Steal groggily arose in it's box to the powerful, aromatic smell of meat.
The little goblin kicked it's feet at the door, the rather light wood flung open and bright sunlight beamed into the front half of Steal's box. A distinct pain washed through the goblin's brain and hurt his eyes as the brightness smothered him. The little creature pulled himself back into the box, closed his eyes and began to open them slowly, easing himself into the light.
His black, over-sized and beady eyes narrowed as the goblin wriggled free of the box, clambering to his feet and searching rather desperately for the source of that DELICIOUS aroma. The fire was roaring again in the center of the camp. above it a long spit, skewered with dozens of hunks of fresh, red flesh.
The goblin plodded his way towards the fire, where five hobgoblins sat, yelling loudly and chomping on juicy meat. Each violent bite sent sprays of juice and fat bursting from their fanged mouths. "Food?" The goblin simply asked when it made it to the gathering of feasting hobgoblins, it's answer was as simple as it was silent, a hunk of meat the size of the little goblin's head was tossed into it's open hands. Aromatic juices leaking from the hot meat. The starving creature wolfed down the first meal it had ever had in it's short life, making disgusting, ugly noises as it chomped and slurped on it's food.
It was a mere few seconds until all that remained of the massive chunk of flesh was nothing but a thick, stringy length of fat that was stuck between it's teeth. Even that was dragged down to his swelling, grumbling stomach as his calloused, sharp tongue freed the fat from it's crooked teeth. Delighted, the creature yipped with joy, doing a little, clumsy dance. Steal sat down with the others, listening in on the chattering hobgoblins as it thought to itself, on occassion it noticed the odd glance, but he was a foreigner, a new member of their tribe. It was expected.
Nevertheless, the little goblin kept thinking to itself, remembering the previous night and the mention of an 'Unlock List'. Steal murmured to itself, so as not to disturb the rest "Unlock" though yet again it sounded more along the lines of "Ulak" to any listening to his words.
Unlock List
Unlock Points Available: 1
Goblin Unlocks Available: 3
Tough Hide
Unnerving Malice
Fleet-Of-Foot
Steal nodded in confirmation as it began to understand how this 'unlock' system worked, it wasn't just the list but an understanding of how unlocks worked that came into it's mind. It would seem that every five levels in any job or class it had, it would gain a new unlock point and another few traits and skills it could choose from. Now the little goblin went through the unlocks he had, digging for more detailed information other than just his available unlocks names.
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Tough Hide (Trait)
Many creatures of the world have tough hides, far bettter than the paperthin skin of humanity.
Each level of Tough Hide grants +3 Armor Rating.
Unnerving Malice (Trait)
There are old tales and superstitions that 'killing intent' and malice can be felt, perhaps it is not merely superstition
Unnerving Malice causes all creatures within ten feet to feel unnerved by the user.
Decreases all other creatures Defuff Resist by 10% against Fear caused by the user.
Fleet-Of-Foot (Trait)
Some creatures are capable of being as fast on their feet as they are nimble.
Increases user's movement speed by 5% per Level of Fleet-Of-Foot.
Grants +1 DEX, +1 AGI for each Level of Fleet-Of-Foot.
Steal continued to nod along to himself as he read through his choices. Perhaps it would be a good idea for him to focus on survival, just as he always had so far. But he wasn't sure what the best choice was, making others uncomfortable around him didn't seem like a great idea, and he had no idea how he could inflict 'Fear' either. Tough Hide seemed like a good choice, making him more durable in combat, but then Steal thought of all the times he had wanted to run and realised he likely wasn't fast enough, the desperation he felt when he was forced to fight rather than run like he wished he could...
New Trait Gained: Fleet-Of-Foot
The goblin grinned a little, happy that it had acquired it's first trai-
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Steal cried out in pain as shocks ran up his body, his bones ached and his flesh felt like it was alight, blazing. The hobgoblins merely sat there, watching him, they had been through this before and were aware of what was happening. The pain ebbed away after one last burst of suffering.
"What did you pick?" Drekai had been watching him from among the group, moving forward with an extended hand to pick the little one up. Steal took her hand when the pain had finally gone, making an effort to put on the same toothy grin he'd been shown nearly a dozen times by the hobgoblin tribe.
"Fleet-Of-Foot, makes me go quick"
Another voice, this one manly and gruff, Grak's spoke up from behind Steal "Thank Evon, you couldn't keep up last time... Speaking of hunting, it's time you learn a better way to help, come with me.
Steal tagged along, he was happy enough now that he'd ate. Already he felt like he was much lighter on his feet, which made the hour long trek that Grak forced the goblin to go on a little bit easier.