Hey everyone, MagmaKyuubi here with a new chapter.

As promised, Chapter 2 is out, and it took me much less time to write it since I was using SS. I even redid Chapter 1, which took me less than an hour, and even added a few little things, so just check it out.

As usual, my Author's Notes will be at the bottom of the chapter.

I don't own Naruto or Re: Monster or any other Anime/Manga or other references I use.

Regular Speech - "Rasengan!"

Thoughts - ' Nani!'

The Gamer - [Level Up!]

Chapter 2: We'we Hunting Wabbits

Day 5

Naruto woke up Gobukichi early in the morning to go out hunting, since Naruto was hoping to hunt a bit more than one rabbit. It took a while for Gobukichi to notice the seeming absence of Naruto's animal horn.

"Huh? Goburuto, where's that horn you had yesterday?"

Naruto just extended his right arm towards the other goblin and showed him how the horn was sheathed.

"WOW! What is it?"

"I put a rope into the horn, that way I don't lose it. I can also stab things a bit further out by throwing it." Naruto sweat dropped a bit while explaining to Gobukichi what he can do with his new weapon. He also showed Gobukichi a few throws with his Kyoketsu, trying it out on a nearby tree.

He wasn't extremely accurate and some of the throws just bounced off, which was expected. This was a makeshift weapon after all, and he didn't have immense strength to have it punch through trees. One of the main reasons he made it was, so he doesn't lose hold of the horn.

Despite his rather lacklustre presentation, Gobukichi was impressed by it. Chuckling to himself, Naruto then changed their conversation to their hunting strategy. Naruto wanted to try something slightly different, but he did tell Gobukichi that if it didn't work, they can use yesterday's plan.

Not long after, the duo found a Horned Rabbit grazing on some grass. They found it rather quickly, since Naruto read up a bit about the rabbit in the [Compendium]. He read what its favourite food was, and he led them towards areas where it grew. He was really happy he trained his [Observe] skill extensively and gained a good amount of information about the forest they're in.

This rabbit was quite bigger than the one they ate yesterday, and its horn was also longer and sharper. Naruto began chasing it, but the rabbit halted to a complete stop once it saw Gobukichi in its path, club in hand. That split second hesitation allowed Naruto to catch up and stab it in the neck.

This was a killing blow, and Naruto wiped the blood on his weapon on the grass. He then snapped off its larger horn and used [Observe] on it. He also saw that several screens popped up, but he was expecting them after killing the rabbit.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of using a piercing weapon in combat relatively well, you have developed the Passive skill [Piercing Weapon Mastery]!

[Piercing Weapon Mastery] (Passive, Lvl: 1): Stone tipped spears are one of the first weapons crafted by man. An incredibly lethal type of weaponry, inflicting more damage on a focused, pressured point due to their extremely sharp point. This skill allows the user to freely handle piercing weapons, increasing the damage caused and the speed of attacks.
Increased Attack Damage and Attack Speed with Piercing Weapons

[Medium Animal Horn]
A medium horn taken from an adolescent Horned Rabbit. It can pierce through a great deal of materials but is otherwise a mediocre weapon. It is considerably longer than the small horn.

'This new weapon's skill is pretty much like the other one, will they all be the same? They're useful, I guess, and I did notice that using the Kyoketsu is now much easier' Naruto thought to himself as he noticed his handling of the Kyoketsu becoming better.

After closing the screens, he grabbed the rabbit by the ears and began dragging it towards a spot in the shades. He motioned for Gobukichi, who was staring at him with his blank eyes. Naruto wove him to come over, which got him to relax and join Naruto. The rabbit was large enough that sharing it wasn't a problem. However, something surprised Naruto when he was eating the rabbit, and it was a screen informing him of a new skill he got through [Absorption].

[Skill Created!]
As a result of consuming a Horned Rabbit, you have gained the Passive skill [Escape]!

[Escape] (Passive, Lvl: 1): When running away or escaping from combat or enemies, your movement speed increases and the probability of escaping and adapting to the environment increases.
Increased Movement Speed When Escaping
Increased Escape Opportunity Chance

'Woah! [Absorption] actually worked, but why this rabbit. Why didn't it give me [Escape] from the rabbit we ate yesterday?' Naruto wondered as he finished off the last piece of rabbit around, 'I wonder if [Observe] would show me skills I could get from animals and objects. Maybe it's just too low a level for it to do that.'

Deciding to train [Observe] even more, Naruto stood up and told Gobukichi that they should keep on hunting. Surprisingly despite eating more rabbit meat than yesterday, he was still hungry. Naruto wondered why that was, did it have something to do with his [Absorption] skill, being a goblin or a combination of both. Naruto looked at Gobukichi, who also seemed to be hungry for more food, as evidenced by the drool coming from his mouth.

Putting off that train of thought as they spotted another horned rabbit charging at them. Naruto readied the medium horn in his hand, ready to stab as it came closer, but to his surprise Gobukichi moved forwards and swung his club with all his strength down. He hit the rabbit, killing it instantly, surprising Naruto a bit.

'He's gotten much better at using that thing from yesterday. I know that the [Goblin] racial perk gives a bonus to makeshift weapons, but is there something else as well?' Naruto wondered as Gobukichi cheered at getting a kill. 'Also, if these rabbits have the [Escape] skill, why do they stand their ground and charge at us?'

Swiping away the screen, Naruto and Gobukichi ate the rabbit and sated their hunger. Naruto also noticed, mainly after using [Observe], that Gobukichi has begun to look up to him, seeing him as some sort of boss or leader. Naruto didn't mind that too much, but he would still like to be friends with the simple-minded goblin.

