BAMN: Chapter 63/64

Chapter 63: Goblins Once Prospered

"How many Goblins can be recruited from the surrounding area?"

"This..."

Shuna said, "The closest Goblin village to us probably only has a few dozen people."

"Only that many?"

"I apologize, Rin-sama."

Shuna said, "Our people are too few, and the forest is too vast, so we truly cannot conduct a more accurate search."

The Great Jura Forest in the original work seemed small.

But only after truly transmigrating to this world did Rin realize how vast the real Great Jura Forest was.

Though called a great forest, it actually featured diverse terrains, including grasslands, swamps, lakes, and hills.

These areas were separated by dense forests, which formed the monster circle of the Great Jura Forest.

"It's alright, you've done your best."

Rin naturally wouldn't blame the loyal Ogre Clan.

"I know about Goblins, you see."

Just as Rin was contemplating how to better search for tribes in the forest, a figure slowly appeared before Rin and the others. It was the Dryad, Treyni.

Nearly a month had passed since Rin displayed Explosion Magic last time.

During this time, Treyni had paid close attention to Rin's movements.

She would occasionally visit Rin, who would then warmly invite her to taste the village's delicacies.

Dryads are the guardians of the forest.

With them, the forest can thrive endlessly.

Therefore, it was beneficial to get along well with Treyni.

"These are our newly made potato chips. Please taste them, Treyni-san."

Shuna brought a bowl of freshly fried potato chips, and Treyni's attention was instantly drawn to them. "Well, then I won't be polite."

"Crunch!"

Treyni held a potato chip in one hand and gently stroked her cheek with the other, her eyes filled with enjoyment and intoxication. "Ah, this food called potato chips is too delicious."

Rin didn't quite understand Treyni's love for potato chips.

However, he had read the original work and knew about Treyni's potato-elf meme, which was why he offered potato chips to cater to her preferences.

The effect was self-evident. Treyni was completely immersed in the potato chips, unable to extricate herself.

Rin felt that in a while, he might even be able to convert her into a new dependent.

Yes, a dependent.

Treyni and her sisters are the guardians of the Great Jura Forest.

In the original work, she eventually followed the Fairy Queen.

But this has not happened yet.

Rin had every opportunity to win over Treyni, and by extension, bring this forest completely under his supervision.

'Unfortunately, now is not the time.'

In Rin's opinion, it wasn't difficult to gain Treyni's favor.

Even now, he had a certain chance to persuade her to become his dependent.

But the problem was that Treyni's monster level was still above Rin's current level.

Don't underestimate Treyni.

The Dryad big sister seemed not strong, but her magicules value was over 100,000.

Capturer cannot convert beings with magicules higher than Rin into dependents. This is also a major flaw of the Capturer.

"Treyni, are you willing to help us subdue the Goblin tribes in the forest?"

"I've always been entertained by you, and sometimes I want to do something in return."

Treyni thought highly of Rin. She believed Rin had hope of unifying the Great Jura Forest.

The Storm Dragon is the lord of the forest, but he is sealed beneath the labyrinth and rarely interferes in daily matters.

If a powerful monster could step forward and lead the monsters in the forest, Treyni wouldn't have to worry about external forces infringing upon this land.

"Then you've truly helped us a great deal."

Shuna asked, "Treyni-san, do you know how many Goblins are currently living in the forest?"

"I remember Goblins should be monsters that reproduce very quickly," Shion said, "When I was little, there seemed to have been a Goblin disaster, with over 5 million Goblins rampaging through the forest."

"How many?!"

This was the first time Rin had heard this number, and he could only say, as expected of Goblins.

But a problem arose.

Rin didn't remember Rimuru having so many Goblins under his command.

In the original work, Rimuru seemed to have only subdued one Goblin village, with a total of only sixty or seventy Goblins.

Even counting the Goblins who joined later, the total number wouldn't exceed 2,000.

But according to Shion, the number of Goblins was so vast that they could almost establish a country.

"That's right, there was indeed such a thing."

