3 Day 2

[Day 2]

A surprised gasp and the sound of something falling with a resounding thud awoke me from my sleep.

I sat up groggily and rubbed my eyes to get rid of what was left of my drowsiness... wait a minute!

Huh?

Opening my eyes wide, the first thing I saw was Gobuji sprawling on the floor with a shocked expression on his face.

I hope he didn't die... yet.

Next, my eyes went down and were drawn to my body which had grown equivalent to the size of a three to four-year-old human child while a few locks of lustrous black hair fell on my face as I looked down.

As I recall, the first growth spurt of a goblin was during the third day.

It had only been the second day but I had matured up quite a lot and even grown out hair that only the female goblins should have...

Gasp—!

I immediately looked down at my crotch but thankfully, my little junior was still there.

I sighed with relief and wiped off the beads of sweat that involuntarily formed on my face due to my sudden panic attack.

After calming down, I started to think of the reason behind this.

If I had to guess, these changes were most likely the result of [Starlight Grace], and even now my body was getting stronger, albeit slowly.

This kind of passive strengthening was very much like Superman.

Before, I didn't notice this due to the sluggish mind and pathetic senses of an infant.

However, [Starlight Grace] offered more than that.

Instinctively, I had the knowledge about this ability and I knew that at full power, I could even embody the star itself.

However, at the moment, the extent of this ability that I could use was only passive strengthening and creating heat by drawing out the energy accumulated from passive strengthening, which I believe would speed up under direct exposure to the sun or any star's radiation.

—scene break—

I sat with Gobuji across from me.

He had freaked out and almost crossed the River of Styx because of my abnormal growth rate before but now, he was in a very good mood.

Without me needing to explain how I got this big so early, Gobuji drew a conclusion by himself saying that I must have been blessed by a god and have robust vitality as well as destined to lead the goblin tribe to an era of prosperity.

Hence, my abnormal growth rate was normal.

Well, technically all he said was correct.

So, I just nodded my head while ignoring his incessant ramblings about the distant future he visualized what the goblin tribe would become.

Though, he appeared a little saddened too at the same time as he knew that he did not have much time to live.

Goblins only have twenty years of lifespan and he had already exceeded that but still lives on to this day.

He might not be able to witness that era he so longed for.

That was most likely what was going on in his thoughts and I could help him, but only if the old goblin had the drive and resolve to do so.

A while later, I managed to slip away when he was distracted to explore the goblin cave.

As it had a simple structure, I was done memorizing the whole cave map quickly.

Then, I exited the cave and breathed in the very first fresh air of another world, it carried the scent of nature until the damp and humid air in the cave, rejuvenated my lungs and brought a sense of peace.

My passive strengthening was also performing far better under sunlight and it felt very comforting to be basked in it.

To familiarize myself with my body and its never-ending strengthening, I did some light exercises like stretches, push-ups, squats, etc. ending it with a run at a jogging pace into the forest.

While jogging, I pondered about my strength.

I had roughly figured out my physical strength from these basic exercises.

My strength was comparable to an athlete from my previous life and my stamina was almost inexhaustible as it kept getting replenished.

To draw a parallel, as I am right now, I could knock out my past self with a single punch.

Moreover, I could probably sprint faster than Usain Bolt and dish out a stronger punch than Mike Tyson.

I was only a two-day-old goblin with a body the size of a toddler so to be this strong was insane and I was still getting stronger.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a rustling noise from the nearby undergrowth.

Tiptoeing my step, I slowly crept closer to the shrubs and saw a rabbit about exactly my height with a horn on its forehead.

It was nibbling on some wild fruit and having completely dropped down its guard.

Seeing this horned rabbit, I thought of Rou, or rather, Tomokui Kanata. I inherited the memories of his previous life.

I wondered if this possession also allowed me to keep his esper ability [Absorbtion].

'Well, let's find out!' I thought.

Taking advantage of its currently vulnerable state, I leaped forward and took hold of its neck in a rear-naked choke.

It wailed and flailed its body around to no avail as I was stronger.

In the end, it couldn't break free of my chokehold and passed out within a few seconds.

Looking at the unconscious horned rabbit, I said to myself, "Even though I have inherited his memories, I don't think I can eat this raw. Call me a coward or anything but I like my meat to be well done."

"Ah..." I hammered my open palm as an idea crossed my mind.

I broke off the horned rabbit's horn and used it to open its stomach and take out its guts.

After draining it of its blood and dismantling its pelt barehandedly, I used the horn to skewer the rabbit meat.

[Starlight Grace] conferred me the power of the star.

Sparks flew around my left hand as I drew out the energy in my stomach and guided it there.

A miniature sun formed above my left hand but it... didn't feel hot.

How come?

I only want to heat my hand but a mini-sun formed above it instead.

Moreover, its heat seemed to have been severely weakened compared to the sparks flying on my left hand earlier.

Maybe, it was because I have a certain level of resistance to the heat as it was part of my own ability.

Or because the mini-sun was just too small, after all, it was only two centimeters in diameter.

To test this conjecture, I stretched my hand near the rabbit pelt but then it was immediately set ablaze and burned into ashes.

There were still a few inches of gap between the two but its heat alone was strong enough to set things ablaze.

Good thing I didn't test it on the rabbit meat, or else I would be left with nothing but burnt ashes for my first meal.

For the next few minutes, I tinkered with the mini-sun to acquaint myself with its power.

After several experiments, I managed to understand a lot about it.

— 1. The mini-sun is the byproduct of me, accidentally, drawing out too much energy to produce heat.

— 2. The intensity of its heat and its size can be controlled and so does the radius and targets it could affect.

— 3. Forming a mini-sun took a lot of energy but the cost of maintaining its form is unneeded unless it's to make it bigger or hotter.

With these new insights, I was able to safely roast the rabbit meat above my mini-sun.

The appetizing fragrance of the roasted (un-)horned rabbit meat wafted in the air filling my nostrils and arousing my appetite.

I took a bite of the rabbit meat and chewed it a few times before gulping it down.

It was mildly sweet even without any seasonings with both the taste and texture similar to a chicken.

I didn't get any skills after finished eating the roasted rabbit.

I also ate its heart and brain but still no skills.

Even so, I felt a different kind of power nourished my body than from my passive strengthening and that answered my query.

I did indeed inherit the Kanata's esper ability, [Absorption].

By the time I finished my meal, it was already midday.

However, I resumed my hunt as it was still too early to return to the cave.

By the end of the day, I managed to kill eleven more monsters: 7 horned rabbits, 2 night vipers, and 2 green slimes.

From them, I acquired several skills: [Escape] and [Great Leap] from the horned rabbits; [Evil Eye] and [Evil Eye Resistance] from the night vipers; and [Physical Damage Reduction] from the green slimes.

I slowly traced back my path and safely arrived at the goblin cave before sunset.

On the way, I encountered another night viper and snacked on it as I acquired [Poison Resistance] from eating it.

When I arrived, I saw Gobuji walking back and forth in front of the cave entrance with a worried look.

That night, I got an earful of tirades from the old goblin.

Well, I managed to appease his fury by sharing one horned rabbit of the three I brought back for dinner.

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Name: N/A (Rou)

Level: 14

Race: Goblin

Abilities:

[Absorbtion] [Starlight Grace]

Skills:

[Aspect of Demon] [Escape] [Evil Eye] [Evil Eye Resistance] [Goblin Language] [Great Leap] [Interracial Breeding] [Night Vision] [Physical Damage Reduction] [Poison Resistance] [Precocius]