Goblins and Omens

Crackle, crackle.

Along with the sound of burning firewood, a gamey, fishy stench drifted on the wind.

I held my breath, hiding behind a bush as I kept my eyes locked on the area ahead.

In the center of the clearing, green-skinned monsters huddled around a campfire, cackling.

Goblins.

A staple monster of any fantasy world.

In typical games, they were treated as mere trash mobs, easily swept away with a single sword strike. But in Velheim, a game notorious for its brutal difficulty, it was a completely different story.

Thanks to their high intelligence and cooperative nature, the moment you let your guard down, they would slip behind you and plunge a dagger into your back.

Whenever I had to clear out a goblin den, feces-tipped arrows and traps would rain down from all directions. It was incredibly annoying.

I had lost so many characters to these bastards that I could probably start a tombstone business with them.

Normally, avoiding them would be the wisest course of action, but my circumstances were a bit different now.

Actually, this is perfect.

I quietly licked my lips.

Now that I had arrived in Verastin, I needed to join the Adventurers' Guild to hunt monsters and earn money without any hassle.

But there was no way the guild would welcome a country bumpkin with no track record and an unverified identity.

In cases like this, the guild usually demanded that applicants prove their skills.

And the easiest, most undeniable proof of skill was monster loot.

Hunting those guys down will be just the thing. I can farm some experience points while I'm at it.

The problem was my combat power.

Malton, who had been reliably guarding my side, was currently away.

There was no one else around. This would be my very first real battle against monsters, fought entirely on my own.

But picking a fight with a pack of goblins when I was essentially a beginner was sheer foolishness.

Besides, I didn't even have proper cloth armor equipped, did I?

If I charged in head-on, I'd be torn to shreds and end up as the main ingredient in the goblins' stew tomorrow morning.

In that case, there was only one way.

I have no choice but to borrow Antagon's power once again.

Having learned the side effects of Disguise, I was reluctant to turn into an undead right now, but there was a creature that would be perfect to use in this situation.

One of the monsters I had hunted while crossing the plains over the past few days.

"How did a Kobold's thought process go again?"

Drawing upon my vast game knowledge, I recalled the characteristics of a Kobold.

A habit of preferring dark, cramped spaces. A strong sense of ownership and obsession with their belongings.

Yet, when faced with the strong, they would servilely tuck their tails and run—the characteristic cowardice of a monster at the very bottom of the ecosystem.

And from that stemmed their paranoid tendencies and victim mentality.

Instinctively, I blurted out the phrase that popped into my head.

"Candle! Candle! Don't want pain! Don't take it! Mine!"

As I muttered the incantation, my joints twisted with a sickening crack.

My back hunched, my limbs shortened, and coarse fur sprouted over my skin.

My field of vision dropped, and the hood covering my head slipped down.

—Whine... Whimper...

After rummaging through my backpack to make a few quick preparations, I slung a bundle over my shoulder and hobbled toward the campfire, pretending to be injured.

At the sight of the goblins, a wave of fear washed over me—likely due to the Kobold's natural instincts—but I forced my trembling limbs forward, taking one step at a time.

They're just low-grade monsters...

Sensing a presence, the goblins sprang to their feet, raising their clubs.

"Who goes there, gob?!"

"Heheh? What, it's just a cowardly Kobold. Kyahaha!"

Once they confirmed that the creature emerging from the bushes was merely a wretched Kobold, their expressions instantly twisted into sneers.

One of the goblins walked over and tapped my head with his club.

"You there! Hand over everything you have!"

I prostrated myself flat on the ground, trembling violently.

"Don't hit! Don't hit! My mistake! My mistake! Just don't kill me, Lord Goblin!"

At my pathetic display, the goblins clutched their stomachs and cackled.

The largest of them, presumably the leader, spat on the ground and threatened me.

"To think you'd dare step into the territory of the great goblins and expect to live... Hand over everything you have! Then I will let you live."

"E-everything! This is all of it! Not my life!"

With a face pale with terror, I threw the bundle onto the ground.

Cackling, the goblins began to rummage through the bundle.

"This is... a worn-out human sword, metal scraps, a fork...? You had some pretty decent stuff. Did you scavenge this from some sick adventurer? Oh! There's meat too!"

