Inside the facility, filled with machinery, Enri looked toward the aquarium at the right side near the corner where the QC crew and higher-ups were stationed.
"Rackan. Did we start working a bit late? Why are the aquarium lights on?"
Workers and higher-ups had different work hours. Workers needed to prepare for shift changes and equipment setup, so they were required to arrive an hour early before the higher ups.
"Obviously not, dumbass. it's just, For some reason, Miss Yuli came early with no explanation."
"Miss Yuli?"
"Yup, I caught a whiff of her perfume by chance while clocking in, and damn, she smelled good, I tell ya."
Enri looked at Rackan, who was grinning stupidly, with a deadpan expression. He knew it wasn't "by chance" either. Enri would bet his entire savings that Rackan purposely timed his arrival to coincide with Miss Yuli's.
"What's with that look? C'mon, you know no one could resist."
Enri didn't want to admit it, but Rackan was right. Miss Yuli was a very attractive woman, even by Enri's standards.
Her enchanting hourglass figure, pale skin like snow, ruby-red eyes, and ponytail hairstyle revealing her alluring nape would definitely attract many guys.
She also had a moniker: 'Ice Cold Queen,' due to her expressionless demeanor, flat tone, and the way she ignored all the catcalls thrown her way.
For better or worse, these traits didn't particularly attract Enri.
Enri couldn't quite put his finger on it, but sometimes she had this, mysterious aura, as if she were judging everyone when she monitored the workers. That's why Enri occasionally went out of his way to avoid her and stayed out of the spotlight.
"Sigh. I hope you got caught in the act and receive a warning letter" Enri muttered, feeling hopeless about his dumb yet honest friend. He walked toward Sir Holil, who was giving instructions.
Noticing Enri approaching, Sir Holil looked at his paperwork and ordered, "Enri, take Machine 12. Finish the job order and report back to me. There are only 40 orders left." Enri nodded and headed to the very back of the building.
Unlike the other coiling machines, Machine 12 was located near the facility's edge at the back, close to the rear gate that connects to the parking lot.
It was surrounded by old machinery that wasn't used much, and people generally avoided the area unless necessary.
"Another lonesome day…" Enri muttered sadly as he started prepping the equipment. He wasn't complaining, though, at first.
As an introverted person, he appreciated being able to work without being seen by others and focusing on his job. But having to do it for two weeks straight, eight hours per day, felt like pure harassment.
In the end, Enri was still a human; he needed social interaction. But work was work. Whether you wanted to do it or not, you had to.
Such was the cruel fate of adult world.
----
After an hour had passed, Enri began to hear a lot of noise coming from the front.
"Everyone seems like they're having fun…" he sighed weakly, feeling even more down. At least, that was what he felt before hearing a loud scream from a woman.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Enri recognized the scream; he had heard it many times. It came from Auntie Lina, a familiar voice to him.
"Did someone prank Auntie Lina again? That scream is pretty loud. I wonder what part of her got grabbed this time." Auntie Lina was a 27-year-old widow working in the packing team.
With her attractive body and mature, pretty face, she was often teased by the other guys. As Rackan once said, "Since she's widowed, it's fair game for everybody."
However, this scream was much louder than usual. It reached all the way to where Enri was. Suddenly, he heard more noise coming from around the facility—screaming, loud crashes, things falling, confusion, anger, and much more.
When he want to check it out, something appeared in front of his face—a small, square window. In the middle of it, words appeared:
Humans. I hereby declare your time of trials has come. Thus, I announce the first objective of your first trial: SURVIVE.
"Huh?" Surprised by the unknown object that looked like a game panel, Enri stood still, He reached out his hand to touch it. But Suddenly, he saw a wooden bat flying towards his head.
With only a split second to react, Enri narrowly dodged the bat to the left. The bat struck the machine behind him, making a loud sound that reverberated throughout the facility.
Seeing the clear dent that was caused by the bat at the machine, Enri felt anger boiling on his head, since what would've happened if that was to happen to hit him.
Searching for the culprit, He looked in the direction from which the bat had come and was shocked to his core.
He saw something unbelievable—a creature, not a human like he thought but something He can only call a creature. a familiar creature to anyone who had ever played a typical RPG game.
"Goblin?!"
Short, with green skin, a disfigured body, and an ugly face—the creature's characteristics matched those of a goblin perfectly.
The goblin, seeing that Enri was able to dodged its throw, out of anger, lunges its body and attacked Enri.
because of the shock, Enri failed to dodge for the second time and instinctively defended himself with his left arm.
Caught off guard by the weight of the attack, Enri stumbled and fell, bracing his entire weight with his right arm.
