*Yawn*

Awoken by sun rays filtered through a falling cascade of water, I was presented with a beautiful scene of sparkling lights.

Finding it quite picturesque, it was a shame that the stench of dried up blood and stack of meat in the corner ruined the moment for me, although I couldn't say it bothered me as much anymore, having spent the past five days inhabiting this cave.

Scorching away the blood with my fireball skill, I made my way over to the torrent of water, quenching my parched throat and washing my face, getting ready for the day ahead.

And on today's agenda was the same objective as the others, namely, exploring! Even though I attempted to make myself hyped, it didn't quite work, knowing that goblins and giant bears that could squash me like a bug roamed the woods.

Especially since my left arm was still practically useless. Looking at the wound, it was healing well and surprisingly, there was no sign of infection. However, using it in combat was definitely off the table.

Taking two daggers with me and leaving the rest of my equipment behind, I checked the time I had left.

______________

[Trial panel]

Duration: 5 days & 13:45:35

Objective: Survive

Final Reward: {Skill} or {Class}

______________

"Five more day's huh, wonder what I'll get?"

Exiting the cave and removing the barricade, I walked the thin ledge down the waterfall and began my exploration.

....

These past few days had been hectic, with me managing to map out the area quite a bit after many dangerous ventures.

First of all, from what I had discovered, there were four more types of beasts roaming the woods.

The first of them was a squirrel-type animal. This rodent, from an outside perspective, except for being the size of a beaver, was just like any other type of squirrel, showcasing a slender body, bushy tail, and large eyes.

They also weren't aggressive and would normally run from predators. Their passiveness made me almost make the second biggest mistake of my life when I managed to corner one and fight it, wanting to know what its meat tasted like.

Luckily I killed the vermin before it could attack me. But that was also when I heard a terrifying message from the system, sending a shiver down my spine.

[You have slain Lvl 3 {Chlamydia Squirrel}]

After hearing the message, I wisely decided to leave the squirrels in peace and went to a nearby stream to wash my hands.

The next beast I encountered was a snake-type called the Lesser Imperium Snake. I had encountered them twice while climbing a tree. They were completely brown, with their bodies mimicking the rough surface of tree bark.

Having an average body length of 5-7 meters, the only positive I found was that they seemed to be nonvenomous, only using strangulation methods on their victims.

I even managed to kill one after it hissed at me, and I blasted it in the face with a fireball. The internal damage had killed it after a couple of minutes, although sadly there was no loot drop to be found. Although I did find out its level, which was 12.

The snake also tasted much better than fox meat, with the flavor strangely resembling both chicken and fish.

The other beast I encountered was a weasel the size of a raccoon. Other than being incredibly elusive and quick, their meat tasted horrid, and like the squirrel, I decided to avoid them.

Unlike the other beasts which I could defeat, the last monstrosity I had no way of fighting. Similar to the goblins, I assumed them to be E rank, and this creature was a horse.

The tall black stallions were the same size as ordinary horses, except for one discerning feature which made them stand out, which was their muscle. These horses seemed to have a diet of protein, creatine, and steroids, with their muscles bulging to the point of exploding.

And how I knew their muscles weren't just for show, I saw it blow up the skull of a snake with a simple kick.

Although their power and speed were impressive, the most surprising or even shocking thing about them was that I saw a goblin ride one. Luckily, this happened when I was already up in a tree avoiding some other goblins I spotted in the distance.

The horse rider was one of the warrior goblins and wore a silver band around its neck. It had relayed a message to the goblin group who in turn quickly followed after the rider towards some unknown destination, although it was likely their base up in the mountain.

And yes, the goblins had a base, or at least I suspected. I at least knew that the two goblin tribes, the green and red goblins, occupied different territory. While the greens occupied the west side of the mountain, the reds occupied the east.

Both groups also mainly stayed up the mountain and would occasionally descend trying to hunt some animals.

They were also the reason that I hadn't reached the peak of the mountain yet as I had no confidence in going undiscovered to the top.

Stolen novel; please report.

So for now, I was stuck exploring the surroundings trying to find a way past them without being located or killed in the process.

…..

Returning from another day of scouting, with my only achievement having killed a pesky fox, I was on my way back to base.

Moving through the woods and hearing the familiar sound of falling water, I was about to walk into the open when I heard strange noises.

*Neigh!*

"Gi GI"

Retreating quietly, I found a good vantage spot and looked at what was happening, and surprise surprise it was the goblins again, except instead of attacking a bear, this time they were… capturing a horse?

Across the pond, three goblins were standing in front of a horse bound with rope. All four hooves of the stallion were tied up, with each end of the rope tied to a different tree, making it splayed out on the ground. There was also a rope around its torso and head to make sure it stayed in place.

The three goblins were regular green goblins, although one wore a different kind of hide being made from a fancier looking brown leather instead of the dirty silver the others wore.

While there was that difference they each had happy expressions plastered on their faces even though they were covered in scrapes and bruises.

The trio was celebrating, jumping up and down in joy for having captured their prey.

After a little while, they seemed to calm down, and the fancier-looking goblin gave a small satchel tied to his waist to one of the other goblins who then walked and cautiously approached the horse.

Curious as to what he was taking out, I saw him fish out a small green oval rock, placing it in front of the steed.

