《Greed》 Prologue Prologue: Kei Daichi lived an unfortunate life. His mother died upon given birth to him and his father died when he was at the age of three as a result of a drunk driver. He didn¡¯t really know much about them. At the funeral, none of his distant relatives wanted to take him in. However, Masao Daichi (his grandfather) was willing to. His grandfather was a very kind man. He taught Kei a lot. He especially focused on the fact that one should be very prudent of others. Furthermore, to not trust anyone but one¡¯s self. Ironically, his grandfather died by making that same mistake. After going out of his way to invite an unknown homeless man for dinner and giving him a set of new clothes, the man stabbed him, stole what he could from the house, and ran away. Upon entering home from school and seeing the body of his only real family on the floor, Kei etched the scene into his mind. Consequently, the boy was relocated to a very poor orphanage run by nuns (who were surprisingly very spiteful). He had little to nothing to his name. He also strongly believed that giving in the context of ¡°good¡± would only backfire in the long run. By subconsciously making this moral decision, something was growing deep inside of his heart. This ¡°thing¡± would slowly grow and eventually influence all of his future decisions. It was the trait called ¡°Greed¡±. Kei was now 30 years old. He worked for a gaming company by testing and playing new games that came out yearly. He would make very little from this job and could only afford the basic necessities. In terms of appearance, he was barely average looking and quite chubby. This was probably because his diet consisted of cup ramen and soda. Being that he didn¡¯t care much for hygiene and that he didn¡¯t leave his house much, it was quite obvious that he¡¯d still be a virgin at this age. That being said, he always dreamt of having his own harem.But, there was something he wanted more than that. He wanted money. He wanted strength. He wanted power. Basically, he wanted everything. He wished for this from the bottom of his heart. However, Kei was not a pessimist nor an optimist. He was a realist. He understood that at best in this world, he could be constituted as average; as he had low talent, and very little resources to make a difference in the world. As a result, Kei ended up with his game testingprofession. He would spend hours on end playing different online games; trying to reach the highest level. This would at least allow him to make his dreams a reality (in some sense of the word). His job also consisted of finding glitches within games. These were basically any sort of problems within the game that could be abused to obtain strength/money/power beyond the norm. He knew that it wouldn¡¯t really be useful in the real world, but he was really good at finding them for his company. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. While in the middle of playing ¡°War of Worlds¡± on his PC, he began to feel dizzy and short of breath. *Author¡¯s Note: Anything in parenthesis from now on represents the thoughts of Kei (when I leave a dedicated line for it of course)!* (Woah, is this what I think it is? No way. It¡¯s probably just because I¡¯ve stayed up for so long.) Unfortunately for Kei, this was the wrong assumption. His chest began to tighten and his grip on the mouse loosened. His vision began blurring. (Seriously!? Is this really how I¡¯m going to bite the dust?) As his life was coming to an end, he violently thought: ¡°I wish I could have had it all¡±. His eyes closed, as he faded into darkness. Keiwoke up in a very dimly lit area. There were rocks everywhere and the form of the surrounding walls seemed to be concave. Laying on the floor were a few torches. The area behind him was also completely closed off. It seemed to be a cave that was unidirectional. However, Kei was so lost that he didn¡¯t have the opportunity to think calmly about the situation. (What the hell happened? Wasn¡¯t I supposed to be dead?) After the initial shock, the first thing that came to his mind was his life before he died. He wished that he had been born with better talent and was given better opportunities. He also believed that if this had occurred, he may have even surprised himself with the resulting success! After having calmed down, he began to make his own deductions about the current situation. He was quite perceptive. (I¡¯m guessing I¡¯m probably reincarnated. That would make the most sense after dying. What¡¯s weird is that I still have my old memories. Hahaha, I guess I somehow managed to hack life. Let¡¯s see if I could put them to good use this time.) He tried moving, and noticed that he was hunched over and walking on four legs. Shocked, he tried walking on two feet but immediately failed. Curious about how he looked, he decided to move close to a puddle that was not too far away from him. (Dear lord, I reincarnated into a rat! I¡¯m pretty low on the food chain. I guess luck¡¯s not on my side.) Oddly, this form represented Kei¡¯s true inner being. He cared only for himself; much like a rat. Although he might not have acted upon his desires in his previous life, nothing was stopping him now. With many regrets and high ambitions, Kei reassured himself. (So what if I¡¯m a rat? That won¡¯t discourage me! I¡¯m going to do what I want this time. I really have nothing to lose.) Making this decision, he scurried towards the only direction available for him at the time. Forward. Chapter 1: New skills As Kei was moving around in the cave, he heard a splashing sound. Something was getting closer. As it was getting near, Kei saw a being that was light blue, round, and was bouncing on the ground. (Holy crap, it¡¯s a slime!) He did not expect that. Back on earth, there was no such monster. Although Kei previously lived during the late 21st century where complex robots were being made, slimes were only beings found in comics or MMORPGs. This made it clear to him that this was not his original world. In fact, Kei even went as far as to assume that this was either some form of fantasy or online game-based world. (Oh shit! Run!) Slimes are usually the weakest monsters of the food chain. This made it even more pitiful for Kei who was less than ten times its size and running for his life. Kei knew that if the slime got any closer, that he would meet his end. Making a desperate last ditch effort to survive, he made a decision based on his previous assumptions and yelled something. *Author¡¯s Note: Anything in brackets [] are considered speech said out loud and anything represented by the game is in this form of brackets {}* [¡°Skill! Shit! Skills open! Skills activate!¡±] Kei then heard a very peculiar voice. This voice was coming from within his mind. {Skills activated.} {As your only skill as of now is: ¡°Greed¡±, ¡°Greed¡± will be activated.} {Your opponent is within range. ¡°Greed¡± has successfully stolen the following skill: ¡°Fire Resistance¡±.} Kei was both shocked and in awe of what he had just heard. However, his new life was on the line. (Damn it! What the hell! Fire resistance!? What do you expect me to do with that!?) The slime was closing in on Kei. He had but a few seconds left. (Wait! Did it say ¡°stole a skill¡±? That must mean that I now have it and he doesn¡¯t. But wait, why am I trusting a random voice in my head!?) As Kei was trying to make his decision, the slime ended up right behind him. Right beside him, he noticed the torches on the side of the cave. (Oh, what the hell!) He quickly decided to move to the side, hoping that his fire resistance would work, and hopefully burn the slime who just now had his ability stolen from him. (Please work!) He jumped over the torch and passed through the fire unharmed. On the contrary, the slime bumped right into the torch, and was now on fire. However, as it was slowly melting away, and slowing down, it still managed to tail right behind Kei for a few seconds. (Yes! It actually worked! That¡¯s what you get for messing with a gamer.) Immediately after, Kei heard the voice again. {Slime defeated. Kei Daichi has received some EXP points.} {As a result of defeating the opponent, passive skill ¡°Greed¡± has now stolen: ¡°Slime mimicry¡±.} {Item dropped: Slime Nuclear Core. In order to understand this item Kei Daichi must obtain skill ¡°Observe¡±.} Kei was baffled. Not only does he have a skill called ¡°Greed¡± but he also obtained two new skills: ¡°Fire Resistance¡± and ¡°Slime Mimicry¡±. Hoping that this world was similar to the games he played in his previous life, Kei yelled out: Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. [Search skill: ¡°Greed¡±, ¡°Fire Resistance¡±, ¡°Slime Mimicry¡±] Surprisingly, the voice appeared again. {Skill ¡°Greed¡± has been found.} {Greed (beginner): Upon obtaining this skill, one must be within 50 metres of the target to steal their skill. Skill can also be obtained by devouring the target. Skill must be active if the target is not being devoured or killed. Otherwise, skill does not need to be activated to function. Upon killing or devouring the target extra skill ¡°Mimicry¡± will be obtained. All jobs can be stolen. However, for skills, one must have at least one skill of that tier to obtain other skills of the same tier if the individual is not devoured. If devouring, the individual must be within two tiers. Skills are as follows: beginner, intermediate, experienced, professional, legendary, and godly. Skills obtained cannot be lost, however, new skills can be made with a ¡°Synergy¡± skill. If the skill has already been obtained, stealing it again will only slightly strengthen it.} {Skill ¡°Fire Resistance¡± has been found.} {Fire resistance (beginner): Resistant to all types of fire.} {Skill ¡°Slime Mimicry¡± has been found. This skill is classified under ¡°Mimicry¡±.} {Mimicry (beginner): Upon activating this skill, the individual will mimic into the choice of being that they have obtained. The individual will never change forms, even if they have received fatal damage, unless they personally choose to deactivate this skill. If damage to the being is done, the individual can deactivate and reactivate this skill and look back to normal. However, damage to the individual is still maintained.} I huge grin appeared on Kei¡¯s face. However, as he was a rat, he could only demonstrate his happiness by relaxing his ears; a very bizarre way for rats to demonstrate their excitement. (Hahaha! This is what I¡¯m talking about. No one¡¯s safe. With this skill, I¡¯m basically a cheat character! But, that won¡¯t stop me. I¡¯m going to steal any and every skill from everyone. No mercy. I¡¯ll take control of this world and whatever else might be out there for me.) However, Kei was not na?ve either. After hearing an overload of information, skills, and their uses, one problem that Kei noticed with ¡°Greed¡± was that for tiers of skills that were greater than his own, he would not obtain the skill by just stealing it. He must devour the opponent. Also, if they are not within two tiers, then he can just keep them until he gets a skill with a tier below it. He also deduced that ¡°Greed¡± probably had some mechanism to make it easier for him to devour things. Furthermore, he wondered if this would work with non-living beings as well, since ¡°target¡± doesn¡¯t necessarily mean living and the skill also stated ¡°devoured¡± or ¡°killed¡±. He tested this on a rock by activating the skill on the target and obtained ¡°hard¡±. When activated, the skill would provide a weak invisible protective barrier around him. He believed that it would do for now. Excited for what¡¯s come, Kei was anxiously waiting to put ¡°Greed¡± to use. He scurried on. Chapter 2: Trouble While moving on, Kei noted that he would come back later to pick up the slime nuclear core once he found a body that was big enough to carry it. Since he did not have the ¡°observe¡± ability, getting stronger and finding someone with the skill was the main priority. (Let¡¯s see. I should probably move around as a slime to get around here faster.) [¡°Activate Slime Mimicry¡±] {¡°Slime Mimicry¡± has been activated.} Kei noticed that he felt much lighter, despite the increase in size. He was also able to move quite a lot faster in this form. Immediately, he spotted a group of five or six slimes not too far ahead. He had devised a plan to deal with them if the situation were to arise. Surprisingly, when disguised as a slime, the other slimes did not seem to be aggressive. Kei took advantage of this opportunity by stealing their fire resistance to strengthen his own. His ¡°Fire Resistance (beginner)¡± changed to ¡°Fire Resistance (beginner-strengthened). (These slimes are making this too easy!) He also began to execute his plan in order to defeat the slimes with little to no effort. He bounced into the torches on the sides of the cave to knock them over next to the other slimes. From his previous altercation, he reasoned that by having stolen their own skills, he could set them on fire as a result of there being no resistance to it. The five slimes that were obstructing his path slowly melted away. Also, having defeated a large quantity of monsters, Kei received a large amount of experience points (EXP). He then heard the voice from his head. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. {Having gained sufficient EXP, Kei has jumped from level 1 to level 3.} Unsure of how the level system worked in this world, Kei was even more eager to communicate with someone. This way, he could potentially find cheats and strategies to get more, faster. (I need to find someone quickly! It¡¯ll also be funny to see how they react when I steal their skills after they tell me everything.) In the process of planning ahead and bouncing forward in his slime form, Kei could see a bright light not too far ahead. He was positive that this was his way out of the cave. But, what lay in front him quickly discouraged him. Loud voice: [¡°Takka Tuk la makka mak Luk!¡±] (Holy shit! Shit, shit, shit! I did not expect this to happen so soon!) A few feet away was a hunched, average-sized green monster. Its face was twisted-looking and all of its features were quite unpleasant. It seemed to be a male. On its hand was a wooden stick shaped like a spear and the expression on its face displayed a menacing glare. (A goblin!? Crap this is going to be tough. But, I can¡¯t wait to see what skills I can steal from this guy.) The new challenge that appeared before Kei, left him both anxious and excited. Chapter 3: Goblin vs. Slime Kei was unsure of how to approach the situation. If he stole the goblin¡¯s skill(s), the goblin would be incapacitated. However, by doing so, he wouldn¡¯t be able to gouge his own capacities by fighting the goblin at full strength. With little time to decide, he came up with an idea. (I¡¯ll test him at full strength and see if I can manage. If he¡¯s too tough for me, I¡¯ll try to beat him after stealing his skills.) Since ¡°Greed¡± must be activated for any chosen target(s) unless they¡¯re killed or devoured, Kei¡¯s decision could be executed. The goblin began slowly approaching him. Since Kei was in his slime form and did not have eyes, ¡°Mimicry¡± compensated for this by allowing him to sense his surroundings in a manner that closely replicated eye sight. He began to notice the goblin slowly pulling back the hand holding his spear. It launched the spear straight towards Kei. (Here goes!) Expecting as much, Kei swiftly dodged the attack. But, contrarily to what he planned, the spear was quite fast, and he barely dodged it. Realizing the large difference in strength, Kei decided to steal the goblin¡¯s skills. But, when in the midst of activating ¡°Greed¡±, the goblin had already began charging at him. (Crap! This is backfiring pretty quickly.) Kei began bouncing back further into the cave. Luckily, as a slime, his speed was faster than the goblin and allowed him enough time to activate the skill. [¡°Greed Activate!¡±] {Greed has been activated.} {Your opponent is within range. ¡°Greed¡± has successfully stolen the following job and skills: ¡°Job: Spear User¡±, ¡°Goblin Language¡±, ¡°Devour¡±.} The excitement of uncovering newly gained skills motivated Kei to quickly defeat his opponent. However, even after stealing all of the goblin¡¯s abilities, the goblin was still quite a bit larger than the slime; meaning that Kei still did not have the upper hand. (It looks like I¡¯m still too weak. I¡¯ll have to find a way to cheat death this time again.) Bouncing deeper into the cave, Kei still found a few unused torches. Taking into account ¡°Hard¡± (the weak protective skill that he gained when stealing from a rock), he devised a plan. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.[¡°Activate Hard!¡±] {Skill ¡°Hard¡± has been activated.