Free Web NovelChapter 63: Chapter 57: The Real Harvest
"You two, slow down," Shire reminded the two subordinates beside him.
They were carrying a long wooden pole with a tightly-bound wooden chest hanging from it by ropes.
This was already the sixth of the Heart Stealer’s treasured "chests" to be moved out.
They reached the passage between two rectangular stone chambers, set down the chest, and carefully placed it against the wall next to the previous five.
Seeing his subordinates finish, Shire picked up a wooden plaque, wrote "Intermediate Beast Core" on it, and then hung the plaque on the wall behind the chest.
"That should do it." He looked at the six wooden chests lined up in a row against the passage wall, his face beaming. "There are still eleven more to move. Put them all here."
When the time came, the seventeen chests in this passage would be an irresistible temptation.
Smiling, Shire called up the panel.
[Name: Shape-shifting Monster]
[Race: Monster]
[Danger Level: 4, Slightly Strong]
[personality: Ferocious]
Shape-shifting Monsters, commonly known as Treasure Chest Monsters, are widely found in all sorts of Dungeons. They can transform into inanimate objects to lure prey, most commonly mimicking various types of chests.
If an Adventurer happily stepped forward to open the lid, its powerful pseudopods would shoot out instantly and wrap around them. The unlucky soul would find it very difficult to escape, as the slime covering the pseudopods and the Shape-shifting Monster’s subsequent frantic biting would immediately plunge them into despair.
However, most Shape-shifting Monsters have very low Intelligence and rely more on instinct for hunting. They will just quietly wait for you to open the lid. If you aren’t greedy, they are just a somewhat old-looking chest.
But Shire felt that there were almost no un-greedy people in this world. People are always greedy for something. And as for Adventurers, Shire knew exactly what they liked. He deliberately hung wooden plaques reading "Beast Core," "Gold Coins," and "Equipment" above the chests, hoping to give future visiting Adventurers a "surprise."
"But you, Heart Stealer, you’ve really given me a lot of surprises," Shire grumbled.
In one stone chamber, there had been twenty large wooden chests, seventeen of which were Shape-shifting Monsters. Luckily, he had Fulu with him at the time and hadn’t rashly gone forward to open them.
’These guys who use Mind Shock are all black-hearted.’
Only three of the chests were real, placed cunningly among the Shape-shifting Monsters. If seven or eight Adventurers squeezed in to open them all at once, they most likely wouldn’t have been able to escape that small stone chamber.
Shire decided to move these Treasure Chest Monsters out and place them in the passage. That way, when Adventurers entered the Fortress and passed through the Slime breeding area and the Brain-Eating Monster hall, they would surely be overjoyed to step forward and open the chests marked "Beast Core" or "Gold Coins."
’The passage is so narrow. It should be very advantageous for the Shape-shifting Monsters.’ Shire wrote "Gold Coins" on another wooden plaque.
"You two, keep at it. Put the rest of the Shape-shifting Monsters here." After giving his subordinates their orders, he leisurely walked out of the Fortress.
Right now, the goblins were doing a major cleanup inside the Fortress. The air was thick with dust, and the stench of slime and blood on the ground mixed with it, making it very unpleasant. After assigning tasks to his subordinates, Shire went straight outside.
"HYAH!" Red Eyes roared, swinging his sword and slicing through a small, bowl-thick tree in front of him.
The cut on the tree was perfectly smooth, like tofu sliced by a kitchen knife, but Shire knew the Longsword’s effect was more than just that.
"How does it feel?" he asked, walking over.
"Chief, it feels amazing!" Red Eyes was ecstatic, practically bouncing with joy. He was a completely different person from when he’d broken the wooden bed.
Shire took the all-black Longsword and ran his fingers along the blade. He had found this sword in one of the three real chests and decided to give it to Red Eyes.
[Item: Shamrah Black Sword]
[Quality: refined]
[Use: Slashing]
[Special Effect: Upon breaking an enemy’s defense, will produce a Dimension Stripping effect, making slashes smoother.]
[Note: Dasas, let’s duel! The Big-beaked Bird Pirate Ship can only have one captain, and that’s me.]
"Be careful not to hurt yourself," Shire said, handing the Longsword to his subordinate with an extra word of caution. He didn’t want Red Eyes to accidentally lose any "parts."
