"Finally found them."
Hiding behind a thick bush, Valkar looked down at the goblins standing guard at a cave entrance from a high vantage point.
The cave was nestled at the base of a rocky cliff, its maw dark and inviting. A small stream trickled from within, creating a muddy, foul-smelling patch of ground at the entrance. The guards, two pathetic-looking creatures with sickly green skin and pointy ears, were slacking off, arguing over a grubby bone.
Their argument was a series of high-pitched shrieks and guttural curses. Valkar's new mind translated their crude language with ease, revealing a dispute of staggering stupidity.
In the past, Orcs used to enslave goblins and use them as servants, but after Valkar's tribe was teleported here 800 years ago, that practice stopped.
"Meb! Bone! Meb find!" one goblin shrieked, pulling the bone.
"No! Grug find!" the other squeaked, tugging back.
Their frail bodies, no thicker than Valkar's arm, were a stark contrast to the powerful orc warrior observing them. They were armed with crude, rusty daggers, their leather armor little more than stitched-together scraps. They were vermin. Weak, pathetic, and beneath him.
But they had something he needed.
Females.
Under normal circumstances, Valkar wouldn't have bothered with such creatures or even thought of mating with a woman the goblin had already mated with.
A true conqueror didn't prey on the weak. He sought out strong opponents, worthy adversaries. He sought out females with fire in their eyes and strength in their limbs, partners who could give birth to strong offspring.
But these weren't normal circumstances.
The curse was a gnawing fire in his loins, a constant, insistent reminder of the ticking clock in his vision.
[Reminder: 43 Hours 57 Minutes remaining.]
The thought of his testicles exploding was a powerful motivator. It was a motivator that could make even the proudest orc reconsider his standards.
"Ugh... I don't want to, but it's better than exploding," he grumbled to himself, the logic cold and clear in his enhanced mind.
Besides, he had to survive. To reach level 10. To claim the power promised by the system. He couldn't do any of that if he were a smear on the forest floor, a victim of a dead goddess's spite.
"Haa..." he let out a long sigh, a cloud of mist in the cool mountain air. "If my mother ever finds out about this..."
He didn't want to imagine Zura's reaction.
"It's better not to think about it."
He then focused back on the task at hand. His mind began to work like a war machine.
Charging straight in would be simple. The old Valkar would have loved that. Roaring, swinging his axe, painting the cave walls red. But goblins were cowards. If they panicked, they might kill the females or scatter into tunnels like rats.
That would be a waste of time.
His eyes flicked to the corner of his vision.
[Reminder: 43 Hours 51 Minutes remaining.]
"Yeah, yeah…" he muttered quietly. "I see it."
His gaze returned to the goblins.
"Good thing goblins breed like maggots."
Since goblins exist, then that means they must have females to breed with, which means there is at least one that Valkar could mate with.
The two guards were still arguing.
"Meb find bone first!"
"Grug kill Meb!"
"Try!"
Grug tried.
The goblin lunged with his tiny dagger in a dramatic attack that would have been terrifying… if he wasn't the size of a sickly child. Meb shrieked and shoved him, both creatures tumbling into the mud outside the cave entrance.
Valkar watched the pathetic fight for a moment, unimpressed.
Then he smiled.
An idea formed.
Instead of attacking immediately, he reached into his inventory.
But suddenly—
"QUIEEEE!!" A third goblin ran out from the cave, flapping its hands in a panic. This one was slightly larger, wearing a slightly less rusty iron pot as a helmet. A leader, by goblin standards.
"Females escaped! Chain broken!" the helmeted goblin shrieked, its voice cracking like a whip.
"Meb?" the guard goblin looked up from the mud.
"Grug?" the other one echoed.
The leader goblin, who Valkar's new mind immediately designated as 'Pot-Head,' kicked them both.
"Stupid! Chief angry! Chief bite toes! Guard place!"
The two guards scrambled to their feet, their forgotten argument over the bone instantly forgotten. They looked around wildly, their beady eyes wide with fear. The fear of their Chief was clearly greater than their desire to fight over scraps.
Valkar's smile widened.
"Even better," he thought.
The third goblin, 'Pot-Head,' turned and sprinted back into the cave, screaming for reinforcements.
