Chapter 4 - The Cause of Missing Goblins

Before all souls vanish during absorption. She pinches a single piece of soul before it enters her mouth, dissipating it into nothingness.

"Where did it go?"

On his peripheral view. The most intact goblin corpse started to convulse. Then it slowly stood up on arch back. Silver flames were dancing in its eye sockets.

"H-how'd you do it, Darling?" He gawks at her face intensely.

"After death. Unlike us, without a shell, a soul will lose its memory and self-awareness, unable to control its own soul. As someone who has a strong influence over the souls, I was simply using them similar to an energy fuel, then latching them to a body for it to physically move." Her eyebrows started forming beads of sweat. "Ever felt the itch that you can do something but felt too weak to do so? That's how it is, hard to explain."

She puffs out a mouthful of warm air. The corpse's burning eyes were extinguished, its body returned slumped to the ground. "But now, after consuming more souls, I felt stronger. This is the current result, and maybe soon, an army could march." she beams contentedly.

"Looking forward to that scenic view." He grins widely. "In the meantime, I suggest you practice the effect's longevity so we can have a moving carrier of our stuff, our hands are getting full.

They both gaze at the pile of daggers and bows on the ground damped with crimson water, tiny they may be, their equipment is enlarging in numbers. Thankfully their daggers were smaller in size and more resilient compared to a spear made of tree branches in the past.

"M'Love, we might also need paper to make a journal, it'll be convenient to write down important information. Such as how much a single soul influences or improves our soul manipulation abilities."

"Right, we could use some of these." He saunters over to a pile of absurdly huge grass, thick and hard as bamboo but in grain brown color. "They are like bamboo versions of our earth."

"We could make fire the tribal way through friction, paper molders out of the same wood, stone hammers for pounding. Problems are: this forest has little to no sunlight, we need clean water, and it's going to be difficult without containers too. In other words, a long tedious task just for a journal of little value at the moment." She gave out her deductions.

"Agreed." He took out her hand and pulled her over to sit together on a large tree root. "In the meantime, let's just make a momentary review of important things we had to record in order for us to not easily forget them."

Since the day they discovered that absorbing souls made a significant impact on their abilities, the overall souls they have eaten are ten for each, like a loving couple they've always been, they share the spoils equally.

Mordred's current ability was to disrupt the target's soul from its body, making anyone dazed and immobilized. In the past it was on melee range and required him to have direct physical contact with the target and the duration was just barely one second at the time when he attempted to use his powers on Aleges in Clux in the past.

Overall, it took ten souls for Mordred to unlock his ability to send them into vibration frequencies so that physical contact is no longer required. At the range of 5 feet, stun duration of 2 seconds.

Overall, it took ten souls for Melantha to be able to unlock her ability to use souls as fuel to control a humanoid figure vessel' movement, as of the available usable resource: a corpse; Duration: 10 seconds before she gets exhausted.

As past scientists who had good observation skills, they were also curious why Melantha's soul was purple, no, both of them had the same shade of purple when he let Melantha check on Mordred's soul. They were so unlike the silvery white souls they consumed.

When they recollect their previous life memories, they have never seen a person with a different soul color, so they think souls are naturally in silvery color.

If it has something to do with this world creature's intelligence or capacity to learn, then why do goblins have the same soul color? The same goes when they check on Aleges and Clux's souls.

Was theirs unique due to retaining their memories after traveling the river of reincarnation? So mystical. They can only draw out a hypothesis till they have actual evidence to support the claim.

------

A month passed, in a breeze.

*Clack clack clack*

The rugged stone was hammered into a rock. Smashed until it turns into pebbles. Pinching up a tiny piece, a crouched goblin scrutinize it with its beady eyes. While his playmate was standing on his rear, sucking her thumb.

"Now, now, don't try eating the pebble! It ain't food. Just be patient and delicious food will be served soon." Mordred spoke.

"Food?" Aleges runs near the scorching fire, illuminating her chin.

Due to the passing of time that carved out their baby fats, the more mature Mordred and Melantha were working together in slicing chunks of meat on top of a flat rock as their chopping board, they looked like doting parents preparing meals for their children.

Sizzle-sizzle, the aroma of meat wafts out in the air after Mordred hangs the long skewer of meat between two branch stands.

"Food!" After smelling the tempting meat, Clux threw his pebble toy and scooted over next to the trio to get his share.

Satisfying their expectant growling tummies, they were served with glistering red meat partnered with a smaller white mushroom on the thin tree bark as a plate.

"It's quite unbelievable that such a simple life can be this comfortable," Mordred commented as he tore off the mushroom and added it as the meat's topping before munching.

The saltiness of the mushroom causes their meal to level up.

"As long as we're together, we could find peace even in the middle of a war."

Her words cast his lips into a smile of satisfaction. "No doubt about it M'Love."

Running his sight across Aleges and Clux who were mumbling "good" and "delicious" in each bite. He spied upon a glassy serene lake, its water was reflecting the darkness of the clouds above, curtaining its depths. Afar, its waterfall was drizzling onto the rocks, silently calling upon cottony steam, it raised his skin hair in chills. As if adding the final touch, the snowy mushrooms were sprinkled on the scenery, illuminating the purplish towering trees that guard this otherworldly beauty.

This display of nature never ceases to amaze him.

