Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Satou stood near the cave entrance, his mind racing through possibilities. The humans wouldn’t stop hunting them. The forest was filled with predators. They had limited supplies, wounded to care for, and—

DING!

A translucent blue screen materialized before his eyes, accompanied by a crisp, feminine voice that seemed to echo directly in his mind.

[System Update: Devouring Skill has been upgraded.]

[New Function Unlocked: Spatial Consumption]

[Effect: The user no longer needs to manually consume flesh with their mouth. Upon activation, a spatial void will materialize to absorb target material instantly. All benefits of consumption will be retained.]

Satou’s eyes widened. He read the notification three times to make sure he understood correctly.

"Wait... you mean I don’t have to eat things raw anymore?" he muttered under his breath.

[Correct. The spatial void will handle all consumption. The user will experience no taste, texture, or visual discomfort associated with the previous method.]

A wave of relief crashed over Satou so powerful he nearly laughed out loud. His Iron Stomach skill meant he could digest anything without getting sick, but that didn’t mean the experience wasn’t absolutely revolting. The taste of raw human flesh. The texture of goblin meat. The sight of blood dripping down his chin.

He’d forced himself to endure it because survival demanded it. But now...

"Finally," Satou whispered, a genuine smile crossing his face. "Thank God. Or whoever’s listening."

DING!

[Additional Notification: Level Up Bonus Detected]

[Current Level: 15]

[New Skill Unlocked: Magicule Bestowal]

"Level fifteen already?" Satou blinked. Between the goblin fights in the lower tunnels, the human soldiers, the mages, and those giant rats, he’d gained more combat experience than he’d realized. "And what’s this new skill?"

He focused on the skill name, and another screen expanded before him.

[Skill: Magicule Bestowal]

Rank: Unique

Type: Support / Evolution Trigger

Description: The user may bestow a True Name upon a monster or creature, triggering an evolutionary process fueled by the user’s own mana. The named creature will undergo physical and magical enhancement, often evolving into a higher-tier species. The strength of the evolution depends on the user’s mana capacity and the potential of the creature being named.

Cost: 3 Mana Points per naming

Warning: Excessive naming without sufficient mana may result in mana exhaustion, unconsciousness, or death.

Current Mana Capacity: 15/15

Available Namings: 5

Satou stared at the screen, his heart pounding.

"This is... insane," he breathed. His hands trembled slightly as he re-read the description. "I can make them evolve just by giving them names? That’s... that’s absurdly overpowered."

His mind immediately started working through the implications. The goblins were weak individually—easy prey for most forest creatures. But if he could evolve even a handful of them into stronger forms...

Our survival chances would skyrocket.

He quickly pulled up his status screen to confirm his stats.

[Status Window]

Name: Satou

Race: Goblin (Infant → Juvenile)

Level: 15

Health: 280/280

Stamina: 190/190

Mana: 15/15

Strength: 28

Agility: 35

Intelligence: 42

Vitality: 31

Skills:

Goblin Translation (Active)

Devouring (SSS-Rank) → Spatial Consumption (Upgraded)

Goblin’s Iron Stomach (Passive)

Demon Wolf Enhanced Senses (Passive)

Poison Fang (Lv. 3)

Stone Spit (Lv. 4)

Regeneration (Passive)

Minor Mana Sense (Passive)

Flame Spark (Active)

Basic Swordsmanship (Passive)

Shield Deflection (Passive)

Enhanced Bite (Passive)

Disease Resistance (Minor, Passive)

Tremor Sense (Weak, Passive)

Burrowing (Active)

Earth Manipulation (Basic, Active)

Magicule Bestowal (Unique, Active)

Satou’s eyes lingered on his mana stat. Fifteen points total. Three points per naming. That meant he could name five individuals before completely draining himself.

Five evolutions. I need to choose carefully.

His gaze shifted toward the interior of the cave where the surviving goblins huddled together. Twenty-five total. He couldn’t name them all—not yet. But he could name the most important ones. The ones who would give them the best chance of survival.

Decision made, Satou turned and walked deeper into the cave.

"Everyone! Listen up!" Satou’s voice cut through the quiet murmurs filling the cave.

The goblins turned toward him—some curious, others exhausted, a few openly hostile. Gob stood from where he’d been tending to a wounded warrior, his scarred face skeptical.

"What now, whelp?" Gob asked. "We just got settled."

"I know," Satou said, moving to the center of the chamber where everyone could see him. "But I’ve discovered something that could help us survive. Something that could make us stronger."

That got their attention. Even the wounded sat up slightly, their yellow eyes focusing on him.

"I have a skill," Satou continued. "One that allows me to give you True Names. And when I do, you’ll evolve. Become stronger. Faster. More capable of defending yourselves and each other."

Silence fell over the cave.

Then one of the older goblin warriors—a lean scout missing half an ear—laughed harshly.

"Names?" the scout said mockingly. "You think names will save us? Names are just sounds. They don’t mean anything."

Several other goblins muttered in agreement.

"He’s lost his mind," another whispered.

"The stress of the battle broke him," a third added.

Gob crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "And you expect us to believe this... how exactly?"

Satou had anticipated the skepticism. These were goblins who’d survived through strength and cunning, not fairy tales about magic names. He needed to prove it.

But before he could respond, two small figures pushed through the crowd.

Jessica and Kelvin.

They walked right up to Satou, their small hands finding his, their yellow eyes looking up at him with absolute trust.

"I believe you, big brother," Jessica said firmly.

"Me too," Kelvin added. "You’ve never lied to us."

Satou’s chest tightened. He knelt down so he was eye-level with both of them.

"You two..." he started, then paused. "You’re sure? This will change you. I don’t know exactly how, but you won’t be the same after."

"Will it hurt?" Jessica asked, her voice small.

"I... I don’t know," Satou admitted honestly. "Maybe. But it will make you stronger. Strong enough to protect yourselves."

Jessica looked at Kelvin. Kelvin looked back at her. Some silent communication passed between the siblings—the kind only twins or very close siblings shared.

Then they both nodded.

"We trust you, big brother," they said in unison.

Satou smiled despite the weight of responsibility pressing down on him. He stood and addressed the other goblins.

"Watch," he said simply. "And then decide for yourselves."

He turned back to Jessica and Kelvin, placing a hand on each of their heads. Their hair was matted and dirty, their small bodies thin from malnutrition, but their eyes were bright with hope.

"Alright," Satou said softly. "Let’s do this."

He closed his eyes and focused inward, feeling for the skill. It responded immediately—a warm, pulsing sensation in his chest that felt almost alive.

[Activating: Magicule Bestowal]

[Select target creatures for naming.]

Satou opened his eyes and looked at Jessica first.

"Your name," he said, his voice carrying a weight it hadn’t possessed before—as if the words themselves were being carved into reality, "will remain Jessica. A name given with my hope that you’ll grow strong and brave."

The moment the name left his lips, something shifted.

Mana—invisible to the other goblins but crystal clear to Satou’s senses—began flowing out of his body. It wasn’t painful, but it was intense. Like blood being drawn, or breath being pulled from his lungs. Three full points of mana streamed out of him in glowing threads of blue-white energy.

The threads wrapped around Jessica’s small form, sinking into her skin, her bones, her very essence.

Jessica gasped, her eyes going wide. "Big brother, I feel... strange..."

"Don’t fight it," Satou said, keeping his hand steady on her head despite the drain. "Let it happen."

The mana threads intensified, spinning faster, forming a cocoon of light around Jessica’s body. Inside the cocoon, her silhouette began to change—growing taller, broader, more defined.

The light grew brighter and brighter until everyone in the cave had to shield their eyes.