Empress' Evolution
Chapter 8: I need Followers

Having sworn that the wolves would be annihilated for causing her to become hungry and desperate. Lilith began on a rampageous hunt for Goblins, solidifying her title of Goblin Slayer.

[Title Earned: Strong Stomach: You have eaten everything you have killed and improved your resistance, VIT increase by 10.]

[Title Earned: Cunning: You have slain enemies with your cunning plans, your STR and MAG increase by 5.]

Lilith was earning Titles like she was picking cabbages. Everything was going her way, and after weeks and weeks of hard work and grind, she managed to increase her level by a lot.

But it wasn't enough!

Right in front of Lilith was another scout from some Goblin Den.

'Alpha report."

===

[There are seven Goblins in the area, all are LVL 10, and below, they are scouts. I marked all the Goblins; the nearest one is 15m. They are moving together. I suggest you spread them out. Goblins are weak individually.]

===

Goblins travel in groups when they go scout and hunt for prey. They usually would consist of five to ten members, but none would travel alone.

A Goblin's strength relies on their numbers; individually, they're weak, so they use numbers to overwhelm the enemy..

After confirming their positions, Lilith went ahead and climbed up a tree as a Newt; she waited for the Goblins to get nearer.

When they are finally below, she jumped and changed form; she was now a One Horn. With her improved Spell Casting, she could now cast two skills simultaneously.

"Wind Shield! Earth Weight!"

A Wyvern could fall in the face of a Goblin Horde. Lilith was a lone hunter, but after fighting Goblins, she had devised a plan on how to deal with them appropriately.

The Goblins raised their heads and saw a three-meter wide circular shield made of wind falling towards them like a meteor with a little kid on top.

"Gyaaaa!" The Goblins shrieked, and Lilith showed them a devious smile.

"Scatter!"

Boom!*

She landed on top of the group of Goblins, and the Wind Shield exploded and scattered the group; with Earth Weight, she was spared from being blow away and smashing into a tree.

The Goblins were crashed on the ground, trees, and shrubs. Without holding her breath, Lilith got on all fours as an Ash Leopard, and lightning coursed through her four feet.

Swiiiiish!

The wind created a path as she cast Lightning Feet. It uses a lot of MP, but it was worth it. The Goblins, who first managed to collect themselves, were the first to go to the other side. Lilith was fast, and her movements were efficiently granting her a terrifying figure.

[Life Essence +9]

As if she was a ghost, Lilith moved from one Goblin to the next, killing them as swiftly as possible. Blood exploded all over the place, and Lilith's white fur was dyed with the blood of her prey.

Only two remained, one on the left and one on the right. No one decided to take the chance and go against her; both ran away in the terror of Lilith's massacre.

Lilith decided to go after the closest to her; she killed it with one swift swipe of her now sharpened claws. The other one got away, but with her keen eyes, she managed to spot the last Goblin running for its dear life.

'I still have 30 seconds; I can kill it.' She said with certainty, so she made her move and dashed forward.

20 seconds

15 seconds

Swish!

She slashed out, but the Goblin tripped and managed to dodge, a miracle saved its life, but it would not happen again.

10s

Lilith landed on a tree trunk, she was diagonal from the ground, but using the trunk as footing, she bolted to the Goblin and caught its head with her mouth.

She then crushed its head with ease, killing it and gaining the Life Essence it had.

As she smiled in victory, she raised her head, but that smirk soon got wiped. In front of her was a clearing, and in the middle of it was a makeshift village with fences clumsily created by some unknown creatures.

'What is this?'

Lilith got curious; this is the first time she got to these parts of the woods; she checked the minimap and found its name, Goblin Camp.

It was a gathering of her favorite prey. A creepy giggle escaped her mouth as she transformed into a Newt and snuck in.

She had seen a Den but not a camp. She entered through the gaps of the fence and slipped past the Goblins on guard duty.

The guard on duty was a mere LVL 12 Goblin; they were a level higher than but not enough to pose a threat.

She snuck inside and went past what was supposed to be tents made from the hide of daemons.

She found this extremely weird.

'Where did Goblins learn to do all this?'

Goblins were mob-like creatures. They only move base on their instincts. They see a branch they use it to bash their enemies; they are those kinds of mobs. But the sight before her proved what she knows was wrong.

