As Daniel approached the demonic lizards again, he stopped about two meters away. Two of the closest lizards immediately sprang at him, their eyes blazing with dark energy.
Daniel instinctively took a few steps back. But remembering the old village chief's scorn, he forced himself to stand his ground. Fixing his eyes on the lizards, he waited until they were almost upon him before swinging the wooden stick with all his strength, sending one of the lizards flying.
Before he could feel even a hint of victory, however, the second lizard lunged at him, its claws tearing through his sleeve and leaving three deep scratches on his arm.
"Ouch! That really hurts!" Daniel gritted his teeth. The pain was much worse than he'd expected.
"Think you can bully me just because you're a lizard?" he muttered, his anger rising.
The lizard sprang at him again, and this time, Daniel was ready. He swung his stick hard, landing a solid blow on its forehead. The lizard went tumbling back and lay twitching before finally going still.
Just as Daniel started to breathe easier, he noticed something odd—the lizard's body began to shimmer, then disappeared completely, as if it had never been there.
"What the—am I dreaming?" Daniel rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
At that moment, the familiar mechanical voice sounded again in his ear:
"Level up."
"Character attribute panel unlocked."
"Backpack system unlocked."
Daniel froze, his mind racing. This was starting to feel like a game—but until now, everything had seemed so real. With quests, monsters, levels, and now even a character panel and inventory, he couldn't deny it anymore.
"Wait… am I actually inside a game world?" he wondered.
Curious, he opened the character attribute panel, which appeared in front of him like a hologram.
Name: Daniel
Level: 1
Occupation: None
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 1
Constitution: 1
Health: 100
Mana: 100
Equipment: Tattered wooden stick (Attack: 1)
Basic stats—typical of a low-level character. Now Daniel was certain: he was in a game. His backpack was also unlocked, but its ten slots were all empty.
As he examined his stats, the first lizard he'd struck regained its footing and stumbled toward him. It was slower now but still intent on attacking. Realizing these lizards were nothing more than game monsters, Daniel held nothing back. As soon as the lizard got close, he struck it down, and once again, the lizard vanished without a trace.
With two down, he was starting to get the hang of it. The task was to eliminate ten lizards, and he knew they would only attack if he got too close. This allowed him to tackle them one by one without being swarmed. He systematically defeated the rest, surpassing the chief's requirements with newfound confidence.
By the end, he had leveled up to 2, his attributes all increased to 2, and his health was now 110.
"Leveling up barely adds any stats," he grumbled. "And gaining levels is way too slow! I took down a whole group of lizards and only leveled up once. Any decent game would have me at max level by now. What kind of game is this?"
"Old chief, I'm back!" Daniel called out as he entered the village. Spotting the chief, he approached with an exaggerated grin, hoping for a generous reward.
"Oh, it's you?" The village chief looked him over with a cool expression. "Why are you back so soon? Driven off by the lizards again? Young people these days…" He shook his head with exaggerated disappointment.
Daniel straightened up, embarrassed but defiant. "Who said I got chased away? Those demonic lizards are gone—I completed the task. And not just that, I took out more than you asked for. Now, about that reward… I'm thinking divine weapons and a mythical pet, something worthy of a hero!"
The chief raised an eyebrow, surprised. "All gone, you say?" After a moment's pause, he broke into a wide smile, taking Daniel's hand and shaking it enthusiastically. "I didn't misjudge you! You really did it. You've saved our crops, and on behalf of the whole village, I thank you."
Daniel, eager to skip the formalities, interrupted. "Thank you, thank you, but let's get to the point. About my reward—I'm not asking for much. Just ten or so divine weapons and maybe a few mythical creatures. I'm not picky."
The chief chuckled, shaking his head. "Divine weapons? We don't have any."
"Alright…then what about divine pets?"
"Nope," the chief replied, still smiling.
"No divine weapons, no divine pets? Chief, are you serious? Even basic games hand out divine items at the start. What kind of low-budget game is this?"