Survival Life as a Goblin Chapter 1 (Original Writing) (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is going to try his hand at Original Writing! This is an idea I’ve been mulling over for a while and I thought I might want to give it a try. This’ll be a side project between my updates for my other stories, but I hope you’ll enjoy it anyway. Without anything else to say, let’s begin.

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“Ha~ what a day.” Samuel Reed sighed as he lay down in his bed. “I’m definitely feeling my age lately.” Samuel, Sam to his friends, was an old man of eighty six years. He’d lived a full life if he said so himself. Graduated High School with good marks, joined the United States Army for four years and went to college. Got a degree in Mechanical Engineering and had a good career for forty years. Met the love of his life, his darling Angela, and got married. They’d had two children, their son Daniel and their daughter Madison, and lived happily together. Their kids had made them proud throughout their lives going on to have careers of their own and getting married; bringing their adorable grandchildren into the world. He and Angela had done everything to spoil them absolutely rotten of course! But Angela had passed on seven years ago and he’d missed her ever since. They’d spent their retirement travelling for the first five years seeing the amazing sights the world had to offer. Then they’d settled into a comfortable life in their home. 

Living on the very edge of suburbia, closer to the rural areas than the city, had let him and his wife practice a self-sufficient lifestyle. They’d learned to do nearly everything for themselves before Angela had passed. He could make and work leather, wood work, hunt, and fish, make all kinds of tools from whatever was laying around the woods on the edge of their property. He’d even gotten some basic skills in blacksmithing and survival camping down in his late sixties. He could do campfire cooking, though Angela was always the better cook, and even knew how to garden and purify water. All in all, except for electricity and gas, they’d had next to no bills or expenses in the last eighteen years. The days of his youth had always been filled with physical activities; he’d done Martial Arts until his late fifties when his knees had finally been too painful to take the strain. He still remembered the lessons he’d had drilled into him in the Army too, though with the instructors he’d had that was a given; a bunch of hard-asses all of them.

“I’ll need to make sure the herb garden gets some water tomorrow. It’s been a bit since we got rain. Daniel always likes getting some fresh when he visits.” Sam sighed with a small smile. His son was coming over the next afternoon, probably wanted him to take it easy in a retirement resort down in Florida. They’d had that discussion a few times already. But that was for tomorrow, now he was tired, he still kept quite active even at his age, but he couldn’t bounce back like he did in his younger years. Sleep came quickly to him that night.

-Elsewhere the Realm of Gods-

“Where the heck?” Sam asked as he opened his eyes to find himself not in his bed or home. Looking around showed him hundreds of other people milling about. Though he couldn’t make out hardly any of them, they seemed to be blurry and obscured in shadow. “What in the world?” He gaped as he looked away from the figures and noticed what lay in what amounted to the sky. Stars, galaxies, universes? He wasn’t one hundred percent sure of what exactly he was seeing. There were so many, tens of thousands, millions, maybe billions? The more he looked the more seemed to appear branching off from each other one after another, after another until there were simply too many to perceive. His head started to hurt looking at them. No, wait, it wasn’t his head, it was his whole body. Suddenly something blocked his view. A cloth of some kind, but far more vibrant than anything Sam had seen in his entire life.

“Hello, pure one, you shouldn’t gaze upon Infinity for long.” The owner of the cloth spoke and Sam felt the pain fade away as his gaze was obstructed. Turning to the speaker Sam became confused, was this person a man or a woman? Looking at them only made this harder to discern. The person would be feminine one instant and then masculine the next, never staying in the form of a man nor a woman for longer than it would take to blink.

“Who are you?” Sam asked confused by his current situation.

“Mortals would call me a God or Goddess.” The person replied and Sam felt shock course through him. This person was telling the truth, something told him that what this person had just said was an absolute fact. Just as true as a human’s need for air to live or that water evaporated when heated.

“Did I die?” Sam questioned and the God/Goddess nodded.

“You have passed from your mortal coil. This is the Realm of Gods, also known as Infinity. This is a place outside of reality where the metaphysical can watch over the ever expanding Infinite.” The God/Goddess explained. “You are a Mortal Soul though, so you cannot truly comprehend Infinity. To gaze upon it is to try and understand it, for a Mortal Soul this leads to madness and destruction.”

