Read I Died and got Resurrected as a Dark Goblin! With a Never-ending Death Flag! :: I was Brought against my will to the Great Demon Swamp! (Part 2)

The Great Demon Marshlands of Aewolan

The rain puddle starts to absorb some of the heat from the sunlight above, increasing the water temperature to a warmer state. So I took the time to relax a bit in the makeshift bathtub to gather my thought and regain more of my strength.

Suddenly, a group of jackalopes wandering out of the bushes, catching me off guard while I was still soaking in the waterhole with their silent moment through the foliage. They looked at me with uncertain stares and began to feast on the shrubs they emerge from and then wander over to random rain puddles to sip from murky rainwater. They weren't frightened of me even do I was a goblin.

I didn't show any hostility towards the group, remembering that they were still monsters that resembled wild hares from my world. It was better to leave them alone and share the waterholes instead of getting stabbed by one jackalope deer-like antler. After they had their fill of plants, they retreated into the forest, leaving me behind with a perplexed expression.

After my bath, I squirmed over to grab a bundle of dry leaves from the nearby hedge Jacklopes feed onto toweled myself off, hoping it wasn't a dangerous plant similar to poison ivy to damaged my skin. The shrubbery didn't make me itch uncontrollably. Still, the shrub leaves felt dry and brittle as I spread fresh leaves across my body, trying to dry off most of the water covering my goblin body.

Suddenly, I notice a long sturdy branch-like staff lying awkwardly beneath the patch of dense bushes. I crawled over to green plants, grabbing the wooden stick with my left hand.

I grip it tightly with all strength I had in my left hand to make sure the rod wouldn't snap under the weight of my goblin body before trying to use it as a post to lift myself off the ground. My first trial failed as the wooden rod teeter and totter vigorously while attempting to climb up the tall wooden stalk. Its collapse midway into the uneven mound, taking me along with it as it tosses me back into the filthy muck; thank god didn't break on collision and impaled me in the heart or lung! That would have been a shameful way to go!

"Shit, I saw that coming!" I groan as I spit out chunks of dirt from my mouth in anger while trying to retrieve my wooden cane that fell a few inches away. I knew I didn't have much time to rest, and giving up wasn't an option because the more time I waste, likely a predator would find me and make a meal out of a defenseless shitless goblin.

After retrieving my cane, I crept over to a Rowan tree, and I decide to use its thick trunk as a makeshift climbing wall to pull myself up off the ground. I place the wooden staff onto the tree's trunk, making sure it won't topple over onto the floor.

"Alright, time to stand up, I said, digging my claws into the sturdy tree bark climbing up the rough skin of the tree inch by inch." Clinging onto the flaky skin of the Rowan tree, trying not to fall off and fracture my ribs and damage my internal organs. It was a daunting task stretching my unclothed body onto the trunk of the large spruce as my goblin legs began to tremble uncontrollably under the weight of my upper body.

"Don't fail on me now, body!" I cheered myself on in spirit, trying not to lose my strength in my knees while straightening out my posture. I breathe heavily from my lungs while staying airborne for a few minutes and holding onto the Rowan tree with my claws for dear life.

At that moment, I choose to reach for my wooden staff place on the tree beforehand as I stretch out with my fingers to grab hold of the rigid walking stick. I snatched it with my left hand and pulled it over to my side, and plant it firmly on the ground between me and the base of the tree. I stood there for a moment as I shivered helplessly with the walking stick in my left-handed and right-hand fastened deep into the bark of the Rowan tree.

I instantly lifted my right hand off the tree of the trunk, and grab hold of the wooden staff with my remaining hand, and steady myself on the wooden staff, trying not to topple over. For a few seconds, I stood there in the middle of the Rowan tree motionlessly, letting my body adjust to the gravity of the forest floor.

"I did it; I'm actually standing!" I thought, letting out a timid cry of relief as my goblin body was still shaking from the climactic experience.

Suddenly, I hear a weird noise coming from thin air around me as a victory anthem plays in the background out of my vision line. The tune was similar to a VRMMORPG game when you clear a Boss Dungeon and retrieve the treasure chest prizes for beating the level and earn experience for your endeavor. Unintentionally, I remembered hearing the same verse playing awkwardly when I fell asleep underneath the Rowan tree after retreating from the deadly swamp.

