Be Careful What You Wish For (2)
Be careful what you wish for. (2)
Surprisingly, goblins can walk upright right after birth and already have teeth, allowing them to chew meat immediately. Why do I know so much about newborn goblins, let alone regular ones? I wish I didn't. I raised my arm. A scrawny, green-tinted limb with yellowish nails. That should answer the question.
"Shit."
To cut to the chase, I'm a reincarnator. The problem is that I didn't reincarnate as an ordinary human, but as a goblin. That's exactly why I know about the ecology of newborn goblins. The place I opened my eyes to was the Goblin Cave.
The shock of waking up to find my so-called parents shoving human flesh in my face, claiming they were taking care of me…
"Ugh."
In the end, I couldn't hold back the nausea and vomited again. After that, I fled the cave as if possessed. If I stayed in that dark, filthy cave any longer, one of two things would happen: I'd go mad, or I'd become just like them.
Fortunately, the place I ended up was a forest, so surviving on my own wasn't as difficult as I'd expected.
Drinking from the flowing stream, hunting tree fruits or rabbits… It's convenient at times like this.
After filling my stomach and roughly setting up the Forest Sanctuary, I finally had time to think about how this had happened. No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one trigger.
It was definitely something called the Monkey's Paw.
Back then, while enjoying my usual weekend, a friend who'd returned from overseas came to my house saying he'd brought a souvenir.
[What's this?]
[A souvenir. I bought it specially for you, bro.]
[What kind of souvenir is this piece of crap?]
[You'd better watch your mouth. That's the real deal I got from an actual shaman.]
My friend was the idiot who brought me a monkey's paw as a souvenir. I regretted not cutting ties with him sooner.
Sadly, at first I didn't notice anything strange. It just looked like an ugly trinket. The real problem came next.
After sending that damn friend away, I turned on my computer to play a game.
[I want to be like a game character too. Then I could do anything easily, right?]
[Understood.]
[??? What was that sound just now…?]
A horrible, phlegmy voice. At the same time, drowsiness hit me like I'd taken sleeping pills. I lost consciousness, and when I opened my eyes again, a goblin was shoving a human head in my face.
Even if the Monkey's Paw grants wishes like an idiot, this was too much. Out of all the mobs, why a goblin?
"Wow, seriously. What do I do now?"
Using the flowing stream as a mirror, I got a closer look and it was even worse. A long nose, beast-like sharp fangs, and even glowing yellow eyes. It was an impressive monster's appearance that didn't look human no matter how you saw it.
But looks were secondary. The real problem was the boiling instincts. My instincts kept whispering to kill, rape, and plunder.
A mere goblin, yet its instincts are this filthy and powerful.
If it were a powerful monster like an ogre or dragon, maybe, but slaughter instincts in a goblin? Honestly, it was a pathetic instinct, but trying to suppress it with reason wasn't as easy as it sounded.
At least for now, less than half a month after birth, I could hold it back… but what if more time passed?
Then I'd really be consumed by my instincts. That absolutely cannot happen.
Even though I've reincarnated as a goblin, I'm still human. A human with a human soul and mind. Therefore, I had to try anything to suppress these instincts. And I found the answer in murim.
Murim is based on the premise of cultivating both body and mind through training. So, if I followed the training methods from murim?
Of course, part of it was because I'm a murim-obsessed otaku, but…
It doesn't sound completely impossible. There are plenty of cases in murim where madness is controlled through training.
Above all, I'm already a goblin. There's no law saying murim techniques wouldn't work.
With my mind made up, I immediately sat in lotus position and began training. Honestly, I didn't have high expectations. But since there was no other way, I started training with the desperate hope of grasping at straws.
Yet something completely unexpected happened.
I stared blankly at my arm.
"What the hell is this?"
It was still the same scrawny arm that made me feel sick just looking at it, but unlike before, it now radiated vitality. Of course it would. The blue energy flowing through my arm right now looked exactly like qi no matter how I looked at it.
And it didn't even take long. I just sat in lotus position for three hours and awakened qi.
Congratulations! You are the first in the world to awaken the existence of qi!
You have acquired the trait: Vagabond (F)!
You have acquired the trait: Heavenly Martial Body (SSS)!
Due to the effect of Vagabond, stat limits have been removed!
"……What?"
Along with a Status Window I didn't even know existed.
Strength has increased.
Agility has increased.
Due to the physical limitations of Goblin, stat growth is restricted.
"Hoo, so this is the limit."
I stood up. Thanks to a month of intense training, my arms had gained some muscle. Of course, it was still just a scrawny arm that had gone from emaciated to merely thin. Even so, it was a remarkable improvement compared to before.
At least, thanks to awakening the Status Window, I could clearly tell I was heading in the right direction.
Of course, the problem is I can't even see it directly…
No matter how loudly I shouted for the Status Window, nothing appeared. It was literally a half-broken Status Window. But it was definitely better than nothing.
After finishing today's training, I immediately built a campfire by the river. I didn't know at first, but it turned out I even had a crafting skill. Anyone familiar with survival games would understand.
Campfire crafting successful!
5 stones consumed.
10 thick logs consumed.
"So this is possible too."
In ordinary games—survival crafting games, to be precise—people usually only care about materials and don't look too deeply into details. In other words, just having materials doesn't mean anyone can build a furnace or forge an iron sword. But in survival crafting games, it's possible. Of course, there might be skill or level restrictions depending on the game…
10 branches consumed.
Crude straw hat crafting successful!
3 deer hides consumed.
Crude leather pants crafting successful!
Crafting proficiency has increased to E-rank!
"Now I look somewhat human."
Pants and a hat. Simple clothing, but at the same time, proof that I'm human, not some goblin. But the greatest harvest was the discovery of martial arts.
Whether it was a miraculous coincidence or because of the wish, this goblin I reincarnated into seemed to possess the Heavenly Martial Body—a body with innate talent for martial arts.
I can't see the detailed effects because I can't check the Status Window, but it probably isn't called the Heavenly Martial Body for nothing.
Only a month had passed, yet there had been remarkable progress. First, I could now hunt deer. Before, they rarely fell into traps, and even when I chased them, my speed and stamina weren't enough, so I always lost them. Now, not only my stamina, but even my speed was only slightly slower than a deer's. I could keep pursuing them.
But the problem is that the proficiency of Vagabond, which seems to be the core skill, isn't increasing.
No matter how much martial arts I learned, I was still fundamentally a goblin. Naturally, there were stat restrictions. After all, if a mob got stronger than the final boss just by training, the balance would be completely broken. The skill that somewhat lifts those restrictions is Vagabond.
The issue was that its proficiency was far too low.
If I could at least raise the proficiency, I feel like I could grow even more than now. How do I increase proficiency?
If my guess was right, there would be higher-tier skills above Vagabond. For example, things like Swordsman, Sword Master, or Sword Saint… In other words, maxing out proficiency to unlock higher skills would mean I could become that much stronger.
Yet strangely, while other skills' ranks increased, Vagabond showed no movement whatsoever.
Is there some other condition?
Fortunately, I easily found a way to raise Vagabond's proficiency.
"What the hell is this?"
"We came because we saw the campfire… A goblin?"
"……??"
Thanks to some unexpected visitors.