Chapter 8 The Weak Gather

Kael's POV

The system screen still floated before me again.

[Evolution Complete]

[Race Updated: Hobgoblin]

My chest rose unevenly.

“Hobgoblin…” I muttered weakly.

Slowly, I forced myself upright. The moment I stood, I immediately noticed the difference. Everything felt… lighter.

Even my breathing sounded deeper now.

I looked down at my hands. They were larger than before. The ugly green skin remained, but my arms looked more muscular now.

My claws had become sharper and darker, while my body felt taller and sturdier overall. Even the wounds from earlier battles had mostly healed.

My eyes widened slightly.

“What the hell…”

I grabbed a nearby rock instinctively.

CRACK.

The stone shattered in my hand effortlessly. I froze.

Okay. That definitely wasn’t normal.

A strange excitement rose inside me. The system wasn’t lying. I really had become stronger. Then realization slowly settled into my mind. The evolution happened after I consumed blood.

And before that… The wolf.

My expression darkened.

“So the system lets me evolve by feeding on stronger targets…”

The thought disturbed me deeply.

I looked down toward the mercenary’s corpse lying nearby.

The body no longer disgusted me the same way it should have.

Instead, my instincts simply viewed it as a source of strength. I immediately turned away.

“No,” I muttered firmly.

I wasn’t becoming some mindless monster. Even if my body kept changing…

my mind was still human.

The evening wind brushed through the trees softly as I started walking away from the corpse. Staying there too long felt dangerous.

The cave massacre was still fresh.

More mercenaries could return anytime.

A branch suddenly snapped nearby.

I stopped instantly.

My grip tightened around the broken spear. Someone was there.

I slowly turned toward the bushes near the cave entrance. The leaves rustled carefully.

Then a small green figure stumbled out weakly.

A Goblin?!

My eyes widened.

“You survived?”

The goblin looked terrified the moment it saw me. Confused.

Its eyes widened while staring directly at my body. Then it pointed at me frantically while making strange sounds.

“Graah… Ghrrk! Grah!”

I frowned.

“What?”

The goblin circled around me nervously, continuing to make gestures with its hands. Then realization hit me. It was trying to describe me.

Bigger. Stronger. Different.

Its expression almost looked shocked.

“Hobgoblin…” I muttered.

The creature nodded rapidly. So normal goblins recognized evolved ones instinctively.

I lowered the spear slightly.

“I thought everyone died in the massacre.”

The goblin’s ears lowered sadly. Then it pointed toward the cave.

A moment later, more goblins slowly emerged from hiding.

My eyes widened slightly. There were so many. At least twenty survivors.

Some limped badly. Some carried wounds. One female goblin held a small child tightly against her chest. They all looked exhausted. Broken.

The massacre clearly destroyed them.

The moment they saw me clearly, the entire group froze. Silence spread instantly.

The goblins stared at my evolved body with wide fearful eyes. Then suddenly, one kneeled. Then another. Then all of them bowed their heads toward me.

I froze completely.

“What are you doing…?”

The first goblin made another respectful sound toward me while keeping its head lowered. Recognition hit me slowly. Monsters followed strength.

The system suddenly appeared again.

[Quest Triggered]

[Build Your First Pack]

Reward:

Leadership Trait

Territory Detection

Evolution Points

I stared blankly at the screen.

“…You can’t be serious.”

A pack? Leadership?

I could barely survive on my own.

How was I supposed to lead twenty goblins? I wasn’t some hero. I wasn’t even sure I was mentally stable anymore.

The goblins continued kneeling silently.

Waiting. Expecting something from me.

The pressure made my chest tighten.

In my old life, nobody ever depended on me. Nobody looked at me like this.

But these creatures… They looked desperate. Like they had nowhere else to go. And honestly? Neither did I.

I exhaled slowly.

“…Fine.”

Several goblins lifted their heads slightly.

“We can’t stay here,” I continued. “Humans might return.”

The goblins immediately became uneasy at the mention of humans.

“We need shelter,” I said. “Food too. Somewhere defensible.”

The goblins listened carefully despite my rough speech. One goblin near the front caught my attention.

Unlike the others, he wasn’t panicking. His eyes looked more observant. Smarter.

“You,” I called.

The goblin flinched before pointing at himself nervously.

“Yes. You.”

He slowly approached.

“What’s your name?”

The goblin blinked several times. Then tapped his chest carefully.

“Rik.”

I stared.

“…You have names?”

Rik looked confused by the question.

Right. Of course they did.

They weren’t animals. I rubbed my forehead tiredly. This world kept forcing me to rethink everything.

“Can you understand me properly?” I asked.

Rik nodded quickly.

“Good. Then you’re helping me.”

The other goblins immediately looked jealous. Or relieved. Hard to tell.

Rik straightened proudly.

“Strong leader,” he said awkwardly.

I grimaced slightly.

“Don’t call me that.”

Rik tilted his head.

“…Leader angry?”

“I’m not angry.”

A pause.

“…Little angry.”

I sighed heavily. Fantastic. Now I had goblin followers. Somehow my life kept getting worse in increasingly ridiculous ways. Still, Rik seemed useful.

I looked toward the forest stretching beyond the cave.

“We need a safe territory,” I muttered.

Rik immediately pointed toward the eastern side of the forest.

“Water there,” he explained brokenly. “Few beasts.”

“Few beasts?”

Rik hesitated.

“…Small beasts.”

That sounded suspicious already. But water mattered. Food mattered too.

And we couldn’t stay near the cave.

“Fine,” I said. “We head east.”

The goblins immediately began gathering together. Some supported injured survivors while others picked up crude weapons from the dead nearby.

Watching them move together stirred something strange inside me. Responsibility. I hated it.

Yet… part of me understood something now. Survival alone was hard. Survival in numbers? Possible.

The thought lingered in my mind while we entered the forest carefully. The journey remained tense. Every sound made the goblins nervous.

Branches snapping. Wind moving leaves. Distant growls. This forest definitely wasn’t safe.

I walked near the front beside Rik while scanning the area constantly.

“So,” I said quietly, “what exactly lives around here?”

Rik immediately looked uncomfortable.

“Many things.”

“Helpful answer.”

“Big things too.”

Even better. The forest gradually darkened as massive trees blocked sunlight overhead. Strange webs occasionally appeared between branches, thick as ropes.

I frowned slightly.

“Those webs are huge.”

Rik froze instantly. His expression changed completely. Fear

I noticed immediately.

“What?”

Rik slowly looked upward. The other goblins became uneasy too.

Silence spread through the group.

Then something moved above us.

A massive shadow crawled across the trees. My eyes widened.

Huge black legs slowly emerged from the darkness overhead. Too many legs.

The creature descended gradually between the branches, revealing an enormous spider nearl

y twice our size.

Dark fur covered its body while glowing red eyes locked onto us hungrily. The goblins panicked instantly.

Several stumbled backward in terror.

Even I felt my stomach tighten.

“What the hell is that…?”

Rik’s face turned pale. His voice trembled.

“…It’s the Deathfang Spider.”