They took the long way back to the cave, Naruto used this time to train up his [Observe] skill, since when he used the skill on the rabbit before they ate it, he didn't see anything telling him what skills he could obtain. Either that rabbit couldn't give him any skills or [Observe, at its current level, can't show him what skills can be obtained through [Absorption]. Naruto wasn't sure if it can actually do that, but [Observe] was still a useful skill to have.

Returning to the cave, Naruto sat down near the entrance, using [Observe] on all the goblins there to training it up. He didn't really attention to the information, just looking around and using the skill. It was a good thing that the goblins were rather dull, otherwise they might have noticed Naruto's weird actions. After a while, he checked on the skill and was disappointed that he was wrong.

[Observe] (Active, Lvl: 9): Through continuous observation, a skill to observe objects, situations, and persons was generated allowing the user to quickly gather information. The higher the skill, the greater the data obtained. Currently you can view a great deal of information regarding the target.
Shows Description of target
Shows HP and MP Bars of target
Shows Stats of target
Shows Perks of target
Shows Current Emotions of target

'Maybe the skill needs to be at a higher level?' Naruto wondered as he just sat there in complete boredom, 'I'm bored! Just using this skill on the same things is barely levelling it up.'

He quit using the skill, since it didn't seem like he was going to get anywhere significant with it soon. He wasn't that interested in becoming powerful, but he did recognize that as a weak monster like a goblin, his life was constantly in danger. Not only his, but Gobukichi's as well, since they go out hunting together.

Sighing to himself, he shook his head free of those ideas and just closed his eyes shut. He was bored, since he had nothing to do other than just sit there in the cave. Hunting was fun, but he had nothing else to do after that was done.

He was feeling antsy, but more importantly he was feeling lost. He didn't know what to do with his life. He had spent his entire life striving to become Hokage, initially for attention and afterwards to protect the people he loves and holds dear. He wanted to start a family, something he's never had, but always desired.

Taking a deep breath to chase those thoughts away, he subconsciously entered a state he found rather comforting. His body became perfectly still, and his breathing slowed down. The difficult training he underwent at Mount Myoboku ingrained in him the proper method to meditate and become one with nature. He may not have any chakra and not having any feel for this world's natural energy, but the meditation methods that Fukasaku taught him didn't need any of that. All he needed was to regulate his breathing and calm his mind. Eventually, although he didn't notice he somehow managed to fall asleep while meditating.

Day 6

Waking up, Naruto swiped away the notification that always popped up after he wakes up. He was surprised that he somehow got a new skill, but he ignored it for a moment as he got up and stretched his limbs. Looking at the skill he just gained, it let him figure out why he slept sitting up.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of practicing the mindful art of meditation, you have developed the Active skill [Meditation]!

[Meditation] (Active, Lvl: 9): An art practiced by monks and sages throughout the ages, it allows them to center their thoughts and master their bodies. It is said that mastery of this skill allows the user to become one with the universe, but most mages have found that it helps them regain their Mana faster.
Increased MP Regeneration

'That's nice, but I can't see myself using it in a fight. Maybe I can use it when practicing spells, man saying that feels weird. Magic is real here, that will never stop being odd.' Naruto thought to himself as he swiped the screen away. 'It's slightly surprising it's at such a high level already. Did I use the skill the entire time I was asleep? If so, why isn't it higher? Ugh, I'll think about this another time.'

He began looking for Gobukichi, and to his surprise he found him awake. Going towards him, Naruto was about to tell him that they should go out hunting, when another goblin came towards them. This goblin was female and had short black hair, but otherwise looked like all the other goblins.

"Umm, hi. I'm Gobumi, and I was wondering what you were eating when you go out to the forest." Gobumi asked him.

"Oh, just some horned rabbits, why?" Naruto asked in slight confusion.

"EHHHHHH!" Gobumi exclaimed in shock and admiration as her cheeks gained a slight rosy hue, "You're eating horned rabbit, you're that strong? That's amazing!"

Naruto was really surprised by that remark, since it seemed like the horned rabbits are too tough for the newborn goblins. It surprised him because the animals easy to take down. Even ignoring the fact that he used to be one of the strongest shinobis in the world in his previous life, Gobukichi was able to kill one really easily.

"Then what have you been eating until now?" Naruto asked her.

"Eh... Tree nuts and stuff..." Gobumi replied sheepishly.

It seemed to Naruto that all the naturally gifted goblins, if that term is even applicable, have all left the cave. Gobumi continued explaining that other goblins would get impaled by the horn of the horned rabbit.

"Are you fucking with me?" Naruto exclaimed in reflexive surprise.

'It makes sense that it would happen. I mean they're all really stupid, and it doesn't help that goblins are small and weak. From what I saw when using [Observe] a lot yesterday, most goblins wouldn't think to dodge a horned rabbit charging in a straight line.' Naruto thought as he had noticed how the number of goblins from his generation had decreased. 'I've also noticed that the other goblins have been copying us and carrying around large sticks. I mean, I guess it's a good thing, but I don't think it will stop them from dying to the animals in the forest, or their own idiocy.'

"You're called Goburuto?" Gobumi asked him after he introduced himself, "It really is amazing, you're strong and smart. That's really cool!"

Naruto did a small spit take at that, since to him all the goblins looked pretty much the same.

'C...o...o...l!?' He thought slightly incredulously.

"Really?" He asked slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah! The others can't even compare!" She replied enthusiastically.

'I guess serious goblins are popular? I'm serious? What's wrong with me?' Naruto thought with some horror, 'Come to think of it, what's a hot goblin supposed to be? Aren't all goblins really ugly?'

"Well, what do you think about Gobukichi?" He asked.

"Uhh... normal?"

"Really..." Naruto just sweat dropped at the reply. ' Gobukichi doesn't even seem to have noticed.'

"Hm? What's up Gobukichi?" He asked his hunting partner when he caught him staring at him.

"I'm hungry." The blank eyed goblin replied with some drool escaping his mouth.

