Wiping the sweat from my brow as the sun dipped lower in the sky, I leaned back on my hands, bathing in the warm light. My muscles only barely ached from hours of intense training, even while barely using the force to find my physical limit without it. Starkiller may have been a speed demon, but he was a stamina freak as well. I would say he was at least peak-human without the force if how my body moved was anything to go by.
I had spent the better part of the day practising precision, restraint, and control—starting with [Force Lightning] and moving on to [Force Push], [Force Pull], and even [Force Sense]. If I were going to civilisation, I would need to make sure people didn't start dropping dead after small altercations just because I could control myself. Though Force sense would have been better trained with a training partner, I was still able to sense life forms close by for now, like bugs and rodents and so on.
[Force Sense] also allowed me to feel my magic, which was a joke in size compared to The Force. But it was good to know that using The Force was different enough to differentiate when using them. Another thing I would need to get my hands on was a book on magic to start building my magic pool sooner rather than later.
Alongside the training in [The Force], I tested my new body with the seven lightsabre forms and the three renowned sword styles of the Mushoku Tensei world: North God, Water God, and Sword God. Sword styles that came along with the regular Starkiller package, along with the different languages taught in this world, Human, Beast God, Demon God, Fighting God, Sky God and Ocean God tongue. According to old man Varus, 'A warrior should request a duel in his opponent's tongue as a sign of respect'.
As for the sword styles, I was at the intermediate level only due to my lack of [Battle Aura], colloquially known as [Touki]. For some reason, the old man never even tried to teach me [Touki] or even Magic, either because he didn't know how to use it and could only use The Force, or he didn't think I was ready. I was leaning toward the former, considering he was created to ensure my backstory somewhat made sense.
Granted, we had trained with The Force to make up for my lack of [Touki]. But, he never really gave me a level higher than intermediate simply due to the lack of [Touki]. There wasn't really any real grading system to speak of, it was just whether I could or could not kill an opponent.
With one last deep breath of fresh air, I went to grab a nearby bucket of water, dunked a cloth into it and began wiping myself down — there were no showers in this world, after all. As the damp cloth touched my skin, I caught my reflection in the rippling surface of the bucket, tilting my head and leaning forward to get a better look as the water settled.
My chocolate-toned skin was unchanged, still rockin' the melanin, so any thoughts of some similarities to Sam Witwer were out the window. But my face and body were different. My features were sharper, more symmetrical, with a more defined jawline. The faint blemishes and scars I'd accumulated over the years were gone, his skin now smooth and unmarred thanks to now being a seventeen-year-old. My fade was gone — replaced with a buzzcut similar to Starkiller. I looked like someone put my features in a character creation screen and pressed reset all changes to neutral.
It was a little disconcerting at first but I wouldn't complain about something small like that, especially when it was an improvement that made me absolutely shredded. Flexing my arm and torso, it was clear I was even leaner and had more compact muscles that had replaced the 'regular gym goer' build I was rocking previously — with barely any body fat to speak of, giving more credence to the peak-human analysis.
Once clean, I set the bucket aside and performed several stretches, letting The Force flow through my entire body as I did. Then, after shaking out my legs, I returned to the cabin to prepare. I placed the wooden training swords and cooking utensils [Inventory], changed into a simple long-sleeved, medieval-style top and a pair of sturdy trousers before putting the rest of my clothes along with Varus' in the [Inventory] as well. He wouldn't be needing them now anyway.
I didn't have any shoes as 'A warrior does not need shoes to defeat his enemy', so I simply wore the boots of the man who said it. Luckily, we were the same size. But unfortunately, he owned no socks, so I will have to be uncomfortable for a while until I can get my hands on some later.
Satisfied — actually, no. Unsatisfied, I stepped out of the cabin after stripping it clean of anything of worth, blankets and all, closing the door behind me. The forest where the cabin was located seemed to stretch endlessly, with larger than normal trees I was used to and a canopy of leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. I closed my eyes and reached out with The Force, letting my senses expand like ripples in a pond. It didn't take long for several life forms to appear in my awareness, roughly two or three miles away.
