Cultivation of Goblin

The goblins returned hours later, a pathetic sight. Their hunt had yielded little: a few meager grubs, some bitter-looking roots, and one half-eaten, scrawny rodent. They approached him hesitantly, eyes downcast, the chieftain pushing the meager offerings forward with a nervous grunt.

He felt a surge of cold anger. This was incompetence. This was the weakness he despised. He could hunt better than this himself.

"Is this all?" he growled, his voice low and dangerous. The chieftain flinched, pulling back his hand. "You call this a hunt? You call this provision for your new Master?"

The goblins whimpered, huddling together. "Master," the chieftain stammered, "the forest... it is bare today. And the larger beasts..."

"Excuses!" he snapped, a pebble skittering violently past the chieftain's ear with a flash of [Minor Earth Manipulation (E)]. The goblin collapsed in fear. "You think I brought you under my gaze for such pathetic results? You are goblins! You are meant to be cunning, fierce!"

He knew he had to show them. Not just command, but demonstrate. He had to be their example, their new alpha.

"Watch," he commanded, his gaze sweeping over their terrified faces. "Learn."

He moved to the cave entrance, his enhanced [Perception] already mapping the subtle sounds of the forest. He could feel the vibrations of small creatures, the rustle of leaves that hinted at more than just wind. He activated [Earth Sense (F)], pushing his mana. The life of the forest pulsed around him, clearer now than ever before.

He led them away from the immediate vicinity of the cave, deeper into the shadowy undergrowth. The goblins shuffled behind him, their fear of the unknown outweighed by their terror of displeasing him. He moved silently, a green shadow, a stark contrast to their clumsy, noisy footsteps.

He stopped near a small, overgrown thicket. His senses pinpointed a subtle tremor beneath the leaves. A creature. Small, but active.

"Silence," he hissed, turning to glare at his followers. They froze.

He used [Minor Earth Manipulation]. Instead of moving rocks, he focused on the loose earth and dead leaves around the thicket. With precise, subtle shifts, he began to create a small, almost imperceptible funnel, guiding the creature's likely escape path towards a specific point. He then loosened a small cluster of pebbles directly above that point, ready to drop.

He waited. His instincts, now sharper than ever, told him the moment. A faint rustle. The creature was moving.

He pounced, not at the creature itself, but at the prepared ambush point. As he lunged, he simultaneously triggered his trap. The pebbles clattered down, startling the creature into a desperate dash. It bolted directly into his waiting claws.

It was a plump forest hare, larger than any rodent they had brought him. He snapped its neck with a swift, decisive motion. Its struggles ceased.

He held it up, its fur still warm, dripping fresh blood. The goblins gasped, their dull eyes wide with awe. This wasn't just luck. This was skill. This was power.

"This is how you hunt," he snarled, throwing the hare at the chieftain's feet. "Not with fear, but with cunning. With skill. This is your first lesson."

The chieftain, trembling, picked up the hare. Its weight, its freshness, was a revelation. He understood. This new Master was different. This Master brought sustenance, not just commands.

He watched them. The fear was still there, but now, mixed with a new respect, a primal admiration for the hunter. He had shown them power, not just through arcane skills, but through the most fundamental act of survival. He had provided.

His control over them solidified. They were no longer just random goblins. They were his goblins. And this was just the beginning of their transformation, and his rise.