Ba Tu opened his eyes to the stench of rot and piss. Sharp pain stabbed through his tiny body. Hunger clawed at his stomach like a living thing.
He lay curled on damp stone inside a narrow cave. Dim light filtered from the entrance. Around him, small green shapes scrambled and growled. Other goblins. They tore at a half-eaten rat carcass with yellow teeth and dirty claws.
What the fuck is this? His mind raced. Lin Mo. That was his name before. The Light Sect. His fiancée Ye Bingyun smiling while the hero drove the sword through his chest. Kindness and justice. All bullshit that got him killed. Ye Bingyun, who once pressed wildflowers into his palm and whispered she would stand by him forever.
A cold mechanical voice echoed in his head.
[Tyrant Evolution System activated.]
[Host: Low Goblin (Level 1)]
[Current Despair Points: 0]
[Genetic Essence: 0]
[Objective: Survive. Evolve. Break the hypocrites.]
Ba Tu tried to sit up. His arms were thin and weak. His legs short. Green skin covered his body. A ragged loincloth barely hid his groin. He smelled like shit and blood. Perfect. The system had dumped him into the lowest creature on the continent.
A bigger goblin nearby spotted him. It snarled and lunged. Claws raked across Ba Tu's shoulder. Blood welled up hot and sticky.
Pain flared, but Ba Tu rolled away. He grabbed a sharp rock from the cave floor. No time to think like the old Lin Mo. Only the strong ate. The weak became meat.
He slammed the rock into the bigger goblin's eye. The creature howled. Ba Tu hit it again and again until the skull cracked. Warm brains splattered his face.
The other goblins paused their feeding. They stared at him with beady red eyes. One of them hissed and backed away.
Ba Tu wiped the gore from his mouth. The taste was metallic. Disgusting, yet something stirred in his gut. Power. Raw and honest.
These idiots live like animals. No plan. No rules. Just bite and fuck and die. He stood on shaky legs. Not me. Not anymore.
He dragged the dead goblin's body to the corner. With clumsy fingers he ripped open the chest and pulled out a small pulsing core. The system pinged.
[Genetic Essence absorbed: +5]
[Low Goblin evolution progress: 5/100]
Not enough. But a start.
Ba Tu looked at the remaining goblins. There were seven of them. Scrawny. Scared now. One female with swollen teats nursed a squealing pup in the corner.
He pointed at the dead body. "Eat. But the core is mine."
They hesitated. Then hunger won. They swarmed the corpse and tore chunks of flesh. Ba Tu watched them. His short-term goal was simple. Get stronger. Gather more essence. Turn this filthy hole into something he could control.
He moved to the cave entrance and peered out. Dense forest stretched under a gray sky. Tall trees blocked most light. Distant roars echoed. Something bigger lived out there. Orcs, probably. The kind that kept weak goblins as slaves or food.
He turned back inside. The female goblin watched him with wary eyes. She clutched her pup tighter.
Ba Tu approached slowly. He did not smile. Smiles were for liars. "You. Bring me food. Every day. I keep you safe."
She tilted her head. A low grunt escaped her throat. Then she nodded once.
[Loyalty detected. Basic follower acquired.]
[Reward unlocked upon further growth: Minor mutation chance for offspring.]
Good. One down.
Hours passed. Ba Tu forced the others to stack rocks near the entrance as a crude barrier. He made them sharpen sticks with their teeth. Simple weapons. Better than nothing.
One goblin, the largest survivor — a thick-necked brute with a missing ear — grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear. "Why work? Eat. Sleep. Fuck. That's enough."
Ba Tu walked up to him. He was still small, but his eyes burned. "Because I say so. You want to die like that one?" He jerked his thumb at the stripped bones in the corner.
The big goblin bared his teeth and stepped closer, chest puffed. "You small. You weak. Why we listen?"
Ba Tu didn't flinch. He stared straight into those red eyes. "Because I just killed the biggest one here with a rock. Try me. See what happens."
The brute held the stare for three long seconds. His shoulders slowly dropped. "...Okay… boss."
Boss. The word tasted sweet. Ba Tu stored it away. He would make them call him Ba Tu soon. The Savage Conqueror.
Night fell. The cave grew colder. Ba Tu sat against the wall and chewed on a strip of raw meat. His shoulder wound had stopped bleeding. The system helped a little. Basic regeneration at level 1.
