When Mikael reappeared, the first thing he noticed was the crunch of twigs breaking beneath his feet. As he took in his surroundings, he found himself in the heart of a verdant forest. The air was alive with motion—leaves rustling in the wind, distant animal calls echoing between the trees, and the melodic chirping of birds weaving a vibrant, natural symphony.
He inhaled deeply, letting the crisp, untainted forest air fill his lungs. 'This is what a forest should feel like. No pollution… just nature. It's a beautiful place, but I can't afford to get distracted. Wasting time means falling behind—and falling behind means losing the power to shape my own fate.'
'Using my gun would make things easier, but the sound would travel for kilometers. I'd end up drawing every goblin in the vicinity straight to me.'
Right after that thought crossed his mind, Mikael pulled out his military-grade knife with his right hand, then remained still, focusing on the ambient sounds, trying to pick up on anything out of place.
Chirp, chirp.
After a few seconds of careful listening, it became clear that only birds were nearby. Hearing no signs of danger, he began moving through the forest, hoping to track down some goblins.
He had barely walked a hundred meters when he spotted it—an ugly, small creature resembling a deformed man. It had mottled green skin and long, pointed ears. Of course, it wasn't human. It was a goblin, and it carried what looked like a rusted spear clutched tightly in its bony hands.
Seeing the creature alone, Mikael attempted a stealthy approach. He moved in quietly, inching closer. But when he was just three meters away, the goblin's ears twitched—it had heard him. The monster spun around, eyes locking onto him instantly.
Without hesitation, the goblin barked something in a guttural, unintelligible tongue before lunging forward and thrusting its spear at Mikael with surprising aggression.
Mikael responded swiftly, deflecting the spear with his knife. Then, using the unarmed combat techniques he had drilled into muscle memory, he twisted his body and unleashed a sharp kick to the goblin's head. The impact was forceful enough to knock the weapon from the creature's grip.
Not letting the opportunity go to waste, Mikael closed the gap and drove his knife straight into the goblin's neck. The creature collapsed instantly. A second later, a set of notifications materialized in his field of vision.
[You have killed a goblin. 100 XP gained.]
[Class: Martial Artist has leveled up ×1.]
[Class: Martial Artist has reached Level 2.]
[Quest: Kill Goblin ×1 completed.
Reward: 100 LP.]
'There's something I need to check.'
"Status."
[Name: Mikael Angelini
Race: Human (Earth-Origin World)
Lifespan: 21 / 99
Overall Power: Tier 0
Military Rank: Recruit — 0 / 10 MP
Global Level: 0 — 250 / 500 XP
Class: Martial Artist — Level 2 / 25 — 30 / 144 XP
Stats:
Strength: 13 → 14
Agility: 15 → 16
Endurance: 14 → 15
Active Skills: None
Passive Skills: Unarmed Martial Arts Mastery — Tier 0 Level 1, Footwork Mastery — Tier 0 Level 1
Life Points (LP): (–50) 100]
'Fuck… just as I feared. Each level takes 20% more XP than the last. If my math's correct, that means it'll take roughly 50,000 XP to reach Level 25. Damn.'
'I really hope that once a class goes beyond level 25, the XP requirement per level doesn't keep increasing by 20%, or I'll have to find an alternative power system. If it keeps scaling like this, the cost will become absolutely absurd.'
'To reach Level 25, I'd have to kill around 500 goblins. That's completely unrealistic in this world—it just isn't worth it in terms of time. My goal here is to take down 100 goblins, no more.'
Just after settling on that goal, Mikael resumed his search for more goblins. After traveling roughly 400 meters through the dense forest, he finally caught the sound of several voices speaking in that same indecipherable goblin tongue.
He turned his attention toward the direction of the voices and spotted a small group—three goblins this time. One held a rusted sword, another carried a spear, and the last one wielded a crude-looking mace.
To Mikael's surprise, the goblins sensed his presence even though he was still at a decent distance. Without hesitation, they let out shrill cries and charged at him.
The moment the danger became imminent, Mikael's survival instincts kicked in. A rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins, sharpening his senses and heightening his awareness—every movement, every sound became painfully vivid.
He didn't wait. As the spear-wielding goblin neared him, Mikael burst forward, closing the gap in a flash and stabbing the creature cleanly in the neck before retreating several steps in one smooth motion.
