Part 1: The Tinkerer's Hands
Ren flexed his fingers. They were long, spindly, and green, but they no longer trembled with the weakness of a Runt. There was a precision to his movements now. He picked up a small pebble and rolled it across his knuckles, a coin-trick he had never been able to do as a human, executed perfectly on the first try.
"High Dexterity," Ren noted, his voice smoother, less raspy. "And my mind... it feels organized."
The Goblin Tinkerer evolution hadn't just changed his body; it had rewired his brain. He looked at the pile of junk he had collected—the Toad's poison sac, the tough leather hide, the bones. Before, he saw gross monster parts. Now, he saw components.
[Passive Skill: Crafting Intuition (Lv. 1)]
Effect: You instinctively know how to combine basic materials to create tools or traps.
"I'm not a warrior," Ren admitted, looking at his thin arms. "I can't swing a massive sword like a Hobgoblin. I'm an engineer. And this cave..."
He looked back toward the tunnel entrance.
"...is my kill box."
Part 2: Tech Support
He needed intel. He knew the Red Eye Tribe was out there, and he knew they would eventually investigate the missing scout. Walking back into the main cavern was suicide.
"I have 50 Mana. Let's see what the discount does."
Ren opened his Inventory. He scrolled past the figures and weapons to the [Electronics] tab. He was looking for one specific item he had bought to film unboxing videos.
[Item: Mini-Drone (Quad-Copter with 4K Camera)]
[Status: Fully Charged]
[Summon Cost: 35 MP]
Ren did the math.
Base Cost: 35 MP.
Item Mastery Discount (10%): -3.5 MP.
Final Cost: 31.5 MP.
"I'll have about 18 Mana left. Risky, but necessary."
Ren held out his hand. "Manifest."
A sleak, grey plastic drone materialized in his palm, along with the controller which had a smartphone bracket attached (displaying the camera feed).
[MP: 18.5/50]
Ren switched it on. The quiet hum of the rotors filled the silent cave.
"Battery is at 100%. Flight time approx 25 minutes," Ren muttered, slipping into his gamer mode. "Operation Peeping Tom is a go."
He pushed the joystick forward. The drone lifted off, its small LED lights blinking green. Ren watched the screen on the controller as the drone zipped into the dark tunnel, its camera adjusting to the low light.
Part 3: Reconnaissance
Flying a drone in a cave was a nightmare of collision warnings, but Ren's boosted Agility and Dexterity made his thumbs move with surgical precision. The drone weaved past stalactites and navigated the twisting turns of the tunnel.
On the screen, the grey rock walls rushed by.
Then, the tunnel opened up.
The drone entered the main nesting chamber where he had been born.
Ren hovered the drone high near the ceiling, hiding it in the shadows of the stalactites. The camera zoomed in.
The scene below was chaotic.
The fire pit was roaring. Dozens of goblins were gathered, chattering nervously. But the center of attention was a massive stone throne made of skulls.
Sitting there was the Red Eye Chief.
[Appraisal via Camera Feed]
Distance Penalty Applied. Detailed Stats Hidden.
[Target: Hobgoblin Chief]
[Rank: D-]
[Status: Enraged]
The Chief was a monster. He was nearly seven feet tall, wearing armor made from iron plates (likely looted from humans). He held a massive battle axe. One of his eyes was covered by a red eyepatch, the symbol of the tribe.
In front of him, two Goblin Soldiers were dragging something across the floor.
It was the severed hand of the Scout Ren had killed. The rats hadn't eaten it all; they had left scraps.
"They found the kill site," Ren whispered, watching the screen intently.
The Chief roared, smashing his axe into the floor. He pointed his finger at the tunnel—the exact tunnel Ren was hiding in.
"KIGYAAA! GORAA!"
Five Hobgoblins (Rank E) and ten Goblins (Rank F) stood up, grabbing weapons. They were mobilizing a war party.
Part 4: The Inescapable Math
Ren recalled the drone, his heart pounding.
"Fifteen enemies. Five of them are Hobgoblins, each one stronger than me physically. And a Chief who is Rank D-."
If they found him, he was dead.
If he ran deeper into the cave, he might run into something worse than the Toad.
"I have maybe twenty minutes before they reach the mushroom cave," Ren calculated. "I can't fight them head-on. My MP is too low to summon a machine gun or a tank (not that I have a tank)."
He looked at his mana bar. 19/50 MP (recovering slowly).
He looked at the dead Toad carcass.
He looked at the Mana Mushrooms.
"I need to prep the battlefield," Ren said, his eyes narrowing. "I'm a Tinkerer. I don't duel. I lay traps."
He ran to the mushroom patch and shoved three raw Mana Mushrooms into his mouth.
[MP Restored: +9]
[MP Restored: +9]
[Warning: Mild Neurotoxin Buildup. Paralysis risk if consumed further.]
"Risk noted and ignored," Ren grunted. [MP: 37/50].
He looked at his inventory. He needed things that were cheap (low mana cost) but deadly when combined with goblin cunning.
He opened the [Household Goods] and [Hardware Store] folders.
[Item: Spool of Fishing Line (High Test)] - Cost: 2 MP.
[Item: Box of Rusty Nails] - Cost: 5 MP.
[Item: Bottle of Cooking Oil (Large)] - Cost: 3 MP.
[Item: Butane Lighter] - Cost: 2 MP.
"And finally..." Ren looked at the Toad's Poison Sac he had harvested earlier. It was oozing with purple sludge.
"Let's play Home Alone, Dungeon Edition."
Part 5: The Kill Zone
Ren worked with feverish speed.
The Tripwires: He strung the clear fishing line across the narrowest part of the tunnel entrance at ankle height.
The Spikes: He used the Crude Bone Club to hammer rusty nails into the cracks of the stone floor just beyond the tripwire. Then, he coated the nails in the Toad Poison.
The Slick: He poured the entire bottle of cooking oil on the slope leading down into the mushroom cavern.
The Finale: He took the Toad's massive, rubbery stomach sack, filled it with the remaining methane gas from the creature's decomposition (a gross process), and placed it near the oil slick.
He finished just as he heard the heavy footsteps echoing down the corridor.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Ren retreated to the back of the cave, hiding behind the boulder near the dark pool. He held the Butane Lighter in one hand and his Rainbow Knife in the other.
"Come on in," Ren whispered, his golden eyes glowing in the dark. "Don't mind the mess."
The first shadow appeared at the tunnel entrance. It was a Hobgoblin, sniffing the air. It smelled the Toad. It smelled the delicious Mana Mushrooms. It didn't smell the fishing line.
It took a step forward.
End of Chapter 6
Summary of Assets:
Current MP: 25/50 (Spent on materials).
Active Summons: Drone (De-summoned to save battery/carry), Lighter, Knife.
Deployed Traps: Poisoned Nail Pit, Oil Slick, Tripwires, Toad Gas Bomb (Improvised).
Enemy Force: 5 Hobgoblins, 10 Goblins approaching.