“I’d better go to sleep early tonight. I need to be in top shape; work tomorrow is going to be exhausting. I have to give it my all if I want to keep my job.” I don't even want to think about the possibility of losing it—it would be a disaster for me and my sister.
I set my alarm and lay down in bed. Sleep didn't take long to arrive, and with it came a unique sensation, as if I had just plunged into a deep, dark ocean. My body became paralyzed, my breathing forced and noisy, as if there were an overwhelming pressure crushing my entire body. I felt pure agony.
Until, at a certain point, all those sensations vanished and I woke up gasping. But the shock didn't leave my mind: I was lying on a sandy floor surrounded by tall grass, not in my bed. As I stood up, a verdant plain stretched endlessly to the horizon; there wasn't a single obstacle to my vision for miles.
“Am I dreaming?” I questioned, but the feel of the leaves touching my skin and the breeze on my face were too real to be a dream. At least, I’d never had a dream like this.
Taking a step forward, I stepped on a metallic object. Surprised, I picked it up with curiosity: it was a short steel sword with a wooden and old leather hilt, lacking any striking details.
“Why is there a sword here?”
As if to answer my question, a green, scowling creature appeared 10 meters away; only its shoulders and head were visible. It seemed to be coming in my direction, thirsty for blood.
“Is that a goblin? Damn, this videogame addiction of mine is finally going to drive me crazy. Now I’m hallucinating with goblins.”
The creature shrieked for no apparent reason and ran toward me, raising its claws in an attacking position. It carried no weapon, but it didn't seem to care; apparently, it really wanted to kill me at any cost.
“Who do you think I am? I’ll never be afraid of a goblin. Come on, you filthy creature, I’ll teach you a lesson,” I tried to sound confident, since the moment I saw the goblin, I suspected this wasn't real.
When the monster was within reach, I swung a horizontal sword strike without much technique. However, to my surprise, the creature leapt more than two meters into the air, dodging my blow, and came down with its claws aimed at my face.
By pure instinct, I defended myself with my forearm, which ended up being gouged by the goblin's claws. In that moment, I felt a pain unlike anything I had ever felt in my life. I screamed in horror, “What kind of fucking dream is this?! Why do I feel so much pain?!”
With pure hatred, I took advantage of the fact that the goblin was still stuck to my forearm and struck with the sword again. This time, I performed a thrust that pierced its abdomen. I pulled the sword out and repeated the strike two more times.
On the third blow, blood and entrails splashed across the grass, along with the creature's final, unpleasant gasp. Reluctantly, I pulled its claws out of my forearm and felt a searing pain once again.
There’s no way this is a dream. The pain is too intense; the smell of foul blood emanating from the corpse is also ridiculously strong. I am certainly in another world. The realization hit my mind like a bomb.
The pain gradually gave way to a sense of relief. A pleasant energy flowed through my body, and with it, a floating window appeared in my vision:
[CONGRATULATIONS!]
[YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 1]
[THE PLAYER HAS RECEIVED 5 STATUS POINTS]
[THE PLAYER HAS ACQUIRED A SKILL FOR REACHING LEVEL 1]
[THE PLAYER HAS ACQUIRED THE SKILL: “EVASION”]
[STATUS: Level 1
STRENGTH: 8
AGILITY: 7
INTELLIGENCE: 10
VITALITY: 12/15
MANA: 10/10
STAMINA: 5/10
SKILLS: EVASION (RANK F)
Status Points: 5 ]
As if to confirm what I had already thought, this window appeared. There was no other explanation: as absurd and unbelievable as it was, I had been transported to another world.
My mind was in a whirlwind; everything around me made no sense. Why was I transported? I never asked for this. Even if my life wasn't exactly perfect, I had my sister to look after, a decent job, and a beautiful girlfriend.
Now I’m here, in another world, not knowing if I’ll be able to return. How will my sister survive? She’s only 13. And Alice, will she be okay without me? Ah, when I thought of Alice, I felt a pang of longing.