“Why am I here then?” Sam asked shaking his head at what he’d just been looking at. The ever expanding totality of existence, or physical existence anyway, apparently multiverse theory was correct.

“You believed your whole life in the concept of the multiverse, of the Infinite.” The God/Goddess stated with a soft smile. “You believed that souls travelled through the multiverse instead of to specific realms of ‘Reward’ or ‘Punishment’. That belief brought your soul here upon your death. Your soul is also untainted by ‘Mortal Sins’ and is pure.”

“I wasn’t exactly a saint, what do you classify as a ‘Mortal Sin’?” Sam asked confused. He’d done a few things in his life that various religions would frown on after all. The ache from before was starting to come back too, that probably wasn’t good.

“You needn’t worry about such things. Your time here is short before Infinity will erase your memories and sense of self. Just know that ‘Mortal Sins’ are the most horrible acts that a mortal can perpetrate among the physical world. Acts that leave a stain on their very soul that can only be cleansed by living their next life in a better way.” The God/Goddess stated a deep sadness in its eyes. “As you are a pure soul you’ve been granted a benefit in your next life. Which will be somewhere among the infinite possibilities that exist.”

“Oh, could I ask a few questions?” Sam requested wanting to know what had become of his loved ones.

“I’m afraid you have no more time here before Infinity erases your existence. You will not remember everything, but your benefit will make use of your previous life and your accumulated experiences.” The God/Goddess smiled gently. “Thank you for living a good life. Now go live another.”

Samuel Reed knew nothing after that statement.

-Elsewhere in the Infinite Multiverse-

It was dark, cold, what was going on? The one who thought this didn’t know. A brief sound made it through the haze of existence.

“This one will be…Gobkoh.” Came a voice before everything faded back into the dark. The cold was gone now though. Darkness claimed the one now.

“Congratulations on being Born in your New Life!” A new voice came from the darkness.

“The ‘Past Memories and Knowledge’ Bonus has been granted for having no ‘Mortal Sins’!” The voice continued.

“You've been born with the Skill: 'Self-Sufficiency' as a result of the 'Past Knowledge and Memories’ Bonus!” The voice stated before fading away completely. ‘Sleepy, tired.’ The one thought before drifting back into the darkness.

-Later ~ Day 1 of Consciousness-

‘Where am I? Bed? Why can’t I see? I can’t hear much either. What’s going on? I can barely move!’ The one thought to themselves before feeling tired and very hungry. ‘So hungry, when was the last time I ate?’ Suddenly they were being lifted from where they lay. ‘What’s going on? Let go!’ But the next instant something warm was pressed against them. Something smelled familiar. There was something in their mouth. It tasted alright, maybe it was food, liquid food? ‘Whatever, I just need to eat.’ They thought before slowly getting their fill. They were put back down once they finished. ‘Tired again? I didn’t do anything yet!’ They thought but still succumbed to sleep.

-Day 2 of Consciousness-

‘Alright I’m being fed and seem to be taken care of.’ They thought as they tried to stay awake. ‘But where am I? Who am I for that matter?’ They pondered only for words to pop into their head. ‘Gobkoh, Level 1’ floated across their thoughts before fading away. ‘Gobkoh? Is that my name? Did I always have this name? So tired…’ They faded into sleep again.

-Day 3 of Consciousness-

‘I can finally hear! I can even open my eyes a bit!’ Gobkoh thought happily as they tried to listen for sounds and see their surroundings for the first time. ‘Is that a stone ceiling? Is this a house? I think I’m in a crib? Why though? Wasn’t I an adult before?’ Gobkoh pondered before being startled as a person looked into the crib. ‘Is that a monster?!’ Gobkoh wondered as the ‘person’ had greenish skin and short dark hair. They appeared feminine and didn’t seem to mean him any harm. The ‘person’ smiled, revealing slightly sharper teeth than Gobkoh expected. The ‘person’ moved on after a short time as Gobkoh fought against sleep again. ‘If that monster person is the one that’s been taking care of me does that mean I’m a monster too?’ Gobkoh wondered before lethargy set in and he fell asleep again.

