Gideon grows up in Madison, Wisconsin, the only child of parents who fought their way out of poverty and built a successful business empire. They raise him with a drive toward excellence, and he becomes a brilliant, intensely curious young man. He spends countless hours studying advanced books in libraries, far beyond his grade level, covering topics such as Roman logistics, Greek and Persian expansion, Alexander the Great’s campaigns, and the structures of ancient civilizations. He supplements his academic interests with a wide range of practical skills, including CPR, wound binding, and first response training.

  Although wealthy, Gideon attends public school because his parents want him to experience the world outside privilege. Their plan backfires. Other students distance themselves from him, and he becomes an outsider. The isolation does not faze him much because he fills his days with books and learning. At school he meets Max, another outcast. They bond quickly and remain inseparable for years. Max is physically strong and broad shouldered, while Gideon is wiry and thin. Max protects Gideon from bullies. Gideon supports Max academically, helping him with homework and projects.

  The two attend a fantasy and survival camp together from ages twelve to sixteen. They spend five years gaining basic survival skills and training with medieval style weapons. Max shows particular talent with swords. Gideon struggles with swords and bows but becomes competent with spears and staves.

  Both plan to attend college together. Gideon earns a full academic scholarship to UC Berkeley. Max maintains decent grades with Gideon’s help and earns a partial scholarship. Their future appears set. That future is cut short when Gideon and Max sacrifice their lives during a gas station explosion to save a child. The explosion kills them instantly.

  Gideon finds himself in a white void, faced with a humanoid figure seemingly made of light. It is a System Adjudicator, and says the System has marked him for a 2nd chance at life, due to his heroic actions preceding his death.

  Gideon is made to select which race he wants to become in the new world, and ultimately chooses to allow the System to randomly select his race, in return for 5 bonus Stat Points and a Unique Perk. The world goes dark.

  Gideon awakens in a new world as a goblin. He discovers his new body is small, weak, and fragile. He possesses Earth Affinity and four basic spells, all inconsistent and low powered. His Miscast perk makes every spell cost thirty percent more mana and occasionally produces random and useless side effects, such as a wisp of smoke, a spark, a faint breeze, or his hand becoming wet. He also receives the five bonus stat points. These points give him a stronger foundation than the average goblin, allowing him to survive longer than he otherwise could.

  He wakes in a cave and after experimenting with his new spells and skills, he ventures out to explore the forest. The world is immediately dangerous. He faces the risk of wolves, badgers, and foxes, any of which can kill him. A fox attacks him early on, and he barely survives the encounter. He rests in temporary shelters, constantly aware that one unlucky moment could end his new life.

  During his exploration, he finds signs of goblin activity, such as tracks, claw marks, and forest markers. He feels both excitement and fear. Goblins are tribal creatures who live in groups, which means safety, fire, tools, and numbers, but also cruelty and danger. Before he can decide how to approach them, he wakes to find himself surrounded by six goblins pointing weapons at him. They capture him and bring him to the Ironfang tribe as a slave.

  Life in the tribe is harsh. The living conditions are filthy. There is a large pile of goblin waste in the corner of the cave. Sick goblins lie among the healthy, spreading illness. Wounds are untreated and left to fester. There is no organization, no sanitation, and no system for care. Gideon realizes that while he is a slave, the tribe is still his best chance at survival.

  He begins to work for the tribe willingly. He cleans away the filth, earning jeers and insults from the tribes warriors. They call him a Grub for digging in shit, and the name sticks. The System changes his name on his Status. Gideon/Grub continues to work relentlessly to improve the tribes conditions, reasoning that a stronger tribe means better protection for him. He hauls out waste, and tends to the sick and wounded.

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  The Ironfang tribe Chief, a Hobgoblin named Dravak Ironfang, notices his work. It is strange to him, but it intrigues him. He is different from most goblins, preferring to think and plan and strategize rather than rushing headfirst at all problems like the others. He was called strange in his old tribe, so he knows what strangeness can lead to.

  Results appear quickly. Sick goblins begin to recover. Wounded goblins stand again. Chief Dravak notices the improvement and asks Grub what else he can do.