Treyni, who was listening, recalled, "At that time, Goblins were rampant, and their figures could be seen everywhere in the forest."

"They expanded recklessly, eventually attracting a massive subjugation by human adventurers."

"It was because of that incident that the number of Goblins sharply decreased, and a large portion of them fled to the eastern part of the forest."

"Is the east safer?"

Rin thought the Goblins in the forest had migrated, which was why Rimuru only had so few Goblins under his command.

"No."

Treyni shook her head. "The Goblins who went to the east almost all died out."

"Uh..."

Soon, Rin learned the reason from Shuna.

The Great Jura Forest, in terms of ownership, was considered the territory of the Storm Dragon, Veldora, and the Demon Lord's Domain to the east, the Western Nations, and the Northern Empire all tacitly acknowledged this.

There were a large number of magical beasts and monsters in the forest, and many countries would hunt monsters living on the forest's edge.

During the Goblin rampant period, the Northern Empire and the Western Nations acted together to drive them back into the forest.

They thought that as long as they stayed away from humans, they would be safe.

However, the three Demon Lords in the east similarly looked down on this group of weak Goblins and carried out a massive purge against them.

"By now, only the Goblins living in the central area of the forest remain, estimated to be no more than 30,000."

Normally, the Goblins in the Great Jura Forest shouldn't be as few as they were in the original work.

Otherwise, wouldn't human adventurers not receive any quests to subjugate Goblins?

But the situation at that time was quite special.

The Storm Dragon's aura disappeared, and the monsters in the forest became unrestricted, beginning to devour each other.

It's not surprising that the number of weak monsters like Goblins plummeted from tens of thousands to around 2,000.

"Will Goblins not go extinct?"

"They won't."

Treyni said, "Monsters are very difficult to truly exterminate."

Monster factors will not disappear because of the extinction of a certain race.

Even if all the Goblins in the world were killed, new Goblins could still be born in the future.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 64: Monster Factors

"Furthermore, the Voice of the World will also maintain balance," Treyni said. "When they are truly on the brink of survival, Goblins all over the world will receive blessings."

This blessing is not limited to one place. Instead, Goblins worldwide will rise simultaneously.

"Weak monsters will greatly increase in number during the magicules tide."

"Powerful monsters will give birth to kings rarely seen in a hundred years."

Treyni picked up the last potato chip, put it in her mouth, and showed an incredibly happy smile.

"Perhaps this is the world's benevolence."

The Dryad girl drank tea and sighed. "Whenever a race falls into a trough, it will usher in the hope of rising."

"Speaking of which, Goblins seem very suitable for breeding!"

When the number of Goblins increased, Rin could perform a complete domination at once, and the magicules brought by millions of Goblins was something he couldn't even imagine. He would simply get rich.

However, Treyni seemed to see through Rin's thoughts and poured cold water on him. "The total amount of souls is limited."

As a Dryad, many things in the forest could not escape Treyni's eyes.

Rin rose too quickly.

Treyni had already figured out the means by which he achieved this.

It's just that—

Treyni didn't dislike Rin. Her responsibility was to protect the forest's ecosystem, and having a like-minded ally could greatly enhance the cohesion of the Great Jura Forest.

"Is the total amount of soul related to race?"

"Yes, it is."

Treyni said, "All monsters have an invisible racial existence value."

Racial potential comes from the soul. Rin's Leader, in essence, also shares the soul energy of his followers, allowing him to quickly grow stronger.

However, the Goblin race has a certain upper limit to its existence value.

With a fixed upper limit, the more Goblins there are, the lower the quality of each individual Goblin will be.

Therefore, it was only when there were only a few thousand Goblins left in the forest, like Rimuru's situation, that subduing them allowed them all to evolve into Hobgoblins at once.

Millions, even tens of millions of fortune, were condensed onto a few thousand Goblins.

The individual quality of almost every one of them was one in a thousand, or even one in ten thousand.

"The more numerous a certain race is, the lower the potential of its individuals will be."