With curiosity getting the better of me, I discarded the unmistakable hostility I felt as I channelled The Force through my body, feeling a surge of energy course through me. With a burst of speed, I darted into the forest, ignoring the lightning scorch marks from my training as the world started to almost blur around me. When I neared the location I sensed the life forms, I slowed and leapt onto a sturdy branch, landing silently, using my vantage point to scan the area.
Weirdly enough, I had yet to stop using [Force Stealth] just out of instinct — hiding my presence in The Force even though I knew full well that there weren't any other Force users in this reality. But, with [Essence of Blank], I saw no reason not to practice it into mastery.
Below me, three short, dark green-skinned creatures argued loudly over a pile of large mushrooms wielding crude spears — wooden staffs tipped with sharpened points. I didn't even remember the anime ever showing them, but it was clear they were Goblins. They were around three and a half feet tall with the typical angular face, pointed nose, large ears and sharp teeth, with leaves tied together using vines to cover their modesty.
Crouching on the branch, I casually rested my elbows on my thighs as I extended my senses further. There were more of them, grouped together a few hundred meters away. A camp, likely their base of operations, going by the amount of life signatures. For now, I focused on the three below. They were too absorbed in their squabble to notice much of anything trying to sneak up on them. I may not understand what they were saying, but by the looks of it, it looked like they were fighting over who would claim the find.
A smirk tugged at my lips as I raised a hand, curling my fingers into a claw-like shape. Reaching out with the Force, I wrapped an invisible grip around each goblin's throat. One by one, they began to choke, their arguments cutting off into gasps and sputters. They clawed at their necks, eyes bulging in panic as they struggled in the air.
When the goblins went limp, slumping into unconsciousness, I quickly twisted my hand. The sharp crack of breaking necks echoed softly in the clearing before I let their lifeless bodies crumple to the ground. Unlike with the insects I practised [Force Lightning] on earlier during my tests, a notification popped up in my mind.
[Enemy Eliminated: Goblin] x3
[+75 Shop Points (SP)]
A satisfied smile made its way to my face as I hopped down from the branch, approaching the bodies. Not really knowing if I only needed the ears to prove the kill, or if I needed to have taken the job from the Adventurers Guild first to claim payment, I placed the entirety of each of their bodies in the [Inventory]. Flexing my fingers as faint sparks of [Force Lightning] danced between them, I flicked my gaze toward the direction of the camp and started making my way toward my new victims.
I moved swiftly through the dense forest, parkouring my way from branch to branch, with each step measured and silent. As I drew closer, I slowed, crouching on a high branch to observe the surroundings. Their base was a small camp with a collection of crude mud huts scattered unevenly across a clearing. I could sense around forty goblins milling about, some tending to fires or dragging carcasses, others sharpening weapons or sparring.
The scene reminded me of the Re:Monster anime, with how somewhat organised they were. Luckily, a quick question to the system reminded me that there weren't any others transmigrated aside from the ones I was already aware of.
My gaze shifted to the larger goblins. These warrior types stood taller with bulkier physiques, clad in rudimentary leather armour. They wielded stone-tipped spears and jagged blades and walked with postures more disciplined than their smaller counterparts, even almost bullying other Goblins, pushing them out of the way as they walked, with none of the other Goblins doing anything about it.
Much like how I'd imagine with humans in a situation like this, the strong Goblins seem to get away with things they shouldn't just because they're needed for the group's survival. But something tells me when their usefulness dissipates, they'd change their behaviour before being forced out. Not that it mattered now, considering they were all about to share the same fate.
Using The Force, I propelled myself high into the air, ascending above the clearing in a single bound. The wind rushing past me came to a halt as I reached the pinnacle while I calculated my landing, aiming for the nearest warrior goblin. With devastating precision, I commenced my makeshift orbital drop, coming down like a meteor while using The Force to minimise the destruction to those around him. It wouldn't be much of a test of my abilities against living creatures if they all wound up dead after all.
As my boots collided with the goblin's head, I could feel the force of the impact crush its skull as it sent a shockwave rippling outward too small to truly affect the others around, only cracking the ground beneath me. Still, dust and debris exploded into the air, and the goblins froze, startled by the sudden chaos.