} Unlike the slimes that Kei previously defeated, the goblin was more intelligent. He would not run straight into a fire and could make distance if a torch were to tip over. Kei had to get the goblin to purposely hit the area with the torches. The only way to draw the goblin would be for Kei to stand right in front of the pile of torches. The goblin was charging at full speed and closing in on him. Kei continued to stand there without any signs of movement. (Let¡¯s hope this works!) The goblin swiped his hand at Kei. This resulted in Kei slamming into the cave wall on the other side. Coincidentally, the goblin also ended up knocking over the torches behind Kei. His hand was now bursting in flames. (He took the bait!) This was all according to Kei¡¯s plan. To prevent any damage, he had activated his barrier. Nonetheless, the goblin was quite strong and managed to break the barrier and slightly damage him. But, the result was worth it. The goblin¡¯s entire arm was engulfed in flames as they were slowly creeping down to the rest of his body. It began running around in circles. Goblin: [¡°Lak ta Kataka!! Kataka! Lak ta kata!] Kei did not understand the words of the goblin in the midst of such a gruesome sight. Forgetting to activate his new skill ¡°Goblin Language¡±, he assumed it to be swearing. Seeing the goblin close to death¡¯s door, Kei could not help but feel a wave of relief. (Phew! That worked well didn¡¯t it?) It did not take long for the goblin to disappear and burn to ash. {Goblin defeated. Kei Daichi has received some EXP points.} {As a result of defeating the opponent, passive skill ¡°Greed¡± has now stolen: ¡°Goblin mimicry¡±.} {Item dropped: Spear. In order to understand this item Kei Daichi must obtain skill ¡°Observe¡±.} Kei was annoyed at the fact that he was told that the spear was dropped, when in reality, it was just there as a result of being thrown at him. (I guess that this world is a bit more realistic than I originally thought¡­) But, Kei quickly dismissed this thought. Having obtained a job and new skills, Kei was eager to begin learning about them and testing them out. Chapter 4: Goblin Village Expecting some good results from defeating the goblin, Kei began to check his new skills and job. [Search skills: ¡°Goblin Language¡±, ¡°Devour¡±] [Search job: ¡°Spear User¡±] {Goblin Language (beginner): Upon activating this skill, the user can speak fluently with goblins. Skill will become passive after initial activation.} {Devour (beginner): This passive skill allows the user to devour the target. This skill can now be used with ¡°Greed¡± for obtaining ¡°Mimicry¡± and other jobs and skills from the target upon devouring them. The more the target is devoured, the more jobs and skills the individual can steal from them.} {Spear User (intermediate): This skill allows the user to fight efficiently with spears. As the job evolves with experience, the user becomes more efficient and inflicts more damage when using spears.} Kei was very satisfied with the results. He noticed that with ¡°devour¡±, he could eat the corpse of someone he didn¡¯t necessarily defeat and still gain some of their skills. He was also thrilled with his first new job. (Finally! I can use a weapon. I¡¯m still probably a noob, but who cares!? Anything¡¯s better than a rat at this point.)Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Seeing that he could now speak with goblins as well, he was hoping to find more of them. He also hoped to disguise himself in their group as the one he just killed using goblin mimicry. (I need to find someone to talk to as soon as possible. The only way for me to exploit this world is if I know how it works.) Noting this, he exited the cave in his newly attained goblin form. While carrying the spear for protection, he decided to follow the dead goblin¡¯s footprints in anticipation of finding its original location. As it was getting dark, Kei began running. (This goblin body is pissing me off. It feels like I have a wedgie every time I take a step forward.) Along the way, he encountered a few rabbits and a snake. In a rush, he avoided any encounters. He kept a mental note of the monsters he¡¯s come across up until this point. Seeing many large trees and bushes, he assumed he was in some sort of forest. As he was inching closer and closer to the end of the trail, Kei began hearing some voices. Goblin 1: [Man, I wish I was a hobgoblin already. That blonde chick in the storage room, she¡¯s got a sweet ass!] Goblin 2: [Shut the fuck up. That bitch is mine. You¡¯re so weak that I bet you won¡¯t even become a hobgoblin in your lifetime.] Kei was baffled at the contents of the conversation. However, he could care less about that. What lay in front of him was even more surprising. There were small wooden sheds all around him and multiple goblins walking to and from them. (A goblin village!? This is going to be fun. I can¡¯t wait to rule over them.) Walking past the few trees in his way, Kei entered the village with caution. Chapter 5: Goblin Elder Noticing that the goblins continued their conversation even upon him entering their territory, Kei was relieved. (Seriously, do these two idiots not realize that some random just walked into their village? But, then again, mimicry is just THAT good.) Kei was right. His skill allowed him to thoroughly copy the bodies of those he killed. This allowed him to walk past all the unsuspecting goblins with very little trouble. (Now, what should I do? Am I supposed to have a house or something?) He walked around, hoping for someone to recognize him. While walking around the village, he happened to bump into a goblin. However, this was not just any goblin. He was much taller than Kei in his goblin form. His skin tone was blue and he was quite muscular. A large scar, shaped like an ¡°X¡±, was easy to spot on his bare torso. (What the heck! How do I get myself into these situations!? Will I have to fight him and whoever joins us?) But, the goblin just glared at him as if to say ¡°move aside if you don¡¯t want to die¡±, before suddenly walking off. Having avoid unwanted conflict, Kei continued searching the village. Unknown goblin: [Hey Kawai! You seem to be lost. What are you looking for?] Kei was confused. A short goblin with the appearance of an old man appeared before him. He wondered who the short goblin was addressing. However, the goblin continued staring right at him. Kei finally understood.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. (This old fart¡¯s still staring at me? So the name of the goblin I killed was Kawai¡­ what a horrible name. I must have done him a service for killing him.) After a short conversation, the old goblin revealed himself to be the village elder. Kei made the excuse that he experienced some form of trauma whilst fighting a monster, and therefore could only remember the location of the village. While listening to his story, the goblin slowly nodded in silence. (Let¡¯s just hope he believes this crap.) From what Kei learned, the goblins would sleep in their own shed at night. Then, when morning came, everyone was free to do as they pleased. Food was not provided, and the only way to survive would be to hunt. The elder lead Kei towards a small shed. This would be his lodging for the night. Apparently ¡°Kawai¡± (the goblin that he killed), lived alone and fought solo. Before leaving, the elder informed Kei on where to find him. If Kei wanted, he could ask about general information like the monsters that existed in the forest, or even the ranking system of this world. (Ranks!? That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard of them. It looks like I really need to know more about this world. Good thing I¡¯ve met this guy. If he¡¯s lived long enough, he might even have some good skills for me steal.) Upon entering the shed, the intense stench of manure permeated the environment. There were no beds. Instead, Kei found a pile of grass in the corner. He assumed it to be some sort of pillow. He put his spear on the floor, and tried setting up the grass in the most comfortable manner. Once lying down, he realised the shed could just barely fit his body. But, he didn¡¯t mind. He finally managed to infiltrate the village, and now, he could hunt monsters to his heart¡¯s content. Before entering a deep sleep, he imagined all the endless possibilities in front of him. Chapter 6: The Hunt Kei woke up to the sound of footsteps. As he opened his eyes, he saw a bright light coming from outside; leading him to blink a few times. It was early in the morning and the other goblins were already off to hunt. (Looks like it¡¯s time for me to get to work.) In his mind, he already knew how he¡¯d hunt. On the first day, Kei would test the waters and hunt on his own. If it became too tough, only then would he make his own party. Set on following through with the plan, Kei picked up his spear and left the shed. He dropped by the elder¡¯s room for advice on where to find weaker monsters. Since he was still not that strong, there would be no point in asking about ranks or other affairs. The goblin elder informed Kei that the monsters nearest to the village would be snakes. Although they were the weakest, it sometimes took more than five goblins to fight one. Usually, they would barely manage to defeat it. This was due to the snake¡¯s venom. It caused instant death to any goblin who dared to face it. The elder also informed him that this was why starvation rates within the village were quite high. Unless someone formed a party, it would be difficult to find food. Easier monsters such as rats or slimes required them to venture further into the forest; a dangerous decision. This was because the further one went, the stronger the enemies. (This trip might be a bit rough. But, then again, I¡¯m not just any ¡°goblin¡±.) Confident in his abilities, yet not overly optimistic, Kei followed one of the paths previously recommended by the elder. He walked for about an hour before stumbling upon his first opponent. Opponent: [¡°Ssssssssssssssss¡±] It was a medium-sized snake. It had yellow scales and was about two meters in length.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. (If I was still a rat, I probably would have been the one hunted. Too bad for you.) He held up his spear and began circling around the snake, waiting for it to attack. However, it continued to stay in place and hiss. This continued on for an entire hour. Kei was getting impatient. (Well, it looks like I¡¯ll just have to incapacitate it then. I have to hurry if I want to kill as many of these guys as possible.) Kei then activated ¡°Greed¡±. He obtained the following skills: {Poison Resistance (beginner): This passive skill allows the user to no longer be affected by poisons. The more this skill is used and strengthened, the stronger the poison that one can withstand.} {Venom (intermediate): Upon activation, this skill makes the users¡¯ bodily fluids poisonous. However, the effects of this poison are greater in the saliva and blood. The more this skill is used and strengthened, the stronger the poison that one can produce.} Now used to stealing abilities, Kei was only moderately pleased. He still had his eyes on the prize. (I¡¯ve taken away his poison abilities but that doesn¡¯t mean he still can¡¯t attack me. If I have to stare at this damn snake for another second, I think I¡¯m going to go crazy!) He came up with a plan of action. [Activate ¡°Hard¡±!] He ran towards the snake with his left arm out. It flew towards him and pierced its fangs right into his forearm. Luckily, the weak barrier around him provided protection and the fangs didn¡¯t dig too deep. (Now, it¡¯s time for you to pay.) He lifted his spear then began to continuously stab the snake. It tried to wiggle its way out of his arm but it was already too late. Kei did not allow it any time to escape. He held onto its head and continued the assault. Snake: ¡°SSSSSSSSsssssssssss¡­ ssssss¡­ssss...ss¡± It stopped moving. (What a persistent bastard! I don¡¯t even remember how many times I had to hit it before it died¡­.) Having defeated the snake, he could now mimic himself into its form. Kei also gained a large amount of experience points and shot up to level 8. He pulled the snake out of his arm and threw it on the ground. The swollen forearm was dripping with blood. Needing a break, he lied down on a nearby tree. His idea worked this time but he¡¯d have to be much more cautious if he wanted to survive in the forest. Chapter 7: Unwavering Tall Tree A few hours had passed. The wound on Kei¡¯s arm finally stopped gushing blood. Having been at home most of the time in his previous life, he never had first-hand experience with animals. As a result, the snake was much stronger and more perceptive than he expected. Kei was still highly motivated, however, he was also wary of the monsters in the forest. If he had to struggle this much against one of the weaker monsters, how tough would the other ones be? He was also excited knowing that he could become much stronger by defeating all of them. (In times like these, you just take it on the chin and hope for the best.) He took a bite of the snake¡¯s carcass and stood up. The food had a slightly bitter taste but the texture wasn¡¯t a problem since ¡°devour¡± had a mechanism that enabled him to eat just about anything. (I should probably get going.) He continued on for a few more hours. Along the way, he found multiple snake corpses. They seemed to be covered in slash marks. He wondered what caused this bizarre phenomena to happen but he really couldn¡¯t be mad. Every time he saw one, he would open his mouth wide and devour it whole. This allowed him to strengthen poison resistance and venom with virtually no effort. (I think I¡¯ll stop for a bit. My feet are getting numb.) Kei decided to take another small break. Knowing that he¡¯d be sitting down for a while, he decided to test out two new aspects of ¡°Greed¡±. First, he wanted to see if he could activate it without speaking out loud. Next, he wanted to once again confirm that his skill didn¡¯t only work when applied to monsters. Although he may have stolen ¡°Hard¡± from a rock, this didn¡¯t necessarily mean that it would work with just anything. Hoping that things would work according to plan, he set his gaze on a tall tree and recited in his head. (Activate ¡°Greed¡±!) {Greed has been activated.} {Your target is within range. ¡°Greed¡± has successfully stolen the following skill: ¡°Unwavering Tall Tree¡±.}Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. {¡°Unwavering Tall Tree¡± is a dual skill. It consists of the following two skills: ¡°Growth¡± and ¡°Unwavering¡±.} {Growth (beginner): Upon activation, this skill allows the user to grow the target of their choice. The more this skill is strengthened and used, the larger one can grow their target. Upon deactivation, the target will return back to their original size. However, this skill has no time limit.} {Unwavering (beginner): Upon activation, the user no longer requires sleep. Upon deactivation, fatigue from the missed sleep does not accumulate. This skill has no time limit.} The tree instantly withered away. However, Kei was not that surprised. By stealing the tree¡¯s ability to grow, he basically took away its vitality. In terms of his new skills, he put ¡°Growth¡± in his back pocket. He would test it later on. Also, ¡°Unwavering¡± would save him tons of time. Not needing to sleep would allow him more time to both hunt and learn more about this world. Kei was also very pleased by the results of his little experiment. He no longer needed to activate ¡°Greed¡± out loud. On top of that, he could also use it on plants that didn¡¯t move. This would allow him to greatly increase his ability count. (This is awesome! If I didn¡¯t have this skill and saw someone with the same ability as me, I would kill them without a second thought. Within a few years, I could end up invincible! I definitely need to keep this a secret.) After noting this, he tried testing ¡°Greed¡± out on a few more trees. Unfortunately, this time, he gained no new abilities. It seems like the last few times when he stole from stationary objects, he happened to get lucky. He concluded that not all living things or objects had skills for him to steal. (I guess it wasn¡¯t going to be that easy. But then again, who cares? I¡¯ll just keep trying to steal abilities from as many things as possible. Hopefully, it¡¯ll all work out.) He got up and started walking forward. After a few minutes he stumbled upon a furry grey monster. It had big round blue eyes and was quite small. Two large front teeth extended from its mouth. It hopped towards Kei. [¡°Hey there little rabbit! You seem pretty weak and you probably have nothing for me to take. Run along now before I eat you! Then again, maybe I should make you my pet¡­.] It stood in place. Suddenly, a weird transformation began to occurin front of him. (Oh shit!) Three large claws extended from both of its hands. It grew three times in size and its eyes turned red. You could tell it wasn¡¯t happy. Kei then realized why he found dead snakes all throughout the course of his path. He was in big trouble. Chapter 8: Rabid Rabbit The rabbit¡¯s mouth was oozing foam. Kei had to come up with an idea fast because this monster wasn¡¯t going to spare him any time. (I won¡¯t be able to run in this situation¡­ It looks like I¡¯ll have to take a risk.) First, he activated his protection barrier. It may be weak, but it could at least prevent any deep wounds. Then, Kei activated venom and licked the tip of his spear. Now that it was coated with poison, his chances for survival slightly increased. Defeating the foe before him would be no easy task. As he was settling into a fighting stance, the rabbit rushed towards him. Before he could even react, it slashed his torso; leaving three bloody marks on his chest. (Ah shit, that burns a lot! I need to be more careful.) He tried stepping away to create distance but the rabbit wouldn¡¯t give him a chance. *Swish, Swish, Swish* His entire body was covered in blood. Making a last ditch effort, he activated greed. As a result, he acquired ¡°Slash¡±. {Slash (intermediate): Upon activating this ability, the user can make use of any sharp weapon to slice or pierce their target. This weapon can include parts of ones¡¯ own body. The speed of the user¡¯s attacks will also significantly increase. The more this ability is used and strengthened, the faster it will be and the more damage it will cause. This skill has no time limit.