Somewhere in a large forest, Inside of a cave at least five times bigger than the one Ethan was living in, there were three goblins, kneeling respectfully with their heads down.
Across from them, was a large creature sitting on a makeshift throne.
Between the goblins and the large creature, was the body of the goblin Ethan and his group killed.
"So he wandered off… and you find him hours later covered in bites and blood?"
A low, deep voice came out of the large creature's mouth and echoed throughout the cave. The anger in his voice was evident.
"Y-yes master… he was thirsty and went to the river for a quick drink," one of the kneeling goblins responded nervously.
The goblin killed by Ethan's group was actually hunting for food with the three kneeling goblins. Their leader, the large creature, sent them out to hunt and was displeased to see them come back with one less member.
BANG!
The goblins jolted in terror as their leader slammed his fist against the armrest of his throne, but his voice stayed the same tone.
"Bring the body closer," the leader said to one of the hobgoblins standing next to his throne.
The hobgoblin was the evolution of the goblin. They were taller, bulkier, faster, stronger, a little smarter, and better than goblins in almost every aspect.
The hobgoblin did as told and grabbed the body before bringing it closer to his leader.
"Hmmm… those bites are too small to be caused by any of the wolves in the forest, and they're too shallow." The leader inspected while rubbing his chin before looking back at the goblins.
"I'm only sparing you idiotic pests because I'm merely curious about these wounds," the leader spoke with authority.
"Go out there and find the ones who did this… and slaughter them."
The goblins nodded furiously before getting up and running out of the cave. "Y-yes master!"
The leader sighed and leaned back against his throne.
"Lord Duros… may I ask something?" The other hobgoblin spoke up.
The leader, Duros, looked at the hobgoblin and nodded. "Go ahead, Kato."
Duros didn't mind when his strongest soldiers asked questions. He respected them for how hard they worked up the goblin ranks and managed to evolve into hobgoblins.
"Why send them to find the culprit? Judging from the bites on the corpse, the goblin's attackers were weaker than him. A singular goblin isn't very strong, so the attacker or attackers must be even weaker judging from the bites."
Duros smiled and let out a low, deep chuckle. He enjoyed chatting with Kato, his strongest soldier and actually one of his eldest children who also showed higher intelligence than the others. If Duros died, Kato would be the most likely to take over.
"Good eye, boy. It's most likely that there were multiple attackers. In a one on one battle against a goblin and one of the mysterious attackers, a goblin would most likely win."
Duros looked at his son, his expression becoming darker. "But we can't let those weaker than us push us around, now can we? If those three idiots die by enemy hands, we'll lose three dumb pests and the enemy will become overconfident. But if they come back victorious, then that's a small problem dealt with."
Kato nodded in understanding and smiled. "I understand. Thank you."
———————-
Three days had passed since the battle with the goblin.
Ethan and his group were sitting in the cave, doing various activities and chatting.
During those three days, Ethan managed to save enough Coins to buy another Cat and named him Kuro.
[Coins: 173/500
Coin rate per hour: 2]
Ethan stared at his Coin amount. The system had apparently updated since there was now a coin limit, but that limit could become higher thanks to the [Cat Base] in the menu being unlocked, which had its name changed to [Upgrades].
[AVAILABLE UPGRADES-
Cat Base: Level 1/5
Coins till next level: 0/1,000
Cat population: Level 1/5
Coins till next level: 150
Coin rate per hour: Level 1/5
Coins till next level: 150
Coin capacity: Level 1/5
Coins till next level: 200]
Ethan sighed as he stared at the upgrades. He was most interested in upgrading the Cat population. The system ended up placing a limit of five Cats, and he already reached that limit.
"Having more cats would be nice, but should I save my Coins to bring everyone's level to two? Quality versus quantity…"
Ethan pondered for a few minutes before smiling slightly. "Upgrade cat population."
[Congrats, your Cat population is now level two!]
Ethan decided to go with quantity since he already had the money, plus quality was much more expensive at the moment.
Ethan opened up the Cats menu and nodded in satisfaction.
[Current Cat population: 5/10
Normal Cats-
Cat: (5) Level 1/10
Coins till next level: 0/400]
"Double the amount, that's nice. Next time I'll level up the Cats themselves."
Ethan got up from his hay bed and left the Cat Base, going into the actual cave.
Everyone was in the cave. It had become a bit cleaner. Ethan and his group spent some time clearing up all the rocks and stones on the ground and put them in a large pile for later use.
In the center of the cave was a big campfire to keep the Cats warm at night.
Around the campfire were five small beds made out of leaves and sticks. It was pretty primitive, but Ethan and the Cats were proud of what they made.
'It took five of us to take out a level one goblin… that's not good.' Ethan thought to himself as he went back into the Cat Base.
He stared at the floating red Cat face, admiring its beauty.
"We need to kill goblins and other monsters. It takes too long to earn Coins passively…" Ethan muttered while gritting his teeth. He was also worried about the disappearance of the dead goblin. He went back to the river a day after killing it, and it's body was gone.
That battle taught him how hard it would be to survive and thrive in his new world. He was scared of what lived out there, lurking, planning, hunting… he knew the Cats weren't ready.
"We'll prepare for the future." With a new goal in mind, Ethan went back into the actual cave.
"Burt, Milo, Maya, Nina, and Kuro…" Ethan stared at them all with eyes burning with determination, and they looked back at him with excitement.
"Gather up everyone! Let's strategize on how to deal with a goblin for the next time we see one." Ethan spoke with newfound authority.
"Yes, leader!"
In the coming days, the residents of the forest would soon notice a new group rising, aiming to claim territory and fight for dominance in the ruthless forest.