-Day 4 of Consciousness-

‘So I’m still being breastfed.’ Gobkoh thought blankly as he was laid down after eating. This was perfectly natural of course, but he still felt like he’d long since passed this phase of his life before. That had been a new discovery today. He could finally move and had examined his pudgy infant body. It turned out he was indeed a male from his inspection. ‘But what am I?’ He pondered as he tried to wrack his fuzzy mind for answers. “I remember someone telling me I did good and that I was getting a reward, I think? This doesn’t seem like a reward though.’ Tiredness began to seep into him again and Gobkoh fell asleep without much fuss.

-Day 5 of Consciousness-

‘I can move a little better today.’ Gobkoh thought as he still could only make gurgling noises with his mouth. He’d managed to roll himself over today and make a short attempt at crawling. This had exhausted him quickly though. ‘I hate this! Being stuck as a baby sucks! I want to move!’ Gobkoh cried to himself internally before the exhaustion forced him to sleep again.

-Day 6 of Consciousness-

‘Almost there, almost, almost, there! Finally! I can stand up! Ha! Take that reality!’ Gobkoh rejoiced in his head as he finally managed to stand up in his, roughly made, crib. This was a major accomplishment for him! Now if he could only get his balance then maybe he’d be able start walking soon! Unfortunately his first attempt landed him flat on his face and he teared up. ‘This is so frustrating! I want to move!’ Gobkoh felt like he might actually cry from his infantile lack of mobility. With some effort he rolled himself over and tried crawling again. He got around his crib a few times before the effort forced him to sleep. ‘This sucks.’ Was his last thought before sleeping.

-Day 7 of Consciousness-

‘I can stand up better now.’ Gobkoh happily thought as he held onto the edge of his crib. ‘If I work at it slowly I might be able to get walking down.’ With a plan in mind he slowly put one pudgy baby leg in front of the other. Holding onto the edge prevented him from falling but he stumbled through his steps. His balance was still off, but he was making progress. ‘A little more. Just another step. That’s all I need.’ He repeated in his head over and over again. He’d successfully made a full circuit of his crib by the time sleep took him.

-Day 8-

‘I can move!’ Gobkoh rejoiced in his new found mobility. He and somewhere around forty other baby monsters, all the same as him, were placed onto an area padded with cloth. The cloth was dirty but that was to be expected, they appeared to be in a cave after all. ‘Makes sense for monsters, I guess?’ Gobkoh thought as he crawled freely around the area. ‘Who cares though? I can finally move around!’ He actually teared up from the joy of being able to move his body, even in this limited capacity.

-Day 9-

‘Is that a caterpillar?’ Gobkoh wondered as the monster woman that had been caring for him held out a dead caterpillar. It seemed he was being weaned and was now expected to eat solid foods. ‘Why do I feel like I’ve eaten something similar before? I did it with someone I liked, I think? Maybe another monster?’ He wondered why he seemed to have a vague memory of doing this already. With a baby equivalent of a shrug Gobkoh opened his mouth and let his caregiver place the bug in his mouth. Chewing it was odd, but it wasn’t horrific, just slightly bitter. He ate over ten of them before he felt full; eating seemed to make him sleepy. ‘Hopefully we get to move around after I wake up. I can try walking again.’

-Day 10-

‘So I think I’m a Goblin.’ Gobkoh nodded to himself. It made sense after looking at the other babies. Small, green skin, tiny claw-like nails, pointed ears, small sharp teeth developing in their mouths, just like his. ‘Not sure why I know so much about this though. I also know about animals and weather, tools, food, weapons, and some other stuff. I wonder why? I feel like I’ve already done a lot of stuff before, but I can’t remember all of it.’ The young goblin continued to ponder as he took slow steps around the cloth covered area they were put on to move around. The bigger goblins, adults probably, looked on in surprise. ‘I guess being able to walk already is surprising?’ His caregiver was taller than all of the other goblins though. Well, she and a few other females, plus one male about the same height. They were probably older than the others. He’d even seen a massive male walking around the cave, the biggest of them all with a huge frame and horns on his head. The term Ogre seemed fitting for him. ‘Will I grow up like that?’ Gobkoh wondered as he made slow steps around the other, crawling, goblin babies.