It was the leftover skewered Lesser Rat meat I had shared with Malton.

The goblin leader snatched the meat with a suspicious glare, sniffed it, took a bite, and gasped in admiration.

"Mmm... chomp, chomp. This is amazing! You guys try some too!"

He lowered his guard, turning his back to me as he gestured to his companions.

Oblivious to their impending doom, the goblins eagerly dug into their final meal.

"This is to die for, gob!"

"This skewer is killer! What kind of meat is this?"

Instantly dropping the act, I spoke in a freezing tone.

"None of your business."

Thrust!

I plunged the skinning dagger I had hidden behind my back straight into the nape of his neck, feeling the solid impact.

Crimson blood erupted like a fountain as his artery severed.

Without even a chance to scream, the goblin leader collapsed forward, the skewer still clamped in his mouth.

"W-what?!"

"The Kobold killed the boss! It's a rebellion!"

The remaining goblins shrieked in horror and grabbed their weapons.

I quickly retrieved my dagger and lunged at the nearest one.

However...

Damn it, my arms are too short!

The swung dagger only grazed the goblin's chest, hitting nothing but air.

A Kobold's physical capabilities were far worse than I had anticipated.

Their strength was weak, and above all, their short limbs put them at an overwhelming disadvantage in terms of reach.

This was the moment I painfully realized why Kobolds were constantly bullied by goblins.

Furthermore, a body transformed through the Rune of Antagon could not fully exert its original power if my proficiency with it was low.

"Keeeeeek!"

A goblin's club slammed into my shoulder, sending me rolling pathetically across the grass.

A bone-shattering pain flared up!

Seizing the momentum, they swarmed toward me.

I scrambled to my feet and bolted.

As expected, trying to overcome natural species compatibility is impossible!

I had no chance of winning in this state.

Still, I had achieved my initial goal.

Making them let their guard down by thinking I was just a weak, pathetic Kobold.

And taking out their leader while they were distracted.

Now...

"Cancel Disguise!"

Whoosh!

In an instant, the Kobold's hide peeled away in a cloud of black smoke, revealing my original form.

When ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a human twice the Kobold's size suddenly materialized, the charging goblins screeched to a halt in sheer terror.

"N-naked human?!"

"Hairless monkey human thingy?!"

"Piss off!"

Thud!

I kicked the bewildered goblin square in the solar plexus with all my might.

Thanks to the Strength boost from Chaos, he flew like a soccer ball and crashed straight into the campfire.

"Aaaaah! H-hot!"

While they hesitated, I didn't miss the opportunity. I dashed forward and scooped up the cutlass lying on the ground.

The familiar weight settled comfortably in my hand.

Now we're talking.

"Kill human!"

"Surround! Right side!"

The screeching of the goblins pierced my ears.

Strangely, perhaps because I had just been transformed into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a monster, I could decipher their broken language.

The right!

Having understood their plan, I pivoted in advance, dodging a flying stone.

Then, I closed the distance and swung my blade.

Slash!

Blood erupted from the decapitated goblin's neck, spraying across my face.

The metallic stench of blood filled my nose, but there was no time to stop.

"Die, you rats!"

The remaining goblins lunged at me simultaneously from both sides.

I kicked a burning log from the campfire toward them.

Whoosh—crack!

As the flaming projectile flew at him, one of them shrieked and covered his face.

Seizing that opening, I drove my sword down into his crown, while raising my arm to block the other goblin's club.

Thwack!

"Ugh...!"

The club struck my bare flesh, sending a bone-rattling pain through my arm, but the rush of adrenaline kept me going.

Gritting my teeth, I grabbed the bastard by the collar and slammed him onto the ground.

Then, I delivered the finishing blow.

Stab!

Immediately, I sensed something creeping up behind me, but I knew the goblins' behavioral patterns inside out.

"Surprise attacks won't work on me!"

Without hesitation, I spun around and slashed the throat of the approaching goblin.

Thud. The severed head rolled away, leaving only the sound of my heavy breathing echoing through the quiet forest.

I looked down at the blood-soaked goblin corpses scattered around.

