My breath was coming in heavy gasps. Every nerve and muscle in my body screamed in tension and pain. Sweat drenched my entire body, dripping onto the ground and leaving a trail behind me.
What was I doing?
Yes... I was running away from goblins. They were about a meter tall, their red pupils and black retinas adding to their terrifying appearance.
They chased after me, carrying a stone axe. What did they want from me?
Damn it... This was so unfair!
I could still vividly remember everything before I ended up here, in this wilderness. Yes... I died in a car accident. A drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into me. My body was thrown violently onto the asphalt road in Osaka. The last thing I saw was my blood flowing on the road. And then everything went dark.
When I opened my eyes again, I was here. In a completely unfamiliar forest filled with strange flora.
This must be what they call isekai.
But my isekai wasn't as beautiful as the ones in the anime and light novels I'd read.
I was weak!
I felt no different physically than I had in Japan. An isekai shouldn't be like this. It was crazy.
Now, my body was in danger of being dismembered by the stone axe of the goblin horde chasing me. Goblins were terrifying. In the fantasy worlds I'd seen, goblins were low-level creatures that could be easily killed.
But now I was the one in danger of being killed by them!
I continued to run through the darkness of the night, hoping the goblins would lose my trail. And then, in the distance, I found a dense bush beneath a large, unfamiliar tree.
I ran towards it with my remaining breath. I hid behind the bush. The tree beside the bush was enormous, its diameter exceeding five meters.
I gasped for breath, exhausted. My breath was so heavy.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of the goblin horde. Of course, I remembered the sound of their voices. They had been chasing me, and one of them had been shouting out directions.
The sound of their footsteps grew closer. I tried my best to control my breathing. My heart pounded rapidly. I was terrified.
Wrreekkk... Reekkk... Ngoro akkk...
The goblins were speaking right in front of the bush where I was hiding. I felt dread at their presence.
Hold it... Don't move an inch, Nagi Hyosuke!
I remained silent and motionless behind my bush. I hoped they would leave without finding any trace of me.
Wkakka... Wk kakk kaaa...
One of them shouted loudly. Soon after, they moved away.
My body collapsed, sitting on the ground behind my bush. My hands supported my body from behind.
Haaaa...!
I exhaled in relief. They, the goblins, had gone.
And I decided to spend the night in the dense bush where I was hiding.
****
Five days have passed since the goblin chase. Right now, I'm hiding behind a tree, observing the goblin horde from a distance.
I've decided that I can't keep running in fear every time I encounter monsters. For now, it's just goblins... but what about the future?
That's right... I can't keep running and hiding. I have to adapt to this isekai world. I have to find a way to survive. Because now, this is my world. And I don't want to end up as the main course on the monsters' plates in this isekai.
For four days, I've been observing the behavior and habits of these creatures called goblins.
Basically, they're diurnal creatures. Just like humans, or at least most of them. They move around looking for prey during the day. They hunt in packs. They prey on anything. Anything they can catch.
And it seems like they also have a little understanding of herbology. Because I often see one of them gathering plants along the way. Maybe they have some idea of the function of those plants.
I'm so envious. Of course. This is a foreign world to me. And I'm blind to the medicinal plants here. What if I get hurt? Or sick, maybe. Yeah... That's why I really want their knowledge of herbology.
Goblins are very aggressive creatures. Disputes among members of their group are not uncommon. They even kill each other. Other members just let it happen. Maybe for them it's a kind of habit, or what we humans call a culture.
And more importantly, they are greedy creatures. Greed is their hallmark. Greed that sometimes drives them to do foolish things. The things they like are things that look shiny.
"I think that's enough for me."
then I left and start thinking about plans and preparations to face those goblins.
The next day I searched for places that were likely to have granite rocks. Because I had to make a blade to carry out my plan.
At least for now I can still survive with the river here. I can catch fish in the river. And I also have a little survival skill because of my camping hobby. I grilled fish for my daily food.
This time I was at the river where I was looking for fish. On the banks of the river, I hoped to find a rock with a texture like granite so I could make a knife.
And I found it!
I picked it up and started looking for another one with a surface that I could use to sharpen the granite rock (or at least something similar) that I found. I cleaned and rinsed the rock with water in the river. And started sharpening it at an angle of about twenty degrees. And it took me a whole day to create a knife that could be used to cut tree branches.
Yes... it's time for me to make my second equipment.
I started looking for wood that I could make a bow and arrow from. Then I cut, sliced, and sharpened it into a bow and arrow. This time, I had prepared my weapons.
The next day I started preparing some traps to trap those goblins. I dug the ground in several places with a depth of about 50 cm, which I then gave some branches that I sharpened the tips. I also looked for heavy wooden objects and hung them on trees using ropes made of plant roots.
A week had passed, it turned out that all my preparations took quite a long time. And today is the day of my revenge on those goblins.
This morning, I ventured into the forest, heading towards a spot known as a daily hunting ground for goblins. I'd set a trap there.
I placed a shiny stone I'd found in the riverbed a few days prior on the edge of the path. Right in front of the stone was my trap.
I retreated about ten meters and hid in the bushes. Then, I readied the bow and arrow slung over my shoulder. I waited for their arrival.
Soon enough, I heard the sounds of goblins approaching the stone. This was the start of my first battle in this new world.
One goblin spotted the stone. He shouted in glee and rushed towards it, straight into my trap.
Wraaauaakkkk!
He screamed in pain, falling into the trap filled with sharp branches. I emerged from my hiding spot and fired an arrow straight between his eyes.
Jleebbbb!
One goblin down!
The others stared at me. I ran, and they chased me furiously.
Over the past week, besides setting traps, I'd been practicing my archery. I was confident in my aim within ten meters.
I continued running through the forest, the goblins hot on my heels.
Sraakkk!
Wraaakkkk!
I heard the sound of another trap springing and a goblin's cry.
I turned and fired another arrow.
Jleebbbb!
Two goblins down!
Only five more remained. One goblin ran to the left, separating from the group.
I turned right towards my other trap as the rest chased me.
I aimed and fired an arrow at the left, hitting the support beam of my trap. The heavy log swung down with force.
Brakkk!
Four goblins down.
Two were crushed by the trap. Only three left.
I ran to a rock at the edge of the forest path, jumped down, and fired my third arrow at the remaining goblins.
Jleeebbbb!
Five goblins down!
I fell and rolled as a goblin leaped and tackled me. I grabbed the three remaining arrows and plunged them into its face.
Jleeebbbb!
Six goblins down!
I had killed almost all of them. I was panting heavily, trying to catch my breath.
The last goblin appeared, the one who had separated from the group. He walked towards me, his face filled with rage.
I pulled out a new knife from behind my shirt and prepared to face him.
"You're the last one, you bastard!" I cursed at him.
Wraaka wwrrroookk wruuu!
He replied with incomprehensible words.
We glared at each other for a long moment. My heart pounded. My hands trembled slightly.
Then we started running, jumping, and lunging at each other. We swung our knives and axes.
We ended up rolling on the ground, pinning each other. I gripped the goblin's right hand, which held the axe, with my left. He was on top of me...
His saliva dripped onto my face. His dark green eyes glared at me fiercely. His fangs chattered.
It was terrifying.
Arrrggghhh!
I screamed, trying to pull my right hand free from the goblin's grip. And...
My right hand was free. My stone knife flew and pierced the goblin's neck. The goblin screamed and collapsed on top of me.
I had won the fight.
Night fell. I dragged my wounded body, searching for shelter. I saw a cave in the distance.
I walked towards it and collapsed inside. My eyelids felt heavy, and I slowly drifted off to sleep.