Panicked voices draw my attention.

  “Go-bu… Go-bu-bu…”

  “Gobu! GOBU!

  How curious. How curious, indeed!

  The pair of voices don’t sound human, nor do they sound like they belong to a forest beast. It’s something stuck in between the two.

  But ah… I do hear human voices.

  “Get 'em!”

  “I want that EXP!”

  “Hey! Leave some for me too!”

  My interest piqued, I poke my shadow out of the overgrowth.

  I spy a pair of tiny creatures. Their skin is a muted green like the soft tones of the mossy forest floor. Their eyes are big and black, giving them a somewhat cute and deceptively innocent appearance. Their ears are awesomely long and amazingly pointy, and their noses are even longer. How cool!

  A pair of cute forest critters. Wa-wee!

  Make no mistake, the two aren’t mere forest animals. Why? Because animals don’t wear clothes!

  The clothes they have are minimal. Loincloth fashioned out of what must be a rabbit’s pelt.

  So… Goblins?! – Somehow, that name seems fitting.

  “W_W”, one cries at the unfairness of the world.

  “X_X”, the other pretends to be dead already.

  Towering above the tiny pair, I spy the menacing trio. Their eyes are full of murder. Their lips are twisted into grins, one more wicked than the other. One wields a sword, another clutches a staff, and another holds a bow. Clearly, they are of a human kind.

  Goblins and Humans.

  The latter feels more familiar than the former, but strangely, my inner core drifts towards the tiny pair.

  I feel biased. Why?

  I struggle to understand the turmoil in my vortex.

  “Ha, ha, ha… ‘Hah?” The sword stops mid-swing.

  “What the fuzzy balls is that?” The bow wavers.

  “…” The staff doesn’t comprehend.

  The trio are momentarily stunned. Tense and deeply unsettled.

  Meanwhile, the teary-eyed goblin grabs the one pretending to be dead by the ears.

  “Go-Gobu!” Ears in hand, the goblin makes for a runner.

  “T_T” The other tears up as they are dragged away.

  It’s unclear if the tears reflect the ear-ripping pain or the gratitude of being saved.

  I am left with my shadow facing the humans.

  “””…””” The trio looks at me with their mouths agape and their eyes round and big.

  They might be slayers of cute forest critters (goblins?), but I can forgive them. After all, I am somewhat lost in this forest, and some direction would be greatly appreciated. And it’s not like I can talk with the goblins. Right?

  From the bottom of my core, I mean no harm to the trio of slayers.

  “Be not afraid. I come in Peace.” I proclaim, meaning every word of it.

  “o_O”

  “O_O”

  “0_0”

  The trio looks at me with their mouths and eyes growing even bigger. So big that they form a near-perfect circle. A circle!

  Urgh… Suddenly, I find their expressions annoying. A circle is NOT a sphere, but it’s dang-near close!

  So-ooo Offensive! With a capital O! URGh!

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Something dark bubbles at my membrane.

  The humans react!

  …

  The goblin hunt was going swell and dandy.

  It was a sweet, oh-so-sweet experience for a budding party of adventurers.

  Exp, Exp, EXP!

  Plentiful to boot and easy to shoot. He-he-he!

  All was well until… an unexpected happened.

  A creature veiled in shadows, ebony as night and terrifying as a nightmare, emerged right out of nowhere.

  No… not nowhere.

  Surely, IT came from the deepest depths of the forest. The darkest abyss where no adventurer dares to venture.

  The… the Forbidden Place!

  IT is an aberration. It must be!

  “B?????????????? ??????????? ???????????????????? f??????????? ????????? a?????????? í????????? ?????????????!” IT bellowed at them. “W???????? ā?????? R??????” An alien cry grated not on their ears but on their very minds.

  “Careful. Behind me!” The sword swings in protection.

  “We better act quick!” A bow shoots an urged arrow.

  “…” The staff hesitates.

  …

  I find myself staring at the flying arrow.

  I am stumped at their behaviour.

  Why? How did I fail?

  I’m so surprised that I fail to even attempt dodging it.

  The arrow pierces my membrane. It flies through my inner darkness, piercing my contained shadows. The arrow embeds itself in a tree as it leaves my body.

  Strange…

  I feel no pain.

  I don’t even take damage.

  A mere bush had “bitten” me harder.

  “It… IT took no damage?” The bow string rings in confusion.

  “Why? What do we do now?” The sword wielder turns to the staff clutcher for answers.

  “I-It looks like a spiritual m-monster. Mundane attacks w-won’t do. Use Skills and Magic!”

  “Got it!” Filled with resolve, the bow notches an arrow.

  Wait… Don’t they get it? I mean no harm!

  “Guys, stop! This is a misunderstanding!” I try again.

  “““–_–””” They give me strange looks.

  Huh? Have I failed again?

  Wait… Can they even understand me?

  I remember that I don’t even have a mouth. Perhaps that’s why!

  But then…

  The vortex inside me swirls an eerie warning.

  “Got it! … –_– … [EnchantedArrow]!!!” A bow fires a glowing projectile.

  At the same time. “[Taunt],” a sword threatens me, bearing its point from distance..

  I’m forced to act on pure instinct.

  > Contain

  Just so, an arrow, suspended in a transparent cube, vibrates in front of me. It shakes violently.

  The cube spins out of my control. It is defiant.

  No, cube! Behave, behave!

  2nd Cube: -5 Social Credit! -– I yell internally.

  The glowing arrow hasn’t actually hit me, but… Gah!

  It makes no sense, but it's painful. I have an ache in my second cube!

  “How did it even…” The bow shakes in surprised hands.

  “IT ignored my taunt?!” The sword raged.

  “O’ holly light, gather in my sacred rod…” The once-hesitant staff now glows with purpose.

  An abrupt message ends my cube-related ache:

  > Your skill level is too low

  > Contain failed

  Right after that message, the cube breaks in a shower of purple sparkles, releasing the arrow.

  The still-glowing projectile starts flying as if it had never been stopped to begin with.

  Alas! Its trajectory has been drastically changed.

  ““!!!””

  “x_o”

  I didn’t mean it… I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.

  The arrow ends up piercing a delicate shoulder and breaking the spell mid-chant.

  “Sorry!” The bow holder looks at the staff, her bowstring full of apology.

  “It’s o-okay! You didn’t know this could happen. No worries. [HealingHand]” The wound at the shoulder closes, stemming the bleeding.

  “[Taunt]! Beggar's beard! It failed again!” The sword rages once more. “What do we do? Do we FIGHT or do we FLEE?”

  “You’re the leader; it's your call.” The bow readies a fresh arrow.

  I don’t like where this is going. It’s time I take my leave.

  I slither towards tree shadows.

  Yet I can’t shake the feeling that the murderous trio will pursue me.