God Class, page 6
“Oh… shit…” was all that Silas could say as he stumbled to his feet and stepped backward, turning to run as fast as he possibly could.
The moment he turned and took his first step he found a great resistance before him.
“Well,” a snarling voice said. Its tongue flicked and it spoke as if it were drowning in its own mucus. A behemoth of a thing loomed overhead, easily a foot taller than him and twice as wide. It wore similar armor to the others, only more of it, and almost gave the Forest guardian a run for its money. “What we got here? Human? Kingdom human? In forest?”
[Goblin Commander]
Silas froze. He stared up at the being with his heart pounding in his throat. Arms were numb, hands non-existent, his legs wobbled like boiled spaghetti.
“H-Hi,” he managed to say in more of a chirp than an actual phrase. “I… I’m just a bit l-lost. If you can just- “
The creature bellowed with a belly laugh that rumbled the canopy overhead. A hand pressed to its stomach and a smirk coiled at its lips.
“Lost? Human lost?” It mocked and then bent down, its eyes meeting Silas’s. A crude grin pushed the wrinkles of its oily skin. “Agree. Very lost.”
Before Silas could speak again, the large Goblin wrapped a fat hand around his neck and hoisted him off of the ground. His feet dangled in the air, thrashing and kicking the nothingness around them as the other two goblins cackled in their horrid tone. Silas raised his hands and scratched at the leathery grip around his throat, desperately trying to pull away its coiled fingers just to take a single breath. The creature just continued with its lopsided grin, enjoying the view of Silas’s face turning various shades of red before a blue tone slowly crept in.
“Human flesh is best,” it crooned and curled its grip tighter. “Even human of no weight like you be eaten. Prakz will savor flesh, Prakz will drink marrow. Prakz not turn down free meal.”
It waggled a finger on its free hand as it spoke. Mocking and joking, enjoying the moments of torture.
This cannot be it! No way! He screamed inside of his head as his vision blurred. Not yet… God damn it… not yet…
Silas’s fingernails did absolutely no damage to the Goblin’s thick, green skin, and merely served to annoy the creature if anything at all. He just couldn’t believe the monster’s overwhelming strength, wondering how anyone could hope to fend off such a thing on their own. As the world blurred, he thought of how little time he had in this place, and if this was a true death or simply him waking up in his hospital bed, desperately gasping for air. The realization set in that he didn’t want to wake up, he didn’t want to be in his bed.
He wanted to win. But it would take something enormous to beat this thing, something on an entirely different level. Something…
Just as the black of unconsciousness began to rear its familiar, ugly head once more, Silas had the flick of an idea for just a moment.
Both of his hands clutched the exposed flesh of the Goblin’s, his palms resting on its rough skin. He thought of a single command, a single last-ditch effort to possibly get him out of this bind. Silas’s lips parted and he mumbled out one single phrase with the last of his held breath.
“Ob... Obliteration…”
Something dark seemed to curl from his guts. Like a python formed entirely of shadows that was awoken from a long sleep, the power wiggled and writhed up through his limbs and squirmed down into his palms. His hands felt frigid and on fire all at once, both sensations fought each other in a war over which would retain their position. The darkness seemed to leak from his palms and fingers, and he could see crackling sparks of purple and black shimmering like fireworks as they settled on the Goblin’s hand. Silas could feel the void connect with the creature and could see the dark tendrils pouring from himself squirm into the creature before racing its way down the Goblin’s arm and throughout every inch of its massive frame.
The Goblin’s eyes widened, as if some primordial fear and understanding of the dark had taken hold of its mind. A lip quivered, nostrils flared, and its breathing ran shallow.
Silas felt a cold fear creep in as he watched his own work play out before him. The Goblin’s hand had let up slightly, allowing Silas to draw in a few quick, gasping breaths, just enough to keep him sane and focused. He took in the Goblin’s expression, the out-pour of dark energy coming from within him, oozing out of his wide eyes and agape mouth like liquid shadow. He watched, and even though he knew he had been moments from passing out, and possibly even eaten, he felt the void of dread in his gut. All of this only had a single second to roll through his mind, then it was all over.