} The ability that Kei gained was much stronger than any of the ones he has obtained up to this point. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have the leisure to think about such things. Seeing that the rabbit had slowed down from having its ability stolen, Kei tried to stab it. He just barely managed to pierce its skin. But, this was more than enough. Eventually, the poison from the spear would take effect and the rabbit would stop moving. (Now, it¡¯s just a waiting game.) Since the rabbit had slowed down, Kei could now dodge it. However, even without its speed, it was incredibly strong. Although it missed Kei by a few inches, it managed to make quick work of the tree beside him. It was sliced cleanly into three distinct pieces.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. (That was too close for comfort¡­..) He continued to create distance. The farther they would move, the more havoc that was wrought on the forest. Many trees were torn apart. If there were any snakes nearby, you would be sure that they were running for their lives. The unrelenting attacks of the rabbit continued for a few minutes. As time passed, it began to slow down more and more. (Finally!) After one or two more sloppy attacks, its movements halted. The rabbit¡¯s eyes rolled back and it fell over. The poison successfully invaded its vital organs. However, Kei didn¡¯t escape unscathed either. He was a bloody mess and was breathing heavily. {Rabid rabbit defeated. Kei Daichi has received some EXP points.} {As a result of defeating the opponent, passive skill ¡°Greed¡± has now stolen: ¡°Rabid rabbit mimicry¡± and ¡°Morphing¡±.} {Item dropped: Rabbit corpse. In order to understand this item Kei Daichi must obtain skill ¡°Observe¡±.} {Morphing (experienced): upon activation, the user can create an ultimate form. This skill can be used with ¡°Mimicry¡± to incorporate features of previously obtained monster forms. There is no limit to the number of monster qualities that may be included into this form. No time limit is applied to this ability.} Kei was still annoyed that the voice in his head mentioned such an obvious drop. Quickly dismissing the thought, he was captivated by ¡°Morphing¡±. Since it was a tier higher than every one of his other skills, he could have only gained it by killing or devouring his opponent. It was also his strongest skill up to date, along with ¡°Slash¡±. (I can¡¯t wait to try morphing. No matter how you look at it, the more creative I get with this skill, the stronger I can become. It looks like I¡¯ve finally gained a trump card!) Another thing that Kei noticed was that he no longer had to search for his skills in order for them to be explained. He concluded that the voice in his head probably had some form of system that adapted to allow for his comfort. Kei then began to think about his current situation. Having obtained mimicry for the rabbit he just killed, he could use it as a back-up plan in case a stronger monster showed up. (I¡¯m really happy about all these skills but the sun¡¯s starting to set and I¡¯m still injured. If I¡¯m dead, there¡¯s no use for all these abilities.) Before Kei left the village, the goblin elder informed him that stronger monsters would appear in the forest at night. This was why goblins hunted in the morning. If Kei couldn¡¯t see anything while fighting against tough opponents, he wouldn¡¯t even stand a chance. He then made up his mind. After taking another short break, Kei would head towards the cave from he was born. Over there, he would find some torches that would allow him to see throughout the night. He could return to the village, but Kei was greedy. Even if he was somewhat incapacitated, as long as there were skills to obtain he wouldn¡¯t pass up the offer. Chapter 9: Night Vision After taking a short break, Kei was off to the cave. Since it was far, he switched to his rabbit form in order to get there faster. This would also allow for better protection against potential enemies along the way. (If I got this many skills in two days, I can¡¯t wait to see what I can steal in the future!) While hopping quickly towards his destination, he also noticed that his new form showed no injuries or marks on it. However, Kei still retained the damage from his previous fight and needed to recover. The reason for this occurrence is because mimicry allows the user¡¯s form to return back to its original condition upon deactivating and then reactivating it. Correspondingly, one can switch forms and the results would be the same. But, they would still feel the pain and stacking up damage before recovering could be fatal. (There it is!) What laid in front of Kei was the cave from where he first reincarnated. He tried looking in. Since it was dark, he couldn¡¯t see much. He¡¯d have to go further in to find torches. Kei ventured through the narrow space looking for a source of light. *click, click, click, click* (What¡¯s that annoying sound!?) A swarm of bats began to attack him. Although he was caught off guard, beating them would be no problem in his current form. He saw this as an opportunity to gauge his abilities. He activated slash. (These guys are a piece of cake!) After no more than a few hits, ten bats were lying dead on the ground. {Bats defeated. Kei Daichi has received some EXP points.} {As a result of defeating the opponents, passive skill ¡°Greed¡± has now stolen: ¡°Night Vision¡± and ¡°Bat mimicry¡±.} {Night vision (intermediate-strengthened): this active skill allows the user to see in the dark. The more this ability is used and strengthened, the more one can see. This skill has no time limit.}The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Kei was surprised. He got more than what he could have imagined by coming back to the cave. A torch was no longer needed. Since he killed ten bats at once, ¡°Night Vision¡± was significantly strengthened. Therefore, his ability to see in the dark would also be much greater. Kei was also happy that the voice in his head no longer mentioned obvious drops. It seems that his previous conclusion about a comfort system in place was correct; even though it took two days to make a change. Satisfied with the results, he activated night vision. (Well aren¡¯t I lucky!) Upon looking up, he could see a large monster in the shape of a bat. He assumed that it was probably the leader of the ones he just killed. He wasn¡¯t that worried. This is because he gained a lot of experience and new abilities from his previous few bouts. However, he couldn¡¯t help but get goosebumps wondering what would have happened had he stayed overnight as a slime inside of the cave. Refocusing on the task at hand, he coated his claws with poison. He also activated his barrier for good measure. (Let¡¯s go!) Kei rushed at the monster in full force. While clawing its body, he kept on continuously activating slash. The bat never stood a chance. Kei¡¯s onslaught massacred its body. (I guess that was a bit of an overkill¡­ I¡¯m kind of disappointed.) {Bat Leader defeated. Kei Daichi has received some EXP points.} {As a result of defeating the opponent, passive skill ¡°Greed¡± has now stolen: ¡°Echolocation¡± and ¡°Bat Leader mimicry¡±.} {Echolocation (intermediate): this active skill allows the user to locate and sense suspicious targets within a 1000 metre radius. The more this ability is used and strengthened, the more distance it covers. This skill has no time limit.} (Sweet!) The situation couldn¡¯t get any better. Now, Kei could track monsters down more easily when fighting and he could steer clear of any dangerous ones. Although the skill doesn¡¯t explicitly tell the user what beings it senses, this could be assumed based on the circumstances. For example, if Kei sensed an enemy while deep into the forest, he would assume that it was strong. (I¡¯m totally burnt out!) The energy supply in Kei¡¯s body was low. He would need to eat tons of food and also allow time for recovery. Although he didn¡¯t need sleep, he still had to rest the body in order to perform at his best against stronger opponents. Knowing that all the tough fights he had so far were against ¡°weak¡± monsters, he was curious to find out what other foes awaited him in forest. Kei decided to rest for a while in the cave. (With all these corpses, I¡¯m starting to get hungry¡­) He took a bite of the bat leader¡¯s wing. It initially tasted like chicken, however, it left a strange after-taste. Kei wondered what the rabbit would have tasted like. Chapter 10: Testing the Abilities While resting in the cave, Kei saw this as an opportunity to maximize his potential with the current abilities he¡¯s obtained. While eating a big meal consisting of bats, he activated echolocation. This would prevent any unwanted encounters. Using sound, this skill formed a map of the surrounding area in his mind. Although it¡¯s very blurry, if any enemies appeared within its radius a vivid red mark would show up; giving away the individual¡¯s location. (A lot has happened so far! I haven¡¯t had much time to think about anything.) After killing the bat leader and all of his previous enemies, he shot up to level 28. Although he didn¡¯t know of the levels¡¯ importance, he felt that it became more and more difficult to level up the higher he rose. He¡¯d have to discuss this later on with the goblin elder. (There¡¯s a lot of things that I¡¯m curious about. Also, now that I look back, I wonder how I got ¡°night vision¡±¡­) Kei was able to use this skill once he killed the bats in the cave. However, from his previous knowledge, bats couldn¡¯t see at night unless they used echolocation. It seemed that the ability to see at night using echolocation split off into its own ability; hence the individual skill ¡°night vision¡±. Kei concluded that abilities with more than one possible function may split up to make more abilities with individualized specific functions.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. (Well, who cares!? The more skills, the better!) He began to think about the uses of his current abilities. If he activated morphing and combined the attributes of a slime and a rabbit he could become quite strong. He considered combining the arm of a goblin into the new form (to also be able to throw spears), however, the claws of a rabbit were a much better weapon than any spear he could currently get his hands on. Adding bat wings would also be pointless because his body was too heavy. Kei tested it out. (It looks weird¡­ but it¡¯ll be super useful!) The form looked exactly the same as ¡°rabbit mimicry¡±, except now he had a blue coating around his body. By adding the slime qualities, Kei could slip through the grasp of any larger enemies. Using the claws, he could activate ¡°Slash¡± and make quick attacks. To top it off, activating ¡°Venom¡± would allow Kei to poison enemies while ¡°Hard¡± would allow for some protection. His two current resistances for fire and poison helped save his life against previous opponents. However, he didn¡¯t know how useful they would be against stronger monsters. (I¡¯ll have to strategize even more from now on.) A few hours had passed and Kei felt that his body had mostly recovered. He was also more confident in his new form. Furthermore, by looking over his abilities, he now understood the limits of his own strength. Kei got up. Eager for more skills, he decided that he would move farther into the forest in search of more opponents. It was almost dawn and he wanted to meet up with the elder first thing in the morning. Therefore, he had to hurry up. Chapter 11: New Adversaries Kei finally left the cave. His goal was to get as far as possible into the forest. To prevent any trouble, he kept echolocation activated. (The weaker monsters are easy to fight now¡­) Along the way, he killed any snakes that appeared on his radar. This allowed Kei to strengthen venom and poison resistance. He decided to come back to pick up the corpses when he¡¯d return later on to the village. This journey continued for a couple of hours. (Looks like there¡¯s trouble.) On his radar, Kei noticed a couple of dots. It could be dangerous to get too close. Therefore, he decided to hide behind a bush once the enemies were spotted. There were four of them. The monsters were pink. They were also abnormally large. As they spoke, slobber spewed from their mouths. Three of them were carrying bats while one of them was dragging along a dwarf-sized girl. Orc 1: [Shlau balabel Schlau] *spit flies everywhere* Orc 2: [Blaubel bauble shlabel] (What in the world are they saying?) Completely confused as to what was going on, Kei became curious. Hoping to be able to understand their language, he activated ¡°Greed¡±. However, his target was only one of the orcs. This was the orc that hadn¡¯t joined in on the conversation. The reason for this choice was that if he stole abilities from any other orcs, their ability to communicate with each other would also be gone. Therefore, he wouldn¡¯t be able to gain key information that he might need in the future. Since Kei wanted all of their abilities, this was a hard decision to make. Nevertheless, it was well thought out. {Greed has been activated.} {Your opponent is within range. ¡°Greed¡± has successfully stolen the following skills: ¡°Orc Language¡± and ¡°Smash¡±.}Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. {Orc Language (beginner): Upon activation, this skill allows the user to be able to communicate with orcs. After initial activation, this ability becomes passive.} {Smash (intermediate): Upon activating this ability, the user can make use of bats or hammers to demolish their opponent. The damage of the user¡¯s attacks will also significantly increase. The more this ability is used and strengthened, the more damage it will deal. This skill has no time limit. } Kei was delighted that he gained a new fighting ability. That being said, he wasn¡¯t sure if it would be that useful in the future. Leaving those thoughts for another time, he activated ¡°Orc Language¡± and focused in on the conversation. Orc 1: [These dwarves need to just die already. I can¡¯t wait when we go to war.] Orc 2: [Who cares about that? Now, we can just keep kidnapping all these dwarf chicks. I¡¯m itching to get in bed with her.] Orc 3: [What are you talking about? We¡¯ll do this bitch at that same time!] Orc 1, 2, and 3: [Hahahaha!] *spit flies again everywhere* Kei was disgusted. (What¡¯s up with monsters and doing it with random girls? I¡¯d get it if she was hot¡­ but that girl looks hideous! On top of that, she¡¯s like a third of their size. How would it even¡­.. Never mind. It seems like I¡¯ve gained valuable information.) A lot of new information had been revealed. First off, Kei learned that dwarves existed in this world. Furthermore, a war would soon potentially start between the orcs and the dwarves. Since they weren¡¯t too far from the goblin village, Kei had to take this into consideration. He wanted to eventually rule this new world. This situation could be a step towards that goal. However, he had to slow down and think logically. He only reincarnated two days ago. He was still very weak. Against an army, he could barely make a dent. Once he gained more strength and learned the rules of this world, he would revisit the situation. For now, he would steal the abilities of the other orcs. (What¡¯s coming!?) Kei sensed a red dot entering onto his mind map. It came from behind and seemed to be heading towards him. This annoyed Kei since he was just about to steal some new abilities. But, safety was most important. He decided to get closer to the dot before that person could reached his hiding spot. It was probably just another orc. Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t want the ruckus to attract the attention of the other ones past the bushes. The dot was now very close. (This¡­no way¡­.) In front of Kei was a humongous monster with eight legs. Its presence alone made it difficult for Kei to breathe. Acid dripped from its mouth. As it moved, the ground slightly trembled. He was in big trouble. Chapter 12: Fear A gigantic spider laid in front of Kei and he knew he was its prey. All of his animal instincts were warning him of the imminent danger. However, it wouldn¡¯t even matter if he was cautious because he couldn¡¯t escape. (Shit! This thing is too tough, even for me. Can I actually beat it?) Knowing that it wouldn¡¯t be smart to let the monster attack first, Kei charged. While speeding towards it he activated ¡°slash¡±, ¡°venom¡±, and ¡°hard¡±. To weaken it, he also activated ¡°Greed¡±. This fight would be rough. {Greed has been activated.} {Your opponent is within range. ¡°Greed¡± has successfully stolen the following skill: ¡°Spider Silk¡±.} {Spider silk (experienced): This passive skill allows the user to produce silk from their finger-tips. The more this skill is used, the better one can control it.