(The following conversations were translated to human speech)

 

"I see... This is dangerous..." Over the course of the last hour, the hunter explained all present what had happened. From the fight with humans, to the tremor. He took special attention to detail the tracks and information about the numerous group of mercenaries.

To the king however, that wasn't the most important part. 

 

'A new cave... In stone terrain which is much more stable than here. Since there's tremors and dust it might also be a Mine. With that we could get metals and improve the tools...'

 

The existence of the cave was a huge deal for the king. If it was large enough, this could mean saving months of work digging down barely stable tunnels all over this region. 

 

'But he says there are many humans there... Could it be that it's a human den?! If so, there could also be females!'

 

"Assemble every single Goblin! We leave tomorrow morning to explore this "Cave". In the worst case scenario, we lose two days of work and food. In the best case... This is where we'll live and prosper."

 

""YES!"" The generals yelled and ran back inside. Both the Site Supervisor and the Hunting Boss were flabbergasted by all the information. This was a lot, and not only that, what they pulled out was incredibly dangerous.

The Hunting Boss was only charged with checking how many hunters returned alive and the prey. He was not a powerful goblin. He, however, had worked here as long as the other two had. He knew how dangerous Humans were. And knowing this Goblin in front of him, chased, fought and scouted all those humans was impressive. 

 

"Hunter, do you have a name?" The king asked, making all three present widen their eyes. 

 

"No, Your Majesty. I'm not strong enough to deserve such a thing."

 

"Now you are." Hearing these words, the hunter fell to his knees, crying in joy.

 

"From now on you shall be known as Falt. You are also the one responsible for our intel and scouting. Now Rise!"

 

His whole body hurt. His muscles were tearing, his bones cracking. Yet he was overjoyed. He wouldn't die. He, who was nearing the end of his lifespan of 15 years. He, who had given up on evolving after hitting the growth wall at level 40. He, whose body was now bursting from inside out and rebuilding itself in front of the eyes of all other Goblins. 

 

He stood. Now as Falt, a Hobgoblin.

 

"Hooo... You are an impressive person. Few were able to evolve just from me naming them... You are an outstanding individual. I hope you can work for me for generations to come."

 

"Yes, Your Majesty! This one will dedicate his entire life to you!" He said, Kneeling on one knee with a hand on his chest. As he stood up, the other goblins seemed small to him. They all hit his chest. Only the king was barely taller than him. He'd evolved. 

He'd left behind the lifespan of a mere goblin to now be able to live almost as much as a Human.

 

"Now go back to your men and take them inside. They can eat meat today." As the king said so, before turning around and heading back into the caves, his eyes widened. He said everyone would eat meat! Actual meat! Not the dried wolf stuff they generally had. His mouth filled with water as he turned towards his men and darted.

'Ah!' He turned back once again, and bid farewell to the two goblins who remained, before darting again towards his men.

 

"Did you see what I just saw?" The Hunting Boss asked.

 

"I believe I did..." Retorted the Site Supervisor.

 

"It wasn't a dream was it?"

 

"I don't think so..."

 

"Did one of us actually just evolve?"

 

"I think so..."

 

"So it wasn't just a legend to make us work harder?"

 

"Doesn't seem like it"

 

A strange and emotionless conversation took place between the bosses as they stared at the back of the hobgoblin.

 

"It's true isn't it..."

 

"I guess it really is..."

 

"IT REALLY IS TRUE ISN'T IT!"

 

"YES IT IS!"

 

They started yelling at each other, overjoyed. Before running to their posts, yelling at every single goblin they saw on the way.

 

"IT'S TRUE! WE CAN EVOLVE! IT HAPPENED! I SAW HIM EVOLVE!"

 

As the Site Supervisor arrived at the digging site, screaming those words, tools dropped to the ground, as a crowd encircled him to hear the story of the miracle they had only heard in legends. And from the stories told by the Generals.

 

---------------------------------------------------------

 

'Where....Am I...'

His head was hurting a lot. He didn't remember exactly what had happened. Poert had stood up, and fallen and...

"POERT!?"

He screamed, lunging forward, his eyes couldn't see a thing in the darkness... Yet... 'Huh?' He could feel his body swaying back and forth. there was weight in his arms and legs. He was restrained. 

Rather, Chained. As his eyes struggled to get used to the darkness, he realized there was some light coming from a small gap near the ceiling. Oh yeah, he was facing towards the ceiling. Chained to it by his wrists and ankles.

'The fuck!?'

 

He realized he was also naked. There were noises around, feral noises. No. They sounded like voices.

Screams.

Screams could be heard coming from the gaps near the ceiling. They were small gaps, only enough for a finger to slide in. The sounds were muffled, almost like they came from far away. 

 

'Where the hell is this!? Am I still in the cave!?' He waggled his working arm and leg around, only managing to make his body sway and to produce a little clunking noise from the chain. 

 

*Reeeeek* The sound of wood scraping rock resounded beneath him, making him relax his neck to see below. In the corner of the room, from the shadows, a small dark being slowly raised from a tiny wooden bench. His eyes glowed red and his smile an ominous yellowish white. It was a goblin. But it's body was less thin than a regular goblin, and it's skin was a dark green that almost looked black in the small light. 

 

*Swoosh* 

A torch lit on the wall behind him. It imprinted his own shadow on the ceiling. While the small being walked towards him. In his hand, a piece of wood. 

 

"Ghaaaaaaa!" He screamed as the goblin gently slid the piece of wood straight from under his neck all the way down his chest. Embedded in it, was a tiny blade, not deep enough to draw blood, but enough to score the skin, causing the pain of a paper cut. 

Despair could be seen in his eyes, as he saw the small being creepily laugh at his reaction. 

 

"Kikikikikkikikiki!"