Chapter 32: Unexpected Joy

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Unexpected Joy

His original plan was to rely on Mora’s Blessing to withstand the loss from having his bloodline drained.

Even if he grew weak as a result, it would still be an acceptable price to pay.

After all, as long as that ball of light existed, he could find a way to recover his strength.

But now, a more perfect solution seemed to be at hand.

’Why not?’

A pleasant surprise.

From outside the cave, he could hear the footsteps of an overseer returning, muttering and cursing.

’I can’t stay here any longer.’

The overseer’s curses and footsteps grew closer.

Hesia suppressed the excitement welling up inside him from obtaining a new trait.

Tonight’s objective was complete. Clashing with an overseer was pointless and would only create unnecessary complications.

He chose not to confront the man directly, instead retreating into the deep shadows of a branching tunnel.

Soon, the burly man walked past along the main tunnel.

He was completely unaware that just a few steps away, a pair of eyes was watching him silently from the darkness.

After confirming the man was a safe distance away, Hesia and Bruce quietly slipped out of the mine, which had now become a goblin graveyard.

...

A week later, outside Oak Town, at another, more remote, abandoned mine.

Unlike the still-operational Black Stone Mine, this one had long been hollowed out, its interior a vast, complex cavern system resembling a spiderweb.

The air was thick with rock dust and an even more sickening stench.

Deep inside the mine, William stared fixedly at a crude hole in the rock wall, his face, with its prominent cleft chin, twisting slightly in anger.

"Young Master."

A servant emerged from the shadows, presenting a bottle of perfume.

William took the bottle and sprayed it liberally on his fine collar and cuffs. PSH! PSH! PSH!

The rich fragrance overpowered the surrounding stench. He finally let out a long sigh, his taut nerves relaxing slightly.

"Have you finished the investigation?" he asked coldly, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Yes, Young Master William." The servant lowered his head even further. "Based on the traces left at the scene, it appears one of our artificially mutated test subjects became a purple-skinned goblin."

"Purple-skinned?" William froze, a rare look of astonishment flashing in his eyes. "You mean... a Goblin Shaman? How is that possible! The formula doesn’t have any ingredients that could create a Caster. How could a Shaman just appear out of nowhere?"

"We’re not certain yet, Young Master. We speculate that several ingredients had an unforeseen reaction," the servant said, his voice laced with fear.

William’s brow furrowed. "Then how did they escape? Didn’t I order all the goblins to be kept in separate cells?"

"It... it was the giant goblin, Young Master," the servant hastily explained. "It seemed to fall under the Goblin Shaman’s influence and went into some kind of frenzy. Our men didn’t even have time to use the tranquilizers before it... it just smashed clean through the rock wall at the back of the mine."

The servant paused, then mustered up his courage. "Young Master William, considering... this accident, perhaps we should... pause the experiment for a while?"

William stared blankly for a moment, then let out a contemptuous snort.

He clearly didn’t think the escape of a few goblins was a big deal, much less that it would affect the delivery of his order to the "client."

After all, there were still over twenty goblin laborers in the Black Stone Mine.

Those Green-skinned Dwarves could breed a new litter every month or two. Even though many had escaped, it was just a matter of spending a little more money on materials.

He made a quick calculation in his head, a smile playing on his lips. "Pause? Of course. Why don’t you make up for the shortfall in the order yourself? How does that sound?"

"No! No! Young Master! That’s not what I meant at all!" The servant was terrified, his legs giving out as he nearly collapsed to his knees. "I mean, the risks are too high now! First, the escaped goblins attacked Print’s lumber mill. It’s already drawn the attention of the Guards, and if the Viscount himself decides to investigate..."

"What do I care if Print and his gang of mud-legs live or die!" William cut him off impatiently, as if he’d just heard a joke.

"Yes, yes..." Cold sweat beaded on the servant’s brow, and he lowered his voice even more. "But there’s a second point, the most critical one! A week ago, the goblins at the Black Stone Mine... were all killed! Wiped out completely, not a single one left!"

"What did you say?!"

William’s expression changed in an instant. He whirled around and grabbed the servant by the collar. "The goblins at the Black Stone Mine are gone?! Not a single one left?! Then what about the damn shipment?!"

The servant trembled in fear. "Th-that’s why I said... it’s too late, Young Master. We... we can’t make the delivery."

"Who was it!?"

William shoved the servant away, then kicked him, sending him tumbling over a nearby wooden crate.

"Who did it?! Tell me!"

"The... the overseer on duty reported... that his attention was drawn away by a canine Demon, one as fast as a shadow. It was barely fifteen minutes, and by the time he got back... there was nothing left in the mine but corpses. He... he suspects it was the work of a highly skilled Beast Tamer, or maybe even a Professional on the level of a Beast King."

"The ramblings of a useless overseer!" William gasped for breath, his chest heaving. "Would a real Professional be afraid of alerting a piece of trash like him? That’s absurd! Fine..."

He forcibly suppressed the erupting volcano of his rage, his mind racing.

The risk of exposure warred with the consequences of failing to deliver the order. Finally, he spoke in a cold voice. "Cease all research here immediately. Erase every trace. We’ll wait for this to blow over. Also, investigate this! I want to see who in all of Oak Town dares to mess with my business!"

"As you command, Young Master."

...

As he left the gloomy mine and climbed into the carriage returning to his castle, the jolting of the wheels sent William’s thoughts drifting back one year.

Back then, a horde of goblins had wandered to the outskirts of Oak Town, attacking several lumberjack camps.

He had accompanied his father, Viscount Rick, to exterminate them. When only thirty-odd goblins remained, a bold and brilliant idea took root in his mind.

He told his father that he wanted to keep the goblins as "cheap labor" for his newly discovered Black Stone Mine.

Using these little Green-skinned Dwarves would not only save a fortune on miners’ wages, but their presence could also be used as a whip to make the lazy and greedy human miners work their fingers to the bone.

Viscount Rick appreciated his son’s "business acumen" and didn’t reject the seemingly brilliant idea.

Out of caution, however, the Viscount personally ordered all the female goblins to be killed, eliminating any possibility of them breeding. He also strictly forbade any relatives of the miners from approaching the mine.

What the Viscount didn’t know, however, was that his son was far more insane than he could have ever imagined.