Wait. Why am I despairing so soon? Usually, in stories, the transmigrated person has to perform a specific task and return home. There must be a purpose for all this; someone brought me here, so that same someone can send me back.
There’s no use whining. If I’m in this situation, I just need to think about how to solve it. I won't give up.
After settling my internal turmoil, I analyzed my status window. Apparently, Strength, Agility, and Intelligence are fixed stats, while Vitality, Mana, and Stamina are consumable, but I can increase the capacity of any of them using status points.
Right now, I’m still weak. To survive, I need to focus my stats on Agility and Stamina. That way, I can flee in case of danger and dodge fatal blows more easily.
“But what exactly does this skill do?”
As if it could read my thoughts, a new window appeared in front of me.
[EVASION (RANK F)]
[Effect: Makes the user's body intangible to all attacks for 0.3 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute]
No wonder it’s Rank F. The Evasion skill could make me invulnerable, but with a one-minute cooldown, it becomes practically useless in a prolonged fight. Still, as a surprise element and a lifesaver, it will be quite handy.
Even if this feels like a game, my life is at stake. The claws that sank into my flesh proved that. One slip-up and I’m dead.
Thinking about it, I noticed that even after leveling up, the wound didn't close completely. Apparently, my regeneration is accelerated, but not instantaneous like in some novels. Furthermore, my stamina is still at half; in other words, leveling up only partially heals injuries and seemingly doesn't affect my exhaustion. If I don't manage it well, I could end up paralyzed by fatigue in a fight, and that would be fatal.
After distributing the points, my Agility went to 10 and my Stamina to 12. I felt the increase immediately in my body, which now feels lighter and more agile.
I searched the goblin's body. He wore some rags that I discarded immediately; inside his clothes, there was a small pouch and a canteen. Inside the pouch, there was only a handful of dried meat and some blue stones. I didn't think twice about taking his items.
I observed the footprints left by the goblin and felt relieved because there was only one set. This meant that goblin was just a scout, likely scouting the area.
I should follow the path that goblin came from, as there must certainly be a camp nearby. Even if I hate it, the fastest way to get stronger in a world like a game is by killing monsters.
With that goal in mind, I tried to activate my skill. Usually, in anime and novels, the protagonist just has to think and the skill activates. But doing that, I felt no difference and felt stupid immediately after. How do you activate an evasion skill? By being attacked, obviously!
But it would be too risky to rely on this skill in real combat without testing it first, especially since its range of use is so narrow. Out of sheer stubbornness, I tried to activate it one more time to be sure, and I immediately felt a twinge of pain in my head. “Maybe that means it’s on cooldown,” I reflected.
To confirm my theory, I tried again after 60 seconds, and this time, I felt nothing. It seemed I was right, but this puts me in a difficult spot: it doesn't seem reliable to pin my hopes on [Evasion] to make me invulnerable. I’ll have to be stealthy when spotting goblins; it’s my best chance to kill them without getting hurt. They are fast, but also fragile and stupid.
I can do this. And as my status increases, it will get easier... I hope.
Following the same direction the first monster came from, I found another goblin trail within a few minutes. So, I decided to crouch down and walk slowly, following the footprints left by the creature.
After just a few minutes, I heard a rustling and noticed a green creature's head a few meters ahead.
I sought to flank my target, using the grass as cover and being careful with the wind direction so as not to alert it to my presence by scent. As I approached its left side, the creature stopped and looked around, searching for something; it seemed to sense something. A cold sweat ran down my back and I gripped the hilt of my sword, expecting it to lung in my direction. But to my surprise, the monster headed toward where I had left the corpse of the first goblin.
Realizing the goblin had turned its back to me, I followed it. Upon reaching a reasonable distance, I delivered my attack to the creature's neck. Without any defense, without even noticing my presence, my sword sliced through the goblin like butter; not a single sound was made.
The swing was perfect: it decapitated the goblin before it could even understand what was happening. The creature's body fell limply to the ground, and a new notification appeared before me:
[YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 2]
[THE PLAYER HAS RECEIVED 5 STATUS POINTS]
“My God! I’ve already leveled up again.”