Goats And Heroes

CH1 P2

I walked out and made my way through the thick grass to release the goats for the day. Slim, a big three-horned brute ready to be slaughtered, glared at me with its three eyes. Goats were f*******n by the church of the four gods to rank up. They were rumored to have demonic branches in their evolutionary path, so we slaughtered them before one could reach lvl100.

Slim lvl99

It was his time, and I had been putting it off. I was f*******n to kill him, not to keep me weak but to keep the goats from suffering. Even with the sharpest knife, I couldn’t kill one at such a high level. The goats would only feel pain as I slashed its throat repeatedly. Not like I ever tried; I didn’t want to kill them. I only reached my current level from killing bugs. Still, they no longer gave enough experience to level up, so back to the drawing board.

“Come on, Slim, it's your time.” The goat c****d its head to the side, letting its long ears flap about. Baah! It said in response and followed me. While the others grazed, Slime obediently followed behind me to a separate barn. He refused to go in, and I wasn’t strong enough to force him. I smiled and told him to stay. The goat c****d its head to the side and then nudged me back towards the field.

I looked over the goats and noticed one wasn’t accounted for. Then it hit me Phoebe was about due. I jogged across the field to the barn where Phoebe lay on the ground. Two newborn kids stumbled on the ground, and something amazing happened.

I saw a notification.

Would you like to make a familiar bond?

Y/N

The black baby goat on the ground looked sickly compared to its twin. She was a runt and so much smaller than her sibling. Father would tell me to take her to the execution barn. But this was my chance, and I could help her. If I could form a bond with her, then as she grows, I will improve as well. This could be my only chance to do something great.

She fought to stand but couldn’t make it. Phoebe tried to nudge her, but the newborn doe wasn’t strong enough. As I watched it struggle, I felt like an utter jerk for being happy. Seeing her so weak had made me feel overjoyed, and I had to question if I had done this on purpose. Had I held back my green energy subconsciously and hoped this would happen.

Having a familiar that I could use to tweak my nose at the curse was everything I wanted.

I was an i***t, a fool, and a buffoon. But, even if those words were all similes, I felt that only one description of my next action was insufficient. I eased the little goat on her hooves, and she lunged to drink. Suddenly the will to live became overpowering within her. Maybe I felt a kinship with the little doe when she started coughing and spluttered. Her health dipped as she stumbled back down. The runt tried to rise again but was having trouble.

Even if she was weak, I still wanted her. So I tapped yes on the bond.

Familiar Name?

The tiny doe reminded me of myself. And made me feel stupid for feeling bitter. But, a familiar wouldn’t change my weakness.

New Skill

Familiar Bond lvl1 – A bond shared between humans and animals that can last beyond a lifetime. Each familiar bond is unique, from dragons to ants, and can give the user unique perks. For now, your familiar bond is too weak to gain any special perks. +1 Point for every 10 familiar stats.

I racked my mind for a name until one came to me out of them either. I entered it in Kara, and a title appeared over Kara’s black-furred head.

Kara gained a title

Title: Familiar +10%Exp +10 to all stats.

In an instant, the little runt struggled to her hooves and pushed itself to drink, almost knocking its sibling aside. I brushed the mother while the two kids fed, filling her with more concentrated energy as I took the strands of power and wound them like strings.

For the first time, I had a chance, thanks to the little goat nursing with its twin.

Points 9

I had 9 points to spend on anything I wanted for the first time in forever. It was enough to bring me to tears, and the little goat would only get stronger if I had anything to do with it. When our familiar bond reached a certain level, we would both get bonuses.

The best part was it really pissed in Rot’s eye. If I ever met one of that god’s followers, I would probably send my sister after him because I’m still weak.

With just a little hope, everything changed. I couldn’t believe how good it felt to finally have a chance to make something of myself. Hay, the doe, needed hay and maybe one of my potions to help her heal from the birth. Of course, no one would bat an eye if I mixed one for one of our does.

Slim helped me. I stopped at that thought. The old goat knew I felt troubled and did what it could to help. That or it was telling me to check on one of the does. But, of course, it could have also been trying to mess with me. But, really, I had no way of knowing.

There was some dust flying in the distance. I blocked the sun out of my eyes and peered into the distance to see a fancy carriage. Another noble was coming to call on my sister and eat my food. I should feed them slim the old goat would be tough to chew on, and it would probably get a kick out of choking a noble.

I shook my head. A noble ride into a farm to call upon the farm’s daughter sits down to have dinner and chokes to death on a tough old goat. Trying to explain that to the lord count Macbeth of Noma wouldn’t go over well. I’m sure it would end with our farm burning down and father killing the knights.

