The place was wild, in the middle of the forest, which triggered Zokaro's reflexes and made him observe the area from both sides, for he now knew he was not alone here.
The trees were tall, and there was no sunlight. He looked up, seeing only darkness, yet the place was not completely dark. He walked with smooth steps, but a sense of panic and fear began to overwhelm him.
With every step he took, his confidence wavered, his breathing quickened, and his hands began to shake. He was extremely scared, and after a few moments he inhaled a foul smell, finding a pile of corpses. He didn't know who they belonged to, but some were wearing school uniforms, some were children, and some were hunters.
His chest tightened; he could no longer comprehend what would happen to him here. He said to himself:
"Damn it! Why did I enter here… am I seeking death? No, I don't want to die."
After a short while, he heard light footsteps behind him. He began to breathe slowly, turned around, and found the goblin dwarf.
The Goblin Dwarf: His skin was yellow, his eyes large, his nose big and long, and from his mouth protruded upper and lower fangs, long and strong. His height was 124 cm.
With the fierce look in his eyes, he intended to pounce on his prey. He was holding an axe in his hand and rushed toward Zokaro.
Zokaro sprinted, which surprised him, but his reflexes were quick, and he managed to avoid the axe. However, with the goblin's lightning-fast speed, he leapt high toward Zokaro while carrying his axe in the air.
With the powerful strike, Zokaro had to prepare for a maneuver. He dodged swiftly to the left, causing the axe to hit the ground and kick up dust.
Zokaro was stunned by what was happening. This goblin carried an axe almost as long as his body and moved at incredible speed while holding it, attacking the target without making a single mistake.
He muttered to himself, not knowing what to do.
"Damn it! One strike from his axe will end me, and I won't be able to fight afterward. Even fighting a normal defenseless human, I might not win, and now I'm facing a monster… curse you, System Ratio."
The goblin began to watch him. Its eyes were thirsty for killing, refusing to yield, and its instinct urged it to kill no matter the cost.
This made Zokaro stare into the goblin's eyes; his feet began to tremble, and he was unable to move.
Fear coursed through his entire body, his face drenched in sweat, and the looks of defiance began to vanish. He didn't know if this was the end, but he wondered what was happening to him.
Fear is always my greatest enemy. When this feeling seizes me, I want to retreat, but truly I cannot defeat this monster, nor can I flee from here. Yet the instinct to survive calls, so I will not retreat.
The goblin lunged at him with lightning speed, swinging its axe toward the left side, aiming for a strike to his belly. But with a fast tumbling maneuver to the right, Zokaro miraculously avoided it and wasn't scratched.
"Damn it! If that attack had hit me, it would have cleaved me in two… What should I do?"
The attacks rained down one after another: right, left, upward, above, and ground strikes from below. With each strike, the goblin's speed increased; its eyes sparkled red with sparks, and its tongue hung from its mouth.
But what Zokaro noticed was that he had become swift and agile. He performed backflips and sometimes sideways flips for quick evasions, and his dodging speed and reactions increased.
A look of joy painted his face; he forgot fear and panic. Every move he made felt like a playful delight.
"Wonderful! My body is agile. If I am this light and quick at dodging, without a doubt my offensive strength and speed have increased."
With sharp eyes, Zokaro stood firm and said, "Do you think you can defeat me… I will teach you a lesson, you monster."
The goblin charged at Zokaro with frantic speed, but Zokaro remained rooted, waiting for the decisive moment. As the goblin closed in, Zokaro burst forward with speed and grace, flipped, planted his hands on the ground, grabbed his right foot in the air, and delivered a powerful downward strike to the goblin's head until its face stuck to the ground.
Zokaro then stepped back a little, but the goblin was unaffected; it stood and glared at Zokaro with furious rage.
This made Zokaro more cautious: "It's time to see the fruits of my hard training. Prepare yourself, I will never show you mercy."
After a few moments, the system screen appeared before Zokaro.
System Ratio: "It offers you a gift as a reward for your bravery and the combat style you displayed. Open your gift."
Zokaro felt anger; if he didn't enter a real fight, his end was certain.
Zokaro opened the gift, and a weapon storage appeared with only one unlocked slot.
System Ratio: "Place your fingerprint to select a weapon, then the storage gateway will appear. Take your weapon from it."
He placed his index finger on the unlocked sword, and it glowed with a bright, vortex-like light. Zokaro was stunned; he didn't know what was happening, but he thrust his hand into the vortex, and a sword about a meter long was drawn out.
Zokaro gripped it tightly — this was his chance, and he had to prepare to finish everything here to be able to leave. If he failed, two options awaited him: death at their hands, or death from thirst and hunger.
The goblin advanced, swinging its axe recklessly, but with a swift maneuver — a rotating flip in the air — the sword remained steady on its rotation axis.
It became like a whirlwind of powerful wind blades, and in a short time, it severed the goblin's head from behind; it flew through the air and fell to the ground.
Zokaro knew this was only the beginning. Looking at the slain humans, he wondered, "Why didn't any hunter come here to finish these monsters? One person of rank B could clear all the monsters here alone."
But the reason is that a place like this isn't profitable, so the guilds won't pay attention to it, no matter how many people die. All they care about is profit and money, not shutting down the dungeon cavern.
But since I'm here… I will put an end to this, and I will definitely get out of here.
After a few moments, two more goblins appeared before him. They exchanged looks between them, but the time for the real confrontation had come.
Zokaro knew this fight was not only about leveling up; it also meant confronting and completely changing his fate.
Both goblins charged at Zokaro with force, each brandishing an axe from both sides to trap him in a cage of attacks he would not be able to escape.
He dodged with difficulty and parried their attacks with his sword, but with every block, their ferocity increased. All Zokaro could do was dodge and defend with his sword.
"Damn! If I could attack them I would have finished them. I must focus on the gaps to take them down," he thought, then realized their speed was slower than his, so all he had to do was strike with the utmost power he possessed.
Zokaro launched himself quickly and began alternating between parrying attacks and defending. With every sword strike, he pushed them away from him, even clashing with those powerful axe attacks.
His physical strength was greater than theirs: "Wonderful! With this strength I can finish you cursed beasts. I will end all your lives."
Zokaro dashed in a flash, attacking the first goblin, using his power and speed. His reactions were quick and he dodged its attacks, then lifted his leg and delivered a side kick to its face until it flew away, lying on the ground.
Then the other goblin sped toward him, but with a quick slide across the ground, Zokaro avoided the axe strike. With a spinning turn, he extended his hand in a 180-degree circular arc, the sword moving on a stable rotational axis, and it cleaved the goblin's side — slicing its belly in half.
Zokaro stood, exhausted; fighting these three goblins had been very tiring, for his current rank was F.
The goblin that lay on the ground looked at its fallen comrade, and at Zokaro's fierce gaze, it panicked and fled, hiding behind the trees.
Zokaro ran to a tree and leaned against it to rest, and began to think: "After all these years these monsters weren't eliminated. I believe this world follows the system of money and wealth, but no matter the cost, when I become strong, I will not be like those hunters… and also I am not a hunter — I am a warrior; I will raise my level."