The crawl back was pure, unadulterated misery.
Every foot of progress was a battle. His body, having dumped all its adrenaline into the one-handed-piñata-hang, was now crashing hard. His 7 Stamina was a flashing red bar in his mind, and the [Cave Rot] had apparently decided to throw a going-away party on his arm.
It didn't just itch. It burned. It was a throbbing, searing, penetrating agony that made his [Cowardice] passive feel like a gentle suggestion. He was, for the first time, truly angry. Angry at the Bully, angry at the System, but mostly, incandescently angry at himself for eating that "35% chance" glowing-stupid-rock.
He dragged himself, claw over claw, through the suffocating darkness, leaving a trail of filth and, probably, a few dignity points. The only thing that kept him going was the soft, pulsing weight in his loincloth and the ticking clock that now read 22:42:17.
After an eternity that the clock insisted was only twenty-five minutes, he saw it: the dim, beautiful, watery-blue glow of his hovel.
His home.
He collapsed into the alcove, a trembling, filthy, itch-riddled ball of goblin. He lay there for a full minute, just breathing air that smelled mostly of mildew instead of entirely of unwashed goblin-king.
Safety. He was safe.
The mission timer was still ticking. Right. Work.
He fumbled at his loincloth and pulled out the [Glow-Cap Spore-Cluster].
It was magnificent. In the dim light of his own shrooms, it glowed with a pure, clean light, the pulse steady and strong. It was pristine, untouched by the lake of garbage he'd pulled it from.
He was starving, his stomach a hollow pit of pain. But this was medicine.
'Appraisal.' Just to be sure.
[Glow-Cap Spore-Cluster (Mission Item/Consumable)]
Rank: E-rank (Resource)
Description: The root-node of a Glow-Cap colony. It is saturated with potent purifying enzymes and concentrated fungal energy.
Effect: When consumed, will immediately attempt to purge all [Toxin] and [Disease] debuffs (Rank F). Provides a moderate boost of fungal-based EXP and nutrition.
Note: Smells faintly of clean rain.
Clean rain. As a human from Douala, he knew that smell. The smell of the ndolo (dust) being washed away. He almost wept.
He didn't hesitate. He lifted the cluster to his mouth and bit down.
It was... indescribable.
After days of eating rank goblin meat and sour, acidic roaches, this was a sensory shock. The texture was crisp, like a perfect apple, and it burst in his mouth with a flavor that wasn't a "flavor" at all. It was just... clean. It was the taste of cool water, fresh earth, and the smell of ozone after a storm.
It was the best thing he had ever eaten. In either life.
As he chewed, a cool, tingling sensation spread from his mouth, down his throat, and into his bloodstream. It was a wave of pure, clean energy. It rushed to his afflicted arm, and the itch...
The agonizing, maddening, fiery itch...
...it just... stopped.
It vanished. Poof. Gone.
He looked down at his arm. The grey, weeping patch of skin was visibly receding. The pustule sizzled, deflated, and flaked away, leaving behind new, healthy, pale-green skin.
[You have consumed the [Glow-Cap Spore-Cluster]!]
[A potent purifying agent is cleansing your system.]
[Debuff: [Cave Rot (Stage 1)] is being purged...]
[Purge Complete!]
[Your HP and Stamina are being restored by the fungal energy.]
[Your [Monster Evolution] parameters are being updated.]
And then, the notifications he'd been waiting for.
[MISSION COMPLETE!]
Title: The Price of a Shortcut
Objective: Find and consume one [Glow-Cap Spore-Cluster]. (Complete)
Time Remaining: 22:15:30
Rewards Issued!
[Cave Rot] cleansed.
50 EXP Gained!
New Skill Acquired: [Toxin Resistance (Passive) Lvl 1]
The 50 EXP flooded his system. He was Lvl 3, with 25 out of 30 EXP.
The bar filled instantly.
[EXP Threshold Reached! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!]
[Level 3 -> Level 4]
[All Base Attributes +1]
[You have 30 EXP remaining. (25 + 50 = 75. 75 - 30 (to Lvl 4) = 45)]
[EXP Threshold Reached! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!]
[Level 4 -> Level 5]
[All Base Attributes +1]
[You have 5 EXP remaining. (45 - 40 (to Lvl 5) = 5)]
He just sat there, dumbfounded, as the waves of power washed over him. Two levels. Two.
He had gone from a sick, debuffed Lvl 3 to a healthy, robust Lvl 5 in the span of thirty seconds.
He quickly pulled up his new status, his hands still trembling, but this time from excitement.
[STATUS]
Name: (Unnamed)
Race: Goblin (Lesser)
Level: 5 (5/50 EXP)
Class: Field Scavenger (F-Rank) (Lvl 2 -> 0% EXP)
Title: [None]
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 7 (from 5)
Agility: 9 (from 7, debuff removed)
Stamina: 9 (from 7)
Intelligence: 16 (from 14)
Perception: 12 (from 10, debuff removed)
Mana: 6 (from 4)
[NEW SKILL (Reward)]
[Toxin Resistance (Passive) - Lvl 1]:Your body has learned from its trauma. You have a +10% resistance to all F-Rank toxins and diseases.
His strength was now 7. His Agility 9. His Intelligence was a frankly terrifying 16. His Perception, at 12, meant he could probably hear a roach blink.
The gamble. The idiotic, self-destructive, 35% gamble... had paid off.
It had paid off spectacularly.
He felt good. No, he felt great. He felt strong, clear-headed, and, for the first time, not like a piece of cannon fodder. He was... dangerous. A small, green, junk-wielding, pants-less, dangerous thing.
He remembered the final notification. The evolution log.
He opened it immediately.
[Evolutionary Path Log (1st Stage)]
Description: ...Every meal is a brushstroke...
Progress to 2nd Evolution: 2.5% / 100%
Current Evolutionary Profile (Influences):
[Insectoid Essence (Chitin)]: 45% (Slightly reduced)
[Fungal Essence (Purifying)]: 30%(NEW!)
Source: [Glow-Cap Spore-Cluster]
Potential Paths: [Symbiotic], [Mycelial], [Antiseptic]
[Goblinoid Essence (Cannibalism)]: 20% (Slightly reduced)
[Toxin Essence (Tainted)]: 5% (Slightly reduced)
Source: (Residual)
Potential Paths: [Resistant], [Corrupted], [Plague]
"Oh, that's interesting," he murmured.
The pure fungal essence hadn't just added a new path; it had diluted the others, especially the Toxin and Goblinoid paths. He was now mostly Insect and Fungus.
[Symbiotic]? [Mycelial]? Would he grow mushrooms on his back?
The possibilities made his 16-point-Intelligence brain buzz.
He sat back against the wall of his alcove, the clean blue light of his shrooms washing over him. He was filthy, his loincloth was gone (he'd have to scavenge a new one), and he was exhausted to his very bones. But he was alive. He was thriving.
He had learned a valuable lesson.
Shortcuts are bad. Gambling is stupid. And taking uncalculated risks is a recipe for disaster.
...But, he thought, a sharp, goblin-like grin spreading across his face, if you do survive, the rewards are amazing.
He looked at the entrance to the crawlspace.
No more missions. No more gambles.
He was Lvl 5 now. The Lvl 1 roaches gave a paltry 2 EXP. It was time to find a new food source. It was time for the grind.