Sa closed his manga, Re:Monster, it was interesting, he had always liked isekai manga, the thought of being reborn had always excited him. Being in a world of adventure instead of the boring world he resided in now. Earth, just plain old earth, no monsters, no magic, not even superheroes. Of course he had to be born in a normal world. He still hoped for reincarnation to be a real thing, then he could be in a world like the ones he read about, be someone. What would his goal be in this new world? To be the strongest of course! He had been training hard but even after hitting the gym every day for years on end, he couldn't crush steel with his bare hands or punch someone so hard that their body was blown apart. Others could make harems of beautiful women, Sa would be fine with a good wife, someone who was dependable. Sa sighed, truly, if something like that were possible, it would be better to happen sooner rather than later, he didn't want to live out the next 60 years in this boring world.
"Is that so?", he heard a voice, ethereal and beautiful from within his mind, "Wish granted"
Sa looked around to locate the origin of the voice but found no one, just other people waiting for the train. He shook his head, he must've dreamt that, he needed to get home so that he could sleep. Looking at the electronic display, his train should come any second, so he stepped closer to the tracks when, out of nowhere, a bird hit him. It didn't knock him over but caused him to stumble. As he was off balance, a young kid ran past him, knocking into him and he fell onto the tracks.
Before anyone could react, the train drew in. He could feel the impact and then… nothing.
It was as if he had just closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he was in a cave. It was dark, there was no light and yet he could see perfectly fine, "What… happened?"
His voice was distorted, definitely not human. Looking down, he saw a small body in rags, green skin and a thin frame, "Have I been… reincarnated?"
His stomach growled, "First thing is getting food before thinking of anything else"
Looking around, his eyes were sharp. In his past life he had needed glasses but now, he could see perfectly clear. He didn't know where the cave's exit was so his only choice were… bugs. His mind protested but his stomach growled again. He could get better food later, right now it was about survival. He snatched up a few beetles, they couldn't see as well as he could, so they were easy prey. They wriggled in his hands and he paled. Was he really doing this. His stomach growled a quick 'yes you are' and he took the handful of beetles, swallowing them all in one bite, trying to ignore the taste… only it didn't taste bad, it tasted quite good actually.
Skill: Carapace absorbed
Level has risen by one
A green screen appeared in front of him. His hands shook with excitement, he had a cheat? Hell yes!
"Status?"
Gobsa
Species: Goblin
Level: 2/100
Strength: F
Endurance: F
Spirit: F
Skills:
Absorption(This ability allows you to consume anything and gain abilities from it. Toxic substances will be neutralised and otherwise tough objects will be easily destroyed by your teeth)
Night vision(As a monster, the night is your friend, you can see perfectly even in pitch blackness)
Quick growth(You grow quickly, reaching adulthood in but a few days. This has the negative side effect of a short(20 years) life. This skill can be neutralized by evolving into a higher rank species)
Carapace(Grow and shed a hard shell around your body, around the same durability as wood)
It was just like Re:Monster! If he could grow as strong as Rou… the world would be his oyster. Sure, the beginning stages would be rough but as he evolved, his dream of being the strongest looked within reach. Then again, he knew nothing of this world, so he could very well be fucked. What if this was the warhammer 40k universe? He would be squashed the moment he stepped foot out of this cave but he had to stay positive. First of all, find more bugs, he was still hungry!
Once his hunger had been satisfied, he started exploring the cave. He found huge bugs but no sign of other goblins or any intelligent life really. When he went to sleep, he had gained another level.
The next day, Gobsa woke up with renewed enthusiasm. It took the rest of the day -or was it longer? Shorter? It was hard to tell without the sun or moon- but eventually he found a breeze, following it to the outside. His eyes took a bit of time to adjust themselves to the light of the moon. He stood in the middle of a forest at night. Huge trees, some he recognised and others he didn't, everywhere he looked. He didn't feel tired at all and he needed some more food, so he went stalking the forest. It was then he realized he didn't have to eat animals at all! He had absorption, so, he grabbed a rock and munched on it. It felt silly but the rock shattered as if it were brittle candy. The taste wasn't bad either. He wouldn't run out of food, that was for sure.
On his way through the forest, he saw many sleeping animals, bigger than those he had seen at the zoo. Apes 3 meters tall, scratching their balls as they snored, hawks as big as a human and now that he thought about it, weren't those beetles also really big? He had no chance of killing any of them in a fair fight… but they were sleeping. A rock to the head, dropped from a tree would most likely kill some of them.