I know, I know. There is no shortcut to success. So humans say.

But I’m not human, not anymore, and this isn’t some graded exam. This is my life.

I won’t do anything wicked or unethical, but I can’t afford to play nice anymore.

The undergrowth of the jungle at night is a barrier that should come with a sign: TURN BACK NOW. GO HOME.

However, I’m not alone.

Kasz skulks ahead of me, slipping through the thick veil of greenery with an ease that I wouldn’t expect. With goblins, one might predict some slashing, cutting, and breakage. Machetes and bare hands. However, Kasz is a goblin chief, and they’re a bit cleverer than the average goblin.

Behind me, Lobo aka Damon follows, scenting the air. [Are we sure about this?]

I grunt, keeping largely silent. [The tournament is six weeks away, and the competition is only sounding fiercer every day.]

Lobo woofs quietly. [You have a point. I still don’t like this, but we need every advantage.]

We slipped out, just the two of us, after Gussie, Demos, and the rest went to sleep. Prying myself away from Lightning’s warmth was the tricky part, but it couldn’t be helped.

Gussie is aware of what we’re doing, but she needs to stay behind with Lamant because he’s a bit overprotective after the jaguar-scorpion attack. In fact, Gussie communicated our desires to Kasz.

Not one for superfluous chitchat, Kasz guides us. "Most people don’t expect goblins to know jungles. Well, goblins know treasures. Secret things. Forbidden things. Parrot tells me you want to look for these things tonight."

I offer a little "mrrrp" acknowledging his statement. Lobo woofs. Still staying under the radar of any jungle predators, whether animal or human or elven or otherwise.

My fur is slick with water and possibly something gelatinous that I don’t want to name. It can’t be a Gelatinous Cube, because as far as I know, there aren’t any. Just jungle essences. Maybe the sap from a tree. Right. Let’s go with that.

I follow Kasz. He occasionally barks out clipped commands to keep us moving deeper into the jungle. We don’t know where we’re going.

With a pang of guilt, I think of Lightning. She sleeps more deeply these days, but what if she wakes up and finds me missing?

What if this potion affects her negatively? And the cubs? What if it hurts Kaline as well?

Before we set out on this wild night journey, I asked Gussie to ask if the potion was safe, and Kasz solemnly assured me, "I would rather eat metal than hurt Raara. Young Miss too."

Since that appeared to have the force of a solemn vow, I accepted it.

Although conflicted, I have to trust what Kasz is telling me, because my life, Amber’s life, and Damon’s life depend on it. There aren’t a lot of alternatives. Lamant is finicky about what potions and aids we take. It’s entirely in-character, but it just happen to play into System’s hands. Well, of course it does. System controls the game.

However, System no longer controls me, or Lobo.

Lobo tenses and growls. [I don’t believe it.]

[Shhh!]

[It’s THEM. Zuba and Ophion. The baboon and the snake from our rivals, the Bottomsleys.]

Oh, Primal Beast!

My ears act like sonar, trying to detect the slithering of a python across leaves and the loping of a baboon through the underbrush and in the trees.

I skulk slowly. [What are they doing here?]

[Training? Out for a stroll? You got me.]

I analyze the situation, marrying human reasoning to my beast form. [Do you know who is playing them?]

[Not personally. I know them online. I wouldn’t say we’re friends, but we chat in-game. I don’t know if they’re allies.]

Ah. Of course.

[So, you don’t know if they’re aware of what System is doing?]

He woofs. [Only you and I are aware, as far as I know. It has a way of distorting reality and playing with your mind the longer you play the game.]

[Should we engage?]

He grimaces. [Let’s just keep an eye on them.]

Although my impulses are poking at me, spurring me to do the opposite, I heed my brother’s advice. After all, if I start talking about the game and System and all that, at best our opponents will paint me as crazy. Worst case scenario? System will just throw a series of exhausting distractions in my path from now until the tournament.

Kasz whistles, making it sound like the call of a jungle bird. "Here! Through here. Tunnel."

Tunnel? Oh, well, goblins do know tunnels and shortcuts. The NPC meant to divert me is proving to be a valuable addition to my quest.

We crouch low as Ophion and Zuba make their way through the jungle parallel to us. So far, so good. They haven’t sensed us. They also don’t seem to have smelled the goblin making his way through the woods ahead of us like a seasoned woodsman. How, I wonder, does he know the woods so well when he’s spent his life underground?

We pass through a narrow stone archway that seems out of place in the jungle, except that vines and greenery embrace it. One green goblin, a golden tiger, and a silver wolf, skulking through the arch in the glowing dark jungle. Next, we pass through a series of similar archways that form a tunnel of sorts.

Although jungle smells are concentrated all around me, especially in the tunnel, I can’t smell whichever potion or magical artifact Kasz has located.

I appeal to Lobo. [Brother, I need help. Do you smell anything? Sense anything?]

[No. Whatever it is, it’s well hidden. These archways seem to go on forever. And I don’t smell our friends, either...]

I keep moving. [Well, they probably didn’t see this tunnel. Who other than Kasz would know it was here?]

Lobo can’t argue with that. [No one. This is one very useful NPC you befriended.]

[Yes, I doubted the wisdom of that, and you know System sent him as a distraction.]

Lobo growls softly. [Because it knows you have a soft heart, despite all that lawyer logic.]

I huff. [Nothing that I’ve done since I’ve incarnated has been exactly logical.]

He sounds wistful. [I know. That’s the one bright spot in this whole crazy adventure. I like my non-logical brother. And I think you do, too.]

His observation, as always lands exactly where it’s supposed to. [Maybe.]

Kasz whistles again. "Just a little more. Not far now! You will see."

We make it through the last arch into a kind of gazebo, or maybe a pagoda. Moonlight filters through a stone lattice and bathes a pedestal, upon which rests a glowing golden box.

I glance at Lobo/Damon. [Let me guess. This is a secret part of the game that we just unlocked somehow. This is too tempting a find otherwise. Other players would surely have snatched it up by now.]

He beams, proud. [I may have gotten my hands on some secret knowledge and rumors in the gamer forums.]

[Thank goodness for you being such a gamer geek.]

Kasz approaches the pedestal, and we pull ourselves up by our paws to see the discovery. Kasz opens the box.

Holding my breath, I peer into it.

The box contains a single amulet set with a multicolored crystal. With a hint of avarice, Kasz picks it up and inspects it before draping it around my neck. "Only one. It is for Raar and his mate."

I lick his fingers, and he beams.

Lobo woofs. [I like that! You automatically get it after I did all the legwork?]

But he doesn’t argue or act resentful. That’s just Damon.

With the amulet around my neck, I don’t feel any different. Maybe that is deliberate so System doesn’t register it. After all, it’s only supposed to be rumor. But where did the rumors come from? How is it that a piece of this game world evaded System’s notice?

Could there be someone on the outside, or even within the game, that is our secret ally? Someone who is aware of the danger that System poses?

No time to ponder that. We need to get back to the villa before everyone else realizes that we’re missing. We make tracks, following Kasz back through the tunnel. The return trip seems to go faster than the journey to the secret site.

Kasz glances around, still wary, even though giving us this treasure has obviously pleased him. He isn’t one to let his ego interfere. Neither are we. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

So far, so good. We just have to be careful until we reach home.

Lobo’s hackles raise, and he growls, stopping dead. Too late.

Ophion the python rears up in front of us, a sinus harbinger of doom. Zuba blocks our path, a furry barrier.

[Well, well, well.] Zuba’s purple and gold hues glow dark and ominous. {What do we have here? Stealing our treasure?]

THEIR treasure?