Syl

Chapter 34: Goblin Skill Tutoring

I wanted the goblins to use real weapons against me to see if the risk bonus the Chief mentioned was real. The downside I shortly realized was this would ruin my brand new outfit. I could've regressed to wearing my old rags but felt oddly vain about showing off. After some internal debate and looking through my traits, I found a solution using a forgotten aspect of [Chroma Shift].

I had been so focused on using it to perfect my mimicked forms that I forgot the trait also worked in reverse. I covered my entire goblin body and outfit in a slime layer and reduced the opacity to the absolute minimum, which sadly did not turn it completely invisible. I was playing around with getting the layer to match the color beneath, but this was taking up far too much mental capacity for my liking before even fortifying it with [Slime Density] and [Mana Reinforcement].

I eventually resigned and set it all to a transparent white. If anyone asked, I'd say I have a mana barrier, which was technically almost true and would likely be more believable to the uninformed goblins on why Tarz was suddenly surviving real weapons. If I perfected this, I could likely add it to any future disguises without much fuss.

The goblins were a bit reluctant to use real weapons on me, as they had seen how bad I was at dodging and questioned my toughness. I pointed out my mana barrier, which caused a reluctant agreement. The first trainee was very soft with her spear thrusts, and I intentionally ate a hit to prove my point. After the initial gasps and proving my point, she finally started to put real effort into it.

After getting in some dodges and taking some weapon blows from the warriors, I headed to the archery range and asked the scouts if they'd like some live shooting practice. They agreed much more readily than the warriors, likely due to how hard it was to level up shooting skills safely.

When the rain of arrows came down upon me, I almost regretted my decision as I took arrow after arrow. That blade wolf made dodging multiple projectiles look simple, but the coordination between the scouts was baffling. They would bait me into dodging one arrow, only to get hit by three. After a full afternoon of tanking more hits than dodging, I didn't gain a level in [Evasion] but an old friend instead.

Garz came to fetch me with a few other goblins dragging carcasses and, to my shock, two large bears.

"Wait, weren't those cubs a few days ago?" I asked in disbelief.

"Baby monsters grow when they level up," Garz answered.

"Scouts can sometimes become tamer. Bond with baby monster."

I froze when I heard those words, remembering what happened with Sylthaeryn. I thankfully recovered before anyone seemed to notice my slight panic.

They led me to their butcher's hut, and we got to work. The goblins couldn't believe my speed since I was harvesting quicker than their butcher could simply remove the meat. Their spoils were a wolf, two deer, and one badger. I really wanted more of those badgers.

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Once again, I spent the evening practicing my transformations and using [Mana Sight]. The closer I got to completing the form, the more memories of that day leaked into my mind. I hoped those bear cubs wouldn't experience the feeling of their bond being severed.

The next day, I finally received my tutor. It was the bodyguard who refused to give his name. He gave me some pointers, which mostly involved signs to look out for when predicting an attack and the optimal dodging directions for a thrust versus swing. After some practical application and a bit of a beat down, I got my improvement.

Eager to put it to use, I engaged in spars with the warriors, and once again, I could see the improvements firsthand. While I likely could tank almost anything the goblins threw at me, it was nice to know that dodging was now an option, and I was getting into a rhythm of dodging into a counterattack. After I won a few spars, I gained an unexpected notification before landing a clean blow against my current opponent.

He blinked a few times in confusion while rubbing his side where my stick had landed. I walked over and lent him a hand to get back up. I told him I had gained a skill for melee weapons, and he nodded in understanding and confirmed my suspicion there was a ranged weapon equivalent. I asked one of the archers if they'd mind showing me how to use a bow, which caused a lot of confusion.

"Tarz, weren't you scout? Don't you have bow skill already?" One of the archers asked.

"My rare class changed my skills." I lied, and the goblins actually nodded in agreement.

"Worth it. Your mana barrier so strong!" Another archer replied.

"Yes, but I've had to start from scratch now. Please help me."

The scouts agreed, and I got a few pointers and fired a few arrows until it was time to go home. When I got home, I finally checked my status menu and noticed that I had three [??? LV 0] skills in my list and a single unknown in my trait list. One I guessed might have been for ranged weapons, but I wondered what the other two were. The unknown trait I had suspected was [Mana Sight]. I also looked at the description for my new skill.

Imparts a basic understanding of melee weapons and their utilization, scaling with skill level.

In addition, gain a minor accuracy and damage adjustment for melee attacks.>

While the skill wasn't anything flashy, I liked that it would allow me to pick up a weapon and at least know if I was supposed to stab with the pointy end, slash things to pieces, or simply bash them over the head. During my evening elf practice, I did gain the trait I had suspected.

See the flow of mana throughout the world.

Mana sight can see through obstructions based on trait level.

Trait level also determines the minimum level of mana able to be detected and detection range.>

Disabling the mimicked version of the trait allowed me to compare the difference between trait levels, which was startling. Distant mana auras became snuffed out when I swapped to my inferior version, but I was glad to have it available in all forms now.

I spent the next morning and afternoon with the scouts, getting tutoring on the bow. Tarz had become quite popular amongst the goblins since I had replaced her, and I had multiple scouts offering me pointers.

Imparts a basic understanding of ranged weapons and their utilization, scaling with skill level.

In addition, gain a minor accuracy and damage adjustment for ranged attacks.>

'I wonder if this would apply to [Slime Shot]?'

While preoccupied with my new skill, a horn blew and echoed throughout the cave. All of the goblins began to scramble, and while I looked around sheepishly, Garz came running up to me.

"Humans have been spotted."