I slowly rose to my new full height — standing at 6 '1, with a blank expression as I surveyed the stunned goblins, ignoring the blood and pieces of goblin skull and brain tissue on my boots. A reminder that I would need to focus on water magic first when I start training magic, knowing how difficult it will be to properly clean that all off.
The silence was thick as their wide-eyed stares locked on my imposing form. Without even a flick of my hand, I summoned Dawn from the [Inventory], casually palming the handle as the milky-white surface gleaming of the blade glowed for all to see.
"I'm here," I bellowed, resisting the urge to shout 'where is she' with my voice clearly laced with menace. "To earn the title of Goblin Slayer. May you all have better luck in your next lives, for this one will soon be coming to an end."
Was it cringeworthy? Definitely. Would it look cool if someone were to go through my memories? I would hope so. Will I continue saying things like that in future even if only as an intimidation tactic? One hundred percent. In my defence, Vader did the same and it worked well for him. I just needed an intimidating suit of armour and voice modulator now to fully drive it home.
The goblins erupted into panicked cries before quickly regrouping as they regained their senses. Their shock turned into rage as they began mobilising, brandishing their weapons, and charging toward me with no other strategy aside from killing the human.
I smirked, adjusting my grip on Dawn. "...Now it begins."
As the first goblin to reach me lunged forward with a wooden club, baring its teeth in a vicious snarl, I surged forward with a burst of [Force Speed]. Dawn swept through the air in a clean arc, decapitating two goblins before they even realised I'd moved while a third had the tip of the blade lodged in its throat. Pivoting smoothly, I extended my free hand and unleashed a low-powered [Force Push], letting the energy slam into a group of goblins emerging from one of the huts and sending them sprawling backwards into a heap of tangled limbs and crude weapons.
Blood sprayed from the decapitated goblins and poured out of the third as I pulled out my sword, but I sidestepped it effortlessly, already moving for my next victim. Heading for another goblin coming my way, I shifted my body as it thrust a jagged spear toward my chest, grabbing the spear mid-thrust and redirecting it into the throat of a goblin charging from behind with a club. Without missing a beat, I spun and decapitated the spear-wielder with a nonchalant slash.
They were slow. Laughably so. I was even starting to feel sorry for all the stormtroopers Galen went up against with how easy it was dispatching these guys. Granted, stormtroopers had blasters and other futuristic equipment, but I played the Force Unleashed game, and that wasn't enough to do jack shit.
"Kirkxch!" More goblins swarmed me as their shrill cries echoed through the camp. With a small smirk, I raised my free hand, letting the blue electricity of my [Force Lightning] crackle to life in my palm. Releasing bolts of energy at the advancing green monsters, their bodies convulsed violently as they came to a stop upon contact before collapsing to the ground, lifeless, leaving the smell of burnt flesh and smoke emanating from their charred flesh.
Though I felt it before I saw it, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a small group of goblins breaking away, running toward the forest, heading in the area I felt some of their other scouts. "Why are you running?" I muttered with a small smile making its way to my face as I remembered a meme from my last life. Shaking the memory away for now, I hurled Dawn like a boomerang.
Controlling it with The Force, the blade spun through the air, bisecting one goblin cleanly and impaling another into a wall mid-run. Recalling the sword back to my waiting palm, it flew back, taking the leg and arm from two more goblins too slow to get out of it path before returning to my grip, just as a goblin leapt at me from above one of the hut's close by.
With a swift turn, my free hand snapped upward to grab the goblin's head mid-air. Not even needing The Force, I slammed the back of its head into the floor, crushing its skull with a sickening crunch before tossing its lifeless body aside.
Channelling [Force Lightning] through Dawn --- something I found strangely easy possibly due to its 'magical' qualities --- casing the blade to shine brighter and strings of lightning ran up and down the milky white surface.
With a pull of The Force, I yoinked three toward an awaiting horizontal swing of the sword. The slash cauterised two their necks as they lost their heads, while the third had its jaw cut off by the blade-shaped [Force Lightning] I was using to extend the range of the sword by a foot or so. The confusion it showed as it felt around for the missing body parts.
"Come on," I muttered, glancing around, sensing the remaining goblins closing in. "Just a little closer, I want to keep the noise down during what happens next."
