Chapter 31: 29- Clash Of Titans

Krogeten, the swamp lord, are the monsters that love to live in solitude not because they're shy but because they have an ego as big as their brain, and have the tendency to control things. Their Mana-powered brain waves destroy the target's mind before taking them over and under their control. And even in strength, there was rarely any monster who can compete near their level. As such, they're considered to be A-grade monsters in the records of the 'goblin book of mortal enemies'

These monsters stand/sprawl at the peak of the food chain in the whole Echelon. If they wanted, they could destroy all the other monsters and rule as they wish, but they're peaceful by nature and won't leave their comfy swamps unless provoked first. 

So if one decided to pick a fight with these Lords of death, one had to make sure they kill them in one go till they had the element of surprise. If not, then make sure to run as fast as possible and get the fuck outta their range. 

Which, the Goblin Prince and his servant were doing exactly that… albeit with a giant ball of obsidian in tow. 

*WHHHHHMMMMMMM!*

Oscar's ears bleed and his mind ringed with a sudden intrusion like someone was trying to forcefully hammer their way in. Forcing him, ordering him to kill himself at once. But, resisting it all with his entire mental might and the will to live, to breathe, to shout at his unpaid servant to run fast, while he himself hitched a ride over his back, the bleeding goblin turned behind to peek at the now awakened tentacle horrors. 

Crushing and flattening the large trees, the gargantuan wooden octopus came forward. Out of its habitat. Its bulb-like head crowned with a painful bump and a pair of lopsided majestic deer horns were a tell-tale of the carnage and the evidence of the failed assassination left behind by the now running goblin duo.

At one point, the Krog was humming and vibing to its favorite tune and minding its own business while trying to discern why this black monster core felt different than the rest, by probing it through a sleep dive, when two random goblins came out of nowhere and smashed a fucking tree trunk on top of its head, knocking it out, before snatching its newfound toy right through its tentacles. 

Its muffled scream of pain and its eight eyes burning with fury was becoming unbearable for the preparator to watch, less because of guilt and more because of the hammering pain. 

Turning ahead, the Prince encouraged his green-horse, "Faster Jazz! Or those tentacles will make second coming of magical girls out of us"

Rather than asking what's a magical girl, the Hob-Goblin's muscles again burst beyond belief and he kicked the Orb straight at the Monster Car before running faster than ever before. His legs propelled him forward and sped up with each step, while the passenger over his back yelped at the sudden acceleration.

Jazz knew of the terrors, these mind Krogs could leash should someone decide to mess with them. His own tribe had suffered and could have been wiped clean from the Echelon, if not for the timely intervention by the supreme elder. 

After that, every evolved Goblin is trained to keep in mind to fight against these Krogs someday, the elders advised many skill sets but mandated only one- [The Heart Of Deafness], the ability to isolate themselves from their very sense of hearing and put their psyche behind the wall of deafness, effectively rendering the Krogs main weapon useless. 

"Ghaaaaa!"

Like a flag flapping in the wind, Prince danced in the air while barely hanging to the neck of his servant, traveling faster than the orb kicked ahead by him. His nails tried to dig, but right now the surface of the Hob-Goblin's skin was harder than a stone, and too thick because of its additional muscles.

Like a green flash, Jazz zapped ahead of the still-bouncing orb. Wherever he taps and leaped ahead, the soil sunk and leaves a footprint double his size. And not even four consequent leaps later, the deaf Hob-Goblin took an abrupt turn and jumped in between the Orbs trajectory. Hands stretched, he absorbed the momentum and successfully stopped the Orb right before it could smash the bonnet's smiling jaws. While also perfectly throwing the dancing goblin above after rapidly rotating it twice around his neck, like a fidget spinner or a midget spinner in Oscar's case.

