‘But what do I do now? There’s no way I can currently even hope to start butchering this giant version of the Saber Ostrich, and even if I wanted to, I’m way too weak and wounded to even think about moving from my current spot where I’m laying…
‘This isn’t good at all. I know sooner or later the smell of blood from the giant saber ostrich will draw more beasts here, but I'm in no condition to fight even a Horned Rabbit right now, let alone another beast like this big ostrich.
‘Not seeing any other options, I started dragging my body to a nearby bush inch by inch. If I can’t get away, then the next best thing to do is hide.
‘Even though I’m sure I have multiple broken bones, a multitude of cuts and bruises, and a lot of lost blood, I can’t really feel anything as I continue to drag my body towards a nearby bush.
‘I’m guessing it’s all the adrenaline from the battle that’s working its magic to keep the pain down. I don’t want to imagine what I’d be feeling right now without it.
‘Upon reaching the bush I crawled right in. Hoping that anything that shows up will look to eat the Saber Ostrich carcasses and ignore little old me. I’m just a badly hurt Goblin, there’s barely any meat on my bones.
‘Though apart from that, I don’t have an actual plan to get out of this at all. I think I have no choice but to lay here and hope the regenerative abilities of a Goblin are better than I think they are.
‘Though as I had that thought, a wave of tiredness almost immediately climbed over me.
‘Not having the strength to fight off this immense amount of tiredness, I succumbed to it and unwillingly fell asleep. Ah...I really hope I don’t wake up in Goblin heaven…
‘Upon falling asleep, I instantly found myself in a deep slumber, which brought on what I assumed to be a lucid dream.
‘There was nothing here, just darkness in every direction I looked in. I couldn’t see my body, but I could still feel it and no matter where I looked there was nothing. I even tried walking, but it seemed as if I was glued to my current spot.
‘Why am I having such a weird-ass dream? Is this how all Goblins dream? But I haven’t dreamt like this since I’ve been here.
‘Maybe it’s the type of dream Goblins have when they die…No let’s not think so dark just yet, it doesn’t bode well for my mental health.
‘Let’s focus here…now it doesn’t seem like I can forcefully wake myself up, either. Oh! Wait one second… Don’t tell me this is what happens when you evolve into a higher Tier? Did Jaba have to experience something like this too? But isn’t it far too soon for me to become Tier 2?! I just evolved!
‘Wait, am I an idiot, I have already evolved, and this dream didn’t happen, so that can’t be it.
‘While still pondering my own questions, I then heard a voice that wasn’t mine.
“Correct.”
‘Who the hell is that?! What was that?! Is it a god?! Why can’t I talk out loud?! What the hell is going on?! I can't even see anything!’
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“Calm down. We’re short on time so I’ve sealed your ability to talk. I’ll also seal your emotions for a bit so you can focus on the conversation.
“I’m going to explain the reason why you're here in this world of ours. Then I’ll give you a chance to ask questions if time permits.
“First of all, you weren’t brought here to become any sort of hero or king for beasts. The sole reason for bringing you here is for stability.
“Every couple hundred years, someone from your world is brought here to help keep this one stable. Don’t worry too much about how that works, but that's the reason. Though…I supposed if you really want to know, you technically can if try hard enough…” The mysterious voice paused before continuing.
“You aren’t required to live in any specific manner. You are free to do as you wish in this world, whether it be living like a normal Goblin in the middle of nowhere or becoming a traveling bard, do whatever you want, the choice is yours.
“The reason for only speaking to you now is because you needed to evolve to at least Tier two so that your mind could be strong enough to handle me speaking to you.
“Also, just so you're aware, when a creature begins the evolution process, your body will emit an almost undetectable aura of sorts that will keep other creatures away that weren’t already nearby.
“Stronger creatures can ignore this aura and approach anyway so don’t bank on this. Lastly, since you were brought here against your will, you received gifts to help your survival in this world, such as your status card and being a Royal of your race.
“This Tier two evolution is also one of those gifts as you needed a bit of a push to start it. Thankfully, that Saber Ostrich… as you dubbed it was enough of a catalyst to force this evolution on you. Otherwise, it would have taken you who knows how long to reach this point.” The voice paused again as if allowing its words to settle before continuing.
“We still have some time. Any questions?”
“Who are you? Will we meet like this every single time I evolve?”
“You can consider me one god of this world. This will be the first and last time we meet. The only other way to speak to us gods is to receive a blessing. Now there isn’t much time left, so choose your questions wisely.”
‘The feeling of my emotions being suppressed is odd to say the least, but I can understand the logic behind it. My mind is extremely focused at the moment. Hm, I know my next question.’
“What is the situation between Goblins and humans in this world? Is there some kind of war or any form of enmity going on between us?”
“Humans and their allied races, for various reasons regularly hunt, kill, or disdain what’s known as the Beast Races. That’s you.
“While there’s not currently a drive to hunt you all to extinction and there does exist a few spaces where Beast Races thrive, it is to be understood that not everyone is necessarily fond of your existence. So yes, there is something akin to a war. Some races, mainly humans, believe that sentient or intelligent Beast Races shouldn’t exist. Next.”
‘That was an interesting nugget of information. So, Goblins are known as a Beast Race huh, which means I suppose there are others.’
“Does everyone reincarnate into beasts? What is the situation of my Goblin race?”
“No, your reincarnated species is random. Your race is one of the largest in the world, but it is also one of the weakest. Your small Tribes are spread everywhere but rarely last long because of other Beast Races, Beasts of all sorts or humans and their allied front.
“Well, I suppose there is that one group of Goblins that's fairly strong. Next question.”
“Are they any bigger Goblin Tribes nearby?”
“Kind of. Next question.”
“Is my Tribe close to any human settlement or other sentient communities?”
“Perhaps. Last question.”
“Will I eventually unlock levels for my system?”
“No, but different paths related to your status as a Royal of your race will eventually appear. That is all the time we have. You will now fade back into a normal rest while your body finishes the evolution process. You’ll wake up soon enough.”
The lucid dream-like state then ended for Rick, and he returned to Goblin dreamland.
“Hmm I didn’t tell him about Velora. Now that I think about it, I didn’t tell him about a lot of things. Well, he’ll be fine...”
- ??
And so, the day quickly turned into night with all the beasts nearby seemingly staying clear of one particular area in the forest. In that area there lay a small Goblin whose body was going through a multitude of changes.
Rick, who was in deep slumber, couldn't feel any of the changes that were currently visibly happening on his body.
Completely unaware of the fact his body was changing by the second, growing bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before.
Rick would soon wake up a brand-new Goblin. A Goblin with newfound knowledge, a Goblin with a newfound purpose, a Goblin that will eventually cause waves in this world, but for now, he’s just a Goblin who is sleeping.