Chapter 266 – Re: Youth

Day 1

John stirred, struggling to open his eyes. He felt weak and helpless, like he was an invalid. He tried to say something, but he couldn't articulate any words. He finally got his eyes open, and once they focused, he kind of wished they didn't. He was in a dimly lit cave, with a very ancient-looking giant goblin standing over him. The goblin was green-skinned, with nearly solid-black eyes, and hairless other than a massive grey beard framing a mouth missing half its teeth. He was wearing nothing but a loincloth and leaning heavily on a twisted cane.

Just what in the hell is going on here? Why can't I move? 

"Oh. Eyes open already? Let me think. This big one, I think, I will call Gobukichi, and this one with the tuft of blue hair, Gobusui. But this broken one with the mystic eye, I think I will call Goburou. Yes, that sounds good. Now, eat." The goblin said, shoving a giant bug into John's mouth.

It wiggled around inside his mouth, clearly still alive. Disgusted, but unable to spit it out, he bit down on the bug to kill it. Surprisingly, it was delicious. Without being able to move his arm, he had no choice but to continue to chow down on the fat grub. Once he had finished, he quickly got sleepy and couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Before he nodded off, he shouted out in his mind to the heavens.

Alec! Just what in the hell is this place!?! 

[You did say you wanted more naps, didn't you? Well, no better way to nap than to be a baby.]

John was asleep before he could articulate a reply.

Day 2

John woke up finding that he was surrounded by a bunch of baby green goblins, and after a cursory inspection of his arm and hand, realized he was one as well. He found his mind was clearer, and he could move his arm and legs more easily now, though he was unable to stand up at all. 

Just what in the hell is this, Alec?!? Why am I a baby goblin?!?

He didn't get a reply. He almost went back to DEN right there and then just to get some clarification about what was going on, but instead used this moment of lucidity to take stock of himself. He opened his status panel and examined himself. It was... very different than his normal screen.

Name - Goborou (True Name - John Suzy Wayne)

Race - Goblin

Age - 2 Days

Level - 2/100

Stats {Will change once you are an adult}

Strength - F

Endurance - F

Agility - F+ 

Magic - F-

Luck - F

Intelligence - F-

Blessings - Nil {Blessing Of The Omni}

{Blessing Of The Omni - Allows use of all DEN abilities and skills with reincarnators DEN stats until local stats are higher}

Passive Base Skills

[Precocious - It's born quickly, it grows quickly.]

[Rape - It's easier to conceive with other species (especially Humans).]

[Cunning - Receive a moment of inspiration during critical situations.]

[Demon Tribe Factor - A demon's factor.]

[Night Vision - Able to see in the dark.]

Unique Skills

[Absorption -  One of the rarest ESP abilities. This ability allows its user to gain the abilities of other beings and things by consuming them. No matter how hard or poisonous something is, the user is able to eat it.]

{DEN Skills}

{Things in these brackets, the gods of this world cannot see. Don't think too hard on the names of the Goblin skills, and enjoy your last couple of days as a child. Oh, and don't tell anyone your True name in that world, else you might get cursed. - Alec}

A Name and a True name? What is the difference? Just what in the hell is all this! And rape is a skill? Why? What are these little beasts? Are they just walking rap- Aqua!  

John rolled his head around, looking at the horde of goblin children. He spotted the one with the blue tuff of hair sleeping nearby him, apparently content. He wiggled and shuffled himself over to her, cycling his earth magic and ki to give him a needed push to get there. Now exhausted, he draped his arm over her and rested his forehead on hers. She wasn't really recognizable other than the fact that she was the only goblin with hair, and only a small tuft of it at that, but he knew it had to be her. 

He watched over her for a few more minutes until he could no longer keep his eyes open; the movement and Ki usage were more than this little body could handle. His stomach was already growling, ready to eat another grub or whatever he could get his hand on. A last thought went through his mind before he lost consciousness. 

I have no idea why they have a skill called that, but I'm not going to let these bastards rape her... I'll DEN out, come back with my gear and torch this place to the ground if they try. 

Day 3

"Ahhh... Mmm... blah... *Cough* Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do! *Cough, Cough*" John said, testing out his vocal cords. It was a bit rough, but he finally seemed able to speak. His body had grown to about the height of a five-year-old child overnight, and he could stand and walk around now. At first, he was worried about how Aqua would take becoming a goblin, but... she was fine.

"Hah! You sound like a frog. It's like this, Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do!!!" She sang, her musical voice sounding very strange coming out of a goblin. She was dressed in an old, dirty loincloth like he was, and had a wrap around her chest. They were both definitely ugly, green goblins, though her eyes were starting to turn from black to her normal Aquamarine colour.

Hmm... wonder where my Leathers went? My Substance X and House are in them. A problem for another day.

The singing drew the attention of the rest of the young goblins, fifteen of them all told, all of whom were struggling to let out grunts and single words. Somehow, they all already knew whatever language they were speaking, apparently born with a fair amount of ingrained knowledge. 

"I'll remember that for our Friday night duets." He replied dryly, then made his way to the mouth of the cave they were in.

The mouth of the cave opened into a beautiful glen, with old-growth trees scattered around and weird, four-winged birds soaring overhead. Several older goblins wandered around the place, going in and out of the cave complex. From what he could see, there were three separate entrances, though he had no way to know without exploring.

That old goblin had come by and given them all more of those grubs earlier, then, before leaving them to their own devices, warned them not to go outside yet, as they would be easy prey for predators for another day or two.  

A hand touched his back, nearly making him jump, but he realized it was just Aqua sticking close to him. "So, what are we supposed to do?" she asked, hugging his back.

