encounter

Waking up the following morning, Alex yawn while stretching, not even sore after a night on a rock bed. Looking toward the door, timid sunray were already piercing through the tight mesh of the grids. Exiting the rock chamber, he blissfully took in the morning breeze and earthy smell the forest exude after the night's heavy raining.

Taking some fruits of his storage, he munches on them while taking a sip off a stone goblet he filled in the water.

Following the river led Alex to another predictable encounter with goblins. While he wasn't concealed inside the foliage like the first time, he heard them before seeing them.

'This forest seems relatively peaceful if they can make such racket and don't attract other predators' attention.- Commented CS, slowly taking it the new world they were in.

'Agreed.' Simply responded Alex, crouching.

This time he was facing only three goblins. He summarily concludes that they must be the average appearance for a goblin, with the tallest, irregular one around the same size than the previous three and the same feature.

Taking a knife in each hand, he swiftly threw the blades, aiming for the neck's soft spot. He quickly caught the wet sound of the stone slicing the fleshes and the spraying of blood, shortly followed with high pitched shrieks of the dying goblins.

Not leaving the last one to react, he ponce on it, slicing at the hands, bitting deeply in the fleshes and depriving the goblins of their use. Crashing in the smaller creature, he pinned it in the ground, his knee on his arms, before heavily coming down on it.

Like the previous one, he fiercely links up a monstrous combo, pulverising the sternum, before waking the goblin in the head, shutting its incessant wailing. Left with a knocked out goblin that would shortly choke on his perforated lungs, he brought a blade to its chest, cutting it open.

Alex gaze was immediately attracted by the softly shining core on the right side of the heart. Dealing the killing blow by piercing the heart, both kept there gaze on the corpse, waiting for anything to happen.

A soon as the goblin stopped to breathe, the light rapidly dwindled, leaving only the same golden shining specs he had observed.

~~~

-Well, that answers our question, the core must form and growth with them.- CS said, happy to have his question answered so swiftly.

'I think there some magic involved. I don't know which point, but goblin seem to have a silver of magic in them. This magic, turn solid and form those little core.'

-Well, it not for space it took that you would get rid of them.- CS said, looking Alex harvest the corpse.

'True, I have space, and if it Danmachi, I'm sure they would be worth something, even if it only a few coins.' Say Alex while gathering the two other cores before leaving the corpse behind, sure that some other creature would feed on them soon.

Returning to the river, he continued to walk. The further he did, the larger the stream grows, as he passed some streams separating from the main one, before vanishing further in the forest. Looking down in the water, he finally starts to see some fishes.

Looking at the sun, who would soon set down, Alex stopped from the day, ready to attempt some magic. Crouching near the edge of the water, he patiently looked at the unaware fishes swimming in the water. Targeting the largest, he simply aims with one hand while the other held a knife.

"Wingardium Leviosa."

Feeling the spell take hold on the fish, he rapidly levitate it in front of him, while his other hand fall on it.

'I understand now what Mother say; I could feel the fish somewhat fighting against the hold of my magic. If a fish gave such a fight, I didn't think I would d much damage a goblin. Thankfully I didn't attempt it directly on them. I don't think hurling magic directly at them would be much efficient, perhaps through the use of tool...' Reflected Alex, as he mindlessly guts the fish, burying the inward.

'Even with a stone knife, I have some difficulty in preparing a simple fish. If I don't find at least iron very soon, I will become dangerous to fight more than five goblins again.' Alex though worryingly.

The world's level danger is nothing to scoff at- Darkly commented CS, seeing the struggle Alex was already facing.

'Yes, without proper preparation, I wouldn't be astonished that human could easily die at goblin hand.'

-Don't forget that you are stronger than an average human. While you didn't face too much difficulty, another average man wouldn't have sufficient force to open a goblin with a stone product, no matter how sharp it is, since you easily chirp your blade on their bones.- Added CS

'I need to make my hand on processed metal or found a settlement rapidly.' said him after taking CS comment in the count.

-Yes, you do.-

~~~

His fish prepared, he formed a rough pit on the ground, before adding dried wood inside.

"Incendio."

Lighting the wood with a small tongue of fire, Alex made sure to start the fire before looking for more wood properly. The fishes were left in the river, just in case, some predator wanted to steal it.

He was lucky enough to spot blooming flowers in a thicket. Digging a little, he retrieves the few wild potatoes, before making his way back.

