The Undergob

The rattle of iron wakes Gob. He tries to look around but the light blinds him. He isn't used to being outside, as he cowers below the sunlight.

"He's awake!" A gravelly voice shouts, "Get the tarp!"

Before Gob knows it he's back in darkness,

"Dark good" he thinks "Light bad" as he lays back down in his cage contemplating his life.

Gob is a unique goblin, the first of his kind entitled the 'Slave Goblin' as he was specifically bred from captives to be subservient to humans. He's currently being transported to Mynydd, a mountainous capital where the Emperor rules over his lands. The group transporting him are made up of mercenaries, knights, and nobles' sons. Gob is currently only 2 weeks old, but goblins mature much faster than any other creature, so fast that killing the goblin queen that births them would make anyone a noble immediately. But Gob is a rare case, bred in captivity, only knowing pain from birth. His obedience is built in as instinct.

"Halt!" Gob hears an almost cowardly voice shout "Blocked road!"

The carriage immediately halts, rolling Gob over. He hears several footsteps go from the back of the cart to the front, and start mumbling to each other.

"We have to turn around and find another path" says the cowards voice " There's no way forward!"

"Like hell we're turning back," the grovelled voice returns "We're almost there, just dig our way through."

"We're under direct orders to take the safest route possible!"

"I don't follow your orders, squire! I'm just payed to protect you lot"

"Now you listen here, you brute!" the cowardly voice stiffens a bit "You're being paid by my father, in turn you listen to me!"

"Ah, daddy come to save his little boy is it?"

Some of the other men start chuckling a bit, Gob hears some heavy footsteps shuffling.

"I'm- I'm- I'm a man on my own!" the coward shouts, trying to sound more macho only to undercut himself with a voice crack at the end. The other men start laughing loudly, Gob even hears some of them fall to the floor.

"You're a man on your own eh? How about you show us then?" The grovelled voice returns, almost stifling a laugh. "Touch the goblin."

The moment he finishes his sentence, the laughs stop. A silence is dropped and is almost deafening to Gob. He hears some shuffling about, as the men pick themselves up and wait for a response.

"Fine!" the coward shouts, almost crying "I will!"

Gob hears some footsteps getting louder as the mercs shuffle to let him through, and suddenly Gob is bathed in sunlight. The coward shrieks as he sees Gob for the first time. About 3 feet tall, pale green skin with warts all over his body. Very skinny limbs, but his chest and stomach are plump. His face has a huge hooked nose, and his teeth all razor sharp. His eyes almost pure-black trying to adjust to the sunlight. Gob tries to raise his arms to cover his eyes from the light, but are slammed back down by the iron chains.

"Too scared are ya?" The grovelled voice returns, much closer "He's locked up tight little boy, give him a poke."

"I ain't scared" the coward retaliates "I was just, surprised, okay!"

Gob hears a sudden rattle, before a loud THUNK as his cage is unlocked. Gob continues to keep his eyes closed, his instincts telling him to not react, trying to keep the light at bay.

The coward reached his hand towards Gob's stomach, but as he got within centimetres of touching his plump stomach a huge roar screeched through the mountainous path, shaking the very stone beneath them.

"Fucking scatter!" the grovelled voice roared at this men "This is not a fucking drill!"

Gob heard the coward slump to the floor, he dare not look past his hands. But, the light shone no more on Gob as a huge creature shadowed the very sun. Gob peeked past his gnarled fingers only to see the silhouette of a mighty beast. It stood taller than any trees nearby, had two mighty horns atop its thick, shielded frill. Two arms with leathery skin stretching between its' fingers.

The creature screamed again, knocking over the cart through pure sound. Gob was tossed out of the cage, the iron shackles cracked open by the fall. He hesitated, turning back to see the creature. It lowered its head and moved its long neck towards Gob. The coward sat there, in disbelief over his troop being decimated. In a moment of desperation he stood and tried to run, only for the beast to bite down on him, splattering blood all over Gob.

Gob wiped his face, the blood of his apparent master spread over his hand and face. He looked up at the behemoth, and shed a single tear. The beast looked back at Gob, almost intrigued by him.

"Do you fear me," it said, in a low barbaric tone "Little green one?"

Gob looked on, not in fear this time, but in amazement. Gob's natural instinct is to be subservient, upon seeing his current masters demise he immediately chose the creature as his master. Gob stood, and bowed his head to the monster. It let out an extremely loud chuckle as it looked on at the supposed courage of this Goblin.