"Not sure yet, but right now we should focus on getting used to our new bodies. Here, accept this invitation." He replied, tossing her a party invite. 

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I doubt they have a gym here, so we should probably just do some light stretching and bodyweight exercises. I also want to store some magic away in case we need it. Fate did say this place might be difficult, though we have already levelled up a few times by eating, so I'm not sure how difficult it can be." 

"Ewww... don't remind me... If it didn't feel like my stomach was trying to eat my spine, I doubt I could stomach another bug. Do you think those birds taste like chicken?"

"Everything tastes like chicken if you wish hard enough. Let's work out right here for a bit, and if a bird comes close enough, I'll blast it with some magic. I'm sure I can start a fire to cook it... Though it looks like you got Absorption as well. We can eat stuff raw if we have to." He said, checking through her stats. They were similar to his now, with the same caption about running on her base DEN stats until she was stronger. 

"Right, we have magic still... I almost forgot."

"You okay?"

"After we are done, can you rub my muscles down with your magic. If I have to live the rest of my life as an evil race, I want to at least feel some good."

"We are not stuck here for the rest of your life. Another fifty-seven days. That was the deal I made with Fate."

"What if you don't want to leave after that amount of time... what if I don't want to leave. What if we find living like goblins in the woods a wonderful lifestyle, with a lot of peace and quiet, with bouts of murder and... kidnapping." 

"Then we live here for a while and enjoy it, though there won't be any 'kidnapping'. I hope. God, those skill names bother me. Come, let's not dwell on this and just do some training. Then afterwards, maybe do something fun."

"Fun?" She said, perking up. 

"Sure. Do you know how to dance?"

"No... but I would love to try it."

Day 4

"No, Gobukichi. Like this!" John said to the larger goblin kid, adjusting the boy's hand placement on his partner's hip, a female goblin called E. 

I should just call him Kichi... this gobu nonsense is... nonsense.

Yesterday, after their workout had proved to be entertaining for all the goblin kids, John decided to teach them all how to dance along with Aqua, using his Guide of the Sage skill to keep them focused on him. This morning, he was shaken awake by Kichi. Apparently, dancing was a hit, and the kids wanted more lessons. So after peeling a snoring Aqua off of him, he led most of them through another round of exercises and dancing lessons. If he didn't think too hard on the fact that these kids were goblins, it was honestly quite adorable. 

"Okay!"

John started to slap his thigh, clapping to keep time as the goblins danced around their quickly shrinking cave. He wasn't sure, but he thought he was over three feet tall now, with Kichi being the only goblin larger than he was out of the kids. 

"What is all the racket going on in here? Goburou? What is this?" A voice said from the cave mouth. John looked over at the old goblin, coming in with a plate filled with grubs. 

"Just a little morning exercise," John said, replying to the name the old goblin had given him. 

"Really? Well, ain't that something. This batch of gobbos is bound to be something special. Now, settle down and come get your meal." He said, holding the plate out. "Consider this the final meal you get to eat out of my hands without working for it. Once you're grown, you're expected to hunt your own food. We all fend for ourselves around here." 

"Grown?" John said, grabbing a couple of grubs off the plate before they could be snagged by the rest of the goblins. Aqua was just stirring now, so he had to make sure she had food too. 

"Yes, grown. You're all adults now and expected to look after yourselves. If you do a good enough job of that, you might reach old age like me someday. I’ve seen twenty winters, and I tell you, it can be rough. Though there are plenty of perks. If you're lucky, you might even evolve into a hobgoblin, or even something stronger beyond that."

"Are there any weapons here? Or something to hunt with?"

"Not really. Our raiding party left with anything good some time ago. You can check in the store room if you like, though I doubt you will find much in the way of weaponry there."

"What can you tell us about the local animals? Any tricks on hunting them?" He asked, offering Aqua a grub when she joined the crowd.

"As a normal goblin, other than the birds and squirls, I would stay away from most of them. Horned Rabbits are tasty, but can easily kill a goblin if cornered. Going further out are wolves, bears, bats, and a whole horde of different monsters just ready to kill an unprepared gobbo. You would probably be better off finding bugs and eating berries."

"Nope. I think I'm good. If we're allowed out now, I think my next meal will be something that is meat, not just resembling it." 

"Hmm... With that attitude, you might be one of the lucky ones to evolve. Just be careful out there, okay? You're already at a handicap with being born with only one arm, and I doubt that mystic eye will do much for you if a wolf decides you're its next meal."

"You might be surprised what my eye can do, but I'll be careful." He replied, then wolfed down the grub, still not sure why these damn things actually tasted so good. "Now, if you got some time, I'd like to pick your brain some more about what we can expect outside of the cave."

"Hah, well, take a seat. I usually tell stories at night, but your enthusiasm is refreshing. Just remember Old Gobujii if you come back with fresh meat because of my advice. It's been a long time since I had any rabbit."

"I'll see what I can do," John said with a laugh, taking a seat against the wall with Aqua.

"Sorry, I missed it. What's happening?" Aqua asked after she ate her grub. 

"Just getting some information from the elder. Apparently, we are adults now and need to fend for ourselves." He said, waiting as the rest of the goblins started to take seats on the floor. They all seemed very nervous about the prospect of having to find their own food and were paying attention to every word Gobujii said.

Seems like they normally just throw their kids off the deep end to see if they can swim. You would think they would be more concerned about making sure they knew what they needed to survive before doing that.

A thought struck John then, one he had somehow missed up to this point.

I'm a kid here, only a few days old. Just where are my parents in this world?