A scream ripped through the forest outside. Human voices. Then goblin shrieks.
Ba Tu stood fast. He grabbed a sharpened stick and motioned for two others to follow. "Quiet. We watch."
They crept to the entrance. Moonlight lit a small clearing. Three humans in leather armor fought a group of wild goblins. One human, a swordsman, swung a glowing blade. Heads rolled. Green blood sprayed.
The female goblin beside Ba Tu whimpered. "Bad. Humans kill us."
Ba Tu's lips curled. They always say it's for the greater good. Cleansing the dark races. Protecting villages. His old memories burned. Rank E adventurers — the weakest class the human guilds bothered to register.
The swordsman laughed as he kicked a dying goblin. "Filthy pests. The Light Sect will purge every last one of you."
Ba Tu's blood boiled. Light Sect. The same hypocritical bastards.
One of the wild goblins broke free and ran toward Ba Tu's cave. The swordsman chased it.
Ba Tu made his choice. Short-term goal: test the system. Gain essence. He stepped out and tripped the running goblin with his stick. The creature fell hard.
The swordsman skidded to a stop. He raised his sword. "Another one? Easy."
Ba Tu did not run. He lunged low and stabbed the sharpened stick into the man's thigh. The blade cut shallow. The human cursed and swung.
Ba Tu dodged. Barely. The sword whistled past his ear. He rolled and came up behind the man. His small hands grabbed the human's belt knife and yanked it free.
The swordsman turned. Too slow. Ba Tu drove the knife upward into the groin. Hot blood poured over his arms.
The man screamed. He dropped his sword and clutched the wound. Ba Tu climbed his back like a monkey and slit the throat.
Gurgling sounds. The body slumped.
But the other two humans were already charging.
The female archer nocked an arrow and loosed it. The shaft grazed Ba Tu's side, drawing a hot line of pain. He hissed and dove behind the dead swordsman's body.
Close. Too close.
Ba Tu yanked the glowing sword from the ground. It was heavier than he expected, but the weight felt good. He roared at his goblins. "Attack their legs! Drag them down!"
His two followers hesitated one second. Then they rushed. One bit a calf. The other clawed an ankle.
The male warrior kicked one goblin off and raised his axe. Ba Tu darted in low, using the dead body as cover, and slashed the warrior's knee with the stolen sword. The man roared in pain and stumbled.
Ba Tu didn't stop. He climbed the falling warrior like a rat and stabbed the sword straight into the throat. Blood sprayed across his face.
The last human — the archer — tried to run. Ba Tu threw the bloody sword like a spear. It punched through her back. She fell face-first into the dirt.
When it ended, three human bodies lay mangled. His goblins panted and licked their wounds. Ba Tu stood over the swordsman and ripped out the small mana core from the chest.
[Despair Points gained: +45]
[Genetic Essence absorbed — Human Core (forced): +15]
[Passive essence absorbed from kills: +10]
[Level Up: Low Goblin Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[New Passive: Minor Pain Resistance]
[Total Genetic Essence: 30/100]
He felt stronger. Muscles twitched with new energy. His wounds closed faster.
The female goblin approached. She stared at the corpses with wide eyes. "You… not like other goblin."
Ba Tu wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand. "This is just the start. Humans preach justice while they slaughter anything weaker. I will show them what real strength looks like."
He ordered the bodies dragged inside. They would eat tonight. Tomorrow he would plan the next move. Find more goblins. Build a bigger cave. Evolve.
The big goblin with the missing ear wiped blood from his mouth and asked, "What now… boss?"
Ba Tu looked at the dark forest. Distant torchlights flickered far away. Probably more humans coming to investigate the screams.
He grinned with sharp teeth. "We hide the tracks. Then we hunt the weak ones who come looking. And when I get strong enough…"
His inner voice finished the thought. I will make Ye Bingyun and that hero beg for the mercy they never gave me.
The system pinged again.
[Main quest unlocked: Form the first tribe.]
[Reward: Hobgoblin Warlord path preview + 200 Despair Points on completion.]
Ba Tu dragged the last body inside and sealed the entrance with rocks. His small tribe huddled around the fresh meat. They ate in silence while he planned.
Outside, the forest grew quiet. But Ba Tu knew the real fight had just begun.
He would create the next problem before it found him. For now, that was enough.