"Ha, you have spunk little green one," it spoke "I believe that you are either extremely wise, or a buffoon."

"Me no wise" Gob spoke for the first time in days, his voice hoarse from dehydration "Me worship master."

"Ah, I see. You wish to treat me as your master? You shall do no such thing, you have potential. I will grant you one wish, anything in existence. What shall you wish for?"

Gob stood for a moment, contemplating what was asked of him. He stood for far too long, but the beast seemed genuine on his interest for the goblin, allowing him to think upon it for about 20 minutes.

"Gob knows what wish." Gob shouted proudly.

"Ah, you have made a decision?" The beast replied

"Gob want be better" He said simply.

"A very wise answer, even if you didn't mean it that way. The wish to be better is almost never asked for, nor achieved little green one. I shall grant you your wish, but the journey will be difficult. Do not give up, for I have high hopes for you." The behemoth chuckles, before reaching a huge claw forward, and scratching Gob across his chest.

Gob reels back in pain, screaming as loud as he can. But no blood was spilled, no wound was given, and no mark was left.

"I have granted you your wish, now do not curse me for your choice." the beast says, as it reels back its neck, stretches its wings, and takes off.

Gob lays there, in relief after the pain subsided. He looked around only to see all his human "masters" dead. He sits there, dumbfounded on what to do next, before the earth underneath him gives way and opens up into a large cavern. Gob falls for about an hour, passing in and out of consciousness. When he finally lands, he has no wounds but is sat in a dimly blue-lit cave with no food, or water. The only words that Gob can say is "What do?".

Gob sits in the dimly lit cavern, not thinking, no that would be too much for his simple-mind. He sits wondering what the creature meant by cursing him for the choice. Gob shakes his head, his ears slapping his cheeks as he shakes.

"No matter" he thinks "me no smart, but me find way out"

Gob stands, and looks at the caverns walls, giving it a closer inspection. He notices some green-blue looking moss growing in patches around the bio-luminescent mushrooms. He takes one of his gnarled fingers, scoops up a bit of moss, and munches down on it. His face contorts and squeezes as he continues to try and eat the moss. Eventually he gives up and hocks it onto the cavern floor.

"No eat" he thinks. He looks around trying to see any way forward. When he finally realises that no-one else is around he starts speaking his mind, he finds that saying what he's thinking helps him process information faster.

"Me no want stay in cave, me want get out," he says in his hoarse voice "Why big monster no help Gob?"

He continues forward, his left hand stretched out to touch the wall of the cave. He walks for what feels like an hour, before he realises he was literally walking in a circle. He sits, and for the first time in his life, he thinks.

"What Gob do? Gob stuck in cave, Gob hungry, monster say Gob have wish, Gob wish to be better, how Gob be better?"

The moment Gob asks that question, a small blue box appears in front of him. Terrified of this sudden appearance, Gob slides backwards, hitting his head on the cavern wall, but the box follows him. No matter where he looks, the box stays in his view. After realising no pain was coming from this, nor was the box moving, Gob calms down.

"Box, what is box?" Gob asks out loud.

"I am the system." the box replies, in a calm female voice "I am a gift from the world."

Clearly perturbed by this, Gob stands up and prepares to run away.

"You box?" he asks,

"Yes, Gob, I am the box." the voice replies "I am a gift from the world to it's most unique and powerful creatures. Please poke the box.

Gob unthinkingly obliges and pokes the box, it opens to a large tree like structure with several black boxes linking to each other with thin lines.

"This, Gob, is an evolution tree. You wished to 'be better' and therefore this was created specifically for you."

"This Gob wish?"

"Yes, Gob. This was specifically created by your wish, only you have access to this specific part of the 'System'. The creature you spoke with prior was also a unique creature, but he has access to other parts of the 'System'."

"Me no understand, big word hurt Gob head."

The voice audibly sighs, as it breaks character from the sophisticated voice guiding unique creatures to its' normal self.

"Listen here Goblin." The voice says in a very strict and curt manner. "This is the first time an inferior species such as yourself has been chosen, so do me a favour and die?"

Gob is shocked at these words, this almost God-like being wishes Gob to die?

"Gob think about die a lot. Gob no like being weak. Gob no like listen to master. Gob want be own master." he replies, in an almost depressing tone.

There's an air of silence before anyone speaks again, as the voice decides upon its' next words very carefully.

