Chapter 12

Grut handed the staff to the chief, who examined it with a curious expression. The chief turned to Luke, holding up the staff. "This… human's staff. You have use for it?"

Luke shook his head. "Not really. I thought you might find it useful, Chief."

The chief grunted, his sharp eyes narrowing as he studied the staff. He turned and walked back into his hut, the staff in hand, muttering to himself. Luke watched him go, wondering what the chief was thinking.

Grut approached Luke, his expression eager. "Lok, we hunt again?"

Luke hesitated, then shook his head. "Not for now. We can't be too sure if there are more adventurers out there. If you do hunt, don't go too far from the village. Stay close, and be careful."

Grut nodded, his enthusiasm undiminished. "Grut understand. Stay close. Be careful."

The trio—Grut, Rok, and Zog—walked over to the campfire, where they began eating smoked meat. Luke stayed behind, watching the wolf pups as they ate. He crouched down, gently petting one of the pups, his mind wandering.

He decided to check his stats, opening the system panel. His eyes widened as he saw the changes.

**[Name: Luke "Lok" Rodriguez

Age: 7

Species: Goblin

Evolutionary Path: Locked (Required: Level 20)

Level: 12

Tech Points: 393

Skills:

Blueprint Creation and Analysis

Scrap Salvage

Crafting

... (See list for details)

Attributes:

STR - 6

AGI - 7

PER - 7

VIT - 8

RES - 6

INT - 6

MAG - 6

Attribute Points: 24]**

Luke's jaw dropped. "System, how come I jumped from Level 4 to 15?"

[Host, you had been hunting for hours.]

"Hunting animals never gave that much EXP, though," Luke said, frowning.

[Killing species other than your own also gives EXP. The adventuring party, however, gave you the most EXP.]

Luke blinked, processing the information. "Ahh… so killing humans gives EXP too. That's… weird to think about. I was a human, after all. But I guess it's clear now—I'm a goblin. I can't return to my old life."

He sighed, leaning back against the wall. The realization was bittersweet, but he knew he had to accept it. This was his reality now, and he had to make the best of it.

"Alright," Luke muttered. "Let's assign these new attribute points."

He started by adding 4 points to his MAG stat, raising it from 6 to 10. As soon as he confirmed the change, a stronger surge of energy flowed through him. He blinked, noticing tiny dots of glowing blue particles floating around him.

"What are those?" Luke asked, his voice filled with awe. "Is that mana? Damn, that's so cool. Is that what they look like?"

He grinned, marveling at the sight. Then he continued assigning points:

+4 to STR: Raising it from 6 to 10. His muscles felt denser, stronger.

+3 to AGI: Raising it from 7 to 10. His movements felt quicker, more fluid.

+3 to PER: Raising it from 7 to 10. His senses sharpened further, the world around him becoming clearer.

+4 to RES: Raising it from 6 to 10. His body felt more resilient, as if he could endure more punishment.

+2 to VIT: Raising it from 8 to 10. His stamina increased, his breathing steady and strong.

+4 to INT: Raising it from 6 to 10. His mind felt sharper, ideas and strategies flowing more easily.

As he added the points, he felt the changes take effect, his body and mind growing stronger with each adjustment. When he was done, he leaned back, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

[Updated Attributes:

STR - 10

AGI - 10

PER - 10

VIT - 10

RES - 10

INT - 10

MAG - 10

Attribute Points: 4]

"Not bad, that's what I call, perfect 10" Luke said, grinning.

Luke leaned against the wall, admiring his newly balanced stats. The glowing blue particles of mana still floated around him, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. He was stronger, faster, and more resilient than ever before. But just as he was about to bask in his accomplishment, a familiar—and far less pleasant—sensation hit him.

A pungent smell assaulted his heightened senses, stronger and more overwhelming than before. His stomach churned, and before he could stop himself, he doubled over and vomited.

"Ahh… what the hell?" Luke groaned, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked around, his sharpened PER stat making it easy to pinpoint the source of the smell. In the distance, he saw another pile of goblin feces, its texture and odor now painfully clear to him.

"Ugh… this is disgusting," Luke muttered, his face pale. "How do they live like this?"

Another goblin, noticing Luke's distress, approached him. "Lok… okay?" the goblin asked, its voice filled with concern.

Luke pointed at the feces, his expression a mix of disgust and frustration. "That! That's what's wrong! It smells disgusting!"

The goblin tilted its head, clearly confused. "What wrong with it? Normal."

Luke stared at the goblin, his stomach churning again. "Normal? How is this normal?!"

The goblin shrugged, its expression blank. "Goblins… go where they need. Normal."

Luke groaned, his head spinning. He had underestimated just how different the goblins' sense of hygiene was from his own. His heightened senses made the smell unbearable, and he vomited again, his body rejecting the foul odor.

"This… this is a nightmare," Luke muttered, clutching his stomach. "I can't live like this. I need to fix this. Now."

