Chapter 44: Gnolls
Editor: Atlas Studios
System's [Limb Regenaration], which he could share with Shava, was fundamentally different from [Mind Transmission], as Quin had endowed it to him.
To be more precise, [Limb Regeneration] was an ability unrelated to the mind, and thus, [Mind Transmission] could not be used to transfer it.
As such, System would not transfer [Limb Regeneration] to Shava, but instead, he would use [Mind Transmission] as a means to activate it. Logically, since Shava possessed the talent [Insect Adaptability], System would be able to awaken the dormant [Limb Regeneration] in Shava's bloodline.
Therefore, after Shava awoke her [Limb Regeneration] ability, System's [Limb Regeneration] would not disappear due to that.
…
After trying out on how to use his tentacles on Shava, this experiment undoubtedly provided a new direction for System's future.
First, he would use [Mind Transmission] and [Ability Enhancement] to activate Shava's [Limb Regeneration]. After experiencing and succeeding in his endeavor, System would then use that special power on himself to activate his [Insect Adaptability]'s unique abilities. Insects that had all kinds of strange forms and habits possessed numerous unique abilities.
In System's mind, it was worth giving it a try. He pondered for a while and then wrapped his tentacles around Shava, who had fainted, bringing her back to one of the temporary nest's empty rooms.
System set down Shava and left the room to check on the ant larvae within the temporary nest.
Soon, he discovered that the first batch of ants, which had turned into pupae, would exit their cocoons as adult ants in a couple of days.
Presently, the male and female larvae that System had been paying special attention to were thriving.
When the ant larvae and pupae saw System moving closer to them, they also expressed their affection for him. Fortunately, they had not drifted apart from him despite not coming in contact for two days.
After System calmed down all of the ant larvae and pupae, he arrived at a special empty room. In the corner of the empty room were two golden disc-like items—the Grasshopper Queen's eyes.
System could not bring himself to eat Quin's corpse. In the end, he had chosen to take out her eyes.
System used his tentacles to gently grasp the two eyes and went out of the nest once again. He spread his wings and flew into the sky at breakneck speed.
System's current speed was much faster than Quin's at that level, and his wings were more powerful too.
As he flew higher and higher, System could feel that the wind blowing in the air was becoming stronger and stronger. There was even a trace of coldness in the strong wind, which caused System's body to stiffen slightly.
A grasshopper's body was extremely light, so it was challenging for System to maintain his balance under the gale of wind.
In the beginning, System wanted to fly against the wind, but after flying for a while in the sky, he suddenly felt something strange from his body.
Flying was not relying on just brute strength.
System slightly changed the angle and degree he flapped his wings, and as the powerful gale blew past again, System flew with the wind.
The speed of his grasshopper's body increased suddenly by almost two times. He flew upwards with an even faster speed while borrowing the strength of the strong wind.
As he went higher, the air in the sky became much thinner, and the temperature dropped, becoming much colder. However, in the end, System still managed to fly within the clouds of the sky.
"I already said that clouds are just a form of water. See, it's similar to mist…" murmured System, using [Mind Transmission] to himself while in the clouds.
Meanwhile, when System looked down from the bottom of the layer of clouds, he could not help but be a little stunned.
Flying was humanity's dream since time immemorial. Undoubtedly, being able to observe the world in the clouds was a wonderful feeling.
Under the misty clouds, System saw the seemingly endless glacier mountains a few thousand kilometers away, a boundless green forest, and the vast grassland on the other side of the forest's peripheral.
Near the lake, System could even see numerous brownish-orange butterflies, flying past from near the lake.
After System's third molting and the new ability [System's Eye], System's vision had become very powerful. He could even see the hole of his temporary nest in the forest's gaps from the clouds. However, it would be difficult to see the patrolling ants near the hole clearly.
System surveyed the forest, and soon he spotted two slimes in a swamp that was a few thousand meters away from him. He had been looking for slimes' traces for some time now.
Unexpectedly, other than the slimes, System seemed to have spotted a village of green-skinned creatures, which were over ten kilometers away from him. He also saw some creatures that had dog heads and the body of a human. They resembled Gnolls—creatures often met in fantasy literature.
The Gnolls seemed to have some dispute with the Goblins.
The temperature in the clouds was really low, and the air was thin, so System flew downward after staying there for a little while.
