The Sphere appeared before me, its light flickering like a dying ember. It pulsed weakly eight times.
[800 points]
I scowled. "Why not more? Those last five goblins had weapons and actual teamwork."
The Tome surfaced again in my mind.
[1,000,000 points]
I rolled my eyes. Frustrating. At this rate, I'd be an old man before I could afford that thing.
From the 13 goblins I killed, 8 were from the silent forest, so I came to the consensus that the ones outside the silent forest dont count.
I sighed in frustration and bought 'Essential Nutrition' for 200 to curb my hunger, then hesitated. Should I save for a Sphere upgrade? See what it could really do?
No. I needed to become powerful enough to survive without much struggle. If I wanted to survive, I needed power. Right now I had 600 points remaining.
I dumped everything into my stats, where each upgrade cost 30 points:
Strength: +5
Dexterity: +5
Constitution: +5
Stamina: +5
The increase in stats gave me a dopamine hit.
[Improve Strength - 10]
[Improve Dexterity - 10]
[Improve Constitution -5]
[Improve Stamina - 15]
[Improve Mind - 0]
Even if I felt frustrated from the last 5 goblins not counting any points, I still felt great. This is the most I'd upgraded at once. Would I feel the difference? I'd find out when I woke up.
I closed my eyes.
________________________________________
"Sleepyhead, wake up."
The voice jolted me awake. My fingers clenched around my sword and shield as my eyes shot open.
Two men stood in front of me.
The one who spoke was an African American, tall and lean, wearing only a pair of PT shorts. The other, a blond-haired, green-eyed guy who looked Swedish, wore the same type of shorts and a black T-shirt. Like me, they weren't dressed for outdoor adventures.
I stared at them, still gripping my weapons.
"Who are you?"
The African guy grinned. "This is William, and I'm Samuel."
I hesitated before shaking his outstretched hand. "Jack."
It was the first time I'd spoken in days.
This marked my first contact with other transmigrators—a term I would come to loathe.
Samuel studied me. "How long have you been here? You're crazy to sleep out in the open."
"A few days. Went to sleep in my bed and woke up here."
"Do you know where we are? Do you think we're on Earth?" William's English was broken, his accent thick.
I scoffed. "Have you seen the goblins yet? The two moons?"
Samuel nodded, rubbing his chin. "So you also call them that. I woke up close by yesterday. William woke up yesterday too. We've been roaming ever since we crossed paths lasr night."
That meant I had been here the longest of our trio. I pointed east. "Don't go that way. Smarter and more goblins. They have bows and swords. Also the forest changes there."
Samuel frowned. "Then we go north?"
William stayed silent, but Samuel glanced at him as if waiting for his input.
I shrugged. "Sure."
Even though they could have killed me and took my swords in my sleep, they didn't. It gave me a bit more trust towards them. Still, the situation we are in will make any human desperate. And desperate people do crazy things if it means their survival. So I kept up my guard around them.
As we walked, my paranoia crept up. My body tensed every time they moved behind me. I kept expecting a knife in the back. But they hadn't attacked me when I was asleep. That counted for something.
"We confirmed it this morning," Samuel said. "The giant ball of light when we sleep. Did you see it?"
I feigned ignorance. "Hallucinating now?"
"Yeah. Too bad it's not a hot woman."
I nearly choked, suppressing a laugh.
William rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I saw it," I admitted. I didn't say more.
We kept walking. Then, goblins. Three of them. About sixty meters away.
I didn't think—I just ran with a terrible limp.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Samuel shouted behind me.
Too late. Adrenaline took over.
The first two goblins jumped at me simultaneously. At the back, the third had a wooden club. The club was not the same as the last five goblins of yesterday, but looked like an identical copy of my previous club/cane.
I swept my shield sideways and thusted my sword at the same time. Slamming one goblin away while stabbing the second through the throat. My sword went through, warm blood splattering my forearm as the body went limp.