With the goblin's attention fixated upon the horse, I noticed that the brown leather-wearing goblin in the back had taken out his dagger, and before I could react, cut the throat of the goblin next to him. Then, before the goblin tending to the horse could figure out what was going on, a dagger pierced his skull, killing him instantly.

Having killed its compatriots, it grinned as it shouted something indiscernible, before dragging their corpses and dumping them into the pond, their bodies gently floating down the stream connected to it.

Victorious, the goblin proudly stood in front of the horse and held its knife up threateningly while holding the green rock within its left hand, effectively frightening the steed and causing it to struggle to get free. Seeing the fear in its eyes, the goblin grinned and placed the rock in front of the stallion, before retreating about a meter and then waiting.

Seeing the horse slowly nudging closer to the rock, about to touch it, the goblin became excited before.

*BOOM*

A scorching heat assaulted its back, causing it to involuntarily be flung forward. Although painful, it wasn't as damaging as it first assumed, probably only leaving a bad bruise. But the true terror it realized was when it opened its eyes.

Falling straight towards the horse, it saw a look of fury and malice in the stallion's gaze. Even though the horse couldn't move its head horizontally, it could open its mouth, which it did so to an unnatural degree.

Then, like a crocodile ambushing prey, when the goblin fell in range, it closed shut, making it explode like a melon.

While the horse spat out the goblin's remains, someone moved out of the woods.

"Well, that worked out better than expected," revealing myself from the forest, I entered the pond and swam towards the scene.

My original plan was to attack the goblin and see if I could defeat it from across the pond. I fully expected to fail and only hit it maybe two or three times if I was lucky. And when the goblin would enter the water, I would dash away and climb up some tree, safely hiding from it.

But after my first attack, which was actually aimed at its head, an outcome happened that I never imagined.

Having made it to the opposite side of the bank, I stood in front of the horse while keeping my distance.

A bit nervous, I moved the goblin's corpse aside and used a long branch to roll the green rock to my side, not trusting the horse after its last showing.

Grasping it, I curiously looked at the stone, wondering what it did.

—————

[Item: Bonding stone]

Rarity: E+

Type: Contract

Description: A one time use summons contract.

Effect: Binds the recipient to the will of the owner.

Requirement:

1.Contract must be made willingly.

2.Contract can only be bound to E rank and lower creatures.

3.Owner of contract needs to place a drop of there own blood on the stone.

—————

My eyes opening wide, a slight grin formed on my face as I realized that this item could be a game changer for me.

Having been stuck exploring the outskirts, due to the goblins and my arm still healing up, limiting my mobility, if I could tame this horse, then those problems would be solved. With its speed and being a little careful, I could easily evade the goblins and explore the peak of the mountain.

Excited, I read the requirements for the contract again and got out my dagger, performing a slight cut on my thumb.

Feeling a stinging pain and blood coalescing, I proceeded to smear it against the stone.

Slowly, I saw my blood dissolve into the stone and travel to its center, from where it then disappeared. Assuming it worked, I placed the stone using the branch again in front of the horse.

While the horse had to accept the contract willingly, having seen how the goblin almost got the horse to accept the contract, I was going for a similar approach.

Holding the dagger in front of the steed, I made threatening movements, trying to make it feel terrified. However, its reaction was different from what I expected. Looking into its eyes, I saw no sign of fear or even apprehension; instead, I saw… contempt. It even snorted while looking at me.

Slightly peeved by the look of disdain, I began racking my brain about how to make it capitulate.

"Is it because it can tell that I am F rank? Well doesn't matter. I could always actually torture it, although that could cause lasting damage, and since I want to use the pony, that wouldn't be the brightest idea."

Thinking it over in my mind I eventually found the answer, "Water boarding".

Water boarding was a form of torture that did not cause lasting damage (at least physically). The technique becoming famous during the Iraq war, gave people the simulation of drowning by putting a rag over someones face and pouring water on it.

Although that was the preferred method, you could also use a wet rag, making it so you did not have to pour water, while still achieving a similar effect, or at least thats what my history teacher told me.

There was one problem with the plan, as the horse could open its mouth unnaturally wide, and I had no rag big enough to cover its entire surface. But luckily, I knew a fact about horses that would solve this issue, mainly that they couldn't breathe out of their mouths and only out of their noses. So assuming its anatomy didn't radically differ, it should work.

There was also the issue of covering the rag over the steed's nostrils, but that could also be solved by approaching from the back, as it couldn't move its head to the left or right, only up and down.

Walking over to the headless goblin, I dragged its corpse to the edge of the pond and then took off the hide it was wearing before kicking it in the water.

Afterward, I dipped the hide in the water, letting it totally soak through before I walked behind the horse and covered its nostrils with the rag.

Although the horse struggled and began screeching loudly, with it only being able to move its head up and down, it was useless, and the torture continued.

….

Two hours latter

During this duration, I would waterboard the stallion for five minutes each time before giving it about a minute's rest, which was mostly to make the rag wet again.

The horse had long ago become terrified of me, but wanting to be sure it worked, I continued for a while longer. Now, every time it saw me approaching, it would violently start to shake and neigh loudly.

Seeing its tremors, I decided to stop and put the stone in front of the horse again. This time, it immediately nudged its head closer and touched the orb, causing it to slightly glow before turning dull grey and cracking in half.

Surprised and thinking something had gone wrong, the message of the system relieved my worries.

Ding [You have bound a {Black Forest Horse}]