} (Here goes nothing!) He began to claw atone of its legs. If he could cut one down, it would lose balance. This would give him a slightly better advantage. Kei kept running back and forth while slashing the same leg. The monster began to make a strange noise. Giant Spider: [¡°HISSSSSSSSS¡±] It lifted one of its legs and tossed Kei aside like a ragdoll. He flew for a few meters before hitting a tree and snapping it in half. Despite the barrier he placed on himself, the damage that was inflicted was severe. It was clear that he couldn¡¯t stand a chance against it. He glanced at the leg he tried to cut down. There were no signs of any damage to it. Only one emotion remained within him: Fear.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. (Am I going to die here? Is this really all my effort amounts to!?) He was fading in and out of consciousness. The hit Kei received broke his ribs and he was losing blood quickly. (No¡­ screw that! I¡¯ve already lived a shitty life before. I¡¯m not going to let it end like this.) Making a last ditch effort to survive, he began to yell at the orcs beyond the bushes. Having learned their language, they would understand him. [Hey you fat ugly pieces of shit! Get the fuck over here! You guys are talking about sleeping with girls? Who the hell would want to get in bed with you! I¡¯m sure the girl you¡¯re with would rather kill herself. What¡­. not responding? That¡¯s what I thought. I¡¯ll fucking slaughter you like it was nothing.] Kei was playing whatever card he could. He needed to distract the spider. Living was the number one priority in his mind. Orc 1: [Who the fuck said that? Get out you little runt¡­ I¡¯ll kill you myself!] Orc 2: [Let me get in on the action t-¡­] The orc was interrupted mid-sentence. Giant Spider: [HISSSSSSSSSSS!!!] The spider locked onto its new targets. It began to charge at them. Orc 1: [Crap¡­ run!] Kei could vaguely see them running beyond the bushes. He could hear squealing and screaming. (Not my problem¡­) To stop the bleeding he switched to his goblin form, then back again to his rabbit form. The pain was still there, but at least this would stop him from completely fainting. He had to get away from this dangerous area. Kei began slowly limping. It was time to go back to the village. (My whole body¡¯s killing me, but I don¡¯t really have a choice.) While on his way, he began to ponder. From this experience, he learned the dangers of being too confident. Although he was cautious, he could have taken even more measures to ensure almost complete safety while still securing skills. Kei concluded that it was time to find ¡°allies¡±. In his mind, this basically meant finding loyal subordinates. He also partially regretted not learning about the ranking system before he went hunting. This information could have given him a slight advantage. (It¡¯s too late to regret anything now. All I can do is learn from my mistakes.) Gaining both strength and life experience from the hunt, Kei knew that there was still much to obtain in the future. Once he got stronger, he would definitely come back to face the spider. He moved on towards the village. Chapter 13: Ranks It was already morning. While heading back towards the village, Kei took many short breaks. The encounter with the spider weakened him a lot. Along the way he also met a few snakes. He made quick work of the monsters and then carried their corpses on his shoulder. So no one would get suspicious, he¡¯d quickly hide the stash in his shed once he got back. (I really need to get stronger. Did I make a mistake by not killing the goblins?) On the walk back, Kei began to think about the decisions he made upon finding the village. When he first entered it, he initially considered slaughtering all of the goblins in secret in order to gain their skills and mimic the stronger ones. In fact, he could have taken the information he needed from the goblin elder, and then stolen skills from him as well. But, he was prudent. If he tried stealing from too many people on the first day, he also believed that some could get suspicious. Attacking an enemy without being able to gauge their strength would be foolish. (It¡¯s probably not smart to rush. If I can take advantage of them before stealing their skills, I¡¯d benefit even more. Why eat a chicken immediately when you can get it to lay a few eggs first? Hahaha!) Kei believed that taking advantage of the goblins to the fullest would be best. He could manipulate some goblins into thinking of him as someone great and get them to do his dirty work. Then, if they died or disobeyed, he could easily kill them and gain both their skills and be able to mimic them. An added bonus would be that letting the goblins live would give him some form of safety. Running around too far in the forest is dangerous at his current skill level. (Am I an evil genius? No¡­ this mentality of mine is probably the result of reading manga like Death Note in my past life. Light was good¡­ real good. Either way, I¡¯m going to play these people like fiddles. I could care less about ¡°the power of friendship¡±. What a load of bullshit. Please, this isn¡¯t Fairy Tail¡­ this is carnage.) His ideals were set. Kei would eventually rule this world by increasing both his strength and knowledge. He would learn from previous mistakes and use his greed as a drive to obtain every single skill there is. (I want to ultimately rule over everything. It¡¯d also be cool to have the strongest subordinate and be hundreds of times stronger than them. Heck, I even want my own harem¡­ no annoying girls though. If I meet one who pisses me off I¡¯ll just kill her. Oh¡­ and then when I use mimicry, I wonder what would happen if I transformed into a girl¡¯s body? Hehehe! I¡¯ll look into that.) Kei felt like his thoughts were going way off track. The village was also not too far ahead. (Enough kinky thoughts. I could care less about being a virgin for now. Nevertheless, I feel like the fight I had with the spider really showed me how important it is to enjoy life. I could die anytime. Anyways, time to do work.) Once in the village, he checked the surroundings for any goblins. The coast was clear. Kei slipped into his shed and began to hide the snakes under the grass that he used for a pillow. He was a little hungry so he took a big bite of one of the carcasses and then hid it back. Afterwards, he headed towards the elder¡¯s shed. Kei would ask about ranks and enemies. If possible, he¡¯d also probe the elder for more information on the village. (There he is.) Goblin Elder: [Kawai! It¡¯s nice to see you again.] (I really need to change my name¡­) Upon meeting with the elder, he was lead towards a dimly lit cave. This way, there wouldn¡¯t be too much outside noise and they would have a better atmosphere to allow for a lengthy conversation. Since it was morning again, many goblins were already heading out to hunt. (This was in the village!?) The entrance to the cave was quite small so Kei didn¡¯t notice it on the first day. He once again regretted not being wise enough to tour the village at least once. (Too late for that. I won¡¯t make the same mistake again next time.) The elder and Kei sat down on the floor in a small dark room. He began to ask questions. (Finally¡­ information.) The elder informed Kei that he only knew about monsters within the forest. Also, among the stronger monsters was one called ¡°Giant Tarantula¡±. (Hmm¡­ I wonder where I saw that¡­ *sarcasm*)This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Moreover, humans, elves, dwarves, and beast people lived in this world. There were even ninjas and summoners. Some tales also spoke of demon kings and legendary vampires called ¡°Noblesse¡±. The elder couldn¡¯t confirm if they were true. Unfortunately, he also didn¡¯t know where these beings lived because all of his previous knowledge was based off of speculation from his previous seniors. (So much for reliability¡­ I¡¯ll have to find out more on my own when I get stronger. Also, humans? I could care less about race. I know how evil people can be from my own experiences. When the time comes, I¡¯ll also make them submit to me.) The old goblin also mentioned certain dangerous beings that lived within the forest. These existences were strong and also had their own village as well. (It was probably those orcs. I wonder what happened to them.) Kei eventually tried to discreetly ask about the cave they were in. The elder told him that it was the most essential part of the village. The rest of the village consisted only of individual sheds. (Interesting¡­) In the cave resided newborns and younger goblins. A goblin¡¯s average life span was around 20 years. However, goblins grew very quickly. This meant that the cave was only a temporary spot until they were able to move and speak on their own. Once they grew, they would have to fend for themselves. (I¡¯ll probably drop by there to find some na?ve subordinates.) Human women also resided deep within the cave. They were necessary because their fertility rate was much better than female goblins. Human females were also more attractive. However, only hobgoblins had the right to produce offspring with them. (I wonder how I can become a hobgoblin. I¡¯ll ask that next. On top of that, female captives? I¡¯ll push them for information and then kill them when the time¡¯s right. I¡¯m not miserable enough for sex that I¡¯ll lower my standards to assault them. Ending their lives isn¡¯t much better but at least their misery ends there. On the positive side, I¡¯ll be able to mimic into them. Hehehe! Does that make me a pervert? Whatever.) Kei began to ask about the ranking system. (Time for the good stuff.) Apparently, every 100 levels you can increase your rank by one. By increasing your rank you attain a title. Each title provides monsters with certain powers and skills. It also increases a person¡¯s innate strength. Depending on what race you are, the title you receive is also different. For goblins, the titles of the first two ranks are hobgoblin and ogre. However, once you pass the third rank, your title is chosen solely based off of your hobbies and desires. The elder told Kei that he had never seen someone reach beyond the second rank before. Furthermore, titles only apply to monsters and not humans. It is very rare for a human to have a title. (That¡¯s a lot of information to stomach. It seems like levels actually have some importance. I¡¯m also curious about my special case. What titles will I earn since I¡¯m not really a goblin? Can I steal titles from other people?) As if answering Kei¡¯s uncertainty, the game voice popped up in his head. {¡°Ranking System¡± has now been learned.} {As rank increases, titles will be applied to each form obtained with mimicry. However, the strength of those titles will only apply to those specific forms. Titles obtained above third rank will apply to all forms.} {In order for ¡°Ranking System¡± to be applied, Kei Daichi must accept the following rules: You can no longer use morphing infinitely with mimicry. You will be limited to morphing with only three mimicry traits at a time. If you reach the highest rank within the system, this rule will no longer apply. Mimicking forms are grouped in the same way as skills: beginner, intermediate, experienced, professional, legendary, and godly. For forms above experienced, your basal strength must be equal to or stronger than them to mimic their forms. You can no longer steal skills with ¡°Greed¡± above experienced level (regardless of your other skills) unless you eat or kill the target. If you reach the highest rank within the system, this rule will no longer apply. It will now be possible to steal titles. However, each specific title cannot be used until a hidden requirement is unlocked. If you reach the highest rank within the system, this restriction will be lifted and all stolen titles can be used for all forms.} {Will you accept? YES/NO.} This was once again an overload of information for Kei. For any skill above experienced, he would actually have to eat the corpse or kill the person to gain their skills (along with mimicry). Morphing couldn¡¯t be used infinitely with mimicry anymore either. On top that, he would no longer be able to transform into forms above experienced level unless he was at least as strong as them. (Are these restrictions worth it in order to get titles? I know that they¡¯ll be gone once I reach the highest rank, but how long will that take? This is a tough decision.) Weighing the pros and cons, Kei decided to accept. Having better innate strength will make it much easier to fight against enemies. Although it would be slightly harder to gain skills above experienced level, this was a necessary sacrifice to become stronger. Either way, once he reaches the highest rank he could go back and steal more skills. This would be the fastest way to reach his goal. (Time to bounce.) He thanked the old goblin and headed back to his shed to process everything that happened so far. On his way out of the cave-and with a mischievous grin on his face, he activated ¡°Greed¡±. His target was the elder. {Greed has been activated.} {Your opponent is within range. ¡°Greed¡± has successfully stolen the following skill: ¡°Observe¡±.} {Observe (intermediate): This active skill forms a dialogue box upon activation. It allows the user to see the target¡¯s skills, rank, and name. Upon increasing one¡¯s rank, this skill will reveal more information on the target and the dialogue box will also better organize itself for the user¡¯s comfort.} While walking, he could barely contain his laughter. (This just keeps getting better and better!) Chapter 14: Observe Kei was now back in the shed. It was time to test his new abilities and process what he¡¯d learned so far. (I¡¯m actually quite pleased. With ranks, I now have another way to gain strength on top of mimicry and stealing abilities. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t use mimicry with bodies above experienced level if I¡¯m not strong enough. But, my current growth will probably be much quicker.) From what the game voice told him, Kei would gain a title for every single one of his forms if he ranked up. However, he could use those titles only when he specifically mimics into those forms (if the title is below third rank). Therefore, his first goal would be to rank up and test which form would be the greatest. He assumed the rabbit form would be the best to use for now, however, the title of hobgoblin could be stronger in the future. He decided that once he reached level 100 and ranked up, he¡¯d pick his main form then. (I really want to find other monsters and steal their abilities! Elves, dwarves, beasts¡­ I wonder what they¡¯d have in store for me. I¡¯ll have to investigate as soon as possible.) Having learned about the new beings that existed in this world, Kei was eager to leave the forest and go adventure in search for more power. However, there was still much he had left to do. He first planned on finding dependable subordinates that would assist him while hunting in the forest. (The cave has plenty of younger goblins for me to manipulate¡­I¡¯ll go there later today.) Also, he decided that once he evolved into a hobgoblin, he would then deal with the human women in the cave. Moreover, by gaining strength and feigning loyalty, Kei would attempt to make all of the goblins in the village eventually submit to him. (If any goblin annoys me, their skills and life will be as good as gone though.) Furthermore, skills were on his mind as well. He gained both ¡°Spider Silk¡± and ¡°Observe¡±. Planning ahead, he would test them immediately. He activated ¡°Observe¡±. {¡°Observe¡± has been activated.} {Since a target has not been chosen, ¡°Observe¡± cannot be used.} (I guess I forgot about that¡­) He decided to make himself the target. {¡°Observe¡± has been activated.} {Kei must increase his rank in order to: {Users above first rank can see hidden skills.}
Name (hidden): Kei Daichi
Alias (shown): KawaiIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Rank (shown) Goblin
Skills (shown) ¡°Job: Spear User¡±, ¡°Goblin Language¡±
Skills (hidden) ¡°Fire Resistance¡±, ¡°Poison Resistance¡±, ¡°Venom¡±, ¡°Hard¡±, ¡°Spider Silk¡±, ¡°Observe¡±, ¡°Greed¡±, ¡°Mimicry¡±, ¡°Orc Language¡±, ¡°Smash¡±, ¡°Slash¡±, ¡°Echolocation¡±, "Devour", ¡°Unwavering¡±, ¡°Growth¡±, ¡°Night Vision¡±
Mimicry (hidden) Unlocked Rat, Slime, Goblin, Snake, Rabid Rabbit, Bat, Bat Leader
Locked N/A
(This is amazing! I know that there¡¯s much room for improvement, but this skill is not too shabby! If I want to see more I¡¯m guessing I probably have to rank up. I need to start hunting again so I can level up sooner.) After noting this, a thought creeped up in his mind. (Was the elder able to see my skills? If so, I need to go back and kill him. Even better, I¡¯ll eat him and not leave a single trace.) However, he remembered the game voice saying that you had to be above first rank to see hidden skills and information. Therefore, since the goblin hadn¡¯t evolved, Kei¡¯s information was still safe. (That old goblin¡¯s lucky. Since he knows so much, he¡¯s still useful. I still have some information to ask about monsters in the forest. If I find him annoying or if he acts suspicious, I¡¯ll deal with him then.) Seeing a goblin walk by his shed, he activated ¡°Observe¡± on it.
