When I realized that the Goblin was going to leave for a couple of minutes to grab firewood, I had a moment of clarity: I needed to kill it or escape!

Those felt like the only options I had available. However, he went to find firewood towards the direction of the plains I came from and I am not confident enough to advance through the woods where I might meet others of his kind.

"...so, kill?"

Killing. The speed with which I reached this option scared me. To take a life is not a simple psychological feat and yet I decided on it in a split second, disregarding the humanoid look of the monster and the height that could belong to a child in middle school. There wasn't any room for sophistry or excuses...I needed to kill this monster in order to ensure my own survival. And the only chance I have is to bet that the info I got from identifying the Oak tree was accurate.

"I will poison it!"

When it left my field of vision and burrowed itself in the dense forest, I quickly descended from the tree I was hiding in and took the flowers from my pockets. Since he took with him only his spear and the pseudo-knife, I had everything else to use against him. So I started with the bowl he discarded near the roots of the tree and smeared it with the poisonous flowers, not knowing if it will work or not, by crushing them against all of its clay walls, until a yellowish paste was formed. Then I reached in his foul smelling pouch and brought the water container that seemed something made of leather sewed together, but I payed no attention to it and stuffed three flowers inside it and shake it violently hoping for it to work. Then, right before deciding to climb back the tree, I saw the rabbit.

"...he was going to eat it, wasn't he?"

The only way I could make sure I can get some poison in the meat he was going to eat, was to stuff the rabbit with it. So I pushed five flowers that were tightly crushed within my fist, down the rabbit's throat. The smell almost made me puke and the blood made me feel lightheaded... But I grasped onto my consciousness and forced myself to endure.

Now I could only pray that it will work. So, I climbed back the tree and waited. Five minutes...Ten minutes...Fifteen minutes...No sign of the Goblin returning.

"Maybe I got lucky and he left or got killed..."

I then realized when the sound of footsteps woke me up to reality, that I should stop raising this flags. Not only did the Guard Goblin returned, but he also brought a friend along and an extra... meal.

I felt sickened upon the sight of two small green creatures dragging about the corpse of a human male slightly taller than them. From the looks of it he should be in his mid twenties, early thirties at most but you couldn't tell well anymore due to the bloodied and swallowed face, as well as the bent out of shape limbs. The only parts of his body that seemed almost untouched were his legs, which this two Goblins were forcefully pulling one each, with a grin on their ugly mugs.

Not only did this sight made me almost throw up again, but the fact that they might eat that human frightened me even more. Not because he was a fellow human and it was about to happen in front of me, but because my plan to kill one of them might've just been ruined.

Slowly breathing in and letting out a mouthful of stale air out, I calmed down and decided that, if needed be I will improvise, however one thing was mandatory: more than before, I wanted to see this two abominations dead!

"I'll patiently wait. No matter what happens, I will find a chance..."

I kept thinking that while looking away when the goblins started dismembering the guy they dragged along. Limb by limb at first, forcefully ripped off by sheer strength and their faces that were now covered in blood and other fluids seemed oddly amused by this.

Then the second Goblin pulled out the short sword he was carrying around his waist and started chopping away at the neck of the corpse. The blade seemed quite dull since it took over twenty strikes to loop the head off the rest of the corpse.

When their 'hard work' ended, the second Goblin 'yelled' something at the Guard Goblin and he handed over his wooden spear. Then, like mocking the dead human he raised the severed head with the left hand and held it close to his own disfigured mug and smiled while showing his yellowish teeth. With a sharp and fluid, almost rehearsed-like movement, he impaled the head of the guy and fixed the spear on the ground, while both of them were prancing around it proudly.

A couple of hours elapsed since they both returned. The smell of burned human meat reached my nose also and I felt like I might pass out myself from the horrific stench.

But I endured! And I waited for my chance. Patiently. Like a hunter focusing on nothing but its prey. I ignored my cramping legs and hurting back while I sat in the same position for hours without even moving a finger. I just waited for my chance that I knew would come sooner or later. It will definitely arrive!

The second Goblin seemed to be wearing nothing but a cloth around his waist and a short sword with a rusty scabbard. There was no pouch in sight, so I decided to use the Identify skill on it.

