Surviving a Shounen Manga

Chapter 102

The Ramirez Scramble (3)

The Disruptor God was silent for a while.

Was there a problem?

To be honest, I was feeling quite awkward now. What about this request was so unexpected?

Or maybe this request was hard to fulfil?

The sudden silence was making me a little nervous.

How long did I wait like that?

Something apparently suddenly occurred to my interlocutor.

Youre asking me to let you use masquerade?

The Disruptor God opened his mouth.

Uh yeah. Cant you?

Heh. You sure you dont want to become a goblin instead?

What? Was this a roundabout way of refusal?

Thats is that even possible?

Who knows.

His phrasing was odd. Could he do it or not?

Well, a goblin is fine too. Of course, it has to be a goblin who knows how to use masquerade.

Heh, you want a human to turn into a goblin? Absurd.

Rather, this conversation itself was absurd. It was getting on my nerves.

Maybe because he didnt like the fact that I, a human, was coveting the powers of a goblin?

How completely unexpected. Was the Disruptor God a goblin supremacist?

No way.

Are you unhappy with my request for a goblins power?

But,

Would you like it? If you were in my position?

A really negative reaction popped up.

Why?

I just dont like it. Youre coveting something you shouldnt have. Human greed is still so ugly

Huh, that was really the issue?

I was stunned.

Even though I knew that I shouldnt believe anything the God of Sabotage said, I couldnt help but feel a tad dizzy.

You were fine with letting me mimic the goblins unique abilities, why is masquerade such a sticking point?

Eh.

What?

Its just how I feel.

It wasnt funny.

I was regretting it now. If Id known in advance something this would happen, I wouldve tried something else.

In fact, Id thought a lot about what to ask for.

Should I ask for another copy of the Ramirez?

Or should I reverse the Ramirezs function?

Should I ask for absolute command over the goblins?

Or to let me mimic one more unique ability?

But in the end, it came down to masquerade.

Anything else would only make this arc easier, but masquerade would let me prepare for my future.

It was simple. There were still countless chapters to go through after this Ramirez Scramble, and I couldnt cross those chapters without solving the questions of the readers.

In other words, to make the readers define me as a goblin.

To put an end to the many doubts about me.

It was an urgent matter for me.

The essence of the goblin race didnt lie in their brilliance in deciphering, or how pettily malicious they were, or their five tendencies.

Masquerade. The ability to transform. That was the key.

The scenes where the goblins had the biggest impact in the original were all about them undoing their masquerade at a pivotal moment.

So, I also wanted the art of masquerade in order to be recognized as a goblin.

But that wasnt going to happen, apparently.

I shook my head, trying to calm down.

Then what else was left?

Fine. If you dont like it, theres nothing I can do about it. Ill ask for something else.

That was then.

I hate it.

What now? Are you kidding?

Hey, you bastard.

Whoops.

Uhm, no, sorry. So youre not going to give me anything? Even though you obviously

What are you talking about? You want to use masquerade, right?

Yes?

Lets go with that, then.

Was this guy the problem, or the author whod made the setting?

Anyway,

Thank you.

It was a success. I was feeling a bit tired though.

But theres a deadline. Understand?

Of course.

The deadline is while the damned rules you set up are in effect.

The rules were nothing else. That the victor of this scramble will own the Ramirez.

Meaning, until the owner of the treasure was decided.

And theres a limit to where it can be used. It should be used for acts that break the rules and sabotage everyones wishes. Otherwise

Got it.

Good.

At that moment,

Here you go.

Light arose all around me.

Puff.

I felt a strange power fluttering in my chest.

It was similar to using a unique ability.

It didnt seem to require any practice. It felt like it could be used right away.

Im leaving.

Oh, yeah. Thank you.

After that, the gods voice could no longer be heard.

Of course, I didnt know if he really was gone. Maybe he was still watching from somewhere.

Hmmm.

Anyway,

Should I start?

This was the beginning.

When I went out of the warehouse, it was noisy, as expected.

The goblins looked excited about the equipment Id given them.

Hey, this is pretty good!

Looks exactly the same? I cant tell the difference!

Its the clone technique that only monsters can use!

What Id given the pranksters and liars was a kind of image duplication device, which could scan an object and project an identical image into the air.

Of course, there were limitations. The image didnt last long because the device was just a toy, and the projection was limited to a certain radius; but nonetheless, it gave off the feeling of cloning like the goblins said.

The next thing that Id given to the bluffers and whimsical ones was,

B-, big!

Can it be bigger?

No, this might already be the best?

You son of a bitch! Dont point that here!

D-, dont look!

It was similar to the drone attached to the Ramirez, a kind of image magnifying device. Of course, this was also at the level of a toy, so the scale couldnt be adjusted and the output looked blurry.

