Arin struck the goblin before the shout could fully form.

  His wedge shape caught the creature in the chest, the impact driving it backward into the shallow stream with a splash that sent water spraying in all directions. The wooden bucket tumbled from the goblin's hands, forgotten.

  The goblin thrashed, trying to draw breath for the scream that would alert its companions. Arin flowed over its face, covering the mouth and nose, his acidic nature burning exposed skin.

  [ Acidic Trait Activated ]

  The creature's hands clawed at him, fingers tearing through his gelatinous mass, pulling away chunks that immediately began to burn its palms. The goblin's struggles grew more frantic and desperate as it realized it couldn't breathe.

  [ -4 Mass ]

  Quiet. Stay quiet. Just a little longer.

  The stream water lapped at Arin's edges, threatening to dilute his mass. He compressed tighter, focusing everything on blocking the goblin's airways. The creature bucked, tried to roll, its eyes wide with terror above Arin's translucent red body.

  Then its movements began to slow. The clawing became weaker. The bucking stopped.

  Thirty seconds later, the goblin went limp.

  Arin remained in place for another ten seconds, making sure it wasn't a trick. When the creature still didn't move, he began the process of absorption, his mass flowing over the goblin's entire body.

  [ +18 Mass ]

  [ +14 Essence ]

  [ Skill Available for Absorption ]

  The rush of growth was immediate and welcome. Arin felt his diminished mass begin to restore itself, the essence integrating into his core and easing the constant drain he'd been fighting for days.

  But more importantly, the goblin had a skill.

  [ Skill Available: Darkvision - Tier 1 ]

  [ Accept skill? This will occupy 1 of 1 available skill slots. ]

  Darkvision. The ability to see in darkness better than I already can.

  Arin considered it quickly. He could already see fairly well at night, his slime senses picking up movement and general shapes. But perfect darkness, like the deepest parts of the forest or caves, still limited him. This skill would remove that limitation entirely.

  And he still had one skill slot open.

  Yes. This could be very useful.

  [ Skill Accepted: Darkvision - Tier 1 ]

  [ Darkvision: See clearly in complete darkness up to 60 feet. Passive ability, no essence cost. ]

  Knowledge flooded Arin's mind, and suddenly the world shifted. The shadows beneath the trees grew clearer and more defined. He could see details in the darkness that had been hidden before, textures and variations in the gloom that made the night forest feel less threatening.

  Both skill slots are filled now. Charge and Darkvision. I'll have to choose carefully before taking another.

  A voice called out from the goblin camp, harsh and questioning. Another goblin was looking for the one Arin had just killed.

  Time to leave.

  Arin flowed out of the stream, careful to shake off as much water as possible, and rolled quickly into the underbrush. He moved away from the camp, putting distance between himself and the inevitable discovery.

  Behind him, he heard an angry shout. The body had been found.

  More voices joined the first, a cacophony of guttural sounds that Arin couldn't understand but whose meaning was clear: alarm, anger, and most likely a call to arms.

  They'll search for whatever killed their scout. I need to be far away when they do.

  Arin moved through the forest as quickly as his body would allow, using his newly restored mass to maintain speed. The darkvision helped tremendously, letting him navigate the darkening woods without hesitation.

  After twenty minutes of steady travel, Arin finally stopped, climbing a thick oak to rest and assess. From his vantage point, he could see torches moving through the forest behind him. The goblins were searching, but they were spreading out in multiple directions, unsure which way their enemy had gone.

  They don't know what killed their scout. They're looking for wolves, or maybe a bear. Not a slime.

  The thought brought a small measure of satisfaction. Arin watched the torchlight pattern for another few minutes, then moved on, staying high in the trees and traveling perpendicular to the goblins' search pattern.

  By the time he found a suitable hollow to rest in, the forest behind him was dark and quiet again. The goblins had given up their search, at least for tonight.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Arin settled into his new shelter and checked his status.

  [ Current Mass: 82% ]

  [ Current Essence: 43/100 ]

  Much better than he'd been three days ago, though still not fully recovered from the wolf encounter. The goblin had provided good mass and essence, but Arin knew he needed more. One kill wouldn't be enough to restore him completely.

  However, I can't return to that camp. Not yet. They'll be watching now, expecting trouble.

  Sleep came slowly, Arin's mind replaying the fight with the goblin, analyzing what had worked and what could have gone better. The ambush had been successful, but only because the goblin had been alone and distracted. If there had been two of them, or if the creature had managed to call out before Arin struck...

  I need to be smarter. More careful. Plan better.

  The lessons kept accumulating, each encounter teaching Arin something new about survival in a world much larger and more dangerous than the Academy's crystal arenas.

  ***

  Over the next week, Arin established a new routine in this unfamiliar section of the Greenwold.

  He avoided the goblin camp entirely, giving it a wide berth in his travels. But he also didn't leave the area completely. The goblins' presence meant there were trails, places where prey animals came to drink or forage, and hunting opportunities.

