It had been two days since that group of people left and my minds was still a bit rattled. I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that I may not be able to interact with people again, despite not being human I still had hope that Id at least be able to maybe communicate with them one day. I was left with little choice but to shake my head and move on, I could only get stronger for now. In my mind it seemed that the only way to move forward was if I got strong enough to protect myself if someone tries to do whatever it was that group did to the snake.

I continued hunting lizards and had even managed to snag a centipede or two without notice in the following days, but even after multiple kills my leveling had come to a standstill. I’ve been killing these lizards with ease lately and even after killing this many I’d only managed to level up once, I was left with the realization that I may have to move on to a different zone if I wanted to keep increasing my strength. It made sense if I compared it to a video game but it still left me a bit worried, I hadn’t seen any more people since that day but I also haven’t been to that side of the dungeon again so I don’t know how often they even appear. Sadly, I was left with little choice and trudged my little paws in the direction of the goblins cave system.

I quickly found a group and I could feel my nerves shaking a little before the Calm Mind skill did its magic. I crouched down in a corner of the cave and took a closer look at the small group, there were three of them right now which was surprisingly good since I’d seen groups of up to 7 when I followed the group of people before. Two of them were carrying well-worn swords and the final appeared to have a pipe of some sort? I thought over a plan and decided the best would be to get an instant kill with the use of stealth and then if I’m quick enough I can at least injure another before they fully react. I circled around them before seeing one of the sword wielding goblins show an opening.

I activated Pixie’s leap and soared through the air before slashing a grievous wound through the first goblins throat. A great bonus to this skill was that because it made me lighter it inadvertently caused me to create less sound thus making it an excellent tool for assassins. Upon landing I dashed towards the closest goblin activating Fae Footwork in the process, I quickly closed in on him and as my swipe went for his ankles a swift sound could be heard approaching me through the air. Deciding to trust my instincts I tried to dodge but I’d already overextended. A dart pierced me in my thigh and I turned my gaze to my attacked, the final goblin held the pipe like object to his mouth sneering at me with his eyes.

The effects of the dart were near immediate and I could feel myself slowing down, I knew I had to end this quick or this may be the end for me. Thankfully as I hadn’t managed to dodge in time I was still quite close to my target but I was running out of time to act, my paws were in no position to swipe due to my attempted backpedaling and while I may be close to him he is also close enough to swing towards me. Left with little choice I Lunged my face forward swallowing my pride and took a bite out of his ankle. The taste of blood filled my mouth and as much as I wished I hated it the taste of something warm was good..

The goblin yelped and kicked me away but the damage had been done, while my teeth weren’t as strong as my claws they were still enough to tear into flesh and the evidence could be seen as the goblin fell onto its knee clutching at its ankle. I put aside my slightly more carnivorous thoughts and moved my eyes to the goblin with the pipe, it looked about ready to shoot before I managed to cast a distract spell causing him to miss at the last second. I quickly moved in on him before once again leaping and slashing through his throat. I only had the final disabled goblin left to kill but my consciousness was at its last stand. I made my way to the goblin forcibly trying to keep myself awake but a few steps away from it I collapsed falling into darkness.

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The goblin glared ruefully at the small kitten that had caused it so much pain and forced itself to stand up leaning on its sword to support its crippled leg. After a few moments of bitter struggle, it managed to stand up before a sharp sound cut through the air and the goblin collapsed to the ground.

Footsteps drew closer before a man with a bow chuckled, “Well look what we have here.”

The man’s companions quickly caught up before looking at the dead bodies in surprise, “How did they die? I thought we were the first ones down today?”

The archer looked around the small battlefield observing the blood splattered all around before his eyes drew to a small creature with a mouth full of blood. Upon closer inspection it appeared to be some kind of Feline but he was unable to figure out just how it had managed to kill a group of goblins on its own. This thought process was quickly overwritten when he realized something with an aesthetic appeal as great as this actually had potential to fight. He glanced menacingly at his companions before returning to his normal façade. “I don’t really know but come here and take a look at this.”

The other two moved closer to take a look with their eyes widening upon seeing the bloodied kitten. As one of them was about to speak a gargling could be heard and he turned his eyes to the sound before a dagger pierced his neck. The archer had decided that there was far more profit to be gained if he could take this kitten back alone, and as his imagination ran wild he even hoped he might be able to catch a noble’s attention to truly rake in some money.

Footsteps once again filled the cave with some slight chuckling being heard every once in a while as a lone archer returned from his hunt with a large bag slung over his shoulder.