Golden Experience

Chapter 158: “Differentiation”

I returned to the Liebe Great Forest.

Sugaru had gone out with me, so I wondered who I should target with [Summon Summoner]. Ultimately, I decided to jump to Hakuma.

The wolves had been playing in the Liebe Great Forest, but now they had new jobs. It was just right to explain that.

<Welcome home, Boss. How was the grassland?>

“I’m back, Hakuma. I’ve dominated it without any issues. Also, the town. It’s the first time I’ve dominated a human town, but leaving it to the newly subordinated Albert and company should be fine.”

I’ve already arranged for them to proceed independently. Lord Albert’s INT has been raised, and as a support in case of emergencies, the INT of the elderly housekeeper has also been raised. I even raised VIT to withstand the intense work. It’s unclear if VIT contributes to fatigue from office work, but I did it just in case.

“So, I’m thinking of giving you guys some new jobs too, Hakuma. Yeah, I want everyone to take on the task together. The wolf cubs should have grown quite a bit, right? It’s about time to give them proper work.”

Even though they’re called wolf cubs, they won’t be cubs forever. At some point, the “cub” part should be dropped. According to Hakuma and Ginka, it seems like it’s about time, but it’s not clear what will happen.

<Great! If that’s the case, I’ll call them right away!>

With that, he came out of the cave and flew towards the sky. You could just summon them, but it wouldn’t take much time to fly through the air. I decided to wait.

Once, two ice wolves and six wolf cubs lived in this cave, but now it feels quite cramped. Probably because everyone has grown a bit.

After explaining the situation to Hakuma, I petted the wolf cubs in turn.

I had an image of them playing around, but now they are sitting there with a clear look on their faces. In spite of their appearance, they already have enough fighting strength to treat goblins as toys.

<So, does that mean the eight of us go to other monster territories and cause a ruckus?>

<You have to go to the location designated by the Boss. Also, you have to identify the leader of the area and its location, and make sure not to let other players defeat that leader.>

<Got it.>

The wolf cubs nodded. Although they’re not registered as friends and thus can’t use friend chat, they should understand what I’m saying. That must be their appeal.

“By the way, the growth of the wolf cubs, or well, their adulthood? It’s coming soon, right? What specifically causes said growth? Time passing? Meals? Accumulated experience points? I haven’t given them experience points, so maybe it’s meals and time passing? Can’t it be facilitated with experience points?”

Most things in this game can be solved with experience.

You might be able to force a monster to grow by giving it a Philosopher’s Stone, but I would hesitate to do that to a monster that has not yet reached adulthood. It would be a pity if they were reincarnated in a smaller size or something like that.

<I don’t know, but it would be convenient if they could grow while the Boss is around.>

In addition, if they were to go on an expedition, it would be better for them to become adults first. If it can be achieved now, that would be better.

For now, I arbitrarily increased the stats of one wolf cub, Mizore. While tinkering with it gradually, a system message appeared.

?Your Subordinate has fulfilled the conditions for reincarnation?

?Do you permit the reincarnation into [Ashen Wolf]??

“Oh, the conditions are fulfilled… Huh… It’s not an Ice Wolf.”

Could it be that wolf cubs are the young forms of all wolf-type monsters? And the growth destination diverges depending on conditions.

If that’s the case, maybe Sköll and Hati are the top species. I was thinking they might become Fenrir, but Fenrir might be set as the reincarnation destination for a different route.

“…Alright, let’s go with Ashen Wolf for Mizore. I’m curious about what comes next.”

Then, Mizore’s body was enveloped in light and grew fluffy. When the transformation was complete, she had grown to the size of Ginka. Limbs that were originally round had become slender, and her facial features had become more refined. Still young, so more like a husky dog than a wolf, but it’s not a problem as long as it’s cute. It seems she has a slightly smaller head compared to Hakuma.

Next, I had Hyou learn [Fire Magic] and raised its stats like Mizore.

?Your Subordinate has fulfilled the conditions for reincarnation?

?Do you permit the reincarnation into ‘Ashen Wolf’??

?Do you permit the reincarnation into ‘Flame Wolf’??

I thought about what to do if the conditions were spending a certain period in a specific area. It seems like branching can occur through acquired skills.

Next, the other four underwent reincarnation.

Arare became an [Ice Wolf].

Fubuki became a [Wind Wolf].

Kogome became a [Sky Wolf].

Zarame became a [Forest Wolf].

For Flame, Ice, and Wind Wolves, acquiring skills of their respective attributes was sufficient, but acquiring [Earth Magic], [Thunder Magic] and [Water Magic] did not bring about any changes. With some skills on hold in the system, after acquiring a few other skills randomly, the choices increased. It seems that [Sky Wolf] and [Forest Wolf] were unlocked by acquiring a combination of skills. The trigger for each is already unclear.

Mizore, who became an Ashen Wolf, is the largest among the former wolf cubs. It seems to be specialized in close combat. Although it looked like its head was small earlier, it probably has a broad shoulder width. The fur-covered front legs, upon closer inspection, are quite muscular.

Hyou, the Flame Wolf, has a reddish-black color. Very cool. Apart from the [Fire Magic] I allowed it to acquire, it seems to be able to acquire skills related to flames. This feature is also the same for Ice Wolves. Being able to use skills as a bridge during the recast time of magic is a practical build for combat.

