The Monster in the Lake, Third Simulation

He followed the troll from a distance, but surprisingly, the troll didn't notice him at all. After walking for a long time, Gobro began to feel that something was off. Had the troll hidden its little treasure trove too far away? They had been walking for half an hour, and still hadn't reached the destination. He realized that the troll was definitely hiding some kind of secret.

Eventually, he followed the troll to the deepest part of the valley, where there was a peaceful lake. Under the reflection of the night light, the lake appeared exquisitely beautiful. The troll then placed all the magic crystals in its hand in front of the lake.

Afterward, the troll carefully said, "Master, these are the magic crystals for this month."

Once the troll spoke, the once calm surface of the lake suddenly rippled. A black tentacle appeared on the surface of the lake. The moment Gobro saw the tentacle, he felt a shiver down his spine. The tentacle was covered in tightly packed suction cups, each of which had dozens of long, yellowish teeth inside, mixed with thick, sticky mucus. It was a sight that made him feel quite uncomfortable.

Upon seeing the tentacle, the troll was also so scared that it dared not move, standing still at the spot. Before long, the tentacle wrapped up all the magic crystals on the shore and dragged them into the water.

The lake surface calmed down again. The troll noticed this and let out a sigh of relief. It quickly left the area and ran back to its camp.

Having witnessed the entire scene, Gobro widened his eyes but made no sound. He knew that if he disturbed the monster in the lake, he would be doomed.

Gobro didn't dare to stay here any longer. He chose to leave, now having some guesses about the strange situation in the valley. If nothing unexpected happened, the more powerful magical beasts in the valley should have been eaten by the monster in the lake.

The reason the troll hadn't died yet was probably because it had been paying "protection fees" to the monster every month—those magic crystals. That was likely why the monster hadn't killed the troll.

But since there was such a monster in the valley, why in the previous simulation had he killed the troll and not given the monster any magic crystals? Why had he not been killed by the monster? Could it be that something had happened to the monster?

Or perhaps it was just resting here, and would leave once it had healed.

Many speculations flashed through his mind. However, no matter what, he could just simulate a few more times. As long as he simulated enough, he would definitely gain more information about the monster in the lake. Moreover, the troll had just said it paid the magic crystals once a month. So, based on that, he still had a full thirty days—thirty days during which he could simulate many more times. By then, he might be able to defeat the monster with his power.

The next day, Gobro and Gobri were devouring the food Gobro had prepared for them. Although Gobro no longer took them out for hunting, he had set a certain training schedule for them. They were following Gobro's training plan every day.

Although the training was tough, the two of them were simple-minded, so they strictly followed Gobro's plan. Gobro observed this from the shadows, very satisfied. Even when he wasn't around, they didn't slack off.

Over the past few days, he had gotten a good sense of these goblins' personalities. Goblins were naturally able to understand the language of monsters, and though these goblins looked like they were around 1.2 to 1.3 meters tall, none of them were older than one year. They were very simple-minded, which made them easy to educate.

Of course, he had only been training them for a few days, and it was possible that they would go through a rebellious phase later on. However, Gobro was confident that their rebellious phase wouldn't last more than a day.

At dusk, watching the slowly setting sun, Gobro didn't hesitate.

[System, begin simulation.]

[Consuming twenty-five first-level magic crystals, starting the third simulation.]

[Detected that there were 2 remaining evaluation points from the last simulation. Gained a random low-level talent: Hair Growth. Your body hair will grow abnormally thick, ensuring you are forever free from the risk of baldness.]

Upon hearing about the gained talent, Gobro found it somewhat amusing. Excessive hair growth didn't seem to serve much purpose and felt like a hindrance to him becoming a stronger being.

[In the first year, you are the strongest goblin in the tribe and have learned the secret of the valley. Originally planning to deal with the ogre soon, you decide to delay this by a year because you know that the lazy ogre's strength will not increase as fast as yours. A year later, you will be able to easily kill the ogre.]

[A month later, you follow the ogre, stealthily observing the monster in the lake. You discover that the monster is still alive. You decide to remain in hiding and continue to train quietly.]

[In the second year, your strength skyrockets. Your level rises to LV.11, your critical hit evolves into Fatal Strike LV.1, and your enhancement level increases to LV.5. Now it is time for you to act. Once the lake monster dies, you plan to kill the ogre immediately.]

[Six months later, you are tracking the ogre as usual. However, when you reach the depths of the gorge, the lake monster does not appear. The ogre waits there all night, but the lake monster does not show up. The ogre does not leave and continues waiting for three more days. It seems that after confirming the monster's disappearance, the ogre runs back excitedly toward the camp.]

'So this is when it disappeared? That's why the ogre had been missing for several days before. The lake monster had disappeared.'

[When the ogre runs back to the camp, you don't rush to kill him. Instead, you carefully study the lake. Such a terrifying monster couldn't have just disappeared suddenly. You want to know why it disappeared, so you decide to investigate. You cautiously head toward the lake, and slowly, you reach the shore.]

[You carefully observe the lake. It is unnervingly quiet. You feel a sense of unease, and gradually, you see a blurry shadow with many tentacles at the bottom of the water. After a few seconds, you realize what it is. Then, you panic and run back to the camp. The monster hasn't left. It's just asleep. It's not dead, and one day, it will wake up.]

[Halfway back, you catch up to the ogre, who is still running excitedly. After three days without sleep, the ogre is in poor condition. You recognize this as an opportunity. You pull out the wooden stick on your back and smash it into the ogre's head. Because the ogre is still in an excited state, it doesn't notice you. The fatal strike hits the ogre's head. With your terrifying strength, the ogre's head explodes like a watermelon.]