Grey remained crouched beneath the massive tree roots, his fingers wrapped tightly around the broken branch as he listened to the sounds moving through the darkness.
The howls had stopped, but somehow that silence was more unsettling than the noise itself, because whatever had been circling his shelter had apparently realized that charging in blindly would be pointless.
Grey kept his breathing slow and controlled while his eyes adjusted to the darkness outside, trying to make sense of the faint movements between the trees.
He could hear something moving through the undergrowth.
Not one thing.
Several.
The sounds were subtle enough that an ordinary human might have missed them entirely, but Grey’s newly acquired Predatory Instinct seemed to sharpen his awareness whenever danger approached.
He could distinguish the crunch of leaves beneath heavy paws from the softer rustling caused by smaller creatures, and although he couldn’t see his enemies clearly, some strange part of his mind was already beginning to understand their movements.
Grey swallowed quietly.
"How many are there?"
The system didn’t answer.
Of course it didn’t.
Grey had quickly discovered that the strange interface seemed perfectly willing to provide information when it wanted to, yet remained frustratingly silent whenever he actually had a question. He couldn’t help wondering whether the system possessed some kind of intelligence or whether it was simply an incomprehensible mechanism following rules he hadn’t discovered yet.
A shadow moved between two trees.
Grey tightened his grip.
Another shape appeared farther behind it.
Then another.
His eyes slowly adjusted, revealing several creatures creeping through the darkness. They were smaller than the Thornwolf he had fought earlier, but there were at least four of them, and their bodies were covered in coarse gray fur. Their ears were pointed, their snouts were narrow, and each possessed a mouth filled with sharp little teeth.
Grey focused on the nearest one.
A familiar blue symbol appeared above its head.
[Moonfang Hyena — Level 2]
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
Level 2.
That was lower than the Thornwolf.
More importantly, the creatures weren’t alone.
Grey looked toward the others and focused on them one by one, receiving similar information each time. All four were Level 2, and none appeared to possess any special abilities that he could identify.
His mind immediately began working.
Four Level 2 creatures.
He was Level 2.
His strength had improved, but he was still inexperienced, and unlike the Thornwolf, these creatures were working together.
Fighting all four at once would be stupid.
Grey slowly looked toward the entrance of his shelter.
The opening beneath the roots was narrow enough that only one creature could enter at a time.
His eyes narrowed.
Maybe he didn’t have to fight all of them.
The first Moonfang Hyena approached the entrance and sniffed cautiously. Its head moved from side to side while the other three remained several meters away, watching the opening.
Grey remained completely still.
The creature took another step.
Then another.
Grey could hear its breathing.
It lowered its head and attempted to crawl inside.
Grey waited until its front half had disappeared beneath the roots before thrusting the broken branch forward.
The sharpened wood struck the creature beneath its jaw.
The hyena shrieked and recoiled violently, but Grey had already grabbed a handful of loose dirt and thrown it directly into its eyes.
The creature stumbled backward, snarling and pawing desperately at its face.
Grey crawled out after it.
He didn’t give the animal time to recover.
His claws struck its neck.
Once.
Twice.
The Moonfang Hyena snapped wildly, but Grey moved to the side and drove the broken branch into its shoulder before pulling it free and striking again.
The creature collapsed.
Grey stared at the body.
He had done it faster this time.
More importantly, he hadn’t panicked.
The other three creatures immediately began growling.
Grey stepped backward toward the shelter.
His heart was beating rapidly, but his mind remained strangely calm.
The system appeared.
[Moonfang Hyena has been defeated.]
[Experience acquired.]
[Evolution Energy acquired.]
Grey glanced toward the remaining creatures.
One of them suddenly rushed forward.
Grey raised the branch.
The creature leaped.
He shifted aside.
Its claws missed him by several centimeters, and Grey immediately swung the branch into the side of its head. The impact caused the hyena to stumble, giving Grey enough time to grab its hind leg and pull.
The creature fell.
Grey climbed onto its back and drove his claws into the side of its neck.
The animal thrashed violently beneath him.
Grey held on.
His arms began to ache.
The creature twisted.
Grey nearly lost his grip.
Then his instincts screamed.
He released his hold and rolled away just as another Moonfang Hyena lunged toward him.
The creature’s jaws snapped shut inches from his face.
Grey rolled backward and scrambled to his feet.
The two remaining beasts were now attacking together.
"That’s more like it."
Grey wiped blood from his cheek and tightened his grip on the branch.
The first hyena charged while the second circled around his flank.
Grey immediately recognized what they were doing.
They were trying to force him into choosing between them.
His instincts reacted before he could consciously think.
Left.
Grey moved left.
The first creature missed.
Behind.
He turned.
The second hyena was already there.
Grey ducked beneath its jaws and felt its teeth brush the top of his head. He drove his shoulder into its chest, using its momentum against it and sending both of them tumbling down the slope beside his shelter.
The creature landed on top of him.
Grey struggled.
Its jaws opened.
He shoved his forearm against its throat.
The creature pushed harder.
Grey’s muscles trembled.
His strength wasn’t enough.
