Chapter 1: Options
ㅤWhen I came to, I was bound.
ㅤ
ㅤI was tied up to a log that looked to be about the size of a hug.
ㅤSo tightly that I couldn’t move at all.
ㅤ
ㅤThat log━━was being carried by small, red goblins like the ones in games.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Gob gob!”
ㅤ
ㅤThe goblins seemed to be in high spirits.
ㅤThey were pointing at me and whispering to each other.
ㅤ
ㅤSince we were surrounded by trees, I assumed we were in a forest.
ㅤThe goblins were walking on a path that was wider than an animal trail, but not what you would call a well-maintained road, a path through the forest.
ㅤ
ㅤ”What…… is this situation?”
ㅤ
ㅤI muttered to myself without thinking.
ㅤ
ㅤI remember the conversation with God.
ㅤ
ㅤAfter that, when I woke up, I was tied up by goblins and being carried somewhere.
ㅤ
ㅤThis is awful.
ㅤ
ㅤ（How am I supposed to find happiness from here?）
ㅤ
ㅤI couldn’t help but curse God.
ㅤIt’s because of that frivolous, flippant God that the world is in such a bad state.
ㅤ
ㅤ（Ah, that’s right.）
ㅤ
ㅤI remember what God said last.
ㅤ
ㅤ”……『Options.』”
ㅤ
ㅤI muttered in a low voice so the goblins wouldn’t hear.
ㅤ
ㅤThen, a holographic-like screen appeared in front of me.
ㅤOn it,
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ-Options-
ㅤ▷Language Setting 【Current: Japanese】
ㅤDifficulty Setting 【Current: Normal】
ㅤMinimap Display 【Current: OFF】
ㅤLogout 【Unavailable】
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ”……What is this?”
ㅤ
ㅤOf course, I knew what it was.
ㅤIt was an options screen, the kind you often see in games. A screen where you can adjust various settings.
ㅤIt looked very similar to the options screen of the game I was playing just before my father killed me.
ㅤWell, options screens are all pretty much the same anyway.
ㅤ
ㅤ（Should I try messing with it?）
ㅤ
ㅤThe goblins were chanting “Gob gob” as they carried me along.
ㅤThe swaying of the log was making me feel sick.
ㅤ
ㅤ（But how do I use it?）
ㅤ
ㅤA cursor-like thing （▷） was displayed on the options.
ㅤI should be able to move it and make selections.
ㅤBut, of course, I didn’t have a controller in my hands.
ㅤ
ㅤ（Well then…… should I try thinking about it?）
ㅤ
ㅤMove the cursor.
ㅤUp up down down left right left right B A.
ㅤ
ㅤThe cursor moved.
ㅤIt moved up twice and stopped at the minimap, then down twice to return to its original position, left and right didn’t respond, and at the A of B A, the “Language Setting” text blinked and there was a clicking sound.
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤLanguage Setting 【Current: Japanese】
ㅤ▷Japanese
ㅤHuman Language
ㅤElven Language
ㅤHighland Elven Language
ㅤDwarven Language
ㅤDragon Language
ㅤGoblin Language （NEW）
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ（Oh……）
ㅤ
ㅤDown down down down down down.
ㅤ
ㅤAnd then, confirm.
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ-Options-
ㅤ▷Language Setting 【Current: Goblin Language】
ㅤDifficulty Setting 【Current: Normal】
ㅤMinimap Display 【Current: OFF】
ㅤLogout 【Unavailable】
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ”We got lucky, gob! To find a human sleeping in a place like this!”
ㅤ
ㅤThe goblin’s voice, which had been saying “Gob gob,” suddenly changed to Japanese.
ㅤ
ㅤ”But she’s a little too skinny, gob! Looks like a real unfortunate human, gob!”
ㅤ
ㅤ……Even goblins are dissing me……
ㅤ
ㅤ”Then, are you not gonna eat her, gob?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”I’ll eat her, gob! We haven’t eaten a human in a while, so I’m not gonna be picky, gob!”
ㅤ
ㅤThe goblin who had dissed me hurriedly shook his head and said so.
ㅤ
ㅤ”You don’t understand, gob. Fat humans are delicious, gob, but young and firm humans are also delicious in their own way, gob.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”What’s that, you know a lot about it, gob?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”We’ll boil her alive in a pot, gob. Fat humans have too much scum when you boil them, gob, but a skinny human like this will be just right, gob.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Slurp……”
ㅤ
ㅤ”If you understand, stop complaining and hurry up and carry her, gob!”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Gob gob!”
ㅤ
ㅤ（Even when translated, it’s still Gob gob.）
ㅤ
ㅤI felt like that wasn’t the point, but that was the first thing I thought.
ㅤ
ㅤ（I don’t want to be boiled alive.）
ㅤ
ㅤIt seems the goblins of this world are cannibals.
ㅤJudging from their conversation, they’re also reasonably intelligent.
ㅤThey even have a culture of cooking.
ㅤ
ㅤI tried to shake my body slightly, but the ropes were tied tightly and I couldn’t move.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Gob gob♪”
ㅤ”Gobb gobb♪”
ㅤ
ㅤSighing at the overly cheerful goblins, I tried muttering “Options” again.