After System placed Quin's eyes back in the nest and stored them away carefully, he flew toward the green-skinned creatures' village.
System did not have designs on the Goblins and Gnolls, but he wanted to get a better understanding of this world by observing its intelligent races.
System's first encounter with the green-skinned creatures was when he had just awakened in this world. At that time, a wild boar, which could release flames, had run past him as three club-wielding green-skinned had been chasing behind it.
At that time, System's compound eyes had been unable to see things in the distance while his ability to sense the surroundings had not been very accurate.
However, thinking back now, the boar's flames had not been that strong. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the three thin and weak green-skinned creatures to chase it.
After hearing the world's voice, System had gained a deeper understanding of the strength hierarchy of this world.
That flame-releasing wild boar and slimes should be similar to System and Quin, creatures that were in the process of transforming into magical life forms.
However, as compared to him and Quin, System felt that the wild boar's and slimes' magical powers were slightly different.
They did not give System the feeling that they had heard the world's voice before.
"Is it possible that they are the offspring of magical creatures and inherited their powers from their bloodlines?" speculated System.
System was unclear whether that was the truth or not.
…
The lair's environment was dirty, and it was accumulated with weed. As System got closer to the lair, his antennae picked up the pungent scent of excrement.
For the first time, System felt that possessing the [Enhanced Sense of Smell] ability was not a good thing.
Maybe, the smell of excrement was incredibly delicious toward maggots, but grasshoppers detested it.
Evidently, the green-skinned creatures lacked human construction skills. Judging from their few shacks, which made of tree branches and weeds, they did not even know how to build ordinary dirt houses. Such a shack might be able to block some of the cold wind at night, but definitely not rain.
System stopped on the branch of a tree. Then, he observed and listened in on the conversation of two creatures under the tree.
There were more than 20 Goblins in the village's gathering ground and about three Gnolls.
The Gnolls' bodies were extraordinarily robust and were about 1.9 meters in height. The Goblins seemed scrawny and small, as adult Goblins were only about 1.2 meters tall, compared to them.
The three Gnolls were walking around the Goblins' village while speaking in an unknown language to the Goblins. The Goblins seemed extremely flustered!
Chapter 45: Higher On The Food Chain
Editor: Atlas Studios
The relationship between the high and mighty Gnolls and the cowardly Goblins was like that of a Lord's tax officials and the farmers using the land, respectively.
In reality, it was so too.
Not long after, System noticed a group of Goblins pulling a worn-out wooden cart. The cart was filled to the brim with the fruits of some plants and a small portion of meat, probably, cow meat.
Evidently, the old and worn-down wooden cart had been used for quite a long time. System could see that the iron shaft of the cart's wheels was full of rust. That cart was clearly not something Goblins could have made. Who knew where they had obtained that from…
System stopped overthinking and concentrated on listening in on their conversation.
Although System was unable to understand the Goblins' and Gnolls' language, he could understand what was transpiring from their actions, expressions, and tones. Maybe, it was due to his [Perception] and [Mind Transmission], the two unique abilities.
From what System gathered, the two creatures' intelligence was relatively low, and their communication was straightforward, unlike humans, who could be deceiving at times.
System's hypothesis was accurate, as the Gnolls had come to the Goblin Village to collect food.
The Gnolls thought that the amount of meat in the Goblin's food cart was too little, and there were too many fruits. Thus, they growled in dissatisfaction.
The Gnoll leader seemed to be saying, "You despicable cunning green-skinned smelly bugs actually dare to deceive the brave Gnoll warriors!? I will kill all of you!"
The trembling Goblins snuggled together, not daring to speak out their discontent.
The intelligence of the Goblin village's leader seemed to be slightly higher, so he revealed a smile, trying to flatter the Gnolls. Then he tried explaining to the Gnolls the reason why the amount of meat was so little.
However, in the end, the Goblins did not come to terms with the Gnolls.
The Gnolls revealed their tongues, which were flowing with saliva, and at the same time, showed a greedy smile.
System did not know what they said, but the gathered Goblins became even more panicked.
Besides the Gnoll leader, the other two Gnolls suddenly lay on the ground and started using their noses to sniff around. They revealed a sinister smile.
The two Gnolls swiftly headed towards a pile of weeds…
Initially, System thought that the Gnolls had discovered the food that the Goblins had hidden, but they found three baby Goblins in the pile of weeds instead.
