Author's Note: Here is day 4. I think I went a little carried way for this one. It is going to set up a lot of what I have planned, mainly to fill in gaps I believe the base story is missing.
Should also put this here:
{} - system notification
[] - Skill/Trait/Item Name
<> - System Administrator response (Major hint for later story elements)
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Day 4
I wake to the older goblin that was in charge of feeding us newborns telling us all that we need to start hunting for our own food with this simple rule: Those who don't work, don't eat. Hearing that and seeing the others of my generation running out to hunt without any idea of what is out there, I decided not to follow them. I walk over to an area that is designated as Old Man Jii's section to ask him what basic creatures newborn goblins should hunt and what dangers are out there.
Old Man Jii explained to me that a majority of goblins especially newborn goblins fail their hunts due to a lack of intellect or no one to learn from, and due to that many goblins survive off of berries and insects they are able to forage for without dying to any of the creatures outside of the cave. For the entire morning, I listened to his advice of which creatures would be the safest for a goblin to hunt and which ones I should avoid at my level. He also tells me about the Rank Up System that we monsters follow in this world. In return for listening to him, he gave me some of his stash of insects to have for an early lunch. Those insects are surprisingly pretty good but then again I used to eat bugs while on long hunting trips or dares from classmates.
As soon as I stepped out into the forest, I felt like I was home. It was the same feeling I had in my first life whenever I went hunting. It was like I could feel everything alive around me. I climbed the closest tree I could find to get a better view of the forest around the cave. I see many of my siblings failing to catch anything and even saw one die to a horned rabbit that they accidentally crossed paths with. I climbed even higher and I saw what I could only assume as Rou and Kichi catching a horned rabbit.
I saw some things I could use to make rudimentary traps to see if I could power level a smidge without alerting Rou that there was a possible threat for him to view as a meal. As I climbed down, I collected some vines I found to be pliable yet elastic enough to make some rope for the simplest of traps: a snare. I was also thinking of making a deadfall trap but decided against that for two reasons: 1) I doubt this body is strong enough to lift a rock heavy enough for that type of trap and 2) I would prefer the animal carcass to be somewhat intact to see if I can gut it and skin it. I also thought about pitfalls but one would take too long to make and they aren't very reliable.
I also sharpened around five or six branches to a point to have as spears or javelins and I carried them by tying them to my back with some of the rope I made. I would have preferred a bow since I have more experience with bow hunting than spear hunting but beggars can't be choosers. I set up my snare with some berries as bait and set myself up a perch to watch out for any of my idiot siblings that wander upon my trap and ruin it.
After a while, I see a horned rabbit come out of the brush and hop over to my trap. As soon as the rabbit entered it, I set the snare off. The rabbit's ears twitch but he doesn't move fast enough and one of his back legs gets snagged taking him about two feet off the ground. I jump down from my perch with a spear in hand.
Before I kill it, I go about the old ritual I had done in my first life: I thank the rabbit for providing me with sustenance and I thank the nature around me for allowing me to hunt said rabbit. As I pierce the rabbit, a notification sound pops in my head.
{Skill [Human Soul] has been awakened.}
{Class [Hunter] has been unlocked}
{Class skill [Trap Making] has been acquired}
{Class [Spearman] has been unlocked}
{Battle technique [Power Thrust] has been acquired}
{Class [Druid] has been unlocked}
{Class Skill [Prayer] has been acquired}
Okay… that was strange. Knowledge I already had from my first life flowed into my head about making traps and basic usage of a spear. I wonder what that skill means. I don't remember having anything like that in either life before. I should be able to do a self-appraisal on my own skills. I focus my mind of the skill [Human Soul] and this notification appeared:
I should ask Zelretch about… "Don't even think about it, boy. There wouldn't be much of a story for me to watch if I gave you all the information up front. I will tell you that this skill didn't come from me or my modification to that other skill of yours." Zelretch's voice sounded in my head.
After that, I spent a couple minutes trying to figure out if I can actually butcher the rabbit with what I got with me. Much to my chagrin, I was unable to do so. So I bit the bullet. I ate the rabbit raw while trying to avoid the fur as best I could. What I had left was a rabbit skeleton, the entrails which I buried, a mangled fur pelt, and the rabbit's horn. The meat was actually quite good even if it was a little gamy but hey, it was better than the bugs.
I grabbed a fresh branch from a tree and shaved a notch into both the branch and the horn with a somewhat sharp rock. I then used some rope I had to bind the branch and horn together.
