Inside a wooden house sat a goblin on the floor, drinking from a wooden bowl what appeared to be milk.
"It was a great idea to capture those beasts that look like yaks," Caesar exclaimed aloud as he drank the delicious yak milk.
Slurp, slurp~
He could not help showing an expression of pure enjoyment.
This milk is thick, warm, and slightly sweet—unlike anything I tasted in my previous life, he thought with delight, finally enjoying food for the first time since reincarnating.
Caesar shifted his gaze to the plate in front of him, and a strange expression crossed his face.
On the wooden plate, several enormous larvae writhed, trying to crawl over the edge. They had brown heads and thick, pale bodies, moist and glistening under the dim light of the house.
Calmly, Caesar extended his hand and caught the one that was about to escape.
He narrowed his eyes and observed the larva for a few seconds. It squirmed uselessly between his fingers, attempting to flee. He frowned briefly before bringing it to his mouth.
A peculiar but satisfied expression appeared on his face.
The flavor is exquisite, he thought while chewing.
As he ate contentedly, Caesar rested his hand over his once-defined but now rounded belly—clear signs that he was full. Beside him sat Sasha and Lina, watching him with affectionate gazes.
After eating a few more, Caesar pushed the plate of larvae toward Sasha and Lina, intending for them to enjoy the rest.
Soon, the newest member arrived, limping slightly—Asia. Her eyes were filled with longing as she looked at Caesar, but suddenly her expression changed when she noticed the larvae on the plate.
Unlike Asia, the Dark Elf—who the first time could barely conceal her disgust—Sasha and Lina showed no revulsion at all.
Lina picked up a larva and popped it into her mouth without hesitation. Sasha did the same, though with visible effort—not because she found it disgusting, but because as a gnoll she preferred meat, and she was already tired of eating larvae daily.
"It seems gnoll diets aren't that strict," Caesar murmured under his breath, genuinely surprised. At first, he thought she wouldn't like the idea of eating larvae—but it had been the opposite. She had liked the taste… though she appeared to have grown bored of them quickly.
As Caesar watched Lina enjoy the meal, he couldn't help recalling what he knew about them:
These larvae grew in dark, damp places, especially in caves where goblins established their lairs. They closely resembled beetle grubs from his previous life and fed on a blue mineral called Lepegis.
From everything he knew—and what he remembered from the novel—Lepegis was not a valuable mineral in this world. On the contrary, it was abundant, despised, almost considered trash. Its only known use was as food for these creatures.
Caesar let out a nostalgic sigh at the thought of his past life, but shook his head, reminding himself he could not return.
He remembered how the old goblins had fed him these larvae from the moment he was born. Back then, he still fully retained his human mentality… and had rejected them in disgust, throwing them away and nearly starving to death—if not for some strange frogs they had also given him, which he found far more tolerable.
It wasn't until a few days ago, out of sheer whim, that Caesar dared to try one.
And in the end, he liked it.
In fact, for Caesar, it was the most delicious thing he had eaten since arriving in this world.
They tasted like vanilla sponge cake.
From that day on, Caesar ordered a group of goblins to dig through the caves in search of Lepegis and began systematically cultivating these larvae as a food source.
"These larvae are delicious!" Sasha exclaimed cheerfully, rubbing her stomach. "Though I'm getting a little bored of them. I miss meat."
"You need to eat and rest more. Besides, soon we'll hunt and domesticate that creature you mentioned," Caesar said seriously, recalling the pig-like animal Sasha had described from her former village.
"Eat and sleep well. After all, we'll need energy to open our mana veins. Luckily, we all have the minimum required to begin… but opening each vein will be a challenge."
He remembered the issue clearly: having enough mana to open one vein did not mean they could open them all at once. Unlike races with abundant reserves, they would have to proceed step by step—open one vein, exhaust their mana, meditate or consume mana-rich food… and repeat the process.
"Don't worry," Sasha replied with a warm smile, looking at Caesar affectionately.
He simply looked at her and could not help sighing in relief when his mother had told them they were fortunate to possess the minimum required to open the first veins. Perhaps it was because this continent, still untouched by humans, retained abundant ambient mana, and most animals and plants still preserved small traces of it.
Humans had not yet arrived… nor unleashed wars that drained the world's energy.
Caesar narrowed his eyes as he watched from afar a group of goblins training.
Sasha, unlike Asia—who came from a more distant land—knew this territory well. Her village had not been far from here, and much of their knowledge of hunting, group combat, and forest survival came from her.
She was skilled. What she lacked was real battlefield experience.
Sasha approached and curled into Caesar's arms, while Lina and Asia continued eating. Asia, more than anyone, still struggled internally with every bite.
Sasha looked at Caesar with bright eyes.
"Husband~ I want to go outside."
"Soon you'll be able to go out with the others," Caesar replied, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Although he had "brainwashed" her, he had not stripped her of free will. He had only reinforced her trust, her love, and her loyalty.
And not just hers… but everyone's.
Still, Caesar ignored Sasha's complaints and remained firm in his decision not to let them leave.
This way, Sasha could remain safe inside the wooden house along with Lina and Asia.
Before opening their mana veins, it was better to avoid danger.
For now, Asia was the only fighter with a formed core—and the clan's only instructor.
When his mother Luna finally formed her core, she could assist Asia in opening the veins of the rest of the goblins and begin formalizing a mana cultivation system within the tribe.
For now, Caesar had only told the goblins about opening mana veins. He had explained nothing about cores.
He looked again at the landscape and the wooden houses that had been built—and were still being built.
These wooden houses had been constructed here at the suggestion of Asia and Luna, with the idea that only those who met the minimum requirement to open their mana veins would live here, since according to them, this was where the concentration of ambient mana was highest.
"What luck," Caesar murmured, thinking that the random location he had chosen turned out to be a mana vein site.
Unlike stories where cultivators secluded themselves in caves to advance, in this world that was not ideal… and goblin caves were even worse.
Thinking about it, Caesar could not help but sigh.
In the future, great clans would fight over territories with mana veins to build their organizations. However, the arrival of humans on different continents had brought destruction to many resources.
He even suspected divine intervention.
To weaken mortals.
"But, dear, I'm bored," Sasha said.
Asia and Lina nodded. They also wanted to step outside and get some fresh air.
Caesar immediately shook his head.
The information Asia had brought him had put him on guard.
He suspected the god mentioned by the Dark Elves and the Pigmen was the same one who, according to the story, would later help the devil-humans "resist" humanity.
What unsettled him most was the early appearance of that group. They were only supposed to appear after humans had arrived.
A trace of unease ran through him.
Was it a butterfly effect?
Or had that god already been present on this continent before humans ever arrived—and simply never mentioned in the novel?
Whatever the answer, Caesar knew he had to remain vigilant.
For now, the best course of action was to keep a low profile…