Anyway, it’s fortunate that hobgoblins themselves don’t proliferate as wildly as goblins do… right?
If food is abundant, goblins can swell to dozens in no time. Hobgoblins might appear quickly too, but since they’re at a level where competent adventurers or soldiers can easily take them down, we’re fine for now.
So, let’s leave a warning for humanity through the Church of Life: Keep goblin numbers under twenty. Leave the warning.
Right now… investigating and researching goblins seems like a priority.
And so, I began to further understand the goblins.
First off, it appears even for goblins, multiplying through fungus isn’t easy.
After rewinding time and checking, when a baby goblin is born from the fungus instead, the goblin’s magical power almost completely depletes.
It seems that with sufficient magical power supplied to the fungus, baby goblins are born. If there’s insufficient magic, the fungus won’t just keep spawning.
In other words, in an environment rich with magic, they could explode in numbers… Hmm… But, let’s think about that when it happens.
Seeing goblins drain their internal magic to create offspring made me curious.
What happens if a goblin’s magic is drained? They probably die, right? Hmm… This kind of thing needs direct confirmation.
So, leaving aside the strangely endearing goblins in my terrarium, I captured a group living together and started extracting their internal magic.
An unexpectedly large amount of magic came from just one goblin. Could it be… not just the magic of one goblin, but the shared magic of the entire group being extracted?
It was strange. Though I only extracted magic from one goblin, all the goblins in the group had their magic drained… It’s as if the whole group was treated as a single entity.
When all the magic was extracted, the goblins died as expected.
Not just the one directly drained, but the entire group of goblins died simultaneously.
It was quite strange. While I knew each goblin was connected by the fungus and magic, dying all at once due to depleted magic was unexpected.
You could say they’re connected by a fungal network, couldn’t you?
Hmph… Fungal network. Sounds familiar somehow. Mycological network, hmm. Let’s move on for now.
The corpses of the goblins whose magic was fully extracted didn’t decompose like normal goblin corpses; they began to disintegrate into dust-like soil. Hmm… This dust. Is it goblin fungus?
Even after death, they spread the fungus through decomposition? They’re relentless, really.
Watching the goblin fungus scatter with the wind, I thought: This black fungus… feels kinda like charcoal. Would it catch fire easily?
When I tried igniting it with a spark of magic… Surprisingly, the fungus caught fire incredibly well. Indeed…
Is fire the answer to goblins? They burn so easily, it makes me worry about wildfires.
Still, if you hunt goblins and burn their nests or caves with torches, it seems like you can suppress the fungus. So, maybe this is fortunate?
Alright, one mystery solved… Let’s move on to the next.
Goblins are monsters.
Monsters drop mana stones.
So, goblins should drop mana stones, right?
But for some reason, no mana stones come from goblins. For monsters, they should drop something, right?
This mystery was resolved after capturing and knocking out a goblin, then dissecting it alive.
There was indeed a mana stone inside the goblin’s body. A very small fragment, but definitely present.
The problem is that the shock of the goblin’s death shatters the tiny mana stone into pieces.
Moreover, the amount of magic in the fungus network exceeds the magic within the mana stone itself.
Thanks to this, goblins are essentially useless monsters to hunt, yielding almost no valuable by-products.
Tch. At this rate, people will avoid hunting goblins. Adventurers go after monsters with value; there’s no reason to hunt these goblins.
—
Let’s move past goblins for now and talk about hobgoblins.
When dozens of goblins gather, a hobgoblin appears. Physically, they’re incomparably stronger than goblins.
Though it varies individually, roughly around 0.7~0.9 of an average human?
Of course, trained soldiers or adventurers can defeat them without much difficulty.
Anyway, I captured one such hobgoblin and began examining it.
Indeed, compared to goblins, they have a significantly stronger physique. If a hobgoblin leads goblins in attacking humans… those who can’t fight properly might be in danger.
They also share magic with the group like goblins, and most characteristics seem similar. However, regarding the mana stone inside… Oh, it exists.
Perhaps because hobgoblins are larger, a proper mana stone resides within.
Though smaller compared to other monsters, it exists in a proper crystalline form.
Considering public safety and the value of this mana stone, hunting them might be worthwhile… Right?
Maybe, through the Church of Life, we could offer a reward for cutting off the ears of goblins as proof of their hunts. Let’s think about it later.
While observing many goblin groups and those with hobgoblins, I saw something rather interesting.
Two goblin groups led by hobgoblins met while searching for food.
For typical goblin groups without hobgoblins, they either ignore each other or sometimes fight when they meet. However, groups with hobgoblins acted differently.
The hobgoblins leading the groups noticed each other and stared intently.
Then, after maintaining a tense atmosphere, the two hobgoblins suddenly extended their fists toward each other.
Unexpected behavior. The initial tension disappeared, and the two hobgoblins became friendly as if they were from the same group from the start, quickly merging the two goblin groups.
Hmm… Hobgoblins uniting like this is intriguing.
Unlike groups with only goblins, having hobgoblins causes them to merge… Hmm…
Ah, there’s a connection of magic between the two hobgoblins too. Truly fascinating.
Wait. Magic connection… Like goblins?
Does this mean… Perhaps hobgoblins can evolve like goblins?
Like how hobgoblin groups merged… If many hobgoblins gather into a massive group…?
If a giant group with dozens of hobgoblins forms, do hobgoblins evolve too?
This question was soon proven true.
In an untouched jungle, a group with dozens of hobgoblins. In the center stood a monstrous figure.
Twice the size of adult hobgoblins, this massive monster roared at the goblins.
With green skin like goblins, muscular bodies, large jaws, and prominent fangs sticking out of their mouths, these monsters stood out.
Hmm… Naming them. Let’s call them Orcs, shall we? The tusks make them resemble wild boars.
If only they had pig-like snouts, it would’ve been better… Ahem. Anyway.
Orcs command hobgoblins, who in turn manage the goblins. A simple yet efficient command structure.
Hmm… Let’s see. The goblins under orc command were heading toward a small village… Hmm. I can’t leave this alone.
More than a hundred goblins. Over a dozen hobgoblins. And an orc.
Even if individual goblins are weak, in such numbers, they pose a significant threat.
Thus, I revealed myself before the goblins.
“KYAAARRR!!”
“KWAAAK!”
Noisy goblins. Weak but numerous.
Let’s clean this up lightly.
With a flick of my finger, flames engulfed the goblins’ bodies.
Like dry firewood, the goblins burned quickly, turning into ash in no time. Since the spores around them were also incinerated, fire truly seems effective against goblins.
As their goblin subordinates burned, the hobgoblins attacked, but whether goblins or hobgoblins, they’re all the same. I’ve already thoroughly researched hobgoblins, so they’re unnecessary.
Another flick of my finger, and the hobgoblins turned into ash as well.
Witnessing this, the orc… began to flee.
Was it fear from seeing me instantly incinerate its subordinates, or did it understand my strength?
Whichever it was, the orc wisely chose to run.
But, I can’t just let it go. This is the first evolved orc from hobgoblins.
I need to thoroughly examine this orc. So…
The orc was ensnared by tree branches rising from the ground, immobilizing it completely.
Alright, time for investigation.
