"No way..." Fear gripped my heart as the being emerged from the fracture. It looked nothing like the fantasy goblins.
"What the hell is that?!"
It was short and gray, furry skin. Its eyes were crazed, and its pupils were small, with a red glint. Jagged teeth jutted from its mouth, and viscous mucus seeped from its cracked lips, dripping on the floor. It held a worn but sharp dagger, the size of my hand.
It let out an evil laugh. It knew I was no match for it.
KEKEKEKE… My eyes widened. That thing couldn't be a goblin. Goblins are green and stubby—they look easy to kill. But that? That was something straight out of my nightmares. It stepped forward with a large, unkempt foot. It was going to attack.
What should I do? I can't fight it, I have no weapon... Wait.
I remembered the chain I held onto before I was taken. I turned to look at it, trying to gauge how far it was. But before I could finish the thought, a high-pitched, raspy voice came from in front of me.
"Bad move."
It spoke! That means it had some sort of intelligence. I snapped my head around to see where it went, but it had already leapt toward me. With both hands, it drove the blade down, aiming for my heart. However, I rolled out of the way and ran toward the chain. I crept closer and closer, but before I could reach it, I missed a step and tumbled, rolling closer to the chain.
What happened? How did I fall? My vision blurred. I looked down at my legs and...
MY FOOT!
My foot had been sliced off of my leg. It was a clean cut straight through the bone. Standing above me—the goblin, wearing a malevolent grin. I panicked and crawled backwards, tears streamed down my face as I cried aloud.
"No..! No..!"
This was it, my final moments alive. Pathetically crawling from a being no taller than a toddler.
Was this my fate..? Was I destined to be killed in such a pitiful way?
I pictured my mom—her smile, her laugh, and the fact I might never see her again. Then, my heart pounded against my chest. It wasn't out of shock or fear; it was my will to live—to survive and see her again. The goblin crept closer, and I inched away, getting closer and closer to the chain. The burning pain in my ankle dulled, then vanished like it was never there to begin with.
[DING!]
[Suffering recognized. Opponent overwhelming. Strength granted.]
It confused me, but I had no time to ponder over the screen. I had reached the chain and stopped moving.
"Make it think it's won."
The thought entered my head as if it wasn't my own, but I was out of options, so I acted. I changed my breathing pattern to make it seem like I was winded. My breathing came out as ragged, sharp gasps, and my arms began to shake. The goblin noticed and began taunting me.
"Have you given up yet, worm?"
"Hehehe! Look at you, wiggle! You humans always make it fun..."
"I'm going to enjoy chopping you to pieces and hearing you scream!" It came closer.
"One more step." I watched its foot and reached my hand back to grasp the tip of the long chain.
"I'll keep the eyes! Ooh—eyes stay juicy when you're still alive."
Step.
I gripped the chain with all of my might and flung it in front of me. The goblin, though caught by surprise, quickly reacted and brought its guard up to block the chain. The long chain hit the blade, but the tip of the chain swung around and gashed its neck.
I HIT IT!
The goblin stumbled back, screaming in pain.
GRAAAAGH!
"You insolent—"
I swung again before it could finish. This time I would use it like a whip and yank it back just as fast. Instinctively, the goblin raised its dagger to block—
Crack.
The blade shattered in its hands; the force sent the creature tumbling.
I hopped toward the goblin and began wrapping the chain around my hand. I had to finish it off before it could think of another way to hurt me.
I had to kill it before it killed me.
It began crawling backwards, pleading.
"You– You think you're scary? M–My master is 100 times scarier than you!"
I came closer, now standing over the goblin.
"W–Wait! Don't kill me!" It put its dirty hand out.
"They forced me to come here, promising me a reward if I... beat you up a bit...!"
I wrapped the chain around my hand and swung at the goblin.
Crunch.
Its jaw broke—but it wasn't dead, it squirmed and wriggled. Attempting to get away.
So I knelt over it and swung. Again,
and again,
and again,
and again.
I don't remember when I stopped, but when I did, the goblin's face was mush. Just pulp and bone. The thick blue blood stained the chain and my hand. My breath was fast and ragged. I didn't know I was able to do that. Eventually, my breathing slowed, and the adrenaline began wearing off. A wave of relief washed over me and the pain in my leg returned stronger than before. It felt like someone had lit a fire where my foot was. I grit my teeth to bear the pain. I knew if I screamed it would only be entertainment to them. So I took my shirt off and wrapped it around my ankle.
I have to stop the bleeding.
[DING!]
[DING!]
[DING!]
[Pain inflicted. Endurance increased.] x3
"What the hell...?"
[DING!]
"Ah," I groaned, "what now?"
[Tutorial completed!]
[Reward granted!]
I looked around, searching for the reward. I checked my body, and nothing had changed, not even the pain in my leg.
"What was my reward...? Nothing happened!"
Silence. Then it vanished. No applause, no words. Not even a sound.
"Fantastic." I rolled my eyes, drifting around. Then my gaze settled on the goblin's dead body, unbothered.
I thought back on how I kept hitting the goblin's lifeless body, even after it had stopped moving. It was an unfamiliar feeling. Strangely, I felt it was necessary at the time. Out of habit, I pulled out my phone, not remembering the stream or the chat.
"Oh... right. I forgot I was being recorded."
I watched as the chat scrolled. They were like mindless drones, endlessly chatting on the smallest things about me.
The way I sat, my hair—some were still chatting about the fight—or at least the middle of the fight, calling it, "pathetic." Seeing this, I got curious and scrolled up. I wanted to see what they thought about the end of my fight. It took me a little while as they chatted a lot while I wasn't looking. However, when I reached the end of my fight, they were oddly silent. I guess I was too brutal, even for them. Then, a few comments caught my eye:
"Isn't he gonna grab the crystal?"
"Yeah, i thought that was common sense."
Crystal? Like a power crystal? The ones that give you power-ups?
This really is like a fantasy game.
I crawled toward the goblin's lifeless body, its face a mangled mess. My eyes scanned the body, looking for any hint as to where the crystal could be. Obviously, not the head. Nothing on the arms.
Please don't tell me I have to cut this thing open...
[DING!]
"Hm?"
[Trial 1 starts in 1 hour. Rest while you can.]
My heart sank, and chills rolled down my spine. I had forgotten that the goblin was just a tutorial and was supposed to be the easiest enemy I'll ever face. It slipped my mind that I'd have to fight another enemy, let alone in an hour.
If the next monster that comes out of the portal is stronger than the goblin, then... that would be the end of me.
"No... No... I don't want to do this anymore... Please..." I shriveled. I wanted to give up. But I didn't have a choice—I knew that for certain.
Ching... Ching...
Distant high-pitched bells made my ear perk up. That wasn't the sound of the system. No, that was real. A real bell! But... how? Nothing can come in or out of this place... I lifted my head to see what was making that sound.
Ching... Ching... Ching...
It was almost rhythmic. It sounded like someone walking. Wait... That must be another survivor, and they're using the bell to see if any others are nearby. Genius!
I quickly jolted to my knees and starred in the direction of the bells.
Maybe if I call out they'll hear me. So I shouted,
"Hey! I'm over here! Come this way!" As I thought, my voice returned to me, but I was not deterred. I shouted again, this time waving my arms above my head.
"I'm over here!"
Silence. The chimes grew silent, and it got so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat. Moments later, the bells resumed, this time close enough for me to get excited. The sound crept closer and closer. At last, a light appeared from the darkness. What followed was a being far beyond what I was expecting.