Seeing his children go on into the whole wide world of the forest was a memory, he would later often proudly recall as "all the stupid shit I did back then".
For now however, he gave a heavy sigh.
He had been good enough, so now he could be bad to a few other goblins. The key to figuring out what happens to the magical core of the goblins and if they have one could only be figured out by slicing their bellies open when they were still alive.
He knew that being a scientist was not all about rainbows and sunshine, but the thought about this dirty work did not fill his mind with much excitement.
It would take ages to get the filth and muck and organs out of his clothes again. Yet, the worst of all was the smell, weeks after the fact he would still smell the random goblin in his clothes.
Science truly demanded the most out of every scientist. There was no new knowledge gained without the sacrifice done by the noble people of this profession.
In the forest swarming with bloodthirsty goblins it did not take long to find a suitable goblin, willing to endure the little ouchie.
At first, he needed to secure the goblin tightly. Can't have the patient end their own life too soon…for science, of course.
Moros looked at the dull knife it had donated for the cause and clicked his tongue in annoyance. The tools these savages wielded were not meant for the fine delicate working of a genius such as him.
He had to make do with what the patients brought with him. Tools, at the end of the day, were just objects to make the task easier.
If it did not work out with them, he would simply find a way around it─as he had always done and would ever do.
The knife slowly slid in its belly fat and Moros tried to be careful, since he needed to push the knife to the side and through the entire body of the goblin. With no idea about the anatomy of a goblin, he could only hope not to hit any vital spot.
At first, progress was steady and the goblin was still breathing. It did struggle against the rope it was constrained with, but not enough to set itself free.
It merely annoyed Moros. Keeping it alive was easier said than done, if it twitched and moved its body all the time. An activity carrying a bit of a risk, given that there was a weapon stuck in its abdomen recently.
It did not get any easier for Moros to keep it alive, but as an expert on the field, he was patient and only made cuts if he was absolutely certain…Aaaand he just hit an artery.
Green blood splattered all over Moros' face.
Moros' expert view quickly made a damning analysis: that was not very healthy for the goblin. Such loss of blood was a death sentence in this wilderness.
The scientist looked at the goblin with great pity. He saw all the potential it could have lived in its remaining life. He saw how much knowledge it could have provided, yet all of that went down the drain as it currently squirted blood without end.
"It was just so young, why did it have to die so quickly?"
Moros could only assume that it simply had given up the will to live. The thought that his knife had caused its death never entered his mind.
After taking a moment of silence to mourn what could have been, he removed the rope and let the corpse fall onto the floor face-first.
Without taking another look back Moros was already thinking about how to refine the process and about how to ensure that the next goblin would not lose its will to live like the prior one did.
The conclusion he drew was rather simple: stuff some cloth into its mouth so that it could not bite off its own tongue and restrain its hands and legs fully, so that it could not move at all.
After securing the next unfortunate soul, he quickly spun the rope around its upper torso 4 times more compared to before. With another rope he did the same for its legs, making it extra tight to ensure maximum longevity.
Stuffed in its mouth was a branch he had found along the way and some leaves.
Taking a step back, Moros marvelled at his work and gave himself full marks for his contraption.
This was one goblin willing to be operated on, if he had ever seen one.
He never had, but if there was one, he imagined that it would be looking like the rope-bound goblin in front of his very eyes.
Yet, just as he was about to use the knife to open it up like a present at Christmas, he saw that the goblin tried to do the fish on dry water dance, as it flopped in its constraints.
"What is wrong with this one?"
Moros wondered why all the goblins he had caught so far were little drama queens. This one acted like it was dying and he did not even poke it with the knife.
"Knock it off, will ye?"
The attempt to calm it down with a calm and reassuring voice did not yield any results. The opposite was true, it was struggling even more, fighting against the constraints as if its very life was in danger.
Its skin began to grow purple and its movement began to appear sluggish.
Its eyes were shot wide open, a pleading gaze fixated on Moros, begging him for something.
Moros looked at it and wanted to tip his head, he had never seen someone with such convincing acting skills. One could nearly believe it was on death's door at this very moment.
This performance was worthy to be awarded and this goblin could play the lead role in any movie or theatre that it wanted…it was that fantastic.
One could really feel that struggle, that passion that oozed out in every one of its movements. This was the face people had when they were full of panic.
"Brave, Bravissimo," Moros gave the goblin the applause it deserved. He had never seen someone or something so touching and good.
The struggle, the weakening movements, it had it all.
And for the final, its body appeared limp and its head fell forward…the end.
Silence…silence…
[Goblin killed 1XP gained]
Moros made the fun discovery that goblins were indeed purely mouthbreathers. Thus his little green friend here, who he thought would be fine breathing through its nose, was by all definitions not very fine.
Another profound realisation in the name of science.
Moros did admit that this mistake was entirely to blame on him. The poor goblin did not deserve to die so soon again.
Yet, Moros had killed it before its due time a few minutes later. He was very sorry and made sure to give the goblin the respect it deserved.
With a salute, it tied its dead body off the tree and let it fall to the floor.
Onwards he went to secure the next goblin for testing purposes, a goblin that would not die so soon due to unfortunate circumstances that lead to an untimely demise.
But, everything with the next goblin worked out.
He managed to tie it to a tree, it did not seem to struggle much. The first cut was a success, minimal blood had been drawn, he cut further…everything worked out like a charm.
Slowly but surely, he made his way through the skin of the stomach to reveal what lay beneath.
Cutting out a square in its stomach he slowly peeled away the goblin skin, until he could clearly see the insides of the goblin.
He saw a beating heart, working lungs, all the other organs in all their colours.
His eyes darted around, his hands went inside…somewhere in here, there had to be that monster core that he had been searching for all this time.
But, just as he was about to find it, a notification popped up and blocked his view.
It was a message from Malissa.
"My magical visor tells me that you are doing a mission to gather more herbs. Did that thick head of yours finally understand just how much worth a single herb is worth, we are talking about up to 1 medium monster core, if they are in pristine condition?"
Moros was shocked to the core, they were worth THAT MUCH?
In one swift motion, he slashed the throat of the goblin and ran into the forest as if he were possessed by the devil.
He could have been making so much money all this time? And yet he was so idiotic and just thought goblins, what was wrong with him?
"Next time you better invite me to some fancy restaurant with all the gold you are making. Mr Goldpants."
Mr Goldpants did not even see the message before his legs already carried him on and on, looking for a herb he had never seen prior.
The call of money was too strong!
The call of money led him into the depths…