The Forest of Monsters smelled like rot and blood.
At the center of a filthy clearing, hundreds of goblins gathered in a loose circle. They were ugly creatures—green-skinned, hunched, barely half the height of a human. Their yellowed teeth showed as they swallowed again and again, eyes locked on the wild boar lying on the ground.
Hunger twisted their faces.
They wanted to rush forward, to tear into the meat with bare hands and teeth.
But none of them moved.
Because beside the boar stood their chieftain.
He was massive by goblin standards—nearly as tall as a human. Worse, he was grotesquely fat. His swollen belly sagged over thick legs, layers of grease rippling with every movement.
The goblin chieftain dropped to his knees and began to eat.
He ripped into the boar like a beast, stuffing raw meat into his mouth, blood smearing his face. Bones cracked. Flesh tore. The goblins around him could only watch, throats bobbing as they swallowed saliva.
When half the carcass was gone, the chieftain let out a thunderous burp.
Satisfied, he staggered back toward the tribe's only structure—a crooked thatched hut—and collapsed inside.
Moments later, deafening snores echoed through the clearing.
That sound was a signal.
The goblins surged forward.
They fought, clawed, and bit, ripping the remaining meat apart in a frenzy. When it was over, nothing remained but a stripped skeleton.
Stuffed and exhausted, the goblins scattered. They lay wherever they stood and fell asleep almost instantly.
---
Only then did the infants emerge.
Small, thin goblin young crawled out from bushes, under rocks, from gaps in filth and trash. They pressed their faces to the ground, licking pig's blood mixed with mud.
One of them watched in silence.
His name was Li Qinwu.
Once, he had been human.
A week ago, on another world, he had stayed up all night playing Mount & Blade. Just as he was about to conquer the continent, his heart stopped.
When he woke up again, he was a goblin.
A monster.
At first, Li Qinwu had refused to accept it. But reality crushed him quickly. The adult goblins treated infants like trash—throwing them aside, leaving them in weeds to die if they were inconvenient.
Here, weakness meant death.
This was a primitive forest filled with monsters. Even a grown human would struggle to survive.
And he was a goblin infant.
When Li Qinwu finally gave up and waited for death, the game that had killed him followed him into this world.
A system appeared.
Three attribute points.
Without hesitation, he put all of them into Vigor.
The effect was immediate.
His body stabilized. His heart grew stronger. He lived.
For days, he hid in the grass, eating whatever he could. Mostly weeds. Sometimes roots. He survived purely through stubbornness.
He learned quickly.
Adult goblins hunted—but they never shared.
There were no female goblins.
The truth came when he saw hunters return dragging captured female animals.
That night, something inside him broke.
Later, when a hunt failed, the goblins turned on their own.
Infants were eaten first.
From that moment on, Li Qinwu understood.
There was no family here.
Only hunger.
Only survival.
---
Fourteen days passed.
Goblins grew fast.
By the fourteenth day, Li Qinwu could stand. He could walk.
Staring at the boar's skeleton, he made a decision.
He picked up a stone and smashed at the tusks until four of them came loose.
"Weapons," he muttered.
His stomach screamed.
He needed food.
As he turned to leave, his eyes caught on the intact leg bones.
Bone marrow.
Hope ignited.
He smashed the joint apart and dragged the leg bone into the forest, away from the tribe.
No adult noticed.
But several hungry infants did.
They followed him.
---
Fire was dangerous.
Fire meant attention.
But without fire, the bone was useless.
Li Qinwu pushed deep into the forest, chewing grass to stay conscious, until he reached a small valley where the wind carried smoke away from the tribe.
His hands shook as he worked.
Sticks. Bark fibers. Rope.
A bow drill.
When the tool was finished, a notification appeared in his mind.
Forging Proficiency +1
Li Qinwu froze.
Forging?
The system was adapting.
His pulse quickened.
If forging existed… what about recruitment?
The thought set his blood on fire.
He laughed quietly.
"I'm done eating grass," he whispered. "From now on, I eat meat."
The fire caught.
He placed the leg bone over the flames.
Grease sizzled. Smoke rose.
The smell alone nearly drove him mad.
When the bone cracked open, pale marrow spilled out.
Li Qinwu lunged forward, sucking greedily.
Fat and heat flooded his body.
He shuddered in pleasure.
"I'm a carnivore," he gasped. "I was never meant to eat grass."
Crunch.
A branch snapped.
Li Qinwu looked up.
Eight half-grown goblins stood at the edge of the firelight.
Their eyes glowed green.
Their gazes were locked on the bone in his hands.
Li Qinwu slowly reached for his crude spear.
The fire crackled between them.
This world had taught him one truth:
If you wanted to live—
You had to fight.