I panicked.
Both hands flew to my head, pressing hard.
"This can't be right... This is wrong. Very wrong."
I remembered the nails tearing off. The pain. The blood dripping into the white sink.
"If that happens again, I..."
No. I breathed deep, trying to think clearly.
"None of this is real. It's just something my mind is generating. Yes... it's a trauma response. All I have to do is breathe and close my eyes. Calm down."
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to control my breathing.
"I can't let any of this overwhelm me or I'll lose my mind..."
I opened my eyes.
The window was still there. Floating. Waiting.
It unsettled me deeply.
"Damn it!" I slammed both hands against my head. "You can't do a single thing right! All you have to do is make this stupid alert disappear!"
Nothing happened.
"Shit!"
In a burst of rage, I threw a punch straight at the message.
My knuckles cracked. Something hard. Something real.
"Agh!"
The pain was instant and brutal. I dropped to my knees. My knuckles were bleeding. Not much, but enough.
I looked up at the message. It was still there.
And then it changed.
◈ Hello, servant! Looks like you didn't do so well on your first quota... Your master is very displeased. As a result, the unfulfilled quota from last time will be added to today's, and the allotted time will be cut in half. So hurry up.
→ Servant Blood Quota — 4000ml + 5000ml incomplete (0/9000ml)
→ Calculated Time — 50min - 25min: 25 minutes
→ Time Remaining — 23 minutes and 37 seconds
[Reminder]
Each time you fail to meet the established blood quota, Mor'khad will devour a part of your body, starting from what is least essential to survival and working toward what is.
"It's just like that time..." I murmured in disbelief as I read the top. "Exactly the same..."
Then I saw the quota. The amount.
"What?! How am I supposed to complete that much in that time?!"
I stepped toward the window as if I could bargain with it.
But everything got worse when I read the reminder.
Horror spread across my face.
I remembered what that man had said in the rift.
"Make it part of your stomach! Let it be the one responsible for satisfying your ravenous hunger forever!"
I murmured with my head low.
"I didn't take it seriously at the time. I thought he meant that monster called Mor'khad would devour me..."
I unwrapped my gloves to look at my bandaged fingers.
"I should have realized from the first quota that it wasn't something as simple as that... But I'm an idiot."
I swallowed hard.
"It was never a post-traumatic response from being devoured alive by that monster called Mor'khad... It was those simple words that man said..."
I clenched my fists.
"I'm going to be the one responsible for feeding that monster's hunger for all eternity. Until I die. I'm cursed. He cursed me."
I turned toward the system. The time kept ticking down.
"Fine... You win. I'll complete the quota. I'll do it. Forgive me. I'm sorry if you felt offended that I didn't do anything last time. But I really am stupid, okay?! I couldn't figure out what it meant right away!"
Desperate, I begged for help.
"Just tell me how to get the blood, please! That's all I need and I'll do it, I swear!"
No response. Just the time diminishing.
"Do I have to cut myself or something?!"
No. That would just be suicide. The body doesn't have that many liters of blood.
"Then what?! People?! You want me to kill people?! I don't want to! Not again! It was horrible... Killing Darius... It was horrible."
I could barely breathe.
"But I can get you monsters! Yes?! That's the only option! Please accept it! I just need more time, okay?! I don't know how long it'll take to find a rift or if I can even get inside one and kill them. Just give me more time and I promise I'll bring you monsters!"
Again, no response.
"PLEASE, MOR'KHAD, HELP ME! JUST THIS ONCE! I'M BEGGING YOU!"
I started tapping the message frantically with my fingers, over and over.
"ANSWER ME! I DON'T WANT IT TO END LIKE LAST TIME!"
Nothing.
◈ Time Remaining — 20 minutes and 42 seconds
And the clock kept falling.
But then another message overlapped the first.
[Would you like to use Mor'khad Monster Boss Rift Core to enter a secure instance?]
[Yes] / [No]
I had no idea what that was... But I had no other choice. Maybe it was my only shot at completing the quota.
I pressed yes.
