Outside the cave is a temperate forest. Besides the goblins’ presence, there isn’t anything suggesting I’m not on Earth. I’m equipped with my spear and nothing else. All goblins except the hobgoblin are completely naked. Actually, compared to other children, my spear is a high-quality tool. Most of them were too stupid to create anything other than a club. Three have a spear like me, and another managed to create an ax with a stick and a sharp stone, but I’m pretty sure that contraption would crumble with the first hit.
Adult goblins lead us to a clearing. There are rabbits there. Some of them have horns. Is that horned rabbit that’s very popular in novels? The one that kills by jumping and nailing opponents with its horn? I would love to have an appraisal skill or something similar, but there wasn’t anything like that in the shop. No idea how to get it manually. Would it work if I just tried to analyze every opponent?
Goblins split up, trying to encircle the clearing. Children are split up as well, following adult goblins. I follow one of the groups. We are sneaking in, or at least trying. Adults are sneaking, while children don’t exactly understand what is going on and are just trying to mimic adults without much success. I try to genuinely sneak, crouching down and paying attention to where I step. I even try to hide behind trees. It’s not like I believe my efforts would make a difference, but...
You have learned Sneaking (Common)!
Exactly! That is what I was after. I still try to sneak, but I don’t care as much. I know there is a Hiding (Common) skill, but I guess I need to hide without moving to unlock it.
Rabbits notice our approach rather quickly, which leads to goblins raising war cries and charging. Children charge as well, still not understanding what is going on but mimicking adults. I'm not particularly enthusiastic, so I stay in the back. We charge in. Hornless habits try to run away, while horned ones attack. Adults step to the side, dodging attacks, but children are clueless. Rabbits horns pierce children's bodies. Children don’t know what to do. Adults attack horned rabbits. I seize the opportunity to attack a rabbit that has become stuck in one of my siblings' body. My spear doesn’t pierce its skin in the first stab. I grit my teeth and continue to stab.
The battle is completely chaotic. Adults fight and are winning. Children are running around like headless chickens, sometimes trying to hit rabbits but more often being rescued by adults. I finish my opponent.
You have killed 1 1st tier monster. You have earned 30 Experience Points.
Your Mana Sense skill has advanced to level 2.
Your Spear Fighting skill has advanced to level 2.
No race level up. I look around, and the battle is coming to the end. Most hornless rabbits escaped. Some horned rabbits escaped as well. There are around ten killed rabbits and five killed goblin children. I’m not very good at recognizing goblins by their faces, but there should have been ten adults and around twenty goblin children.
We take all the bodies, including the dead children, and walk back to the cave. Are they going to bury them? No, obviously not. We are monsters. They are eating them. I don’t want to become a cannibal, so I just eat the rabbit I hunted.
I noticed one of the goblins wanted to have sex with women, but the hobgoblin punched him, then pissed ground around the women. It seems to be some kind of ownership mark. We really are monsters.
After eating, I continue training my Mana Sense skill and achieve a breakthrough in my ability to sense mana after a few hours. I think most mana around is ambient mana, but with a touch of elemental mana. After that discovery, it’s possible for me to tell where the air ends and the cave wall starts with only the Mana Sense skill. It’s very blurry, but it’s progress. I figure I should start with my attempts to control mana with ambient mana.
I try to meditate many times, hoping to unlock the skill, but make no progress. There was no Meditation skill in the system shop, but all those skills were basic, so it doesn’t mean that Meditation doesn’t exist. No luck, though. I concentrate to feel where I actually perceive mana, to find some kind of mana organ, but that also failed. Just willing mana to move doesn’t work.
I concentrate again on the Mana Sense feeling, but I try to move mana through it.
You have learned Mana Manipulation (Uncommon)!
Ha! Success! I jump up in joy. Goblins look at me strangely. I sigh. Of course. These idiots would never understand.
