Jordan found himself further from camp than he expected. Along the way, he'd encountered and killed two more slimes, bringing his total collection of slime cores to three. Each kill was easier than the last as he learned their predictable movements and weaknesses.
The sun was high in the sky now, casting sharp shadows through the trees. Noon had arrived, and the heat was becoming noticeable, though the dense forest provided some relief with its cool shade.
Jordan paused to take stock of his surroundings. The area was quieter than he'd like, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It meant fewer predators—or so he hoped. He crouched down by a mossy tree, pulling out the cores he'd collected and inspecting them.
They were all nearly identical: smooth, glass-like, and faintly glowing. He turned one over in his hand, wondering once again about their significance. He had yet to see any major change when inserting them into his knife, but he felt certain they held some kind of power.
He tucked the cores back into his pocket and stood up, stretching his stiff legs. The day wasn't over, and there was still more to explore. "Alright," he muttered, gripping his knife, "let's see what else is out here"
------
Jordan crouched behind a tree, trying to steady his breathing. The creature was hunched over, muttering in low guttural sounds he couldn't understand. It fidgeted with what looked like some crude tool—a sharpened stick tied with dried grass to a broken bone.
"What the fuck is that?" Jordan murmured again under his breath, his heart pounding.
The creature's movements were erratic, almost frantic, as if it was obsessed with its little project. Its greenish-gray skin glistened under the midday sun, and the protruding veins made its malnourished form look even more grotesque. Its disproportionately large head sat atop a thin, wiry neck, and its pointed ears twitched occasionally, as though sensing the slightest disturbance in the air.
"Is that a goblin?" Jordan thought, gripping his knife tighter. His instincts screamed at him to stay hidden, but curiosity had him rooted in place.
The goblin suddenly stopped its fiddling, tilting its head as if it had heard something. Its yellow, glowing eyes darted around, scanning the area. Jordan froze, pressing his back against the tree. The guttural murmurs stopped, replaced by an eerie silence that made the forest feel heavier.
"Shit," he muttered, barely audible. His mind raced. Goblins... If they exist here, then there's no way this thing is alone.
He peeked out again, careful not to make a sound. The goblin had returned to its task but now seemed more alert. It muttered something louder, its voice sharp and grating, and Jordan felt a chill run down his spine.
Do I attack it? Or back off? he wondered. One-on-one, it seemed manageable, but if there were more nearby, he could easily find himself outnumbered. His knife was sharp, and he had killed before, but this creature was no fanged rabbit or slime. It was something else entirely.
Jordan steadied his breathing, weighing his options. One wrong move, and he could be in serious trouble.
"I can't just ignore this every time,I have to confront this" he mutter a sudden surge of confidence weld up in him.
He took a sizeable rock from off the ground and after readying himself, he peered around the tree.
With one strong swing the stone flew through the air.
The rock struck it mark, hitting the goblin straight in the back of it's head, sending it tumbling over with no time to grab it's weapon as it tumbled pass it.
Using this as an opportunity Jordan attacked
The goblin let out a guttural yelp as it hit the ground face-first, disoriented and momentarily stunned. Jordan didn't waste a second. He charged forward, knife in hand, heart pounding in his chest.
The goblin scrambled to get up, clawed hands digging into the dirt in a frantic attempt to reach for its weapon, but Jordan kicked the crude blade further out of reach, sending it skidding across the ground.
The goblin hissed, its yellow, feral eyes locking onto him. It bared its jagged teeth and lunged, clawed fingers swiping wildly at his legs. Jordan sidestepped, avoiding the first swipe, but the second claw raked across his shin, tearing through fabric and grazing skin.
"Shit!" he hissed, ignoring the stinging pain as adrenaline took over. He swung his foot again, this time aiming for the goblin's ribs. The creature yelped as the kick connected, sending it sprawling onto its side.