{Gobukou has acquired [Makeshift Horned Rabbit Spear]}
{Skill [Human Soul] has been activated}
{Class [Carpenter] has been unlocked}
{Class Skill [Wood Crafting] has been acquired}
{Class [Butcher] has been unlocked}
{Class Skill [Monster Anatomy] has been acquired}
{Class Skill [Monster Disassembly] has been acquired}
With that notification, more information flowed. This time I gained new knowledge about medieval carpentry, the anatomy of the horned rabbit to a near instinctive level, and how to butcher said monster. It seems like the skill [Human Soul] gives me access to the Job System of this world as well as the Rank Up System I already had as a monster. However, I don't remember jobs being awarded this easily but then again the series only stated that jobs could be acquired after completing the necessary requirements for the job.
Using the [Makeshift Horned Rabbit Spear], I was able to kill a few more rabbits a lot quicker. I even killed a variant. The variant had two smaller cow-like horns and larger legs in comparison to a normal horned rabbit, which it used to tackle me instead of running away like its fellow rabbits. I decided then to see what skill I could snatch from these rabbit souls. I raise my hand to the souls I see floating away and beckon them to come back. The soul closest to me, the variant, floated back and hovered in my hand.
I closed my hand around the soul and activated [Soul Imprint Trace] on it and got this notification:
{Gobukou gained the trait [Strong Legs] from Horned Rabbit (Elite Variant)}
{Gobukou gained the skill [Charging Strike] from Horned Rabbit (Elite Variant)}
My legs felt like I went through a month of pure leg day exercises for a split second. It seems like I can gain traits from creatures as well as skills, though they probably need to be a variant for that to happen. Wait. What is this about an Elite Variant? Never heard about that term in the series before. I should ask Old Man Jii about them.
Using my [Butcher] class, I was able to properly harvest meat from the rabbits without damaging the pelts. I ate the meat of the variant and cut myself with the horns in a few non-important areas before heading back to the cave to appear as if I had more trouble than I actually did. Old Man Jii greeted me when I entered with a shocked look for a moment.
He asked me with a shake of his head " Did you really hunt horned rabbits even when I advised against facing them for a few days?" I responded with "I wanted to pay you back for the bugs from earlier today. Also, I need to ask something away from prying eyes." I looked around and saw the other goblins look at my food with a hungry look in their eyes.
We go off to Jii's personal section. He asked me, "What did you want to ask me, Young Kou?" I pulled out the elite variant pelt from my bundle which I kept attached to the skull for a better explanation. "I killed this rabbit that looked and acted differently from the others. I assumed it was a Variant but it was called an Elite Variant instead. Have you ever heard of an Elite Variant before, Old Man Jii?" Jii's eyes sharpen for a moment at the pelt and then says to me "Yes I have heard of that term before. I technically am one myself. My correct race would be Goblin Elder which is an elite variant of Goblin like the Bull-Horned Rabbit that you killed. My race has allowed me to live as long as I have but it has also prevented me from ranking up due to variants, especially elite variants, having a harder time leveling up."
He sighed and continued, "By the time I was close enough to ranking up, I had injured my back due to my advanced age. Therefore I had to stop hunting myself and fulfill the role I should play as an Advisor and Father figure to the goblin that come after me until the day I died." He started to cough heavily. Startled by what was just said, I floundered for a moment before I rushed to him and gently patted his back trying to help him calm down. His coughing stopped and he pushed me away saying "While I thank you for that, I am not old and feeble enough to require assistance from a newborn to go about my day. I have at least another year in me, maybe more. That's older than some of our kin live in total."
I frown at that thinking that he was wrong because in the original story he died on the 180th day after Rou, and now I, was born. I can let that happen. Jii would be a better advisor for the family if he was able bodied in more than just his sexual escapades. I turn to him and say with a resolution he wasn't expecting, "I am going to find a way for you to hunt again so you don't have to worry about dying any time soon." He smiles like a grandpa looking proudly at a grandchild at me and says "You don't have to try and find a way to help an old soul like me. Just live your life with no regrets. Now, off to bed. You are gonna need your rest if you want to grow stronger." He takes a small piece of the meat and a pelt and says "Before you go, I will take this so that you don't have to feel indebted to me at all." He starts to walk away with a perverted chuckle and says under his breath, even though I heard him "Here I come girls."
I walk over to an unoccupied section of the cave and set two of the more intact pelts, not counting the elite variant, onto the ground to act as a makeshift bed. I ate the rest of the meat left and took out the branches and horns I had in a sack I made from a pelt and some rope. I decided to make some more [Makeshift Horned Rabbit Spears] while thinking of a way to help Jii and therefore helping the whole family without changing the story too much so that my information of the "future" was still viable to use. Afterwards, I went into a meditative state instead of sleep so I could observe what was around while resting my mind and body after the strenuous and insightful day I had.