A soft glow woke Adriel. He opened his eyes heavily and saw that his friends were frightened. Both Amara and Kael were complaining about the pain caused by their clothes; they were too tight.
Seeing them in trouble, Adriel got up, but felt something strange. When his gaze fell on his feet, he realized that he had grown quite a bit in a single day. He went to the lake and splashed water on his eyes, which helped him see better.
When he looked back at his friends, he noticed that Kael was being squeezed by his clothes, just like Amara. Both had grown so much that their pants couldn't cover them, and their bodies were screaming to be freed from the pressure of their clothes.
"So we did grow too much in a single day after all."
Adriel thought this as he looked at his own body. Then he realized that the clothes created by the blue ball weren't small: in fact, they had grown to fit his new physique. Upon noticing this, a thought quickly popped into his mind:
'We have to go kill goblins.'
But he immediately remembered that this was precisely what had angered Kael. Adriel's expression tensed as he watched his friends struggle with their clothes. He approached Kael.
"I want to go kill goblins."
He said it with impressive seriousness, in a low voice so that no one else could hear.
"Are you crazy? I already told you we shouldn't do that again." Kael refused, just as Adriel had expected.
"You can't go without clothes, especially Amara. Taking turns wearing clothes is not an option. What we need to do is kill goblins to get more blue ball clothes."
Kael's expression tensed as he listened to Adriel's logic.
"No... we can't..."
"You know we'll end up doing it. Delaying it will only create unnecessary complications."
Adriel cut him off mid-sentence, not letting him continue, knowing in advance what he was going to say.
"Liora, how are we going to choose today's leader? Do you think it's okay to do it by height?"
Kael turned to look at the girl, but she didn't hear him because she was talking to Nico. With a sigh, Adriel stood up and took Liora by the shoulder.
"Kael is asking how we are going to select today's leader and if it's okay to do it by height."
Liora's expression reflected nervousness and indecision.
"I think we could decide that..."
Adriel frowned and, without hesitation, asked everyone if they agreed with deciding by height.
'Four in favor and two against. Justo Amara and Nico... probably voted against it because Liora would be second to last in that case. We still win.'
Adriel thought this as he walked decisively toward Kael.
"You're already the leader."
Adriel's tone said it all. He knew what he wanted to hear.
"Go. Kill goblins, but only two. And if you encounter anything, try to go unnoticed."
Kael's voice was pained; he knew it wasn't right. Guilt was etched on his face, even though he knew that what Adriel was asking was inevitable.
Adriel entered the forest, heading toward where the goblins they had killed the day before had appeared. He walked among branches, leaves, and oak trees. Shortly aft d gone in, he heard footsteps and began to search for his prey.
He soon realized he was on high ground: below him was a huge cave. Most importantly, there were goblins there: three with bows and five with stone weapons such as daggers, axes, and swords. In the center were two more: one with a banner and the other with a staff.
They all stopped in front of the cave. To Adriel, it seemed normal, as if they were returning home. But there was a problem: they were all in perfect condition.
One of the goblins with a bow shot an arrow when the one with the banner signaled him to. That's when something came out of the dark cave: it devoured the head of a goblin with a sword in one bite.
Adriel's breathing quickened at the sight of a real monster. An imposing werewolf, over two meters tall, with giant claws and fangs.
Adriel's reaction was immediate: he took two steps back. But he did not flee. He wanted to see how far this would go.
The werewolf sank his claws into the faces of two more goblins and threw them far away. Then he lunged forward and tore the banner bearer and another archer to pieces.
Suddenly, Adriel felt intense heat. The goblin with the staff had formed a ball of fire. The werewolf tried to stop him by lunging at him, but the last two melee goblins blocked him. They were torn apart effortlessly, and the werewolf managed to devour the mage's head at the last moment.
In the end, two goblin archers managed to escape... or rather, only one.
Adriel saw one of them running in his direction. Without hesitation, he caught him as soon as he could and broke his neck. This time the neck resisted more, but finally gave way.
The system appeared again:
"You have killed a goblin fighter. Coins obtained: 2.
Class: Archer.
Phase: Initial. Category: E."
Adriel began stomping on the goblin's rib cage, which gave way much later than expected. He took a ball out of it and then turned around. But then he remembered the goblin s thrown by the werewolf. He looked around and found one.
The holes created by the monster's claws allowed him to pull out another blue ball. Then he saw the werewolf returning to its cave.
Retracing his steps, Adriel returned, but stopped halfway to read what he had obtained. He took the first blue ball and brought it close to his face:
'Name: Leather Breastplate. Leather Breastplate. No extra skills.'
Adriel looked at it closely.
'If I carry it and show it to Kael, he'll realize that this isn't normal. The same will probably happen with the other ball.'
He simulated the feeling of expelling something, and a window appeared:
"Do you want to make the item 'Leather Breastplate' yours?"
Out of curiosity, Adriel pressed "Yes." Another window popped up instantly:
"Do you want your 'Leather Breastplate' to take the form of your current Vanity shirt?"
Adriel clicked "Yes" without hesitation. As a result, he felt nothing. He hit his chest with his hand and noticed that the shirt absorbed most of the pain.
"It doesn't change the fabric or how it feels... but it does change its usefulness."
Impressed, he took the second ball.
"Parchment. Initial phase, type F. Uppercut expert. You will be given the knowledge to execute perfect uppercuts, but you will not know how to perform them instantly."
Adriel was stunned. He knew something about boxing, and the existence of that scroll excited him.
"If showing my chest was wrong, the scroll would confirm that I did something improper. Then I'll use it."
He got into position and instantly noticed that he had new combinations in mind, all ending or starting with uppercuts.
Different guards and styles revealed themselves to him. Without thinking too much about it, he threw one. It wasn't perfect, but he liked having something to train during his free time.
Suddenly, a growl filled his ears.
Turning around, he saw the terrifying werewolf standing over the body of the goblin he had killed, sniffing it, while its eye stared at him.
'The eyes of a predator.'