*Crack
His arms are numb, The adrenaline is temporarily blocking the pain, but not for long. Since Enri can feel the pain slowly appearing. He turned around only to see, the goblin retrieving its bat and slowly advancing toward him.
Fear overtook Enri. He tried to get up, but his legs wouldn't stop trembling. His body refused to move, no matter how much his brain screamed of the imminent danger.
The goblin smiled cruelly, enjoying the fear of its prey. it knows the creature in front of it had nothing to left to give and finally, It raises its bat, intending to smash Enri's leg. trying to force out more of Enri's fear by torturing him slowly.
Before it could however, something flashed by, and pierced the goblin's chest. The goblin looked down to see an iron pipe embedded deep in its body.
Shocked by the sudden turn of events, Enri seized the opportunity and grabbed a machine gear. He pounced on the goblin that's struggling to get the pipe out of its body, and began bashing its head repeatedly.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
*Druing*
Even when the goblin stopped moving, even when its head was disfigured and turned to mush, Enri didn't stop. He only halted when he heard hurried footsteps coming from behind and turned around.
He saw Rackan, panting, standing still, while holding a crowbar, staring at him, on top of a body without a head. No one moved, as if time had frozen, until another person came running from behind Rackan.
"Hey, Rackan! Don't just stand there! Hurry and grab Enri! We need to group up!" the person shouted in a loud, heavy voice.
It was Wanton who's currently holding a bloodied chains. No, calling it 'bloodied' is wrong. because the chains isn't covered in 'red' blood. it's like dyed in green liquid paint.
the same color as the one smeared unto Enri's hand currently.
At the shout, both men snapped back to reality. Rackan slowly approached Enri, reaching out his hand.
"For now, We don't have much time, i'll explain the situation on the way; the others are waiting at the front. Let's go." Hearing Rackan's serious tone, Enri nodded and tries to pull the iron pipe that was stuck on the dead goblin's body out.
But the adrenaline had already wore off, even gripping the iron pipe is making Enri flinch from pain, let alone pulling it out.
Rackan notices this and helped Enri pulled out the pipe before slowly assisting Enri to stand up.
"your legs ain't injured right?"
"Yeah, my legs are good. thanks"
confirming Enri was okay, Rackan nodded and walked to Wanton in a fast pace.
Enri got up. He glanced at the disfigured corpse of the goblin and closes his eyes, trying to steady his throbbing and trembling hands. He tightened his grip on the pipe and ran towards the two to catch up.
"So, what happened?"
"mind-boggling straight out of fantasy chaos happened."
Although Rackan said nothing more, Enri began to piece together what was happening, no matter how much his rational mind resisted. The pain he felt, the sensation of bashing that creature, the fear he experienced—all of it confirmed his suspicions.
And especially... the windows that's currently floating in front of his eyes, displaying words and numbers he was all too familiar with.
"A status window…" Enri muttered.
A status window, just like the ones used in games to show how strong a character is. and the one he currently sees is displaying himself.
Name : Enri
Level : 2
Hp : 80/120
Mp : 100/110
====
Stats
Str :12
Agi:13
Def:10
Vit:11
Int:14
Mag:8
Dex:8
====
Extra Stats
====
Skills
Analyze
====
Bonus Points : 2
Looking at his status window, Enri wanted to ponder just a little longer, but the situation didn't allow for it.
Based on Wanton and Rackan's urgency, He had already imagined the worst he could, yet the reality in front of him was far worse.
Blood and guts splattered across the walls, a heap of corpses—both human and goblin—strewn everywhere.
At the sight, Enri felt his stomach churn. The people lying lifeless around him weren't just strangers he passed on the street.
They were friends, people he talked to, people he knew. And seeing them dead, helplessly, brought him despair more than he can handle.
Yet all he could do was bite his lower lip until it bled to keep the tears from falling.
He knew now wasn't the time to mourn. He knew that one mistake and it could lead him to the same fate. Just like he had already experienced before.
While running, Enri glanced at the weapon in his hand, the thing that had saved his life. The direction from which it had been thrown suggested it came from the parking lot, but he had seen no one.
The force and precision needed to pierce and knock away the goblin meant the pipe had been thrown with considerable strength and accuracy, like a spear.
"But who?" he wondered.
Enri's thoughts were interrupted when Rackan, who's leading the group, slowed down and blocked something coming to their way from the front.
Thud!
"Get your weapons up! We've got company!" Rackan shouted.
Ahead of them, four goblins stood in their path. Each one held a different weapon, but they all had something in common, the weapon they is all smeared with fresh red blood.