Chapter 6
Nicole wandered the snow-covered woods, her breath curling in the cold air.
The silence of the forest was soon broken by the sound of flesh meeting wood.
Ahead, she spotted a goblin relentlessly beating a knight with a crude club.
The knight was still alive—barely—but wouldn't last long without help.
Nicole tightened her grip on the iron dagger in her hand. Killing was nothing new to her—she had done it before. This was just another enemy.
Silently, like a shadow, she crept forward. With a swift, precise stab to the back of the goblin's head, the creature crumpled to the ground.
A faint chime echoed in her mind.
[+5 EXP Earned]
She straightened, wiping the blade clean against her sleeve. "Well, that was easy."
Above the goblin's corpse, a glowing interface appeared, displaying three items:
Crude Club
Fur Armor
Goblin Essence
Nicole reached for the club, but a notification popped up.
[Strength requirement not met.]
The same message appeared when she tried to equip the fur armor. Annoyed, she turned her attention to the goblin essence but was interrupted by a weak, gurgling cough.
The knight.
He lay sprawled on the snowy ground, blood staining his silver armor. His health bar flickered in the corner of her vision—[10 HP], steadily decreasing.
"You… fair maiden," he rasped, struggling to focus on her. "Who am I speaking to?"
She knelt beside him, gently taking his gloved hand. "My name is Nicole. What happened to you?"
The knight coughed again, each breath weaker than the last. "Please give my guild this." He passed a book into Nicole's hands.
"What's this?" she asked.
"A monster report. It must be handed to the Blade Guild in Snowfall. Please, can you fulfill that request?" His health dropped to zero, and his body went still.
An information board appeared with the following items available:
Steel Sword
Crossbow
Bolts x20
Steel Armor
50 Copper Coins
Nicole opened the book and noticed it was a journal. Wanting to respect the man's wishes, she didn't read further.
She didn't have the strength requirements for the sword but was able to take the crossbow and bolts, along with the coins.
Ruby appeared and said, "Would you like a route to Snowfall?"
"Are there more goblins in the area?" Nicole asked.
Ruby sat comfortably on her shoulder. "Yes, and I recommend you don't fight hand-to-hand. Goblins tend to fight in groups, so try doing what you do best and pick them off one by one."
Nicole switched her dagger for the crossbow. "I've never used this, but now's a good time to start learning."
---
Before advancing forward, Nicole spent some time learning how to use her crossbow. It took nearly two hours for her to grasp a beginner's understanding of it with Ruby's assistance.
Now, it was time to use it in the field.
Nicole noticed foot trails up ahead leading to the body of another knight. Nearby, a wounded goblin was crying against a boulder.
"It's hurt," Nicole murmured as she took aim.
Mere moments before she pulled the trigger, the wounded goblin released a loud sonic scream that echoed throughout the woods.
Nicole quickly fired, ending the goblin's cries, but it was too late.
A loud, animalistic roar echoed through the area.
That's when a prompt appeared out of nowhere. The only word she needed to read:
The text glitched, flashing in red.
"Shit!" Nicole shouted before sprinting like her life depended on it.
"Ruby! What the hell is that?!" she asked as she dashed across the snow.
But Ruby didn't respond. She didn't even appear.
The growls grew louder, whatever was hunting her drawing closer.
An idea popped into Nicole's head—she had to exit Revelation. "System, open my menu!"
Nicole's menu appeared, but before she could react, she caught sight of what was stalking her.
Standing on a tree branch, glowing yellow eyes locked onto her.
A giant werewolf with steel claws growled, and an ominous notification appeared.
Nicole wanted to press the button, but she was frozen in place.
The werewolf leaped off the branch, landing heavily on the ground. It slowly approached on its two feet, its muscles bulging with unnatural strength.
Nicole battled her fear, desperately trying to move her fingers toward the exit button.
The werewolf noticed and lunged into the air, diving toward her.
With mere seconds before it reached her, Nicole managed to press the button.
She was transported back to the alleyway.
Her heart pounded uncontrollably, sweat poured down her face, and her breathing was ragged.
"Looks like you had fun, cupcake."
She turned toward the alley entrance.
The black man from before stood there with two others. One was a man who looked like an office worker, while the other was a woman wearing a tracksuit.
The girl casually said to the black man, "So, Josh, is this the woman you were talking about? She's kinda cute."
Josh smirked. "Yep." He walked forward and reached out his hand. "My name is Joshua, and I'm a contestant like you. I'd like to invite you to our party. We call ourselves the Rejected. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"The Rejected? Wait, can I even trust you guys?" Nicole asked, looking at each of them warily.
Joshua retracted his hand and said, "It's all up to you. We're not here to deceive or harm you, but rather, help a fellow player in need. Revelation is hell on earth if you don't have the skills and understanding to survive. We've all experienced that hell, but instead of dying a pointless death in this game, isn't it smarter to maximize our survival rate? Like I said, it's your choice."
Nicole glanced at the other two, who nodded in agreement.
She noticed their levels were in the hundreds—experienced players.
"Okay, I'm willing to hear you guys out. But can we go somewhere private? I don't like staying in the open."
The man pulled out a sword out of thin air and cut a portal leading to a penthouse room.
All three of them stepped in but waited for Nicole, who was still tense from what just happened.
After a moment of hesitation, she ultimately decided to follow them inside.