The third swung at me. I blocked with my shield, then stepped forward, slashing. The blade bit deep into his shoulder, cutting into his neck.
The goblin I knocked down first with the shield, grabbed my leg. I pressed my shield down on him and stabbed in his chest—once, twice, three times—until he stopped moving.
Panting, I looked up.
Samuel and William stood behind me, stunned.
"What the fuck?!" Samuel's voice cracked.
I exhaled, shaking the blood off my sword. "We should keep moving."
The silence between us was heavy. As we walked, they kept glancing at me. They were probably wary of me.
"Did you learn to fight like that on Earth?" William finally asked.
"No. I've been fighting since I got here." I flexed my knee slightly, still sore. "Almost died my first night. Got ambushed. Now I kill them first."
Samuel nodded slowly. "So you really hate them. That how you hurt your knee?"
I just shot him a glare. He took the hint and backed off with a smile.
We kept moving. Another goblin group. Four more.
This time, Samuel and William fought too. I killed two, while they ganged up on the other two.
William was ruthless. He bashed the goblin's head with a rock like he'd done it many times before. Samuel used the club of the goblin I killed before and finished him off. He bashed the goblin's head like a pinata.
We continued walking for an hour or so, never really talking.
Then we met more survivors. Five of them.
Two muscular British guys in ripped clothing, holding clubs. Three women behind them.
They were wary of me. Probably because I was the only one with real weapons, while being covered in dried blood and goblin piss. I guesses that I smelles terribly.
Samuel and one of the Brits—Carl—talked. I mostly listened. I forgot the names of the rest. Everyone had weird clothing. Some had hoodies and some had pajama pants. Almost everyone were barefoot. One lady had slippers on.
Carl was a natural born leader, and quickly took responsibility and gave good advice. It turns out that he was part of a larger group who was just as confused as us. Only he and a few others are scouting and looking for more people who appeared in the woods.
He led us all west. I learned that he found the other British guy and the three girls that same day. I was impressed.
During the walk, we crossed several groups of dead goblins. Carl said it was his group hunting for points. That also caused Carl to glance an eye at me, accompanied by a smirk.
According to him, goblin bodies disappear around midnight.
Eventually, we decided to rest and sleep since it became dark. We were slower because of the injured girls. Also because of my limp. Carl told us that we should reach the camp by tomorrow late morning.
I layed down at the edge of the group. I was afraid that they'll try to take my sword and shield. Carl said he will keep watch for the night.
He approached me later that night while we slept between the trees.
"I can tell you've been here longer than a few days," he whispered. "I woke up a week ago."
That meant he'd seen more than I had. It also meant he was stronger than me. Also, he wasn't injured at all.
My eyes snapped to him.
"And yet," he continued, his voice steady, "No one has found a sword and shield like yours."
I was actually surprised, but then also very defensive. I could've lied to keep my monopoly, but I guessed that he will learn of it eventually.
Mostly, it was something about him—the calm way he spoke, the way he didn't try to intimidate me— it made me trust in him.
Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe I just needed one person I didn't have to watch my back against.
Or maybe, Carl was just a good guy.
For the first time since arriving, I let my guard down.
"A few days east, I seemed to enter a new forest area that doesn't look as fake as this one. There were birds and the air is cold. A group of five different looking goblins roamed there and they had weapons like daggers and swords. One even had a bow. They are smarter and coordinated. I am extremely lucky that I survived that encounter. "
He looked me in the eyes, not that I could see his face much in the darkness. He was quiet for a few seconds.
"I believe you, and thank you for not lying"
When he said that, I felt more confident in myself. Thinking back, he was incredibly full of himself too.
"I won't let anyone take your stuff. You've earned it. So get some rest."
I didn't trust anyone here yet, but something about Carl gave me hope. The way he moved, the way he talked. It felt like I could depend on him - like he would become the president of our group of strangers in pajamas.
That did it for me, and I did pass out even when I tried to stay awake. The constant paranoia with meeting these new strangers made me more tired.
The day came to an end with 5 goblin kills.