Chapter 63: The Next Step

I turned toward him, and the moment he saw my face, his expression twisted with disgust.

Apparently, he had expected a different answer or perhaps hadn’t considered how unpleasant I must look while eating a dead man’s brain.

“Good, I guess,” I replied.

Gunther stared at me as though I had just confirmed his worst suspicions.

I shrugged and returned to the corpse in front of me. There was no reason to feel embarrassed about it.

Evolution Devourer was one of the reasons I had survived this long, and if consuming brains allowed me to acquire useful abilities and attributes, I would be foolish to stop simply because someone found it disgusting.

I had barely resumed eating when I noticed Gunther moving closer.

Why is he coming closer?

I couldn’t help becoming conscious of the enormous goblin standing beside me.

Gunther was considerably larger than I was, and there was something intimidating about having him watch me while I ate.

Considering his earlier hostility, I wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted.

He looked down at the corpse before turning his attention back to me.

“If I eat their brains, will I get stronger as well?”

I stopped chewing.

That was not a question I had expected him to ask.

“No… probably not,” I answered after swallowing. “I only eat them because of the abilities I possess. I don’t think eating brains would have the same effect on you.”

“Not because you’re an abomination?”

I stared at him.

“I’m a goblin, Gunther. Not an abomination.”

“Goblins don’t eat brains.”

That was a valid point.

As far as I knew, consuming the brains of their enemies wasn’t a normal goblin practice.

However, I wasn’t about to let that stop me from taking advantage of my unique ability.

“Well, I’m not exactly a normal goblin, am I?”

Gunther didn’t respond.

He simply continued watching me, his expression unreadable. I considered telling him to leave, but something about the way he stood there made me hesitate.

He wasn’t looking at the corpses with curiosity anymore.

His attention seemed distant, as though his mind was somewhere else entirely.

I remembered the question that had been bothering me since I arrived at the chief’s quarters.

“I haven’t seen Bruz anywhere,” I said. “Where is he?”

Gunther’s expression changed.

For a moment, he said nothing.

His jaw tightened, and his eyes dropped toward the ground.

I already had a bad feeling about his answer, but I waited for him to speak.

“Bruz is dead,” he finally said. “He died bravely.”

I lowered my head.

“Oh…”

I had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed was different.

Gunther turned away from me.

“It should have been me,” he muttered.

I looked up at him. “Why do you think that?”

“I’m his older brother. I should have protected him, but he died saving me.”

His hands curled into fists. The muscles in his arms tightened, and for a moment, I wondered whether he was about to strike something.

He didn’t, though.

He simply stood there with his head lowered, looking like a man who had lost the one person he believed he was supposed to protect.

“So you think you failed him,” I said.

Gunther didn’t answer.

“I don’t think Bruz would agree with you.”

He turned toward me sharply.

“How would you know that, you runt? You don’t know him.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again.

What the hell am I doing?

I couldn’t believe I was trying to comfort Gunther of all goblins.

We had never been particularly friendly, and he had given me plenty of reasons to dislike him.

Yet, seeing him blame himself for his brother’s death made it difficult to ignore him.

Perhaps Gunther was right to feel that he should have done more.

But there was a difference between wishing you had been able to save someone and deciding that their death was entirely your fault.

Bruz had made his own choices during the battle, and if he had died protecting his brother, then perhaps that was something Gunther should remember rather than use as another reason to punish himself.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell him that.

Not when he was glaring at me like I’d said something wrong.

Gunther clicked his teeth, turned around, and walked away without another word.

I watched him leave before letting out a quiet sigh.

Well, I tried.

I returned to the corpses and continued consuming their brains.

By the time I finished, I had gone through roughly seventeen human corpses.

The results were somewhat disappointing, though not entirely useless.

I had received a total of twelve stat points and one Legacy Point, but I hadn’t gained any new skills from the process.

I wondered whether the condition of the brains had affected the results.

The bodies had been lying around for some time, and although the goblins had gathered them relatively soon after the battle, they weren’t exactly fresh.

Perhaps the Evolution Devourer was less effective when consuming the remains of someone who had been dead for too long.

Alternatively, the ability might simply produce different results depending on the individual.

I had no way to confirm either theory.

For now, I was satisfied with what I had gained.

The stat points were particularly useful.

My physical attributes had already received a considerable boost from the Doom Axe and my newly awakened class, but my mental attributes could use some improvement.

Increasing them would strengthen my ability to handle mana and give me more room to develop my skills.

Since I had no immediate need to distribute the points elsewhere, I decided to invest all twelve in Mental.

A familiar status window appeared before my eyes.

[Status]

Name: Sylas Stone

Level: 14

Class: Storm Sovereign (Level 1)

HP: 650/660

MP: 475/475

Rage: 5%

[Stats]

Physical: 51

Mental: 22

Social: 10

Stat Points: 0

I examined the numbers for a moment.

My mana had recovered considerably, and my health had returned to full.

Whatever rest I had received while unconscious, combined with my body’s natural recovery, had done me some good.

My Rage had dropped to five percent, which was hardly surprising after the fight with Thors.

I dismissed the window and looked around.

The settlement was becoming busier as the goblins finished preparing to leave.

Those who could walk were carrying supplies, while the injured received help from their companions.

Nobody had much to pack.

Most of their possessions had either been destroyed during the attack or were too bulky to carry on a journey, so they took only what they considered necessary.

Soon, everyone had gathered.

Talia stood near the front of the group, holding Orgrun’s staff.

The sight of it in her hands made the loss feel more real.

She took one last look at the settlement before turning toward the path leading out of the village.

“Everyone, stay together,” she instructed. “Help those who can’t keep up, and don’t wander away from the group. We’ll stop to rest when we find a suitable place.”

The goblins began moving.

Many of them looked back at their homes as they left.

Some slowed down, staring at the huts and familiar pathways they had known for years.

Others lowered their heads and continued walking, their grief evident in the way they carried themselves.

I watched them in silence.

It wasn’t easy to abandon a home, especially one that had been passed down through generations.

However, staying would have been far more dangerous.

The humans already knew where the settlement was.

We couldn’t afford to wait around and hope that they had suddenly developed a conscience.

Leaving was the only sensible choice.

I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen when Thors woke up and realized we were gone.

He had been humiliated in front of humans and goblins, and I doubted someone like him would take the defeat lightly.

I tightened my grip on the Doom Axe and glanced toward the path ahead.

I hoped Thors would accept his defeat and leave us alone.

But deep down, I doubted he would.