Chapter 2: Hell Begins—The Novice Village Is Overrun by Goblins!
As the ten-second countdown reached zero, Jack noticed that the small wooden door of his cabin was now unlocked.
However, he didn't rush outside. Instead, he opened the "Public Chat Channel" to observe the situation.
Public Chat Channel:
"What the hell just happened? How did I suddenly end up in this wooden house?"
"Mom, I'm scared! I want to go home!"
"Wait a second… Is that my wife's avatar? Damn! She was 32 before, but now she looks 18 again!"
"Yeah, it feels like I'm back in my youth. No more back pain… I love it!"
"Swallow, please don't leave me again. I can't live without you…"
"Haha, this is like a second chance! I wasted my youth before, but in this world, I'm gonna live it to the fullest!"
"Don't be too optimistic. Remember, this world is called the Slaughter World. That doesn't sound like a place for second chances!"
"You're right. Have you checked outside? There are goblins everywhere! Real, living monsters! I'm shaking just looking at them!"
"Same here! And I realized something—our village has about 1,000 people, and every single one of us has goblins outside our doors!"
Jack's eyes widened in shock.
"A monster called a goblin? And they've occupied the entire novice village?"
His heart pounded. He quickly closed the chat and turned his attention to the door.
There were no windows in his cabin, but through the small gap in the wooden door, he could see the outside world.
And sure enough, there they were.
Several ugly goblins wandered in front of his door.
They were short, barely a meter tall, with green, red, or white skin. Some wielded crude clubs, while others carried short staffs, the tips flickering with fire or ice magic.
Further in the distance, Jack could see other wooden houses—likely the homes of other players like him.
He clenched his fists.
"Should I go out and fight them?"
His first instinct was to rush outside and attack.
But after a moment of hesitation, he took a deep breath and forced himself to stay put.
No. He needed to be cautious.
This wasn't a simple game. If he died here, he wouldn't respawn. He had only one life.
"It's better to wait and see how others handle the goblins first."
Jack opened the chat again.
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Public Chat Channel:
"Hey, has anyone tried using Scouting on the goblins?"
Jack checked his own skill list.
"Scouting (General Skill):
Consumes 1 Energy to reveal the target's basic attributes. If the target is significantly weaker than the user, additional details may be revealed."
"So it costs 1 Energy to use?"
Jack hesitated. He didn't want to waste his Energy just yet.
Luckily, someone in the chat had already done it.
"I just used Scouting. Here are the goblin stats:"
Melee Goblin (Lv1):
HP: 300
Strength: 12
Agility: 9
Spirit: 3
Endurance: 5
Stamina: 10
Flame Goblin (Lv1) / Frost Goblin (Lv1):
HP: 280
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Spirit: 12
Endurance: 5
Stamina: 9
Jack's heart sank.
"Damn. These things are stronger than I expected."
At first glance, the goblins didn't seem that much stronger than him.
But the melee goblins had higher Strength and Agility, making them deadly in close combat.
Meanwhile, the Flame and Frost Goblins had high Spirit stats, meaning their magic attacks could be devastating.
Even worse, the goblins traveled in groups.
Fighting one might be possible…
But if he attracted multiple at once?
That would be a death sentence.
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Public Chat Channel:
"Be careful, guys!"
"I don't care! I'm going to fight one!"
"Bro, be smart about it! Their stats are higher than ours, and there are a lot of them!"
"Haha, you don't get it! I got the D-rank talent Strength Amplification! It boosts my Strength by 30%. That means I have 12 Strength now! A melee goblin has the same stat as me—I can take it!"
"Damn, I only got an F-rank talent that increases my hearing range. What a useless ability!"
"LOL, I got an E-rank talent called Fire Control! And I got a Fireball skill book in my novice blind box. Time to burn some goblins!"
Jack watched silently, his anticipation growing.
"Good. Let them test the waters first."
Then, something hit him.
"Wait a second… I almost forgot!"
He quickly opened his personal inventory.
There it was—a Novice Blind Box!
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Novice Blind Box:
Type: One-time consumable
Effect: Grants a random item, which may include equipment, skill books, or special items.
Note: If you're lucky, you might even get a Golden Epic item!
Jack's heart pounded.
"I have an SSS-rank talent! My luck must be insane! Maybe I'll get something amazing!"
With a deep breath, he opened the box.
A system notification appeared.
"Ding! You have opened the Novice Blind Box!"
"Congratulations! You have received 10,000 Experience Points!"
Jack's eyes widened in excitement.
But before he could celebrate—
"Warning: Your talent Chaos has taken effect. Automatic level-up has failed."
Jack froze.
"Wait… What?"
Then he remembered.
His Chaos talent prevented him from leveling up.
Instead, his experience points could be used to enhance his attributes, equipment, and special items.
He opened his personal panel and checked his experience points.
Sure enough—
Experience: 10,000
Jack grinned.
"This might be even better than leveling up!"
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Public Chat Channel:
"Guys! I just fought a goblin!"
"Holy crap! Did you win?!"
"Barely… I almost died. These things hit hard!"
"Told you to be careful! How many hits did it take to kill one?"
"At least 20 punches. And that was with my Strength Amplification talent."
Jack clenched his fists.
"20 hits just to kill one…?"
This was worse than he thought.
With no weapons, most players were too weak to deal significant damage.
And the goblins?
They only needed a few hits to kill a player.
Jack exhaled slowly.
"I need a weapon. And I need to get stronger. Fast."
He looked at his 10,000 experience points and smirked.
"Time to put my Chaos talent to the test."
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Next Chapter: The First Kill! Jack Strengthens His Attributes!
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