"It is around that time. Then let's go hunting today too." Naruto told him and then turned towards Gobumi, "Gobumi, you want to come too?"

"Eh, eh ... Eh?" She replied in shock.

"You've taught me many things. It's to thank you. You probably can't go around swinging tree branches, right?" Naruto told her, his kindness shining through, "Well, I won't ask you to do anything impossible."

'Huh, did I say something bad?' Naruto thought to himself, before being tackled by Gobumi who hugged him.

"Really!? Can I really? I'm so happy!" She told him after she let go, "Thank you, Goburuto! You really are cool!"

"Uh, sure. If you think so, then all right." Naruto answered her, while sweat dropping at her reaction. The three of them then went out hunting, fashioning a small club for Gobumi.

Having recognized which spots were favored by the rabbits, Naruto and his companions managed to hunt down several rabbits and fill their bellies with rabbit meat. Their strategies were relatively simple, someone gets the rabbits attention, and the others kill it. Even uncooked, Naruto found the rabbits to be really delicious, and he was a bit of an expert having hunted quite a few for food in his life as a ninja.

The trio returned to the cave, and Naruto noticed that evening was going to set in soon. He did wonder what animals were out at night but realized that he'd have to be stronger to take down any of the predators that would be out hunting at night.

Gobukichi just laid down and instantly fell asleep, snoring away without any worries in life. Naruto sweat dropped at how quickly that happened and looking around he saw most of the goblins doing the same thing. He sighed and just left to go train in one of the empty rooms, and he noticed that Gobumi seemed to follow Gobukichi and fell asleep.

'Maybe it's something to do with goblins being full? Maybe eating meat gets them sleep? I mean, it doesn't make much sense, but maybe they're just lazy?' Naruto thought as he began his exercise regimen. He was noticing slight gains, and it gave him something to do with his free time. Regardless, when he finished his training, he ended up finding a spot to fall asleep.

Day 7

That day it was raining, so they put hunting on hold. Naruto knew that most of the animals would be in hiding, and finding any would be very difficult. Instead, Naruto decided to work on crafting a few more things. Wanting to finally have some decent quality pelts, he wanted to work on making a knife, and he had found the perfect material for them yesterday.

When they went to wash up after they finished eating, they followed the creek up to the river. There they found a lot of rocks on the riverbed, and Naruto lucked out with finding some obsidian-looking black ore. [Observe] told him it was perfect for making blades, and he picked up a few of them to take back to the cave.

'Why is it called [Manufacturing] and not something like crafting?' Naruto thought as he began working on the first knife. He had brought a few other things from the storage room, like some rope, leather, cloth and the rest of the horns they had gotten from all the rabbits. Using a rock to break up the obsidian ore, he managed to shape and sharpen it like a knife, and he even managed to chisel out a handle for it. Using his new knife, he cut out a strip of cloth and wrapped it around the handle for a better grip.

[Obsidian Knife]
Made from an obsidian-looking black ore; this knife is extremely sharp. It may be make-shift, but there is no dismissing the damage this small weapon could cause. This may have been made for skinning, but it can work for combat in a pinch.

After using [Observe] on it, Naruto was satisfied with what he made. With it, they can finally make some better clothes than these shitty rags. They can also start skinning the animals, since he was getting tired of the taste of fur. Gobukichi and Gobumi were amazed by the knife he made, so he kept of working until he had made three knife prototypes. He also made rudimentary sheaths to hold the knives for all three of them out of some of the available leather.

While they worked, well while Naruto worked, a crow of goblins around their age gathered around. The older ones just smiled, but Naruto just ignored all of them. He didn't know what they were thinking, and it didn't really matter that much. They kept on working on a few other things, but eventually they were finished.

Afterwards, just after noon, the three of them began thinking of a new hunting format. Their existing hunting plans worked, but Naruto wanted to see if they could be better and to his surprise his partners had some ideas.

"What're you fellas working on?" Interrupted an old voice, and it was the old goblin Gobujii. "That's the good stuff, yep."

Apparently, he was around twenty years old, which for a goblin was a very long time. Naruto realized that he most likely knew a lot about the world, or at least the forest they're living in. This knowledge their elder knows could prove to be very useful in the future, so he paused their strategy meeting to listen to Gobujii's stories. Naruto wasn't the type to normally sit around and listen patiently, but he did grow up, if only a little, from that headstrong and stubborn brat he used to be.

Despite not holding much hope for useful information, Gobujii did know a great deal of things about the world they lived in. What interested Naruto, other than the world's [Rank Up System, was a story of a goblin from even before their parent's generation.

This goblin went outside of the forest and was basically raiding and pillaging. Naruto didn't like it, but he accepted that the goblin's culture was inherently centred around attacking humans because they lacked the means of self-sufficiency. This goblin risked his life, using his strength and wit, in a place were only the strongest survived to help his fellow goblins.

Despite not agreeing with his methods, Naruto couldn't help but think of the many shinobi who he respected but still disagreed with. From Zabuza and Haku, Nagato and Konan, Itachi or even Sasuke, since despite all the horrible things they've done he still respected them because of why they did what they did. Naruto's train of thought was disrupted when he saw a small tent in Gobujii's loincloth, which really disgusted him.

It didn't help that when the elderly goblin was done with his story, he got up and went to the storage warehouse with a grin on his face. Naruto shuddered and prayed for the poor women trapped there, but he couldn't do anything yet. Putting those thoughts out of his mind, he returned to his hunting partners and continued their planning session.

Day 8

The three goblins went out hunting, to test out their new formation. To Naruto's surprise they managed to find a few new animals to eat. A large bat with rainbow wings was hit by a fast-moving rock that killed it instantly, and as Gobukichi was picking it up, a snake was sneaking up towards him.