And I was sucked through the message.
~ ~ ~
I appeared somewhere completely different.
I was inside a fissure.
"It brought me to the underworld?!" I exclaimed, spinning around. "But how? Without a rift?!"
I turned around. The system was there, radiating waves like a portal.
"Maybe this is what'll take me back..."
I reached out to touch it.
It vanished at the slightest contact.
"What?! What happened?!"
"I don't want to be stuck here!"
I shouted and began tapping the system again with my fingers, but nothing happened. Then, by accident, I swiped to the right.
New information appeared.
◈ Profile
→ Name: Blake Thornveil
→ Race: Human
→ Role: Servant
→ Class: None
→ Level: 1
→ Title: None
→ Experience: 0/100
◈ Stats
→ Strength (STR): 3
→ Dexterity (DEX): 4
→ Defense (DEF): 6
→ Speed (SPD): 2
→ Intelligence (INT): 5
→ Wisdom (WIS): 2
→ Charisma (CHA): 9
→ Perception (PER): 8
→ Heal Points (HP): 24
→ Energy / Stamina (SP): 14
→ Blood (BLD): 4.4 liters
"This is so grim... It's too surreal. Almost like a... video game. I don't think anyone's ever had such a detailed description of themselves like this."
I fixated on level 1.
That means there are higher levels. Can I actually keep progressing?
Then I heard several voices chattering among themselves. Strange sounds. Guttural.
"Grrak... krrk."
"Skraa... grik-grik."
Shadows moved toward me.
Goblins.
I had to hide. Fast.
I looked around and ducked behind a large rock along a path to the right.
The goblins drew closer, chattering, passing just a few meters away without spotting me.
Then, without meaning to, I knocked a small stone with my leg.
One of the goblins stopped. It turned its head.
It was coming closer.
I covered my mouth and nose to make as little noise as possible. I went completely still.
It's going to see me. It'll know I'm here. And the moment it does, it'll kill me. On top of that, I didn't even have a weapon.
That's right — I didn't have a weapon at all! How was I supposed to collect blood for Mor'khad?
The goblin lingered for a few seconds, watching.
"Krrk?"
One of its companions made a sound, calling it back. It rejoined the group.
After a few seconds I peeked out to watch them.
And then I saw a message hovering above the goblins.
[Warrior Goblin — Threat Level: Minor]
Threat level...?
That was new too.
It kept feeling more and more like a video game.
If I told anyone about any of this, they'd think I'd completely lost my mind.
"Either way, calling a goblin 'low threat' is pretty grim when it could easily kill me..."
I breathed deep.
"But none of that matters right now. The only thing I need to focus on is completing what's being forced on me and making sure nothing like what happened with my nails ever occurs again."
I stood and moved forward through the cavernous tunnel, staying sharply alert, making sure nothing crept up on me or tried to attack.
Then, gradually, the presence of water and plants grew more evident throughout the space.
Something distinctly unusual.
Finally I realized where I was headed. In front of me stood what appeared to be a goblin village.
Terrified of being spotted, I hid inside a thicket.
[Goblin Housewife — Threat Level: None]
[Kid Goblin — Threat Level: None]
[Ancient Goblin — Threat Level: None]
I observed the goblin population I could make out. Only women, children, and elders. All threat level: none.
"Being able to see information about them is incredible... Whatever this strange interface I've discovered is, it's an enormous advantage."
All I had to do was focus on the slightest part of a goblin's body and I could already see their threat level.
"But I can't spot a single male goblin. I guess they were all part of that group I saw earlier..."
I stopped and analyzed the situation for a moment.
"That might work in my favor... assuming that what Mor'khad means by blood is that I have to kill someone..."
I paused.
"But can I really do it...? Even against a threat level of none, I might not be capable."
I turned my attention to their way of life. It almost looked like they had real reasoning. A real society. Their own way of living together.
"Besides, they're not hurting anyone. They're just... living their lives... Would it really be right to do this?"
[Time Updated!]
◈ Time Remaining — 10 minutes and 42 seconds
That alert appeared right in front of my face, startling me.