[Goblin killed – 100 XP received.]
'Two more left.'
Rather than being intimidated, the remaining two goblins were enraged by their companion's death. With guttural roars, they charged simultaneously. Mikael narrowly dodged the incoming mace strike and deflected the sword slash with his knife, the clash of steel ringing out.
In that instant, he launched a powerful kick at the mace goblin, sending it sprawling to the ground. Without wasting a moment, he turned and delivered a brutal punch to the sword goblin's face, staggering it.
Seizing the opening while the sword goblin was isolated, Mikael lunged forward and drove his knife into it repeatedly with controlled precision.
[Goblin killed – 100 XP received.]
He then spotted the mace goblin trying to get up, but he gave it no chance. He rushed in, struck it with another heavy kick, then swiftly ended it with a clean knife strike.
[Goblin killed – 100 XP received.]
[Global Level +1]
[Class: Martial Artist has leveled up +2]
'Solid gain… but I need to keep the momentum going. There are still more to hunt.'
Mikael spent the next five hours relentlessly hunting goblins. In the beginning, most of his targets were lone stragglers or small groups of two to three, making the fights manageable. However, as time went on, the number of isolated goblins dwindled, and the groups he encountered gradually grew in size. By the end, it had become nearly impossible to find a group with fewer than four goblins.
With no better option, Mikael began targeting packs of four or five. These battles were noticeably tougher, forcing him to exert more effort and precision. Despite his skill, he sustained a few minor injuries—shallow cuts on his arms and torso. The result was clear: his shirt and jacket were now little more than rags, torn and stained from the constant fighting.
'I probably look homeless with the state of my clothes. But that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is the fact that I've been cut. I'll need to disinfect these wounds once I return to the Records.'
The upside was that his efforts hadn't gone unrewarded. After five grueling hours, he had managed to gain several levels and complete multiple quests.
[Global Level +9]
[Global Level reached 10]
[Class: Martial Artist has leveled up +15]
[Class: Martial Artist has reached Level 17]
[Quest: Kill Goblins II completed.
Reward: 300 LP]
[Quest: Kill Goblins III completed.
Reward: 700 LP]
'There are only three quests left before I can leave. But the one that asks me to become the leader of a tribe… that's going to be a problem. I can't speak the goblin language, which means I can't easily get them to acknowledge me as their chief. On top of that, fighting goblins head-on is still too risky at my current power level—I have to rely on guerilla tactics to win. No, it's better to drop that quest. I'll focus on the ones that require me to kill a tribe chief and destroy an entire tribe instead.'
Feeling the fatigue from hours of non-stop combat, Mikael decided to rest. He sat down on the forest floor and let his body relax, even if just for a brief moment. He reached instinctively for a water bottle—only to be reminded that he hadn't brought one. In fact, the only thing he had taken into this world was his knife.
'I've got no water or food. It's not a problem yet, but in a few hours, it definitely will be. I need to wrap this up and leave before that becomes an issue.'
After just fifteen minutes of rest, Mikael stood up again. He set his sights on a goblin tribe he had scouted earlier while hunting.
He walked for roughly a kilometer through the thinning forest until he finally reached his destination. Nestled in a small clearing stood a modest goblin settlement, composed of ten simple wooden huts arranged haphazardly around one larger structure. The place looked strangely deserted—likely a consequence of the carnage he had inflicted throughout the area over the past few hours.
Spotting only a couple of goblins lingering outside the huts—and none that appeared special—he quietly positioned himself about fifty meters from the encampment. Without hesitation, he bent down, picked up a small stone from the ground, and hurled it with full force toward the large wooden hut at the center.
A dull thud echoed through the clearing as the stone struck the structure.
The noise immediately drew attention. From within the large hut, a towering goblin, nearly two meters tall and visibly muscular, emerged. A massive hammer rested in his hands, confirming him as the presumed leader of the tribe.
The moment Mikael laid eyes on him, he swiftly drew his firearm. With practiced ease, he aimed directly at the goblin chief's torso and pulled the trigger multiple times in rapid succession.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The goblin leader remained on his feet for a few lingering seconds, then crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
[Goblin Chief killed – 5,000 XP received.]
