Guinea Pig

A few minutes before Grey and Princess Quintella arrived at the outskirts of the Goblin Village.

"I didn't know the concept of Molotov exists in this world," Grey muttered, his back carrying the little Princess as they swiftly traversed the cold lands towards the target location in eerie silence.

Hearing this, Princess Quintella responded, "That's why I suggested, though reluctantly, to loot everything, Mister. Molotovs are mainly secondary or reserved firepower against any undead creatures since anything related to undead can be effectively extinguished through Fire-related Spells or Magic or Divine Power.

"What's more, not everyone has the ability to cast a spell or magic related to Fire Element, Mister."

"Wait, wait. Did you just say Spell or Magic? Is there perhaps a difference between the two?" Grey's attention caught how the crimson-eyed girl's words seemed to create a distinction between the two terminologies in this world.

"Ah, that. There isn't much, Mister. The manipulation of Oriforce and shaping it into one's desire with corresponding knowledge is called a Spell. However, the Magi refer to it as Magic. I mean, that's the general idea behind the two.

"Anyway. Molotovs are spell-infused with Fire Element in the form of Rune Magic, which was introduced by the Magi since the Magicum Era."

"I see... You know your history quite well, huh?" Grey fell into contemplation.

'Krishnaya, are you done assorting everything?' At the same time, he inwardly addressed the Extraterrestrial System.

This time around, Krishnaya's response was in the form of formal messages and not through direct communication with her Master.

Ding!

[The abundant information collected through the dead warriors in the previous battlefield is currently undergoing its organization.]

[Anon Folders are being generated...]

[Anon Folder: Spell-Related World has been created.]

[Anon Folder: Magic-Related World has been created.]

[Anon Folder: Dark Lands Bestiary has been created.]

[Anon Folder...]

[Please wait...]

As the Alien Archive flooded with this world's information, though still insufficient, was being carefully assorted, Grey asked the little Princess, "Princess, should we try Molotovs against the Goblin Undeads then?"

Princess Quintella smiled.

***

Curious at Princess Quintella's claim of how easily the goblins could be disrupted, Grey released an opaque bottle from his grasp, where a few runic characters were engraved.

Boom!

"I–Intruders!"

"I need a hand!"

"I–Intruders!"

The Goblin Undeads, puny creatures of death that were born from the excessive amount of Oriforce shaped into darkness, whose physical appearance could be described as greyish-skinned and dark-eyed. Their lower body depicted only bare rotten bones with nothing but emptiness.

It was the reason for their instincts of craving one's biological organs.

"Wh–what the fuck?" Grey was appalled, his gaze landed on the clueless Princess.

"What's with the confused look, Mister? Did you like Molotovs as fire weapons?"

Grey was at a loss for words.

At first, before arriving in this goblin-infested dilapidated territory, when Princess Quintella told him about Molotovs and the undead's greatest weaknesses, Grey thought that this reserved weapon was similar to the ones he knew in his previous world.

However, seeing the sudden explosion without the presence of any highly explosive materials after he threw the opaque bottle, Grey again questioned his ignorance regarding this world's natural laws.

'Stop being surprised. This is a different world.' Grey inwardly muttered.

Boom!

"Mister, pull yourself together!" Princess Quintella released another Molotov as some of the Goblin Undeads burst into flames and turned into ashes.

Waking up from his own lost world, Grey retrieved several of the same arsenals from his own Spatial Storage through Alien Archive: Material Dimension.

"Let's clear this place up."

Boom!

With an explosive power comparable to the average live grenade, and with the ideal environment, the village that consisted of encircling sturdy dark wood walls and a few wooden houses with leaves as roofs, the merciless blazing fire quickly engulfed the surroundings.

"Kill the intruders!"

"I need feet!"

"Kill the intruders!"

"Protect the Chief!"

***

The frantic undead monsters tried to put out the consuming hell, only to find themselves being burnt to oblivion.

Some others located the source of this mess–

Slash!

...only for them to be rendered immobile.

Clack.

Thud.

"For some reason, this pisses me off." Grey opened his mouth in frustration before picking up the Goblin Undead by his feet and throwing it back to the dancing flames.

Sizzle.

On guard at any possible circumstances, Princess Quintella looked at him with inquisitive eyes.

"What's wrong, Mister? It's the first time I've seen that kind of frustrated face."

