strokinit Chapter 16 Breakthrough
Chapter 16 Breakthrough
Through the bulging eyes of the magical toad, Gebu watched the elementary-level plot of "Naughty" and "Unhappy" and found it somewhat amusing.
My opponents are these two guys? That's so low-class.
But upon closer reflection, Geb couldn't laugh anymore. Yes, even in this situation, this foolish goblin was still dominating him.
No matter how naive the opponent, one must act cautiously. One wrong move could lead to utter destruction.
Originally, Gebu had been postponing his falling out with the trio because the time wasn't right. He hadn't been idle for the past two weeks...
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During the two weeks after returning to camp, Gebu secured his special position as the "scavenger" in the tribe by constantly providing the old shaman with herbs and giving the bear leader all sorts of spoils.
At the same time, he did not give up his path as a wizard and the process of learning.
Three days ago, through the wizard, Gebu smuggled several key materials from the old shaman's treasured herb workshop, including the "King Lizard's Tail," which was necessary for making the Deep Sleep Potion.
This was a risky affair, and the old shaman was extremely careful with his possessions. Upon discovering the herbs had been stolen, he flew into a rage and severely punished the two goblins guarding the workshop. One was whipped and left half-dead, the other had his leg broken and was thrown out to fend for himself.
Even his unhappiness was affected; he was scolded, given a severe dressing-down, and punished by being forced to personally guard the workshop.
They couldn't plunder anymore, and they wouldn't get any loot anyway. This guy, who already had a bad temper, now had a gloomy face all day and was rude to everyone.
As for Gebu, because of the shortage of herbs, Gebu was the only goblin who could replenish the old shaman's herbs, and thus he was given an important position.
After stealing the giant lizard, Gebu ground it into powder overnight and, along with the ingredients he had previously used to make the calming potion, made a deep sleep potion, which he then gulped down.
Bitter! Bitter, bitter, bitter!
In a hidden spot on the rock face, the little goblin rolled around on the ground covered with dry grass, wishing he could pull his tongue out.
This medicine tastes even worse than traditional Chinese medicine! Gebu's memories of his past life churned up like bitter vomit in his stomach. Why did he have to recall the past in a place like this?! Couldn't he at least remember something good?!
[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]
The hardship had just passed, and five minutes later, the goblin was still quite energetic, showing no signs of fatigue.
Could it be that the medicine isn't working? All this suffering was for nothing... ugh...
Sleepiness struck him like a landslide; everything went black before his eyes, and he collapsed to the ground.
When he woke up again, the world of meditation seemed to have changed.
The once calm mirror surface became transparent, like crystal. Through that thin barrier, countless flowing tadpoles of light were reflected at the goblin's feet.
These tadpoles sometimes cluster together, sometimes scatter, swimming endlessly in the vast expanse of space, as boundless as a starry sea.
The starry sky was reflected in the goblin's yellow eyes. For a moment, he was captivated by the sight before him and couldn't help but reach out his hand.
He touched the glass curtain beneath his feet, and the tadpoles of light, as if possessing their own will, were drawn by the warmth of the goblin's fingers and gathered at the spot he touched.
The Book of Sand appeared before the goblin's eyes, and these characters appeared on the ever-changing pages.
【Ether Aggregation】: Ethers possess the property of aggregation. Under certain conditions, they can aggregate into individuals with their own logic of action. These individuals can be large or small; they do not possess emotions or personalities, but they act according to certain predetermined rules.
Are these tadpoles the aggregates of ether? It seems the deep sleep potion is working, allowing me to observe the form of ether more clearly.
Geb gazed at the countless moving specks of light. These tiny things seemed to represent a more advanced form of existence than the fluid ether, which was as invisible as water.
He recalled the description of ether in "The Foundations of Etherology: Basic Meditation": the stronger the etheric energy, the more concrete its form, but the more difficult it is to control.
It's like... the softer the clay, the easier it is to work with; the harder the clay, the harder it is to shape.
The half-finished ring-shaped rune appeared beneath the goblin's feet. The tadpoles curiously gathered around, swimming along the edge of the rune—one clump leading another, and within minutes, the entire sea of tadpoles was swirling around the rune.
Standing in the very center of this tadpole-shaped vortex, Gebu felt a little dizzy.
He reached out and touched the third, locked node on the rune.
【Ritual Spellcasting】: A spell that takes effect only after being prepared through a ritual and consuming materials of corresponding value. Ritual spellcasting does not consume ring slots.
Gebu muttered to himself, his goblin-like stinginess awakened. Each use required materials—it hurt to spend so much.
It's good that it doesn't consume ring slots, but I haven't even reached wizard level yet, and my spells are all 0 rings, so I don't have any ring slots to begin with.
The goblin looked at the Book of Sand to see what spells were available for him to choose from at this node.
[Ritual Spellcasting]
[The Invisible Servant]
[Detect Magic]
Summoning Monsters
"These all sound so useful!" Gebu opened his mouth, drool practically dripping down his cheeks.
[Invisible Servant]: Consumes 10 grams of gold and takes 10 minutes to perform a ritual, creating an invisible, mindless, and intangible humanoid field. For one hour, the master can command the invisible servant to perform simple tasks, such as fetching items, cleaning, serving food, or pouring wine. Once the master gives a command, the servant will do its utmost to complete it and await the next command upon completion.
The invisible servants cannot attack. They will disappear if attacked.
This thing, how should I put it, is like a larger version of a mage's hand. The advantage is that you don't need to operate it yourself.
However, compared to the consumption of 1 gold coin (approximately 10 grams), this servant can do very little.
Perhaps an invisible servant could be used to trigger the trap? Geb thought for a moment, realizing that some imagination was needed to make the spell work.
After becoming a great wizard, one can summon a few of these things to clean their rooms...
However, when that time comes, real, flesh-and-blood servants might be cheaper.
They can also bully and vent their anger at will.
Oxen and horses are more useful than magic!
[Detection Magic]: Consumes 10 grams of gold and takes 10 minutes to cast a ritual. Within 10 minutes, it detects etheric fluctuations within a 10-meter radius. The caster can distinguish the glow left by the etheric fluctuations within the area and identify the school and strength of the spell.
Right now, this spell isn't very useful for Geb, but it might be very useful when he comes into contact with other wizards in the future.
If I can detect other wizards' magic... then other wizards can also detect the traces left by my magic?
Thinking about this, Gebu felt uneasy. Would his mischief at the old secret base be discovered by someone with ulterior motives?
The Book of Sand is so powerful, perhaps someone is searching for it?
Geb shook his head, dismissing the idea.
No matter what, you must first become stronger. Once you're stronger, you won't be afraid even if others come knocking on your door.
Next is the third spell.
[Summon a Magical Pet]: Consumes 100 grams of gold and takes 10 minutes to perform a ritual, summoning a magical pet that is completely obedient to the user. The pet can transform into any form desired and can share senses with the user. The user can cast spells through the pet. The pet cannot exist beyond 100 meters of its owner.
Aside from casting spells, summoned creatures cannot attack. They will disappear after being attacked, and resummoning them requires the same gold and ritual.
The owner can choose to dismiss the pet with magic. The dismissed pet will remain in standby mode in Pocket Dimension, waiting for the next summon - doing so will not consume extra gold.
This is VR + drone! With this, you can not only crush other goblins in information warfare, but also bombard them with spells from a distance. And the cost? Only ten gold coins.
Expensive? Not at all! In this day and age, if you're going to fight, you have to fight asymmetric warfare. What's the point of talking about morality with a bunch of goblins?
After a moment's thought, Gebu selected [Summon Familiar] as the third node spell he was preparing for his breakthrough.