"Not a single catch," Zane sighed. He did not know whether his luck was too poor or if the creatures in this magical world were too bright, but for the past two hours, his traps had not caught a single rabbit or edible animal. He decided to wait a while, since there was still plenty of time before the sun went down. However, even by then, the only thing he had with him was a grumbling stomach.
"Alright, Plan B it is," he thought. Pushing through the hunger and thirst until the moon hung above the sky, Zane headed near the goblin camp, lurking like a starving hunter. He prepared himself for a great challenge in this infiltration mission, but after seeing how "unprofessional" the goblins on watch were, his hope was rekindled. So, he waited patiently, ignoring the moaning signs as these creatures acted even wilder than rabbits in heat.
Once the night intensified and most light sources were extinguished, he finally made his move. His destination was the food. After hunting a few rabbits and a bear, there should be plenty of meat left in reserve. And the most likely place to store it would be with the woman's hut, or the only other stone mansion near the witch's house.
Out of fear, Zane searched the woman's area first. The light from his smartphone allowed him to navigate this camp in silence, but the result of his search was, to say the least, disappointing. Some families stored some food for themselves, but he did not dare enter these huts. "Let's hope the mage won't notice me," he thought as he slowly approached.
The situation was dire for him the moment he came near. First, there was still some light emitting from the witch's house, and secondly, he could see the figure or shadows of two guards near the second house. "I guess we're waiting." It didn't take long for him to become bored, and since he couldn't use his phone, he chose a distraction. For the past few years, Zane has suffered from a form of mild insomnia, and one thing he did to fall asleep was reciting the numbers of pi to see how far he could go.
"3.14159265…"
Unfortunately for the hungry Zane, the light was still on after reciting to the 72nd number, so he grew curious. "It should be fine as long as I don't look at her, right?" As a devil and angel debated on his shoulder, the devil won, so he slowly approached the witch's room. The window wasn't too tall, since even when he's crouched, Zane is still slightly taller.
The first thing that caught his eye was a copper burner with metal tubes connected to the wall. "This must be to keep the house warm and eject the fumes out," Zane analyzed. Moving his eyes to the corner, he saw the witch dealing with herbs with a thick book opened before her. Zane tried to get a peek, but it was impossible from his angle. Realizing the witch was still practicing her magic, he knew he could only continue waiting. He thought she could not read for long, but only after reaching the 351st digit of pi did the light extinguish.
Zane did not move. He waited for probably another hour before slowly approaching the second house. Fate was kind to him as he saw the two guards sleeping on the ground. He frowned for a moment before slowly approaching. Everything was simple and direct: he gagged them to prevent screaming and slashed their throats. After waiting to see if there was any reaction from nearby, he slowly entered.
"I was right to come here," Zane smiled as he used his smartphone's light to peruse the room. This place was a warehouse where the goblins stored weapons, animal pelts, leather, wheat, oil, vegetables, meat, and shoes. Zane rushed over to take the leather shoes. "They looked like they were made for humans," he pondered with a frown. The size and design reminded him of medieval leather boots.
The idea that humans lived in this place was reassuring and worrying. However, Zane did not have time to think about that. He tried a few of the boots and found one slightly bigger than his size and gladly put it on. His second stop was the meat jerky section. He gobbled more than five pieces before gathering enough composure to start packing the food inside a small bag.
"Hm? Is that grain dust?" Zane illuminated the corner of the storage room. As he stared at the stack of food dust on the ground, his mind could not help but concoct a terrifying plan. "No, I can't," he muttered, but the silvery tongue of the devil was irresistible. Upon success, he could wipe out this entire camp and even kill the witch, which would definitely give him a good title.
"I still have not concluded whether more titles will not bring me home," Zane lied to himself. Time was of the essence, and since he had made up his mind, hesitation was erased from his vocabulary. First, he reviewed the materials to determine whether the plan was feasible. Second, he headed to the forest to store food, a water bucket, a cooking pot, cold-weather clothes, and a sleeping mat with covers.
For the third step, he headed directly toward the watch towers. Although these goblins were half-asleep while doing such a crucial job, they were the ones most likely to notice all his movements. However, something strange occurred after he cut the throat of the third lookout: his mark activated, and his title changed.
[Title: Goblin Hunter]
[As an ordinary human, you used the veil of shadow to eliminate your enemy systematically. While some might consider this approach cowardice, most would see the inherent wisdom in it.
[Effect: Minor improvement to stamina and strength.
[Next Title Improvement: 10/50]
Zane felt the power coursing through his veins, and all the fatigue and hunger disappeared. He felt refreshed, healthy, and as strong as he was in prison. Since his release, he has focused more on running and drastically reduced his weight training. But now, he had instantly returned to that peak.
"It's still a strange feeling," Zane muttered to himself. The good news is he learned a few things from this event: titles can evolve, and the requirements for the next evolution will appear after meeting specific requirements. "Only 40 more kills for another evolution. However, I wonder what title I'll receive for killing the witch."
The last goblin on the tower passed away with serenity in his sleep, allowing Zane to move on to the next step of the plan. First, he doused all the houses with the cooking oil, including the witch's house and even the place where the male goblins slept. He was worried the smell or texture would wake up these people, but they remained sound asleep.
The second step was to weaken the witch. He blocked the tube from the burner, whose purpose was to release fumes outside and prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Based on the witch's estimated height and weight, Zane calculated how long it would take before she succumbed; he even took into account the fact that she was "magical" and added a few more minutes.
After the twenty-five-minute timer on his phone ended, he rushed back to the storage room and used a large piece of fabric to turn the grain dust into a cloud that enveloped the entire room. Finally, it was the last step. Three wooden sticks, their tips doused in cooking oil, waited outside. Using a flint, Zane lit them up before throwing them inside the room and running away.
Dust explosions are a common hazard in many industries, so he was aware of their danger. So, Zane ran faster than he ever had. The physical improvement of the title arrived at the right time, as he was now stronger, faster, and more energetic than ever. A few seconds after the sticks landed, a booming sound echoed in this forest, followed by a gradual but intense rise of heat.
Unfortunately, his calculations of the speed at which the explosion would occur or how far it would spread were wrong. So, despite putting a decent amount of distance from the blast center, a small piece of rock hit Zane on his back, knocking him to the ground with a gaping wound. As his consciousness slowly faded, he heard the agonized screams and the dance of the flame as if the God of Fire was blessing the mortal with its presence. The explosion did a number on the goblins, but the flame that spread faster through the cooking oil was the final nail.
Zane thought this was the end. Memories of his life flashed in his mind, and all he could think of was how many regrets he had. He wanted to change the world through technology; he wanted his mother to live a life of wealth and luxury. He wanted fame, glory, and power. Sadly, all these things started slipping through his grasp more than six years ago, and today they would be gone forever. Then, as he was about to embrace the warmth of the Owuo, the Death God, and return to the arms of Anansi, the mark on his wrist vibrated. A familiar power coursed through his body, and he suddenly sat.
"I'm alive?"Zane thought as he reached out to touch his back. "Now that I think about it, the cuts on my feet were healed the first time I received a title. Could it be that every title will return me to peak condition? This information might be useful."
Zane stood and stretched out his joints: there was no pain or discomfort, but he could still feel the blood sticking to his shirt. "It seems my luck has turned around." His survival was pure luck, and he admitted that. " Now, let's see what new title I received,' he thought, finally checking his left hand.