13 — Goblin Hunting And Verification Of Shadows

Minotaur, Orc, Gargoyle――three Shadows butchered the goblin corpses, took out the Magic Stones, and stuffed them into the pack spread on the ground.

Then they piled the goblin corpses, emptied of Magic Stones, in front of me.

“【 Shadow Necromance 】”

I laid my hand on a corpse and activated the skill.

Shadows were extracted from the goblin corpses’ shadows and became my new servants.

The number――thirty.

“New orders. Minotaur, Orc, Gargoyle leaders—split into three directions and kill the goblins in the forest. Goblins, collect the Magic Stones and corpses of the goblins your leaders fell and bring them to me. Understand?”

“Buru!” “Gugya!” “Gigya!” “Gyagya!!!!”

The Shadows replied in unison, then scattered.

The goblin Shadows divided into groups of ten and followed the leaders.

Good that it divided evenly by three.

“Smart thinking, Sid. This way you don’t have to do anything and the Shadows will hunt the goblins for you, eh?”

“This quest is also an ability test for Shadow Necromancer. I intend to try various things.”

“Gyagya.”

“You’ve already brought back Magic Stones and corpses?”

A goblin Shadow returned to me carrying the corpse of what had been one of its companions.

I put the Magic Stones into the pack and placed the corpse at my feet.

The Shadow, its task done, returned to its leader.

There was no hesitation in its step.

“The goblins used this forest as their home, so they know the terrain. As expected, memories seem to carry over even as Shadows. They also understand my words and faithfully carry out somewhat complex orders.”

I extracted a Shadow from the corpse at my feet.

When I ordered it to join the first leader’s team it had found, the new Shadow seemed to understand, chirped “Gya!” cheerfully, and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

A panel appeared at the edge of my vision, informing me my level had increased.

“I get Experience even from afar?”

Defeat enemies. Turn them into allies. The allied Shadows then defeat more enemies, increasing my forces.

Allied Shadows do not rot and become my servants forever.

Even though it’s my own power, it was starting to feel terrifying……

“Vision sharing, huh. Let’s try it right away.”

When I willed vision sharing with the Minotaur, Orc, and Gargoyle leaders in my mind, three new panels appeared.

The panels showed what the Minotaur and the others were likely seeing.

I could see the leaders mercilessly trampling goblins, goblins carrying bodies, and goblins who, having finished transporting corpses, returning to their leaders.

The goblin Shadows attacked whenever they had a chance; through the panels I confirmed three goblin Shadows ganging up on a single goblin.

“…Hm, one got taken out. Well, that can happen.”

A goblin Shadow carrying a corpse back toward me was stabbed by a surviving goblin and perished.

The panel explained the details of 【Shadow Necromance】.

I checked the portion enclosed in 《》 and attempted to re-manifest the goblin.

“For now I want to check the perished Shadows. Can you display my current Shadow information?”

――Pikon (beep)

A new panel appeared as if my command had been received.

After that, information on the goblin Shadows continued to be listed, displaying all fifty-one Shadows I held.

Of those, five goblin Shadows had perished.

“How much MP is needed to re-manifest a goblin?”

“Then I’ll revive them all――【 Shadow Re-manifestation 】”

When I willed it, a small amount of MP drained from my body, and five goblins revived at my feet.

When I gave the same command again, the goblins began to move.

“This eye that sees the laws of the world is pretty convenient. If the eye can display the information, it appears just by thinking about it.”

“Fuhaha, you’re quick to pick it up. Make good use of it.”

＊＊＊

――One hour has passed since the start of the goblin hunt.

The number of goblin Shadows had swelled to eighty.

“The fact my Level hasn’t gone up even once is a drawback.”

“Level 36 is a mid-tier adventurer class; you won’t level up so easily from goblin Experience.”

“That’s true.”

I spawned panels all around me in 360 degrees, took an overview of the situation, and issued instructions as needed.

I busily checked the Shadows’ vision panels and info panels, and whenever a Shadow brought a corpse I used 【Shadow Necromance】 to increase my allies.

“…What is this, strange. My allied goblins are decreasing at an alarming rate.”

“Strange. The Orc’s HP is dropping at an incredible rate. What could it be struggling with against mere goblins…?”

…The Orc had perished.

It’s safe to assume the goblin Shadows that had been with the Orc were annihilated as well.

“An irregularity has occurred.”

“Sid… something is approaching us.”

“Could it be the one who killed the Orc?”

Something was approaching in a straight line, breaking branches as it went.

No doubt, it was the one who had slain the Orc.

Close.

It’s already――right there.