The sun had barely risen, and the carriage wasn’t much closer after I changed out the hay for all the goats. I even put some out for Slim because he looked hungry. For Kara, I added a little extra power to her dame’s hay.

By the time I finished changing the hay, the pigs were squealing, and the chickens needed their feed. Even if they got most of what they needed from the fat green worms poking out of the ground. After living in a land bathed in my power, they were considered second rank mobs, but I couldn’t gain Exp from them. They were technically directly filled with my power.

I shook my head as a massive worm poked out of the ground, glowing green, opened a fang-filled mouth, and spat a stream of acid on the ground. My boot was more than large enough to stomp it into paste, but it must have looked like a terrible threat to the roosters. Several roosters banded together using old pot lids for shields and rusty kitchen knives like swords. Their feathers moved by some mystical force to grip the lid handles. While I gathered the corn, I watched them fight the worm until one of the roosters dealt a lethal blow. One of the roosters held its kitchen knife high, glowing green. The same power that constantly flowed out of me surrounded the blade. I could even feel a considerable amount of my energy flow into the weapon. The rooster slashed down with a mighty crow, unleashing a crescent s***h of green energy. The mighty s***h tore open the worm’s body spilling green blood on the ground. Then the roosters dog piled the worm and ripped it apart. A few even gained several levels from the fight.

Burgundy lvl90

Title: Protector

Rank: 1

A kid grows up on a farm dreaming of being strong all his life, and just as he finally gains something, was upstaged by a rooster. For some reason, those thoughts didn’t bring me down. I finally had a road forward, even if it was long. I opened my status to stare at the 9 points that were mine.

Points 11

I stared at the points that didn’t come from leveling up. So, I didn’t have to invest them into my skill tree. Half of me wanted to reinvest them into Familiar Bond, but I was tired of giving all my points to skills. I spent my life gaining levels using my few level-ups to boost my skills. This was my time.

But what to spend them on. I wanted to invest them all into strength. With more strength, I would be closer to my goal. But father would notice. I’ve been working on strength the old fashion way for years. What would I say to my father if I suddenly increased my STR by 50%? It was the pushups. I just believed in the pushups and gained 11 points in strength all in 1 day. That wasn’t going to work.

Father knew I couldn’t gain from anything I touched. The familiar bond was a massive loophole and not even a good one.

Percentages were where the real gains happened. I knew that for a fact. Violet had numerous skills that boosted some of her stats by high percentages. Until I gained something like that, catching up was just a pipe dream. Maybe what I really needed was to get lucky.

At least the luck stat didn’t have any obvious effects, unlike nearly every other stat. Intelligence and wisdom would be noticed. A change in my magical potential or regeneration would be obvious. If my power suddenly extended far beyond this farm, father would know. But what would he do about it?

“Hello, son; how has your morning been?” I turned my attention to a man who stepped out of legend. From his chiseled features, youthful, almost boyish appearance, and aura of absolute power, my father stood like the God-Emperor of legend over the very Kings of light themselves. I once saw him pluck a barn up from its foundation and throw it hundreds of feet over the forest. His luck changed fate itself; a rank 4 Oni once entered the fence only trip and skewer itself and inflict 5 stacks of bleed on itself before dying. He can run from our farm to the county's edge in minutes. He was the hero who rouge diabolists and even ani-forms feared Baldr.

“Nothing,” I said out of habit.

Father laughed, “Yea, it’s been one of those mornings. Have you kept up your exercise? A little bit of mischief is fine. I’m not going to punish you for playing a little. You know I heard the neighbor girl is a looker.”

“Yes, I did 300 this morning and gained a point. I have 20STR now. And Suzie doesn’t like me; she says I’m too weak for her.” I wanted to be strong.

“She’ll change her mind soon; you’ll be able to swing a sword, and I’ll take you into the forest for some grinding.” I tried to keep smiling as my father beamed. The sun had crested the hill to be at his back and drown me in his shadow. I told him before that I wanted to leave and become an adventurer, and he told me only if I could beat him.

“Will I have to still put my points in the cultivation skill tree?”

Father fidgeted not for the first time when this topic was brought up. This time I hoped for a different answer.”

“How about every 4 out of 5 you put in cultivation and the last one you can put in whatever stat you want. Have you decided which skills you will put your points into? I’m glad I caught them before you wasted them.” Father said and held up a device that showed my point count of 11. So now that you finally have a familiar, you can finally take advantage of your skills. I bet you’re excited.”

That decided it; at my first opportunity, when I was strong enough, I would get away from this place and strike out on my own. I was going to take Kara with me and find a way to get stronger.