The large Goblin exploded.
Silas dropped to the ground, covering his eyes instinctually from the oncoming spray of blood, gore and bone that would soon shower him and the two other Goblins. He sat on his ass waiting for the grotesque rain, but it never came. Nothing came. The large Goblin simply stopped existing altogether. The exploding force he had felt was not the creature’s body imploding in on itself then releasing bits of its own flesh, as seen in most of the action films he had watched, but instead was the force of air rushing in to fill the void where the Goblin had once been. It was just gone. Its body, its equipment, its very presence. Only a memory remained.
At the same time, Silas felt his mind warp and fracture. The pain was skull splitting, like a hammer blow to his temples. Something rushed inside of his brain, an invasive force of power that seemed content with crawling into his skull and settling in. He had images at first, flashes of a life that wasn’t his own, then it followed with sounds and tastes, even smells, all crashing into him. It did not take long for him to realize what this was, and his eyes grew wide with the notion as he stared through eyes that were not his own for a brief moment.
It was the memories of the [Goblin Commander]’s life.
In strobe flashes there were images of battles won, of weapons wielded, of feasts enjoyed. He could feel the cold leather of an axe handle in his grip, it was heavy yet not unwieldy. It came down on a human traveler, and even the warm splatter of their blood felt real in the moment. All of these memories flooded into Silas’s mind, and it was all he could do to not be torn apart by them.
Silas fought them back.
He concentrated on his own memories and used them as a shield. He thought of his mother, the hospital, the game shows, and even his sister. Memories of friends, of fun, of happiness. Even memories of pain. He thought of himself, pictured his gaunt figure in his mind and thought of the tastes of his world whether it be pizza as a child, coffee as a teen, or even the horrid ashen flavor of everything after his sickness had crept in. He was Silas, he was a human, and he would let go of the movies of the Goblin’s life that played out in his mind.
With a little more pressure he shoved the foreign memories from his head and took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. It was an experience that he dreaded having to repeat someday, should that be the case. Those memories still lingered, tucked away as if they were now his own, but Silas let his mind rest and pushed them down alongside of so many other memories he would rather forget.
[Please note, stating your abilities out loud prior to their casting does not add additional benefits or increase the likelihood of critical strikes. In fact, this may be detrimental should an opponent know an ability’s effect. Recommended ability cast procedure in the future: Remain silent]
Silas rolled his eyes at the mocking tone of his internal mind voice telling him this same message again. He knew that already; he just didn’t know how else to actually cast the ability on instinct just yet and he could barely think straight at the time. This made him wonder about the comic books and anime he enjoyed when he was younger, if maybe that was the same reason, they had to announce some of their abilities. It was goofy to be sure, but effective. He shrugged the thought off as a host of other notifications zoomed in, which reminded him he still had a new ability to select from, and maybe even more he unlocked at random like the one he just used. He felt the warmth of excitement as he scrolled through his golden interface.
[You have defeated a level 22 Goblin Commander and have collected 9,500 experience points as a result. 3,000 experience multiplied by 3 for passive Deity ability: Universal Understanding, and 500 additional experience for Obliterating the opponent]
[Congratulations! You have gained a level. At level eight you are awarded 7 stat points. 5 per level plus 2 for passive deity ability: Universal Understanding. You gain 2 ability points to distribute. 1 per level plus 1 for passive deity ability: Universal Understanding]
[Congratulations! You have gained a level. At level nine you are awarded 7 stat points. 5 per level plus 2 for passive deity ability: Universal Understanding. You gain 2 ability points to distribute. 1 per level plus 1 for passive deity ability: Universal Understanding]
[Congratulations! You have completed a personal quest! Of Goblins and Gods: Two. Goblins can be angry, irrational beings who like to brawl. And it looks like you have had the pleasure of your first Goblin fight! This is a personal quest and does not reward experience. Reward: Strength, +1, Dexterity, +1, Intelligence +1]
[Congratulations! You have completed a personal quest! Of Goblins and Gods: Three. What a rare treat this is indeed! You have met a Goblin Commander, one of the rarer members of a Goblin hierarchy. These gargantuan nuisances often lead packs of four to six scout Goblins at a time, making them quite a fearsome foe! This is a personal quest and does not reward experience. Reward: Strength +3, Vitality +3, Intelligence +1]
[Congratulations! You have completed a personal quest! The Path of Obliteration. It is a dark day when a God realizes the power they wield. Life and Death are a normalcy, a spark to be quenched in a moment. But, for a Deity there is a simpler way; removing an obstacle from existence entirely! This is a personal quest and does not reward experience. Reward: Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2]
His blood felt refrigerated.
