6 Gremlins
Gremlins were beady eyed fat creatures that ate paper, mushrooms, and silicon. They were blind squat and felt around with fleshy penile shaped fingers. These eyeless scaled creatures stumbled in the darkness eating trash. When one was eaten the others didn't flee. Gremlins looked happy enough living in a vast dump. They lived, had sex, and were eaten by the roaches on occasion. All the while eggs rolled out from their hives like an assembly line.
I approached one of the eggs and picked it up. Warm goo dribbled down my hand and the egg pulsed with life and warmth. It was hard to believe that within was one of the creatures feasting on a box of dildos not three feet from the eggs. The egg in my hand was a bright pink.
Star stepped among the gremlins while keeping her body close to the ground. Every step outside the hide out was careful. When he picked up the goo covered egg she perked up. "That's a female egg you can tell by its size. Pop it in your mouth and bite down. They have a nice crunch."
A few others like the one I had were buried by various dull grey eggs. The ones with the brightest colors seemed to be female. "Is it poisonous?"
Star whistled and looked away. I put the egg in my leather sack and filled it with a few more. The large female eggs were a mix of lime green, blues, pinks, and purples. They each felt a little different than each other.
If I was a better system, I could equip the eggs with my system and level them. That would be much more convenient. Unfortunately, I need a lot more levels before I could think of doing anything fun like that. A farm management system might be possible. It's one of those things that I never thought to look into. Management applications weren't originally in my skill set.
I searched my own purchase list and saw, multiple management systems. A farm management system was among the more affordable selections. With the application I could upgrade animals on the farm by setting quests for the yields. Instead of normal stat point rewards, I could give them upgrades. Enhanced yields, greater resistance to parasites and diseases, and longer lifespans screamed at me as useful.
"What do the colors mean?" I asked.
"Well gremlins eat a lot of silicon and plastic. The dyes are often mixed in when female eggs are produced. The shell is toxic." I looked around. Something was bugging me.
I picked up one of the male gremlins. It struggled in my hand. "Why aren't these things all over the place?"
"Once the females hatch, they assault another hive and slay the females. There is another hive nearby. We'll snag a few male eggs and that should be all we need."
I hefted the gremlin in my hand. It weighed about 40lbs. Its neck was scrawny. The two feet tall creature really wasn't much to look at. An unfortunate face with a sunken skull, lumpy grey skin and a bulbus head gasped at me. They'd need to do some selective breeding and grow a meat gremlin. Most of the weight seemed to be in tumors. Fortunately, there was plenty of trash to feed them.
With a sigh, I toss the creature on the ground. I wasn't hungry and didn't feel like killing an animal for no reason. After collecting every female egg, we started towards the next hive.
As we walked down an old trail, I felt something touch the edge of my senses. For a while, I didn't pay any attention to it, then I felt it again. Even after the second sensation, I didn't look around or slow my steps. My bow wasn't drawn, and an arrow wasn't knocked.
"Its been growing colder lately." Star said. She leaned against me shivering. "You're warm. "
Ping!
Quest: Acquire Warm Clothing For Star
Reward: Improved relationship with Star, +2 PER
I wrote the quest with barely a thought. The goblings had those wolven they had to come from somewhere. Wolven weren't goblings which meant they had to be native here. Where would they even live? Thoughts for another time.
"Yea, it seems warmer downhill." I said.
She twiddled her thumbs. "The humans above dump their trash here. Their machines work tirelessly to sort through the trash and transport it to the furnaces for recycling. Those furnaces send heat up through pipes. That heat also warms us. If it gets colder then the cold is getting worse."
I remembered that the entire planet was iced over. There were massive towers that collected sunlight from space. Many of them were damaged upon further recollection. "How long has this ice age lasted?" I asked.
Just as the next hive came into view, I heard a wing beat. I pushed Star over and leapt on my back bow drawn. My arrow knocked just as a set of talons snatched empty air.
Steel Raptor Owl lvl25
Rank: Plebe
Next Rank: Knight
I pointed at its head and fired. "Black Aura, Black lightning Javelin," I shouted the words. My arrow hit a glanced off a helmet. The owl was armored. I shot off the ground while its wings lifted to take it back in the air. It all happened in the blink of an eye. The zone was on me and I had to kill it. Nothing else mattered.
The bird rounded on me. It abandoned its swift exit and regrouping. My arrow left a long scratch on the bird's helmet. Its talons shot out. They were armed with reforged steel spurs.
This was it; Javelin had formed, and black aura had boosted its power to greater heights. "Black Parade," I yelled the spell knowing it would drain me completely. The black lightning javelin transformed in my hand. The end of the blade took on a lightning bolt appearance, the shaft thickened, and I could feel the spelled weapon grow heavier in my hands.
This bird had a weakness that I'd begun getting rid of. It was alone, and that gave it tunnel vision.
Sticky web shot out and covered the steel bird. It flowed over the bird. Suddenly, the bird's wings stopped. Its acceleration was cut off leaving it at a predictable velocity. In two quick steps, I avoided most of the damage and positioned my Javelin in a groove between the feathered breast.
Momentum flowed; I positioned my javelin up. Blood erupted from the owl's body. I'd struck a terrible wound. I pulled my knife from its sheath before its body slammed on top of me.
Ping!