-Day 14-

‘So we’re learning speech now?’ Gobkoh mused as he watched the taller caregivers, though he’d taken to thinking of them as Hobgoblins, each take a small group of the toddler-sized goblins and begin to instruct them. ‘Doesn’t sound much different than the language I know. Why can’t I remember what it’s called though?’

“I’m hungry.” His caregiver said to the group.

“I’m hungry.” Gobkoh repeated clearly enough to be understandable. The others in his group made more burbled versions of the words.

“Good.” His caregiver smiled at him. She then repeated the phrase again for the others.

-Day 21-

‘It only took seven days, a week.’ Gobkoh reminded himself before continuing his thoughts. ‘Just a week and now they can all speak well enough to communicate. Goblins develop fast apparently.’ He mused as he watched his, (siblings?), walk around the cave, exploring their home. He’d noticed that only female goblins were born with hair on their heads. All the males, he included, were bald. Now that they were too big for their cribs the youngest goblins had been moved to a chamber off to the side of the cave. They basically slept on the rocky floor with only a ragged blanket between them and the rock. At their current size they could still fold the blanket over and cover themselves, but if they kept growing at their current rate soon the blankets would be too small for that.

‘I want a better bed.” Gobkoh sighed to himself as he started stretching before he put himself through a workout. He knew stretching was important and that exercise would help make him stronger because he remembered it from ‘before’. That was what he’d taken to calling his previous life. He’d finally remembered enough to piece together his situation. His memories of his last life were mostly fuzzy but he remembered various skills and a lot of knowledge. He even remembered that he’d had a family before. No details, like faces or names, but he remembered being happy for a long time and he wanted to experience that again. 

“Maybe in the future?” He muttered to himself as he jogged around the interior of the cave. ‘Hopefully the hunters bring back some extra prey today. I want to eat real meat, bugs aren’t filling!’

-Day 22-

“Ways of the Tribe?” Gobkoh repeated as the elder male Hobgoblin, En, nodded back to him.

“You are all old enough now that you’re expected to obey the rules of the Tribe.” En informed the group of forty youngsters.

“Learn them well; you are the last of my lineage.” Rull, the Ogre and Leader of the Tribe, rumbled out getting nods from all the young goblins.

‘I’m not surprised by that. Just looking at Rull you can tell he’s old, seems we’re the last children he was capable of having with his Hobgoblin wives.’ Gobkoh mused as he looked over the female Hobgoblins, noticing that they were all equally older looking. It didn’t seem like any of the Hobgoblins would live much longer either. En and one of the Hobgoblin women were apparently together as well which had resulted in this last birthing yielding the forty youngsters that Gobkoh had been born with.

“First rule: Do not engage in hostile behavior with humans. They’ll send more of their kind to kill us if they think we’re a threat.” En stated getting nods from the youngsters.

“The tribe En and I were born into attacked human traders and kidnapped women. I was only six months old and En was only three months old, when we had to flee because human warriors came to exterminate us. Only En and I managed to escape, the rest were all slaughtered.” Rull stated as he looked over his last progeny. En nodded with a sad look. Some of the youngsters seemed to take this warning to heart, while others just looked on dimly.

“Second rule: Those that don’t provide for themselves don’t eat.” En explained making several youngsters tilt their head confused. “If you don’t take care of yourself the Tribe will not support you. We have no excess to spare on the weak or the lazy.”

‘Harsh, but that’s the law of the jungle, survival of the fitness. Natural Selection in its purest form; kill or be killed, eat or be eaten.’ Gobkoh thought to himself.

“Third rule: Your life is yours to protect out in the forest. If you die while hunting that is your fault and we will not mourn the loss of the foolish. Within the cave you will be protected by Rull and us Hobgoblins, once you leave however that is where our protection ends.” En explained and the group nodded.

‘They just accept that they’ll lose progeny to weakness and stupidity?’ Gobkoh thought surprised. ‘That’s a lot different than humans. Though to be fair humans take years to reach the development level that I’ve reached in less than a month; so it makes sense to protect the young who can’t do anything for themselves.’

“The final rule: All males are given names that start with Gob; females are given names that end with Lin. This is the way Goblin Tribes have always named our young. You are expected to do the same when you’re old enough to decide to leave the Tribe and start your own. Only if you reach the strength required to grow into a Hobgoblin will you lose these markers and call yourself without them. No Tribe has deviated from this as long as anyone can remember.” En explained the last rule and Gobkoh felt the need to ask for clarification.

