Jed's 4th day on the mysterious land. As Jed went out to drink water from the pond, he noticed there were a lot of goblins roaming around the area. He figured they were probably searching for the goblin he killed the day before. So Jed, with a few pieces of goblin meat left, decided to just stay inside his tent for now and wait until the goblins were done searching.
After a while, Jed peeked outside and didn't see any goblins nearby. He quietly stepped out and started pulling some vines in the forest to make more traps around his camp, thinking that if these goblins were getting closer, he needed to be more cautious. He was starting to get used to living on this strange land by relying on survival instincts and basic logic.
While pulling vines, one of them suddenly burned his hand. The vine had a toxic sap that reacted to skin, and the pain shot through his palm instantly. He dropped it and ran straight to the pond to ease the burning. But just as fast as the pain came, it disappeared. He looked at his palm — healed. No wounds, no marks.
That's when it hit him again. The glowing stones. The reason he was still alive.
Jed figured out that those stones weren't just healing him — they were slowly making him stronger.
By the 5th day, Jed had finished placing his traps. While checking one of them, he managed to catch a monkey and brought it back to camp for food. After eating, he thought about testing his strength. He punched one of the trees nearby with all his might. A chunk of the bark broke off. Not a huge impact — but better than nothing. Normally that would have just hurt his hand.
He smiled a bit, realizing his progress.
Jed decided to make his own routine. In the morning, he'd check the traps and scout the surroundings. In the afternoon, he'd hunt. At night, he'd train his body — push-ups, squats with stones, pull-ups from tree branches, and short sprints back and forth near his camp. He couldn't go too far. There were still other monsters out there.
And every night, he'd consume one glowstone. Each time, he felt the fatigue disappear, his muscles recover, and his energy come back full.
Eventually, a thought came to him — if he wanted peace of mind, he had to deal with the goblins permanently. He had to wipe them out from that cave nearby. He knew it wouldn't be easy. They moved in packs. They were smart enough to build shelter and guard the entrance. But if he could train long enough, plan it well, and catch them off guard… he could do it.
So he prepared.
He trained.
And every day, he waited for the right moment — the day he'd strike the goblins before they got the chance to come for him.
And so that very special day came.