Chapter 167 166: Murder Puppy Tries A Few Things

Hefting the heavy steel dagger in my hands, I stared at the cluster of chittering Lava Goblins with narrowed eyes.

How should I go about this..?

At least half needed to die in front of me, as I needed to test the lethality of not only my new fighting style but also the dagger.

Though the main reason was so I could see and hear these disgusting monsters final moments up close and personal, to alleviate the twisted desires inside of me.

However, I was also rather curious on how my ice magic, especially now that I had a better understanding of it, would affect these Goblins.

Pair that understanding with a better control over my mana in general, and I had an itching curiosity on how the ice would snuff the light in the Goblins beady eyes.

Nodding to myself, I activated a basic Wind Cloak to increase my speed before rushing forwards, enjoying the way the Goblins shrieked due to my speed.

Their encampments were rather impressive for such a barren plains; they used chunks of stones as walls, various broken weapons and armor from adventurers to fortify those walls, as well as some broken spears and cloth to create tents.

The short, thin, and red skinned Goblins gathered up their own weapons and moved out of the encampment, wanting to meet me on the open terrain of the plains.

This tribe consisted of over a dozen and a half Goblins, and with a swift glance towards the other two encampments I noticed that they were using this tribe as a way to gauge my strenght.

Chuckling, I raised my dagger and sped up, making the Goblins shriek in fear as I appeared before them, catching them unprepared.

The first to fall to my blade didn't even have a chance to squeal as I sunk the dagger deep into its skull, killing it instantly.

Nodding to myself, I marveled at how the increase in weight allowed such an easy and quick penetration of the Goblins skull; they may be weak, but to sink a blade to its hilt from the crown of the skull all the way into the monsters throat was rather impressive.

Pulling the blade from the unlucky Goblins skull, my heart raced as I saw the arc of that beautiful scarlet liquid, which was joined by small shards of white bone and chunks of pink brain matter.

The other Goblins fell silent as they watched their companion die that quickly, while I admired how its blood splattered to the cavern flood, creating a pool that shone in the flickering light of lava and glimmering Fire Crystals on the roof.

Listening to the body thunk to the ground, I grinned as I stared over the remaining Goblins, my heart racing as I received that first rush of adrenaline.

Gazing at the corpse of their fallen companion, the other Goblins remained silent for another moment before letting out shrieks, readying their swords, axes, and spears before charging towards me, their beady eyes shining with hatred, which outweighed their fear.

For now, anyways.

Flicking the blood off the heavy steel dagger, I cast a quick glance onto the wondrous arc of blood it created before smirking at the charging tribe.

Readying my dagger, I decided to try at least this one spell; tracing the runes into the air, my grin widened as the long sequence of runes flared, signifying the completion of my spell.

Although it was a long, complicated sequence, this spell required little of my mana, and what it used...

Feeling the air around me grow colder, I grinned as the Goblins continued their charge, unaware of just how brutal their deaths will become.

Small patches of frost appeared on the ground around me, while the temperature continued to plummet around me.

Frost started to coat my dagger, and when the air become almost frozen around us, the Goblins stopped their charge, the fear returning to their eyes at this unexpected, and unprecedented, change.

Due to my skill [Chione's Blessing (Novice)], I was getting my mana back faster than before, and when [Mana Control (Expert)] was taken into account on top of that...

Well, that meant that the mana used on the spell was lesser than before, and I regained some of what is used due to the area around me being classified as a 'Colder Area'...

And with the increase in frost forming around me...

Before the Goblins could attempt to either rally or retreat, I traced another sequence of runes, using those patches of frost as a base for my spells.

Spikes rose from them, skewering the poor Lava Goblins that stood near any frost, making them shriek in agony as they were first impaled, and then frozen from the inside out.

Those impaled by the spikes had their skin slowly turn blue as my skill [Frost of Despoina (Novice)] took effect, amplifying the freezing effect of my ice magic.

As for the few that weren't currently turning into popsicles...

