow in haste caused her not to put a mana reader into it, leading to this current problem.

“I can do more. All that my tribe requires would be access to the oasis. With food, other tribes could be easily absorbed, and my power would increase enough to contest the Hidden Ones.” Rak’noth said.

Eve didn’t even bother to reply, simply going on the attack. If she were going to make a deal, it would most certainly not be with a Tier Five closing in on Tier Six. Betrayal was like buttering bread to goblins. A drow merchant was someone that understood profit and holding out for long-term gain. Eve wasn’t willing to take that risk on a Goblin Hero. The likelihood of such an individual agreeing to ironclad terms was minimal. Better to strike first and secure another Tier Five to Sacrifice for Power.

Witch’s Dust rippled out, severing the goblin clone’s spinal cords in their first strike. Eve had read enough to know that Hero types had tricky power boosts. Underling numbers were one of the most common, along with desperate situations. That was why she took care not to strike the Hero at all. While his form glowed with power as his copies dropped, Rak’noth didn’t have the expression of a winner. She was sure his mind was intelligent enough to know why.

Rak’noth slice forward in a horizontal cut that barely penetrated through a few layers of Eve’s shield before being stopped. She took a moment to shift her voice back to normal before saying, “Retribution is just.” Witch’s Dust exploded as the Air Element fed Consume to allow Manipulate and Multiply to take effect. The Goblin Hero was a Tier Five, but he wasn’t in the middle of his tribe, being pumped full of power. Instead, he was stranded in a desert, bereft of support, against a superior foe. Eve didn't worry; this wasn’t an epic struggle like the Junior Flood Dragon had been.

This Goblin Hero was an execution. But, even then, Eve stayed cautious.

Rak’noth leaped back, the arm he had used to strike severed by Witch’s Dust eating through his shoulder. “Why? Working together would be more beneficial than working apart! I have no problem feeding you power, whoever you are!”

“Goblin promises are not worth the paper I would need to print them on,” Eve said calmly as her dust encircled the Hero. “You are a variable. Even now, you play for time unwilling, or unable, to use a trump card unless death is inevitable.”

“Don’t force me to kill you,” Rak’noth said, his voice turning eerily calm. Eve ignored him as Witch’s Dust closed in around him starting to eat through his flesh with ease. Revealing that he had a trump card only made her more certain that his death was the right path. If one trump, why not ten or twenty? Was she going to gamble on the chance that he didn’t have the power to remove a contract or loophole through it?

No, this unstable factor would be removed by Eve.

Golden light covered Rak’noth as he screamed, “Seven Colored Soul Strike!” Then, like a saber beam, a golden wave of light flashed into the silver cloud, cloaking Eve’s body, striking directly for her center.

When the light faded, Rak’noth gaped as the Witch’s Dust continued to eat his body. His surprised expression lasted only a second longer before the dust reached his brain and consumed the organ. Eve waited until the entire Goblin Hero got devoured, and his power was finally sent within the Library by her dust. Once everything finished, she sent her dust around in an ever-expanding cloud. Eve's paranoia gained vindication when the search uncovered a goblin cowering under the sand. Eve teleported directly to the revealed creature.

Rak’noth Silvertooth

Tier One

Lv. 1

HP: 100/100

MP: 100/100

Skills:

Goblin Hero (Locked)

Spells:

Fake True Death

Eve stared at the goblin before shaking her head. It was just another lesson. She wasn’t the only person who had methods to avoid death, and assuming otherwise would only result in tragedy. Witch’s Dust effortlessly penetrated the Tier One goblin’s mind finding the pleasure center of his brain.

“Could you answer a few questions for me, please?” Eve said as she watched the goblin’s terrified expression turn euphoric.

It was the work of minutes to learn everything she wanted. Rak’noth was indeed a transmigration from another world. He planned to rise in power before taking an oasis slowly. Then, once the evil goblin established a secure base, he would build his strength before returning to the grasslands to seize power from the Goblin Titans deep within its reaches.

Eve nodded in understanding after her captive told the tale before asking, “One last question. Do you have any way of avoiding death if I kill you now?”

“No,” Rak’noth said as his body shuddered in ecstasy for being able to answer another question truthfully.

Eve snapped her fingers, pumping the tiny goblin’s body full of bliss. It was a humane execution method. Several minutes passed before he died, and Eve used Devour and Craft to ensure the problem wouldn’t return.

Reaching out to the scorpion-men’s corpse, Eve teleported back to a Ritual circle she had been preparing for months.

Time to power up. Eve thought, looking upon the glowing spinning multi-circled runes placed upon a large thin piece of paper stacked atop a large baked square of mud.