Unexpected Windfall

His original plan had been to rely on [Mora's Blessing] and tough out the loss from having his bloodline extracted.

Even if it left him frail, that was still within acceptable limits.

After all, as long as he had this orb of light, he could find a way to build himself back up.

But now, it seemed there was an even better solution.

Why not?

An unexpected windfall.

From outside the cave came the sound of the overseer returning, cursing under his breath.

He couldn't stay here any longer.

The overseer's curses and footsteps outside grew closer.

He suppressed the excitement welling up inside him at having gained a new trait.

He had accomplished what he came here to do tonight. There was no point picking a fight with an overseer; it would only cause unnecessary trouble.

Instead of confronting him, He Xi retreated into the deep shadows of a side passage.

Soon, the Strongman walked past along the main tunnel.

He had no idea that, just a few steps away in the darkness, a pair of eyes was silently watching him.

Only after confirming the man was gone did He Xi quietly leave the mine with Bruce. The place had become a graveyard for goblins.

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

Unlike the still-active Blackstone Mine, this place had long since been hollowed out, leaving a vast network of cavities inside the mountain, as tangled as a spiderweb.

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

Deep inside the mine, William stared fixedly at the roughly made hole in the rock wall. His face, with its omega-shaped chin, twisted slightly with anger.

"Young Master."

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

William took it and sprayed several generous bursts—"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"—on his fine clothes, collar, and cuffs.

The strong fragrance drowned out the stench around him. Only then did he let out a long breath, his taut nerves easing a little.

"Have you found out what happened?" he asked coldly, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Yes, Young Master William." The servant lowered his head even further. "Judging by the traces left behind and the scene, one of the test subjects we catalyzed must have become a Purple-skinned Goblin."

"Purple-skinned?" William froze, a rare look of shock flashing in his eyes. "You mean... a Goblin Shaman? How is that possible? There are no ingredients in the formula that could produce a spellcaster. How could a Shaman just appear out of nowhere?"

"We're not sure yet, Young Master. We suspect several materials reacted in a way we couldn't have predicted." Fear edged the servant's voice.

William frowned. "Then how did they escape? Didn't I tell you to keep all the goblins locked up separately?"

"It... it was the Giant Goblin, Young Master." The servant hastily explained. "It seems to have been affected somehow by the Goblin Shaman and went into a frenzy. Our men didn't have time to use a tranquilizer before it... before it smashed straight through the rock wall at the back of the mine."

The servant paused, then gathered his courage. "Young Master William, given this mishap... shouldn't we... put the experiment on hold?"

William stared at him for a moment, then gave a contemptuous snort.

He clearly didn't take the escape of a few goblins seriously, nor did he think it would affect delivery of the order to his "client."

After all, there were still more than twenty goblin laborers in Blackstone Mine.

Those green-skinned little runts could breed a litter every month or two. Even if many had escaped, it would only cost a little more to buy materials.

He quickly weighed his options, but let a smile cross his lips as he spoke. "Put it on hold? Of course. You can make up the shortfall in the order yourself. How does that sound?"

"No! No, Young Master! That's not what I meant!" The servant was so terrified his legs gave way, and he nearly fell to his knees. "I mean the risks are too great right now! First, the group of escaped goblins attacked the logging camp at Plint, and the guards have already been alerted. If the Viscount decides to investigate..."

"What do I care if those bumpkins at Plint die?" William cut him off impatiently, as if he'd just heard a joke.

"Y-yes..." The servant was drenched in cold sweat, his voice dropping even lower. "But there's a second point, and it's the most serious one! A week ago, all the goblins at Blackstone Mine... died! Someone wiped them out completely. Not a single one was left!"

"What did you say?!"

William's expression changed abruptly. He spun around and seized the servant by the collar. "The goblins at Blackstone Mine are gone?! Every last one?! What about that damn shipment?!"

The servant trembled all over. "Th-that's... that's why I said it's too late, Young Master. We... we can't deliver the goods."

"Who?!"

William shoved the servant away and kicked him into a wooden crate nearby.

"Who did it?! Tell me!"

"The... the overseer on duty reported that a canine monster, fast as a shadow, distracted him. It took no more than fifteen minutes. When he went back... there were only corpses left in the mine. He... he suspects it was the work of a highly skilled beast tamer, or even someone with a Beast King-type class."

"That's just the nonsense of a useless overseer!" William panted, his chest heaving. "Would a real professional care if he caught the attention of that worthless man? Ridiculous! Enough..."

He forcibly suppressed his barely contained rage and thought rapidly.

The risk of their operation being exposed warred with the consequences of breaching the order. In the end, he said coldly, "Stop all research here immediately and erase every trace. We'll see what to do once the heat dies down. Also, investigate this! I want to know who's daring to cut off my source of income here in Oak Town!"

"Yes, Young Master."

After leaving the gloomy mine, William climbed into the carriage back to the castle. The jolting wheels sent his thoughts drifting back to a year earlier.

Back then, a group of goblins had roamed into the outskirts of Oak Town and attacked several lumberjacks' camps.

He had gone with his father, Viscount Rick, to exterminate them. When only a little over thirty goblins remained, a bold, brilliant idea had come to him.

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

Using these green-skinned little runts would not only greatly reduce the cost of paying miners' wages, but also spur the lazy, greedy human miners to work harder.

Viscount Rick had admired his son's "business acumen" and accepted what seemed like a brilliant idea.

However, as a precaution, the Viscount personally ordered all the female goblins killed, preventing them from breeding, and strictly forbade the relatives of any miners from going near the mine.

But the Viscount had no idea that his son was far more reckless than he imagined.