The next day, we go to hunt again. Children are smarter today. On our way to the rabbit clearing, suddenly one of the goblins shouts something, and the rest of the adults form a circle. I quickly join them, while the children don’t know what is going on. Several wolves emerge from behind the trees and jump on goblin children. The rest of them join the circle, but the wolves don’t attack. They killed six goblin children, and it seems that’s enough for them. They leave with their catch. We continue with our hunt. I and the rest of the remaining children now look like teenagers compared to adult goblins.
Adult goblins seem to remember most locations with prey. There are not many of them, though. There is some water in the cave, so we don’t need to look for a stream or a river. Cave water is of dubious quality, but all goblins have the Iron Stomach trait. I think we could look for a stream since the rest of the animals have to drink somewhere, but the goblin’s language isn’t that advanced. I don’t know how to communicate that. We walk back to the cave, hungry. We hunted a few smaller animals, but the hobgoblin ate them all.
I frown. There is smoke in the sky, close to our cave. A forest fire? Given that I live in a magical world, there could be some kind of fire monster. Anyway, I keep to the rear of our group. Being cautious has never betrayed me in this world.
When we are close, the rest of the goblins also notice something is wrong. They start sneaking. I do so too. Suddenly, one of the goblins in front falls back, with an arrow in his head. Shit! I hide in a bush, but the rest of the goblins charge ahead.
A human emerges from behind the greenery. A big armored guy with a sword. He cleaves two goblins in half. That enrages the hobgoblin, which charges at him, but an arrow strikes and kills the hob. He lifelessly falls to the ground. Two more warriors emerge and kill goblins easily. When there are only six goblins left, their morale crumbles, and the goblins try to run away. Should I join them?
An arrow strikes one of them in the back. Another. Damn, I lose my chance. I think two or maybe three goblins survived, but the tribe is gone. I stay still. I was never so thankful for my green skin, which camouflages me in the greenery of the forest.
Humans say something, but I don’t understand their language. They sheathe their weapons. Good. I keep my breath steady and feign death. I don’t think a normal person would be able to hear me, but these could be superhumans.
You have learned Hiding (Common)!
Damn! I nearly shouted at that! I keep watching humans. The archer boy is collecting his arrows. They leave after that in the cave direction. Well… This is an ideal opportunity to escape. There are a few problems, though. I don’t know of any other water source. I don’t know of any other relatively safe location. I am unable to hunt alone, or if I tried, I would probably perish quickly. I need that cave. Worst case, I will eat dead goblins.
I creep closer to the cave. I make sure to be silent and as low to the ground as possible. After sneaking to the next bush, I look at the cave entrance. Humans built a fireplace and are eating the meat of some big cat. Lynx? Panther? I don’t know. I know there is a partially butchered cat corpse near them. There are five of them: three men and two women. Near them are two naked women's bodies from my former tribe. Both are dead. It seems humans just killed them to spare them misery, or maybe it was impossible to restore their minds. I lay in the bush and don’t do anything. I’m playing dead, so in the worse case scenario of them finding me out, I hope they will ignore me. They eat and talk for maybe an hour. After that, they take the bodies of the girls with them and leave.
I wait for several more minutes. Okay, they left. I drag goblin corpses to the cave before any scavenger finds me. I do the same with the big cat, though its body is nearly too big for me. I’m hungry, so I start with the cat. Humans took its fur, so I have access to most of the remaining meat and entrails. I sit down beside the cave an hour later. I’m stuffed. There’s no remaining meat on the cat’s skeleton; I ate it all. I sigh. This means I will have to eat goblins' bodies tomorrow.
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I think about the future. My short-term plan is to become an adult. Goblins are growing super fast, and I’m sure I will be grown up in a few days. This will increase my stats, giving me more power. I need to train my magic too. Now that I can manipulate mana, I need to figure out how to attack with it.
