Chapter 4 - This World Is… Weird.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

[System]

||

…

As I stated previously, I waited all night on top of the force field. I didn't take a step off of it, as I would then be in the forest, and that may attract the attention of the undead.

The darkness that I ate previously must have worked like a first meal. Over the course of the night, I started to feel a trickle of hunger.

It seems I must actually drain energy to eat, as I don't remember Monster Zero actually eating.

But, like I promised the goblins, I could wait. As the moon receded and the sun rose into the sky, the smell of Undeath receded.

What seemed to be the owner of the force field and the leader of the goblins had exited the miniature castle.

He had black hair and black eyes, and his clothes looked modern. He didn't notice me until one of the goblins pointed it out to him.

His eyes went wide, and he whispered something close to "holy shit."

What was a modern person doing in a magical world? Transmigration? Cross-dimensional teleportation?

He couldn't have been rare, as I wouldn't have been lucky enough to be born so close to him.

Seeing as the distance between the top of the force field and the ground was too much of a separation, I decided to slowly slide down it and wait at the edge of the forest.

Inside the force field, there were no trees, and this allowed me to get a clear look at everything even from ground level.

The boy, somehow the leader of the goblins, proceeded to make a shooing gesture as he walked towards me.

"Are you shooing me?"

"To dare treat me as some common dog that you can order around due to its lesser cognitive functions!"

"This is the first time such a lowborn spawn has ever tried to use such a gesture to get rid of me. It's laughable that you can't see the situation you are in. I am outside the barrier, stopping your supply of resource gathering, and you dare shoo me away in such a manner."

My three heads each gave a different yet similar reaction to what the boy was doing.

"You can speak?!" The boy's eyes widened as he jumped a little in shock.

"Of course I can."

"Do you find me so dimwitted in your own mind that you think it can affect reality?"

"If I couldn't, I wouldn't be called a true born."

As my other two heads spoke after me, I took a quick second to think about what was said. True born?

I knew who I was and how I got here, but through some sort of hidden dialogue with my other two heads, could I find more information?

They were speaking about the same topics as I did, yet with their own personalities and hidden meanings.

However, I refocused my attention towards the beings in the barrier. The boy, who had just been scared, suddenly radiated confidence.

"You know, the way I see it, it's a fifty versus one. You can't win with these numbers." The boy said as he smiled with his arms outstretched.

I didn't respond, as my other heads may have given away what I was planning.

Not speaking up ended up working in my favor, as it made me look less confident in my actions and would lead to the enemy making mistakes.

'After all, it's not fifty versus one. It's one versus fifty if I have to fight nothing but the goblins that follow you.' I thought to myself as the boy in front of me seemed to want to push his luck.

The boy then kneeled toward a goblin holding a club and whispered in his ear. He pushed the back of the goblin, which made it stumble toward my direction.

The goblin caught itself and began walking shakily in my direction. I immediately started backing up so I wouldn't be right against the barrier when the goblin came out.

The second the goblin crossed the barrier, he readied his club with shaky hands while looking at me, only standing ten feet away.

'Here it comes...' I thought to myself as I stood high up with my body but lowered my heads close to the ground.

Suddenly, the goblin froze. His shaking stopped, his eyes gained a clarity unknown, and white light glowed softly from the sky directly onto his figure.

If I didn't read the fine print of [Eldritch Creature May Die] difficulty, then I would be confused. You see, there were two different buffs that were given to every mortal creature.

The first was a 0.5-fold increase in health, and the second was the [Creator God] status effect. I have no idea what the effect did, as I do not have a way to see the status of others, but considering the difficulty, this probably gave the goblin buffs beyond normal.

Every being in the barrier paused as they watched holy light be poured onto the goblin from the heavens. It was a thin radiance that covered his entire body.

They probably thought that this sad existence was being chosen by God. As the goblin rushed me, it pulled the club back and aimed for my center head.

It was terribly slow. As I saw the attack coming, my left and right heads moved to the side while my middle head pulled back in order to dodge the attack.

Each of the goblins had leather armor that covered a majority of their body but still had places where it didn't protect. The neck, wrists, head, and feet.

The attack hit the ground with a small amount of dirt being flicked into the air from the force behind it.

For a goblin, the only correct weapon was a spear due to their short size compared to every other creature. The club only made the attack overextend, and now my counterattack was coming.

My left and right heads launched forward to bite down on the goblin's right and left wrists, respectively.

The second the goblin was in my hold, I raised my necks higher into the air, and with my center head, I bit down on the goblin's neck.

With my jaw clamping down on its neck, the goblin had no chance to scream. Even more so as I activated my life absorption ability.

From my three necks downward, a constant stream of blue light trickled in. It only took a few seconds as the goblin's struggle died down before I realized that I had eaten all of its energy.

 [+27.11]

I dropped the body of the goblin as my body glowed and shimmered from the overflowing amount of energy in my body.

