As Jeather stepped away from the lake, boots damp and pockets heavier with newly sealed cards, the system chimed again.
[New System Mission Detected]
Objective: Capture and Seal a Goblin
Reward: Verdant Evolution Stone
Time Limit: 48 Hours
Jeather stopped mid-step.
"A goblin?" he muttered.
Of all things.
A goblin beast was uncommon as a contracted entity. Not rare-rare. Not legendary. Just… weird. Most hunters preferred wolves, serpents, elemental spirits — something dignified.
A goblin?
His collector's instinct tingled.
"What is this addiction to collecting beasts?" he sighed.
"And why does it feel… good?"
He rubbed his temple.
"Well. It's not a bad feeling."
He glanced at Verdant's card.
"An Evolution Stone, huh…"
Now that was interesting.
Verdant had been tearing through Bronze and even Silver-ranked monsters despite being classified as Common.
That defied every logical scaling rule in this world. Either Verdant was heavily mutated… or its growth potential had been suppressed by the rank system itself.
An Evolution Stone could change that.
"…Alright," Jeather smiled faintly.
"Let's go goblin hunting."
He stepped back into the forest.
The deeper he went, the thicker the trees became. The air smelled damp and earthy.
He began noticing small disturbances — broken twigs, scattered pebbles, shallow clawed footprints.
Goblin tracks.
Along the way, he encountered minor beasts:
A Bronze-ranked Moss Boar charging from the underbrush.
A Silver-ranked Barkscale Lizard sunning on a fallen log.
A pair of Common Thorn Rabbits attempting to ambush him from opposite sides.
Verdant handled them cleanly.
Efficient. Precise.
When Verdant struck, vines erupted with surgical aggression, piercing cores before resistance could build. Bronze beasts fell instantly. Silver struggled for seconds.
Jeather frowned as another Silver beast collapsed.
"How are you doing that?" he murmured.
Verdant's rank still displayed as Common.
And yet…
It killed Silver monsters like swatting flies.
"…Mutated?" he wondered.
"Or are you something pretending to be Common?"
The thought lingered.
He sealed the defeated beasts into cards, storing them carefully.
Then he noticed something else.
Blood trails.
Not from monsters.
From something smaller.
He crouched.
Goblin footprints. Five of them.
Fresh.
"Five goblins hunting together?" Jeather whispered.
"That's organized."
He paused.
If goblins were hunting in coordinated groups… that meant one of two things.
There was a village nearby.
Or…
A higher-variant goblin was leading them.
His eyes sharpened.
"…If I'm collecting beasts…"
He smiled slowly.
"…Shouldn't I be collecting the rarest ones?"
That decision felt right.
If a rare goblin variant existed nearby — perhaps a Shaman, or even a Commander type — then this mission just upgraded itself.
He followed quietly.
The goblins moved toward the edge of the forest where the trees thinned slightly. Jeather maintained distance, stepping carefully, masking his presence.
Then he did something unexpected.
He sat down.
Behind a thick shrub.
And pulled out a wrapped sandwich.
"If I rush this," he muttered between bites, "I'll scare them."
He chewed thoughtfully.
Patience was a hunter's advantage.
He watched the five goblins move through the brush — crude weapons in hand, leather scraps stitched into armor, small but sharp eyes scanning for prey.
One of them carried a bone staff.
Jeather's chewing slowed.
"…Oh."
Not a normal goblin.
The one with the bone staff moved slightly ahead of the others, occasionally tapping the ground. The others followed its subtle gestures.
A leader.
Maybe not rare-rare.
But definitely not standard.
Jeather swallowed.
His collector sense practically vibrated.
"What the hell is this feeling?" he muttered.
"This is worse than revenge."
He leaned back against the tree.
"Well… I kinda like collecting these."
He glanced at Verdant's card.
"Let's just have this as my side hobby."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"Aside from the revenge in this body."
The words came out quieter.
Because even now, faint memory lapses lingered. Flashes of humiliation. Of Jefferson's cold smile. Of laughter echoing in halls.
He didn't fully remember.
But the body did.
Jeather exhaled.
"One thing at a time."
He stood.
The goblins had stopped near a rocky incline — partially hidden.
There it was.
A cave entrance.
Small.
Camouflaged.
Definitely a nest.
Jeather's lips curved upward.
"So there is a village."
He dusted crumbs from his hands.
"Alright then."
His eyes sharpened.
"If there's a rare variant inside…"
He looked at Verdant's card.
"…you're getting that evolution."