Alphonse wasn’t given time to check his wound. He continued to bite down, but the beast wriggled free from Maya’s control. It stood at the mouth of the cave, its frigid eyes glaring at them. Then it moved to the side. Alphonse could feel his heart almost stop, an awful premonition grabbing hold of him. He heard another set of footsteps.

“Shit, go further into the cave and find an exit. My kindness runs out here.” Maya said, her body shot forward. A cloud of butterflies and flowers blossomed forth, bringing along with it a sweet scent.

Alphonse took heed of her words. He turned and sprinted down further into the cave. The fighting noises that reached his ears became less intense the further in he travelled. He wasn’t willing to risk his own life, fighting to the death. She was on her own, although he appreciated the help.

It was deeper than he thought. The narrow walls brought with it a safety net. At least he didn’t have to worry about those dagger cats following him. His dark vision trait worked wonders within the abyss-like cave. As he clambered over a boulder, a stream formed underneath the rock, trickling down into the depths below.

His palm brushed up against the coarse rock walls. It was grainy to the touch, and moist. Like wet sandpaper. Every time he took a step, the crunching of gravel underneath echoed within the walls. Alphonse’s head was leaning forwards, listening for anything that could be a threat. He wasn’t a stranger to creatures popping out of the walls or crawling out from pitch-black crevices.

Alphonse’s cleaver was at the ready. He felt the tiredness within his body. He stopped, standing still to not make any noise. His heightened beast-like ears twitched, trying to hear anything around him. Realising that it was clear, he leaned up against the wall. His fingers brushed over the wound on his shoulder. Thankfully, it hit nothing major, not that he really knew where the arteries were, anyway. Using some more of the medicinal paste Maya had given him, he wiped it against the wound.

He waited until his body was in top condition before continuing. The trickling sound of water had changed, its flow had widened as the once narrow passageways of the cave opened up gently. Masked behind the newly formed river, the sound of scuttling tickled at his eardrums.

Alphonse dashed behind a rock, his head peering over. The scuttling became louder as the creatures meandered into full view. They weren’t very tall, barely reaching Alphonse’s shoulders in height. Loincloths hung loosely around their waist, but it was their muscles that his eyes focused on. They were like a bundle of steel wire, all connected to each other. Every time they took a step, the muscle fibres contracted. They looked like goblins, but it was like they had been fed compacted protein elixirs. Enhancing their strength. There were four of them.

They were looking straight in Alphonse's direction. He steeled himself and walked out.

“I suppose you guys aren’t up for talking?” They met his words with grim snarls. It was impossible for Alphonse to understand what they said in their tongue. They had no intention of trying to converse. Their feet dug into the gravel underneath as their small bodies launched towards him.

Alphonse, without hesitating, slit open his palm. Blood fell onto the cave’s floor. Ice formed and shot outwards, like a spiked fence, trying to stop any invaders.

Their agile bodies ducked their heads, dipping their limbs out of the icicles' attack. One goblin was’t so lucky. The ice spike impaled its thick wire-like muscled shoulder as a screech left the monster’s throat. It was left dangling in the air. The goblin thrust its sharp, pointy elbow to the spike that had stuck into its own arm, cracking the ice, freeing it.

Alphonse quickly readied himself against the other goblins, his cleaver at the ready. He disappeared from the spot. He wouldn’t let himself get cornered. When he reappeared, his cleaver descended like a reaper’s scythe. He did not use finesse. Alphonse relied on brute speed and strength. [ Brutal Strikes ] activated as his weapon tore through the air, creating a faint whistling noise. It was the sound of death for the goblins in their own home. The goblin couldn’t react in time. The cleaver cracked into its skull, and then continued straight down, splitting the monster in two. It felt just like butchering meat.

But he used too much strength. The weapon continued. Alphonse couldn’t halt the blade as it smashed down into the rocky ground. Almost cutting his foot in half.

One of the other goblin clubs smashed towards him. The attack hit his arm as he felt a strong impact rattle against his bones. It threatened to send him tumbling. Despite the small stature of the little green men, their strength was terrifying. Alphonse planted his feet into the ground as he resisted against the stumbling force.

