Chapter 2: The Road

I wonder where I even am?

The young man thought to himself as be began his trek along one the dirt road, his gaze wandering in hopes of something other than these grassy meadows and rolling hills, the only thing seeming to interrupt that being a distant treeline.

You know, even some basic shoes would have been nice..

The young man grumbled in his head, his feet already starting to ache softly on the rough dirt road. His mind continued to drift as the trip turned to miles.

"I wonder..." Kai murmured to himself, "I wonder if I can try and speak to that voice in my head directly."

System

Nothing. His brow furrowed deeply as he thought of other options.

System... Open?

Please select from the following options:

- Skills

- Status

- Inventory

- Shop

What does it mean, by Inventory and Shop?... Okay, let's try Inventory.

Current Items in Inventory

- 1x Health Potion

- 1x Mana Potion

- 1x World Map

- 1x Bronze Sword

- 1x Wooden Shield

Huh... so I have weapons? And potions?.. This really does feel like some kind of game now... Let's see here. Select Sword, Shield, and Map.

Suddenly a weight could be felt on Kai's back and side where his sword and shield now rested. He looked down, and in his hands was a Map.

Okay, not let's see if we can put these away... Open Inventory.

<Input Accepted>

Deposit Sword and Shield.

The weight now disappeared, the items vanishing as if they didn't exist. With a satisfied smile, Kai pulled out the Sword and Shield from his Inventory once more, and turned his attention now to the map.

Okay, let's see what is on this map..

He thought quietly to himself as he opened the Map up, he could see a faint glowing dot on it, moving slowly in the direction he was going, indicating the ability to see his exact whereabouts.

"Alright... So I can see myself on the map, but this is definitely not Earth..." He furrowed his brow further as this realization dawned on him, "So the road I am on isn't named but it looks like if I keep going this way there should be a small town called Evergreen a few miles out still.."

With a set course in mind, Kai gently folded the Map up and put it back in his Inventory, continuing the slow trek down the winding dirt road.

Now that I know that, let's try the Shop...

The young man thought to himself as he heard the now familiar soft beep in his head.

Current Available Shop Items:

- 1x Health Potion - 100 Coins

- 1x Mana Potion - 150 Coins

- Bedroll - 250 Coins

- Leather Shoes - 350 Coins

- Leather Greaves - 450 Coins

- Leather Breastplate - 600 Coins

- Leather Gauntlets - 350 Coins

- Leather Helmet - 400 Coins

Current Coin Balance: 0 Coins

Of course, why would I even have Coins? To top it all off, I doubt this world's currency matches what the money the voice in my head wants. Close Shop.

The young man chuckled softly to himself as he continued on. Hours passed, the sun starting to wane as Kai pressed forward, his walk peaceful until he was interrupted by the familar voice in his head.

Huh, that's new... but I don't see anything...

The young man squinted as he scanned around him desperately trying to see what the voice was talking about, but he was spotted first.

Crack! A loud snapping sound could be heard to the right, Kai's gaze switching instantly to a row of bushes as several life-forms could be heard making a ruckus in the thick brush.

"Keeyah!!!" A loud cry could be heard as the creatures revealed themselves, bursting out onto the dirt road directly beside the young man. Their skin was a grossly green color, about half the size of an average man with long pointed ears. The creatures carried primitive weapons, wooden clubs, stone axes, and one even had a crude stone spear. Their wicked, golden eyes almost seemed to glow in the fading daylight as the small pack studied their quarry. There were five of them in total.

Are those... goblins? Where in the hell am I?

The young man thought desperately to himself as he readied his sword and shield, their feeling foreign yet strangely familiar all at once, gazing intensely at the creatures.

"Kyaahhhh!" One of the goblins lunged forward, wooden club raised.

"Oh shit!.." Kai exclaimed as he raised his shield up just in time, bashing the goblin away.

Another.

This time on his other side, a goblin managed to close the distance, also holding a wooden club. Kai tried to parry the attack with his sword, but was too late to act, the goblin striking his shin with the blunt weapon. Thmmp!

"Gyahh!" Kai yelled out between gritted teeth as his thrust his sword square through the goblin's throat, throwing the limp corpse off of his blade as the second goblin came once more.

"Kyaaah!" The creature shrieked as it lunged once more, club in hand.

Krckkk... A dull wet sound could be heard as Kai slammed the creature's head into the ground with his shield, fluids and other matter leaking out of the creature's skull.

Three more... just three...

The young man braced himself and sucked in air, focusing the strength in his legs as he prepared himself to counter-attack.

"Come on!" He shouted as he lunged forward, plunging his sword through the closest goblin, his sword going clean through it's abdomen. The weapon currently lodged inside, Kai grabbed the stone spear the goblin was holding, throwing it at the furthest goblin, impaling it in the chest.

One more... where?

Kai's eyes scanned desperately as he realized he lost sight of the closest goblin while he was preoccupied throwing the spear.

"Kyaahhh keh-keh!" A shriek could be heard directly behind him as the creature slammed the back of his leg with the stone axe.

The young man couldn't even get a cry out in time as he was swept off his feet, now looking up at the sky as the final goblin capitalized on it's advantage. The creature lunged once more, it's teeth bared with those sickening eyes glowing slightly in the now early night.

You cannot die now. You were just given this chance!

Kai let out a low gutteral growl as he grabbed his adversary's leg mid leap, slamming it back onto the dirt road. Crash! Desperately he got on top of the thing, pinning it's arms with his legs as he raised his shield with both hands before slamming it down repeatedly. Thnk! Thcck! Thcck! The sound of wood slamming into flesh continued until the body of the goblin underneath stopped twitching.

Holy... holy shit... I just did that...

The young man's hands trembled, and his mind ran wild, his first time in either life taking the life of another being, let alone five.

Level Up!

Level Up!

Level Up!

Skills Unlocked!

- Martial Arts: Lvl 1

- Shield Bash: Lvl 1

- Last Stand: Lvl 1

Items received:

- 450 Coins

- 1x Bread

- 1x Waterskin

I leveled up, like in a game. From killing?... And I got items and coins?

Kai's heart raced as he faced this fact. He took life, and in return, got stronger as well being rewarded.

I wonder if I sold these guys somewhere, I could get real money as well? Can I put them into my Inventory? No, wait. I need to heal first...

The adrenaline finally wearing off, the young man looked at the back of his leg, there was a deep gash down it where the goblin struck, if the weapon had been something other than a shoddy stone axe, he may have been done for.

"I really, really need to be more careful..." He sighed deeply.

Open Inventory

Withdraw Health Potion

The small bottle sat in the young man's hands with that thought, the color a light green, the fluid about the same consistency as cough syrup.

"Bottoms up, I guess..." Kai closed his eyes tightly as he chugged the bottle, the liquid running down his throat. The taste of mint, dirt and what the young man imagined as fresh cut grass made him almost gag as he downed the bottle, "Remind me to try my best to not get hurt again.." He muttered to himself as he grimaced from the disgusting taste.

Almost immediately, he could feel his physical state begin to restore, his body becoming warm. When he looked down his eyes widened with shock, the gash already starting to seal up, the wound no longer bleeding.

This stuff is far stronger than anything imaginable in my old world...

The young man sat in awe as he watched it continue to close up.

Alright... I guess there is no getting to town just yet, so may as well try and get some levels as well as some new items and coins.

Despite the current events, the young man's eyes almost seemed to gleam with excitement as he readied himself for the next enemies to be encountered.