Kei was now back in the shed. It was time to test his new abilities and process what he’d learned so far.

(I’m actually quite pleased. With ranks, I now have another way to gain strength on top of mimicry and stealing abilities. Unfortunately, I can’t use mimicry with bodies above experienced level if I’m not strong enough. But, my current growth will probably be much quicker.)

From what the game voice told him, Kei would gain a title for every single one of his forms if he ranked up. However, he could use those titles only when he specifically mimics into those forms (if the title is below third rank). Therefore, his first goal would be to rank up and test which form would be the greatest. He assumed the rabbit form would be the best to use for now, however, the title of hobgoblin could be stronger in the future. He decided that once he reached level 100 and ranked up, he’d pick his main form then.

(I really want to find other monsters and steal their abilities! Elves, dwarves, beasts… I wonder what they’d have in store for me. I’ll have to investigate as soon as possible.)

Having learned about the new beings that existed in this world, Kei was eager to leave the forest and go adventure in search for more power. However, there was still much he had left to do. He first planned on finding dependable subordinates that would assist him while hunting in the forest.

(The cave has plenty of younger goblins for me to manipulate…I’ll go there later today.)

Also, he decided that once he evolved into a hobgoblin, he would then deal with the human women in the cave. Moreover, by gaining strength and feigning loyalty, Kei would attempt to make all of the goblins in the village eventually submit to him.

(If any goblin annoys me, their skills and life will be as good as gone though.)

Furthermore, skills were on his mind as well. He gained both “Spider Silk” and “Observe”. Planning ahead, he would test them immediately. He activated “Observe”.

{“Observe” has been activated.}

{Since a target has not been chosen, “Observe” cannot be used.}

(I guess I forgot about that…)

He decided to make himself the target.

{“Observe” has been activated.}

{Kei must increase his rank in order to:

Display information such as “strengthened skills”, “active skills”, “passive skills”, “level of mimicry”, and “level of skills”. Reveal other users' hidden information. Better organize the user screen.}

{Users above first rank can see hidden skills.}

Name (hidden): Kei Daichi

Alias (shown): Kawai

Rank (shown)

Goblin

Skills (shown)

“Job: Spear User”, “Goblin Language”

Skills (hidden)

“Fire Resistance”, “Poison Resistance”, “Venom”, “Hard”, “Spider Silk”, “Observe”, “Greed”, “Mimicry”, “Orc Language”, “Smash”, “Slash”, “Echolocation”, "Devour", “Unwavering”, “Growth”, “Night Vision”

Mimicry (hidden)

Unlocked

Rat, Slime, Goblin, Snake, Rabid Rabbit, Bat, Bat Leader

Locked

N/A

(This is amazing! I know that there’s much room for improvement, but this skill is not too shabby! If I want to see more I’m guessing I probably have to rank up. I need to start hunting again so I can level up sooner.)

After noting this, a thought creeped up in his mind.

(Was the elder able to see my skills? If so, I need to go back and kill him. Even better, I’ll eat him and not leave a single trace.)

However, he remembered the game voice saying that you had to be above first rank to see hidden skills and information. Therefore, since the goblin hadn’t evolved, Kei’s information was still safe.

(That old goblin’s lucky. Since he knows so much, he’s still useful. I still have some information to ask about monsters in the forest. If I find him annoying or if he acts suspicious, I’ll deal with him then.)

Seeing a goblin walk by his shed, he activated “Observe” on it.

Name: Takal

Rank

Goblin

Skills

“Job: Spear User”, “Goblin Language”

(It seems like I still can’t see everything until I become a hobgoblin…)

The goblin that passed by noticed Kei’s stare. It scowled at him. Annoyed, and hoping to test something out, Kei activated “Greed” and targeted the goblin’s spear skill. It was successful.

(Haha it worked! That’ll teach him for pissing me off.)

This was done for two reasons. Kei wanted to test out if he could steal a specific skill from a target if he knew what it was. Since Kei could already speak with goblins, he didn’t need “Goblin Language”. He wanted to steal the goblin’s useful ability, while ignoring the useless one. This test confirmed that he could. The other reason was just a bonus. He wanted to punish the goblin for his insolence.

(I think I have a basic idea of how to use “Observe” now. Next, I’ll try out “Spider Silk” before heading to the village cave to find subordinates.)

To not rouse any suspicion, Kei would have to go to the forest to test it out. He left his shed and walked a few minutes away from the village. He didn’t want to go too far, since he was still exhausted from his previous fight; regardless of the fact that he doesn’t need sleep. Kei also activated “Echolocation” to notice if anyone were to come by. In the future, he would always keep it activated. However, the stress of not being able to distinguish between the red dots that appeared on his radar really bothered him.

(Time to test this bad boy.)

Upon activating his new skill, silk began to shoot from his fingertips in the form of a stream. It didn’t stop unless Kei wanted it to. He was debating whether or not to use this skill in the future to make money. For now, it didn’t seem practical. If he could ever find a human body to mimic, he could use this ability to make clothes for himself. But, this needed practice.

(Hmm… this texture’s not bad.)

He tried feeling it and noticed that if he hardened the silk in his mind, it could become quite tough to break apart. Kei decided that he’d use this skill to bind opponents and make traps. Using it would take time though.

(I need to practice visualizing the silk before I can use this ability for anything practical. But, it looks like everything’s running smoothly for now.)

Having tested out most of what he wanted, he was satisfied. It was time to head back to the village in search for subordinates.