"Your Ogre Clan's population is around 300, which is actually a very good number," Treyni said. "If the number continues to grow, the Ogre Clan will no longer possess the power of the forest's strongest monster race."

Upon hearing the secret Treyni revealed, Shuna and Shion gasped.

"According to you, does this mean the upper limit of each race is already predetermined?"

"Yes, and no."

Treyni paused for a moment and gave Rin a look.

The latter understood immediately and promptly had more potato chips brought over.

This made Treyni very satisfied, thinking to herself that Rin was a good Lord who understood people's hearts.

Her early investment this time had indeed not been in vain.

"Racial existence value can reach up to A-Rank."

Treyni picked up a potato chip and bit it with a crunch. "Beyond that, it can only be an individual."

Once an individual, he will not be limited by his race. Instead, his race will be proud of him.

"When a certain monster race has given birth to a Demon Lord, the existence value of its race will be elevated."

"And for weak monsters like Goblins, there has never been an instance of a Demon Lord emerging."

This means that it is very difficult for Goblins to evolve into a Demon Lord.

They have no reference points, so they can only rely on themselves.

"This is why Goblins are so weak."

If the Goblin race develops well, their numbers will inevitably be very large, which will then lower the potential of individuals.

In such a situation, for a Goblin to become a King, he would first have to eliminate enough of his own kind.

Numbers and individual strength.

This fully demonstrates the advantage of rare races.

"So, naming is actually a promotion from a superior to a weaker being?"

"Exactly."

Treyni nodded and said, "There is no path, but if a strong person from above is willing to pull you up, then things become very simple."

Strong individuals do not need to follow rules.

Because they themselves are the rules.

In the original work, Rimuru transformed the remaining few thousand Goblins into Hobgoblins all at once, causing a leap in their racial existence value.

The Hobgoblins from the Goblin village were separated from other Goblins in the Cardinal World.

The two no longer shared the same racial existence value.

"How many Goblins are there in the western part of the forest, near us?"

Rin couldn't possibly cross half the forest to the south and north to find scattered Goblin villages.

Following the principle of proximity, Rin intended to first take control of the Goblins in this western area.

"Roughly 8,000, I suppose."

"That's quite a lot."

Rin felt that this number was very good.

He disliked weak Goblins, but Hobgoblins, much like the green-skinned Orcs from Warcraft, were more acceptable.

"Treyni, could you lead us to the Goblin camp?"

Shuna, at some point, brought another large bag of potato chips as a thank you gift for Treyni's help.

"Of course."

As the saying goes, one who eats from another's hand is beholden to them. Treyni was completely reined in by Shuna.

The number of people in this expedition was not large. Treyni served as the guide, and Rin also dispatched several Ogres who had received his name.

Leading them was a Miko Hime named Sakurako.

Sakurako had a gentle personality and had learned many ways of dealing with people from Shuna. She was accompanied by a Shadow Squad member and two members of the Red Ogre Clan skilled in close combat.

Four Ogre-kind individuals with the combat power of A-Rank upper-tier Demons.

Such combat power, before Rin arrived, would have been enough not only to recruit Goblins but also to conquer the entire western forest.

Also departing were Benimaru and Hakurou's teams.

Their destination was the mountain range where the Tengu Clan resided, to convey Rin's friendly message there.

If possible, Rin wanted to bring the entire Tengu Clan under his command to supplement the lack of aerial forces.

Thus, about two days passed.

"Rin-sama."

That night, Souei suddenly contacted Rin.

"Have you arrived, Souei?"

Rin asked, "How are things there?"

"Things are bad."

Souei had been sent by Rin to investigate the situation of the Orc Clan.

He remembered that in the original plot, the Orc Clan, unable to obtain enough food, had their Leader, who would later become the Orc Lord, forced to go out in search of hope.

There was one point: the Orc Clan Leader possessed the Unique Skill 'Starved' even before Gelmud named him.

Starved was like a curse, causing the normally gentle Orc Clan's appetite to surge, leading them to devour their stored food and even resort to cannibalism.

(To be continued.)