  Arin caught two more squirrels, a rabbit, and something that looked like a cross between a ferret and a snake. Each kill restored more of his mass and essence, bringing him closer to full strength.

  [ Current Mass: 96% ]

  [ Current Essence: 68/100 ]

  His darkvision proved invaluable during night hunts. Arin could see prey long before they saw him, could track their movements through the darkness with precision that made hunting almost too easy.

  But the forest continued to remind him that he wasn't the only predator.

  One evening, while tracking a deer along a game trail, Arin heard sounds that made him freeze. Grunting, snarling, the crack of breaking bones. He climbed a nearby tree to investigate and found a scene of carnage.

  A bear, massive and powerful, was feeding on what had once been a boar. The creature was easily ten times Arin's size, with claws that could tear through bark as easily as flesh.

  [ Forest Bear - Level 9 ]

  Level nine. That's four levels higher than me.

  Arin watched the bear eat, fascinated and terrified in equal measure. This was what a true apex predator looked like. The bear didn't need to be clever or plan ambushes. It simply dominated through raw power and size.

  Could I ever become that strong? Or will I always need tricks and tactics?

  The question had no answer, but it planted another seed in Arin's mind. Levels mattered, but so did strategy. The bear might be stronger, but Arin had already proven he could defeat creatures above his level through careful planning.

  Maybe that's my advantage. My sapience. The ability to think, to plan, to learn from mistakes.

  The bear finished its meal and lumbered off into the forest. Arin waited until it was completely gone before descending from his tree and continuing his hunt.

  ***

  On the eighth day after killing the goblin scout, Arin made a discovery that changed everything.

  He'd been exploring the southern edge of his new territory when he came across something that didn't belong. A backpack, weathered and torn, hanging from a low branch like someone had thrown it there in haste.

  Arin approached carefully, checking for traps or threats. When nothing attacked him, he examined the backpack more closely.

  Inside were human things. A water skin, empty and cracked with age. A rope, frayed but still mostly intact. A small knife, rusted but sharp. And at the bottom, wrapped in oilcloth, a book.

  A journal. Someone's journal.

  Arin carefully extracted the book from the backpack, his gelatinous body flowing around it without damaging the pages. He couldn't read it, not really. The symbols on the pages meant nothing to him.

  But Levi had taught him letters, had shown him words while reading aloud during their training sessions. Some of these symbols looked familiar, even if Arin couldn't piece them together into meaning.

  More importantly, the journal's existence raised questions. Who had left it here? An adventurer? A traveler? And what had happened to them that they'd abandoned their belongings?

  Arin looked around the area more carefully and found his answer about twenty feet away.

  Bones. Human bones, scattered and picked clean by scavengers. The skull was cracked, suggesting a violent death. Nearby, partially buried in leaf litter, was a broken sword and shredded leather armor.

  [ Human Remains ]

  No level appeared, because whatever had killed this person had done so long ago. But the scene told a story. Someone had died here, possibly killed by the goblins whose camp was less than a mile away. They'd tried to flee, throwing their backpack to move faster, but hadn't made it.

  The forest is dangerous for everyone. Even humans with weapons and armor.

  Arin studied the bones for a long moment, thinking about mortality and danger and the thin line between life and death that everything in this world walked.

  Then he heard voices. Real voices, speaking in a language he recognized, even if he couldn't understand all the words. Common tongue, the language Levi had spoken.

  Arin climbed the nearest tree and watched as three figures emerged from the forest. Not the same adventurers he'd seen gathering herbs days ago, but similar. A human man in armor, an elven woman with a bow, and something Arin had never seen before.

  The third figure was tall and muscular, with gray-green skin and tusks protruding from its lower jaw. It carried a massive axe that looked like it could split a tree trunk.

  A half-orc. Levi mentioned them once. Said they were strong and made good warriors.

  [ Human Fighter - Level 8 ]

  [ Elven Ranger - Level 7 ]

  [ Half-Orc Barbarian - Level 9 ]

  All of them were higher-level than Arin. Much higher.

  The three adventurers were following a trail, checking the ground and trees for signs of something. The elven woman crouched near a tree with goblin claw marks and said something to her companions. They nodded and adjusted their path, moving deeper into the forest.

  Toward the goblin camp.

  They're hunting the goblins! They’re going to clear out the camp.

  Arin watched them go, his mind working through the implications. If the adventurers succeeded and killed the goblins, that would remove a threat from his territory. However, it would also mean fewer opportunities for him to hunt and grow stronger on his own terms.

  And if the adventurers failed...

  I should follow them. See what happens. Maybe there will be opportunities in the aftermath.

  It was risky. Following adventurers who could easily kill him if they discovered him. But Arin's curiosity overcame his caution, and he began moving through the trees, paralleling the adventurers' path, staying well hidden in the canopy.

  This was going to be interesting.