Somehow, I must have leveled up during my escape from the poisonous bog when I reached my destination. Abruptly, the anthem stopped playing after a few seconds and left an empty silence to fill the eerie forest.

I want to know if there was a level system or magic that exist in this prehistoric world. If so, can a dark goblin such as myself understand and use it for my own benefit?

"I should have a menu mode to check my status and progress in this open world!." I started comparing the foreign world to a VRMMORPG game I used to play profoundly in my previous life back on earth.

To test my hypothesis, I tried using voice recognition with my goblinoid tongue to sees if the menu would respond to my command. I envisioned a floating messageboard with information that I could exploit and adjust conveniently without any restriction.

"Open [MENU], I ordered in a deep tune."

Suddenly, the messageboard appeared in front of me, hovering inertly in midair, responding to the call without fail, and revealed a catalog of information.

"I was right!" I said boastfully, seeing letters displayed on the menu slat. It was exactly like a VRMMORPG game used to play continentality; plus, magic does exist in this primitive world! The Menu system was simple enough to control; even a middle-aged person could operate material without problem.

After window-shopping through the database, I chose to check out my status. I wanted to see if gain any experience during my time here in the Great Demon Marshland. Also, to check my levels and find any useful skills and abilities to survive these harsh wastelands.

"Open [STATUS]!" I ordered the Messageboard, and it suddenly transitions from the menu mode over to status mode. I started scamming through my status board to see if I unlocked any interesting skills or talents during my ventures through the great swamp. I was astonished at how exacted my status mode was to an RPG game!

Name: NO DATA FOUND

Race: Dark Goblin (Mutant)

Gender: Male

Title: Reincarnator, Naturalist, Nudist, Retainer of Otherworld Memories,

Skill: First Steps

Level: 001/010

Lifespan: 28,470 days/ 78 years

Age: 7 years old

HP: 165/189

Class: None

Rank: F

After reading my stats, I discovered that I was a Level 001 mutated Dark goblin. Who sustains damage from ingesting the great swamp's poisonous fumes, and my health points have reduced from hundred and eighty-nine percent to hundred and sixty-five percent due to my weakened immune system. But what really startles me the most was that I was only seven years old, and my lifespan was diminishing by the day, meaning that I could die any moment due to my own negligence or until my lifespan drained to zero from uncontrollable events.

I knew I had to find a way to restore my stamina to its natural state before I lose more health points. If I don't, it might reduce my lifespans even further and end up dying at an early age if I don't properly take care of my goblinoid body. The only thing that could help me get more stamina back quicker is by eating a decent meal, sleeping for a long period of time without worry, or drinking an expensive healing potion.

But since I'm a dark goblin their no way in heaven or hell, I'll be able to enter a human nation to get a healing potion or elixir from a merchant without any currency or a disguise to conceal my monster appearance from prying eyes.

Next, I decided to check out my Race and Skill to see if I gained any bonus effect and additional quirks from becoming a dark goblin. However, I've been standing still in the same spot for a long period of time, and my arms, knees, and legs were getting exhausted from holding the wooden staff in my possession without moving my body at all. I didn't want to fall back to the ground and repeat the process of getting back up again using the rowan tree. "I wish I had a skill that could control my mobility and lessen the strain on my body. " it would make walking a lot easier for me to keep my balance and waste my stamina.

As I was questioning what to do next and avoiding depressing myself, I suddenly hear a strange voice entering my subconscious after hearing my continual rambling. The voice in my head spoke in my native tongue, but it wasn't human at all. It was similar to Ai, a virtual assistant program built to help you with a certain task like setting up a schedule or providing information about a specific question about your environment or objective. In other words, it was a super cheat created by the dungeon master to help me survive in this world. Don't get me wrong. It took me by surprise when it starts talking on its own and almost giving me a heart attack.

