The newly summoned players were still gathered around the village square, arguing among themselves.
Some were shouting.
Some were crying.
Others were already testing system commands.
The village itself looked strangely familiar.
The wooden houses.
The stone pathways.
The central fountain.
Everything resembled the beginner villages from countless gacha and RPG games.
Only one difference existed.
This place was real.
The fear in people's eyes couldn't be programmed.
The trembling hands couldn't be animated.
And if someone died here...
they wouldn't respawn.
---
Lavesh took a deep breath.
"Open Status Window."
A blue screen immediately appeared before him.
---
STATUS
Name: Lavesh
Level: 0
Class: None
Title: None
HP: 100
MP: 10
Fatigue: 0
Strength: 7
Agility: 7
Intelligence: 10
Sense: 4
Vitality: 8
Remaining Stat Points: 5
Active Skills: None
Passive Skills: None
---
Lavesh raised an eyebrow.
"Five free stat points..."
A thought crossed his mind.
Looking around, he tapped the shoulder of a nearby young man.
"Bro, how many free stat points did you get?"
The guy glanced at his own window.
"I got six."
"Six?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Lavesh instantly lied.
"I only got three."
The guy frowned.
"So they're random?"
"Looks like it."
The conversation ended there, but Lavesh's mind was already racing.
Everyone didn't receive the same stats.
Interesting.
Maybe intelligence affected free points.
Maybe it was random.
Nobody knew.
---
His gaze drifted toward the forest beyond the village gates.
Dark.
Silent.
Dangerous.
Yet full of opportunity.
A title.
Experience.
Loot.
Resources.
The Survival Manual had made one thing crystal clear.
The people who acted first would gain advantages.
The people who hesitated...
would become prey.
---
"I should hunt."
The words came out almost like a whisper.
"What if there's a First Kill title?"
His heartbeat quickened.
Without wasting any more time, Lavesh started moving.
"Excuse me."
"Sorry."
"Coming through."
The crowd was packed so tightly that it took almost five minutes just to squeeze through hundreds of confused players.
Eventually he reached the village gate.
Two massive wooden doors stood open.
Nobody guarded them.
Nobody stopped him.
Beyond them lay the wilderness.
---
Lavesh took one last look behind him.
The safety of the village.
Then he turned away.
And walked into the forest.
---
A few minutes later he summoned his sword from the storage ring.
The familiar weight settled into his hand.
It still felt awkward.
Unnatural.
He swung it experimentally.
The blade cut through empty air.
Then he struck a tree.
Thunk.
The sword bit shallowly into the bark.
Lavesh grimaced.
"Yeah..."
"I've never used a sword before."
His palms already felt uncomfortable.
His stance was terrible.
His grip wasn't much better.
But he didn't have a choice.
Whether he liked it or not, monsters existed now.
And surviving meant killing them.
---
An hour passed.
The forest grew denser.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves above.
Bird calls echoed occasionally between the trees.
Otherwise, everything remained eerily quiet.
Then—
Movement.
Lavesh froze.
His eyes widened.
A small green humanoid emerged from behind a bush.
Ugly.
Thin.
Long ears.
Sharp teeth.
A crude club hung from one hand.
Immediately, glowing text appeared above its head.
---
Goblin Lv.1
---
Lavesh's entire body tensed.
He instantly crouched behind a tree.
His breathing became shallow.
His palms grew sweaty.
For several seconds he simply stared.
The goblin wasn't doing anything.
It was just walking.
Yet a strange instinct screamed at him.
Danger.
---
A chill crawled down his spine.
"This thing..."
His grip tightened around the sword.
"It feels wrong."
The monster radiated a primitive savagery.
A feeling impossible to describe.
For the first time since arriving in Abyss, reality truly sank in.
This wasn't a game.
Not really.
Games didn't have smells.
Games didn't make your heart pound.
Games didn't make your legs shake.
This was a living world.
A world with monsters.
A world where people would die.
---
Lavesh swallowed hard.
"Can I really kill this thing?"
No answer came.