While many of these notifications were just what he needed, experience and more stat bonuses, there was one that just did not sit well with him. Silas stared at those words, reading and rereading them until they were branded into his mind. It was wrong, it was vile. The idea that he, a sick boy laying in a hospital room, had the power to remove something from existence was emotionally daunting. The weight didn’t settle in until he read it for himself. Was he truly capable of this? Him? The weak boy who couldn’t lift a glass of water was capable of murder? Or perhaps this was even worse than murder…
Dream or no dream, the twisting in his guts screamed at him that he did not just kill a sentient creature; he had snuffed out all traces of it entirely.
Still seated on the dirt floor, Silas leaned to one side and let his body work away his stress by vomiting whatever actually sat in his stomach onto the ground beside him. He heaved as only specks of spittle and stomach acid flung from his open mouth, and he felt tension in his neck so firm that he was convinced it may snap. His body trembled at the exertion, vibrated in a way that reminded him that he was still sick, still weak.
Silas didn’t care. His mind replayed the idea of what he had done again and again.
[You have completed a personal quest! To Know Thyself: Three. You have done an awful thing and wiped a living creature from all of time and space, and now you feel bad about it! This is a personal quest and does not reward experience. Reward: Intelligence +2, Wisdom +3]
“A’krik ta Ju’kam?! Prakz?! Kan’kan ta Prakz!”
The Goblin crew’s screaming and shouting snapped Silas away from his notifications and back into the present. Shit. He had forgotten about the two others, or perhaps had even convinced himself they would flee in fear like scared puppies at the disappearance of their master. Unfortunately, they had not been the case at all and now the two seemed to be in a frenzied bewilderment more than just rational fear. Silas turned back and could see them arguing with one another, knobby green hands swinging in the air around them as if to search for their commanding officer within the negative space. Their cackling language barking at one another one moment then to him the next.
Silas raised one hand, palm out as a sign of peace as he tried to push himself up to his feet. Both legs wobbled and collapsed under him, and even his raised hand began to tremble just from the fatigue of having held it up. All of the strength he had felt renewing him was gone, and instead he fell flat back to his bottom and let his hand collapse into the dirt.
[Debuff: Mana Exertion]. His mind’s voice chimed as if on instinct. [Deity abilities can be nearly as harsh on the user as on the foe. At low levels, draining the entire Mana bar more than once per 24 hours can cause Mana Exertion. This debuff lowers Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality by 40% for 6 hours. Increasing personal level can decrease the debuff timer. You currently have 5 hours and 56 minutes remaining on your debuff]
“Great…” Silas huffed aloud and tried to rise again, failing once more. He looked up at the arguing pair of Goblins and saw that they had quelled their bickering and were eying him curiously. He gave a shallow wave in their direction and attempted a smile. “H-hey… so listen… I know I sort of obliterated your commander and all… but I don’t want any trouble. I’m a nice guy. Usually. And… uh… you don’t want to see what else I can do! Yeah!”
It was bullshit bravado, but worth a shot.