Putting a little more mana into my Wind Cloak, I launched myself towards them, my dagger rising and falling as I stabbed, slashed, and punched the Goblins, enjoying the spraying of blood as it splattered against my skin, the ground, and the other Goblins.

However, even as I slit ones throat, tore open another's stomach, and stabbed the third in the eye, I found myself growing curious about something.

Just how potent was my healing magic?

Could it replace the blood the Goblins had lost?

Or maybe speed up the recovery and creation of their blood...

What about regrowing a finger? A limb?

Was that possible, or was I only able to clot and cover a severe wound like that in a fresh layer of flesh?

With that thought on my mind, I stared at the remaining Goblin, who was currently shivering as it stared at the carnage around us.

The frozen ground was slick with fresh blood, some of which was freezing over as well.

A dozen corpses littered the ground, various wounds on their bodies, each one placed on a vital artery to inflict both maximum damage and pain.

There were also a few Goblins still standing, however, they were undoubtedly dead, with a long, jagged spike sticking out from their torsos.

Approaching the remaining Goblin, I glanced over my shoulder and said "You can all go clear the other two camps out; I have something I want to try with this one..."

Jahi and the others gave me dry looks as they took in the area around me, before Jahi just sighed and walked away, spinning her sword in her hand.

She was using the steel blade currently, and her custom silver and gold blade was on her back, just in case we encountered something serious.

Anput and Leone gave me a quick look before following the Demoness, curiosity in their eyes as they walked away as well.

The Goblin was trembling, tears streaming from its eyes as I approached it.

Giving it a warm smile, I giggled as I crouched in front of it, whispering "Hey little guy~! I need your help with something, so be good, alright~?"

It tried to crawl away from me, its taloned hands clacking against the frozen ground in desperation.

However, I just tutted my tongue, binding its limbs with ice shackles.

"Come on now little guy~ I asked nicely, didn't I~?"

Bringing the blood soaked blade up, I admired the way the thick red liquid dripped off the pale steel, my eyes going back to the Goblins.

Fear permeated its gaze, which sent a jolt of pleasure up my spine.

Oh how I loved that look~!

Crouching before it again, I gently placed the dagger on its arm, before dragging the blade across its red flesh.

Cutting a shallow line across its arm, I giggled at how it flinched as the cold blade pressed into its flesh.

Removing the blade, I pressed my hand against the wound, my palm shimmered a deep blue as the runes for a healing spell appeared.

Tracing my finger across the thin cut, I watched as it closed up, leaving only the blood from the wound as evidence of what had happened.

Pursing my lips, I placed my dagger back on the Goblins arm and cut a deeper wound, making the Goblin shriek in agony.

"Come on now, it's not that bad~! Just a tiny scratch... stop being such a baby!"

Chuckling at how it shivered from my warm voice, I healed that wound as well, before shifting my attention to something else.

I knew that my healing could close such trivial cuts and scrapes, but I was curious...

Stabbing the dagger into the ground beside me, I grabbed one of the Goblins fingers, which made its eyes go wide.

"Sorry in advance~ This isn't just a tiny scratch anymore~!"

Giggling, I snapped the bone in two, causing the Lava Goblin to let out a scream of pain, its body convulsing as it went through that searing sensation of breaking a bone.

Staring at its now crooked finger, I pursed my lips as I stared at it, admiring how the finger swelled slightly in the next few moments.

Grinning, I traced the healing spell runes again and healed the broken bone, listening to the sound of it resetting in just a few seconds, making the Goblin shriek again.

However, even as painful as it sounded, the finger was back to functioning; I even moved the appendage a few times to guarantee that.

"Oh, I'm going to have SO much fun with you~!"

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Alright, no longer incredibly sick like yesterday, but I just want to rest a little, so just one chapter again today.

However, I will try to at least update one or two of my other books, so look forward to that!

Also, how do you all like this darker version of Kat? Just a little curious if people like or dislike her.

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