Psychopomps
Approaching deeper into the cave, Roy noticed that it was much more full of "life" than before. Spirits of all kinds, even plants and fungi could be seen within the damp walls.
"Beautiful and harrowing..." Roy moved his vision to the dark spirits with wide mouths, giant teeth and hollow eyes as he slowly spoke the second half of his sentence. Their eyes were leaking blood, as if mourning for the souls of the kobolds they were carrying away.
'Inspect.' Roy thought quickly, wanting to know what these spirits were exactly.
[Apprentice Psychopomp]
Lv. $%.!
Notes:
A newly born being whose sole job is to guide the souls of the deceased to the cycle of reincarnation.
The more souls a Psychopomp guides, the more powerful it becomes.
Their strength directly relates to their life expectancy, the stronger they get the longer they survive in order to guide others.
Their power may only be used to defend themselves and the souls they guide.
'A life only to be lived through serving others... A noble, but hellish existence.' Roy felt sadness not only in the scene, but also for the selfless lives these beings are forced to live.
After seeing that scene, Roy truly felt exhausted on a whole different level. He then went off to take his nap in a quite corner of the cave.
...
'Now that I completed my Mana Heart, I should attempt to absorb a couple of the other Mana Hearts. I'll leave the one with more mana in it for Solus and take the smaller ones. They end up about even anyways.' Roy rummaged through his backpack and pulled out the two smaller Mana Hearts.
Closing his eyes, Roy asked the system how he should begin the process.
{Info}
[Mana Heart]
In order to absorb another being's Mana Heart, follow 4 steps:
1) The being must be dead.
2) The mana heart must be placed on your chest near your own Mana Heart.
3) Manipulate the mana within your own Mana Heart to create a connection with the dead being's Mana Heart.
4) Use that connection as a bridge to absorb the mana within. (Only mana condensed at or below your own tier should be absorbed. Otherwise your Mana Heart could explode.)
[Mana Heart]
Notes:
Tier 1
Mana Vapor: 5%
Absorb to gain 10MP
Made by Ilk
[Mana Heart]
Notes:
Tier 1
Mana Vapor: 10%
Absorb to gain 15MP
Made by Nabik
'Twenty five extra MP after I absorb these... More than double my current. Will I also gain the mana vapor?'
{Info}
[Mana Heart]
Mana vapor can be absorbed from other creature's Mana Hearts.
Absorbing too many cores in order to progress can destabilize your own, so it is recommended to only absorb 3~5 cores per tier.
Never absorb a core that is more than 5 times your own progress.
The more you absorb and destabilize, the easier it is to tell it is happening. When your Mana Heart begins vibrating, stop absorbing other cores.
'Okay, so let's start with the 5% then.' Roy wiped the cold sweat from his head, once again happy to have the tutorial.
'I need to figure out how to gain an appraisal skill before I reach 100 species levels gained. I think I have already used twenty three?' Roy contemplated as he picked up his five percent Mana Heart.
'So, place on the chest, in front of the Mana heart. Create a bridge next...' Roy pulled a string of mana from his Mana Heart, using it to connect the two together, he then stabilized the connection and attempted to draw mana from the other heart.
"Buhihi! Easy peasy!" Roy said as he could feel the connection successfully siphoning the mana.
...
As Roy was finishing the process of siphoning and absorbing, he slowly opened his eyes to a wondrous sight. All around him, were dozens of spirits. Majority of these spirits were fungi, as some even were resting upon his legs.
'Such a strange feeling, to see you there but not feel you at all...' Roy slowly reached over to touch the spirit, but his hand passed straight through with no resistance.
'Guess I need to actually train the law in order to interact with them?'
Roy decided to ignore what was happening and got back to work after watching the spirits for a while longer. He wanted to finish this up so he could check on the situation outside.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Clink*
*Clank*
*Urgh!*
"Gigigigi! Hurry up you flying rats, his majesty is waiting for you!" An excited goblin, donning fresh clothing of a high quality chuckled as he yanked on the chains of the de-winged fairies behind him.
The fairies all had lost the light in their eyes as they quietly followed along with the goblin. They had to run in order to keep up, as the leg span was nothing compared to the goblin.
*Knock knock*
"Enter!" A loud, domineering voice echoed from within the chamber.
*Creeeeaaak*
The large doors, far too large for a goblin, let alone for the fairies who built them, slowly opened on its own.
Permission from the one sitting in the throne was needed in order to activate the convenient enchantment.
"Who have we got this time?" King Aslan asked in a monotone voice. He had processed hundreds of fairies already, most were turned into slaves, while the ones who owned slaves or knew how to utilize slavery magic were immediately thrown into the dungeons to be tortured to death.
"My king, these fairies happen to be tailors. They create thread through magic, allowing their clothing to be imbued with simple spells like temperature control." The goblin spoke with pride as he rubbed his new clothing.
"Wonderful! Brand them with the slave seal and send them to the work camps. These will also be the last of the fairies I will see today, so be off! Oh and make sure to bring me a full set of clothing in the morning..." Aslan declared as he watched the goblin and fairies scamper away.
"Now, time to enact some laws, all of which are punishable with death through torture!" Aslan's wicked smile slowly crept onto his face, before he continued speaking to his advisors and generals.
"First off, breeding stations. They need to be sustainable, so every nine gobins born, make the livestock create one of its own species. I want detailed records of this, so employ enslaved fairies to keep them." Aslan looked around the room, before he continued.
"Second, I am making school mandatory for all citizens, hopefully this can help us with the next issue, military power.
After school has been completed, goblins are to be drafted into the military where a rotation of generals will guide them. I want to see within the next couple of years, thousands of tier two goblins." After saying his plans, many of the goblins in the room gasped. Never had they thought that they would be taught in a school, nor that they would be personally trained by generals directly under the goblin king himself!
"I don't like repeating myself, so I hope you all know the consequences of displeasing me or breaking the laws..." Aslan glared at everyone in the room as he released his bloodlust upon them.
The goblins almost collapsed from the pressure and fear, before it suddenly ended.
"Good, now, everyone leave."
'Hah... Hopefully after a few years of gathering our strength, we can begin another expansion...' Aslan slowly stood up and went towards the royal bathhouse. He planned to relax after a long day of kingly duties.