Gerard sat around a campfire in the plains, snacking on the recently cooked meat from a large beast with antlers. The peculiar beast walked on six legs and had two tails.
[So, Gerard, what was your previous life like?]
*You don't know?* Gerard pulled the meat apart with his hands and teeth.
[I only have information about this world, enough about your previous world to accommodate you and understand you, and everything about you after the point you were reincarnated here.]
*Well, there's not a lot to say. I fought in the world wars, joined the local mobsters after that, and I fell in love.*
[Love? After seeing you in this world, that's a little hard to imagine.]
*Yeah, love... I didn't think love was in the cards for me before that, either. I left the mobsters, many of them were eventually imprisoned, and I lived the rest of my life trying on many hats, picking up as many hobbies as I could along the way, and atoning for past sins. I had a large family, we were happy, and I died without regrets.*
[No regrets at all?]
*Well... No, you'll think it's silly.*
Gerard held out his hands.
*Cleanse.*
The grime from the meat slid from his hands, and he felt his face clear up.
[Come on. Who am I going to tell? You're the only one who can hear me.]
*After my grandson showed me video games where people explored incredible worlds, ruins, and all sorts of things, I wanted to go on an adventure. I wanted to become stronger, smarter, and more acquainted with the world I was born into. But by the time I realised this, I was already too old and had only left my country to fight in wars.*
[Maybe you can become an adventurer after all this is over. In a few years or a hundred years, what does time matter?]
*Yeah. Maybe. Let's get back to it. I'm probably going to need more mana for what's to come.*
[What is coming? Does this have something to do with that mannequin you commissioned?]
*I suppose it's time to tell you. I do need your advice on how to proceed, anyway.*
[Proceed with what?]
*First, let me ask you a question. Sprite, you once said that you are but a bunch of signals that can be read by my soul, correct?*
[Indeed. What are you thinking?]
*I propose I use this new Transference skill to transfer you, your signals, to a body of your own.*
[A body? Why would I need a body?]
*There are certain things you can only understand by having a body. And I owe you more than my life for everything you have done for me. At least let me grant you this.*
[It could work. If it doesn't, then you'll lose me forever. I've never seen myself as a human being, but you do. If this fails, you would be essentially killing me. Are you okay with that risk?]
*If that happens, I'll spend the rest of my unnatural life looking for a way to revive you, even if I have to kill a god.*
[Well, you'll still need to find a body...]
*I think I'm one step ahead of you this time.*
[The mannequin?]
*Precisely. How much mana will I need?*
[Very well; it seems you've committed yourself to this idea. At least 1,000 points of mana. For that, you'll have to get close to the maximum level as a dhampir.]
*That's awfully precise. Are you sure you're not excited about this?*
[I've told you what you need to do. Once that body arrives, have me inhabit it after you gain enough mana.]
*Would a human have worked?*
[Unless you used a corpse, which I would prefer you don't, as decaying does not sound enjoyable, then you would have to transfer someone's consciousness from their body and then replace it with me. That would require twice the mana, which you can never obtain. And I don't much like the idea of taking another person's body for myself.]
"I see. Good thing I didn't consider that until now, then. Let's see what progress Scarlette has made with your new body."
---
Gerard approached the village. Willam stood guard at the front entrance as always.
"Any trouble?"
"None. A couple of goblins chipped through the perimeter wall on the west side, but Fletch and the hunters caught them before they caused too much damage."
*Goblins. That might just work.*
"Did they come from the forest you called the Goblin's Forest?"
"It did seem that way. Why?"
"I'm heading out." I should be back in a few days. Can you take this to Scarlette?" Gerard pulled out a pouch containing the platinum coin and over one hundred gold coins.
"Leave it to me. You're going to fight the goblins, yes?"
"Of course. They've been troubling the village long enough."
*In reality, I want to massacre their nest for the experience points.*
[Ruthless.]
Willam ran into the village while the other guard remained at his post. With that, Gerard trudged onward to the forest filled with potential growth.
---
Gerard sat quietly on the upper branches of a tree. Caked in dirt to disguise his smell, he waited for signs of goblins. His legs grew stiff, and the wind chilled his body to the core.
The leaves of the forest floor rustled, and six little bodies popped out from behind some bushes.
*There we are.*
Gerard carefully climbed down to the ground and stalked his prey. After hours of seemingly wandering in circles, the goblins looked around before moving a large bush and scurrying into a large hole.
*My sword will be useless in there. I'll have to crouch just to fit. Any ideas, Sprite?*
[You could raise the heat with magic, or try to smoke them out?]
*Turn the nest into a kiln, or suffocate them. How long would I need to use Hellfire to fry the nest*
[At best, maybe half an hour of continual use. For each second you use it, you'll consume 5 MP. With your gradual rate of natural mana acquisition and your current pool of mana, you could last about five minutes before complete mana depletion.]
*Bbq is out of the question, so we'll have to use smoke.*
Gerard spent some time exploring around the area for other entrances and found a total of four. With the biggest boulders he could find, he plugged up each hole before returning to the initial entrance.
He hauled leaves and lumber to the entrance. When satisfied, he moved the bushes covering the entrance, and dragged the tinder down into the rough cavern. When he reached a five-way intersection, he stopped and took a step back. He imagined the space beneath the pile of burnable material.
*Hellfire.*
The spell engulfed everything in a deep red sea of flame. Smoke filled Gerard's lungs, and he rushed for the exit.
He covered the entrance with branches and bushes to minimise the escape of the smoke and waited.
A series of pings flooding his head sent him to the ground.
*Not all at once, Sprite! I can't even think with all that noise!*
[Okay. You're steadily gaining experience from their deaths.]
*Thank you. How much at the moment?*
[A little over a thousand in total so far from twenty dead.]
*Just let me know when I level up. I can't deal with all of those notifications.*
[Okay.]
Ghoulish screams erupted from the tunnel, and Gerard unsheathed his sword. A goblin leapt from the entrance, and skin melted from burn wounds. Gerard lopped off its head.
Another two sprung from the hole, and he cleaved one in half, and the other lost it's head.
*The smoke isn't killing enough of them.*
[Over fifty dead.]
The ground shook beneath Gerard. A stone spike shot from the ground and grazed his leg. A new goblin arrived from the hole. The new goblin held a spiralled piece of wood like a staff and had a piece of tattered cloth covering their face.
"Goblins using magic? Maybe this is my chance to learn some more," Gerard said, smiling happily.
[Just be careful.]
Gerard nodded. Spell after spell hit his body, but he dodged each one enough to avoid most of the damage.
[Spells acquired: Stone Spike, Fireball, Tornado Strike, Water Shot.]
*Not bad.*
Gerard leapt forward, but something struck his stomach and knocked him backward. A large creature's skull hit the ground.
As if to answer his oncoming question of where the skull came from, a large goblin-like creature squeezed out of the entrance to the nest. It stood a couple of heads taller than Gerard,
*What?*
[A goblin king. As I've mentioned before, it's rare, but the natural evolution of monsters does occur. Most goblins who evolve will stop at the hobgoblin stage, but every few decades, one will continue to evolve until they become a goblin king. Be on your guard.]
*Kings don't fight battles. They leave that to their troops. Surely it's just a weakling with a good sense of tactics.*
The goblin king disappeared from view.
Gerard's neck felt an intense impact and he was forced to the ground. Behind him stood the king, smiling with its twisted fangs.
*Fuck.*