"What the hell!?"
"…"
"Did I EAT some sort of drug unknowingly?"
"Is that why I am hallucinating right now? Am I going crazy?"
"Am I dreaming…?"
'Let me…', Rei tried to pinch himself to check if he was dreaming or not, just to be sure, but before he could do that, he heard the voice yet again.
-"Oh! You will! —You will suddenly pinch yourself for no reason to check that you are not dreaming just like the main protagonist of some cliche novel!"- Once again the voice echoed in his mind.
"Huh?"
"How did you know…?", Rei was surprised to see that the voice knew exactly what he was going to do.
"…"
"…"
He thought that he was hearing the voice from somewhere else – the person was perhaps using a skill to communicate directly into his mind, however, little did he know that the voice was in his mind only!
-"So you were truly going to pinch yourself! Why!? Just to gain some pain to check whether you are dreaming or not…?"-
"Y-yea…?"
-"Isn't it obvious? You need the pain to check, huh? How about you stab your heart? Would that be enough of a pain?"-
-"Maybe not! Let me suggest something better… Go jump from a tall mountain or get yourself crushed by something! That would be enough pain, right!? Huff...Huff"-
"…"
Rei realized that something was very wrong.
"Damn it! A devil possessed me!"
"The devil is forcing me to kill myself!", Rei shouted as he grabbed his head tightly.
The birds that were chirping also had a weird look on their face on seeing Rei's nonsensical talks and act!
-"This fucker"-
Rei and the voice spent the next several hours arguing with each other.
They both were practically arguing like kids. In the end, it is the voice that won the argument.
The voice seemed more talented in this and could even speak some sharp words which would hurt more than a stab.
Just as they were tired of arguing with each other, they heard a sharp sound – a rustle.
Rei acted on his instincts and quickly hid in one of the bushes.
The voice too had advised him to do that.
-"Quick! Hide!"-
The sound of footsteps was getting louder.
Rei's eyes widened as he looked at the group of humans.
Humans were one of the strongest and one of the most intelligent races ever to exist – this is what lower beings like Goblins and even Orcs would think.
Even if they looked weak at the first glance, their strength far exceeded their expectations – so, more often, the Orcs and Goblins wouldn't mess with humans, especially if it is a group of humans.
Needless to say, in the forest where Rei lived, many humans would often come to hunt them down.
Regardless, Rei didn't know what to do. He could only shiver and hide from the great humans!
He thought that they had detected him or perhaps heard him speak because he was just too loud! But that was not the case. Rei was dumbfounded as he looked at the humans climbing the tree desperately trying to catch the colourful birds.
'What, are they trying to do…?' Rei questioned himself as he looked at the humans.
-"Definitely not for selling their poop as fertilizers…"-, the voice said, surprising Rei again.
"Can't you be quiet? What if they hear you!?", Rei asked.
-"Ugh, other than you, no one can hear me."-, the voice added.
'Ah… I see.', the goblin thought with a sense of relief.
-"Yes yes, you see, you hear, you everything..."-
'Huh?'
"Wait, can you hear my thoughts?", Rei asked, confused to see the voice's reply match his thoughts.
-"Of course, I can, and I think it is better for you to communicate with me in your thoughts, otherwise others might think you have gone crazy."-, the voice said.
'Alright…', Rei immediately switched over to communicate via his thoughts.
But there was something that confused Rei.
He asked, 'Why did the birds stay in the branches instead of flying away?'
'Come to think of it, they didn't fly even when I shouted…'
-"That's because they have lost the ability to fly, you idiot!"-
'Huh? Then how are they on the branches? Don't tell me that they climbed the tree like the humans…', Rei asked, somewhat confused.
-"…"-
-"Of course not!"-
-"These birds can fly only once a day and then they lose the ability for the rest of the day… That is why they try to fly to the tallest tree so that they can be safe from others…"-
'Interesting…', Rei merely nodded his head when he heard this.
In any case, soon the humans caught some birds and went descended to the ground with a happy expressions.
Rei keenly observed what they were doing, but he was yet again surprised with a sudden sound!
Suddenly a screen appeared in front of them which had multiple blue texts along with a void that dictated the texts.
[Mission - Whatever reward my idiotic brother wants to give. – is completed.]
'Wha-'
'What the heck is that!?'
-"A voice, of course. What else?"-
'A voice…?'
'They too can hear a voice?', Rei was surprised.
He thought that his inner voice could also be heard outside, however, the voice quickly explained what it was.
-"That's a status screen."-
"Status screen?", Rei uncontrollably blurted out and proceeded to cover his mouth immediately.
'Did they hear me?', he asked as he peeked at the humans, but thankfully, they didn't.
In any case, as soon as Rei said these words, a screen appeared in front of him.
[Status]
[???]
'This…'
'This is…'
-"That's a fucking status screen!"-
-'But why did it appear for this goblin!?'-, the voice, or in other words, Lucas questioned himself.
-'Wait… Ah…'-
-'I see how it is going… I am not the protagonist…'-
-'He is…'-, Lucas, whose soul was trapped in the headset, realized that yet another twist had happened.
But he wasn't sad… Instead, he was quite excited! After all, who wouldn't be filled with adrenaline while talking with a creature from fantasies – A goblin?