The last thing Elias ever heard was the screech of tires—then metal crushing metal, a sound that would haunt him even in oblivion. Twenty-one years of life, and he'd been nothing remarkable: a middling student, a decent gamer, a devoted older brother. Ordinary, profoundly ordinary. Yet death had a cruel sense of irony. It didn't come quietly. It didn't come gently. It came like being ripped from one world and flung into another.
Pain, darkness, and vertigo swirled in his mind. And then—a voice. Vast. Resonant. Like stone scraping stone in an endless canyon.
"Soul 734-Alpha, designated 'Elias Vance.' Life-thread severed prematurely. Per Protocol 99-Omega, you are reassigned to the world of Aerthos. You shall inhabit a high-risk, high-reward vessel. May your existence… prove entertaining."
Silence followed. Then a scent—damp, earthy, mossy. And tiny, frantic squeaks that made his skin crawl.
Elias tried to open his eyes. They were already open. Tiny. Black. Blinking against the gloom. His body—if it could even be called that—felt wrong. Wrong in every imaginable way. He was crammed into a narrow, wet cavity, surrounded by pink, wriggling shapes that looked like oversized newborn rats.
A scream caught in his throat and emerged instead as a high-pitched, "Greeb!"
He thrashed. Limbs short, fingers too long, olive-green skin slick beneath his touch. He rubbed the back of his head, discovering two small, pointed ears.
I'm… a goblin?
The realization hit like a battering ram. Elias Vance—the guy who'd never done anything heroic—was now one of the weakest, most reviled creatures in fantasy folklore.
"No, no, no! This is a joke! I was supposed to be a hero! A wizard! Not… a… greeb!"
A tiny, scrappy figure, barely larger than a squirrel, scuttled toward him, chattering in a guttural language that somehow felt instantly familiar. This was his mother.
Then came the sting—sharp, electric—behind his eyes. Not pain. Data. Information flooding his mind like a computer booting up.
A translucent blue panel flickered into existence before him, hovering midair.
---
STATUS – GRIB
Name: Grib (Goblin Designation)
Race: Goblin (Newborn)
Level: 1 (0/100 EXP)
Title: Reincarnated Apex
HP: 10 / 10
MP: 5 / 5
STR: 2
DEX: 3
CON: 2
INT: 10 ⚡ (Anomaly)
WIS: 10 ⚡ (Anomaly)
Unique Skill: APEX CONSUMPTION (S-Rank)
> You are the ultimate biological predator. To level up, you must consume the flesh and organs of creatures you personally slay. Each prey has a chance to grant one of its innate skills or unique attributes. Consumption is mandatory for all experience gains.
---
Elias—no, Grib—stared at the stats floating before him. Ten points in Intelligence and Wisdom: the only trace of his human mind. Everything else was pathetic. Two Strength. Two Constitution. He was weaker than a housecat.
I have to… eat things I kill… to get stronger?
The thought made his stomach churn. Human disgust flared hot in his chest. And yet, one glance at his goblin mother, her eyes glinting with nothing but raw, primal hunger, and at the tiny, trembling mouths of his siblings, he understood.
This wasn't a game. This was Aerthos: a world of ancient Elves, sapphire-haired Mermaids, proud Humans, terrifying Demons, and Dragons whose mere shadow could obliterate cities.
And he? A Level 1 goblin. Their prey.
Survival, he realized, was more important than morals.
---