Name

-

Name

Value

Name

Value

Job Name

Level

Progress

Race

Goblin

STR

26

Magic

5

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Goblin Soldier

4

80%

Sex

Male

DEX

14

Charm

0

Age

1 month

AGI

14

Luck

15

World

Anhur

END

22

HP

530/530 (+1.8/sec)

INT

9

MP

50/50(+0.5/sec)

WIS

5

Skill List Name Level Proficiency Power Strike ??? ???

Consecutive Slashes ??? ??? Rage ??? ???

Blessings bestowed by the world: Blessing of Experience

I let out a silent dry laugh while I felt like I had no chance whatsoever to survive the upcoming night. Not only his stats are higher than the guard on a whole other level, but he has attack skills as well. Active ones by the Magic stat that is not zero...

Power strike: by focusing mana in your weapon, you deliver a blow to your enemy containing 120% of your full regular damage.

Mana cost: 10

Consecutive slashes: by infusing mana in your body to the utmost limit, you become able to attack multiple times in a single second, up to a total of times depending on the sum of Agility , Endurance and Dexterity you currently have divided by 10.

Mana cost: 15

Rage: when your health reaches 10% your body becomes enraged and by infusing it with mana and overloading it, you become immune to all physical attacks for a period of five minutes.

Mana cost: 25

I will die! Not only if I don't do anything, but also if I try to do anything. Not only does he have a greater Strength stat than the previous Goblin that snapped a branch as thick as a human arm using one hand, but his skills can also make use of that, given he could possibly attack me four times in a second, if that description is accurate. And in the absurd case where I manage to almost kill him, he can become fucking invulnerable to all physical attacks for five entire minutes. If that's not a hero build, then I don't know what else is!

"That self-serving Game God...what the hell is he thinking sending me into a hardcore difficulty place like this from the start? Does he counts me dying as entertainment?"

They kept gnawing away with greed at the burnt human flesh, while their faces covered by blood and their own saliva were painting a rather grotesque image. It made me wonder, just how mentally traumatized would I have become if I didn't acquire Fear Resistance.

In another hour, only clothes, bones and blood were left where the human corpse once stood. It didn't seem that their hunger was fully satiated, as the Soldier Goblin reached for the rabbit while the Guard Goblin scornfully glared at his 'partner' for eating his food. Apparently even these monsters have an established hierarchy that they follow...one dictated by strength, of course.

"Good, good! Eat it carefully and get poisoned you green waste!"

I watched smiling while the rabbit was devoured whole, fur and all. Displeased, the Guard Goblin reached his pouch, took the water bag out and poured it into his bowl that he left near the tree roots. Just when he was about to put the leather water container back, it was forcefully taken from him by the soldier and drank with great gusto from it.

I could see two flowers being swallowed, while the other Goblin was drinking from the bowl.

Now I need to wait and hope that the flowers can poison them indeed. Otherwise...

Half an hour passed and the forest was drowned in the red light of the setting sun, leaving the two Goblins drowsy from the feast they had. They prepared some branches from the surroundings and made beds out of the leaves by laying them about, then throwing themselves on top of them.

There was no poison reaction from them so I decided to analyze their status windows to make sure if it worked or not.

HP

525/530 (-1.5/sec) (Poisoned)

I could feel the corners of my lips raising involuntary. I grinned widely thinking that my patience was rewarded. Now all I need to do, is make sure that I can use this opportunity.

First off, if the poison not only paralyzes them but actually hurts them, like the status showed, there's no need for me to intervene. But if for example, it only weakens them, I need to manually put an end to it. For that a weapon is required. I can't bravely try to take the weapon from the soldier since it might result in my own death instead, so the only option available was...the spear.

I looked at the spear and saw the bloodied head with eyes wide opened staring at the sky while sitting on top of it, as darkness soon enveloped the forest, the only source of light being the camp fire the two Goblins kept going.

The severed head was lacking almost any trace of it being a former human...

"Fuck waiting! As if I could just patiently wait for them to die by poisoning from a freaking flower. As a fellow human, I'll make sure I use the same weapon they tarnished your pride with and shove it as far up their asses as its length will allow!"