The Goblins inside were equipped with better weapons than the guards or scouts. They were also wearing clothes; at least their lower halves were covered. But what caught her attention the most was the giant tent in the middle of the camp.

The tent was larger than anything she had seen so far. From it, she could feel the presence of a strong creature. She couldn't tell what it was, nor did she plan on replaceing out!

This was more than what she could chew.

'This place is no good. I need to escape here before they notice me.' She thought that way and turned around, but as she did, the clothe acting as the tent's cover opened and for a moment she saw what was inside that tent.

She also saw various panels telling her about the levels of the beings inside. But her expression turned for the worse as she caught sight of a particular board...

[Hobgoblin LVL 25 (Rare)]

===

[Lilith, run, now!]

===

She fled the scene, but not before catching a glimpse of the thing within.

Lilith escaped the Goblin Camp with speed she didn't know the Newt was capable of. Her fatigue reached over 70% as she tried to get away as far as possible. And after running for tens of minutes, she finally heaved a sigh of relief.

She was sweating bullets, and her breathing was disoriented.

A LVL 25 Hobgoblin that was the strongest daemon she had seen so far. Lilith closed her eyes, cleared her mind, and thought of one thing,

'Well, I'm not going back there again.' Her thoughts were simple, and it was enough.

She became calm again, and weeks passed without her even noticing it.

And after quite some time, the familiar creepy laughter echoed in the woods once more.

"It took me weeks of hunting, but finally, I am about to reach it. Heheheheheheheheh~"

A creepy giggle echoed in the woods. She was getting stronger — stronger than she previously was, at least.

[Name: Lilith

Lv. 2–> 15

HP: 800/800 –> 2520/2520

MP: 1040/1040 –> 2860/2860

Life Essence: 637/100

Attribute: Fire (F), Wind (F), Earth (F), Wood/Nature (E)

Status: Creepily Ecstatic

Title: Goblin Slayer

Class: One Horn

Tier: Common

STR: 7 –> 33

DEF: 12 –> 38

VIT: 40 –> 126 (Shared Status)

AGT: 12 –> 38

MAG: 52 –> 78 + 65 = 143

PER: 32 –> 58

Fatigue: 0

Passive Skills: Medium Vitality (E), Mana Manipulation (C), Spell Casting (C), Quadro Elementalist (A), Fire Manipulation (C), Wind (C), Earth Manipulation (C), Wood/Nature Manipulation (B),

Active Skills: Tinder (200 MP) (D), Wind Shield (200 MP) (D), Steal (500 MP) (E), Earth Weight (500 MP) (E), Earth Wall (700 MP) (D), Thorn Whip (600 MP) (D), Nature's Beauty (100,000 MP) (SSS)

Free Points: 65–> 0]

[Name: Lilith

Lv. 3 -> 15

HP: 800/800 –>2520/2520

MP: 140/140–> 860/860

Life Essence: 637/100

Attribute: Water (F), Lightning (E)

Status: Creepily Ecstatic

Title: Goblin Slayer

Class: Ash Leopard

Tier: Common

STR: 14-> 16 –> 38 + 25 = 63

DEF: 19-> 21 –> 43 + 10 = 53

VIT: 126

AGT: 29-> 31 –> 53 + 20 = 83

MAG: 9 -> 11 –> 33 + 10 = 43

PER: 24-> 26 –> 48 + 10 = 58

Fatigue: 0

Passive Skills: Medium Vitality (E), Dash (F), Water Manipulation (D), Lightning Manipulation (D),

Active Skills: Lightning Claws (100 MP) (D), Create Water (50 MP) (F), Lightning Feet (500 MP/per minute) (E)

Free Points: 65 –> 0]

[Name: Lilith

Lv. 1 –> 15

HP: 500/500 –> 2520/2520

MP: 400/400 –> 1360/1360

Life Essence: 637/100

Attribute: Dark (D), Poison (D)

Status: Creepily Ecstatic

Title: Goblin Slayer

Class: Ravager Salamander

Tier: Common

STR: 5 –> 33

DEF: 50 –> 78 + 30 = 108

VIT: 25 –> 126

AGT: 15 –> 43

MAG: 20 –> 48 + 20 = 68

PER: 5 –> 33 + 20 = 53

Fatigue: 0

Passive Skills: Medium Vitality (E), Defensive Scales (F), Poison Breath (D)

Active Skills: Poison Spit (100 MP) (C), Bindings of Darkness (400 MP) (C), Miasmic Expulsion (50 MP/per second) (E)

Free Points: 70 –> 0]

"Every stats of mine have reached two digits, and my VIT has reached three; this is life. And I do not even need to increase VIT as the increase of the shared status is BROKEN!"

