After devouring the green creature, Arlo felt a slight easing of his hunger, yet it persisted, gnawing at his insides. His mind was a little clearer now, although far from sharp. The wound inflicted by the sword when he fell had miraculously healed, but he remained in a state of profound weakness.

"There was one more!" Arlo muttered to himself, startled at the sound of his own voice. "I can speak!"

His newfound ability brought a fleeting sense of joy before he forced himself back to the grim reality at hand.

"Fuel! I need more fuel! More food!" he growled, his determination unyielding.

Though still feeble, he managed to regrow his stubby feet and ventured out of the dilapidated chamber he had occupied. The promise of sustenance awaited him beyond those decaying walls, and he would pursue it relentlessly.

As he stumbled through the labyrinthine corridors, he reflected on the creature he had consumed. Its terrified eyes haunted him, but he understood that he had no alternative. Survival demanded such sacrifices.

The labyrinth stretched out before him, its ancient expanse seemingly infinite. Each corridor led to another, seemingly endless in their twists and turns.

Arlo's gait remained awkward and unsteady, an inconvenient form he lamented. A sigh escaped his lips, a longing to reclaim his human appearance.

And just as he wished for his former self, an unfamiliar response surged through his body, as if his very being responded to his desires.

Arlo froze, a flicker of excitement igniting within him. Though he knew his name and realized he didn't belong in this world, his memories remained clouded, his own face a blur.

'What did humans look like, anyway?' Arlo pondered, his thoughts mingling with a throbbing headache.

He exerted his mind, straining to conjure an image of the green creature he had consumed. With utmost concentration, he visualized its form, willing it to materialize in his mind's eye. When he reopened his eyes, the world seemed larger, towering over him. He had become small.

Examining his green hands and touching his face, he confirmed that his transformation had succeeded. Along with this newfound form came the scent of the labyrinth, a foul stench that permeated the air. Weariness washed over him once more.

"Damn it," he muttered, frustrated. "I grow weaker with each transformation."

Ensuring he could revert to his long claws at will, Arlo trudged forward in the dark labyrinth. Although unsure of his destination, he navigated instinctively, an inexplicable pull guiding his steps.

After a few minutes, he arrived at a sprawling area where three shoddy shacks barely accommodated the diminutive inhabitants. A meagre campfire crackled in their midst.

As Arlo sensed he was drawing near to his prey, a subtle drool escaped his mouth, quickly stifled as he realized the monstrosity of his own hunger.

"Survival of the fittest!" Arlo quietly repeated to himself, justifying his actions as he approached the shacks.

"Remmy!" a voice called out from one of the shacks, and two small, green figures emerged. "How did you escape?!"

Arlo noticed one of them wielding a dagger while the other had a makeshift sword fashioned from scraps of blades and some rags. The one who had called out appeared shaken, yet relief washed over his face, relieved that his friend was unharmed. It only deepened Arlo's guilt.

And at that moment, a name resurfaced in Arlo's mind.

"Klein!" he exclaimed, his voice tinged with fear, uncertain if his recollection was correct.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

The goblin holding the sword fixed his gaze on Arlo, recognizing the name. He let out a sigh of relief, reassured by the confirmation.

"I thought you were bitten by the creature," Klein said, his gruff voice carrying an air of experience.

Arlo's transformation had left him weakened once more, doubting his ability to confront both goblins in his current state. Courage wavered within him, and he remembered his nature as a hunter who preferred stealth over direct confrontation.

'I'm the type of hunter who hides,' Arlo convinced himself silently. 'I can't be expected to fight monsters head-on.'

"Just moments ago, I barely escaped a horrifying monster, and this is my welcome?" Arlo retorted, frustration and fear mingling in his voice.

The younger goblin, whose name remained elusive to Arlo, interjected before Klein could respond.

"Perhaps I didn't see it right. The darkness enveloped us when Remmy dropped the torch," he explained, shaking off Klein's hand and approaching Arlo.

