It didn't take me long to find the goblin. It was prowling around the forest, peering in bushes and glancing up at the tree branches.
I paused when I saw it, realizing that I had no idea how to fight it.
Briiing! [Was the Player not a boxer in his previous life?]
"Well, yeah, I was. But this is different. I'm used to fighting grown men, not child-sized monsters."
Briiing! [An easy fix: punch downwards.]
"..."
Briiing! [Would that not solve the height difference?]
"This thing doesn't fight like a boxer. It tries to drag me down to the ground, not throw punches."
Briiing! [The system doesn't see a problem here. Just squat and stand your ground.]
I waved away the system's suggestion. Squatting and standing my ground? Is that the only thing it could come up with?
'Let's go, Johnny boy. You don't have time to think about this. How hard can it be? Just do what you always do: dodge, block, and punch. It's as simple as that.'
Right, inner me. I got this.
I stepped out from behind a tree and clapped. The goblin spun around and a huh? expression. Then, it spotted me and let out a blood-curdling screech as it charged towards me.
As soon as it leaped up, I punched it in the cheek. The impact reminded me of a cartoon, where one character hits another and an indent appears on the second characters face. To add the cherry on top, the goblin's head spun around like a top.
[The Player has used the basic Skill 'Punch'. Punch has dealt 10 damage to the level one 1-Star Goblin. 90/100 HP remaining.]
So, I've got to hit this thing ten more times before it dies, huh? Alright, bring it on!
The goblin snarled and leaped at me once more. I gave it an uppercut sending it flying upward. I waited until it fell back into range and sent a kick toward its butt.
[The Player has used the basic Skill 'Punch'. Punch has dealt 10 damage to the level one 1-Star Goblin. 80/100 HP remaining.]
[The Player has used the basic Skill 'Kick'. Kick has dealt 10 damage to the level one 1-Star Goblin. 70/100 HP remaining.]
"Um, system, can you get rid of these alerts?"
[It is of the utmost importance to alert the Player on the level one 1-Star Goblin's health.]
"Yeah, but they're getting in the way."
[...The system cannot turn off the alerts, but it can send them in the corner of the player's screen.]
"Thank you."
The goblin had gotten its head stuck between two tree trunks. It put its hands and feet up on the trees and pushed.
"System, how long do you think it's going to take for the goblin to get its head out?"
[Goblins aren't very smart creatures. The system suggests the Player has about 15 minutes and 23 seconds before the level one 1-Star Goblin figures out another way.]
I used the Blast Skill and threw a 1-foot fireball at its wriggling butt. It missed by a mile and just barely cleared the treetops. Frowning, I tried again. It hit the tree next to it, setting it on fire. The goblin screeched and started kicking his legs.
"Shoot, shoot, I'm gonna cause a forest fire! What am I gonna do...oh, right, I can control fire!"
Thrusting my arms forward, I used the pyrokinesis skill to keep the fire from spreading. But I had forgotten about the time limit. Once the 60 seconds was up, the fire raged once more.
I gritted my teeth. Each skill had a time limit of ten seconds. It would take to long to keep the fire from spreading! It already jumped to the tree next to it, scorching the goblin between them.
Before I could think of another plan, a wave of water splashed down on the trees. I spun around to find Lexus and Rae standing a few feet away. Lexus looked irritated while Rae looked like he was ready to blow his top.
He stomped forward and grabbed me by my collar. "I should've known you'd do something like this!"
I scowled. "It was an accident!"
"Incompetent fools like you don't seem to have common sense! Using fire magic in a forest? Are you trying to get us all killed?"
"Rae," Lexus said, folding her arms, "put him down."
Rae frowned and shoved me back. "Lex, why do you keep sticking up for this idiot? He could've hurt the kids!"
"I know," she sighed. "And that's why he's going to leave."
I snorted. "Excuse me?"
"I know you've just been Reincarnated, Powyn, but it's clear what road you're headed down." She raised her hand, palm up. Water from the air collected into a sphere in her hand. "Had it not been for me, this entire forest would've burned down. If I hadn't been here in time, what would you have done?"
My face flushed. "I was trying to keep the fire contained..."
Her eyes flashed. She let the water disperse before dropping her hand. "Keep it contained? It didn't seem like you had that under control."
"My skill had a time limit! What else was I supposed to do?"
"You're a multiplayer, aren't you?" Rae snapped. "Don't you have water magic?"
Oh, yeah...I hadn't thought about that.
Lexus shook her head. "You're too inexperienced to be fighting around other people. That little stunt of yours could've put my students' lives in danger. I can't let you stay here."
I clenched my fists. "You can't do that."
She cocked her head and reached behind her. "I don't want to hurt you, Powyn. If you leave now, we can end this peacefully."
"Why should I?"
Rae scowled at me and snapped his fingers. A crossbow appeared in his hands, an arrow already locked and loaded. "What a stupid question. Do you want to die again?"
Lexus didn't tell Rae off this time. She pulled out a broadsword from her inventory and pointed it at me. "Leave, Powyn."
"Alright, fine. You win."
I turned on my heel and started to march. Until I realized I had no idea where I was going.
"Turn left," Lexus said.
"I know," I muttered.
My first time in a dungeon...
...Had ended so quickly.