A long way still

The goblin's taste was worse than its stench, Proteus wiped the blood off his mouth with a grimace of disgust and the walking continued. The daybreak was still far away.

Proteus assumed that goblins were social creatures, intelligent enough to use sharpened stones, tools, and fire. Their eyes didn't look very developed, so he deduced that they hunted mostly by sound and smell and that they were nocturnal, he knew from the memories of the child that they hunted in groups. Being bipedal scavengers by nature they were not very agile and preyed on small animals, which meant that the one that attacked him alone might have gotten lost and isolated. The fact that one had decided to reveal itself to him must have meant that it was desperate, that it had misjudged him for a human that couldn't defend himself in the dark, or that it thought he was just a corpse and therefore an easy meal.

It was a long, cold night. Winds blew and leaves fell, rain drops splattered on the mud-covered ground. It wasn't raining hard, but it made Proteus' pace slower nonetheless. He didn't know how much longer it would take, so he shut useless thoughts out of his mind and walked. When he got tired of walking he ran, he noticed that his knee was healed, and ran even more.

-Show me-

•Name: Proteus

•Race: Shadow Ghoul

•Level: 6 /Classification pending/

•Health: 14/20

•Mana: 68/?

His mana hadn't decreased much even with all this walking and running, he had gotten better at controlling it and not letting it leak out, although it could be due to the fact that he was a step further away from death and not entirely dependent on the substance.

The Ghoul released mana, wrapped it around himself and used his [Mana Sense] to survey the state of his body. Everything was healing, even without something to keep the bones stable they were healing nicely and correctly, the organs were getting pulled together by countless thin strings, he had regained a living heart. Proteus wrapped the mana more densely and focused deeply on how it interacted with each surface, he was trying to visualise only his outer appearance.

In spite of his badly damaged insides, he looked fine from the outside, almost normal. He had claws, his clothes were torn and he was covered in blood, other than that he had the appearance of a normal human.

At some point he came across a small stream deep enough that it almost reached his knees and took the opportunity to wash himself with the cold water. It was good to feel his muscles and bones moving properly again, there wasn't as much pain with every move and the cold was like a slight tingling on the surface of his skin. A pleasant pause of the, until now, persistent anguish. He put on his damaged clothing and greeted the sunrise with his back, the next village was now very close.

The morning was chilly and humid, a rooster crowed and a shepherd guided his sheep out to the meadow to eat. There, he saw a person approaching from afar. He shouted at the man when he saw his bloodied and torn clothes, it had alarmed him slightly, but he only assumed it was an injured person.

So he waited until the man got closer, the smaller the distance got the more the shepherd got the feeling that something was not right. It was then.

-Ah, a human, the perfect thing to get the goblin's taste out of my mouth. And he's alone too.-

Every hair on the human's body stood up from fright and he started to run away.

It wouldn't take long for Proteus to catch him and pin him to the ground, but he felt a bit playful. He allowed the man to run and took aim with small bursts of mana. The man's spine was struck and he fell down on the wet ground, scaring the herd, which started to disperse. The human shouted a lot so the Ghoul crushed his windpipe before biting down on his arm. A warm, pleasing taste shot up his mouth, he didn't want to admit it, but it was addicting.

Humans just tasted too good.

So far there had been some factors that had differed when he consumed mana which might have explained when he could peek into the memories of what he consumed. That was, if the organism was an animal and the state in which it was, that being alive or dead. The first living human he ate rewarded him with a rush of images from her life. This one did so as well. His teeth were biting hard on the skin while he absorbed the human's energy. He became immersed in a flood of new experiences, the shepherd's life, his needs and wants, the layout of the village, the trade routes of the nearby villages and some words. At this point he had a very basic understanding of these people's language, he understood the sounds of multiple nouns and verbs, but he still lacked the feeling for the correct forms of clauses, tenses and grammar.

But 'Simple expression should be possible.'