“So would I just be Koh if I grow into a Hobgoblin?” Gobkoh questioned.

“Yes, you would no longer be marked with Gob. Your strength would be recognized and you’d simply be Koh from then on.” En nodded with a smile at the intellect that Gobkoh was displaying.

‘Interesting, a single rule shared by Goblinkind as a whole. I wonder what prompted that. It’s probably not important for now though.’ Gobkoh thought as Rull and En left the youngsters to their own devices.

“Chief Rull, can I ask a question?” Gobkoh jogged up to the retreating Leader of the Tribe getting the Ogre’s attention.

“What is it little one?” Rull questioned his deep voice echoed slightly in the cave.

“Will I grow into an Ogre like you one day?” Gobkoh asked and Rull chuckled at the curious gaze directed up at his large form.

“If you’re strong enough, yes you will.” Rull confirmed. “I’m an Ogre, little one. You must first become a Hobgoblin before you can grow further.”

“Is there anything that an Ogre can grow into?” Gobkoh questioned and Rull rumbled out a deeper laugh this time.

“Yes, there is, but it takes a large amount of time and effort to grow beyond an Ogre.” Rull informed as his chuckles ended. “Beyond the Ogre form is the High Ogre, all of your Ogre traits are much stronger once you grow into this form. Though it can take much longer than you might have time for; I prioritized building my own Tribe rather than trying to attain this form.”

“So High Ogre is the strongest?” Gobkoh asked and was slightly surprised when Rull shook his head.

“There is a form beyond the High Ogre, the Lord Ogre.” Rull rumbled out. “Only a few have existed in the shared history of the Tribes. But they stand at the pinnacle of Goblinkind. Even Humans and Elves will back down to avoid clashing with a Lord Ogre. Their strength is enough to shatter the land and they can even possess powerful Magic that can lay waste to armies. But it takes the right will and circumstances to reach such a pinnacle. That’s why so few have ever existed. You should focus on surviving as you are now before you worry about what you may grow into.” The Ogre cautioned his progeny before going back to the rear of the cave to rest.

“So four forms exist above my current Goblin state, huh? That is good to know.” Gobkoh mumbled to himself as he walked back towards his ‘bed’. ‘Rull has a point though; I have to survive long enough to grow further before worrying about what I can become.’

“Graah!” A goblin youngster yelled at another one as they wrestled with each other over what looked like a large caterpillar.

‘Survival definitely isn’t guaranteed at the best of times, and goblins aren’t exactly the strongest species.’ Gobkoh mused as he watched both wrestling goblin’s knock each other across the head. This let another goblin come over and eat the caterpillar himself. ‘Definitely not the brightest lot either.’ He sighed with a shake of his head.

-Day 30-

“You’ll have to hunt for yourselves now.” An older goblin informed the forty youngsters; Gobkoh thought this one was called Gobnil. “We all started at your age, so good luck.”

‘So that’s it? No lessons or anything? Just, you’re big enough, go hunting?’ Gobkoh nearly choked on his spit at the lack of care they were shown. Sure they were now considered ‘grown’ by goblin standards, even though they weren’t any bigger than a six or seven year old human. But a little instruction would’ve been nice! ‘Well I should at least scout the area outside the cave. This is the first time we’ve been allowed outside.’ Gobkoh took his first steps outside the cave and into the morning sunlight. The forest surrounded the cave and only a small clearing existed directly in front of the cave entrance.

“Better get something to protect myself with.” Gobkoh nodded as he adjusted the ragged cloth he wore around his waist. It was similar to the cloth blankets they used as ‘beds’ inside the cave, but shorter and worn like a kilt or skirt. He’d noticed the female goblins covered their chests with cloth as well. Apparently they protected their modesty like other females, who knew?

Looking around the edge of the clearing for something to use as a makeshift weapon Gobkoh found a fallen branch of decent thickness. It was thick enough to do some damage and sturdy enough that he couldn’t break it over his knee. ‘This should work for now.’ He thought as he slowly started wandering into the forest. Hearing noise from a tree not far from him, Gobkoh looked up and spotted a few female goblins picking fruits from the branches.