Still, this was something bluffers couldnt help but love, huh? Who knew what the whimsical ones were thinking, though.

But why divide them according to temperament? I like those ones too.

Theres a good way to exchange. Want to make a bet? Ill bet mine, you, bet yours.

Heh, okay. Dont cry after you lose.

In any case, most of the initial complaints had subsided.

Except for a single bunch,

Hey! You squat-jawed bastard!

Change ours to something good too!

Damn it! Give that one to me!

Ill mess you up!

Only the disruptors were still clamouring.

Well, it was only natural. What Id given them was just a light stick, that lit up when a button was pressed.

The reason was nothing complex. I knew whatd happen if I gave the something good. And I just plain didnt like the idea of giving something good to the saboteurs, my own kind

At that moment,

Huh? Wait, my own kind?

It was a sudden surprise.

Apparently, Id started identifying myself with the saboteur goblins at some point. Was it right after I met the Disruptor God?

Looked like I had to keep my guard up a little. The thought of my mindset getting affected by the God of Sabotage was no joke.

Then,

Come on, folks, thats it! Everyone gather together.

I summoned the goblins.

About seventy of them gathered in front of me.

Well split into four groups. Of course, we wont group people with the same tendency together; instead, itll be an even mix. But leaving out the disruptors.

Then,

Wait, you bastard!

Why are we getting left alone?

Do you really want to die?

Muffled voices saying such words could be heard.

Of course, I let them flow through one ear and out the other.

Im not forcing you guys to do anything. Even if I force you, you wont listen, right? Anyway, each of the four groups will scatter to one direction east, west, south and north.

And then,

Whatre we going to do, then?

The question came right away.

I shrugged my shoulders once, then answered briefly.

Ive got no idea. But as long as you go there, you should see a lot of interesting things happening. Then you can just do as you like.

Thats it?

Yeah, thats all.

It was true. That really was all.

I had no idea what to do with the goblins.

All I wanted was for the other characters to be on the alert, saying, Those damned goblins have come back!.

There was no complex reason. The consciousness of the characters was directly connected to the consciousness of the readers. In other words, the more conscious the other characters became of the goblins, the stronger would the readers awareness of their existence be.

At that time, what if they saw my masquerade? Its be a natural segue to my connection with the goblins.

And another reason

In my opinion, their existence alone could serve as the best seasoning to bring out the taste of this scramble.

With their particular set of skills in subtly scaring, teasing, tricking, luring and goading there wouldnt be any shortage of fights breaking out among the adventurers.

The only issue was that if I just left them to their own devices without any structure, theyd only create more and more chaos.

I had to at least give them a skeleton of a plan.

Then, with excited faces,

How many guys have gone east?

I saw a guy whod been acting cheeky with me go south.

I wonder, if I float my clone over the edge of a cliff, can I lure people into jumping after it?

Those going to the west, cmere! Im leaving right away!

They were going to make a hot mess. Just as planned.

Honestly, even the gear Id distributed was not for some grand plan, it was so that theyd get interested in the coming action.

The deadline is two days. After that, the humans wont fight anymore. So lets have some fun before that.

Before long, most of the goblins whod formed groups in an instant, left.

Then,

Hey, Squatjaw. Can we talk for a bit?

Eight goblins, faces filled with dissatisfaction, approached me.

They were the ones blessed by the God of Sabotage.

Dont you have anything to say to us, you son of a bitch?

One of them growled.

Why, whats wrong?

Then,

Why?

Their eyes widened into glares the same time.

Hey, hey. This bastard

What did we do to deserve this treatment!

Saboteurs are goblins too!

Hilarious.

Huh? Just do what you want to do. Why did you come to me for directions? You guys dont really want to split neatly into groups and follow orders, do you?

This bastard!

Dont try to spin nonsense!

At the radical reaction, I laughed out loud.

In fact, this was one of the biggest drawbacks of the goblins with disruptive temperament.

Not being able to take the lead in doing something.

They were the ones who always interfered with what someone else was doing, so there was no way they could do any independent planning.

I looked them over one by one with a smile.

In fact, there were jobs that only these guys could do. But if I just told them so, theyd never listen, so I had to needle them a bit first.

Actually therere some other interesting things. Would you like to know?

At that moment,

Bastard! Say that sooner!

What is it?

Talk quickly!

They pricked up their ears and urged me to continue.

Theres a guy using two pistols among the ones who followed me here. You know? The redhead. Hes going to get into some tough fights soon. Follow him and mess with him bit by bit. Then some pretty funny stuff will happen. Oh, of course Im not forcing you to. Do it if youre bored with nothing else to do.