That snake was also hit by a fast-moving rock that hit it in the head killing it instantly. Gobukichi and Naruto began killing the snakes that tried swarming them, making sure to not let them bite them. Rocks were being thrown at high speeds at the snakes by Gobumi, who was using the sling staff Naruto made yesterday. The weapon was extremely effective, and Gobumi showed high aptitude while using it.

The sling staff wasn't the only item Naruto crafted. Gobukichi was wearing a leather vest for added protection and Naruto was wearing a vest made up of horns tied together. Gobukichi kept using the club he had, while Naruto had begun using a long animal horn as a long dagger. The kyoketsu just didn't work really well with his current level of strength, so he ended up dismantling it and using the horn to make his vest.

Gobukichi blocked a snake with his club and Naruto jumped off him to stab another one in the head. Gobumi was acting as backup at long-range, Naruto finishing them off at midrange and Gobukichi as the forward. This formation is working efficiently, allowing them to hunt and kill much higher levelled animals.

Even after they managed to get a large catch filled with new prey, Gobukichi and Gobumi still went and caught two horned rabbits. Naruto sat there working on skinning their catch, which included a peculiar tanuki. This tanuki, whose name he learned is Armoured Tanuki, had armoured shells made from materials he didn't recognize. His horn couldn't pierce through it, so he was excited to make something defensive with it. Hoping to get the ability to grow metal plates, which would have been very useful, he ate the tanuki's head while he was disassembling it. The skill gained disappointed him.

Armoured Tanuki Level: 8
It looks like a mixture between a racoon dog and an armadillo, with its back covered with a hard shell. Its shell is hard enough to withstand the Horned Rabbit's horn when struck. It's a cowardly creature, which mainly runs away instead of fighting and relying on its natural defences to let it pull away from fights.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating an Armoured Tanuki, you have gained the Passive skill [Shell Defence]!

[Shell Defence] (Passive, Lvl: 1): Organic armour is something found amongst many creatures in the world. This skill increases the defensive benefits obtained from organic armour.
Bonus Defence from Organic Armour

They only found one Seven Coloured Bat, which was the name given to them, and it didn't give him any skills upon eating it. Gobumi seemed to love how the wings looked, so he figured when he's making some better clothes, he could incorporate them into hers.

Seven Coloured Bat Level: 14
These bats live inside caves, and most tend to only be active at night. They are mainly found with their colony and overwhelm whatever poor creature that encounters them. On their own they are very fragile and weak, but they can still take down the unwary.

The main dish of their hunt, the Night Vipers. They weren't nocturnal animals, despite what their names indicate, but his [Observe] did inform him that they hunted during all times of day. He actually had high expectations for this animal, since they were at a much higher level than them, which meant they most likely had skills that he could gain.

Night Viper Level 28
These snakes are around 60 cm long and have a diameter of 6 cm, possessing black scales in a speckled pattern. They are highly venomous animals, that are extremely deadly. They use their venom to quickly kill their prey, and their skin is very tough. They are however rather slow and ranged attacks are their weakness.

Its skin was really tough, his obsidian knife got chipped, but he managed to get tis head off and peel the rest of the skin away. He cut up the meat to pieces and shared it with everyone. The meat was light and exceedingly delicious, which was more than enough reason for him to eat it, but it gave him several skills at the same time. The screens popped up while he was slurping up the snake like a noodle, and the sheer number of skills gained caused him to pause for a bit.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating a Night Viper, you have gained the Active skill [Thermography]!

[Thermography] (Active, Lvl: 1): Snakes are the most well-known animals that can see heat through thermography. This skill is extremely helpful in locating hidden enemies, at least those that have heat. This skill uses MP to see heat.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating a Night Viper, you have gained the Active skill [Venom]!

[Venom] (Active, Lvl: 1): Venom is different from poison, one is deadly when injected into the body and the second when ingested. A lot of animals are venomous, most famously of them are snakes, but plenty of bugs fit the bill as well. This skill allows the user to produce and apply poisons and venoms, or toxins, to the tips of weapons or even a part of the body. Several different toxins can be produced. This skill uses MP to produce toxins.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating a Night Viper, you have gained the Passive skill [Toxin Resistance]!

[Toxin Resistance] (Passive, Lvl: 1): The ability to resist toxins is most commonly found amongst creatures that prey on poisonous or venomous animals. This skill reduces the damage and effects caused by various toxins. The user is immune to all poisons thanks to the [Absorption] skill, so this skill mainly works as venom resistance.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating a Night Viper, you have gained the Passive skill [Presence Sensor]!

[Presence Sensor] (Passive, Lvl: 1): This skill allows the user to identify nearby living beings, and at high enough levels even their names. The living being's type can even be determined if the user has met one at some point prior. The higher this skill's level the greater the sensory range.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating a Night Viper, you have gained the Active skill [Evil Eye]!

[Evil Eye] (Active, Lvl: 1): The ability to induce Fear, a status effect, into others through eye contact. This status effect can slow down or even stop its victims, it depends on the user's skill level and the victim's resistance to it. An individual with a strong willpower can break free of this effect or not even be affected by it at all. This skill uses MP to instil Fear.

'That's a lot of skills from one animal. [Presence Sensor] is extremely useful, and since its Passive, I don't need to worry about it draining MP. [Evil Eye] sounds a lot like killing intent, which is nice. The [Toxin Resistance] is useful, and I suppose I can train it up by injecting weak venoms into myself, but I'll think about it more later. [Venom] isn't something I'd normally use, but considering how weak I am in comparison to the rest of the world, I'm going to need it. [Thermography] is useful, but in certain situations really.' Naruto pondered on the skills he gained, quite happy with what he got. His little daydream was broken by Gobumi calling his name to ask him something.

"You don't want to eat it's head?" She asked him, since he was holding the viper's head in his hand.