Name: Takal
Rank Goblin
Skills ¡°Job: Spear User¡±, ¡°Goblin Language¡±
(It seems like I still can¡¯t see everything until I become a hobgoblin¡­) The goblin that passed by noticed Kei¡¯s stare. It scowled at him. Annoyed, and hoping to test something out, Kei activated ¡°Greed¡± and targeted the goblin¡¯s spear skill. It was successful. (Haha it worked! That¡¯ll teach him for pissing me off.) This was done for two reasons. Kei wanted to test out if he could steal a specific skill from a target if he knew what it was. Since Kei could already speak with goblins, he didn¡¯t need ¡°Goblin Language¡±. He wanted to steal the goblin¡¯s useful ability, while ignoring the useless one. This test confirmed that he could. The other reason was just a bonus. He wanted to punish the goblin for his insolence. (I think I have a basic idea of how to use ¡°Observe¡± now. Next, I¡¯ll try out ¡°Spider Silk¡± before heading to the village cave to find subordinates.) To not rouse any suspicion, Kei would have to go to the forest to test it out. He left his shed and walked a few minutes away from the village. He didn¡¯t want to go too far, since he was still exhausted from his previous fight; regardless of the fact that he doesn¡¯t need sleep. Kei also activated ¡°Echolocation¡± to notice if anyone were to come by. In the future, he would always keep it activated. However, the stress of not being able to distinguish between the red dots that appeared on his radar really bothered him. (Time to test this bad boy.) Upon activating his new skill, silk began to shoot from his fingertips in the form of a stream. It didn¡¯t stop unless Kei wanted it to. He was debating whether or not to use this skill in the future to make money. For now, it didn¡¯t seem practical. If he could ever find a human body to mimic, he could use this ability to make clothes for himself. But, this needed practice. (Hmm¡­ this texture¡¯s not bad.) He tried feeling it and noticed that if he hardened the silk in his mind, it could become quite tough to break apart. Kei decided that he¡¯d use this skill to bind opponents and make traps. Using it would take time though. (I need to practice visualizing the silk before I can use this ability for anything practical. But, it looks like everything¡¯s running smoothly for now.) Having tested out most of what he wanted, he was satisfied. It was time to head back to the village in search for subordinates. Chapter 15: Suspicious Baby Goblin It took Kei very little time to return to the village. He was now on his way to the goblin cave. (I have be cautious with how I act when I¡¯m around here.) To avoid getting into any pointless scuffles, he made sure to take the path with the least chance of encountering goblins. He knew he could probably kill most goblins if any situation were to arise, but he wanted to make use of as many of them as possible in the future to do his dirty work. Therefore, preserving the number of goblins in the village would be essential. Plus, with ¡°Observe¡±, he could see that almost every goblin had the same ability (which wouldn¡¯t really benefit him since he already acquired those skills). It¡¯s true that stealing a skill multiple times will strengthen it, but doing this with one that he¡¯s already strengthened before won¡¯t have that much of an effect on it. Additionally, he could just steal the goblins¡¯ skills later on once they¡¯ve sacrificed themselves for him. However, to re-enact this plan of dictatorship, he felt that he first needed to get stronger. (I need to get two things done on this trip. The main goal is to look for younger goblins that will be easily swayed by my welcoming attitude. This will make it easier in the long term to use them as meat shields. But, before that, I¡¯ll activate ¡°Observe¡± and steal special abilities from any goblin babies in the vicinity if I find any. Although, I doubt I will.) Similar to before, the cave was quite dim. Kei kept both ¡°Night Vision¡± and ¡°Echolocation¡± activated. He walked for a few minutes before finally noticing an area dense with red dots on his radar. He was close. Noticing a bright light not too far ahead, he ran towards it eagerly. (Woah¡­ this place is huge¡­) Having arrived at his destination, Kei found himself in a large, well-lit room. Within it were dozens of baby goblins, along with a few dozen younger goblins. The babies were all grouped together on one side of the room. They were currently sleeping while covered in grass. On the other hand, the younger goblins were scattered across the room. They were mostly sitting in groups of five or more and chatting away. (They¡¯re not noticing me. That¡¯s good.) Before searching for underlings, he decided to sit down with his back rested on a side wall of the room. This would make it seem less suspicious when he looked around and activated ¡°Observe¡±. Since Kei could only activate it on one person at a time, this process would take a while. He pretended to be tired and squinted his eyes. This was so that no one would notice what he was doing. Therefore, they wouldn¡¯t suspect that he had any ulterior motives. (Man¡­ I really wish I could just activate ¡°Greed¡± and steal the abilities of all the kids here. That would take much less effort. If I didn¡¯t have to think about the future, I probably would have done that already. Unfortunately, I have to pick and choose what I need to steal for now. These little guys are lucky that they¡¯ll be of use to me later on...) After searching the room for a few minutes, he noticed that not all of the baby goblins had ¡°Job: Spear User¡±. The two that didn¡¯t were isolated and ignored by the rest of the younger goblins. (Interesting¡­) Kei also noticed that there was only one goblin with a different ability than ¡°Job: Spear User¡± and ¡°Goblin Language¡±. It was a baby. When he activated ¡°Observe¡±, the screen displayed the following:
Name: Rourou
Rank Goblin
Skills ¡°Absorption¡±, ¡°Job: Spear User¡±, ¡°Goblin Language¡±
Wanting a new skill, Kei decided to activate ¡°Greed¡± to steal ¡°Absorption¡±. {Greed has been activated.}Stolen novel; please report. {Your opponent is within range. ¡°Greed¡± has successfully stolen the following skill: ¡°Absorption¡±.} {Absorption (beginner): this passive skill allows the user to gain skills upon devouring their target. A mechanism that comes with this ability also allows you to widen your mouth and eat almost anything. Since ¡°Greed¡± and ¡°Absorption¡± are similar skills, when ¡°Greed¡± is activated, this skill will also take effect.} (This can¡¯t be one of those situations¡­) Kei was shocked. He couldn¡¯t believe that a random goblin had a similar ability to his. After contemplating for a while, he came up with a theory. (The only way that this monster could have had this kind of cheat ability would be if it was also reincarnated just like me. If that¡¯s true, then I¡¯ve become really lucky. He could have been a real pain in the ass to deal with if he lived any longer.) Relieved, Kei began slightly snickering. After a while, it was hard to contain his laughter. This situation was very fortunate for him. Although he didn¡¯t gain any new abilities from the goblins in the room, he was able to thwart a potential roadblock to his goal of ruling this world. (My goodness¡­ what an unlucky guy! I wonder what damage he could have done in this place if it wasn¡¯t for me. That¡¯s too bad. Even though I stole his skill, I won¡¯t feel safe unless I kill him. The knowledge that he probably has could be just as useful for him as the skill I took.) It would be hard to kill the baby goblin in front of everyone. However, since it was not too far away, he could manage. After activating ¡°Job: Spear User¡±, he took a small rock and aimed it to land beside the baby. As he thought, the different choice of weapon could still be used with this skill. The rock managed to land right beside the baby goblin. (Time to execute.) He got up and pretended that the rock was something important to him. As he bent over to pick up it, he made sure that no one was looking. Kei activated ¡°Greed¡±. With the new skill ¡°Absorption¡± which now activated along with ¡°Greed¡±, he could now open up his mouth much wider. He swallowed the baby goblin in one go; leaving no trace of its existence. He then walked back to the wall to sit down. (That goblin actually tasted much better than anything I¡¯ve eaten so far. I guess I can also use any goblin that annoys me in the future as food on top of the skills I can take from them¡­ sweet!) As he was searching for subordinates, he remembered the situation that he previously noticed was occurring between the younger goblins. He decided to walk towards the two that were alone. (Emotionally vulnerable children¡­ this makes my job easier.) After approaching them, more details could be seen. One was a boy and the other was a girl. It was evident that they were malnourished. Kei assumed that they couldn¡¯t hunt for food, and were therefore deemed useless by the other goblins. This made the most sense. Now he knew what way to start the conversation. (And so the acting begins.) [Hey! Do you kids want some food?] Two younger goblins: [*long pause*¡­ Yes¡­ food...] [No problem, come with me!] (I somehow feel like this sort of conversation and approach would be illegal in my previous life. Especially since they¡¯d be seen as minors. What the hell am I even thinking about¡­? I¡¯m a weirdo. Time to focus on the task at hand.) They followed him outside of the cave. (Getting them to follow me was just a bit too easy. How naive are these kids!? Well, beggars can¡¯t be choosers...) While leading them to his shed, he asked for their names. The girl was named Ai and the boy was named Yujin. They explained their situation. Before the younger goblins are forced out of the cave to make a shed of their own, they are tested. Therefore, beforehand, they fight against very weak monsters such as rats. This allows them to have at least some form of practice. (Good thing I¡¯m not a rat anymore¡­) Ai and Yujin couldn¡¯t kill a single one. Therefore, the others shunned them. Since no one shared food their food, they ended up starving. (Gaining their loyalty will be child¡¯s play.) He told them to wait outside of his shed. After a few a minutes, he came back with a piece of snake meat for both of them. Their faces lightened up and it was visible that they were extremely grateful. They were wolfing it down. (That¡¯s it¡­ take the debt. Owe me with your lives. That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! Thinking back, now I know how Lelouch felt in Code Geass. ¡°Obey me Subjects. Obey me world!¡± Hahaha!) The energy of the goblins was now restored. Ai: [Thank you mister! If you need me to do anything for you then I will!] Yujin: [Me too! I owe my life to you.] (They reacted just how I expected. No... Maybe even better. Are they basically asking to be my slaves? Time to increase my loyalty points!) [No. We are equals. You don¡¯t need to owe me anything. However, if you wish to, I would like for us to hunt together.] Yujin: [Mister you¡¯re too kind! Of course I¡¯ll join you.] Ai: [I¡¯m very bad at it, but I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to help you!] (This is pathetically simple. They took the bait hook, line, and sinker.) [Well then that¡¯s settled. Before we continue, let me introduce myself¡­] (Man¡­ do I really have to stick with my new name? Oh whatever¡­ I¡¯ll figure a way to change it eventually.) [My name is Kawai. We will spend this afternoon preparing and then head off in the evening.] Yujin and Ai: [Yes sir!] Having accomplished what he wanted, it was time to solve a few problems. He needed to find a way to deal with the weaknesses of the goblins he just picked up. Also, Kei would need to find a solution to not expose his true identity while fighting. However, these problems were manageable. With new subordinates, he was just thrilled that he could now continue hunting for skills. Chapter 16: Progress Before he could set out to hunt, Kei first needed to take care of a few problems. Since he gained two new subordinates, he had to provide them with weapons and housing. Therefore, preparations would be made until evening. (It looks like I¡¯ll have to make a small investment with these kids. Let¡¯s just hope this pays off in the long run¡­) He ordered Yujin and Ai to wait at his shed. Since the younger goblins were still too weak, it would be a waste if they somehow died while collecting wood in the forest. He also wanted to save time. After moving to some nearby trees, he made sure that nobody was watching. Kei then activated morphing and switched his arms with claws. He cut down multiple trees into thin pieces of wood. With more than enough to build two sheds, he deactivated morphing, and then carried the wood back to the village. [Okay! I¡¯ve brought the materials. You guys can at least build a shed of your own right?] Yujin: [Kawai, you have already done so much for us! Of course we can build it.] Ai: [Ai will do her best!] (Now that they¡¯re doing that, I can deal with the other problems¡­) Kei headed back towards the forest so he could switch to a rabbit using mimicry. He already knew what he had to do if the goblins even stood a fighting chance of surviving. (This pain will be worth it¡­ It will pay off in the long term¡­ just endure it!) He ripped off all three claws from his right hand, one by one. The pain was excruciating. To prevent any severe blood loss, Kei transformed back and forth between his rabbit and goblin forms for each time he pulled off a claw. Hypothetically, Kei could do this to obtain an infinite amount of claws. This is because when he switches between forms, even after losing a body part, the form of the body returns back to its original shape. However, since the pain is still retained, it wouldn¡¯t be practical for Kei to do this all the time. (Finally¡­done.) He now had three claw weapons. Two of them were for his younger goblin subordinates. The other one was a back-up, just in case anything happened. These claws were much more durable than a typical spear. They could also deal more damage. With this, his subordinates could potentially become even stronger than most goblins; regardless of the fact that they lacked a spear skill. (The pain in my hand is annoying, but it¡¯ll heal soon enough. Thankfully, I¡¯ve overcome more dreadful situations. This is nothing compared to what I had to face on the first day.) Noting this, he decided to test out one more thing before once again returning to the village. (How do I use my skills in front of those kids without exposing my identity? The barrier, resistances, and venom can be easily hidden. That being said, how should I go about hiding my claws?) After testing out many forms, Kei finally came up with the best one. It seemed like he could use morphing to grow claws from his forearms. This way, he could maintain his goblin form, while still using the claws as a weapon. If one had to describe how it looked, three claws protruded from the forearms of both of his arms. They looked like very well-made weapons. If his subordinates asked, he¡¯d tell them that it was a weapon he stumbled across through sheer luck. Since they were quite obedient, Ai and Yujin would most likely not probe for more explanations. Having took care of the problem, it was now time to head back.