Master Of None

Chapter 329 - 329. Ecosystem Crash

Walker almost dropped to his knees in surprise. The only thing he could ask himself was if titles were so easy to come by. Had befriending the goblins who were usually killed on sight that big of an achievement? How lucky were they? They had just happened upon a goblin that was more known to make friends with other species in their time of need. Walker struggled to regain his calm appearance before the goblin spider rider motioned for him to walk back out of the cave. It was clear that it had shown him the respect he wanted and also was happy to gain more food for them. 

When he exited the cave he saw that the others were all closed up in a huddle discussing what was happening. They were completely stunned by the second title. They were stunned yet again when they saw their systems saying that their hero title had absorbed it and gained the benefits from the friend of the goblins title. It was just too much for them. They had already learned to live with one title, and that was still a daily struggle. 

Once Walker had reached the fire and stepped over the sleeping goblins he sat down looking deep in to the embers. The goblin spider rider sat next to him like it was the most common thing in the world. The two sat there just warming themselves and thinking about the events of the day. Anyone who wandered by would not be able to understand this scene. 

"Brother, you finally lit a fire to help me warm up. It was so cold with the rain that I didn't dare to come out until it was warmer and drier." Walker was surprised that Onyx had finally decided to grace them with his presence. However, it did make sense that Onyx had not wanted to risk being out in the cold rain and falling asleep in a dangerous place. 

"Perfect timing, we actually are in a very interesting situation and your translations would be great." Walker could only hope that Onyx could translate with his mental ability. He wanted to make sure the goblins knew the dangers of talking to other adventurers and that their best path to safety would be to avoid conflict. 

"Brother I could see the title we got. I am like you now. I am a title holder. When you were fighting I was wrapped around your arm and helped you hold on to the hammer tighter." The voice of Onyx in his head was boastful and arrogant. He had been learning too much from midnight as was not very prideful when he acted, especially if the things he did were able to help another party member.

"Don't let Midnight rub off on you too much, but thank you for joining me. I really am glad things went well." Walker gave a small shake of his head at this. His party members were still silently watching him as he spoke to Onyx waiting to see what would happen next. They wanted to ask a million questions s but had a firm grip on themselves. 

"Hello, I am Onyx. Brother wanted me to try and translate for you." His words were open to Walker and the rest of the party as well. Onyx was doing exactly as he usually did with midnight to the goblin spide rider. 

The goblin spider rider jumped in to a fighting stance and shrieked slightly while looking for the source of the unfamiliar voice. It quickly locked in on Onyx before shrieking and grunting a few times. 

"Brother, it says I am a weird worm." Onyx sounded a little insulted but Walker just brushed it off. 

"You know they are not the same as humans, just cut them some slack for now." Walker was still resisting the urge to laugh after Onyx had been called a weird worm. "Please ask out goblin friend what their name is please." 

"Brother would like to know your name. His is Walker and he is a human." Walkernwondered why his species was brought in to this but if it was said in a way for the goblins to understand it was a good test of possible hostility towards humans in general. 

The grunting and hissing of the goblin spider rider were met by Onyx bobbing his head before finally speaking. "Brother, his name is Kroll and he says he is a wise goblin." This information was interesting since Walker knew this species of goblin to be called forest goblins. 

"Why does he call himself wise." Remey had surprisingly joined the conversation breaking the silence between all of them. 

"That is Remey, she would like to know why you call yourself wise." Onyx was again listening and speaking within the goblin spider rider's head. It still flinched as he did so.

"Kroll says that only wise goblins can lead. That he has a different skill than the normal goblins so he is wise." This did make sense. It wasn't wisdom in the way humans would think when they heard the word but wisdom to do things other goblins did not. It was in facrt rare for goblins to ride a spider or anything for that matter as a mount. 

"Brother, Kroll wishes to know why you decided to join their side in the fight against the killing blobs." Walker was amused by the name the goblin had given the purple slimes that decayed the forest. 

"I chose to join them because they were the species that belong in the forest. The slimes are here to cause trouble and pain and should not exist here. The need to go back where they came from or be completely wiped out before the forest is destroyed." This was an undeniable fact, even the monsters that naturally existed here had begun to fight them at this point. 

"Kroll says there used to be many tribes of goblins here but after the pointy eared skinny ones attacked the tribes lost many. Then the killing blobs showed up and started to kill everything with their poison. They are the last of the goblins from the tribes in this area." 

The entire party drew a sharp breath at this, not a single one thought that the combination of what they believed to be elves hunting and the purple slimes destroying the forest could cause the goblins to shrink to such numbers. 

"Leader, without the goblins, won't other monsters and animals in the forest grow out of control?" Su was already putting the pieces together and realizing that the species of green forest mice and scaled bats the goblins often hunted would not have a natural predator any more. This would make them grow out of control and further damage the forest by consuming other species and many plants. It would be a massive ecosystem crash.

"I didn't realize that goblins could be so important. Even I read the story books about how they were the worst of the weak monsters that should be killed on sight. But now that I think about it I have never really heard too much about them when I have spoken to other adventurers. Were the story books wrong and everyone has believed the wrong things for years and years?"

 Gil's theory was the most probable out of any other theory. 

"If I remember right those books are mostly written about heroes that go after goblins that were minions to the demon lord right? Maybe they used to be like that since they were controlled and now they are at their natural state?" 

"Brother, Kroll says that we are very powerful and is glad that we chose to join them in a good battle." Onyx had been chatting with the goblin while the party conversed. They had become distracted by their own theories and the realization that humans and other species had long been believing something completely false. 

"Tell Kroll that I am happy to have helped when we found them. Also, let him know that we are here in the forest to find the cause of the purple slimes and that we would be grateful for their knowledge. Also please explain the dangers of adventurers and what to do if faced with travelers. I am trusting this to you Onyx." Onyx looked extremely happy to be trusted with such a task. He constantly worried that he was of no use to the party. 

With Onyx on the task, Walker joined the rest of the party again to put together what their next move would be. They had a lot of things to understand and sort out when it came to the new titles incorporation and the way the goblins acted. The simple fact that the forest goblins were nearly extinct was enough to bring in the adventurers guild or a kingdom's royalty to issue a protection order. 

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