"Can you give me that?" Gobukichi asked, still hungry, despite everything they ate.

"N-No. I really can't give this one. There's actually poison in it." He told Gobukichi, which was true, "I'll burry the snake heads somewhere so we don't get hurt by them."

While explaining that, Naruto laid a hand on the Large Animal Horn he was using as a weapon and tested out the [Venom] skill out. He figured that secreting toxin from his body isn't going to be as effective as secreting it from his weapons. The Large Animal Horn secreted toxin from its pointy end, which would be useful since he'd be stabbing things with it.

"I told you that the head is poisonous!" Naruto shouted at the other goblins as they tried to reach for the other snake heads, "So keep your mitts off them!"

"Huh? Why? Why!?" Gobukichi asked, as if Naruto didn't just explain it.

"You told us you'll share half of it!" Gobumi complained.

"Go hunt a couple of rabbits if you're still hungry," That seemed to brighten their mood, as if they didn't consider it. "Also, stick together and follow the plans."

Nodding, the two goblins left, but not after they agreed on a meeting point. After making sure that they weren't around, Naruto quickly ate the snake heads, figuring its safer than burying them since he won't be affected by the poison in them. He did have an ulterior motive to sending his hunting partners away for a bit, and it was something he noticed with [Observe] a couple days ago.

[Oak Tree]

A hardwood tree that is considered to be one of the most common tree types. This one is several hundred years old and is seemingly just like the rest of the trees around it. Unlike them, this tree has a hidden compartment carved into the base of its trunk, that is opened by pressing hard on one the knot near the base.

After he got that screen, he also got a quest alert afterwards. He accepted it since it was something he was going to do either way, and the extra XP was worth it.

[Quest Alert!]
[Hard Knot Treasure]
You have found a suspicious tree in the forest, one that may contain hidden treasures. What are the chances! Open the compartment by pressing on the knot and find your reward.
Main Objective: Open Compartment
Rewards: XP
Failure: Really?
[Accept / Decline]

'Man, goblins sure have a scary growth rate.' Naruto wondered as he made his way through the forest to the waypoint he left, thinking about how in a few days Gobumi and Gobukichi went from easy prey to everything to managing to hunt animals like the Night Viper. 'With some make-shift weapons and some very basic plans, they've managed to take down some really strong enemies in comparison to them. Maybe it's a good thing that goblins are really stupid, otherwise who knows what they would be capable of.'

He managed to avoid a few animals this way, not feeling that hungry, and finally managed to arrive at the tree. Pressing on the knot, the tree then magically opened a section of its trunk to reveal a small hollowed out hole in the tree. Inside it was a small chest, and swiping away the quest rewards, he was happy to find several things inside. There was of course coins and gems, which he quickly threw into his [Inventory, but more interestingly were the scroll and book.

Opening the scroll, it revealed an old treasure map, but unfortunately it was far too damaged to be of any use. He sighed in disappointment and held the book in his hands. To his happiness he saw a screen pop up the moment he held it.

Do you wish to use the Skill Book and learn the Skill [Repair]?
[Accept / Decline]

[Skill Created!]
As a result of using a Skill Book, you have gained the Active Skill [Repair]!

[Repair] (Active, Lvl: 1): A basic magic spell, but one forgotten by most modern mages, it was often used by artificers and craftsmen alike. This spell allows the user to repair objects with their Mana, however there are some drawbacks. The higher tier the item and the greater the damage the more Mana needed to repair it. It can be used on nearly anything to repair it, even pseudo living beings like Golems and Carbuncles. This skill uses MP to repair.

Naruto whistled at the useful skill, since it meant he can keep weapons and tools working for longer. Trying it out on his chipped knife, he was very happy to see it repair itself back to how he made it. Getting a brilliant idea, he tried to use [Repair] on the old treasure map, but it quickly ate through his MP.

Thinking for a few moments and looking over his skills, he got the bright idea to use [Meditation] to boost his MP Regen. While doing that, he used [Repair] on the old treasure map and was happy to see that the drain was reduced significantly. After his MP was nearly empty, the map was finally in perfect condition.

He looked at the map and wasn't too surprised that it was in a different language. He could sort of figure out the general area of the treasure, but the precise location was written down. He did learn the name of the forest he was in, and it was the Kuuderun Great Forest. He also got some XP for opening a map, but it wasn't much. He figured since forests change over time and this was an old map, it probably didn't help a great deal.

Stuffing the map and the small chest into his [Inventory, he began making his way back to the meeting point the three goblins agreed on. He was the first one there, but the other two weren't too far according to his new skill.

After meeting up, they made their way back to the cave, stopping to gather the pelts and material they stored on top of a nearby tree. It was getting dark, and they were ushered into the cave, and slightly admonished by the older goblins for their late return. Some of the older goblins were surprised at seeing the material they were carrying, but none of the trio noticed that. Naruto stored the material in the storage warehouse, looking through it once more to see if he could find anything else. He was pretty happy to find some needles and threads, which meant he could now make some actual clothes.

Day 9

That day it was raining, so once more they stayed inside. It gave Naruto the time to work on making their gear even better. Taking Gobukichi's vest he began stitching Night Viper skin on the bottom of it for added protection. He even made himself one to wear under the animal horn armoured vest.

"Goburuto... Goburuto... Hey, Goburuto" Gobukichi badgered on, "We're not going to hunt today?"

"Eh? Look around. It's raining too hard to go outside." Naruto replied, "Sorry, but go eat bugs or something on your own."

He considered using the Armoured Tanuki's scales, but he didn't have enough to cover a shirt, so he made a shield for Gobukichi. Grabbing a side of a broken crate from the storage warehouse, he stealthily used [Repair] while he was there to restore it to be in better shape. He then nailed the scales of the Armoured Tanuki to the board, overlapping them to cover most of the square board's surface. He then cut a strip of leather and nailed it to the back to create a handle.

