Mash and Hogs made short work of the two crawlers. Hogs, the more bulky of the two, was seemingly unaffected by the crawlers attacks. Its large mandibles couldn’t break through Hogs’ skin, leaving only small scratch marks. Blunt attacks were ineffective against crawlers since they had a hard carapace, so Hogs subdued it by ripping its appendages off one by one. The crawler stopped fighting back once it didn’t have enough legs to stand on. A dozens seconds later Hogs yanked its head straight off its body.

Mash took a similar approach to defeating the crawler but made sure to dodge any incoming attacks. Despite his name, Mash didn’t use much blunt force when fighting against the crawler. He used the openings in the crawlers attacks to aim at the joints where the crawler’s legs met its body. It only took a few strikes before it was legless and immobile.

They both dragged the bodies back to the group. Since I had no idea what the goblin etiquette was I quietly watched Mash and Hogs dismantle their crawlers. They used the crawler’s mandible to crack its tough outer shell like a spoon on an egg. He peeled off the exoskeleton from the the body leaving only the meat.

“Here,” Mash said as he threw unpeeled appendages towards the rest of us. The food he gave us wasn’t going to fill the rest of us, it was clear if we wanted more food we would have to get it ourselves. Hogs didn’t share his catch. I was starting to understand how he got his name.

There wasn’t much meat on the antennae I picked up. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, I really didn’t want to eat an ant raw of all things. The pangs of hunger rumbling in my stomach made my decision for me. A few months ago I would have reservations about eating a giant ant leg but now I didn’t have a choice. The meat was soft and it tasted bitter but it was definitely edible.

The group finished the food and began to gather the scraps together into a pile.

“Don’t leave scraps. Give in for prestige or feed slimes.” Mash said. He was saying this for my benefit, as well as my den mate’s.

“How much prestige this worth?” I said, looking at the clump of exoskeleton pieces in front of me.

“Nothing. Scraps from big monsters worth something, scraps from crawler worth nothing. Feed worthless scraps to slimes.” Mash said. He got rid of his scraps while he was shelling his crawler, tossing the broken pieces at the base of nearby trees as they came off.

“Why feed slimes?” I wasn’t against it but I was curious.

“Clomp tell Mash, ‘feed no worth scraps to slimes’, so Mash feed no worth scraps to slimes. Not many outsiders come to forest, slimes need food too.” Both my den mate and I looked back at the slimes. The slimes absorbed the scraps and were now breaking them down in their bodies, despite being asleep. We both found some unfed slimes and gave them our scraps and then returned to the group.

I didn’t know who Clomp was, why goblins cared about slimes at all or if they had the mental capacity to be grateful for the meal. It didn’t really matter though, I would do it anyways. There was no reason not to and if I was a goblin, I might as well act like one.

Once the area was cleared of scraps we continued through the zone with Mash leading. Crawlers weren’t the only things that spawned in this zone. Worms, beetles, caterpillars, snails, slugs and all sorts of creatures were crawling about. There were a few flies and bees flying above but they payed our group no mind. What we didn’t come across was anything I would classify as dangerous, such as a spider or a praying mantis.

A goblin from our group or two subdue a critter when possible and brought their bodies back. They would get a lions share of the body to eat while the rest of us got the scraps. It only seemed fair, and my turn was fast approaching. There was only three goblins who hadn’t captured their own meal; me, my den mate and an unnamed goblin.

I was definitely scared but strangely confident. I saw enough fights to know I was fast enough to dodge any incoming attack as long as I was alert. I ate quite a bit but I was still hungry. My turn would both be a chance to fill my belly and compound on the little confidence I had.

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Or at least, it would have been.

A hissing sound passing through the grass halted our movements. Everyone glanced around to see where it was coming from, but it seemed to come from all directions. It wasn’t until a patch of grass started shaking did we know where to look. Had I payed more attention to Hogs and Mash, I would have realized the danger we were in a lot sooner. They were scared pale.

The grass rustling in front of us came to a halt. Everyone’s attention was focused on whatever creature was about to engage us. A bug, not unlike a centipede, made its appearance. Its long yet flat body lifted into the air as it arched its head downward to keep view of us. Its black chitin armor covered its entire body, including its numerous legs protruding from both sides of its body from its head down to its tail. Its mandible couldn’t have looked more menacing; it had two scythes jutting out of the side of its mouth.

Four venom sodden teeth spawned from its mouth as its forked tongue sporadically danced about like a snake. Its pitch black eyes screamed death. The whole group and I were frozen with fear, granting the fiend the first strike.

It did not take its chance for granted and lunged at Hogs mouth agape. It moved so quick no one had any time to react. One moment we were all here, the next it was chewing on Hog’s upper body while its legs were tearing another goblin limb from limb.

I would like to say I remembered the rule to run at any sight of danger and made the smart decision to run, but that would have been a lie. I saw how quickly it dissected Hogs and the other goblin and got the hell out of there. I didn’t think to look where or what the others were doing. I knew I had to get the hell out of there, or I would be dinner for an oversized bug.

I ran through the zone not caring for the direction I was going, or the distance. I never looked back. I was too freighted by what I might see. Thirty minutes later, I finally ran out of gas. I was surprised by my endurance, but remembered I wasn’t a human anymore. I’m sure the adrenaline running through my body helped as well.

Catching my breath I looked around to survey the area. There was no sign of the centipede anywhere, but I didn’t see any goblins either. I was surrounded by the same large grass on every side and I had no idea where I was. I released an elongated sigh and collapsed to the ground. I made a mistake. I might have hand an inclination I made the wrong choice by reincarnating into a goblinoid but now I was sure. Life as an elf would have been much better than this. I realized how dramatic I was being before. Being nice was better than being eaten by a giant centipede.

I wasn’t sure what my next step was. I reasoned since I was lost, it was best to find some high ground and try to find out which direction to travel in. Problem was I didn’t know which way was high grounds and the grass was too pliable to climb to find out. Half-defeated already, I got on my feet and started moving. I choose the direction opposite from where I came from. I knew at least where not to go.

Unluckily my travels were cut short. Three crawlers pushed through the grass with their sights set on me. I wondered if the gods wanted me to die, or if this world was this cruel. I was confident I could fight, or at least run from one crawler. Three was a different story.

I could have gone on about my predicament but I wasn’t in a situation to complain. Whether the gods were after me, the world were this cruel or I was seriously unlucky, it didn’t change the fact I had to fight for survival and running wasn’t an option anymore.

I looked forward and charged the three crawlers head on. Whatever there result, I would live with it.