  Grub recommends quarantining the sick from the healthy. Dravak allows him one week to prove that the idea works. He separates those with open wounds, cleans injuries, and applies basic techniques learned from his old life.

  Grub’s willingness to help their captors enrages the six other slaves. His acceptance of slavery, his dedication, and his results make them feel like he is betraying them. Their anger escalates until two of them attack him in an attempt to kill him. Grub defends himself and kills both attackers. This act earns him his first level up.

  The remaining four slaves reconsider their stance. They begin to follow Grub and help him with his work. Together they tend to the sick and wounded, clean the cave, and improve conditions. Their assistance allows the tribe to stabilize. Under Grub’s direction, their competence increases significantly.

  Grub asks Dravak if he can earn his freedom. Dravak tells him yes, but only if he completes two tests of loyalty. Grub insists that the four who have been helping him must be allowed to earn their freedom alongside him. Dravak, intrigued by their unity, agrees.

  The first test requires them to guard the cave all night long without assistance. During the night, two starving wolves attack. Grub and the four goblins hold the line and kill the wolves.

  The second test requires them to tend all six of the tribe’s fire pits throughout the night, keeping them burning steadily. They not only succeed but also prepare cooked meat for the tribe to eat in the morning, showing initiative beyond the minimum required.

  Having passed both tests, all five swear loyalty to Dravak and the Ironfang tribe. They are accepted as full members.

  As winter approaches, Grub designs a plan to build a protective wall across the cavern entrance and construct smoke vents to allow safe airflow for fires. To enact his plan, he must reveal his magical abilities to the tribe. Goblins hate and fear magic, and they respond negatively when Grub shows what he can do.

  Dravak explains there is a children's tale about a shaman of old who went mad that is used to keep children in line, and that is the main reason Goblins do not like it. He does not believe the tale is true, and let's Grub live, as he has proved his usefulness time and time again, and Dravak cannot justify killing the goblin that has helped the tribe so much right before winter hits. He agrees to Grubs plan for the wall and vents, and assigns 3 warriors to help Grub make the wall in the cave mouth.

  Meanwhile, the four former slaves have learned enough from him to tend the sick and wounded completely on their own. The system acknowledges their new skill and redesignates them from Goblin Warrior to Goblin Healer.

  When the wall is finished, the three warriors who assisted in its construction are redesignated from Goblin Warrior to Goblin Builder. Grub is now responsible for not only big changes within the tribes behaviors, but also now its structure as a whole. These 2 new System designations for the common goblins are unheard of, and further cement Grubs growing reputation in the tribe.

  One night, dire wolves howl in the northern forest. The sound signals the presence of a dire wolf pack, a deadly threat capable of wiping out the entire tribe. Dravak consults with his two lieutenants, Throk the Fighter, and Kesh the Scoutmaster, to create a plan of attack to address this existential threat to the tribe. After the plan is made, he gathers the majority of the tribe, thirty five warriors in all, and leads them to eliminate the pack. The warband sets up several ambushes to thin the wolves before reaching the den. They eventually attack the den itself and kill all adult wolves.

  Before leaving, Grub had requested that if wolf pups were present, Dravak should bring them back. Dravak honors this request, despite every instinct within him screaming for him to kill the pups and eliminate the threat for good.

  The warband returns with eleven wolf pups, but only twenty one of the original thirty five warriors survive the expedition. Nearly all survivors are wounded. Grub and the healers immediately begin treating them.

  While the warband was gone, Grub remained in the cavern with the four healers, the three builders, the three recovering adults, and the ten children. He did not spend the time idle. He organized training for the children, helping them begin to transform into future warriors instead of aimless youngsters.

  Dravak presents the pups, and Grub decides the children should be the ones to receive them. The ten children each choose one. Only the smallest pup remains At the end. It is the runt of the litter.

  Dravak declares that a runt should be paired with a runt, implying that the smallest pup belongs with Grub. Grub accepts reluctantly and names her Sable. He begins teaching the children how to bond with their pups, feed them, care for them, and begin the earliest stages of training them as companions and future partners in battle.