Rude Awakening

Layla woke up quite groggily, her head throbbing. Her entire body felt like she'd been hit by a flying bus, every muscle aching. The first thing she saw was a grimy, green goblin, its face too close, washing her skin with a dirty, scratchy rag. The sight of the unfamiliar, grotesque being, combined with the uncomfortable sensation, made her stomach lurch involuntarily. She jacked, a desperate surge of adrenaline.

The goblin noticed her sudden movement, its beady eyes widening for a moment before a dirty, yellow-toothed grin split its face. It grunted something, a harsh sound that probably meant something deeply unpleasant. Layla, still disoriented but growing steadily more furious, sifted through the backlog of system prompts that flashed across her vision, as if they were a stream of notifications she'd missed.

[Ping: Multiple Proximity Alerts: Threats neutralized by Vanguard.]

[Ping: Damage Report: Tactical Plate Carrier Vest (Level IIIa Ballistic Plates) integrity at 72%.]

[Ping: Host Status: Right Thigh: Bite wound (healing). Left Hand: Bite wound (healing). Poison: Accelerant. Diffusion: 95% complete. Remaining effects: Hyper-awareness, agitation.]

[Ping: Congratulations! You are the first Vanguard to survive poison in the Isekai World! Reward: 200 Heim Coins.]

[Ping: Congratulations! Successfully killed 6 hostile creatures (Green Horned Wolves)! Reward: 600 Heim Coins.]

The familiar ping was almost comforting, elevating her mood. Layla wondered aloud, a rasp in her throat, "Where am I?" The constant, frustrated grunting from the goblin cleaning her leg intensified. It clearly didn't appreciate her stirring or her question. With a growl, it suddenly hauled back and slapped her hard across the face, its grunts turning into angry snarls.

[Ping: Isekai low-language detected. Cost: 20 Isekai Coins to activate automatic translation feature. Accept?]

Layla, still reeling from the slap and the sheer indignity of it, didn't hesitate. Her intent to kill soared. But this stupid goblin doesn't have a system to give proximity alerts, right? "Yes!" she practically roared.

[Ping: Isekai Coin spent: 20. Automatic Translation Activated.]

The goblin hit her again, its grunts now piercingly clear in her mind.

Grunt...Grunt...Grunt.

'Stupid... mage... take... all... meat.'

Grunt...Grunt...Grunt.

'Hope... I... get... meat... too.'

Layla's blood ran cold. Meat? She swallowed, her gaze falling to the goblin's incredibly sharp, dirty canine teeth. Then to its slavering mouth. Then to her own leg, still being cleaned with a disgusting rag, as if she were a piece of raw produce. The realization hit her with the force of a hammer. She was the meat. This creature was cleaning her to be eaten.

An icy feeling struck her. This stupid creature wanted to eat her. Now she must definitely kill it. She mentally memorized its face, every grotesque feature. The goblin finally left the shed, the door slamming shut, leaving her alone with her horrifying thoughts and the lingering stench of goblin musk. She was tied. She was meat.

No. Not this again. Not like this. She knew the fate of a bound animal, condemned to be food. She refused. Layla began to wiggle, trying to twist out of the ropes binding her, but they were too tight, biting into her wrists and ankles. Panic, still amplified by the fading poison, threatened to overwhelm her again. She looked desperately towards her trusty partner, the system.

"Open system store," she muttered, the words barely a whisper.

A moment later, the familiar light blue holographic screen floated before her eyes. It was a grid of icons, weapons, armor, tools... She stared at it blankly. 'What do I do now?' In her impoverished village back home, there were no landlines, let alone smartphones or virtual stores. She was utterly lost.

[Ping: State desired item or function. System will display relevant options.]

The monotone voice cut through her confusion, calm and direct. Think of what I want. She wanted out. She wanted freedom.

"Unbinding tool," Layla thought, focusing hard on the words.

The screen flickered. Various lock-picking tools, strange key-like devices, and then, a small, sleek, finger-held saw appeared. It looked sharp, precise, and utterly perfect for cutting rope.

"That one!" she thought, pointing at it.

[Ping: Isekai Coin spent: 5. Item acquired: Micro-Saw. Item equipped: Micro-Saw.]

The saw materialized instantly in her bound hand, small and cool against her palm. With painstaking effort, she began to saw at the thick rope binding her wrists. It took time, her muscles screaming with the effort, but eventually, the strands parted. She quickly cut her ankles free, rubbing the red marks on her skin.

Now what? She was free from the rope, but still trapped in a shed, surrounded by hungry goblins.

[Ping: No immediate hostile intent detected in proximity. Vanguard is advised to arm herself. Current Isekai Coin balance: 865.]

No immediate hostile intent? Layla scoffed. She was literally about to be eaten. Still, the warning about arming herself was a good one. She needed her gear. She needed to be ready.

Layla navigated the system screen, bringing up her inventory, then looking through the "Armor" and "Assault Rifles" categories. She saw options for Light Combat Armor (Body Armor, Plates), sleeker than her previous one, offering better mobility but perhaps less raw protection. For assault rifles, she saw names like AR-15 (5.56mm), AK-47 (7.62mm), M4 Carbine. She chose the AK-47, a weapon she'd seen multiple times in the hands of the militants her village paid protection fees to. Then she saw the Glock 17 (9mm). She scrolled past the more powerful options, her finger hovering over the familiar pistol. She kind of loved the Glock. It had saved her life. The AK-47 slung on her shoulders, a solid weight.

But something still felt missing. She felt exposed, vulnerable, even with the thought of the armor and guns. And then she knew why. Her niqab. It was in tatters, discarded somewhere back on that battlefield. The tool her community had used to bind her, to enforce modesty and silence, had ironically been her entire life's familiar covering. She felt utterly naked without it.

The mentally controlled system screen started displaying various niqabs, black and restrictive. Layla instinctively recoiled. The thought of wearing one now, feeling that suffocating weight, made her chest tighten with a different kind of panic. Then she scrolled further. She saw it. A Short Hijab. It barely covered her chest, a soft, flowing fabric that still honored her faith but offered a sense of freedom, not suffocation. It could be worn easily underneath her armor. It offered solace without binding her spirit.

She bought it.

[Ping: Isekai Coin spent: 10. Item acquired: Short Hijab. Item equipped: Short Hijab.]

The fabric materialized instantly around her head, cool and light. It felt… right. A small, defiant act. Now, truly, she was ready. She was ready to fucking face this world