"You, Gob, are one of 15 creatures on the planet to have access to me. You have greater potential than the rest of the world. I do not have faith in you, but you were chosen because of something you did. Now. I can make you stronger, I can make you your own master. But you have to prove to me you can do it." the voice says, in a motivating tone, almost feeling bad for the little Goblin.

"Really?!" Gob shouts, as he jumps in excitement "You make Gob strong? You make Gob master?"

"Yes..." the voice replies, almost regretting her words "I can give you tasks to be stronger, but I cannot help you with the tasks, do you understand?"

"Yes." Gob replies, now listening intently to the voice.

"I can access your thoughts, so whatever you want to be better at I can see, then I will make tasks for you to complete. If you complete these tasks, you will get rewards. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Gob says, getting more excited.

"Now, repeat after me. Say 'Gob'."

"Gob." he shouts, after which a large blue box appears, not too dissimilar to the one previously. But this one is much larger and shows several symbol he doesn't understand. "What this mean?" he says as he points to the symbols.

"I forgot, you can't read..." the voice sighs, and grants Gob the ability to read common.

"Oooooohhhh, symbol change!" Gob shouts, as he finally understands what he's seeing.

Name: Gob

Species: Slave Goblin

Rank: G-

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 5

Fortitude: 5

Intellect: 2

Wisdom: 2

Charm: 2

"This is you Gob." The voice explains, "I can help you get stronger, but you must learn. Is that understood?"

"Yes!" Gob returns getting more and more giddy.

"I can help you get physically stronger, but your brain is your responsibility. You must learn, overcome, and adapt to your surroundings. Now, for your first task."

As the voice stops talking, a little list appears in the corner of Gobs view. It states, 'Kill any creature, alone.'

Gob readied himself. He knew his task, but wasn't mentally prepared for the results. He sat, and contemplated killing another creature. He considered himself too weak to have power over anything else. He reached his skinny arm out and poked the task box. It opened up to a more descriptive page.

Task: Kill any creature, with no assistance.

Creatures Killed: 0/1

Rewards: Strength +2

Dexterity +2

Fortitude +2

Knowledge on creature killed.

"Look good, me like plus numbers." Gob said, his voice more hoarse than before "Me need food and drink."

He was ready, Gob was mentally prepared to end a life. He stood, dizzy from no food or water. His desperation pushing him forward. He looked around the cavern for any sort of way forward, finding a small crack in the furthest end, no wider than a foot. He squeezed through, his small stature helping him.

He squeezed through the crack into an almost identical cavern, but much more open. The ceiling reaching almost 60 feet in the air, several columns of stone ahead of Gob. He searched around the crack before pushing forward, finding a broken stalagmite on the ground, he took it to use as a weapon. His stomach now violently growling, he rushed forward trying to find any sort of creature.

"Me hungry" Gob shouted as he ran forward "Me need food"

He turned a corner and stood face to face with a small furry creature. About a foot in length, four little legs, a cute button nose, and a twisted horn on its forehead. "What is?" Gob asked the voice.

"This, Gob, is a small horned rabbit. It is edible, but very quick, you will have to be smart about thi-" the voice returned before it was cut off by Gob charging in.

Gob lunged forward with the sharp rock, missing by a large margin as the rabbit dodged to the side. It jumped forward scratching Gobs back as he fell forward, snapping his weapon. The rabbit stood, watching Gob try and maintain his balance. Gob stared at the rabbit, and it stared back in turn. They both lunged forward, Gob dodged to the side using his height to his advantage. He grabbed hold of the horn as it whizzed past him, holding the rabbit in the air. It sat there, unable to move.

"Gob won!" Gob shouted "Gob caught something! Now Gob have kill."

Being careful to keep it off the ground he searched for a sharp rock. The rabbit having accepted its' fate awaited its' end. Gob then stabbed a rock into its neck, instantly killing it. He then held it above his head, drinking the falling blood. As he drinks his kill, the task box appears.

Task:  Kill any creature, with no assistance.

Creatures Killed:  1/1

Rewards Earned:  Strength +2

Dexterity +2

Fortitude+2

Knowledge on the creature 'Horned Rabbit'

"Congratulations Gob!" The voice appeared "You killed something, you aren't as weak as I thought."

"Gob work hard" he replies, almost gargling the blood "Gob think hard."

"Well, use that rock to skin it. Oh, and use the horn as a weapon, it's much better than that rock you were using."