Then,

Redhead?

I know him! A cheeky bastard!

I know too! That stinky bastard!

Lets fuck him up!

The saboteurs started running away.

They were moving surprisingly quickly.

I was thinking of giving you guys something extra.

Did all the cunning goblins who received the blessing of the God of Sabotage, become that stupid?

Again, I confirmed to myself that caution was needed.

After sending all those goblins out, I called the two whod remained in the hall.

Chinuavi, Cocoa!

Yeah.

I thought you mightve forgotten. Squatjaw, do you remember my name?

Cocoa?

Wrong. Cocoavi. Cocoa-vi.

Can you find Tanya?

Huh?

Can you find Tanya?

What if what if I could?

If you can, then go follow her. Take Chinuavi along. But dont catch up with her. Understand? And if you feel like shes trying something, tell me. Take this.

I handed over an old-fashioned transceiver Id found rolling around in Jeans warehouse.

The Northland background setting was very convenient at times. It made even remote communication possible.

But why that woman?

Follow her and youll come to know.

I sent the two of them away with a grin.

Now, all the preparatory work had been completed. Id also sent Haka to Gronyan, so Id get informed right away if anything unusual happened.

All that was left was for me to move directly.

I opened the Inventory tab in the hologram window.

Then I clicked [Check the main character of the chapter].

Then,

The main character of the chapter is now Jimus.

A slightly stunning answer arrived.

Wait, already?

It wasnt the name Id expected. Leo should still be the main point of view according to the original.

If itd passed on to Jimus, it meant that the scramble mightve already begun.

Id thought I still had some time left.

I got ready in a hurry.

It shouldnt be too late

Then I started running, wrapping the goblin silver screen over myself.

These guys are strong.

Yan looked at the opponents in front of him with wary eyes.

They held wands.

At first hed thought they werent any trouble.

Because he didnt feel any power or any sense of threat from them, except for that guy called Jimus fighting against Leo.

Besides, hadnt their weakness already been exposed to the whole world?

So, he was going to treat them a bit lightly, but

This was embarrassing.

Fire Explosion!

Thunder Storm!

Ice Blast!

Pop!

Zap!

Puff-!

Damn it!

A blade of ice brushed past his ear, a mass of lightning tried to turn him to charcoal, and a large, deep pit of fire was carved into the earth where hed just been standing.

The magic they used was surprisingly threatening.

And also,

Y-, Yan!

Dodge!

He was exhausted trying to fight while protecting Siana.

Yan forced a ghost to move in front of Siana.

Pop!

Fortunately, he was able to protect Siana, but the ghost took all the damage.

In the end, he dispersed, leaving only a faint smile behind.

D-, damn it.

Things were not going well.

To think hed have to fight these guys while Mister Kiriko wasnt there

Yan deeply regretted neglecting his own training recently. Leo and Mister Kiriko had taken the lead to defeat most of the enemies their adventurer team had faced so far, so his combat skills had gotten comparatively rusty.

In this battlefield, where even Father joined

Yan bit his lip.

He had to get through this somehow. So he could give Leo some strength

At that moment,

Ugh!

A scream came from behind.

Looking back,

Wh-, what?

Something was closing in from a distance with great speed.

Yan opened his eyes wide and confirmed its identity.

Messy hair, and blue electric sparks covering his form

Oh my god.

It was Leo.

Yan hurriedly moved to catch him.

Leo?

His body was incredibly hot.

Also, as if he was in shock, Leos eyes had rolled back up to his head.

Judging from his charred chest, hed been hit with fire attribute magic. A spell with tremendous destructive power.

He l-, lost? Leo?

Nonsense.

Yan couldnt believe that Leo was defeated so helplessly.

Just then,

Whew dealing with this kids pretty tiring.

From afar, that man was slowly approaching, flying in the air.

Magic Weapon Jimus.

Yan felt his hair could turn white ay moment, in this unbelievable crisis.

Uh, what should I do

That was then.

Oho, this is a bit of a crisis, huh?

A voice suddenly rang in his ear.

Wh-, what?

Dont look back, theyll notice. Im using a whisper potion.

It was a strange, whispery voice; but it was apparently being transmitted directly into his head.

And what was even more strange was that the voice sounded familiar.

No, what.

Shh! Quiet. Itll be fine soon, just wait.

Yan couldnt quite make head or tail of the situation.

But he finally remembered who the owner of this voice was.

Squatjaw. It was his voice.

But the surprise didnt stop there.

The moment Yan was about to ask where he was,

Oh, and

Yan was frightened.

Keep quiet.

U-, uhm

The air was peeled away by his side.

And there, another Leo stood, looking at him with a grin.

Editors Notes:

None for this chapter.

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