Critical: 4593Dark/Shock Damage
The razor spurs cut deeply while we tumbled down the hill in a mess of feathers, spiders web, and bones. I stabbed while we tumbled, and its talons moved cutting deep chunks out of me.
Ping!
System Message: -50HP
System Message: -20HP
System Message: -20HP
Status: Heavy Blood Loss
As we tumbled Star continued to blast us with her sticky web. The owl struggled but it had taken a critical injury. Slowly, Star cut me out of her web and drug me out of the mess. Then she began spinning the owl into a proper cocoon. Once he was truly bound, she pulled off his helmet.
"How dare you do this to me? You are bugs. I've eaten more of your kind," She blasted the Plebe's beak with her webbing.
"Thank you for shutting him up." I said. "I'd have preferred if he begged for his life or accepted his fate."
"I've heard of him. When I was just a hatchling. I heard stories of the great owl who preyed upon spiderlings. Always be wary of the sky for the silent silver predator strikes from the above." From my laying position, I watched her fangs emerge and the owl's eyes widen in fright.
She plunged her fangs into the owl's eyes.
Ping!
Level Up
Level Up
Level UP
HP and AP restored
Jacob lvl15 Darkling
+30 HP
+30AP
+3 All stats
Small bolts of red energy traveled through my body. The wounds that would have killed me closed up. Slowly, I rose feeling better than ever. Then I saw something glowing in the owl's chest. Darkness blossomed from the wound as a black shard slid from his chest.
Ping!
Item: Shard of Pride
The small black shard glowed before floating off the ground. It hesitated for a moment before shooting into my chest. I felt it mold to my body. Why did the owl have a shard? How did it get one?"
"I'm glad you're feeling better. Will you help me drag this one back home? I'm sure he'll taste yummy once my venom finishing turning his insides into a strawberry milkshake." I nodded. Did she miss the pride shard that was just rehomed in my chest?
Ping!
Pride Shard Absorbed
+5 INT
Intelligence 34
AP 711
Ping!
Quest Completed: Fire 5 Black Lightning Javelins
Rewarded: +2 INT
Intelligence 36
Ping!
Quest Completed: Drain Aura 5 times
Rewarded: +2 INT
Intelligence 38
Ping!
Quest Completed: Recover Aura from 0 5 times
Rewarded: +2 INT
Intelligence 40
AP: 870
That was a massive step forward. Once the farm was set up, I'd gain another five points. Growing this strong made me realize just how much my other stats were suffering. None were close to intelligence and even perception was falling at the wayside.
I had all the requirements to reach Noble Imp but why would I do that. There was a chance, I could gain an even greater form. Another thought occurred to me.
I stared down at the Owl. If felt the wing beat from my system. My senses weren't able to detect it at all. Still the monsters above were much more powerful than the owl. The ice woman could probably kill anything I've seen or heard about so far. The bug guy was even worse. It made my system glitch just looking at him. That wasn't normal. "Was that guy at the peak of Plebe or higher?" I asked.
"No, he was just out of youngling. When we rank up, we gain a lot of power, but our levels reset. For the first few weeks we're left weakened. Eventually, we will reach the same level as our former youngling selves. Then we surpass them." Star said.
"You're aware of levels." I said.
She looked at me like I was a particularly slow child. "Yes, they are a fact of life. Everyone starts at level one and when we rank up, we start again at level one. Some go their whole lives at the first rank. The owl was once in the upper sixties." Star said.
I picked up my bag and checked the eggs. Despite the fight they were mostly fine. I tossed a couple cracked ones out. "I think we've been out for too long." I said.
"We have some time. Let's grab a few of the grey eggs and get back. I can't wait to string this one up and get to sucking. He'll taste so good." Star said.
"You just want plenty of snacks on hand." I muttered.
"Of course, we have a mind flayer to keep satisfied. I'd sleep better without worrying about my skull. How about you?" Star asked.
I thought about Gwen. She seemed a little sad about her existence. It forced her to feed and there weren't really any alternatives for her. "I think she means well. We should give her a chance." I said.
"Well you are a darkling. If you can trust someone then I can give it a shot." Star said.
I picked up a couple of eggs and tossed them in my bag. Once it was full, I looked over at Star. She was ever the look out. Even with one owl slain she kept an eye on the sky.
"Are darklings really that bad?" I asked.
Star smiled before giving the sled a little tug. We walked back toward the shelter. "You're the only darkling I've met, and you've been nothing but kind to me. Either the rumors are all horrible lies or you're an exception to them. There is the raping of the grand hive Romaji. A single darkling was let in after he was found. After the wise matrons nursed him back to health and let him go, he returned with an army. They snuck in through our tunnels and slew all the males and ate every female too young to mate. Then they raped the queens, matrons, and younglings there were no more pure romaji spiderlings after that day. The Romaji Spiderlings became the ramaji darklings." She said.
"Why aren't there darklings everywhere then?" I asked.
She turned her gaze to the north. "Your people are there to the north. They've taken the best lands and left other peoples scattered." She said.
"You hate them." I said.
"I'm not a romaji. My own people sold me into slavery. Because Dol promised them a steady supply of rats." She said. She turned her head to the spiderling hill. "My people once ruled this world in castles of silk. Now we hide in a hill and trade each other for farmed rats."
