A New Challenge

I pulled the blade out if the goblin's chest, blood gushing out of it's stab wound. Goblins are small cunning creatures that hang out in large groups and prefer to fight with numbers on their side. Because of this, they are very fertile. A pair of goblins can produce up to a dozen off-springs in just less than a month. The beast let out one last yelp as it permanently went to sleep.

「You have leveled up」

I let go of the vile creature's neck, letting out a sigh.

「Attribute 'Absorption' is activating」

「No applicable skills can be obtained from the target」

Tsk, clicking my tongue, I once again look at the battlefield. The place looked like something out of a horror film. Limbs and broken bodies were strewn about everywhere, both friend and foe. Looking at the horrific landscape, my mind wandered to a couple of hours ago.

◇◆◇◆◇◆

After killing the dire wolves I made my way deeper into the labyrinth, looking for somebody to test out the new skills I just got. I pulled up my status screen.

「Name: Nameless

       Race: Unknown

       Level: 13

   Strength: E-

        Agility: E+

Endurance: E++

         Mana: D--

 Attributes: Absorption, Assimilation

Titles: Night Crawler, Lady Killer, Survivor

Skills: Instinct Lv.2, Night Vision Lv.3, Light Weakness Lv.3, Cold Resistance Lv.2, Charm Resistance Lv.2,

Magic: Conjuration, Reinforcement」

Looking at the semi-transparent screen, I examine myself. It would seem that my accumulated skills through 「Absorption」 and 「Assimilation」 was deleted through evolution.

Did it think that those skills were unnecessary, like, you know, actual evolution?, I asked myself, wondering about the mechanics of the 「system」.

Going further more, my race has changed–or, more like, gained one. The name was completely ambiguous, hiding itself from even me. I wasn't really bothered by it. In my previous life, I was often judged by people. Being unrecognized and ignored was nothing new to me.

My stats had grown too, my endurance having the biggest leap out of all of them. The unchanged mana stat must have been I haven't used it before–though not for long. Glancing down, I read the last category.

Magic

Unlike skills–which can be activated upon acquisition–magic worked differently. It didn't have a level, which meant that proficiency wasn't something that could be tracked by regular measures. Learning, let alone mastering it would be a big hurdle. Heck, I didn't even know how to activate it. Though, it isn't entirely unusable.

Ever since I woke up I became more aware of this thing inside of me. Focusing my consciousness inside of myself, I spot the dark-blue energy drifting in and out of my body.  It was erratic, constantly changing and losing shape. The thing was seemingly sentient, it's own existence detached from mine.

Mana

The stat that had remained unchanged  throughout my time here. It looked like this foreign substance was the key to unlocking the mysteries of magic. Focusing inward again, I try to shape the mana inside of my body. The raging current stopped for a second, then continued with it's usual routine.

Baby steps, I reassured myself. I already had experience adjusting to such a new concept, just like the 「system」.

As I was busy examining my new abilities, a loud battle cry resounded in the distance. I followed the sound, curious.

Using the darkness as my cover, I stealthily made my way to the very back of the cave, finding myself on a high platform perfect for scouting. What waited for me there was something I could have never expected.

The giant cavern was filled with hundreds, maybe thousands of beasts. The beasts were separated into three factions–judging by the one they're closest to.

On the north side of the cavern was a group of tall, muscular beasts, each one three times my height. They had a grotesque face, with sharp canines growing out of their teeth, peeking out of their mouth. Each orc was equipped with a simple cloth to cover their privates. I could see some of them wearing rags like bras too–the females, I realized belatedly–most of them stayed at the back of the group, busy being pampered and doted. Each male orc carried a weapon–rusted and withered as they may be. The primarily had clubs or axes, some of them even carrying weapons like a two-handed broadsword. One orc in the front stood particularly eye-catching. He–unlike the others–wore a set of armor, clearly too small for himself. Even then, this alone was enough to differentiate him from all the other orcs.

Having had enough of the orc's face, I turned to the left. On the southern wall of the cavern was a group of small green-skinned beasts. Like the orcs, the goblins wore loincloths their females wearing one big cloth to cover up their body. On the contrary, the females were the one busy taking care of the male's needs, busing running about with bowls filled with water or baskets filled with ripe fruit. I eyed the baskets especially, taking in their appetizing visage. I wiped the drool dripping from my mouth and continued my investigation. The goblins, it seemed, were much more advanced. At the very back of their frontline forces were archers, each one fashioned with a crude bow and a quiver on their back. Not all of them had bows, though, as most of them had either a dagger fashioned from an unfortunate beast's bone, or a club–two size smaller than the orc's–as their main weapon. Nobody in particular stood out to me. The leaders were most likely hiding in the small tent made from animal leather.

Examining enough of the goblin tribe, I turned right, or rather up. I had to be extra careful observing this group. Even with my high vantage point, I couldn't be confident that I could scout undetected. Hiding behind the stalagmites, I spotted a lime colored group of birds. This group was the lowest in terms of numbers, there were only around a couple dozen of them. In stark contrast to that, each bird was calm, watching the other groups with calm, dignified eyes. Out of everybody–excluding me–this group is probably the most intelligent, each one carrying a dignified air around them. They had no weapons, at least conventional ones. Though few a few of them had talons on their feet, more of an accessory, really. I noticed that these ones had the most intricate patterns on their feathers. One example was a giant hawk with yellow and white feathers, emulating a lightning bolt.

「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」

 The yellow-feathered hawk turned in my direction, it's neck twisting unnaturally. I quickly hid behind a rock formation, holding my breath, erasing my presence. After a while, the pressure receded, letting me know it was safe.

I made my way back to the platform to sort my thoughts. The three factions seemed to be on the cusp of war, each faction watching the other–mostly the birds. Getting caught up in this would be troublesome, picking one side to back would end up pitting me against the other two. In the first place, It wasn't a guarantee that they would take me into their group–let alone trust me with their lives.

I laid on my back, exhausted.

Now which one should I kill first.