[Day 4]
When Rou awoke, the cavern was already stirring with life. Low snarls, guttural chatter, and the shuffling of green bodies filled the air.
Almost as soon as he got up, Gobuji, the oldest goblin in the tribe, hobbled over, his gnarled hands cupped with the usual food: a few sour berries, mashed insects, and fat worms still writhing weakly.
Rou devoured them without pause. The flavor left much to be desired, but there was nothing else to eat. His body accepted them eagerly, and the ache in his belly dulled.
As Rou wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, Gobuji let out a throaty chuckle. "Enjoy it well, Rou. This is the last time I feed you. From this afternoon onward, you must find food by yourself. No one survives long by waiting to be fed."
Rou gave a small nod. "...I understand."
He glanced at the bent figure beside him. During his earliest days, it had been Gobuji who kept the new generation of goblins alive, pressing these same morsels past his lips when he could barely move.
The thought stirred a sliver of respect he hadn't expected to feel toward another goblin.
---
Later that morning, Rou sought out the largest of his peers, a burly young goblin called Kichi. Though not particularly clever, Kichi's raw strength stood out among their generation.
Rou approached him directly, offering a sharp grin.
"Oi, Kichi," Rou said, tapping the crude branch in his hand. "Come with me. We're going hunting."
Kichi blinked, then gave a slow nod. Whether from curiosity or instinct, Kichi accepted without any complaint.
At noon, the two young goblins slipped from the safety of the cave. Armed only with sturdy branches, they wandered to the north of the cavern, deeper into the forest.
It wasn't long before they spotted their first prey, a rabbit with a single twisted horn that gleamed faintly in the sunlight.
Rou quickly formed a plan. "Kichi, drive it forward. Make noise, wave that club of yours. I'll wait ahead and finish it."
Kichi grunted and gave a careless nod.
The task was simple enough, just charge at the creature while swinging his branch and bellowing as loud as he could.
His plan worked better than expected. The rabbit, startled into running, had bolted exactly to where Rou had predicted, and a well-timed strike ended its frantic escape.
[Killed Horned Rabbit (F) - You have earned 5 Coins]
'Hmm... So that's how you earn coins for the Shop.'
Browsing through the Shop, Rou decided to spend three coins to exchange for a butcher knife (-4) and a lighter (-1).
With the butcher knife, Rou butchered the rabbit, severing its head from the body, removing its guts, and skinning it. With the lighter, he made a bonfire. Using branches sharpened at their ends with his knife, he skewered the rabbit meat and roasted it over the fire.
Kichi, watching all this, had a big question mark floating in his head and drool pooling at his feet. However, when the meat finally finished cooking, he felt that all the waiting had been worth it.
After eating, Rou claimed the rabbit's horn as a trophy.
With his butcher knife, he no longer needed to make crude weapons from animal horns.
...
Evening drew near when they encountered prey once more, another horned rabbit, and with it, a new creature: a tanuki[1] with coarse fur and a plate of bone-like armor shielding its back. Even so, its head, limbs, and stomach were still vulnerable, and Rou's butcher knife easily ended it.
[Killed Horned Rabbit (F) - You have earned 7 Coins]
[Killed Armored Tanuki (F) - You have earned 6 Coins]
And as he ate them, something stirred within him.
[Skill Acquired: Escape (F)]
[Allows for a sudden burst of speed when evading danger or retreating.]
[Skill Acquired: Endurance (F)]
[Grants a minor increase to the endurance stat.]
Rou closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on the new skills he suddenly acquired.
It had been a very fulfilling day. For their first hunt, Rou and Kichi had managed to bring down three monsters in a single afternoon.
More than just food and trophies, Rou had gained something far more valuable. He now had a clearer grasp of the System's mechanics, how coins were earned, how the Shop functioned, and most importantly, his ability, [Absorption], finally showed its effect.
[Absorption (Unrated)]
[Allows the consumption of any substance, regardless of its hardness or toxicity, to assimilate its traits and abilities into usable skills. The effectiveness is determined by the quality and freshness of what is absorbed.]
...
[Status ∆] [Shop] [Community]
[Existence Level: 002/100]
[Species: Goblin]
[Age: 4 Days]
[Parameters]
[Strength: F]
[Endurance: F → F+[2]]
[Agility: F+]
[Mana Pool: F]
[Magic Power: F]
[Abilities]
[Absorption (Unrated)]
[Racial Skills]
[Aspect of Demon (D)]
[Precocious (D)]
[Cunning (F)]
[Crossbreeding (F)]
[Night Vision (F)]
[Acquired Skills]
[Endurance (F)] NEW!
[Escape (F)] NEW!
[Status] [Shop ∆] [Community]
[Coins: 13]
[Purchased]
[Butcher Knife - 4 Coins]
[Lighter 10ml - 1 Coins]
[System Conversion]
[F-rank monsters → 1–25 coins]
[E-rank monsters → 26–50 coins]
[D-rank monsters → 51–500 coins]
[C-rank monsters → 501–1,000 coins]
[B-rank monsters → 1,001–10,000 coins]
[A-rank monsters → 10,001–100,000 coins]
[S-rank monsters → 100,001-500,000 coins]
[1] tanuki
[2] F+