Walking carefully through the dense forest, Finn's senses were sharper than ever. Every crackling twig, rustling leaf, or fleeting shadow drew his attention. He scanned his surroundings constantly, unwilling to let a single detail escape him. Each step he took felt deliberate, his eyes flickering between the ground and the distant treeline, searching for anything—prey or danger.
After what felt like hours of cautious wandering, he finally stumbled upon something peculiar: a massive stone cliff wall rising abruptly from the forest floor. Its weathered surface was riddled with small, circular holes that looked anything but natural. Finn approached cautiously, narrowing his eyes as he inspected the holes more closely.
"These look like they were made by a creature," he muttered to himself, his voice low. The holes were just the right size for something small to crawl through—something alive.
Finn continued moving toward the wall, curiosity gnawing at him, when a sudden movement to his left froze him mid-step. Slowly turning his head, his gaze locked onto a creature crawling out of one of the holes. It was a bug—large, easily the size of the lizard he'd killed the day before. Its chitinous shell reflected faint light, and while it lacked wings, its mouth was the strangest part: a spinning, cone-like appendage that resembled a drill.
Finn's heart raced, but this time he didn't hesitate. He gripped his crude stone knife tightly, the resolve from yesterday's kill strengthening his courage. Without giving the bug a chance to react, he lunged forward. His small form struck with desperation, his knife plunging into the insect's hard shell. The creature squirmed and screeched, but Finn didn't stop. He stabbed again and again, his strikes fueled by adrenaline and survival instinct until the bug's movements ceased entirely.
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[You have killed a Drill Beetle, +1 XP]
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As the glowing notification appeared in his vision, Finn paused, breathing heavily as he watched the lifeless beetle slump against the ground. He took a moment to steady himself, his nerves still on edge, before a deep satisfaction washed over him. The thrill of victory, no matter how small, filled him with purpose.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Finn looked back up at the cliff face, his gaze drawn once more to the numerous holes peppering its surface. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together. "This must be their nest," he muttered, glancing down at the beetle's corpse. If one came out, there were likely more inside.
A plan began to form in his mind, simple but effective. If he stayed near this wall and killed the beetles as they emerged, he could steadily gain experience and grow stronger. This could be his hunting ground.
Finn tightened his grip on the knife, crouching low near the wall as his eyes scanned the holes like a predator waiting for prey. His pulse steadied, his determination solidifying. From now until nightfall, anyone—or anything—that crawled into his line of sight wouldn't be getting away alive.
Five hours later…
Finn trudged through the forest, his arms burdened with the five beetle corpses he had killed. His earlier determination had faded into frustration, his expression sullen as he headed back to the cave. Despite the effort he had put in, something strange had happened—after killing the fifth beetle, the glowing notification for XP no longer appeared. No matter how many more he killed, nothing changed. It was as though his progress had hit a wall.
"What's the point if I can't get stronger?" Finn muttered under his breath as he entered the dim, musty cave.
Walking through the familiar tunnels, Finn made his way to the elder, the weak-looking goblin slouched in his poorly crafted wooden chair. The elder glanced up, his milky eyes narrowing in visible disgust as Finn presented the bugs he had brought back. The elder's lip curled slightly.
"You can keep those, Muck," the elder said dismissively, clearly unimpressed.
Finn ignored the disdain, more focused on the question that had been nagging at him. Bracing himself, he asked, "Elder, if I may… what does it mean when you reach max XP? And how can I gain more?"
At the question, the elder let out an irritated huff, shaking his head as though Finn had asked the most foolish thing he'd ever heard. Yet, despite his obvious annoyance, the elder reluctantly began to answer. Educating the younger goblins was part of his role, even if it tested his patience.
"When you reach max XP, it means you're going to evolve overnight," the elder said flatly, his tone dripping with disinterest. "As for gaining more XP, when you evolve, your XP count resets, and your maximum is raised. Simple as that."
The elder waved his bony hand, signaling the conversation was over, before reaching lazily for a piece of questionable-looking meat lying on the floor beside him. Finn watched as the elder ripped into the meat with sharp teeth, clearly expecting him to leave.
Finn stood there for a moment, absorbing the explanation. Evolving? Overnight? The concept was strange, yet it gave him hope. If this "evolution" allowed him to grow stronger and push past his limits, then his progress wasn't stuck forever. It was just a matter of waiting until tomorrow.
Turning away, Finn quietly carried the beetle corpses to his makeshift bed. He set them down, resolving to eat later. For now, he needed rest. If the elder was right, tomorrow would be the most important day of his new life.
As Finn settled into his makeshift bed, exhaustion weighed heavy on his small frame. The dim glow of the cave and the faint echoes of goblins in the distance faded from his senses as sleep quickly overtook him. Just as his consciousness slipped away, a sudden notification echoed in his mind, clear and unmistakable.
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[Max XP reached]
[Finding possible evolutions…]
[Evolutions found]