[The title "First Step" is not activated.] [Do you wish to activate title First Step to improve motor function. Y/N]

The AI spoke formally, figure out why my body wasn't responding correctly to my commands. I want to know more about my "First Step" and why I should be active in this title in the first place. "Excuse me, AI, why should I activate "First Step"? I asked since I didn't want to do something that might risk my life. The AI responded with a quick answer to my question without a second thought and gave me a decent solution to my concern.

Your nervous system in your body has been greatly damaged by an unnatural toxin found within contaminated areas, making it complicated for your arm and legs to function properly due to long-term exposure to poisonous fumes and will result in death if not treated promptly.

The host body has undergone mutation due to micro bacteria destroying thirty percent of the red and white blood cells within the goblin body and causing the host to readjusted by evolving from lesser Goblin to Dark Goblin due to unstable genes.

The title "First-Step" will use the Master Monster core within the dark goblin body to release magic particles to operate as substitute cells to heal and destroy harmful bacteria found in the goblinoid body.

Proving temporary motor function in the host body until the body is completely healed from all ailments.

" In order word. I will be using magic to control my body until magic particles completely heal and destroy all the dangerous bacteria that are causing my disorder in my bloodstream and nervous system."

I quickly agreed to activate the skill first-step to begin my training and regain control over my body. I felt the energy from my monster core traveling throughout my body as I felt an instant pain burning inside my body. I could feel the bacteria and infected cells being consumed by the magic particles rampaging throughout my body as I immediately collapse to the ground onto my knees with the wooden staff still in my grasps, wheezing on uncontrollably by the overwhelming pain of the magic taking hold of my body. It lasted for several-minute until indigestion finally subsided as I tried to regain my sense.

My body felt lighter, and I could feel the magic particles flowing through each of my nerves as covered in an invisible aura. I decide to get up without using the wooden staff as place it on the ground next to me. I used my hands to lift myself off the ground without using the rowan tree or the walking stick. Next, use my knees and legs to push myself off of the ground, and wobble a bit as I tower over the next to the rowan tree beside the waterhole and stand perfectly still without the need for assistance from any object around me. For the first time, I've regained my ability to stand independently, without the need for tools to function properly. The second task I did next was walking a straight line without falling.

With the skill, first-step, I didn't felt any fatigue or nausea; instead, my mind was sharp as ever, thanks to magic particles infiltrating my brain and energizing my nervous system. It felt like I was back in my human body, back on earth, but I was a lot young, like a kid bursting with energy and ready to take on the world. I was walking around without a care in the world and didn't stumble at all, even with all the debris and waterholes covering the forest floor. So far, first-step was a super cheat skill that increases my chance of survival rate by tenfold.

The final step would be the most important for my survival in case I rushed into any danger, it to able to run away if the thing gets out of control if I'm facing an opponent much stronger than I am now. I started by sprinting around the enclosure to see how flexible I could run without getting tired from overexerting myself by dodging and leaping over the waterhole without getting wet.

I landed in several waterholes and made a mess of the encampment, but it helps with my training. Suddenly, AI spoke urgently from the confine of my mind while I was still testing out my mobility. "Warning, monster core output is decreasing due to magic consumption by skill Frist-step at an alarming rate. The host body requires material to continue producing more magic particles to stabilize the goblin body!

"What do you mean need more material to continue using first-step, I said in confusion voice. Suddenly, I heard groaning coming from my chest as I placed my hand over my navel area. I blushed in embarrassment by what I heard coming from out of nowhere. "I get now. The material AI spoke about to continue to produce magic particles for the First-Step clearly obvious by what it meant. I was starving, and I needed food to fill my empty stomach to continue using skill First-Step to walk properly.

"How long do I have before, First-step stop function AI? I asked promptly.

"Master will only have six hours before Frist-step seizes functioning, putting the body in critical danger due to mana depletion and disrupting to vital organs. I other words, I have to find food before my monster core completely runs out of magic particles and ends up killing me.

I need to find edible plants or animals I fed on before I run out of magic. Since I could walk now, it only fitting I go out in the forest hunt for food and try to level up to gain more experiences. But before I go hunting, I need to retrieve my wooden staff before running off in the dangerous woods and find suitable material to make myself some clothes to cover the naked body.

This content is intended for mature audiences for the following reasons.