Grey stared at his statistics while slowly comparing them with the ones he had possessed before evolving.
His strength had increased, his vitality had improved, but the biggest difference was clearly his agility, which had jumped high enough that he could already feel the change whenever he moved.
"Not bad."
Grey looked toward Seraphina after closing the status window, only to find the dragon already watching him with quiet interest.
Her golden eyes traveled over his new form before she gave a small approving nod. "You are beginning to look less fragile."
Grey raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"
"It was."
"I’ll take it."
Grey walked toward one of the nearby trees and placed his hand against the rough bark while considering how much stronger he had actually become. He tightened his fingers before throwing a controlled punch into the trunk, and the impact shattered a small section of bark beneath his fist.
Grey stared at the damage with surprise.
He hadn’t even used his full strength.
He drew his arm back and struck the same spot again, this time putting more force behind the blow, and the resulting impact left a considerably deeper indentation in the wood.
Grey slowly smiled as he examined his fist.
His body was still weak compared with Seraphina, but compared with the creature that had awakened beneath the tree roots only a few days ago, he had changed enormously.
And this was only his first evolution.
Grey turned toward the surrounding forest as he allowed that thought to settle within his mind. The trees no longer seemed quite as intimidating as they had before, because now he could see them as something more than an endless collection of dangers.
They were opportunities.
Every creature hiding within them represented experience, every dangerous territory potentially contained valuable resources, and every difficult battle could push him closer to whatever came after the Goblin Hunter.
Grey suddenly realized that he was looking at the world differently.
Before, he had been searching for somewhere safe.
Now he was searching for somewhere worth conquering.
The realization surprised him enough that he remained silent for several seconds before finally looking toward the forest.
"Maybe I really can build something here."
Seraphina’s eyes narrowed slightly as she listened. "What do you mean?"
Grey gestured toward the crude shelter visible between the trees. "I don’t want to spend the rest of my life hiding under tree roots."
He looked back toward the forest as his thoughts became increasingly ambitious. "I need better equipment, better food, stronger abilities, and eventually some way to defend myself without relying on luck. If this world is really as dangerous as it seems, then staying weak is basically waiting to die."
Seraphina remained silent while Grey continued explaining the idea that had begun forming inside his mind.
"I’ll need a proper home eventually, maybe a village and then some territory where I can actually control what happens around me."
Grey’s eyes narrowed as he considered the possibilities.
Seraphina’s golden eyes gleamed with interest as she heard those words. "Ambitious."
Grey shrugged before looking at her. "If I’m going to start over, I might as well aim high."
The dragon smiled faintly. "I like that."
Grey glanced at her with curiosity. "Why?"
"Because you are finally beginning to think like yourself."
Grey frowned as he studied her expression, finding the answer more troubling than reassuring. "Again with the mysterious answers."
Seraphina merely smiled without offering an explanation, leaving Grey with no choice but to let the matter go for now.
He still had far too many questions about his previous life, her strange connection to him, and the promise she claimed he had made, but standing around and demanding answers wasn’t going to make him stronger or help him understand the world.
He needed information.
The first thing he needed was a better understanding of the forest, while the second was food, the third was a proper weapon, and the fourth was somewhere safer to establish himself. Most importantly, however, he needed to discover exactly how his next evolution worked and what he would have to accomplish before reaching it.
Grey looked toward the stream he had discovered earlier. "I need to explore."
Seraphina nodded as she watched him prepare to leave. "Then explore."
Grey paused before looking back at the enormous dragon. "You aren’t coming?"
Seraphina slowly shook her head. "I will remain here."
Grey looked at her enormous body before glancing toward the surrounding forest. "You’re seriously going to stay in this forest?"
"This is my territory."
"Right."
Grey started walking away, but after taking several steps, he stopped and looked back once more.
"If something dangerous shows up?"
Seraphina’s expression softened as she met his gaze. "I told you that if you are truly unable to survive, I will intervene."
Grey nodded because that was enough for him.
He turned around and continued toward the forest, his footsteps noticeably lighter and more confident than they had been before. The newly evolved Goblin Hunter moved between the trees with an ease that the Lesser Goblin had never possessed, his sharpened senses constantly scanning the environment while his Predatory Instinct quietly processed every sound, scent, and movement around him.
Grey eventually reached the stream and crouched beside the water, drinking deeply before turning his attention toward the surrounding ground. Several different sets of footprints had been left along the muddy bank, with some belonging to small animals while others were considerably larger.
Grey followed one of the larger trails for several meters before noticing something unusual.
The footprints weren’t heading toward the water.
They were heading away from it.
Grey’s expression became thoughtful as he crouched lower and examined the soil, noticing that the tracks were extremely fresh despite the absence of any creature nearby.
Whatever had made them had passed through this area recently.
Grey slowly lifted his head and looked toward the trees.
Something was watching him.
He couldn’t see it, but he could feel the presence somewhere beyond the vegetation, and his Predatory Instinct immediately reacted to the sensation by sharpening his awareness of every movement around him.
[Hostile presence detected.]
Grey slowly stood while keeping his body relaxed, his hand gradually moving toward the crude weapon attached to his waist as he studied the surrounding forest.
Nothing moved.
The forest remained completely silent.
Then a branch shifted.
Grey’s eyes narrowed as he waited instead of attacking, carefully watching the trees while trying to determine whether whatever was hiding there intended to fight him or simply observe him.
A small figure eventually stepped out from behind the trees.
Grey stared at the newcomer.
It was another goblin.
The creature looked almost exactly like the body Grey himself had possessed before his evolution, although this goblin’s body was covered in old scars and its hands gripped a crude stone axe tightly enough for its knuckles to turn pale.
Neither of them moved.
The unfamiliar goblin stared at Grey with obvious suspicion while Grey studied its posture, weapon, scars, and movements, attempting to determine what kind of creature he had encountered.
Then the goblin slowly raised its stone axe.
Grey’s expression hardened as he shifted his stance and kept his eyes fixed on the weapon.
Apparently, evolution had brought him more than a stronger body.
It had also brought him his first encounter with another intelligent creature.
The system appeared before his eyes.
[Target detected.]
[Species: Lesser Goblin]
[Level: 4]
Grey’s eyes narrowed as he studied the information.
A Level 4 goblin.
Stronger than the version he had once been.
The unfamiliar goblin released a low growl while tightening its grip around the stone axe, and Grey could see the creature shifting its weight as it prepared for a potential attack.
Grey lowered his stance without making any sudden movement, his mind already analyzing the distance between them and the terrain surrounding the stream.
He wasn’t afraid anymore.
At least, not in the same way he had been when he first awakened in this world.
If anything, he was curious.