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ-Options-
ㅤ▷Language Setting 【Current: Goblin Language】
ㅤDifficulty Setting 【Current: Normal】
ㅤMinimap Display 【Current: OFF】
ㅤLogout 【Unavailable】
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ（This……）
ㅤ
ㅤ-Options-
ㅤLanguage Setting 【Current: Goblin Language】
ㅤ▷Difficulty Setting 【Current: Normal】
ㅤMinimap Display 【Current: OFF】
ㅤLogout 【Unavailable】
ㅤ
ㅤAnd confirm.
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤDifficulty Setting 【Current: Normal】
ㅤBeginner
ㅤVery Easy
ㅤEasy
ㅤ▷Normal
ㅤHard
ㅤVery Hard
ㅤInferno
ㅤHell
ㅤNo Future
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ（There are nine levels?）
ㅤ
ㅤBut there’s no need to make it harder on purpose.
ㅤ
ㅤI thought up up up confirm and chose Beginner.
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ-Options-
ㅤLanguage Setting 【Current: Goblin Language】
ㅤ▷Difficulty Setting 【Current: Beginner】
ㅤMinimap Display 【Current: OFF】
ㅤLogout 【Unavailable】
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ（Alright, OK.）
ㅤ
ㅤBut I didn’t feel any particular change.
ㅤI checked the ropes again, but they didn’t seem like they would come loose easily.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Huh? Did she move, gob?”
ㅤ
ㅤOne of the goblins said.
ㅤI hurriedly stopped moving.
ㅤ
ㅤ”What’s wrong, gob?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”No, I thought the human moved, gob.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”……She still seems to be asleep, gob?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Is that so, gob? But to still be asleep in this situation, what a shameless human, gob.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Maybe she’s not asleep, but knocked unconscious by a monster, gob?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Then she should have been eaten, gob.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”I’ve heard of it, gob. Humans abandon their elderly who can’t move in places where monsters roam.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”They leave their elders to die, gob?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Since humans eat grain, gob, elderly who can’t work the fields and only eat are a nuisance, gob.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”That’s cruel, gob…… Was this young female abandoned too, gob?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Poor thing, gob.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”At least we’ll eat her deliciously, gob.”
ㅤ
ㅤFor some reason, the goblins were sympathizing with me, and I felt a bit sad.
ㅤ
ㅤI didn’t really understand the effect of changing the difficulty.
ㅤ
ㅤ（W-well, let’s try the next one.）
ㅤ
ㅤI pulled myself together and opened the “Options” again.
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ-Options-
ㅤLanguage Setting 【Current: Goblin Language】
ㅤDifficulty Setting 【Current: Beginner】
ㅤ▷Minimap Display 【Current: OFF】
ㅤLogout 【Unavailable】
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤWhen I confirmed, the screen didn’t change, but
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ-Options-
ㅤLanguage Setting 【Current: Goblin Language】
ㅤDifficulty Setting 【Current: Beginner】
ㅤ▷Minimap Display 【Current: ON （Large）】
ㅤLogout 【Unavailable】
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤIt became this.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Whoa!”
ㅤ
ㅤI couldn’t help but cry out.
ㅤ
ㅤA translucent map filled my entire vision.
ㅤ
ㅤThat being said, the only things I could see in the current range were the forest and a small river a little distance away.
ㅤThere were several red dots in the forest, a little further away.
ㅤMy own location seemed to be indicated by a green triangle.
ㅤThe map was a 3D one that reflected the elevation changes.
ㅤ
ㅤThe goblins were heading upstream of that river.
ㅤThere was a rocky mountain upstream, and it seemed to have a cave.
ㅤWhen I focused my attention there, the map switched to the interior of the cave.
ㅤHowever, I could only see up to the entrance of the cave, and the back was covered in fog.
ㅤ
ㅤ（Do I have to fill in the map myself?）
ㅤ
ㅤAnyway, the map filling up my vision was a bit of a hindrance.
ㅤ
ㅤ（I see.）
ㅤ
ㅤI quietly opened the options and selected the map item again.
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ-Options-
ㅤLanguage Setting 【Current: Goblin Language】
ㅤDifficulty Setting 【Current: Beginner】
ㅤ▷Minimap Display 【Current: ON （Medium）】
ㅤLogout 【Unavailable】
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ（One more time.）
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ-Options-
ㅤLanguage Setting 【Current: Goblin Language】
ㅤDifficulty Setting 【Current: Beginner】
ㅤ▷Minimap Display 【Current: ON （Small）】
ㅤLogout 【Unavailable】
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ（Alright.）
ㅤ
ㅤA small map was floating in the lower left corner of my vision.
ㅤWhen I focused my attention on the map and tried to move it, I was able to move it up, down, left, and right.
ㅤThe fact that I could also move it closer and further away was a feature unique to this reality.
ㅤ
ㅤAfter checking the map, I turned my attention to the last item in the options.
ㅤ
ㅤLogout.
ㅤ
ㅤThat’s what it said, but it was 【Unavailable】.
ㅤ
ㅤI tried selecting Logout and confirming, but there was no response.
ㅤ
ㅤ（It would have been nice if I could log out of this world.）
ㅤ
ㅤGod said he would give me a part of his power.
ㅤWhen God uses it, he can probably log out from the options.
ㅤ
ㅤAs I sighed, cursing my second life, the goblins reached the cave they were aiming for.