The distant roar eventually faded into the depths of the forest, but the silence that followed somehow felt more threatening than the sound itself.
Grey remained beside the dead Bloodhorn Boar with his damaged weapon held firmly in one hand, staring toward the trees while his Predatory Instinct continued producing an uncomfortable sensation at the back of his mind.
Whatever had made that sound was far enough away that the system couldn’t determine its exact distance, yet the pressure carried through its roar alone had been enough to silence almost everything around them. Even the insects that had filled the forest with constant noise only moments earlier seemed to have disappeared, leaving nothing except the quiet movement of the stream behind him.
Grey had no intention of satisfying his curiosity.
He had learned enough since arriving in this world to understand that investigating strange noises was an excellent way to become somebody else’s meal, especially when his system had gone out of its way to describe the source as a powerful lifeform.
"We should probably leave before whatever made that sound decides to come this way," Grey muttered as he glanced toward the wounded goblin, only to notice that the creature was already struggling onto its feet.
The goblin retrieved its stone axe and immediately moved toward the Bloodhorn Boar, although the slight unevenness in its steps made the extent of its injuries obvious. It crouched beside the corpse and inspected the wound beneath the creature’s jaw before turning toward Grey with an expression that seemed considerably less suspicious than before.
Grey watched it for several seconds before remembering the question he had never gotten the opportunity to ask. "Do you have a name?"
The goblin stared at him blankly.
Grey pointed toward himself. "Grey."
There was no response.
He tapped his chest again and repeated the word more slowly. "Grey."
Understanding gradually appeared in the creature’s eyes, and after another moment of hesitation, it lifted one clawed finger toward its own chest.
"Krag."
Grey repeated the unfamiliar name beneath his breath before giving a small nod. "Krag. At least I don’t have to keep calling you ’the other goblin’ in my head."
Krag clearly didn’t understand most of that sentence, but he seemed to recognize his own name and gave another short nod before returning his attention to the Bloodhorn Boar. He grabbed one of the creature’s hind legs and attempted to drag it away from the tree, only for the enormous corpse to barely move despite the effort.
Grey watched him struggle for several seconds before looking back toward the system interface that still waited for his decision.
[Bloodhorn Boar corpse detected.]
[Available Trait Extraction:]
[Bloodhorn — Level 1]
[Enhanced Muscular Density — Level 1]
[Impact Resistance — Level 1]
All three were useful, but Grey had already learned that simply choosing whatever sounded strongest wasn’t necessarily the smartest approach.
His current Goblin Hunter evolution emphasized speed, awareness, and the ability to exploit weaknesses, meaning something like Bloodhorn didn’t seem particularly compatible with the way he fought.
Impact Resistance was tempting for obvious reasons, especially after being thrown into enough trees to develop a personal hatred for them, but Enhanced Muscular Density offered something his current body lacked.
Strength.
Grey had become considerably faster after evolving, but speed meant very little if his attacks couldn’t penetrate the hide of stronger monsters. The Bloodhorn Boar had demonstrated that weakness perfectly, since his first direct attack had barely damaged it despite landing cleanly.
The interface immediately responded.
[Trait selected.]
[Enhanced Muscular Density — Level 1]
[Trait integration beginning.]
Grey had enough experience with the system by now to know what came next, although that didn’t make the sensation pleasant. Heat spread throughout his arms and legs as his muscles contracted beneath his skin, producing a deep ache that felt as though every fiber in his body was being pulled apart and reconstructed.
He clenched his teeth and remained standing until the sensation finally subsided.
[Trait successfully integrated.]
[Enhanced Muscular Density — Level 1]
[Physical power moderately increased.]
Grey flexed his fingers experimentally before tightening his fist, immediately noticing a subtle difference in the tension running through his arm. The improvement wasn’t enormous, and he certainly hadn’t transformed into some hulking monster, but his body felt denser than before.
"Better."
Krag had stopped trying to move the boar.
The goblin was staring at him.
Grey stared back before realizing that, from Krag’s perspective, he had just stood beside a corpse while strange changes passed through his body for no apparent reason.
"That’s going to be difficult to explain."
Krag pointed toward Grey and made a questioning sound.
"System," Grey answered automatically, then immediately realized how useless that explanation probably was.
Krag continued staring.
Grey sighed. "Exactly."
Another distant sound echoed through the forest, although this one was considerably quieter than the previous roar, and both goblins immediately turned toward the trees. Grey’s Predatory Instinct didn’t react as violently this time, but the reminder was enough to convince him that standing around wasn’t a good idea.
He looked toward the Bloodhorn Boar and considered consuming what remained, but Krag’s behavior made him hesitate.
The goblin had clearly been hunting the creature for food.
Grey didn’t particularly enjoy eating raw monster flesh despite the system’s ability to consume biological material, and taking the entire corpse after Krag had nearly died hunting it seemed unnecessary.
More importantly, Grey had something potentially far more valuable standing beside him and that was information.
"Krag."
Grey pointed at Krag, then gestured toward the surrounding forest before spreading his fingers several times. "Others?"
Krag tilted his head.
Grey tried again by pointing toward himself, then Krag, before gesturing between the two of them. "Goblin. More goblins?"
Understanding slowly appeared on Krag’s face as he slowly nodded.
Grey’s attention sharpened immediately. "How many?"
Krag stared at him.
"Right. That’s probably asking too much."
Grey crouched and drew several rough figures in the dirt using one finger, making each shape vaguely resemble a goblin. He pointed toward the drawings and then toward Krag, hoping the meaning would be obvious enough.
Krag examined the figures before crouching beside him.
The goblin pointed at one figure, then another, and finally drew three additional shapes beside them.
Grey counted them and they were at least three other goblins.
That wasn’t exactly an army, but considering Grey had believed himself to be the only intelligent goblin in the forest less than an hour ago, discovering four others was significant.
"Where?"
Krag pointed deeper into the forest.
Grey followed the direction of his finger and frowned.
The same forest where something powerful had just roared.
"Of course it’s that way."
Krag stood and grabbed the Bloodhorn Boar’s leg again, apparently determined to bring the corpse with him regardless of its weight. He managed to drag it a short distance before stopping from the pain in his side.
Grey watched him struggle before eventually walking over and grabbing another leg.
Krag immediately growled.
Grey stopped and looked at him. "I’m helping."
The goblin tightened its grip.
Grey pointed toward the corpse, then toward himself, and finally toward the direction Krag had indicated. "You want the food. I want to see the other goblins. We both get something."
Krag clearly didn’t understand the entire explanation, but after several seconds he reluctantly loosened his posture.