I stared through traitorously blurry eyes at my screen. “Pills, I guess; I will invest in pill making.”

“Go ahead and invest them. I was worried you would put them into something you don’t need. You don’t have to worry about a thing; if your Vi and I are around, no monster will get close to you.” I felt an impossibly strong hand clutch my shoulder. His words were almost hypnotic when he spoke. “I understand you think I’m being cruel. But we need you and your power to be successful. Someday I won’t be around, and you’ll only have your sister.” With Father’s vitality, he could live for millennia. I would be lucky with my current numbers to live to 35. “Your sister is the only one of us who can open the door to nobility, and with her help, so many doors will be open for you. Take care of your familiar, and she’ll grow strong, and with your sister's backing, you, not even the church, would dare call for its execution. So, dry your tears and try to make a good impression on the count’s son if he ever arrives.” Father said.

“I will try,” I said before raising Pill Making to 12.

A child of an all-knowing and powerful hero tries to hide their familiar from their father. No surprise, it was never a secret he knew what I was doing before I did. Maybe he planned or saw it coming. I wiped the tears from my eyes and cursed myself.

Father vanished for the grinding woods but would be back if I had any ideas for investing my points into anything other than skills. The road out of this became longer; I didn’t know if I would make it.

I made my way over to the shed, where a simple pill furnace sat along with numerous ingredients. Spirit grass was one of the main ingredients for the pill I wanted to make, and it grew exclusively around our house and in the pond. It boosted the wisdom stat and increased magic regeneration when used as an ingredient. Almost as a rule, if it had the word spirit in its wisdom, intelligence, or charisma was raised. According to the ingredient book father bought from an eastern trader, spirit grass was the base. Slices of cold spirit pineapple would boost vitality and wisdom even more. I added some cuttings from yellow god grass, an eye from the inner eye snails my sister collected for me, and some olive oil.

Once the ground-up ingredients were in their capsule, I slowly invested my power into the pill until black smoke billowed out of the furnace. After I tossed the scraps of burnt pills into the burn pile, I tried again. I would begin to harvest some of the fruit and vegetables in a few hours and hope I get more points in STR.

After dozens of tries, I started to get a feel for when the concoction in my furnace would go horribly wrong. I had altered the mixture several times and even stopped using olive oil, but the pills always burned at a certain point. That was ok. With my current pill-making level, my success rate for this kind of pill was 30%. Combine that with my inexperience, and I might not ever get it right. My recipe book didn’t have a guide on how to get better. It only gave percentages. So, I worked longer than I should have, and the noble’s carriage arrived before my father and sister returned.

I pulled out my tray of pills and saw three with the correct coloration and no blackening.

Pill making lvl15

New Skill

Qi Control lvl1

I stared at one of the missing skills in the cultivation skill tree. Maybe with this, I could start to keep my qi in. When one door closes, another one opens. I made my way back to the goat pin and found Kara. She was sleeping with her sibling when the mother started sniffing the air. The doe knew the smell of pills. Took a step closer, and she turned towards me. Baah! The doe yelled before charging me. I barely dodged as she stretched out her tongue to grab the pills from my pocket.

She headbutted me, and I flew off my feet. I tossed the pills in my mouth and faked a swallow.

Then Phoebe turned her head to the side as other goats neared. I got up, and Phoebe let me pass this time as she struggled to keep the others away. I went to Kara and knew the pills were too big for her. After I chewed them up, I opened her mouth and let the mess fall out of mine. While a few of them fell out, most made it. Immediately the pills began their work.

Kara

VIT +10

INT+10

WIS +20

Red lvl10

Titles: N/A

Familiars: N/A

Rank: I – No Modifiers

Enhancements: N/A

Breakthroughs: N/A

Perks: Goat Whisperer, Cultivator, Family Chef

HP: 90

Stamina: 5%

VIT 9

STR 20

AGL 12

INT 8

WIS 8

CHA 5

LUK 5

Points: 4

Curse: Rot’s Revenge – No Cultivation skill or skill tree can directly benefit the user.

Skills:

Cultivation Tree 2881

2 of 2000Points

Cultivation lvl50

Potion Craft lvl60

Pill Making lvl15

Spirit Cooking lvl76

Spirit Cuisine lvl5

Animal Care lvl79

Spirit Beast Care lvl3

Farming Tree 365 of 1300Points

Farming lvl70

Planting lvl80

Harvesting lvl10

Rearing lvl70

Slaughtering lvl8

Watering lvl60

Irrigation lvl5

Feeding lvl60

Grazing lvl2

Training Tree 20-1300Points

Training lvl20