Oscar wasn't paying attention to the screen blinking in front of him, he was busy gnawing at the meat that was five times more delicious than that chopped-up arm of his brethren. 

'And see, it's not only delicious but it also gives me a good amount of Gene aliments, truly a hunt worth fighting for it' 

As he was running out of time, Oscar accidentally swallowed its poison pouch without realizing it. He only felt it when a burning sensation came out of his food pipe like he had swallowed a pack of burning charcoal, followed by his guts twisting and churning making him roll on the ground in indescribable pain. 

Fortunately, his stomach wins over it and he also gained a skill out of the ordeal. 

By the time he was able to stand back from all the torment, the smell of blood had already traveled far and wide, attracting many of the monsters as the deep footsteps sounded too close to his place for him to feel safe. 

Outnumbered and not in his best state of mind, Oscar dragged his haggard body out of the place before it was already too late. 

Though, disgruntled to leave that much meat there for those vultures, he didn't want to get killed this soon. 

Oscar didn't have a sense of direction, all the caverns big or small looked the same to him. He would have gotten lost if not for his cleverness to leave his scent at some intervals and having a sharp nose to discern it from afar. 

Hiding back inside the burrow he came from, Oscar was busy scrubbing a piece of lizard skin with great care. 

Thanks to his goblin eyes, he was able to see all the rough patches and the wasted skin at the edges, even in this dim light.

'Done!' 

With a tired smile, he marveled at his work which looks like a rag at best and only big enough to cover his waist twice. 

After getting dressed up and not feeling too open down there, Oscar scratches his throat, still feeling some slow burning pain accompanied by subtle stomach twists. 

'Urgh... I guess that's what I got for not being a professional butcher. 

But who the hell would know its poison pouch would be located just beneath its brain? 

I'm curious, which mother f*cker did that bastard take its genes from?'

Grumbling, he promised to eat slowly next time, while also being thankful for having a more toxic stomach than that poison. Not knowing that its poison would have been far more deadlier should that monster be still alive, as proven before on him.

'Ah just remembered I got leveled up' with a thought, he checked his status and saw his rewards. Bringing a toothy smile back on his face. 

'Hmm first check the skill list because… why not? What if gaining a new skill will unlock yet another corresponding mutation like earlier?' 

As he checked the skill list, he got instantly disappointed. 

'The first two are the same as before, Sneak and dash with nothing new to their descriptions while the new one is... Strip?'

Although, the skill name sounds erotic but the description and its uses were definitely not. 

And it didn't take a genius to guess why the skill was even here, his rag-like clothes barely hanging around his waist is most likely the reason. 

'Why does this skill sounds more like a cheap version of a butcher's skill? 

Urgh! And here I was already set on the "Sneak" This time, but you just have to show and confuse me with this' 

Sulking, Oscar blamed his lack of skill points for not being able to take both. 

On one hand, he had already seen how useful the 'sneak' skill can be but he believes, like 'Climb' and other skills he would be able to get it by his own efforts. And he had almost succeeded in killing the squirrel in stealth, if not for that unexpected entry of that froggy lizard before. 

While on the other hand, he had zero confidence in acquiring this 'Strip' on his own, and it can be used in a wide range. 

He won't be choking on another poison pouch with it if he was able to know how to handle a corpse better, and... he would be able to procure good quality loincloths! 

With a nod of his head, he felt a strange warm water pouring down his head. Flowing to his every limb and before he was able to drown in pleasure, It ended. 

He felt his agility has improved -in points- while he was able to swing his hands like a whip, without dislocating his joints. And his legs were able to stretch a little more. 

'Looks like this can also be used in combat, huh' he didn't expect it to simply improve his agility internally. 

"Oh!"

To his surprise and delight, he saw another mutation was available to him other than improving its current ones. 

But when he saw the cost of this mutation, he was immensely disappointed and angry at himself for not swallowing that lizard completely and choking on its poisonous gland instead. 

'Urgh! Shitty lizard!' He stomped angrily. 

And when Oscar saw that he was just short of 4 Gene-aliment points to upgrade 'Foothold', he got more annoyed. 

Slumping back, he picks up the magic stone. Seeing the entrapped magic particles lazily floating inside of it, his mind soothes on its own; just like when he was beaten back then, and stares at the entrapped fishes lazily floating around inside the fish tank at the corner of the room. 

Curious. He tried to move them according to him by turning and moving the crystal with a focused mind, like a bubble ring game. 

Oscar didn't know when the day/night ends or starts inside this dungeon, but as he continues to play with the crystal without paying attention to the time spent, he falls asleep without seeing the crystal vibrating and glowing unnaturally for a few seconds by his constant efforts before settling down. 

                                                             

*Du!Du!Du!Du!*

Pricked by the constant hammering noises banging inside his head, Oscar wakes up with an angry growl. 

'Hmm?' 

Strangely, the noise was coming from the other side of the burrow instead of the opening above, which he had covered well enough before coming down. 

Pulled by curiosity, the Goblin slowly comes down the space between the two diversions he had met before. 

*Du!Du!Du!Du!*

Without a sound, he steadily crept towards the other tunnel glowing with the same magic crystals embedding the surface, like some flowers on a grass plain and the magical snowflakes like rain. 

'Strange, Why does this glowing snowfall exist here but not outside… But whatever it is, it looks damn awesome!' 

Oscar was feeling strangely excited seeing this many crystals surrounding him, and the feeling only got stronger the more he proceeded forward. 

And not longer than a moment later, he was met with the being who had been disturbing his sleep. A black and blue-furred rat, almost the same size as him with a pink tail, was standing/laying on all fours with its back facing against him. 

It drills his spiraling bone, protruding out of his forehead, into the walls, breaking the hard surface holding the magic crystals before picking it with it's hands and dropping at into the pile of already processed crystals at the back. 

Not feeling that threatened by its appearance, Oscar was relieved yet excited for finally meeting with a monster that he could actually bully.

'Khe khe khe!' Laughing internally while grinning from ear to ear outwardly, Oscar slowly but surely was able to sneak behind him undetected.