Chapter 154
Chapter 154
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: The Weakest Race
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After snatching one goblin and making it guide him to the village...
Havel arrived at the goblin village.
Truth be told, it was hardly worthy of being called a village.
Crude shelters thrown together haphazardly in the forest.
The goblins lived there without so much as a proper fence for protection.
They all looked much like the first goblin whose form Havel had taken.
What now.
Havel crossed his arms and sank into thought for a moment.
Starting from the fact that he'd transformed into a goblin...
He still hadn't fully grasped how this layer was structured.
Is there some reason I have to stay in goblin form?
Havel tapped his crossed arms thoughtfully, then clicked his tongue.
He'd used manifestation out of sheer annoyance and anger at turning into a goblin.
But if it was necessary, there was no helping it.
First, Havel released the manifestation.
Then he turned to the one goblin who had seen him in his true form.
The goblin's eyes met Havel's, and it jumped in fright.
He was the only goblin who had witnessed Havel's transformation.
"Goblin, forget everything you saw today."
In that instant, a faint killing intent emanated from Havel's body.
A goblin was the epitome of fragility, the weakest of the weak.
The moment it felt Havel's killing intent, the creature shrank back.
"Gob-ik..."
The goblin nodded vigorously, mumbling under its breath.
Even if it went around blabbing, no one would believe it anyway.
But with fear now etched into its mind, it wouldn't dare speak a word.
"Before we enter the village, I have a few questions."
Seizing the opportunity, Havel decided to dig for proper information.
First, the name "Gibl" that the goblin had called him by.
"What kind of goblin is this Gibl?"
There had to be a reason Havel had possessed this particular goblin named Gibl.
"G-Gibl is a goblin who eats well."
"Not that useless nonsense."
"Useless? Eating is important for goblins. Goblins get special when they eat!"
Havel's eyes narrowed.
This terrified creature was still insisting that much.
Havel's instincts reacted.
"Explain that more precisely."
"Uh, uh, eating bitter herbs makes your body strong!"
"So, you mean it absorbs the properties of the ingredients or something like that?"
"I don't get fancy words, but yeah, something like that!"
Well, now.
With such low intelligence, having a proper conversation was impossible.
But if this was true...
So, it's not your average goblin after all.
This was a goblin from the 8th hierarchy.
It wouldn't be strange if it had some special ability.
"So, besides eating well, is there nothing else special about Gibl?"
"Hmm, oh! Gibl was the first born among goblins that year!"
It seemed there was nothing particularly unique about Gibl.
As Havel's expression grew subtle, the goblin hurriedly added more.
"Th-The first-born goblin of the year becomes chieftain! Gibl was going to inherit the chieftain position too!"
But those next words piqued Havel's interest.
This was the mid-layer of the 8th hierarchy. There had to be more to inheriting the chieftain role than just being born first.
There was a high chance that being first-born granted some special trait.
He'd gleaned some pretty useful information.
"Got it. Then let's head into the village first."
Havel gave the goblin one more warning to keep quiet, then entered the village.
A few goblins along the way greeted him like they knew him.
Havel kept the conversations short.
He didn't know what kind of talks the real Gibl usually had.
However, none of these low-intelligence goblins found him suspicious.
This might actually be a stroke of luck.
If he'd possessed a different race, it might not have been this smooth.
Even goblins had their advantages, he mused.
"Gibl! The chieftain's calling for you!"
Another goblin he passed called out to him.
The goblin chieftain.
Havel felt the need to meet him at least once.
"Where's the chieftain?"
"The chieftain's at home."
"Which house is that?"
"Ah, haha, Gibl, you're such an idiot. You forgot the chieftain's house!"
Conversations with goblins were refreshingly simple.
Any question could be brushed off as him being a forgetful idiot.
Thanks to that, the goblin kindly led Havel to the chieftain's house.
The chieftain's home didn't even have a proper door—just a single plank.
Havel shoved the plank aside and stepped inside.
A musty smell hit him, revealing the interior.
On a bed of straw...
A goblin wearing a bronze necklace lay there.
Deep wrinkles covered its face, marking it as quite elderly.
"Cough, Gibl, you've come."
This was the goblin chieftain.
"Cough cough, Gibl... I don't have much time left."
Perhaps due to old age.
The chieftain seemed on the verge of death.
So the talk of him being chieftain-in-waiting was true.
Havel decided to listen carefully to the chieftain goblin.
"Cough... We goblins are rank 12 among races. The weakest."
At that moment, the chieftain said something that caught Havel's attention.
Race rank 12.
Before entering this place...
It matched the 12 cities Baria had confirmed.
So those cities I saw are all for different races.
Havel pieced it together and nodded in understanding.
"Cough... Remember that we are weak."
The chieftain coughed again before speaking.