Standing naked in the windy forest, drenched in blood, felt incredibly bizarre.

It was a savage, primal victory, far removed from anything civilized.

But I survived.

"Whew... Let's get some clothes on first."

I roughly wiped the blood off with some leaves, retrieved my clothes from the bushes, put them on, and walked back to the corpses.

The proof of a goblin kill was the right ear, right?

Though it turned my stomach, I held my breath and sliced off the ears with my dagger.

But as I went to cut the ear of the goblin leader, I paused.

"The ear shape is much sharper... Was this guy a Goblin Shaman?"

A fairly strong variant among goblins. No wonder he felt a bit tough.

I hadn't recognized him because he lacked the usual body paint or feather decorations.

Had he only recently advanced his class?

If I hadn't caught him off guard and killed him instantly, I might have been the one in deep trouble.

"Well, at least this takes care of the guild's entry requirement..."

But as I did a final sweep of the goblins' belongings, a strange powder rubbed off on my fingertips.

"What's this?"

Inside the bundle, there was a crudely stitched pouch containing a green powder.

I cautiously sniffed it and furrowed my brow.

"Green Moth scales?"

It was a powder harvested from the wings of giant moth monsters.

While usually used as an alchemical ingredient or medicine, its mild hallucinogenic and toxic properties made it popular among monsters as a drug or luxury item.

A monster possessing this wasn't particularly strange in itself.

Goblins were highly intelligent, often engaging in barter or establishing crude monetary economies among themselves.

Any other adventurer would have brushed it off, thinking, 'I guess these bastards were doing drugs,' but they couldn't fool my eyes.

Something's off.

I rubbed the powder between my fingers.

Judging by how fine and dry the particles were, it had been harvested only a few days ago.

But as far as I knew, Green Moths did not inhabit the forests in this area.

While my regression might have caused some discrepancies in regional monster distribution, Green Moths could only survive in areas with highly concentrated mana.

And there was only one place nearby that met those conditions.

A dungeon.

The puzzle pieces clicked together in my mind.

"These goblins... they crawled out of a dungeon."

At first, dungeons were regarded as a blessing.

A land of opportunity where one could hunt monsters to level up and harvest materials to make a fortune.

But over time, they became the source of catastrophe.

In Velheim's history, there were records of the Great Flood—a disaster where monsters overflowed from dungeons, obliterating nearby cities and conquering entire regions.

But I haven't heard any rumors about a dungeon in the villages or taverns.

Come to think of it, wasn't the dungeon near here discovered about two to three years before the game's official start? That aligned perfectly with the current timeline.

Is this a sign that the dungeon entrance is about to open?

It could be an omen that the great disasters engraved in Velheim's blood-soaked history were slowly beginning to stir.

Finally, I unfurled the crude map the goblins had been carrying.

In a corner of the crookedly drawn map, there was a spot marked with a red 'X'.

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the exact location of the dungeon from my memories.

"...At this rate, it's only a matter of time before the dungeon awakens and people discover it."

A dungeon opening was a massive threat to the people of this world, but frankly, it was none of my business.

There was no way a single individual like me could stop a catastrophe, nor did I feel any obligation to risk my life and dedicate myself to the people of this world.

I had already made up my mind, hadn't I? In this life, I would cast aside altruism and live entirely for myself.

However, while this was a crisis, it was also a massive opportunity.

Hunting various monsters inside a dungeon would allow me to grow faster than any other method.

If I reaped the benefits and fled far away before the monster wave overflowed, I could walk away with pure profit.

"In that case... I need to level up and prepare myself so I can challenge the dungeon. To maximize my stats, I'll also need to awaken the greaves I stole from the ghost ship..."

After tidying up, I picked up the sack containing the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠goblin ears and stood up.

But looking at the cloth pouch dripping with blood, a piece of information from my newbie days suddenly crossed my mind.

A Goblin Shaman is a pretty tough monster for a beginner to take down... The guild won't make a big deal out of this, right?

Eh, it should be fine. It's not like there are absolutely no rookies who bring back monsters of this caliber for their initiation.

After all, in my past run, I had once marked my initiation by hunting down an Ogre.

With that thought, I turned my steps toward the Adventurers' Guild.