Rank-Up and Leadership

AN: If you guys, haven't already noticed, with GobuHeather appearing that means GobuE's little begging action with the other goblins won't happen with her as the starter, but will have a random goblin taking her place. It's only for this little part, since GobuHeather was based off of GobuE. It's different in the LN since it doesn't really mention GobuE directly and immediately.

-DAY 14

When I woke up, my body had changed so much that it couldn't compare to how it was before I went to sleep.

The changes to my body shocked me. I thought hard about what I heard yesterday before I went to bed. I see, so this is a Rank Up, huh. The mysteries of this world make me shudder.

No, no, from my own experience, I can understand; however, the natural laws of this world are so amazing that it's beyond scary.

After killing and eating the Orc yesterday, I went from the size of a human child to the size of an adult human in one night. My physical strength, eyesight, and hearing had increased dramatically. Even the abilities I had gained before yesterday had also become more powerful.

This is scary. Even though my body has grown a ridiculous amount, I didn't feel any sense of discomfort at all from my new form. Even though such a huge change should've made me go insane, that didn't happen in the least.

Even though my body had grown so much, I didn't feel any muscle pains from it at all; instead, I felt overflowing power that was incomparable to before like a temporary feeling of omnipotence. Freaky, right? Seriously.

Now, if I was an ordinary guy, I would've probably be so happy that I would do stupid things until the feeling passed. However, the reality is that I wasn't even close to being as powerful as I felt, and therein lies a trap.

That's why the rules of this world are scary.

Now, that aside.

It was interesting to watch GobuSpyte, who had grown bigger as well, just stand there with a confused look.

It seems that he also passed over level 100 after the battle with the Orc yesterday, causing him to undergo a Rank Up. However, unlike mine, his skin didn't turn black. In fact, I couldn't see any difference in his skin color at all; he was still the same old green.

Well, let's put that aside as well. The thing that interested me the most was his face.

He no longer looked like an ugly Goblin like he had used to be. His naive look held some attractiveness in some aspects. His ears were still pointed, and his nose looked somewhat hooked. Nevertheless he looked a lot like a human. Having green skin might not be very human-like; nonetheless his looks were approaching to that of one.

Then, what about me? While wondering about this, I checked the obsidian knife for my reflection.

What I saw was my face looked like a younger version of my human face…Yeah, as one would expect, I was completely stunned until it settled in.

For now, I went to the wall close by our sleeping place, grabbed a caterpillar-like mystery bug, and started munching on it from the head.

After I had calmed down, I grabbed GobuSpyte and went to look for the Goblin Elder.

That's because if I didn't make use of the Goblin Elder at times like this, his existence wouldn't have any point at all.

Just in case, because it felt risky, I wouldn't mention the [Origin and Demise]-ruling [Divine Protection of the Great God] that I also received.

What I learned was:

1) Upon turning into a Hobgoblin, my body and appearance became closer to a human. The reason for this is unknown. It's one of the mysteries of the world. Apparently because of the Hobgoblin's human-like appearance, they could even live in human towns. However, there is a long past of Goblin slavery, and most of those coexisting with humans are still slaves. Those with good looks have become sex slaves for human perverts.

2) The difference between GobuSpyte's and my skin color is because I am of a subspecies. Subspecies are generally stronger and have special abilities when compared to the standard ones. Unless special conditions are cleared you can't become a subspecies, which is why they're rarely seen, so apparently I'm kind of unusual.

3) Furthermore, my skin color is black. Black is the symbolic color of the oldest god of the world, the one who controls the beginning and the end of something-something. Even among the subspecies mine is the absolute rarest while being the strongest, and with studying, they're capable of learning the strongest magic possible.
Also, to the believers of this god, I'm somewhat like a living idol, an object of worship. If that's not the case, then parts of my body are thought to be materials used in rituals to communicate with the god, so I have to be careful when it's late in towns and stuff. Religion is scary no matter what world you're in.

4) How should I put it, becoming a Hobgoblin when not even a month had passed is supposedly very strange in the first place. The old man who's still a Goblin said so, so it's probably true. By the way, of the Goblins who left to work away from home, (apparently exactly 40 Goblins), only 3 had turned into Hobgoblins.