For one terrible moment, he felt the same helplessness he had experienced when the Thornwolf first cornered him.
Then his Predatory Instinct activated.
The world seemed to slow.
Not literally.
Grey knew that.
It was simply that his mind suddenly became aware of tiny details he would have ignored before.
The creature’s weight was shifted toward its front legs.
Its right hind leg was positioned awkwardly.
Its neck was exposed.
Grey twisted his body and kicked the creature’s weakened leg.
The hyena stumbled.
Grey immediately rolled free.
He grabbed the broken branch and drove it into the animal’s chest.
The creature collapsed beside him.
Grey remained on the ground, breathing heavily.
The final Moonfang Hyena had stopped moving.
Silence returned.
Grey slowly sat up.
Three dead creatures surrounded him.
The system appeared again.
[Moonfang Hyena has been defeated.]
[Experience acquired.]
[Evolution Energy acquired.]
Another notification followed.
[Moonfang Hyena has been defeated.]
[Experience acquired.]
[Evolution Energy acquired.]
Grey stared at the notifications.
Then another appeared.
[Level increased.]
[Current Level: 3]
He smiled.
"Level three."
Grey opened his status.
[Name: Grey Valentine]
[Species: Lesser Goblin]
[Level: 3]
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 4]
[Vitality: 3]
[Mana: 0]
[Evolution Energy: 31]
Grey’s eyes widened when he saw the amount of Evolution Energy.
Thirty-one.
He had started with nothing.
Now he had thirty-one.
He looked toward the dead animals surrounding him.
If every kill increased his energy, then perhaps reaching his next evolution wasn’t nearly as difficult as he had expected.
But there was another problem.
Grey opened the evolution interface.
[Current Species: Lesser Goblin]
[Evolution Energy: 31]
[Evolution Requirement: 50]
Grey stared at the requirement.
"So I need nineteen more."
His gaze slowly shifted toward the forest.
There were undoubtedly more creatures out there.
The thought should have frightened him.
Instead, Grey felt something unfamiliar stirring inside his chest.
Excitement.
He had spent his entire previous life as an ordinary human, never particularly strong, never especially talented, and never possessing anything that made him stand out from millions of others.
Now he had been given a second chance in a world where strength appeared to be something that could actually be obtained.
And for the first time, Grey understood the appeal of evolution.
He didn’t simply want to survive anymore.
He wanted to see what happened when he became stronger.
Grey crouched beside the nearest corpse and opened the extraction interface.
[Moonfang Hyena]
[Potential traits detected.]
[Enhanced Hearing]
[Pack Coordination]
[Night Vision]
Grey’s eyes immediately settled on the final option.
Night Vision.
He selected it and the system responded instantly.
[Trait acquisition confirmed.]
[Night Vision has been absorbed.]
A strange sensation passed through Grey’s eyes.
The darkness suddenly felt more defined. Not brighter or lit up—just more distinct.
Shapes that had previously been nothing more than vague shadows became distinguishable, while the outlines of trees and rocks stood out against the surrounding darkness.
Grey slowly looked around.
"This is useful."
Very useful.
He examined the remaining bodies.
[Potential traits detected.]
The same options appeared.
Grey couldn’t extract them.
He had already used the available extraction opportunity from his first kill, meaning that he would have to discover another way to acquire additional traits.
That limitation made sense.
If he could absorb every ability from every creature he killed, his growth would become absurdly fast.
Grey stood and gazed at the forest, the night still young. His shelter remained intact, and he had food, water, a weapon, and a system. Now, he also had a reason to keep hunting.
He dragged the bodies beneath the tree roots and began arranging them inside his shelter. He wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about eating raw monster flesh, but hunger was quickly becoming impossible to ignore, and the system had already proven that consuming creatures could provide him with useful energy.
Grey stared at the first corpse.
His stomach growled.
"Well..."
He crouched down.
"I suppose this is my dinner."
The forest remained silent as Grey placed his hand against the dead creature.
The system appeared.
[Consume?]
Grey hesitated only briefly.
Then he selected Yes.
The body began dissolving.
And this time, Grey watched carefully.
He wanted to understand exactly what the system was doing to him.
The dark particles flowed into his body, disappearing beneath his skin while a strange warmth spread through his stomach. It wasn’t painful, but it was deeply unnatural, as though his body were being rewritten from the inside.
Grey closed his eyes.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then his stomach stopped hurting.
His hunger disappeared.
The system appeared.
[Consumption complete.]
[Evolution Energy acquired.]
[Biological traits analyzed.]
Grey’s eyes opened.
Another notification appeared beneath it.
[New evolutionary pathway discovered.]
Grey froze.
The words remained floating in front of him.
[Evolutionary Path: Goblin Warrior]
His heart began beating faster.
Then another option appeared.
[Evolutionary Path: Goblin Hunter]
Grey stared at both choices and slowly smiled.
The forest outside remained filled with unknown dangers, but Grey no longer looked at the darkness with the same fear as before.
Because now he understood something.
His second life wasn’t going to be about desperately clinging to survival.
It was going to be about choosing what he became.
And Grey had a feeling that this was only the beginning.