Somersaulting in the air, the goblin traveled in an arc and landed flat-faced, smashing right through the tarp spread by Harry and the rest of the goblins. Scoring 10/10 in Roly's humble opinion. Spitting out the dirt, and ignoring the laughing monkeys at the corner with the ever-smiling tortoise, the now enraged Prince stomped back, to punish that unruly Hob-Goblin for mishandling him. 

"Jazz, you better have an excuse for this shit or this Prince won't-?!" 

His words died in his throat, the second he caught the sight of a wooden Kraken slowly advancing towards them like its own massive body was weighing it down. Evidently, its agility was dirt poor considering its other massive advantages and mind skills, which he got to know in advance by Jazz and the reason why he even took the risk of enraging this monstrosity. But it wasn't the sight of Kraken gaining grounds at him in a slow-motion that made him freeze in his spot, it was the sight of monster tides taking a U-turn and heading back at them with a rumbling ground like an army in control of the Mind Krogeten that made him forget his anger in an instant. 

"Jazz! Quick! Tell me how to bond with this obsidian orb-I mean holy orb"

Shoving aside the tired Hob-Goblin twice his size, Oscar hastily touched the Orb and saw the familiar series of prompts. 

'Alright, two options: absorb or conjure…which one is it?' 

Turning to the only knowledgeable monster, and the one who had told him the actual purpose of this orb, Oscar seeks the answer from Jazz. And the Hob-Goblin in question answered him likewise. 

"Eat… it?" 

'Alright, eat it' 

Giving a quick nod, Oscar followed his advice and opened his jaws wide but stopped himself the next second. Considering the size of this Orb for his own. And then turned back to his adviser with a dubious look who now already started scratching his head; like he was trying to recall the scant few ceremonies, he had witnessed, of young shamans before turning into an elder shaman the next day. 

But in all of them, he had never seen a youngster trying to bond with such a huge holy crystal for once. Usually, the dormant monster cores would be purified and then eaten by a youngster with a group of other materials, which he didn't bother to remember, and under the supervision of their mentor before a full-fledged shaman would be born. Hence, when met with such an oddity the Hob-Goblin, who's not an expert in this, can only answer it with. 

"Prince… I don't… kn-" 

"Don't you dare say, I don't know" 

With bloodshot eyes, Oscar was already starting to lose his mind over this unreliable guide. Not for once, had he said I knew and given the answer he wanted and needed, time and time again. It would either be he doesn't know, or he didn't remember. 

"Pr-prince… I never saw… this huge… of a holy crystal… but I-" Panicked by the abrupt change of tone, Jazz tried to explain himself. But not in the mood for listening to it, the Prince arrogantly ordered him. 

"Shut up! And come here" 

Following him, Jazz quietly came forward and touched the crystal as gestured by the angry young Goblin. 

"Now tell me what you see" 

"Absorb…?" He asked, confused why the Prince needed him to check through him. 

"Alright, conjure it is" 

Getting the answer he wanted, he kicked him out of his sight. And quickly selected it without a second thought, believing his judgment for comparing a potential and non potential shaman through the prompt, and his experience of seeing [Absorb] only prompt in normal monster cores to be more reliable than following his advice on eating it. 

In fact, eating a core is considered equal to absorb, and the most common way a monster would take another core and raise their own. Even in a purified core, there wouldn't be a change, unless one's core is of a high grade and high level, which isn't possible in the 1st Echelon with the cap of Lv50. 

Oscar fidgeted in his spot while waiting for the damn dungeon to process it. Taking a peek behind, Oscar found the Monster tides have now almost crossed the Krogeten, and now would be here within at any given moment. The team green, in the buggy, has now again started considering abandoning everything and running on their own. But knowing they wouldn't be able to outrun the tide no matter what, they could only patiently wait for the captain.

'Fast!' Not able to remain calm, he screams internally. 

Again the choices didn't actually give him anything for him to determine if it suits his purpose or not. It just stated the obvious, or what could have been the common knowledge in this field if he isn't living under a rock. But still, even these tidbits were more helpful than going completely blind. 