I felt less hungry, and as I looked at the rest of the goblins in the barrier, I saw that they all appeared to be ready for an all-out assault.

With electricity pulsating through my body, quite literally, as I could clearly see it, I spread out my wings to my maximum.

My body was fully stretched in a defensive posture, my necks in an "S" shape, my wings as expanded as possible, and my twin tails rattling like the tails of a rattlesnake as one of my heads hissed.

*RRRAAA–ÆÆÆÆÆÆ–EE*

At my threatening display and roar, the goblins had a hint of hesitation present, but as the first few goblins crossed the barrier and also received the holy light the first did, that hesitation receded.

I had gained exactly 165 points in mana from that goblin I killed and was now in the [Overcharge] state.

But the 49 goblins that were all being bathed in holy light as they ran in to attack me made me realize something.

'This might be heaven...' With that singular thought, the golden glow in my chest grew brighter and spread to my neck.

Opening my three mouths, all my heads facing different directions, I used exactly the 165 mana that I had just gained.

Three beams of pure electricity and gravity shot out of my mouth and right toward my targets.

As the beams hit them, they turned right into dust, and then the beam would hit anything behind them.

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

I instantly shut my three mouths as my beam attack ended. A goblin with a spear was the first to rush up to me.

He aimed his spear at my right head, which swiftly pulled to the side to dodge the attack.

Biting on the shaft of the spear and yanking it away from the goblin with my middle head, I flapped my wings and launched three feet into the air.

My twin tails wrapped around the singular goblin as I flapped my wings some more and took us higher into the sky.

I flew backward, away from the barrier by an extra 50 feet. They had rushed me fast, but due to the beam attack, I could ward them off for a few seconds.

I had to make distance, and now that I was 50 feet away from the barrier.

My twin tails, still holding the goblin, pulled him toward my feet as they outstretched like a bird getting its talons on prey.

My feet met the goblin's chest as we both began plummeting. I made sure I didn't fall fast enough to break anything in my body.

*bang*

 [+27.11]

The goblin? Not so much; he had been violently ripped apart under my weight. His blood and organs were crushed under my feet.

'Hmm, no violent reaction to blood... good.' I thought as I looked towards the goblins that were crossing the distance.

They began converging on my position at a speed no goblin should have. As they got closer together, running directly toward me, I straightened my tail.

Unseeable darkness grew over my tail, and to make sure it was a big horizontal slash, I put 200 mana into it.

The second the first goblin crossed the 15-foot mark, I turned my entire body as swiftly and with as much force as possible.

*VRRM*

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

[+27.11]

The effect was instant as the goblins that were hit with it stopped moving, but their top half kept going.

From their chest and higher, they slid away from the rest of their body. Their blood was gushing from the massive wound after a fraction of a second.

Even seeing their comrades' deaths, the goblin force continued moving forward as if nothing but my death mattered.

A goblin with a semi-misshapen sword swung at me. Turning my body toward him, he was aiming at my chest. Pouring a bit of energy into false infinity, I made a shield of darkness right where he would hit.

*Crash*

'What?' At that thought, I watched with wide eyes as my shield was broken immediately.

The attack didn't even slow down all that much, and when the goblin struck me, I felt a burning sensation. My black scales barely protected me as the goblin's sword ran its way through the side of my chest.

[-70 (%88.33)]

The burning sensation was so intense that I lashed out in confused anger. All three of my heads pulled back and proceeded to lash out like bullets.

Each one of them found purchase in the portion of flesh the goblin didn't have covered.

*WHOOSH*

I took off into the air an instant later while activating my life absorption ability.

[+15 (%90.83)]

[+15 (%93.33)]

[+15 (%95.83)]

[+15 (%98.33)]

[+15 (%100)]

My wound quickly healed as I drained the life of the goblin, free from any assaults. Even after the goblin fully healed me, I kept draining its life in order to restore my mana.

[+27.11]

Once the goblin was fully drained of life, I dropped its body and allowed it to fall freely through the air.

The burning sensation lingered even after the weapon had left and stayed until I fully healed the wound, even as the effects calmed as I healed.

'This must be one of the hidden effects of the [Creator God] status effect. All mortal enemies do holy damage! Even though they may not have purifying energy, all my defenses will be bypassed by a mortal unless I can outpower their holy attributes.' I frowned at the thought, but there wasn't much I could do. If I took damage, then it would be double and may even overpower any defensive darkness abilities I have.

Looking down at the goblins, I found one with a club that looked not too heavily surrounded by allies.

Flapping my wings, I went higher into the sky. My climb began stalling as I stopped flapping my wings. Falling backward, I turned my entire body back toward the goblins in a very big circle maneuver.

'Dragon ascent...' I thought to myself as I sped through the air toward the goblin holding the club.