“That’s one way to go about it. I’ll have to remember this tree and any others that bear fruit.” Gobkoh made a mental note to try out some of the fruit later today. Walking a bit further into the forest, making markers along the way so he didn’t get lost, Gobkoh stopped short we he noticed a large rabbit in the glade ahead of him. ‘That would be tasty, all cooked up, too bad I don’t have any salt or pepper.’ He thought as he quietly watched the large rabbit move around. The rabbit turned in its nibbling of the grasses growing in the glade and Gobkoh noticed something, off, about this particular rabbit.

‘Are those horns?’ He wondered as he gazed at the rabbit’s head. Indeed there were two short horns growing out of the large rabbit’s skull. ‘No wait, those look more like the short antlers a deer would grow a good while before mating season. But deer antlers never looked sharp enough to give a spear tip a run for its money!’

“Hmm, if it has antlers, but it’s a rabbit, wouldn’t that make it a jackalope?” Gobkoh wondered as he carefully watched the, now dubbed, ‘jackalope’ continue its foraging. ‘Can I possibly catch it? Those antlers are super sharp. If it rushes me and makes contact they’d definitely go deep enough to hit something vital.’ He mused. ‘Maybe if it was distracted or panicked I could get the jump on it?’ Looking around his hiding spot behind a tree for anything he could use the young goblin found a rock nearby.

‘Here goes nothing.’ Gobkoh thought as he lobbed the rock high into the air before hiding behind the tree again. The rock landed just behind the jackalope with a ‘thump’ sending the animal bolting forward in panic. Gobkoh saw the jackalope running his way and raised his stick above his head. The panicked jackalope had just reached the other side of the tree when Gobkoh swung downwards. With a resounding ‘thwack’ the stick struck the fleeing jackalope across the back. The large rabbit-like animal let out a pained sound as it flailed from the hit. ‘Again!’ Gobkoh roared to himself mentally. Another swing landed on the jackalope followed by another and then another. The jackalope lay still after the fourth hit and Gobkoh stared at it unblinking. After not seeing any movement for several seconds the young goblin let out a cheer.

“I did it!” Gobkoh exclaimed happily as he grabbed the large rabbit by the scruff of its neck and held it as high as his body would allow. “Yeah!” He celebrated as he put his kill over his shoulder and started following his markers back towards the cave. Once he was back in the clearing he set his catch down and collected a good amount of fallen sticks and branches from nearby. “Let’s see if I can still do this.” Gobkoh grinned as he placed a dry piece of broken wood on the ground next to the stick pile. Placing the end of another stick into a small depression he’d clawed out of the wood, he started rubbing it between his hands. Back and forth, back and forth, faster and applying more pressure to the end of the stick. Wisps of smoke started to emerge from the depression in the wood.

“A little more, come on.” Gobkoh kept trying to go faster; he had to make an ember! Some dead leaves on his left side would make great tinder and start the flame that would burn the stick pile in front of him. Then he could have a campfire. Goblins could eat raw meat without problems, as long as it wasn’t spoiled, but you got more calories from meat if it was cooked first.

“There!” Gobkoh grinned as a stream of smoke came from the depression when he pulled the stick away. He’d been trying to make the ember for several minutes and had finally gotten it. Carefully placing the hot ember into the tinder he’d prepared, Gobkoh gently blew on the small ember. The extra oxygen made the ember glow and the dry leaves began to smolder as they touched it. Within a few seconds smoke poured from the tinder as a flame grew. “Into the pile, into the pile!” He chanted as he placed the burning tinder under the stick pile. With sharp cracks and pops the fire began to burn the dry sticks. A few moments later and Gobkoh had his campfire.

“Nice, now just have to skin and gut you!” Gobkoh said to his catch as he set about the method he’d learned in his previous life. It was great that rabbit skin came right off when you cut in the right places. He’d be able to clean the pelt and use it for softer bedding! ‘Say goodbye to sleeping on rocks!’ He chuckled to himself even though he’d need quite a few more pelts before he’d be able to replace his current ‘bed’. His claws were sharp enough to skin the rabbit and even gut it, but he’d have to find the nearby river that the Tribe got their water from and clean off afterwards. Disease was a thing and he didn’t want to spread it by bringing his blood-coated hands all over the cave. Shoving a stick through the cleaned rabbit Gobkoh placed it over the fire with two ‘Y’ shaped sticks to hold it over the flames.

