My outstretched hand pointed at the feral beast who seemed to be afraid of me.
And as expected the three goblins that had submitted to me trembled like three cute little chicks shivering in the snow.
Except they were really ugly as to which I do not mind one bit. Looks are great but that isn't everything.
Thicc thighs, soft melons, and beauty may give me wild passionate thoughts despite being in a state of constant calmness, but in the end despite pleasure, what will such things give you?
Will they satisfy your pride? Maybe
Will they sate your hunger? I doubt it.
Will such worldly assets possessed by sluts that could take advantage of you give you a bright future? Nope!
I determine a person's value by simply looking at how capable, how loyal or how I could use them.
A super selfish way of thinking but I can't help it. When you are all alone without anyone to support nor correct how things are perceived by you from young, your mind twists into something horrendous.
I Grant Simmons, is not a demon nor am I some saint. Though I don't know what I really am any more thanks to the system's status window showing me that (Sealed) every time I check my attributes and skills.
I like to refer to myself as a monster. A beast who lives solely for himself. Humans are animals anyway. Potato patata, it's the same.
Your mind shapes itself into the perfect form fit to survive the harsh environment. Either that or die for not being able to adapt fast enough.
And with me having been tossed like a little lamb inside the den of dreadful wolves which was the harshness of reality without MY FATHER to guide and care for me, I grew selfish.
I had to in order to protect myself and from what I could remember, the last time I cared for somebody else which isn't me had me shot three times and nearly caused my death.
Thanks, Daniel.
Well, I don't blame you bud for you are the only person I could trust and would ever trust.
It's just plainly unfortunate that we were severely outmatched.
My fists may topple trees and tear apart metal like butter, but my body still is human despite its extreme durability.
And though faster than Usain bolt I am not yet able to dodge bullets at point-blank range. Emphasis on yet.
Because with how this new world works, I could become stronger.
And when I grow strong enough to bend time and space, Corey you better kiss your ass goodbye.
Because I will kill you even if you are still on earth.
Now back to the situation. Yeah...
Despite me being distracted by monologuing in my head, only a few seconds have passed and my finger was still pointing at the shadow leopard.
Maybe a little threatening would work? Yeah, maybe I could manage my subordinates well with fear and kindness.
Make them fear and respect me while giving them rewards and praise for their efforts.
Yeah, that usually creates trust between a boss and his workers.
Sorry Stella but I can't really trust you yet.
The goblins were at a loss seeing me point my finger at them then at the leopard again.
They are afraid I know that but the best thing to do when confronted by fear is to run away and adapt to it before confronting it once more. Or you could face it head-on and be a real man.
I facepalmed seeing the frozen little gobs.
What am I to do with you three...
"Look. You know of my strength yet not only are you standing there like some cowards. But you aren't even putting your trust in me? Are you looking down on me? Your new leader?"
I growled while my eyes narrowed. They were still afraid of the overgrown cat but signs of their fear towards me starting to prevail are evident in their eyes.
Time for a little push.
"Nevermind. I guess I should discard you three like the useless pieces of garbage that you are..." Disappointment dominated my low grumbling voice and the goblins froze.
Squatting next to the trouble child Beatry, I checked her temperature and she was normal despite being pale.
KHUEK KHUKAKAAU!!!
The goblins screeched and startled me. My body instantly reacted by grabbing Beatry and retreating as quickly as possible.
Contrary to my expectations of the three uglies revolting against me, they threw themselves to clash with the shadow panther.
Looks like they hate being called useless. Their unwilling eyes stated clearly so.
Roar! The shadow leopard roared and lunged towards the goblins.
It had enough and it was hungry. It gladly welcomed the three insolent goblins with a preemptive attack.
The shadow leopard was fast and it quickly reached the front of the goblin trio, a claw swiping towards the goblin with a staff was met with opposition.
Shield gob lunged forth to intercept the threat.
Thunk! Claw struck the badly beaten buckler and the goblin holding it was knocked back a few feet before it managed to stabilize itself.
Taking advantage of their comrade's effort to protect the two of them, the shortsword wielding goblin hacked down at the shadow panther.
And with an arcane chant, the staff holding goblin fired off a fireball that missed the leopard.
The ball of flame seemed to come to a halt just above the leopard.
The leopard tried dodging the slash coming from the shortsword gob by jumping into the air.
Only for it to be singed at the back by the perfectly positioned fireball.
Auuu!!! The shadow leopard roared in pain while fire burned its fur. Sadly it ran out of fuel and settled for just burning a large portion of the beast's back.
'Amazing...' The excellent display of teamwork and good judgment pleased me.
They are goblins yet they fight well! Imagine if they evolve into stronger monsters!
At this point, my little test for them had been done and they passed with flying colors.
But I did not stop them nor did I interfere in their fight.
I want to see how far they can go.
Shield gob reunited with his friends and they formed a triangle formation again.
Shield gob at the front and sword and staff covering his back.
The shadow leopard seemed to notice the gobs' desire to fight to the death and its figure blurred.
The shadow leopard ran away much to my disappointment.
It vanished into the darkness of the forest.
I looked at the side and saw that everything was already pitch black.
It was already night time and the forest grew eerily quiet.
"You three, you did well!" Honestly praising the goblins and smiling at them made them freeze. I wasn't lying, they really did well and if the leopard had decided to stay behind it would have died.
Tink! Thunk! Thoon!
The goblins dropped their weapons unto the ground. They were trembling and their eyes seemed to look so pitiful.
Khuaaaa!!!
They lunged at me and clung to my body. I was surprised.
They were hugging me while bawling their eyes out.
My expression softened further and I chuckled.
"There there... You all really did well and I am proud of you three." What else could i do when a bunch of ugly yet smelly goblins hug me?
Kick them away and proceed to thrash them?
I won't do that.
I said I was a monster in human skin. Not some disgusting human who judges things for their appearances.
I patted their backs and placed them unto the ground. Smiling at them once more.
KKHUAAHHHHHH!
They cried even louder and my eye twitched. The goblins seem to have the mentality of a child. So they are children in a way.
God this is why I hate children. They cry and make a mess out of things.
But they are cute and loveable.
I made the three gobs who had stopped crying pick up their gear.
I let one climb unto my back, one to sit on my shoulders and the last one to curl up into a fetal position and sit inside Beatry's spacious bag.
I let down the one clinging to my back and wore the bag which was actually a backpack.
Then I let the other gob cling unto my back again.
Lifting Beatry into a princess carry, I sniffed the air and focused.
I broke into a sprint and ran through the forest.
I doubt I could safely leave with four little burdens weighing me down.
So I have to look for a place to spend the night in.
A cave by the river should do.