This was chaos. Unplanned, beautiful chaos. The goblins were distracted, undisciplined. It was the perfect opportunity.
WHOOSH.
A thick chunk of raw bear meat appeared in his hand.
The smell was immediate. Rich, bloody, powerful.
"!!!" Even from this distance, the two goblins froze.
Their long noses twitched.
"M-meat?"
"MEEAAT!"
They shrieked in unison, the primitive urge for food overriding even their fear of the Chief. They turned, their beady eyes searching for the source of the glorious scent, their gazes sweeping right past Valkar's concealed position.
Valkar didn't move. He simply tossed the chunk of meat.
It landed with a wet splorch about twenty paces from the cave entrance.
For one second, the goblins hesitated.
Then instinct won.
"MINE!"
Both guards sprinted after it.
Valkar moved.
The massive orc flowed from the bushes like a silent avalanche. Three steps. That was all it took.
The first goblin never even saw him.
CRUNCH.
Valkar's hand wrapped around its skull and squeezed. The tiny bones collapsed like dry twigs, and the creature dropped instantly.
Ding!
[You have killed: Goblin]
[+59 Exp]
"Meb?!!" The second goblin froze mid-chew, bear meat still hanging from its mouth.
Its yellow eyes slowly lifted. They met Valkar's.
The goblin opened its mouth to scream.
Valkar's other hand shot forward.
THUD!
His palm slammed the creature's throat against the cave wall, crushing its windpipe before the scream could escape. The goblin's legs kicked uselessly, its tiny dagger clattering to the stones. Valkar held it there, staring into its panicked, bulging eyes until the light went out.
[You have killed: Goblin]
[+53 Exp]
Valkar leaned close.
Up close, the goblin smelled like rot and fungus.
"Ugh... smells even worse dead," he grumbled.
Valkar dragged them into the bushes and wiped his bloody hands on the leaves, turning his attention to the dark maw of the cave. The entrance was slick with mud and guano, the air inside thick with the stench of goblin filth and something else... a smell that caused Valkar's little brother to twitch with excitement.
It even caused him to forget to collect the drops from the two goblins, but let's face it—what could two poor goblins even drop?
The scent of a female's lust.
How could he be so sure? Simple.
The curse made him an expert on the subject.
The succubus's curse was not just a physical ailment; it was a sixth sense. He could smell lust and desire—like a shark smelling blood in the water. And from deep within the cave, a scent of a female was calling to him.
Valkar stepped into the cave mouth.
The transition from daylight to gloom was abrupt. His eyes adjusted almost instantly—another small gift from the system, or perhaps just the predator's inheritance finally waking up fully in his blood.
The scent was cloyingly sweet, cutting through the reek of goblin waste like a poisoned perfume. It wasn't the earthy, musky scent of an Orc woman ready to breed—this was something different, weaker, but still undeniably female.
"Found you…" He whispered, his voice low, almost reverent—but laced with hunger.
The cave sloped downward, the ground uneven and slick. Crude torches burned along the walls, their weak flames casting jittering shadows that danced like mocking spirits. The deeper he went, the louder the noise became—panicked goblin chatter, frantic footsteps, and the occasional sharp crack of something being struck.
Chaos.
The escaped females had thrown the nest into disarray.
Valkar moved forward without hesitation, his steps light despite his size. Two goblins rushed past a side tunnel ahead, not even noticing him in their panic.
"QUIEE! Females gone! Chief smash!"
"Find! Find! Chief kill if no find!"
They scattered like roaches.
Valkar didn't bother with them.
His focus was singular now.
The scent. It pulled him deeper, allowing him to ignore all the other passages and side tunnels that branched off into the labyrinthine nest. This was the main path, the artery of the cave. The scent was a hot iron brand on his senses, a promise of relief.
Another corner. Another tunnel. It took him less than five minutes before he found a slightly larger chamber. It was crude, filled with rags, rotten food, and animal bones.
In the center, a battle was taking place.
30+ goblins were swarming two figures.
Two women.
Valkar couldn't see them clearly, but the curse helped him feel their presence.
One woman was shielding the other one. From just the way she stood and the way she fought, Valkar knew the woman was on her last legs. Her movements were slowing, her strikes losing their power.
"I must save them quickly, can't lose my only chance, and more importantly."
"ME BALLS!"