“What’s he doing?” A different young goblin questioned.

“No idea.” The one next to the first replied.

“What did he catch?” Another one asked as they all looked on from the other side of the small clearing.

‘Do they not know that I can hear them?’ Gobkoh wondered as he turned his jackalope so that the other side would cook. ‘Whatever, I guess, as long as they don’t hinder my survival. I’m not dying young if I can help it!’

While waiting for his meat to cook Gobkoh looked over the two small antlers he’d snapped off the jackalope’s head. They were mostly straight and just as sharp as they’d looked. ‘I might be able to use these.’ He planned as he looked them over before turning his gaze towards his, mostly straight, stick. ‘Yeah, I can make this work.’

“Thank you for the food, little jackalope.” Gobkoh grinned as he looked at his cooked meat, he’d set it on a pile of large green leaves to keep it off the ground. It had cooled enough that he could use his claws to pull chucks of meat off without burning himself. Now it was time to dig in! “Hmm, tastes like rabbit, of course, a little bland without seasoning but way better than caterpillars!” He commented as he tore off another piece and ate it. After eating the whole jackalope, leaving only bones behind, Gobkoh wandered over to the river a ways away from the cave to wash off. He’d made sure to bring the antlers, pelt and his stick with him. He didn’t need one of the others taking his hunting spoils.

“Now I just need to clean off the pelt of excess meat and fat. Then make a hoop from a freshly cut branch and stretch it out. Then let it dry out in the shade so it doesn’t stiffen up as much. It won’t be professional grade leather work but it’ll last a few weeks. If I can keep catching a good number of them I won’t have to care about the older ones degrading.” Gobkoh nodded to his plan before looking over the two short antlers and his stick. “Now how should I make you into a spear? I could try tying the antler on with some roots or vines, but that risks it coming apart if movement breaks the cord. Maybe I could ask En, he might know something I could use.”

After prepping his pelt and leaving it to dry in the shade, hanging from a branch high off the ground to keep scavengers or other goblins from taking it, Gobkoh took his stick and antlers into the cave to ask En for advice.

“Making a spear?” En questioned getting a confirming nod from Gobkoh. “Well there is the sap from the needle trees. It’s sticky, but if you heat it up it thins out almost like water, then when it cools again it’s nearly impossible to pull whatever its stuck too apart.”

“Thanks En!” Gobkoh thanked the Hobgoblin as he jogged out of the cave. ‘Needle Trees’ were just coniferous evergreens with larger needles than the ones he remembered. But they were also much tougher, so they could actually hurt if you got stabbed by one. But he only needed to collect the sap on the end of his stick and the end of the small antlers. He’d heat it up with a small fire afterwards and stick one of the antlers on the end of the stick to make a spear. The other would go on a shorter piece of wood to make a stabbing weapon for close range. It wouldn’t be able to cut like a knife, unfortunately, but he was hopeful to find something that he could make a decent knife out of later.

By the time the sun had set that evening Gobkoh had a new ‘Antler Spear’ and ‘Antler Shiv’. Plus the jackalope pelt had dried well and he was now using it as a pillow. He’d drawn quite a bit of attention from the other youngsters in the cave for his new hunting spoils. ‘As long as they don’t try anything.” Gobkoh thought as he discreetly placed his ‘Antler Shiv’ under his new pelt pillow. ‘Just in case.’ He thought before laying back and mentally going over his day. ‘I ate well, got some new weapons, improved my bedding a little, and tried the fruit from the trees. All in all a good first day of survival hunting, hopefully I can keep this up tomorrow.’ He thought before he drifted off to sleep with his ‘Antler Spear’ right next to his ‘bed’.

-End Chapter-

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So this has been my first foray into Original Writing for the Isekai genre. I hope it was entertaining. I’ll work on updating this between my other stories when I have time. Maybe by some cosmic mistake this’ll actually get some recognition when I find a web novel site to put it on later. Maybe an illustrator will want to draw it like some other web novels/light novels have been? Wouldn’t that be a nice dream?

Let me know what you think about this!

Also, feel free to suggest a Title for this work! I’m drawing a blank at the moment!