"Endure it for one day," Naruto continued telling him, "Oh yeah, Gobukichi, here have this."

"It's a shield. I thought it would suit you the best, since you're our frontliner." Naruto informed him, after giving Gobukichi the shield, "Use it well."

Gobukichi began dancing around, throwing his shield in celebration. He was going to hurt himself, but Naruto didn't notice since he was finishing putting the last few touches for the top out of Night Viper skin for Gobumi, which had a short poncho made from the Seven Coloured Bat's wings stitched to it.

"Here you go, Gobumi. I finished it." Naruto told her as he handed her the top, before asking her "Is it a bit too showy?"

"That's not true at all! It's very cute!" She replied as her eyes seemed to sparkle with joy.

"Um... there's also this" Naruto told her as he handed her a necklace, "This is a bonus to make up for making your armour so late. It's a necklace made with the bat's teeth."

Gobumi's reaction was just as enthusiastic as Gobukichi's, but instead she hugged him while exclaiming, "Goburuto is so cool! Thank you! I'll treasure it forever!"

"I'm glad you like it so much." Naruto replied with a wide smile stretching his face, happy that his gifts were well liked. He was also happy now that everyone had better gear, a definite rank up from the rags they were wearing.

He also did his usual exercise routine, but he began realizing that the gains were too small. Sighing in frustration, he realized that so long as he remains a goblin, he will have to rely on skills to boost his physical abilities. Deciding to just go to sleep, he found a spot near his hunting partners and quickly fell asleep.

Day 10

Waking up and swiping away the notifications, Naruto was surprised when he was sensing most of the goblins in the cave. Looking at his skills, it seemed like [Presence Sensor] grew a great deal while he slept. Smirking slightly at such a useful growing stronger even when he was asleep, and at him 'grinding' up his skills. It was a term he heard about from Konohomaru.

Waking up his companions and equipping their gear, they went out hunting. Naruto was looking for more Seven Coloured Bats, since he was curious about what skills they could give. They encountered other monsters, but at the levels the trio were at, they steered clear of them. That was something Gobujii explained, and something Naruto saw mentioned by his Gamer ability.

This world had its own levelling system, and the Gamer's system just copied it. He could actually tell what his level is by thinking about it, which was something the other goblins could also do. He was currently level 86, which was very high out of the goblins, which had a maximum level of 100. Asking his companions, even though he could use [Observe], he learned that Gobukichi was at level 78 and Gobumi at level 55. It made sense, they have been hunting for a while now, killing high level animals like the Night Viper, which were much stronger than they were.

Even at level 100, goblins would still be small fry, as evidenced by Gobujii. However, there exists a [Rank Up] that can allow those who reach level 100 to evolve into a higher species.

Most goblins who successfully mature become Hobgoblins and then Ogres. From what Gobujii explained, that's the most common route but there also are many other evolutionary paths to take.

Hobgoblins that are skilled at using weapons can become a completely different class, Lords, which is the closest to humans. If hobgoblins ate corpses, rotten meat and even souls then they can become Ghouls. Ogres who drink blood and obtain high intelligence and pride can become Vampires, while those who wield axes and great swords with sheer strength and have high recovery rates become Minotaurs.

The entire evolutionary process seems to be exceedingly weird, but the Gamer system seems to agree with it since he got a quest after learning about it from Gobujii.

[Quest Alert!]
[It's Time to Rank Up]
You have learned about the mechanism through which goblins and many other monster species grow. They evolve into stronger creatures, but it's not an easy thing to achieve. Choose carefully, as your evolutionary path will determine your future.
Main Objective: Achieve [Rank Up]
Rewards: [Party System]
Failure: Eternal Goblin
[Accept / Decline]

Gobujii warned him that he should carefully choose his evolution, and Naruto was left thinking about how he should evolve from where he was. Shaking those thoughts from his head, Naruto focused on the task at hand, which was hunting down some more animals.

They ended up hunting Horned Rabbits, Night Vipers and Armoured Tanukis, but he didn't get any new skills from eating them. The materials they got were useful, since he might be able to make some better gear. Thinking about what he could make, he was reminded of how close he was to evolving, and how Gobukichi wasn't too far behind him. Sighing and deciding to think about this later, the trio made their way back to the cave.

Day 11

While out hunting, sometimes they'd find tunnels hidden by the foliage. Today, they decided to satiate their curiosity, but unfortunately it was filled with Seven Coloured Bats. Naruto's wish had come true, but not in the way he wanted.

"For now, we run with all our strength to the nearest exit! Gobumi you go first!" Naruto shouted to his fellow goblins as they ran away from the bats chasing them.

"Okay!" Gobumi exclaimed as she sped up and upon reaching the exit, began slinging rocks at the flying bats.

This gave Naruto and Gobukichi some room to fight back, and Naruto activated [Evil Eye], if only to help thin out the bats attacking them. His [Presence Sensor] helped him a lot, letting him accurately stab them with his dual wielded animal horns. Gobukichi just used his shield to bash the bats down, killing and stunning them.

This was a very dangerous situation, that Naruto would kick himself for not thinking things through more. Each bat might be weak, but the entire colony's combat strength was ten times more than theirs. The abilities he got from the Night Viper really saved them, since [Evil Eye] affected a lot of bats, slowing them down for Gobukichi and Gobumi to take down easily.

The newly crafted armour and gear also helped them a lot, and they managed to survive without any major injuries. They hunted over thirty of the Seven Coloured Bats, the rest fleeing deeper into the cave when their numbers thinned down significantly.

As the trio began devouring their hunt, after removing their wings, Naruto gained three new skills. He stopped eating after several more bats gave no new abilities and looked over the skills he just got.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating a Seven Coloured Bat, you have gained the Active skill [Echolocation]!