I only stopped flapping my wings as I got close, my wings fully outstretched and trying to stop my momentum. But it wasn't enough, as I purposely hit the goblin with my charge.

*Bang*

[+27.11]

The blood and guts of the goblin splattered all over the ground while I was untouched; a little bit of goblin blood splattered over my body.

"Retreat!"

A scream of retreat came from the boy who had ordered the all-out assault. However, the goblins looked conflicted; they obviously wanted to follow his orders, but their will to kill me burned just that bright.

Some of them even took rapid glances at both myself and the boy who gave them orders.

"I SAID RETREAT!" The boy said it again, which seemed to shock the goblins awake as they quickly ran toward the barrier.

I didn't chase after them, as I had gotten what I came for. The smell of blood would also increase the chances of a carnivore coming over.

Walking my way over to the barrier, only five feet from it, and ignoring all the goblins that held scared looks, I smirked.

"I can't win with those numbers, right?"

"Time has only foreseen a portion of what I have willed into existence; the beings that have lived were let go to be slaughtered for my amusement. To put me in the same category as these pitiful creatures is one of the reasons you have failed and will never see your truth."

"What you have just seen is futility; my existence is simply far better than all of yours combined, and with the flick of my wrist, I culled your numbers. Along with the way you are heading, I see no way for you to learn from your mistakes, so as I rip apart you, your failure of an army, this barrier, and scatter your putrid organic remains across the stars, remember that your soul will be tortured till time erodes."

My two other heads mocked the boy one after the other, right as I finished mocking him myself.

The boy seemed at a loss for what to do. It seems he had never met a persistent creature hell-bent on his death before.

"Just go! You've killed so many of my goblins. What are you even still doing here? Shouldn't you leave like the rest of the creatures do?" The boy shouted distasteful words of hatred at me.

"Being a territory manager sucks." The boy whispered, but I heard it.

"Territory manager?"

"Was fun supposed to be found, lording over the lesser-born?"

"I see this as quite amusing; being able to watch the lesser-born die in cruel and twisted ways is very humorous. They think that they are beings that compare to the greats."

"You know, the king, the lord, the manager, or the territory owner? Every creature here knows what it's about. It was supposed to be fun, but I got goblins, and they are common creatures that have such a low chance of being chosen that it's sad how bad my luck is." The boy spoke, responding to the two questions thrown at him.

However, all my heads simply grew confused, as I didn't know what he meant.

"Well, territorial lords gain a chosen minion at random that they can spawn, and in order to spawn them, they need gold coins that they get from killing monsters. They can also upgrade the territory and gain access to stronger versions of their originally chosen creature."

The boy was now sitting cross-legged on the grass, only a foot away from leaving the barrier, as he spoke to me.

"All creatures have loyalty, and if you push them too much without allowing them any time to themselves or without food, then they'll revolt against you. I wanted to save the rest of the goblins that went to attack you, as they are all I have, and even though they might be weak, they've still stuck by me, so I'll stick by them." As he finished his sentence, I saw the eyes of some of the goblins go wide as if they didn't expect it.

"For people like me, when we first get here, our occupation is random. Most of the natives hate us, and you get the gist." The boy had a downcast look as he finished saying his peace.

'Hmm, territory lords? I can use this. What do dragons usually do in the wild? Offer protection services to anything in their territory. Having this kid work for me allows me to bypass the undead and see about killing other humans.' A plan was forming in my mind very quickly.

"I see. If you were to join me, then your strength would rise exponentially, correct?"

"Come under my banner; as the highest born, I'll fight off your greatest threats in exchange for worship and offerings, and together we will devour the very gods."

"With my overwhelming might on your side, you would have nothing to fear. The chances you get another opportunity like this one are impossible to never. Take this chance under my command and experience greatness."

The boy suddenly lit up with a bright smile, but quickly that smile froze on his face.

"Wait, work under you, but I'm the territory lord; shouldn't you be under—" Before the boy could finish, I spoke up.

"I work under nothing!"

"Only one being has the right to ask for something as demanding as being a soldier in an army not under my own banner, and that being is not you."

"I have no obligation to anyone, and that includes my pantheon-leading parents. They would only ask for my hand in marriage to someone, and that's if it was needed. If you want to use my power, you shall be under me. If you accept these terms, let me into the barrier."

The boy's face grew into multiple different expressions, but in the end, he seemed to sigh.

"I've seen what others have; if you can get me anywhere near close to the top, I'm willing to take this chance. I'll work under you." The boy said this as he looked to his left, his eyes seemingly reading something with great sadness.

"I mean, I'm fucked anyway; you've crippled half of my starting army, and I'm already behind. This is my only chance left to make something of myself."

The boy gave me a sad smile as I began to press my head against the barrier.

…

(A/N: Was supposed to come out sooner but I was hit with absolute heat death. I couldn't write as my room and about the whole house was too hot to concentrate.)