This world's human civilisation was equivalent to the middle ages from Proteus' old world, aside from the humans he knew, he had learnt that there were some more human-like species that existed:

Beast-kin or Therion were people with features from other animals, like tails, different ears, even different body structures. Elves looked like humans with pointed ears, they were known for their mysticism and for their longevity, as well as their tendency to avoid contact with other races. Orcs and Ogres were larger built, anthropomorphic animals that were defined by lower intelligence, they were physically stronger than the human and elf races but their societies were far less advanced, ogres especially were thought of as monsters because of their aggressive behaviour towards humans.

Proteus took the clothes of the dead man and replaced his own with them. A less bloodied and more normal appearance would be great for not being recognised as something... dangerous. He decided to skip the village, go around it to not be noticed.

This village was smaller than the precious one, it didn't take too long to pass it by sticking to paths that were on the side of it. Now according to the shepherd's memory he would take the path in the direction of the small town, which was ten kilometres away. The town was significantly larger than the previous settlements he had been to, it housed a church, official buildings and, more importantly, a numerous population.

Proteus had grown too bored of walking constantly so he decided to run the whole distance to the next settlement. Along the way there was an abandoned house, it had collapsed and its straw roof had fallen sideways into it. There he found sacks which were filled with something that smelled repulsive, possibly manure. He emptied one sack, wanting to use it to store any useful items that could be found inside the house, but there weren't any. Surprisingly he started feeling lethargic, he checked his mana and after confirming that it hadn't decreased at all, he took a calm breath and sat down in the shade of the house. This was his first time feeling worn out in his new body, he guessed that it was mental fatigue as opposed to a depletion of his body's resources. For some time he would remain put, but not for too long, he wanted to reach the town within the same day.

As he came within view distance of the farmland he started formulating a plan about what he would do.

This place was not only larger, it was more well guarded too. There were walls erected around the main residential areas and it had three towers with holes throughout, possibly to allow the use of crossbows. There was a guard stationed at the gate, who was talking with a group of three, one wolf-kin and two humans. He requested to see into their bags and they obliged. The guard was however not pleased. He shouted loudly in some words that Proteus did not recognise, other than the words "dirty and animal", and he pointed at the wolf-kin. It was a very obvious way to taunt him and a very usual display from how rehearsed it came off as. The group gave the guard some coin and the wolf-kin formed a gesture with one of his hands, curling the thumb, pointing finger and middle finger and leaving the other two stretched. After this they entered the village.

Now it was his turn. Proteus had started salivating even before he could notice the rich smell that the slow wind had pushed his way. He swallowed hastily and directed his attention to control his hunger. The guard asked him something that ended with the word "where". The Ghoul couldn't focus on the human's words to try to decipher them, he had to restrain himself.

"Behind... Mountain." Proteus said, unsure of whether he would have been understood and if it answered the man's question. Then the man asked again, but he used a phrase which Proteus did not understand. However, guessing by the previous interaction he had had with the three travellers before him, he might have been asking for money to enter the village.

Proteus did not understand the need for such a thing, there were people out there working in the fields or doing some other sort of work, it would be unreasonable to ask each of them to pay just to be allowed in where they lived. It could have been an entree fee meant only for outsiders.

Proteus shook his head. The guard put up his arm to block the way inside. His posture seemed to say "No money, no entrance." It was understandable, without money what could one even accomplish, the Ghoul didn't grasp the language enough to try to figure something else to solve this boundary. Nevertheless, it was comforting to know that he could pass as a human.

He chose a random direction and went.

He walked until he reached a hamlet. Luckily he didn't have to walk more than two hours to arrive there, the sun was still up. There was some activity at the hamlet, people busy with things, a man who escorted five cows along with a dog, someone was cooking potatoes. It took a bit of time to get adjusted to the strong smells of the humans, which compelled him to go on a hunger-driven rampage. The feeling could be compared to trying to reject a banquet full of bewitching foods, while being on an empty stomach, only it was much more persistent. In time, as more of them came and went and he no longer felt the extreme hunger whenever they were close, then he knew he could control himself.

He walked to the largest house and laid down next to its fence, pretending to sleep. He hadn't slept for days, his body didn't feel the need to rest, although he could be tired out mentally. A Ghoul could, however, sleep. He did not mean to. Soon, as the sun circled around and set and the sounds of humans and animals ceased, he slept.

