While at first I could say that I enjoyed feeling the non-snow covered grass against the soles of my feet, the sensation quickly grew old, and I severely regretted not bringing a pair of socks and boots.
My foot landing on yet another tiny stone hidden by the tall, green grass, I flinched, though still making sure to remain silent.
After being transported out of the waiting area and into the actual dream, I found myself in a peaceful grass field, and I was able to leisurely survey my surroundings.
But I knew looks could be deceiving, so I still maintained a healthy level of caution when proceeding.
I had heard from Rat about how somebody in his year, in their first outing into the dream, was sent to the immediate vicinity of a goblin settlement and unceremoniously killed.
Though, they did end up surviving three final exams, and were now in their fourth year, so it would be wrong to say that their failing in their first dream was indicative of their future success, but it sounded more like they flourished in spite of that experience, rather than because of it.
Suddenly hearing a rustling in the bushes, I kneeled down, grabbing my spear from my back, and hiding behind the thick trunk of a tree near me.
After leaving the grass field, I entered a lush, verdant forest, and since the dream aimed to accurately reflect the real world, that noise could’ve originated from, in the best case scenario, some brainless animal whose main priority would be to eat, sleep, and procreate, while in the worst case, another student.
I changed my mind, setting my spear down on the ground, and silently raised my crossbow, my hand resting on the lever, ready to shoot at a moments notice.
I bit my lip, my nerves stretched taught. The targets in the public training rooms were made from wood, and I missed more than 90% of the time, so I didn’t even have an accurate point of reference with which to judge the force the bolts carried and whether or not I could even kill with one shot.
The rustling growing even louder, I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth and tilting my head up. Muttering a silent prayer to whatever disciple oversaw hunting with a one-handed crossbow inside of an artificially constructed world, I shot out from behind the tree.
Grunting in confusion, a green skinned humanoid tilted it’s head at me.
Wearing what more resembled a patchework of leather than actual clothing over it’s body, the goblin held a rusted shortsword in one hand, the bleeding corpse of a white rabbit in it’s other.
It was about my size, and if not for it’s green skin, and slightly pointed ears, it might’ve even passed for a human child.
Immediately shooting a bolt directly at it’s head, my prior prayer must have worked, as even without kneeling down to aim, I was able to hit the goblin in it’s shoulder.
Shrieking in pain, it promptly charged at me, raising it’s sword high up in the air.
Throwing my crossbow to the side, I reached behind my back for my spear, only to find nothing.
I cursed.
I had unconsciously set my spear onto the ground when I was still hiding.
Immediately unsheathing my sword, I frantically stepped to the side of the goblins slash.
It was very obviously untrained, and from the way it so thoughtlessly charged at me, it was also probably not intelligent.
At most, this goblin would be Level, no Quasi-level 1 in danger.
Even so, it was alive. As such, it was unpredictable, and until it was dead on the floor, it was dangerous.
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Overcommitting in it’s attack, the goblin lost it’s balance and stumbled, though it was still able to regain it’s balance.
But that momentary loss of control was more than enough for me.
Attacking directly, I forcibly stabbed my sword through the goblin’s stomach, it’s putrid green blood flowing down my sword onto my clenched hand, and dripping down to the ground.
I retreated, quickly liberating my blade from the goblin’s body and preparing to repeat what I had just done, but there was no point.
The goblin was already emaciated before I stabbed it; I could feel just how little muscle there was on it’s body from the few seconds I made contact with it, and after being most likely mortally wounded, it only grew weaker.
Yet the goblin still continued.
Coughing up blood, it charged at me once again, roaring as it did so, it’s voice filled with despair and hatred.
I didn’t even bother to dodge, electing instead to meet it head on, and stab it directly, this time aiming for where I thought the heart was.
It’s sword slipping from it’s grasp, the goblin began to grow even weaker, yet even in it’s last moments, with the light in it’s eyes growing dimmer and dimmer, it kept trying to scratch me with it’s caked with dirt fingernails.
Letting the goblin corpse fall to the ground, I breathed a huge sigh, half in relief, half in annoyance.
Relief that my first encounter in the dream had gone so swimmingly, annoyance that I was now covered in green goblin blood.
But my mood quickly improved at the idea that suddenly popped into my mind.
The highest possible talent a human could have was 10 stars, and of the 17 figures in recorded history with such a talent, 11 of them were the Goddess’s disciples.
With my talent, I would only ever be able to reach the 5th star, level 20, at max. I wouldn’t ever be able to join the echelons of the truly strong.
But that didn’t mean I was completely doomed to being a big fish in a small pond.
I kneeled down, and inspected the goblin’s corpse.
I removed the crossbow bolt imbedded in the goblin’s shoulder and placed it to the side, before taking out the 7th Compendium and the dagger I brought.
I skipped to the page centered around normal goblins, and began to read from it.
The previous week, I had already gone over nearly all of the information on monsters of danger level 1 that the book itself, as well as the notes in the margins contained, but I still felt more reassured with a guide next to me.
Resheathing my sword, I cut the goblin’s chest open, exposing it’s innards and it’s ribs.
Despite the reputation goblins had of being very dirty, I didn’t find the scent to be too overbearing, with it being more reminiscent of grass than anything else, but I should’ve expected that.
The compendium clearly stated that goblins in their most primitive, basic forms, were primarily a hunting, meat-eating species.
If their scent was truly so bad that those kidnapped by goblins would die of asphyxiation before being rescued as was so commonly recounted, the animals they would try to hunt would also be able to smell them, and as a result, immediately escape.
With those thoughts in mind, I cut through the goblin’s insides.
The compendium did include relevant information applicable to my situation, such as how the goblin’s left most stomach could be used by alchemists to concoct a remedy for indigestion, but I had no idea what was what. I wasn’t even knowledgeable about human, let alone goblin bodies, so I had no way to categorize the goblin’s innards.
I was fine with that though; I just wanted it’s green blood.
Suddenly stopping, I looked down at my hands.
I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.
Having completely excavated the goblin’s innards, I planned to use the goblin’s newly emptied chest cavity as almost a bucket with which I could store the green blood I squeezed out, but I had completely and utterly failed.
More green blood covered my hands, stained my clothes, and dripped onto the grass than was currently pooled up.
On the bright side, at least I learned that my idea wouldn’t work in a relatively short amount of time and with only a goblin, rather than another, rarer monster.
I tapped twice on the golden ring on my right thumb, causing it to begin to faintly glow.
Holding it just over the pool of green goblin blood, the liquid began to be slowly sucked into the ring, and within a dozen seconds, the goblin’s chest cavity became empty once again.
Quickly tapping the golden ring twice again, stopping, then three times, the image of a rectangle was projected in the air by the gold circle.
The box was completely clear, save for about 10%, which was filled in, almost like a progress bar.
I smiled in satisfaction.
Whether it was used as a catalyst or an ingredient for a potion, goblins blood wasn’t the best. In fact, when it came to being used as a catalyst, goblin blood could even be considered one of the worst, with very low mana conductivity, no ability to store mana, and no inherent characteristic, but I didn’t care.
My intent was to use it to practice drawing magic circles, and I certainly didn’t need something on par with dragon’s blood for that.