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! (Wow, done already¡­ These guys are pretty good! It looks like I made the right decision in choosing them.) Although less than two hours had passed, Yujin and Ai had both already managed to create a decent living space. Kei was pleased. Including his own, there were now three sheds side-by-side. (Their house is even bigger than my mine¡­ *sigh*¡­ I¡¯ll ask them to renovate it later.) Content with the preparations, Kei handed them both a claw. He stashed the other one in his shed. (Oh¡­ here we go again¡­) Upon receiving the gift, the younger goblins began to slightly tear up. He could see that they were overjoyed by the fact that someone cared for them. Even more so, they wanted to meet his expectations. (Enough waterworks¡­ the preparations are made. It¡¯s time to go level up.) Before setting off, Kei had one last command for his subordinates. [If you guys follow me and listen to exactly what I say, you¡¯ll become much stronger. You¡¯ll also never have to starvea day in your lives again. Work hard and be cautious¡­] Yujin and Ai: [Yes sir!] They had finally entered the forest. Knowing that the main goal for today was to level up and train his subordinates, Kei decided not to go too far. (This is a win-win for me. Even from fighting snakes, I can slowly level up. Also, while I¡¯m exhausted, these guys can continue fighting the snakes and getting stronger. They need to be at least somewhat strong if I want to make use of them when we go deeper into the forest.) After walking for about a half hour, Kei spotted two red dots on his radar. When they approached, he could see two snakes. He slashed one of them and killed it instantly. Surprisingly, he advanced to level 30. This was probably because he was already close to leveling up. Yesterday, after fighting the bat leader, he was level 28. However, after killing many snakes on his way back to the village (after losing to the spider), it seemed like he jumped almost two levels. (I probably need to kill a couple of snakes just to level up once. It really is tougher the higher my level increases.) There was now one snake left. He ordered Yujin and Ai to engage it. (Adult goblins usually have to fight in large groups of five or more just to kill one. But, with their new weapon, I think these kids can manage.) After almost an hour of fighting, they finally managed to defeat the snake. Right before it died, Kei took the chance to strengthen his venom and poison resistance by stealing its abilities. He also kept his radar activated to avoid any interruptions to the fight. Yujin: [We did it! *breathes deeply*] Ai: [Did you see that Kawai! Are you proud of me?] (These kids are too innocent... Either way, their performance so far has gone beyond my expectations. It looks we¡¯ll be able to make progress quickly.) Kei got them to eat the snake meat they earned in order to recover faster. Until the sun came down, they continued their hunt. By the end of the day, a total of thirty snakes were slain. Yujin and Ai killed five of them, while Kei killed the rest. This was due to echolocation which allowed him to find prey more easily. (It looks like we¡¯ve advanced well.) The younger goblins could now kill a snake with less difficulty. Furthermore, Kei had advanced a few levels. A small bonus was that he also managed to slightly strengthen venom and poison resistance. (Time to head back.) They returned to the village with a few snake corpses. After eating, he advised his subordinates to stash the remaining food under some grass. This would prevent any unwanted attention. (It looks like they¡¯re sleep.) It was already night and most of the goblins were heading back to their sheds. Ai and Yujin were already passed out in their rooms. Since Kei had ¡°Unwavering¡±, he could stay up for however long he wanted. Nevertheless, he was mentally exhausted and didn¡¯t want to fight dangerous monsters in the forest. (I guess I¡¯ll train a bit.) He covered the outside of his shed with the remaining wood from the morning. He didn¡¯t want anyone to pass by and see what he was doing. Kei then activated ¡°Spider Silk¡±. Before the sun came up, he¡¯d spend the rest of the night testing it out and practicing his control. Chapter 17: Wolf Pack Throughout the entire night, Kei trained ¡°Spider Silk¡±. The ability requires a long period of time to master. Therefore, he was only able to slightly improve the movement of the threads shooting from his fingers; despite training until morning. (This is pretty tough to control. But, I can see how useful it could be in the long term.) Since Kei wanted to get an early start on the hunt, he woke up his subordinates as soon as the sun came up. They ate snake meat to fill up their energy, then headed out. (From today on, I¡¯ll follow the same routine every day. We¡¯ll go hunting for snakes until it becomes dark. Then, the rest of the night will be spent training ¡°Spider Silk¡±.) Being faithful to his plans, Kei continued this schedule without taking any breaks. His level was slowly progressing, and his subordinates were also improving tremendously. After four days, Kei was pleased with the results. (Even though I haven¡¯t changed as much as I did on the first day, I feel like I¡¯m more in control of my skills. Also, leveling up has made my attacks deal more damage. Even those two goblin kids are a lot stronger. I wonder how much of difference ranking up will make¡­) Both Ai and Yujin could now kill a snake on their own. In merely days, they managed to far surpass most (if not all) goblins. This was due to Kei¡¯s guidance. Concerning his own abilities, he managed to greatly strengthen venom and poison resistance. Furthermore, he was now level 48. (I can control my threads a lot better now. While practicing, I¡¯ve also come up with a few uses for ¡°Spider Silk¡±. It¡¯s a good thing I decided to train it.) One of the ways Kei practiced his ability was to make silk shirts. This required him to be both patient and precise. After multiple attempts, he succeeded in making a single good one. However, as a result of his efforts, Kei could now move the threads with decent control. Moreover, if he combined all of his threads into one, he could make a strong rope (that moved by will) to ensnare enemies. The same rope could also be used to lay traps ahead of time. However, since he was always on the move, Kei saw no real practical use for it. (The best part about these threads is probably their offensive capabilities¡­) Through trial and error, he came up with a way to maximize their use. If he focused his energy into strengthening the silk, moving it around would allow him to cut down most things. After testing the skill out on a tree, he found that its slashing strength was close to that of his claws. If he added on venom, Kei could even potentially poison targets from long range with his threads. But, the downside to this was that it depleted his stamina quickly. Therefore, he could only use it in very urgent situations. (I¡¯m fortunate that Ai and Yujin don¡¯t ask too many questions. Even if I were to use this skill in front of them, they probably wouldn¡¯t ask about it.) After living with them for a few days, Kei realized that he had picked up great subordinates. During their short time together, neither goblin made a single complaint. In fact, so far, they had managed to greatly exceed his expectations. Most goblins wouldn¡¯t be this useful. They had rebuilt his house to triple its original size. To top it off, neither ever slacks off and they always wait for his command before acting. They treated him as one would their master. (With everything going according to plan, it looks like it¡¯s time move deeper into the forest.) If Kei wanted to continue his steady progress, snakes would no longer cut it. Seeing the considerable improvement of his subordinates, he decided to aim for stronger monsters.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. (It¡¯s been eight days already since I was born into this world. So far, I¡¯ve gotten quite strong. Now that I can venture further into the forest, I wonder just how much stronger I can become.) As the day¡¯s hunt would be dangerous, he allowed the younger goblins to sleep a few extra hours compared to usual. They needed as much energy as possible to stand a chance against stronger monsters. (We need to be in top shape when we hunt this time.) In the afternoon, Ai and Yujin were both finally awake. Everyone ate a large portion of snake meat. Since they¡¯ve been hunting snakes for the past few days, Kei had heaps of them in hidden in his shed. (I need to warn these guys of the danger before we head out. I do have echolocation, but it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry¡­) [All right! Since we¡¯re heading deeper into the forest, I have to make sure that we¡¯re all on the same page. The monsters we¡¯re going to encounter from now on are very tough. Stay alert and be very cautious¡­] Ai: [Ai will try her best!] Yujin: [Yes sir!] The group advanced. Along the way, they ran into some snakes. The monsters were easily killed. (So far, so good¡­) This continued for a few hours. Finally, they met the first new group of monsters. The enemies hopped towards them. (Not this again¡­) Two rabbits were standing in front of Kei. (I won¡¯t be fooled by their cuteness!) Seeing that their help wasn¡¯t currently needed, he order his subordinates to fall back. (This prey¡¯s all mine.) He activated ¡°Spider Silk¡± and used it to capture the monsters. Two silk ropes were now tightly wrapped around them. The rabbits tried to escape. However, their efforts were in vain. (Wow¡­ they¡¯re still able to put up a fight. No wonder I struggled against just one of them before.) He approached the rabbits and began to violently slash them. The scene was so graphic, even Ai and Yujin were stunned for a brief moment. (How does it feel to get cut up by your own claws? Hahaha!) After a few attacks, both rabbits were no longer moving; their blood splattered everywhere. From this battle, Kei jumped up to level 49. He also managed to slightly strengthen ¡°Slash¡±. (It seems like I¡¯ve become much stronger. That being said, I probably need to stop giving off that crazy killer vibe¡­) Quickly regaining his composure, he called upon his subordinates. For dinner, they would eat the rabbits. Since it was Ai and Yujin¡¯s first time eating such good quality meat, their mouths were watering. Kei was just grateful that he could take apart the claws of the rabbit he just defeated. In the near future, if he ever needed to provide more weapons, there would no longer be the need to go through the painful experience of ripping off his own claws. (Hey¡­ that¡¯s pretty good¡­) Since Kei had been eating only snakes for the past couple of days, it was refreshing to finally taste something different. After finishing the meal, they continued along their path and stumbled upon a few more rabbits. Although almost all of them were defeated by Kei, the two younger goblins managed to just barely defeat one while working together. (It¡¯s starting to get dark.) Before returning to the village, he decided to go a bit further in search of one or two more enemies to finish off the day. Within a few minutes, he noticed five red dots on his radar. Sensing danger, he initially decided not to pursue. However, Kei ended up changed his mind. This was due to the fact that he hadn¡¯t gained a skill in a few days. Most of the time, he would be cautious. However, right now, his greed was at its peak. (Wait... what!?) Before Kei could move any closer, it seemed like the red dots were already heading his way. They were moving fast. He realized that even if he planned on escaping, he wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun these monsters. Expecting the worst, he ordered Ai and Yujin to move closer to him. (Oh¡­ what do we have here¡­) In a very short time, the enemies managed to close the distance. Surrounding Kei and his subordinates were four furry orange four-legged beasts. In front of him was also a much larger beast with white fur. It began to howl. (Crap... This is going to be tough. Let¡¯s take a look at how strong this guy is.) He activated ¡°Observe¡±.
