Chapter 62: The Pile of Brains

"Because they hate our guts."

I frowned.

"They hate your guts?" I repeated. "What did you guys do to them?"

"They don’t hate us, per se. They just hate that we keep avoiding confrontations with the humans."

I stared at her for a moment before shrugging. "They sound like my people."

Talia frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, they have a valid point. We should be fighting back instead of running away all the time."

"Didn’t you see what they did to us?" she asked immediately. "They destroyed our homes and killed so many of our people. Do you really think we can afford to go against them, even if we wanted to?"

She had a point.

The humans were simply too strong for the goblins to handle, at least under their current circumstances.

From what I’d seen, even the weaker human fighters possessed enough strength and equipment to slaughter goblins who had spent their entire lives trying to survive in the wild.

Their numbers, weapons, and abilities gave them a considerable advantage, and the goblins had no reliable way to counter them.

"If it weren’t for you, there’s no doubt we’d all be dead by now," Talia continued. "We can’t win against them without our magic. That’s the only reason our ancestors were able to stand against humans in the first place. Now that the seals have been placed on our power, we’re little more than prey."

"Then we get the magic back," I replied.

Talia scoffed. "Easier said than done."

"What’s so difficult about it?"

"Many goblins have tried to break the seals, but none of them have even gotten close to the first one before being wiped out. The seals aren’t just some barriers that we can break by hitting them hard enough. There’s something protecting them, and anyone who approaches without being prepared risks losing their life."

That was certainly an unpleasant detail.

I had been hoping that recovering the goblins’ magic would be a relatively straightforward process, but apparently, it wasn’t.

Still, the fact that so many goblins had failed didn’t necessarily mean the seals were impossible to break.

It might simply mean that none of those who had tried possessed the strength or abilities necessary to succeed.

If anything, hearing that made me more interested in challenging them.

"That makes me want to try even more," I said.

Talia stared at me as though I had just announced that I intended to throw myself off a cliff for fun.

She opened her mouth, probably intending to argue, but eventually closed it and shook her head.

"You’re impossible."

"I’ve heard that before."

She gave me one last disapproving look before returning to the belongings she had been gathering.

I took that as the end of our discussion.

There was little point in arguing about the seals when we had more immediate concerns, particularly finding somewhere safe for the survivors to settle.

Just as I was about to leave the chief’s quarters, Talia spoke again.

"I had the goblins gather the corpses of the humans who died during the battle," she said. "Since you seem to fancy brains so much, I figured eating them might do you some good."

I stopped and turned toward her.

"Wow." I gasped, covering my mouth with one hand. "That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

Talia shook her head, looking as though she regretted offering the suggestion already.

I couldn’t help smiling.

She had a point, though.

The abilities I gained from consuming human brains were useful, and I had no intention of wasting an opportunity to become stronger. If the corpses were available, I might as well take advantage of them.

Besides, the humans had come here intending to kill the goblins. It wasn’t as though I had any reason to feel guilty about consuming their remains.

I left the chief’s quarters and headed toward the place where the bodies had been gathered.

Several goblins had already begun preparing for our departure, collecting supplies and helping the injured.

The settlement was in a strange state of transition.

Some were busy packing whatever possessions they could carry, while others stood around in silence, seemingly unable to accept that they were about to abandon the only home they had known.

I pushed those thoughts aside and focused on what I had come to do.

The human corpses had been gathered in an open area away from the huts.

There were several of them, and although the goblins had moved them out of the main pathways, no one seemed particularly eager to approach them.

I could understand why.

They were reminders of the battle that had nearly destroyed the settlement, and their presence probably made it harder for the survivors to forget what had happened.

As I approached, I noticed someone following me.

I turned my head and found Gunther walking a short distance behind me.

The hulking goblin didn’t say anything.

He simply followed until we reached the corpses, then stopped and watched as I approached the nearest body.

His expression was difficult to read, although the sadness I had noticed earlier hadn’t entirely disappeared.

I decided to ignore him for the moment.

Gripping the Doom Axe, I crouched beside the first corpse.

I used the edge of the weapon to open the man’s skull, taking care not to damage the brain more than necessary.

The sight was unpleasant, but I had become accustomed to dealing with things that would have turned my stomach before my reincarnation.

I leaned forward and began consuming the brain.

Drake, who had been perched on my shoulder, let out a distressed chitter.

He watched me for a few seconds before apparently deciding that he had seen enough.

With a quick flutter of his wings, he flew away, leaving me to my meal.

I shook my head.

"Coward."

A notification appeared before my eyes.

[ Evolution Devourer Activated ]

[ You have received +2 Stat Points ]

I paused, looking at the notification.

No new skill appeared, and I hadn’t received any Legacy Points either.

Still, two stat points were better than nothing.

I moved to the next corpse and repeated the process.

[ Evolution Devourer Activated ]

[ You have received +1 Stat Point ]

I frowned slightly at the result.

The number of points I received seemed inconsistent, but I couldn’t determine the exact reason. Perhaps it depended on the individual, the abilities they possessed, or the amount of energy my body could extract from their brains.

I continued eating until Gunther’s voice interrupted me.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch?" I asked, glancing at him.

He grunted but didn’t move away.

For a few seconds, he appeared to be considering something. Then he tilted his head slightly and asked, "How does it taste?"

The question caught me off guard.

I turned toward him, and the...