Byung had just been born, but that didn't stop the creatures from knocking him unconscious. When he awoke, he found himself in a room filled with the cries of babies.It was too dark to make out anything important, but one by one, the cries disappeared.Byung's mind raced to the worst-case scenario: they were killing the babies that showed signs of weakness.He forced himself not to cry. He still didn't understand what was happening or if any of this was even real, but if he 'died' here, maybe he'd wake up back in his decrepit body in his own world.
"We have taken all the weak ones. What remains are the strong," a voice echoed in the darkness.
Byung felt a surge of relief—he was regarded as strong.This world operated on survival of the fittest, and he'd already qualified. A good start.
"Phew! That was close!" he thought as figures walked through the darkness carrying torches.
Still, he couldn't help but worry about what lay ahead. The future was completely unknown.Byung was carried outside, where he immediately spotted a goblin holding a chart.
"Farm sector sorted. Take strong ones to mine," the goblin instructed another goblin holding Byung.
The language was broken and crude, yet somehow Byung understood every word.
"Yes..." the second goblin responded before tossing Byung into a wagon with other babies who'd shown signs of strength.
Byung realized he'd made a terrible miscalculation. He'd assumed being classified as "strong" was best, but being a farmer suddenly sounded far better.
--
Goblins aged differently than humans. Within just a few years, Byung was old enough to work in the mines. The conditions were harsh. They had little food, yet the minerals they extracted could easily change their lives—if only they understood their value.
Byung couldn't comprehend how they remained so poor when surrounded by ore, still using weapons made of stone.
They clearly had no idea what they possessed. From what Byung gathered over the months, different mines held minerals of varying worth. The other races were taking advantage of them, avoiding the dirty work themselves.
The goblins seemed content with this arrangement. Those who did exceptional work were rewarded with a woman to breed with—the ultimate prize all goblins craved.
But Byung also noticed the mortality rate was staggeringly high.
The goblins had tried using other races to compensate for their lack of females, but even then, many babies didn't survive the process. The mothers always died, regardless of outcome.
The chance of a goblin being born healthy was a mere 20%.
The goblins understood that their work was essential to survival. Extinction loomed at the edge of possibility—a risk they couldn't afford.
Byung was curious about one thing: it didn't matter which race they bred with. The baby always emerged as a goblin, regardless of the mother's species.
"You work good. Have water," a goblin praised him.
Byung was only a few months old but already outworking goblins years older than him. He was grateful to experience a fully functioning body for the first time in his life.
"Thanks. Finish soon," Byung replied, adopting their broken speech patterns to avoid suspicion.
At this point, he was certain this wasn't a dream.
He wasn't about to waste this gift from God by being idle. He appreciated every moment, working harder than any goblin his age.
This caught the attention of the supervisor overseeing that section of the mine.
There was a section of the mine that remained unexplored. It was believed that those who ventured too deep never came back the same.
Actually, that wasn't quite right—they never came back at all.
But this was just a rumor spread to keep goblins from mining unauthorized areas. Their primitive tools couldn't penetrate that deep anyway.
Byung wanted to prove himself further. He wanted to test this body's limits, having noticed it differed slightly from his peers.
He also knew there were proper mining techniques, but why were their tools still made of stone? Didn't they realize they could forge stronger tools from the very ore they were extracting?
Byung ventured deeper into the mine. Before long, he reached what appeared to be a dead end.
"Huh?" If the stories were true, why was there a dead end here?
"I knew it. All bullshit," he muttered with a sigh of relief.
He glanced back. The light at the tunnel's entrance was now just a pinprick in the distance.
"Wow, I didn't realize it was this far," he thought.
But he'd already come this far. No point turning back now.When Byung looked forward again, the blocked path had suddenly opened.
"Wasn't there something blocking this...?" He frowned, confused, then chuckled. "I must be tired. Should've taken that drink."
He blamed it on dehydration and stepped onto the newly revealed path. The moment his foot crossed the threshold, it felt like entering another dimension entirely. The entire chamber was littered with gold.
This discovery would surely earn him a promotion to more challenging mines. But then he noticed something in the corner—it looked like a goblin, but different somehow.
He turned to alert the others, but the path that had opened minutes ago was now sealed shut.
"Is this a joke?" Byung questioned aloud, truly believing this must be a hallucination.
He could dismiss it happening once, but twice? That was too much to be coincidence.
[Ding!]
A cyan screen materialized in front of him, causing him to stumble backward onto the treasure-littered floor.
[Host found!]
[System binding in progress...!]
[System successfully bound!]
[Evolution Rebate System successfully activated!]