"Gob no think of that. Thank voice."

Gob lays the rabbit down and removes the rock. He attempts to skin the rabbit, completely ruining some parts of the pelt, when a new box that he's never seen appears.

Skill Earned: Skinning

Level: 1

Skill Experience: 1/100

"Voice, what is?" Gob says as he gestures to the new box.

"Ah, this. This is a skill window, when you perform certain actions for the first time you'll gain a new skill. If you check your others there will be a few in there that you already had." The voice replies.

"How open boxes?"

"Just say what box you want open."

"Skills"

Skills: Level:

Skinning 1

Dodge 1

Tactics 1

Obedience 100

Mental Processing 1

Surveying 1

"Wow. Me have many skill." Gob exclaimed, "Me good at stuff."

"Well, Gob," the voice replies, "That isn't a lot for a unique individual, it's actually below average for Goblins."

Gob's excitement turns into sulking as he continues to butcher the rabbit. He tears at the meat of the rabbit, literally ripping it off the bones. He throws the bones away, as he munches down on the raw rabbit, having not eaten in days he consumes the meat at a rapid pace.

"Where more meat?" Gob asks in a sunken tone,

"There are more rabbits in the next open cavern, but they're too grouped up for you to handle."

Gob, who now feels as if he doesn't deserve this gift, stands up and grabs the horn of the rabbit he killed. He turns towards the cavern and starts slowly walking. He crouches down, his hands almost dragging across the floor. He pushes forwards, making no noise apart from the shuffling of his feet on the stone floor.

Skill Earned:  Stealth

Level:  1

Skill Exp: 7/100

"Voice" Gob thinks "Can Gob see more of skill?"

"Uhhh, yes?" The voice replies in shock to an intelligent question from Gob "You can either say, or think about anything for it to appear in front of you."

"More Stealth"

Skill: Stealth

Skill level: 1

Skill Exp: 7/100

Skill Info: Gob has learned to hide his presence from other creatures, as well as how to move quietly and unnoticed. Gives a bonus to sneak attempts, as well as a minor damage bonus when attacking from stealth.

Gob silently reads over the skill information before moving slowly forwards towards the cavern. He reaches the opening, and searches for the rabbits. He spots 4 of them, grouped up in a far corner of the room. Taking care to not bring attention to himself, Gob slowly creeps into the cavern, taking cover behind a fallen stalactite. He sees one of the glowing mushrooms on the wall and has a thought.

In one swift movement, he leaps up to the mushroom and rips it out of the wall. As he lands, he attempts to conceal any thuds by rolling out of the leap, almost peaking out from behind the stalactite. He looks at the mushroom only to see the glow disappear.

Stat Points Earned: 

Intellect +2

Wisdom +2

Reason: Gob used his brain to think of a creative solution

Event: The mushrooms give off light for the cavern, Gob is trying to sneak up to a target, so he eliminated a light source making his stealth easier.

Gob waves away the box to read later. He looks around the cavern again, making careful notes in his head of where the rabbits go, and where the light sources are. He spots 4 more mushroom patches in the room. 2 are located above the rabbit group, whereas the other 2 are on opposite sides of the cavern. Gob aims for the nearest one, and slowly creeps up along the cavern wall, making sure to stay in the blind spot of the clutch.

He reaches for the mushroom patch, and in one move he grabs the patch and dives back into cover, accidentally knocking a stone down the incline. He lays there, almost holding his breath waiting for any reaction. After not hearing any for about 20 seconds, he sits up and gathers himself before peaking over his rocky cover. The rabbits haven't reacted, but also haven't split. They remain grouped up in the corner. Gob crawls out of his cover, heading back to the stalactite.

Skill name: Stealth

Skill Level: 2

Skill Exp: 1/200

Skill info: Gob has learned to hide his presence even more from other creatures, as well as how to move quietly and unnoticed. Gives a bonus to sneak attempts, as well as a minor damage bonus when attacking from stealth.

Gob reaches the stalactite, and places the mushroom with the other in a small pile. He glaces around the corner, the rabbits appear to be sleeping now. He steps out, very slowly, until he's half way across the room when a rabbit perks its head up. Instinctively Gob grabs a nearby rock and throws it at the stalactite as he dives into small groove.