Unexpectedly, the Gnolls twisted off the three Goblin babies' necks!
The Gnoll leader saw what the other Gnolls did and also chose two of the slightly older Goblins.
Under the numerous Goblins' panic-stricken eyes, the Gnoll leader used its sharp claws to pierce through the two old Goblins' heads. After that, the Gnoll leader licked the red liquid on its hand in front of those Goblins. It was an extremely bloody scene.
Under the Goblins' gaze, the Gnolls threw the Goblins' corpses onto the cart full of food.
Soon, the Gnolls howled. The three Gnolls walked in the front while behind them, there were five young Goblins, pushing the cart filled with food through the forest trail. They seemed to be heading to the grassland that was tens of kilometers away.
After seeing the Gnolls leave, the remaining Goblins revealed relaxed expressions. They faced in the same direction and knelt on the ground, making a special gesture. They seemed to be performing a particular kind of ritual or a type of prayer.
The Goblins kept on repeating a phrase as they chanted. That phrase had also been mentioned many times in the conversation between the Goblin leader and the Gnolls.
"Lord of… Glaciers?"
System connected the tone and emotions of their conversation and the Goblins' act of kneeling down toward the glacier mountains a few thousand kilometers away. Soon, that phrase could not help but appear in System's mind.
Maybe it could be Lord of Glaciers, King of Ice, or God of Winter.
In short, it was the combination of an adjective describing the cold and a noun, which carried the meaning of leader.
System continued observing the Goblins for a while, but he found that there was nothing else to take note of, so he spread his wings and left.
…
Initially, System thought that he might feel uncomfortable from watching the bloody scene, where the Gnolls had brutally killed the Goblins, but he felt almost nothing.
If it had to be described, then System looking at the Gnolls killing the Goblins was just like looking at frogs swallowing mosquitoes. He basically did not feel anything.
The only other emotion he felt, if there had to be one, was his admiration for the Gnolls' actions, which seemed rough but actually filled with wisdom.
They were using cold and bloody means to keep the Goblins captive and provide food for them. To maintain the maximum amount of food, when they realized that the Goblins' food was lacking, the Gnolls killed the old and weak Goblins without hesitation.
The Gnolls had done so to make the weak and old Goblins their food and reduce the Goblins' food consumption. Also, such a terrifying and bloody method was enough to intimidate the Goblins.
It looked like the Gnolls were quite successful in rearing the Goblins.
System realized that his emotions seemed to have become abnormal. However, he did not reflect or was in doubt like previously. Now, he only cherished the emotions of being human from his previous life.
Ever since the old Druid had used a trap to kill millions of locusts, his point of view had changed unknowingly.
In System's point of view, Goblins and Gnolls were obviously amongst the higher ones in the forest's food chain. Although these two types of creatures knew how to speak a language and had superficial intelligence, they were uncivilized.
The Gnolls might be better, but the Goblins were still struggling to survive in the forest. They were just slightly higher in the food chain.
Fortunately, for the time being, there would be basically no interactions between System and them. It was just like how mosquitoes would become the food of frogs, poisonous snakes would eat frogs, and eagles would eat snakes, but the eagle would not be interested in mosquitoes.
System left the Goblins' gathering ground and returned to his temporary nest. Then he patrolled near his temporary nest while flying.
System may temporarily not have the ability to take revenge against the old Druid, but the mouse, which had barged in during his third molting, was another case. He decided to find it!
His close-death experience and the feeling of helplessness from seeing the mouse torture Shava turned into great hatred. Therefore, System had to find that mouse and kill it!
After his third molting, System's strength had increased. Thus, he felt that he should have the advantage if he faced that mouse. He might get injured, but the possibility of killing that mouse was high.
It was just unknown if he could find that mouse.
System had found 11 mouse holes within a 100-meter radius near his temporary nest.
Due to the heavy rain previously, most of the mouse holes were now empty. Who could know in which hole that that mouse lived?
System did not consider entering each of the mouse holes to search as it was not smart to face the mouse in its turf.
System looked at the sky and noticed it was already near dusk. Most likely, after an hour, the sky would turn dark.
Mice were typical nocturnal creatures, so as long as the mouse left its hole to search for food because of hunger, System would definitely spot it since with his vision, nighttime was as bright as day to him!
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