5) Also, because GobuSpyte and I had become Hobgoblins before we left the cave, we were allowed to freely use the human women in the cave as we'd like. We also received the right to take things from the warehouse, and use them however we want.

Oh-. Is that so-?

…Yes, because he was kind of long-winded, I ignored most of what he said by repeating those words and pretending to listen. Particularly around point three, and the reason for that is obvious. Like I said before, no matter what world one is in, religion is scary. Even more so now that I've obtained the [Origin and Demise]-ruling, and [Divine protection of the Great God] characteristics with my Rank Up. It makes me think that it'll probably turn into more trouble than it's worth. I thought that this was something I should hide as long as possible.

As expected, we didn't even consider going hunting today. I practiced martial arts together with Gobukichi in order for us to accustom ourselves to our new bodies, the sparring was especially intense. Gobukichi's power was too much for him to know how to utilize it, making him quite warlike.

Though I, who has had an interest in many different forms of martial arts, never lost, I could conclude that Gobukichi's power was at least somewhat stronger than how he was before. As expected, it seems like his abilities are specialized in the vanguard role.

He wasn't very agile or quick, but his offensive and defensive power had increased tremendously while making him a powerful tank and damage dealer, a hybrid character. Once we concluded our martial arts practice, the afternoon was dedicated to replacing our now too small and old armor.

Since I've grown, the horn and obsidian knife I've been using have become too small for me to handle effectively. However I'll just have to bear with it today. My venom by itself is an adequate weapon, so I can overcome this handicap for now.

That's why today's plan is to use the stockpiled materials from the Armored Tanukis, Night Vipers and various other monsters to create new armor.

We used the armored shells from the Armored Tanukis, and the snakeskin from the Night Vipers, to create new equipment. I was satisfied with the results. The armor we created was light, flexible, and quite robust.

To put it simply, it was armor based off of leather. We didn't make cloaks, but since it looked like light brown leather clothes with long sleeve arms and full-length pants, it should be alright. The metal shells had been placed in strategic location which further increased its defensive capabilities. We thought about our freedom of movement while creating it, so when we tried it out, it performed far better than expected. It barely obstructed us at all.

We even finished crafting the girls' armor that we couldn't complete earlier because of insufficient materials.

Since it's mainly made out of Seven Colored Bats, it looks a bit gaudy though. It somewhat gives the feeling of being a national costume from somewhere.

By the way, the food tonight was prepared from Horned Rabbits caught by the other Goblins.

It wasn't filling enough, but it was still better than nothing. Since it tasted good, I was fine with their catch.

-DAY 15

Our first hunt since our Rank Up to Hobgoblins.

Since we're going to display the might of our new bodies for the first time, I'm a bit nervous.

Today, the first prey we encountered was a humanoid with the head of a dog and fur all over its body. I don't know where it got them from but it was wearing rusted armor with an equally rusty long-sword. I decided to name this monster, "Kobold". From observation, it seems the Kobolds are a higher rank than Goblins and about the same rank as Orcs.

If we include the equipment, then compared to the Orc we ate, it's probably an even higher rank. In physical strength, the Orc would be more powerful, but the Kobold would be superior in terms of speed and agility.

If it were the 'us' from before, we would've retreated immediately, or more likely, used my abilities to avoid the fight altogether. Using the girls' accurate, poison-coated stones as support, GobuSpyte and I faced the Kobold from the front.

Excluding myself, who has evolved into a subspecies, GobuSpyte's combat ability increased significantly thanks to his equipment. His cudgel was reinforced by wounding shells around it while his shield was made out of shells. The Kobold only had its rusty armor while GobuSpyte had various shell armors to help him. GobuSpyte attacked the Kobold directly.

Rank Up is scary isn't it? Someone who was weak only just yesterday turned into a great warrior in one day.

GobuSpyte got some minor wounds and had GobuHeather treat them using some of our medicinal herbs. The Goblin Elder taught us about medicinal herbs earlier.

While they did that, I took the opportunity to strip the Kobold of its possessions. On his waist hung three stones. Using my [Appraisal] ability, I discovered that they were "Fire Spirit Stones". Apparently non-sentient low-level fire spirits dwell within the stones. I pocketed them and then started looting him of his armor. I hung the slightly rusty longsword together with two books I had on my waist.