He felt like he was in school all over again. Freshman year, right around when the sickness had really hit him, he was the victim of standard bullying by a group of local future dropouts. One had mentioned his illness, and Silas decided to let loose a home run swing with his biology textbook that nearly knocked the kid’s teeth from his jaw. Silas had stood over the boy, Dominick, like a real-life Kaiju flaunting his victory over a dying man in a monster costume. He knew he was wrong, but he had been antagonized and humiliated. Where was the justice? Where were the cheers? Instead, it landed him a week of detention and one hell of an ass whooping by three of Dominick’s friends.
It was that incident all over again, only this time the consequence on either side was probably full-blown death. Seeing that the Goblins weren’t backing down, he decided to continue his plea.
“That guy? Prakz? He attacked me. In the real world that is just old-fashioned self-defense…” Silas raised a hand again and tried to wave them back. “Let’s just be on our separate ways. Did I mention I breath fire too? And I have laser eyes… And frost… something.”
The two stepped toward him, weapons clutched and eyes wide as if trying to expect the unexpected. Silas tried to scoot back, but he was too weak and nearly collapsed onto the dirt. He waved and pleaded again, throwing out desperate warnings and lies about harming them as well. They were nearly a foot in front of him when he felt a blunt whack! on the back of his skull that sent him face down to the earth below.
[Debuff: Unconscious. Duration: 2 Hours, 37 Minutes]
“Turn… Off… the damn… notifications…” Silas said aloud as his vision blurred and he sucked in a shallow, dirt-filled breath.
The light faded for him a second time since this dream had started, immense throbbing pain throbbing through the already tender spot, and he remembered what his personal quest had claimed.
Four to six scouts.
OceanofPDF.com
Three
Of Gods and Goblins
Silas was almost dazed enough to believe he was back in the hospital.
The pain and fatigue he felt throughout his entire body just couldn’t happen in whatever dream world he was in before. No, he had to be back in the hospital bed. Back to his daytime nightmare television shows and the nurse’s pity stares. There was even a shuffling around him that made it seem like maybe he was laid out in a stretcher, immobile and aching from another wave of his illness chewing away at him. He would miss his short-lived dream world and the strange voice that played games in his mind.
He wished his inner voice would speak again and tell him he did a personal quest or whatever. Maybe it would sass him some more or show his stats back down to 0 again. Hell, maybe it could just make the horrid smells of this hospital go away.
A sharp pain of realization sparked just as he regained his senses.
It was not the shouts, the humid cold, or the harsh tongue of their language. Not the ring of steel on stone, the crackle of fire, or the gnashing of teeth. None of these were the things that broke Silas free from the confines of his unconscious mind. By all natural rights they should have been, each one being nearly more overpowering than the last, but they were not it.
It was the smell. That smell.
Silas breathed deeply through his nostrils, both eyes still held shut from a cocktail of equal parts fatigue and fear. The air was musty, like the flooded basement of an abandoned home, and yet there were sharper elements sprinkled in as well. Burning wood was the first scent, followed by the charring of some kind of meat or stew. Despite the sour notes that lingered over from the cooking area, he was still shocked at just how real it smelled; and how much his stomach roared to share in the discovery despite the horrible stench of it. There was also the overwhelming odor of unwashed flesh, one that accompanied the Goblins, and notes of iron. It was a rusty scent that hung around for long moments.
Blood, he thought. Silas knew the smell from his own fits of vomiting during the early days of the hospital. It would flow from his mouth and nose in tidal waves, especially during the experimental medicine trials. He recalled how the acrid smell of his stomach bile would always have that rusty tone to it, leaving the iron taste on his tongue. He had quickly learned that this was the scent and taste of his own blood. It was that same stench, just much more of it.
[Side Quest: Cavernous Exile. Objective: Escape the Goblin’s underground cavern system. Reward: Experience]
Silas thought away the prompt and ignored the yelling voice in his mind. He stayed still, trying to assess where he was and what was going on.
“Rit’tak na Kikta,” a mangled, guttural voice said nearby. It’s flicking tongue and choking words sent an icy chill wiggling down Silas’s spine. “Atuku ka K’iki.”