"I will."
"Then... that's all."
The chieftain goblin seemed to have said everything he wanted.
Exhausted, he began snoring softly as he fell asleep.
There was so much more Havel wanted to ask, but the old one barely had the strength to speak.
It looked like he'd inherit the chieftain role soon enough.
Still, he'd gathered a few pieces of information.
Putting it all together might yield more insights.
I should check out another village.
Information from just the goblin village was too limited.
Goblins had inherently low intelligence.
They didn't know much.
They only remembered simple things.
Anything complex was forgotten.
With race rankings, I probably need a single-digit rank race for a real conversation.
It was just as Havel fell into thought.
"Gobeeeek! S-Spare me! Lizardman, I taste bad!"
A goblin's scream reached Havel's ears from far away.
Too distant for other goblins to hear, but Havel's sharp senses picked it up.
Lizardman.
Definitely another race.
The moment he heard it, Havel bolted from the village.
He tore through the forest toward the source.
When Havel arrived, one goblin lay trampled under a lizardman.
A red bipedal lizard.
Lizardman.
Unlike the goblin barely clad in scraps of hide...
The lizardman was properly equipped with iron armor and weapons.
That confirmed it.
Sentient being.
"Gobeeek, gobik!"
The goblin flailed in terror.
"Shut up. You're the one who trespassed our territory."
"S-Spare me!"
"Goblins can't even speak the common tongue properly. No idea what you're saying."
Common tongue, huh.
Havel listened closely to the lizardman's words while rubbing his throat.
So what language was he speaking as a goblin?
The other goblins understood him, so probably goblin language.
Easy enough to test.
Havel stopped watching and stepped out from the bushes.
The lizardman sensed him and looked up.
"Another one?"
He glared at Havel irritably.
"What's your name?"
"Name? What?"
Gaul looked baffled at Havel's blunt question.
Doubt soon crept into his eyes.
"A goblin who speaks the common tongue."
And thanks to that, Havel learned one thing.
Automatic translation, then.
Whatever he said was interpreted naturally.
And he could understand whatever they said.
"G-Gibl, why'd you come! Run!"
Just then, the trampled goblin shouted at Havel.
He'd expected it to beg for its own life, not tell him to flee.
Goblins had a strong instinct to protect their own, surprisingly.
The weakest race prioritizes the group over individual survival.
A trait often seen in insects.
Goblins might have it too.
"Say what you want, doesn't matter. Hey, goblin, this is lizardman territory. Get lost."
The lizardman growled a warning through bared fangs.
He now gripped a spear tightly.
Havel glanced at the trampled goblin, then slowly raised his head.
"I'd appreciate it if you answered my question from earlier."
The one about his name.
The lizardman snorted at Havel's demand to answer first.
"As dumb as a goblin."
With that, he kicked the goblin underfoot aside.
"My mistake for talking to a goblin. I warned you."
Then the lizardman launched himself forward.
Three times a goblin's size.
With swift movement, he thrust his spear at Havel.
Just before the spear pierced Havel's head...
Havel casually swung his hand blade.
Clang!
The lizardman's body staggered.
The spear bounced back, the recoil sending him flying.
"What?!"
He hadn't expected a goblin's hand to block his spear.
But he was a lizardman warrior.
Despite his surprise, his body reacted instantly.
The spear curved in a strange arc, striking at Havel again.
In his mind, Havel was now a full enemy.
"You bastard!"
Lightning-fast thrusts rained down on Havel.
But it made no difference if he went all out.
Just like before...
Every spear strike was blocked by Havel's hand.
It wasn't luck.
As bewilderment dawned on the lizardman's face...
Crack!
Havel seized the spear shaft in reverse.
The lizardman yanked to retrieve it, but it didn't budge.
As if the spear were embedded in rock.
"You gonna keep holding on?"
Havel smirked as he asked.
"Then hold on forever."
With that, he lifted the spear—and the lizardman attached to it—into the air.
"Eek?!"
The lizardman screamed as he dangled midair.
Havel slammed both spear and lizardman into the ground.
Boom!
The impact pierced his scales; the lizardman tumbled across the dirt, choking.
Thud!
Suddenly, pain exploded in his chest.
He looked up to see Havel now stepping on him.
The lizardman's face paled.
This goblin was no ordinary one.
"Wh-What are you?!"
The lizardman gasped in horror.
But Havel ignored him, pressing down harder on his chest.
"Name."
"Grk, ugh... G-Gaul! Gaul! N-No, it's Gaul, sir!"
Finally, a proper answer.
If only he'd done that from the start.
"Right, Gaul."
Havel cracked his knuckles with a sly smile.
"You said this area is lizardman territory."
"Y-Yes, but..."
"Take me there."
It was time to properly explore this layer.