"Shit... I've already burned more than half the time. I have to act fast..."
I got ready to step out of the thicket.
"This isn't about whether I can anymore... I have to. I don't have a choice."
I began moving quickly toward the village, keeping as quiet as possible.
"If I'm going to kill them... the first thing I need is a weapon."
I reached the village and started ducking behind whatever I could find to avoid being seen. My body was shaking the whole time. I felt completely exposed. But I couldn't find where they kept the weapons.
I ended up crouched behind a wooden crate. I had to peek out to figure out where to go next. Goblins were everywhere.
"Damn... What am I supposed to do now...?"
I muttered, pressing my fist into the ground.
"Huh...?"
I felt something solid beneath. Metallic.
I dug around — it was an old rusted knife, with nicks along the blade. It was in rough shape.
I picked it up.
The moment I did, details materialized in front of me.
[Weapon Stats]
→ Type: Dagger
→ Rarity: Common
→ Damage: 2–4
→ Speed: Fast
→ Durability: 5/20
→ Weight: Light
→ Condition: Broken / Rusted
→ Requirement: None
→ Debuff: -10% accuracy (broken condition)
→ Effect: 5% chance to inflict infection on enemy (due to rust)
"This never stops surprising me — and at the same time chilling me to the bone..."
I read through it all and realized the dagger lived up to every bit of its bad appearance. It was junk, plain and simple.
"Well..." I murmured, giving it one last look. "It's all I found. And I'm almost out of time. I'll have to use it no matter what..."
I peeked out again to see if there was anywhere I could move to.
And by some stroke of luck, I couldn't see any other goblins.
That meant I could move.
I headed for a cabin and started advancing, pressing myself as close to the wall as possible.
"Krrk?"
"Grrr… k'k."
Then I heard two goblin women's voices holding a conversation.
And at the same time I saw their shadows rounding the corner of the cabin, drawing closer.
I panicked. There was nowhere to go. The only option that came to me was stepping inside the cabin — its entrance was covered by nothing more than a cloth.
Once inside, I watched the entrance, bracing for the worst — for them to walk in too.
It didn't happen.
I turned around. The room was dark.
That much was obvious. The only light came from a few torches burning at the far end. There was also a table with some wooden baskets on it.
[Baby Goblin — Threat Level: None]
I moved closer to investigate.
It was a row of baby goblins sleeping peacefully.
If someone told me some of them would grow up and try to kill humans one day, I wouldn't believe it looking at them now.
"Should I... kill them then? I wouldn't just be meeting the blood quota Mor'khad demands — I'd also be saving people in the long run..."
[Baby Goblin — HP: 5/5]
The moment I said it, green health bars appeared above the head of every baby goblin.
I understood immediately. Mor'khad agreed with what I'd said. And wanted me to kill them.
"No! I didn't mean it! I'm obviously not going to kill them! They're just babies! They haven't hurt anyone yet!"
Then the system showed me a fictional scenario.
My entire family — dead.
"Stop... I know what you're trying to do. I won't do it. Something like that couldn't actually happen."
I realized immediately that Mor'khad was playing with my mind.
"But they're monsters after all... If they could, they would..."
I dissociated for a moment and said it without meaning to.
"No! Stop it! Enough!"
Then it made me feel in my fingers the exact same pain I'd felt when my nails had been torn completely off.
"Don't... I already told you I'm not doing this... I'll complete the quota, I will, but not like this."
[Do it]
A message appeared inches from my face. It was different from the others. This one didn't look automated.
"No... I've already made my decision."
Then it showed me a memory from years ago. A loss I still hadn't come to terms with — one I'd only been trying to bury.
It made me cry.
"Why are you showing me this...?" I barely managed to get the words out.
[You know you want to]
I tightened my grip on the dagger as my breathing quickened and my eyes couldn't hold still on a single point.
"They're just monsters..."
And I began to prepare myself to do something that would make me exactly like them.
"Ahhhhh!"
I raised the dagger.
And I struck the first one.