1 In the Beginning

Prologue

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"You vile beast!" The holy knight spouts whilst swaying his monstrous sword, hitting every nearby variable in its way.

I, who stood motionless to the fore, did nothing but gaze upon his reckless attacks.

"I wish no harm, human," My hand retracts while studying his next response.

Despite heeding my warning, the soldier extends his arm and casts a tier 5 magic spell judging by the magic circle surrounding his hands. The power behind his incantations must be enough to annihilate half of the population of a city. An overpower cheat, befitting for a chosen warrior by the gods above.

"I do not wish to fight you!" I yelled once more, hoping he could withdraw his blade.

With a grin carved beneath his face, the man coated with holy light charges straight towards my direction, aiming for my vulnerable neck. However, little did he know that the items I have prepared were enough to deflect physical attacks on his mere level.

The tip of his sword collides against my shield, protecting me from any damage that may accumulate. Unfortunately for him, one of the passive abilities that my charm has is to deflect any harmful magic attacks directed to the user and return to the caster, which has a cooldown of one hour. Upon usage, the buckler will emit a bright radiance followed by the wrath of how strong they throw the spell to the wearer. It can only divert any sorcery if it was at least tier 5 spell or above what I could handle.

"I'm sorry," I blankly observe the man's flesh vaporise at his spell, cooking him in a well-done manner. I found it hard for me to devour human flesh, especially that I am a goblin that can absorb the corpse's power.

"But I need to survive," I mumbled to myself while kneeling to the dead body of the holy knight that disregarded my message.

"You have fought well, brave soul. In return, let me use your power for the greater good."

I hesitantly pushed the food forward inside my mouth and swallowed it like a man. The remnants of the cadaver gradually touch my oesophagus down to my stomach. Thankfully, the power from the holy knight was slowly turning into mine, increasing both of my levels and present status.

[Congratulations! You have levelled up +20]

"The war had just begun."

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Chapter 1: A New Beginning?

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That day, my teachers called my attention in the middle of the class and immediately guided me back home. They did not utter a word about what and why we are returning to my abode. But I patiently wait around and see for myself about the strange occurrence. By the time I entered our familiar street, I knew we were already too late.

"Mum! Dad!" I open the car's door and hurriedly rush over near my house. The firemen, who were putting out the fire, luckily caught my racing body.

"Kid, you cannot go near that," He said and leered directly into my eyes.

I lack the strength to force my way out from his grip, but that did not stop me from escaping my upper extremities.

"Where are my parents!" I query the man with a question, wishing for a favourable yet optimistic answer. But neither the firefighter nor the school teacher behind me wanted to reply.

"Are you Blake Heathens?" He asks while gently placing me on the wet ground.

I gave him a strained nod, reacting to his peculiar but uncomplicated question. What happens next bewildered me from the core.

"Sir, I found two dead bodies on the second floor." A thin and tall man rushes over to our side, reporting whatever he saw inside my house.

"I see." The aged bloke responded by sorrowfully looking in my direction, unsure of what to express to me.

"No," I step back, not wanting to hear any ridiculousness coming from their findings. "I refuse to accept it!"

Having nothing to lose, I sprint towards the burning house and pass by many fire trucks and hoses showering with scorching water inside. I did not falter, stopping or slowing down my pace in order to reach the warm temperature of the home.

"I will save you both, mama, papa…" My body desperately barges inside the flaming room without giving a second thought to the hellfire in front of me. I do not have any equipment with me that can help with my rescue operation. All I have is a photo frame on the ground, smiling brightly at my efforts. My hand instinctively gets the photograph away before the firefighters grab me from behind and pull me back into safety.

With the sudden adrenaline wasted on saving a mere picture, my body involuntarily faints, begging me for a dreadful sleep.

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The queer and white environment awoke me. The scent of alcohol and drugs whiffs in the air and tingles my nostrils, indicating that I am not in my usual place.

Before I can even pry my eyes open, a soft texture welcomes my fingers, inviting me to slumber for more for the rest of the day. Even the sounds resonating in the room did not disrupt my senses as I leisurely but carefully checked my setting.

"Where am I?"

In spite of asking such an obvious question, I concluded to myself that I am inside a hospital of some sort within reach of the neighbourhood. Rubbing both of my optics, I thought to myself that the events that had happened are illusions generated by my brain.

However, a searing pain gushes over my appendages, scalding every nerve inside my fragile body. I can hardly feel anything but the antagonising pain pulsating within my muscles, pleading to escape. As I palpate the areas hurting my sensation, I discern multiple featureless and soggy touches of wide and open wounds.

The doctor in charge opens the door and greets me with a tired expression, hinting at his immense lack of sleep. His eye bags weigh down over his globes while carrying piles of documents in both of his arms. A nurse also followed him at his side, greeting me with a gleaming face opposite from mine.