He straightened up, his determination overriding his nausea. "Alright, Lok," he said to himself. "Time to introduce the concept of toilets to these guys. Whether they like it or not."

Luke stood at the edge of the village, near the branch wall he'd helped build weeks ago. The wall was crude but functional, a testament to the goblins' collective effort—and his own stubborn determination. He crouched in the dirt, tracing a large square with a sharpened stick. The ground here was soft, perfect for what he had in mind.

Grut wandered over, his oversized ears twitching as he watched Luke work. The goblin's loincloth was stained with mud, and his claws were caked with dirt from whatever task he'd been doing earlier. "Lok," he grunted, tilting his head. "What this?"

Luke didn't look up. "A latrine. A place to… you know, do your business."

Grut blinked, his brow furrowing. "Why need place? Ground everywhere."

Luke sighed, stabbing the stick into the dirt to mark the boundary. "Because it's cleaner. Keeps the village from smelling like a dung heap."

Grut sniffed the air, then shrugged. "Smell like home."

"Yeah, well, home could smell better," Luke muttered, standing up and brushing dirt off his hands. He grabbed a crude shovel—a flat piece of wood lashed to a stick—and started digging. The soil came loose easily at first, but it wasn't long before he hit rocks. His arms burned with the effort, but he kept going.

Zog, the scrawny goblin who'd taken a liking to Luke's strange ideas, trotted over. "Lok dig hole? Zog help!"

Before Luke could respond, Zog grabbed another shovel and started digging with surprising enthusiasm. A few other goblins, drawn by the commotion, wandered over to watch. They chattered among themselves in their guttural language, pointing at the growing pile of dirt and the sharpened sticks marking the square.

Luke ignored them for now, focusing on the task at hand. The pit was already knee-deep, but it needed to be deeper. Much deeper. He wiped sweat from his brow and kept digging, his muscles protesting with every shovelful.

Grut leaned on his spear, watching with a mix of curiosity and skepticism. "Lok make many strange things. This...hole. Why?"

Luke paused, leaning on the shovel. "Because it's better this way. Cleaner. Healthier. You'll see."

Grut grunted, clearly unconvinced, but he didn't argue. Instead, he grabbed a shovel and started helping. Soon, a small crew of goblins was working alongside Luke, their shovels biting into the earth in a ragged rhythm. The pit grew deeper, the walls more uneven, but it was progress.

As the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows over the village, Luke stepped back to assess their work. The pit was deep enough now, but the walls needed reinforcement. He grabbed a few branches of wood and began fashioning a simple ladder, explaining to the goblins how it would help them climb in and out.

"Why climb?" Grut asked, scratching his chin. "Why not jump?"

Luke groaned. "Because you'll break your legs, that's why."

Grut shrugged, clearly unconvinced, but he didn't argue. Instead, he helped Luke reinforce the pit walls with more wood, hammering them into place with a rock. The goblins worked with a kind of chaotic efficiency, their movements clumsy but earnest. Luke couldn't help but smile. For all their quirks, they were trying.

Zog, covered in dirt from head to toe, grinned up at Luke. "Lok smart. Make village better."

Luke ruffled the goblin's hair—or what passed for hair—and smiled. "Thanks, Zog."

As the latrine took shape, Luke felt a flicker of pride. It wasn't much, but it was a step forward. A small, smelly step, but a step nonetheless. The goblins might not understand why he was doing this, but they trusted him.

Luke then put the finishing touches on the latrine. He laid sturdy branches across the pit, creating a solid floor that wouldn't collapse under weight. It wasn't pretty, but it was functional. Next, he built a simple hut around it using more branches and woven leaves for a roof. He even fashioned a crude door from a few planks of wood, giving the structure a semblance of privacy.

"There," he muttered, stepping back to admire his work. "Not exactly a five-star bathroom, but it'll do."

The goblins gathered around, poking and prodding at the new structure. Grut, his green skin glistening with sweat from the day's work, tugged on the door, which swung open with a creak. "Lok make tiny hut. Why?"

Luke sighed, though he couldn't help but smile. "It's for privacy. So you can… you know, do your business without everyone watching."

Grut scratched his head, clearly not understanding the concept of privacy, but he nodded anyway. "Lok smart. Make village better."

Zog, ever the enthusiastic one, darted inside the hut and slammed the door shut. A moment later, he emerged, grinning from ear to ear. "Zog like! Smell better than old spot!"

Luke chuckled, shaking his head. "Glad you approve."

As the goblins took turns inspecting the latrine, a familiar holographic screen flickered into view before Luke's eyes. The system's cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

[You have constructed a Functional Custom Blueprint: Simple Toilet]

[Rewards: 75 Tech Points]

Luke smirked. "Seventy-five points for a toilet. Not bad."

He dismissed the notification, feeling a small sense of accomplishment. It wasn't a flashy reward, but it was progress. Every improvement, no matter how small, brought him closer to his goal of making the village safer and more sustainable.

The goblins, now thoroughly impressed with the new latrine, began to disperse, chattering excitedly among themselves.