We moved along our usual route, the towering trees casting long shadows across the forest floor.
Other than the occasional bird calls overhead, there were few sounds of ordinary wildlife.
It was unnaturally quiet.
Minori slid his waterskin back onto his belt and paused briefly, his sharp eyes scanning the dense foliage.
Without altering his expression, he continued forward.
Now that he knew he was being watched, he had to stay alert.
Suddenly—
Minori's ears twitched.
Movement.
Faint, but distinct.
Northwest.
He didn't hesitate. Maintaining the same casual pace, he shifted direction, angling quietly toward the source of the sound.
As he approached, the noises became clearer:
The roars of wild beasts.
The guttural shrieks of goblins.
Minori crouched low behind a gnarled tree and peered ahead.
His eyes narrowed.
Over twenty goblins were besieging a massive black bear.
—
The black bear roared and lunged, seizing a goblin in its jaws and tearing it apart.
Blood splattered across the mossy ground.
Yet the goblins, rather than retreat, shrieked louder, their savagery heightened.
They hurled crude spears, rocks, and even sharpened bones at the wounded beast.
After suffering terrible losses—
the blood-soaked black bear finally collapsed, its roars fading into a gurgle.
The surviving goblins cheered raucously.
They heaved the bear's corpse onto their shoulders and began dragging it deeper into the jungle.
Meanwhile, the corpses of their fallen comrades were casually picked up by other goblins, treated no differently from prey.
Goblins devouring their own dead without hesitation.
Minori leaned against the rough bark of the tree, arms folded.
A cold smirk curved his lips as he watched them retreat.
Clearly, a goblin colony lay in the direction they were heading.
"So this is the trap they've been preparing for days..."
"The same method again?" Minori's eyes narrowed slightly.
It was obvious now.
The six ogres that had ambushed him before had not been a coincidence.
He had been carefully lured.
And now, they sought to repeat the tactic.
Minori chuckled quietly to himself.
He had overestimated the intelligence of ordinary goblins.
Yet—
there must be a more cunning mind at work behind them.
A goblin capable of coordinating ogres?
Now that was worth investigating.
"They're cautious. Still trying to test me. If I don't play along, they won't expose their real forces," Minori thought grimly.
He rose silently and began trailing the goblins.
The further he moved, the clearer the terrain became:
Two steep ridges flanked a narrow, sunken path ahead, forming a natural gully.
At the end of this gully, tucked between the hills, was a dilapidated goblin colony.
A perfect trap.
"Good location selection," Minori mused.
If he allowed himself to be surrounded inside that narrow path, escaping would be difficult.
But—
"This isn't entirely the work of goblins."
Ordinary goblins lacked the intelligence to design such coordinated traps.
They were being used.
A sacrificial force.
Minori kept his expression blank, deliberately moving as if unaware.
He had already adapted his mindset.
In this world—
Humans were not the dominant species.
Some demi-humans and monsters possessed intelligence equal or even superior to humans.
Treating them like simple beasts would only bring ruin.
Minori exhaled softly.
He had adjusted his strategy.
Since entering the Great Tob Forest, he had carefully maintained an eastward route.
By fixing his direction, he could prepare fallback plans and avoid getting lost—a mistake he had nearly made early on.
Now, with this preparation—
he was ready.
Meanwhile—
Behind him, concealed in the bushes, a figure watched cautiously.
A goblin.
It exhaled nervously, its green face filled with excitement and resentment.
This human had slaughtered many of its kin.
It had seen him slice through a powerful ogre with a single sword stroke—something few humans could achieve.
"Damn human..." the goblin muttered venomously, clutching its small fists.
"You killed so many of our children... but now, you walk into our trap... you will die!"
Strangely—
the goblin spoke with a sharp, articulate voice.
Had Minori heard it speak, even he would have been surprised.
Ordinary goblins rarely displayed such advanced speech.
This was no normal goblin.
As Minori entered the narrow gully, the goblin's small eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty excitement.
All fear was gone.
It rose from the bushes and followed him stealthily.
It wanted to watch him die—to taste his flesh.
The human's food had carried a sweet aroma it could never forget.
It licked its lips hungrily.
But Minori—
was already prepared.
At the midpoint of the gully—
He suddenly stopped.
He could feel it.
His pursuer had lowered its guard, thinking he was trapped.
Perfect.
Without hesitation—
Minori spun on his heel and sprinted backwards at full speed, his boots pounding against the dirt.
No attempt at stealth now.
Only raw speed.
His eyes locked onto the bushes behind him.
At the same time—
a sharp ping sounded in his mind:
[Skill Discovery!]"First-Tier Magic: Camouflage" detected.Requirements: Caster Level 1–7.Current conditions: Met.Spend 1 skill point to learn?
Found you.
Minori grinned sharply as the system notification flashed across his vision.
"There you are."