The rabbit stands, and walks towards the stalactite, searching for any predator. Finding nothing it returns to the clutch and nestles back in. Gob breathes a sigh of relief as he stands back up, and reaches for the penultimate mushroom. He tries to rip it out of the wall, but it doesn't budge. He puts more, and more, effort in before it gets ripped out with a large root pulling a chunk of the wall with it. Gob dives backwards with the mushroom, as well as a large stone. It lands on his stomach, and forces out a grunt of pain. But Gob controls himself, wanting to be worthy, he silences himself. Gently moves the rock to the side, and peeks his head over the groove.

The rabbits still slumber, but now the room is almost completely dark. The only light source above them. Gob realises this, and steps out of the groove. Now standing in the middle of the cavern, he readies his horn. He slithers up to the nearest rabbit, plunging his horn into their throat, and dragging them into the dark. The other rabbits awaken, and stand on high alerts, all facing into the darkness.

Gob, rotates around them, flaking the left side. He dives onto the far rabbit, and stabs repeatedly into its stomach. The other rabbits turn and hop towards Gob, missing with their horns. Gob retreats back into the darkness, watching as one rabbit bleeds to death, as two others panic and start stabbing into the dark. Gob takes advantage of the new panic, and creeps around the other side, jumping, and tackling one panicking rabbit onto its back. He stabs the horn into the rabbits jaw, instantly killing it.

The final rabbit turns, and sees Gob. Now red from the blood of his prey, he steps forward. The rabbit panics, and flinches in front of Gob. Gob takes the horn, now blunt from repeated stabbings, and plunges it down onto the rabbits head. The rabbits lets out a final yelp, before slumping over dead.

"Gob kill rabbit, voice. Gob strong. Gob smart." he says, satisfied from his proving his worth.

"I have misjudged you Goblin, you are a worthy user of the system. I am sorry. Please accept this gift as an apology."

A small box appears before Gob, but not blue. The box appears green in colour. Gob pokes it.

Title earned: The Unexpected Savant

Title info: Gob has proved himself worthy of being a unique creature. He has taken it upon himself to subvert expectations and come out on top. He has used the skills available to him to turn a grim situation to his advantage, and has gained the respect of the 'System'.

Title effects:

Permanent xp bonus: 100%

Ability to prestige skills

Ability to unlock evolution requirements

Gob drags the final rabbit over to the dimly lit corner of the cavern, and takes a sharp rock to the skin. He glides the rock around the body as he skins his prey.

Skill name:  Skinning

Skill level: 2

Skill exp: 42/200

Skill info: Gob has learned how to remove the hide from any beast-type creature and use it to craft rudimentary items such as hide armour or baggage.

"Gob." The voice appears, and speaks in a soft tone, "I fear that you may have taken some of my words too harshly."

"Me no take words bad," Gob replies, downtrodden "Me just think voice no like Gob."

"Gob, I don't dislike you. It's just that the other 14 creatures are at the apex predators of their respective areas. You're the weakest individual I have met. To be forced to lower myself to your level isn't fair."

"Big monster say Gob have potential. Gob work hard, Gob be worth!." Gob shouts, his words echo throughout the cavern. "Me work hard to be strong, you no help Gob, tell Gob he not worth, tell Gob he too weak! Look! Gob kill rabbit, you say rabbit too strong for Gob. But Gob win anyway!."

He rips at one of the rabbits legs in frustration, tearing it out of its socket.

Stat Points Earned:

All stats +4

Reason: Gob single-handedly killed 4 superior beings, and stood up for himself against an omnipotent being.

Event: Gob managed to take out 4 hostile enemies, by using hit and run tactics, and turning the environment against the enemy. He also stood up against 'The System' an all-knowing being that is in contact with several apex predators.

"Show Gob numbers."

Name: Gob

Species: Slave Goblin

Title: The Unexpected Savant

Rank: G-

Strength: 11

Dexterity: 11

Fortitude: 11

Intellect: 8

Wisdom: 8

Charm: 6

"See, Gob numbers bigger than when start."

"You are correct Gob, your stats are improving significantly, and your physical body is changing also. I was wrong to judge you as a weak creature. Any creature that is granted access to me is worthy, simply because they were granted access. I shall do my utmost to provide you with a nurturing environment from this point forth. As another apology, here is another task for you. I believe it will help you immensely."

"Gob want new task, but Gob want good reward."

"As you wish. The reward will match the difficulty."

