The morning dew still dampened the grass when Theo arrived at the clearing. Sunlight filtered through the trees in long golden beams, creating an atmosphere of tranquility that contrasted with the knot of nerves in his stomach. He didn't have to wait long.
"Hey! You're quite punctual!" - Chris's voice rang out with energy. She leaped from a low branch, landing with the lightness of a cat. - "Ready to break in that adventurer card, Theo?"
Theo observed her, noticing that she didn't seem to have a shred of doubt. She wore her usual gear, but today she felt more like a professional than the joking girl from yesterday. He nodded seriously, adjusting the strap of his leather armor.
"Ready. I've been waiting for this" - Theo replied. Inside, his analytical mind kept repeating: 'She's a goddess. I'm going hunting with a deity. If something goes wrong, at least she knows where heaven is'
"That's the spirit!" - Chris gave him a thumbs up. - "Come on, time is money and monsters aren't going to exterminate themselves."
They began walking toward the northwest of Axel, moving away from the main roads toward an area of low hills. The landscape was beautiful, filled with wildflowers and the singing of birds Theo didn't recognize, but he could barely enjoy it; his right hand wouldn't let go of the hilt of his iron sword.
"I've chosen a Goblin extermination mission" - Chris explained as they walked. - "They are small, green, ugly, and very annoying"
Theo frowned. In the anime, goblins were usually cannon fodder, but having to face them meant he could no longer view them as simple fodder—at least not now.
"Goblins? Are you sure I'm ready?" - Theo asked, trying to hide the slight hesitation in his voice.
Chris stopped for a moment and looked at him with a more sober, almost pedagogical expression.
"It's better for you to get used to it from the start. I know you're scared of facing humanoid monsters who carry weapons and armor, but don't worry—it seems to be a fairly small group, so they must be quite new. One shouldn't represent a serious threat to you."
Theo swallowed hard, still nervous, but finally nodded.
As they moved forward, Chris didn't stop talking, but it wasn't empty chatter. She was giving him a crash course in survival. She explained how to read tracks in the mud, how to identify which plants were poisonous, and most importantly, she spoke about the Thief class.
"The first thing you must do when we return is buy a Bestiary" - Chris told him firmly. - "It's an expensive book—it'll cost you a few thousand Eris—but it's mandatory. You can't fight what you don't know. You have to know where their weak points are, if they have poison, or if they call their pack when they're wounded. Information is more valuable than a golden sword."
"I'll buy it today" - Theo promised, mentally adding it to his list of high-priority tasks.
"Good. Now, listen to the plan." - Chris lowered her voice as they approached a denser wooded area. - "I'm not going to just throw you to the wolves. My job is to make sure you don't die while you learn. I'll go in first using my stealth. I'll use ropes and my skills to tie up and neutralize most of the goblin group. I'll leave one free—the one that looks most 'manageable'—for you to face head-on. I want to see how you move, how you react under pressure. While you fight, I'll leave the others tied up so you can finish them off later. This will be our method for a while"
"Isn't that... counterproductive?" - Theo asked. - "If you do all the dirty work, how am I supposed to gain real combat experience?"
Chris stopped and pointed an accusing finger at him, though with a mischievous smile.
"Listen well, rookie: right now you are weak. Very weak. If you throw yourself at three goblins at once, they will surround you and kill you before you can say 'damn it.' Before earning heroic combat experience, you need to gain levels to get skills that help you escape. A thief who can't run away is a dead thief. First, we'll make you hard to kill; then we'll worry about turning you into a swordsman. Understood?"
The reminder of his weakness weighed on Theo like a block of granite. He hated being the weak link. However, his rational side told him Chris was absolutely right. He didn't have a broken starter skill; he only had his hands and a cheap sword.
"Understood" - Theo said, reaffirming his grip on his sword. - "I accept the plan"
"Perfect!" - Chris returned to her cheerful tone. - "Come on, we're almost at the camp. Get ready, Strange. It won't be easy"
Theo closed his eyes for a second and nodded after opening them. 'Here we go' - he thought as he followed Chris into the gloom of the forest.
They reached a small hollow where the smell of rotting meat and dampness was unbearable. A group of five goblins was distracted around a poorly made campfire. They were repulsive creatures: greenish, wrinkled skin, long pointed ears, and yellowish eyes filled with primitive malice.
"Stay here" - Chris whispered, and before Theo could blink, she vanished.
Theo watched with his mouth slightly open. It wasn't just that she moved fast; it was that she disappeared completely from his sight. Chris appeared and disappeared among the shadows of the goblin camp like a specter. In a matter of seconds, four of the five monsters were on the ground, struggling uselessly against ropes that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, their mouths gagged to prevent them from screaming.
