Next morning, Ronin woke up to see many changes in his body. If yesterday he felt like a 12-month-old child, today he felt like a 3-year-old, clearly amazed by his rapid growth.
"Is it because of eating so many bugs?" he wondered. But then he saw that he wasn't the only one who looked like a three-year-old—dozens of goblin kids looked the same.
The new understanding about goblins settled in his mind. "I thought I was some special kind compared to others, but that isn't the case," he muttered, seeing the goblin kids give him the same confused look he wore.
Goblins aren't like humans. Human children take 9 to 12 months to crawl and then the next three years to properly walk. But goblins are different from humans and many other races. Their rapid growth and survival instinct make them unique. A goblin needs only a week to reach adulthood, and after that week, there is hardly any growth except for the experience gained over time.
Only one among ten thousand can evolve into a hobo-goblin, making goblins one of the weakest races in the world.
Humans hunt goblins for goblin teeth and ears, which are ingredients for alchemy, while also to quell the danger of goblins, who in swarms can become deadly predators, especially to weak humans, travelers, and villagers.
Goblins are notorious for abducting females from other races, especially humans, for breeding. This makes them even more despised, and this hate is one of the causes of goblins being hunted, especially by humans. However, humans aren't the only threat to goblins.
Beasts hunt goblins because they are easy prey. Additionally, other races use goblins as cannon fodder, making them vulnerable to all kinds of threats.
At the same time, the instinct to get on his feet came to Ronin. Supporting himself with his hands, he tried to stand but found it wasn't easy. However, with careful movements, he finally stood.
Seeing him, the other goblin kids also tried but failed, plummeting to the ground with loud thuds. "Are they copying me?" Ronin thought, finally seeing a couple of them get on their feet.
He had a rough idea since yesterday that these goblin kids were trying to mimic his movements, but he wasn't sure but now he was more convinced.
"Let's try this," he thought, raising one hand in the air. As expected, one of them copied him, raising their hand, followed by others. Feeling a nostalgic warmth, Ronin raised the other hand, and they followed again.
Ronin didn't know whether to feel amazed or laugh at their stupidity. Just as he was contemplating, he heard a crackle sound, like a big rock being moved.
Ronin's instincts perked up, but he felt as powerless as when he was killed by the three golden-level phantom assassins. Then he saw a path open where a 3-foot stone was removed.
There he saw a fully grown goblin peeking inside, surprised to see goblin kids with both hands raised. From its foul mouth, the goblin spoke, "Come!" and stepped out of the path.
Ronin, amazed to understand the language, moved eagerly to see what awaited outside. He passed through the 3-foot tall path, followed by the other goblin kids, to see a more spacious cave with pale light coming from outside, though it was still dark inside.
Not that it mattered since he could see clearly in the dark. His eyes landed on adult goblins, and for the first time since opening his eyes as a goblin, he felt a sense of dread. In front of him were wild goblins covered in animal hides and dry grass.
Looking at the man before him, Ronin thought, "Is he the Goblin chief?"
Lost in thought, he suddenly felt a pull as the man grabbed Ronin's hands, forcefully opening his mouth to check his teeth, then the member between his legs.
"What are you doing?" Ronin was about to speak when the man said, "This one is healthy; he'll become a hunter and breeder." Just as the man finished speaking, Ronin was shoved to the corner.
"This one is perfect, hunter and breeder."
"This one is weak; send him to the orc village."
"This one is weak."
"Weak."
"This female is good; she'll breed and hunt."
"Good."
"Weak."
Before Ronin's eyes, the dozen kids were split into two groups. One group, consisting of seven kids, was labeled as hunters and breeders, while another group of nine kids was labeled as waste and was about to be sent to the orc village.
Ronin shuddered, thinking about the fate those nine would face. "Will they be eaten or serve as orc servants? I don't know," he thought, feeling relief that he wasn't part of that group.
Though his eyes were full of pity for those kids, he knew they weren't humans but monsters, and the lives of monsters were often crueler than those of humans.
After the sorting ended, four more adult goblins came, carrying raw meat in their hands. His group was handed more chunks, while the other group received only a few pieces.
As the smell of raw meat filled his nostrils, Ronin knew it wasn't fresh meat, but who was he to complain? As hunger began to take over, he gnashed his fangs and tore at the big chunk of meat.
SACRIFICE REGISTERED: SPOTTED RABBIT
SKILL ACQUIRED: JUMP
EVOLUTION PROGRESS: 5% [100%]
Ronin's eyes widened as he felt the new skill imprint in his head, but he didn't stop eating, finishing the food, shocking everyone. Seeing this, the Goblin chief smirked.
"Eat more, because soon you will go for your first hunt."
He didn't mind Ronin eating so quickly; it only made the Goblin chief smile, seeing an overactive goblin kid. "This one, maybe he can break the chains of weakness and attain evolution." Saying this, he couldn't help but throw another piece of meat towards Ronin.
After this meal, there was nothing to do. Ronin wanted to test his new skill but felt it wasn't a good idea, seeing that although the cave was spacious, it wasn't big enough to properly test his skill. Another issue was the adult goblins, who might see him as a threat and attack, so he didn't want to test the waters until he had a full grasp of his situation.