In sleep he revisited his old world, back when he was a child, being trained to undergo dangerous missions, falling in love with Alexander and being heartbroken. He wanted to get away, so far away from the pain, the tests, the needles. He had escaped once, only to find himself lost in an unending desert. No, that was wrong there was no desert near the orphanage/ laboratory. Laboratory? Something was amiss, a terror inducing inability to find order in one's mind. Proteus failed to understand what he dreamt and what he remembered.

A door, it was a way out, he walked through it. He was back on the ground that shifted through hues of purple. He was closer to where he needed to be, already walking on a field of crystal lilies. Rays of gray, deep mauve, white, turqoise, blue and rose light flew out, which beguiled Proteus and beckoned him to continue walking in the mesmerising atmosphere. When he got to the end of the field the lilies transformed into butterflies and the ground became a sea. He did not remember how he knew this place, when he came to know the names of each and every one of the butterflies and why he felt so alone and sad when he saw them.

Sounds of children, then a kick in the gut. He awoke to a child attacking him. His groggy eyes didn't focus on the human as fast as he wanted them too. A woman came from behind and slapped the young boy and reprimanded it. She came over Proteus and lowered her head.

The woman made the child apologise too. They both waited for a response, not knowing what was the correct way to react, Proteus stood up and bowed his head too. The child was displeased, it came closer and kicked Proteus' right shin. The woman slapped the child twice and motioned him to go into the house. Proteus caught the whiff of the misunderstanding and told the woman a phrase that he had learnt from the shepherd's memories, which meant that there was no enmity between them. The woman let out words of gratitude and followed the child into the house.

Judging by the position of the sun it was early morning, he had slept for more than the entire night. He had laid there hoping that some passerby would drop him a coin or two so that he could use it to enter a larger village or the town. He hadn't gotten any so far, and he was getting tired of waiting. The nice woman came out of the house and gave him some bread and a piece of onion to eat. He accepted it and he asked her one word "Wior?".

She pointed at the opposite direction to that of the town. With the direction in mind Proteus left the hamlet and as he did so he heard a scream from afar. A man ran out of the woods followed by five goblins from behind and two from his left side, some threw their spears at him and struck him once in his back thigh on the foot that was closer to them.

Proteus accelerated, he kicked a goblin and disarmed it, using the weapon to stab an other in the eye. The man found an opening to grab one by the neck and slam it to the ground. The ghoul used his claws to strike at the one that received his kick and one beside him.

After a bit, more people gathered around to see what had happened. A woman had used a spading fork to stab the belly of a goblin. Now outnumbered, the goblins ran away. The man was very thankful, he embraced Proteus to show his gratitude. Everyone thanked him and cheered for the defeat of the short, green aggressors.

Proteus pointed at the direction the goblins had ran to and said "More?" He did so because he thought they should stop just standing around and pursue the hideous monsters. The humans stared at him, the man he had saved said something and waved his hand back and forth. They must have known that there were probably more goblins, but they didn't look like they planned to go attack them. From what he saw there where five men here now, there might be more men around, they could just all take up sharp tools and weapons and go annihilate the goblin nest before they showed up again.

It was baffling how they didn't let out any form of worry even though one of them was attacked mere moments ago. Their inaction puzzled him, he went after the goblins on his own. Tracing them was hardly challenging, they had left footprints everywhere, which he followed to the side of a hill where there was a camp. They looked like cavemen, they were in a sense really cavemen, uncivilised and primitive, dirty, savage things, there were fifteen that he could see, the two from before who were covered in the blood of their fallen comrades, three other adult goblins and ten smaller goblins. This was easy. He had gotten so much faster than before, his body felt light and easy to control, his claws were sharp and durable, they cut the flesh like nothing. If he imbued them with mana they sliced through bone like butter. The goblins were too slow, the adults were killed instantly when he slashed their throats and the smaller ones couldn't even put up a front, he mercilessly crushed them, broke their bones and left them to bleed out in pain. He was having so much fun that he kept one alive and tortured it to see the faces it made out of pain and panic.

When he was done killing he removed their heads, he wanted to show the people that the goblins had been defeated, but he didn't know how to carry all the goblin heads there as he had left his sack back at the village. He released mana through his fingers and focused into having it form a net. He didn't succeed, after a few tries he managed to make a bubble out of his mana with a circular opening, through which he inserted the heads. It looked like it was solid but it was very unstable, if it disconnected from his body the mana would stop retaining its shape and vanish.