Task:

Train your:

Strength, Dexterity, and Fortitude by 10

OR

Intellect, Wisdom, and Charm by 10

Stat increase: 0/30

Rewards:

A bonus of 5 to any stat of your choice

Evolution knowledge

Any weapon of your choice

"Gob like new task, Gob will do good."

And so, Gob continued skinning and butchering his prey. After completing the task, his skinning was almost at level 3, and he began to think about his new task. He could take the easier route and train his physical body to be much stronger, but Gob wanted a good reward. So he thought, and thought harder, then kept thinking as hard as he could, until his intellect went up by 1.

"Gob did it!" He exclaimed, his voice echoing far down the cave.

He sat and looked at his entire collection of items, 4 sharp rabbit horns, 1 blunt rabbit horn, a sharp rock, 3 okay rabbit hide, 1 ruined rabbit hide, 1 set of hide scraps, and a pile of rabbit meat.

"Hmmm." Gob hummed, as he thought of a way to increase his mental stats.

Gob stood up and started looking around the room for anything he could use. He scoured the walls in search of dry roots, the floors for dead plants or sticks. He searched high and low, but only found a few scraps of useful items. A few dried roots, a large boulder from the hole in the wall he had created earlier, some dried leaves. He thought back to when he was a captive, and the bright lights the humans would carry.

"Gob make red light." He said, hoping the voice would chirp in and correct him. But no voice came.

He piled up the dried roots, and made a rough circle out of loose rocks. He thought about how they made the lights. There were 2 ways, one was with a rock and a shiny rock, or thought really hard and it happened. After the success of him thinking earlier, he tried thinking about the red light and wanting it to be in front of him. He thought harder than ever, staring at this pile of dried rocks. Veins pushed themselves to the skin as he forced himself to picture the red lights. Out of instinct Gob shouted "Tân", and the dried roots light up in red light.

"Gob did it! Voice, look, Gob make red light!"

Gob stared in awe of this red light, the embers dancing in the almost complete darkness of the cavern. The light mesmerised Gob, as he watched it wane then reinvigorate itself over the dried roots he had piled up. He sat, and wondered of what his life had become. He reminisced about his birth and upbringing, trying to decide which was better; the life of a slave, or the life of an outcast.

He sat, and thought until the light eventually disappeared. Gob lay down and rested his head on the pile of rabbit hide he had collected, his stomach full of the meat, his thirst quenched by the blood. He rested, for the first time in his life, he slept without worry of a beating waking him. In his dreams he saw the silhouette of a mighty creature, of which every living being stood in fear of. This creature turned to face Gob, only for him to wake up in a cold sweat.

"Gob no want that. Gob want be respect no fear." he said aloud, trying to calm himself. He looked around in the now pitch black cavern, hoping for some sort of help or guidance. None came, so he took it upon himself to become better. He had no clue how long he had slept, but he felt well rested. He gathered his things, then contemplated his task. He could just complete the objective and be done, but he wanted more. What if he completed all the tasks, maybe he'd get a larger reward?

So, he got to training. He ran around the cavern until he couldn't move any more, his legs aching from being overused. Then, as he was resting from exercise he would sit and think. He would draw symbols in the sand from this new language he had learned from the voice. When he felt more rested, up he got and trained more. He took the large stone he had pulled out of the wall, picked it up, and threw it, over and over again. He had no idea what would work, but he kept trying everything.

The voice, remaining silent for the entirety of Gob training, started thinking. 'What if Gob was indeed worthy?' it thought, contemplating Gobs' existence. The voice could not access any of Gobs' unique systems without permission of Gob, this included his stats, and his skills. They could not tell why this lowly Goblin was given access to them. It thought no more of Gob, and went back to viewing.

Gob, fell back, sweat beading down his crooked nose, landing in his mouth. He couldn't move any more, his head hurting from thinking, his arms ripping themselves apart from throwing the stone, his legs refused to move.

"Gob train hard." he said, his voice barely making a sound. "Gob do good."

Gob cracked a smile before going back to sleep, where he rested for hours on end. He dare not look at his stats, nor his task for fear of slowing down. Gob was intent on overachieving, and was working harder than he thought possible. When his rest ended, he stood back up, his limbs almost giving out on him, and he repeated his training. He had collected enough meat prior to survive another four sets of training, before he needed to hunt again.

Gob was meticulous with his training; first he would run until his lungs were burning, then he sat and drew symbols in the dirt, when he was rested he would stand up and throw the large stone, when his arms gave out he would practice speaking in a more full dialect, when he was again rested, he would punch one of the hard stone walls until his fists bled, then he would sleep.

