"Holy shit, guys!" Ethan exclaimed, genuinely impressed. The goblin was dragging another goblin, its legs tied with vines, thrashing weakly, and letting out snorts of protest.

He expected the goblin to bring a rabbit or perhaps even a snake. He never expected the creature to bring another one of its kind without any hesitation.

Grug puffed out his chest, grinning proudly as he dropped the goblin at Ethan's feet. Shadow padded over, sniffing at the struggling creature with curiosity.

Ethan stared down at the tied-up goblin, his mind racing. It was smaller than Grug, its green skin mottled with dirt and scratches, and it was snarling furiously, twisting against its bindings. The vines around its ankles and wrists were crude but effective—Grug's handiwork, no doubt.

"Well, this is… unexpected," Ethan muttered, scratching the back of his head. He looked at Grug, who was standing tall and proud, clearly waiting for praise. "Good job," he awkwardly smiled.

Grug grunted in approval, his chest puffed out further. Meanwhile, Wolfie simply stood, not bothering with any reaction.

Ethan crouched down to examine the new goblin. It snapped at him, its jagged teeth gnashing together menacingly. "Okay, easy there, buddy. No need to lose your head—at least not yet," he said, pulling back.

He glanced at Grug. "So, what? You guys aren't friends? Rivals? Or are you just really into capturing your own kind?"

Grug shrugged, the gesture oddly human, and pointed at the tied-up goblin with a grunt that sounded like disgust. Whatever their relationship was, it clearly wasn't friendly.

He glanced down at the snarling goblin and then, without any hesitation, he used a nearby rock to end its misery. The captured goblin thrashed again, growling something. Grug responded with a sharp grunt, his fists clenching as if ready to finish the job himself.

But Ethan signaled for it to stop and bashed the creature's head repeatedly, finishing the deed himself.

Blood splattered across the forest floor, and the struggling goblin fell still. Ethan sat back as he wiped his brow with a shaky hand.

Shadow tilted her head, watching him with curious eyes, while Grug grunted approvingly, nodding as if Ethan had passed some kind of test.

[Ding! You have killed a goblin.]

[Ding! Experience points gained.]

[Ding! Grug has leveled up!]

[Ding! The entity goblin has been added to your summoning list.]

Ethan exhaled, dropping the bloodied rock beside the corpse. He glanced at Grug, who was now standing taller, his expression a mix of satisfaction and pride.

"Well," Ethan muttered, standing up and brushing dirt off his knees, "I guess that settles that."

Shadow sauntered closer, sniffing at the fresh corpse before flicking her tail dismissively.

Ethan looked down at the lifeless goblin, its face frozen in a grotesque snarl, and felt a pang of unease settle in his chest.

He shook his head, forcing the feeling away. "No room for second thoughts, Ethan," he whispered to himself. "It's kill or be killed here. No middle ground."

It was not that he didn't feel weird doing something like this, but a single thought kept him going forward.

The single thought of what if both of these goblins had attacked him together instead of just one? Would they have shown mercy to him then?

The truth was that this world was completely different from him. This world had magic, and it had vicious creatures. Just now, he had been extremely close to death without even knowing it.

There was no doubt that he would be mauled and ripped to shreds if both of these goblins had attacked him. Even with his cat and his wolf, he did not feel safe at all. So if he wanted to survive here, he needed to keep getting stronger and keep moving forward. That was the only option he had.

And he wanted to survive.

Ethan clenched his fists in determination as another crazy thought popped up in his mind. It was a risky move, but once he thought about it, he couldn't help getting fixated on the idea. No. He should not play it safe anymore. Not when he had these two.

Ethan calmed down a little and took a minute to think things through. He then turned to Grug and asked, "Are there more goblins near here?"

Grug blinked at Ethan, his green face scrunching up in thought.

Then he grunted affirmatively, nodding as he jabbed a finger toward the dense thicket of trees ahead. He let out a guttural string of noises, his body language suggesting something akin to Yes, but not close.

Ethan's heart pounded as he processed the information. If there were more goblins nearby, this could either turn into an opportunity or a death trap. But he would never know if he did not try it.

"How many more goblins are there?"