From the corpse, I took the brain, the heart, and the right arm. The others decided to split the rest evenly.

They left an impression as they had a strange texture. Although the taste is subtle, they were still delicious.

Ability [Kobold Language] learned.

Ability [Predict] learned.

As I thought, Kobolds are stronger than the average Hobgoblin. The reason GobuSpyte could win was because of the huge difference in gear quality. On the other hand, I could win due to my numerous abilities and combat experience.

Also, after eating the three Fire Spirit Stones, Ability [Pyrokinesis] was learned. I gained the ability to produce fire. In the natural world, it's hard to overcome this difference. And this was the outcome of the battle. After that, we hunted some Horned Rabbits, then returned.

Today, the tribute my Goblin subordinates gave me were Horned Rabbits mixed with Armored Tanukis which surprised me. "These guys, they're finally growing up…" I lamented to myself. I think I'll give shell shields to the Goblins who are to fetch Armored Tanukis in the future.

For the evening meal, I grilled the meat the others brought, and we had a party.

-DAY 16

Today, the other Goblins of our generation begged me to teach them by saying "please teach us more ways of killing things" while prostrating themselves. The Goblins inside the cave were in a row alongside each other as they got on their hands and knees to prostrate before me. It was quite the surreal scene to watch.

You see, the Goblins that brought me food had managed to survive by killing Horned Rabbits, as expected. However, they also had Night Vipers to fight as opponents. Since we've been able to kill them, the Goblins want us, or I should say me, to teach them how to survive against the Night Vipers.

"What do we gain from this?" we asked, and when we told them that, they said that they'd give us tribute for it.

Well, it's no great loss for us, so before the sun had reached its zenith, most of the surviving Goblins, together with my three companions, had a combined practice session.

It's a dog eat dog world. So, from the start, I'm thoroughly going to drill into their bodies that I'm superior to them regardless if the trainee is male or female. Also, since dealing with insurrections is troublesome, I'm going to make obeying me an instinct, by endless repetition if I have to.

I aim to stop training at the last moment to ensure they don't have any spare energy while preventing their bodies and minds from breaking.

The result was that everyone (including GobuAstrid [who was barely standing], GobuSpyte, and GobuHeather) had no strength left to move.

For the Goblins who trained and worked to the point of collapsing, I planned on using the tribute they've gathered to make something for them.

I had the motivation to do something, but it's probably better if I didn't do anything absurd. It's the end once you die.

GobuAstrid and GobuHeather laid exhausted and trembling among the other females while showcasing their armor and necklaces with extreme pride, but let's pretend I didn't see that. In the afternoon, I went hunting alone for the first time since my reincarnation.

I don't know how it was in the beginning, but now I can move around this forest like it's my home turf. When I somehow managed to procure enough game for the ones who couldn't move, I concluded that day's hunting.

That evening, I went into the inner parts of the cave where the human women were held captive. Since I turned into a Hobgoblin, I've become closer in appearance to a human, so I thought having a conversation might be possible.

Well, the outcome was – I couldn't have a conversation with them. They were completely broken. Their eyes were utterly dead, and they were drooling uncontrollably. There was a faint smell of corpses around them.

Compared to how they were the last time I saw them, they were a lot worse off this time. Also, in this short period of time, the youngest of the girls had gotten pregnant. It was an inevitable event, but I still felt a lot of pity for her. I couldn't help but think that a girl this cute would have married into a nice family, yet she ended up here only to be repeatedly violated.

I didn't want this to continue, and so I asked,

"Do you want to die?"

If it was the me from before, I'd end up pressing my hands together to offer a prayer, but now that I've ranked up into a Hobgoblin, I asked. The way I am now, I'd be able to kill or help these girls if they asked me to. Since even if I was found out, my safety was guaranteed. However, my question was left unanswered. There was some movement; her small, weak lips moved slightly, and as if she just remembered how to, a tear fell from her eye.

Having understood the women's intentions, I took a small liquid-filled bottle, something I had obtained from hunting the Kobolds which I left behind, from my pouch. After I handed it to them, I walked back to the cave bedroom. I didn't look back.