Ever since the discovery of the lake, just east of the goblin's cave, they have been calling it their home. Upon first contact, Mordred and Melantha couldn't help but jump giddily. Finally, they could wash away their filthy bodies, a pity that the water was salty.

In exchange for the disappointing salty water, the mushrooms nearby were quite the prize, due to the high salinity of the water of the lake, it had passed the salty taste to the plants nearby.

They were just missing a spice grinder or perhaps mortar and pastels and they could turn these mushrooms into a seasoning for soup, stir-fries, and marinades.

How did Mordred and Melantha know they were edible and safe? Thanks to their greedy little goblin friends Clux and Aleges, before they even had the chance to pluck them, they had already sampled them in their mouths.

In a month, all they did was hunt, eat, flirt, and sleep. Even with their small sizes, they eat as much as a lion eats, 10 kg of meat per day. With Mordred and Melantha's approximate size of 4 feet and weight of 30kg, that's 1/3 of their current statistical size, which means they had to hunt an animal as big as an adult leopard weighing 40kg for the four of them to have their fills per day.

Even if Clux and Aleges eat as much as the couple. Mysteriously, even after 30 days, Aleges and Clux were stuck at 3 feet in height and they had no special abilities. This made the couple's hearts tingle in pity. Wouldn't that mean the two have less chance of surviving an unfavorable encounter?

Since they had been targeting animals as small as rabbits at 5kg weight, they had accumulated 240 souls in a month. That was an intentional plan made by the couple after they had discovered that the animal's size does not affect the soul's quality. Was it maybe because they're all silvery-white?

An hour after satisfying their stomachs and cleaning up the remains of the meals, the leaves suddenly whisper, welcoming footsteps through their rustling.

Mordred tilted his head towards where the sound came from. A tall figure came out behind a tree, garbed in elegant pale green robes with flare sleeves, and hemlines ornamented by chocolate brown leaf patterns.

She has flowing curly copper hair that magnitates the forest's dim lights. Depicting a tree branch, a wooden hairpin was etched behind her ear, uniforming her tan skin. She's like a thorny yet gorgeous flower with a small narrow face and pointy ears.

As she strides towards Mordred and Melantha who both are sitting on a large tree root, the soil in her pathway is flattening and the undergrowth is scattering away, seemingly bending at her will to provide her soles the comfort.

Pausing before them, she stares at him and Melantha alternatingly.

"Greetings, Natuzrhels of the Jilted Sap Forest. Pardon my sudden visitant, name's Tuilën, a proud Elder of Uhrahlalfen Familia." She spoke eloquently.

She slightly bows her head in elegance, showing them an amicable sweet shmile, perhaps to show acknowledgment of their presence.

His hand was squeezed hard by Melantha, as a husband and wife for a century, he could tell that her feigned calm peer was screaming in bewilderment mentally.

Did they just understand what the woman said?

How in the world do they understand what she said? Her name's fine, but what's with the tongue-twisting Familia name? And has she been mistaken? What's Natuzrhels?

Oddly enough, her mouth's enunciation was not matching her words. It strokes his brain with nostalgia, bringing his past memories of when they used to watch foreign documentaries that were dubbed. Surely, she's using some tool or ability to communicate with them.

His mind was nothing but questions.

"You're kind enough, we would overlook it. She's Melanthel, my dear companion. Mine's Mauldrhul, it's a fine meeting between us Tuilën. Please do tell us, what made you grace us with your visit?"

What can she say now huh? She isn't the only one who's classy in this forest.

They might not be as active with big social gatherings, but when it comes to speech, he and Melantha were refined. It ain't cheap to be a scientist, both their families were high class, and you have to be good with words to explain details intricately.

He can only improvise and gamble that she would be able to interpret what he just said. Taking as far as modifying their names to offer familiarity with their guest's own. At firsthand, he'll solely focus on the critical part, which is this scene, and goes back to the mystery later.

Why? His heart was nervously beating wildly and his instinct was frightened by this dangerous woman. Unless out of option, they'll slip out through a peaceful conversation.

"My thanks, child. Since this forest is within your govern, I would like to implore you to locate the Forsadin. Their cruciality for the upcoming siege against the Merdians Kingdom is no small matter." She stood straight with dignity. "Those filthy Merdians! How dare they betray the very nature that rears them, depraving the lands with their twisted technologies. Unforgivable!"

A storm after the peace. She grits her teeth so hard that they creak in grinding, while her nostrils are flaring.

"How unbecoming of your stature, Tuilën. Shall you lose in your emotions over those lowbred? Now, now. Why waste your anger, they're nothing but fools to be vanquished." Melantha commented and gave her an innocent smile.

She smoothly tiptoed to invade her space, clutching Tuilën's fingers childishly with her tiny hand.

"Those words meant a paradise for me, child. Undoubtedly, a befitting Natuzrhels who guard the forests' balance. Your gentleness amends not only the imbalance of nature but so is someone's unease in their hearts." Tuilën beams appreciatively as she softly tucks Melantha's thick short hair behind her ears.

Perhaps Melantha's lovely and juvenile appearance brought Tuilën's guard down.

Witnessing their cutesy exchange, Mordred was thanking the world for blessing him with such a wonderful wife. What a wing-woman.

"Goblins? Haven't I eradicated a few on my journey here? Very well, allow me to embellish their hideousness with death." she spoke coldly.

Her aura around her has turned menacing, she looks like a woman who had stepped on an unsightly turd.