Another goblin launched towards him, its thick wooden club hurtling towards his skull.

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Alphonse immediately ducked down underneath its swing. His hand touched the ground as a frigid cold flared up from his palm. The icicle shot up into the soft, squishy throat of the goblin. Blood poured out of the gaping hole. Alphonse commanded the flowing red liquid as it exploded towards the other monsters, creating a spiked sheet of ice. He crouched underneath the frigid cold blanket, using his hands and feet as he propelled himself forward with all of his strength. With the sheet of ice acting as camouflage, his cleaver slashed at the legs of the goblin. It seeped into the flesh, then cracked through the bone. Alphonse grabbed hold of the goblin as it was about to stumble to the floor. He opened his mouth wide, black shadowed teeth lurched forwards. Swallowing the head of the little green man whole.

< Goblin consumed >

| 9.3 dexterity added

| 8.6 strength added

| 6.2 constitution added

| 3.2 intelligence added

He ignored the system's voice as his eyes leered forwards.

The last two goblins held fear in their eyes, they stumbled backwards. Alphonse held the form of the Razor Spined Jungle Cat, along with the thorns hidden underneath. He looked like a demon. Alphonse’s eyes held a crimson lustre to them. He disappeared from the spot. He slashed with his cleaver in one hand as the other one lunged forwards. His clawed fingers bored through the squishy eyeballs. He abruptly cut the scream of the goblin off as his claws continued into the monster's brain.

The other goblin was missing its head.

Alphonse took a breather. He returned to his human form as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Despite such a brief fight, his hunger flared inside his stomach. He listened out for any sounds, before quickly starting a fire. If he wanted to become stronger, he would need to cook every piece of meat he came across.

I need to make the most of my set bonus. He thought.

Shit, I forgot my bag. I’ll need to make do with what I've got. Alphonse shook his head. He created a rotisserie device out of the goblin bones. As he patiently awaited for his meat to cook. Alphonse knew it was ready when the fat of the goblin’s leg created a sizzling sound when it hit the fire.

There were parts of the meat that had been charred, because of the uncontrolled fire, but there was nothing he could do about that. He grabbed hold of it and chomped down.

[ Chef’s Kiss activated ]

[ Recipe: Rotisserie Goblin Leg ]

[ Rotisserie Goblin Leg: The leg of a goblin. Goblin meat can be very tough, it preferably needs to be cooked in a stew. Parts of the leg have burnt because of uncontrolled fire use.]

[ Rating D ]

| 14.5 extra dexterity added

| 12.3 extra strength added

| 9.4 extra constitution added

| 3.4 extra intelligence added

[ +3 dexterity for 1 hour ]

< Trait extraction failed >

Alphonse opened up his system as a wall of text flashed into sight.

***

Name: Alphonse Khastal

Class: Hunger

Traits:

Hunger,

[ Common ] Keen Smell,

[ Common ] Keen Hearing,

[ Legendary ] Chef’s Kiss,

[ Un-common ] Dark Vision,

Hunger Forms:

Strong Back

Razor Spined Jungle Cat

Underworld Flower Thorns

Skills:

[ Epic ] Gourmet Extraction,

[ Rare ] Swallowing Bite,

[ Common ] Spectral Rage,

[ Rare ] Stomach Bile

[ Un-common ] Silent Steps

[ Epic ] Ice Arts

[ Rare ] Brutal Slash

Attributes:

Strength: 168.1

Dexterity: 139.2

Constitution: 131.9

Intelligence: 88.9

Wisdom: 17.7

Charisma: 17.9

Equipment:

Apocalypse Butcher’s Apron: | 15 Strength | 10 Constitution | 6 Dexterity

Apocalypse Butcher’s Cleaver: | 20 Strength | 10 Dexterity

The Smiling Man: 25 intelligence | 20 Wisdom

Badge Barrier: 15 constitution

***

Feels good to make progress. Alphonse smiled at the screen in front of him.