'Alright, so I have a choice of carrying the legacy of a great lich monster from another great dungeon, or I could choose to make my own legacy right here. 

Firstly, if I choose the 1st option, will I simply become a lich or a goblin lich? But if goes by the theory of purified core, as told by Jazz, it wouldn't be able to overwrite my monster gene. Hence, I could definitely say that I will become a goblin-lich should I choose it. But again, why the hell would I want to become an undead right after gaining a second life, and yes I still have a dream of banging-Ahem! I mean, study the arts of night moon landing with beautiful girls. 

Secondly, if I choose the 2nd option, will I become…huh? What will I become again?' 

Oscar couldn't guess the second possibility. Even after re-reading the words, he could only think of becoming a goblin lich or something related to undead as the possibility, which he didn't want to become either of them.

His mind was stretched to both sides by keeping tabs on the approaching monsters ahead, and his restless team urging him to hurry behind. The pressure was insurmountable like he had to decide his career at a gunpoint. Rendering him to think beyond then to save his own life first and foremost. Though, he wouldn't have to face these options if he had simply chosen to absorb the core right at the start. 

"Urghhh! Just go with anything. I choose 2nd, alright" 

As he noticed the rumbling monsters are 40m away and could be here in 30 sec, Oscar hurriedly turned back to the new prompt. 

'Huh, this looks just like my high school report card,' 

Commented the goblin with a smirk, only to lose it instantly; like someone had revealed his hidden Swiss bank account balance to the world before taking it all away. 

25 seconds to go. 

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'Wait! don't you dare use it all! I was aiming to reach the 1k mark before acquiring all the mutations'

Now he looked seriously panicked, with an almost crying face. But ignoring his pleas, the prompt continued to process. 

20 seconds to go. 

Like a click of a lock, Oscar felt he had suddenly unlocked a vast reserve of Mana in an instant. The same Mana that had eluded him for so long is now within his reach and within his grasp. He could feel it in his bones, his muscles, and every fiber of it. Like rain to barren land, he felt invigorated.

15 seconds to go. 

"Jazzz! Let's teach these monsters a lesson to never mess with team green-huh?!" 

Amongst the cheers of his team and the impending threat of monsters ahead, Oscar felt an unexpected pull from the Orb… or more like he couldn't pull his hands away from it. 

'The what?' 

He tried to jerk, to jump, to shake his hands off the Orb, but it all failed as if his hand had merged within it. 

He could have taken drastic measures out of panic, if not for him noticing the flow of Mana and his inner body condition- His cells had been degrading and bursting apart, not able to withstand the overflowing Mana, only to regenerate back the next instant with an improvised structure. And the Orb takes back the excess Mana rather than letting it rampage in his body before the cycle starts again on repeat. His body and genes have been evolving to hold the Mana better with each repeated cycle. So if he breaks the contact with the Orb in between this all, it was easy to guess what kind of danger he would be facing next; The Mana overflow. 

13 seconds to go. 

'Well… fuck' 

One hand glued to the Orb's surface, Oscar turned back to the tensed-up Hob-Goblin. 

"Jazz… I think I would need your help with something"

                                                             

8 seconds to go. 

"Stop! You're breaking the window" 

*Bang!*

With one last push, Jazz fixed the Orb onto the curved horn, protruding out of the dragonic head, and right beside the window of the driver, while also making the car tilt to the side by its weight. 

5 seconds to go. 

Right when the Hob-Goblin jumped back on his seat, and the monsters behind were ready without a seatbelt or any kind of security other than a single mounted rifle, Oscar poured all the Mana into the car and shifted to 8th gear straight.

3 seconds to go. 

Tyred screeched, and the engine hollered as they both pulled the car back like a bullet traveling in reverse. While dodging the overly eager monster jumping on top of them, they give a bone bullet to its head as a goodbye gift. 