[Echolocation] (Active, Lvl: 1): A skill utilised by a very small number of animals to chart their terrain, the most famous of which are bats. The user casts supersonic sound waves to inspect the terrain around them. This skill uses MP to chart the user's surroundings.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating a Seven Coloured Bat, you have gained the Active skill [Pump Up]!

[Pump Up] (Active, Lvl: 1): This skill allows the user to control their blood flow to increase their physical strength. This skill uses MP to boost strength.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating a Seven Coloured Bat, you have gained the Active skill [Vampirephilia]!

[Vampirephilia] (Active, Lvl: 1): Drinking blood is something mostly done by mosquitoes and certain species of bats, but now so can you. This skill allows you to regain HP and MP by drinking the blood of other living creatures.

He didn't see much purpose in the [Vampirephilia] skill, since it was pretty creepy and restrictive. [Echolocation] and [Pump Up] were very useful to him, and he immediately activated them to see if his MP Regen can keep up with three active skills. Unfortunately, he had to deactivate [Pump Up], but he could keep [Echolocation] active continuously.

[Echolocation] will help him in determining the landscape and moving objects. Alongside [Presence Sensor] it will be very useful against surprise attacks and ambushes, so he will be keeping them active as long as he can.

Day 12

They had a pretty successful hunt that day, and when they returned to the cave it was getting pretty dark. They always made sure to return before that happened, since despite having the [Dark Vision] racial skill, there are many violent and powerful nocturnal species that would kill them easily. When Naruto asked Gobujii about them, he shook in fear and continuously exclaimed "Too small to understand".

Naruto and Gobumi were discussing what animal had the best meat, the Night Viper for Naruto and the Seven Coloured Bat for Gobumi. Today was rather tiring, and all Naruto wanted to do was go to sleep.

In the dead of night, he woke up. It was only thanks to [Presence Sensor] being active that he barely made it. Goblins, the same age as him, had grouped up to attack him and he already killed one instinctively. The rest were shivering in fear, holding small clubs, and it was clear that they were terrified. Rather than kill them, he just took care of the rest using a muscle relaxant poison coming from the Long Animal Horn in he always kept on him. The first goblin that he killed, thankfully died quickly and painlessly from his [Venom] skill.

Sighing for a bit, he took a few deep breaths to calm down. The muscle relaxant poison would be out of the downed goblins' systems soon. He figured there might be a penalty for killing their own kind. However, he was surprised that the older goblins didn't say or do anything, and he was slightly thankful for that. He didn't want any drama, but he thought too soon as Gobumi seemed to wake up and realize what happened.

"Stop! Gobumi, stop!" Naruto exclaimed as he grabbed her off one of downed goblins, "I'm not really mad or anything! Stop it seriously! Goblin heads aren't meant to turn that way!"

Honestly, preventing Gobumi from killing any of the other goblins was the hardest thing that night. He somehow managed to put her to sleep using a weak sleep type poison, and Gobukichi slept through the entire ordeal.

Grabbing the dead goblin and dragging him outside, Naruto dealt with having killed another sentient being, even if it was a goblin.

'I mean it's not the first time I killed someone, and I doubt it will be the last. I'm not really that angry that they attacked me, and I don't hate them or anything.' Naruto thought to himself as he began using [Pump Up] and his animal horn to dig a small grave for the goblin. 'I know why they attacked, and I can even understand their reasoning. I honestly don't harbour ill will towards the rest of them, but I guess I am angry at them for something. I hate killing, with animals its different, but with people who can think and decide things for themselves, it just seems to be waste to me. And I know I will have to take more lives as I continue forward, which isn't something I want to do. I guess that's what's eating me up inside.'

Having finished his introspection and the grave, a stray dark thought crossed his mind. To try and eat the flesh of his fellow goblin, but Naruto quickly got rid of those thoughts. For one thing, he won't get anything from eating the dead goblin. More importantly, eating another sentient being just didn't sit right with him. He knew that he would have to do so eventually, but he selfishly wanted to put that off, if only for another day.

Day 13

That day the trio decided to go towards the mountains deep in the forest, wanting to find some new prey. They actually did find something new, a large creature with a pig's face. It was an Orc, a monster species like the goblins, and a new ethical conundrum was born within Naruto. Should they kill it or find something else. Using [Observe] on it really helped him make his decision.

Orc Level: 31
A pig faced monster, not too dissimilar to goblins. It is even more vicious and preys on everything it can eat, and breeds everything else. They are hostile to goblins and will attack them on sight.

'That solves my problem with killing them.' Naruto scratched his head as he began planning on how to take down the pig faced creature. 'If we don't deal with it now, it might surprise us later on when we're hunting something else.'

Naruto was confident that he could take it on by himself, he was slightly worried that it might have some allies around. Using [Thermography] in addition to [Echolocation] and [Presence Sensor, he confirmed that the orc was by itself.

"Gobumi, have this," Naruto told her while holding a rock covered with poison on a leaf. He then explained his plan to his hunting partners, which began with Gobumi throwing the rock into the orc's eye.

While the orc was off balance, Gobukichi charged at it with his shield up, aiming for its weak knee. The orc managed to swing the iron hoe it was holding, but Gobukichi managed to block it with his shield. Taking advantage, Gobumi slung a rock into the hand holding the hoe, forcing the orc to let go of it. With it disarmed, Gobukichi slammed his club into its head, causing the orc to fall to the ground.

Naruto sped towards the orc, while Gobukichi slammed another strike to its head to disorient it and stop it from calling for help. As Naruto was reaching the orc, he activated [Pump Up] and stabbed with all his might into the orc's neck, hoping for a clean kill. [Cunning] most likely helped him with this, since the orc stopped moving immediately after Naruto struck him.