Of the Heart Stealer’s three real chests, one was filled with Gold Coins. Just as it had said, it was indeed very wealthy. This boosted Shire’s net worth considerably, but it was the same old story: for now, Gold Coins were just toys for the goblins.
Another chest made Shire very happy. Inside were several nice pieces of equipment and a number of Magic Scrolls. The Shamrah Black Sword was one of them. Moreover, the Magic Scrolls were actually the universal-use type. freewebnovel.cσ๓
Some Mages create Magic Scrolls by enchanting them with Magic they know, either for their own use or for sale. These scrolls are divided into mage-use and universal-use types. Mage-use, as the name implies, requires the user to channel their own Spiritual Power to activate the Magic. Universal-use scrolls, however, do not; the Mage has already infused their Spiritual Power into the Scroll during its creation, allowing even ordinary people to use them directly.
The selling price of universal-use scrolls was also astronomical. They were generally owned by nobles; commoners had never even seen one.
Shire figured this was one of the life-saving measures the Heart Stealer had stored away for itself. It was just too full of Pride, thinking goblins were easy to deal with, which was why it never got to use them.
The contents of the third chest gave Shire a bit of a headache: a full fifteen Intermediate Beast Cores, just tossed carelessly inside. When he first opened it, Shire was overjoyed for a good while, but after the excitement wore off, he felt a bit melancholy. ’It would’ve been better if this was salt, sugar, or smoked jerky. Even rice would do. These Beast Cores aren’t that useful.’
There was no telling how long the Heart Stealer had been saving them or where it had gotten the Beast Cores from. All Shire could say was, ’Bro, you’re so considerate.’
The Heart Stealer had also "thoughtfully" gifted Shire its black, high-collared Magic Robe. The robe was made from the hide of a Shadow Demon and had excellent defensive properties, but it was just too long for a goblin to wear. ’When I see Agatha, I’ll ask if she can alter it to be smaller.’
In the distance, a goblin approached. It was Nine-finger, who had only one hand. His arm had been bitten off at the shoulder during the encounter with the Fearsome Claw Bear.
Shire watched this subordinate, who went alone to the Bang Bang Forest to gather fruit, and felt a surge of emotion.
He had taken Nine-finger’s situation into account and hadn’t assigned him many tasks, but this subordinate actively sought out work to do.
Shire had tried granting him Regeneration before, but it had no effect at all. He figured it was like the limitations on limb regeneration from Healing Spells—it wouldn’t work if too much time had passed.
"Off to gather fruit again?" he asked, calling Nine-finger to his side.
"Yes, Chief." Nine-finger, carrying a bundle on his back, did his best to stand up straight.
The Goblin Race would sometimes drive out members who were missing limbs. For a people living on the edge of death, this was quite normal. That’s why in battle, the first thought of many goblins was to run, not to charge forward.
After merging with the goblins who had been enslaved by the Giants, Shire also learned that those two Giants would eat any crippled goblins.
Looking at the subordinate before him, a few phrases couldn’t help but flash through his mind. ’Holy crap, Chief!’ ’If we can eat this every day from now on, my life is yours, Chief!’ ’Chief, let me go in and take a look.’ fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
He knew that right now, Nine-finger just wanted to prove he was still useful. He just didn’t want to be abandoned by his people. He just wanted to live.
Shire thought for a moment and decided to do something.
He silently walked to the side, poured a bowl of water, and handed it to Nine-finger.
"You know that Red Eyes and Broken Tooth have some amazing abilities, right?"
"There’s something magical in this bowl of water now. It might awaken a Magic Ability in you, but I don’t know if you’ll be able to control it. You’ll have to figure that out for yourself."
"I want you to drink it, so you can help me in the future."
Nine-finger stood stunned for a few seconds, then he took the wooden bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
Shire patted his shoulder and said, "I will never abandon my own men."
At the same time, he called up Nine-finger’s panel.
[Name: Nine-finger]
[Race: goblin]
[Danger Level: 0.8, Capable Trash]
[personality: Loyal]
[Ability: Rocket Technique (Unawakened)]
Shire directly granted Nine-finger the Ability he had acquired from that neat-freak Mage, but he couldn’t be sure if a goblin’s Intelligence was enough to control Magic.
’It’s worth a try.’