Name: N/A
Rank Wolf Leader
Skills ¡°Pack Leader¡±, ¡°Acceleration¡±
Upon seeing new skills, Kei became eager to fight. His drive for power far overshadowed any hint of fear he initially had. A huge grin appeared on his face. (Let¡¯s dance¡­) Chapter 18: Acceleration The wolves in front of Kei were very strong. Saliva was drooping from their mouths. The look they gave made it seem like him and his subordinates were a meal served from a five-star restaurant. (These guys aren¡¯t going to wait on us to attack. It¡¯s fortunate that Ai and Yujin are still here. I¡¯ll get them to try fighting at least one of these together. Since that wolf leader is the strongest out of all of them, the less of those weaker wolves I have to face, the better.) [Ai! Yujin! Fight the wolf behind me.] Ai: [But¡­ how can you face four of them by yourself? We know you¡¯re strong, but¡­ Ai can help you!] Yujin: [We don¡¯t want you to get hurt trying to save us. I can fight one on my ow- *interrupted*] [Trust me, I know what I¡¯m doing. Just fight the one behind me. I can beat the others ones on my own.] Ai: [Okay! Please be careful.] Yujin: [I trust you!] (It¡¯s good that they care about me and all¡­ but fighting one is more than difficult enough for the both of them. There¡¯s no point in using them as meat shields in this situation. They¡¯d just get in my way. As long as they can hold one off, I can somehow manage to scrape by. Also, their presence makes hunting somewhat more bearable. There¡¯s no need in pointlessly getting them to risk their lives¡­for now.) He activated ¡°Hard¡±, ¡°Venom¡±, ¡°Slash¡±, and ¡°Spider Silk¡±. This was no time to cut corners. Kei also brought out his claws using morphing. After making all of the necessary preparations, there was one thing left to do. (Let¡¯s see what skills I can take¡­) {Greed has been activated.} {Your opponent is within range. ¡°Greed¡± has successfully stolen the following skills: ¡°Acceleration¡±, ¡°Pack Leader¡±, ¡°Howl¡±.} {Acceleration (intermediate-strengthened): upon activation, the user¡¯s speed increases significantly. However, the speed increase is relative to the individual¡¯s own innate strength. Strengthening this skill will allow one to slightly increase its boosting effects.} {Pack Leader (experienced): upon activation, the user significantly improves their leadership qualities. This allows one¡¯s group to work and communicate much more efficiently. The more this skill is used and strengthened, the more people that can be lead with its effect.) {Howl (intermediate): this skill allows the user to strike fear into weaker targets. This may cause paralysis effects on them. However, one must be far stronger than their opponents in order for this ability to take effect. Therefore, it is more efficient to use against larger groups of significantly weaker beings. The more this skill is used, the better the effect.} Kei was surprised about the howl skill. When he checked, the wolf leader didn¡¯t have it. He concluded that one of the weaker beings might have been hiding this ability. Noting this, he decided to explore his abilities later on. Right now was not the time for that. Four strong monsters stood in front of him. (I¡¯ll see if they can escape my trap.) He made a total of four moving ropes using spider silk. After coating them with poison, he attempted to wrap the monsters and ensnare them. He took a quick peek at his subordinates. They were in a stalemate with the weaker wolf. Since he stole its speed, it would be hard for the wolf to make a surprise attack on the two. Content with the situation behind him, he once again looked forward. (Woah¡­ these guys are stronger than I expected¡­) The wolf leader broke free with little effort. On the other hand, the other three monsters were still caught in the trap. However, they were violently struggling to escape. Kei decided to take this opportunity to deal with the bigger obstacle. (I can¡¯t wait to be able to mimic you. For that reason, I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re going to have to die first.) A cheeky grin appeared on Kei¡¯s face. Similar to his thread, he coated his claws with ¡°Venom¡±. (Let¡¯s see how long you can last¡­) The white beast began to bear its bare its fangs. It sped towards Kei. Even with its ability stolen, it was still quite fast. (I didn¡¯t want to do this, but it looks like I have to use a skill I haven¡¯t practiced yet¡­Let¡¯s just hope I don¡¯t get hurt.)If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. He activated ¡°Acceleration¡± while running towards the wolf leader. His own speed had almost doubled! (I feel as light as a feather¡­ this is one heck of an ability¡­.) Within mere seconds he was less than a few meters away from the wolf. However, Kei could sense that it was still slightly faster than him. It could probably dodge all of his attacks using speed. He¡¯d have to come up with an unconventional plan to inflict damage. (It looks like I¡¯ll have to make a small sacrifice in order to beat this guy. It¡¯s a good thing I have mimicry¡­) Since his subordinates were preoccupied with the one wolf that was now farther behind him, they wouldn¡¯t notice if he changed forms. This was ideal for Kei. Losing an arm or a leg wouldn¡¯t be a problem since he could just deactivate and then reactivate mimicry again. The pain would be discomforting, but the injury wouldn¡¯t be fatal since blood loss could be prevented. As a result, he decided that his plan of action would be to give up an arm in order to fatally injure it. (If only I could find a way to catch this guy, I wouldn¡¯t have to pull these crazy stunts. I could also use a ¡°Spider Silk¡± attack, but exhausting all my stamina just to get one hit is too dangerous. I still need to get a lot stronger¡­ Anyways, here goes.) Kei lodged his right claw down the wolf¡¯s throat. As it was attempting to rip off his arm, he took advantage of its inability to move and pierced its stomach with his poisonous left claw. This was a smart move by him. The poison in the wolf¡¯s body would soon spread. Furthermore, it was severely injured twice. The beast was now basically a slowly dying corpse. (I need to get away...) While his adrenaline was still high, Kei pulled out his left claw from the monster, and quickly cut off his right arm (up to the shoulders). While backing away from it, he regrew the arm using mimicry. However, since the pain was still maintained, his movements became a lot slower. Anything more, and the damage would be fatal. (What the hell is this thing¡­ it can still move? What a monster. It¡¯s a good thing that I immobilized the other wolves. Otherwise, I¡¯d be screwed.) Before passing out, the white wolf tirelessly continued launching assaults at Kei. As it attacked, he just barely managed dodge the attacks using acceleration. Eventually, its movements slowed down, then stopped. While staring right into his eyes, it took its last breath, and then fell over. (That was a rough fight¡­ but the results were worth it.) From only that one kill, he moved up to level 58. Furthermore, after defeating it, he could now mimic the monster. Since it was not above experienced level, its form wouldn¡¯t be locked. This meant that he didn¡¯t need to worry about having to meet conditions before mimicking it. (Good¡­ good¡­ now to deal with the last three.) The oranges wolves in front of him were all still trapped inside his thread. However, when choosing to fight the wolf leader first, he had to cut off the thread from his fingertips in order to focus on the battle. Therefore, he could no longer freely control the rope they were tied in. Luckily, as he moved closer, it was visible that they could no longer struggle. When he previously ensnared them, he made sure to coat the thread with poison. Since the thread didn¡¯t pierce their skin deeply, it wasn¡¯t enough to kill them for now. Nonetheless, it was still able to cause slight paralysis. (Oh... what¡¯s this?) At the sight of what just happened, the wolves were terrified. Their leader was just brutally slaughtered by Kei. As he approached, they began to whimper; as though begging for their lives. (It¡¯s a shame. If I could tame you guys I would. Too bad for you, its kill or be killed in this world. If I hadn¡¯t defeated your boss just now, it would be me and my subordinates who were dead. Either way, the poison in your bodies will spread and eventually kill you within a few days anyways. Let me end your suffering.) He pulled out his claws and began to slash at them mercilessly. Within less than a minute, the three beasts became bloody corpses. By the end of the long battle, four wolves lay dead around Kei. (Rest in pieces¡­) From this event, Kei could now mimic both the wolves and their leader. Furthermore, he was now level 61. He was pleased that these stronger monsters could provide him with such a level boost. He wondered how many snakes he would have needed to kill to reach this level. (I¡¯ve gained quite a lot from today¡¯s hunt. That being said, I need to check up on those other two.) Kei turned around to check up on his subordinates. From what he saw, the wolf they were fighting maintained the most damage. Ai and Yujin did have scratch marks here or there, but luckily, nothing severe. (I guess I¡¯ll just sit down here and catch my breath for a while until their fight is over. With this, they¡¯ll become even more reliable in the future.) He watched as their battle continued. After about a half hour, the wolf was slain. Kei was content with their progress. With this, the hunt was over. He stood up and walked towards them. (These guys will definitely be important for my plans in the future. What an astonishing bunch of kids.) [Good work you two! You¡¯ve made me proud.] Ai: [Thank you!] Yujin: [Haha, this was easy! Next time, I¡¯ll beat one on my own.] It was visible that Ai was blushing. Yujin also seemed thrilled upon receiving the compliment. (Jeez¡­these guys are bad at hiding their feelings.) Before returning to the village, they ate the wolf leader together. Its taste was sublime; especially compared to what he¡¯d eaten previously. For that reason, he took big bites. The other two were also digging in. Since it was already dark, they needed to finish quickly. Afterwards, they each picked up a wolf corpse and carried it on their backs. As they were much stronger than before, this feat would be manageable. To not attract any unwanted attention, they would also have to somehow sneak the food in once they arrived at village. Moreover, Kei was carrying the claw weapons he picked off from the rabbits they previously fought. He was carrying them in a poorly-woven silk bag he made while waiting for Ai and Yujin to finish their battle. With this, it was time to go home. (What a long day. From this hunt alone, I feel like we¡¯ve gotten much stronger. There¡¯s also a lot of new skills I need to test out tonight.) Kei had surpassed his previous limits. Furthermore, his subordinates were now even more capable than before. He returned to the village satisfied. Side Story: POV of Ai *Ai¡¯s point of view of the events so far.* It hasn¡¯t been long since I have been born. When I first realized what was happening, I could already walk and speak. I found myself in a big cave filled with lights and other goblins. It was magical. Ai was so excited! (Can I make new friends? What will happen from now on?) I was very curious. Excited, I walked up to the goblins my age. Ai: [Let¡¯s be friends!] After we met, everyone was friendly with each other. We were one big goblin family. We also had a lot of fun conversations! Female Goblin 1: [I heard that there are these slippery monsters we have to fight when we go outside!] Female Goblin 2: [Me too! I even heard about a bouncy blue one that we might meet in the forest. Those are probably only rumours though. We¡¯d have to go look for ourselves!] Ai: [Ai can beat them all!] Female Goblin 1: [You¡¯re so silly Ai! What are we going to do with you?] All three: [Hahaha!] This only lasted for a while¡­ until we had to complete a test. This was when everything went wrong for Ai. Goblin Elder: [Okay little ones! Before you go off and fend for yourselves, we will be having a small test. There is no pass or fail. Instead, this is for you to gain some experience and prepare for the outside world.] When I heard this, I was excited. (What is the outside world like?) We were lead to another big room. Inside of it were a bunch of small rats. Ai: [Haha! Come here. Ai will take you down!] The elder gave us each a spear to borrow and told us to beat down the rats. He then warned us. Goblin Elder: [If you can¡¯t even beat this at your current level, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to survive for very long from now on.]If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. All the rats were being stabbed by everyone else. I kept trying to attack the small monsters, but my weapon kept messing. (What¡¯s happening? Why am I so bad?) After an hour, there was only me and one other goblin left. We couldn¡¯t kill a single rat. Everyone was giving us dirty looks. Goblin Elder: [Time¡¯s up! For those who killed one or more rats, this will be your food for the next few days. After that, all of you will be leaving the cave.] This meant that I didn¡¯t have anything to eat. But, I thought that my best friends would have my back. (They caught a few rats right? I don¡¯t want to bother them, but I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t mind sharing some with me¡­ wait what am I thinking!? We¡¯re good friends. Of course we¡¯d help each other. I would do same for them.) Unfortunately, I was wrong. They didn¡¯t share a single piece with me. All the goblins were now treating me like a useless piece of trash. There was also another goblin who was in the same situation as me. He was trying hard to hold the tears from drooping down his eyes. We sat together since the rest of the group ignored us. Ai: [Hey! What¡¯s your name?] Yujin: [I¡¯m Yujin! What about you?] Ai: [I¡¯m Ai! I guess we¡¯re going to starve to death, huh.] Yujin: [I guess so¡­] After almost two days, I thought I was going to die. My body felt weak and I was almost going to pass out. (Who¡¯s that¡­) An older goblin came to the cave. He was walking towards us. (Is he here to finish us off? Are we going to become his food!?) When he was right front of us, he stopped. (Oh no! Oh no!) What he said next shocked me. Older goblin: [Hey! Do you kids want some food?] Ai was totally confused! I didn¡¯t understand why he wanted to help us. Before I could even think, I replied: [Yes¡­.] Yujin also replied the same thing. We were that hungry. With no choice but to trust him, we followed the older goblin. He guided us outside of the cave and took us to his shed. Along the way, we explained the situation we faced. He seemed very concerned. After that, he told us to wait outside of his shed. Once he returned, he came back with slippery food. The old goblin gave it to us. He called it ¡°snake¡±. It was really yummy. With this, Ai was saved! (I owe my life to him. No matter what, he can do whatever he wants with me. He¡¯s now my master!) When I told him about the debt I owed, he refused. The goblin wanted to treat me and Yujin as equals. This made me respect him even more. But, I would still treat him as my master. I just don¡¯t call him that because I think he doesn¡¯t like it. He told me that his name was ¡°Kawai¡±. I will never forget it. After that, we would join master to hunt. He gave us materials to build our own house. On top of that, he handed us a really cool weapon! It was called a ¡°claw¡±. Then, we had to go through a lot of fierce battles. We fought snakes, rabbits, and today, even a wolf. Whenever I see master fight, I can see that he¡¯s really strong. Sometimes he uses strange abilities, but we don¡¯t ask him too many questions about it. I¡¯m just fine being with him. At times, he also gets really intense. But, Ai likes it. If master wants, I hope to carry his child someday. He will have a strong seed. Master is also very kind. He is only strict to us when we¡¯re fighting. That¡¯s why I do whatever I can to help him. The other day, Yujin and I built him a bigger shed. He seemed very pleased. Today, when I beat a wolf with Yujin, master also praised me. Kawai (older goblin): [Good work you two! You¡¯ve made me proud.] This made Ai really happy! I even blushed a bit. Overall, I like master a lot. Chapter 19: Plans Since it was late at night, not many goblins were walking around in the village. Most of them were asleep in their sheds. This allowed Kei and his two subordinates to sneak in the wolf corpses that they were carrying on their backs. Also, since Kei left echolocation activated, he could sense if anyone was walking in the same area; making the task much easier. After a few more minutes of skillfully maneuvering themselves, they were now in front of their rooms. (What a day! I¡¯m still kind of worn out from the fight I just had. Luckily, I was able to rest a little bit before Ai and Yujin finished their fight. Including the long walk we had to make to get back to the village, I feel like I¡¯ve somewhat recovered.) Kei was planning on testing out his new skills later on during tonight. Therefore, he was glad that his body wasn¡¯t too damaged. Being as strong as he was, there would now be little to no risk if he trained in the forest. However, he would make sure to stay close to the village. (Before I head out again, I need to recollect my thoughts.) Kei placed his wolf corpse and silk bag (carrying the claws he picked up from the hunt) into the shed. After saying goodnight to both Ai and Yujin, he completely covered the front of his room with wood. This was to block out prying eyes. Even with echolocation, he couldn¡¯t sense how far someone was looking from. Consequently, Kei activated ¡°Spider Silk¡±. He would spend the next few hours thinking about his life so far and making plans for what¡¯s next. Since he wasn¡¯t going to be focused on weaving the thread from his ability, the benefits of training ¡°Spider Silk¡± would be much less. However, since Kei loved being ¡°AFK¡± (away from the keyboard) while reaping in-game benefits in his previous life, coming up with this idea was quite simple. After giving himself a mental pat on the back, he entered into deep thought. (Tomorrow will be the ninth day that I was born into in this world. Now that I look back, it¡¯s kind of funny how easily I¡¯ve been taking this. In my previous life, I remember reading a few reincarnation manga. The main character in those stories was so eager to return to earth. For me, I don¡¯t feel the same way at all. I lived such a shitty life¡­why would I ever want to go back? Unless it was to conquer the earth as well, I¡¯d see not point in going there.) Before he died, Kei wasn¡¯t an anti-social person. Although one may assume him to be so, he could still hold a lengthy conversation with others like it was nothing. He even made quite a few friends throughout his life. However, for Kei, all of those people felt superficial. It was rare for someone to stick their neck out for the other when times got rough. Furthermore, he felt that most people were pre-disposed to following the masses. If he could describe the phenomenon, it was probably that most people had a desire to be like the rest; to ¡°fit in¡±. Kei couldn¡¯t care less about that. Moreover, he questioned why people cared so much about acting as though they were better than others. Although he did have an ego at times as well, he would never outwardly show it. This was because being a show-off decreased one¡¯s chances of success. People also get irritated by this type of personality. There¡¯s nothing to gain from it. He believed that only fools cared about flaunting their power. Therefore, even if he became much stronger in the future, Kei would keep his congratulatory thoughts to himself. The more humble one is, the greater they look to their followers. He then delved even deeper into his thoughts.