Then there are the remaining goblin survivors. Will they return? I would hope so, but I can’t plan on it. Actually, this cave is not as safe as before. I’m a lone goblin here, and the entrance is open to everyone. Hm… I will set up some traps. Actually, traps are my best bet for hunting. I’m going to dig a pit in the middle of the entrance, maybe with spikes at the bottom. That would take some time and effort, but it would give me some protection and the means to take down bigger monsters.
I find some remaining branches and cut them into a primitive shovel. I go to the entrance and start to dig. I spend an hour on that, but my pit is only half a meter deep. I made it two to two meters wide, though, so it's kind of expected. Anyway, I’m too tired to continue today. I think about building a fireplace, but I’m afraid humans would return.
I spend the rest of the day practicing Mana Manipulation, then I go to sleep.
I wake up in the morning and check myself out. I’m still in one piece. Good. Status!
Name : NA
Age : 0
Race : Goblin
Level:0/10
Strength: 2 (3)
Vitality: 4 (5)
Endurance: 2 (3)
Dexterity: 6
Intelligence: 23
Will: 16
Affinity: 3
Health:17/17
Stamina:25/27
Mana:0/0
Traits
Iron Stomach 1
Combat skills
Brawling 1
Spear Fighting 2
Sneaking 1
Hiding 1
Magic Skills
Mana Sense 2
Mana Manipulation 1
Crafting Skills
Wood Working 1
Titles
None
My numbers are up. It seems I’m nearly an adult. Hm… I don’t think my Strength was that high before. Can I gain stats by training? The system says yes. Great! I question the system further. It seems I can get more stats, but I’m still limited by my race. At best, I can only reach stats that would be high for my race. I probably should do some training, but only when I have a surplus of food.
I look at one of the goblin corpses. I sigh. I have to do it. I take a bite. It’s not that bad. I take another. I think it was mostly my human conscience that has qualms about cannibalism. Goblins seem to be cannibals anyway.
After eating, I get back to digging. I throw dirt on the sides to make the entrance smaller. After another few hours, I’m too tired to continue. I eat more goblin meat and then train my magic skills. I don’t think I’m ready to create another magic skill. I can barely move mana around. I dig some more in the evening and then go to bed.
I wake up and check my status.
Name: NA
Age: 0
Race: Goblin
Level:0/10
Strength: 3
Vitality: 5
Endurance: 3
Dexterity: 6
Intelligence: 23
Will: 16
Affinity: 3
Health:19/19
Stamina:26/31
Mana:0/0
Traits
Iron Stomach
Combat skills
Brawling 1
Sear Fighting 2
Sneaking 1
Hiding 1
Magic Skills
Mana Sense 2
Mana Manipulation 1
Crafting Skills
Wood Working 1
Titles
None
Great! I’m an adult now. No more free stats for me, but at least I’m bigger. I eat more goblins. Meat is starting to become funny, but my stomach can handle that. The taste is not so pleasant, though. I dig. My hole is over a meter deep, but as I go deeper, it is also harder to dig and throw dirt to the surface.
After the digging period, I start working on spikes while practicing mana skills. I can do both at the same time, mostly because sharpening spikes is a rather simple job. After that, I finally go to the forest. Branches in the cave start to deplete, and I need to find more. It quickly becomes obvious that I will need to cut down some. I will need sharp stones and some time for such a project. Damn. I hoped the remaining goblins would return by now. I could boss them around and complete that faster.
I return to the cave and go to sleep.
I start the day by digging. My available meat is disappearing. On the other hand, I’m not so hungry all the time. My growth spurt ended, and it seems there is a need for more food alongside it. I place all my spikes in the pit. It’s some defense, but I’m not very confident in it. I go to the forest and find some branches. I also find worms in rotting wood. I was searching for an alternative food source, and this one seems fine. After eating rotting meat and entrails for days, worms are no longer disgusting to me.
I carve more spikes and place them in the pit. I also find stones and place them on the sides, creating slopes. Hopefully, a big monster trying to cross there would fall into the pit.
You have learned Fortification Construction skill (Rare)!