He embraced his friend warmly, his expression fully shifting from concern to relief. Arlo's hunger surged in response, primal instincts threatening to take hold. The notion of devouring this goblin and engaging in combat with Klein grew increasingly tempting, albeit the perils.

But before Arlo's normal teeth could transform into a ravenous maw, the young goblin uttered words that piqued his interest.

"It seems Klein managed to hunt down a Deathwalker Wolf. Since we don't have to search for you, let's feast!"

The fact that he could get more sustenance without a battle to death felt like the better option at this point, and Arlo accepted it wholeheartedly.

"Great, I'm starving!"

Klein seemed to be keeping an eye on 'Remmy', it was probable he had sensed something further, but he let go of him for now and started cooking the wolf.

Arlo managed to find his shack with a sense of familiarity churning within inside and entered.

There was barely anything inside other than a makeshift bed, a broken dagger and some rags that he was using as clothing. There were also some herbs growing on a patch of soil inside which Arlo immediately scarfed down. It made him feel slightly better, but it didn't give him a good feeling as when he ate Remmy the goblin. This had confirmed it, he surely needed fresh meat.

He peeked over his shoulder at the campfire and looked at Klein cooking the wolf that he slaughtered. His eyes suddenly met Klein's, with a nefarious glint in them.

'He knows!' Arlo thought silently, whilst his heart sang a frantic melody.

He quickly turned his gaze away, not wanting to engage before he ate some more. As he turned his head, his eyes landed on some of the decorations in Remmy's room.

They were clearly human skulls! Moreover, most of the decoration was made of bones, and he figured they were human bones, too. He frantically searched around to find more when he heard Klein's voice from outside.

"Food is ready, come eat!"

'Remmy' had an unusual appetite, to say the least, as he devoured food unbelievably fast and went through food faster than Klein cooked it. Arlo even went for raw meat after a while, but it didn't seem like the other two goblins minded it too much. The meat they cooked was very rare, it seemed it was mostly cooked to kill bacteria, but it was still raw otherwise.

"You'll get sick if you don't put it under fire. Remember how Salyp died?" the young goblin said in a lecturing tone.

All Arlo could think about was how this wolf was even more filling than the goblin he ate. His strength was recovering fast, and his mind became more stable as his hunger subsided slightly.

"Remmy!" Klein spoke with a slow tone, not even turning to look at him this time. "I don't mind you finishing all our food, but are you willing to replenish it yourself?"

The young goblin spoke in the stead of Arlo again, "No way, Deathwalker Wolves are-"

"Sure, I can," Arlo responded. He urgently needed to find where these wolves hung around and consume all of them! "Just tell me where they are!"

Klein grumbled but said nothing further while Arlo finished the entirety of the wolf.

"It's the first time I see you eating so much, so fast!" the young goblin laughed as he slapped Arlo in the back as he was cleaning the meat of the last few pieces of the bones of the wolf. "Don't worry, I'm sure Klein will help us hunt the wolf!"

Finally done with his task, Arlo couldn't help but ask, "Do you remember how we got those decorations in my room?"

"From the humans, of course," the young goblin said with a puzzled look. "We even celebrated after finally getting those rare bones from that group of humans Klein had captured, don't you remember?"

Arlo was flabbergasted, he asked after cleaning his mouth with the back of his hands, "What rare bones?"

The young goblin seemed excited to have another chance of showing off his collection, and he immediately left to fetch them.

He came back with three white orb-like things and started describing them to him.

"It was so hard to pull the meat out of these! I worked at it for a full day!"

Arlo's expression darkened momentarily until he reverted back to normal. He felt sick in his stomach, and he mostly lamented the fact that he felt bad for devouring his friend 'Remmy'.

These skulls were much smaller with a depression on top. One of them was cracked at the top, likely by accident. There were also rows of teeth inside the skull, which didn't seem to have fully come out, yet. Arlo successfully managed to identify these as baby skulls.

At that moment, Arlo made an oath to himself:

'I won't even eat you disgusting creatures.'