The
Red Python
lay in a broken heap, its once-menacing eyes now
dull and lifeless
. The thick, coppery scent of
blood
lingered in the air, mixing with the musky odor of the slain beast.
Leav took it all in. The adrenaline of battle had begun to fade, leaving behind a
cold, calculating calm
. Around him, the others buzzed with the aftermath of combat—a mixture of
relief, triumph, and something darker
.
Yorl,
chest heaving
, repeatedly
slammed
his crude axe into the python's already lifeless head. Each blow sent a
wet, sickening crunch
into the air. A guttural,
animalistic roar
tore from his throat as he
lost himself
in the aftermath of the fight.
The
Berserk
skill had changed him.
Leav observed with growing concern.
Raw strength
was valuable, but this?
This was dangerous.
Uncontrolled fury could be a weapon—one that turned
against its wielder
just as easily as it struck an enemy.
Weal, however, had already
shifted gears
. His initial fear had been replaced with
focused energy
, and he darted around the carcass, eagerly pointing out the
best sections of meat
.
Frot, opportunistic as ever, was busy
prying the python's fangs
loose with a sharpened stick. His greedy eyes gleamed as he worked.
Bout stood apart from them all,
silent
, watching. His expression was unreadable.
Leav took charge.
He had to.
"Alright," he said, voice firm. "Let's get to work. Weal, you
know
meat. Start carving. Frot, keep working on those
fangs
—they could make useful weapons. Yorl..."
Yorl
paused
mid-swing, his axe trembling in his grip. His eyes snapped toward Leav, still wild, still filled with
something untamed
.
"Calm yourself," Leav continued.
"We need your strength intact."
For a moment, he thought Yorl might
ignore him
—might even
lash out
.
Then, with one final
brutal strike
, the brute
stopped
. He exhaled heavily, his
massive chest rising and falling
. Then, slowly, he lumbered over to the python's
thick hide
and began to
peel it away
from the flesh.
Good. He listens—for now.
Leav watched over the
harvesting process
, ensuring nothing went to waste.
This battle had been
a test
. And while they had won,
victory had come by chance
—a combination of Weal's observation, Frot's distraction, Bout's
deadly precision
, and Yorl's brute force.
It wouldn't always go that way.
He needed to
refine them
, to
hone their strengths
and
rein in their weaknesses
.
His new skill,
Tactics
, pulsed at the edge of his awareness. It sharpened his thoughts, making every decision feel
crisper, more efficient
. He could already sense its influence, subtly guiding his strategies.
But the
system
was his
alone
.
His secret. His power.
The python's corpse provided
more than enough resources
—a feast's worth of
meat
, a hide
thick and durable
enough to fashion crude armor, and fangs sharp enough to be
deadly weapons
.
By the time the work was done, the sun had begun to set.
Leav assigned the loads:
Weal & Frot
carried the
meat
.
Yorl
took the
hide
.
Bout
... Leav hesitated before handing him the
fangs
.
"
Keep an eye out,
" Leav said, watching him carefully. "If we run into trouble,
use that arm of yours.
"
Bout gave a
slight nod
, his eyes unreadable.
Leav needed to understand him better. That
throw
—the speed, the precision—
it wasn't normal
. Not for a goblin.
So he probed.
Carefully.
"Bout," Leav said, matching his pace with the quiet goblin. "That throw... it was impressive. Have you practiced before?"
Bout merely
shrugged
. "Sometimes."
Nothing more.
Leav knew a
stonewall
when he saw one.
Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at ƒrēewebnovel.com Only.
For now, Bout's secrets would remain
his own
.
The
goblin settlement
came into view, its crude huts and sharpened stakes standing against the darkening sky.
They were met with
awe... and envy.
The
older goblins
—the ones who had dismissed them—had returned with
a scrawny deer
. Their expressions
darkened
as they saw the
python spoils
Leav's group carried.
They weren't just another hunting party anymore.
They were
competition.
The
tribe elder
, an aged, scarred goblin with keen
yellow eyes
, stepped forward. He
inspected
their spoils with
silent approval
.
"You have done well, Leav," he rasped, voice thick with age. "The tribe will eat well tonight. You have
earned your place.
"
A murmur of
agreement
rippled through the crowd.
But Leav felt the
glares
of the hunting party.
This
wasn't over
.
The elder raised a
bony hand
. "The
meat
will be shared among the tribe. The
hide
will reinforce our defenses. And the
fangs
..." His gaze flickered to the pouch Leav had handed him. "The
shaman
will decide their purpose."
Leav
nodded
, keeping his expression neutral.
He had expected this.
The fangs could be used for
weapons
, but more likely? The shaman would use them for
rituals
—to
commune
with whatever
dark forces
the goblins believed in.
Leav would have
preferred
to keep them. But power in the tribe was about
playing the long game
.
For now, he would
comply
.
The Feast and the Shadows
That night, the tribe
feasted
.
The
air
was thick with the scent of roasting python meat, the sounds of
gnawing and grunting
filling the settlement.
Leav ate little.
He was watching. Learning.
Weal
basked in the
praise
of the others, his fear forgotten.
Frot
was already
scheming
, whispering to other goblins.
Yorl
, however, was
different
. He
picked at his food
, his usual
appetite missing
. His gaze was distant, locked onto the
fire
, flickering with
something unsettled
.
The
Berserk
skill was affecting him.
Leav needed to find a
way to control it
—to
harness
Yorl's power before it consumed him.
And then there was
Bout
.
He
ate in silence
, avoided eye contact, and when the feast was done...
he vanished
into the shadows.
Leav exhaled, staring into the
dying flames
of the fire.
The
python
was dead, but this victory had only
unlocked new dangers
.
His group was growing stronger.
But so were his
enemies.
The
hunting party wouldn't forget this.
The
shaman now had the fangs.
And beyond the goblin lands? The python was proof that
deadlier creatures lurked
.
Leav looked up at the
blood-red moon
.
His gaze hardened.
Vik, the
insurance worker
, was dead.
Leav, the
goblin
, was just beginning.