Arare, an Ice Wolf, has a familiar appearance due to her white fur, similar to the former Ginka.

Fubuki, the Wind Wolf, is jade-colored. The fur on the belly is somewhat white, making it look even more like a husky compared to the others. She can also acquire [Wind Magic] and skills that assist in movement. It can be considered a species capable of tricky movements.

Kogome, the Sky Wolf, has an elegant, light blue fur. [Sky Drive] is unlocked from the beginning. Since she has acquired almost all types of magic that can be obtained in the end, it is unclear which was the trigger, but the experience points consumed are the highest. Other than that, there are no new skills, so it’s unclear about the combat power as a species, but being able to rain down magic from the sky alone is already strong.

Zarame, who reincarnated into a Forest Wolf, is a deep green color. The newly acquired skill is [Plant Magic]. This can be expected. When Rare acquired [Plant Magic], [Light Magic] was supposed to be necessary, but it seems that skills can be acquired through species characteristics without such prerequisites. Care is needed.

“With this, there’s no overlap.”

The Ice Wolf can be said to overlap with Hakuma, but for now, it’s fine.

I further raised the INT of the six, conducted inventory guidance, and friend registration. I’ll teach Hakuma about friend chat and such later. For now, they can be considered a force capable of easily conquering dungeons around ?3.

“Weren’t you originally born in the northern forest? As a country, it might be in the Wells Kingdom or something. So, you should visit there for a homecoming. If you want, you can even go and conquer your hometown forest.”

It would be better if it’s an area listed in the teleport destination list, but it doesn’t matter if it’s not.

If they keep the area Boss alive as instructed, then even in areas not listed as teleport destinations, later on, I can bring myself and Subordinate the Boss there to increase my number of cards. Hakuma should be sufficient as a force, but their numbers are small. It would be difficult to cover all dungeon areas.

In that case, it might be better to have them act as irregulars, whimsically attacking suitable dungeons instead of managing a ranch.

After sending off Hakuma, the next task was the Goblin Farm.

If it’s possible to extensively turn other people’s dungeons into farms, there’s no need for a small-scale Goblin farm anymore.

We will Subordinate them and incorporate a new goblin unit into the Demon Lord’s army.

The goblins that have been exploited by Rare so far will now be the exploiters under Rare.

“So, well, I know we have our differences, but let’s let bygones be bygones and join hands to cooperate for a better future, shall we?”

Addressing what seemed to be the Goblin Chief, I spoke in this manner.

However, they don’t necessarily understand what we’re saying, and they probably don’t even know about Rare. In fact, they might not even realize that they have been raised. In the bountiful forest, they have managed to maintain their herd while occasionally battling dangerous ants. That’s probably how they feel.

“[Subordinate]. Hey, don’t run away. [Fear].”

I made the Goblin leader my Subordinate and cast [Fear] on the others. Since they are surrounded by ants, they can’t escape anyway, but it’s just a hassle to gather them here again.

“First, let’s enhance you, the leader, to at least the strength of an Adaman-Leader.”

Rare took out the Greater Philosopher’s Stone and threw it towards the Goblin leader, the Goblin General.

?

Short in stature but muscular and sharp, a middle-aged man with green skin and a round, narrow lump on his forehead—well, he’s a Goblin. But that Goblin spoke to Rare.

“All the brethren in this forest have become my subordinates, Your Majesty.”

The Goblin Leader, who had raised his INT and MND as much as possible, had become fluent in conversation. He had reincarnated from Goblin Leader to Goblin General. His abilities had been increased appropriately, and for the time being, he was made capable of fighting at the level of an Adamant Leader. He was also equipped with prototypes of Adamant armor and a sword made at the blacksmith in the Liebe Grand Forest. Since I had raised his INT, I had also allowed him to acquire various magic, including [Mental Magic], [Training], [Necromancy], and [Summon] for [Subordinate]. He might be the [Subordinate] who received the most experience points in the past few days.

And now, all the Goblins in this forest’s farm were given the order to be Subordinated, and the report I received just now was about that matter.

“Thank you for your hard work. What I want you to do is to attack areas not under our control. Specifically—”

I explained to him the Dungeon Farming Plan.

With such high INT, he should be able to understand even within the range of what has been clarified about the system.

“I understand the details. Therefore, we would like to prepare several special teams for strong enemies…”

“Oh, yes. We need both hunting teams and guarding teams. Understood. Let’s be flexible about equipment and experience points.”

Players or hostile NPCs defeating them doesn’t matter, but in that case, I don’t want only this General to die. If the General is defeated, all the other Goblins on other fronts will also die. If they are deployed widely and players see this, it might raise suspicions about the existence of multiple forces within the dungeon.

Indeed, the fact that the calamity invaded the Teur Grasslands has already spread among players. There is a possibility that their relationship might be suspected.

“I’ll contact you, so visit the blacksmith later. Also, as an additional… I’ll give you this many experience points. I leave the detailed distribution to you.”

“Thank you!”

“Counting on you. Um… oh, right. Gaslark.”

“Oh, could it be that it’s my…?”

“Yes, that’s right. Your name.”

The Goblin, who looked like their leader, spoke to Rare.

If Hakuma is allowed to act freely, I would like Goblins to focus on farming in the areas already listed on the teleportation list.

“So, I’ll call you later. Prepare until then.”