Snapping the wood in a smaller section, he busies himself feeding the fire, peeling the potatoes and washing the different herbs he found around. Taking bricks out, he created a large bowl. Filling it half of the water, he put it above the fire, on the brick as a foothold. When the water started to shimmer, he put the cut potatoes and the herb, while the fillet was slowly roasting on the side.

Once his meal ready, he happily digs in, nearly swallowing anything, ravenous after two days feeding entirely on fruits. Now that he could put his hand on meat relatively quickly, he didn't hold back and eat his fill.

After forking in two-thirds of the bowl and the entire fish, he dosed the fire and morphed the bowl in a sealed box containing the rest of the broth. Leaving anything else that wouldn't pollute the forest, he made his merry way up the stream, with an evident skip in his step, using the fading light to progress a little further up.

Unlike the previous night, he wasn't lucky enough to found a place to sleep. Putting on his coat, he climbed in the nearest tree, securing his hold in wrapping his tail around the branch, before falling asleep.

~~~

Alex abruptly awoke by the sound of shriek, thumping and activity beneath him. When he looked at the group, he froze for a second at the sight of the fifteen goblins industrially striking the tree trunk he was on with rusted hatchets and stone.

From the sight of a large amount of shaved wood around it, he could tell that they had been going at it for a long moment, and possibly would be able to bring the tree down rapidly. The possibility was quickly confirmed when ominous cracking started to resound.

Cursing that he was left with nought but three bricks, he immediately threw his four knives at the goblins down.

Out of the four, only two had enough force to bury themselves deep enough in the head to confuse the goblins. Another one struck in a shoulder, rendering the arm useless and the last one broke when it crashed against a knee. While it did enough damage to impede the goblin, he just lost a possible weapon.

Left with eleven armed goblins, with two out of the count and two other wounded, odds weren't right for him.

While trying to keep his cool at the situation, the goblin only briefly stopped to cut down the tree to look at the situation, before returning to the ardour task. As more of the tree was savaged, it finally reaches its limit.

Alex felt the tree start to waver under him, tall tale sign of it soon crashing down. Giving a last look at the goblin beneath, he circled his arms around the trunk, while throwing all his weight in their direction.

~~~

On the ground, the goblins start to eagerly shrieks when they see the tree swagger and fall to the ground. What their mind was unable to compute was the dangerously of a tree falling on oneself. Before it ultimately falls, their instinct kicked off, warning them or the impending doom. Only the injured goblin at the shoulder moved out rapidly enough to avoid being crushed under the tree trunk, like the three others.

On the side, the goblins shrieked and struck the ground angrily with their weapon at their prey. But no amount of yells and shoot made it exit the cover of the tree. The goblins group was habituated that their target would stay hidden and quiet when they are all around.

It wasn't their first time hunting this type of prey, and they would always cower while weeping or throw themselves at them, always falling to the clutch of the horde, feeding the group, but this one didn't.

~~~

The forest had turned quiet after the tree crashed and birds flee as if holding its breath, waiting for the following event.

Just as the goblins became impatient, their attention was attracted by the branches' and leaf rustling at tree's foremost free. Four of the nearest goblins, wielding hatchets, immediately threw themselves at, hacking with might and eagerness at the zone. It was only after rendering the cluster of branches into nothing more than kindle that they register the lack of prey.

Just as they were looking at each other, communicating through gesture and growl, a wail of pain resound at the furthest point of their primary formation.

Looking wildly there, all seen one of their brethren hanging at the end of a long stick, clawing powerlessly at it, before limping on, dead. After a second of silence, the screeching started anew, they gesture wider and howling stronger, trying to intimidate the prey turned predator.

~~~

After making sure that he was riding on the falling trunk, Alex clutched at the tree, brassing himself for the impact that soon came. Jumping slightly as he hears the first branches snap when they hit the floor, he was able to negate most of the fall, earning only some light scratches from the surrounding branches.

Knowing that the situation was at the very least not favourable, he immediately hidden in the thickest part of the foliage and immediately go to work, not knowing how much time available he had.

Catching a partially snapped thick branch, kicking it free, he broke most of the smallest ends, before running his craft magic in. He didn't spar any second in his rush to arms himself and forced the branch into one metre and seventy meters long, four centimetres thick and smooth pole. He slapped it on the pole before pushing a little more energy in taking out a brick.

The brick melted on, a part of it wrapping the length, forming a grip, while a twenty centimetre, double-edged blades sprout at its head. On the butt-end, three short pikes five centimetres long also appears equally distanced from the other, slightly angled.

Taking hold of the stone's remaining, he threw it toward the front of the tree while stealthily making his way to the base.