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. (Another thing I didn¡¯t understand about people back on earth is why they kept arguing about their beliefs. Some religious extremists would kill others if they weren¡¯t followers. Similarly, non-religious people would want to exterminate others of the same religion regardless of whether or not they were extremists. Then, people would go on for hours and hours about who¡¯s right or wrong.) He then started thinking about his opinion on the topic. (I don¡¯t see the point. It¡¯s just a huge clusterfuck. I mean look at me, I¡¯ve been reincarnated. You don¡¯t see me trying to argue with these goblins about ¡°Reincarnationism¡±¡­People are such idiots. Seriously, what a bunch of bullshit. If humans want to serve someone so bad, they could just become my slaves. Hahaha...Okay¡­that was a bad joke.) Calming down, he realized that he now needed to shift his thoughts towards his current life. There were some issues that needed to be taken care of. First, he began thinking about his current abilities. (I need to choose what skills to keep as passive or active. Before, it didn¡¯t really matter since the monsters usually didn¡¯t attack that quickly. This allowed me just enough time to activate my non-passive skills. However, now, I just don¡¯t know how fast the monsters could end being. Therefore, it¡¯s better to be safe and keep as many of my skills activated as possible.) He decided that from now on, ¡°Hard¡±, ¡°Acceleration¡±, ¡°Smash¡±, "Unwavering", ¡°Slash¡±, ¡°Echolocation¡±, ¡°Night Vision¡±, ¡°Pack Leader¡±, and ¡°Job: Spear User¡± would be kept activated. Although he hadn¡¯t yet tested out ¡°Pack Leader¡±, the ability was pretty self-explanatory. ¡°Acceleration¡± would have to be tested out tonight since he didn¡¯t yet have full control over the speed. Furthermore, the only time Kei would deactivate the skills above would be to test himself or train without having to solely rely on his abilities. Also, there would be no need to activate resistances or language since those were now passive. ¡°Venom¡±, ¡°Spider Silk¡±, and ¡°Howl¡± would be activated on demand since these abilities could cause accidents. Finally, he decided that ¡°Observe¡± would be activated on demand as well since keeping it activated for too long gave him headaches. (Now, there¡¯s one last thing left that I need to decide. What will I do from now on? Do I continue training? Should I start finding out about how to take over the village? There¡¯s a lot of possibilities for me.) After giving it some thought, he came up with an idea. Tomorrow, he would stay in the village. Since both and Ai and Yujin still needed to heal from their injuries, this would allow them to sleep well and fully recover. Furthermore, this would give Kei time to ask the goblin elder about the hierarchy of goblins within the village. Before, he couldn¡¯t bring up the conversation because it would have come out of the blue. He didn¡¯t want to make the elder suspicious. However, now, he could start talking about his experiences with Ai and Yujin and lead the topic of discussion towards the information he wants. This would allow him to gauge the strength level he needs to first reach before taking control over the goblins. Afterwards, he would do a thorough tour of the village. (Yeah, that probably sounds like the best option for now. I¡¯m content with taking tomorrow off. But, if I find any goblin in the village who really pisses me off, I¡¯ll kill them straight away. Although I¡¯d rather keep as many goblin as possible for when I¡¯m in control of the village, I definitely wouldn¡¯t mind some extra exp.) Noting this, he got up. A few hours had passed. Surprisingly, ¡°Spider Silk¡± had improved quite a bit. After de-activating it, he left the shed and headed towards the outskirts of the village. He would spend the rest of the night testing out ¡°Howl¡± and ¡°Acceleration¡±. Chapter 20: Goblin Hierarchy Kei was now in the forest. Since it was late at night, he made sure to not to go too far in. This was to prevent any dangerous encounters. Before morning, the remaining few hours would then be spent training ¡°Howl¡± and ¡°Acceleration¡±. (I¡¯ll activate ¡°Acceleration¡± first so I can control the speed a bit better. Once I can manage that, I¡¯ll test out ¡°Howl¡±. Hopefully, at some point, I¡¯ll activate both together so I can save time while training.) For the first hour, he ran around the forest in a circular motion. With ¡°Acceleration¡±, his speed was quite fast. However, the control was just a bit off. At times, he would collide into a tree and fall to the ground. This was because unlike his fight against the wolf leader (where he simply rushed forward), changing angles required practice and precision. The more he kept running, the better he felt when maneuvering himself. After the hour was over, he was somewhat out of breath. (Man, this is rough. That being said, I think I¡¯ll be able to activate ¡°Howl¡± now since my movement¡¯s a lot better. But first, I¡¯ll go check out what¡¯s moving on my radar.) Sensing a red dot not too far away, Kei wanted to make sure that there was no imminent danger. He rushed towards it. After seeing only a snake, he was relieved. But, deep inside, he kind of wished to stumble upon a different monster. In the worst case scenario, he would steal its abilities and run away. Kei killed the slithering monster in one strike with his claws. Since he was much stronger than before, the exp gain and strengthening of skills was very little. (Oh well. I¡¯ll take a short break and eat this snake.) After sitting down, he began to chew the corpse. It still had that same bitter taste. The reason for this was due to the venom in its body. Goblins are only capable of eating snakes because of their strong digestive systems. Furthermore, unlike other poisons, venom is usually only lethal when it enters directly through the bloodstream. For this reason, even humans can sometimes digest it without much harm (by breaking down the poison with their enzymes). As a result, goblins wouldn¡¯t really be affected by only eating it. (Time to get back to training. It¡¯ll be morning soon.) He activated ¡°Howl¡±. Contrary to the name, Kei did not make any sound. Instead, he could feel a weak aura emanating from his body. (I kind of feel like the ghetto version of a demon lord. If a much weaker monster was close to me, I could understand how it¡¯d be paralyzed from fear.) However, Kei felt that ¡°Howl¡± would be useless for the time being. Since he was still weak himself, only through training it and ranking up could it be useful against weaker enemies later on. That being said, he came up with a great idea to maximize his skill training. Therefore, the time spent activating ¡°Howl¡± could also be spent training other skills as well. (On top of ¡°Acceleration¡± and ¡°Howl¡±, I¡¯ll activate ¡°Spider Silk¡± from now on and try to weave thread as I¡¯m moving. I¡¯ll call this genius idea the ¡°ultimate cheat training¡±! Hahaha¡­) Until morning, Kei continually strengthened his skills in this fashion. Since controlling three hard abilities required a lot of concentration, at times, Kei would crash into the trees in the forest. However, he simply got back up and continued with the process. (The sun¡¯s up. The other goblins are probably waking up by now. It looks like it¡¯s time for me to find that old fart and ask him about the goblin system in the village. I also have a few questions about new monsters to fight in the forest.) Before heading to the elder, Kei dropped by his shed. He peaked inside the rooms of Ai and Yujin. (It looks like the other two are sleeping. I was planning on taking the whole day off, but now that I look at them they seem to have healed quite well. Once I¡¯m done getting the information I need, we¡¯ll head back out to hunt again.) After a short walk, Kei finally made it to the elder¡¯s shed. Along the way, he saw goblins holding spears and walking towards the forest. Once the old goblin noticed Kei, his face lit up. Elder: [Kawai! What brings you here?]If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. [I have some things I wanted to ask you about.] Elder: [No problem! Let¡¯s head to the cave.] On their way to there, the elder said something that almost made Kei chuckle. Elder: [Lately, I¡¯ve been feeling the effects of aging a lot more. A few days ago, I felt like I lost my ability to understand what¡¯s going on around me. Before I grow too senile, feel free to ask this old as many questions as you want!] Unfortunately, the old goblin didn¡¯t know that this was all due to Kei stealing his ability. When they were close to arriving at the room where they previously discussed, Kei nonchalantly activated ¡°Observe¡± on the elder.
Name: Gobuta
Rank Goblin
Skills ¡°Goblin Language¡±, ¡°Job: Spear User¡±
(His name¡¯s Gobuta!? My goodness¡­No wonder he wants to be addressed as elder.) Kei also noticed something bizarre. When he activated ¡°Greed¡± on the elder previously, he only managed to steal ¡°Observe¡±. At that time, he didn¡¯t know how to steal specific skills. Therefore, all of the goblin¡¯s abilities should have been stolen when he activated his ability. The only explanation for this is that the voice in his head was capable of distinguishing what abilities Kei wanted at the time. However, he wasn¡¯t sure. (I¡¯ll think about that later. Since we¡¯ve already made it to the room, it¡¯s time to dig for information.) The discussion began with Kei mentioning his desire to protect Ai and Yujin. This was purposefully done by him in order to lead the conversation towards the system of goblins within the village. He pretended that he wanted to understand the hierarchy of the goblins in order to not offend any of them (for the sake of Ai and Yujin). However, the real reason was so that he could eventually reign supreme within it. (Let¡¯s see what he¡¯s got for me.) The elder began his explanation. Within the village there were around 400 to 500 goblins. The lowest status began with the goblin babies and infants. These were the weakest of them all. At most, they could kill a rat. After that was the goblin elder. Due to his age, he was stronger than the infants but weaker than the adult goblins. Then, higher than the typical adult was the hobgoblin. These beings could easily fight with up to ten adult goblins. Finally, the highest of all were ogres. (I remember he told me something similar to that when I asked about ranks. Interesting¡­) In the village, there was currently only one hobgoblin. His name was Balthezar. He had a blue skin tone and a toned body. (I think I¡¯ve seen someone like that before¡­) Previously, there were two hobgoblins. However, the other one had just ranked up and Balthezar schemed to kill it before it could pose a greater threat to him. This hobgoblin was now rounding up goblin troops in order to eventually gain full control over the village. (It looks like someone has the same idea as me¡­ Unfortunately for him, once I get strong enough, I¡¯ll have to bust this guy¡¯s bubble and beat his ass in front of everyone.) Afterwards, the elder mentioned that ogres rarely appeared. There were none within the village; even throughout his lifetime. He only knew about them from stories pertaining to ancient times. (Well, that¡¯ll be all ¡°ogre¡± once I rank up twice¡­ Haha¡­ Ah¡­ my jokes are getting worse¡­) Kei now had a vague understanding of what was going on in the village. This only fueled him even more to get stronger as fast as possible. This was because he wanted to test out his strength against Balthezar. Also, he wondered what skills he could steal from the monster. However, he was in no rush to use ¡°Greed¡± since the monster wasn¡¯t going to leave the village any time soon. (Let¡¯s see what else he can tell me about other monsters in the forest.) Before the elder began to explain about the forest, he muttered something about human females, hobgoblins, and jealousy. Although Kei couldn¡¯t really hear it, he had a feeling that he understood what the goblin was saying. (I¡¯m pretty sure he just said that he wished to become a hobgoblin so that he could nail all the women in the cave. Jeez¡­ another stereotypical old pervert¡­*sigh*) The old goblin then told Kei about a rumor going around. As a result of this rumour some goblins have gone missing. Apparently, north of the forest, there was a small magical area where living plants resided. These plants were unable to leave the area unless they were dead. Also, this region contained many other strong monsters. All of them apparently tasted much better than the food closer to the forest. (What a pleasant surprise! I guess I should try heading there today then.) Finally, the elder warned him to be wary of the other villages in the forest. Although there was no clear information on this subject, apparently, far into the forest there were other groups of living monsters. (It must be those orcs¡­) On an individual scale, these beings were even stronger than a hobgoblin. To top it off, he told Kei that goblins were considered among the weakest beings in the forest (if not the weakest). (Trust me old man, I know something a lot weaker than a goblin¡­ a rat...*cough*cough*) Having asked what he wanted, he thanked the elder. It was now time for Kei to head back to his shed. With all this new information, he now had a better understanding of the village. Also, he couldn¡¯t wait to continue venturing inside the forest in search for new skills! Apology and New Novel I don''t know where to start, really :/ Probably, I''m sorry. Really. Really. Really sorry. I messed up. Big time. Even if I started off by making a chapter a day in the beginning, I should have at least informed you guys about how I was feeling burnt out and how I should have slowed down with the release dates and just kept going at least twice a week since the chapters were short (even then we''d probably be at chapter 200+ by now!) . Instead, I would look more at the negative reviews instead of the positive reviews which ended up in me losing my confidence when it comes to writing novels. It''s also ironic how I despised writers who took long breaks, then ended up taking one myself. All this, lead me to fear checking my account and even continue writing at all. Despite the fact that I wrote the whole novel for my own enjoyment because I liked Re:monster and other types of system novels so much! I thought it would cool for you guys to also join me on this journey as I thought it''d be cool to let you guys in on it. My love for writing became clouded and I lost the initial reason that I started. This was a huge mistake. From there on, it''s been another 2 years almost. I''ve dreaded coming back, but after thinking through things, it''s the least I can do. I don''t know if you guys can forgive me, but I honestly don''t expect you to. It was disrespectful to you guys who were actually looking forward to new chapters. Since then, Ive probably read 1000s of novels of all sorts. Now, I feel like I''m at-least a higher-tier critique in the novel world. But, I can also recognize that there''s always a higher mountain and I shouldn''t be a fool and think I''m the best in front of Mt.Tai. Anyways, enough sulking! Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. About a few months ago, I ran out of novels that really made me feel the same way I did when I started. I wanted to write a novel in which I could explore my own inner mind (being a loner who fears doing a lot of things), and also write about character in a modern world who evolves through a system and works towards mastering all skills and achieving immortality. I wrote 20+ chapters, before even posting it online (on qidian). And this time, I will consider advice with presentation of the novel, but I''ll write something that I personally love. Because how can you guys enjoy the story if I''m not right? The novel is called Wish-Fulfilling System and you can find it here. It''s up to you if you want to read it. I feel like it''s a whole new me in terms of skill and mental-state when writing. I personally feel that it also has much more substance, and themes, not just skills/abilities and filler. You can find it here: https://www.webnovel.com/book/11907034606601905/Wish-Fulfilling-System P.S. I just realized that this might come off as wrong, since I''m introducing a new novel while also apologizing. But I think that only way to make this right is to make a kick-ass novel with a consistent schedule (even if it''s only once a week with a decently long chapter, and well-thought out long-term plan for the story). LAST BIG UPDATE: Second Novel will be available on this site! Some of you guys (many who had misgivings with Qidian) mentioned that you would prefer to read the new novel on this site. Your wish is my command! Though I can''t dissapoint my readers at Qidian (that wouldn''t be right), I also can''t dissapoint you guys. I''ve also made sure to review TOS, and not sign any contracts at Qidian, so I retain full rights over my novel. Thank you to everyone who was concerned!If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. As a result, I''ve decided to post my second novel on Royal Road, and upload new chapters on both sites simultaneously. Here is the link to the novel: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/20964/wish-fulfilling-system