"Sigh. It's just... Seeing how feeble these measly Goblin Undeads, we still could not kill them through tangible means unless they are burned into dust through fire or Divine Power, which neither of us possesses."

Even though Grey had the capability and skills to cut these rattling bones, these monsters were just going to be reassembled back to their very selves because of their characteristic of being undead creatures.

"That's true. I guess that's their perks of being inhabitants of the Dark Lands, Mister. After all, they are not found outside this contaminated soil."

"Is that so? Maybe they have limitations, too." Grey said before the two of them continued with the goblin hunt.

The process to achieve his Progressive Mission progressed smoothly.

Since they could not directly extinguish these little monsters because of the lack of suitable and effective means such as the Fire Element and Divine Power, what Grey and Princess Quintella did was sweep and immobilize every running Goblin Undead and throw them into the seemingly eternal fire.

Woosh!

Slash! Slash!

"Go back there, little wimp."

Rattle.

"I–Intruder!"

"I–I need a hand! Y–your hand!"

Woosh!

Dismissing the cries of these puny creatures, Grey relentlessly cleaned and researched everything in the current area with his [Swift Feet].

***

After some time, only the Goblin Chief and too few Goblin Warriors remained. They faced the two intruders who finally left the tall grasses to show themselves.

Grey's purple eyes observed these surviving goblins gazing at them with seething dark eyes.

"What's with the look? I can't tell if you're mad since I couldn't properly see your bony expressions." Grey casually said.

"Human... A human dares!" The Goblin Chief, which was donning ragged clothes, screamed. "Kill him!"

'This one possesses a proper intelligence, enough to lead a village on its own.' Grey inwardly thought before both his hands were reshaped into sharp objects. His left hand resembled a sickle while the other hand was transformed into a sword as he maintained his human appearance.

"Fight to your heart's content, Princess. This will be your first battle since that day."

Hearing this, Princess Quintella recalled the moment when her own beloved uncle was trying to kill her, and when an unknown being saved her.

She was also reminded of Grey's words a few days ago when she began her training to fulfill her Path of Revenge.

"Princess, do not get reckless just because you now possess seemingly unparalleled regenerative cells through Nanobots."

Looking at him for a brief moment, Princess Quintella nodded with a determined expression.

It was then that both of them rushed forward towards the approaching Goblin Warriors.

***

It was an easy battle.

Even though they possessed the characteristics of an undead, they were still known as goblins—monsters at the bottom of the food chain.

After rendering the Goblin Warriors incapable of fighting due to their fragile undead arms, Princess Quintella threw a runic-inscribed Molotov in the air and cut through it in front of their face.

Slash!

Boom!

"Princess! I said fight to your heart's content, but it doesn't necessarily mean to be reckless!"

The explosion both sent the Goblin Warrior and the little girl far away from each other. The difference though was that the former's existence shattered while the blooming royal blood smiled in satisfaction.

Instead of obeying his words, Princess Quintella replied,

"Mister, thank you!"

Woosh!

The battle surrounded by the scorching fire ensued.

A few moments later, Grey faced the remaining Goblin Chief.

"If you want to live–"

"Die human!" The Goblin Chief raised its axe and rushed without hearing a single word.

"Sigh. I'm a fool, am I?" Seeing this, Grey couldn't help but mutter.

He then added,

"How can an undead live?"

At that moment, he disappeared and–

Slash. Slash. Slash!

...mutilated the Goblin Chief.

Thud. Thud. Thud!

Just when Princess Quintella was about to throw a Molotov to its immobile separated body, Grey raised his hand.

"There's no need for that. I just realized that an undead can become a great subject for experiment—immune to death." A smirk found itself on his lips.

Realizing his intentions, Princess Quintella said, "Ah..."

She recalled the first time she was shown the process of DNA Modification being performed through Lake Shadine's aquatic inhabitants.

"That truly makes me curious, Mister." Her crimson eyes seemed to smile at the confused Goblin Chief, who could not comprehend what these two individuals were discussing.

***

Ding!

[Independent Mission: Take over a Goblin Village has been completed.]

Even though this mission had no successful rewards, Grey was satisfied as he witnessed the now-empty village after the raging flames were naturally extinguished.

"Now then. The first step to building an Alien Village... Complete!"