This repeated four or five times, before he had to hunt again. Gob made sure to be rested in time for the next hunt, he left all his belongings in his new home, and took only one of the horns.

"Voice" he whispered "Where are more rabbit?" he said, now speaking more fluently.

"There are several life forms ahead, Gob," the voice replied, shocked by Gobs new speech pattern "There are many more than last time."

"Gob no care, Gob want meat."

Gob snuck forward, down a narrow, winding cavern leading into an open ravine. He peaked his head over, and saw hundreds of rabbits below, all nested around a large thatch looking clutch. Gob searched for a way down, spotting a small set of footholds far from the rabbits. He crept around the top of the ravine, reaching the footholds. He contemplated his options; he could repeat his tactic from before, slowly taking out rabbits one by one, or, he could go down and try and take them out by force. Gob liked the second option, but was hesitant to take it.

He lowered himself down the footholds, reaching the bottom of the ravine. He was about ten meters from the start of the rabbits, he had to decide now. Gob steeled himself, and tightly gripped the horn.

"Ahhhhh!!" Gob screamed as he charged the rabbit herd. Before they knew what was happening Gob had taken the horn to the frontline, taking out rabbits left and right. The herd hesitated for a moment, allowing Gob to dive in the centre of them. He started swinging crazily, not missing a hit with the horn. Before long he had turned red with blood, striking fear into his prey. Some of the rabbits started fleeing, seeing this predator taking out its allies they ran, Gob continued striking. Stabbing the horn into crowds guaranteed at least one kill, that was Gobs' thinking.

By now, most of the rabbits realised what was happening, and started getting into position. They circled Gob, pointing their horns inward, and slowly closed the circle. Gob jumped up, dived behind the front line, and started stabbing again. A lucky rabbit dived at Gob, causing him to parry with his horn, snapping it. Gob had no weapon, many enemies, and was surrounded. He calmed himself, and let instinct take over.

He stood up and studied the area. He was circled, horns pointed inwards again. One stab and he was most likely dead. He needed to get a weapon and start killing again. He couldn't discern any from of leader in the crowd, but they were protecting something; the hut. He turned to face it, and most of the backline rabbits turned with him, crowding the hut. Gob crouched down, readying his plan.

The frontline rabbits all leapt forward, hoping one of them would at least graze Gob. But his training paid off, he leap forward, using their horns as leverage, and jumped over the frontline. He kept hold of the horns, and ripped them out of the rabbits heads, immobilising them. He had two weapons now, and a goal. The rabbits, clearly frazzled by Gob, tried to encircle him again, but he was too quick this time, and started stabbing into whatever fur he could see. Gob began to see the herd thin out, he had finally started to see the end of the fight. He kept killing, hoping it would end soon.

Gob kept stabbing, trying to put as many holes into the fur mob in front of him. Horns kept leaping at him left and right, he would minimise his movements to preserve stamina, as more and more sharp objects are whizzing past him. He keeps stabbing, his weapons getting dull from overuse. He thins out the herd, finally having space to stand on the ground.

There are thirty, maybe forty left. Gob stood amongst the corpses of his prey, and lets out a thunderous roar, making the remaining rabbits quiver in fear. Gob stands there, his eyes staring at the thatch hut, his skin dyed red from the dried blood of his victims, his horns blunt from repeated use. He waits, for anything to make a move, twitching at any movement made from his prey. Until a low rumbling is made from within the hut, the rabbits start freaking out, bolting in any and all directions, fleeing for their lives. Gob stands at the ready, taking a low stance, ready to pounce on anything approaches him. The hut starts shaking, as loud echoing footsteps approach.

Gob waits, readying himself for whatever may appear. The door opens to the hut, revealing a large humanoid figure. It stands well above Gob, muscle fibres rippling under its lightly furred skin. Two large flat teeth protrude out of its mouth, long floppy ears atop its head. It looks at Gob with a fiery glare. Gob stares back, not backing down. Both stare, unmoving for a short time, before the humanoid leaps at Gob.

Gob doesn't react in time, taking right hook across his face. He's knocked several feet across the ravine, smacking into a wall, definitely cracking some ribs. The humanoid stands up straight, and chuckles a little.

"And here I was thinking you'd be a challenge." it speaks, in a low growl, "You wiped out most of my herd, but can't take a single punch?"

