Chapter Seven: Hidden Rewards

The forest had not been kind.

Caleb knew it was a matter of survival, picking off those goblins one by one, testing their strength, and learning their behavior. But the smell of death hung thick in the air. The task had left a weight on all of them, a heaviness that was hard to shake.

Dina, especially, had been struggling.

She was no stranger to death, but what they had done felt different. The goblins weren't mindless beasts. They were intelligent. They weren't meant to be slaughtered in the cold, and calculated manner Caleb had carried out.

As the group pushed further into the forest, Dina lagged behind, her face pale. Caleb had noticed but said nothing. Everyone carried their own weight in this world, and he wasn't about to start carrying hers.

"Dina," he said, his voice calm but firm. "You good?"

She didn't answer immediately. Caleb turned, watching her sway slightly on her feet, her gaze distant, eyes hollow. Her stomach churned.

"I killed one of them." Her voice was tight, strained. "It was just a goblin, but it felt wrong. I…" She cut herself off with a sudden cough and, without warning, bent forward, retching into the underbrush.

The others stopped, and turned to look. This wasn't the first time someone had been shaken by their first kill. It wouldn't be the last, after all they were just human.

He approached slowly, crouching down next to her. He didn't say anything, just waited until the vomiting stopped. Dina wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then met his gaze. Her eyes were filled with frustration.

"I don't know if I can do this," she murmured, still catching her breath. "If I keep killing, it's going to change me. I don't even feel like myself anymore."

"You're still you," Caleb said, his voice calm but steady. "But you've changed. That's what life does to people."

Soren, watching from a few feet away, muttered under his breath. "None of us are the same as when we started."

"Look," Caleb said softly, "we all are trying to survive. That's the goal. Everything else doesn't matter. You'll get used to it. I won't say it's easy, but you'll get used to it."

Dina stood, wiping her face again. "I don't want to get used to it."

The group didn't push the conversation further. They had to keep moving, but Caleb made a mental note.

They moved on, deeper into the woods. Ellen's shadows cloaked their steps, while Marek scouted ahead, his Binder senses sharp. Caleb's mind kept turning over the recent encounters. The goblins had been weaker than expected. But that didn't mean they weren't dangerous. A small force could easily overwhelm someone unprepared, especially with how well they probably knew the terrain. They were smarter than Caleb had given them credit for at first.

Suddenly, the interface flashed in Caleb's vision.

[Level Up: Caleb Stray – Level 3 Achieved]

[Tower Interface – Status Window]

Name: Caleb Stray

Level: 3

Class: Strider

Title: Survivor of the First Floor

HP: 92%

MP: None

Stamina: 78%

EXP: 31.2%

Floor Cleared: 4

Attributes:

• Strength: 17

• Agility: 16

• Endurance: 13

• Perception: 16

• Focus: 15

• Charisma: 7

• Intuition: 13

Unassigned Stat Points: 1

Skills:

• Tactical Awareness (Passive) – Increased clarity in high-pressure scenarios.

• Combat Conditioning (Passive) – Slower degradation of physical stats under exhaustion or injury.

• Fast Step (Active) – Movement speed increase by 20% for short bursts.

The prompt was followed by a secondary message:

Hidden Achievement Unlocked: No Conscience

Achievement Bonus: +2 Strength, +2 Agility

[Objective Update: Skraelings Eliminated – 2/50]

Caleb's lips twisted into a slight smile. It wasn't much, but it was something. Every little edge helped.

The others saw the flash of light and knew. Dina saw his reaction and raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" she asked.

"Hidden achievement," Caleb said, showing her the interface.

"Hidden achievement?" Soren snorted. "That's some twisted system. You'd think the Tower would make things more transparent."

"Transparency would be a luxury," Caleb muttered under his breath.

Caleb quickly regained his focus, the fog had started to rise again from the valley, swirling around the base of the trees like a living thing. There was a village down there. A goblin village.

He glanced over at the others. The subtle shift in their faces told him they were ready for the next step. Even Dina, though hesitant, was on edge. There was no turning back now.

"Well," Caleb said, standing up fully, "let's finish what we started."

The rest of the group followed Caleb's lead. They set out to finish their investigation, careful to stay hidden as they navigated through the thick brush. They moved like shadows, aware of the risks but also aware that there was no turning back. Survival was their only goal.

Dina seemed to have found a measure of control again. Her earlier nausea had faded, replaced by a kind of numbness. Whether it was the shock of the situation or something deeper, Caleb couldn't tell. All he knew was that they had to keep moving.

Hours passed. The goblins continued to move around the village in the distance, unaware of their presence. Caleb's mind raced with possible strategies. Their numbers were high, but the goblins didn't seem as organized as a well-trained army. They could take advantage of that.

Then, suddenly, Caleb's hand shot up, signaling everyone to stop.

He had seen something.

A goblin, separated from the group, walking away from the village alone. Caleb's Fast Step readied him. "Now," he said, signaling Dina's Savant precision and Marek's Binder chains. Ellen's Veilcaller shadows tightened around them, cloaking their approach. Soren's arms tensed ready to strike.

The hunt had begun.