The forest was abuzz with nocturnal life.

Insects hummed as fireflies danced and weaved amongst the leaves. Creatures great and small wandered the forest floor hunting for their nights’ meal.

He kept a low profile as he was one of the smaller creatures, scurrying along with his improvised spear. While he was confident in his skills, he did not know the limits of his new body and what creatures dwelled in the darkness.

He could sense a dense magic in the air, almost like the forest itself was alive and breathing - steady streams of magic elements trailing softly alongside the fluorescent fireflies.

Suddenly, around him the air froze. The insect hum died and silence reigned. He froze as well, all of his senses tingling.

A rustle in the undergrowth further in front told him the creature was ahead. Perhaps this was what was killing the goblins, the White Death as the elder called them. Should he run away? Maybe this was too much for him to handle alone.

But he had to know what they were up against and this could be valuable information. Furthermore, it had not detected him yet.

Creeping forward, he scanned ahead and saw a clearing. A creature could be seen silhouetted against the dark foliage but the moon was behind a cloud, masking its features.

He did note that it was rather small and didn’t seem to move like a predator. The way it was crouched and seemed to sniff the air. Unfortunately, that only meant that stronger beings than this creature also roamed the forest.

The clouds shifted and moonlight beamed down. Its fur shone with a white sheen. Two small twisted horns protruded from its head, with a silvery gem embedded in its forehead. Its gleaming red eye glinted, scanning the clearing keenly for any movement. Its fluffy tail bobbed dangerously as…

Wait. Fluffy tail?

He peered closer and saw that in the clearing in fact crouched a rather small and cuddly looking rabbit. Yes, it did have two devilish looking horns…and yes, its eyes did seem to have a somewhat evil looking redness. But honestly the way it just thumped its foot scratching its ear was simply too cute to take seriously. Perhaps calling it the White Death was an overstatement.

Maybe he had snickered to himself, or maybe his adoration was felt all the way across the clearing but suddenly the rabbit’s ears and head shot up and twisted in alertness towards his direction.

He was found out.

Shoot, he thought. Cute as it is, it did take out fully grown goblins and I was literally born yesterday.

This was not a great fight to take and he cursed his carelessness.

Too late now. The rabbit was bolting towards him, horns lowered threateningly.

Yikes, that thing could move. He jumped to the side as it carved a rabbit-shaped hole in the brush behind him.

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Could he still run? Would it be able to smell and track him? Was it intelligent? Could it climb trees?

His mind was hurled into overdrive, considering all the possibilities. There was simply too much he didn’t know. The rabbit was much faster than him and exposing his back while running away could prove to be a fatal mistake.

Before he could gather his thoughts, it was back. It sprang through the thicket to charge directly at him in a straight line. He jumped to the side, barely clearing the horns. Once more, it plunged through to the other side of the clearing.

Oh ho. I see it’s weakness.

His mind was clear now, he knew what to do. It was predictable, an easy kill.

He steadied himself as it burst out a third time. He braced himself and held the stake at the ready.

As it made its leap, he thrust forward, a straight line connecting the stake to his arm and his shoulders. It was a move he had practised countless times as a young knight.

With a muffled crunch, the stake struck the rabbit. It was too blunt to split its head but the blow knocked the rabbit out cold.

He was surprised to find that his body was tougher than a human’s body, his joints flexible and his grip was strong. He barely felt the shock as he struck down the rabbit.

It fell limp to the ground, a red patch where his stake split the skin.

*ding*

[YOU HAVE ACQUIRED A NEW SKILL – LEAP]

***

The disembodied voice immediately made him jump back out of fright. He looked about him, but there was no one else in the clearing. In fact, it sounded like the voice came from inside his own head.

The voice did remind him of that dream though. In the dream, he remembered a shadowy figure speaking to him. The figure spoke of a blessing of some kind, of acquisition? Perhaps this was the voice of god speaking directly to him!

Well, from what I can understand I’ve managed to gain a skill from killing this rabbit right? He thought. Is this a goblin’s natural ability or part of that same blessing?

“Hmm, well I wonder if it’s that same ability that the rabbit used to charge at me,” he pondered as his curiosity started to get the better of him. “Did I steal it from the creature once I slayed it?”

“Well only one way to find out,” he said aloud, intrigued at this turn of events. If this was a blessing that was bestowed upon him, perhaps the gods had plans for him yet.

O god of light, please let me accept your blessing in its fullest. He prayed. What you have bestowed upon me, I shall use for your will.

He wondered for a moment if his prayers as a goblin could still be heard by his Lord of Light, or any gods for that matter. Maybe goblins kept different gods?

No matter, it was time to test his blessing.

“Leap!”, he cried.

…

A solitary startled frog bounced away as his voice echoed in the undergrowth.

He did not leap, let alone even move. He did, however, feel a slight twinge as if a force was compelling him to move a certain way.

This feeling was not arcane in nature. He remembered the feeling of magic when the palace spell-master had shown him his powers in a demonstration for the King. That feeling was like a rush, a gushing fountain of power, almost as if a tremendous force was pushing at his soul.

No this was more of a light twinge, one that was barely noticeable but could be felt deep within. He felt it as a strange feeling in his legs, like springs coiled and ready to be released.

Ah so it’s not magic but rather a simple skill. Almost like muscle memory.

“!” he cried again, this time pushing with all his strength into his legs. The twinge turned into a giant whoosh! And he felt himself lift from the ground.

Wow, what a weightless feeling! I’ve jumped so high with a single leap.

He found himself above the canopy. He could see the forest stretch out across the horizon.

Oh no…this isn’t good.

The fall wasn’t nearly as graceful as the ascent, but the cuts and bruises left by the branches left him feeling refreshed. Here he was, the kingdom’s most renown knight reincarnated as a young brash goblin, now equipped with the power of the gods.

Lord of Light you have my endless gratitude. You will is my way, Abbath O Holy Redeemer.

He grabbed the rabbit on his way back to the village, triumphant in this new revelation.