After the weird dream, Jake no longer cared for his missed sleep. He kept on wondering what induced this dream, no matter I the toilet or eating breakfast. He needed answers fast.
After pondering for a long time to no avail, he decided to just let it flow. If he find the answer, he finds it, if not, not need to worry. He slings his bag over his shoulders, and heads out.
As he heads out, a large, green, brutish hand grabs him by the shoulder, and asks in a gruff voice "Where is the package, my dear... friend?" A large shadow is seen hovering over Jake's body, intimidating the nearby animals. Fear seemed to be prevalent everywhere, with no hope in sight.
"C'mon man, do we really need to do this every time? At this point it's just plain boring. No scare, no fear, heck, there is no pzazz at all. Just ask nicely for the homework next time." Jake sighs before returning the morning greeting.
Behind him, instead of the large, hulking monster you would expect, a small, one and a half meter, scrawny figure is seen. A large poster is stuck behind him, creating the large shadow. In his hand is a realistic green hand, reminiscent of an ogre's hand.
"Why do I even bother doing this with you?" The gruff voice began, before tuning to a more higher pitched one, "I mean, at this point, you don't even act scared. At the beginning, at least you jumped up in fear, peeing your pants. Where is the Jakey of old?" The gruff voice slowly turned into a high pitched voice, as the figure became more clearer.
Dark green hair populated the scalp in a spiky manner, which the owner claims gives him the power of protagonism. Shirt and pant, ripped in various places, smelled of gasoline and sulphur. Small, scrawny arms can be seen protruding from the oh-so large and baggy shirt, too large to cover anything. The legs, while also scrawny, are supported with the latest military grade exoskeleton, gotten from who knows where. But the biggest difference laid somewhere else.
He is a goblin.
One of the oldest races that came after the great apocalyptic war that ended the Great civilization, it was once recognised for nothing else except their voracious reproduction and ugly features. They took any and every race, mated with them, and produced every kind of spawn. Intelligence was their least forte.
Yet this all changed when one of them was introduced to a receptacle of forgotten knowledge. Though scant, it contained schematics of machines ancient, capable of wondrous effects, comparable to miracles itself.
But the biggest gain was that it changed the inherent genes of goblins, allowing them to wield intelligence to create machines of wondrous nature. The biggest fain though, was that it allowed them to use magic.
Yes, magic.
While scant at tne beginning, the many genes in their DNA allowed to combine and increase their magic reserve at an exponential rate, propelling them to the near top of the Pillar of Races. This gained tne much power and influence in the universe.
Grud Snozzlinger met young Jake during the years of vagrants, when he was fighting for highlife to retain his parents last property. While scavenging for part in the neighbourhood, he stumbled upon him fighting vagrant riding a mutated dog in trash can armor. Without hesitation seeing that it was a young boy vs two beings, he leapt in and started helping the young Jake. During the fight, they bonded really well, leading to the friendship of today.
"Anyways," Grud waved his hands, "How was the homework Jakey?" Jake, while rummaging through his bag, replied "Pretty easy, but no sweet talk will let you escape the fees. 50 UD (Universal Dollars) please."
A whoosh is heard, as the latest hover car, with experimental red matter engine, whizzed past them. "Damn Fae's, you're going kill someone someday!" Grud shook his fists to the passing car, barely missing them. "C'mon, let's keep going. We're gonna be late, and trust me, I don't need to hear Mrs. Snobbish yelling at us again." Jake yelled as he started running once he realised what the time was thanks to the speeding car.