The Hero’s village project is coming nicely along. I’ve been able to make two huts to sleep in. However, I’ve seen no one around the pillar or even anywhere in the town while I was scavenging for materials.

At least, no one alive. I buried numerous bodies for the past 5 days. So much so that I even got a burying skill. It’s at level 1 though, so it’s still quite useless.

Talking about skills, I looked back on my path screen and I noticed that the Basic Human path is now gone. It has been replaced by the Evolved Goblin path and it costs 15 CPs.

Maybe I should have taken the Basic Human path when I could, it would have given me interesting things and with that new path, that would be twice the amount.

Anyway, I’ve been starting to feel quite bored lately. Looking for materials and building houses isn’t really much of a hero’s work.

Thus, I chose to depart for a bit in order to maybe find people that took refuge in the fields that were around the town.

Arriving there, I noticed how from fields it evolve into overgrowth with tons of apple trees, a speciality of the region, and lots of cornfields. A lot more than what would be normal around such a big town.

Let’s hope a little goblin in the fields won’t scare people and they won’t try to attack me. I can’t be sure they saw the notice about other species.

I’ll also have to convince the people I can find to come with me so that we can form a community around the pillar.

I’m not sure I want to tell them about the quests, but if at some point someone does find about it, I might be in trouble.

There are even more risks now that I am exploring, so I left a note on my hut saying:

“Hi! I’m a survivor and the one who made those huts. I’m trying to find people to form a community around the Khron pillar so I went to search for them in the fields in the west. There should be no more Creslins, I’ve done my best to try killing them. However, this feat wasn’t without a price. I’m not human anymore, so please, don’t attack me if you see a little green guy coming back to here.

Charles Legrand.”

I really hope they’ll believe me.

…

After walking for another day, I reached a greenhouse surrounded by 3 regular houses. I can see movement inside the blue house to my left and also inside the greenhouse.

This will be my first contact with humans since I’ve taken this form. I’m really dreading it but I’m also excited to finally talk to new people.

Solitude really isn’t something for me, so I hope there will be someone of my kind in there, a fellow nerd. Or at least someone with whom I can talk.

With such hopes forming inside my heart, I casually approach the greenhouse’s doors. Now in the open doorway, I hail:

“Is there someone in there? Any survivor?”

To my call, a shuffling arise from deep inside. A high yelp and loud thud follow.

Without thinking, I run towards the sound.

“Are you alright?” I ask, now reaching a blonde girl.

Her small dirty form splayed on the ground, a pile of tomatoes lying next to her. Some she crushed during her fall. Her blond curly hair is stained with red because of those.

Her green eyes dart in my direction and her reaction is exactly what I’d expect:

“Waaaaaaaaaa! A monster! It’s a monster!! Help!”

She continues screaming even while I try calming her down, telling her I’m not a bad guy.

And obviously, her cries attracted the other inhabitants to her location. A tall man with bronze skin accompanied by a red-headed average girl run towards our position.

The woman makes a beeline toward the little girl while the man, looking enraged, brandish the shears in his hands.

“What is going, Candice? A monster?! Where?! I’ll get it don’t worry.” Said the tall man.

“Hello…” I say meekly. “Sorry to scare you…”

“So it was you!! I’m gonna rip you off for scaring the poor girl!!!” Shouts the man, shears in his hands, pointing at me.

“Wait!!! I’m not a monster!!!” I scream on top of my lungs.

“It… It can talk?” The man is stopped dead in his tracks.

“Yes. I can! I was a human like you before!” I scream.

“What the fuck is that thing saying?” Reacts the ebony man. “I’ll just kill it, it’s trying to deceive us.”

“Wait, Bob, let’s hear it.” Says the woman that was tending to the little girl, Candice.

“First, I’m a he. My name is Charles. I was in the town when all this fuckery started. I’ve been able to kill the monsters roaming around, but I left to search for people.” I announce.

“Searching for people?” Asks the woman.

“Yes. You saw this notice too, right? The one about the Khron Pillar?”

“I saw something like that, true. And?” Asks Bob.

“I was there, where the Pillar appeared. It apparently can help us survive among those monsters. But to do that, a community is needed. But I’m the only one…”

“And why would we trust you? And if you were really in the town before the start, then how do you explain your appearance?” Questions the still wary Bob.

“That’s… I killed too many monsters, maybe?” I answer. “Just before the Pillar came out of the earth, I got a notification telling me I had too many Aspect or something then I passed out. Next thing I knew, the Human entry became Goblin, and the Basic Human path is now Evolved Goblin. I swear, I’m not a threat, I’ve just been all alone for all this time. I even got a Hero class.”

“Hero, huh?” The woman says. “I guess we could trust him. With all he told us, it looks like he did have access to the same information we do.”

“Are you serious Clémentine?” Bob looks stunned.

“I mean, we won’t completely trust him, but I guess it could be worth a shot to hear more about his story, don’t you think.”

“You are saying that just because he said he’s a Hero…”

Congratulations! Your Storytelling skill is now Lv2.

Congratulations! Your Manipulation skill is now Lv2.

Thank god I got these skills, it looks like they saved my skin today.