kscans

Chapter 1 - I'm a Hobgoblin. My Second Life, a Desperate Start

My name back when I was human was Mamoru Kikuchi. I was thirty eight years old. A single man with no wife and no children. It wasn't a life I could be proud of.

After graduating from college, I landed a job at a mid-tier advertising agency. The work was grueling, my boss was a tyrant, and my subordinates never listened. Every day was a mountain of projects just to get through. Unreasonable clients. Endless late nights of overtime.

Still, I told myself, "I'm an adult," and "I'm a working professional," and worked on, crushing my emotions. The dark circles under my eyes became a permanent fixture. I kept stomach medicine on hand at all times while lying that my work was my passion.

And then, one night. My consciousness faded as I swayed on the station platform. The next time I opened my eyes, I was on a hospital bed.

"There were signs of a myocardial infarction, but we found it too late," I think I heard the doctor say. But I wasn't listening anymore.

I just stared up at the white ceiling, thinking vaguely,

"Ah, my life... what was it all for?"

A life of trying my best, enduring, dedicating myself to others, and having nothing to show for it. Then at the very least, in my next life, I hope...

It was at that moment.

The instant I woke up, the smell of dirt, moss, and blood hit my nose. My body was heavy, my fingers thick and hairy. What I saw was the damp ceiling of a cave.

"...Ugh, what is this body...!"

My reflection in a puddle showed a creature with green skin, a protruding nose, and sharp teeth. A monster. That's right, I had been reincarnated as a Hobgoblin.

To make matters worse, I remembered. This place. This scene. This body. It was the dungeon, a cave deep in the forest from the early stages of a game I used to play, "Legend of Brave Regalia." And the Hobgoblin...

"...I know this game... This is bad... Am I the boss the hero kills first...?"

The sacrificial lamb for a level five hero to gain experience and items. My lines were even set in stone.

"Welcome, hero. Your destiny ends here! Die!"

But my stats were weak. A boss who gets killed instantly, no matter how many times you try. That was me now.

"What is this... You've got to be kidding me..."

Again? Am I going to be given a role again, just to be a stepping stone in someone else's story? Is my life, both then and now, just a background character to be consumed for someone else's convenience?

But then, an emotion welled up inside me.

I refuse. This time, I want to live my own story.

My life as a human ended in obedience. But my life as a Hobgoblin has only just begun.

If the hero is coming in three years, I just have to prepare by then. I'll use anything I can, traps, allies, knowledge, to survive. No, I'll defeat the hero. I'll turn the tables on him.

"I am a Hobgoblin. But I'm no loser."

In this world, I will live once more as a Hobgoblin, the boss of a cave.

And so, the story of my desperate struggle to survive, my tale of growth and reversal as Mamoru-sama, the Hobgoblin formerly known as Mamoru Kikuchi, began.