Everything was going well for Lilith. She was quickly raising her level, and her stats were increasing to the point it was ridiculous. But with the increase of her stats and level came her increasing creepy laughter echoing around the woods.

She was enjoying life despite having to eat and shit out. Getting stronger had never been fulfilling until now.

"Hehehehehe, just a little more and will be able to rule this forest!" She was celebrating; her first step to becoming an Empress was about to come to fruition.

While Lilith was acting so creepy about everything, she heard a Ting* echo in her mind, and what followed was Alphal's joyous squeal.

===

[Hell yeah, we finally have a mission!]

===

"A mission? I didn't think we will ever get one. The Goddess finally decided that this little loli can have a mission? I wish it is not something stupid like the skill she granted me."

The two had been getting along quite nicely for the past weeks, and Lilith failed to notice the subtle changes in their conversation. Though the mocking still arrives when she occasionally does something stupid.

===

[Ah, don't bash the Goddess. I'll disable the minimap. All right, check out the mission this time around. She also has a message attached to the task!]

===

Lilith sighed at those words but first climbed up a tree for her to get a more secure position. After lying on a tree branch, she opened the message of the Useless Goddess and found a panel in front of her that acted as a letter.

[Ahem, good day to you, my dear apostle, this is Goddess writing you a letter. I congratulate you on reaching LVL 15. You also did an excellent job raising her Alpha...]

===

[ Aw jeez, the Goddess is too nice, I don't deserve so much praise. The glory of the Goddess is as beautiful as her kindness; she is too much for you or me. Come and join me in praising her so she can bless us someday with her beautiful and serene voice~]

===

Alpha was like a fangirl who had received a compliment from her idol. Like most fangirls, she was very irritating, and one just wants to smack her for her to shut up. Lilith felt like she should be squirming like a worm right now, if she could, that is.

'Ehem, Alpha, can you kindly shut the fuck up? I can't finish this letter if you don't stop talking.'

Alpha shut her trap.

[...after reaching LVL 15, I deemed that it is time for you to give your first mission, but worry not, for I will not cheat you off your efforts and will reward you accordingly. The first mission is not mandatory, but it will undoubtedly be a step to becoming a true Empress.

Goddess' Mission #1 (Non-mandatory): You have reached a certain level; thus, you shall now have the strength to command others; you are to replace other daemons and enlist their strengths to your ranks.

Objective: Get 2 daemons to treat you as their leader in two weeks.

Number of daemons treating you as a leader: 0/2

Rewards: Blessing of the Goddess [Lv. 1 Eye of Akashic (SSS)]

Lv. 1 Eye of Akashic (SSS): The eyes of Akashic can see past truth, thus granting you the ability to see your enemy's status in a far more in-depth manner than normal.

Failure does not merit punishment!

Do you accept the Mission? Y/N]

Lilith has many things to say about the Goddess, but she only had one answer regarding the mission.

'This Goddess is rather free-willed, isn't she? The mission is easy, so why not?'

[Ahh, you accepted the mission, good girl. Give it your best, okay? Also, don't die; replaceing another candidate is rather hard to do, adieu.]

Lilith chose to accept the mission. The reward was too alluring for her to ignore.

Lilith did not even notice when she began drooling over the reward. The ability to see through the status of her enemies. How good was that?

'Hey, Alpha, let us work hard to complete this mission, okay?'

===

[Of course, I will not accept it any other way. This is the first mission of the Goddess. We will not only gather two followers but hundreds of them and then convert them into worshipping the Goddess. We will whip them into devoted enthusiasts without fail.]

===

Alpha was pumped at the idea of impressing the Goddess she loved so much.

'I like this part of you; now, let us replace my first follower!"