Passing through the Gate felt like being sucked into a vacuum and then violently spat out. The sensation left Mark nauseous. Though he could see nothing, he felt the rush of wind and heard the rustling of leaves and branches. It was surprisingly refreshing, but the cacophony of the forest was overwhelming. He instinctively covered his ears, realizing that the absolute silence of the Safe Zone had heightened his sensitivity to sound. It took him a moment to adjust to this new world's noise.
The raw rage that had driven him here had not yet faded. I need to face at least one creature, Mark thought. If I don't find the courage now, I never will. The System had informed him that the first floor was the territory of Forest Goblins, and they were usually solitary near the Gate. This gave him the final push he needed.
Mark moved forward, tapping the forest floor with his Blind Staff to check for obstacles. He had managed to maintain his Mana Sense. In this world, Mana and Ki were the two primary energies, and while different, they were closely related. His Mana Sense could detect both, and since goblins didn't know how to hide their presence, Mark relied on it to sense anything within his five-meter radius.
As he ventured deeper, the adrenaline began to cool, replaced by a creeping fear. "What am I doing?" Mark's heart hammered against his ribs. "Should I go back? No, I promised myself." Amidst this conflict, a terrifying thought hit him: How do I get back? His sense of direction was poor even on Earth. Now blind and lost, finding the Gate seemed impossible. He took a deep breath, pulled out his dagger, and carved a horizontal mark into a tree, feeling the notch with his fingers to commit the direction to memory.
After walking further, a pungent odor hit his nose—a foul mix of unwashed sweat and rotting food. In the darkness, his sense of smell had become acute. He crept toward the source, and suddenly, a mana signature entered his sense radius. It was a vague, pulsing silhouette of feral energy. Mark ducked behind a tree, trying to hold his breath, but his heart wouldn't stop pounding. He called for an assessment:
[Appraisal]
Race: Common Forest Goblin
Mana: G
Ki: None
The goblin was there. Mark tried to recall Thaddeus's battle memories, but they were useless. Thaddeus relied on high-level vision and lightning-fast reactions. For a blind man, those methods were a dead end. The mental image of a 1.2-meter, green-skinned, grotesque creature filled him with disgust.
Paralyzed by fear, Mark failed to act. Perhaps it was his heavy breathing or an unintentional sound, but the goblin suddenly lunged at his position! Sensing the approach, Mark panicked and tried to turn, but felt a sting of danger at the back of his head. He threw himself to the right, feeling a sharp cut on his left arm as he hit the ground.
In the chaos, he lost his grip on the Blind Staff. He felt warm blood on his arm. The goblin, seeing its prey fallen, approached with renewed fury. Before Mark's brain could process a plan, raw instinct took over. He kicked out with his right foot as hard as he could. The goblin flew back, crashing into a tree.
Mark scrambled, found his staff, and pulled himself up. There was no time to think. He rushed toward the fallen creature and began striking blindly with his staff, shaking with genuine despair. He didn't stop until the pulsing energy in his Mana Sense completely vanished.
[Appraisal]
Target: G-level Goblin corpse.
Loot: G-rank Monster Core.
Details: The meat is edible.