Only the memory of the Survival Manual surfaced inside his mind.
---
Follow these rules and you might survive.
Fail... and you die.
---
Silence.
Then Lavesh slowly exhaled.
"Fine."
"Let's do it."
---
"Open Status."
The familiar blue screen appeared.
---
STATUS
Name: Lavesh Suthar
Level: 0
Class: None
Title: None
HP: 100
MP: 10
Fatigue: 0
Strength: 7
Agility: 7
Intelligence: 10
Sense: 4
Vitality: 8
Remaining Stat Points: 5
---
The final line from the manual flashed through his thoughts.
Invest free points into Agility.
Without hesitation, he spoke mentally.
"Allocate all five points to Agility."
---
STATS UPDATED
Agility: 7 → 12
Remaining Stat Points: 0
---
A strange sensation rushed through his body.
His muscles felt lighter.
His reactions sharper.
Not dramatically.
But enough to notice.
Lavesh clenched and unclenched his fingers.
A smile appeared on his face.
"Much better."
---
The goblin continued walking through the forest, completely unaware.
Lavesh followed.
Carefully.
Quietly.
Step after step.
Never getting too close.
Never losing sight of it.
---
Five minutes passed.
Then another.
The monster finally wandered into a relatively open area.
Lavesh knew this was his chance.
If he waited longer, he might lose it.
Or encounter more monsters.
---
His heart thundered.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
---
The goblin's back remained exposed.
Lavesh tightened both hands around the sword.
Then he sprinted.
The distance vanished rapidly.
Five meters.
Three meters.
One meter.
---
The goblin suddenly began turning.
Too late.
Lavesh swung with everything he had.
---
SHHKK!
---
The blade slashed through flesh.
Blood exploded into the air.
The sword didn't completely sever the neck.
His strength wasn't high enough.
His technique was awful.
Yet nearly half the goblin's neck was sliced apart.
The creature collapsed instantly.
Its body twitched twice.
Then stopped moving.
Forever.
---
Silence.
---
Lavesh stood frozen.
Breathing heavily.
The metallic smell of blood filled the air.
His stomach churned.
For several seconds he simply stared at the corpse.
He had done it.
His first kill.
A real kill.
Not a monster on a screen.
Not pixels.
Something living.
Something that had existed moments ago.
---
A notification suddenly appeared.
---
EXP GAINED
100 EXP Obtained
Current EXP: 100 / 6000
---
Another notification immediately followed.
---
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED
First Monster Kill Completed
---
NEW TITLE ACQUIRED
First Hunter
---
Lavesh blinked.
"A title?"
He instantly opened the details.
---
TITLE INFORMATION
Title: First Hunter
Rank: Unique
Status: Hidden
Effect:
Inventory Unlocked
Rare Drop Rate +15%
---
His eyes widened.
"Unique?"
"On my first kill?"
Before he could celebrate, another window appeared.
---
INVENTORY UNLOCKED
Description:
Items stored in the inventory cannot be stolen by other players.
All inventory contents are protected.
---
Lavesh frowned.
His excitement cooled immediately.
"If the inventory is protected..."
His gaze shifted toward the ring on his finger.
"...then that means the storage ring isn't."
A dangerous thought surfaced.
Someone could steal the ring.
Or loot it after killing its owner.
Perhaps thief-type classes could even steal directly from rings.
The realization made his expression serious.
The title wasn't just lucky.
It might save his life.
---
Lost in thought, he almost missed the glowing chest that had appeared beside the goblin's corpse.
A notification flashed.
---
NORMAL RANK CHEST ACQUIRED
Open Chest?
Yes / No
---
Lavesh immediately selected—
Yes.
---
The chest dissolved into particles of light.
Rewards appeared.
---
CHEST REWARDS
Goblin Iron Dagger ×1
Food Box ×1
Silver Coins ×5
---
For a second, Lavesh simply stared.
Then a grin slowly spread across his face.
His first hunt.
A Unique Title.
Protected Inventory.
And now loot.
Maybe...
just maybe...
his chances of surviving this nightmare had become a little better.