Chapter 43: The Goblin Who Knew Too Much

[KENJI'S PERSPECTIVE]

Rage. Pure, undiluted rage. That was the first thing I felt. The second was the damp, musty smell of the cave. I looked at my hands. They weren't the hands of a hero. They were small, green, and had three spindly fingers with dirty claws.

The goddess had played me. She had mocked my knowledge, my expertise, and turned me into a joke. A goblin! A starter monster! The thing heroes farmed for experience points before breakfast!

I wanted to scream, but the scream died in my throat as the skill she'd granted me activated.

[System Appraisal]

Information flooded my brain, a torrent of data that my new, highly intelligent mind processed in an instant.

[SELF-ANALYSIS] Name: Kenji Tanaka Race: Goblin (High Intellect Variant) Class: Chaos Blade Master (Growth Locked: Requires high level of humility to unlock skills) Condition: Furious.

Humility! Of course! The final insult. A class that I could never, ever use.

I glared at the other goblins in the cave.

[ENTITY ANALYSIS] Name: Gork Race: Goblin Class: None Thoughts: Me hungry. Ooh, shiny rock. Me hit Gork with rock? Threat Level: Negligible.

They were idiots. Simple-minded beasts. I was surrounded by morons.

But then I looked past them. I appraised the cave wall.

[OBJECT ANALYSIS] Name: Cave Wall (Granite) Structural Integrity: 34% (Weak point located 2 meters above) Composition: Contains trace amounts of Mythril Ore (Unrefined).

Mythril! A legendary metal from the game, hidden in a starting cave! I appraised the fungus they were eating.

[ITEM ANALYSIS] Name: Glow Cap Fungus Effect: Minor sustenance. Hidden Effect: When ground and mixed with bat guano, creates a highly flammable paste.

Explosives.

The rage began to subside, replaced by a cold, calculating fire. The goddess had tried to make me a joke. But in her arrogance, she had given me the one tool that could turn the joke on its head. She gave me knowledge.

She wanted me to be a goblin? Fine. I would be the best damn goblin this world had ever seen. These idiots weren't my equals; they were my resources. The cave wasn't my prison; it was my starting base. I had no overpowered sword, no harem of elf girls. I had my brain, a mountain of meta-knowledge, and the ability to see the secrets of the world.

Forget being the hero. Heroes follow the rules. They play the game.

I was going to break it. I was going to conquer it from the bottom up. And one day, I would find a way to reach the heavens and have a word with the goddess who put me here. Revenge was now my main quest.