A new skill! A rare one! It’s my first rare skill and also proof there are skills outside the system shop. Actually, what happens when I have all the slots filled? I ask the system. Nice! You can drop a skill anytime you want.
The next day, I go to search for weak and tiny branches to make a trap out of the pit. I need them for camouflage. I find a few long ones, but I manage to cut them out of trees with a sharp stone. I drag them back to the cave. It’s kind of strange that no monster attacked me, but it's very welcoming. Do local monsters know that this is the goblin’s territory? I never went too far from the cave. I also tear up grass to better camouflage the pit, but I also place some grass in the sun. I hope to have some hay for a bed. Sleeping on a cold stone is unpleasant.
You have learned Trap Making skill (Common)!
Now the pit is complete. I go to sleep content.
The next day, I think once again about my short-term plans. I’m going to further fortify the entrance and make myself spare weapons. I’m going to train my magic. Beyond that? My biggest problems are food and security. I can eat worms for some time. Maybe I can find some mushrooms? Anyway, I can scavenge near the cave for some time, but I will need to leave at some point. There’s also a human threat. Actually, I thought about finding humans, but I don’t know their language. It’s suicide. They would kill me on sight. I asked the system about language, but there was no response. The system only responds to inquiries about its own functions and laws.
I spend two days like that. On the third day, I spot a bear. Should I engage? No, obviously not. I could lead it to the trap, but then I would need to enter the cave. I would be cornered by a large predator if the bear were to break through the pit. I have around one hundred meters to the cave, but it’s not smart to risk my life. The decision is taken from me, however, as the bear notices me. Crap. I start running to the cave.
The bear growls and, as expected, runs after me. Damn! I’m way slower, but the cave is close. The bear is coming closer, and I try to use bushes and trees growing close to each other to force the bear to take a detour. I’m smaller, after all. I jump into the cave and hear the sound of twigs breaking and something hitting the ground. I look back. The bear fell into the pit and was even wounded by spikes. I take my spear and use it to attack its eyes from above. I gouge one of its eyes, but the bear swipes his claws and breaks my spear.
Ha! I have more of them. I run into the cave and take three spare spears. I run back, and the bear is trying to climb out of the pit. I go straight for his second eye. Success! The enraged bear falls back into the pit. Most spikes were destroyed already, but the few remaining hurt it further. The bear is blind now and hits walls. I use the opportunity to attack it from the sides and back. Its skin is too durable for me, so I try to aim for wounds from spikes.
After an hour, the bear dies. I didn’t have any way to finish it, so it only dies from bleeding out while being constantly harassed by me.
You have killed 1 2nd tier monster. You have earned 1500 Experience Points.
You have advanced to level 3!
Your Mana Sense skill has advanced to level 6.
Your Spear Fighting skill has advanced to level 3.
Your Trap Making skill have advanced to level 3.
Your Wood Working skill has advanced to level 4.
Your Mana Manipulation skill has advanced to level 4.
Your Brawling skill has advanced to level 2.
Your Sneaking skill has advanced to level 2.
Your Hiding skill has advanced to level 3.
Your Fortification Constitution skill has advanced to level 2.
Your Iron Stomach trait has advanced to level 3.
Wow! That’s a lot of levels. I take a break and look around. Hopefully, the bear’s roars scared away local predators. I jump down and start to butcher the bear. I’m too weak to take the whole bear out of the pit. It takes me a few hours, but I fragment the bear into several pieces that are light enough. I start to repair the pit. It will take some work to completely repair the trap, and at least I need to replace the spikes. The bear destroyed most of them. I don’t carve them right now, but take some of the spikes nailed down around the entrance. I sigh in relief. My fortifications are mostly repaired. I’m no longer so afraid of predators suddenly attacking. After that, I continue the butchering work. I’m glad for the meat; it’s going to last me for weeks. I don’t eat as much as when I was growing up, plus I should have enough time to dry and preserve most of it. I also plan to make myself some clothes from the fur. I won’t be naked anymore.