"Blake Heathens?" He addresses my name but still asks for verification from his patient.

"That's me," I answered, anticipating the upcoming lines that the doctor might say.

"It's unfortunate to tell you that your parents have passed away," He said while rummaging over the mountain of files placed over on the desk. "And we are going to have a bit of trouble paying your bills."

The doctor's hand stops as he pulls a brown envelope containing some documented pieces of information regarding my matter.

"Don't worry, we are trying the best of our capabilities of looking for charities and similar organisations that can help your condition. In the meantime, focus on resting your body and contacting any guardian or relatives that you know and discuss these legal documents later. Understood?"

"Yes," I softly answered.

"Very well."

"Doctor!" My voice accidentally yells out for the attention of the physician. "What about my scars? Are they going to heal?"

"I'm afraid not, my dear boy. The least that we can give you are antibiotic ointments." He quickly answers and eventually leaves the room.

"Do not worry, Mr. Heathens. The hospital will perform the best of our capabilities to help you with your situation." The nurse, who seemed to be optimistic about my circumstances, offers me a glimmer of hope.

"I appreciate your concern, mister." I place his words at heart and watch him walk away towards the parallel room.

Suddenly, I realised that both sides of my grandparents are already deceased. Even my uncles and aunts did not have the chance to introduce themselves to me. They left me with no other choice but to cross my fingers, waiting for the results of the charity.

My eyes wander on my flank and notice the photograph I saved during my reckless rescue. This is the only item that I had retrieved with certain sentimental value. Everything else-from the furniture and gadgets was irrecoverable beyond measure. Even the prominent data left by my parents, including bank accounts and titles, were, in the meantime, unseen.

I slowly lose interest in my life ahead of me, struggling to imagine living by myself, let alone fulfilling the account charged to me. I, who had just turned eighteen last month ago, did not fathom any dangerous happenings to me.

"If only I was there…"

I kept repeating the lines inside my head filled with regret and sorrows. Several days went by, but I am still unaccustomed to this reality. Occasionally, my arms and legs refuse to obey my command as I feel numbness and pain in my body. And within those rarest times, I could not lift my spoon and eat anything that the nurse requests for me.

"I cannot afford this,"

"I will die someday, so why would I even bother."

"I don't want to see tomorrow,"

Eventually, after a while, I longed for the day that I will end my life.

"Next week," I murmur to myself. "I will do it for sure."

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At long last, the day arrived, and I found myself outside of the hospital's campus. As luck would have it, the doctor, specifically in charge of my case, allowed me to go outside for some "fresh air".

With a fork concealed behind my hand, I decided to end my life by slitting myself on the neck, precisely in my jugular veins. But, before I can even raise my item, I notice a man wielding a gun from miles away.

"What the hell?" Curious, I walk in the direction and cautiously tail him from behind.

The moment that the two of us had reached an empty car park, the man covers his presence behind the poles in the dark alleyway.

Soon, an oblivious woman strides to the driveway, unaware of the dangerous feat up ahead. Similar to the image I had thought beforehand, I saw the man springing into action and forcefully latching onto the office lady.

"Give me your money," the lad grabs the girl's waist with a piercing leer painted on his face. He soon shuffles his hand to the private places of the woman while playfully harassing her with the tip of his hand-gun.

The girl, afraid of dying, offers him her wallet and quivery shakes her head. I can see her face from a distance, choking from the lack of oxygen she is getting.

"Please… stop…" She pleads for her life while struggling back and forth, attempting to free herself from his shackles.

"I-I need to help her," I croaked.

However, faced with genuine danger in front of me, I can only feel my spine shaking in disbelief. I close my eyes and quickly think about an option that I can do in this situation.

"I am going to die, anyway. Then might as well die as a hero." I confidently told myself and gingerly headed towards the back ends of the hallway where I saw a functioning closed-circuit television.

I wave my hands from back and forth, wishing that the security guards would notice my attention. After a few seconds, I return to the scene and see them still wrestling over their freedom.

"Good thing he's distracted," I whispered while creeping closer to their range, observing any openings for me to get in.

"We still have time to have a little fun, miss~" The maniac utters while licking the frightened face of the woman.

She could not retort violently, for the man will pull the trigger and kill her there and then; much of a muchness to me.

"An opening!" I gasp as I see a space between the man's legs. Saving the woman is my utmost priority, so I need to produce a distraction to release her.

Immediately, I kick the man's groins and hurdle the lady away from his bounds. Luckily, the guy voices his pain and swiftly places both of his hands and shielded his genitals.

However, the armed man instantly recovers and aimlessly points his gun towards the victim's location. Sacrificing my life, I intuitively pranced over to her fore and shielded the bullet using my hovering body. I can feel my muscle tensing from the pain and suffering of the object inside of me.