200 gems = bonus chapter
20 comments per chapter = bonus chapter
10 reviews = bonus chapter
3 patreon subscriptions = 10 bonus chapters
Fully completed story at:
patreon.com/FanFictionPremium
***
* Rated Failure
-45MP*
Failure, damn it. Spitting in frustration, I sullenly sat my transparent arse down on the ground. I rested my hands on my chin, staring at the ogre carcass that was now being actively eaten by the local fauna, the wolves. They were twice the height of a normal wolf, with silver hair and eyes as black as pitch. Their jaws and teeth made me shiver and marvel!
Although... my corpse... my poor corpse. They didn't even touch it, just turned their noses up at it! It's... offensive, damn it! What is it about my corpse that disgusts them so much? Or are the local goblins just a sign of shame? I don't understand, damn it!
- Grrrrrrrr! - roared one wolfman and grabbed my corpse and yanked my head to the side, throwing it far into the bushes....
...
'Stupid wolf! I'm going to kebab you and eat your whole family, as well as your parents and great-great wolchars, every last one of you!' - I yelled like a madman, wiggling my face and waving my arms!
The wolf even twitched his ear at my speech and raised his head, looking in my direction, but not a second later he continued to feast on the ogre's meat. Soon there was nothing left of the corpse, and the wolves ran off into the bushes, disappearing from my sight. Leaving me alone.
I even felt sad, for those five minutes I had grown to like them....
Whatever. We've had our rest and that's it. It's experimentation time!
I have an idea, and it has to do with exploration! Could I travel the world as a ghost? I mean, that's a real cheat! Nobody can see me, or lacks the skills to do it! And I can walk through walls! I guess... I haven't checked it yet, to tell you the truth.
Anyway, I'll have to check it out right away.
Looking at the mini-map, I walked in the opposite direction of the cave, hoping to get out of the forest. I was walking quietly until I bumped my forehead against an invisible barrier....
Like a transparent wall, this barrier prevented me from passing!
Bummer... from the clearing I walked only fifty metres, one would think... that my corpse or place of death is a point of dislocation, from which I can't go anywhere. Something is blocking my path...
Maybe I should try climbing a tree and jumping over the barrier. Maybe it's an invisible wall....
Which I did, and I realised one thing at the same time.
Firstly, I can't go through trees. Which means... I'm not a ghost! And secondly! I calmly climbed a tree six metres high, then found a sturdy branch and ran up it like an assassin.
'Leap of faith!'
Flight... the feeling of weightlessness, and then I hit a wall and fell on my back.
And the third one! I felt pain like I usually do... I didn't break any bones, though, but... bitch, I lay like that for a few minutes until the pain finally subsided and I couldn't get to my feet.
Shaking off the ghost dust, if there is such a thing, I leaned against a tree and looked up at the sky. It was already getting evening. Strange, only a short while ago it was still day and already it was evening....
How quickly time flows, I haven't even had time to figure it all out.
Okay, let's move on to the characteristics. I distributed them as follows. Twenty went to intelligence. Three in strength and agility, and the rest in stamina. Last time I fought the rabbit, I realised clearly that I'm weak.
I'm weak now, but that's just the beginning. And then, in the future, raising the level... Anyway, let's dream and set a goal.
To become strong! Not to die! Gather a harem? Hell, why would I need one, I'm a goblin... I don't want goblin children, be they my sons three times over... And yes, I haven't seen a female goblin... are there any? Hmmm... difficult question. I'll have to find out...
Ahem, got distracted. So, what else did I want to do...
Oh yeah! In my ghostly form, I was able to use Body Enhancement, and thanks to my mana reserve of four hundred units, I ran around the field for ten minutes!
Waving my arms and suffering bullshit. But the boost's duration increased! Many times longer! I have an idea why - and that reason is mana control! Yeah, it's a funny thing, but I'm using 'cultivation', damn that word, it's stuck on me.
Ahem. Anyway... thanks to my spiritual state, I don't need food to live, which means... I can swing as much as I want! That's just a theory, for in my ten minutes of gorging, the gain didn't even budge a percentage....
Yes, another limiter. But I don't get tired, I don't need food, and because of that I can gain experience in using skills! It sounds corny, but figuring out how much mana to dose a body part to hit painfully and non-lethally will help me a lot in the future. I imagined killing a target important to me by a stupid accident instead of knocking it out with a punch.....
That's just the way it is.
* * *
Night fell long ago, and I was alone in the clearing, experimenting with amplification. I can't say that I learnt to control this power quickly, but my amplification time increased to twenty minutes when I amplified myself by, let's say, 50%.
Even though the parameters were lowered, it took me much longer to exhaust myself. I even tried to reduce the amplification to 30%, but the mana just dissipated, went into the void.
By the way, it's a beautiful night here. Clear skies and stars... they shine in the sky, attracting eyes. And a very bright night, especially when there are two heavenly bodies instead of one - a huge blue moon, three times bigger than the earth's, by appearance, the true astronomical size I did not determine, and a small one, shining green. Now I was definitely convinced I was in another world.....
Very mesmerising... would have sat there watching them....
Until I heard fierce screams and saw the lights of torches not far from me. With a lazy glance, I looked over there and noticed people of bandit appearance running.
All grimy, in rags. Angry faces with scars. They were holding swords and torches.
- Move your arse, you bastards! Or we'll all be eaten here! - yelled the biggest of them, holding a sack over his shoulder and a torch in his other hand.
- Boss! The men are tired, we've been running for two hours! We've lost half the squad! And we're losing them every ten minutes! If this keeps up, we'll be alone! Boss! - wailed the one-eyed man, puffing heavily.
- I know, you bastard! Break! Jake and Bey, Garis, you're sentries today! Dick and Maury, you take over in the morning! Is that clear? - he shouted, stopping near the clearing where I'd been killed.
There were a dozen men, and they were all of a bad appearance. All of them were tired, in rags and tattered clothes. And some of them were wounded. When they heard the news of the camp, their faces lit up with joy and hope and relief. The men immediately fell to their feet, but after another shout from the leader, they immediately got up and began to set up a temporary camp.
While the other men were setting up tents and making fires, three sentries climbed into the nearest trees, bows clutched in their hands.
And I was a little, to put it that way, shocked. I hadn't expected to see people here, but I guess I was lucky and unlucky at the same time.
One, it's people.
And the second... I'm kind of dead, and there's experience and information walking around... I need to grab the goblin's body now! Wait, I'll scout their base first.
Which I did, entering their camp and looking in every tent. But nothing worthy of my attention was found. Just ordinary people. Talking about women, how much and whom they fucked and how. They brew something in a pot and that's all....
Afterwards I went to the one where the leader was. His tent was bigger than the others. Looking inside, I saw the leader of the bandits. Up close, he was... um, jocky? A trim body, facial scars, and a two-handed sword. He certainly wasn't an ordinary farmer.
'Evaluation!'
*Evaluation is a success
-45MP
The man is a former blacksmith.
Danger level is medium!
Wielding a two-handed sword-5
Hmm... a dangerous opponent, especially for me. Even though the system says he's average, don't forget that I'm zero in close combat. Especially without a sword or a club. And that's me not talking about the people outside...
*Rustling, mooing.
Suddenly, the bag that was lying on the ground twitched and rumbled. At this, the leader of the bandits hummed and untied the sack, revealing the countenance of...