The early years were the toughest for the goblin. He had no idea how many times he died as a child, only to be brought back to life to die again as the lowest member of the dungeon. Starvation, exposure, and predators all claimed his life many times. The more he died, the weaker he became. The lonelier his life became.

He had no family, no clan, and no friends. He wasn't the only runt of the dungeon. However, unlike the others, he never displayed the talent to catch the eye of a chief or noble. He was always alone. An outcast among outcasts. Other runts raised in rank while he sank.

As the runt, he was too weak to develop his body essence, which should have been the easiest essence to cultivate. He didn't have the energy he needed to train. When he did try, the other goblins took their training too far, and he would have to try again in a new life. He was given nothing to survive. resources were saved for the strongest clans, the fiercest warriors, rich nobles, and mighty chiefs.

His only chance to cultivate essence was with his mind and spirit. His progress was slow. As a runt of society, he was left with the unwanted task of keeping the clans functioning. While others trained, he was cleaning living spaces, clothes, armor, and weapons. When he finished the essential jobs, he had less favorable tasks to do throughout the day and night. Only during his last few hours of sleep did he have time to strengthen his mind and spirit.

Sometimes the toll of the day was too demanding. He would try his hardest to improve himself only to fall asleep and lose his only time at progression. When he woke in the morning, he would curse his weak soul, then spend his day working for others.

He never gave up. Despite the barrier to cultivating his spirit aspects and limited resources to expand his mind, he never quit. He kept crushing through his tasks day in and day out. When he had the energy, he spent it all training.

In his persistent pursuit of mind essence, he found he didn't need any resources other goblins had like scrolls and mentors. Knowledge, wisdom, and survival, the essences of mind, could be found in the swamps and jungles. He learned what plants would give him strength and what plants would sap his strength. He learned how to build a fire from nothing. In the swamps, he learned how life cycles. In the jungle, he learned how death claimed all. Outside the cities and towns, he learned everything he needed to know about life.

As years passed and he outgrew his youth, he continued cultivating his mind. By age sixteen, he had finally created his first foundation. His mind grew, and he found survival on his own wasn't as tough as it once was. As his mind expanded, he felt his soul growing. It wasn't there yet, but in time, he would be able to bind to an element.

Two more years passed. The chores and tasks became more manageable. The goblin learned how to work efficiently and effectively. His mind continued to expand, and another foundation was added to his soul. One more year passed. Though the tasks increased, so had his creativity. Surviving on his own was easy. Another foundation was added to his soul. He was finally ready to bind an element.

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Life mana was the only energy he was familiar with. He wanted to be closer to nature. He felt in his soul nature was right for him. However, like everything he wanted, nature's mana eluded him. Life, on the other hand, came willingly. He couldn't push the mana away. It claimed him as it always had and bound to his soul. He didn't ask for life. He never wanted it.

Still, he didn't give up his pursuit of nature. Nature, after all, was full of life. The more he learned, the more he grew to understand that life was for the taking. Plants, trees, animals, and critters fueled his cultivation.

He slowly grew in power while staying at the dungeon's bottom. Finally, he started developing his spirit along with his mind. Years after his peers moved on to their own families, having already had their adventures, he finally obtained the class of his desire. He was a warrior of nature; he was a druid.

As a life druid, all he needed was himself. He left the clans and stayed in the swamps and jungles. He continued to grow until, finally, he was noticed. He was enlisted as a mercenary, given resources, and promised more training if he returned from his excursion successfully. Above all, he was given a chance to earn his name!

Even though he was full of resentment, he could not push away the hole in his heart. Finally, he had a chance. He was part of a mission. No matter what, he wasn't going to squander this task. If he needed to scrub the ships, he would clean. If the fortress needed to be guarded, he’d guard all night. He would slay all the spiders for the chance at more in life.

In his quiet hours of duty, he learned much. His perception was too strong for the secrets of the mission to be hidden from him. He knew it was a dungeon core his leaders were after. He knew that if he were the one to find it, he would likely become a chieftain himself. Desire burned within him.

He was the number one slayer of the spiders. He tracked them down quickly. When they tried to hide, he would flush them out. Only when he wasn't on patrol would the other goblin clans get ambushed. He was standing out. He was the leading tracker in this spider raid. He would be given an actual name and be a part of the dungeon upon completing this task…

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Now it had all gone wrong. "The runt is the one that led us into a trap." He can already feel the blame pushing on him. Once again, he will be left out of missions. It’s all wrong. Life is all wrong. Why did it have to be so hard? Why did it have to be so lonely?

In his anger and his rage, the runt did the only thing he knew how to do. He survived. Broken and alone, he survived.

Days pass by before he feels life energy filling his soul. The energetic mana rushing into him wakes him from his slumber. When he opens his eyes, he sees spiders landing upon him. He is too weak to fight them off, too numb to care even when the spiders wrap him up and carry him away.