Tensura: Reincarnated as a Goblin with a Cheat

The silence around me was oppressive, but it didn't last long. I slowly began to take in my surroundings. The ground beneath me felt rough and uneven, like I was lying on dirt and stone. My body was still strange, and I couldn't shake the feeling that everything was off. My small, green hands felt unnatural as I pressed them against the cold, hard earth beneath me.

I pushed myself up, trying to get a sense of where I was. The world around me was dim, a faded light casting long shadows over everything. I looked around, but there was nothing but a small, broken village. The huts were little more than crude structures, barely standing. Their roofs were sagging, made of rough wooden beams and patchwork materials that had clearly seen better days. They looked fragile, on the brink of collapse. I could see cracks in the walls, holes where the rain had seeped in, and piles of rubble scattered here and there.

This was no prosperous town or village. This place looked abandoned, forgotten by time, a desolate remnant of something that had once been. There was a faint smell of decay in the air from the rotting wood, damp earth, and something foul that I couldn't place.

I staggered to my feet, taking in the sight of the village. The huts were positioned in a scattered fashion, as if no one had bothered to organize them properly. A few rickety wooden fences were barely standing, and the path between the huts was overgrown with weeds. It was a place of neglect and ruin, a place where no one had cared enough to maintain it. I couldn't see anyone around, but I could feel an eerie stillness, as if the village had once been alive, but now it was nothing but a ghost of its former self.

I walked further into the village, my eyes scanning the area. A few other goblins were moving around, minding their own business. They didn't seem to notice me or care. Some were crouched near tiny fires, others were huddled together, murmuring in low, guttural voices. The goblins didn't seem to be doing much, just existing in a world that clearly had no place for them.

I felt a strange mix of frustration and disgust as I observed them. They were so passive, so resigned to their pitiful existence. I couldn't understand it. I wasn't like them. I couldn't just accept this life of weakness and defeat. This small, ugly green body was not going to be my life. Not if I could help it.

The others didn't even look up as I walked by. Some glanced in my direction, but it was only a passing glance before they turned back to their own work or thoughts. I couldn't relate to them. Their lives were so simple, if you could even call it that. Was this really how I was supposed to live? Stuck in a broken village, surrounded by weak, pathetic creatures who seemed to have no drive, no ambition? 

I turned away, unable to bear the sight of their quiet, aimless existence. I walked back to the hut I had woken up in, hoping for some respite from the discomfort that was building inside me. It wasn't much, but it was better than the outside. I needed time to think, to figure out what this new life meant for me.

I walk to an empty hut near the end of the village. The hut's door creaked as I pushed it open, stepping inside. The dim light inside made it hard to see clearly, but I could make out the rough walls and the fire pit in the centre. The ashes of a once lively flame still lingered in the pit, but the warmth had long since faded. The air was thick with the smell of dampness and decay, a reminder of just how long this place had been neglected.

I sat down against one of the walls, my small body aching from the awkwardness of the goblin form. My limbs felt strange and uncoordinated. I had trouble adjusting to the way my legs were bent and how low to the ground I was. Everything about this body felt uncomfortable. I was weak, small, and ugly. This body of a goblin was just a pathetic, lowly creature.

But I couldn't afford to let that define me. I couldn't afford to accept this as my fate. I wasn't like the others. I didn't want to live in this broken, forgotten village and just scrape by. I wanted more. I needed to become stronger. I had to.

I couldn't stop thinking about my previous life, the one I had abandoned in the blink of an eye. The one where I had been a failure. I had never amounted to anything, never lived up to the expectations of those around me. My parents were disappointed in me, and that was the last thing I remembered before everything went black. But this wasn't the end of my story. No. I wouldn't let it be.

I stood up, the motion feeling awkward, my body still adjusting to its new form. I could feel a strange energy pulsing inside me, though I couldn't explain what it was. Something... different. Maybe this was the key to my future, the chance to finally escape the weak existence I had lived before. This wasn't just a second chance, it was my opportunity to change everything.

I remembered those messages I had thought were hallucinations. If I was right, I could evolve. I could grow. I wasn't going to be stuck in this pitiful, green body forever. I didn't care how much effort it took or how long it would take. I would become stronger. I would become more than just a goblin. I had to.