With a sudden surge, I crouch slightly, drawing The Force into myself like a coiled spring ready to explode. My arms trembled slightly as the air around me began to ripple and distort, a clear sign of the immense energy I was gathering. The ground beneath me started to crack and shudder as debris levitated into the air as if gravity itself had weakened in the technique's presence. The entire time, I was struggling to limit the destruction radius and sound but making little ground.
The next moment, I released the pent-up energy in a devastating shockwave. The destruction of the [Force Repulse] radiated outward in all directions with an expanding sphere of pure volatile, kinetic energy. As the impact of the technique tore through the fabric of the air itself, disintegrating the goblins within the first few metres of me in an instant, the remaining goblins were hurled backwards with such bone-shattering force that they collided with huts and trees like ragdolls, their broken bodies lifelessly pushed further away with their makeshift homes.
For a moment, the area around me became a maelstrom of chaos. Dust and debris filled the air, and the sheer force of the shockwave left scorch marks on the ground. There was silence, as the aftermath settled with me standing at the epicentre of the carnage, completely unbothered, as I felt the last of the goblins in the small village breathe its last.
[Enemy Eliminated: Goblin] x41
[+1,025 SP]
[Current SP: 1,100]
I dismissed the notification with a thought, placing Dawn back in the [Inventory] as I scanned the area one last time with the Force, ensuring no survivors remained. With a small nod of satisfaction, I moved methodically through the now destroyed and silent goblin camp, placing the goblins' lifeless bodies in the [Inventory], one by one. As I worked, I checked to make sure I could buy this world's money or just normal clothes from the system, not wanting to be stuck with only techniques of characters to assimilate.
I was glad to see whoever was in charge of the system had thought of everything. Weapons, armour, food, money, they were all there. The only thing I would have to think about was whether I should buy the money to purchase the things I need from real-life stores or just get it straight from the system, so I would need to see which was cheaper.
Once the camp was cleared of corpses, I straightened, stretching my shoulders as I extended my senses through the Force. A flicker of moving life forces similar to the ones I had just dealt with informed me that the several goblins — the other scouts — were closing in, drawn by the shockwave of the [Force Repulse]. With my initial plan of changing some aspects of the technique falling short, the concept of how Plo Koon was able to use a different type of [Force Lightning] in the form of [Electric Judgement] being the inspiration, I knew it would attract their attention.
With a disappointed sigh, I darted into the forest, parkouring my way through the trees once again. Within moments, I arrived silently on a branch above a small group of goblins skulking toward the village. Not really feeling the motivation to put much effort into dispatching them, I casually extended a hand in their direction. Like the first few scouts, invisible tendrils of power wrapped around their throats, lifting them off the ground as they began to claw desperately at their necks, exercising futility against the [Force Choke].
As I held them there, watching impassively as their gasps for air grew weaker and weaker before they slumped lifelessly, I could instinctively feel that the enjoyment of their deaths could make me more powerful. But, I was still too disappointed in my lack of ability to change the [Force Repulse] earlier to even care, ignoring what I guessed was the seduction of the Dark Side. I was a little confused as to why it wasn't more… seductive, but didn't see the need to think too mush about it for now.
[Enemy Eliminated: Goblin] x3
[+75 SP]
[Current SP: 1,175]
Satisfied that no more goblins remained in the immediate area, I placed their bodies in the [Inventory] with the others before settling onto the forest floor in the lotus position. Eyes closed, I slowed my breathing and reached out with The Force, pushing my awareness to expand even further than before, seeking the hum of sentient human life. It didn't take long for The Force to reveal a location a few kilometres to the northeast — a small town from what I could sense.
With my eyes now open, I leisurely brushed off my trousers as I made my way to my feet before heading in the direction of the human settlement at full speed, not wanting to linger any more with the sun now soon to set. I was also getting hungry, and my liberal use of The Force to assuage my hunger was getting old. I wanted real food.
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"The only good goblins are the ones who never come out of their holes."
—Goblin Slayer.
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Hello there!
It's about time he met some actual people and got his hands on some magic.
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Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC and original ideas. All credit goes to their respective owners.
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As always, stay awesome.
Until next time, Light's out.