Gob stands up, dropping his horns. He takes a step forward, into the light emitted by the mushroom. He looks down at himself for the first time in days. His plump stomach has turned into ripped abs and pecs, his spindly arms have meat on them, his legs chiselled. He looks up, glares at the humanoid, and speaks.

"Gob train hard, kill weak rabbit." his voice almost cracking from the pain "Gob was weak, now Gob strong."

He charges forward, the humanoid braces itself. Gob leaps up, and lands on its shoulders, he grabs its ears and jumps behind it. The humanoid is pulled back, and flips over Gob landing on its stomach. Gob tries to stomp on the back of its head, but it rolls away. Before it could get back onto its feet, Gob charges again, this time sliding underneath it, taking out its arms as it tries to prop itself up. Gob drags it under its own legs, flipping it again.

Gob continues in stride, leaping off a nearby wall and socking the humanoid in the mouth. Gob leaps onto its chest, and starts hammering it, punching its arms as it tries to defend. Gob tries to break through its defence by ripping its arms away, only to be kicked off by its powerful legs. Gob smacks into the nearby wall, leaving a small indent in it. The humanoid stands up, and sprints to Gob, kneeing him in the face.

"Your skill is great, but you lack the power to back it up." it says, talking down to Gob.

Gob falls forward, nose broken in several places, coughing up blood, and passes out. He awakens several hours later, to the sound of water droplets. He tries to sit up, but winces in pain.

"Woah there!" a gruff male voice speaks "You'll definitely break somethin' doin' that."

Gob looks around for the source of the voice, and finds a stout fellow with a thick bushy beard sat next to him, applying some form of cloth to his wounds.

"You looked like you were in a wee bit of trouble, so I thought I'd help ye' out." it speaks.

"Me Gob." Gob manages to sputter out, before passing out again.

Several hours pass again before Gob regains consciousness. He's laying on a bed of soft leaves, with rabbit hide as a pillow. A large red light sits in between Gob and the mysterious stranger who saved him. Gob again tries to sit up, but is stopped by searing pain.

"Thirst" Gob speaks, "Gob need thirst"

"Oh, so you're awake?" the voice returns, "I got ye' some water here."

Gob feels water reach his mouth, and starts drinking, chugging the whole jug.

"Wow, you must've been parched! Ha!" the voice speaks "Didn't think I'd see another one of me down here!"

Gob widens his eyes a bit to see what he thought was a large beard is actually a large bushel of leaves attached to a goblins face. Not as gnarled as Gobs, but definitely a goblin.

"You like Gob? We both goblin?" Gob speaks

"Well, sort of. I'm half-goblin, goblin ma and dwarf pa. Love is a mysterious thing!" he chuckled "Anyways, what brings ye' down here?"

The half-goblin sits, and waits for Gob to speak. Gob studies this new beings face, very clearly a goblin, but a rounder and flatter nose, with smaller ears.

"Me Gob, me was slave Goblin for capital. Was taking to capital, but attacked, and sent down hole." Gob explains.

"Ah, so you were meant for one of the nobles? I understand now, but in all honest I've never seen a goblin built like you! You've got muscles, on your muscles! What I'd give to be like you, the holes I could dig!" he jokes. "Anyways, why were you at the clutch of the Leporide?"

"Lepo-what?" Gob asks

"The big strong kicky thing! The thing that almost killed you."

"Gob was hunt, Gob wanted meat."

"You were hunting? I've never heard of a goblin hunting alone before. You got a tribe?"

"No." Gob replies, sullen in his response.

"Listen Gob, my name is Themruld. You don't need a tribe to survive, I ain't got one!" he reaches out with a fresh jug of water.

Gob reaches his hand out to receive the jug, only to drop it as soon as he was handed it. Gob punches the ground in frustration.

"Gob need be stronger! Gob weak, Gob no want be weak!" he shouted in anger.

Themruld stands up, and grabs the jug. He heads over to a rocky outcropping he uses as a desk, and grabs a leaf with some paste on it. He walks back to Gob, and starts dressing one of the wounds on his face.

"Listen Gob, you may want to be stronger. But you have to ask yourself, why?"

Gob lays there, contemplating the question. 'Why does Gob want be stronger?'. It was a very good question. Up until this point Gob was just doing what was needed to survive, but what does Gob truly want? Does he want to be the strongest? Or does Gob just want to be better? And so he sat, in contemplation as Themruld dresses his wounds.