                                                              

As the army of monsters rapidly marched onwards, the tilted Monster car retreated further back with even greater speed, while occasionally firing bullets to stop anyone from jumping straight on top of them.

"Everyone! To the left!"

The driver barked the order with one hand glued to the giant obsidian orb, hanging out from the side horn, and one hand on the steering wheel, while both legs were over the brake pedal and the gear stick consequently. 

Jazz, being the ever-present goblin translator and the instructor, made every goblin turn left, and seeing them the pet monsters also followed. 

"Kheeee!" 

Right then, the speedy monster car took an abrupt 180D J-turn, almost throwing them off the buggy before running ahead, now facing forward. The monsters would have complained for using them as car balancers, if not for the Hob-Goblin's glare stopping them from doing so.

As Oscar glanced around him, he now found the scene a little too familiar. The ground rumbles, the Mana veins burst forth new monsters with each breath, and a horde of monsters pursue them behind. Outwardly, nothing has changed, yet this time everything had been flipped upside down. This time, there's no persistent barking hot-dog but a giant mind-controlling wooden octopus, this time there's no minuscule amount of Mana fuel but a giant never-ending tank, and this time… there would be no getting hunted by others, but they would be the one hunting their hunters. 

"Khe! Khe! Khe!" 

Like an evil plan brewing inside his evil mind, Oscar laughed and shifted the gear back to 8th. Zooming the car onwards makes the slowly approaching Krog agitate, and it sends the ones who are proficient in speed ahead to stop them. 

"Prince… where are we… going?"

The Hob-Goblin asked, not finding the route any familiar to him. Each passing cavern looks and feels different to him, unlike before. 

"To meet an old friend" 

Smiling with a hint of nostalgia, Oscar eyed him to handle the pesky rats pursuing them behind. And luckily, the running monsters didn't have any firing projectiles hence they were just running ducks to Jazz the sniper, who handled them lightning quick. Each shot zapped their neck or pierced their legs claiming their life in seconds.

Oscar did notice some monsters who were slow but followed them discreetly, tracking him and reporting to the Krog far behind. But he let them, since… 'It's all according to the plan'

The more he came nearer to the location, the more his smile threatened to spread across his face. And when the Hob-Goblin and all the little goblins heard and reacted to the low rattling tune of bones in the surroundings, he couldn't stop himself. 

"Khe! Khe! Khe!" 

A giant white rattling snake stood in the middle of the horde of monsters, probably under its control, as it eyed the approaching goblin truck and the laughing driver with clear animosity and hatred, while also appearing to be somewhat unsurprised by their arrival. A pair of centipedes popped up from a corner, behind the Goblin truck, giving the reason for his unreactive response. 

Oscar had picked their location the moment he had fused with the Orb and was able to perceive Mana in the surroundings with a wide range. And he didn't have to wait long when one left the other to report back to their master, which he had long guessed to be this disco-snake.

As he innocently smiles back at the disco-snake, the ground rumbles and a muffled humming of a whale resounded through the cavern, announcing the arrival of the most awaited guest before the party could start. 

'Clearly, what's better match-up than a beatboxing octopus with the rumba shaker of a snake'

He thought as he prepared the plan to let them fight on the stage, while some dancing goblins made their own merry way through a corner.

Although he could outrun the beatboxing octopus easily, Oscar doubted he could outrun a snake that can travel faster than his own car, as witnessed by him before. Hence, he decided to firstly shake both of them off thoroughly before heading for the last goal of reaching to safety, the Echelon. 

*Zeze~ ze~* the snake rattles, eager to fight for the rumba shakers' supremacy. 

*Hmmmmm!* the octopus hummed in disagreement, clearly believing in beatboxing supremacy over some toy

"On your marks, get set, go!"

*Screeeeeeee!* 

Oscar decided to approach the snake first to let him know he was supporting him as his old acquaintance, and definitely not because he couldn't take the buzzing noise of the Krog behind. 

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