It was really odd how mana could take many forms responding to his will, gas, liquid, solid, it was stored inside his body, was weightless and he could feel it as if he could see through it.

When he went back to the hamlet he showed the humans the heads and they looked sort of happy, and worried. Proteus took that as a sign that they thought he wanted something in return, which was close to the truth. He would receive anything they gave him, but he wasn't asking for something in particular.

These people were simple, and poor, they could only give him some food at most, but he had no need for human food anyway.

He picked up the sack, put the big heads inside and tried to fit in as many of the smaller ones too. He ended up having to hold three small heads by the hair. At least he didn't look like he was carrying a large bowl filled with heads, it would look both hilarious and off-putting at the same time.

He went back to the town, this time with something that might grant him entry. He had learnt that in this world there was something called "the Adventurer's Association", an organisation that funded the killing of monsters and other things that endangered human lives and that that organisation gave out rewards to any who would show up with valid prey.

He was hoping that bringing back the heads of these goblins would grant him a reward large enough for his entry. The guard asked him the same question as before and he replied the same as before, only this time he had the heads to show and as he suspected he was allowed in. The guard shouted behind him and an other man came from underneath the gate. He escorted Proteus to a building where he deposited the heads. The receptionist at the desk let out a sigh as he saw the heads, then said a small sentence containing the words "cut" and "ear", he meant that only the ears were necessary for the reward. With that, Proteus apologised using the words of the woman and the child and let the guards take their share. He was left with two copper coins.

For the next while he explored the village, he went up and down the streets, circled around the church. This place was very busy, there were people everywhere, selling food on the street, talking with passersby, two older men were having a disagreement. It was so different and so similar to how the humans from Agros interacted.

When the night came Proteus didn't sleep. He searched for parts of the village that were still active during the night. He walked past the shop of a Shoemaker who was working on a pair with a short, curved blade. The place was lit up with a single oil lamp and it reeked of leather.

The shoes Proteus was wearing were made of plastic and rubber, they were hard and flexible. He walked up to the door and said hello, the white-haired man nodded his head and pointed at a chair without even looking at him. When he was done working on the soles he asked what Proteus wanted.

Proteus removed his shoes and asked "How much?" The cobbler's eyes rose up and he touched the colourful patterns on the shoes. He had been examining the pair for a while, after which he took out three silver coins to offer, but Proteus demanded more. He made a bargain with a pair of leather shoes and six silver coins. It was fine, Proteus just wanted to be as inconspicuous as he could, it was all the better that he could earn some money while doing so.

For the rest of the night he sat in a dark corner and played around with mana. He changed it into many shapes, flung it around, threw it, shot it against a wall. He had to familiarise himself with it as much as he could, it did get easier to manipulate the more he used it, although it was still not to the level that Ruthenia had been able to.

The sun lit up the sky in blues and reds and the town got lively again, people went out to the farmlands, a grocer moved a table and placed various spices on top of it. The bells of the church started ringing, some men with arms took positions on the town's outer walls and on the towers. Everything was bursting with life. The shoemaker he had met before greeted him and shook his arm.

Eventually every place became active, including the Adventurer's Guild. He went to the receptionist and, knowing what he was about to ask, the man showed him a wall that had a hung map with pins placed on it. Attached to the pins there were small ropes that led to pictures of various animals and monsters, there were goblins, wolves, bears, big, ostrich-like birds and other types of animals that didn't exist on Agros.

Proteus had gotten confident at killing goblins, he looked at the map and saw that the location of the goblin extermination was back at the village where he had killed the shepherd. That was a really nice coincidence since it meant he could go there because he knew the way.

He removed the pin from the map and took the paper that contained the image of the goblin and some text to the receptionist to verify that he wanted to accept this job. The man gave him a happy smirk and a wooden piece containing some kind of signature. Upon receiving it Proteus questioned what it was for and the man said he had to use it to prove he was an adventurer on a job.

He left, greeted the man guarding the southern gate and went on the path to the village.