[Global Level +1]
[Class: Martial Artist has leveled up +3]
[Quest: No Leader completed.
Reward: 400 LP]
'That was easy—as it should be. I have a gun, and I'm actually using it. If I were some brainless shonen protagonist, I would've charged into the tribe barehanded, fought a dramatic life-and-death battle, and barely emerged victorious, bleeding out with half my ribs broken. Thankfully, I'm not an idiot. Efficiency beats theatrics every time,' thought Mikael, clearly amused.
The few goblins that had been outside stared in shock, their chief's corpse lying motionless before them. For a moment, silence reigned—until one of the goblins spotted Mikael. Letting out a strange, guttural scream, he charged forward, and the others quickly followed suit.
Fifteen goblins rushed him.
Remaining calm, Mikael raised his firearm and fired eight more shots before the creatures could close the distance. When the last bullet left the chamber, six goblins had dropped, and two of his shots had missed.
'I'm still outnumbered. I need to seize the momentum,' he thought, his gaze sharpening.
Without wasting a second, he sprinted forward to meet the charging goblins head-on, gun held in his left hand, a sharp combat knife in his right.
His blade sank into the throat of a goblin before it had time to react. In the next heartbeat, he twisted to drive the knife straight into another one's chest, piercing its heart with cold precision.
It took only a handful of seconds to finish off the remaining goblins.
[Goblins killed: 15 – 1,500 XP received.]
[Global Level +1]
[Quest: Bye Bye Tribe completed.
Reward: 500 LP]
'That went far more smoothly than I expected. These level-ups must have pushed my physical abilities to superhuman levels—makes sense that random goblins don't stand a chance anymore.'
'But I can't afford to become arrogant. A bullet to the skull or a knife through the brain will still kill me instantly. My endurance stat gives some protection, sure, but I doubt I've reached the point where I can shrug off a bullet or blade with just my body—not yet, at least.'
Mikael looked around at the scattered corpses and the strong stench of blood that hung in the air.
'I need to get out of here. Whether it's the echo of gunfire or the overwhelming smell, it's bound to attract more goblins—and I'd rather not get dragged into another skirmish.'
Without wasting a second, he took off running, effortlessly reaching speeds close to 40 km/h despite the uneven forest terrain. In less than a minute, he had already covered several hundred meters, leaving the obliterated goblin settlement far behind.
He scaled a tree with ease and settled among the branches, securing a safe position for the ejection process.
"Records, I want to leave this world."
[Ejection from the world will initiate in 5 minutes.]
'Five minutes, huh? I might as well use that time to think.'
'The goblin chief gave me 5,000 XP... that's absurdly high compared to the measly 100 XP that normal goblins offer.'
'If the XP reward jumps that drastically for a creature that's only about three times stronger, then gaining levels at higher stages might not be as difficult as I initially thought. He gave fifty times the XP for what seemed like a relatively small difference in power.'
'Let's take a look at my status after everything I earned here.'
"Status"
[Name: Mikael Angelini
Race: Human (Earth Origin World)
Lifespan: 21 / 99
Overall Power: Tier 0
Military Rank: Recruit – 0 / 10 MP
Global Level: 12 – 981 / 3,713 XP
Class: Martial Artist – Level 20 / 25 – 1,586 / 3,194 XP
Stats:
Strength: 14 → 44
Agility: 16 → 46
Endurance: 15 → 45
Active Skills: None
Passive Skills: Unarmed Martial Arts Mastery: Tier 0, Level 1, Footwork Mastery: Tier 0, Level 1
Life Points (LP): (+1900) 2000]
Two minutes later, Mikael vanished from the goblin world and reappeared in the familiar atmosphere of the Hub.
'Alright, I need to plan carefully how I'll use my LP—it's a resource I'll need for several different things.'
'This situation reminds me of those days when I had to meticulously manage every bit of money just to make sure I had enough to eat. Back then, things were bleaker but thanks to the Crow creation and everything that came with it I got out of poverty…but now, in a way I could be said to be right back to square one. The only difference is that now, the "money" I earn is meant to help me grow stronger.'
'So, what do I need LP for? There's the System Upgrades, training with Kiara, renting a place to sleep, and last but definitely not least, I need some of it to buy items from the System Store.'