"Now, Theo! Your turn!" - Chris shouted, emerging from her hiding place with a triumphant smile and pointing to the only goblin left free.
The goblin, a specimen just over a meter tall armed with a rusty metal knife, let out a screech of rage and confusion upon seeing his companions immobilized. Seeing Theo approach, its yellow eyes fixed on him with pure hatred.
Theo unsheathed his iron sword. His hands were shaking—not from cold, but from a rush of adrenaline he had never experienced before. "It's just a goblin. It's smaller than me. It's clumsy," he repeated to himself. He took his stance, trying to remember the movements he had practiced alone in the clearing.
The goblin didn't wait. With surprising agility, it lunged forward, throwing a low thrust. Theo reacted late; his lack of experience made him retreat instead of parrying the blow. The monster's knife grazed his leather boot, leaving a gouge.
"Focus!" - Theo screamed at himself. - "If you stay still, it's going to gut you"
He launched a downward slash, but the goblin, though lacking technique, had the instinct of survival. It dodged to the side and, taking advantage of the weight of Theo's sword that left him exposed, the monster threw a handful of dirt in his face.
"Damn it!" - Theo instinctively closed his eyes, backing away blindly.
He felt a sharp sting in his side. The goblin had reached him, causing him to quickly snap his eyes open. Fortunately, it hadn't managed to pierce his leather armor, but the pain was real. Panic tried to take hold of him, but his analytical mind—the one he used to observe people in his other life—activated out of pure survival instinct.
'It's impulsive. Every time it attacks, it opens its right guard too much' - Theo analyzed as he regained his vision.
The goblin lunged again, screaming an unintelligible insult. This time, Theo didn't back down. He waited until the last second and, instead of a wide slash, he performed a short, direct thrust toward the monster's chest. The goblin tried to dodge, but its own momentum prevented it. The iron of Theo's sword penetrated the flesh with a wet, unpleasant sound.
Time seemed to stop. Theo felt the resistance of the monster's ribs against his blade. The goblin let out a gurgle of blood, and its green hands clawed at Theo's arms before the light faded from its eyes. Theo withdrew the sword with a tug, and the body fell to the ground with a dead weight.
Theo stood there, panting, his heart pounding in his chest like a drum. He was covered in a mixture of sweat, dirt, and the dark blood of the goblin. His legs were shaking so much he had to lean on his sword to keep from falling. He had been one mistake away from receiving a mortal wound.
"Not bad for a first time!" - Chris approached and gave him a loud pat on the back, which almost knocked him over. - "You froze up a bit with the dirt trick, but you knew how to read its next move. That's having a head for combat!"
Theo didn't respond immediately. He was processing the sensation of having taken a life. It was different from his grandfather's chickens; this being wanted to kill him.
"Now, finish the job" - Chris said, pointing to the other four tied goblins. - "Now it's those four over there."
Theo grit his teeth and, with mechanical movements, did what he had to do.
Upon finishing, he felt a strange vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his adventurer card and saw the letters glowing. He had leveled up—and not just once, but several levels at once because the mission was of a higher grade than his own.
"Look at that, you have a ton of skill points!" - Chris said, peeking over his shoulder. - "Let's take advantage of the fact that I'm in a good mood to teach you the basics of the thief's manual. If you learn this now, you'll be much harder to kill tomorrow."
Chris began performing quick demonstrations, explaining the theory behind each movement. Theo, with his card in hand, spent his skill points as she instructed him. The descriptions appeared in his mind:
Lurk: Reduces the visibility and scent of the user and anyone or anything they touch; effectiveness depends on the skill level.
Flee: Drastically increases movement speed and reflexes for a short period of time when the user decides to retreat from combat.
Enemy Detection: A passive skill that grants a "sixth sense" to perceive the presence and hostility of living beings within close range, even if they are hidden.
Steal: Allows the user to snatch a random object from a target. The probability of success and the quality of the item depend entirely on the user's Luck stat.
"With this and your luck, Theo, you're going to be a problem for anyone" - Chris laughed, packing away her own tools. - "Let's head back to the city. We have a reward to collect and a book to buy; we can continue tomorrow"
Theo put his card away, feeling a bit heavier—not just from the gear, but from the experience gained. He took one last look at the destroyed camp before following the silver-haired girl. The first step of his training had concluded, but he knew this was just the warm-up for what the System would demand of him in the future.
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I have nothing to say, so I hope you're enjoying the fanfic so far.