The blinding light finally receded, leaving behind a silence broken only by the rustling of leaves and the distant grunts of the horde. He looked down at his hands. They were no longer human. Green, gnarled skin and jagged nails stared back at him. He had successfully transformed.
But the physical toll was heavy. The agonizing pain from the muscular Goblin's wooden bat flared up again, making his vision swim. Weak and battered, he collapsed into the dirt.
Thinking he was one of their own wounded, several Goblins hoisted him up. He was dragged through the forest toward a crude settlement made of twisted wood and sharpened stakes. At the entrance, two massive, muscular Goblins stood guard like twin towers of meat and malice. They barely spared him a glance as he was carried into a large, hut-like structure that served as a makeshift infirmary.
The stench inside was unbearable. Dozens of wounded Goblins lay on mossy beds, groaning in pain. Every few minutes, an elderly Goblin—frail in appearance but radiating an aura of cold wisdom—would make his rounds.
He watched the Elder approach a bowl of stagnant, filthy water. It looked more like poison than medicine.
Are they trying to cure them or finish them off? he thought, disgusted.
[System Window Open]
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Defense: 10
Mana Power: 10 (+10 Class Bonus)
Mental Strength: 10
My Mana Power is my highest stat, he noted. Like every protagonist in the novels he had read, he tried to "feel" the energy flowing through his veins. Nothing happened.
"System, how do I activate this?"
[System Notice: Find the answer yourself.]
He gritted his teeth. Useless bastard.
He waited, watching the Elder carefully. When the old Goblin returned, he performed a quick ritual, chanting a low, guttural mantra. Suddenly, the murky water turned crystal clear. Magic.
The Elder distributed the water to the sick. When it was his turn, he reached for the cup, but as his hand moved near his face, he caught a whiff of his own body. The rank, putrid stench of his Goblin form hit him like a physical blow. His stomach turned, and he began to retch violently.
Later, when the room was quiet, he tried to mimic the Elder's intent. Mana Power... Activate. Mana Rise! Corrosive Power... RISE!
The reaction was instantaneous and violent. Raw, black energy erupted from his body, leaking out in jagged streaks. It hissed as it touched the air, melting everything it touched.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" he hissed under his breath, panicked.
The energy died down, but the damage was done. His mossy bed was half-melted, charred by the corrosive leak. If the Elder sees this, I'm dead. They'll know I'm an impostor.
Thinking fast, he spotted a nearly dead Goblin on the adjacent bed. Moving with desperate speed, he dragged the dying creature onto his charred bed and crawled onto the other's mossy cot. Moments later, the Elder returned. Seeing the "corroded" Goblin, the Elder assumed the creature had succumbed to a mutated disease and swiftly finished it off, removing the body.
He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was safe—for now.
[Ding! New Mission: The Academy Trials]
[Objective: Secure 1st Rank in all 5 upcoming Academy Tests.]
[Deadline: 12 Days.]
Five tests? And I have to rank first in every single one? He didn't even know what the Academy was yet, but he knew one thing: he had to get back to the human city first.
For the next two days, he practiced. He didn't want another explosion. He focused on creating a "Thin Layer"—a microscopic coating of corrosive mana over his skin.
[Success!]
In this state, anything he touched began to dissolve, yet his mana consumption plummeted. He could hold the form for ten minutes, losing only 5 mana points.
Time to grind, he decided. He looked at the dying Goblins around him. If they're going to die anyway, they might as well give me some XP.
He crept toward a nearly breathless Goblin and placed a hand over its chest. Inject: Corrosive Power.
He tried to be subtle, but his control slipped. Too much mana flooded the creature's heart.
BOOM!
The Goblin literally detonated. Flesh and bone sprayed across the infirmary. He dove back into his bed, pulling the covers up and acting like a terrified, innocent patient. Goblins rushed in, and even the Elder looked confused by the spontaneous explosion.
He peeked at his system.
[XP Gained: +10]
[Current XP: 20 / 1000]
1000 XP for Level 2? he screamed internally.
"System, are you insane? At this rate, I'll never level up!"
[System Notice: Most inhabitants of this world take months to level up. Many stay at Level 5 for their entire lives. You only need 100 kills to transcend. Do not be ungrateful.]
He glared at the screen. 20 down... 980 to go.
The Elder didn't leave the infirmary immediately after the cleanup. He stood by the charred remains of the bed for a long time, his milky-white eyes scanning the room with a cold, predatory focus. Finally, he picked up a jagged, blackened bone fragment from the floor. He handed it to one of the younger Goblins, his voice a low hiss. "Feel this. Is there any residual mana left?"
The younger Goblin sniffed the bone and shook his head. There was nothing but the putrid scent of burnt flesh. After a few more minutes of silent investigation, the Elder grunted and led his group out.
For the protagonist, the danger hadn't passed—it had just begun. He knew he had to escape this village as soon as possible, but he couldn't just walk out of the front gate. He needed a plan.
As night fell over the wooden village, he devised a cold, calculated strategy. There were roughly 15 or 16 wounded Goblins in the infirmary. If he left them all alive, his disappearance would be suspicious. If he killed them all, it would look like an organized raid. He decided to leave three or four alive to act as confused witnesses to the "chaos."
Moving like a shadow, he crept toward the first sleeping victim. Corrosive Power... Rise.
He was much more careful this time. He didn't want another explosion to wake the guards. He pressed his hand against the Goblin's chest, injecting exactly 1 point of Mana directly into its heart. The dark energy acted like a silent poison, liquefying the internal organs in seconds. He moved from bed to bed, repeated the process until twelve Goblins lay dead, their faces frozen in eternal sleep.
Before the sun could rise, he moved to two of the fresh corpses and intentionally overloaded them with Mana.
BOOM! BOOM!