Kazuki ran.
It wasn't elegant. It wasn't brave. It looked like what it was: a terrified, half-dressed man flailing through alien foliage while a creature that sounded like a dying lawnmower chased him.
[Stamina: 27%]
The system message blinked at the edge of his vision like it had something helpful to say. It did not.
"What kind of horror zoo did I wake up in?" he shouted, vaulting over a rock and immediately face-planting into a muddy pit. Something squelched. He chose not to look at it.
The growling got louder. Kazuki rolled onto his back just in time to see it: a goblin. Kind of. It had the usual features—small, green, ugly—but its jaw unhinged far too wide, and it had four arms. One of them held what looked like a rusty ladle.
"Seriously?" he groaned. "A goblin chef?"
[New Threat Detected: Gluttonspawn – Lv. 4]
[Combat Tutorial Initiated]
A glowing blue panel popped up, offering helpful advice like:
Aim for weak spots.
Use surroundings to your advantage.
Try not to die!
"Thanks," Kazuki said, staggering to his feet. "That last one was really useful."
The goblin lunged.
Kazuki did the only thing his body would allow: he threw a rock.
It bounced off the goblin's head with a weak thunk. The monster paused, then looked deeply insulted.
[Critical Hit! 2 DMG]
Kazuki had exactly enough time to say "Wait, really?" before the goblin roared and tackled him.
Pain. Pure, high-definition, surround-sound pain. Kazuki slammed into the ground, the goblin's claws raking across his arm.
[You have taken 12 damage.]
[Passive Skill Unlocked: Pain Conversion Lv. 1]
[Effect: 5% of damage received is converted to EXP.]
Something inside him lit up. Not metaphorically—he was literally glowing. His veins shimmered with reddish energy as if the pain was turning into fuel.
The goblin reared back, startled. Kazuki took advantage of its confusion and grabbed the rusty ladle from its hand. He swung. Once. Twice.
CLANG.
CLANG.
SHRIEK.
The goblin collapsed in a heap of green goo.
[Gluttonspawn defeated.]
[+15 EXP]
[Level Up: 2 → 3]
He stared at the screen, panting, the ladle still clenched in his hand like it was Excalibur.
"…I just killed a goblin chef with its own soup spoon."
The silence around him seemed to agree: yes, you did. And it was not impressive.
Kazuki looked up at the alien sky.
"Okay," he muttered. "I have no idea what's going on. But I'm not dying again. Not in a mud pit. Not in my underwear."
Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled.
Kazuki sighed. "...Of course."