Eddie was pissed. His PhD advisor just told him that he needed another 12 months of experiments. After he had needed “only another month or so” which was after he needed “just two more weeks,” so he didn’t think that he would ever graduate. But a new VR game was coming out, Ascendant Online, and a trillionaire had staked his fortune as the prize for the winner. Eddie never played VR games before, but this was a new world for him, one without his hated advisor. So, he booted up the game and became a looting, pillaging, plundering goblin. Eddie finds himself growing until he becomes the most feared pirate to sail the seas, notadoctor. Schedule: one chapter per weekday for the first two weeks plus one bonus so (10+Prologue) then down to twice a week (maybe three if I have time). What to expect: disillusioned student who becomes an aquatic goblin; classes focused on looting and piracy; mostly solo play / leveling; use of illusions, explosives, and trickery to succeed as a pirate, even without a crew; both land and sea classes / races.  What not to expect: the world merging into the game or vice versa (for at least a few hundred chapters); MC who is trusting / naive / stupid; harem.