Chapter 96: At death’s door

"No!!!"

The young goblin girl burst into tears.

"Shaman! You have to save my father! Please, you can’t let him die!"

"Karrrgh! I’m trying my best here!" the elderly goblin snapped.

He wasn’t angry at the girl, of course. He was just as desperate as she was, and he was running out of options.

The shaman pressed one hand against the chieftain’s chest and continued channeling his healing magic. Green light spread from his palm, washing over the enormous goblin’s battered body.

But the longer he maintained the spell, the more exhausted he became.

His breathing grew ragged. His shoulders trembled, and sweat ran down his wrinkled face as he struggled to keep the magic flowing.

"But... my power..." he gasped. "It’s simply not enough to save him..."

The green light flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then it went out.

The shaman’s hand slipped from the chieftain’s chest. He staggered backward before dropping onto his rear, breathing heavily as he tried to recover.

"Shaman..."

The young goblin girl stared at him, her face pale.

The old goblin lowered his head. For a moment, he just sat there, his trembling hands resting uselessly on his knees.

"I’m sorry..." he muttered. "I’ve done everything I can..."

Fuck...

I cursed inwardly.

If only I could make this guy one of my citizens right now!

If I could recruit the chieftain into my territory, I might be able to use my system to evolve him, just as I’d done with Gopuro. That could potentially increase his HP and give his body a better chance of surviving his injuries.

And if that wasn’t enough, I could use my blessings to help him recover, too!

There were so many things I could try if he were one of my citizens.

But, unfortunately...

I couldn’t grant citizenship to someone outside my territory.

Urgh... this is so frustrating!

Seriously, is there really nothing I can do to save this guy?!

I immediately turned my attention toward the system.

"Hey! System! I need your help here!"

"Is there any way I can grant this chieftain citizenship right now?"

"Come on! Please! Can’t you make an exception just this once?!"

...

Silence.

As usual, the system remained completely unresponsive.

Fuck!

I was starting to get seriously annoyed.

Not that getting angry would accomplish anything. I could only watch as the chieftain’s daughter continued clinging to her father, tears falling from her face.

Then, just as I was beginning to run out of ideas, a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"What about that spell, Shaman?!"

Everyone turned toward the speaker, a young goblin standing among the surviving members of the Bright Red Nose Tribe.

"What about your Sacred Blood Transfusion?!"

The girl’s tear-filled eyes widened.

"Right!"

She hurriedly turned toward the shaman and grabbed his arm.

"There’s still the Sacred Blood Transfusion! You can use that spell, can’t you?!"

The elderly goblin flinched as she shook his arm.

"Please!" she begged. "You can save my father with it, right? You have to try!"

The shaman hesitated.

"Well... I certainly can activate it..."

"Then do it!" the girl exclaimed, a flicker of hope returning to her face.

"Yes! Please use it!" another goblin chimed in.

"Save our chieftain!"

"Whatever you need, just tell us!"

But instead of looking relieved, the shaman seemed even more troubled.

"But..."

He glanced at the goblins gathered around him.

"The cost of that spell..."

His voice trailed off.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then one of the goblins stepped forward.

"Shaman, we don’t care!"

Another quickly followed.

"You just need our blood, right? Then take it!"

"That’s right! If our blood can save the chieftain, we’re willing to give it!"

One after another, the surviving goblins began speaking up.

Some were wounded. Others looked utterly exhausted after everything they’d endured. Yet they were still willing to offer what little strength they had left.

Their chieftain had risked his life to protect them. Now that his life was hanging by a thread, they wanted to do whatever they could to save him.

Hmm...

I watched the exchange with growing interest.

Sacred Blood Transfusion, huh?

Judging by the name and their reactions, it sounded like some kind of spell that transferred health or vitality from one person to another.

If so, it might actually work.

After all, the chieftain wasn’t necessarily beyond saving. His biggest problem was that he’d lost too much blood, and the shaman’s healing magic couldn’t compensate for it.

However, there was one thing I couldn’t quite figure out.

Even though everyone seemed willing to help, the shaman was still reluctant to use the spell.

What’s the problem?

Is there some kind of hidden cost?

I decided to find out.

After issuing a quick instruction, I had Gopuro step forward to relay my question.

"Shaman."

Gopuro approached the elderly goblin, his expression more serious than usual.

"Can you tell us a little more about this Sacred Blood Transfusion spell? What exactly does it require? Perhaps we can help."

The shaman looked up at him.

For a moment, he seemed uncertain whether he should explain.

Then his gaze shifted toward the other members of the Castle Tribe.

Gopuran nodded firmly.

Gopugiga crossed his massive arms and gave an encouraging grunt.

Gopuflammy rested her hammer against her shoulder, while Gopushadow and Gopuberry watched the elderly goblin with equally serious expressions.

They were all willing to help.

After a brief silence, the shaman finally let out a heavy sigh.

"Very well. I’ll explain." He slowly pushed himself upright, though his exhausted body still trembled from the effort.

****

Turns out, my suspicions were correct...

[Sacred Blood Transfusion] was basically a spell that transferred HP from one person to another.

The process itself was fairly straightforward. The shaman would draw a magic formation around the injured target, then have the surrounding goblins participate in the ritual. Once the spell was activated, their HP would be drained and transferred to the person they were trying to save.

Simple enough, right?

Well, there was one pretty nasty catch.

Once activated, the spell couldn’t be stopped.

The transfer would continue until the target’s HP reached a certain threshold, which was apparently 50% of their maximum HP.