'Alright Naruto! Shinobi do what they must to survive' Naruto told himself as he began ripping the orc apart and eating it alongside his hunting companions, 'It tastes like pork, really delicious pork. It's tastes like the pork served at that fancy restaurant Ero-Sennin took me to for my birthday.'

The orc had a lot of meat on it, so the trio gorged themselves on it. Naruto also read through the skills that he gained from the orc, which weren't that useful.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating an Orc, you have gained the Passive skill [Libido]!

[Libido] (Passive, Lvl: Max): Libido is a person's sex drive and can differ from one person to the other. This skill enhances the user's libido considerably.

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating an Orc, you have gained the Passive skill [Orc Language]!

[Orc Language] (Passive, Lvl: Max): This is a racial skill that all Orcs are born with, allowing them to communicate and speak with one another.
Grants the user the ability to speak and communicate using the orc language

[Skill Created!]
As a result of eating an Orc, you have gained the Active skill [Appraisal]!

[Appraisal] (Active, Lvl: 1): This skill allows the user to analyse some objects, determining some of their characteristics and properties. The higher the level, the more information obtainable.

'So, nothing useful. I mean [Appraisal] sounds useful, but I already have [Observe] and from what I've seen its much better than this new skill. I guess [Orc Language] is sort of useful, mainly because its proof that most species have their own languages. So, there's probably a human language skill, if I run into any adventurers that try to attack me, I might get one.' Sighing at not getting any useful skills, he stamped down on the mixed feelings he has to killing and then eating another sentient being. He'll deal with them later, when he doesn't have other things on his mind.

After they finished eating, and making sure to grab the iron hoe, the trio continued hunting a great deal of prey. However, they didn't eat it since the food wasn't for them. They returned to the cave relatively early, since they didn't need to skin or eat anything.

"Eat it." Naruto told the rest of the goblins, as a number of Horned Rabbits, Night Vipers and Armoured Tanukis were laid out for them.

After the other goblins tried ambushing him last night, he quickly recognized why. There was a food shortage, and those lacking strength or intelligence, the male ratio was higher in this regard, were severely starved. They were at a point where they might die any day now, and Naruto only blamed himself for not noticing. He figured they might ask him to get them something or teach them, and he would've done it without asking for anything. He forgot he wasn't dealing with humans, but a completely different species with its own culture. It didn't help that goblins were really stupid and probably didn't consider asking him.

Those starving goblins asked some of the others to attack him, but he couldn't really figure out why. Maybe they wanted to subjugate him or force him to get them food. What happened yesterday forced Naruto to confront the reality of his situation, that this isn't a dream or illusion. That this is his life now, and there are consequences to his actions. Had he brought food for the goblins without question, the situation might not have escalated the way it did.

"Thank you!" One of the goblins shook his hand as he cried, and looking around many of the others were in tears as well, "You're a really great guy!"

The goblins were really grateful and said that this food was amazing. They promised that they would repay today's food. While he didn't care if they did or didn't, he had more important things on his mind and that was teaching them how to hunt for themselves. He taught them the tricks to taking down Horned Rabbits, repaying their hatred with kindness. He followed the teachings of his master and what he felt was right. He didn't teach them to have them indebted to him, but so they can be more self-sufficient.

Immediately after his lesson, the goblins went out to hunt, apparently their hunger not fully satiated. When they returned, each had a rabbit or two with them, apparently as tribute. Using [Observe] he saw that the goblins considered themselves to be his underlings or subordinates.

"Thanks for the hard work, Goburuto!" One of them said, and another continued afterwards, "We fulfilled today's quota!"

"Ah, today I don't need any. So, just distribute it amongst everybody." Naruto told them, sweat dropping slightly since he never set any quotas. Sighing and figuring this system will help keep the rest of the goblins well fed, he just wanted to sleep.

'Today was exhausting. So much happened and I'm really tired.' Naruto thought as he began drifting off to sleep. He didn't really notice the screen the popped up in front of him, simply swiping at it to get rid of it.

[Rank Up]
You have reached the designated level and are now eligible for Rank Up

You have cleared the special requirements "Something" and "Special Action"

You can Rank Up to [Hobgoblin – Variant]

Would you like to Rank Up?

[Accept / Decline]

So, it took me much less time to write this, and that was with the killer heat. I found the SS to be much easier to write with and I didn't have to worry about distributing XP or stats or damage, etc...

I was able to focus on the story without being too occupied by the Gamer. I did find that it feels slightly less like a Gamer fic, which I suppose is something the R voters didn't want. I can respect that, but the votes were ultimately in the favour of the SS.

Poll Results (I included comments as of the release of my other story):

19 SS Votes

8 R Votes

Now for the story.

I'm not too sure about how well I showed Naruto struggling with killing and more importantly eating other sentient beings. With the Orc I sort of took the easy route, by making them a worse and stronger version of goblins. What do you guys think? This will come more into play in the next chapter, you'll know what I mean if you've read Re: Monster a bit.

You can already start seeing the differences between Rou and Naruto. Their attitudes towards the same situation couldn't be more different, and as the story progresses the choices they make will differ more and more.

If there is something that's missing or not making much sense, tell me. I'm working on Word Online and its hell. I'm also sort of pre-occupied with a few other things in my life so sometimes I'm making some mistakes. Please point them out, and I'll try to fix them.

I want to always write a minimum of 10K words, but I also realize that it's not always possible. Take this chapter for instance, I had a specific section of the days I was going to put, and I achieved that, but I only managed around 9.2K words. I'm starting to skip over repetitive things, like Naruto hunting the same animals or his training. I could have put those in and gotten the 10K, but I feel it would've been repetitive.

Other Stories

About my other fic, Izuku: Omniversal Alien Hero, I will start working on its second chapter soon. I will also change the title, since right after posting the story, I hated what I wrote.