‘After trying my best to make sure that I wasn’t being followed by that fox, even though I’m sure it could follow me without me knowing a thing.

  ‘I began making my way to the west side of the lake. I changed my direction from the east to throw off the fox just in case it was following me.

  ‘Again, it was probably pointless, but it’s the thought that counts, I think.

  ‘The west side was where the beasts seemed a bit stronger than those on the east side.

  ‘I walked relatively close to the border of the lake because I didn’t want to get into a fight anywhere near the territory of that fox.

  And since that fox is dominating the northern area, I vowed not to go back until I was at a level where I could fight him. Even though he said to come for a visit, it's hard to relax while being in front of something that can kill you before you even realize.

  ‘Looking at the sun, I think it’s around noon, so I’ll spend the rest of the day hunting, and hopefully begin my trek home as previously planned.

  ‘Velora, can you bring up my status, please?

  [Understood.]

  {Name – Rick}

  {Age – 20}

  {Race - Royal Goblin}

  {Tier – Two}

  {Strength – 55}

  {Agility – 40}

  {Dexterity – 40}

  {Intelligence – 18}

  {Endurance – 50}

  {Essence – 8}

  {Evo Points – 83/180}

  {Skills}

  {Velora}

  ‘After hunting a bunch of Tier Zero and One beasts, I now had 83 Evo points, with 8 Essence points for me to still absorb.

  ‘Absorbing all of those points definitely wasn’t the easiest thing to do. In fact, it hurt like hell! Maybe I wouldn’t have needed to run away two whole times from when I ran into Tier Two beasts because of the pain my body was in shortly after absorbing a bit of Essence. My body still hurts even now, but nevertheless, the grind continues!’

  [I told you to only absorb in smaller batches. If you listened, maybe you wouldn’t have been in that situation.]

  ‘It was only a batch of 15! I thought it was fine.

  ‘Anyway, Velora’s scanning ability has been really useful for seeing the Tier of the beast, its stats and even the name which she says comes from an internal database or something. It can identify almost anything, unless it’s something extremely stronger than me, like that Fox. Forget that stupid Fox, though. I’ll surpass him soon enough on the way to Goblin supremacy.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  ‘Now seeing as though she didn’t sense that Fox, or whatever ghastly creature is apparently taking beauty naps in the lake, I can’t solely depend on it. Maybe there are even little sneaky critters that practice stealth and are on a lower Tier than me yet can still bypass Velora’s senses.

  ‘Eventually, I made it to the west side of the lake. Let's hurry and hunt the first thing I can get my green hands on!

  ‘It was only after carefully advancing for around five minutes that Velora finally picked up on something.’

  [Stop. There’s something close by, and it doesn’t seem to be moving. Advance carefully.]

  ‘Okay, that creature ain't gonna hunt itself, so let's go. After slowly walking forward for about ten feet, I finally spotted the beast Velora mentioned. A little Hog, huh.’

  [It is not little.]

  ‘It’s a figure of speech! Please scan it.’

  {Race – Bull Hog}

  {Tier – One}

  {Strength – 20}

  {Agility – 12}

  {Dexterity – 10}

  {Intelligence – 3}

  {Endurance – 30}

  [It is not a level that should threaten you, but please be wary of the charge as most of the varying types of hogs in the area use that method to attack.]

  ‘Appreciate the input. Now how to kill it? Ah, this spear is on its last legs anyway so why not one last hoorah for it?’

  [Aim carefully.]

  ‘I lifted my spear, aimed it carefully as Velora reminded me and before the Bull Hog could even realize it was being attacked, a spear was suddenly lodged in the right side of its head, instantly claiming its life. Though the spear itself did not survive the encounter.

  ‘Ah, another spear bites the dust, eh, Velora. Wonder why I can’t make them as good as Jaba.’

  [I don’t believe it's a problem with your spear making ability, but you are just too strong at your current size for the materials you are using to make your spear. Tying sharpened bones or fangs to sturdy pieces of wood will no longer suit you. If my assumption is correct, Jaba should also be experiencing deficiencies with his spear.]

  ‘That makes a lot of sense. I guess this would be the point in the story where I suddenly develop an interest in forging my own weapons and going on to become a master forger!

  ‘Except for the fact I know next to nothing about forging anything. I suppose I know about melting ore and pouring the melted ore into some type of mold and then letting it cool? Wait, don’t I have to beat the cooling metal with a hammer or something too? Ahh yep, I definitely don’t know anything.

  ‘And even if I did know some stuff, we don’t even have a furnace, or even the ore now that I think about it.’

  [You should simply just make one.]

  ‘Simply? Where would I even get the tools to do that?’

  [You can make the tools as well.]

  ‘And the actual ore that I would need to even make tools, let alone weapons?’

  [Same as before, simply find it and smelt it. Nothing has changed.]

  ‘None of what you're saying is easy to do, Velora! I don’t even know how to do any of these things. There was no Goblin smithy handbook there when I was reborn! What if I fail? What then?’

  [Nor did you know how to fight, yet you got better. Make an attempt and learn from your failures. If your goal is truly to take… gang green as you call it to the next level, it will most likely require significant effort and a whole host of failures to go with it.]

  ‘…I suppose you're right. Wait! Why did you pause when saying gang green? You should say it with pride because you're a part of it too.’

  [I suppose.]

  ‘Alright… some sort of smithy will be one of the next things I have to do when I return to the cave. Probably something way off in the future though. Either way I hope Jaba and the rest of the group will help. Thanks Velora.’

  [It is my job to help you on your journey. Now I recommend you quickly return with the Bull Hog, or it will soon attract other beasts.]

  …

  So, Rick lifted the Bull Hog which was comparable to a large wild boar and made the trek back to his little campsite on the south side of the lake. The campsite was no longer right next to the lake as the beast slumbering within it definitely made his green body shiver. Even though he didn’t necessarily believe everything the Fox told him, there was no need to take chances, right? At least, that's what he told himself.