Seizing the moment, Jordan lunged and drove the blade downward. The goblin twisted at the last second, and the knife buried itself into its shoulder instead of its chest. The creature screamed, a sound that sent chills down his spine.
It writhed beneath him, clawing at his arm in an attempt to free itself. Jordan gritted his teeth, wrestling to keep control as he twisted the knife, forcing the goblin onto its back.
"Stay down!" he growled, using his free hand to pin its other arm. The goblin's struggles grew weaker, its yellow eyes flickering between fury and desperation.
Jordan didn't hesitate this time. He pulled the knife free and drove it straight into the goblin's chest, aiming for its heart. The creature let out a final, shuddering gasp before going limp beneath him.
Breathing heavily, Jordan pulled back, his hands trembling slightly as he stared down at the lifeless goblin. The reality of what he'd just done hit him like a wave, but he quickly pushed the thought aside. He couldn't afford to hesitate or second-guess himself in this world.
He wiped the blade on the goblin's tattered clothing, trying to steady his breathing. After a moment, he crouched down and inspected the creature more closely. Its leathery skin and malnourished frame were even more grotesque up close. Around its waist was a simple leather pouch tied with a crude string.
Curious, Jordan untied the pouch and opened it. Inside, he found a few polished stones, a handful of dried berries, and what looked like a small, chipped crystal. "Not much, but better than nothing," he muttered, pocketing the pouch.
He stood, glancing around the forest. The fight had been loud, and he didn't know if other goblins—or worse—had heard it. His eyes darted to the goblin's crude blade lying in the dirt. It wasn't much, but it might come in handy. He picked it up and inspected it. The blade was rough, uneven, and poorly crafted, but it was sharp enough to cause damage.
Tucking it into his belt, Jordan turned back toward his camp. His leg throbbed where the goblin had scratched him, but it wasn't bleeding too badly. He needed to clean it and figure out his next steps.
As he walked, the weight of what he'd just done started to sink in. This wasn't like killing the slimes or the fanged rabbits. The goblin had been sentient, capable of using tools and showing emotions.
But he shook his head, steeling himself. It would've killed me if I hesitated. That's just the kind of world this is.
With his knife still in hand and the goblin's crude weapon at his side, Jordan pressed on, determined to keep surviving, no matter what this world threw at him.
After securing the pouch and crude weapon, Jordan hesitated for a moment, his eyes drifting back to the goblin's lifeless body. A thought crossed his mind: If slimes and those fanged rabbits have cores, could goblins have them too?
Kneeling back down, he carefully inspected the goblin's chest. With a deep breath, he used his knife to make a shallow incision. The thought of cutting into a humanoid creature turned his stomach, but curiosity—and the possibility of upgrading his knife—pushed him forward.
As he worked, his knife hit something hard. "What the...?" he murmured, widening the incision. A faint, dull glow greeted him. Nestled just beneath the goblin's ribs was a core, though it looked slightly different from the others he'd found. It was larger, about the size of a small apple, and had a deep, sickly green hue that seemed to pulse faintly.
Jordan reached in, carefully extracting it. The core felt warm and had a strange, almost sticky texture, like it was coated in a thin layer of viscous energy. Holding it up to the light, he studied it closely. Unlike the vibrant clarity of the slime cores, this one looked cloudy, almost as if it contained swirling shadows within.
"This has to be worth something," he muttered, slipping it into his top pocket alongside the other cores. He made a mental note to test it later with his knife.
Standing, he glanced down at the goblin's body one last time. It felt grim to take its core, but in this brutal world, survival took precedence over sentiment. Shaking off the lingering discomfort, he turned and began heading back toward his camp.
As he walked, he couldn't help but wonder: If goblins have cores, does that mean all sentient creatures do? And if they do, what does that mean for me...? The thought sent a chill down his spine, but he pushed it away. He had bigger things to worry about right now.
For now, he had a new core, a crude weapon, and one more piece of knowledge about the dangers lurking in this strange world.